News Trend From Good To Great|Actual

"I have a simple philosophy: Fill what's empty. Empty what's full.

Scratch where it itches." -Alice Roosevelt Longworth

I have such an attitude about Christmas decorations this year.

Well. Let's be honest. I have an attitude about pretty much everything these days.

Less is more.

So when it came time to splash some holiday cheer on this little corner of my world - the place where I probably spend the most waking hours of anywhere in my home - I just could not bring myself to drag out the usual tinsel and fanfare.

I tossed up a tree trunk garland, purchased for a song from a Target clearance aisle, and I tucked a tiny little Merry Christmas message into the preexisting art arrangement.

That precious dollop was a gift from a word-art-loving math mom. Bless you, Julie

I'd like to say that I thoughtfully added the splash of ivy and two white vases to bring some life and round contours to the composition.

But that would be a lie.

Truth is that I pulled those vases from another room where they were no longer needed and set them down by the sink till I figured out where to put them next. And when I came back a few minutes later, I decided that they looked fine right where they were, and crossed that challenge off my to-do list.

Bam. Problem solved. Moving on.

And you know, compared to what I've done other years, this Christmas display is next to nothing.

But guess what. Next to nothing is suiting me just fine.

But what happened next was a stroke of genius. When I came back into the kitchen to make dinner, I impulsively grabbed a bit of greenery from a nearby vase and wedged it into the arrangement.

So happy with that decision.

The moral of the story is that less is still more. But there's nothing like a tree branch to take a simple Christmas look from good to great.

News Trend Making Science Cool|Actual

I went to my husband's office holiday party last weekend.

He's an accountant.

For a company of research scientists.

Images of dweebs with pocket protectors and glasses taped at the bridges of their noses, standing around in somber circles making agonizingly inept small talk, must surely swirl through the mind of anyone who hears those facts, but the truth is a big surprise.

This is a total hipster scene.

Located in Seattle's trendy South Lake Union neighborhood, Institute of Systems Biology is on the cutting edge of scientific research. These people make science cool.

ISB networks with other systems labs around the world to coordinate research.

A focus on lab-to bedside care emphasizes real-life needs and a human touch.

An education team works with high school science teachers to gear students up for 21st centurt science careers.

Also, their party planning game is totally on point.

But even as the crowd of a hundred or so hipster scientists turned an on-animo cocktail and dinner gathering into a well-lubricated dance party, my curiosity led me elsewhere.

Show me around the office, I asked my husband.

So off we went on a tour.

^ Now even though my husband is signing paychecks rather than peering through a microscope, I've always entertained the fantasy that he spends his days shoulder to shoulder to Bill Nye the Science Guy types, all the way down to the white lab coats. I was so happy to find racks of fresh specimens hung here and there around the hallways.

^ Beakers always make me want to be a chemist.

^ Yes, that is a giant wookie magnet on that piece of probably expensive and entirely legitimate lab equipment. Oh my gosh, nerds really do work here.

^ Personalized lab coats hanging on the backs of the chairs, waiting for another day of rigorous research to begin. I can only hope that there is a pair of goggles stashed in the pocket of each one.

^ "Watch out for the bio zones," my husband casually intoned. I have never encountered a bio zone before. I was impressed.

^ Even the kitchen area looks ready for some high level dissections and chemical mayhem.

^ Finally, my husband escorted me to the place where the real ISB magic happens.

His office.

He's the finance director for the company.

And he shares his space with the lead IT guy.

They have done some great things with the place.

Family photos.

Quotes from favorite TV shows.

More monitors and keyboards than two men could possibly power up and use on an average day.

A collection of rocks that visitors often rearrange and stack into towers.

And while there are no lab coats, chemical compounds or hazard warnings in sight, the truth is that not much scientific research would get done without cash and computers.

Which means that - just as much as any scientist - these guys are making science cool too.

News Trend A Wonderful Trip|Actual

I'll be honest. I was dreading the trip over the pass.

After a spring, summer, and fall of daylight trips over the sun-sparkled Cascade Mountains, I fully expected that Snoqualmie Pass in November would present me a complete package of alpine driving challenges.

Pounding rain

Turning to heavy snow flurries

Pitch black pre-dawn skies

Heavy traffic

Construction lane closures

Steep grades

Tight mountain curves

And that's exactly what I got.

Oh. Plus intermittent patches of blinding fog. I didn't see that one coming.

White-knuckling the steering wheel, I held my breath for 45 treacherous miles and held on for dear life, cursing the gods of winter weather and wondering if my family would find my list of passwords after I'd crashed.

Then several things happened all at once.

The ground leveled out beneath my wheels. The steeply sloped forests finally fell away and the interstate zipped smoothly along the open and gently rolling Palouse.

The sun burst out from behind a ridge of clouds and the world was bathed in glorious golden light.

And my heart, so heavily burdened with gloom, overflowed with lightness and joy.

