Quick like a Bunny, a Dutch Bunny!

In Amsterdam. Last day here. Not too sad to be headed to Brussels tomorrow. Will be in Paris by tomorrow night!

I probably have a year's worth of posts. So good luck shutting me up when I get back!!

Catch ya on the Dutch side!

I think I can....I think I can....

I am hoping to get a few Christmas pictures up before I leave the house in 45 minutes, but if I don't......

All I want to do right now is lay in this bed and sleep with the kitties. I am in no way mentally prepared for the European beat down that we are about to experience. I would say I don't want to go, but that would make me an awful person. I know I will enjoy it and love it and think its amazing, but I am just tired. Emotionally, physically, mentally, beaten to a pulp. Go Holidays!!!

Here is to being able to sleep on the plane and not getting sick from a lowered immune system!

No really, I know I will love it. I will take a million and a half pictures. I will crazy weird and awesome food. I will see things and do things that I will never do again. it will be a blast.

PS. The kitties know we are leaving. The past few days all they want is cuddles. They won't leave us alone. And so far today, we can't move a foot without them joining us. Nessa is about eight inches from my head, and Myla is sleeping on my thighs. I feel bad leaving them!

Back on the 6th!

Myla and Nessa Project.

Awhile back I posted a picture of Nessa with a purple flower, and some people showed interest in seeing the rest of the project. What it was ended up being our Christmas gift to people this year (hence the secrecy!). I thought it turned out ridiculously well considering how unenthused our felines were to participate,so I thought I might post the rest up for everyone to see!

January: Myla celebrates a little too hard

February: Sisterly Love

March: Always a Disney Spring Break for Myla

April: Nessa wants to eat the Easter Bunny

May: Nessa soaks up the sun with her flower

June: Nessa relaxes at the beach

July: Nessa enjoying the fireworks

August: Myla batters up for baseball season

September: Back to school for Myla and Nessa

October: Myla trick or treats

November: Myla gets into the Fall spirit

December: Nessa eagerly awaits Santa

DPP: Yum Yum Roll-Up!

These are one of my most favorite foods. Odd, but sooo addictive.

Pinwheel Roll Ups.
Pimento, chopped olives, diced celery sprinkled on a tortilla that has a layer of cream cheese mixed with ranch(pictured). And then rolled (Not as colorful, so not pictured).*drool*



My mom made them for holidays, she hated making them, but knew I loved them. So now, I am the pinwheel maker!! And I am also late for getting ready for church...my bad.

DPP: Sucky Sickness

My father was sick. I survived. Tim was sick. I survived. I wake up the day before Christmas and I want to die. I leave in less than a week for Europe. I have a RIDICULOUS amount of stuff to do. All I want to do is sleep. My brain is being beaten by a meat hammer.

I did bite the bullet though. I usually wait a few days before going to the doctor. I called to get in as soon as I woke up. I am kicking this asap. Wish me luck. :(

DPP 22:Christmas Traditions!

So with the holidays approaching and everything going crazy, I am trying to focus on the fact that come Wednesday, I will have two days where I should try not to focus on anything that will stress me out (namely our trip in 7 days). Seeing different people over the past week, I have asked about their holidays and such, I love listening to what other people do as their traditions, how they differ from ours, and what things I want to try!

For my family, the holidays pretty much start the day after Thanksgiving when all of the Christmas decorations come out and are strewn about, every room must have something Christmassy! And if it all works out properly, Christmas looks like it has thrown up in your living room. My family always has a few trees. All fake. One year we tried a real one, but really, just not worth the hassle. At our house this year, Tim and I scrapped our little baby tree that was in Boston, and now have a full 7 footer in the living room. I love it. As do the cats. Every day a new ornament is laying on the floor, resting after its
tumultuous downfall.

Shopping is pretty much the same as everyone else. Giving out lists to family members and trying to find just the right gift for the person who has everything. Except, it seems that my family is the family that has everything, so its hard to shop for EVERYONE. The Nordyke quirk lies in my father. His version of Christmas shopping is gather up the whole family, take them to Best Buy, tell them to go wild, and then he buys it all, wraps it up, and then Christmas morning you have to act surprised. He figures then you get what you know you want, and he gets to play at Best Buy. It works for Christopher, Tim, and I. My mom hates the idea that we know what we are getting, but to no avail, thats what happens every year. Although one year, we went to the grocery store right after our Best Buy trip, and I got some mac and cheese to take back to college with me, and Christmas morning, I ended up unwrapping the mac and cheese. My dad thought it was hilarious.

Mom always throws a big Christmas party. Foods of the gods. She did not this year. I boycott her.

Christmas Eve Day begins the true festivities. Morning is spent getting pretty, gathering the gifts for my uncle and grandparents, and finishing up the food. Then its off to a mid afternoon Christmas Eve Service. This used to be one of my favorite parts of the holidays since I was little. Getting to hold a lit
candle and sing Christmas Carols. And while not doing that, listening to the Christmas story and picking wax off my candle from its previous use. Alas, a change of churches and buildings has crushed my love of the service. No candles. No true carols, only songs that are sung poorly, and no Christmas story, only a sermon that lasts far too long and is loosely based around some form of the holiday. I boo it.

