Randomly Routine

I've been thinking and thinking about what to write my next post about unsuccessfully. We're just not doing that much, and I don't want to bore people either with stupid things- all this makes posts tough. I decided to write some random stuff on my routine and everyday life that might be somewhat interesting, or not, but you can choose which bullets to read. Up to you!

• Netflix: I love Netflix. If you see a preview that you're not sure about, reviews aren't great but you want to see it, or you just can't pay for the movie theater experience, then I say "just Netflix it." It also gives the opportunity to watch past television series that you never knew about until it was over. One such tv series is How I Met Your Mother. Josh and I are going through this series right now and loving it. Watch it.


• TJ Groceries - Trader Joe's is the bomb. I go to TJ's once a week for our grocery needs. It's like a small town market that's fun to walk around with nice people, yet still has good stuff. Plus I think the prices on most items are pretty dang good. Not to mention I've had success with the TJ brand items and semi-premade meals. For instance, the stuffed pork chops, ricotta chicken with marinara, and their Balsamic dressing are some of my favorites. In fact, I was told by an employee that they often take popular, successful brands and then sell practically the identical item with their TJ brand/label. There is a whole TJ culture out there. While we were roaming Barnes and Nobles, I saw this book: The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook. I'm tempted to purchase it. P.S. Check of these nifty grocery shopping list planners here. I just downloaded the list template - neat!


• TCBY: Yes, frozen yogurt is still a routine thing. Josh and I like the daily specials. Monday and Tuesday specials stink, but we enjoy Wednesday's waffle cones, Thursday's shivers, Saturday's parfaits, and Sunday's sundaes the most. Wait, that's almost every day of the week. For the days I can't con Josh into going, I have the Sub Shop frozen yogurt quart in the freezer to hold me over.


• Relaxation: This isn't totally routine, but I'm trying to make it part of my a routine. I've been testing some relaxation dash anxiety-reducing type techniques to help. One of the best relaxation scents is lavender so I've been on the look out for anything lavender. I bought this lavender spray to put on my pillow at night - quite nice (although I got Josh's pillow and he was like, "what's that smell?" - haha). Anyway, I'm trying all sorts of relaxation stuff  - candles, incense, reading, calm music, tea, stretching. All of these have worked pretty well. My New Years resolution of yoga might still happen, but it's hard to get any sort of routine with the Starbucks gig - we'll see. Maybe a DVD would work (hey, just Netflix it). Oh, and my moto and desktop picture (from WWII): Keep Calm and Carry On.


• Dining Out: Josh and I don't dine out very much (I've amped up my cooking), but we do get to go out and treat ourselves occasionally. One of our favorite Eugene spots is Yi Shen. The pho is delicious and prefect on a cold, wet day (and they add broccoli - makes me happy). Josh likes the Vietnamese sandwiches too. Ehh, we like all of it really. Another frequent dining option is Thai, which generally defaults to Chao Pra Ya. And the third most dine-out food is pizza. That's it: Vietnamese, Thai, and Pizza/Italian.


• Hanging Out: Generally we enjoy just hanging around town. For instance, we'll go walk around areas of town or high-end grocery stores like Market of Choice (similar to Whole Foods). I'm starting to make friends too. Last week I had a friend over to hang out. We bonded over the fact we both grew up on The Cutting Edge, so that's what we did. I picked up Thai food and we chowed and watched the movie. Can't beat that combo!

We do plan on doing fun stuff soon. Actually, tonight we went to the theater to go see Avitar 3D. We thought it'd been out long enough, it was Sunday night, and we were ~15 minutes early, yet it was still sold out. Boo! We still plan on seeing it though...perhaps Thursday.

Also, I have plans to go home for a friend's wedding in March and check out Seattle again. Then there is Valentines Day potential. So we'll break the routine and get out soon! Stay tuned, more post ideas will come...eventually.

Yi Shen's Pho

Tale of Teas

Since I started working at Starbucks, I've spent a lot of my time talking about coffee. However, I realized tea just isn't getting enough coverage. And you know what...it totally should! I love tea. Tea was a beverage I enjoyed even before coffee. I must attribute my enjoyment of hot tea to my sister. She taught me to add sugar and milk to my black tea - the British way.

Anyway, tea isn't just a terrific drink to have during the cold weather to keep you warm. Nay, it's also quite delicious during the summer as iced tea. Although, I must admit my preference is for hot tea. That said, let's talk about some teas I enjoy...

• Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: This is mostly a Southern California chain and their best product is the tea lattes. Heather Richardson introduced me to these lovely tea lattes when I visited LA (a long time ago now). The first favorite was the English Breakfast tea latte. They also had a lemon chamomile tea latte in the springtime. My all-time favorite is the Winter Dream tea latte, which is only available during the winter month (shocking, Winter tea only during winter). The thing that makes the tea lattes so special is this magic vanilla (or chocolate in some) powder that you add to the brewed tea and before adding the frothy milk. Since I knew the ingredients, I thought I could whip up some up of these wonderfully delicious drinks myself at home. While down in SoCal for the holidays, I picked up some of the vanilla powder. Sadly I couldn't find the Winter Dream tea. Luckily Josh's parents came to the rescue and sent us some. My creations are very similar to the in-store drink (perhaps not quite the same, but pretty dang good).


• Starbucks Loose Teas: This is the latest and greatest at Starbucks. We just released all our teas in loose leaf tea bags. These bags are so much better than the compact, little bags we carried previously. The loose bags allow the tea to disperse and steep, so there is just more flavor burst. We had three teas available in loose bags before the release that were used for our tea lattes - these we didn't have out for purchase in boxes. Now, all teas are loose bag and available for purchase. Now, I can get my favorite tea and bring it home. My favorite is Vanilla Rooibos. It's an herbal, naturally caffeine free tea. It's decent as a latte, but I like it just brewed with a bit of sugar-free vanilla. I just bought it yesterday with my markout.


