A Wrapper's Delight

I spent about 5 hours yesterday sitting on the couch, wrapping presents. I can't tell you how much I actually enjoy the holiday chore of wrapping Christmas presents. I do, I really do. There is something about the pretty paper and ribbon that curls with a swipe of a scissors - it just gets me in a Christmas-y mood. Yes everyone, my Charlie Brown Christmas feeling is gone. I started out my wrapping marathon watching the Vikings game. That quickly changed into Santa Claus 2 followed by Love Actually - finished with the end of the Wizard Oz (it was on TV). All the while I was wrapping presents my wonderful husband vacuumed AND did the laundry. Now, if that isn't my Christmas present - I can't wait to see what he got me that is BETTER than that! ;)

Now that Christmas is ever so close, I hope all of you can find joy in the small things that make this season so special (like wrapping presents and gorging yourself on cookies). Its the small things in life that make it so great - agreed? Agreed!

Happy last minute gift buying, baking, and wrapping to everyone! Christmas is almost here!

Being Martha Stewart is hard work!

For the past week I have been cleaning, planning and prepping for a Holiday Party Greg and I are hosting at our apartment tonight. I have been really excited to have this party because I haven't had one is a good while. AND....... Good lord, its a LOT of work. I love party planning - love it, love it, love it! But, I have never had to do all the work that goes into it all by myself before. It has really opened my eyes to how hard being Martha Stewart must be. Obviously, in her life now she doesn't do every thing herself, actually she probably doesn't do all that much at all to think of it - but her Martha Stewart lifestyle it what is really hard to imitate. I guess I can't say I did it all either. My loving husband did do his share of cleaning and running to the store and whatnot. Anyway, back on track. I love Martha, I really do, but sometimes I just don't think all the effort to make everything look absolutely perfect is necessary. It was my good intentions to have wonderful crudites platters and lovely decorated Christmas cookies; however, it turned out more like a veggie platter and some nice cutout cookies with sprinkles. I think that it will taste just as good as the fancy ones, sorry Martha!

A Charlie Brown Christmas

So as everyone knows very well - we are in full-swing Christmas mode. I usually LOVE Christmas. I love everything about it. The reason for the season and all the wonderful things that come a long with it such as deocorating the Christmas tree, baking Christmas cookies, yummy traditional food (oyster stew, Swedish meatballs, rice pudding, pickled herring!), parties and presents and lots of Christmas cards.

However, this year I have been stuck with some kind of "Charlie Brown" downer mood. I don't know. Maybe its the economy, maybe its the fact that my older sister is in Korea, or maybe its the fact that my middle sister and I haven't talked since Sept. 7th - and we even spent Thanksgiving together and STILL didn't talk. I am sure there is a plethora of issues causing this weird funk - I just wish they would go away! I mean, I love buying presents for people, its one of my most favorite things to do. So this year when I realized that I didn't have the excitement to get out there and go shopping, I knew that something was very wrong with me.

"Isn't there anyone who can tell me what Christmas is all about?" and make this cloud of gloom and doom leave my personal space?

Anyway, its just really hard to feel this way when everything around me is telling me to "Be Happy" and to spend lots of money.

Yumm-O!

Today I brought ginger cookies to work to share with my co-workers. I just wanted to let everyone know that this batch of cookies I baked might be the finest ginger cookies I have ever made. No joke. Usually I mix the cookie dough too much so when they bake the cookies get crispy or I bake them too long and they get crunchy. When everyone knows that a ginger cookies should be really soft and chewy, the crispy and crunchy turn out can be somewhat disappointing (although they still taste really good:) ) I just wanted to give my self a pat on the back for this job well done (a little praise for myself isn't a bad thing, right?). Also, I hope everyone who got to eat one really enjoyed the deliciousness that is a ginger cookie :) I think I finally did my grandmother's cookies recipe proud. Yea!

9 outa 10 aint bad

For all of you wondering if I completed my list of relaxation, I didn't. The only one I didn't get to do was make Ginger cookies. Otherwise, it was a glorious weekend of not really doing anything. Hope all of you had equally as awesome weekends and are having a great start to your week.

