365 A and B

I couldn't choose just one for the last day. I feel overwhelmed and sad and happy and like I don't exactly know what to do with myself now.

I really didn't think I'd make it. But, I did.

Now that I've done this 365 days in a row of one thing, of being disciplined, I plan to start some smaller projects. January will be goal number one.

I also hope I don't stop taking photos every day. I might take a break, but, I hope to get back to it, very soon. At least, that's how I feel right now.

Happy New Year!

364 - Neon

Let the New Year's celebration begin a little early this year.

363 Warm Glow

Only two photos remain. wow!

362 - Dream

2011. I eagerly await your arrival.

Just Watched: Shrek - Forever After

Eh, it was ok. I'm not sad I watched it, it was better, by far, than the 3rd one. I am glad the whole Shrek thing is over though. It had run its course for me.

361 - Cherished

Day 361 folks! I have only 4 photos left to shoot, edit and post. I find myself a little stressed about that. Stressed that I won't have this pressure on me to take a photo each day. Stressed about what to take these last 4 shots of. It feels like they should be significant shots in some way, but, I've got nothing. No inspiration right now. I have the whole holiday theme going, but that petered out. Ok, deep breath. On we go...

357 - 360 Christmas Weekend

And the rest of the daily shots from the weekend.

356 - Lighthouse

Stopped at Umpqua Lighthouse on our way through to my parents.

Makeover and Bloopers

I think it might be time for a makeover. A blog makeover. My goal is January 1. We'll see if I make it, since I just decided this yesterday and I have no idea what I am in for. I like this olde style blog that I'm using. Its familiar to me. I know how the inner workings, work. I've tried to learn, well sort of, the new style and I just don't 'get it'.

BooHoo! Poor me! So, I've decided to just jump in and so what if it sucks for awhile. I'll eventually learn stuff and/or just get used to the way it looks and settle. Its my stab at staving off Alzheimer's this month. Learning new stuff that is.

Here are few photos I took that didn't make the "daily" cut.

I liked the reindeer pulling this sleigh. "Reindeer??!? Where?" Yes, that's exactly why it didn't make the cut. The subject was too difficult to see.

I like this one, but, I liked the one I chose for this day better. (Oh, and PS - these pics are unedited.) I know! I already had one VERY similar to this one. Its just I love the steam from that vent and on this day it was so very pink in the sunrise. Its similarity to the previous photo was its downfall. I also love, love, love this one. But, on whatever day this was, I chose another. I must have loved the other one better. Was trying to get a new and more interesting on the lit street trees. I just couldn't get into it after I saw it on my computer screen. And, that's that.

355 - First day of Winter Sunrise

and most likely the last sunrise photo of 2010 - well, for me anyway.

354 - Snowman

A cute little snowman at a girl friend's home. He's adorable and I'm glad the photo (at least to me) portrays that a bit.

Wow folks! This is photo number 354. Eleven photos remain in my project 365. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that, now that it is upon me. ("Nigh" even.)

Do you have any favorites? Are there photos you thought just didn't fit the mood or convey real thought? I know I have all of those. When I look back, there are photos I see and think, "really?! what were you thinking!" Its true. For me at least. That there was more than one day when I just didn't wanna take another photo. I had no interest in it and no desire to seek out something interesting to photograph. Then there were other days when I tried my best and the photo still didn't rock. In that light, there are several, nay, many that I really am a teensy bit proud of.

I hope you enjoy the remaining eleven.

353 - Tree and Landscape

My mother-in-law's Christmas tree. And, my mother-in-law's painting, she is the artist. I love the feel of this photo. It feels sepia, but it isn't.

Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night!

352 - Red and Green

My sad little tree on my deck outside my office with the sad little ornaments all covered in rain.

Even with all that, I still love it! I call it my Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

351 - Christmas Ships

I've officially lived in Portland for longer than I've lived elsewhere in my life. That is a serious milestone. I've also now worked at my current job longer than I've not worked at my current job. Did that make sense? I started here when I was 20 and have worked here 21 years. Get it?

Anyway, I've gone to see the Christmas Ships in past years. It was never all that great an experience. You are outside, mostly likely in the cold and or rain and the ships sail on by. Yes, they are pretty and its easy to appreciate all the work these people do, but, the whole experience of watching the ships lasts about 10 minutes, tops. Oh, then you can wait until they finish their trip up the river, turn around and come back again, but, you get my meaning.