• Starbucks Chai Latte: This is still at our stores even though we had the tea bag renovation (mentioned above). It's similar to Oregon Chai in that both are basically a syrup. We add hot water to it to activate the "spices" and then top it off with steamed milk. This is one of my classic favorites, especially adding a bit of vanilla. I enjoy this more than Oregon Chai as it seems to have more spice, yet it's still sweet (you know some chai lattes can be uber spicy).


• MyChai: This is a local chai from Bend, OR. A few places offer it on their beverage line-up: Full City and Market of Choice. I even like this better than Starbucks Chai (shh, don't tell). It has a bit more bite (spicy) and still slightly sweet, but it's a perfect blend. Sadly, you cannot purchase it to bring home. A in-store enjoyment only.


• Evening Decaf Tea Options: Good Earth Decaf Vanilla Chai is my favorite. This is just a tea brand you can get at the grocery store, but it's quite good. I first had it in New Haven at Lindsay's apartment. This is great just before bed since it's decaf. I just add a drop of milk and splenda. I enjoy it almost every night. The second runner up is Celestial Seasoning's Sweet Coconut Thai Decaf tea. That's pretty good too - it's more exotic tasting. Beth and Chris had this tea at their place and that's were I discovered this option. Besides these, I've tried other decaf vanilla chai teas and they just don't quite cut it. (Caroline gave me some German teas for Christmas too which I've been enjoying, but those are a Christmas speciality and hard for me to buy for everyday consumption).

This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about my tea drinking. Let's face it though, I've got good taste (wink wink). Plus, you've now taken a step into my life and what I drink in the evenings (besides a large sparkling water).

Josh and I shared some tea during lunch on our mini-trip to Portland over the weekend. Here's a funny photo of us with the tea pot...

My Would-Be AD Anniversary

This is going to be a short post, mainly noting my would-be five year anniversary with Acxiom. Oh yes, I was so very close to reaching that five year anniversary mug (or some awesome piece of Acxiom branded nick-nack). In reality, I only made it to about 4.75 years. So Close!

A big shout out to all my Acxiom colleagues. I miss you guys!

(For those of you not in the loop, AD stands for Acxiom Digital. AD was formerly Digital Impact, and now just simply Acxiom).

Re-Charging Our Batteries

Yes, super mini. I say super mini because we left Friday afternoon and returned Saturday evening from a little getaway up north. Josh received some Bed and Breakfast gift certificates (a combo birthday and xmas gift from my folks), so we decided to put them to good use and head out of town. The timing was perfect because I had two days off work in a row and it was the weekend before Josh's last semester begins.

After some debate early in the week - beach, mountains, vs. city and then exactly which B&B - we ended at the Camas Hotel which is a cute little Parisian-style boutique hotel located in Camas, WA. Camas is just over the Oregon border (that would mean Washington) and along the Columbia River Gorge about 20-30 minutes outside of Portland. We thought we'd get more bang for our buck out there and it'd be peaceful, quite, and quaint.

Josh took a week long, one unit Corporate Finance drafting course before the semester began that ended Friday. After his class, we high-tailed it out of Eugene up the 5. The rain was coming down in torrents so the driving was a bit tough (thanks Josh for taking over the wheel.

Finally, we arrived in Camas just in time for a nice little pizza dinner at Twilight (not related to the movie mind you). We wrapped up the night up with a martini and apple crisp at the recently opened restaurant next to our hotel, Harwood's restaurant.

Saturday morning we opted to get a bigger breakfast instead of the continental option at the B&B (which was sparse by 9am when I scoped it out in the dining area). We took a few steps down the road to a diner called Natalia's Cafe. The order? A Josh-like meal of hash browns and a Heather-like meal of egg whites and veggies scrambled. Not too shabby, and it was an adorable little diner to boot. Then we walked around for a bit since it wasn't pouring at the moment. The town did turn out to be quaint and cute, but pretty small. You can tell it's really trying hard to build up, but it's not quite there yet. There is a paper mill at the edge of town that has kept the area running over the years - a mill-town in other words.

Next up: Vancouver. That would be the closer Vancouver, the one in Washington as opposed to Canada. We walked the waterfront area, but it was pretty small. Nice condos and apartments though. After a quick walk on the water, we hopped in the car and found downtown. It was uber quiet - oddly quiet in fact - in the little downtown square we found. Our overall opinion of Vancouver: its a nice, quite place to live.

We then headed back over the bridge to the sales tax-free Oregon (always nice when eating out). We went to our favorite area, the Pearl District and walked around like we lived there. For example, we were giving people directions. Also, we hit up a few of our favorite shops, which of course means a stopat Oblations, "the scene of the proposal."

Eventually our tummies rumbled for some lunch so we jotted over to another favorite, Silk. I got a delicious curry with yams, eggplant, and chicken while Josh got a Vietnamese beef sandwich. We tacked on some tea to share since it was chilly. A perfect cold weather lunch. To top it off, Josh got a spicy mocha at Masterpiece.

Before heading back home, we did a Heather-must-feed-the-addiction stop at YoCream. I think I about died and went to heaven when I saw cookies 'n cream (my all-time favorite), Irish mint, and chocolate macadamia nut. Yummy in my tummy. Even though I wasn't incredibly hungry I ate a very large yogurt (dang that self-serve spout), but it was worth the pain...glorious.

A super great mini trip ended on the YoCream high and then back to Eugene. Need ed to get out out town..check. Good food...check. Spirit of Adventure...check. Relaxation...check. Recharge batteries...check. Well, you get the point, we checked off all our needs. This translates to...an excellent weekend!

As always, photos for your viewing pleasure on Flickr. The sneak peek picture below is along the Vancouver Waterfront.

