The importance of family traditions

One of the topics that temporarily snuffed out the fire of romance early in my marriage was the subject of family traditions.This wasn't the easy to relight snuff, of let's say, a candle. It was the enduring, smoldering snuff of Mt. St Helens, that continued to ooze and produce toxic flames that made the area glow for a decade afterward. We are talking that kind of snuff.

It shouldn't have to be that way, nor did it need to be in my case. My theory is the very notio of tradition+ family is as sensitive as a missile launcher button, not because of religion or culture. Nay. It's something far more important, far more precious. It's because family traditions are learned at an age so young, bestowed upon innocent little selves so subtly that the tradition becomes a part of our very fiber. Therein lies the inexplicable to a boy/girlfriend, spouse etc. We don't know a time or place without the said tradition, thus it is when the tradition itself is suggested as dull, boring, wrong or plain silly, our feelings aren't just hurt. Our soul, our family...generations of Swedes in my case...are all rising up in arms to defend what is our own thread.

Might I suggest a new course of action. Dating folks should really listen up, for no one takes traditions like 'our family always gets together on Thanksgiving' seriously. It's only after the rock is on the finger and the thank you notes are sent that the words sink in. Thanksgiving. Every year. For. The. Rest. Of. Your. Life.

Traditions should be talked about before wedding bliss, serious dating or otherwise contemplation of more children. Furthermore, the flexibility and compromise or, stop the world now, introducing new traditions, should be bantered about during the best of times. (that would post-coital, beach-lounging best of times. A crowd will be involved and a definite lack of clothing. Definitely a good time to have this discussion).

Personally, I've found the best route is to create new traditions the bind the two of you, and/or children if you are a little late to the game. Here goes a list in no particular order:

Thanksgiving
1. at dinner, (before the main meal or before dessert) go around the table and have everyone say what they are most grateful for that year. I love this one. I knew the end of one particular relationship was nigh when the man I brought waxed on about how horrible his life was (and we were planning on getting married. EEEEE!!!)
2. Cutting the tree. The day after Thanksgiving, my dad would don his rubber boots, and we would do the same. We'd slog out to the back 40 (American slang for the woods out past our tree), spend an hour or three listening to him wax long and philosophic about the thickness and length of the branches on this tree or that one, the color, the height, the distance between branches etc. The entire ordeal, usually done in the rain, but sometimes the snow, was torturous and wonderful, all at the same time. Dad was ours, for that brief, special period of time. No phone calls. No planes. No distractions. I'd give anything to hear him wax on about trees now.

Because we live in a largely wood frame home, my memories are all I have, as we made the hard decision to go fake (as in, fake trees). It pains me not to have the smell of the pine trees and I grumped about it for 7 years until I had my daughter. My attitude got out of my backside and near my heart, when I initiated the "day after Thanksgiving" tradition of having leftovers, but putting out all things Christmas just like mom. The entire day is filled with wonderful music, baking and being with the kids. The tree still gets up. It's just less damp.
3. Potato sausage. I'm Swedish. We make homemade sausage throughout the year, but 2 times are a must. I'd rather be single forever than not have my potato sausage. Fortunately, I've not had to make that decision. Every man I've ever brought home has liked it as well (with the lone exception of dork referenced above. Should have known then...). (1.5 lbs beef steak, 1.5 lbs pork, 7 lbs potatoes, 3 large onions). Grind the meat, finely shop the potatoes and onions. Push all of it through a sausage grinder, and load into casings (pig intestines). Divine.

