The Adventure

Well, I think I've finally lost count of which day of the adventure we're on, but lets catch up on the last few days, shall we?
*We've been having lots of fun with music, dancing and silliness...

*Its beginning to look like all we've done on my trip is cooking! The past few days we've made another batch of pretzels (they were such a hit), biscuits, brownies, pancakes (s'more, chocolate and peanut butter), sweet potato quesedillas, guacamole, and leftsa. I think we might make some homemade marshmallows this afternoon too, once everyone gets back from cross-country skiing. *We went ice skating last night which was tons of fun and then went to see a movie afterward. Hopefully I can get some of the skating pictures from Dawn since I left my camera in the car :(

The Adveture Day 3

Wow, is it already day 3? It seems like much longer than that (in a good way ;) ) Today sped by, I'm not sure where it went to so quickly, but here are a few moments to share with you(plus a few from yesterday)...

{Dawn and Mrs. Gehlhar}
{a walk in the snow}

{this morning on a whim we decided to make pretzels, and they were delicious! I'm definitely going to have to take the recipe home with me}

{while the pretzel dough was rising, Dawn, Michael and I went to pick up a few things at Target. It was nice to ride in Emmett again, although I promised them I'm not helping with the driving until there is no more snow in sight!}
{home again to finish the pretzels...we had fun experimenting a bit to discover if boling them was really necessary in the middle of baking...the consensus was that it made the butter stay on the outside, rather than just being absorbed into the dough during the baking process - just in case any one was interested in knowing that...}
{as soon as the pretzels came out of the oven, we headed down to Red Wing, the town the Gehlhar clan grew up in. We dropped Dawn off to visit an old friend and then I got to go see their old house etc. Afterwards we all went and had dinner with their aunt, uncle and cousins}
{the cousins joined us for games with some other close friends of both families. I discovered a new game that I really like..."In a Pickle" I think its definitely one I'll have to find when I get home. By way of explaining the picture...as we came up to the front door there was a box filled with all kinds of Christmas hats and elf shoes, along with a welcome sign requesting that everyone pick a hat before coming it ;) }

The Adventure Day 2

WARNING: Before the following picture surprises you too much, check for any new information on facebook ;)

The Adventure Day 1

*Dawny-girl getting ready to play in the snow :)

*Phase 10

The Little One

I am so going to miss this little darling while I'm on my adventure! She's already grown so much in the short time I've had her - I can't imagine how much she'll have changed in the ten days I'll be gone.

Meowy Christmas!!!

{"This whole Christmas thing is lots of fun..."}
{"Where's my gift???"}
{"Muhaha, little kitty with big scissors, you better watch out..."}

Christmas Pt. 4 - Views from a Tuesday Evening

{Matthew, Mrs. Malcolm and I}

{hot chocolate and a warm fire are never to be turned down ;) }{Hana}

My first violin teacher, Lisa Malcolm, has always held a special place in my heart. Between Matthew and I, one or other of us was taking lessons from her for about twelve years, so she has known us as we've grown up alongside her own girls. This year she invited many of her old students to return for a chili supper, Christmas music, visiting and playing at a nursing home together. There were only a few there who we knew (and many of Mrs. Malcolm's "old" students who came and left after we did - that makes me feel old), but by far the most exciting to see was Hana. We had a wonderful time chatting, reliving old jokes and favorite memories as well as catching up on our current lives.

Christmas Pt. 3

{gingerbread cake...it ended up getting slightly burned in the end :( Can you see our tree in the background? We're making progress - Mom and Dad ended up deciding to put it mere feet away from the spot I've been lobbying for it to go for the past four years...maybe next year ;)}
Wow, and I thought that somehow things would slow down before Christmas once I was done with school and teaching??? Of course they haven't, instead I've been busy with lots of fun things - half of which I realized I can't post the pictures of yet because they have Christmas gifts in the background! Despite that, my posts for the next few weeks will probably mostly consist of pictures, for you see, the day after Christmas I will be heading out on an adventure to Minnesota, which should last a good ten days if all goes as planned. Just so yall can be sure that this Southerner is surviving the cold, and so you can all share a bit in the adventure, I'm intending to try to post pictures while I'm away. :) (Hmm, maybe that needs to be my new year's goal: following through on my intentions. The amount of teasing I've endured for it recently makes me wonder if its become more of a problem than my rather preoccupied brain is capable of observing ;) )

Ponderings and a small lecture to myself...

--- How can one thing throw your internal rhythm so far off kilter? Intellectually I know that this is nothing unusual. If it were not this, it would be something else. Every time in life that you finally reach some place of equilibrium, something will come along for you to struggle with, adjust to or accept. And this is okay - its what keeps life interesting. The key is all in perspective. If you look at it as a bother and an interruption then it will be one. If you choose to see it as an adventure - one of the many small "detours" that make up our lives - and relax, letting the current carry you along, then you will be able to embrace life. It's your choice. What will you do with it? ---

"Whatever you do is what shall be."

Christmas Pt. 2

{peppermint mocha is my favorite Christmas drink from Starbucks}

And on a random note, this picture was taken as part of something I've been working on over the past few weeks - a daily self portrait. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them or if anyone else will ever even see them, but it has helped me to be aware of the little moments that make up my day.

Christmas season in my world

Several weeks ago I read a blog post by a young mom about what makes up the Christmas season in their home and it got me thinking about what things make it feel like December to me. There are certain things that are tradition in our family for this time of year and some of these are included in my idea of quintessential Christmas, but other things seem to be important only to myself and therefore will probably not happen unless I make an effort to work them into the busy days of December. With this in mind, I thought that over the next few weeks I would share some snippets with you of the Christmas season in my world.
{candles create the perfect Christmas ambiance in my mind, especially when combined with one of my new favorite Christmas CDs - Christmas from the Heart (David Archuleta) and Christmas in New England}

I drove past Starbucks today, a fairly common happening, but this particular one brought back a lot of memories since I don't often pass it. The only time I have ever stopped there was on my way home from my interview at the library. I had just discovered my favorite summer drink - raspberry mocha frappuccino - and decided to stop and get some to celebrate getting the job. Looking back now its amazing to see how that day altered the course of my life. Not only have the people I've met by working at the library made a profound difference in who I am, but the conversations that have taken place in the work room and all the thinking time that has come to me with shelving have had a huge impact on the decisions I have made and the steps I have taken in life. I guess its all a reminder that you can never tell where your path will turn and what is at the end of it. That alone would have scared me in the past, but I'm learning to see it as an adventure and to enjoy the process of discovery along the way.

The rest of my weekend

So it turns out there was no reason for a stomach with butterflies this weekend ;) It was a wonderful few days filled with cooking, friends old and new, late nights, lots of talking, and music, not to mention getting my kitten! Now its back to normal life - teaching, homework, studying for finals and more sleep :)

My Weekend

'nough said.