Vancouver Waterfront

Winter Dreaming

I'll give you a hint, it's not coffee. Give up? Okay, it's tea. Whoo there. (As a side  note, I'll be writing a blog post on teas shortly, but for now a mini-post). Actually, it's not even Starbucks related. Yes, I snuck out and visited the competition: Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. The aren't in Oregon, mostly just SoCal and a few in NorCal. However, it's a must-visit place for me when I go home. This time I brought it back and now I've been utilizing my newfound knowledge on espresso machines and hot drinks. More specifically the magic steam wand that foams and froths milk. I brought back the special vanilla powder for the tea lattes and my favorite tea, Winter Dream. Together = Heaven. So I'm (correction, we are) drinking Winter Dream Tea Lattes. I'm not going to say how to order since I don't know their "code." Go get one if you can!

It's Back

After basically a month, I FINALLY got my car back!!

That's right - a month. I brought my car in on 12/14/09 and I'm just now getting it back on 1/13/10. You might have forgotten since it has been such a long, long time, but I had a little rear ender back on 12/4. See post - Stuck in the Midde. Apparently, the stereo had to be shipped off to Honda for repairs. I ended up losing all six Christmas CDs, but luckily I had them all safely copied on my iTunes library. The story ends well though because I now have a happy, clean, and functional vehicle - woot woot.

Day, Month, Year

I just have to share some good news...I love my new calendar. Every year after Christmas I have the Great Calendar Hunt. As the name suggests, it is the search for the best calendar. Needless to say, I am *very* particular  - to Josh's delight (cough cough). I'm over the dogs, puppies, or picture a day of some far off place. I want something cool, artsy, and not-too-common. I like the deals you can get post-Christmas (hence the wait), but then they are all picked over and there is minimal selection. Plus the type of calendar I have pictured in my mind is never at these stores (i.e. tiny kiosks at the mall, B&N, or Borders). This means taking it to the Internet - wider selection.

So the search continued online. To start, one requirement is that be something different, non-type such as a new artist. Last year (2009) I had William Rice's calendar with arts and crafts block prints. The year before (2008), was Robert Creamer's Intimate Blooms calendar. Another requirement of getting a calendar is to not repeat a calendar I've had previously - get something new. I almost got Lawren S. Harris, Group of Seven, or Vintage Travel posters. I was just about to purchase (really I was getting my CC out), when Josh said, "how about making your own on your Mac with iPhoto." And that's what I did.

At first I was annoyed at the time I was spending. I have BILLIONS of pictures - it's true (all those fab trips). I was agonizing over it at lunch with Josh when he gave me some direction: try picking a theme for the calendar and apply it for each month. That's when the idea came. Each month is a different country or city I've visited. With a goal and some direction the production was much easier - fun in fact. I visited all the places again through my pictures. The Calendar's name: Heather's Travels. It came in the mail Monday and it looks great! I've so excited. It's hanging over my desk in our little office. Here's the deal:

January = Spain, February = Eastern Europe, March = Holland/Belgium, April = France, May = Germany, June = Hawaii, July = Italy, August = Seattle, September = Oregon, October = England, November = Switzerland/Norway, December = California Xmas

2010 Calendar

Calendar @ Eugene Desk

Framing the House

With the new year, Josh and I thought we'd spruce up the place a bit with some photos. What's the inspiration? For Christmas Don and Nada gave us a blow-up of our McKenzie River covered bridge photo. The first step was to get some frames. While we were at it, we thought we'd also go ahead and frame my Jack Vettriano Singing Butler picture. I mean, what the heck, we're in the framing mode anyway. I've had this Jack picture since college, so it's a bit beat up, but it's still a great picture if you ask me.

It began today with a trip over to Michaels (bummer - no Aaron Bros in the area) to pick up some frames. We got a great deal - buy one get one free! Oddly, Michael's policy is to not cut photos (we needed the Jack picture trimmed a bit), so we headed next door to Staples. With some rulers and some cutters, we got them all in place. Then we returned home and...Poof! Voila! A classed up home with beautifully framed pictures.

Hello 2010 and Hello New Looking Walls!

Our Frames

Sunday Stroll

This past weekend of 2010 turned out to be a the best of the year so far. Not to mention, it's the first weekend of the year, so it'd be hard to beat at this point. Just fun to say. Seriously though, it really was a great weekend. I had Saturday off and worked earlier on Sunday, so it was almost like having a full weekend. Better yet...Josh isn't back at school yet so we could do fun stuff together.

As my title suggests, Josh and I decided to take a little stroll through Eugene's Alton Baker Park on Sunday after work. It was a non-rainy day; just gloomy but that added to the winter scenery of park (i.e. trees without leaves). I got to sport my new Christmas cold weather wear. Check out the red jacket, rain boots, jeans, warm vest - okay, the whole outfit (but so comfy, so warm). Anyway, enough about clothes, the walk was very nice. I got in the picture taking spirit and captured some of our walk in photographs -- I got a snapshot of Josh in front of Autzen Stadium to commemorate his time at the law school, some attempts at artsy pictures, and then some shots Josh took of me. The one below is me with some trees. Yes, enormous trees, little itty bitty Heather. That or I'm little red riding hood.

Taking a step backwards, Saturday was also a nice day. Saturday I got the entire day off. I started it with a much needed trip to my favorite grocery store: Trader Joes. Our house was in much need of food after being down in SoCal for the holidays. With food in the house, Josh and I opted to go out for lunch - HA! I've been feeling under the weather, so we got some pho (sorta like chicken noodle soup). Then off to Target. Did I mention I love Target? I could spend a long time just roaming around. There is so much to buy and so little money - sigh.

Saturday night we enjoyed a get-together at a Starbucks co-worker's apartment. She is leaving Starbucks for a local coffee shop. It makes me sad that she's leaving, but she's still in the area so we might actually get to hang out more not working together (for instance, shift schedules might not conflict as much). It was a fun night - we all brought different wines and cheeses. Just hung out and chatted it up. It was great to hang out outside of work - we were all wearing stuff other than black, white or tan too!

