Time is not on my side.

There is not enough time in the day. No, the evening, not enough time in the evening. I have a lot of time during the day, doing my job and wishing I could be somewhere else doing something I like doing. If only I could get paid to write and cook and bake and be funny. I have sooo much to do before Friday and I am running out of time. I am going to a "Gold" party on Friday, well it is an Open House for my friends Sarah, Ellen & Stacy and it also happens to be Sarah's Golden birthday. Wearing Gold to this party is a must! I have yet to find a truly outrageous outfit... I am on the hunt. Something wicked sick, like solid gold and glitter. I told Sarah to play some Solid Gold dance tunes, and I would bust a move for her. I am also bringing a special treat... but I can't say what because it is a surprise. So now I leave my job, in order to make this special treat and then off to be with friends. I am not complaining... oh no, I am not... I am blessed with friends and fun times. I have also been invited to join a book club and I still want to take Hebrew classes. Time management classes might not be a bad idea either. Actually, I might have all the time in the world, rumor has it that i might have to go on strike for my union. I don't know what this will mean for me or my job, what i do know is that, this is not a good time of year to not be working. Well it is, because I can get stuff done, but no $$... but like I said, it's only a rumor and I am not really worried about the money. Things like that have a way of always working out. It will be nice to not have to work, that i can't complain about! But I know it is hard for others who have families and need their jobs desperately. I will hope and pray for the best.
In the mean time, I am excited for I have a lot more fun activities happening this weekend... parties and pub crawls and great walls of china. I will blog it all in the future. And I was thinking, that i know that this time is a gift, maybe my life will be different someday and I will have my hands full with other things, kids and that sort of stuff. So I do not take this time for granted. I am enjoying every minute of it!
I had this idea to take one picture everyday from Dec. 1 to Dec. 25 symbolizing what Christmas means to me. Then I might put it on a slide show, or should I blog the new picture everyday? That is 25 days of strait blogging. Am I up for the task? Maybe I will post the picture everyday and then on Christmas have a slide show running! mmmm I like it.

The Rooster Lives!

I always know when the temperature gets really cold out, because my car makes the "rooster" noise. It is this strange phenomenon that happens when the temp dips into the teens and below. You would have to hear the noise, but it really sounds like a like a rooster crossed with a tea kettle. I think it's a fan that must get cold and then when I'm going down the road it gets really loud. I've had this car for 4 years, and the first time it happened i was really freaked out. Now, I just use it as a gage for the weather. Whoooooo Whooooo Whooooo...
Well my place is officially decorated for Christmas\Hanukkah... I have my 3 Christmas trees up and my menorah waiting to be lit. I found this fabulous electric menorah at Target last year with flickering blue bulbs.
This year I actually scaled down my decorating. I know, you are thinking, but she said she has 3 trees! Bear in mind that they are all under 4 feet tall. I did find a pink Christmas tree at Micheal's, because I wanted to copy this tree I saw on the cover of Blueprint magazine.

Can it be that Christmas is 29 days away? I am planning my time wisely. There are parties to go to, cookies to bake, presents to be wrapped, and church to attend. I love going to church during the Christmas season. Not because I feel that much more spiritual at Christmas time, but it's just a pleasant reminder of what Christmas is about. It is going to be a busy month. Why is there something magical about Christmas? Is there such thing as a Christmas Miracle? I believe.
I also believe in traveling. My dear silly friend Liz is getting married in February and I am going down to San Antonio TEXAS for the wedding. Liz and I met while we were teaching at the same school in China. We quickly hit it off and enjoyed crazy adventures amidst the streets of Beijing. The next year Liz and I travelled throughout Europe, having even more crazy adventures. I will have to post some funny pics of us eating the Eiffel Tower! it's funny. she is funny. we are funny together. Anyway, I need to book my ticket soon.... I have never been to Texas, so this will be BIG! Isn't everything BIGGER in TEXAS?

The Times are a Changin'

On the front page of the Star Tribune today there is an article about my hometown elementary school. I went to Watertown-Mayer Elementary from first grade through sixth grade, and then off to the high school I went 7th-12th grade. Anyway, this article is about the brand new elementary school they just built. I guess the security there is top notch, the best around.
Here is the link to read more about it, if you are so inclined: http://www.startribune.com/west/story/1572425.html