Christmas
1. A present on Christmas Even or all the presents on Christmas eve (leaving the remainder for 'santa'). This is akin to "to be, or not to be,' without the flair an vitality of a man in stockings on a stage. After years of stupid bickering, we've reached a compromise, and it truly shows what kind of nutty mind rules this household. We count the total presents, and take a percentage (10%). That's how many we open the night before. Can you believe it?? (I was in the 1 the night before camp, and thought it appalling to open every last gift. I mean, what if Santa forgot about me?!)
2. Movies after Christmas morning. This was also a tradition. What else was there to do? Now, we've switched it up, and usually go skiing. Much healthier. Limited popcorn on the slopes.
3. Santa ornaments. This would be a Sarah original. When Rog and I first married, we went on vacation to Whistler and stopped by a store in the Village. I saw a Santa on skis and had to have it. The next year, we were in Mexico, and a Santa was on a surfboard. From that time forward, I was always on the lookout. Wherereverhandblown. Rog got in the spirit, and we are equally in to this. (Mark my words, if we ever split up, we won't give a rats *** about the cars. It will all be about the Santa collection).
4. Advent calendars. What is this you ask? It's the 24 days of Christmas done in chocolate. Another Sarah special. I loved the 12 days of Christmas (the song), and popping a bit of handmade chocolate is a nice add. Anyone I truly love, I have either told them about the calendars, but better yet, I go in and buy 30, shipping and giving at Thanksgiving. This year, I'm hauling 6 down to my parents to distribute to siblings. Forget the family love. It's all about the calendars. (these make great professional gifts as well. Who cares if someone is Jewish or whatever? Everyone will each chocolate, and besides, it is, in fact, a calendar. What's to be offended over?

Last but not least...New Years
1. Shrimp ....I'm not sure who got us started on shrimp, but I think it was my older sister. All I remember was one year she revolted from our standard of Ham and scalloped potatoes on New Year's Day. As non-drinkers, we are alive, clear-headed, and hungry. In hindsight, I imagine mom allowed this to spare the family an argument, but that didn't mean she caved. Oh no. We still get our ham and scallop potatoes, but have the shrimp the evening before. To this day, that's what I serve at my house.

OOO-I will admit to one other new holiday tradition in the Gerdes household. Chinese food. Yep, you heard me. During our extensive remodel, we were living out of a microwave for 3 years, seriously. We didn't think about Christmas meal until we went searching to find an open restaurant. Guess what? The only joints open were Chinese. And not just any, but the best Chinese in Seattle. For the next 3 yrs, we ate at that place and now, when we are on a holiday and find ourselves in a culinary predicament, we just say "let's go Chinese!" and we are sure to be taken care of. (no, I'm not going to tell you. Call me evil if you will, but its my little secret, until I decide to out it in a later blog).

PS. Christmas music before the strike of midnight on Thanksgiving night is pure evil.. May the force be with you all this week (those folks in Europe, Latin America and all my Russian and eastern reading folks....get crazy. Look up a traditional American dinner and give it a whirl).

Breaking Dawn Party Planning

Not a fan? Skip this blog until next year, when Breaking Dawn Pt 2 will come out and you'll have to suffer through the madness once again. Take heart though. Millions of people will be in theatres throughout the weekend for Breaking Dawn Pt 1, freeing up golf courses, ski runs and restaurants.

For the rest of you, my apologies for not getting this up sooner, but I'm doing it real-time. By 'it' I mean transforming my house to all things Cullen for the women who will descend through our white-light-lined driveway, up to the house with the Coat of Arms and then see pictures of mortal and non-alike throughout the house. (My husband is taking the kids, only extracting I don't burn the joint down w/all the candles). Those in Europe, you are ahead of us a bit, but you can delegate half these things OR get busy starting now.

First off, use the Breaking Dawn Party Menu I created. I seriously love Dropbox. I'm going to start planting all my stuff on my public folder (on my harddrive) that I want you all to have. The menu is in Word, based upon a template I customized. Plagarize at will. I then PDF'd it and have print outs ready to go for the ladies.

Here's the checklist, in no particular order:

