Philly on the Eve of Christmas Eve

Source: Tour Egypt

I have a thing for historical items, people, and places. Go figure as I was an Anthropology major in college, and subsequently received my B.A. in the subject at graduation. Anyway, I had read through one of my Nat Geos there was an exhibit on Cleopatra in Philly. Since I am off work from yesterday through this coming Monday, I thought what a great idea to go and visit the exhibit as it's only a little over 2 hours away! The exhibit is at the Franklin Institute of Science until January 2, if you feel like going. The above picture is a photo of an alabaster bust figurine believed to be in Cleopatra's likeness, which was found by two leading scientists on the seafloor of the Mediterranean in what used to be the ancient city of Alexandria, Egypt. The coastline has changed significantly, and almost all of the coastline that she knew is now underwater.

Source: Franklin Institute of Science

The photo on the right is of a diver looking at what is now part of the Cleopatra exhibit. It's a sphinx featuring the facial features of Cleopatra's father, Ptolemy (XII) Auletes. All of the photos are from the linked websites, as they didn't allow photography inside the exhibit. The  two head scientists, Franck Goddio (French underwater archaeologist) and Dr. Zahi Hawass (Egyptian archaeologist and Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities). It was a fascinating trip, and then R and I went through the rest of the museum. Oh, did I mention Ben Franklin was walking around when we first arrived?



Muppetize yourself

This is hilarious! I even went through and created my own, but didn't purchase one...click on the link and find out why I might not have wanted to buy my own. ; )  

FAO Schwartz has teamed up with The Muppets to bring you a tool to create a muppet doppelganger of yourself, a significant other, even a relative or a friend. This round of random internet entertainment brought to you by Kermit and Miss Piggy.

Enjoy! Merry Christmas all my blog reading friends! Have a Blessed and Happy Holiday!

Holiday Recipes: Peppermint Frappes

Source: Southern Living December 2010

**I would highly recommend using champagne glasses if you have them like I used (now it does help I used to work at Williams-Sonoma and was able to get glasses for $0.75 a piece using my discount and on sale glassware). But then you want to buy Magic Shell chocolate or fudge topping and pour in the bottom of the glasses which you have previously frozen in your freezer, then pour in the following on top**:

Prep Time: 10 minutes Yield: Makes 3 cups
Ingredients
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 cup milk
9 miniature or 3 (1.4-oz.) chocolate-covered peppermint patties, chopped ( I used York patties).
Preparation
Process ice cream, milk, and chopped peppermint patties in a blender until smooth.
Grown-up Frappés: Decrease milk to 2/3 cup. Add 1/3 cup crème de cacao.

Holiday Recipes: Baked Goat Cheese Dip

Baked Goat Cheese Dip (Source: Southern Living December 2010):

Total: 45 minutes Yield: Makes 12 servings
Ingredients
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
Pinch of sugar
1 (14.5-oz.) can petite-diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1/4 cup torn basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
2 (4-oz.) goat cheese logs, softened
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened (I used non-fat Philadelphia)
Assorted cut vegetables to serve
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Sauté onion in hot oil in a 3-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic and next 3 ingredients, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in diced and sun-dried tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until very thick. Remove from heat, and stir in basil and salt and pepper to taste.

2. Stir together goat cheese and cream cheese until well blended. Spread into a lightly greased 9-inch shallow ovenproof dish. Top with tomato mixture.

3. Bake at 350° for 15 to 18 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with assorted vegetables and bread cubes.

I made this one for the party last night also, got some RAVE reviews! I had some cauliflower, broccoli, baby carrots, green bell peppers, and celery to serve with it.

Holiday Party Recipes-Cookie Dip

This is for those at the party last night who were asking for various recipes (sorry for the lack of photos, I forgot to take pictures before we dug in):

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip
Source: Macaroni and Cheesecake with some of my own variations
Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup brown sugar ( I used Splenda brown sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (8-oz) pkg cream cheese (I used nonfat cream cheese)
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
3/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
Directions:
In a small saucepan, place butter & brown sugar over medium heat. Stir continuously until butter melts & brown sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together cream cheese & confectioner's sugar for 1 minute. Once creamy, slowly mix in the cooled butter mixture & beat for 1 minute or so, until fully incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour into serving dish & refrigerate for at least 30 minutes prior to serving. Take dish out of refrigerator a little bit before serving so it can soften up so that it's dippable (I took it out about 10 minutes prior to people arriving). I served ours with Nilla wafers and some sugar cookies a friend brought over- delicious!!

Christmas Tour of Homes and Snow

We had a bit of snow fall on Friday...but it only stayed around for an hour. This morning, definitely woke up to snow actually sticking to the ground! I love it!



I also took some pictures of the house as I've been decorating for Christmas. While I still have a few items to put up, most of the decorations are out and displayed. If you are here for either The Nester or Kelly's Korner's Tour of Homes, thanks for stopping by and enjoy!

