Susiej

We hear there’s snow up at the lake, so we’re off for the big toboggan run. I can hardly contain myself — I’m so eager to see if any of our friendly critters neighbors made it into our house, looking for a warm place to eating holes in the blankets rest. Rest. Let’s all rest.

I might pop in and out, but you just never know. So, I leave you with some great, interesting reads:
Brush up on your photography skills here. I hope you’ve signed up and are ready to go. If you don’t have a blog, that’s OK — you can still do this. The Angry Chicken is completely amazing. Every time I stop by, my jaw hangs open. And here’s a long tail to ponder. Scribbit, as always, is just on top of EVERYTHING. And here is a nicely done Gingerbread House. And congratulations to you, and thanks for the laughs! And I think her sock monkeys turned out very cool.

And yes, I believe we all want the same things, and rituals helps us get there, and maybe some of us just don’t have time to follow-through all year long. But we eventually arrive in the same place, with different paths.

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The note was so unexpected, and so flattering, that I carried it around in the back pocket of my jeans wherever I went. One day, during a school field trip, it poured down enough rain to stain my legs blue from my jeans. I remembered the note, and soon found the ink on the note bleeding down the card. The once crisp note of appreciation was now a soggy mess.

I still have the note — I can make out most of the words, even though it is now also yellowed with age. A casual phone call or e-mail of thanks is nice, but not a treasure. A personal handwritten note is so significant, and so rare today; it will likely be kept and stored in a desk drawer for years to come. Handwriting and mailing a thank you note will take you more time than hitting the send button for an email. However, it’s a small investment when you think of the time the giver spent selecting, choosing and purchasing your gift. Now that the gifts are unwrapped, here’s a little primer on writing thank you notes. Which, really is, a gift within itself.

First, here are some thank you notes, reprinted from the Saturday Evening Post; 1/14/1956, Vol. 228 Issue 29, p38-38, 1p.

1. Start with a supply of fun colorful stationery that you like. This will definitely make the task more pleasant, and something you might actually look forward to using. Yes, it is nice to have some made with your initials, but don’t let that stop you. Just get some cards! Avoid the swirl “thank you” – pick something plain and generic, as there will be some notes that you’ll want to send that will look silly with that big thank you on them. Use small cards – you note will be brief, and you don’t need all of that pressure of a blank page – it could give you writer’s block!! Post cards are perfectly acceptable too. Keep your stationery supply, and stamps, well stocked.
2. Handwrite your note – it doesn’t matter how poor your handwriting is. The written word is so rare today; your note will be a rare sight of beauty.
3. You say you can’t write? Any note that simply says thank you is better than no note at all. It’s just a matter of courtesy to let the giver know you received and appreciate the gift.
4. Check the spelling of the giver’s name before you start to write.
5. Make your note come alive by using present perfect tense. This means write the note as if it is happening right now. “I think of your kindness whenever I put those gloves on when I scrape the ice off the car windows in the morning.”
6. Name the gift in the note. State what the gift is, how much you like the gift, and how you will use the gift. Be specific about this. Here’s a great link for kids from Real Simple. It’s a fill-in-the-blank note.
7. When the gift is cash, refer to the gift as a “generous gift,” “your kindness” or “your generosity.” Always mention how you will spend the gift. If you are saving it for a special purchase, just say, this is going into my college fund, or down payment for the house. Never mention the amount, or use the word cash or check, or moola.
8. As with all good writing, use the word “you” more than “I”. Consider this famous quote: The six most important words: I admit I made a mistake. The five most important words: You did a good job. The four most important words: What is YOUR opinion? The three most important words: If you please. The two most important words: Thank You. The one most important word: We. The least important word: I.”
9. Mention the occasion for the gift, and then allude to the future. “It was so great to see you at Christmas, and I look forward to seeing you at the reunion this summer.”
10. Restate your thanks again at the closing of the letter.
11. Two gifts the same? Keep it a secret. Planning on returning the gift or exchanging it? Keep it to yourself. If you don’t like the gift, praise the giver for thinking of something so original, and for the time she spent. Also, make sure to let the person know how much you appreciate spending time with them.
12. If you have quite a few thank you notes to write, create a log with the name of the gift received, the date, and a place for when the thank you note was written and sent. This keeps you from feeling overwhelmed, and lets you work on just a few thank you notes at a time.
13. Thank you notes should be sent within two weeks of receiving the gift. Establish a rule in your home; we don’t use the gift until the thank you note is written. Make it a family policy that no toy will be played with until the thank you note is written. It’s true, that sending thank you notes is becoming a lost art. Thank you notes are a great way to creating a sense of consideration for other people.

