While I Was Out...

Taking a break from blogging sure gives one a lot more unanticipated free time and {I'm discovering} fresh energy to get back to it once one's blog has been updated and all the links are working again.

Thanks, Rachel!

As I posted last time, my life underwent some rather substantial changes over the past few months. However, it also underwent some minor and significantly less important changes that were a lot less stressful and infinitely more fun!


1
I got my hair chopped off

Before

6 inches and a plethora of layers later...

Ponytails required a lot of clips for a while, but otherwise I was incredibly happy with the results :)

2
I finished a novel

It's in two chunks there, but when I printed it off, double-spaced, it was almost a full ream of paper and that's not actually all of it. After rewriting it 3 times, it's a little surreal to know that this is the last time I'll be going over it before...what? Sending out query letters? Taking the next step to my dream of publication? I confess I'm dragging my feet a bit here because the fact that it's almost done is somehow more daunting than facing the blank pages at the beginning and filling them.

3
 I turned 21 and was legally allowed to paint my toenails

I chose OPI's Live, Love, Carnaval for this much-anticipated moment

...and got frozen yogurt with plenty of s'mores crunch.

4
I ditched my eucharisteo box {read about that here} and started a journal

It sits on my desk at work and I use different colored pens each day. The box had its time and when I emptied it it was pretty full, but now that I have a more stationary life the journal is more sensible. I've also ditched the idea that my 'gifts' {read Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts if you have no idea what I'm talking about} have to sound like poetry. If I'm thankful for the way my chair rolls over the plastic sheet on the floor that's as poetic as it's going to be on the page.

5
I finally made the journal-calendar-box-memory-catcher thingamajig that I found on the internet forever ago and have always intended to construct.

Here is the link that explains what this is and how to make your very own. I will add my personal warning though: you will need more than one package of the index cards because it takes a LOT. I still have to get some more before sometime in the middle of May. I also have to find something I want to use for a month divider and decorate the box. For now, that's still in the decision stage.

Anything else? Probably - but those are all the pictures I have to share.

Till next time!

What It Means: Christmas Edition!

So despite the fact that I was apparently jealous of Rudolph's nose without being aware of it and my body taking matters into its own hands and contracting a cold to satisfy this envious need, I promised a post this week and a post you all shall have! {While I glug mint tea and force myself to wean off the Kleenex and eat spoonfuls of honey and cinnamon in an all out effort to shake this thing before the weekend hits...}

I am at war against these mutant germs.

But we can speak of cheerfuller things! {Like my shock that "cheerfuller" is not spellchecked by blogger, but "spellchecked" is??}

Ah well.

So with a snowstorm {our first real one of the year} hitting during church on Sunday and the news reports of 60, 40 and 15 car accidents on the freeways nearby forcing us to cancel our weekly Ultimate Frisbee get-together, the eleven of us were all at home for the day with a bare Christmas tree standing in the corner. After watching the Green Bay Packers win their first game in 5 weeks {!!} we hauled the Christmas decorations from the attic and set to work.

This all sounds quaint and joyful and Christmas-cardish, I know, but the very cozy and festive can quickly become arguments and chaos when 9 people of various ages {and stations on the proverbial totem pole} are involved. In this house, Christmas decorating means:

...complete dismantling and stowage of most everyday knick-knacks {whether we remembered owning them or not} to make way for the overload of Christmas knick-knacks...

....string after string of burnt out lights that no one wants to mess with and we forgot to replace at Home Depot's after-Christmas sale last year...

...ceremonial smashing {accidental, of course} of at least three ornaments. I think it may have been more this year, due to The Incident....

...ceremonial loss {unintentionally, of course} of at least two tempers...

...Christmas music playing in the background {in an attempt to be festive and traditional} that no one is listening to...

...segmented garland because Thing 5 and Thing 6 decided to play tug-of-war with it...

...3/4's of the ornaments placed on the front of the tree...

...honorary arrangement of our traditional clay and pewter creches...

<----- {including a charming tour of our collection of Royal Diaries and Heroes of the Faith books...}






...tinsel draped over lampshades and wrapped around several Things pretending to be the Ghost of Christmas Present {Ebeneeeezer Scroooogeee...Come in and know me better, man!}...

