vanessa.oxygenvalve.com

Hi! I am not dead, just distracted. It always seems to happen around the holidays, but perhaps more so this year. All I can say is, SORRY! Anyway… You’ll have to excuse the crap-tastic photo; I forgot my good camera at my parents house a few weeks ago, and must wait until they bring it next time they visit (which is thankfully next weekend).

This tiny dish contains the last bits of the THIRD batch of candied pecans I made. I think I made at least 7lb of nuts in total this year! They made fantastic gifts and just about everybody asked for the recipe. I can’t take full credit for it because I found it on allrecipes.com, but I added a little bit of my own twist. Instead of plain old white sugar, I used organic sugar. It has a slight molassesey flavor to it that I like. I also added a splash of vanilla to the egg white mixture because vanilla is awesome. All other directions were the same.

1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 pound pecan halves
1 cup *organic sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
*1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I guessed on this measurement)

Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Grease one baking sheet.
In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white, water and vanilla until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.

I leave you with a photo of the “Humping Santa” as I affectionately called him. He appears to be doing something highly inappropriate to that snowman, or maybe I just have a sick mind. Hope your holidays were wonderful! See you again in the new year. :)

As I write this, I’m cooking up some sugar coated pecans in the oven… My take on the “Consumables Christmas” inspired by Kris. Except I’m in a panic because I’m trying to make a bunch of them before I go down to NJ tomorrow afternoon. You see, this year we’re having Christmas with the in-laws. Which means that I have to have all my family’s gifts ready tomorrow!! I am sorely ill-prepared for the trip, made worse by the fact that I’ve had shit to do nearly every night this week — tonight included. Last night, Mike and I trudged thru Toys R’ Us, glassy-eyed and bewildered; trying to find something for my nieces and nephew. UGH! Let’s calculate, shall we, the time I have to:

1. Make and pack the pecans
2. Wrap the kids’ presents
3. Find something to give my parents
4. Do some laundry (we’re out of socks/underwear)
5. Pack
6. Find my sanity

Factoring in that I have a reunion happy-hour thing with some old co-workers at 5, and then Sayokan at 8, I’m pretty much screwed. We’re supposed to leave after I get home from work tomorrow at 1. I highly doubt that’s going to happen. Plus, I dragged out my Christmas tree and decorations last night, and they will continue to sit on my den floor until next week when I have a moment to breathe. Did I mention I love Christmas!? I just have to keep thinking, “SERENITY NOW!” It’ll be my mantra from now until after New Year’s. Guess I really shouldn’t be sitting on my ass typing a blog post right now…

What about you guys? Are you feeling stretched too thin this Holiday season?

Last night Mike and I were supposed to decorate the Christmas tree. Actually, it was Mike’s idea. This is the first year he’s actually taken interest in the holiday decorating, so who am I to argue! We turned on the Christmas music, had our dinner, vacuumed the area where the tree is going, and I poured us both some eggnog. Gathering our thoughts, we sat on the couch and contemplated our plan of attack for setting up the tree.

Perhaps it was the eggnog or the soothing sounds of The Reindeer Room, but we drifted asleep and didn’t get a bleeding thing done! We woke up hours later (around 12am) and poor Mike had spilled half the eggnog he was still holding onto his crotch. Luckily, mine was empty and on the coffee table. There’s still time to do it tonight or later this weekend — as long as we don’t have a repeat of last night.

After returning from working in Chicago last week, I’m finding it extremely difficult to get back to speed with everything. And now I’m expected to get into the holiday cheer. I suppose it would be easier if I had my Christmas tree all decorated and what-not, but that requires me to dig out all the stuff from the basement… and it feels like it was just yesterday I put away the Halloween decor (I still have one box to put away). Plus, from now until what seems like January, our weekends are pretty much booked up with parties and family get-togethers. I’m not complaining; I LOVE holiday parties (cookies and eggnog), but I barely have enough time to really catch my breath. Holiday cards need to be sent — I totally dropped the ball on those last year, so I’m even doubly pressured to get them out this year. Gifts need to be purchased, and in some cases, shipped. Christmas is supposed to be a time of reflection and faith renewal — at least it is in my family. It’s easy to get caught up in the consumerism and the hustle & bustle of preparation. I’m just looking for ways to get through it all without having some neurotic breakdown. How are you guys dealing with the pressures of the season? Somehow, I need to find some quiet time to be away from the computer, away from the chores, and carve out a peaceful head-space to put things into perspective. Any ideas?

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I enjoy the act of wrapping, but the bag is good in a pinch.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial. However, I’d like to get real ones after the current tree is retired which won’t be for a long time.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Some time after Thanksgiving. It depends on timing.

