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I'm not sure which I want more a cupcake or the puppy.

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor, and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have), and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year, I'd like fingerprint-resistant windows, and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes, Mommy!' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight, and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting, 'Don't eat in the living room,' and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

I was out and about this weekend and ran across this handy piece of road signage. It made me smile. I'm sure the road crew who installed it had their chuckles as well. Does it make you smile? Got any interesting signs around your place?

Stepping out of your comfort zone seems to be a hot topic! Since I mentioned my brave attempt at getting the hood together I received quite a few questions about the whole process right down to the recipes. So here we go ~

Matt's Miscellany asked How did you choose the menu?

Easy peasy ... I called my local Pampered Chef rep and she suggested a whole bunch. Given it's fall and apples are everywhere Fall Harvest became the theme. Theme in mind I selected apple cider and pinot grigio to match the apple crisp. The Oriental Veggie Pizza was the last pick and it worked well with the wine choice despite my initial thoughts.

Nicole asks Do you have any pictures??? You've gotta share them if you do.

No Nicole, no pictures. The thought crossed my mind but I knew the possibility of being caught in action could keep some personalities hidden which is so not what I wanted.

Lex the mom asks Are you real close to your neighbors & how did you go about planning this?

I've already answered the planning part so I concentrate on my neighbors. My hood is a fuse of 'been here over 15 years' and the 'newly subdivision' type. Being that I grew up on the exact same street, I knew the 'been here over 15 years' crowd but we find ourselves to damned busy we hardly visit. Within the newly subdivision crowd I've met them through our kids school functions and found a handful I'd really like to get to know better. I knew they'd get along great with the 'been here over 15 years' clan so I quickly had a nice sized invite list.

Ann asks Oriental Vegetable Pizza's huh?What is that exactly?
1 Refrigerated French Bread Loaf (roll out & bake)
1 -8oz cream cheese, softened mixed with 2 tsp SOY SAUCE & 1 /4 tsp ginger (spread like sauce on baked & cooled pizza crust)
The following are added raw to the crust & paste: 1 small red bell pepper (chopped length wise), 2 c FRESH BROCCOLI (chopped very small), 12 SNOW PEAS, FRESH (chopped length wise), 2 whole carrots, or 6 cheater/baby carrots (chopped small/fine), 1 c SWEET and SOUR SAUCE (drizzle over top of pizza)
Saucy asks What was it about pizza and apple crisp that got everyone down?
I don't think it was the food that got everyone tense more like the idea of them cooking instead of watching the demonstration. I'm sure they all thought they were coming to sit & relax but quickly realized they got way more than they expected!

Last night I stepped out of my comfort zone and invited the neighborhood (29 guests) into our home for a cooking party. The house was decked out in it's finest Fall Harvest decor, the apple cider was sweet and tangy, the pinot grigio was perfectly chilled and our chef extraordinaire exceeded my expectations.

I have to admit, when our chef announced everyone in attendance would be helping prepare oriental vegetable pizzas and apple berry crisp there were a few tense moments. Honestly it was as if someone sucked the air out of the room, but as each neighbor began to work on tasks the laughter and smiles began to ring out.

As I looked around the kitchen I couldn't help grinning from ear to ear. It was nice to see so many neighbors joking around, enjoying the company and being in the moment. It's just something we don't get to do enough of now a days.

It was a good night.

You Are Mustard

Your personality is strong and distinctive. You are beyond quirky. You can stand alone in the world well. You are a strong individual. You sometimes work well with others, as long as there aren't any other strong personalities involved. Your taste in food tends to be simple yet high quality. You can really get into a perfectly prepared sandwich or simple fresh salad. You get along best with ketchup and barbeque sauce personalities. Get you with a salsa personality, and things might become downright nasty!