...trauma over the fact that we're using LED bulbs on the tree this year {partly due to missing the after Christmas sale last year}...

...snowman ornaments dangling over the table in an attempt to disguise the fact that we have one of the ugliest light fixtures designed by man...

 ...numerous jokes and laughter at the expense of the contents of the ornament tins as we remember old favorites and reevaluate the chucky-chuckies {our pet name for the ornaments that nobody knows why we still have but manage to get packed away after Christmas each year} before hanging them on the tree...

An old family favorite. Who doesn't want a
biological impossibility hanging on their
Christmas tree??

Chucky-Chucky.
Aside from that, we're not sure what it's supposed to be...

...Things 6-9 feeling free to jump on the furniture because no one really cares at this point what they're doing so long as it's not breaking more ornaments or falling into the tree...

...nearly packing away the ceramic handbell Mom painted in grade school...

{I don't think I'm allowed to post pictures of that}

...Rudolph, Randy and Rhonda gracing the top of the bookshelf once again...

...the empty stable on top of the rolltop desk...

Radewahn family tradition: each piece of the
nativity is hidden by Dad {generally in places
they'll be discovered if we do our chores}
and as Christmas approaches, the stable fills with
magi, shepherds, animals, and, of course,
Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. We came
very close one year to celebrating Christmas
with an empty manger when Jesus went missing
for longer than expected.

...leaving it all lit and behind as we exit as one to the basement... 

The tree in all its controversially LED'd, ornamented and garlanded glory

And that is my post for the week! Take it with my sincere hopes that this post has made you feel warm and fuzzy and smug about your own traditional, peaceful and orderly decorating experiences. 

Until next time!

St. Nick's Fuzzy Socks

Hello! If you didn't know {or care} that today is officially St. Nicholas day, I am the charming elf who either did or did not inform you of this news {depending on how you feel about this sort of unnecessary holiday}.

Normally {as in never, ever, ever} I have not celebrated St. Nick's day or honestly cared that it's come and gone each year {we still get mail, so I'm not complaining}.

But when St. Nick's day means red, sparkly {sparkly, people!!} fuzzy socks, then I am definitely all in.

   {Photography: Elizabeth Radewahn. The model is wearing socks by airplus.}

This particular pair was given to me by one of the secretaries at my office and they are super snuggly and infused with aloe and vitamin E {yeah, not sure what that's doing, but hey, the more the merrier!}.

I don't know who the genius was who decided to start infusing socks with vitamins and minerals, but since we seem to be handing it out to just anyone these days, I would say they deserve the Nobel Prize. And a great big thank you from fuzzy sock wearers everywhere.

Happy St. Nicks!

Ciao Bella! 

P.S. The fun doesn't stop here! Look below: another new post! 

12 Cups of Tea

I am so excited!! After sighing over The Republic of Tea's overwhelming assortment of divine teas for way too long, I found the sampler page and went to town. This is so fun! You can choose either the 12 bag assortment (6.95) or the 24 bag assortment (13.90). There are other sampler options, but these two are the most affordable options for budgeted tea-junkies like me. =D

I chose the 12 bag box and dove in. I was initially disappointed because you can't choose from EVERY flavor they have, but once I scrolled through the sampler selections a few times, I had no difficulty filling my box!

Here are my selections (and yes, I am going to fill you in on my personal commentary. Beware!)

#1 - Earl Greyer

I have no idea what makes this Earl Grey greyer than your traditional grey, but that is not for me to question. All I know is that I LOVE Earl Grey tea. It's my morning tea because it's caffeinated and wakes me up. I usually brew it overnight until the oils come to the top (not because I prefer the oils but because I'm usually in bed by the time it's done brewing) and then stir in milk and honey. I've tried a lot of Earl Greys (my favorite being Ahmad's loose leaf brand, but Twinings is delicious too) and am really excited to see how the Earl Greyer compares.

#2 - Hibiscus with Coconut

This is the first of the 3 Hibiscus sisters. I've never had coconut in my tea, so this should be interesting.

#3 - Hibiscus with Pineapple/Lychee

 This is a lychee:

I have no idea what it tastes like by itself, or if you're supposed to eat the middle thing, the white stuff (the pink stuff looks inedible) or all of it, but it looks really cool. The pineapple is what really caught my interest, though. Pineapple Hibiscus tea...with bonus lychees!

