Christmas Day Revisited

Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve (the Gingerbread house that Joey and Bibs built with a little help from Carolyn) and then from Christmas Day (Joey frying the turkey. Dad and Joey building Dad and Sally's new fire pit). The best thing about these pictures is that Bibianna took all of them. She takes great pics. I like this blurry off-center one. Two of the blogs I follow, tangobaby and willowmanor posted "happy accidents" this week which consisted of photos that don't look like photos are supposed to look, but are way cool. So this is a happy accident from Bibianna.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Resolve

Because I am OCD (obsessive compulsive disordered) I make my new years resolutions throughout the year so that I have them firmly in place by Jan 1. This year, I made them in November, which is a little late for me, but nevertheless they are firmly in place. However, I have been reading on blogs about other peoples resolutions and have decided to make some more.

1. Never clean up the kitchen again.

Now, I told my perfect husband this resolution yesterday and he said, "I completely understand and support that resolution. I don't like cleaning the kitchen either and most of the time the squalor doesn't seem to bother anyone else but you, so Good Job!" Then I told my real husband, because my perfect husband left when I woke up, and he said "then we will have to eat out all the time and that gets very expensive." So this brings me to resolution number two.

2.

I haven't yet figured out what number two is going to be, but I am working on something that involves more money, or a housekeeper maybe even housekeeper/cook, or a new husband, or some combination of the three.

To blog or not to blog

Bibianna asked me this past week why I am suddenly so interested in blogging. I told her that it is a good way to share our lives with family and friends who don't have the pleasure of living close by. It is also a good record for us to look back on to see what all was going on 6 months ago, a year ago, who knows.

Well, as I mentioned yesterday, Bibianna is staying at my mom's house for a few days and she spent some time yesterday going through my grandmother's scrapbook from when she was a teenager through maybe early 20s. It is so cool to go back and see what was going on in my grandmother's life and in the world during that time and also to see what her interests were. Bibianna told me that she read several articles about the first set of living quadruplets! Can you imagine that being a first. Now with all the fertility treatments quadruplets seem almost as "normal" as twins. My grandmother also had several articles about a murder/kidnapping that took place in the 30s (I think). It happened in the same small town where my grandparents grew up. When I read those articles, years ago, without the invent of CNN and all the docudrama movies that make these chilling events seem "common," I was just so entranced by the fact that something that horrible could happen in a place that seems so safe. It still amazes me.

So, this is going to be my scrapbook. I am going to continue to write for the sake of keeping family posted and because it is fun and a little cathartic for me, and because hopefully it will be an ongoing record that my grandchildren may be able to look back on in future years and marvel at how much things change and how much they stay the same.

No movies today....Carolyn and I have been loyally dedicated to the House marathon on the USA network. (It is Carolyn's favorite show). I actually have been watching and sleeping. Since being on call is kind of like having a new born baby and I never really get to sleep more than about two hours with out my baby crying (pager ringing) I have just enjoyed laying on the couch and napping and responding to pages and watching House with Carolyn. Not a bad Sunday.

The Leftovers

Well, I am feeling a little bit better today. Bibianna left today to go spend a few days at my mom's house. There is such a stillness that settles over the house when she is gone. I hate having her gone but love the fact that she has the opportunity to spend some good quality time with her grandmother. I know that the memories of staying with my grandparents are some of my fondest childhood recollections. I also like having some good quality time for Carolyn and I. Those moments of good one-on-one time without the distractions of everyday life are few and far between.

On Christmas day, my dad and step-mother came for dinner. Joey deep fried a turkey in the backyard (I will post pictures later after I get time to download them). I baked a ham, two versions of cornbread dressing (vegetarian and non-vegetarian), sweet potatoes, broccoli/chesse casserole, green bean casserole and I even made two pies that weren't half bad. I have been eating, and eating, and eating since Christmas day. I love leftovers: therefore, I hate leftovers. I honestly think that the food just gets better everyday. Fortunately, we are starting to see the bottom of the dishes so that is good. As soon as it is all gone, it is back to healthy eating (which implies that we were eating healthily before the holiday season...HAH!) again. Maybe I will make that one of my New Years Resolutions......

