We officially survived another year of the family Christmas party for Shar's mom's family - or perhaps I should call it the family Christmas party, given the extra emphasis added in this year's card from his mom. As always, we had "another obligation" as an excuse to leave as soon as possible after the family dinner - that other "obligation" being getting home, into PJs, and curled up on the couch with a cup of tea and a pizza on the way. Yeah...we're awful like that.

It's definitely full on into winter and the holiday season. I haven't even had time to THINK about posting anything with content since my after-Turkey day commentary. Granted, that's only a few weeks, but it feels like forever.

Work is into that high speed, down hill run to when we file our proxy statement. I'm breathing a small sigh of relief that new SEC regulations don't take effect until after our filing date, but it's still going to be an interesting year - and I'm not sure that's a good interesting. Hopefully it won't lead to too many late nights.

Life on the home front has been just as busy. We managed to get a Christmas tree and decorate for the holidays. We may not be deep believers in Christmas, but I do believe in sparkly lights and green trees - and it gave me a good excuse to take some pictures of the house, which I've been promising to relatives. (They're up on Flickr.)

I've got almost all my shopping done - just need to make a quick trip to the craft store tomorrow and another quick trip to either Target or an office supply store. Then there's going to be some crafty stuff the next couple days, but that should be fun. Add in some time with the Fam Damily this week and plans for post-holiday wind-down time, and it should be a good holiday.

I could use that...it's been a long couple of weeks. Life's been taking me and many of the folks I care about for a serious roller coaster ride. For every up there's been several downs and it's starting to get a little overwhelming. I'm looking forward to the end of the year (and of course, NYE...I always look forward to NYE) - but for now, I think I'll settle for a good night's sleep.

Hope your holiday season is going smoothly. At the rate I've been bothering to post anything of significance, it'll be next year by the time I do this again. Maybe I'll do a New Year's "This is Why I Don't Bother With Resolutions" post. :)

As is traditional, I ate WAY too much yesterday and now, in that perverse way it has after being stuffed, my body is ravenously hungry. I'm telling it to sit on that thought for a while, then I'll feed it. I have left over dinner rolls from yesterday and Mom's rolls are always nom-worthy, but tea first and then a roll (or two) instead of giving in to what my stomach thinks it wants and eating all of my share and Shar's as well.

( Dinner recap )
So today I have a little leftover turkey, the previously mentioned rolls and two dirty pie plates to go with the rest of the dishes I left out. The weather tells me there will be no yard work and Black Friday tells me that I will not be going anywhere near a store, so those dishes will get dealt with, the floors will get vacuumed and there might even be some decorating. I expect some portion of the Friday Night crowd to descend on us tonight, though I will be surprised if it's more than a small fraction what with Dicken's opening today, people being out of town, etc.

And tomorrow it looks like I'll be heading out to Dicken's myself to do some shopping, browsing, ogling, dancing and birthday greeting. Yay long weekends!

In the oven are two pies, one apple and one pumpkin, for my family's Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

I have to be honest -- they are UGLY. Lumpy, bumpy and, in the case of the pumpkin, slightly uneven around the edges. I have faith they're going to taste good though, and really, if there's anyone you can take an aesthetically unappealing pie to, it's got to be family right?

Of course, having left work at lunch time and spent the afternoon baking, my brain is now in full Friday mode and I keep thinking I should start getting things together to head to Fremont for the evening. I think Poe would be a little surprised if I showed up on her doorstep unannounced on a Wednesday though... =)

And so begins the longest of long weekends for my year. I've been looking forward to this all month. Work went from slow to very hectic in a day this year - almost no ramp up at all - and I've been running at full tilt most of the month, so a break is feeling really really good.

I have almost no goals for the weekend. Pies today were probably the most ambitious of my actual plans. Tomorrow I get to spend the day with my family (including the Seattle contingent) and then I have three blissfully unscheduled days to play with.

Since Friday is a good day to stay at home, I'm contemplating doing some more yard work and digging out my Christmas decorations. Shar and I did a little shopping and picked up a tree (yes, artificial - he's allergic to the real thing), and I plan to actually decorate this year, for the first time in a long while. It feels good to be able to plan to do that. I remember really enjoying decorating when we lived in Campbell and then at the Murrieta apartment and on 5th Street, but with all the moving around and just not being entirely happy with the last house, I haven't had the drive the last couple of years. It's nice to have the space to have a tree and the motivation to put it up.