TGIF

Thank God Its Friday! That's right people. This week has been a doosey and I can't tell you how excited I am for the weekend. Here is a list of things I plan to do.
1. Not think about work
2. Hang out with Tubby, my parent's black lab
3. Scrapbook until I can't do it anymore, or I just get too tired
4. Watch the Gophers beat the Badgers in football on Saturday
5. Sleep in and stay in my P.J's most of the day
6. Do some laundry
7. Maybe make some ginger cookies
8. Cruise the H-Town Mall. If you have never experienced it, believe me .....you're not missing much.
9. Hang out with my awesome brother
10. RELAX

As dull and non-eventful as these plans seem, I am actually looking forward to it. It seems that in life I am always waiting for things to slow down. Thinking that someday I will eventually have more time to myself and to spend doing things that I really enjoy. Well, I am sad to inform all of you I don't think that will ever really happen, the life slowing down part. I thought that when college was over I would have all this free time because I wouldn't have to study. Its amazing how that "free" time gets filled up so quickly and I don't even realize it.
So this weekend of not having anything that I ABSOLUTELY must do is an amazing weekend to me and i am so juiced.
I hope all of you also have a wonderful weekend and get to do some relaxing, something fun and maybe even something productive. Just please, no one think of work until 6 a.m. on Monday morning (or in Kendra's case, 5 a.m.! :) )

Peace out

A Little "ME" Time

This weekend I was a deer hunting widow and it was glorious. All I did all weekend was sit around in comfy clothes, scrapbook and watch tons a movies - Something's Gotta Give, Sleepless in Seattle, Hoosiers, Steel Magnolias, A League of Their Own and Step Mom. Yep, I think that is my entire weekend's worth of movies. Some people might find it boring, but I found it to be wonderful and relaxing. I know you are all super jealous :)

p.s. Hoosiers is one of my most favorite movies of all time!

Some favorites

Just wanted to share some of my favorite pictures with all of you. Enjoy!
First ski trip ever. Lutsen was a bit much for a first timer :)
East Bearskin Lake after the sunrise. The fog lifting was absolutely breathtaking.
The biggest fish I have ever seen my brother catch. I will never forget his face!
There is much relaxation and peace found looking up at the sky.

Agree to Disagree

That is one of the great things about our country. We can all agree to disagree. BUT lets ALL agree that last night was a truly historic moment in our nation's history and lets all be proud to be Americans.
AND lets all be THANKFUL the whole thing is OVER!!!

Obviously no one liked it!

So, my blog poll was a bust. No one answered my questions except Dave Hilden - whose snide remark was "John McCain". I decided that I can't be friends with him anymore because of it. (P.s. I am totally kidding :) )

The only reason I asked the blog world what they think makes up a good and decent person is because my middle sister seems to think I am biased when it comes to what makes a good person. I was going to compare my thoughts to what others think - and I am pretty sure I will be able to prove her wrong. However,er the answer "John McCain" doesn't really help me out.

Speaking of John McCain - it makes me think of the election. I am so stinking sick of all the political ads on TV and the radio. It is a little ridiculous. I can not wait until November 4th. Please everyone, do you civic duty and get out there and vote!

Blog Poll

What constitutes a good and decent person?

I would love to know your responses blog world. Let me know what you think!

Copy Cat

I am totally going to copy Jessica Hilden with this post. I agree that random facts are fun. So, today's post is going to include a few odd ones!
1. I absolutely cannot go to bed if there are dishes on the counter or in the sink. It doesn't matter how late it is, I will do them.
2. I still wear a retainer - because in the words of my orthodontist "I have a very dynamic mouth"
Which i think means that my teeth are still moving and if I stop wearing it I could potentially undo what the 4.5 years of braces wearing did for me.
3. I am double jointed in my right thumb.

There you go, I hope you all still want to be my friends after all this weird information about me :)
Happy Monday!

Sad News

Well, sad news for me anyway.

