Posts filed under 'Lea & Liz'
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‘Tis the season for Fran’s ornament exchange party and it should come as no surprise to our loyal readers (the people who have married us, thus taking a vow to read our blog entries) that a certain amount of thought (or competitiveness, with a wee bit of fang-bearing animalism thrown-in) went into bringing JUST the right ornament.
So here, a gift to you from us for your bipartisan enjoyment is your holiday puzzler:
1. Which ornament(s) was Lea’s purchase. . . the conservative choice?
2. Which ornament(s) was Liz’s. . . the liberal’s best shot at the “W” (which I must clarify does NOT refer to the president, else I might get a holiday visit from the secret service for taking shots at “W”)?
3. Which ornament(s) got stolen 3 times, thus being retired and was therefore clearly highly desirable by nearly everyone in the room, probably on the planet, ensuring that this person became the Ornament Queen, a title that (while not at this writing accompanied by a crown) Princess Di would have far preferred as there is (at this writing) no paparazzi involved.
4. Which ornament(s) didn’t get stolen even once causing its purchaser to come down with a case of the Christmas blues, until the one person in the room who had the choice of ALL the ornaments in the room, retired or not, stole it, thus saving Christmas for this person, for the Whos down in Whoville and probably for all of mankind?
Since this puzzler will require study, contemplation and straight-out high IQ points, click on the ornament picture to get the full size image. Take your time, the stakes are high.
There will be prizes people. Really.**
**Those in attendance and those related by blood or by marriage to those in attendance to Fran’s ornament exchange are disqualified from participation. Chances of winning the prize are something like 1:1 since there’s a good chance if you answer you’ll win. We’re not telling what you win because we want you to think it might be a house or a car or a zillion dollars so that you’ll get all excited and tell your friends. Results won’t be supervised by Price Waterhouse or anybody really.
December 26th, 2007
I, like Lea, love scrapbooking. Unlike Lea, however, it never actually gets in a scrapbook. (Is too still scrapbooking.)
Pop quiz: Do you remember which one of us is a Democrat and which a Republican. Hint: Study pictures.
I want to be Lea, really I do. I’m just not.
Quickly changing the subject from my maternal incompetence, we have suspected something all along, but we’ve now got proof positive that Newsweek is reading the Village Square blog, no less than a stolen story idea, and we’ve caught them red-handed.
If scrapbooking conjures up images of kindly suburban women passing pictures around the kitchen table, then you don’t know the modern hobby. . . it is a cutthroat business.
(New York Times, Washington Post, we’re watching you. . . )
If we really want to put our finger on the pulse of what’s fueling our current lack of civility, there’s got to be some insight in this scrapbook story somewhere. I think a good hefty majority of us would agree that this isn’t exactly America putting our best foot forward. How can we lead the free world when we can’t scrapbook without plunging zig-zig scissors into suburban eyeballs or knocking teeth out with butterfly-shaped paper punches?
At least the end of civilization will be decorative.
-Liz
(whose negligence in scrapbooking was actually prophetic moral superiority**)
**Footnote on moral superiority: As the administrator of this blog, I have the power (muah ha ha) to change the dates on posts, which I have done without a second thought on this post to cover for my negligence in not actually answering Lea’s post for a full week and a half. Because of my high moral standards, I confessed to Lea that in doing so I would have to lie to you, our readership (pish, not you Newsweek). Lea advised me that this wasn’t lying, it was blying, being on a blog as it is. And my mother never once told me not to blie.
November 5th, 2007
I can hardly find time to write, I am so busy following the latest scandal… questions left unanswered, ethical lines crossed, people pointing fingers, researching into the past, did she really do that? did he not know the rules? It is all too much dirt to even climb out of the sludge without needing a shower and some Bath and Body works products….
No, I am not referring to any political event or candidate; this is about something MUCH MORE IMPORTANT…. the latest debacle in the scrapbooking world.
