I stepped out of the train this evening to find a beautiful snow falling. It had collected on the grass but the road was pretty much clear and I had no issues getting home. I completely forgot to mention Robert’s birthday on Sunday. I gave him my gifts and he seemed pretty happy with the loot: 2 books by Ron Paul, 3 t-shirts: An Andre the Giant t-shirt in which it says: “It’s not my fault being the biggest and the strongest. I don’t even exercise” (go ahead name that movie! First one with the correct answer wins!), a Dolph Lundgren t-shirt that says, “I will break you!” and a Transformers t-shirt that has a Transformer on it but which one I am not sure since I can’t tell them apart. Additionally, I gave him a Bonsai tree kit and a clock radio.

I started reading a new blog recently and I really love it. It’s called The Boat Lullabies and it’s a section of a site called Square America. Both are galleries of vintage snapshots. It’s fascinating stuff. I think you guys may also enjoy it.

So I am angry at XM radio. On my drive home I actually listened to a Britney Spears song because I am being forced to listen to regular radio since something dastardly happened to my XM. It just stopped working on Saturday. I keep calling their technical support and the techs tell me to keep my xm receiver on for a half hour and the stations will update and all will be good again. EXCEPT IT DOESN’T HAPPEN! Monday night I kept my receiver on all night and my car battery went dead. I had to call my dad to come over and jump it for me! The battery is back to being fine but the XM is still not working. I am at my wit’s end. Maybe tomorrow or Friday I will drive to a large open space with a clear view of the sky and have them send the signal again. Hopefully it will be received.

I just finished an absolutely delcious dinner that I made all by myself! A cuppa cocoa and a handful of edamame- boiled to perfection by yours truly! Now I am sitting here by a roaring fire and gazing at my Christmas tree. It’s sheer perfection. Actually it would really be sheer perfection if I didn’t bring work home with me that I am going to do once I finish this entry. Next week Robert and I are going to his family’s Christmas party. His sister actually requested I make my world famous Watergate Salad! She had it at our Memorial Day get together back when Rob was living at the farm. I figure I can slice some Marachino Cherries into it so it looks a little more festive (it’s already green to begin with). I am absolutely fizzy knowing that someone actually liked a dish I made. Here’s the recipe:

Watergate Salad
1 package (4-serving size) Jell-O Pistachio Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped walnuts nuts
2 cups thawed Cool Whip Topping

Stir the pudding mix, pineapple with juice, marshmallows and nuts in large bowl until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve. Garnish as desired.

Makes 8 servings

I blame the Republicans for this dish!

On Thursday, Rob played with his friends at a nearby bar. Rob had a full beard and wore a t-shirt with a skull on it. I stood in the dark smoky room and filmed it with my little camera. Two days later, Rob and I went to my company’s semi-formal Holiday party. Rob shaved his beard and wore a black suit with a light gray shirt and red tie. He looked smashing. I wore my black velvet cocktail dress and Aprille did my hair so pretty. The most common comment was, “Donna, you look so glamorous, I almost didn’t recognize you!?!” Is that a compliment? I decided I would take it as a compliment and not start worrying that my everyday clothing causes me to look dowdy. The other compliment I received with strange consistency was, “What a beautiful necklace!” My response was, “Oh thank you, it’s been in my family for years, passed down quite a few generations.” This of course is a joke since my mom bought it at J.C. Penney’s a couple years ago.

Most everyone went to an after party at a nearby restaurant. Rob and I considered going and we went back to our room to get our coats. I made the silly mistake of taking off my shoes and at that point there was no going back. I crawled into bed and fell fast asleep. Private room with bottle service, who cares! I didn’t miss anything.

The next morning I awoke to SNOW! It was beautiful watching it fall and collect on the trees and grass. Sadly it thwarted our plans of walking around NYC. Instead of spending the day, we drove home. I can’t complain because we spent a wonderful lazy Sunday in front of a roaring fire, reading Ron Paul’s manifesto and listening to music. It was lovely. All Sundays should be as simple and sweet.