Let's give a little background info shall we: My older sister Meredith is teaching English in S. Korea for a year. She left at the end of February and was scheduled to return at the end of March 2009. We were all really sad that she was going at first, but as she has been there longer and longer and made friends and enjoys what she is doing - my family and all her friends realized that it is actually a very good experience for her, and we were all surprised that she loves teaching 4 year old children to speak English, when she does not speak on lick of Korean. O.k. So I am happy for her and her life experience of living in Korea, but I am definitely looking forward to her coming home.

This morning she calls me because she has found out some information through facebook that she was unaware of, and it upset her that we didn't tell her these things like 1. My parent's got a BMW (mid life crisis?) 2. My little sister got 2 tattoos when she turned 18, 3. My brother also got a tattoo of a fish. O.k., so we were discussing these things, nothing out of the ordinary. I was telling her that I was excited for her to come home because then we can go to the cabin and hang out, and the girls' weekend up there just wasn't the same without her, blah, blah, blah - then came the bomb.

She informed that she extended her contract to go through August 2009. I am thinking, OK... that is fine. It's just 6 months longer, no big deal. Next, she also told me that she was going to be home for a months. I was like SWEET! She is going to stay in MN for an entire month before she goes back to Buffalo, NY (where her boyfriend lives). Then came the sad part. She then informed me that she wasn't going back to Buffalo, but going to Turkey to teach English there for a year.

I guess I will just never see her again. She is frustrated that my family never talks to her about things, she doesn't like the economy here in the U.S., and if John McCain wins the election that it totally going to seal the deal.

It was rather hard information to get at 7 o'clock in the a.m. It's hard to sit here at work and not think about it.

Am I being selfish? I mean she really likes to travel, she likes teaching English - just not in the U.S., and these types of jobs pay pretty good salary. It all seems great right? Well, except for the fact that I NEVER GET TO SEE HER!

I am totally being selfish - but I actually like my sisters, and she is super fun.

Oh well, such is life. I can't control what she does, I can only control what I do.

I am just glad tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Equilibrium

I just really like that word. In my old life as a biologist (before I devoted my life to mutual funds) I was able to use this word in sentences daily. Now, it doesn't really fit, and I am kind of sad about that.
Random, I know. But that is what I am all about.

Hope everyone is surviving their Monday. I know that I am struggling to get through.

Until next time - Ciao!

The Strangest Thing

So, the strangest thing has been happening since Greg has been gone. I have gone shopping a lot in his absence (not that strange); however, I have had a hard time actually buying things. For instance, On Wednesday I went to Crate and Barrel with Kendra to help her pick out a wedding gift for Jason's cousin. I was so excited because I don't get to go there very often now that they closed their store downtown - and I really felt like I wanted to buy a new cute candle holder or fun kitchen gadget. Then, the weirdest thing happened - I didn't really like anything enough to want to buy it. AT CRATE AND BARREL - I COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING THAT I, MARGARET GLASSON, LIKED ENOUGH TO BUY! Anyone who knows me, knows that is just not normal. I left the store with a white rubber scrapper - not because I wanted it, but because I actually needed it. Very Odd. Crate and Barrel usually has this power over me to spend way too much money on items that I don't really need. My fellow Crate and Barrel lovers know this power all to well. I did feel a little weird when we left the store. Have I lost my desire to shop? Have I lost my excessive love of Crate and Barrel? Say it ain't so!

Maybe, since I am now 25 years old, I am starting to become what some might call a "responsible shopper". My days of mindless spending seem to be over. Maybe this is for the better because you know, I do want to buy a house some day and as I have heard they are quite expensive.

It seems weird to me that Greg going on a duck hunting trip has brought on this very strange self realization. I wonder what I will figure out/ happen when he goes deer hunting?

Don't worry, I will let you all know.

In the words of Ringo Star "Peace and Love, Peace and Love"

Happy Friday!