And the pies are almost ready - so Happy Thanksgiving to everyone if I don't get online again tomorrow. May you all have a wonderful, relaxed holiday...or, if you can't manage that, may you at least have the opportunity to recover from whatever holiday you do have.

I have successfully returned home from a long weekend in the Sierra's exploring the wonder that is Yosemite National Park. Technically I've been to the park once before, but we were within the boundaries of the park for only a few hours and only got out of the car for a few minutes, so this was my first real trip.

Oh my god is it beautiful there! *swoons*
( Cut to save your page )

Hey look -- an update. (A boring one I'm sure, but an update!)

( General rambling about life as I know it )

It's been a good long while since I posted anything of substance, so I suppose it's time for an update - especially considering it's suddenly the end of September and, once again, I have no idea where the month went. *sigh*

Not that I haven't been posting, just that almost all my posts lately have gone on my workout filter, because really, that's been what's absorbing my brain of late. (With good payoff, but not in posting.) But then, who has time to post anymore really?
( Nutshell version of the month )

And now, from my walk this morning, I give you Potter Propaganda:

I'm waiting for the plumber to arrive, which is probably the least positive part of my weekend so far. While rearranging things in the garage and removing the cabinets-of-uselessness, Shar and I discovered that the main pipe that drains from the master bath sink and shower (but not toilet thank goodness!) has a very large crack in it, such that when the shower is running it creates quite a puddle on the garage floor. Since we were working with dust, dirt and spiders (ugh!) and both very desperately want a shower, calling the plumber was kind of a must...instead of merely being a really good idea (seeing that Romeo's sink is backed up in the upstairs bath).

Aside from faulty plumbing, it's actually been a really good weekend. ( Recap )
Overall, a productive, relaxing weekend. I didn't get the dishes done and didn't get to the grocery store, but these things can be worked around. And next weekend there will be a three day weekend and a trip to see my folks for the first time in months, which I'm looking forward to. Now I just need my shower back... =)

I've been delaying my annual BayCon post - Monday I was (predictably) exhausted and would have fallen asleep over my keyboard if I'd tried to spend time on the computer and yesterday I was trying to pretend that I was getting work done. Today I've given up on that work concept for a bit (it really is just that quiet this week) and get on with it before I forget all the high points of the weekend.

This won't be the usual "OMG!! SO AWESOME!! *SQUEEEEEE*" post that I usually do, because while it was a GOOD weekend, it was also very...quiet. I know a lot of folks have used "quiet" to describe the Con this year, and in my case, I think it's because I wasn't disappointed with the weekend, but it was sort of slow by comparison to other years. The overall energy level of the convention just wasn't there.

However, this was the first time that Shar has come out with me, which proved to be quite enjoyable, and I got to introduce him to all the wonderful folks that I really only see at Con for one reason or another. There was also a higher percentage of the "Family" in attendance as well, which was awesome.

( So without further ado, the high points: )

The wedding was lovely - and I know everyone says that, but really, I've been to some that just weren't. This one really was.

The Brazilian Room is a lovely facility on the top of a hill in Tilden Park. No cell service, but plenty of trees and a length of lawn spilling down the hill that makes me wish we hadn't been all dressed up and could have just rolled down it. Finding it was tricky, but it makes a beautiful location for an outdoor ceremony.

Nitehunter officiated and the whole thing went off without any visible hitches. The bride was appropriately beautiful. The groom was appropriately handsome. The attendants all looked appropriately stunning in dressed and tuxes (and wow...I had no idea how well the guys can pull off hats!).

The DJ kept the reception running at such a smooth pace that I didn't realize how long we'd been there until we hit the last dance and filtered out at mid-afternoon. There was an amazingly good lunch (must remember that spinach salad!) followed by some moving toasts (points to Poeso for managing to get those of us who rarely "ruin our makeup" to do just that) followed by the appropriate dances, tossing of flowers and undergarments and cake.

I think the bride MIGHT have some things to say to the groom about rummaging about under her dress "looking" for the garter - but it was hilarious. There was satin and taffeta and half of the Admiral...and a squirt gun? and a flashlight? =D I haven't laughed that hard at a reception in a really long time.

They kept the whole thing very light hearted, a good touch of silly and therefore very very fun to be at. It was a good day to be part of.

