It’s been a while, I know. An embarrassingly long while.

Becca turned two on October 27th. We had a huge party for her the Sunday before. It was great to see everyone, and Becca enjoyed all of the extra attention. The party was Mickey Mouse themed, complete with a Mickey Mouse cake.

A week after her party was Halloween. She was a tiger, complete with face paint. We went around to see all of the relatives, and then even trick-or-treated along the road I used to go to when I was younger. The residents who remembered me were pretty excited to see Becca.

A few days after that, we drove up to Syracuse to see the Imagination Movers. I can’t say enough good things about their performance. I think I had as much fun as Becca did, and she was beyond thrilled. The look on her face when the Movers came out on stage was priceless. She even had the opportunity to meet Mover Rich. After the show, we went out to Chuck E. Cheese’s for the world most expensive pizza. But we had a lot of fun with the games and rides. We’ll be going again soon, I think.

We hosted two Thanksgivings, one with my Mom’s side, and one with my Dad’s side. We’re having Mark’s family over (all at once) for Christmas.

I competed in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November. The goal is to write a 50,000 words or more novel in 30 days. I didn’t make it, but I had a lot of fun trying. I’m going to be finishing up that novel soon, as well as the one I started earlier this year. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you see it), the last half of the month ended up being a lot busier than I thought it was going to be. I was working on a huge project for a new client, which kept me away from my story.

Christmas is coming a lot faster than I’m ready for. I’m almost done shopping, with just a few things left to order, but I have another big client project next week, so I’m going to be racing to get all of my baking done. I need to mail out all of my cookies and candies towards the end of next week in order to get everything where it needs to be on time. I have several people around the country looking forward to their chocolate covered mint marshmallows..

I might not be back much between now and the end of the year, due to the holidays and a busy work schedule, but I really mean to start blogging more regularly next year.

If you are interested, I’m on Facebook, a lot. I’d love to connect on there…  http://www.facebook.com/margo.upson

Until then, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

There are 96 days until Christmas. Three months. Yikes.

A few years ago, in the middle of yet another flat-broke holiday season, I decided that, as I couldn’t afford to buy gifts, I was going to make some cookies and fudge for family members, put them on a tray, and hand those out on Christmas morning. I made cut-outs, gingerbread men, chocolate chip cookies, Rice Crispie Treats (with M&Ms), and a few different kinds of fudge. They were a hit.

Well, as it turns out, I’m broke around Christmas a lot. So the cookies and candy have sort of become my “thing”. Every year, I try a few new recipes, branch out a bit, make the trays a little bigger… Last year I added peppermint bark, peanut butter balls, mints, and chocolate covered jellies.

My mom was the originator of this idea. I remember one Christmas when the desk in the dining room was covered in plates and bowls of homemade candies (all of which I made last year), cookies, and cinnamon buns. That was the year we had the whole entire family together, at our place, for Christmas.

My mom has worked as a crossing guard since I was in 2nd grade. Almost every year she made cookies for the bus drivers. It was a child’s dream come true. Come downstairs in the middle of the night, and the table was covered in cookies. Hundreds of cookies. Not for us, of course, (although we did end up with quite a few), but for the bus drivers.

So, Christmas has always meant baking. And this year, I’m taking it up a notch. I’m going to cut back a bit on the cut-outs, and add in Linzer (window) cookies, and I’m going to start making more candy. I’m also splurging on a cookie press, which I have wanted for years and am only just now getting.

Mark and I are also investing in a double boiler. Finally. Last year, I stuck foil in the bottom of a steamer insert. It worked, but I ended up with some “streaked” chocolate, thanks to water seeping up around the foil. I’m also getting a real candy thermometer.

It probably sounds like I’m jumping the gun a bit on Christmas. After all, it’s not even Halloween yet. But I know those three months are going to go by quickly, and I don’t want to be scrambling at the last minute. A lot of the new treats are going to require a good bit of detail work. I might even give using chocolate molds a try (home made chocolate cherry cordials, anyone?).

Is anyone else planning ahead for Christmas already?

Becca taking her first bath in a real tub.

Today, we moved the last of our stuff out of the old apartment and into the new. It was a crazy sprint at the end– Mark told the landlords that we would be out by today, and the new tenants (whom I love, btw) were starting to move in tonight.

I have decided that I do, in fact, hate moving. I love the new apartment. I love the washer, dryer, dishwasher, and fireplace. I love having the extra large living room.

I hate moving. Oh, do I hate moving. And it’s not the packing and carrying that gets me (although that sucks too). It’s the unpacking. I am sitting in the new living room. It is the only room of the entire place, besides Becca’s, that is not stacked with boxes. I can’t even get to the sink right now. The kitchen is blocked off from Becca’s ninja-like grabbing skills, so we piled most of the boxes in there.

However, we wouldn’t have actually gotten everything done today, on schedule, if my wonderful father-in-law hadn’t dropped by to leave a few things for Mark. He was roped into watching Becca while Mark and I packed and carried stuff down.

As a thank you, I am making him some of my Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I am also, finally, putting the fish pictures up.

Let me explain– A little over a month ago, Mark and his dad (who is also Mark, btw. Gets confusing.. We’ll just refer to him as Dad II) went fishing.A few hours later, Mark came back, and dragged me out to the van with my camera to take pictures of his fish. Shortly thereafter, Dad II showed up for more pictures.

I’m assuming (perhaps wrongly) that I will not be called on to take pictures every time they go fishing. And I already told Mark that he isn’t using the camera when he goes hunting. I don’t want to see the deer, especially if he expects me to actually eat the meat. There’s a good reason for that, and I’ll post about it later. Maybe.

