December 2011
57 posts
Resolution #3
Housekeeping: Tidying. 15 minutes a day.
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Resolution #2
The Liturgy of the Hours—especially Lauds and Vespers—will happen every. day.
Without fail.
(Well, OK, barring unconsciousness.)
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Resolution #1
Four nights a week, there shall be a cooked dinner. As in, cooked by me. At home.
2011 In Review
Happy New Year’s Eve, y’all!
And it’s time for the (first ever) Year in Review here at AGG:
January: Earnest went up and was reviewed; I made my first roast chicken
February: My Oscar predictions and how I did; I reviewed Armida at the Met (on DVD).
March: We had the first ablation: parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6; Lenten fasting was discussed; I fell in love with a...
Hmmm →
Maybe I should’ve been a teacher after all?
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Merry Christmas!
I hope all of you had a very wonderful Christmas day! Mine was rather quiet, as ours are wont to be over here, and that’s the way I like it. It’s the only day of the year when I don’t have to get out of my PJs unless I want to. :)
Breakfast was, as usual, glorious: cinnamon rolls and sausage links, yum. Look forward to that breakfast all year!
My brother got me The Help, so we...
Tidings of Comfort and Joy!
A Very Merry Christmas, everyone!
It’ll be sort of hit or miss over here for the next few days, what with Christmas and family and friends coming in…but I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
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Colly birds? Calling birds? What? →
What those 12 Days of Christmas may mean…
Yeah, I'm alive...
Whew. This week before Christmas is killing me.
It feels like it should be AT LEAST Wednesday. And it’s not.
Today we have our Office Christmas Lunch, which was generally fun. Then I came home to the delivery of a Christmas gift: a new bookshelf for my office, which is about 75% filled already…because I have THAT MANY BOOKS.
So culling has been happening. It’s ruthless now,...
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Simple Woman's Daybook--December 19, 2011
Outside my window… dark. Nothin’ to see here. :)
I am wearing…a lilac tank top and my Pitt sweatpants. Just got out of the shower.
Around the house…before I go to bed tonight: Vacuuming the main floor, cleaning the tub, and taking out the bathroom trash. Also making sure the kitchen is presentable.
In the CD player…Mannheim Steamroller Christmas.
I am...
One Thousand Gifts VI →
Being Thankful for All Things on Mondays
“Heat wave! This is my island in the sun!”
– Muppets Christmas Carol
“Scrooge: Let us deal with the eviction notices for tomorrow, Mr. Crachit.
Mr....”
– Muppets Christmas Carol
“No crust of bread for those in need/ no cheeses for us meeces!”
– Muppets Christmas Carol
“It’s even worse for mouses!”
– Muppets Christmas Carol
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Ah, Wizard...
Watching The Wizard of Oz. Because I love it.
And becaues it was on TNT last night, but I didn’t get to see all of it (I was at T’s and we were watching other movies), and my whistle twas wetted. :)
Some factoids:
MGM execs wanted to cut Over the Rainbow because they didn’t think it was dignified for Judy to be singing in a barnyard.
Billie Burke (Glinda) was married to...
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Beethoven Day!
Today is Beethoven’s birthday—and also Jane’s, btw… :)— so in that spirit, I give you my favorite Beethoven pieces.
The Moonlight Sonata: First piano piece I ever learned. My grandmother taught it to me on her Baldwin upright with ivory keys. That piano is a beauty. I never played the third movement—just the first and part of the second (most of the second is...
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Tuesdays Unwrapped II →
Thanks for hot water, scented water, soap, and compline.
“How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not...”
– Auden
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Emily Cooks: Slow-Roasted Tomato Soup
I love Tomato Soup. But, I don’t have a blender or an immersion stick or a food processor. So most of my tomato soup has been bought.
Until I read Gwyneth Paltrow’s My Father’s Daughter, which includes two recipes for slow-roasted tomato soup, one of them which requires no blending or processing!
So I made it tonight (for lunch tomorrow….and I ate the extra….man...
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One Thousand Gift Mondays →
The fifth weekly installment at CPG.
“It’s to keep all the great big chocolatey flavor inside!”
– Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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“Charlie Bucket was the luckiest boy in the world. He just didn’t know it...”
– Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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“Mary Margaret: It was just a one night stand.
Emma: Not according to those...”
– Once Upon A Time, “The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter”
“Because it was easy. And safe. Not feeling anything’s an attractive option...”
– Emma, Once Upon A Time, “The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter”
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“Henry came to find me. Graham kissed me. Both were miserable. Maybe, Madame...”
– Emma, Once Upon A Time, ” The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter”
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Weekend Rewind
Friday: Nutcracker night. I had a cold and no voice, but since I was providing the music for the party, I had to go—and one doesn’t talk a whole lot during the ballet. :)
I’ve reviewed Nutcracker before, but here are a few notes/yays/not so yays for ya:
DO NOT LEAVE BEFORE THE CURTAIN CALL IS OVER! Wow, this really irritates me. I see it SO OFTEN. People on the stage can see...
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My stars →
Orion was the first constellation I ever found (Even before the Big Dipper, which I only found last summer). As such, I consider it “my” constellation. Seeing it in the dark Winter sky is one of my favorite winter things. It makes many a cold, sharp evening much more beautiful, knowing that it’s there.
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What?! →
I have never understood this. Why would you want to be accepted to a school knowing you were accepted because you were a certain race or gender?
I remember a discussion we had in one of my freshman year classes about this. The prof (A black woman) asked if any of us supported this idea. I said no. She looked a little surprised, because I am, obviously, a girl. I said, “I want to be...
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My first omelet :)
Yes, friends, today I made my first omelet.
I am proud. :)
I”ve always been sort of scared of the idea of omelet—flipping!—but got over it I mean, what’s the worst that would happen, right?
So, here’s my omelet recipe, adapted from Samantha’s Cookbook (Yes, another American Girl Cookbook recipe!)
YOU NEED:
(This is for a small skillet)
3 eggs
salt and...
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The easiest Christmas baked good. Ever.
Really.
The only not-easy thing about these is the equipment: you need mini-muffin or mini-cheesecake pans. I suppose you could try it in regular muffin pans but that defeats the “brownie bites” name and the idea of cute little morsels. Plus, not sure how the timing would work.
This falls under the category of “Something I actually made/did after I pinned it on...
Tuesdays Unwrapped →
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Simple Woman's Daybook--December 5, 2011
I am wearing…a gray skirt, black boots, and a sapphire v-neck top, with my miraculous medal. Thankful for…well, you can go over here for that. :) From the kitchen…I have to make St. Lucia buns this weekend! But other than that, not sure. Reading…An Infinity of Little Hours In the CD player…Part I of Messiah Around the house…the tree is up so that’s good. Vacuuming, mopping, dusting,...
