A new tradition

This year for Thanksgiving, I offered to bring two things: the cranberry sauce and the rolls. This is a big step up from what I normally bring, which is nothing. This is also sort of a big deal because I had never eaten, let alone made, cranberry sauce up until a couple weeks ago. So I thought it'd be best if I did a trial run, which I did. And it turned out great! We all ate it on vanilla ice cream and loved it.

So I felt pretty good about bringing that to Thanksgiving. But then I think I got overconfident about my cooking abilities because my next thought was, "cranberry sauce doesn't seem like enough. I should make something else." So I got this crazy idea to make homemade rolls. I thought it would be fun to get up early on Thanksgiving and knead the dough, let it rise, knead it some more, let it rise more, and so on. It seemed very old fashioned and festive.

I found this great recipe that I had never used before, but which looked delicious. I was a little concerned that the recipe was four pages long, and in paragraph form, not bullet points. But I figured I could follow it easily enough if I just read along and stayed focused. I started out strong:

But after that, the directions got incredibly complicated. I think it read something like this:

"Roll out dough to exactly half an inch. Cut into circles, using a geometry compass for precision. Find the center, using a protractor, and poke with two inch needle. Spin around in a circle three times. Fold 1/8 of circle of dough over, then turn 1/6 into center and press down. Unfold, brush melted butter on circle. Turn 1/3 of circle upwards and flip whole thing over. Let rise for awhile, until rolls look super yummy. Then unfold and follow the whole process again, but backwards while singing your favorite song from Fiddler on the Roof. This is important. Place triangle shaped rolls on baking sheet at an angle."

My head was spinning by the time I put them in the oven. Not one of the rolls was the same size, or anywhere near it. Once baked, they were actually quite good, as long as aesthetics don't matter to you. I think I'm going to have to find a different recipe for Thanksgiving.

Familiy ties

Last year I made a photo album for my Grandma for Christmas. At the time, I couldn't tell if she liked it or not, but I have since learned that she opens it up and looks through it every day. So I decided to make her a new one for Christmas this year with pictures I took throughout the year.

As I've been compiling this year's album, I've been realizing just how much I love my family, and how my nieces and nephews hold a special place in my heart. They are such special kids and I feel so blessed to have them in my family and in my life. They are full of such unconditional love and I just adore them. If you'll indulge me, I want to share with you one picture of each of them (there are four) and tell a few things about them that make them so special to me. I'll start with the youngest.

Samantha was born in March, and is Heather's youngest. She's mild mannered, and cracks up at everything her older brother and sister do. When she's excited to see you, she flaps her arms and legs. It's too cute. I can't wait to see her personality emerge as she grows. She's such a little sweetie.

Ethan is Heather's second child. I love his energy and huge personality. Another sweet thing about him is that he likes to cook. A couple weeks ago he "helped" me make puppy chow and had a huge smile on his face the whole time. But my favorite thing about him is that he's a total snuggler. I was recently lucky enough to watch The Jungle Book with my nieces and nephews, and Ethan snuggled right up to me on the couch when the movie started.

Isn't she beautiful?! Paige (Heather's oldest) is full of life and love. She has a very big personality and it's been cute to see how she pronounces my name. Last year I was "Dawidabis," and now I'm "Salibis."She reminds me of me at her age - trying to get a lot of attention and very spirited (aka bossy). She's a total girly girl and always wants Katherine and me to paint her nails. She also gives power hugs so tight you practically can't breathe.


This is one of my favorite pictures of James, my brother's son. I took it this summer when we were on vacation. Katherine bought him this coon skin cap from a souvenir shop and he wore it all week. He even held onto it when he slept. James is such a great kid. He has the most witty sense of humor and has been cracking us up for years. He's also very sensitive and always feels bad for kids who's feelings were hurt or who are less fortunate. He's growing up right before our eyes and won't be a kid much longer which he often reminds us about. This summer when we were at the movie theater, I reminded him to go to the bathroom before we went into the theater. He informed me that he's almost a teenager and doesn't need to be reminded about when to go to the bathroom. Almost a teenager!? He was nine at the time. He just turned ten. I know I wrote more about him than I did the rest, but it's not because I love him more (I love them all equally!), it's just that I've known him longer.

