My Sacred Life
Day 28

Ooops, my bad, I'm two days late with answers to the lovely Lisa's Manic Monday. Here's what she has for us this week:

Which personality trait has gotten you into the most trouble? [hahaha HOW appropriate!] Probably my procrastination. Or my lackadaisicalness (my, that's a long word) as pertains to things I don't like doing.

If you had to gain 10 pounds what would you eat to gain the weight? HAHAHA...like THAT will ever happen!!! Anyway...I'd eat lots of pasta and bread. *rolls eyes at Lisa*

How is your private self different from your public self? It's not...I'm pretty much the same privately as publicly inasmuch as what you see is what you get. I mean...I don't walk around braless (much) publicly, and I certainly don't pee in public (much) or engage in wild sex (anymore) in public, but other than that...

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Thanks to a suggestion from Michelle, I asked my boss for some Mondays & Fridays off in Decemeber, and she graciously agreed. So I'm off two Mondays, the 3rd & the 10th and three Fridays, 14th 21st and 28th! Woohoo!

Last night, I went to see The Song Remains The Same, an old Led Zeppelin movie, which was playing at a few theaters in the area. It was definitely hokey in some parts, but the concert parts were amazing. My friend said anyone who could watch Page and Plant and not be turned on was dead inside...I totally agree! Those boys were HOT! Watching the intensity on Page's face as he fingers fly over his guitar...*fans self*. WOW!

Took a day off from work today...I'm still depressed that I have 60 hours...60 HOURS of vacation time left. First time EVER I've not used it all up. Sigh...

So anyway, I got the tree up, lit and tinseled...not sure if I'm going to put on any other decorations other than crystal icicles. Doing good for having said I wasn't going to put it up this year :-)

Woke up at 330 am ... do you all know how QUIET it is between 330 & 430? FREAKY quiet, that's how quiet!

My Sacred Life
Day 26

SarcasticMom came up with Weekly Winners, and here's how you play:

Every Sunday, post your favorite photographs on your blog. It doesn't matter what they are of - just whichever ones are your favs from the previous week (Sunday - Saturday).

[The only photos I absolutely do not want linked to this Meme are pornographic photos or otherwise extremely graphic photos (such as death/violence, etc.). You will get banned for this, and yes, I will be checking. Please, just use your good taste and common sense.]

So here are the rest of my favs from last week (I love this idea!!!)

It looks like the sage is covered in diamonds...I love this picture!

Prepared veggies, waiting to be cooked

Cappuccino, cannoli, anisette & water...delish!

Fresh rosemary, I just love the smell!

Funny Bones, my favorite snack cake. They were in the vending machine at work...I just HAD to ... yes, I know they're VERY bad.

My Sacred Life
Day 25
it's the Charlie Brown arrangement ;-)

What a weekend! I bought a bunch of books, almost finished one, saw a movie, went shopping, took some pictures, met friends...I was social! Hey...it happens every now and then LOL! I almost went shopping today again, but I thought a nice, peaceful walk in the woods was in order. The dogs and I had a great time, and I picked some pine needles to spruce (pun intended) up the place.

Did you have a good weekend?

Don't forget ... the Friday Fill-Ins are over here now!

1. I enjoy photography more than anything else.
2. Blogging satisfies my need for being heard (or seen or read!)
3. When I look at a full moon, I feel amazed! Last night's was gorgeous, rising up over Boston.
4. If I want a snack, I usually reach for a bag of chips or maybe some peanut butter on bread.
5. The most recent movie I saw, Live Free or Die Hard made me gasp at some of those wild crashes!
6. If only I had enough money to live the way I want to.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to last night I hung out with friends, tomorrow today my plans include keeping warm and Sunday, I want to walk the dogs!

My Sacred Life
Day 24

This is the 85th Saturday Photo Hunt; the theme is "Hot";

Hot is what I wish it was...22 degrees outside, brrrrr!!! I'm going to bake a cake, just for the heat from the oven. I'd roast a chicken, except for all that leftover turkey and ham. But the pies ARE gone...so cake it is!

My Sacred Life
Day 23

Left the house at 9:30 am and didn't slow down til about 11:30 PM...phew, what a day! Met Michelle at Barnes & Noble, bought four books, had a cup of coffee and a chat, and headed to Megan's to pick her up. Drove to Medford, hopped on the T and headed to Faneuil Hall, where we wandered and took pictures and had lunch at Wagamama.

Then we walked around and took more pictures and headed to the North End where we had cappuccino and drinks and dessert. Sufficiently warmed, we walked over to the Four Seasons, where we ended the evening with a cheese plate, a martini and a nice glass of Sancerre.

Ahhhh...Christmas time in Boston!