I am just amazed and maybe feeling a little old, because Watertown has a population of about 3,000 now, and even there in a small farm town, security is a huge priority. Don't get me wrong, i believe security is needed these days, but I am just still a little surprised that Watertown is in need of taking these measures. I work at a suburban middle school, and I am always amazed that even at this school the doors are always locked and a security card is needed to get clearance, and there is a police liaison in the building at all times.
I guess what I am saying is, that in my childhood, I lived so freely in my neighborhood and at school. I didn't have to worry about child predators and kidnappers. Not that it wasn't out there, but it wasn't a horrible concern, especially in a small town. Kids these days have worries that i never even considered. It's a strange world.
Well a new Fort Knox elementary school now stands, and in town there is a building, built in 1911 that sits empty. What will become of my former elementary school? I hope they don't tear it down, that place holds too many memories. Running down the halls, choir and gym class, the little crappy library in the basement. But the best part was the theatre. It is such a beautiful theatre, with red velvet seats and red velvet curtains, and wonderful balcony. I wonder how many choir concerts i sang at in that theatre? How many talent shows and square dances did I participate in? Even in high school all our school plays were held there. I've acted on that stage many many times... what great memories. If they do tear it down, I will be first in line for one of those red velvet chairs!
I AM getting old!

We got snacks now...

Some of my favorite quotes come from the movie, Good Will Hunting. I love it and not only is it a good movie, with good quotes, but you gotta love the Boston accents. Reminds me of my BFF Rachel and her family, who hail from southern Massachusetts... wicked smaht!
You like apples? Well I got her numbah, how you like them apples!

Here are two dynamite recipes from our thanksgiving meal.

Apple and Sausage Corn Bread Stuffing
serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS
2 (8.5 ounce) packages dry corn muffin mix
1 pound turkey sausage
1 Granny Smith apple - peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 slices white bread, cut into cubes
1 cup chicken stock
1 egg beaten
salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS
Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions. Cool and crumble.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside.
In a large skillet over medium heat, slowly cook and stir the mushrooms, celery, onion and garlic until soft.
In a large bowl, mix the crumbled prepared corn muffin mix, sausage, mushroom mixture, apple, bread, chicken stock, egg, salt and pepper.
Transfer the mixture to a medium baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 45 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Cranberry Sauce With Orange, Rosemary & Pomegranate
Serves 6 to 8;

Make this bright, zingy sauce a day or two ahead; the flavors will only improve.
1 (12-oz.) pkg. fresh cranberries picked over and rinsed
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tsps. minced fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest
1 Pomegranate, seeds removed and saved.

1. Bring the cranberries, sugar, orange juice and rosemary to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 minute. (Some berries will have popped and some will remain whole.) Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the zest.
2. Cover and let cool to room temperature, add pomegranate seeds, then cover and refrigerate. 3. Return to room temperature before serving.

Christmas Cadbury Eggs???

I woke up early so I could run some errands before heading out to my parent's house. While i was at Walgreens, shopping the Christmas isle, there in the candy section was the unthinkable! A Christmas Cadbury Egg!!! You know the kind, with the egg shaped chocolate shell and the white\yellow gooey inside. The kind you can only find at Easter time! Ok, let's get one thing strait, I love Cadbury Eggs, love em' to death. But the fun thing about them, is that I can only have them once a year, thus making me want them more! And now here they are at Christmas. I just don't know how i feel about it. Maybe a little bittersweet. But now I am afraid they will start making Cadbury Eggs for all the Holidays! Then how will I be able to look forward to them? I'm nervous now. Maybe I should write the Cadbury Company a letter? I also have a little secret. My ex boyfriend, used to buy a ton of cadbury eggs for me, and hide them in his room. Then on a special occasion, he would magically present one to me. I figured he had a few saved somewhere, but not a whole drawer full. One day when i was in his room, and i'm sure if you ask him he will say I was snooping, but really I was looking for something else, and then there they were. I felt guilty for finding out his secret stash, so I never told him I knew. I'm almost certain he doesn't read this blog, but if he did happen to read this entry, sorry about finding the eggs.
I still wonder what he did with all those eggs? I hope he just threw them out, cause I don't want my eggs going to some other chick! :)

Thanks for the Memories...