Thanks for letting me talk about them. I can't wait to have kids of my own some day. Kids really do add so much joy to a family!

And that's why I'm still single.

My friend Sarah and I get together 2-3 times a week to work out. Along with exercising, these sessions are mostly about catching up and talking about our lives - one part of our lives in particular really. I'd say the breakdown of our conversations is something like this:


5% how was your day
5% miscellaneous
90% men/dating

We talk about guys we're interested in, dates we go on (Sarah has the most hilarious date stories of anyone I know), and dissect much more than we actually should. Should I confess that? (Too late.) We talk about the good and the bad. But one thing I've noticed lately is that many of our stories or complaints end with the conclusion, "....And that's why I'm still single."

Now, I should make it clear that we take equal responsibilty for things occassionally going badly - we don't just blame the guys. Recently I told a story which upon telling, made me realize that I handled a certain situation badly. We laugh sometimes when we realize that we probably don't always know what we're doing in the dating department (and that's why we're still single!). I mean, why else would two smart, fun, attractive, humble women still be single, right?

In thinking about this, I've come up with two solutions to solve my dating problems. One: ask a guy friend to go on a date with me. I'd tell him up front that it was a "teaching" date, but we'd never mention that while on the date - otherwise it wouldn't be natural (as if anyone can be "natural" on a date). He would observe my dating behavior and at the end give me feedback. Of course, to make it realistic, he'd pay for the date. I mean, it'd have to feel real, right?

The only problem with this one is that if he gives me negative feedback, I might get mad and try to break up with him. Then he'd have to remind me that we're just friends and let's face it - things might be awkward for awhile.

My second idea is to do what George Costanza from Seinfeld did at one point, and that is to do everything the opposite of what my instincts tell me. If it worked for George, it's guaranteed to work for me, right? For example, if I feel like I should not call a guy, I'll call him. If I am too scared to talk to him, I'll approach him. Um... this one sounds like a lot more work than the first one and much scarier.

See what I mean? Already I'm rejecting two perfectly good, reasonable ideas. One thing is for sure though, in discussing our dating lives Sarah and I have learned something important: we know what not to do, but we don't know what to do. Ok, that's not true. We don't know what not to do either. One of these days we'll figure it out, but until then, our work out sessions will have to double as dating therapy sessions. And hopefully someday these sessions won't end with the same refrain.

The reason for the (winter) season

In an effort to survive the inevitable cold weather coming, I'm going to try to post occasionally about things I enjoy about winter. Consider it a form of winter survival therapy! And please share anything you love about winter along the way. With the winter coming, we'll need to support each other.

Today we had our first snow. I mean, our first snow that felt like winter - we had a dusting about a week ago, but it didn't stick in this area and was very light. But tonight, it was real. It didn't stick very much, but it was heavier and.... winterier. Even the air smelled like winter. This was the first time I'd smelled it this year, and I can't explain why, but I kind of liked it. I'll confess that as Katherine and I were driving in it tonight, I said something about how the snow was actually quite pretty. Don't quote me in March after the tenth snow storm, please.

Anyway, as I was saying, I thought if I share some things I like about winter with you from time to time, winter might be more bearable. Today the thing I'll share is: pomegranates. I love this fruit! They're my favorite seasonal food for winter.

Of course, some might argue that it is because of the deliciousness of the pomegranate that we even have to endure winter at all. A Greek myth tells the tale of Persephone, who because of eating the seeds of a pomegranate, was doomed to stay in the underworld for three months a year. During this time, her mother, Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, missed her so much, she stopped all produce from growing while she was gone, thus creating the seasons.

That story might make you want to turn on the pomegranate, but trust me. After that first spoon full of juicy seeds, you'll forgive. The pomegranate may be the reason we have winter, but I think it's deliciousness is it's way of apologizing. And I accept.

Clip show

I've had blog writers block this week. Yesterday I started a blog post about how I've tried to like yogurt but no matter what, I still hate it. About half way through the post, I thought, "I can't do this to my friends. I can't make them read this post. It's just too lame." So I spared you. That's the kind of friend I am.

