home for the holidays

Well, home for my Princess Charming. We see my parents plenty :)

no tree this year, but I do love our mantel!

night photography

I stink. I really need to get the hang of aperture. And try out a tripod. And maybe be more patient.

live, the moon was huge at the time

but not streaking to earth meteroid style

mercury? venus? no, its pin moon!

shockingly, "Portrait of Christmas in the Suburbs" was also a failure

a little Christmas baking

We decided to give gifts of food (who doesn't love some cookies. And poop on a stick. And spicy pretzels.) to our coworkers and some family this year.  A bit of our baking extravaganza (icing fabulousness mostly courtesy my sister in law)

just getting started packing things up!

the poop on a stick is amazing. serious. 

hellooooo royal icing

and q-tip decorated mini-men/women

typical sunday

naptime (he was asleep before i turned on the camera!)

so that Thanksgiving 5k...

27:45.
Just under a 9 min pace.  My first mile was crowded and I just couldn't pick it up enough to make up the difference. My 3rd was an 8:40 despite a huge hill at the end (though Garmin says it was only a 16 foot net ascent, so I guess I picked up some pace on the gradual downhill). Note to self: next year, start inappropriately far up in the pack if racing.

Overall it was good though, and my whole family did it. My mom was sort of convinced the clock was wrong since she finished over 5 minutes ahead of her hour minute goal.  And my dad took about 4 minutes off his time from last year. I think a 13 and change mile is pretty darn good for someone who started exercising, literally for the first time ever, at 57 years old and following a triple bypass.  My brother came in at around 34 minutes, also not bad for not working out ever. He was a little sore Friday though (teehee).

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Sounds weird, but really quite different and good!! I made them for two Thanksgiving dinners and they were a hit.  


Thanks to MrsT and MrsD for posting this one!


My only comment - they don't really change color in the oven, so keep a good eye on them! When firm, they're done! 


1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in to the pumpkin mixture. Add flour mixture and mix well. Add vanilla, and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm. Move to wire rack to cool completely.

the scary black dog

Earlier this week, Bailey and I took a jog on our usual two mile loop and ran into one of these folks. More specifically, her dog came to visit us.  Apparently he (also a Bailey) slipped his collar and came running down the street. I heard him approaching via the scuttling of the leaves - scared the crap out of me to be honest, since it was dark and I didn't know it was a 11 lb Boston terrier coming).  So little dog and my dog sniffed each other. Little dog peed in someone's yard. Bailey was jealous since he couldn't go far enough into the yard from his leash to pee over the spot. I finally got the owner's attention (she was 4 houses up the hill and seemed to think I was yelling for fun and her dog was still in her yard). She came to get him and nearly died when she saw them sniffing each other. Ok, so her dog was under my dog. But her dog was there by choice, sniffing my dog's junk!

her "oh my goodness"
me "haha i think they're ok, just saying hi"
her "blah blah you dog is surprisingly friendly"
me "um, yeah, he loves other dogs"
her "wow"

OK, so not the worst exchange ever but still annoyed me for the rest of the run.

Sure, my very medium black dog - he's only 45 lbs - is, well, black and a mutt of undistinguished heritage.

But he IS super friendly.

Likes: food, people, dogs, treats, running off leash, dog food, car rides, standing in the bay window, car rides with head out the window, cheese, food, petsmart, doggie day camp, the dog park, milkbones (see a theme here?), other dog's water bowls, nylabones, stuffed animals, my bed, kids, bicycles, cleaning plates, belly & ear rubs

Dislikes: stuffed animals with the stuffing intact, hot sauce, rain, walking slowly on leash, coming when called outside, anything the vet does near his hindquarters

Fears: thunder, storm drain grates, cars backfiring, fireworks

People need to learn that some dogs are mean, and some are not. You can't tell just by looking at them. That fluffy 15 lb cocker spaniel at my mom's is way more likely to bite you than my dog is (knock on wood of course, on all counts). And he smells better too.

really, he looks harmless anyway.