Happy Holidays to All!

Needless to say I successfully survived my first holiday away from home. Turkey Day in Cali is shocking similar to Turkey Day on the east coast. As the name shouts I did eat turkey, however not in a deep fryer, but nonetheless yummy turkey, sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top(a personal fav), green beans, stuffing, however none of martha's cornbread dressing (which i did miss, I imagine cornbread isn't exactly a california staple bread), pumpkin pie, etc. Although people dont seem to really get into casseroles out here.. its a shame.

There was no kiddie table. Actually I sat next to a sweet girl who could have quite possibly been the exact replica of Rachel in her middle school days. It was very strange. a tall and thin quite but sweet ninth grader mildly in a hippie stage with short and curly brown hair that she probably learn how to style in about 4 years. I had a good spot at the table and right across from the grandpa who by the end of the night was serenading the table alone on the piano...basically perfect.

And the praise the Lord for an excuse to bake. So far 2 loafs of pumpkin bread. one was close to perfect. the second was well lets just say.. it could pass as one really large pumpkin flavored crouton. one cranberry cake, shrimp dip, and crab cakes (both Chris's and my first attempt and I must brag the crab cakes were the hit of the party)

And now life only gets better...why b/c now there is no reason to suppress my abundant Christmas spirit that I keep bottled up inside all year long. Now no one can say its to early to listen to Christmas music or plan a Christmas cookie baking party which is on the 10th if anyone wants to pencil it in. So I want to go ahead and say HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all!

OH yeah I forgot to mention one of my snow globes key features ...it plays Christmas carols on a motion sensor. cool i know!

opinions..please

ok so i spend a good bit of my time in rinky dink little towns all over northern california right?!?! so naturally i encounter some...well some strange things, some interesting things, some cute quaint little towns, and some towns that should be remaned the twilight zone, some nice people, some not so nice people, wierd people, creative people, people with teeth, people without teeth, you get the point. the options are endless.

each day something new cracks me up. today it was this location:

Then again i guess who's to say this particular fine dining restaurant could not have fantastic raw fish, grade A beef and a cheesestake that Philly would approve of... who am i to judge....but the name is Koala's...thats just wierd.

One more I'm sorry....but this is amazing. He balances rocks...who does that?!?!

This town is Saulsalito.. It's adorable. You can barely tell, but thats the San Fran skyline in the background. it has great shopping and the cutest little restaurants and ferry rides!!! when everyone comes to visit we will definitely make a trip. and i mean hello people there balance rocks on top of other.

Food for thought

a for-warning.

this post is simply a multitude of my random thoughts that i needed to share with someone. One of these topics alone is not worthy of a phone call or even the entire list all together. and considering the fact that Chris is still in Iowa he is not an option either.

therefore i post!

• My very first tree has its very first bloom. I am on my way to becoming a domestic goddess. However it is sorta hard to brag when the leaf accompanying the flower has a huge brown dead looking spot taking over.

• My dvd collection double doubled today. I now own the big whapping total of 4 dvd's : Just Married, The edge of Reason: Bridget Jones (Unfortunately, , I thought I purchased Bridget Jones Diary...very depressing), Notting Hill, and A River Runs Through It...hmmm somewhat of an embarrassing list. When i am sick of my clothes, I now turn to the mall instead of someone elses closet...this cannot become the norm...anyone want to do a clothes swap through the mail?!??!

• I have discovered the TCBY of the west coast..The Golden Spoon. I would venture to say the pumpkin pie with graham cracker crumbs may tie with the white chocolate mousse and oreo combo.

• I think my feet smell equivalent of ryan's these days...what have i done to deserve that type of punishment?!?!?!

• I do not understand how hair is still attached to my head..why?? because i have seen the mass quantities that I have pulled out of my drain, sweeped off the floor and today separated from the spinning thing in my vacuum cleaner...it's gross i know.

• I saw a 70 yr-old-man man nonchalantly walking through the Napa wal mart wearing with a large blue fuzzy Viking hat. He and his wife seemed to simply be doing thier weekly shopping. I think i starred at them...oops.

• Also my job, i was left alone in the receiving room with a huge box and a set of directions. Let's just say you should have a new level of respect when walking past a checkstand at any local store because someone like me may have put it together. i recall laughing out loud as i attempted assemble the parts. also i do not advise slamming your cart or self into them b/c the sterdiness is debateable.

Phew...it feels so good to get those thoughts out of my head and into some else's.

Thanks everyone!

yay or nay

this is my current fascination!

you must admit...a giant blown-up globe of a huge smiley snowman waving hello is a permanent snow storm is FASCINATING. But not only am i fascinated by the size of this snow globe but by the variety of people who purchase this $199 piece of Christmas decor. There is a huge part my Christmas lovin spirit that would like to sacrifice to money to simply to see if there was a way to fit inside this enormous snow globe to live in a permanent snow ball. And considering the fact that I do not own a kitchen table, the dining room would be the perfect location to begin spreading a little Christmas cheer.

And if you are thinking...that thing is TACKY.. well some may think so but i do recall a large number of these huge snow globes parked on lawns in rather refined neighborhoods last Christmas. And as I began chatting with the Wal-Mart store manager apparently there was such a high demand for them this year that 14 people were on a waiting list to receive them before the season arrived. So as of now I do not know if they belong in a trailer park or beside a driveway with a parked BMW .

Some what of a mystery that I find fascinating.

But this is one thing I do know. Somehow someone was aware of my obsession with snow globe and now a miniature version of this fascinating art work wound up as the current decor on my newly assembled dresser. Did I mention Chris was cool?!?!

Shameless plug

So don't you hate it when you wake up in the morning and you look into the mirror and you freak out because you realize "oh my gosh I have become someone I swore I never would!" For me it began the day I purchased my first pair of Capri pants, then the day I dressed in themed colors for the holidays, and then the first day I drank a beer in public...what was my life coming to?!?!?! And now I am a blog slacker. I hate the slackers and now look at me....a slacker.

So this post is simply a ploy to convince my readers to come visit me in California. "Use me for my location"...that can be my byline..I'm totally cool with it. There are multiple obvious reasons to come from whatever state you may be in, but there are a couple of additional other reasons that you may be overlooking. In which case I feel the need to inform and basically make you want to spend every spare minute searching Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Cheaptickets, etc. to puchase a ticket to come visit me!

Top 10 reasons to visit Dianne in California

#1 People watching at the airport is immediately entertaining.

#2 It's time to bust out N'SYNC's Chrirstmas CD. So we would jam to "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays" in the mini van.....kinda like Nelly in the Cruiser.

#3 It is still "tank tops 4 life" weather so no sweaters or warming you extremities by the heater.

#4 Two words: Trader Joe's...bascially the coolest grocery store/market ever....it puts the Harris Teeter to shame.

#5 The self-esteem booster. Apparantly, our southern accent is just simply adorable. I don't get it but whatever.

#6 Best thrift store shopping on the planet.

#7 The Jelly Belly Factory is less than 30 miles away. We can eat the reject Jelly Floops till our tummies hurt!

#8 Find out if Chris really does exist...I swear I do have friends, but you gotta come out here to make sure they really aren't imaginary.

#9 Meet a real hippie, we thought Billie was close but no way.

#10 You get to secretly snicker inside everytime some says "no worries" or "right on" in everyday conversation.