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention movies yesterday. We watched "The House Bunny" and "The Dark Knight." Tonight our viewing choices are "The Happening" and "Mama Mia."

Bah Humbug!

Bah Humbug! I hate having to go on-call the day after Christmas. I am so spoiled by the last few days of bliss that today has just given me a headache. I know, I know, I should see the glass as half full (yes, I had the luxury of taking a whole week off from work) rather than half empty (ppffllttt!) but I am having a hard time doing that today. My kitchen still looks like a mini-tornado blew through. What I can't figure out is where all these dishes came from and where to put them now that I am finished with them. I know that they were "somewhere" before I got them out over the past week, but where? All my storage spaces are full and I just don't know how I had them all stashed away. Must be some type of Christmas phenomenon, kind of like the phenomenon where socks disappear in the dryer, or why you can never fold a map back up like it was when you first opened it. Anyway, it could be a lot worse than it is, but UGH.....hate the end of the holiday.

Christmas Eve Gift

We have a tradition in our family for Christmas Eve. If you say the words "Christmas Eve Gift" to someone first, then they are required to give you a gift on Christmas Eve. Once you Christmas Eve Gift someone, then you are safe from being Christmas Eve gifted back. I am not sure how this tradition started or why but it has been a source of fun and games to "outwit, outplay, and outlast" the other family members throughout the years. I can remember before caller ID answering the phone everytime it rang with "CHIRSTMAS EVE GIFT!" to someone's complete surprise and bewilderment. But eventually, after explaining the tradtion several times, one of my parents would unwittingly call and before they could get the words out, I would have them cornered. Another gift! HA!!!

So, this morning at 6:00 a.m., Bibianna with some covert help from her father, Christmas Eve Gifted me before I was even completely conscious. Carolyn, on the other hand, had to be coached to get out of bed and come see her Christmas Eve gift! Bibianna got a Wonka Gingerbread House kit so that she and her father can revive another tradtion that we haven't done in about 3 years. We used to bake all our own gingerbread and Joey would spend hours on just the right design, but as adulthood and careers have consumed more of our free time and energy, I thought that a pre-made, ready to assemble kit would do the trick. Joey still spent some time on ideas to "modify" the kit and he and Bibianna went to the store bright and early to purchase more candy. They also made their own fondant for the roof to make it look like a snow covered cottage.

Carolyn, my vegetarian child that lives on smoothies and milkshakes, received a wave station for her Christmas Eve gift. No more ice chunks, the box promises, and the decanter has a cool spicket at the bottom perfect for dispensing those frozen concoctions.

Bibianna also got in on the action, (although technically, according the rules, she is safe because she Christmas Eve Gifted all of us first), and gave Carolyn and I christmas PJ pants. YAY!!!

So, movies yesterday and Monday were "Fred Claus" and "Horton Hears a Who." Not sure yet quite what is on tap for tonight, other than midnight mass at 11:00 p.m. (?) but I am enjoying the lineup that has been playing on Turner Classic Movies.

 

Day of the Longest Night

Today is the day of winter solstice which means that for me, today is the shortest day and the longest night. It is the beginning of the days getting longer again, which always, for whatever reason, seems to lift my spirits.

Today was spent making a new batch of fudge, which thank goodness, turned out beautifully. I haven't made candy in about 3 years and I now have a new home, new stove, and was a little disappointed yesterday when I ruined my first batch. But, I always remember an interview once with Julia Child, who said that she had to make Creme Brulee many times before she was able to get it right. She said something along the lines of ....it is just eggs, and cream and butter, so what is the harm of ruining a batch and throwing it out. So, I threw out the old batch of fudge (or fudge attempt) from yesterday and forged ahead today with great results. We also made some fantastic, and easy, magic cookie bars.

Today's movies are:

Step Brothers (stupid, but has given us some great jokes for today)
The X-Files (the newest one)
The Bucket List

Today's photos are actually from yesterday, but the battery on my camera was dead, so I will just have to take some more tomorrow.