Music of 2011

Yesterday morning, I received an email from SparkPeople, as I do every Tuesday morning and when I opened up to glance the links, see if anything struck my fancy, and they had one about the 50 best workout songs of 2011. Now, I am not going to make a list of 50 jams that were on my iPod this year, one because I don't want to and two I don't want anyone making fun of my musical taste, although it is way better than yours. So I'll do a shortened list of 15 that were jamming on my iPod this year, and in no particular order...

1. Till the World Ends

2. Edge of Glory

3. Show Goes On

4. I'll be waiting

5. Born this Way

6. Paradise

7. Party Rock Anthem

8. Not Over You

9. Good Feeling by Florida

10. Any and all Maroon 5

11. Dancing on my own

12. Grenade

13. Who Says

14. We Found Love

15. Domino

And I am not going to lie, Justin Timberlake's "Future Sex, Love Sounds" songs came into rotation pretty regularly throughout the year, and I don't see that changing. And maybe some "Best of" lists can be the theme for these last few blog posts of 2011.

Crafting through the Holidays

Saturday I turned up the heat on the holiday spirit. Not only did I complete the rest of myChristmas shopping, but Kate, Carly and I decided to do a Cookies and Cocktails party...complete with sequenced Santa hats (don't tell me the real Santa doesn't have one). We researched some cute cookie ideas, cocktail ideas, and Kate made some delicious cookie dough. We gathered on the chilly December Saturday night and after some super yum dinner, courtesy of Carlos, and a couple of cocktails, we got to work! We had sugar and gingerbread cookie dough and a ton of cookie cutters, we made a TON of christmas cookies--I think we each went home with 2 dozen, at least. Here are some highlights of the evening...

I had to crop Kate's apron. But it was red, green and white and therefore festive.

We googled this idea for melting snowmen cookies. Easy peasy with marshmallows as heads. Well, I suppose I should say easy peasy in the loosest sense of the word. Here's what they should have looked like:

Those were Carly's of course. And below are mine. I thought it would look more realistic if I smushed their heads down. But then the red frosting for eyes just got a little too creepy.

Some sweet sparkle hats...thank you Target for doing your part to bedazzle our wardrobe and closet.

And a cookie cocktail party and holiday party just isn't complete without a signature cocktail courtesy of Emril Lagasse. Poinsettia Cocktail? 1 part champagne, 1 part vodka, 2 parts cranberry juice, pomegranate seeds and lemon for garnish. Kudos Emril, you really outdid yourself with that one. Two thumbs up.

And then some action shots of rolling out the dough...

And then the cookie decorating madness really commenced. I think we were decorating for a good 2 hours. Maybe not, I have no sense of time.

And of course, no cookie decorating is complete without a "J for Julie!" but I couldn't fit that on my stocking so a "J!" will have to do.

Two craft projects in two months documented. CHECK. Now just have to find a craft to keep the craft bug going through 2012!

And it's the Holiday Season!

The holiday spirit is in full swing in San Carlos. Slowly but surely, lights are being hung, families are purchasing Christmas trees and the post office is jam packed-thank you PostMaster Gary. I love the lead-up to Christmas and with that said, here are just some highlights of the San Carlos Holiday extravaganza:

1. Eucalyptus Street. To those native San Carlosians, they know of this street well. Not only can you see it from Alameda, overlooking most of San Carlos, but also for the traffic that's generated because of it (small town living does not welcome traffic, especially on city streets). For those who are unfamiliar, this street is essentially a whole block of Clark Griswolds who deck their houses out and jack up their electrical bills for the month of December. Every square inch of the street is covered with white and colored lights, ornaments, fake santas (sometimes we get a special appreance from him) and sometimes even snow. I believe one guy started it and then eventually the whole street caught on. It's become the thing to do in San Carlos, and even other Peninsula cities are migrating to see the display! It gets so busy that they make it a one way, and it's PACKED on the weekend with walkers going down the street. The residents are even taking the opportunity to make a profit when they sell hot chocolate/coffee/tea on the weekend nights--at least they have in the past--and you can only imagine that it's a hella lucrative idea! But maybe they're trying to break even from their astronomical power bills.

2. 96.5/94.5/Pandora: 24x7 Christmas music. What some may call a nightmare - something equivalent to nails on a chalkboard - I consider pure awesomeness. Seeing as I am a commuter now, I get to listen to it stuck in traffic, on my Pandora station in the office, and back onto the stations on my way home. Pure. Satisfaction. Oh and my favorite song that only comes on once in a blue moon? Happy Holidays by Andy Williams. Youtube it. You won't be disappointed.

3. X-Mas movies: This is a given. Sunday I watched my ALL-TIME favorite holiday flick, Miracle on 34th Street (1994 version). What more could you ask for, it's got humor, it's touching, it's the whole shebang. Some other favorites include: The Santa Clause, Home Alone (1 & 2), Elf, White Christmas and of course, Muppet Christmas Carol (not really sure why they insist on making that story again and again when the Muppets got it right). Watch those and you wont be disappointed either. And what's a better way to spend a weekend in December than watching one of these movies, reciting them word for word?

4. Christmas drinks: They could be my favorite because they usually include champagne - perhaps God's gift to the planet. And seeing as I was just chatting with Kate about signature drinks for the holiday, but I think we have another winner on our hand: Poinsettia Cocktail AND who could forget the 2009 classic: Citrus Champagne Punch (took an entire group down but my god was it delicious).

Ok those are just a few of my favorite things. I am sure there are more, but that's enough for now.

#ACandyCaneSoundsBombRightNow