11.30.16 - November joy statuses

11.26.16 - Belated Friendsgiving

Neil got in late last night. I picked him up and we got Jack in the Box before getting home, but I went to bed shortly after because it was late and I knew I'd need to get up with Clara this morning.

She didn't wake up too terribly early and even though I got less sleep than usual I didn't feel that tired, probably because I knew I had a lot to do. During the morning Clara watched her Christmas youtube playlist while Neil helped me clean up the apartment. Jack had been cleaning parts of it throughout the week, so there really wasn't all that much to do and it went much more quickly than I expected. Clara got excited about me moving the dining room set around to vacuum and started climbing all over everything, that was cute.

Because I had a lot of leftover time I decided to go ahead and put my Christmas decorations up. That might have even been my favorite part of the day. I love Christmas, and I had some new decorations Mom had bought me from Michael's last year on sale the day after Christmas. Every year my decorations expand and it makes the transition to Christmas Apartment even more fun.

New decorations this year.

Plus this year Clara was old enough to kind of notice what was going on. She eagerly pulled decor out of the boxes to examine. In the middle of the process she went down for a nap, and by the time she got back up I was finished, so she woke up to Christmas lights and a decorated tree, and she was fascinated. it was cute to see.

Uncle Neil tests to make sure the bulbs aren't too hot for Clara.

Somewhere in this process Jack got home from work and he helped with deep cleaning a few more things, like wiping off the ceiling fan. I notice he notices more details about cleaning once he gets into it, which is pretty nice.

Soon after that, Henry arrived with pie, wine, and tri-tip--and a grill! A small grill, that is, for searing the tri-tip. Jack went to Costco and got a rotisserie chicken and Caesar salad, and meanwhile Neil made mashed potatoes while I made candy yams. Somewhere in this prep Neil's friend Shawn arrived, and pretty soon we were all ready to eat.

Clara didn't want to try any of the food (her loss) and so had a PBJ instead. But she did sit at the table with us for most of the eating, and that was pretty nice. I told Henry I had seen a lot of posts on my newsfeed about people trying to avoid discussing politics while home for Thanksgiving or dreading inevitable political fights; it made me feel fortunate that in the crowd I was in I neither had to avoid politics nor worry about fights. We ended up talking about the recent election and how we think it happened for quite awhile, completely amicably. That was pretty nice.

After eating, the guys all sat around the coffee table and started playing 5 Crowns while I relaxed a bit with Clara and took a few pics. Shawn had to leave after awhile and I took his spot and managed to only gain about 6 points for probably 6-7 rounds! Still didn't win though--Henry beat me by one point. I've never seen a game so close!

Clara kept passing the scorecard back to Henry.

Soon after that, Henry headed back to the bay area. That worked out well because I was pretty tired. In fact I don't think any of us stayed up much longer.

Sweet Potato Casserole (aka Candy Yams)

(From Mom)

Oven 350 degrees

3 cups peeled, mashed sweet potatoes (4 medium)

3 eggs

¾ c. sugar

¾ stick of butter

1 t. vanilla

Dash salt

Mix above ingredients with mixer till blended. Pour into buttered 13 x 9 casserole dish.

Topping:

1 c. brown sugar

¾ stick butter, melted

1/3 c. flour

1 cup chopped pecans

Blend topping ingredients with a spoon. Drop by spoonfuls over top of sweet potato mixture. Bake uncovered for 35-45 min. 

Remove from oven, add mini marshmallows, broil for 2-3 mins or until marshmallows start to brown.

11.24.16 - Thanksgiving Apart

Neil had to work on actual Thanksgiving day and couldn't fly up to visit us yet, so we didn't have any specific plans for the day. Jack was off work and school, which was nice. He watched Clara in the morning while I went to Starbucks and did a couple hours of work.

After I came home I used a coupon we had to order Buca di Beppo for a late lunch/early dinner. I was glad we ordered take out, both because sitting down to eat at a restaurant is difficult at this age with Clara, and because when I went to pick up the take out the restaurant was packed. The whole lobby was full, there was a small crowd waiting outside, and they had taped a sign to the door announcing they were not accepting walk-in diners today due to so many reservations. I guess that's what happens when you're one of the only locations open on Thanksgiving.

