Just for Fun

12 Days of Blogmas: Holiday Wishes

Just for Fun

We’ve made it! It’s Christmas Eve and this is the final post of Blogmas 2015.

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And here are my 12 wishes this Christmas:

  1. Peace… this time of year can be so hectic and draining, I wish for peace and quiet to reign supreme. And not just for me and my family and friends, but for the country and world, too. I don’t want to get all political, but I will say that I think the answer isn’t restricting one thing or another, but getting to the root of why people are so fearful and angry, the reason why they lash out at friends and strangers, and maybe then the news won’t be so full of what despicable thing one person did to another.
  2. Harmony… we’ll head to Mom’s tonight for the family get together and I’m hoping that everyone is cheerful and gets along. We usually do but, like any family, there are times and topics of contention; I hope those stay away.
  3. A clean house… I suppose this one falls on me. Getting ready for Christmas has left little messes here and there, so between now and New Year’s Day I want to tidy up so we can start fresh for 2016.
  4. Good health… this time last year a lot of people we knew were going through some serious health crises, either themselves or their loved ones. Right now I have a friend recovering from brain surgery and I hope her recovery continues to go well and she can be back to herself for the new year.
  5. Low gas prices… even though that’s not exactly helpful for friends who work for Chevron, etc. Still, running the roads like I do makes me appreciate each penny the sign drops.
  6. A new job in 2016… not that there’s anything wrong with my current job, but after 20 years I’m more than ready for a change. I’ve put in an application with a company closer to home, now I’m just waiting on an interview.
  7. Productivity… I get a lot done, true, but I know I could be doing more, or at least do what I do more efficiently, so I’ll be working on that this coming year.
  8. Creativity… you knew this would be in here, right? I want people to be open to creative opportunities, to not deny themselves their innate creativity, and to express and explore that creativity a little bit every day. I think it makes life better.
  9. Champagne moments… a business friend revels in even small celebrations, calling them Champagne moments; I really like that idea and want more Champagne moments for us all (even if you’re more of the sparkling grape juice type).
  10. More happy mail than bills or junk… I have two penpals these days and I love getting letters from them. It’s such a throw-back to have to wait for a reply to your message and it’s been fun getting to know these women.
  11. Enough… and the sense to recognize it. Sure, I’m like anyone else, there are things I want that I don’t have (and there are the credit card balances to show that my impulse control for many of those wants isn’t what it needs to be), but I really have a lot, more than enough, and I need to remember that going forward. We all do.
  12. Finally, that next year be more ‘fuck yeah’ than ‘fuck this’. I saw this on tumblr and it’s probably the best summation of this whole list and what I want for myself as well as my family and friends.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

The 12 Days of Blogmas is a link-up hosted by The Coastie Couple and The Petite Mrs. Check out either of their blogs to see what everyone else has to say on today’s topic!

The 12 Days of Blogmas is a link-up hosted by The Coastie Couple and The Petite Mrs. Check out either of their blogs to see what everyone else has to say on today’s topic!

12 Days of Blogmas: Holiday Pictures

Just for Fun

A picture is worth a thousand words, and so are one of my posts (on average), so looks like the status quo will be upheld!

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This past Saturday we did make it out to the Flowers Christmas in Lights display that I mentioned in our events post. It was really spectacular and I’m glad we went!

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Then we drove downtown so I could get some pictures of the lights downtown without so much of a crowd around.

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Then we took a little time to appreciate the lit-up Dollhouse, including our little monkey in the yard and the electric candles in the windows. I think I need more of them, though, to really get the full effect.

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Inside, our “fun” tree is set up on a little table in the living room. It holds all our miscellaneous Disney, Dr. Seuss, and miscellaneous collected ornaments from over the years. And, yes, all of my handmade gifts are done and wrapped under this tree, ready to go to Mom’s tomorrow night.

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In the library, I stepped up the mantle decorations this year with some wine bottles (the how-to is over on the Helmar blog) and more electric candles. I just love these things. I turn them on once when I want them to start and they go 8 hours on, 16  hours off, and I don’t have to think about them until it’s time to put them away. And the ones in the upstairs widows? It’s like falling asleep to candlelight every night. I might just keep those going throughout the year!

