8 Things I Did on New Year’s Weekend

1.) Baked white chocolate cranberry/cherry cookies with the help of my new Kitchen Aid Mixer

After a lively debate via comments and suggestions to moi, I have declared a name for my lovely new, knight-in-shining-armor Kitchen Aid mixer…and that name is Lancelot.

Bob came up for such a name, and expertly defended his idea:

“I’m going to go with the obvious and say that you should name your fabulous mixer…Drum Roll Please….Lancelot! Lance rhymes with dance and celot looks like it rhymes with zealot. If I had a mixer that is what I would be. A dancing zealot. Whirling and twirling and dancing and singing and baking cookies galore. My kitchen would be a Broadway musical.”

Of course, every knight needs a full title.  Fellow blogger Pegoleg also suggested a moniker of “Sir Mix-A-Lot”, so, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen:  please welcome Sir Lancelot Mix-A-Lot to the family.

2.) Travelled to Pottery Barn (no, an ACTUAL pottery barn…full of pots)

My highlight of New Year’s Eve Day was a trip out to a local potter’s warehouse, which comprised 3 floors of pots, pots, and more pots.  Most of his wares ranged somewhere between $100 and $400, so I settled on a nice, single flower vase for about $20.  And a $7 magnet.  I’m a big spender.

3.) Sang and played oboe in a New Year’s Eve Broadway Gala

At our local playhouse, there is a traditional New Year’s Eve Gala held every year.  For the 2010-2011 crossover event, they presented a concert full of Broadway music, presenting over 100 performers who were all volunteer.  The event featured a full orchestra and a 70-member chorus, as well as several individual soloists.

I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off between the hours of 6-10 PM.  I had served as vocal director for this event, guiding the chorus with their material, and also subsequently became a member of their ranks come showtime.  I also played my oboe in the orchestra (correction, I squawked on my oboe in the orchestra), and I was lucky enough to have a vocal solo as well.

If anyone is familiar with musical theatre, a few of the pieces presented in the show included West Side Story Highlights, Phantom of the Opera Medley, “Agony” from Into the Woods, “I Know Where I’ve Been” from Hairspray, and my song, “Astonishing”, from Little Women.

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All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth and a Kitchen Aid Mixer

I am not an inarticulate person.  I love words.  In fact, most of my close friends would agree that when prompted, I can wax on and on about almost anything, if I’m truly passionate about something.  Sometimes, if I’m really excited about dialoguing with someone, sentences often end with “and…”; I don’t realize I’m spewing until someone points out how an audio book on War and Peace could be performed with more brevity.

However, this morning…I was blind-sided and left speechless by an object of sheer euphoria and endless possibility….

I admit, I was completely thrown off-guard when The Mom dragged out a hulking box from under the tree this morning (and when I say dragged, I mean, dragged..like the Egyptians carrying large, massive blocks along miles and miles of desert to create an awe-inspiring pyramid…those blocks were probably smaller than this package).

The Mom looks better in a loin cloth, too.

It was gigantic, it was enormous, it was…beautiful.  What on earth could it be???  In the grand scheme of things, I had already had an amazing Christmas.  I was already owner of a brand-spanking new camera:  I could have re-wrapped it in its Best Buy packaging and opened it up again and again, in front of a captivated audience consisting of my mom and dad.  I could have even given up the traditional stocking gift of new underwear.