The Cullen table in the entryway

1. Candles. Lots of them, white preferred, but I mixed it up. I seriously had to pull out the big guns on this, retrieving every candle I had in every shape and size. The only ones I didn't use were the lime green/spring ones that smell like cucumbers.
2. Pictures. I got on line and printed out a whole bunch. I've posted as many to dropbox as I have on this computer. To make it easy, print, cut and put in all your frames. They look great, except when your 6 yr old daughter says "Mom, where's Jacob?" Sheesh! I placed the Cullens in the front entry-way and the Jacob-clan on the piano. Edward, Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Renesme, Alice, Bella
3. Metriculation frame. I thought this was a great visual. Taking my daughters art paper, I cut the paper in approximately 5 inch strips and kept going. For the background, I used a white, 3M poster paper that is sticky on the back; an oversized Post-it note. I keep these handy for work purposes (and mapping out plot lines for my books). The reason is simple: they don't stick to my original art work in a way that is damaging. Use this!
4. Coat of arms. I found several renderings on line, so I printed up 2. The first I placed with in frame (another one of my daughters crafts which I've already blogged about), and then attached it over a finished frame. The other, I liked well enough to place in my kitchen, free of a second frame.
5. Music. I have both Claire de Lune from Debussy (it comes with playing the piano basically, like hamburgers and fries. Can't have one without the other), as well as the soundtracks for Twilight and New Moon. Additionally, I've got the piano arrangements for both. This is important for the right vibe, but also....
6. Games. At this point, I know you know what I know: I'm a sad, confused, pitiful being. Oh well. Now, moving on:)...Games are great (but I'm not in charge of them) so my only 2 contributions are- 1. providing 1 game where the guests have to identify every item in the home that's attributable to the Saga, and 2- the prizes. Now, this deserves a story. There I am, in Target, desparately searching for Twi-stuff. I've been to Costco, Barnes and Nobles...you name it, I'd been there. Nada. Nothing. Zip (well, save for a $100 box set of books and I was NOT going to spend my entire budget on a single prize). Target was my only hope Obiwan. In any case, I find more than I needed, but when it came to the shirt (Vampires Fiance) and the doll (Edward) the mortification I endured whilst pushing my cart up to the checkout counter magnified like an ant under a thick, hot piece of scorching glass. I was certainly trying to be invisible, the way a customer does when she (he?) is buying sanitary items to shove in the nether-regions of our bowels, and I had convinced myself of my success until my daughter says: "Mom, why do you have an Edward doll?" so loudly I figured the guy coming in the store heard her. The woman ahead and behind of me turned (as if they were seeing my purchases for the first time) and the male clerk behind the counter, did his best not to give me one of those "aren't you getting a little old for that" looks. Nonetheless, I perservered. I came. I purchased. I went. And darnit, I like myself (name the movie).
7. Lights. As luck would have it, I leave white lights on some of our trees all year long due to the hassle of taking up and down, but only turn them on after Thanksgiving. I purchased a few more this year, and will get it all up tomorrow to make sure it works. ($2.99 for a 100 light strip at Lowes.



Give-aways. Who knew?



Coat of arms



Coat of arms in the kitchen

8. Movies and menu. I'm going to take the easy way out and refer you to the menu above. It's after 11 and I have got to move it. Suffice it to say the guests are going to be stuffed to the gils, like a massive sturgeon before a harpooning.

It's not too late mind you, and like I said, if you don't make it in time for this year, just wait 12 months.

 

The 3M paper is great because I just attached it to the painting (that's unframed). don't tell.

And PS--something is happening with Blogger--it's not allowing me to space my photos throughout my blog. Very irritating. sorry this blog is so ugly.

Motivating your spouse

This topic spoke to me as the itty-bitty muscles on the outter side of my hips were screaming curse words at me today, the day after. Day after what? You ask. The day after I realized that in the time it takes me to have a bath (a daily ritual), I could actually get my fat-A on the treadmill and pump out two miles. 20 min is also the time I can do a full cycle on the elyptical.

Why, you might also wonder, would I do such a thing, tearing myself from a good book whilst weed-wacking the overgrown fur on my legs? Well, it all came down to a compliment.

round one- walking by the bay
round two-jogging through flatlands
round three-running on the hills
Oh, what one does when motivated by love

"You are sooo hot looking," my husband says, a wonder in his voice akin to when Lucy goes through the wardrobe for the first time. Hmm. He could be lying, I think to myself, but it's pretty hard to fabricate that....voice. Of course, I still think he's smoking crack, but his comment was followed up by some flowers later that night, for no reason. It gets even better. He came home from attending a premier of the latest Warren Miller ski movie, complete with a signed poster from Andy Mahre (who wrote Roger, Powder for President!) in red pen, and gave me a gift worth more than that Patek Phillip watch in rose gold I've been lusting over. A $50 dollar gift certificate to Sturdevans Ski shop.

What, then you finally ask, does this have to do with motivation? (Well, beyond the lusting, the flowers and the gift certificate?) The answer is that encouragement and love is the best motivation one can give to a spouse who is dealing with physical, emotional and yes, even spiritual or financial issues.  (a'course, I'd be remiss if I didn't admit this entire flattery/motivation/results positively impacted our bedroom activities. Maybe that was the whole point. I don't know or care. It just worked).