Yesterday... what a day. Kelly and I not only survived but triumphed over our first Thanksgiving Meal. I arrived bright and early at the Vlach's to get the turkey in the oven. The day before I stuffed it with lemons, oranges, onions, garlic, rosemary, oregano & sage. Then i gave it a rub down with a mixture of herbs. So Thursday morn it was ready to be popped into the oven. And while that was being done I went back home and put the stuffing in the oven and made my final preparation before heading back over to the Vlach's. Good thing we only live 8 miles apart! So kelly, kyle and i spent the rest of the time, getting the other foods warmed up and ready to go when my parents got to their house. When we were in CUB the other day, Kelly saw this great idea for a pineapple and thus became our centerpiece. The food was on the table and we gave thanks and ate right at 2:00. Everything tasted delicious! Kelly and I really did pull it off, and really it was so nice to make a meal for others. Deliciously Simple! Afterwards we enjoyed playing a rousing game of Catch Phrase, while Kelly and I perused the store adds. Later after my parents left, Kelly and I crashed on her couch, almost comatose, not so much from the food, but from just the preparation. Kyle later came in and tried to get us motivated to see a movie, but no such luck. Earlier in the week we had thought we might go visit our grandma in the hospital, but she wasn't feeling up for visitors that day. But looking back, I don't know if Kelly and I would've even survived a trip to St. Cloud!
Anyway, since a movie was out, kelly decided she was ready to try her first bloody mary, so off to Champps it was. The three of us sat and talked, had a night cap and ate waffle fries. But both Kelly and i thought that there was just something missing from our day: CHOCOLATE! A brownie ice cream sundae was our choice and it didn't take too long to inhale that as well! And right when we thought our night was coming to a close, Kyle got paged to a local hospital. And seeing that he couldn't take us back and then go to the hospital, we taged along. He set us up in a nice little waiting room, where Kelly and i comfortably paged through magazines and watched Mean Girls. Finally, as kelly and I now both almost sleeping, Kyle came and collected us, and back to the Vlach's we went. And like Kelly said, this is the time in our lives to do things like this, soon there will be children and schedules, and not so much time to just go out for a late night rendezvous. She is very right. I am thankful for fun moments with my cousins, family and friends. I am also thankful for all the good things God has done for me throughout this year. I am blessed over and over.
Tonight I will decorate and watch a Christmas movie, one of many I watch up until Christmas. With the final movie being my all time favorite, It's a Wonderful Life. But now, after early power shopping with my mom, on this "Black Friday" (kelly and i thought people were referring to the stock market crash of the 20's... ooops), now I am ready to take a nap!
Thanksgiving blessings to all my faithful readers. I am thankful for you too!

On Star to the Rescue!

I had this whole day planned out. Visions of early CUB foods shopping and thanksgiving cooking dancing in my head. I even woke up singing, "It's CUBalicious, I be over in the meat just looking for some fishes." ( I like fergie songs, with a twist)
It was going to be a great day, no work, just putzing around getting ready for tomorrow. But sometimes your best laid out plans just don't work out. Life is general can be a lot like that. You plan your course, set sail, head north and then a storm comes, spins you around and before you know it you're heading south. That definitely seems to be the theme in my life. But I tend to look at it like this, Ok maybe I had my heart set on North, but God must have something better for me in the South...
Today, I slept in until 8:30, and when you are used to getting up at 5:30... 8:30 is definitely sleeping in. I wanted to get to CUB early before the chaos began, and then set home to cook and spend the rest of my day relaxing. No such luck. I went out to my car and my battery was completely dead. So I thought, OK, I will just have to ask someone to give it a jump. And as I got out of my car, I noticed that my hood was slightly open. Then I had a sneaking suspicion that something was very wrong. I opened my hood and Viola, NO BATTERY! Well, someone stole my battery and that's the way the story goes. I filed a police report, but what more could i do? I wasn't going to stress, cause what good would that do, besides I figured someone would help me out. Enter ON STAR to the Rescue! Kelly graciously drove me to Walmart for a battery and then to CUB for the ingredients I needed. Later that night Kyle stopped by to help install the battery... and I was on my way. Them Vlachs, they are good people! Now all the food is made, the stuffing, cranberries and the turkey is dressed. It all just needs to be popped into the oven tomorrow. I am exhausted. I took a shower and soon I will sleep and sleep.
I was a bit down today for a moment, just sad because of my limitations. But I am thankful to God that he provides the means and takes good care of me. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful, and yes sir, that i am. Peace and Blessings!

Operation BIG BIRD: Complete.

After one very long day at work, and I mean very long, I went on my somewhat merry way to go get my turkey. I weaved through the shores of lake Minnetonka to make it to Lakewinds Food Co-op. Lakewinds started as a small organic health foods store that my mom has been going to for years. Now, Lakewinds has grown and expanded to other locations, but their mission to bring healthy organic food to the people is still what they stand for. Anyway, I picked up my beautifully plump 15 lb bird and headed for home. And now the turkey is resting peacefully in my fridge. Tomorrow will begin the all out process of preparing for Thursday. If you read my cousin Kelly's blog she hilariously goes into the joys of being first time thanksgiving hosts. She says it best, so read it people! I will be making orange\pomegranate\rosemary cranberries, corn bread apple sausage stuffing (or as my brother calls it: Bread Dressing) and Spinach-Cheese Swirls for an appetizer. And of course, the turkey. Which will be a Turkey with Herbes de Provence and Citrus. I know it may sound fancy, but we french can use snobby words for very simple things. But not only will we be good french hosts with floofy sounding foods, Kelly and I are both native american (Chippewa as a matter of fact) so this is our contribution to feed the pilgrims (my parents).