Yes, I know I brought in the “s” word…. I am a scrapbooker (by the way, my computer spell checker does not ever think scrapbooker is a word, how wrong is that?). My personal mantra is “no memory left behind”. A girl needs a mantra.
Scrapbookers should be the nicest people in the world (have you met me?), the hobby should be scandal free, and it is only paper, glue and family photos, right?
Oh my, you are so wrong, as wrong as rubber cement is on the back of a photo, that kind of wrong. Several events have ROCKED the scrapbooking community recently (or should that be “cut and pasted” the scrapbooking community?).
First there is the Hall of Fame controversy. Yes, there is a scrapbooking Hall of Fame and no, I am not in it (and yes, I should be in it). Creating Keepsakes (the premiere scrapbooking magazine) runs a Hall of Fame contest. Scrapbookers enter pages that they have done and they are judged on the photos, the page itself, AND the journaling (all three are very important to a scrapbook page, a complete platform one might say). Then a Hall of Fame group of scrapbookers are announced and they publish a book of the HOF pages and you get the picture (hee hee, that was a pun and I didn’t even mean to do that one).
Well, the HOF rules CLEARLY stated that you had to use pictures that you took yourself and the HOF people signed an affidavit that it was all their own work and then lo and behold several of the HOFers had photos in the book that clearly were not their own photographic work (like who can take a photo of their own group white water rafting that looks EXACTLY like the photo taken by the rafting company and on the rafting company’s website, I mean I am a good phototgrapher, but I am not that good. And WHO had the time to find the rafting
company’s website and found the photo from that day and published it to bring down the gal who used that photo?).
One gal stepped down when allegations started flying and admitted (”yes, I did use someone else’s photo”) and others were not so forthcoming with confessions and kind of danced around the question (“ummm, really, I set up a tripod and a timer and got that white water rafting photo exactly like the one of the company’s website”) and then quit and never admitted any wrongdoing. And there are still others remaining under suspicion and a low lying black cloud of shame is covering the entire scene (can you tell that I am good at
scrapbook journaling with metaphors like that one?).
Then in the same week, a major scrapbooking message board is hacked (yes, there are scrapbooking message boards and more amazing, there are people who hack them) only to find a secret message area and the “celebrities” of the scrapbooking board are talking about other scrapbookers’ work and demeaning their personalities behind their back. Ouch, it is those little paper cuts that hurt the worst, isn’t it?
All this to say… no wonder we can’t all get along! When scrapbookers are dishonest, evasive, catty, and downright dirty and mean, how can we hope for our political arena to be any better? Is the knitting industry any better; is there an inner quilting circle that holds the rest of the quilters in contempt; is there a calm and polite port in any storm?
And am I a part of the problem? Is my interest in this shameful scrapbooking secret world, my kind of thrill in seeing someone go down (even though they didn’t follow the rules), is that fanning the flames of this fire storm that exists everywhere today… in the world of celebrities, the arena of politics, and even in our own PTO organizations where we talk about others as a daily sport?
No wonder my middle school daughter comes home with the daily drama report… she has learned the drama from her mama. Maybe if I clean up my own habits (go cold turkey on the People magazine and the scrapbook smack sites, watch what I say about others, and avoid the drama that is only for the sake of drama), “be the change I want to see in the world” (thanks for the quote Ghandi), and clean up one little area of the world, then maybe I can scrapbook (and vote) with a cleaner conscience. I may not ever make a Hall of Fame, but I think for me, it is more important to avoid the halls of shame…
-Lea
November 1st, 2007
Today I was the lucky recipient of the best dang greeting card ever to grace an envelope (pictured above). What you can’t get from the picture is just how glorious that pig is. . . it’s like an accordian that has about fifteen moving pieces and it wobbles in the breeze, just like - well - a flying pig. Until now, The Village Square flying pig was just theory.
You can imagine my glee.