My Sacred Life
Day 22

We had a great day today. I cooked and washed, cooked and washed, and I still had a sinkful of dishes after the meal.

Wolf, of course, could barely contain himself with all the delicious smells. I staged this photo when I was done cooking. Isn't he so cute?!

After eating, we vegged out in front of the tv and watched the latest Die Hard flick...lots of spectacular crashes, good plot. I give it a thumbs up.

If you celebrate Thanksgiving, i hope it was filled with good food and excellent company.

Ahhh...another day off tomorrow AND it's a payday! Life is good :-)

1. Turkey breast: First time not making the whole turkey, but it's just the three of us, so...
2. Ham: Why not?
3. Butternut squash, braised in cider
4. Fresh rosemary, from the bush I rescued from outside and brought to the plant lady at work (I'm using that in the squash dish)
5. Brussels sprouts, chestnuts and shallots in a brown butter sauce
6. Stuffing, which also has chestnuts in it...and celery & onion, too!
7. Mashed potatoes (I don't like gravy, but I'll have some for Dad & my brother)
8. Cranberry sauce: from the can...I like it better than homemade LOL!
9. Pumpkin pie, made from roasted pumpkins and with a graham cracker crust; I also substituted some black molasses for some of the sugar. It's in the oven now!
10. Apple crisp: oatmeal, maple, brown sugary goodness, topped with
11. Vanilla ice cream
12. Coffee
13. Gingerale

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it!

My Sacred Life
Day 21

On my walk with Wolf this morning, I noticed little areas of snow left over from yesterday's brushing and thought it looked beautiful! It was almost as if I'd been transported to a place where the plants were covered with glittering diamonds.

Imagine that!

Got almost all the ingredients for tomorrow's big meal...except two of the most important: chestnuts and cranberry sauce!!! So I'll have to brave the stores again today.

For those of you that celebrate Thanksgiving, are you ready?

It's Wednesday and you know what that means...time for What Is It Wednesday! Have you played?

My Sacred Life
Day 20

There's something about the first snow of the season that's magical. It makes me giggle and want to go out and make snow angels! It's pretty with the autumn colors shining through.

Which picture do you like best? It's the same one, with different photoshop techniques applied.

It's snowing!!!

Since I enjoy this meme so much, I'm making it a part of "My Sacred Life". Yes, I didn't take a picture of it...but rules are made to be broken, no? Anyway, here's Manic Monday, hosted by Lisa and this is what she has for us this week:

What is your least favorite day of the week and why? I'd have to say Monday. After two days off from work, it's always a bit of a sticky wicket to get back into the work frame of mind.

What's the best way to end the day? Downing an ice cold martini? Tempting though that might be, the best way to end each day is to lay in bed and read for a bit. It's soothing and gives me my needed quiet time.

Which animal would you have left out of the ark? Skunks!!! They're beautiful, but OMG the stink!

My Sacred Life
Day 18

And I'm in the mood for a meme...luckily, Claudia tagged me :-)

7 random and/or weird facts about me:

1. I love mint chocolate chip ice cream...but it has to be white, not green.
2. It takes me forever to finish a bottle of diet coke...if I ever come to visit you, you'll find a bottle or three in your fridge (small ones, not a 2 liter).
3. I'll try tasting almost anything food related, which is how I put natto, sea urchin roe & chitlins in my mouth (not at the same time, and my rating is: yuck, yuck & yuck!)
4. It's impossible for me not to personalize my workspace, as anyone who's ever seen my office can attest to (think the Captain Jack Sparrow cardboard standup is overdoing it?).
5. If I love a movie, I can watch it over and over and over. Same thing for music...it takes a really, REALLY long time, if ever, for me to get sick of either of these things.
6. I enjoy the attention my dog, Wolf (seen above), gets when we're out walking, because I HATE/DETEST/CAN NOT STAND to be the center of attention and would much rather any attention be on someone else.
7. I can only learn about things that interest me...ask me about the stock market or how cars work and I'll yawn and fall asleep (believe me, I wish those things DID interest me), but ask me about the different kinds of olive oil, how many races of Elves there are, or what Snape's mother's name is, and I'll rattle it off in a second.

These are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

And as we all know how I feel about rules, seven of you consider yourself tagged if you'd like to play along!

Thanks, Claudia, I was wondering what I'd write about today!

My Sacred Life
Day 17

This is the 84th Saturday Photo Hunt; the theme is "I love...";

I love brussels sprouts and pinecones, old recipes and salty chocolate, smiling dogs and traveling, a good cup of coffee, cool shoes, and of course, photography!

And I love my cousin who is celebrating a birthday today out on a cruise ship! Go wish her a happy birthday, if you so desire :-) Happy Birthday, Maribeth!!! Love you!