 This is our tree that has several different decorations on it, some from when I was little, some from our travels. I now like to buy a small ornament from the different actual vacations/ places we've lived to remember each year. One of my favorites? I have an ornament from childhood that is like a puppet, and it's a nutcracker, so when you pull the string it moves its legs and arms like a dancing Cossack soldier.

 The tree lit up with the dining room light on behind me.

 Our fireplace and mantel. I also took some close-up photos of the area as well. We usually have R's Senior Corps boots on the mantel, I just decorated around them, as you can see. You can also see one of the many nativity scenes we own. That one I bought at Kirklands when I was in college.

 This is my Fontanini Nativity Set, which I inherited from my grandmother when she lost her long battle with metastasized breast cancer a little under 2 years ago. I credit her with the reason I love decorating for Christmas so much, as it was one of her favorite holidays! I actually have several ornaments on our tree that came from my childhood home and from her collections as well. Her favorit song? "Joy to the World," which was one of the songs we sang at her funeral in March 2009....beautiful lyrics that can be sung any time of the year, especially when you take the time to listen to them, and not just in the hurried holiday rush.

 Our coffee table that includes another nativity set which my maternal grandmother gave me a few years ago. You can put a candle inside and it shines light through tiny holes all around the piece!

 A close-up of the earlier set from Kirkland's.

 Our dining room table. The two little figurines on the side? Gifts from my friend who lives in Germany when she came to visit us last Christmas! If you put incense in their backs, they blow smoke in front like they are smoking pipes.

 Here are two close-ups of our stocking hangers. Also the edge of the mantel decorations from HomeGoods, LOVE that store!

Hope you enjoyed the picture show! I have some more that I will put up later or maybe tomorrow of our guest bathroom and the front door. I might take a picture of the balcony lights and decoration as well.

December Joy

I love this time of year!! It was snowing outside today! Even for just over 30 minutes and now most is melted, but it was snowing. I am almost done with Christmas cards, and will be putting them in the mail hopefully by the end of the end of the week!



On another note, I came home last night from a Gamma Phi Beta alumnae holiday party to the smell of gas in my home. Being someone who has never lived in a home with natural gas heating, it was a bit frightening! However, I happen to enjoy a lovely commute of working at the complex where we live, and therefore my coworkers on the maintenance team came this morning to check things out, couldn't find anything. The apartment below ours? Exact point of where the gas was coming from, so BG&E also received a call from me to come check things out after I had called my coworkers and he also cleared the place.

New 101 in 1001

So I found the idea for this from a fellow blogger, and it sounded entertaining. Here's my list of 101 items to complete in the next 1001 days. I had an original version of this post, and have gone back and mostly changed it all up, so I decided to start all over again. If you'd like more information, go here.

Start Date: December 8th, 2010
End Date: September 4, 2013
1. Send out actual Christmas cards....on time (0/3)
2. Actually update travel scrapbook(s)
3. Finish reupholstering dining room chairs (1/4 down)
4. Find a church to go to here in MD (done 12-8-10)
5. Create a will
6. Make it back to Thanksgiving at Aunt Helon's again (done! 11-24-2010)
7. Finish decorating our place for Christmas and readying to celebrate the Reason for the season.
8. Go to my family reunion (0/2)
9. Create living wills
10. Finish my list of First Ladies biographies I started (2/44)-Martha Washington, Mary Lincoln
11. Finish re-reading the Presidential biographies I started (2/44)-George Washington
12. Complete some form of exercise at least 3 times per week (0/146)
13. Read at least two books per month (0/66)
14. Get my advanced open-water SCUBA certification.
15. Get re-certified in CPR
16. Go to church every Sunday for at least a month (1/4)- Happy Advent Season of 2010!
17. Get my rescue diver certification
18. Indulge in a few manicures (0/5)
19. Move to the new place
20. Remember to take my vitamin everyday for a month.
21. Host a holiday party in our place (planned for Dec 17th)
22. Teach myself Russian and Arabic
23. Get back into reading though my German materials, and complete my books I still need to read to re-familiarize myself with my college foreign language
24. Go to a cathedral for Midnight mass.
25. Organize our closet better. (to where you might actually see the floor in said closet)
26. Re-organize file cabinet
27. Set up a recycling area (done)
28. Save up for new living room furniture
29. Go house-hunting
30. Organize my scrapbook supplies
31. Buy decorations for classroom
32. Buy supplies for classroom
33. Set up my classroom
34. Graduate with my Masters in Education degree
35. FInish at least 2 classes by Christmas
36. Start on my thesis for my MAT
37. Research area programs for Anthropology departments