Over the weekend, we also hit up TCBY for my froyo fix. I can no longer say I haven't had it all year (I can say I haven't had Yumi all year though, tear). We also headed to Barnes and Noble (my wall in the office is lonely. I'm looking for a calendar - unsuccessful so far), Cost Plus (just a few odds & ends), and Sports Authority (JB cold weather running wear). It was almost like the scene in Old School where Will Ferrell talks about Bed, Bath, and Beyond - see seconds 23 to 40 on the video.

Now, I'm sitting on the couch with a cold. The sore throat from New Years went, but then a stuffy nose and all-around achy head cold came last night to replace it. Thankfully I have today off, but I don't like colds. I don't like just sitting around - it drives me crazy. I need to get up and do stuff. Err.

Let's end on a food note since Julie and Julia inspired me. I cooked a new dish yesterday for dinner. It was from a Martha Steward magazine I bought for the plane trip home (I don't like Martha much - good things, etc - but I do like some of her stuff and ideas). It was Pork Paillards with Sour Cream Paprika Sauce. I added some roasted potatoes and a salad. It turned out great! Earlier this week my when-in-doubt, safety meatloaf meal and turkey ragu were on the menu. Tonight (assuming the cold doesn't get the best of me), it's Eggplant Lasagna (remember that from last year? I did a posted on it).

Little Red Heather Hood

Welcoming in a New Decade

Man, I haven't written a blog entry all year!

I love doing that, saying I haven't done something all year. Yesterday, New Year's Eve, while at work, I was telling customers I'd see them next year. I think my co-workers got a kick out of it - that or laughing behind my back. Anyway, I think that's one of my favorite things about the New Year holiday. Now, I can go around saying things like, "I haven't had frozen yogurt all year" - that particular one won't be usable for too long though. Josh, loves this phrase (cough of sarcasm there).

As you probably picked up in my above paragraph, I'm working the New Years holiday. I worked New Years Eve until 5pm and today, New Year's Day, starting 12:15pm to 5:45pm. But, that'd ain't too bad! I got to stay up and sleep in. Plus customers are usually cheery on holidays.

New Years Eve was low-key this year for Josh and me. I started the tinge of a sore throat the other night, but it decided to come in full blast last night after work. With a sore throat, I really didn't feel like going out so we thought we'd take it easy (probably the flying or customers that gave me the cold - grumble - blame someone).

Instead we did some of our favorite things - Thai food and movies. Josh and I enjoyed a yummy meal at our favorite Thai restaurant, Chao Pra Ya. We returned home to watch Julie and Julia in the comfort of our own home (so yes, heaters were turned on). We sorta made it to midnight. We went to bed around 11:20pm since I had to work the next day and had a sore throat and opted for a good night sleep. However, we did awake up at midnight since our neighbors decided setting off fireworks and yelling would be fun for 2010. So I turned over to Josh and said Happy New Year, he grumbled a response and we were back to sleeping. I think sleep is a great way to welcome a new year, don't you? It's so comfy and nice.

Now, it's 2010. I guess we should discuss resolutions. I'll admit, I didn't really finish all my resolutions last year. But I did make about 3 of 5 - hey, that's not too bad. The ones I missed: yoga and golf. Perhaps yoga will be reset for 2010. I'd like to say I'd like to learn golf this year, but it's rainy and stuff here so to be honest, I doubt I'll go out in the rain to learn. So this year's resolutions need some further thought. I know health is the top, and keeping up this blog. I'm still thinking of others. Julie and Julia inspired me on the food front, so perhaps I'll try something there. Ehh, who knows. Oh well, resolutions really stop after January anyway (not to be a New Years humbug or anything).

Time to get ready for work. An ending thought: How will we refer to this year, and decade for that matter? Hmm: '10, the 10s, year 10, 2010. It's a bit perplexing to me. Guess we'll see.

Go Ducks! They're in the Rose Bowl & playing today.

Feeling the Holiday Hangover

Ever since Christmas ended, I've had trouble vocalizing this bum feeling I'm totting around. As I was writing an email yesterday, it came to me: the holiday hangover. I also thought of "reality bites," but holiday hangover sounds better. I mean we spend one day for everything we prepared the month for, and then the day is over and we're expected to go back to normal lives. Tear. Why isn't Christmas longer?

And another thing -- don't tell me that New Years is a "hair of the dog" cure-all for the hang over (Josh told me about this fitting phrase). New Years, is anti-climatic.  It never really what you hope it will be (i.e. the awesome party you see in the movies with sparklers and champagne at a really cool venue...nope, never happens).

Sigh, back to no decorations or fun music at home (or work).  Instead, its back to reality.  This hit me when I got home and spend all day yesterday doing the laundry, cleaning the house, putting things away, going to work.

Bah Humbug (in the opposite sense). Holiday Hangover.

If you're suffering the same, perhaps my Encinitas sunset photos will help cheer you up. Oh and Happy New Year Okay, I'll stop being a hum-drum and complaining - this whole email is a complaint, HA!. Side Note:  Isn't it crazy we're headed into another decade?

Santa Claus Came To Town

Or should I say Josh and Heather came to town..two towns to be exact: Indio and Encinitas. Indio with the Browns and Encinitas with the O'Neills. Yup, both parents are now down in SoCal, so we were able to squeeze in the holiday with both families. Josh flew down a day before me since I had a work shift, but I followed shortly after and arrived at our first stop, the Browns, on Wednesday afternoon.