To wit, when I was a San Francisco fatty, (one who indulged just a wee-tad to much on the 3,000 plus great restaurants), Rog got me all fired up to show him the city. When he suggested we walk around, as opposed to driving, I thought it was romantic. A few weeks and many shoreline miles later, when he proposed we don running shoes "in order to see more faster," I readily agreed, not considering that half the city is dotted with bloody hills. In no time at all, I was twenty pounds lighter, but my emotional bucket was brimming over like Little Porridge Pot.

Motivating through encouragement and doesn't apply just to exercise. When I stopped purchasing the Economist due to the monthly sticker price, Rog noticed that I ceased giving him facts of the world. "Get it!" he told me. He doesn't have the time to read (and hockey is not conducive to this task like me on the treadmill). "I like it when you know more about what's going on in the world than X."

So clearly, I, the female in the coupledom, am motivated by gratuitous flattery and some thinly veiled deceit. What about my man? What motivates him?

Beyond the obvious of being lured with high heels and nylons, he is inspired, oddly enough, by acceptance and when I tell him how proud I am of him. That's it. That's the secret sauce to getting my hard-as-nails-zero-on-the-Myers-Briggs-test spouse. Why?

"I feel validated," he told me. It doesn't hurt that my expression of appreciation actually makes him feel--appreciated. When I take the time to tell him (and not just once a month, but regularly, like very week) it seeps in. The circle of love is completed then, as he is more appreciative of my efforts (or maybe, he's just more expressive of said appreciation).

PS. I noticed that 28 people from Romania hit my post on Anger Management tips. Do Romanian's have spousal-anger issues? I laugh. You are my people!)

A Swede's tip to controlling anger

Last wk, when I thought a short prison term might be warranted should I resort to slappage during a heated conversation with my spouse, I figured it was just best to channel Obama and know when to shut up. Silence has its merits. However, silence is not in the Swedish language. It goes along with the whole don't cry thing. We Swedish girls resort to those little forms of communication that are non oral in nature.

To wit. "I'm taking a bath so please don't disturb me." That was all I could get out after a row about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, where, ironically, me and my life partner are not feeling all that thankful for one another. Knowing all I need to do is have a personal timeout, encased in water, bubbles and a Kindle on my bathtub tray, I'll be able to be a better me. Still, I'm so angry I could "eat rocks" as my dear cousin in Nevada says. (I've spent too much energy on my teeth to eat rocks. I'll just be like Gollum and suck them (name the scene from the Hobbit).

Now, dear readers, enter my life (or bathroom) and know that a) I always take a bath when I'm so angry I need a straight jacket and b) Rog always waits until I'm buck naked, completely vulnerable and have no where to run, THEN he opens the door to "have a chat." uh-huh. Sorry. No exciting stuff here. This is seriously when he wants to get it all out in the open. Guess what? I don't want anything in the open. I want in the dark, dank whole of my personal relationship Calcutta, there to stay in its stinking, vile, putrid mass for at least the time it takes my boiling hot water to turn luke warm.

I go the extra mile. In my fury, I scratch out my signal to stay away, as best as I can. I lock the door, go in the tub, start reading, and count the minutes before intended recipient of said sign is going to show me his criminal potential by picking the lock. 7 minutes.

The first I hear is the laughing. Then the picking. Then the door opening. Then the apology.

Dear friends. If it worked for him, Mr obstinate, prickly and not all things so subtle, it may work for you. And just in case you are worried I'm breaking some unspoken law of marital secrecy, Rog just laughed when I told him I was going to share my little sign with the world. (Although Mr Wisdom thought it should be pointed out the pitchfork is a pitchfork, not the devil (that would be me) giving you the bird.

West on West: a must read for type As

I don't watch basketball. I don't care about basketball. Yet, I found myself purchasing a book with basketball as its main theme last Saturday, and had completed the thing by Sunday before church. It is West by West, by Jerry West, a man I'd never heard of in my life (when I ask Rog what he thinks of Jerry West he says "one of the greatest hoop players of all time. The NBA logo is modeled after him.") Indeed.

Reality is that I was getting my weekly dose of the publishing world by reading Publishers Weekly as I was sweating out the after effects of attending a new restuarant opening in Seattle the night before. Like all aspiring authors (aspiring denoted by the lack of a book that has reached any bestseller list), I read PW for hope and inspiration that one day, in my lifetime, I'll see my name within it's pages. In the front of the weekly, two sections capture my attention. The first is the deal section (who is getting paid how much for what), and the second is the review section.