Anyhow, back to the fish. The reason I took the pictures was because Mark had caught a huge bass. Massive. And he was very proud of himself (rightfully so..). I took these pictures, and I was supposed to print them out, email them, put them on the blog.. Something. And I forgot. And I was busy. And… it just never got done. So, I am putting them up right now. If you go to the photo album (top navigation bar) there is an album labeled “The Fish.” There are your pictures, Dad II. Enjoy them.

Mark, Dad II, and the Fish

Thursday afternoon, when Mark left for work, there had been no talk of moving. As far as we knew at that point, we would be staying in our apartment until spring, and then trying to find a home to rent in a nearby town.

That all changed by the time he got home from work at 4:00am Friday.

Here’s what happened:

Our garbage can reeked to high heaven, so I took it outside to spray it out. We had chicken juice that had leaked through a bag. It was really nasty. After the can was clean, I brought it back upstairs, filled the bottom with bleach water, stuck the top of the can inside there, and set the whole thing out on the fire escape. Where I promptly forgot about it.

A couple hours later, after Mark left for work (poor, unsuspecting soul), I went out to retrieve our garbage can. I pulled out the cover, set it aside, then dumped out the bleach water, somehow managing to knock the cover over. I watched it slide down the roof, and then drop three stories, landing in the grass below. I glared at the cover, flipped the garbage can over to let it dry, then went back inside the apartment.

An hour or two later, I threw on some shoes, grabbed Becca, and we headed down to retrieve our lid. On the way back up, we walked past one of the other apartments, and I noticed the smell of gas. I knew the tenants had moved out a week or so before. I knocked, then tried the handle. It was unlocked.

The door opens up to the kitchen. I opened up a window near the stove, then went up and called the landlords. A short while later, Becca and I decided to go for a walk, so we headed back down the stairs, and caught up with our landlords (the Savinos) as they were exiting the other apartment. As it turns out, their cleaning lady had turned off the pilot lights in the gas stove, but didn’t turn off the gas.

On the way back home, after our walk, Becca and I poked our heads back into the apartment. I knew a few things about it already– it has it’s own washer and dryer, and it had a tiny kitchen. We wandered inside, and had a look around.

There are three entrances to this apartment. One opens into the kitchen. When Becca and I walked through, we came in the one that opens up to the living room. Which is huge. With 6 windows (one is a picture window), high ceilings, a custom wood floor, and a fireplace. From there, I wandered into the dining room, which also has a lot of windows and a custom wood floor. A small hallway leads to the first bedroom, complete with an attached bathroom. There is another bathroom down the other hall, near a second bedroom. The kitchen is indeed tiny, but it has a dishwasher.

To get to the laundry, you have to go back down the hallway, out the front door, and across another hallway. There’s a small laundry room, which may also be my office, with a closet and another bathroom. This will also be where our freezer goes, assuming we get one. Mark is hunting this year, so it’s kind of a priority.

Mark came home friday morning, after work, to a note on his chair saying that I wanted to move, and would be calling the Savinos that morning. By the time he got up, I had a price, and permission to go down and show Mark around. He wasn’t thrilled. Rent is considerably more than we are currently paying, but still something that we can afford. Once he saw the place, though, I knew he was on board with it.

We started moving yesterday. Today, we start painting. And, within two weeks or so, I hope to be entirely moved out. I love where we are living now, and we’ve made a lot of great memories here, but it’ll be nice to have a washer and dryer. And to not be on the third floor. And I am really okay with having a fireplace, especially with those cold NY winter nights coming up.

And Figure Things Out!

Oh, yeah. I am officially mother of the year over here.

Becca’s 2nd (OMG) birthday is October 27th. And I had no real idea of what to get her. Then, I was sitting around one day, watching Disney with Becca, and an announcement came on.

Imagination Movers. Live. Coming To A City Near You!!!

Okay, that’s the shortened version. Anyhow, I hopped online, right that very instant, and went to the Imagination Movers web site. Sure enough, they were coming to Syracuse, November 5th. Just over one week after Becca’s birthday. Tickets were supposed to go on sale two weeks later. I told Mark all about it, and we agreed– This had the potential to be the BEST GIFT EVER.

The day of the ticket sale came, and… No Tickets. It had been pushed back, indefinitely. A few days later, the Imagination Movers site was saying that it was going to be this coming weekend. The tickets would be  on sale Friday.  But it wasn’t until yesterday that the concert venue or Ticket Master sites were saying anything about the new date. Presale tickets (supposedly only for a select group of people? I thought?) were supposed to be available this morning at 10. I had a couple guesses for the presale password, so I logged on a bit early (right before 9:30) to check it out.

And tickets were already available.

But I would need a password. Right? So I punched in the number of tickets and section we wanted, and clicked the submit button. After a few moments, they came back with these seats:

Row B. Seats 106-108. Orc. In English, second row from the stage. Front and center. Where’s the catch? Where’s the little pop-up asking for my password?

So I hit submit. Yes, TicketMaster, I will accept these seats. Gladly. Thankyouverymuch.

I am asked for my credit card information, my billing address. And then, next thing I know, the payment is processing, and I am getting a confirmation message.

Presale password?? Not for this lucky mama.

So, yeah.. Second row. Front and center. Did I mention that already? I did? Can I mention it again??

It’s going to look like this.

|Scott|              |Dave|          |Rich|           |Smitty|          |Warehouse Mouse|

=================Edge of Stage==================

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX–Row One–XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXX—Other People–XXXXXXX–Me-Becca-Mark–XXX-Other People–XXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXX–Children with less-cool parents, and not as good of a view—XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Multiply last row by about 5 dozen, including the balcony.

I am awesome. And very much bragging. (Sorry).

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

See? See?

I am allowed to be a little excited, right?

Thought so.