The Myth & The Majesty

Here it is. I know it doesn't look like much, but it turns out that this little leather notebook was exactly what I wanted. This was one of my better finds while shopping this weekend ... I took care of a few Christmas presents, got a new pair of shoes (not just any shoes, but The Shoes I Was Looking For -- tell me there's at least one of you out there who understands my current joy!), and I found this. I also went grocery shopping for the 82nd time so that I could eat breakfast this week. At some point I decided that, as much as I love leftover turkey, two meals a day is enough. It snowed today as well and I was psyched. I say "was" because now I'm cowering in front of my computer instead of pulling on my boots to go shovel the sidewalk under the guise of "it might not be done yet." Don't get me wrong; I love snow. But right now I'm warm and cozy and -- I admit it -- wearing pajamas. My jeans got soaked up to the knee just by walking back to my ...

I'm going to break from the family history for a bit since I'm now at home by myself, listening to Christmas music in the quiet of my apartment and thinking about how the weekend has gone. So! The blow-by-blow. My parents and sibs showed up on Wednesday after a brief detour at the very end of their trek. Turns out Mother Dearest had two sets of the turn-by-turn directions I sent her, and only one had the ever-important correction about the highway they just finished. Naturally, Mia Sorella was navigating from the uncorrected set. Anyway! They got here and unloaded the Exploder, and after a brief tour and some general chat, we hit Hereford & Hops for dinner. H&H is one of my favorite restaurants in town. They're a steakhouse/brewery, and both their steak and their brew are top-notch -- and moderately inexpensive. Having kicked off the weekend in good form, we headed back to the house and had dessert -- blackberry and cream cheese pie from Norske Nook in Osseo, WI. A-...

In honor of what I hope will be a fantastic upcoming weekend ... ----- Twelve Things That Put Me In The Holiday Spirit 1. Snow. 2. Starbucks Peppermint Mochas. (I'd be ashamed, but they're so good ...) 3. Shopping. (No, really.) 4. Salvation Army bell ringers. 5. Cheesy Christmas movies. 6. Leftover turkey. 7. Decorating, especially lights! (The inflatable things don't really do anything for me.) 8. Cranberries. 9. A good bottle of Chianti. 10. The holiday book drive at the B. 11. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cake, pepitos ... 12. Crisp, clear, starry nights. (Bonus #13: My mother's Russian black bread.)

High school. High school was when it all hit the fan ... so to speak. My freshman year did not go terribly well, and as such I was a pain at home. Sophomore year my friend situation was a bit more stable and I plateaued. But junior year ... Junior year was a disaster. Mia Sorella was a freshman that year and suddenly we were sharing everything. Rides to school, band, youth group, soccer. All of that time I had previously had to myself I now had to share. And everywhere I went, she was the gregarious, outgoing sister while I was the shy, socially awkward one. That did not bode well for my self-esteem. Then the cold war began. My family does not yell. It goes back to my dad's motorcycle accident over thirty years ago -- we just don't do it. Instead, it is generally acknowledged when people are not happy with each other and things get quiet. All teenagers hit a moment with their parents when they just don't "get" each other anymore. Whether it's t...

Fifth grade started in a new town. I went from being outgoing, well-liked, and generally very bubbly to quiet, timid, and shy to the point of awkwardness. I was not excited to be starting over with new friends and new teachers. The summer had gone fairly well. We had moved in during a snow storm the previous spring. While painting the house, we met one neighbor kid, a boy who was between my sister and I in age. When he felt like it, the three of us could entertain ourselves for hours, running around playing our own versions of cops and robbers. When he didn't, Mia Sorella and I would play Sam and the War, an inexplicably complicated game that required more imagination than I can fathom now. If we weren't doing that, we were pretending to be rock stars and putting together huge music sets with the CDs that were just then becoming commonplace. I liked the house and I loved the space, but I had no idea what to actually expect from these "country kids," and I wasn...

More fresh snow today, which made me smile before I left for work this morning. Apartment is almost clean enough for parents. Almost. In the mean time, I've found all sorts of fun things, like several misplaced pairs of earrings and the floor of my office.

She gave her husband a pointed look. "Ashley used an interesting word today. I can only hope she learned it from her classmates." He cringed. She had been in the garage with him while he was changing the oil in their van. She might've learned it from him. "And what word was that?" His wife sighed. "'Irregardless.' I don’t even know where it came from." He had to smile. "Did you tell her it wasn't a real word?" * I've said it before and it's worth restating: my family is different. We all know this and to be totally honest, we all relish it. While there's no way I can get all the "differentness" into one post of any form of reasonable length, I thought this week would be a spectacular one to start trying. On of my earliest memories is from when I was four years old. We were just moving into a new house and Dad took me for a drive. He was pointing out a window: "That's where you're ...