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Picture Tag

2009
9 Comments

I was tagged by Veggiemom from Insanity, Table for 4 for a little photo meme.  Here are the rules:

Find your 5th photo file folder,
then the 5th photo in that file folder.
Post that picture on your blog.
Tag 5 others to do the same.

Here’s my picture:

Stuck

That would be L., about a year ago, after he emptied his basket of books and then proceeded to get himself stuck in the basket. As you can see, I took a picture before I rescued him. Priorities, you know.

I won’t tag anyone in particular, but if you’re looking for a quick, easy meme, consider yourself tagged and let me know that you did it!

Filed Under: Bloggy Stuff 9 Comments

For C.

2009
10 Comments

When I finally got on the computer this morning, I saw that my oldest son, C., had left a comment on my last post. That comment says: “Could you please write a new post soon?”

C. faithfully checks my blog almost daily, and though he isn’t crazy about my posts involving book giveaways or reviews, he usually has something complimentary to say about what I’ve written. I appreciate his support and faithfulness, so I figured I owed him a post. It’s true I’ve been scarce around here lately, so I thought I’d write on the topic of:

4 Reasons I Haven’t Been Blogging Much

1. A new routine. One of my goals for the new year was to start exercising consistently. I’ve actually done well with that goal and have been working out every weekday during L.’s naptime. That’s a good thing. The downside, however, is that exercising has eaten up the time that I used to spend writing blog posts. Yes, I’ve managed to still blog a few times per week, but I haven’t figured out a consistent time to blog when: a) it’s quiet enough around here for me to string more than two sentences together and b) I’m awake and coherent. I’m still working on it, though, and I hope blogging soon has a new, regular time slot.

2. A winter funk. Right around mid-January every year, I start feeling much like a slug. My motivation dribbles away to almost nothing; I can envision spending hours every day snuggled under a blanket watching “Sell My House” shows or reruns of Top Chef; and productivity in many areas — including, apparently, blogging — becomes elusive at best. That’s where I am now.

3. An overactive sense of perfectionism. I’ve begun many a post, only to delete it 10 minutes later, convinced that it is nothing but rubbish. I think that if I’m going to blog consistently, I’m just going to have to come to terms with what the perfectionist in me calls rubbish, and publish it anyway. In essence, I need to get over myself.

4. A puking cat. Okay, this really has nothing to do with blogging. But for the last three days, I’ve come upstairs to find that she has puked on our bedroom carpet yet again, and it’s really annoying me. Anybody want a nice, cute, 13.5-year-old cat with no health problems other than a propensity to puke on light-colored carpets?

So there you have it.

However, I do have a number of posts planned and partially written, coming to this blog soon. And by soon, I mean…well…at some point.  Want a teaser? Here are some of the topics:

  • Our new bed — thanks to your input, we actually ordered a new bed and it arrived yesterday. Details to follow.
  • The Bacon Bar, revisited — last summer, Mark challenged me to try a questionable-sounding candy bar I mentioned on my blog. I may not be an adventurous eater, but I do often feel compelled to take a dare. Watch what happens.
  • My sleep-talking kid.

So stay tuned, C., more posts are on the way.

Filed Under: Bloggy Stuff, Family 10 Comments

Christmas Tour of Homes 2008

2008
24 Comments

Today is the big day: BooMama‘s 2008 Christmas Tour of Homes! In which many, many bloggers share pictures of their holiday decor and then ignore all the baking and wrapping and shopping they should be doing in order to virtually visit everyone’s homes.  Sounds like a perfect day to me!  So come on in, have a cup of coffee (with Peppermint Mocha creamer, of course) and let me show you around.

First, you’ll be happy to know that I had some snow ordered especially for you. The outside lights are pretty on their own, but they look so much more festive when the lawn is coated with that wintry white delight. The view from our street (you can catch a glimpse of our tree through the window):

Outside

Now, it’s cold out there, so let’s move quickly into the house.

There’s something you should know about my indoor Christmas decorating: I have a 2-year-old. In other words, I’ve kept things simple and at least 2.5 feet off the ground this year. It’s much easier than battling with L. during the weeks leading up to Christmas. Constant toddler battles can suck the excitement right out of the house. But let’s move on to the few things I did do.

First, the tree. My son, C. (10), and I decorated the tree about a week ago. Here he is helping:

helping

And here’s the finished product:

finished

Well, I suppose I should clarify and say that it was supposed to be the finished product. Since the day that particular picture was taken, many of the ornaments hung toward the bottom of the tree have been moved up, as L. (2) proved unable to resist their sparkly, jingly, throwable-ness whenever I was not in the room to enforce the rules. Thus, there are still some (very sturdy) ornaments toward the bottom, but there’s a section about 15 inches high that is far more bare than it was in this picture.