#4 - Hibiscus with Key Lime

I am in the hopes that this will really, really taste like lime.

#5 - Blackberry Sage

This was the bag I was most excited about. Sage seems so...dusty. I'm curious to see how they make it taste good with blackberries in tea!

#6 - British Breakfast

I'm a black-tea junkie but I haven't yet found a good English tea that I love (except for the kind I had at a ladies tea years and years ago and didn't get the brand - one of my greatest regrets). We shall see what The Republic of Tea can do. It's tea time, chaps!

#7 - Twenty Herbs

20, huh? Let's take a gander at the ingredients: Rooibos (not sure what that is, but I've seen it in a lot of teas), allspice leaves (I know allspice - generic name, isn't it?), cinnamon (check), black limon (I'm thinking that's not a typo for "lemon"...), peppermint (hmm...hope it doesn't overpower everything else), wintergreen (this might taste like gum!), birchbark (what kind of flavor will that add??), hibiscus (ooh, red!), lemon balm (why add the balm?), allspice berries (ok, we've got leaves and berries. Isn't that sort of cheating?), chamomile (hopefully the other 19 herbs will overpower it), carob (wait, chocolate?), vanilla extract (good, good), lemon grass (lemon grows grass? Who knew!?), anise seeds (oh great. Licorice. They have to sneak that into everything.), sweet blackberry leaves (as opposed to sour blackberry leaves?), chicory (I've heard of that but am not sure what it tastes like), rose petals (haha, good luck tasting those), eleuthero (sounds like a Greek god), linden flowers (Der Lindenbaum: a famous poem by Wilhelm Muller. Here is an English translation.) 

This is going to be one very interesting cup of tea. I can tell already.

#8 - Coconut Cocoa

The Republic of Tea's chocolate mate tea is one of my favorites. I'm assuming this is the same thing but with coconut. What can be better??

#9 - Strawberry Chocolate

Another flavor I'm dying to try. I see they've snuck Rooibos into this too. I'm thinking I ought to educate myself. Since you're already here, you might as well be educated too. From Wikipeidia: Rooibos is a broom-like member of the legume family of plants growing in South Africa's fynbos... And then again, they do say that ignorance is bliss...

#10 - Cranberry Blood Orange

I have high hopes for this one. I don't know why, but I do. 

#11 - Honey Ginseng

I am not sure how they get honey into tea before you put it in yourself, but I'll be cautious when opening this overwrap...

#12 - Ginger Peach Green

I've had the black version - in large quantities :-/ - so I'm curious to see if the green tastes any different. Maybe it'll be better!

Well, now that I have actually photographed all of these for you and cropped them and edited them and found them all in my hard drive...

I can finally drink one!!!

Till next time!

You're A Good Egg

Yes, I am going to post this post which I intended to post on Good Friday but was postponed and put off on Easter and then ignored for two weeks.

This is why I try to steer clear of holiday posts.

Every Good Friday, it's our family tradition to dye the Easter eggs for Easter Sunday. I don't know why we do it then because it's actually rather inappropriate for the day to be dealing with color and eggs and what-not. At least, I think it is?

This tradition gets less and less traditional every year, but some of us refuse to give it up. Thus, we are left to make sure it happens {lovely, huh?}

The only person in our family who has any artistic talent whatsoever had to play her violin at the afternoon service at church. The rest of us, eyeing the cups of color and pure white eggs, were left to our own devices.

Heh-heh-heh...

Being the year of Pinterest we turned to our over-logged boards for fresh inspiration that could cover up the fact that we actually have no talent for what we're doing. Three-quarters of those ideas {I'm assuming you can relate?} were waaay over our heads and weren't quite feasible considering the supplies we had with us. {We're not really the cut-out-Subway-letters-and-then-glue-them-to-the-eggs-and-then-paint-over-them-with-acrylic-paint-and-oops!-you-might-not-be-able-to-eat-them type} In our house, the uglier the egg, the less drama there will be when someone eats it and no one will care if it falls out of the pine cone wreath during the Easter egg hunt and cracks irrevocably.

