Ten on Tuesday

1.  After seeing how much I liked watching George Bush on Oprah a couple of weeks ago, I did end up downloading his biography to my iPad and have now read the whole thing.  My opinion? "Meh."  The writing was all over the map, and clearly not actually written by him, unless his way of speaking is just completely different than his way of writing.  I will say that it was interesting to read about the life of a President, who certainly has to be grappling with a number of huge issues simultaneously.  It was interesting to see his spin on his decisions, although nothing unexpected.

2. I have been watching Sarah Palin's Alaska series on TLC.  My opinion?  "Meh."  Beautiful scenery, but I just can't stomach her.  Maybe I'll start watching it with it on mute the way that Brenda and I did to Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman years ago, when we just wanted to look at the hot guy in the chaps.

3. I am ready to have a crisis of conscience over the two aforementioned items.  Am I becoming Conservative?  Might I be a Tea Partier?  Will my eyes turn red instead of staying blue?  Please, let it not be so!  I think we're still good though, since I didn't think too much of either.  Whew, that was a close one.  I think I need to read An Inconvenient Truth again.

4. We had our photography session for our Christmas card pictures last night.  We survived and got good shots!  There were no tears and only a modicum of bribing involved.

5.  I have tons of pictures that I need to upload from our adventures over the past couple of weeks, but I haven't gotten around to editing all of them yet.  But soon!

6.  Christmas is in full swing at our house!  Our Elf is on the Shelf.  The tree is up.  The garland graces the stairs.  It's all Christmas music all the time in my car (it's still talk radio in Ramy's...Scrooge).  I've also got a strange craving for boiled custard.  Yep, must be the holidays!

7.  A little hint to anyone booking travel for the holidays...as much as I've come to depend on Southwest as my low-cost carrier over the past two years, their prices have been universally higher this holiday season.  One way flights on American were $70 cheaper than on Southwest for New Year's Day.  Of course, on American, you do have to pay a surcharge for luggage.  But not $70 worth.

8.  Rebecca has four fancy Christmas dresses, six casual Christmas dresses or skirt outfits, and four casual pants or leggings Christmas outfits.  We will be crashing each and every holiday party that we can find for the next month to find places for her to wear them all.  Unfortunately, Ramy and I will be wearing the same outfits to each of them.

9. I'm looking for recommendations for a new lens for my Canon EOS Rebel.  If you have a lens you love for your Canon DSLR, please email me!

10. In case you are as much of a fan of Christmas and television as we are, here's a handy, dandy cheat sheet for you so you can track what Christmas special is on which night, when, and on what channel.

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 
 
It is Thanksgiving, a day to reflect on the many blessings for which to be grateful.
 
Today, I am sitting in my cozy home, with the people I love most safe and healthy and warm inside.  There is love.  There is laughter.  There is plenty.

I am so thankful for the family I love and who love me in return.  There's nothing on this Earth that is as important.  We enjoy happy times with those we love most and have lovely memories of those we've loved who are now in Heaven, and our faith buoys us through anxiety.  We have friends who provide us with amusement and loyalty.  The blessings of opportunity and education have provided us the ability to do work that we love.  Worry and despair do not burden us, for we are healthy, safe, and fortunate.  Life is exciting and interesting, and we have much to which we look forward.  God has graced us immeasurably, and for that we are so very thankful.

Ten on Tuesday

1.  Since Myrna (Ramy's eldest sister), Ed, and Jessica (AKA "my Jessica") have other family obligations on Thanksgiving, we had them over for brunch on Sunday.  It was a good way to kick off the week of Thanksgiving!  We had sausage balls, scrambled eggs, bacon, baked french toast, and coffee cake.

2. Apparently, I've never posted my recipe for sausage balls, but I'll correct that now!  Here ya go.

Bisquick Sausage Balls

3 cups Bisquick
1 lb. sausage (regular, hot, or a combination, as you prefer)
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I prefer extra sharp)

Preheat oven to 375° F.  Using your hands, mix (i.e., squoosh) together until all ingredients are fully combined.  Roll into balls (1 inch in diameter) and place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Can be served hot or room temperature.