Christmas Part 1 - Brown's in Indio
As I was about to get off the plane at Palm Springs (after a tad bit of turbulence), I noticed we had to go outside once off the plane. Ick, outside, that means cold (or at least that's what my brain translates "outside" these days). However, to my delight I stepped out to a wonderfully warm and sunshiny day. Ahh, melt. Then to top it off, Don and Nada took us to froyo. And it gets better because the flavor was cookies 'n creme. Heaven! And that was the first of the Christmas joys.

The rest of Wednesday was a bit of this and that. We visited some of the Brown's family friends, the Harvey's. We also had dinner at Papa Dan's where Josh's childhood brother-friend (a friend that's like a brother), Kevin, is manager.

Christmas Eve began with some Nada-Heather time getting fabulous manis and pedis. It'd been far too long since my little feeties and handies got some love - too much coffee making, cleaning, and cold weather drying them out. They came out much energized, or at least however hands and feet can be energized.

After nails there was a whirl-wind of errands and Christmas prep time. Suddenly 4pm rolled around and we at the Christmas Eve service at the Southwest Community Church. I was happy to find that they sang multiple carols and the big finale was Silent Night with candles. There was a weird attempt at a skit with mountaineers on clouds acting as angels and some crazy electric guitar version of Carol of the Bells, but all-in-all a nice service.

After the service, we enjoyed a scrumptious dinner at a seafood/steak restaurant called Pacifica. I had a lovely whitefish and a very tasty lemon drop. I even got to add to the the toast: "God bless us everyone." Then the Eve was tied up with some initial gift unwrapping with Aunt Ester back at the hacienda.

The sun shone in on Christmas morning and Santa had made a visit. We dove straight into our stockings where we all got various sorts of fun things - chocolates, notebooks, iTunes cards, and more. A quick break of the fast (aka breakfast) with some yummy multigrain pancakes. But not too long of a break because we were right back with unwrapping gifts from under the tree. Josh gave me a beautiful Tiffany heart necklace - woohoo, my first (and probably only) blue box! Side Note: I'm keeping the cute box. Also I got a super soft, warm vest and turtleneck from Don and Nada. Josh and I also received a nice set of pans for some fabulous cooking - perhaps a Food Network recipe.

We packed up and off we went over the desert and through the mountains (no river or woods, but sorta similar). The road lead us to the beach which brings us to...

Christmas Part 2 - O'Neill's in Encinitas
The minute we arrived, the O'Neill clan (aka mom, dad, and Lindsay) were ready and waiting. They held off all Christmas rituals until our arrival. They had the house prepared and food cooking for the big dinner feast at evening, so we got straight to the unwrapping (after a quick bite to eat). With the O'Neill tradition we started with the gifts under the tree. I must have been a good girl this year because I received all sorts of good stuff - rain boots, mittens, scarves, warm jacket, cozy PJs. Notice the list, they go right along this year's gift theme: warmth. Now I can say I'm all suited up for chilly weather. Additionally, I got a few tech things like an ear piece - Oregon is going to start the hands-free law in 2010. Josh got great stuff too. My gift to him was a nice, warm PJ set.

We had to go-go-go and move straight to stockings before the company arrived for dinner. The traditions were kept and we all sat in our usual places at the fireplace area and opened one gift at a time in a circle. More cute little stuff and goodies.

Starting around 3:30pm, the guests started to arrive. As tradition goes, we had a bunch of our family friends over for a big feast (our friends included the Hartleys and the Troglers). Before indulging in the xmas gluttony, we all sat around the tree and caught up on each others past year and holidays. We even opened some more gifts (I think my fingers should hurt from the unwrapping by this point - hehe, no complaining here though).

Dinner was fabulously delicious with roast turkey (very juicy), mashed pototoes, sweet potato casserole*, Brussels sprouts*, jello (my mom's famous jello with fruit), stuffing, and oh so much more. And don't forget dessert of pie, velvet pudding, chocolates, and cookies. (* = you may recall both dishes from my recipe collection & earlier posts).

And that wraps up (pun intended) yet another wonderful Christmas. Josh and I were blessed in that we were able to see both parents. I had such a great holiday, and to get somewhat mushy here, I feel like a very lucky person to be able to spend the holidays with those I love. I'm so glad I was able to get a few days to spend some quality time with the families - the perfect gift! This comes a bit belated now, but...Merry Christmas!

Christmas pictures are posted on my Flickr site - Check them out! Bonus pictures too from our walk on the beach the day-after-Christmas.

Xmas Tree

I'll Be Home for Christmas

Start singing: I'll be home for Christmas; You can plan on me. Please have snow and mistletoe; and presents under the tree.

Okay, now take out the snow part and it'd be just about fitting (no snow in SoCal). Tomorrow (Wednesday), I'm flying down home for the holidays. To start, I'm going to Palm Springs to spend some time with the Browns (that would be Josh's parents). Josh and I will be with them for Christmas Eve and early morning. Then we'll jump in the car and head to Encinitas to spend Christmas day and evening with my family. We'll have all our usual Christmas dinner friends & a regular, ole holiday feast.

And, oh boy, I've been preparing and waiting for the big Christmas day. I've been busy in the kitchen making cookies. Of course, Pepparkakor has been baked and enjoyed. Kakor what? It's a traditional Swedish cookie I learned from Grandma Norma. It's like a gingersnap slash sugar cookie because it requires cookie cutters. Then there is my Holiday Biscotti, which is a Giada De Laurentiis recipe that I've been making for a few years now. I've tested two new recipes too. First, I tried Peppernuts (or Pfeffernusse in German) to pay respects to my German heritage and friends. Second new recipe was from my December Cooking Light, Mexican Chocolate. These had pepper and cayenne in them. I used local chocolate, Euphoria, at 70% cocoa. Big hit. Whew, that's all I managed this year. Still a nice array though if you ask me. (And they are packed in my suitcase to bring to everyone).

As I write this very post, I'm watching It's a Wonderful Life. I've just about gone through all my favorite Christmas movies. I've been also listening non-stop to Christmas music!