I'm about to turn the page because I see what I instantly categorize as 'yet another boring biography by a former athlete I've never heard of,' when I read the snippet from PW. It's beyond glowing. I think the reviewer nearly had a personal moment when writing the review. Since I rarely read reviews from PW infused with this type of love, I go to the amazon kindle store, see the hard cover price is nearly $30, and the kindle price is about half. Sold.

The book didn't disappoint. The writing style is raw, like the man himself apparently is in real life. The subtitle includes the word tormented for a reason, for West was a product of an unemotional, abusive home full of children his parents could barely afford or properly love. Already sensitive and withdrawn, West becomes moreso when his older brother is killed in Vietnam. Turning inward, West devotes his attention to an object: in this case, a round ball, and it becomes his life and his means out of a home he wants to leave but then can't stand to stay away (for long). His cracked psyche manifests itself in perfectionism, a man who can't appreciate the good because it is foreever overshadowed by the bad. This hurts himself, his wife, even the women who he slept with outside his marriage, but as he himself writes, was unable to be okay with who he was.

This alone is not what makes the book interesting, (nor was it the basketball stories, though the ones he includes had a nice balance of factoids mixed with interesting human sidenotes. Even the men I didn't know about came alive in the scenes described). I recommend this book because it gives light to the fragility of elite players at any level--high school, college, and the pros. Elite players-- lets call them life competitors, share unique traits. To understand and nurture an individual blessed with the talent, drive and ego (or lack thereof) is hard a hard task to accomplish. As West graduated from player to basketball executive, his understanding of the personalities in this arena served him (and the LA Lakers well).

I recommend West by West as a cannon for anyone person who works with, for, is married to, or is in fact, in the category of a competitive, Type A personality. The ego, drive, insecurities and challenges don't end with the clock. That's just the beginning. West knows that now, five kids, two marriages, umpteen decades after he started his journey. Reading about it is worth the $15.

Preventing Sticky Fingers: AKA-theft

Forget earthquakes. A more common souce of financial and emotional damage comes from art walking off the walls or silver from tables. As it's the weekend and the season of parties, you need to read this or experience the distress of lost objects after a get together.

 

Case in point. When I was in San Fran, I spent a boatload of cash on a cool piece of art for my living room. A mixed piece with gold flakes and threading, composite materials that only someone far more creative that myself could imagine. It's hard to describe but was cool, not ugly, as evidenced by the number of compliments I received as well as the need to get the thing insured. One evening I held an engagement party for a dear friend, and lo, when the evening was over and the guests had left, so had my piece of art. Lifted and taken from, of all places, my main entry-way, near the front door.

 

I was mystified (after I got over my denial). The place had an open floor plan, wasn't real huge (maybe all of 1400 square ft), with the entryway leading right to the living room and balcony area, open kitchen etc. How and when someone had the guts to take it off and spirit out of the room was beyond my comprehension. (as a side note, I never told my guest of honor. She would be mortified to know that someone in her circle had lifted the object (or probably more likely, the date of someone in her circle--but that's my generous, pure conjecture side).

 

Duly bummed out, I went to the gallery, and was not-so-subtly reminded it was an original, one of a kind and I was SOL. Thus, they recommended I get a brain, and start using Museum Wax "The professionals choice." This stuff is so strong, it's marketed as "Quake hold" for its ability to keep pictures to walls and items to the table top (I'm not going to reveal how to remove this, but the directions are included in the box).

 

I use the wax on my artwork, silver objects I don't want leaving the house during a party, and sometimes I play tricks on Roger just for fun, waxing some important item to the floor just to irritate him. (silver dollars on wood floors drive him batty). Thus, if you are having a good time and a person is drunk, wax their keys to the floor. You won't have to tell the person to get a clue, the person won't have a clue, and will end up taking a cab out of necessity. See how helpful I'm being today?

A few tips:

• place on the four corners of a wall hanging. One dot in the center is not enough.
• don't place against velco. While it works, it doesn't match the same level of hold 
• little things are as important as large things...my crystal ring holder by my sink for instance. it's $65 but can be gone in a second. it's not locked down like the Pentagon during a bomb scare.
• trinkets on the shelf. Worth is in the eye of the beholder. a chotcky to one person is a priceless work of art to another. if you want to bequeth it to the next gen, wax it up and set it down.