Every year, I buy each of the boys one ornament that becomes part of their personal collection. I try to make them relevant to the boys’ interests or activities that year.  This year’s ornaments are:

truck

For C., this Ford pickup truck, since he is completely and utterly into all things vehicular right now.

farm

For L., a Fisher Price Little People Barn. He thoroughly enjoys his Little People toys and his imaginative play has really bloomed in recent months.

Next stop: the mantel. I keep things pretty simple here. A garland with lights and ornaments, our stockings, and a house-shaped tealight-burning thing to hide the outlet right above the mantel shelf.

mantel

Finally, the nativity, which resides on the dining room table. I just set it up last night, but I guarantee you that by Christmas, it will not be arranged like this. Little fingers (and maybe big ones, too) like to rearrange and re-enact.

nativity

There are a few Christmasy knick-knacks scattered around (all a good 3 feet from the floor), but that covers the primary decorations. Thanks so much for stopping by. Before you go, please have a Cranberry Pecan Tassie. It’s the one cookie I make each and every year, because I like them so much.

Cranberry Pecan Tassies
Ingredients:
  • 1/2  cup butter, softened
  • 1  3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
  • 1  cup all-purpose flour
  • 1  egg
  • 3/4  cup packed brown sugar
  • 1  teaspoon vanilla
  • Dash salt
  • 1/3  cup finely chopped cranberries
  • 3  tablespoons chopped pecans
Directions:
  1. For pastry, in a mixing bowl beat the butter and cream cheese until combined. Stir in the flour. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, if desired.
  2. Shape the dough into 24 balls; place in ungreased 1-1/2-inch muffin pans. Press dough evenly against bottom and up sides of each muffin cup.
  3. For the filling, in a mixing bowl beat together the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt just until smooth. Stir in cranberries and pecans. Spoon filling into the pastry-lined muffin cups.
  4. Bake tassies in a 325 degree F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Cool in pans on wire racks. Remove from pans by running a knife around the edges. Store in airtight container. Makes 24 tassies.

Click on over to BooMama’s place to visit all the other homes on the Christmas Tour. And from the Callapidder House to yours: Have a very Merry Christmas!

BooMamaChristmasTour

Filed Under: Bloggy Stuff, Family, Home stuff 24 Comments

Hi, my name is Katrina, and theoretically, I am a blogger

2008
9 Comments

According to my “blog ideas file,” I have a whopping 62 ideas for blog posts. Yet, as you may have noticed, none of those ideas are turning into actual posts.

C. (10) checks my blog every morning and today he said, “Mom, when are you going to put up another post?” I had no answer for him.

A friend emailed me today, wondering if I’m okay, since there has been no activity here at Callapidder Days.

I have no good excuse. Yes, I’m busy, but so is everyone else. It’s just that time of year.

And I don’t even think it’s so much physical busyness as it is mental overwhelmed-ness that is keeping me from blogging.  My to-do list is about three miles long and it seems I’m continually reviewing it and deciding what comes next. And on top of that, my mind is preoccupied lately with things that are not legitimate blog material.

The bottom line is: There is just not room in my brain for the composing of coherent blog posts at this time.

If I suddenly become inspired, rest assured that I’ll do my best to translate my inspiration into something resembling a post. But if I don’t, expect things to be a bit sparse around here. I have some book giveaways and reviews lined up for the next couple weeks. But I can’t promise anything else.

We can always hope…but I’m just not making promises. :)

In the meantime, here are some links to posts I’ve enjoyed recently, all written by people who are producing content.

Filed Under: Bloggy Stuff 9 Comments

Unpacking the bloggy boxes

2008
13 Comments

Whew. I made it.

I packed up my stuff, lugged it all down the street, and unpacked it here at the new Callapidder Days.

Things are a bit different here. The decor, the floor plan…it’ll all take a little getting used to.

But it’s still me, Katrina, working behind the scenes. You’ll get the same random assortment of posts, the same great book giveaways, pictures of the same cute kids. The look might have changed, but the blogger herself will stay the same. Or maybe even improve. We can only hope.

I still have some boxes to unpack here in the new digs. There are “image issues” that I need to resolve in past posts. There’s a little sidebar-tweaking yet to be done.

But I think, for the most part, that things are up and running.

If you subscribe to my feed (THIS ONE), you shouldn’t have any trouble with the transition and you should already be getting notices of posts here. If you are having trouble, though, just unsubscribe and then resubscribe using the link in my sidebar.

I’d love to hear your thoughts (unless they are very, very mean ones; then it’s okay if you don’t feel like sharing). And if you run into any issues or have any questions, I’m just a click away. See that nifty “contact me” up in the navigation bar? That’s what it’s there for; feel free to use it.

Thanks so much for being patient with me during the changeover.  And welcome to the new Callapidder Days!

*~*~*~*~*

A special thanks to Lauren from WebExHosting.com. My attempt to transfer my blog would have been a pitiful failure without her patience and help. If ever you are in need of hosting services, head over to WebExHosting.com immediately. I can’t recommend them enough!

Filed Under: Bloggy Stuff 13 Comments
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