Welcome 2008 at home?

I saw a statistic this morning that said 60% of people will ring in the New Year at home this year. Really, 60%? That seems pretty high to me, but then again I'm part of that percentage.

I love the idea of New Year's eve celebrations. Drinks, confetti, staying up until midnight to kiss a sweetheart or stranger, whatever you have going this year. But, when you break it down its pretty much a hassle. All restaurants, bars and hotels have New year's eve specials that are very costly on your pocket book. Traffic and finding a designated driver is always a challenge. So, why not spend it cozied up at home?

Since becoming parents Cy and I have given up on most of the holidays that require babysitters. One, our babysitter list usually consists of my dad and sister. And as to not ruin their holiday, we usually don't ask on important days. And, two, we're pretty tired ( you can read this lame). I sort of look forward to watching the ball drop on TV and having a mini celebration at home. I do have a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge. And, who knows, maybe we'll get crazy and order some pizza!

Have a safe and happy New Year's eve celebration. And, if you're a fellow at-homer as 60% of you are, cheers to the lame (tired or smart, either works) guys!

Fried turkey, happy christmas

Christmas was great this year. Apart from some small family drama, we had a really wonderful holiday. Lillie received more gifts than you can imagine. Her Mimi and Poopah are too generous, not to mention Santa and Mom and Dad. The girl is now equipped with every toy kitchen item and play ball set imaginable.

I can't help but think about my childhood and waking up Christmas morning to find Santa's presents under the tree. My sister and I would sleep in the same bed the night before, and I would always make her wake up at 5 am to see what was waiting for us! With much protesting she always obliged.

That Christmas feeling is something that never goes away. When I woke up yesterday, I still had the same butterflies and excitement I would feel as a child. I think that is why we all love this holiday so much. Remembering our childhood, being with family, and not having to worry about a thing besides presents and laughter.

I hope all of your families are enjoying this holiday, and having those same excited butterflies!

Merry Mojito Christmas!

The holidays are all about tradition. The tree, the gift exchange, the stockings, cramming all your relatives into one small house for a 24-hour food grazing session. While my family does follow these rituals like “normal” people, our real Christmas tradition is anything but traditional.

This year marks the 5th anniversary of the Callaway Mojito Christmas Eve. Happy anniversary family! It’s just as it sounds. Starting at dinner on Christmas Eve, we raise the first tasty glass and don’t stop until everyone is lit up brighter than the tree.

The novelty rap rings joyously through the house (and probably the neighbor’s too). The pets retreat to the dark corners of safety under the bed. And the presents inevitably get ripped open in the wee hours of the night, only to be re-discovered the next morning. It’s like having Christmas twice!

As head bartender, I’ve tried many iterations of the mojito through the years. It’s fun to get creative as the evening chugs along (bad pun totally not intended), but here’s the classic recipe we always come back to:

Ice (fill glass about halfway)
2.5 oz. light rum
1 T simple sugar syrup
1 lime, squeezed
Mint leaves (crushed first with mortar and pestle)
Club soda (just to top off)

Merry Christmas to you and yours, whatever your tradition may be. Cheers!

Santa Bay-Yay-Bee

I love Christmas. I love the food, the presents, the visiting, the food, the tree, the spirit, the food. And much to Kevin’s chagrin, I also really love the carols. I started tuning in to the 24/7 holiday music channel the second my turkey digested back in November.

For the most part, I happily sing along to every tune. “Dominic the Italian Christmas Donkey”? Love it. “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”? One of my faves. I’m pretty open and accepting when it comes to Christmas music.

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, however, is a song that falls pretty low on my list. Threatening me to be good by telling me a fat, bearded stranger in a red velvet suit will be watching me while I sleep hardly launches me into the holiday spirit. It freaks me out a little bit actually. Especially the version I heard today while innocently wrapping gifts.

I’m going on record to say the official worst rendition of that or any other Christmas song is by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Wow. The song is creepy enough as it is without the shrieking bay-yay-bee mixed in. Sherry Baby called – she wants her song back. Please give it to the poor girl.

Feel like torturing yourself? Give it a quick listen.