This year was different. I went with lovely, lovely friends. We prepared with adult warm beverages and coats, hats and gloves and a blanket for the ground. We went to the end of the line boat ramp. This is the place where the ships turn around and head back to the start of their parade route. We were smart enough to park a few blocks away and walk in. And we were glad we did because we arrived at the ramp to find cars double and triple parked everywhere. This place is obviously something people know about and plan well in advance. There was a group of people with a pop up tent, complete with side panels and a fire pit inside. We were simultaneously impressed and quite envious. Mister found us, what turned out to be the MOST amazing place to park our booties (it was a grassy knoll, just so you know). I ramble on and on, but it turns out that the boats don't just turn around and head back, they circle and circle and circle in this little wide spot in the river. They even interact with the watchers on shore. As you can maybe tell from the photo above, we were sitting in the exact spot the main boat chose to do that interacting. We were front and center.

It was a wonderful evening. We will definitely be going back again next year, maybe with our own pop up and firepit.

What fun free things are you doing this holiday season?

PS - I should maybe clarify, the above photo is of a boat all decked out in Christmas lights. Check out the link above, if you want.

350 - The Gift of the Season

Gift wrapping. I suck at it, but I love it. Even the most mundane (albeit heartfelt) gift can be spectacular when in a gorgeously or fun wrapped gift. Its like teevee sitcoms - the reason you keep coming back is the "anticipation" of the two main characters and their amorous tensions or whatever the story line might be. The unwrapping, unraveling, taking away ribbons and layers of packaging one at at time, it can be very joyful. Ciao bellas!

Just Watched: Iron Man

The idea taken from Marvel Comics. I sort of thought this movie would be more kid-centric. It was, in my opinion, definitely an adult film. I'm not a big Robert Downy Jr. fan, but he was pretty well cast in the roll and his acting was spot on. I didn't care the the Pepper character played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Or maybe I just didn't care for GP in the roll. I'm not sure. Its like this, she's running (I use that term loosely) around at the end in stillettos to save the world and she still seems -- light. You know, 'not that deep'. Even though she has the chutzpah to stand up to the Tony Stark character earlier in the film. Maybe it was the writing or my mood or who knows, maybe I was just jealous of her outfits. Didn't care for her.

Moving on. Yes, we'll see the next one, some day and would recommend the movie to others - that includes you.

Who knows, maybe the Pepper character won't be quite to grating in the sequel.

347 - Sleigh Bells Ring, are you listening...

only slightly out of order. forgot to post this one. duh!

349 - Sleigh

Yet another holiday themed photo.

348 - Lit Up Tree

Lit up tree in our neighborhood. Photoshopped to within an inch of its life. Sometimes that's just what needs to happen.

Recipe - Muligatawny Soup

Wow! The color is bad in this photo. The soup was actually a nice soft, pretty and tasty looking yellow. You know, that turmeric yellow.

So, I saw a recipe for Mulligatawny Soup on the Pioneer Woman's website. It just looked and sounded delicious. I am a sucker for all things curry though, so that may have been a contributing factor. That combined with the fact that I usually peruse her site during my lunch time at which point I was probably hungry. I have my own slightly modified version of her soup which worked out super well for Mister and me, in that we don't go in for the dairy thing. Plus, I mean its curry, why would you use half and half when you can use coconut milk. Coconut milk and curry, well, its even more of a combination than chocolate and peanut butter. Am I wrong?

They say that if you change even one ingredient in a recipe, it now becomes yours. In that light, here's my version.

Mulligatawny Soup

• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes
• 1 apple (whatever you have, preferrably something crisp and tart) peeled and cubed
• 1 Tbsp Earthbalance Margarine (or butter)
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 (or more) cloves garlic chopped
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 32 oz chicken broth, warmed to a simmer and waiting in a pot on the back of the stove
• 1 can (14.5ish oz) lite coconut milk
• S&P
• Dash (or more) cayenne
• Sliced limes and chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Cube the chicken breast and season with salt & pepper. In a medium to large sized pot, saute the chicken in 1/2 Tbsp EB and 2 Tbsp olive oil until nice and browned. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

To the pot you just used, add the remaining 1/2 Tbsp EB and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Once that is nice and melty, add your onion and garlic and saute until just starting to soften and turn golden. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the flour turns a little golden. Add in the curry, garam masala and turmeric and saute that for another minute or so until its nice and aromatic.