After the service, we load up the car and head to my grandparents house. It used to be only blocks away, then a few extra blocks, and now they reside in Waverly. Although this shall be our last Christmas there, for the are moving back to literally the house next door to where they used to live. I digress, once there, we unload the car, and break out the food. First course is always an appetizer-ish buffet. Cheeses, crackers, meatballs, little smokies, dips. You get the picture. And punch. Always punch. After we eat far too many snackies, we move to the sunroom for our stockings. Always practical, toothbrush, nail clippers, little cute kleenexs, that kind of stuff. Usually mints or gum as well. Chatting occurs, but usually us kids rush everyone on to dinner.

Christmas Eve dinner has never changed. I don't think it ever will. Christmas dishes. Oyster stew and one other soup for the "non bug eaters" as my dad calls them. Rolls, and red and green jello cubes in wine glasses. That is Christmas Eve dinner. The kids (not so kid like anymore) then go on to rummage under the tree until all gifts have been distributed to the rightful reciepent. And thus begins the around the room, one at a time, until everyone is done gift giving. Back when we were little, the kids opened up all their gifts first, so they could play with them all and be less annoying while the adults did theirs. And then after gifts, "Santa" would come and give out his gifts. It was always a friend of my grandparents giving the gifts my parents had put in the garage, and then "Santa" would leave, and the friend and his wife would magically stop over for a visit. After gifts, we still move back to the kitchen for my grandpa's homemade ice cream and a million cookies and baked goods that my grandma made. More talking, and then finally home for attempted sleep.

Christmas Day. As soon as we woke up, we would see our stockings hanging from our door. We were allowed to open them right away and see what was inside them to tide us over until everyone was awake (this began because we were up hours before everyone else). Once everyone was awake (9am became the wake up call for the later teenage years when my brother could have slept til noon), my brother and I, and my parents would all pick a spot in the living room and would distribute the gits. Still in pajamas, no big fuss. Around the room, one gift per turn, as my mom took pictures and kept checking on the cooking breakfast. This was always more fun than at my grandparent's because my parent's always got us the stuff we wanted, not necessarily the stuff we needed. After presents, a very well timed breakfast was had. Cinnamon rolls or monkey bread and Christmas Casserole. The best breakfast ever.

After breakfast we all did our own thing, opening up the packaging of the presents we wanted to look at first, taking pictures with all our gifts, and getting dressed for the afternoon meal back at my grandparents. Lots of food, lots of dessert, lots of talking. Since my dad is not the BIGGEST fan of the grandparent's we always try to leave somewhat early, but never early enough for him.

That is my Christmas. Every year. Like clockwork. I like it. It works for me, works for my family, and it gives me something to look forward to amidst the mass craziness of everything else in the world.

DPP21: Chaotic Weekend.

Clare's weekend in Pictures:

My parent's trip to Chicago was cancelled due to weather, so we braved the snow down to Cedar Rapids to finish up some shopping.

Other people that braved the snow were not so lucky....ALOT of not so luckies...

Slow traffic on the way back meant I took pictures of melting snow, and then napped.

But not before realizing that I really need new shoes. It's like that on both feet!

Matt wanted Olive Garden. This is his salad. Hi Matt's salad!

We picked up some Cup of Joe for the annual around Cedar Falls Tour de Christmas Lights

This year was disappointing all around, but this house was rather trippy.

Huge snow drifts made our Tour even more adventurous, but this nice GIANT plow tried to help....at the end of the tour....


Long, tiring weekend. It's going to be an even more long and tiring week. But it will be a good one. Full of workouts that cancel out half the cookies I consume, Bridal Showers, Christmas presents, Family time, packing, last minute travel shopping, and just all around insanity :)

I love the tattooed neck man.

Today is an oh so glorious day. Something happened that makes me want to post again! We received our flight information a little over a week ago for our trip to Amsterdam/Paris (which we leave a week from Monday). And we found that our flight lands in Chicago at 5:19, and our Amsterdam flight leaves at 6:04. That leaves us 45 minutes to taxi, deboard, run through O'Hare, and pray that the gates aren't closed for an international flight which usually close 30 minutes before takeoff. AND that is saying that there is no weather delays. Over a foot of snow last night alone. High of -2 tomorrow. Cedar Rapids to O'Hare on United, riiiggghhhttt no possibility of delays at all. Our tour company said 45 minutes is the least amount of time legal for a layover. Thanks guys, give us the least amount of time possible. The company said that there was nothing they could do to help us and that that was plenty of time. UNLESS we want to pay $350 a ticket and then they can change our flight. So we tried our next option, calling United, who at first said no, then said yes, then said no again. So that was out. (All of this so far took about a week and no less than 20 phone calls). We looked up all the flights that day, and the only one with seats left out of Cedar Rapids was the 6am. So we planned on waking up at the crack of dawn (or earlier) to try and go stand by from 6am and hope that we got on a flight before our proposed 4pm one.

And then! Another Christmas Miracle! (see my dentist post for CM#1) My mom decides that since she was snowed out of Chicago this weekend, they were going to go shopping down in Cedar Rapids today, invited us to go along. Tim had the brilliant idea of trying to go to the airport and talk to United in person. Alas, WE CAME OUT VICTORIOUS! He stood in line for some bitchy mean lady who rudely (but thankfully) directed him in the direction of a guy our age, with a tattoo on his neck. After he explained our plight, the guy basically said that it was ridiculous that we had that short of a layover, and without any fee, any questions, any doubt, he changed us to the 1:30pm flight. AMAZING. I am beyond thrilled. We will arrive at 2:40 leaving us a little over three hours to relax at O'Hare before boarding a plane for nine hours.

WOOOOOHOOO!!!!!