Christmas, Part II

Well, all that's left is Mom & Grandma Sally!

Christmas Eve I was able to get off work 2 hours early. Went home and relaxed for a while, listened to Christmas tunes, goofed off, made some Curry Crab Dip, and headed to Jen's for the evening. Shylent (our roommate) joined us, and Matt (Annie's brother), and eventually Tim and Darin as well. Lots of food, good company, a few gifts to open (for those who weren't going to be around Christmas day), and one very late night. We didn't get out of there til about 11, but it was still a good time.

Christmas morning I got up early (but not as early as I should have) to get showered and dressed and start making the WBGBC (if you don't know what this is, you need to start reading my blog more often!). I used fresh green beans this time, which was much more time consuming but did create a nicer texture than frozen. We ended up leaving the house nearly an hour after we intended to, but it was alright. We stopped by Jen's to pick up some presents and food to transport out to Don & Nancy's, then had to drop Matt off at Jim & Cece's house (that's Annie's Dad and step-mom). Finally out to Sandy to Don & Nancy's... almost 11am and still none of us had gotten anything to eat! But once we got there and got settled, we got some food in our tummies and were all much happier.

Then the chaos began. 7 adults and 3 children's worth of presents to unwrap - and every one of us spoiled :) Gifts of note include Phantom of the Opera tickets for Annie and I, Bright red low-top Chuck Taylors for Annie, a bunch of kitchen stuff for me (including a mandoline, silicone baking cups, and pyrex custard cups), and of course dishcloths for both Jen & Carolyn's household and Don & Nancy's :) Nope, still no pictures.

The best part was that just before we started to open presents, it started to snow. Not inches, but enough that it accumulated on the ground. We got some pictures of that, and I'll upload them later today. After all the presents we relaxed for a while and then started to get dinner ready. Delicious, as always. I was a little heavy-handed with the garlic in the WBGBC but everyone enjoyed it anyway - even Don who is not a vegetable fan!

There was sad news in our day, though not for our family. I have a dear friend, Joey, who has been my favorite boi since high school. Her step-sister, Miracle, has also been a great friend though I haven't seen her recently. Miracle's father, Joey's step-father, was found dead of a heart attack (I believe?) on Christmas morning. Miracle, who has had several rough years since we all got out of school, is not an easy person to reach and I don't even know if she's heard about her dad yet. So if you have a moment, please say a little prayer for my friends, their mental/emotional/physical health and peace for them and their families.

Hope you all had a nice holiday - thank goodness it only happens once a year!!

The best things in life are simple

Annie made dinner tonight :) She doesn't cook super often, but when she does it's GOOOOD!

She bought some hunks of pork at WinCo. I wasn't so sure about them, because they didn't look like much in the package. But she bought some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, marinated them overnight, and took my advice when I suggested she cook them low (275 actually) for a few hours (I think they ended up being in there for about 3 hours). When they hit 180 we turned off the oven and let them sit until the rest of dinner (rice and some baked beans) were done.

This is what was left after we all filled our plates:

Dessert was a score from the office Christmas party and gift exchange we had today. I scored some AWESOME homemade cookies from Carol. They're the best - legendary in the office. Also pictured are some ornaments that our boss gave us. The two on the left are glass teardrop-type ornaments, and on the right is a rainbow colored mini disco ball.

I know, the pictures are crap. I took them with my cell phone. Maybe someone will buy me a point-and-shoot camera for Christmas :)

Friends Christmas

(I drafted this post on the 10th but I guess I didn't get around to finishing it. Huh. Well here it is)

Last night was the Mag 7 8 Holiday Gathering. Every year, somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we get together to have dinner, exchange gifts, and swap stories about years past. This year (and last) it was hosted by Michelle & Aaron (and Tara the dog). It's a drive, but they have a really cozy home (and a fancy new wrap-around deck) and Michelle makes a mean turkey.


We all bring a dish and a beverage (I brought this amazing Green Bean Casserole and some hard cider, Annie brought Yams with a Twist and Key Lime Martinis), and a gift for our not-so-secret Secret Santa exchange. I made Karie, who has a thing for lips, a plastic canvas wall-art of lips with her initials on it. It was my first attempt at plastic canvas, and I did pretty well (so long as she doesn't take it out of the frame and see what a mess of knots the back is). Darin got me some lotion, body spray, candles, and really pretty candle holders. Annie got a book for her new Mac (The Missing Manual) and gave Tim an Amazon gift certificate and some Martini wall art.

We watched Jeff Dunham and everyone but Tim laughed their butts off. Oh and it snowed! Not enough to stick but enough to see falling from the sky. To me, that's the best part of the holidays. Sitting around with good friends, eating, laughing, and reminiscing.

Wubster Wednesday: The Halloween Edition

Three little witches flying on their brooms. The first one said, "Gimme candy!" The second one said, "Where's my hair?" The third one said, "Auntie Zarah, do you know what the most poisonous spider in the whole world is?" Man, those kids are the best.

On the menu was (among other things): Pimples, Bellybuttons with Blood Sauce (cheese tortellini with marinara), Werewolf Fingers with booger sauce (chicken strips with honey mustard), and Snake Bites . Next time, more planning ahead. I'm not so good at that. Spent half the night in the kitchen wearing myself out instead of with the family enjoying the party.

On the craft front, I'm putting my shrug on hold for the moment. I'll just wear a jacket. I need to find a pattern and a yarn that I like, instead of making it up as I go along and using whatever I have on-hand. Instead I'm teaching myself to make Granny Squares because they're so versatile and are a good travel project, and a good way to use up yarn.

Tomorrow after work, Annie and I are headed to the beach to stay at our favorite hotel for three nights. Key Lime Martinis, here we come!! We'll be sure to take pictures. And I'll start posting some. I promise!

Rata-tat-tat-touille

Well, I finished my costume! Wore it to the Bridge yesterday and was having a great time. Then Annie's ex showed up. Awkward!

It's not like there's really anything to be awkward about, at least for me. It's not like I "stole" Annie from her (they'd been broken up for a looooong time before I came along). But I think it was just knowing that we'd all been sort of friends at one time, and then all of a sudden this girl is straight and into Jesus (not that being into Jesus is a bad thing) and Annie's left going, "huh?"

So, it was weird. But Annie's costume was a total hit, and so was mine, and that was the important part.

Rhionna's birthday was also a huge hit. Super-kudos to Tim for doing the bulk of the work to make this way-too-genuine Ratatouille recipe I found. It was a pain but it was also delicious. The kids didn't like it, but it was vegetables so I don't think anyone expected them to. I'll post some pictures from the party later. Hmmm, that makes me wonder if anyone took pictures of the finished ratatouille before we devoured it.

Next crochet project on the list is the shrug I have to make (and wear) so that Mom will get off my case about not wearing a jacket :) Oh and I'll post pictures of my finished costume later, too.