The Life of a Hunter's Wife

My dear husband is now transformed into a full blown hunter. This time of year is particularly bad. The duck calls come out along with massive amounts of camouflage.
When I met Greg he knew nothing of hunting. Well now, 8 years later thanks to my dad he loves it. So much in fact that he is taking a 5 day trip to North Dakota to go duck hunting. Good for him - bonding time with my dad and brother,I guess. At first when these little endevours would compe up I would get sad, and I would be lonely. However, now I am home alone for 3 days (I am going up to the cabin with my mom and sister for the weekend) and I have a huge list of stuff I would like to do and now I am looking forward to it. I get to do whatever I want. I don't have to make dinner,I can just eat cereal. I can go shopping without him asking where I am going and what I am going to get.
Side Note:I think its funny when he asks me things like this because Its like, I don't know what I want to buy when I go to a store. If I knew that, what would the fun of shopping and browsing be?
I can even sleep in the middle of the bed (however, I do like sleeping next to him because he keeps me warm).
I mean don't get me wrong here - I love Greg and I love spending time with him. I am just looking forward to having my own agenda for a couple of days.
So, good luck to the hunters. I hope they have a wonderful time waking up at 4:45 am to go sit in the freezing cold in hopes to shoot down a few ducks. I know that I will be enjoying my sleep, sitting in my living room, wearing sweats and watching my TV shows - after I have gone shopping of course ;0)

6 Random Things

Thanks to dear Jessica Hilden you all get to learn a little bit more about me. So here goes. Six random things.

1. There are 5 kids in my family and I am the only on that is left-handed and the only one that has brown hair (hence my blog name:) )

2. I was in 4-H as a child and showed sheep and then pigs. I was so good at showing pigs that I was the grand champion swine showman for 2 years in a row

3. I am very very afraid of touching/holding chickens and rabbits (both can sense my fear and peck/bite me)

4. When I was 12 I had a cyst on one of my ovaries that was the size of a cantaloupe. It was discovered during my sports physical - and if I hadn't wanted to join the swim team I probably would have never found it (well, until it burst) because I thought I was just getting fat.

5. I played the flute in the elementary school and middle school band

6. I was quite often mistaken for a boy in my younger years. Lets just say a bowl cut on a 2-5th grade girl isn't the best choice.

I don't have anyone else to tag - except Jason Beal should really get on the ball and do his!

As I sit here on hold - going on 25 minutes now, I am perplexed about what to do. Do I hang up, call back and hope I reach someone who is competent at what they do? Do I wait it out, because, I mean I have waited this long already - what's a few more minutes. Also, I don't really want to have to explain the whole debacle to a different person. UGH!

Oh, wait - he came back to me! (25:05)

Lets think about this. When you have someone on the phone and you tell them to hang on a "sec" - what does a "sec" really mean?

Think about it!

A First Time for Everything

Hello!

I think this an appropriate title for my very first blog post ever, and considering what the rest of my post entails. I decided to join in on the blog-revolution because, although I see a good portion of my friends on a daily basis - we don't always have the time to just sit and talk about completely random thoughts or happenings in our lives. Also, as much as I enjoy Facebook - it doesn't quite provide a good way to elaborate on the stories of daily life.
Now, back to the title. This past weekend I walked the Breast Cancer 3-Day, for the first time. During these three days (and the week before) I experienced more "firsts" than I have since I my freshman year of college. So, here we go.
1. First time winning anything from a radio station
2. First time being on the radio (Cities 97)
3. First time winning $1,000 (unfortunately, I didn't get to keep it for myself :( )
4. First time being on WCCO TV
5. First time walking 20+ miles in one day

6. First time sleeping in a pink tent, along with 3,000 other people sleeping in pink tents. Pretty much it was my first time being in a sea of pink tents.
7. First time showering in a semi. Yes, I said a semi. They had mobile shower, that actually had warm water in a semi. Weird and wonderful all at the same time.
8. First time getting the worst pain in my foot I have ever experienced - and walking 40+ miles with it. Grin and bear it, grin and bear it.
9. First time having to tape almost every toe on my foot to subside the pain of the blisters that had formed there.
10. First time feeling the most joy anyone could feel after walking 62 miles in 3 days - and being apart of something much, much larger than myself. Thanks for sticking with me. I know that was quite long.