Another stolen pix ... or two

Again, apologies to my brother! But, that's what you get when you only post photos to your myspace account and not your blog!

Merriment and mayhem

Just a week before Christmas and the shopping, wrapping, shipping and baking frenzy is just beginning!

Today I will haul Santa's ENTIRE bag of gifts to the Post Office, joining thousands of harried, grouchy and frustrated others, and ship a small toy store to my niece and nephew!

Then I'm off to the crowded stores in search of gifts for my hard-to-buy friends and family. (I'm thinking gift cards!)

So this early morning I'm gearing up for my venture out onto the holiday battlefield. Wish me luck!

Space Needle and Pike's Market

A day in the Emerald City

So in my four previous visits to Seattle, I've actually never been atop the Space Needle. So this trip today with my best friend Alicia began at the majestic needle! The views were incredible and we picked a beautiful, if a bit windy, day!




Outside the needle, there was a lovely little shrubbery version ... too bad you can't see it in this photo!

But there it is...


After the needle, we were off to Pike's Market! Great quirky shops and ... the Fish Market! This fresh fish shop is world-renowned for flamboyantly flinging and flipping fish from one employee to the next. Want to buy a Talapia? Watch it fly through the air from the ice to the scale. Amazing! Sadly, catching photos of this performance is not quite so easy ... Oh well, here's what I did manage to get.

Ummmm .... CRAB LEGS!!

After the market, we went down to the pier and found a sexy fisherman we just had to photograph! "I once caught a fish THIS BIG!"

And then I had to introduce Alicia to a Seattle institution!! You can't visit the waterfront of Seattle without eating a savory lunch of Clam Chowder and Clam Strips at IVAR'S. So incredible! It was a bit too cold to feed the leftover french fries to the seagulls near the water (a tradition, too), but it was delish!


After a bit more shopping, my throbbing feet decided they had had enough, so we gathered up our souvenir spoils and heading down the road ... me north to Everett, Alicia south to Tacoma. Hopefully I will be able to hook up with Alicia and her husband Anthony for dinner before I leave on Saturday .... maybe this time in Everett!

Stolen pix

I stole these from my sister in law's myspace page! ... Sorry Jeff, they are too cute not to share!!!

Music of the Season

I think it was even before Halloween that SLC station 106.5 started playing Christmas music 24/7 ... I do love listening to Christmas music, but the earliness was a bit extreme! Even so, I would still indulge in a song or two before Turkey Day, when I usually bust out my own music collection.

A couple nights ago I spent some time downloading some new festive tunes. I try each year to add at least one more holiday album to my collection. This year I did a little more than one. I bought the much-anticipated Josh Groban "Noel" but also hunted down his version of "O Holy Night" since it wasn't on the CD ... a major oversight since it's one of his best.

While perusing the holiday music section, I also found one of my old favorites! Back when I was at Ricks College my roommate Julie introduced me to two wonderful classic holiday music institutions. The Carpenters Christmas ... an all-time favorite; and Nat "King" Cole's Christmas Song album. I made audio tape versions of both these albums, but wore them both out. I have since replaced The Carpenters, but it wasn't until the other night that I was able to bring Nat back to the King Christmas Music Collection. I just love his version of "I Saw Three Ships"! And of course his quintessential "The Christmas Song."

A few more modern favorites I just added include: "Mistletoe" by Colbie Caillat, "Sleigh Ride" by SHeDAISY, "Carol of the Bells" by both The Bird and the Bee and Emmy Rossum (Christine from the movie "Phantom of the Opera"). I also love Jars of Clay's new Christmas album. Their "Drummer Boy" is fantastic!

The albums that get the most air time in my collection however, are the ones by Kurt Bestor! He is a genius when it comes to musically capturing that holiday spirit! Other favorite purchases from previous years include the "Elf" soundtrack, Michael Buble's "Let It Snow" and Sarah McLachlan's "Wintersong."

What are your favorite Christmas tunes? Who does the best version?

Soakin' in Seattle

I've been in Seattle ... er, Everett ... just over a week now and it's been a lot of fun! I just hope I'm being helpful enough!!
After a few days of "training" and getting a feel for their schedule, I'm now able to free up some of my cousin Chris' time for her own family.