3.  None of the things I made for brunch was low in fat or calories.

4. On Friday, we went to Redlands to have brunch with my mom's cousin Linda and her granddaughter Nicole.  Unfortunately, I did not take pictures.  But we ate at my favorite place in Redlands, Martha Green's Eating Room.  They have a wonderful bakery!  Check it out next time you're in the I.E.!

5. It finally feels like November in Southern California!  I've been loving the cold(ish), rainy weather we've been having and the opportunity to wear things like sweaters and boots and coats!

6.  I watch little television that uses cognitive horsepower. I am a Bravo reality TV junkie.  I watch every incarnation of Real Housewives and Top Chef, plus Millionaire Matchmaker, Flipping Out, Rachel Zoe...the list goes on.  So please forgive me for that.  So, Rachel Zoe is pregnant.  Apparently she is five months pregnant.  And no one could tell, because she looked like THIS when the news broke that she's more than halfway through a pregnancy. 

7.  Speaking of the lives of the rich and famous, I am dorkily excited about the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. 

8.  I am cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  Nothing I make will be low in fat or calories.  We are going to be one of the small percentage of Thanksgiving eaters who will not be having turkey.  I am the only person in my family who likes it, and it's just not worth it for me alone.  Still, I feel somehow cheated out of a nice classic golden brown bird to carve.   I'll make up for it by carving the pumpkin pie, I suppose (I'm also the only member of my family who likes pumpkin pie, but I'm willing to do that just for myself).

9.  Coming out of Target last week with Rebecca and Ramy, a young woman came up to speak to me.  Turns out it was a patient of mine from when I was at Casa Colina two years ago.  At the time, I saw her first on the inpatient unit where she was completely aphasic (i.e., couldn't speak a single word) after having a stroke.  (Yes, strokes can and do happen - not too infrequently - to young women).  Then she was at the Transitional Living Center for well over a year, and I got to see her make huge bounds in her recovery.  When I saw her last week, one would have never guessed that two years ago, she was completed incapacitated.  It made my heart smile.

10. I have lost the craft project that I intended to do with Rebecca for Thanksgiving.  It may require a massive search in the office/guest room/my closet.  Or maybe just a trip to Michael's to replace.

Snow!

On Friday evening, we attended the lighting of the Christmas tree celebration in Chino Hills.  There were a lot of school groups that did singing.  Then Santa Claus arrived on a fire truck (he had to leave the reindeer at the fire station), and he lit the Christmas tree.  As soon as the lights went on, it started snowing!  Even though it did actually feel cold (we were wearing boots and sweaters and coats!), of course it wasn't real snow - it was actually soap bubbles (which made us cough after breathing it in for a good half an hour).

Rebecca was enthralled with the snow! I loved the look of wonder on her face as she saw Santa and then the snow.

Despite having hidden her face from Santa at the mall that week when there was no line, she actually wanted to sit on Santa's lap and have a picture when there was a line of about a hundred kids. Fortunately, we were able to convince her to wait when it wasn't so crowded so Santa would be able to concentrate more on her.

We were lucky enough to get this family pic of us in the winter wonderland.

Grammy's here!

Grammy arrived for Thanksgiving last Thursday afternoon. We were excited to meet her at Ontario airport.  Rebecca had been anxiously awaiting her arrival all week and had continually tried to negotiate with me as to when we would go pick her up and how long she could stay.

Ten on Tuesday

I'm totally stealing this idea from some other bloggers. Ten on Tuesday is essentially ten random things that I want to share.

1. Do you love NPR? I do. Do you ever listen to This American Life? I didn't, until one of my intern trainings at DBH incorporated this podcast about two families whose babies were switched at birth. Even though most people won't be interested in what we did with it, it's a very interesting story. Go here and you can read the synopsis or buy the podcast.

2. I finally updated the list of websites that I love over there on the right sidebar. Check them out! I've got several blogs on there that I look at regularly, some of people I know and love and others of people I don't know personally but love anyway.

3. I had been concerned about what would happen when Rebecca's Spidergirl costume wore out. After all, it was made of the highest quality....uh, nylon and plastic. Guess what I found at the ghetto Walmart in a bin of Halloween costumes that were 75% off? Yep! Another Spidergirl costume! Better yet, it didn't scan up at 75% off, so the cashier gave it to me for $1.75. That's actually like 90% off.