Better yet, the card was from my friends Adam & Lea and came with this note:
“thank you for making us idiots. (no you didn’t do that on your own)
thank you for naming us idiots. (nah, it’s been done before)
thank you for introducing us as idiots to a crowd. . . now that is something to be proud of!”
Aren’t I so lucky to have friends who have such a low bar for gratitude?
If we ever have a fire, it’s the kids & the husband out first, then the pig.
If you weren’t at our first dinner, please learn about “The Village Idiots” here. (Scroll to page 6.)
-Liz
October 23rd, 2007
toot’s hot bacon swiss dip
i got the recipe from my sister catherine, my kids call her “toots”,
i call her “princess”. she is the best cook i know and she won’t give
me her pound cake recipe because i am not worthy of it. but a dip
recipe, i can handle…
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup mayo
1 cup grated swiss cheese
2 tbls chopped onions
mix these together in an oven dish
top with 8 slices crisp crumbled bacon
add 1/2 cup ritz crackers crumbled on the top
bake at 350 for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly
serve with crackers, apple slices or fresh baguette
recipe serves 8 self controlled adults OR me and 3 friends….
profiteroles
when i lived in stratford, UK the little old lady that ran the
boarding house made these for dessert one night- they were
incredible! she also made steak and kidney pie once for dinner and i
ran in the snow with no shoes on to the rubbish pail outside to dump
it out before she came back in the dining room. she gave me the
recipe for the profiterole (not the steak and kidney pie), but it
included several items not available to people living in the great
country of america who have their food pasteurized for them. i kind
of made this up and it is almost as good as hers IF you eat it and
speak in the queen’s english and use words from jane austin’s era….
1 package pepperidge farm frozen puff pastry shells
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (this is where it gets yummy)
1 package (6 squares) white baking chocolate
fresh berries
milk chocolate chips
bake pastry shells as indicated on the package. microwave white
chocolate and 1/4 cup of the cream for 30 second burst (stir between
bursts) until melted and creamy. cool to room temp. beat remaining
cream until soft peaks form or your hand cramps. fold whipped cream
and white chocolate mixture together. spoon into pastry shells. lick
the spoon. run your finger along the side of the empty bowl and lick
that too. garnish the shells with berries and drizzle milk chocolate
on top.
serve and say things like, “it vexes me that no one serves
profiteroles any more. they do so set a nice finish to a meal”.
-Lea (because Liz asked nicely)
October 19th, 2007
I get the extreme honor (and the easy part) in RESPONDING to Liz’s introduction to me and I also get a chance to defend my ornament stealing behavior. As if, that kind of zeal and exuberance needs to be defended (and REALLY Liz, you went and bought an ornament to replace the one you stole from someone in a game, REALLY?)…
It would seem from my actions that I am an EXTREMELY competitive person (not to mention that I am looking bad since I didn’t replace anyone’s stolen ornament, again, REALLY Liz?). And the funny part is that I am NOT competitive at all… but there is something about decorations covered in glitter that does it to me. Or maybe it is Fran’s house? Fran also used to host a party where you submitted 5 recipes, Fran compiled a yearly cookbook, you brought one cooked item and we all voted on whose entry was the best, we ate a lot, got a cookbook and went home happy… well, you went home happy, if you were ME because I totally rocked that contest as well. They still talk about my profiteroles and Toot’s hot bacon swiss dip in hushed reverent terms, oh yes they do people. Put me in ANY sports arena and I have NO desire (or ability to win), but a recipe contest and holiday products and well, I am pretty darn lethal. I WILL OWN THE STAR ORNAMENT WITH THE GLITTER, OH YES I WILL, WITH ALL THAT IS HOLY AND SACRED, I MEAN THAT AND DARN IT JUST TASTE THOSE PROFITEROLES.