Pour in the already warmed up chicken broth and stir it up really well. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and S&P to taste. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Add the chicken the apples and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the apples are al dente but not crisp. Actually, cook long enough for the apples to be to whatever level of cooked-ness you like them. You may like them completely soft, you may like them to have a little bit. Up to you.

This is where you taste the soup. Is it salty enough? How do you feel about adding in that cayenne? This is where I decided the flavor of the soup was good, but could use a little warmth - spicy warmth. I put in a few shakes stirred it in and let it sit on low for a good 8 minutes, stirring occassionally.

I served this in a bowl over a scoop of quinoa which I had cooked in chicken broth. At the table, we added the chopped cilantro and lime juice to our personal tastes.

Mister and I ate all we wanted the first night and ate it again last night for dinner. So, for two people, I think it was easily two meals with the quinoa. And, It was delicious!

346 - Snickerdoodles

I baked this weekend. And then I baked some more. Holy cow! Two, nearly entire, days of baking. Now, you know, I'm a baker, but, seriously, my feet! Anyway, these are the chai snickerdoodles I wrote about. They are delicious. They taste just like regular snickerdoodles. Good, but nothing all that different or special. I also baked the molasses spice cookies, blogged here. The dough, really sticky and not at all easy to work with, even after being in the fridge for a few days. When they baked up, they were soft and stayed soft. Mister, who doesn't particularly care for this type of cookie, actually liked them a lot. As did his mom.

345 - Toast the Season

No Christmas tree, but its all good. Around the house I've hung ribbon and ornaments and mistletoe. Real live (well, its been picked so, not so much with the live....) mistletoe. I have out holiday plates and towels and placemats. We have lights on a little live pine tree outside by our driveway. Hmm, what else. Oh, I've baked and, well, that might be it. Anyway. The above is a compilation of two shots, neither of which turned exactly like I wanted. The glass ball is handblown and given to us by my mom-in-law. Its beautiful and delicate and I love it. The two metal flutes were an adornment on a wedding gift. I had the hardest time figuring out what to do with them, but I liked them, so they just were, you know how it is, in a box, waiting. And this year, I realized - perfect ornaments.

So, there you go. Holiday at our home.

344 - Candy Canes

I'm, obviously, working on a holiday themed last month of my project 365. Here on day, oh, whatever day this is from (#344) I'm slowly running out of ideas. We'll see how the balance of the month goes. How are your holidays?

343 - Star

An ornament we have hanging on a ribbon. I liked how the lights were reflected in/on it.

Just Watched: The Last Airbender (film non-anime)

As usual, I'm not certain how this ended up on my Netflix queu. I liked it, Mister was non-committal. Well, rather, about half way through, he was done, but stayed until the end.

I've not read the books, nor seen any of the anime. The film was pretty good. There's action and relatively unknown actors which, to me, creates more of a sense of reality. I have a harder time dis-associating big names like Angelina or Brad or Jennifer from their past characters. So, the unknowns (to me) were a nice piece of this M. Night Shyamalan film. I was drawn in very early in the film with the animatronics (I'm sure they are probably just CG at this point in time - I'm showing my age here, oh well) and the effects - the four elements (earth, wind, fire, water) being able to be manipulated by gifted individuals. And not just one or two people who can do this. There are (or were, you have to watch the film to understand) many "benders". Its the fire benders who have decided to take over the earth and of course, they have to get rid of all the other element benders in order to reign freely.

There is one person born, the Avatar, who has the ability to bend all four elements. He is essentially the spirit of the planet. He has the innate ability to bring peace. This person is reincarnated over and over and has been sought after by the fire nation for like 100 years - due to stuff - again, don't want to give too much away if you plan to watch. There's martial arts fights and spirit creatures and twists to the plot. Its complex, yet simple since it was originally written for (I think) Nickelodeon, i.e. children.

This film is the first in a trilogy - Hollywood at its money making best. Yes, we'll watch the next two as they come out on video.