Read how Tom Chiarella, of Esquire magazine, changed his world, one thank you note at a time.

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So, the cousins created their own Nativity. Of course, we didn’t have a baby in the house, so we used a turtle…

Sometimes, it’s best to leave the legos in the bags…

Wordless Wednesday

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Dear Friends,

I know you’ve been working so hard for the last month getting ready for Christmas Eve. Tonight, it is time to celebrate. Treat yourself, your guests, and your family to a Peppermint Ice Cream Sundae. After you get home from church, set your computer up to check on Santa via Norad, and get the cookies and carrots ready for Santa and his reindeer. Then, make this:

1. Crush candy canes with your rolling pin.
2. Scoop out two balls of ice cream
3. Drizzle with hot fudge
4. Sprinkle crushed candy canes on top.

Enjoy yourself. If you live close to me, stop by around 5:30.
Susiej

Check out more Christmas letters at Painted Maypole.

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It all started with a fire. A fire built well enough to shoot out bright orange flames fairly quickly, from a wet log, after that one initial spark. “I used to have to build a fire that would last us all night,” Grandpa said. “That was our only heat.”

Stressed all morning, I was desperate to find a way to make some kind of holiday connection with this house full of 6 men, spanning ages 4-67 before the looming December 24th deadline. I thought of the days ahead, leading up to Christmas – our house would soon be revolving door of people coming and going – food to prepare – more dishes to wash. I thought of all the Christmas books checked out from the library, many we had yet to read. There is no time for just sitting on the sofa with a pile of books with kids crammed in a line beside me. It was just a matter of time before we all huddled in front of the TV to watch the latest football game, with that chance for a Holiday Memory soon goon, all wrapped tight in NFL.

The boys, pulled in by the flames, gathered around to watch Grandpa artfully create the fire. Maybe what we need is a good “how-to” session to pull us together. I thought of the Daring Book for Girls, the Dangerous Book for Boys, something that would serve as a veil to fill in the void.

Instead of grabbing for the books, I listened as Grandpa kept talking about the one potbelly stove, his six brothers and sisters, and how they sometimes slept by the stove to stay warm. His Dad, the outdoors-man, taught him how to build the fire. Soon, the boys, all of them, ages four to 67, were rolling up balls of newspaper and hurling them into the fire.

The room began to warm, not only with the heat in the hearth, but also with the heat of camaraderie. “You want them tight, so they don’t fall off the grate while they’re burning. But you don’t want them too tight, because you want the heat to get out and dry the wet wood.”

The newspaper balls go on first, then a layer of kindling, which we didn’t have, and then the layers of wood. “That ball’s too big… but it’s turning out all right – it’s staying on.” We ran out of newspaper. The boys, much more interested in making and throwing the balls, were barely listening as Grandpa dropped tidbits about his boyhood.

I found a dime, and we started a game of hide the button, with a dime. That’s one game that somehow, miraculously, in its simplicity, always seems to connect everyone together. Soon, we had covered all the best spots in the room, and there was no place left to hide the dime. So, they started to hide the dime within the ornaments in the tree. That dime, nestled in the tree, was almost impossible to find. But it did bring one extra unexpected reward; It actually forced us to look at, and appreciate those ornaments we have not noticed since we splashed them all over the tree.

Every summer, we buy an ornament on vacation – so each one has a story. Now, standing side-by-side together, facing the tree, how could we help but to talk about each one we inspected for the dime?

One ornament, my Mom made for me when I was small, is a cleverly sewed pair of ice skates. Paperclips serve as the blades. The boys, similar to Grandpa’s boyhood talk, barely listened to my talk about this cleverly designed, “girly-craft.” I didn’t even bother to bring it up again during this playful reflective ornament time.

For this round of hide the button, we had a hint; “think of Mom.” What ornament isn’t connected to me? Finally we found it. Tucked into the boot of the ice skate, there was the dime, in the one ornament my son remembered as “think of Mom.” So maybe they do listen, more than I am aware.

There are so many Holiday Traditions that we do and do, just because we should. We do it with lack of soul, hoping that the repetition alone will somehow create the warmth in our heart we want from traditions. I’m just as guilty of that as the next one.

Instead, maybe you just need to start and fire, and see where it takes you.