If I don't post beforehand, Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Xmas Cookies

Crazy Good Chai

One of my favorites, before I liked coffee even, was Chai lattes. With the holiday baking I've been doing lately I am reminded of all the yummy spices - many of which are in Chai (or at least remind me of it or taste good with it). I've been enjoying this drink but I add some vanilla twist to it. How to “call it” (order it)? Tall Sugar-Free Vanilla Chai Latte.

My Christmas Card Gone Digital

Dear Friends and Family,

This year I'm going digital with my christmas note. I thought this would be the best, and most efficient way to reach everyone. Not to mention, it's getting late in the year at this point and I can post to my blog immediately - no having to wait for the snail mail system.

Blog

Speaking of my blog, this is actually a nice segue into a first topic of my mini 2009 review. I started my blog late summer and have been keeping it up ever since. I've been writing about all my adventures and random thoughts. You might see me say things like joy or joy.us - this is reference to my blog (recall my middle name is Joy). The .us is the domain (to be technically accurate it's a top-level domain, TLD). All this joy stuff is like branding myself - yup, that's my marketing major popping out. Anyway, this is a great way to see what's going on in the life of Heather, so check it out.

Skiing in Tahoe

January I headed out to the slopes with a group of college friends. Melissa, Jimmy, and I skied most of the day together after a quick, reminder class. Then we hit up the easy slopes and enjoyed a sunny day in the snow.

Long Distance Life

Before making the big move up to Oregon, Josh and I continued our back-and-forth visiting in the beginning of the year. He came down a few times and we hit up Sausalito, the Ferry Building, and other SF city favorites. I also made my way up for a few visits to Eugene where we toured the nearby vineyards.

Time with the Family

My parents and my exchange "brother," Kilian, visited me up in the bay area a couple of times this year. During these visits, we made it to many of our usual spots like Muir Woods, a trip to SCU campus, and around SF.

Also, I headed down to Encinitas for my "home fix." Easter was celebrated with our big baskets full of goodies. More recently, I headed down the week before Thanksgiving where I got to experience the Olivenhain Town Hall Christmas Fair yet again (this time without selling hair scrunchies or pies).

The Windy City

In April, I went out to Chicago to celebrate my grandma's big 88th birthday. The whole O'Neill family ventured over to a German restaurant for the festivities. We also got to tour around the windy city a bit with Kilian and meet my baby cousin, Riley.

Summer

Before my big move (see next bullet), I had a whirl wind of events all within just a couple of weeks. Josh and I headed down to San Diego for his cousin's graduation. The post-graduation party was a baseball game San Diego's own Petco Stadium. Then there was a wedding to attend for another one of Josh's cousins in the bay area. Lastly, towards mid-summer, I was wrapped up things at work and started packing.

The Big Move

At the end of June, I made the big move up to Oregon to be near Josh. After two years of long distance, we decided we'd had enough. No more once of month visits, ugh! Josh is in his last year of law school, so I moved up to help support him through the rest of the year. It was all very bitter sweet for me as I've grown to love the bay area over the past 8 something years, not to mention the friends and coworkers. My employer, Acxiom, was very understanding and even let me work remotely for the first 2-1/2 months. Unfortunately, the company has a policy against remote workers, so I was only able to stay on until the end of August.

The Busiest Month of my Life

Josh and I literarily had something going on every weekend of August. We started with a big visit my German friends Caroline and Gerald. We meet up for a long weekend in Seattle and Vancouver. We had a blast (and got the hottest weather on Seattle's record). Gerald and Caroline traveled during the week while Josh and I worked slash went to school, but then we met up again at the end of their trip in Portland. Caroline and I had some bonding time with our nails.

Not only did I have German visitors, but a Dutch one as well. My friend Irene from Holland also got to visit Portland. We ventured out of the city together to see Multnomah Falls and the Columbia Gorge area. It was beautiful. That's all I can say.

Oh, and the month wasn't nearly over. We also had visits from both sets of parents and a trip down to Sacramento for a college friend's wedding. Awesome August!

Barista Life Begins

Since my 4+ years with Acxiom came to a finish at the end of August, I started my next job search. With Josh finishing up law school, and the economy, I decided my best option was to find something that might carry around to other cities, provide benefits, do something I've always wanted to do, and be temporary (not really planning on staying in Eugene post law school). Starbucks was the answer.

Starting the beginning of October, I was Valley River Center Starbucks newest barista. Little did I know how much there is to learn and remember on all the Starbucks drinks! It's been a fun change of pace from the usual desk job and I enjoy meeting all the new people (and regulars).

Hobbies

With some more time on my hands, I've been able to spend some more timing doing things I enjoy. For those of you following my blog, I've been cooking and baking up a storm. I also am trying to learn to knit. However, I'm finding I only can do one switch (even when I think I'm doing a different stitch, sigh). There is obvious blogging hobby now too.

Oregon Life

I'm enjoying living in a new state. You know, I've lived in CA my entire live. Oregon is a gorgeous and friendly state (expect you've got to change those CA plates quick like). One of my favorite state introductions was a day trip out to the McKenzie River. Josh and I took a nice hike, saw covered bridges, and enjoyed the nature. The coast is also nearby and we made a nice weekend out for Josh's birthday.

Mom's 60th in Napa

Early December my mom had a big rendezvous of friends in Napa to join in the celebration of her 60th birthday. Three groups of family friends and our immediate family enjoyed a pleasant, yet rainy extended weekend visit to Napa. I think we probably visited all the wineries in the area by the amount of wine that was tasted (ok, exaggeration there). All in all, good times were had by all.