But before all the preparations and the cooking, tonight i am just going to veg out. What does Julia Roberts say in Pretty Woman? Be still like vegetables. Lay like broccoli.

I made some shrimp and rice that was pretty darn good and spicy! Now... Now I rest, cause the next few days will be a whirlwind! Giga-waabamin! (goodbye in Chippewa)

Blog Already!

That was a message from my cousin Kelly today, "Blog Already". Where to begin? I have had one mama-jama long week! I knew I would going into it, but now that I have a moment to stop and catch my breath, it really was a long busy week.
Highlights included: Dinner at Jeanelle's on Tuesday. The best tasting ham ever! Thanks Jeanelle! Wednesday night gossip girl turkey session with Kelly. I knew Chuck was going to give Blair the necklace! Thursday, dinner and fellowship with the ladies at Bonnie's place. Meeting Amanda and I like her already cause she had cupcakes for us! The way to my heart is through cupcakes! mmmm...
Friday, well Friday was a super go go go day. After work I rushed to Lakewinds Food Co-op to place an order on a big fat fresh organic turkey. Kelly and I were content with cooking a 9 pounder, but my mom insisted on at least 18! But she's paying for it, so I doth not protest. So I literally ran into Lakewinds, to the front counter and I stammered slightly out of breath, "Is it too late to get my turkey order in?" I think I was expecting a crabby old lady with an evil eye, waiting to take her stamp that reads DENIED and slam it down on my order form. But instead a kind lady took my form, assured me that she was going to put it with the other forms. I guess I'm just really worried that I will go to pick up my bird and they will have no record of my request. It's stressful enough to be a first time turkey maker! My mom's friends invited them over for thanksgiving, but my mom politely declined and told them she would be with me and that I was making a turkey for the first time. Her friend said, You're putting your money on a first time turkey maker over me who has years of turkey experience? Apparently my mom has faith in me. I am confident that I will do just fine. I can do all things through Julia Child who gives me strength. Oh wow, was that just totally blasphemous to say? Well I guess I prefer to worship a God who has a sense of humor.
After my turkey order, I rushed over to Edina to meet Kelly and Kyle for a movie. We saw Lars and The Real Girl. I really love this movie. It's just beautiful and touching and funny all rolled into one. RUN don't walk to see it! And if all that fun wasn't enough, I went back to the East Side to meet up with Ellen. We had dinner at Chili's, drank some 'ritas and talked forever. I promise you Ellen that I will see Lars with you!
Saturday I awoke early to hit the Macy's door busters. On a mission to get a $5.98 roasting pan. Guess who got the last one! Yeah you know it! Two minutes later I saw a bevy of soccer moms standing around the empty display all looking rather disappointed. So I avoided that section of the store like the plague. I remember the cabbage patch doll fights of '84, I'm no fool! Nobody's taking my roaster away from me! Word to your mother.
After all that I headed out to my parents place to help them move back into the house, unpack boxes and get them settled in. They just all seem so happy to be back in their own place! Later that night I met up with Shannon for dinner and a movie. We saw Fred Claus, only so so, but mildly entertaining. Shannon and I were extremely grossed out by Santa's sausage sized fingers! EW! Later, I crashed on Shannon's couch and Sunday morning I went back out to my parents to help do more unpacking.
I am now home. It was nice to walk in and throw down my stuff, wave hello to my bed and crash on the couch. When I don't sleep in my own bed, I have this silly thing i do, when I finally see my bed, I always say, "MY BED!" My bed treats me well and I love it dearly!
I am now having a moment to catch my breath to relax and do nothing but catch up on The Office from Thursday and munch on my new favorite Wasabi Crackers with Laughing Cow cheese spread. Kelly got me hooked on both!

So as you can see this HAS been a long, fruitful and fun week, not including my job... PUKE and no comment.
Ellen and I were talking the other night and I was telling her how my family has very strong hermit tendencies. We like to be home-bodies and eventually a tad bit reclusive. Ellen said, "But not you and Kelly!" I had to laugh out loud. I cannot speak for Kelly, but she has her hermit ways, and I definitely do as well. However, I am blessed with friends, and my own company can get pretty old. I am a work in progress. I can rise up like a phoenix among the hermits.
I would like to continue to sit on my couch and chill for the rest of the night, but I have been summoned for dinner at the Vlach's... Kyle shot a pheasant and he wants to cook it up. Kelly made muffins and I don't want to pass that up. I only have to work 2 days this week (praise God!) and soon I can decorate for Christmas. This will be another busy week, but bountiful and I am already thankful for so much, and it's not even Thanksgiving Day. Gobble Gobble.