Anyway, so we got Penne San Remo, a pasta with artichokes and sun dried tomatoes and chicken in an Alfredo sauce, and it was delicious--and so filling.

Our Thanksgiving feast.

Clara took an unusually long, late nap so Jack and I enjoyed watching some Sherlock together in peace. Later he ran out to buy some Symphony bars and we continued watching and eating those, feeding Clara little pieces too.

I also enjoyed seeing everyone's FB statuses throughout the day about what they were making and who they were spending time with and the way they had decorated. Holidays are usually some of my favorite days on FB.

That night Clara and I skyped with Mom and heard all about her very pleasant Thanksgiving at Julie and Denny's. It sounds like everyone had a good time and it was really relaxed.

And Dad ended up saying the same thing about his Thanksgiving, explaining he "only" made 17 pies, so he took it easy.

Overall I think it went well for everyone--a little subdued for our first Thanksgiving apart but still enjoyable.

Near the end of the night sleepy Clara cuddled with me as we watched Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Even though Jack and I hadn't technically celebrated Thanksgiving yet, knowing the holiday is over made me excited for anticipating Christmas, so I enjoyed watching some Christmasy videos with Clara.

Jack and I also finally remembered to take a bump picture of me this pregnancy, which I enjoyed. I'm very proud of how much I've kept my weight under control so far, and I think the picture looks great.

11.24.16 - Thanksgiving Joys

11.21.16 - White Winter Hymnal

Clara has been imitating more and more songs on her playlists, which I love. This morning she was not only singing along to "White Winter Hymnal" (Pentatonix version) but she was also trying to clap her chest and legs as they do. I caught a bit of that right at the beginning of this video.

And the original video, for comparison:

11.19.16 - Clara growing up

Clara frequently sings and dances along to her youtube playlists now. Unfortunately it's been very difficult to get on tape, but we've got glimpses of it. This morning I have a playlist on (not videos, just music) and she heard a familiar one: "White Winter Hymnal" by Pentatonix. Even though she couldn't see anything (no video) she stood in front of the computer and sang along in her babbling way, best she could. As another example, the day after the presidential election she was singing along to "Tale as old as Time" from Beauty and the Beast. I was kind of stressed out with the way a lot of my friends were stressed from the election, and just feeling disheartened (and also maybe this is pregnancy hormones), but the way she sang it was so sweet and innocent I teared up. Totally adorable.

She doesn't like sitting in her high chair much anymore. I've started alternating between that and letting her stand on a kitchen chair and eat. I need to get her a booster seat. We also just last week bought the next size up carseat, since she's too big for the one she's had since birth. Guess now it's ready for mystery baby this spring. Pretty soon we need to get rid of our elliptical machine and get her a toddler bed. Moving on up!

11.13.16 - Moving talk with Andrew

Last week was the Trump v Clinton election, and since this is the Joy Inventory I won't go into a lot of detail about how Trump's victory affected a lot of people I care about. However, one small but important joy is my friend Andrew. He and I are pretty different politically, but we have been good friends for years now. We don't talk that often but when we do it's always as if it has been no time at all.

Early the morning after the election he messaged me to ask if I wanted to talk. We had an hour and a half phone call about how such a surprise result happened. Specifically he was interested in my POV, as a white conservative woman, about why so many people voted for Trump. We ended up swearing and laughing and commiserating, and it was really cathartic. And Andrew said he felt what I had to say helped him better understand and empathize with people who voted differently than he would have.

That meant a lot to me. First, it's always nice when people seek out your opinion, especially people you admire. Second, it's very encouraging when people show genuine, non-aggressive curiosity about perspectives other than their own. Third, it's a good feeling to be able to comfort or encourage a friend. And fourth, all of that meant a particular lot to me in the wake of a FB newsfeed filled with anger and miscommunication and unfair accusations. If everyone approached understanding one another the way Andrew just did, the world would be so much better for it.

So I felt like that conversation was a little example of hope right in the middle of a pretty difficult week, and I don't want to forget it.

11.5.16 - Chai tea lattes

It's been a long weekend because Clara is sick and that messes up all of our sleep schedules. However I still found a calm joy when I went to get work done at Starbucks and was able to sip on a warm chai tea latte while it's so cool outside. Love Starbucks.