That was my "quick" recap of my 2009. It's been a year full of change for me, but its all been good change. I'm happy to be near Josh again and we are both excited for the last semester of law school to come to a close and find what lies ahead. As I generally do around the holidays, I've been thinking about all my family and friends. Many of whom helped and supported me through all this year's changes. I'm truly lucky and blessed to have such great family and friends - thank you all!

In the words of Tiny Tim, "God Bless us, everyone!"
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
~Heather

Check out my year in photos with the below video (and remember to read my blog in 2010):



2009 XMas Collage from Heather O'Neill on Vimeo.

Adding Holiday Spirit

Today we received a tall, medium sized box in the mail. What in the dickens is it? Why a Christmas tree in the mail of course! Josh's parents, Don and Nada, figured out a way to send holiday spirit in the mail. I was super excited when we opened the box to find a cute, little tree to brighten up our place. And the bonus...lights and ornaments were included! Now our place has more holiday spirit (and smells good too). Thanks Don & Nada!

Eugene X-Mas Tree

Party Hardy, Napa Style

AKA: Mom's 60th Birthday Napa Trip Extravaganza

I knew this weekend's trip to Napa to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday was not going to be a simple wine tasting affair the minute I received an email from my father. This email was a minute-to-minute itinerary of our trip with maps, reviews, and reservations - a 33 page document (and I'm not kidding). Usually this sort of itinerary is for our mega Europe trips and the itinerary is neatly organized into a white binder which we've all come to know as the bible. This was not in a white binder, but it was awful close especially considering we were gone for only 3 days.

It all began after my morning shift on Thursday. I dashed home, de-coffeed (I have to do this now b/c after work I smell like fresh brewed cup of coffee), and rushed to the Eugene Airport. I flew to Oakland with a stop-over in Portland. Actually, as I was waiting to take off on the Eugene to Portland segment, the flight attendant came up to me and asked if I worked at the Starbucks near the mall. Why yes I said. Well, they enjoyed a wonderful cup this morning from us. Too funny! I got good service on that portion of the trip. The rest of the trip went well, and I arrived to Oakland where I was picked up by Don & Sue Hartley and Pat Richardson. We all drove together to met up with the rest of the entourage already in Napa (or I should say, St Helena's). With us all there (albeit late in the evening), the celebrations began!

This celebration involved the gathering of family and friends (friends that are so close their family now really)--The Harleys, The Richardsons, The Troglers, and our little immediate O'Neill fam (we missed you Chicago fam!). The majority of us stayed together in a house that the Ink House B&B rents out for big parties like us, a place called the Carriage House. It's a very cute little B&B up in the St. Helena area.

But really the weekend was about two things: Mom/Jan and Wine. My mom was in high spirits the entire weekend (in fact, those of us in the B&B know from the singing from the shower) and the wine was plentiful. Now, I'm not a wine fanatic like some in the group, but we did taste some very fine wines. And how could we not? We visited practically all the wineries in the area, so we were bound to get some good ones. Here's the run down on the vineyards:

• Friday Wineries: Spottswood, Quixote, Cliff Lede, Vine Cliff, Robert Mondavi, Alpha Omega


• Saturday Wineries: Chappellet, Schramsberg Sparkling Winery, Duckhorn

We toured almost at each winery, so now we are all highly educated in the Napa wines and vines. We all thought it funny, and very accurate, when I called my dad Teacher's Pet. He was in his element--walking ahead with the winery's tour guide, asking questions (edging on interrogation), and giving his input. A classic pose is displayed on my Flickr site (fyi-I created an album for this trip). My mom was just happy drinking the wine and enjoying the company.

To go with the wine, we had some very tasty food. The big birthday dinner was at Auberge Du Soleil, a fancy restaurant. shmancy were you get courses and such. The other delicious meal was at a Don Giovannis, a nice Italian restaurant. A other fun spots were Taylor's Refresher, Dean and Deluccas, and the Model Bakery. Yum!

I think this was the first time I've spent in Napa were I tasted the wine and found some were my usual "hum" (as in, it's ok) was like more of a ohh, hmm (as in, actually not bad & might drink 1/2 a glass). My favorite was Quixote with it's neat architecture. It reminded me of Sintra, Portugal and a castle there with lots of color and interesting shapes. Others said it reminded them of Barcelona and Gaudi.

The end of our trip was a half day in SF before our flights. We did a quick stop at the Ferry Building. Then we did a mini walk at the Land's End & Cliff House area, which was beautiful as ever. And as we headed back to Oakland, I made a pit stop at Yumi. Heather Returns! It was heaven again (I haven't hyped it up in my mind, it's still just that good).

Spottswood Winery

Stuck in the Middle

Today didn't start off so great and it got worse by about 3:30pm. It started when I got to the gym and realized I'd forgotten my running shoes. I had to drive all the way back home and then back to the gym. Ugh. I got "over it" and after a decent workout decided to hit up the wonderful world of Target.

As I began driving to Target, I contemplated the route. Hmm, which way would be the quickest? After some contemplation, I decided on Jefferson to 11th which would bring me to straight to Target. Jefferson was a BAD choice.

As I was sitting at a red light in traffic (it's a busy street), cheering with my Christmas music, I was suddenly jerking back-and-forth. It was like everything went into slow motion as I saw myself/car headed into the car ahead of me. Crash, bang, boom! I was now a victim; a victim stuck in the middle of a 3 car accident. Since nobody really knew what to do, I took the "lead" on directing people to exchange info and whatnot (and my iPhone came in handy - took pics of licenses, cars, and such). The guy that hit me was younger and apparently not watching ahead and didn't see the cars stopped ahead. I guess he was waiving to some girl on the sidewalk (ha -awkward for him).  Sadly for me, he was going pretty fast when he hit so now my neck hurts a bit. Fingers crossed I'm not to achy for work tomorrow. <insert sorry-for-Heather sigh here>

Anyhoo, the day did end well. Josh took me to my favorite Thai place, Target (yes, got there at last), and then TCBY for froyo (Yes, I eat it even though it's 30s to 40s outside now. The trick is to eat it at the store where it's warmer, go in the car with the heater cranked up). To wrap up the day, I took a nice, hot bath. What a day!!