 

Like the Karate Kid says, Wax on!

 

Proven slim-down workout routine

"It's a myth that opera singers need to be fat to sing," said my voice teacher, he, a singer of operas around the world. "It comes from here," he said, pointing to an elusive spot under his sternum that resembles a rubber band extending at will, a Zues-shaped six-pack on immortal steriods. I likened his phrase to one in writing, where all writer's are afflicted with carpel tunnel and have butts so large and deep, it was why Hermann Miller created his famous rubbery, extendable chair.

 

Myths aside for non-singers or illiterates alike, I'm now bequething to you how I keep my butt in a chair as I spend all these hours writing. I've given you readers info in drips and drops, but not the whole enchilada. It's time, and after the forthcoming bestowage of goodness (that was a Don-king-ism made up word in case you missed it), I'll have nothing more to say on the subject.

The complete workout is one I keep in an excel spreadsheet, and transferred from my trainer, the ever-heralded nearly-Mr. Universe (see, that's what 2nd and 3rd place gets you. A really long title that must be explained each and every time to justify the worth of the information conveyed. Gah! It would have saved me so much more time if he would have won already...although he would have quadrupled his fees & gone on to celebrity-training in Hollywood) gave to me.

Ground rules: I told him...don't give me anything I can't do at home, don't give me anything that requires lots of things to haul around, and ideally, give me a routine that I can do in a gym with even the barest of equipment (I was traveling a lot at the time). With the exception of 4, all of these can be accomplished with a set of weights...many, no weights at all.

Now, before you get all weired by the picture, remember this: every man knows that most women want to be lean, not big. The following routine will do big or lean, depending on the amount of repitions and weights you use (if any). Simple rule: If you want big, do lower repetitions, heavier weights. Lean= higher repetitions and lower weights.

As for a testament this works--I look to Rog, who can tell a difference in two workouts...(I generally will do either every single thing in one day, and skip days, or I'll break it up and supplement with cardio. Just depends on how much time I have...and YES, I post this on the wall, by my workout equipment, which happens to be in front of the TV so I never ((and I do mean never)) just sit and watch TV. I will watch a movie for as long as it takes me to workout).

I know She is going to ream me for not providing explanations to all these, but I'll have to add them later. I've got a looking deadline and had to put this out in 10 min. Here you go. Check back for updates (I'll get to them as soon as She starts wraggling me. (thx Don!)

Twilight Premier Party

As far as reasons to procrastinate writing more of my own adventure series, the Vampires Delight premiere party is as good as any. Remember my FB blog on the best auction event items that included a 6 hour party about all things Twilight? This is my promised blog on the details. It's 2 weeks away, and not too late!!!

Why:
A reason for chicks to get together, eat, discuss and watch all things that made Stephanie $40 million last year.
Donation: participants paid $20 each to a non-profit in order to attend this 6-hour saga

Where:
My place, Saturday, November 18th from 4 pm- 10ish or whenever (no, this is not a global invite:( it's to tell you how you too, whether in Israel or Bolivia, can stage your own extraveganza). Really, the only reason to have it at my place is I have lots of windows, we are in the northwest and frankly, it looks like Forks.

What (or rather, the details)
Decorations. My two co-hosts, Brandi and Janelle, and I came up w/all things book/movie related

• Outside: white lights everywhere....this isn't much of a stretch from my Christmas lights, so I'm just putting them up early. Just 2 days ago, I purchased more 100 light items from Lowes for $2.99 each
• Inside: pictures of all the Cullens and a few Jacob and friends in my frames. I quickly found pics on a whole bunch of sites, and chose a series that were glammed up.
• Graduation frame: I'm going to cover one of my pieces of art and replace it w/a mock up of cap tassles
• Candles: as much and as many. I had plenty already from prior holiday's, but have been purchasing white ones here and there, making sure they aren't tacky, and I can re-use for other occasions
• Silver: I had to find and polish my silver candle holders (back when I was in my thirties and thought such things were important to purchase...now I'm glad I did. For formal dinners...and Vampire events, they are awesome).
• Bandaid on a salad bowl: credit for this goes to Brandi, who recalled the first movie where Rosalie crushes the salad bowl after learning Bella ate. Definitely cute.

