Run Lori Run!

Feeling Lucky

Instead of the usual new year's resolution list, I am simply going to print this out poster size and keep it in my car, cubicle, closet, bathroom and inside my fridge. Why? Because I am a big, fat whiner. About what you might ask?  Let us start with the usual, shall we?

• My butt is too big. 
• My dish washer is too small. (She's 11. Ha ha ha) 
• The laundry is overflowing. 
• My checkbook is underflowing. 
• There is cat hair on almost every surface of my house.  
• One might need a tetanus shot to enter my bathroom. 
• Did I mention my butt is too big?

Get out a pencil, people.  Write down what you are thankful for and post it where you can see it every day. Gratitude- it works wonders.

So here's to you!

I am so thankful to all of you,

my awesome blogging friends

out there in cyberspace.

Thank you for coming to visit me

and for sharing your thoughts, views, recipes, craft ideas, book reviews-

blah, blah, blah.  

I hope you all have a healthy, happy, wonderful new year!

 

Image found at Gala Darling.

Ah, Maui...

We are back from lovely Hawaii and man, I could get used to that place! People are up at the crack of dawn, walking, jogging, biking, surfing... And it is WARM all the time which is remarkable because I have another four months of grey, soggy weather here in Portland!  

 

The Buddhas are humongous. This is the second largest Buddha in the world at the Laihaina Jodo Mission.

The sunrises are amazing.  The light at dawn is breathtaking and surreal.

Sea turtles!

Piiholo Ranch Zipline.

Maui, we miss you already.

Only Six More Months of Grey Weather...

   Hopefully not an entire six more months of greyness and rain...  Happily, we are in Maui right now, if only for a week. Since I can't share the sunshine with you I thought I'd share the most yummy hot chocolate recipe courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa.

Hot Chocolate (not for the faint of heart)

• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder
• 4 to 5 vanilla beans or cinnamon sticks (or a candy cane), for garnish

Directions

Heat the milk and half-and-half in a saucepan on medium heat to just below the simmering point. Remove the pan from the heat and add both chocolates. When the chocolates are melted, add the sugar, vanilla extract, and espresso and whisk vigorously. Reheat gently and serve immediately. The Contessa suggests using a vanilla bean or cinnamon stick to garnish each serving but that stuff is spendy. I uses candy canes.

This stuff is intense. A shot glass works for me....

Learning Curve

Okay, I am sloooooooowly figuring out this camera.  It took me all day to get the photos from the camera to the computer for various reasons.  New computer + new camera + new software + inept user = hours and hours of fun!

So far I can use this camera in the auto setting and this has worked out quite nicely because words like aperture and shutter speed and flash synchronization make my eyes glaze over. Luckily it comes with two handbooks and two DVDs for my viewing pleasure.

So on to another topic... I decided to take a break from all the hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing I've been doing because of my photographic ineptitude and went down to Mimosa Studios to paint some pottery.

I had the brilliant idea to make/sew/craft all of my Christmas gifts this year. And while it was a noble idea in theory, I just petered out and ended up at Bed Bath and Beyond with about 200 other people.

Are you making any gifts this season?

Christmas Craftiness

This is a cool and really easy project I got from an old issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine by artist Sue Pelletier.  What I like about this project is that most people  already have bottles of Paprika in our cupboards from 1983 that need to be liberated anyway.

• Fill the bottles with beads, doo dads, or flair of some sort.  Add ribbon or paper details to the bottle.
• Use paper clay (or polymer clay I suppose) to form the head and embellish with brads or beads dipped in gel medium to make the face.
• Use a pastry bag tip that is collecting dust in your drawer for the hat.
• Add a serious amount of glitter. Don't hold back, people.

So are you making anything crafty for the holidays?