4. If you love the Pioneer Woman, then you'll be excited to know that Bobby Flay showed up at her Lodge for a Thanksgiving Throwdown! It airs on Food Network tomorrow night at 9:00 (8:00 Central time).

5. I have an obsession with Etsy. I can spend hours lost on that site, looking at everything from jewelry to bags to girls' dresses. If you have a good afternoon to waste, just go on over there. I dare ya.

6. Most people know that I'm just about as liberal as they come with respect to politics (even though personally I'm actually quite conservative). Even so, I rushed home from Target last Tuesday to watch George W. Bush on Oprah, and I enjoyed it. I even liked him. Yikes!

7. I've even got his book on my list of downloads to my iPad, though I haven't been brave enough to actually purchase it yet. Nonetheless, I still don't like his politics. And I'm still completely liberal.

8. Rebecca doesn't like to write the letter "B." She says it is too hard, so she isn't going to do it. Wonder what percentage of words that eliminates?

9. I have 12 unopened rolls of Christmas wrapping paper in the garage. And I have a really strong desire to buy more, but I'm forcing myself not to.

10. I have not yet had a single piece of pumpkin pie this fall. Must.fix.this.immediately!

What we've been doing

It seems that most of my recent posts haven't been too informative as to the things going on in our life. So I thought I would give a brief run-down of our happenings.

Rebecca was sick with an upper respiratory virus a couple of weeks ago, and she has continued with a lingering (but consistently diminishing) cough since. She is feeling well though and really only coughs now after she has been running around like a crazy mad girl. She is still going to dance class on Wednesday mornings. We had to switch to a new studio for the fall session, and although I liked the setup of her old studio better, she is totally enamored of her teacher. I also think her current teacher teaches them more actual skills. One of our recent family traditions has been to watch Dancing With the Stars on Monday nights. Rebecca loves dancing along with them and somewhat mimicking their steps! She continues to enjoy doing crafts and learning new things. She does very well writing many of her letters, although she is just a smidge stubborn about wanting to do things her way rather than in the way that they are conventionally done! She is as sweet and funny as ever, and she makes every day so much fun.

Ramy is doing very well. He currently has two murder trials that he is preparing for, and at least one of them is occupying a lot of his thoughts. Weekends have included a lot of football watching and watching when Filipino-hero Manny Pacquiao fights. This interest in boxing is one that I do not share with my darling husband. I don't find the sport interesting or exciting in any way, so I am happy for him to go watch the fights at someone else's house!

I have been quite busy lately. I accepted a job teaching online for the University of Phoenix. I had to do a four-week course in online facilitation for them, and it has been it's own part-time job! Luckily, I finished with that tonight actually. I will be teaching a senior-level undergraduate class entitled Biological Foundations of Psychology.I am still working part-time at Casa Colina. I go in to the clinic two days a week, and I do the writing of my reports (and the editing of the reports of students I am supervising) from home. It's a great place, and I get to see a lot of interesting cases. Recently, I've been doing a lot of evaluations for dementia and for chronic neurological illnesses (e.g., Multiple Sclerosis). It's interesting and enjoyable work, and I certainly can't complain about the schedule, because I have lots of time to be at home with my favorite three-year-old! Allegedly, I am preparing to take the EPPP. My application for licensure as a psychologist in Alabama is being processed by their Board of Psychology (they only meet the first Friday of odd numbered months), and I expect they will approve me to take the exam in January. My studying has, thus far, essentially consisted of listening to the CDs in the car and in glancing at some study flash cards on my iPad. I have a stack of practice exams but haven't actually done anything with them. I am hoping the knowledge will be absorbed by osmosis and am apparently not too concerned about it. As for my job in Alabama, it is still a waiting game. Things still look good, but everything is on hold due to there being no budget and who knows what.

That's pretty much it for us. Life is good for all of us, and we are very blessed!