Food & Drinks
You might have noticed that in 3 movies, not a lot of eating went on, nor was it a staple in the book series. Since we were limited to mushroom ravioli and vegie hamburger, we got creative and went for a fall themed food choice.

Bruschetta (some w/bread and a set w/out...mozarella balls, basil, small tomatoes)
Crab cakes
Muschroom ravioli (the best, organic store bought can be had from Costco. Tried it out myself) w/ muschroom sauce
Asparagus and mushroom risotto
Delacotta squash scones
Salad
Chocolate mousse
Red velvet cupcakes (I got a local joint to donate a dozen but you can make your own)
Champagne & a blood-orange champagne punch

Trivia & prizes
Name tag game (a sticker is placed on your back and you have to guess what character you are)
a few others (I'm not in charge of the games!)
Prizes include...movie box set, book box set, poster(s), calendar(s)

Movie set up
Since we aren't sure if we are going to have hard core Twihards or moderates, we are going to have the downstairs movie room set up for the 'dedicated' folks who want an uninterrupted movie watching experience. Off the kitchen, we'll have another screen with the movies playing back to back as well, just in case guests are going to want to each. Off this room, we have the hot tub, and we are hoping the women are going to use it. It is 6 hours after all....no kids or others around. Might as well enjoy the experience!

Rosalie got jipped. She's so much prettier in
real life I had to use this image.

Gift bags
I don't think anyone I know (other than Janel) reads this blog, and no one from Columbia is invited, but still...just in case, I'm not divulging this. Suffice it to say it's more Twilight, but probably not enough to tide this crowd over until Breaking Dawn Part 2.

Healthy Party Appetizer-Scallops & Prosciutto skewers

Halloween in Cartegena, sans alligator

In my world, fall means I get to have fun for three solid months, commencing with the first leaf that hits to the ground to the moment the New Year's Eve celebration ends. Halloween is the first milestone, and I've been off-line in pre-spooky, spooky and now post-spooky take down efforts. I did notice a spike in traffic from, of all places, Columbia, and I wondered...do our Columbian friends celebrate Halloween? Indeed. The first pic that came up was one from Cartegena, a city that will forever be embedded in my mind from Romancing the Stone...where the bad guys purrss....Carte..heeeeeennnnnaaaahhhh, before feeding a piece of meat to a pet alligator. (According to my  mother, this is going to be stuck in my brain long after I can't remember my own name).

With that preamble, let me get to the gist of this blog, and the second major theme during the fall to NYE celebratory experience. Parties. Yes, all things that are good and delish are from, or at, parties. Not all food must be bad for the bod. This is one.

What I love....about this app is that it's very fast, very easy, & has limited ingredients. (Furthermore, I think a certain mysticism surrounds crab and scallops when served at home--as in, people rave. I suspect it's because both are generally overpriced at restaurants, so guests feel as though they are getting something very special when served at a dinner party).

Ingredients
Coconut oil*
1 pound scallops (or 2 pounds at Costco for $20-frozen/large).
1 box prosciutto
1 lemon
Toothpicks (or fun app stick)
Salt, Mrs. Dash seasoning or Hungarian paprika (or all of the above)

Preparation
Unthaw scallops, pat dry
Spread a bit of oil on the cookie sheet, sprinkle your favorite seasoning on top of the oil & lemon
Wrap a thin bit of prosciutto around the scallop
Slide on the metal skewer
Roll the finished skewers in the oil and seasoning mix (you can also shake on to the skewer--personal preference)
Place in convection oven for 2-5 minutes depending on the size of the scallop (you may want to turn once if you can)
Remove from the oven, cool slightly
Slide to serving tray, add toothpicks and serve

*Great served warm or even cold. I serve with a dash of wasabi sauce which is awesome.



*By now, you should have this as a part of your pantry. Pick up the stuff in a spray can and also the unrefined coconut oil at your local health food supermarket. It truly adds to the flavor of most dishes.

Preparing the cookie sheet

Thin slices of prosciutto

Wrapping the scallop



placing the scallop on the skewer--flat edge is easiest to prevent tearing

After I've rolled the scallops in the sauce on the sheet

On a standard dishware--my guests were already here-so I skipped the toothpick part since
they started grabbing them straight from this plate!! (Sheesh--the nerve!)

My favorite sauce for cooked seafood apps- Wasabi Finishing Sauce from Waterfront