Falling over for a visit

So...yeah. Adventures in Being Me and Adventures in Being Married have run fast and furious throughout the year of Taking Action. It hasn't all been good, and it hasn't all been bad. But at least there's never a dull moment...?

Since, at the moment, I'm fatigued by the not-so-good, I'm going to take a few minutes and share the good with you. Never hurts to have the reminder, right?

- For a few months now, we have been fostering a clutch of three orange tabby kittens we discovered in our front yard. We were worried they'd be under a car at the wrong time...so we wrangled them into our back yard and have been feeding and caring for them since. At some point, we will probably have to adopt two of them out – but they're still young and we want to get them fixed first.

We have a boy and two girls, which we haven't officially named, but are instead calling "Boy," "Girl," and "Little," or Small, Medium, and Large. Should I ever again find my camera cable, you will get to squee at the cuteness.

- I have had the crochet bug this year and, holy crap, actually finished another project! It's the Wavy Blanky by Stephie, a San Antonio knitter, and I completely adored it. It now lives (or almost does) with Bryan's cousin and her five-month-old son, for whose use it is intended. Again, camera cable --> loveliness.

- We moved up the road about 10 minutes in July, and are now renting a house that is about 50 years newer than the previous one. It's a world of difference, and we're getting a bit spoiled...but hey, we deserve it, right? Best of all, we have already managed to have guests and gatherings, which I consider requisite for a house to be a home.

In other news...have I taken action? Well, yes. I never feel that I get quite as far on my goals as I like, but progress is progress. Somewhat unbeknownst to him, Bryan has joined in on Taking Action and is actually ahead of me.

I'm here at the moment because I have a weekend to myself with no specific plans. But I have my usual ton of ideas knocking around, and haven't given up on the idea of moving them forward.

There is always much more I want to do and not enough time/energy/resources to do it all at once. I definitely want to get back to this blogging thing, but as the BFF pointed out the other day, it's important to know your limitations, and I do. So I'm not overpromising to anyone, myself included – I'm just keeping things in my pocket until someone hands me that Round Tuit and I can really get going.

So how has your year been? Did you pick a theme, and has it guided you? How have you Taken Action?

Forward

If you've been following me for any length of time, it probably won't surprise you to discover (or to be reminded) that New Year's is my favorite holiday. This *does* seem to surprise some folk, though – usually those most enamored of Halloween, Thanksgiving, or the Big C.

Not to down any of the others, but since I was a kid, the New Year has had a huge appeal to me. While I'm very traditional in some ways, and the themes of my life (wordsmithing, kitchen magic, craftiness) tend to remain the same, I also like to always be moving forward, to discard what's no longer working and forge ahead into new, exciting things.

I'll admit that's a tendency that's refining itself over time. Old habits do, indeed, die hard, and baggage (both material and otherwise) is often hard to lighten or throw away. I've seen this and struggled with it over many years, and most certainly throughout 2009.

Still, despite losing momentum, I'm looking back at the year and realizing that, in fact, I did keep with my theme of Motivation. Sometimes (frequently, in fact) it was a baby step, sometimes several. A couple of times it was a great leap forward. And still others, it was a good hard shove (sometimes REALLY hard) from the Universe.

So how did it turn out? Let's see: I found my knit-mojo. I leapt back into the kitchen with gusto. I started dancing again. I'm getting my house in order, literally. I'm eating vastly better. I'm paying attention to and getting care for all my medical issues.

I'd definitely say all this belongs in the WIN column. And that surprises me a little, because there were several times I thought that Motivation was out of reach. But something I remember from reading others who have chosen a Word (or Theme) of the Year is that often, your Word will express itself in ways you didn't expect. That's turned out to be true, despite the fact that I originally refused to embrace it.

2010 gets a bit of a different approach. I've chosen a new theme (instead of a single word), and while I know some of the plans I already have, I'm fully prepared to accept that I won't see all that's coming, and that what I want or need might change. I also know that there will probably come a time when I regret being that open. :)

But, for better or worse, here it is. My Theme of the Year for 2010 is: Taking Action.

I can't wait to see how it takes shape. Want to join me? If you decide to choose a theme, I'd love to hear about it. In the meantime - Happy New Year, and may 2010 be your best year ever.

The spirit

If you didn't believe in Christmas miracles before, perhaps you will now: Hello! I'm out of hiding and only mildly insane from the season.

It's been a far nuttier year than I would have expected, sturdily punctuated by a November largely lost to illness, doctors, hospitals, and recovery. While I'll do my best to avoid TMI, I have a few conditions that have played off each other and created a perfect storm – nothing life-threatening, but certainly leaving me low on quality of life. Round 1: get the top-level, potentially dangerous things in line; round 2: a procedure to take care of a major root problem.*

So, following two hospital stays and a total of three weeks off work, you may be glad to know I've more than leveled out – I'm doing exceptionally well, better than I've felt in a while. Things that I'd started to accept as part of my daily life are disappearing rapidly, in a good way. My mom and Bryan have been even more wonderful than usual; my mom stayed with me at the hospital and drove me to a host of appointments. It was nicer than ever to have someone around who knows how to wrangle medical care.

***

And so life, work, and all the rest rolls on. I'm knitting on a single project, mostly just for the knitting. I'm spending quite a bit more time in the kitchen, which really makes me happy. I'll be trying a new quick-bread recipe in the next couple of days, as well as my good old standby pumpkin bread. I even took some Meyer lemons offered by a coworker and made a gorgeous sorbet!