Paris: Days 7 and 8

Tuesday was our final full day in Paris.  I was sad to leave and still had more shopping I wanted to do.  So I got up before the others and headed back to the Flower Market to get a few other gifts.  As it turned out, the place opened later than I anticipated (remember, the Parisians don't get up early!), so I had some time to stroll around on the Islands and to take in some time at Notre Dame. Then I was back at the Flower Market so I could buy some lavender and herbs de provence before I met with my family for breakfast.

Afterwards, we had a very nice breakfast at a nearby cafe. 

The plan for the day was to take in the grands magasins - the major shopping complexes in Paris - at our leisure.  I thought I knew what a department store was, until I went to these!  First stop was Au Printemps.

Seven or more floors, with different buildings for ladies, home, men, and children's things. They have two floors of gourmet foodstuffs!  Unbelievable!  We had fun gawking at all the things to buy.  Au Printemps was a little high-end though, so we actually didn't buy anything there.

God bless him, Ramy wasn't quite as interested in shopping as my mom and I were.  So around lunchtime, he decided to take off with Rebecca so they could pal around in Paris while we shopped.  Fine by us!  Incidentally, I had the best croque madame ever at a street cafe on Hausmann Boulevard that day.

After lunch, we were recharged and ready to take on Galleries Layfayette.  I just knew that the bag of my dreams would be waiting there on me, and I wasn't disappointed!  I bought a red leather Lancaster bag that I adored.  We decided to stop by BHV on the way home, so we took a cab from the 7th to the 4th (you see how good I was at navigating by this time?).  BHV was so cool.  You can buy a Longchamps purse on the main level, a Skil saw in the basement, Bic pens on the 3rd, and Karl Lagerfeld on the 7th floor.  I picked up a couple of last minute gifts, and then we walked back to the apartment, stopping to buy some chocolate for gifts on our way (and I think also for a pastry somewhere too).

After we did most of our packing at the apartment, we dressed up for one last night on the town.  Of course, Rebecca had to pose for us.



We headed back across the river and stopped for a few last pictures in front of Notre Dame.

We strolled over the Seine and stopped to take in the sunset before moving on into the Latin Quarter in search of a good place for our final night's dinner. 

I decided I needed some fondue before leaving Paris, and I wasn't disappointed!  We ended up choosing a place that was right across from St. Severin's Church, which was a place I had wanted to see but wasn't high enough on the list to make a special trip.  So it was nice to get to see it and all its gargoyles as well. 

We took the bus back "home" after leaving the restaurant, and as it would have it, it took us across the river at a place where we could see the Eiffel Tower one last time, twinkling goodbye to us.

We quickly finished up packing that night and got up early on Tuesday morning.  I was a bit nervous about the shuttle company I'd reserved, as I had heard horror stories from other travelers using all the major shuttles and them not showing up to take them to the airport.  Except for the fact that we were traveling with a child who needed to be in a carseat, we'd have done a cab.  To my dismay, he was late, and I got a bit ugly on the phone.  Just as I was warning them I was calling a cab, he showed up.  As it turned out, I had allowed wayyyyy more time than necessary (I had built in extra time in case I needed to call for a cab) and we got to the airport with about 3 hours before we needed to be boarding.  That was fine and good though; we got through security and to our gate.  Then we realized there were no bathrooms on our side of the last security.  To go to the bathroom or to get something to eat, we had to go back through security again!  So we did so in shifts.  Our flight home was unremarkable, which is exactly the way we prefer flights to be!  We laid over again in Charlotte and arrived back in Huntsville in time for dinner at the Cracker Barrell.  Fortunately, I don't think any of us had any difficulties with jetlag, and we came home with wonderful souvenirs and memories.

Thanks for an amazing trip, Mom/Grammy!

One of the highlights of the week is our weekly outing with the Woltils.  Rebecca is always soooo excited to see her friends "Addie and her baby bro-der Nucas."  We usually meet up at one of the many malls that we have to choose from (since they've moved to the Westside, we've expanded our circle of shopping malls).  Julie and I have taken shopping to a level that most people really can't fathom.  You see, not all malls have all of our stores.  So we have to decide which mall to grace with our presence by knowing what stores are in which malls and who is having a sale.  For example, tomorrow, we knew that both Crazy 8 and Gap are having sales, so we had to choose a mall that has both of those stores.  It's quite taxing, really; glad Julie and I can use our Ph.D.s to help us in this endeavor.