"S", My Name is Sabrina, and I like...

There is this new theory I read about in the newest issue of Newsweek, about how there is a "name-letter preference". Scientists believe that you gravitate towards things, good or bad, that start with your initial. They used the example of Ken Griffey Jr having so many strike-outs "K's", apparently lots of baseball players with the name that starts with a K, have a higher strike-out rate. I don't know how true this is for me, let's see... I drive a Subaru, I like Spicy food at Sawatdee. One of my favorite cities is Sevilla, Spain and I like the store Sephora. WOW!!! Let's see how I do for bad things, I hate Snakes and driving in Snowstorms, I've had my purse Stolen 2 times, and I periodically have to get Stitches in my head. This is amazing! Of course what if your name was Xavier, I guess you must love Xylophones and maybe you break lots of bones, cause you have to get X-rays a lot!


Wait a minute, my blog's name is Superfluous. Amazing

Yocky Yocky!

I have plans to go out tonight, so the likely hood of making this squash recipe below is pretty slim. However, I will make this in the near future and sit and indulge. A note on squash: When I was a wee girl, I really didn't like squash, or any vegetable for that matter. But since I was a compliant child until the age of 12, I just went along with what my mom made for dinner, and didn't say a peep. Well one night, maybe around the age of 8, and a squash night too, I sat there swirling and mashing my squash into oblivion, wishing I could have something else to eat. "Why must I eat this gross squash", I thought to myself, "It tastes like crap and smells funny too!" So in one triumphal move, I raised my fist to the sky and in a loud voice I chanted, "YOCKY, YOCKY!" Not Yucky, but Yocky! Maybe I thought by saying "yocky" I had found the loop hole out of punishment. Yucky is not something you say to your mother's cooking, but maybe yocky would make a statement, without getting disciplined? So as I was pumping my fist in the air yelling Yocky Yocky, my brother joined in, and together we had our own version of Mutiny on the Bounty, or Mutiny on the Squash I guess.... Needless to say, my mom didn't find it too amusing.
Now I love squash, no rebellious cries any longer. But once in awhile my brother and I will be eating and we will look at each other and declare, "Yocky, Yocky" just for giggles...

ROASTED ACORN SQUASH WITH CHILE VINAIGRETTE
2 (1 1/2 - to 1 3/4-lb) acorn squash
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh hot red chile, including seeds
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450°F. Halve squash lengthwise, then cut off and discard stem ends. Scoop out seeds and cut squash lengthwise into 3/4-inch-wide wedges. Toss squash with black pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a bowl, then arrange, cut sides down, in 2 large shallow baking pans. Roast squash, switching position of pans halfway through roasting, until squash is tender and undersides of wedges are golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes.While squash roasts, mince garlic and mash to a paste with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Transfer paste to a small bowl and whisk in lime juice, chile (to taste), cilantro, and remaining 1/4 cup oil until combined. Transfer squash, browned sides up, to a platter and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Purple Fish

Yesterday on my most favorite day of rest, I went about cleaning and watching the Food Network for tips, turkey tips really, but I will get to that later. I rested yesterday, Sundays are good for that. My kitchen got a thorough scrubbing down, and after all that I thought, I should cook in my sparkly clean kitchen. I had Talapia that needed to be eaten and a pretty little summer squash that i needed to cook up. And in the door of my fridge, wedged between tomato paste and horseradish was a sad looking half of an onion that was just begging to be eaten. It's as if it was saying, "Pick Me, Pick Me!"... So in the saute pan went the onions in some olive oil and then some garlic, because when don't i cook with garlic! Then went the sunshine yellow summer squash. I sauteed them with the onions and garlic, salt & pepper & parsley & my can't live without red pepper flakes. I removed the squash when they were done. And to get the little bits off the bottom, i added some red wine, just a little drizzle, and a bit of butter. I placed the talapia fillets into the pan and the wine turned my fish purple! It was a strange site to behold and i wish I would've taken a picture. I've never eaten purple fish, and although they looked a little scary, they tasted wonderful. I served them up on top of the yellow squash... and then it was a Vikings meal on my plate! Too bad the Vikings SUCK! But don't get me started...