Really, there's just a whole lot of happy going on for me right now. Not perky, bouncing-off-the-walls happy, but mellow, love-my-family, enjoying-every-day happy. I think I like that better.

Thanks to losing November, it took me a while to even absorb that we'd come to the holidays. But I'm with it now! We're doing it low-key, but it will be lovely. I've had a nice spirit about the whole thing...that same pleasant, mellow feeling. Mostly because I've already received more gifts than I could have dreamed: my family and friends top the list; my health is a really close second.

Yep, the sap in me is still around, too. Driving back from a lunchtime shopping trip today, I took a high overpass from the Sam Houston Tollway onto I-45 and got a beautifully clear view of the Houston skyline – the kind that makes me catch my breath and think, for all its flaws, how much I love my city, and how grateful I am to call it home.

I'm grateful for you, too. :) Merry Christmas and/or happy Winter Holiday of Your Choice...you may even see me again before the New Year!


* It's a Mayo Clinic link that explains the procedure, if you're interested; nothing gross, but don't feel obligated to click.

What's cookin'

...is not as much as I'd hoped. It's been a hell of a month, you see; the health stuff is not so bad, but there has been a LOT of work insanity, and the big work thing is still to come. As such...and to no one's surprise, I'm sure...the weekliness of my weekly projects went off the rails.

Not to say that I've given up, mind you. Just last Sunday, I turned out a chocolate cake with dulce de leche filling and whipped ganache icing. (I'm not sure if it was an excuse to use my new Williams-Sonoma 8" round pans, or the other way around.) If you're keeping score: both gooey things were utterly fabulous, but the cake itself needed some work. Not to worry...it will happen.

I'm writing this from (just near) Fort Worth, my fourth trip in as many months. Not sure if I am Mohammed or the mountain, but either way, a girl can't do without her best friends, and must therefore visit them whenever she can. I got to spend a lovely evening with my favorite tall, blond, and handsome gentleman - the one who turns five at the end of this month, and who decided, to his parents' amusement and slight chagrin, to behave like a perfect angel while he was in my sole supervision.

Not much else to report, except this. In case you were one of the few mostly-sane fiber-type people left who did not think that the Yarn Harlot is the awesomest awesome that ever awesomed...well. To each their own tastes, and I wouldn't condemn anyone for a difference of opinion (so long as you are civil about it) - but before you make your final judgment, read this.

Those friends I mentioned? I'd just like them to know that, for the job of work that being one of my BFFs can be, I hope they know that I feel the same way about them. Thanks, y'all.

Inauspicious

When I told you, nearly two weeks ago, that there were big things on the horizon for me...well, I couldn't have imagined what all of them were. And sure enough, a lot of really great things have already happened.

What's not so great is that many of them have happened despite, or because of, what is best called an unfortunate discovery. I'm suddenly looking at some medical issues - not life-threatening, but definitely serious - and (for reasons I shouldn't go into) I am finding myself in search of a doctor.

But back to the good - I have, as ever, a fabulous husband, fantastic parents, amazing friends, and a really great job. All of this plays into the situation quite thoroughly, in ways I should have expected. I have referrals and appointments, I have insurance...and most importantly, I have support.

I'm not yet sure if I'll be fully disclosing my issue on the internets, and even if I do, I will most likely not give a play-by-play. What I do know is that if such a thing were going to come up, I'm one of the most fortunate people in the world to whom it could happen. When I come up with a way to pay it forward to others who don't, I may be letting y'all (all four of you, now) know.
***

In re: my last post, I had only a single taker. You know who you are. :) And in the interest of being true to my word, I'll be contacting you about your reward soon.

***
Surprisingly enough, there is other news. The no-foolin' version of my Baking 52 is in swing. So far, for semi-obvious reasons, it's taken place on Saturday nights...and now that I'm really giving it thought and time, it's going pretty well. To wit:

- Week 1: Easy Pecan Praline* Bars, based on this recipe from AllRecipes.com. I had neither almonds nor brown sugar...so I substituted with pecans and white sugar, and added more vanilla and extra butter. I think I was expecting something chewier (which is how I prefer my caramelized sugar), but this turned out a bit crystallized on top.



Not to worry, though. The bars were very nice warm, and a HUGE hit with Bryan and our folks. I'll try it again to see what I get with brown sugar properly done, but also to get some more of those raves.

- Week 2: Chocolate chip cupcakes, inspired by (but not taken from) the Cake Mix Doctor's cupcake book. Since yesterday was decidedly a Good Day, I picked up some cake mixes (and brown sugar) at the grocery and went digging through the book. While I wasn't lacking for ingredients, I didn't want to get too complicated. And also, maybe, I wanted to display my kitchen improv prowess just a little.

So I took a yellow cake mix and added a bit of brown sugar, some chocolate chips and extra vanilla, and a couple of secret weapons. I'm also 99% sure I left out the vegetable oil.

The results?



Plain-looking, I know. But it doesn't seem to matter. They're practically perfect without icing - almost a creamy flavor that's sweet without overwhelming. And I'm not holding out on you, either. Just click on the photo if you'd like to see the recipe.

***
All in all, my life continues to surprise me, and no matter which way it turns, I'm still enjoying most everything. Which is not to say I wouldn't enjoy a little more calm now and then...

At least I'm starting to learn a bit not to plan quite as much. Besides, improvisation has always been my strong suit. Why not go with it?


* This is properly pronounced "peh-KAHN PRAY-leen," by the way. Because a "PEE-can" is what some people's dads made them use on road trips.