However, egg-faces seemed to be taking over the imaginations of everyone on Pinterest and we figured we could probably manage that.

This is an example only. We did not make these.
Unfortunately.

Out came the ultra fine point Sharpies and frantic orders not to jiggle the table.

Someone jiggled the table on this

guy

Here are were our Easter eggs:

I think he bears a striking resemblance
to Charlie Brown

He started out as a parachute - or

something. 

How appropriate upon Easter eve, that we should remember -
oh...

The whole motley crew

Promptly after this shot, we were reminded of the mortality of all things when my mother took the cartons of eggs downstairs and accidentally dropped two of them. 

Not all pictured here survived the fall.

Till next time,

The Saga of D.C. {Part 1}

I apologize for dropping off the face of the earth at this crucial time - I really do. Life's been hectic ever since I got back from DC on the 19th from work, to my brand, spankin' new laptop malfunctioning on me (the little traitor...), to piles of junk everywhere that need to be tossed, stowed or put away to itty, bitty things like sleeping and eating and Ultimate Frisbee. Also, I've been working on this post for four days and there are tons of photos to go through. I'm seeing some of them for the first time myself.

Anyway, here is  The Chronicle of Day One (I'll do some pictures too):

We started out at 3:30 am. Let me tell you that the last thing I wanted to do at 3:30 am was get out of my comfy bed and sit in a cramped car for hours on end, but such things have a way of becoming fun after you've propped your eyes open for a while.

We were stopping in Chicago on the way and drinking this horrible, horrible bottled chai tea (that company should be sued for mislabeling. It tasted like gasoline and burned on the way down.) and eating blueberry muffins and grapes. There's something really folksy and fun about eating in the car.

Here are a few pictures from Chicago a little after dawn: (I'm in the pink, my sister is purple, and my friend, who will show up at some time, is in teal. The guy is my brother)

Then we drove to Cleveland, Ohio, where we stopped at McDonalds:

And then, as die-hard fans, we couldn't leave without visiting the A Christmas Story museum! Yes, this is the actual house they used for the film and inside, after a brief intro by the tour guide, we were allowed to roam free and touch anything we wanted! Here's a glimpse into some of the fun...

I tried out the Official Red Ryder BB gun and did not shoot my eye out (though it wasn't loaded, so shooting anything out wouldn't have been an issue). Didn't notice whether or not it had a compass in the stock, though.



<-- my brother decoding the Little Orphan Annie
message.

Trying out the rotary phone. 

It does make that whir-click sound!

<-- Deciding whether or not to try the Lifebuoy soap. I've heard it can cause serious sight issues. 

Somehow we ended up with three guns for Christmas. Ah well, still got the blue bowling ball. That's what's really important to remember. I am feeling a bit defenseless though. Not sure what good a ball would do me in the case of extreme physical danger. 

Then we moved on to the er... road again, and headed to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. Now I am not much of a garden person - nay, not at all - but where the group went, I was obliged to follow (for various reasons. The most convincing being that I was stuck with them. =D)

Here are some snaps from there:

Japanese Tranquility Zen Pool. 

And girl.

Cuckoos in the nest

Then we decided, somehow un-unanimously, to spend the rest of the day in downtown Cleveland. Umm, yeah...It was a lot of walking for not much purpose and we didn't get to the waterfront due to an outbreak of mutiny.

Looking out to sea. (Cheated and got this in front of a lake...)

In front of the Rock and Roll Museum. We didn't go, not being fans ourselves.

After this, the aforementioned mutiny occurred and we saw no more of downtown Cleveland. I did however manage to snag this souvenir shot before the day officially ended.

So now with a general sense of well-being and the satisfaction of a job, well, done (I hope somebody gets that), I will now take my leave and we shall cover Day Two at a later date. Probably next June. I must refer to my journal for details anyway, but I believe we went to Gettysburg and Pittsburgh, PA. And somewhere in there the air conditioner gave out. 

Teasers abound!

Till next time!


All pictures belong to JocelynRose and may not be used or copied without permission.

P.S. To all who have entered the 2012 If You Give A Girl A Pen short story contest: September 1st draweth near! Polish up your entries and send them on in!
Thank you and good night.
*canned applause*