"Not traveling is like reading only one page of a book." - Aristotle
38. Travel to at least 12 different cities for weekend getaways/vacations (0/12)
39. Travel to Canada. I've been across the pond to Italy, I've been on a Caribbean cruise, and I've been south to Mexico but I haven't visited our Northern neighbor.
40. Get to New York City during the Christmas season!
41. Start a “Newlywed Map”
42. Go camping (0/3)
43. Be in D.C. for July 4th.
44. Continue my list of visiting every President's childhood home/ museum - so far I've had it easy, LBJ's ranch is down the highway from our wedding location and George Bush Sr. is in the town I where I went to college. (3/44) - Woodrow Wilson;
45. Work on completing my U.S. travel map (24/50): New York, Hawaii, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Kansas, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Nevada, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, New Mexico
46. Try at least four new recipes a month (0/132)
47. Sit down and plan a weekly menu and shop for food each Sunday.
48. Go out to breakfast (0/16)
49. For one week, make meals that can only be made with ingredients already in our cupboards
50. Work through all the recipes in at least two of our cookbooks
51. Write my friends in Germany 4 times a year (0/24)
52. Update address book online.
53. Update paper address book.
54. Get together with our friends from college at least twice a year (1/6)
55. E-mail friends at least once per month (1/33)
56. Go see Mt. Vernon
57. Have a dinner party at our place.
58. Go to the National Aquarium
59. Go to the National Zoo
60. Go to the Holocaust Museum
61. Go to the National Museum of the American Indian
62. Start a retirement account for myself. (done)
63. Deposit extra money into savings every month (0/33)
64. Work on paying back student loans (0/3)
65. Buy a new car for one of us. (done!- Jeep Rubicon)
66. Buy a new laptop
67. LASIK eye surgery is sounding better and better
68. Have board game date night once a week with R.
69. Buy Wii Active 2
70. Get over my fear of needles and donate blood at least once. (I had a horrific experience as a five year old in pre-op)
71. Clean out closet twice a year and donate old clothes to charity (1/6)
72. Continue my habit of donating at least a dollar for every Salvation Army Bell Ringer I come across. (1/3 holiday seasons)
73. Donate $ to charity through church tithing at least 2 times a month (1/66)
74. Go to GPB Academy
75. Donate my wedding dress and veil to Brides Against Breast Cancer in memory of my paternal grandmother.
76. Go to Gamma Phi RLC.
77. Go on a roadtrip up and down the East Coast- I've only been to the Gulf Coast of Florida and to the Atlanta region of Georgia.
78. Go skiing again.
79. Go to each part of the Smithsonian
80. Visit all the sites in the Maryland/Pennsylvania/ Virginia area that are listed in 1001 Places to Visit Before You Die- USA and Canada, as well as the World edition.
81. Go to a Gamma Phi Beta Convention (next up Denver, CO 2012)!
82. Host a holiday cookie swap
83. Put away Christmas decorations.
84. Buy a wine cabinet.
85. Go on a wine tour in Virginia.
86. Blog at least 20 times per month (0/33)
87. Redesign my blog. (done Dec 8th, 2010)
88. Finish old-school scrapbook of childhood.
89. Finish my cross-stitch projects.
90. Have my grandmother's grandfather's, (did you follow that?) i.e. my great-great grandfather, violin fixed and ready to be played again.
91. Go through student-teaching.
92. Enroll in a cake-decorating class
93. Actually make printed copies of wedding photos.
94. Life is full of surprises, especially small ones.
95. Make my Christmas memories photo album that I came up with a few years ago to start when I got married.
96. Participate in Project 365
97. Actually finish the quilt I started for a friend a year ago.
98. Get my regular scrapbook up to date.
99. Work on my travel scrapbook and update it.
100. Be in another close friend's wedding (next up, March 2011)
101. Start a new 101 Things in 1001 Days list once this one is completed

Immaculata

Source: 1660 Murillo painting, Museo del Prado, Spain

I went to Mass this evening for the Holy Day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I think I may have finally found a church here in the area that I enjoy going to and listening to the priest. It was a wonderful homily on the message of Luke 1:26-38- that nothing is impossible with God, no matter what difficulties you may be facing at that moment. As long as you take a moment to be quiet and listen to His word in your life, things will come together and turn out all right. Especially in the since of when Mary was informed that she was to have a baby, and not just any baby, but the Son of God- she said "Yes" and took on the challenges that came with that, regardless of how scared or worried about the unknown she may have been. Maybe an idea for all of us to take on a bit more of a challenge in our lives?

Speaking of turning out all right, I got a phone call from R who is on another business trip, which was a blessing in and of itself, as he was last able to talk to me when the plane landed several days ago.

A Soldier's Silent Night (A Soldier's Night Before Christmas) told by Fa...

As you view the video, please stop a moment and give thanks to ALL soldiers and people who choose to serve their country in whatever way they do, and especially for those who won't be with their families during the holidays. Thankfully, I haven't had to experience being away from mine for the holiday season, but I do have friends who will be facing that this year.

In other news on this day in 1776, George Washington and the Continental Army retreated across the Delaware Rive from NJ to PA.

Animal Hilarity