Scott and I got a Christmas tree about a week and a half ago. It’s the first Christmas tree I’ve had as an independent adult and it’s been a fun thing to put together. There were some initial tensions when we first were stringing lights, and Scott had accused me of being a little bossy when it comes to ornament placement (which is probably an accurate accusation), but once we got over those initial bumps, the tree has been a delightful thing. I’ve also enjoyed getting to use all the vintage glass ornaments I cherry picked from Walla Walla thrift stores during college, as well as the ones that my mom would give me each year.

For those of you starting families, giving your children an ornament a year is a wonderful tradition to start. From the time we were babies, my mom gave my sister and me an ornament each year, with the plan in mind that by the time we were adults, we’d have enough to decorate our own trees. As kids, we loved seeing our boxes of baubles each December (if you’re doing this for multiple kids and you get them matching ornaments, make sure to discreetly mark them so that there’s no fighting about which belongs to whom. Many of mine have tiny ‘M’s’ inscribed on hidden spots with black sharpie). However, I don’t think that she imagined it would take me until my 29th year for me to get my own tree.

If you’re interested, you can see more pictures of the tree here.

Scott and I already exchanged Christmas presents this year. We’re not going to be together on December 25th (I leave for Portland on December 21st and he heads to Virginia to be with his mom on the 24th) and neither of us is particularly good at waiting. He gave me a very spiffy, super wide angle lens for my camera that took the picture you see above. For so long, I’ve primarily lived with a fixed width 50 mm lens on my camera, so the amount of the world I can now see through this new lens is jarringly awesome. I got him a watch, so that when I ask him what time it is, he won’t just offer me a bare wrist (it wasn’t an entirely selfish move, as it was also what he asked for).

Speaking of Scott and me, we celebrated our one year anniversary last week. We’ve now been friends for three and a half years and together as something far more than friends for a year. It’s been a really good year. I will be forever grateful that we made the leap from friendship to partnership.

In other news, I’ve been blogging like a cooking/writing machine over at Slashfood. For December, I’m doing a feature in which I post a recipe for an edible gift every day of the month. Half way through the month, I’ve only missed one day (I have never claimed to be perfect). Yesterday, I posted a recipe for some Spicy Sweet Roasted Nuts that uses butter, maple syrup, rosemary and cayenne to create a highly addictive, giftable snack. Some of my other favorites so far this month have been my dad’s Pancake Mix, Lemon Curd (inspired by gifts my cousin Lolly used to send out) and Rosemary Scented Salt (cause it’s easy).

That’s essentially the current round up. I’m looking forward to my week in Portland, despite the fact that neither Bonnie (the dog) nor Dinky (the cat) are there to greet me anymore. My mom and I have big plans to hit The Bins (Goodwill Outlet Store) and the Bob’s Red Mill Store and I’m hoping to finish a few books.

How’s everyone else doing these days?

You can find all my pictures here and Scott’s are here.

To be fair, he was goofing around and I made him hold the pose so that I could grab my camera. It was pure comedy!

Earlier this afternoon, Scott forwarded me an email. He added one line to the sentence, which said, “OMG! I’m going to be on TV. But check out the dress code section!” They had specifically said that he wasn’t allowed to wear a Hawaiian shirt. So, while I sat quietly in meditation tonight, he settled down in a satellite studio and spent about a minute appearing on Attack of the Show (which I had never heard of before today).

I think Scott will have a clip of it up tomorrow, but for now, a still photo of our TV with a larger than life Scott. Very cool.

Saturday morning, Scott and I got up bright and early and walked over to the Art Museum.  He, along with a bunch of our other friends, had signed up to run in the Clean Air 5K.  It was his first time running outside since high school, so it was something of a big deal.  He finished it in good time, although he continues to claim that the entire thing was miserable.  However, he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of doing it again, so it couldn’t have been that bad.  He topped the whole thing off by stalking and then meeting the mayor.

The rest of the weekend was equally good, with a trip to Whole Foods, a visit to the library’s used book store, a family Seder and some Fork You filming with Thad and Angie.

Things took a dire turn for the unpleasant when we both woke up on Monday morning with the stomach flu.  We both slept nearly all day yesterday, although I spent a few more hours out of bed than Scott did.  My cousin Amy stopped by with Pepto Bismol and ginger ale, but didn’t get close.

Today has been better, although very low energy.  I managed to get downstairs to vote (I love the fact that my precinct is in the building) and also headed over to the front desk to report that the garbage disposal was leaking water under my sink every time I ran it.  Emilio came up to check it out and said, “It looks like it’s time to get you a new one.”  So he spent half an hour under my sink, replacing the disposal (he didn’t leave me with a new self-service wrenchette, I hope my old one fits).

Now I’m just trying to get myself back together after two days of two strange days of being under the weather.  Heading back to work on a Wednesday is going to feel sort of strange.