And to the happy couple -- Congrats again and if possible, I would really like to get a copy of the "Friday Night Group" photo! I want that for my wall. Pinkies out everyone! =)

Now I really need to get to that ridiculous to-do list I've developed for myself.

For those of you in the "usual" Friday night gatherings at poeso's - since The Burrow will be closed this month, I'm officially opening up my place for this week.

I can't promise a rousing round of Do You Worship Cthulhu, but I have RockBand and a ton of Buttershots left over from the April birthday party, so if you're inclined, bring your favorite cream soda and we'll have Butterbeer.

Usually I love the heat, but the A/C at the office has been on the fritz this week and I'm finding that what might qualify as "comfortable" at home or outside, rapidly becomes "stifling" and possibly even "nauseating" when there is zero air flow and you're in a box with a window that gets sun almost all day. I've been drinking so much water that I get dizzy by midway through the day if I don't go find something salty to snack on.

It's more tolerable today since the temperature outside has dropped, but has gotten unbearable by about 4pm the last two days. Fortunately, no one really cares if I go home at that point...most of them have left as well. I really don't know how my boss is dealing with it, given that she's got more windows than I do and they wrap around the sunniest corner of the building.

The warm conditions also have the effect of turning my brain to pudding, or Jello, or something similarly squishy. (Honestly, all I can see is the "brain mold" that Alton Brown used in his gelatin episode - he filled it with panna cotta.)

Makes it nearly impossible to concentrate on getting work done, so rather than surf the web I might as well work on a bit of an update, since I haven't really posted anything since the last round of "GRAH!! House...Bastards...OMGWTFBBQ!" Hopefully typing complete sentences will get me back on track to work on what I was trying to do.

( All I Ever Talk About )

On Wednesday night, after work, I drove out to SF to meet up with my boss, two co-workers and their spouses for dinner at Postrio. My boss has been wanted to celebrate getting our proxy statement done and out the door - she's tried to plan a dinner like this for several years but we've never actually set a date, time and location. Usually, she wanders in to my office after we file and says something to the effect of, "We should have a group dinner to celebrate." And I say, "ok..." and she says..."but it has to be in the City" (because there's nothing good enough out here) and I say, "Uh huh..." and it gets dropped, because at least two of the people who would attend live in the Tri-Valley and have no desire to go to the City on a week night.

But this year, it happened, due to some changes in the conversation that kept it from getting dropped and never brought up again...and so there we were - a very nice restaurant in SF run by none other than the famous Wolfgang Puck. The food was very tasty, and there were one or two things that were truly fabulous (the crab cake appetizer and the butternut squash risotto in particular), but over all, I wasn't all that impressed. I expect a little more "wow" with a place like that.


Last night, we had a "family dinner" at Poe's place. Poe cooked a turkey that's been living in Stride's freezer, and everyone else brought the fixings. There was cornbread, cranberry sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, rice, salads, stuffing, green bean casserole and several varieties of dessert, including the GLADoS cake (which definitely was delicious and moist).

There was no fancy plating or exotic ingredients or fancy china or carefully paired wines. There were no table linens or fancy napkins. We sat where there was space and stood when there wasn't and put our plates in our laps.

It was the antithesis of the fancy dinner two nights before...and better than it in every way imaginable. Best way to end the week ever. =)

New Year's Eve requires more of a post than my brief comment yesterday, but at the time I posted last night, I'd only just started to find pieces of my brain again. I think it fell out sometime during the party and scattered. I've located about half of it at this point, and will be trying to find the remainder shortly here. Apparently it was good enough that I'm still in recovery phase. Thank god I had today off from work - I went to bed at midnight last night but didn't get to sleep until almost 2am for some reason, and then didn't wake up until noon. (*grr* Didn't want to lose so much of today!)

But I'm fed and working on caffination, so I'm going to take a stab at just what made it a good end/beginning to another year.

( Auld Lang Syne )
Seeing as everyone else seems to agree with me, I declare the end of 2008 a success and here's to a better, happier, brighter and significantly less dramatic 2009 for everyone.

And now, to get cleaned up and try to salvage what remains of my Friday before I gather up all the misplaced belongings and remaining left overs to bring to Poe and Killian's tonight.

Had a good Christmas day, though I noted to Shar that it didn't really feel like Christmas - or even a holiday - particularly. It was more like a Saturday visit to family with incidental presents. But since family is, and has been for a long time now, more important to me than the holiday itself, I figure, this isn't a bad thing.
( General Holiday Rambling )
I hope everyone out there in LJ land had a lovely holiday and is enjoying their time off as much as I am.