4. When do you take the tree down?
One year I left the tree up well into February—mostly out of laziness. Now, I take it down in early January.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Brandy, and sweet Christmasy cream. Need I say more.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Butterball: my jointed baby-doll.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes: a pretty vintage number my mom found at an antique shop.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
My mother: the woman who has absolutely EVERYTHING!

9. Easiest person to buy for?
Mike, he likes toys. :)

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
I hate sending Christmas cards, but I do it anyway. Although, I haven’t done it YET!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A re-gift from someone in my family. It actually still had a “To, From” tag on it from the previous gifter!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
“Elf” or “Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas” (I’ve never seen “It’s a Wonderful Life”)

13. When do start shopping for Christmas?
It varies by my level of laziness for the year.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Yes, but it was for a White Elephant Gift Exchange

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Dad’s Pfeffernuesse cookies.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
We have blue LED lights on the tree.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Top 3 in no particular order: “Little Drummer Boy” by Bing Crosby and David Bowie, Jimmy Buffet’s “Mele Kalikimaka” and “Maybe this Christmas” by Ron Sexsmith

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
We’ve traveled for many years, but I think the new tradition is staying at home.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeers?
Yes. Don’t make me write them out.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
A pretty lit star that is a royal pain in the but to get on the tree.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Why wait till Christmas Day?

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
The people driving around major shopping areas; they give me road rage.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
All colors!! I’m not a fan of the “themed tree” thing.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Linguine with clam sauce!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
A severed Yeti Head.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday! We certainly enjoyed ourselves (and some of us still are. You suck.) My mother has perfected the fine art of spoiling; we got everything we could have asked for and more. Here’s a short-short list of what we got: I got the cowboy boots I’ve been dreaming of, Mike got the MST3K set he wanted (B-movie glory), and WE got a friggin ROOMBA! Oh sweet Roomba — the vacuuming robot. *swoon* I didn’t even ask for it. Now I can kick back and enjoy a refreshing Hendrix and tonic while it does all the work. Muahahahah!

It also wouldn’t be Christmas without the ritualistic gorging of oneself on cookies, snacks, dips, candies, dinner, etc. until your clothes don’t fit. Either my ass just expanded or I shrunk my jeans, because the scale doesn’t reflect a higher weight. ‘Tis one of those Holiday mysteries. And it doesn’t make me feel any better when my wonderful — yet tactless — grandmother exclaims, “Yeah, it looks like you’ve gained a few pounds.”

Christmas rarely passes without a minor setback or two. First, I had to miss Christmas Day with my family for the first time, but I had a lovely family dinner with the in-laws. Second, several of our gifts had to be returned because of improper fitting. But now we have the cash to buy what we want — and I’d hardly call that a bad thing.

But now I’ve returned to work, and Mike — that lucky bastard — is sitting at home playing games with his friend, Grant. Of course, there’s hardly anybody at the office, but unfortunately there’s work to be done. I really hate that week between Christmas and New Years; your mind frolics in vacation land, but you’re forced to endure a couple of measly days at work between long weekends. At least I have New Year’s to look forward to. :)

I won’t make any empty promises, but I’d like to post some highlight pics of the weekend before the end of the week. Stay tuned.

The holiday weekend was one of the best yet, very little traffic anywhere we went, good food, and great company, all without a hitch. In lieu of that, here’s my New year’s resolution #1: lose the 7 pounds I gained gorging myself on cookies, cheese, wine, and the like. Yikes!

Now, I have to share with you something that happened over the weekend that I’m not likely to soon forget. On sunday, we went to my sister-in-law Mo’s house for dinner. Mo is a cook, and much to my thighs’ dismay, she’s really good at it. Anyway, Mike’s nephew Eddie was there, and since I’m about as juvenile as a 10 year old, I spent most of my time hanging out with the other kids instead of making small talk with the adults. Yeah, I know, I have a Peter Pan complex. Eddie and I were joking around, and I started tickling him. In the throes of tickleage, he blurted out, “I HOPE YOU GET PREGNANT!” as if to threaten me!!!! He could have said anything, but he said THAT… and I immediately backed off. He delved into my brain, took the most horrible thing I can imagine right now, and threw it back at me! I didn’t know what to do. I tried to let it slide, but I heard that phrase burning in my ears all evening. Those who heard him say it, were a little shocked, and he couldn’t understand what he said wrong. I know he didn’t say it to freak me out or get me mad, and I wasn’t mad, but it certainly got me to stop tickling him.

Here’s a picture of me and His Wierdness Edwardo moments before “the incident.” Scary huh?