TGIF

I'm already behind on my baking. I got two cookie doughs in the fridge and that is as far as I made it. So far. Have plans tonight and Saturday night. Am thinking I'll need to cancel tonight so I can have time to work out and do some homey stuff. I'm feeling like I need a little nesting time.

Have a super weekend everyone. Drop me a line. Let me know you're alive out there.

Oh, here's my current desktop. I have it tiled. It looks like wrapping paper like that.

342 - Lights

One of the good things about this season are the lighted trees in downtown. They are so gorgeous and, for me, create a feeling of a fairyland.

341 - Deck the Halls

No, its not my house. Mister and I went for a little walk after dinner last night. It was cool out, but not cold. Very little wind and no rain. It was lovely. I wanted to get a photo of a tree in our neighborhood that the homeowner's had lit up with just a ton of bright, colorful LED lights. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like (read: lazy) carrying around the tripod and because of whatever reason - I could speculate, but we'll just call it my lack of skills with the camera - the photos were crap! But, we had walked around the 'hood for awhile and took quite a few shots of lights on homes and this one just called to me when I uploaded them. It wasn't even one that I particularly thought was all that great. I do like the finished product though. Do you have lights on your house? Do you have a tree up? Not having children (for me) changes (I think) how much I "do" for the holidays. Ah, children. I'm so glad I don't have any, but wonder about how fabulous it would have been.

340 - Self Portrait

These are the types of self-portraits I can get into. I'm far away or blurry. No comments necessary. We all see ourselves (probably, hopefully, you think?) so differently than others see us. I'm no exception to that. I'm working on my self image though. My internal barometer about how I feel about my physical self. I have to say, that not being physically perfect (my version of the meaning of that word) at the age of 42 is so much easier than not being physically perfect, oh, say, even 7 or 8 years ago. I'm much more accepting and understanding and loving of myself than I ever have been. I don't know what other women's journeys have been, but this has been mine. I'm going for it. I'm living it. Or, at least, I'm doing my best at attempting all those things.

Holiday Baking - Chai Snickerdoodles and other treats

I feel overwhelmed when it comes to working all day then coming home and wanting to exercise and make a meal for my husband (and me) and also try to get in some holiday baking. There just isn't time for everything that I want to do.

So, I used my brain today (duh) and decided that if I make cookie dough, one batch each evening, I mean, it takes just a few minutes (15 or 20 - am I right?!) to mix up a batch of dough, and put it in the fridge for baking later. Amazing what my brain will do when I actually use it for good intentions.

Anyway, tonight, I whipped up a batch (and they are now in the fridge - I wonder who will do the dishes...) of these Chai Snickerdoodles. No photos, because they aren't baked yet. No review or gushing over the deliciousness, well, not baked yet. I found the recipe on the Pioneer Woman's site. She had a cookie week last week (or so) and it was spotlighted.

There you go. Tomorrow, my plan is another cookie I found on the PW site, Molasses Spice Cookies with Orange sugar. I won't cut them and use a maple leaf (is it a maple leaf? now that I've written it, I'm not certain...) I'll most likely drop them. Its just easier that way.

These Chocolate Peppermint Crinkles might make it to my list, not sure yet how I feel about them.

I will also make my all time favorite go-to cut out sugar cookie with frosting. Soft, creamy, sweet, but not too sweet, vanilla deliciousness. With sprinkles. Probably.

I hope to post pics over the weekend, which is when I plan to have a baking marathon.

339 - A time to celebrate

The celebration season is in full swing. I think we should celebrate more days more often. I mean, its Tuesday. Let's just celebrate that.

Bake at 350

I just added Bake at 350 to my sidebar and to my Google Reader. I saw her post over at the Pioneer Woman today, all about frosted sugar cookies. I've only looked at a couple of her posts, but she has amazing design ideas and creativity. More than I do, that is for certain. I'm hoping to glean some ideas and motivation from her this holiday season. I can feel the frosted sugar cookies in the near future.

So, check it out, even if its not for baking, but just for seeing the really pretty, artsy, cookie decorating.

Just Watched: Legends of the Fall

Mister and I had never seen this. Big surprise there! We sat down to watch it, not realizing it was an epic saga that would go on for hours! It was big and sweeping and haunting and pretty to look at and it irritated me. Look lady, get on with your own life. Dude isn't worth your time and energy. He dumped you, quite easily I might add, because he has issues. Get on with your own happiness already!