P.S. The good news: nobody got seriously hurt (and my car just needs some body work on the front & back...)

WiFi Leeching

Oh my, two blog entries in one day. What is she thinking? Well, this second one today is going to be short, but I just had to share with the world that I've been chillin' in coffee shops all morning with my Mac. The reason: EWEB shut our electricity down from 8:30am until about 2:30pm (it's 2:05pm and I'm thinking I'll head home again soon, so let's hope their 2:30pm time frame is accurate). The first place was Midtown. Usually their lattes are much better so I was a bit bummed--should have gone to Sbux hehe. The temperature was also a bit cold there and it was quite noisy (lots of plate banging, etc). Who's whining right?

Now I'm at Supreme Bean. I had a savory crepe (the ones with buckwheat that I love) for lunch. It was not their best crepe performance, but I've had them done very well here so never fear, I'll return. On the positive side, it's much warmer and less loud here.

(For the record, I wasn't really leeching, both places offer free wifi service - and I was good and checked first. No leeching, just sounded good.)

The other reason for the second entry was because I wanted to share my picture of these adorable ornaments.

So Cute!

On the First Day of Xmas

...my true love gave to me...permission to start watching Christmas movies! Okay, honestly I could have started earlier if I wanted (and we sorta did with the 3D movie); however, as I said before, we must give Thanksgiving due justice. I mean the pilgrims worked hard to get across that ocean and get going over here. And by golly, we must celebrate that momentous occasion with food and friends (and yes, I just say by golly...it's a good phrase, try it).

So now it's post-Thanksgiving, which means all Christmas is ON. By "on" I mean: music, movies, decorations, shopping, cooking/baking, and reading. All of it. Makes me all giddy. I just love the holidays. Just so you have enough time to watch them all before the 25th, I'm going to list my xmas movie favorites. Plus I really thought a movie list would be clever since Christmas is full of lists. This list is a good list (no bad or coal here, nor need to check it twice). I wouldn't dare say this list is anything near that the length or importance of Santa's great list, but it's a pretty darn good list with commentary too.

Enough of this lengthy intro (did I get you excited for it?), let's get to it. Here is my movie list. Let's call it my joy.us must-see Christmas movie list:

• The Muppet Christmas Carol - I know what you're thinking, "that's a kids movie, no thanks." I counter that (Josh's legal terms are rubbing off) with so what! Not only is it one of the best christmas stories of all time, it's with muppets! Can't beat that. Oh wait except that it's singing muppets. I know all the songs by heart and have the CD too which would go on my fav xmas music list. Plus there is comic relief in it with Rizzo the Rat who is there for the food. And Gonzo thinks he is Charles Dickens. Every time I watch it I find a little humorous thing they've discretely inserted into the movie. I saw a user comment that I agree with: "witty, far too good for kids." Oh, and Michael Caine is in it. Just watch it.


• Scrooge - This is a West Coast O'Neill family favorite. If you know us, it's best that you watch it so you know what the heck we are singing when we break out into random song about liking life or thank you very much. And yes, you are catching on to a theme here, we like music in our movies. As a heads-up, this is an older movie that was made back in 1970. But don't let that prevent you, the songs are quite good and it's a good, heart-warming movie.


• Miracle on 34th Street and Miracle on 34th Street (No typo) - There are two versions of this movie that I enjoy and watch each year. Once is a black and white version made in 1947. I like see how each version differs. Like will the judge get a dollar bill or a pile of letters from the post office? Does Santa speak Swedish or do sign language for the little kid? Is it Macy's department store or a store they make like Macys but don't actually call Macys? No music in this one, so if you're not the musical type, these might be a better route for you. Both versions here still have that heart-warming xmas message.


• Christmas Vacation - Time for some xmas humor. What kid doesn't want the super xmas lighting job that appears on the Griswold home? I mean the squirrel and the tree. I'm already chuckling to myself. It's the typical family disasters taken up a notch. It's over the top humor, but not so much that you're disappointed.


• Home Alone - No way can you beat a kid defending his home with all sorts of pranks -- pranks that both makes you laugh and cringe. If this movie doesn't bring out the kid in you, I don't know what will. Kevin get to do all sorts of crazy, fun stuff (although "don't try this at home" type). An added benefit is that the music is surprisingly good (although background mostly). John Candy makes an appearance too with a polka band.


• A Christmas Story - Yet another humor xmas movie. Actually some of the humor I didn't get until I was a  tad bit older. For instance, fragile and the lamp. But this is a true, 100%, all American Christmas classic. I don't know how you could not like this movie. Ralphie tells his Christmas in true kid fashion. Not to mention the bunny costume or Randy falling on his back an added funny bonus. Oh and you learn stuff too like not to stick your tongue out in the cold to a pole.


• It's a Wonderful Life - I always used to push this one aside when I was younger because it was black and white. Boring. Then back in college or so I decided to actually watch the whole thing. And now it's a favorite. It just makes you realize the important, good things in life. I think Josh might watch this with new eyes now that he's gone through law school, but that doesn't mean he won't be watching it with me (mwahaha). Seriously though, this one sends a good message. Watch to find out why life is worth living!

A few other options if you get through all of the above and need more - The Holiday has some Christmas scenes which gives it Christmas movie status. It just a cute love story with some good actors. The Polar Express has some good music and the animation is neat, but it's a bit weird in some parts (the same weird category as the newest A Christmas Carol I saw last week). Love Actually is good, but nothing great. I just like the one song in it by Mariah Carey.

I could (and just may) make even more Christmas lists. Perhaps one on cookie recipes, books, or music. Christmas is full of so much good stuff!