This week is jammed packed every night from Monday until Sunday, and then I will rest.
Wednesday Kelly and I will be having our Thanksgiving Dinner Super Power Summit. I had the brilliant idea a few weeks ago to host Thanksgiving. And then Kelly volunteered her home to accommodate the dysFUNction. So together we will be preparing the feasts of all thanksgiving feasts, sans green bean casserole! Which speaking of GBC, i was just telling my mom the other day, "Mom, we are making a healthy yet deliciously simple gourmet meal, with NO green bean casserole." That night, my mom said to my dad, "Sabrina and Kelly are doing Thanksgiving." My dad said "I don't care where we go, I just want some green bean casserole." OH PUKE DAD! I think we will be making him his own portion in a ramekin.

Wednesday night, the recipes will be chosen and the meal will be planned. The big question is the turkey. Neither kelly or I have ever made a turkey. But I have been reading up on it, and getting lots of tips... lots and lots of tips. Turkey will be my middle name when I am through with this holiday!

Did you know that on the original Charlie's Angels there was a Sabrina and a Kelly? Kate Jackson was Sabrina and Jaclyn Smith was Kelly. Farrah Fawcett was Jill, and since we have no Jill, Kyle can be her. I always thought Kyle would make a good Farah Fawcett... hmmmm...

Feasts A'Plenty...

Do you ever have one of those nights where it just isn't pleasant? You just feel off and nothing seems right in your life. And as you go to bed, you think "Tomorrow has got to be better than this, Please let it be better than this." Well Friday night was like that for me. I won't go into details, but let's just say it wasn't the most happiest nights of my life. Thank God for fresh starts in the morning. I've come to believe that 99.97% of my woes can be solved with just a simple nights sleep. Funny how perspectives can change in a 7-8 hour time frame.

Saturday I woke up and headed out to Here's Life Inner City. It is a program that was set-up to bring food and a message of God's love to people on major holidays. "Boxes of Love" are put together with a complete Thanksgiving meal for a family. A group of my friends and I went to volunteer there for the morning. We had a great morning, getting the boxes ready and making bracelets. The bracelets share the gospel message of how God loves us, through different color beads. Here is the website link to Here's Life Inner City to read more about what they do: http://www.hlictwincities.org/index.cfm

While we were there, Sarah brought along her friend Karrie. Karrie and I used to go to college together in Rochester, 11 years ago! It was so fun to catch up with Karrie. She is just as sweet as she was when we were in school. It is so cool to get re-connected from friends from ages ago. I am amazed at all the people I have been meeting and getting re-acquainted with this year. It is a blessing to have so many amazing people in my life! After we finished making boxes, we headed over to Sarah, Ellen's and Stacy's home to eat a delicious chili lunch! Sarah went all out, cooking the night before for all of us. A few more people came over and we had a little party. The chili was spicy and delicious, and all the other food was amazing too. I ate until i just couldn't eat anymore. I didn't have my camera or I would've taken pictures! I always say, few things could be better than good food and good friends!

And if that wasn't enough food and friends for the day, I went home to get ready for another fabulous meal. My cousin Kelly put together a dinner party, with a friends theme. She invited 3 friends, Heather, Tabitha(Kelly's Tabitha; I have to clarify because people always get that confused, cause I have a Tabitha too) and myself and in turn we were to invite a friend. Kelly invited Toni, Tabitha invited Crystal, Heather invited Lana, and I invited Ellen. So 8 lovely ladies enjoyed good, NO, AMAZING food and conversation. Her house looked beautiful as always, and her table setting was tre chic! Kelly will explain all the names and recipes of her meals on her blog, but here are a few pictures of the courses:

When I left last night, I made my way home and got ready for bed, and as I climbed into bed, I said my prayers... and I thanked God not only for delicious food and amazing friends, but that today was indeed a better day, and oh how truly blessed I am!

And on a completely different note that has nothing to do with blessings... I hardly get chances to dress up for parties. So because I was invited by Kelly to her chic dinner party, I decided to wear my best Blair outfit from the show Gossip Girl, a new favorite of Kelly's. If you haven't seen or heard of Gossip Girl, it is a show about young people living the glamorous life in New York's Upper East Side. One of the main characters is Blair Waldorf and she is very glam-preppy. She can usually be seen wearing cute dresses and her signature headband. This show is total smut, but the clothes are great to look at... So I put together my own version of a Blair outfit just for Kelly! And as Nothing But Bonfires does with her outfits, she always says where she got the piece of clothing or accessories. Like her, my clothes are very inexpensive, so what if they don't have New York's Upper East Side prices, better yet, they have St. Paul's Upper East Side style!

Dress: Target, Sweater: Sears, Shoes & Headband: Walmart, Clutch Purse: Thrift Store.

The Ranch is Rockin'

Back in July my parent's house had a fire. Lightening struck while they were away. And although the neighbors were able to call the fire department in time, and they were able to contain the fire; the whole upstairs had to be gutted.