Holiday hag or fun party-going mom?

So, the husband's holiday office party was this Friday, as were most office parties in town it seemed. Cy works for a very young company, up and coming, creative and innovative. And, most of their employees are just that - young, creative, innovative. As the company has grown from 15 to now 60 people, I'm now Cy's wife instead of Helen. And, getting to know some of the new folks has been hard. Normally when they see me I'm the lady with the kid, snot on her t-shirt and diaper bag in tow. That's why this year I had to pull out all the stops.

First, find fabulous dress that would knock socks off anyone. Check, got a beautiful black dress, that Cy says every time I wear it, "wow that's a great dress". Second, wear even more fabulous shoes that make me 3 inches taller and have sort of an attitude. Done. Thank you Saks Fifth Avenue in NYC, I L-O-V-E my new Prada patent leather shoes. And, finally have many glasses of wine while your there, as to not seem stiff and old.

Mission accomplished, I think. Now, I don't know if the employees are just trying to be nice, but I got compliments on the shoes, hair and one person even said, "I think you and your husband are the classy people here." Well, thank you young iPod toting designer type person. I'll take classy over old any day!

Chilly Weather, Hot Gift

Listen up last-minute Lucy! The final shopping day for Christmas arrival is just around the corner. Tuesday, December 18 marks the last official day to place ground shipping orders at Two Blue Peas.

The weather is finally getting into the holiday spirit with the rest of us, and we’ve got just the right gift to keep little toes toasty. The "it" item this season, baby socks by Trumpette. No lead paint scares, no headache-inducing gizmos. Just comfy-cozy, downright adorable socks for little elves to romp around in.

> Check out all the sock styles at twobluepeas.com

Couch Potato Classics

I’ve officially fluffed the Sarah-shaped imprint out of my couch. Good riddance!

Anyone who knows me knows that lazy Saturdays… and Sundays… and Mondays… and Tuesdays are not my gig. Especially when it’s a glorious 80 degrees outside and there’s an abundance of great Christmas party food to be had. I guess on the plus side, this whole fiasco might help me avoid the holiday “muffin top” over my skinny jeans this year.

My girlfriends armed me with enough mindless smut reading for a lifetime – thank you ladies! But in between brushing up on Brit’s latest pregnancy scare and Brangelina’s plans to expand their little cult – er, I mean family – I was forced to flip through the channels to find anything, ANYTHING other than soaps on daytime television.

Is it just me, or do the TV gods smile down upon all of us when we’re under the weather? Maybe it was just my lucky weekend, but the classic girlie movies were back to back to back. If I was going to be stuck relying on the tube to keep me company, at least I could be thankful that my company was in the form of cheesy, tear-jerking, completely unrealistic characters like Vivian Ward and “Baby” Houseman.

Here’s a list of some of my personal top chick flicks, all of which aired this weekend if you can believe it:

Dirty Dancing – Nobody puts Baby in a corner. And nobody can look me in the eye say this movie doesn’t also fall somewhere in their top ten.

Pretty Woman – Hooker turned debutant, check. Shopping spree on Rodeo, check. What more does a movie need?

Terms of Endearment – Call me sadistic, but I find myself having to watch this gut wrencher any time it’s on. I love you mom!

The Cutting Edge – Hey, I said “my top picks” not award-winning films. Don’t judge. Toe pick!

(Very) honorable mentions: Father of the Bride, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Miss Congeniality.

Our first bit of blood

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Lillie took her first two big tumbles that caused bleeding. I have to admit, I'm a cautious mother and I really don't put Lillie in harm's way too often. The "oh they'll learn not to do (or touch) that" method of parenting doesn't really sit well with me. First, I'm the biggest weenie known to man. And, when my baby gets hurt, I'm hysterical. So, to make sure I'm not in misery all the time, I keep a pretty close eye (or tight leash, however you would put it) on my little one.