Oh, and there was movement on the house hunting, but I'll put that in its own post.

Still here. Looking forward to the upcoming long weekends...mostly. Part of me is deeply concerned about having only 4 work days until the new year and completing various projects in that time. Time off is good, but only if I get to use it the way I want to.

But I shall not complain of my good fortune in having two five day weekends in a row, with chances to see family, a wedding and a party in that time. I won't I won't I wont. =)
( Yeah yeah...I know you're only reading for the house hunting updates... )

And my god is the date changing fast these days. I can't believe we're halfway through December and rolling up on Christmas. It's almost enough to induce a mild bit of panic.
( Two weeks worth of posting crammed into one life update )

I got a call from my dad last night - my maternal paternal grandmother passed away yesterday morning. She was 92, and not in the best of health, so it's not all that surprising, but still.

Since I expect I'll end up bringing it up in conversation (since attending the services will involve a short notice trip to the Portland, Oregon area), I thought I'd better mention it.

I wasn't particularly close to my grandmother. I haven't seen her since just after my wedding and never visited after my aunt moved her to an assisted living facility. I have a general sense that I should feel more guilty about not spending more time with her and getting to know her and her life story...but I think that's due to the sense that it always disappointed my father that we didn't have a stronger desire to visit his family.

Unfortunately, I'm not all that fond of my cousins on that side, or their parents, and as far as I can tell, the feeling is generally mutual. I found out more about my grandmother (and talked to her more) on that last visit than in all the others in my life combined - and we saw her almost every summer when I was young. At least I got one good conversation with her as an adult.

I want to attend the services out of respect for the woman who raised my father and because I know it would mean a lot to Dad.

Guess I better send that note to my boss to let her know I'll probably be out of the office for a day or two next week...

As anyone who's seen my computer desktop knows, I don't have a problem with "busy" designs. For several years now, my preferred desktop for my work machine has been a collage of photos of my family/friends creating a cacophonous riot of color and smiling faces that makes some people grin and others say, "My god...how can you WORK with that background?"

Of course, the first of these creations was done close to when I started my job, and has been added to in pieces over time but not updated recently. Since I've been here almost 6 years, and not updated the collection much in close to 3 years, it's a little out of date. Babies have been born, marriages have ended, new friends have been introduced and social tectonics have reshaped the landscape significantly.

So yesterday, after I found my glasses, I spend a good bit of my day going through the photos on my "brick" (external hard drive) and creating a new background.

This one is sized to the right resolution for my current system, so everything is much crisper and clearer than it was. Previously, I was stretching the old collage to fit the screen. Like the original, before any modifications, there are some spaces where I can squeeze in photos as time goes by and things change. There's a little more family and a lot more friends, and it makes me smile.


There are a few people missing from the collection, since I didn't have photos of a few folks. I'll have to remedy that, and I really need to remember to have a camera handy at parties more often, so that in another 3-5 years, when I need to update for more weddings and births and other social shifts, I'll continue to have a supply of photos of the people I love doing the things that they love...and hopefully in clothing that I can continue to put into a collection of photos likely to be seen by my co-workers! =D

Thank you all for giving me something to make me happy during the day and remind me why I keep working. I'll put a friends locked copy of the image up in my LJ collection if people want to see it...

[ETA: Compressed copy uploaded, with f-lock, to gallery. I had to shrink it to get it to upload in a reasonable time. Can be found here.]

The person or persons responsible for 6am alarms should be summarily executed. The redhead demands it.

And I remembered what I didn't mention about Saturday...deviant is alive and has been personally seen and experienced! *happy redhead bounce* (Just when I thought he was avoiding my caller ID!)

I shall have to remember to tell the parentals that they don't have to pester him. Their middle child lives after all. =)

Also, the cousin was deposited at the airport last night. If she hasn't surfaced in her home territory by the end of today, a search team should be assembled.

My week off is almost at a close and I'm really wishing I’d tacked Monday onto the days off. I’m feeling like I’m in need of a "recovery day". The cousin (who the locals have attempted to nickname "Sharkbait") is off for home tonight on a red eye flight and seems to have had a good visit overall. She's said it was a relaxing vacation at least, which is good. Apparently I didn’t traumatize her too horribly with the culture shock.
( The Vacation in Brief )