So the past few months my parents have been working hard to get the house ready to move back into. But while they were at it, they decided to some major upgrades. First being the flooring. We ALWAYS had carpet in both houses my parents built. I really am not a huge carpet fan, but my mom loves the stuff. So to my complete shock my mom opted to just do carpeting only in the sunken living room and her bedroom! The rest is this beautiful hardwood that her and my dad and a friend of theirs installed.

The house also has a new fireplace stone wall:

New counter tops:

And in the basement to keep with the whole western theme, my parent's refurbished barn wood from their neighbor Earl's 100 year old barn.

They have worked so hard to get the house finished by the holidays. Next week they will move in, just in time for Thanksgiving. House fires are never fun, but as my mom said as me, my mom and dad and brother were driving together, "I have everything I need right here in this car."

The things we would tell ourselves...

I like this whole blogging thing, but i like reading other people's blogs better. Some people just have the words, some people actually get them down for others to read. I've just read two great blogs. People i don't even know, but I read their blogs religiously now. I've only recently found them and I am inspired to be a better writer, not to be famous, but to maybe touch a few hearts as they and others have touched mine. Two blogs I read are Gluten Free Girl, this one brought me to tears a few days ago: http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2007/11/coming-home.html
and then I am reading Nothing But Bonfires (thanks Rach, for enlightening me) this post, made me cry too.. (the tears were good tears mind you, not the sad kind, much better good then sad!)
They may be silly little stories of love and loss and love again, but they are beautiful. I am a silly cry baby girl sometimes. What do I care?
Nothing but Bonfires was talking about what we would tell ourselves if we could go back.
For example, if I could go back to high school, I would go back to the girl I was at 17 and tell her to slow down, to try and not be in such a hurry to grow up. To enjoy the moments and the never-ending laughter. That silly high school crushes aren't the end of it all, and that boy you liked for 3 years, you actually remained friends with all these years later. I would say Sabrina, enjoy these moments, because being an adult has it's freedoms, but not the freedoms that you have now.
Maybe I would go back to myself at 20... On my way to New Hampshire to begin a new phase of life. Oh but I was so sad and heartbroken. Having to say goodbye to your first real love can be devastatingly hard. The tears, the agony. But you made it ok, you had one of the best years, good and bad of your life! You really did!
The things i could say to myself if i could just only go back. The tears aren't forever. The pain will go away, and soon you will be ok!
But you can't go back can you? There is no time machine. There is no rewind button. But you can go forward. You can learn from all the experiences that have shaped you and you can choose. Choose to live life or choose to let life live you. Learn from your mistakes, your heartbreaks, your oops i did it again moments! But learn from the loving and the laughter and the beauty of ordinary happy moments. Take it all in, and know that in the end, You will be ok. You will, you will, you will! God is good and grace is enough.
Which reminds me of some words i wrote in may fake poem book many years ago. it's a fake poem book because i don't know if my poems qualify as real poetry. some do, but i don't think this one does. I wrote this after a sad break-up with a boy a bunch of years, maybe 3 now? ago. I can't believe i'm going to actually write it out... if i don't melt from embarrassment i may write some more of my poems down in the future. but don't hold your breath.

this is me and the story of
moving on. how does that work? does
the clock strike the time and you pick your
head-up and pick your tissues up and rub the smudge of
mascara a bit messy but nonetheless battle wounds
for the showing. turn the morose music off angry music too
and put on that dance record. maybe walk to the coffee book
shop store. maybe laugh out loud LOUD to prove that
you still can. maybe even dance to that dance record
mentioned earlier. jump up and down with shades up
and then you stop the hang up phone calls and the late
night drive-bys you don't have to forget the memories because
you know you can't. but you don't re-read the letters you don't
entertain the thoughts you can cry but soon less and less and less and less.
you come to the end of your day you realize you only had one, maybe two
thoughts about him. and that is ok because honestly silly girl how many thoughts
did he have of you.
plus don't forget this
you will love again
and chances are
you will be loved
again too
more more more
you will you will
you will.

We have ESPN!

My cousin Kelly and I have this strange thing going on. It's as if there are moments when our brains have melted into one and our actions and thoughts mirror each others. At first it was amusing, now it's getting a bit creepy. We are related, we share the same grandparent's, great grandparents and so on and so forth. But I am not like this with Aunt Barbie or Uncle Todd or Cousin Chris. Somehow over the years Kelly and I have begun to think a lot alike, or just know what the other person is doing or is needing. For example I made a bumper sticker for Kelly that says, Should=Shame=Puke. And at the same time Kelly was making a bumper sticker for me that says, Should=Shame=Puke! We did not tell each other we were doing this, we just did it. The other day I had a hunch that Kelly may be enjoying her favorite Bruegger's Bagel Combo of Pumpkin spread on a cinnamon crunch bagel. I texted her, joking that she was probably in the middle of feasting on her bagel. Sure enough, She was! There are all sorts of little things like that... The other day, I was craving these wasabi crisp crackers. Crunchy and spicy and makes your nose tingle from all the wasabi. As I was going to lunch, i sent Kelly an email saying that i was off to lunch... but all I really wanted was the wasabi crackers. And of course, why should I be surprised, Kelly had bought me a bag that morning!
So I have no clue why we are this way... my one suspicion is that they tried to make us be the same person, when they made us dress alike growing up... you tell me!