But I was thinking about how sometimes on TV shows, when they need a break from writing, they do a clip show. In all honesty, those have never been my favorite episodes. Regardless, I decided to do something like a clip show for this post. But unlike the Golden Girls clip shows, I'm not going to show you a bunch of related posts and tie them together to solve some kind of problem at the end. I wish I could, but very few of my posts are related. What I figured I could do is update you on a few old posts that I never followed up on. So, if you ever wondered if we sold that awesome clock last month, or if I continued my reign as Dr. Mario champion, your wait is over my friends.

The Clock
Remember this gem? This clock was on our free table at work and was given to me by my coworkers, Justin and Kathy. I tried to re-gift it back to them, but somehow it kept ending up back on my desk. In case you've forgotten or you're new to my blog, we tried to sell it on craigslist. Our price was fair (trade for Snickers or $125) You are going to be shocked when you find out that it hasn't been sold yet! One person did respond to our post - someone using the alias "Vernice." It seems however, that Vernice may have been on the run because she told Kathy to respond quickly, that time was of the essence (or something like that). I guess Vernice moved on because we never heard from her again. The good news: the clock is still in my possession.

Dr. Mario
Don't worry, I'm still dominating. And writing that last sentence, I'm realizing that I'm as obnoxious as ever when it comes to Dr. Mario. What is it about this game? I mean, am I seriously bragging about my Dr. Mario skills in my blog!? Dr. Mario does weird things to people. My friend Brian wrote about our recent match in his blog, and it was pretty funny.

Halloween Costume
Thanks everyone for the great costume ideas! I blended them all together and went to the party as a Yeti Bat Vampire Slaying Smurf with scissor hands. Ok, that's not true. The truth is that I was still sick and ended up going to the party...are you ready for this? Without. A. Costume. I'm still disappointed in myself when I think of it, but there you go. Oh well - there's always next year.

I think that's enough for today's clip show. If you're still reading, thanks. And don't worry, I'll be back to normal blogging soon.

It's coming

I'm not sure I'm ready for this. After a pleasantly warm fall, winter is sneaking in. We got our first dusting of snow last night and I'm just not ready for it.

Yes, I know that winter has it's good parts. I'm especially able to remember these in the summer, when winter is a distant romantic memory. I say romantic because when I'm not actually in it, there does seem to be something romantic about winter. Staying inside, wrapped up in a blanket, sipping hot cocoa in front of the fireplace. And really, I do have some good memories of winter. I'll share one of these memories with you, more to comfort myself than anything else. A couple years ago on a cold winter night, my friend Jon was over and we decided to walk downtown to get some hot chocolate. We sat inside the warm cafe sipping our hot chocolate, cupping our hands around our mugs to warm our fingers and looking out the window, watching the snow fall out of the night sky. On our walk back, the snow was so beautiful and the air was so crisp, we walked right past my house and extended our walk until we could no longer feel our fingers for the cold. The snow was beautiful and winter almost seemed magical.

However. Notwithstanding some fond memories of winter, the reality is pretty harsh: driving in the snow, slipping on ice on the sidewalk, scraping your car windows on cold mornings, scraping your car windows on cold mornings (that one is so brutal it needed to be said twice), cold noses, many layers of coats, scarves, hats, gloves, thick socks, months with little to no sunshine, etc...

Whether I'm ready for it or not, it's coming. It's not here yet - the air smells different when winter really starts - but it's around the corner.

How do you guys get through the winter months? And I'm mostly talking about January through March/April. Snow and cold weather feel festive in December because of Christmas, but by January winter has already overstayed it's welcome. Last year one of my coping methods was to perfect my hot chocolate recipe, but that only got me so far. If any of you have any winter survival tips, please share. Or if you love winter and think I'm crazy, please tell my why you love it. I'm getting nervous... it's coming!

Daily funny

Even though it's Friday, I needed a laugh this morning. In case you do also, I thought I'd share this with you. It's a digital short from SNL that makes me laugh so hard! It's ridiculous, but I guess that's what makes it so funny.

If you think it's dumb, try not to judge me. ;) Also, based on feedback I've gotten, maybe I should warn you that some people are finding this video scary.