Well, as all good things with parenting go, you can't plan for the unexpected. Lillie, her cousin Anna, Julia, my dad and I were at an outdoor restaurant last week. Lillie was such a good girl during dinner. Its amazing how a batch of french fries can keep a toddler occupied. Miss Thing was done with dinner, so I decided to let her wander around with her cousin. Didn't think there was too much that could harm them, and I was standing 4 inches from her the whole time. As Lillie was teetering around me to get to something way cool on the other side of the patio, she tripped and busted her chin on an umbrella stand (sans umbrella). Instant panic, freak out, holy crap, my baby just died right here in the restaurant...damn those owners not putting these things away!

The same night Cy was putting Lillie to bed and just before turning out the lights she was having a romp fest in her crib. Her Dad had just given me a speech on how he was glad the first major bang up happened in my presence, so he wouldn't be given the 3rd degree and stink eye for a month. And, wouldn't you know lights go out and BAM Lillie is in mid-romp and busts her eye on the side of the crib. How you ask? I have no idea I only heard the screaming. But, how do you like that for irony.

All-in-all Lillie is healing just fine, and really she was over it in 5 minutes. Me, on the other hand, can't stop thinking about it. The blood, the tears, my sweat. I need to learn to be brave and cool, and all those things that experienced parents are. Maybe after the 20th fall I will get there. I just don't look forward to three through twenty.

Domestic diva...Not me!

There are many famous domestic divas in this world - Nigella Lawson, Rachel Ray and my favorite Martha Stewart. These ladies have taken their cooking and decorating skills public, made themselves famous and in turn kind of make me feel bad about my lack of domestic skills.

Tomorrow my good friend Christie is hosting a Christmas cookie exchange. Wonderful idea and I'm so glad to have an activity tomorrow while Cy is in Las Vegas with the boys for a bachelor party (we won't even go there today). The idea is everyone is to bring a cookie batch and we'll exchange, so our households will have lots of sugar for the next few weeks. When I get this invitation in the mail, I immediately have a mini panic attack. What kind of cookies am I going to bake? Do I have to open one of the thirty cookbooks I have, read it and create a batch of cookies? Lord help me, I don't know the difference between baking soda and powder!

I decided that it probably wasn't kosher to bring a batch of pre-made frozen cookies I already have in the freezer. Even though the famous domestic divas set the bar way too high for all us common folk. I will be calling on them and honing my inner Martha to create the most wondrous batch of chocolate Christmas cookies you've ever tasted. Dear God, please don't let me burn them...

Under the Knife, Under Stress

So I’m scheduled for a little minor surgery on Friday morning. It’s nothing big at all. Just a run-of-the-mill outpatient procedure that I’m sure my surgeon can perform inebriated, eyes closed and with one arm tied behind her back. This is not a suggestion doc. By all means please lay off the booze and keep necessary appendages moving freely while you’re rooting around inside my abdomen.

I’m trying not to be a weenie about it, but it’s my first time at the hospital as a patient. I’ve certainly paced the sterile halls of a hospital before, but mostly awaiting the arrival of little ones. Nothing scary about that… unless of course you’re the one pushing the little one into the world. Hee hee whooo, hee hee whooo!

I’ve never broken a bone, never had surgery, never needed anesthesia for any reason. I’m honestly looking forward to what this procedure might fix. It’s the hospital experience I’m dreading.

Why is it that when disaster strikes we all hope we’re near a hospital, but when we’re actually scheduled to be admitted into one, we wish we could be miles and miles away? Ah, the irony.

Well, I apologize in advance for any posts I may make while hopped up on pain killers. They should be entertaining at the least.

A Stroll with Two Blue Peas

Despite Mother Nature’s decision to pout and cry all day like a two year old, Saturday’s Christmas Stroll in Georgetown, TX was a big success! It was Two Blue Peas’ first official booth appearance, so of course the elements (including 20 MPH gusting winds) were working against us and our little plastic tent.

But thanks to our mutual OCD, Helen and I came armed with cinder blocks, rope, wire and every kind of tape imaginable. At one point I think even our snacks were strapped to the table.

Thanks to everyone who braved the weather to join us. We had a blast, and it was a treat to finally interact in person with customers. We’re still loving the online thing, but days like Saturday sure make the itch for a bricks-and-mortar even itchier.