Merry Christmas to all of you. Our house will be busy checking Santa throughout the day on Norad. Check out Tracey Clark’s new spot for BSM at Mother May I

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Cookies that she made

So much prettier than mine

One night I missed them

I cried and I wrote

I heard a knock at the door

I saw only these.

What’s your Christmas Miracle?

Haiku Friday.

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They say we only gain about 1-2 extra pounds each holiday season. The problem is, do we loose those extra pounds, or do we just accumulate them for next year? What’s the best way to lose weight?

Creamy, smooth beans, spiked with a dash of lemon and salt, are the best way I know to satisfy food cravings. This meal is fast and easy to make, meets the low-carb, high-protein diet that is so key today, while the creamy texture does make up for a lack of sugar and chocolate. My laptop is hot — I’ve been busy scanning the best scientific research to find the latest and greatest news on fat burning and weight loss. Here are 13 more ways to burn those calories and loose weight:

1. Eat Hot Pepper. Researchers from the American Chemical Society (2007, March 5) found the natural compound that makes red pepper hot, can reduce the growth of fat cells.
2. Eat more soy beans. When soy consumption goes up, weight loss goes down. Elvira de Mejia, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign believes soy contains anorectic peptides that signal a feeling of satiety as well as peptides that boost the metabolism. How Does Soy Promote Weight Loss?, (2007, May 6).
3. Skip the Diet Sodas. Does this really come as a surprise? Diet Soda is an oxymoron. Now research proves what I’ve suspected all along. Drinking Diet Sodas does make you fat. Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, reported this in abstract 1058-P at the 2005 annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego. No one can agree on why diet soft drinks do make you fatter, after all it is still only 99 percent water, but Ravi Dhingra, MD, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School, thinks that the high level of sweetness “may lead to conditioning for a greater preference for intake of sweetened items.” This does not mean it’s OK to drink non-diet soft drinks.
4. Walk to the store, take the stairs… We all strive to find the time to “get to the gym.” Sometimes we’re too busy to make it. You’re probably missing opportunities to burn calories all day long. Just look for them. All of that movement adds up. Don’t just walk. Walk faster!
5. Drink a warm glass of water with lemon each morning. Before you have your coffee, before you have your breakfast, drink this glass of warm water with Lemon. Lemons act as a blood sugar stabilizer to keep metabolism up and weight loss moving along. Sometimes I add a dash of cayenne pepper — see above. Also, the lemon and pepper are full of vitamin C, boosting my immune system against colds.
6. Drink ice cold water as your beverage of choice throughout the day. The cold water hits, and your body must work harder to warm you up; thus, burning more calories. Water is a great way to help you feel full all day long — an added benefit that will help you eat less.
7. Make your own meals. American adults buy a meal or snack from a restaurant 5.8 times a week, on average, according to the National Restaurant Association. Restaurants are not interested in your diet, and quest for healthy meals. Who knows how much butter they put in that soup? Put the control of your food back in your own hands.
8. Cook your vegetables in broth. The vegetables will taste much better, and you’ll need to add less butter for flavor.
9. Get enough rest. Research from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital found that when children didn’t get enough sleep, their risk for weight gain went up.
10. Eat all your meals — no skipping. Sipping meals, and going hungry really messes with your metabolism. When there is no food in your belly, your body reacts by slowing down your metabolism and creates fat — it’s trying to fatten you up to conserve energy for this long stretch of no food. When you start to eat again, your body’s metabolism is too slow to burn the food you’re eating. The result if more fat. Check our Dr. Weil’s post on fasting. Between meal snacks are important too. They can rev up your metabolism. Small high-protein snacks eaten more frequently throughout the day keep your metabolism running high, and help you burn calories.
11. Keep junk food out of your house. If HoHos are there, you’ll eat them. Turn smashed beans and recipes like this chickpea sandwich into your new snacks. Use carrots for dipping!
12. Make sure each snack and meal you eat has some protein. “Diets higher in protein [and] moderate in carbs, along with a lifestyle of regular exercise, have an excellent potential to help weight loss,” says University of Illinois protein researcher Donald Layman, PhD.
13. Eat Whole Grain Cereals. Research says, eating primarily barley and rye can keep your blood sugar levels in check all day. Especially for breakfast. The affect of eating whole grains in the morning can keep you blood sugar levels down for 10 hours. This is called a low GI breakfast:

The glycemic index goes from 0 to 100.
Pure glucose has a GI of 100.
High GI foods have an index which is higher than 70.
Low GI foods have an index which is less than 55.

