Snacks, Santas, Singing and Spanish Food

Over the past two weeks, Brian and I have been pinching ourselves that we get to enjoy EVERY HOLIDAY IN DECEMBER off. That was unheard of for both of us over the past five years in television.

Now that we've retired from TV at the ripe old age of 20-something, we've discovered what the rest of the world already knew: not working on Christmas or New Year's Eve is a LOT of fun! So long, CNN.

So, here are a few pics of what we've been doing with all.that.time.



Our Charlie Brown Christmas tree



Our Martha-Stewart-Eat-This Christmas cookie decorating party



The 99th Annual Christmas Carol Service at Harvard



A kick-off to our weekend in NYC at the end of December - this "members only" place has the best paella in the city!



Because nothing says "Merry Christmas" like 30 drunk Santas at Buddakan









A very Midtown Christmas



Bryant Park in the winter

Snow Day!

Since I work from home, I don't really get to call in for a "snow day" because I can't get to work.

Still, I absolutely LOVE the snow - and we just got our first real storm today in Boston! What a beautiful way to bring in the New Year.


(A snow-covered Harvard Yard. Photo courtesy Boston Globe.)

Goodbye, 2008 - hello, 2009!

As Seen On Good Morning America...

Today was the culmination of a work-in-progress over the past few months with Good Morning America to do a segment on World Vision's Gift Catalog. It was so good to see it all come together - and it's so good to finally have some rest =)

You can watch it here.



The best-selling item from the catalog each year: a goat ($75)

Pics from the studio to come soon!

(THANK YOU to my loving and patient husband who was my right-hand man all weekend! I could not have done it without him.)

Yes, My Kitchen Is Tiny...

This Mario Batali quote sums up my I-love-to-cook-but-I-live-in-a-city-apartment thoughts:

“Only bad cooks blame the equipment,” he [Batali] said. “I can make almost every dish in my restaurants on four crummy electric burners with a regular oven — as can just about anyone else who cares to.”

Read more from this weekend's New York Times article on cooking in small kitchens...

A snapshot of our 5' x 11' kitchen in Boston:

Food, Festivals, and Friends

Yesterday was a great adventure all over Boston. The fabulous mother-daughter team (and our neighbors in the apartment below us), Elena and Marucha, invited me to join them for the Swedish Yuletide festival in the South End.



It was SO much fun! It was in this really interesting old building known as the Boston Cyclorama that is actually a round, brick building. It was beautiful. We watched the Swedish tradition of the St. Lucia pageant with the children, ate Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberries, and bought some little homemade Christmas ornaments made of straw.



After the festival, it was on to Formaggio's in the South End - a food lovers delight. The shop is tucked away on a little side street in a tiny storefront, but it's jam-packed with meats, cheeses, spices, and produce from all over the world! Needless to say - we enjoyed the free samples!



Finally, we ended up at the Cultural Survival Bazaar to do some shopping. All of the vendors work with communities in the developing world to establish fair trade, micro-economic projects that help boost the local economy. I bought an Indian tablecloth that I had my eye on after spying it at last weekend's Cultural Survival event. We also had a chance to sample Tibetan foods like momos - a first for me! - from the House of Tibet Kitchen in nearby Somerville. Tasty!



Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. Just picture all three of us smiling, laughing, and eating all day long!

The Real Reason for the Season....

Before we all get carried away with the "spirit of Christmas," I thought it would be helpful to take a minute. Pause. Breathe. Watch this video. And consider what it really means to celebrate Christmas this year.

Then, if you're compelled to change the way you do things this holiday, consider giving a gift through the World Vision Gift Catalog to help nearly 1 million children and families around the world.



www.adventconspiracy.org

Bostonians Fight AIDS Together

A few weeks ago, World Vision and Boston AIDS Africa held the first citywide Caregiver Kit build in the United States. We built over 3,000 AIDS Caregiver Kits that will go to our volunteer caregivers and their patients in Rwanda.

Around the world, the Caregiver Kit program has already trained 65,000 volunteers and served 900,000 adults, children, and orphans affected by HIV and AIDS. Amen!

Every time I get a chance to meet other people excited about World Vision and the work that we do, it always gets me even more excited about our work around the world.

Here's a quick pic of some of our volunteers:



I did some local media around the event, too. Here is a link to the article in that Wednesday's Metro Boston.