Anyway, we usually make the rounds to our favorite stores and come up with creative reasons that we *need* to buy certain things. Then we usually go for lunch and a little break, then walk around a bit more before getting a snack.   As you can see above, Adelaide and Rebecca are quite happy to see each other during our meet-ups.  I'm not sure Lucas is quite as thrilled, but one day maybe he will be grateful for the learning experience he is receiving by being surrounded by girls!  By the way, did I mention that he's just a chunk of cuteness? 

Julie recently posted a video that she took of the girls and their joking.  Hilarious!  Check it out here on her blog.

More things Rebecca says

Our niece Jessica has a newfound job as a babysitter. A couple of weeks ago, we hired her to sit for Rebecca while we went out. Rebecca was more than excited to be spending time with "my Jessica," but she took offense at the job title. Rebecca proclaimed " I'm not a baby, I'm a kid! So Jessica can kid-sit me!" When Myrna came home, Rebecca reported to Myrna that Jessica had been doing a very good job kid-sitting her. Later, they were eating dinner. As usual, Rebecca was an active contributor to the discussion at the table. Sweet Jessica, however, is quiet and reserved (in other words, Rebecca's opposite) and was apparently not saying much. Rebecca stopped what she was saying, looked at Jessica and said, "Jessica, dont just sit there like a tree! Talk like you're a people!"

Rebecca has been sick for the past few days with an upper respiratory infection. On morning three, she said to me, "Mama, I think I'm ad-er-gic to 'dat frog in my froat. He needs to hop outta there!"

There is no end to the amount of joking and laughing that goes on in the Cisneros house. One night, Ramy was picking on Rebecca, and she had just about had enough of it. She looked Ramy in the eye and said sternly, "Daddy, FOCUS!"

Halloween 2010

Rebecca was totally jazzed about Halloween this year! Although she is still Spidergirl, her Halloween costume was a mermaid princess. But she's still Spidergirl. I hope you all grasp this concept, because it is very important to Rebecca!

To celebrate Halloween this year, we first went to the Halloween festival in our local shopping complex. They have a lot of games and such, and (most of) the shops give out candy. Of course, there are a few who...well, some just don't get it. Like this Chinese restaurant that was giving out samples of fried rice. Really?

A mermaid on a bike. 

Next, we went to Grandma's and Auntie Myrna's house to make the rounds of family.  Grandma loaded Rebecca up with her favorite M&Ms, which Rebecca was into before we were out of her driveway.

Then, we went over to the Courtneys' so that the girls could trick-or-treat together. Rebecca loved seeing her cousins!

Rebecca still has a lot to learn about the social niceties of trick-or-treating.  When someone reached into their bowl and pulled out some candy to drop in Rebecca's bag, she promptly handed it back to them and reached in their bowl and picked out a KitKat that she preferred.

At another house, the homeowners weren't answering the doorbell fast enough.  Their door was partially open, and Rebecca pushed it all the way open.  I am not sure if she was going to go in and find their candy and help herself or not.

However, both she and Hannah were a bit skeptical about the house where there was no one answering the door, but who had left a bowl of candy.  They didn't really believe they were supposed to take a piece for themselves.  Rebecca got over it before Hannah did, however.

We did three streets in their neighborhood, and then Rebecca decided that she was done. She didn't want to go to any more houses. She didn't want to get any more candy. She was over it! She fell asleep eating her hamburger that we got at In-N-Out, and when we took it out of her hand, she woke up long enough to eat some of her candy. Then she was OUT! Halloween takes its toll on little mermaid princesses!

Paris: Day 6

Monday was one of my favorite days in Paris. The morning was gray and overcast, much like the images of Paris in the fall that I had conjured up.

We woke up and enjoyed a leisurely stroll from the Marais, through St. Paul square, over the bridge, and to the Ile de St. Louis. I had an amazing nutella crepe for breakfast. Next we hit several fabulous little shops, including one that sold the most gorgeous Parisian scarves. We brought back a lot of gifts from there!