Thursday 13

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Wordless Wednesday

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Many of you wanted to know the hows, whys, whens, and wheres of my new guest, Mr. Elf. I still can’t explain how he arrived, but, Painted Maypole, Mr. Elf has his own Missions, and I plan to keep him very busy over the next 7 days. So here’s my best shot at explaining what he’ll be doing:

Dear Elf,

Now that you’re here, there are some things you need to understand. First, this is a VERY BUSY household. I expect you to pull your weight, and I’ve created a to-do list for you to check everyday. I know you are cute as a button, but you are still, after all, an Elf. So, let’s get started.

1. 
   

   

   Please keep track of the Advent Calendars. I think I have about four of them in all shapes and sizes, none of them have the right date. Please, keep us organized.

2. 
   
   Guard this mixer at all costs. I don’t care what happens, do not let me attempt to make beautifully-decorated Christmas cookies. They will taste great, but they will never be as pretty as this wise girl. So, just to keep me from exploding into a fit of frustration over the next 7 days, keep me away from this mixer.
3. 
   
   Check the Christmas cards as they come in. Make sure that if any card comes in that is not on our list, that they get one ASAP.
4. 
   
   Keep us full of Christmas Cheer. Use the karaoke machine, and start singing some Christmas Carols. Get the children involved in a sing-a-long. Just make everybody HAPPY!
5. 
   Please, for the sake of the children, refrain yourself from taking rides on the ceiling fans. I know you are an Elf, and I know you are supposed to be a bit goofy. One boy here already thinks he is a full-blooded superhero, and thinks he should be taking rides too. So, please stop swinging on the ceiling fans.

I’m glad we’ve had this little talk. I know you will be leaving soon, and yes, I will probably miss you, and all your little tricks. But hopefully, our last few days before Christmas can be as stress-free as ever, thanks to your help.

Love,
Susiej

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This is the one that twirls through my mind when I hear the words Christmas party. I remember the room, which is meant to be the dining room. There is Tuscany-colored wall paper, with gold stars. Instead of a table, there is a pool table, and the “wall of fame.” Pictures of college chums; letters of acceptance; the first lire earned; pictures of notables and certificates. Each frame is gold, some are older, some are thin, and some are fat. But each frame is gold.

The transformed dining room is in the oblong room in the front of the house. A teak table, custom-designed, spans the 24 foot room. Cobalt blue lights swirl above the table in a single curved line. There are rustic chandeliers in every room of the first floor; each one wrought iron. Branches of evergreen lay atop each chandelier.

In the kitchen, there are faces, hands holding drinks, the brushed steel appliances, and off in the corner, there is a door. The door holds a voluptuous large crumpled red velvet bag – it looks as if Santa has dropped in and has left his bag hanging on the hook. This must be the last place on Earth. The last stop Santa will make tonight; and he’s here mingling in this crowd.

Food is passed on trays. Mulled wine is poured. There are no bartenders, no servers, we all help ourselves, and the host even serves as the coat checker. Two chocolate Labrador Retrievers roam the rooms, looking for pats, rubs and nibbles. I can’t remember the music; but if the song Let if Snow were a picture — this would be it. In the lower level are the baby grand piano, the sofas and the fire. Wherever your eyes roam, there are twinkling lights, bits of red velvet, and an abundance of Christmas cards, hanging on ribbons. Nothing here is contrived; everything falls into place as effortlessly as the way the snow falls and covers everything in soft cheery brightness. You begin to feel very small; as if someone bigger than you handled all the details tonight.

Since they moved home, across the pond, this party is the one I miss the most. Twice, I went with a baby brewing in my belly. One year, I even brought one baby along to nurse. In the pictures, I see now that I usually wore the same black furry sweater; I was never aware of this until now – something I didn’t plan. It was always so hard to leave this party. One night, with baby in belly, the snow started to fall, just as we were leaving.

In the silence of her absence, I can’t help but think I threw this friendship away. Busy with children, busy running to preschool, busy running errands. When I was on bed rest, she would stop by and take my dog for runs. What really was unfolding before me?

She tells me, now that they’re with their old friends, that they dance now. They pour champagne in their 18-century Monk’s home, cook dinners in their new Aga Range (which also serves as a furnace in their drafty kitchen) and they turn up the music very loud, and they dance like they did before they had children. I keep replaying this image in my mind. Maybe we’ll try it without them.

Sunday Scribblings

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“I see stars.” What they say Dom Perignon said when he first tasted champagne.