Today was an unexpectedly warm day in New Jersey, making it feel more like early spring than early December. I worked from home today and sat on the porch with the windows open, enjoying the beautiful breeze while listening to Christmas songs. Although I’ve been really learning to embrace winter, I’m also most grateful for the break in the winter chill. I didn’t expect to put this one on my official countdown list, but when it came on the rotation, I realized it was the perfect accompaniment for the day.

I’m hoping that the nice weather will keep up for tomorrow. I’ll be back in the office and it’ll be the perfect opportunity to take the trip to one of my most favorite places during my lunch break.

Hope everyone else found some unexpected pleasure in the day!

OK, it’s getting late and I’m pretty tired. Today was actually a really good day at work, albeit a busy one, and I still have more to do. I think I’m going to catch a quick nap and get up in a few hours to get everything done I didn’t finish earlier.

This song came up a couple times today in random conversations (mainly revolving the Holiday Music Bracket we have going at work). It’s one of my favorites, not because I am so in love with the song, but because I’m so in love with the collaboration. How can you beat Bing and Bowie (sort-of pun not intended, for those of you up on the Bing Crosby kid-beating rumors…)

I feel I’d be remiss if I didn’t also link to this incredible parody by Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. It makes me love the song that much more…

Getting closer to done, but there’s still more to do and more supplies to buy (and here I thought I got too many ornaments to start with!)

Donnie was good enough to run to the store for more ornaments, so maybe I’ll finish this tonight…

Well, Christmas is officially over and the new year has been rung in, which means it’s time for us to all begrudgingly get back into the swing of normal.

Going back to “normal” has been especially difficult because this holiday season was an especially good one, filled with lots of good times with friends, family, and coworkers. But, I’ve also been looking forward to the “fresh start” that I’m hoping 2012 will bring and I made a lot of resolutions to help make this year count.

One of those was posting at least once a week, and another was trying to complete a project a week, whether it be a cooking thing or something else…

I’m happy to say I’ve managed to keep both resolutions so far. Below is a collection of photos of my projects (mainly all food-related…). It’s been a good start so far! Here’s to the next 51 weeks! Continue reading →

Alright, so I took the weekend off, but I’m back and more thankful than ever! It’s already shaping up to be one hell of a busy week for your old narrator, but I’m trying my damnedest to keep the entries flowing, even if it’s just letting you know the things that are making my day bright.

So, without further ado:

1. The generosity of family. Considering I currently have a bathtub full of produce (I’m not even kidding… my dad gave us three huge baskets of eggplants, tomatoes, watermelons, and cantaloupe, which we had to stash out of the reach of the buns, who were trying to claim the goods as their own by nibble the tomatoes…), D and I will not be running out of food options any time soon. And we’ve already made good use of the grub: tonight was mini pizzas with eggplant, homemade tomato reduction, and mushrooms (those were store bought), plus I made an eggplant casserole with spinach, mushrooms, the eggplant, parm cheese, and more tomato reduction. D sliced up some of the extra eggplant so hopefully I’ll have a chance to make some parm some time this week.
   We’ve also been paying it forward by sharing the wealth with friends… and if I can figure out how to cut up the melon, I’ll bring some in to my coworkers.
2. D’s knee is not broken. OK, we didn’t think it was actually broken, but I was pretty nervous at how swollen it was. He’s had on-again off-again problems with it for awhile, but this was the first time there was ever any visible signs of something being wrong. On Friday, he asked if his knee looked funny to me. Considering it was 2 times the size of his other knee, I said yes. I started him on extra strength Tylenol and glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate (here’s to putting work-acquired knowledge to good use!) and he was able to get a doc’s appointment for today. Fortunately, the doctor said it was most likely a muscle pull, so as long as the swelling goes down, he won’t need X-rays. Fingers crossed!
3. The help of friends. I’ve been working on all sorts of letters/stories/things that are in need of a 2nd pair of eyes and so many of my friends have happily stepped up to the plate for me. For this, I am forever grateful.
4. Continued progress with Mogwai. As previously mentioned, our foster came to us in rough shape and I really did not think we’d ever get him to a point where he’d be completely rehabilitated, but never underestimate the healing powers of TLC. That same bunny who would not let us touch him, is now letting us pet him and pick him up! Continued proof that a little love goes a long way…
5. The unexpected banuffin. D made a kick-ass batch of banuffins last week that were quickly annihilated. But while D was putting leftovers, he discovered the holy grail: one forgotten, uneaten, perfect banuffin!! (Yes folks, sometimes it is indeed the little things…)

We’ve had our latest foster, Mogwai, for about 2 months now.

Mogwai came from a huge angora breeder bust up in Canada where something to the tune of 100-200 rabbits were seized and were all in pretty bad shape. They spent almost a month in a shelter while rescues throughout Canada and the states scrambled to find room for them. Sadly, their time at this shelter was no better than their previous conditions: they apparently had not been sexed or properly separated, so many of the females ended up pregnant, and already poor health conditions (mites, eye infections) worsened without vet care. Continue reading →

Back in the day, maybe it was an Oprah thing, but I read/saw a program about creating a “gratitude journal.” The idea is simple: instead of focusing on the things we are not happy with, take that time and energy to note the things you are grateful for, those things that get you through the day. It can be as simple as being thankful the alarm went off in the morning so you were able to get up in time or having the Dunkin’ Donuts close enough to the office so you could get your morning iced coffee. Continue reading →

My friend, Heather, is fostering a rabbit for our rescue. Initially, I thought this was an act of motherly kindness, something she agreed to do to appease her children (and my) begging… but I’m beginning to see that Heather might have had more selfish reasons for this arrangement.

We have our fosters submit descriptions for the buns so people who might be interested in adopting can learn more.

This is what Heather submitted:

His parents were descended from the bunnies of the extinct Piast Dynasty in Poland, his 17^th great grandfather having lived with the Princess Jadwiga of Lithuania. The legitimacy of her claim to the throne was hotly contended and all the bunnies were turned out into the streets when her mother, Anna of Poland, died in 1425. In 1999, Adam Naruszewicz in his History of the Polish Nation working with the League of Polish House Rabbits declared that Alejandro was the lone heir and due the total of all the palace art that had been smuggled out of Wawel during the Polish Bunny Revolution of 1436. It is rumored that on November 10, 1999 he sold the art and invested heavily in UPS’ IPO, becoming that company’s secret majority stock owner, a fact that UPS CEO Scott Davis refuses to confirm.

Also, she started a blog, chronicling Alejandro’s (mis)adventures.

All I can say is I hope this little guy doesn’t find a home for awhile, so as not to miss out on the tom-foolery taking place while with his foster family. Viva la Alejandro!