Ok, now that I've ranted. Yes, I get it - true love. There's nothing quite like it. I'm just not in the camp of believers who think you only have one soul mate. One doesn't work out, figure out what you want and move on, find another.

Anyway, Brad Pitt, pretty as ever. Good movie if you have lots of time to kill.

338 - morning run to the airport

Took my bro and his wife to the airport this morning. Its cooooold and wiiiiindy outside. On my way home, I made a short detour to the land of the best doughnuts since childhood. If you haven't tried their bacon maple bars (my first one was this very morning) then, you just should. De-elicious. Mister and I decided way too yummy and that we should not ever have them (bacon maple bars) again - yum factor 57, heart attack factor 37. Totally worth it, once a year or every two years. Or maybe split one every six months with your partner.

337 - traveling

playing around with my camera. got to learn it bit by bit. that's how I do things.

336 - Sparkly

In sticking with the holiday season - and also in posting out of order, but date friendly... I would like to quote a song crooned by the famed Bing Crosby, "Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas".

I realized (duh) last night that even though we are not having a tree this year, doesn't mean we can't decorate. I love me some sparkly, colored lights.

334 - Cut Banana

Sometimes you have the flu and you don't leave the house for a few days and there is nothing that inspires you so you see a cut banana on the cutting board and take its photo. There you have it, the photo of the day.

333 - Mood

I'm working on a new mood for myself. A happier, lighter, more joyful place to park my inner self. Yes, yes, always working on that. I figure, at least I'm aware and trying, that's got to be good for something, right? I'm also keenly aware of late, that this blog (for me) has lost its voice. At some point (I think it was project 365 that did it) I stopped coming here for myself and started coming here to publish. And when you publish, you are usually doing it for others, at least in part. One of my goals for 2011 is to turn the focus of this space, back into a space for me. A place for me to come and share with myself and open up and be more aware of, well, me. I think I'm needing that. I hope to get back to where the blog was more when I started this endeavor. Does that make sense?

Anyway, that's my thought for the day.

332 - Let the Holidays Begin

Thanksgiving was very non-traditional this year. I'm ok with that. I'm actually pretty happy about that. We, like a lot of couples, split the holidays between our respective parents. You know the drill, every other year the parents get either Thanksgiving or Christmas. My parents, and me, were spoiled for years. I used to get to go home for all the holidays, being single until my late (late) 30's. Absolutely zero complaints about that I might add. Anyway, we had Thanksgiving breakfast with dutch babies, sausage, bacon, fruit salad coffee and bellinis. It was a fabulous way to usher in the festive season. Even though Mister and I do not plan to have a Christmas tree (will be out of town - remember that whole splitting the holidays thing from above) and will not be exchanging gifts (we're on the broke side what with having only one income for over a year and two residences - its a killer - but, not meaning to complain), I hope to have the energy and spirit and enough holiday cheer to make it through with flying colors. I plan to (don't roll your eyes here) try really hard to get back into blogging. Its my new years goal (note: not a resolution). I hope to dabble a bit more here in this space that I created for myself. Wish me luck. I have a feeling I'll be needing it.

PS - Ok, yes, I miss leftover turkey sandwiches. But, I'll live.

331 Its getting dark so early

I sometimes think (ok, often) it would be wonderful to live closer to the equator. There's all that nice weather, mostly year round, depending on where you would choose to live. But, almost more importantly is nearly the same number of daylight versus nighttime hours each day. These winter months take a toll on me. How do you fare? Do you get seasonally sad? Do you long for those summer evenings in the yard, putzing around or bbqing?

335 - Nostalgia (and the Dec calendar)

Here you have it, December 1's photo. I'm posting a bit out of order, trying to spread out the posts since I'm behind a bit. I've one month remaining on my project 365. I have a hard time believing I stuck it out this long.

I found these (I probably told you about them already) replica Christmas ornaments and had, nay HAD to have them. My parents had one of these ornaments and it was always my favorite. I always placed it somewhere special to me on the tree.

I've made this into the December calendar. Try this LINK for a better download. I think it will/should work better, more resolution etc. Since I'm still in the early stages of learning about high res up/down loads / sharing, let me know if the link above gives you a better upload.

Enjoy.