Leaving home

As much as I love my LA life, I really hate leaving Texas at the end of a visit.

Advent Conspiracy

I'm a big fan of the message behind The Advent Conspiracy. Since we don't yet have kidlets I don't know how exactly Will and I will celebrate the holidays as a family, but I know that I want it to have a strong theme of giving to others, rather than just gifts, gifts, gifts! The we have so much more than the vast majority of the world and I think that's something that we need to remember all year around - but during Christmas it comes naturally with the message of the season.

If you've not seen the video before, it's below.

'Tis the season

So here we are 4 days to Christmas, but it didn't really start feeling like it until Sunday, when I went to Disneyland with a couple of friends. I couldn't find people to go with last year, but two years ago I'd gone and really enjoyed how Disney does Christmas, so we were excited to go again.

We did the Haunted Mansion, which turns into Nightmare Before Christmas Mansion, and It's a Small World, where we snarked our way around the world where every culture (represented by stereotypes) celebrated Christmas. But it was still fun. And we also watched the holiday fireworks, finishing with snow represented by tiny foam bubbles. Marci heads home to Ohio, and Sara to Montana, where they will get real snow, but since I head off to Austin tomorrow, that was the whitest Christmas that I'll get.

I'm also really excited because it's Will's first Christmas in Texas - two years ago he joined my family in Puerto Rico, but Christmas there is always a bit different, and even moreso last year since he and I stayed in a hotel instead of Abuela's house. But this Christmas we get the full deal - Midnight Mass at St. Theresa's and everyone getting to unwrap one present when we get home from Mass and mom's pernil (though we're doing it on Christmas instead of Christmas Eve this year.)

So I may have been wearing flip-flops the day before yesterday, but 'tis the season nonetheless. Best wishes to you and yours!

My cooking habit

So I really enjoy cooking, even if I'm less than thrilled about the grocery shopping beforehand and cleaning afterward that always go along with the act. However, I try to do it with at least some regularity, because it's relaxing and fun and at the end of it all you get to eat, so who could really ask for much more?

Will and I have decided that this January we're going to try to go tv-free (even though Marci thinks there's no way in hell we'll be able to) and today we had a bit of a practice because I was home earlyish and there was absolutely nothing on our tivo to watch which, seriously guys, it never happens. And there's only so much ant observing a person can do (even though I'm still totally fascinated by these things) and I've sorted through all the recipes that have gone up on my google reader over the past few days, and now I have the urge to cook. Something with chocolate chips. But not cookies.

So I've been searching for muffin recipes, and came up with a couple of possibilities, but we don't have most of the ingredients necessary for them. So I think I'm going to go with chocolate chip pancakes, because I am insane.

From this I have determined that on February 1st Will and I will be less addicted to television, but significantly heavier. Maybe February we'll focus on going to the gym.

Ants!

So when I was growing up I always wanted an ant farm, but my mom was pretty opposed to it, since in Texas pretty much the only kind of ant you can get is a fire ant, and for some reason she was very strongly opposed to having them in the house. Go figure.

I mentioned this to Will a few weeks ago, and when I came home the other day there was a package waiting - he'd bought me an Ant Works farm!

Now this is no ordinary farm with dirt and whatnot. The ants live in this gel that was developed by NASA to study how ants would do in a weightless environment. The gel provides both food and water to the ants, and it also is see through, so even if they burrow through the middle of the farm, you can still see it.

We tried catching ants, but the ones we cought were too small, so we mail oredered some (who know you could mail order ants?!) and they got here today. Will dumped them in as soon as he got home, and now they're eating away, and have just started to dig along the sides of the farm.

It's pretty cool, and because I'm a total nerd, I'm super excited about it. Updates are forthcoming!

Bruce Willis!

In true LA life fashion, Bruce Willis was in the dining hall today. I didn't notice him at first, but then Marci pointed him out, and I stared for about 10 seconds trying to determine if it really was him before she told me to stop. It was him though.

We went to the table and told everyone there that he was in the building, but he'd left before most of them could see him. The rumor was that he was there with one of his daughters to scope out the university for her, but I'm pretty sure we were the ones that started that rumor, so I don't know how true it actually is.

It was pretty cool, and my most random celeb sighting, since most of the other ones have been at concerts or while in Beverly Hills, both places you're expecting it a little more. In the Lair on a random Friday was definitely not expected, and therefore totally more cool.