Just Click Your Heels Three Times...

I didn't plan on spending my weekend shopping... I just don't have the funds for such luxuries, but when my mom asked me to shop with her on Saturday, how could I say no? I didn't buy anything, but it was fun to spend time with my mom. Which is really funny that i can say that now. When I was a teenager, I don't think we liked each other a whole lot. I had a constant attitude, and my mom had no desire to put up with it. But thankfully, we get a long just fine now. My mom even gave me money to get my hair done. Typically, I am fine going to Fantastic Sams, but awhile back my mom treated me to a cut and color at a nice salon, and the lady did an amazing job. I'm not saying I'm hooked, but if my mom wants to help me out, I'm not saying no either. I was thinking of the Katie Holmes cut, but i am realizing just how attached to my long hair I really am. If I had a picture I could download, you would see me about 7 years ago when I cut all my hair off. I'd say at one point it was about 1-2 inches long. It was not a pretty sight, and i looked like a boy. Man it was UGLY! I was so traumatized that I vowed to grow it out and never cut it again. Of course, as I look at what styles the ladies are wearing these days, typically I don't see a lot of long curly hair out there. Mostly, I am realizing how out of place my hair looks when I am with my friends and others. Even my BFF Rachel who always had long curly hair, now wears is strait and chin length. She looks amazing... so I am curious if i could pull it off too? Maybe my hair fits my personality? I always feel a little on the oddball side, not necessarily out of place, but not necessarily cool. But then again, at 30 I am very much past the stage of trying to be cool. I am just trying to be me, and that is the best i can do.

Can you believe that it is almost a new year? What an interesting year this has been. I can't even begin to explain the things that have taken place in my life, sadness mingled with joy... but all very transforming. I wonder if God knew what he was doing? I think He did! Sometimes it takes a little nudge from God and sometimes it takes a huge shove to get me going in the right direction. But like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I too, had it in me the whole time.

How can it be?

On my way to meet Shannon for dinner, I stopped into some of my favorite shops in Linden Hills. I was hoping to score some Halloween decoration deals, but to my surprise, everything was CHRISTMAS! How can it be? Halloween is barely over and Thanksgiving still has a few more weeks to make an appearance. Don't get me wrong I love Christmas, love it! Everything about it, I take great delight in it. I anticipate Christmas all year long, and as it inches forward, I feel it, I really do! My mission today was Halloween, but I broke down, how could I not? At the Garden Room there was Christmas music and ornaments and Christmas cookies! I couldn't resist... So i bought one tinsy little Christmas decoration, a trinket really. But oh, it was surely calling my name... I heard it! I did! I did complete my mission though, because I went to Target and bought a Halloween bowl. Now i have to wait a year to use it. That is the down-side of after the holiday deals. The stuff you buy for the holiday itself is over and done with. So in a box it all goes.

Eventually, I did meet up with Shannon. We met at Joe Sensor's so we could gorge on waffle fries and play trivia until it was time to go to the movie. I can't reiterate enough how completely goofy we get when we are together. Nothing has changed. People look and stare because we can't stop laughing. It was the same in high school. If we had a class together, and we had many, practically everyday we would hear, "Girls, Please Stop!!", from our teachers. But oh it's not our fault, we just can't help ourselves! I pray that we are still laughing like this at 70!

So we ate waffle fries and played trivia, and for fun I wore this thing in my mouth that made my teeth light up... it was crazy and funny... pictures can't do it justice! Shannon and i eventually went and saw Dan in Real Life. I liked it a lot. Steve Carell is a keeper!

BOSTON BLOWOUT!

I really like the Red Sox, not as much as the Twins, but I really do like them. Of course I used to live in New Hampshire, so that helps. I'm glad the Sox swept the Rockies. I don't feel bad. My cousin lives in Denver and I still don't feel bad. However, I was reading the newest issue of Sporting News and on the cover it says: BOSTON BLOWOUT!! Funnily, it looks like Jonathan Papelbon is having a blowout of his own! I almost want to super-impose a toilet under him! I kills myself sometimes!