After we walked and shopped a bit, it began sprinkling rain, so we retreated to the Berthillon cafe to relax and have a morning snack. A nice hot tea and a croissant for me. A hot tea and an apple tart for mother. A cappucino for Ramy. Rebecca napped. Nowhere we had to be, all the must-see sights had been seen. It was lovely to just sit and be a part of Paris.

Our rest was rather short, however, and then we were walking again! We visited the Shoah shrine and deportation monuments recognizing all the Parisians who were victims of the Holocaust, rounded up not by the Gestapo but by their own people. We walked over the bridge between the Iles of St. Louis and de la Cite so gaze at Notre Dame from another view. Seeing it from the back is the best way to really view the stunning flying buttresses.

We stopped to admire all the lover's padlocks on the Pont des Artes bridge over to the Left Bank. Neither Ramy nor I had a padlock, so we didn't partake in this ritual. Interestingly, I read an article that Paris is going to be removing all of these signs of eternal love. What's up with that for the city that proclaims itself to be the city of romance?

We walked and walked and walked on Monday! We walked through a different part of the Latin Quarter than we had enjoyed before. Then we strolled into St. Germain de Pres and finally into the Luxembourg Quarter. We really enjoyed just strolling, taking in the many storefronts, darting into cute little shops that we fancied, and stopping for something to eat whenever we felt like it!

We briefly checked out the Sorbonne before deciding that we would head on over to visit St. Sulpice. (I did love The Da Vinci Code). This required some serious navigational skills, of which I am lacking. We also had to decide where to eat lunch. Ramy and I consulted and determined that we were on the right street to get us to St. Sulpice. To celebrate, we stopped and had an amazing Italian lunch!

Ramy and I laughed and thought this was a great name for a bar!

Indeed, we managed to find St. Sulpice. It's so dank and run down and so lacking in grandeur when compared to Notre Dame, even though it isn't too much smaller. The famous works by Delacroix and its magnificent pipe organ are in a pretty sad state. But there was something about this church that I found captivating. One of the interesting pieces of history from this church is that there is a calendaring system inlaid in the floor, where the sun strikes the brass line of an obelisk on the winter solstice and then touches an oval plate of copper at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. This helped them figure out when Easter would be celebrated. Apparently, this saved St. Sulpice during the French Revolution.

Apparently St. Sulpice was overwhelmed by the visitors that resulted from the Da Vinci Code. There is a

notice posted that refutes the book's claims about the church's involvement with the Priory of Sion and denying it was part of the Rose Line.

I loved this church and stayed for a long time (too long, according to my dear husband who had had his fill of French churches).

We left St. Sulpice and decided that we needed a completely secular experience to counteract the time we spent in the church. This was our chance to visit Le Bon Marche, which is probably Paris' chicest department store. Knowing she was in the midst of haute couture, Rebecca took the opportunity to do a bit of modeling in the LBM cafe! I thought that in this outfit, she looked like she was channeling a little Coco Chanel!

Speaking of the cafe, it was home to the best pastry I ever dreamed of. Millefeuille. How do you pronounce it? "Heaven."

Le Bon Marche was a shopper's dream. Every luxurious brand is there. I drooled over Longchamps, Le Baggerie, Gucci, Pucci, Isabel Marant, Jerome Dreyfuss, Cartier, Chanel, Caron, de Beers...

We had walked so much, and we knew that all means of public transportation would mean at least one transfer, so we decided to take a cab back to the apartment! After we got there, Ramy and I decided to walk up to Bazaar Hotel de Ville and did a bit of shopping there too. That night, we strolled through some of the fabulous little cobblestone streets of the Marais. Ramy ended up eating Chinese food, and we had pizza! Of course, we couldn't end the night without some yummy Berthillon ice cream for Rebecca and another apple tart for the apple tart connoisseur! I think that was the night that Ramy and I had some really amazing chocolate mousse, but it could also have been the night of the creme brulee or the chocolate eclair. I think there might have even been a midnight snack of croissants beurre and cherry jam. Lord help us, it was a good thing we walked so much. We shouldn't have taken the cab!