T'was the night before Chippino!

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. Every Christmas our family will cook Chippino. Chippino is a seafood stew of sorts that includes clams, mussels, prawns, 8 whole crabs cut up, Alaska King crab legs, white fish, scallops, an assortment of onions and garlic with a lot of fresh tomatoes tons of wine and lots of love. Right before the holiday starts we will figure out who in the family will be hosting for the feast. After the host is selected, we prepare to gather for the special event.

We typically gather three days before Christmas and start to prepare, where we will go and what we will buy. Many lists will have been created and many things on those lists will have been missed. We will plan where to shop and the stops we want to make on the way. Starbucks is always necessary since we typically start at 6:00 AM and head out. It will typically take us two days gathering the ingredients for Chippino. We have a great time getting together picking everything out and some side shopping for last minute Christmas gifts. The pocket books are usually drained at the end of our shopping days.

Once we have purchased the ingredients we will huddle around the kitchen and have a plan of attack. Then the day arrives. It is the night before Christmas on Christmas Eve. This is when we begin to cook our Chippino. It really is a team effort. Someone is chopping. Someone else is cleaning. The cook is stirring and the dishwasher is roaring. There are splatters of red sauces on the stove and usually on all since we all taste the Chippino as it cooks. There are at least five glasses wine spread about the kitchen and we usually lose track of whose glass belongs to whom. We will bicker about when too much wine has been added and will never agree on the fish head, which is added for flavor. My mom says, "That the fish head should be left free in the pot." However, my father and I say, "It should be in a mesh net, who wants an eyeball floating in their Chippino, not me!" We will stand in the kitchen for hours. Are feet are usually aching. There are usually two large pots Chippino that have been simmering for hours upon hours and ther are finally put to rest in the fridge.

Then the big day arrives, it is Christmas day. The first adult up has the responsibility of taking out the Chippino and putting it on the stove to simmer. It must simmer until dinner is ready and that is about 4:00PM. All through the house aromas of Chippino fill the air. It smells so good that mouths are watering and usually someone will ask for a bowl for breakfast. That usually will get a few eye rolls and some sarcastic remarks.

Dinner arrives and everyone knows that it is customary to wear an old t-shirt to the dinner table as Chippino is very messy. We will have purchased about 15 bags of French bread to dip in the Chippino sauce. Everybody will get his or her own loaf of bread. Let me say, the bread goes quick. However, there is usually a few loafs for leftover's the next day. During our feast, we will reminisce about our childhood and the first time we had Chippino. There will be many jokes shared and just pure enjoyment of a well cooked dish that was made with lots of love. There will be a few tears for loved ones who are no longer here and a glass will be raised to their memory. We will sit at the table for hours enjoying each other's company. It sure is a nice time that we all enjoy and we look forward to celebrating year after year. This has been a family tradition for generations and one we will continue to share.

"Dog ownership is a community"

"Dog ownership is a community." Being a dog owner, we all identify with each other as we have gone through similar experiences with having a dog. Such as puppy potty training, the terrible chewing stage or we identify with each other over the types of breed are dogs are, similar personalities or traits that our dogs have.

The dog ownership community brings resourceful information. We share veterinarian information, the latest in dog boarding, different foods and treats that are out on the market, where the best place is to shop for dog toys or doggy salons. The dog community can also provide a lot of support in times where your dog could be ill. There has been advice swapped in getting second opinions on surgery and different medicines. This community also provides valuable information on recent areas that they may have visited that may not have been dog friendly that dog owners should avoid. As dog owners, we share similar interests in taking our dogs for walks, to the dog park and on hiking trails. The dog owner community is open and accepting of all types of dogs.

There are things that can bring tension to our community. These are aggressive dogs and irresponsible dog owners. Having an aggressive dog can bring unwanted tension into the dog ownership community. We have to go on alert and protect our dogs and ourselves. We have to go the extra mile to ensure everyone else around us feels safe. An example of this would be, on a hiking trail. If a dog owner is out hiking with their dog, and another hiker is approaching, at all times the dog and owner should step immediately to the side and have the dog in a sitting position to let the approaching party pass and not feel threatened that your dog will attack or jump out at them. The passing hiker will feel at ease that the dog owner has control of their animal and they feel safe to pass. Picking up after your dog is another area that can bring tension to the dog owner community. Irresponsible dog owners who do not pick up after their dogs give the rest of the dog owner community that do pick up after their dog a bad reputation. Nobody wants to step in dog waste. So, we feel inclined to pick up what our previous canine owner may have left behind, especially at parks or on hiking trails. This helps keep our dog ownership community respected and for the most part, we try to look out for one another.

As a dog owner of Shiloh and Porter (picture), I am a part of the dog ownership community. I feel incredibly lucky to have my dogs. We like to share parks, hiking trails and all sorts of dog-related experiences with the rest of the world. I feel accepted and appreciated while within the dog ownership community. I have made many friends through the years being a dog owner. Non dog owners generally like dogs as long as you are a responsible dog owner that has control of your animal. Non dog owners are eager to approach and tell you how cute your dogs are and that strikes up all types of conversations and the feeling of acceptance. At times having a dog is a great icebreaker to building new friendships. Having my dogs and their love along with the rest of the dog ownership community makes me feel accepted. I genuinely enjoy hanging out with my dogs and am so fortunate to be their owner.

Tiffany

Handbag, handbag, where are you?

How could I have lost it, where is it? My life could fall apart without it. The thought of potentially losing my handbag that contains my daily activities, schedule, and other personal items sends shivers down my spine.

The contents of my purse: receipts, loose dollar bills, and change, expensive makeup and mobile phone. Business cards, pens, toothbrush, toothpaste, and gum. Wallet contents: driver license, bankcard, credit card, Costco card, and Starbucks card – Although one might assume I drink coffee, I do not. I love Green Tea.

The person that finds my handbag will find an expensive purse and matching wallet that could fetch a pretty penny on eBay. The finder would see a very messy main compartment with receipts, change and some dollar bills floating around loosely. One might think that the owner of such a purse is not very organized. However, if they were to look in the other smaller compartments, they would see organization, toothbrush, and toothpaste in a small zip lock bag, lipsticks and makeup separated into their own compartments. Business cards, PDA and pens in their own separate areas. The finder might surmise that I have a busy schedule and perhaps am racing around town to complete errands, and that I just throw things in the main compartment in hopes of organizing it later. Alternatively, they could think that I am just lazy. In the end, the finder might think I am pretentious and that I do not have any regard for what I have.

The contents of my purse and wallet do not tell the whole story. There are many things askew. What the finder does not see is that I am overwhelmed. I have a fast paced, highly stressful job that is very demanding. Hence, the main compartment of my handbag. I just go and throw my daily acquisitions of notes, receipts, and change into the middle. I do not have a lot of downtime. I struggle with work/life balance. They would not see that I have lost hair due to stress, and find it difficult to take time away from work. They would not see that I am a woman that struggles with yo-yo dieting. They would not see my broken heart or that I have trouble sleeping. The finder would not know that tears well up in my eyes every time I see a child because I long to be a parent, and have struggled for years with conception.

The finder would not see how much love that I have to give, and how grateful I am, to have been given the life that I have.

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Tiff