I am passionate about the things that I care about (and any ornament with a star on it falls into that category). What Liz didn’t cover is that I always strive to bring the BEST ornament to the party as well. I search for weeks for the perfect ornament; I wrap it to entice the choosers. I sometimes stretch the rules (never break, just stretch) by bringing a SET of ornaments. My personal piece de resistance (Republicans can use French too) was the year I brought the really plump, gaudy octopus (because NOTHING says sacred religious holiday like a fat tacky sea creature) that was named “Miss Frannie” in honor of our hostess. I am sure Fran was thrilled that a large octopus was her homage. The point is that I want the ornament I bring to be stolen three times and fought over. I want to be the popular girl at the party (high school anyone?).
I think this behavior has a lot to do with the fact that I want to be RIGHT. I am a Republican after all. I like that I am in the party on the RIGHT. But that is also why the Village Square is so appealing to me. My desire to be RIGHT is less than the desire that to know what is going on and to be a participant in this little process we call LIFE. I don’t want any one to choose my ornaments for me, much less to scream over me about why that ornament MUST be the one i choose whilst showing grainy black and white photos of the OTHER ornament looking really bad to prove that the ornament of THEIR choice is the best one for me. I want to fight for the one that I know is PERFECT for my tree, the one that fits that one little blank space to the right of the drummer boy on the tree. That really has almost nothing to do with politics does it? But I wanted to sound philosophical about my ornament behavior. And I almost had a good point (that may be a theme to my writing… It was ALMOST a good point).
Here is the sad part. I have scoured my 12,000+ digital pictures on my computer and I have NO pictures of the ornaments that I have fought so valiantly for and WON. I do however have this photo of an “ornament” that has hung on my tree for three years. It is the information tag from a new pair of pajamas that one of my children got on Christmas Eve and it got hung on the tree because that was funny. And every year we pack it up with the ornaments, because it is funny. And the next year we put it back on the tree, because (well, certainly you have the idea of this thing now). And I took a picture of it last year, which proves that the ornament I fought to WIN is less important to me than being funny. Which is a good thing for all who read this blog (all three of you and two of you are related to me or roomed with me in college).
Now I will be bringing the profiteroles to go with the spiked punch…
- Lea
October 19th, 2007
I first met Lea at our mutual friend Fran’s annual ornament exchange party, one of those parties where you steal other people’s ornaments, ornaments other people really wanted.
My first vague memory of Lea is that she played that game. While I have no specific memory of her gnawing any arms off for the ornament of her dreams (sorry to disappoint some of my readers on the left), her spirit was magnetic. She’d always have the perfect quip to capture the ridiculousness of the game, as she enthusiastically snatched the object of her affection from its previous owner. It was impossible to not love Lea, she is irresistible.
Lea’s a Republican.
If you can’t tell, Lea has joie de vivre. (Lea, is anything in French a compliment to a conservative?)
In my freshman ornament exchange year (a good decade ago), I swiped a Santa with moveable arms and legs from my friend Michelle, apologizing mid-snatch. I went out the next day and bought another one just like it to mend Michelle’s broken heart.
I’m a Democrat.
PLEASE NOTE: Pictured above is one of my own unapologetically stolen ornaments, to quell press rumor and the resulting headline:
“Lea & Liz blog begins on uncivil note: Democrat calls Republicans thieves.”
(Please also note that anything you have perceived as dust on the chandelier pictured is most certainly dust on your computer screen. Don’t you keep house?)
Since Fran’s ornament exchange party in days of yore, when I paid much more attention to the 7 layer dip & spiked Christmas punch than to anyone’s political persuasion, things have gotten just a wee bit dicey between the politically diverse. But not ones to let a little fussiness deter us (some 5 kids between the 2 of us last time we counted), Lea and I are going to defy the trend and talk politics, talk values, talk religion, talk election, talk - well - everything . . . and we’re going to be doing it right here in front of you.
Entertaining? Sheesh, yes! Mud wrestling has NOTHING on us!
You’ll be running for the spiked punch before you know it. (Save some for the two of us.)
- Liz (the night owl, hereafter “Late shift Liz”)
October 18th, 2007
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