Chris and I have managed to escape on a few shopping escapades! I've managed to find a few Christmas gifts and, of course, bought a few things for myself.

Marge and I also went to the hospital Tuesday for her Physical Therapy sessions. It takes Marge some time to get to and from the car, but she's getting along great! I know she's frustrated that she can't get up and go like she used to and she's struggling with her eyesight, but it's obvious she's getting stronger and better every day.

It sure has been rainy! In fact that lovely snow storm turned into a huge mess with lots of flooding. Luckily we stayed safe and relatively dry!

We've enjoyed quite a few home-cooked meals that I have been so excited to prepare! Finally somone to cook for!! I tried to recreate Marge's famous Swedish Meatballs. I think they turned out great, but apparently not quite like the master's. Oh well!
The biggest hit so far has been my Chicken Enchilada Casserole. Awfully tasty and super easy to throw together! Here's the recipe:

CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE
2 cups shredded chicken (for ease, you can use the canned chicken, 2 small cans)
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup Sour Cream
1 small can diced green chilies
1 small can chopped olives
2 cups shredded cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
8-10 corn tortillas

Blend all ingredients together, including cheese. Then either layer between torn up pieces of tortilla, or, rip the tortillas into smaller pieces and blend into the mixture.
Place in 9x13 pan. Top with more shredded cheese.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Great garnished with sour cream and salsa. Don't forget the tortilla chips!

Santa's visit

I don't remember who it was, but there was an older couple in our ward who would dress as Santa and Mrs. Claus and, after hooking up their horses to an authentic sleigh, they would travel throughout the neighborhood on Christmas Eve, stopping at various homes, leaving presents of ribbon candy and oranges!

It was so exciting watching the jingling sleigh pull into our cul-de-sac. And those oranges ... what is is about oranges and Christmas? Oranges just taste better when you either get them from a visiting Santa or pull them out of the bottom of your stocking on Christmas morning! Oh ... and I nearly forgot the peanuts! Still in their shells, of course.

Christmas memories

I was sharing this crazy holiday story the other day and I thought it would make a funny blog post!

One Christmas Eve, as the excitment and anticipation of Santa's visit was building, my dad played a mean, evil, Scrooge-like trick. Thinking he was so clever, he pulled out a piece of cardboard and made a huge sign that said:
"Don't Stop Here, Santa! These Kids Have Been Naughty!"

After a lot of screaming and crying from us kids, and chiding from my mom, Dad brought the sign in the house just in time! Whew! I don't remember what we got that particular year, but I know that Santa did find the King Kids, despite my dad's "naughty" claims. Looks like Santa knew better!

So, now that I've stirred up these Christmases past memories, I just might have to share a few more stories. What are your fondest holiday memories?

Christmas ideas

It's time to deck the halls and my cousin has started a great Making Christmas blog that is full of clever ideas, recipes, holiday deals and more. Check it out!

The Perfect Purse

I am a purse freak! I have dozens and dozens of purses that I LOVE! I don't switch out my tote from my bevy of bags nearly as often as I would like. Something about transferring all the crap that just gets annoying!

I have found a solution! My friend Elaine and I were shopping with her family at Fashion Place Mall in Salt Lake when we ran across a kiosk peddling these nifty creative purses www.michebag.com

They are the perfect purse. One simple brown or black purse with dozens of interchangeable shells that magnetically snap into place. Want to match your shoes to your purse? Want to enhance your cute pink springy outfit, but swap out shell of the purse. GENIUS!

Now, if only Santa could somehow read this blog.

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Beautiful snow was falling this afternoon as my cousin Chris and I were driving home from a great Christmas bazaar ... Victorian Christmas Village an hour or so south of Everett. The two of us both found a few Christmas gifts, tasty treats and enjoyed some great window shopping. A great way to get into the Christmas spirit!

The best part of the day, however, was the flurry of flakes fluttering fast on the drive home! The flakes were huge and were starting to stick to the ground. We planned our trip just right ... enjoy the shopping and still get home before the snow got too bad!

What a perfect way to welcome December!