Something tells me there's a moral to this story, a lesson learned, a truth to be taken and stored away for future wisdom.

I don't really care too much about that.

All I want to tell you is that it turned out to be a wonderful trip after all.

News Trend Apart For The Holiday|Actual

My Asian adventurer.

Late November has rolled around once again and another holiday season is about to unfold. Our thoughts inevitably turn to what matters most.

Family.

Like people all around the planet and throughout all time, on these special festival days we crave the company of our families and we ache for those who cannot be with us.

I miss many of my dearly departed family members - my grandfather who carved many a turkey in his handmade cable knit sweater vests, my good German grandmother who served heaping holiday relish trays of homemade pickled beets and peppers. I feel bittersweet nostalgia for my mother's holiday disappointments because real life never quite lived up to her longings.

But I do not miss my third-born daughter.

Well. Of course I miss her. Every mother knows the hole we feel in our hearts whenever our sons and daughters are away from us.

There is always an empty place at the table for her, an empty chair that belongs to her.

But I do not regret her absence or mourn for her to be with us. Because she is doing something important.

She is following her dreams.

She is changing the world.

She is obeying God's call into her life.

And every day I celebrate the way she lives her life.

Even if she is far away from me.

So on Thanksgiving Day, I will raise a glass in her name and give thanks for her. I will probably Facetime her and hear about how she spent her Thanksgiving away from us.

Then, in the end, I will look at that empty chair and smile. Because for right now, even though we are apart for the holidays, she is exactly where she is supposed to be.

And soon she will be home for Christmas.

News Trend Gracie On A Rainy Day|Actual

An hour later, she woke up and ambled into the kitchen to watch me make dinner.

I smiled at that wild hairdo, too.

Gracie and I just got back from a long walk in the dark. The winds blew fiercely, the rain pounded down, and we both got completely soaked. Once we got home, she went straight to the backyard to eat her dinner and have a lie down in her icy cold swimming pool slash water bowl.

Then she came back inside and after a good toweling off, she began to run in wild, exuberant, crazy circles all through the house. After five or so minutes of pure insanity, she threw her soggy self onto the couch, curled up in a tight red ball, and fell sound asleep.

My dog makes me smile.

News Trend Food Coma|Actual

I woke up disoriented. Sleepy and confused, I slowly gathered the facts.

There was a blanket over my head.

The TV was blaring a football game in process.

I felt my dog curled up against my feet.

Pulling off the blanket, I saw the bricks of my family room fireplace right in front of my face.

Oh right. I was awakening from my Thanksgiving food coma.

I rolled over and looked at the clock.

6:55 pm.

I'd been literally crashed out on the floor for over an hour.

Like most Americans, I'm usually sleepy after a hearty turkey dinner, but this was extreme. I wondered what on earth I had eaten today to cause such a dramatic effect.

Act I - Dutch Babies

Despite the bizarre name, a Dutch Baby is soft and simple, somewhere between a crepe and a souffle, made of nothing more than butter, flour, eggs and milk. Its crowning glory, other than the obvious golden puffy goodness, is the sprinkle of powdered sugar and splash of lemon juice that takes it from good to great. A perfect tide-me-over to power me through the cooking process and hold me steady till the feast.

Act II - Cranberry Mules

Lime juice, ginger beer, cranberries, lime, and vodka. Because no one needs an inebriated holiday chef, I made mine without the vodka and it was deliciously refreshing. I drank two, and thanked the gods of cocktail trends once again for the copper cup craze.

Act III - My Heaping Plate

I thought I exercising restraint. I honestly believed this was a reasonable amount of food, and though I'd surely be full at the end, I calculated that it would be the good kind of full, satisfying and indulgent in all the right ways.

Well. I was wrong. Possibly my body is still recovering from some wicked jet lag after my trip to South Korea. Or perhaps my eyes were way bigger than my stomach. Maybe I'm just getting old.

But this plate of food brought on the biggest food coma of my life, and I have promised myself I will never, ever, ever overeat like this again.

* * * * *

The house is quiet now. Everyone else has gone to bed. Gracie is lying near my feet. The kitchen is spotlessly clean and the dishwasher is humming through one last load.

And through the silence, I am beginning to hear whispers. "Come," call the gravy and mashed potatoes, "heat us up.". "We're perfect for a sandwich," promise the cool slices of turkey. And two cheesecakes - pecan and pumpkin - speak no words but sing in the tones of angels from the fridge.

So please excuse me but I need to go to bed immediately. One food coma was enough for today.

News Trend Never Have I Ever|Actual

Never have I ever imagined that I would spend a sunny but decidedly crisp and cool November Friday outdoors on my hands and knees, scrubbing the mold and mildew out of my dog's plastic swimming pool so that she could continue to lie down in this oversize drinking dish and cool her furry red belly while she laps up water throughout the winter months of the year.

But yesterday, that is exactly what I did.

Which just goes to show that life is always full of surprises.

Not much I wouldn't do for this girl.