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The white tree got the addition of candle lights this year. I bought them last year, before I found such a great deal on the white tree itself, so the green wires just didn’t work for me. This year I taped off the candles and spray painted the wires so I could actually use the lights! I still have the other box to do… maybe by next year.

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And, just like for Halloween, I redecorated the downstairs bathroom with seasonally appropriate textiles for Christmas. Todd and I are still on track with gutting this room next month (!!!) and giving it a permanent makeover, but for this month this’ll do.

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Finally, this is my solution for displaying the pretty Christmas cards our friends have sent us. I love using the staircase to display things, and since so many people are going with the postcard-style cards, hanging them from garland seemed like the best idea. For next year I’ll have decorated clothespins and fluffier garland, but for this year it works.

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Hope you enjoyed this peek at our Christmas views!

The 12 Days of Blogmas is a link-up hosted by The Coastie Couple and The Petite Mrs. Check out either of their blogs to see what everyone else has to say on today’s topic!

The 12 Days of Blogmas is a link-up hosted by The Coastie Couple and The Petite Mrs. Check out either of their blogs to see what everyone else has to say on today’s topic!

 

12 Days of Blogmas: 10 Facts About Me

Just for Fun

1. This may be my least favorite prompt for Blogmas! (I always feel at a loss for these sorts of posts, but I’m gonna power through anyway in the true spirit of completion.)

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2. I am a craft supply hoarder. This has come in handy with my late in the day plan to make the Christmas gifts for my family as I’ve had to buy absolutely nothing thanks to my well-stocked dragon hoard. For once, DIY is cheaper than buying. Hopefully my family likes their gifts.

3. I prefer Star Trek to Star Wars, but I’m still curious about The Force Awakens. Generally speaking I don’t go near a first-run movie for the first two weeks. This one might need a month’s grace period before the crowds die down enough for me to be comfortable in the movie theater.

4. I’m currently binge-watching RHOA. I stopped watching ages ago so I have plenty of seasons to catch up on and Hulu just added it. I’ve noticed, though, that watching these over the top women affects how I reflect to ridiculousness going on with friends, my language becomes a little bit more salty.

5. I turn 40 next year and I’m actually not stressing about it. I’m even looking forward to it since I make it known that I wanted a party that I didn’t have to plan and our friend L has picked up the ball and run with it.

6. I have puppy fever like whoa! Todd and have I talked about getting a dog once we’ve had a chance to settle in and we’re actually looking at February or March, depending on when the right dog appears. Todd’s a fan of Basset Hounds and I like pretty much all short-legged dogs, so that works for me. We’ve been checking a couple of rescues in Georgia and Florida for likely candidates for adoption.

7. The variety of Christmas cookies in our house is currently 6, with at least two more to come tomorrow. That and DIY is how I’ve been spending my days off this week.

8. I’m really looking forward to 2016 in general. I’m hoping for some good things to happen and some changes in certain sectors of my life.

So I am now drawing a blank and Todd just came in to tell me goodnight so I asked him for two more facts about me, whatever came into his head, because I have stared at this post long enough!

9. I was in the gifted program in school, from first grade on through high school. It’s probably one of the things I put in the thankful column when I grumble about moving away from all our family after Kindergarten.

10. I bought the first house I looked at. This is true, the Dollhouse was the first house we saw when we were house hunting–we weren’t even house hunting yet, we were barely browsing and it was a whim, a chance, that we decided to try for this house and it paid off.

Phew! Made it through, and tomorrow we can go back to holiday stuff!

The 12 Days of Blogmas is a link-up hosted by The Coastie Couple and The Petite Mrs. Check out either of their blogs to see what everyone else has to say on today’s topic!

The 12 Days of Blogmas is a link-up hosted by The Coastie Couple and The Petite Mrs. Check out either of their blogs to see what everyone else has to say on today’s topic!

12 Days of Blogmas: Holiday Songs

Just for Fun

It’s time for Christmas music!!! Settle in with some cocoa and enjoy some of my favorites!

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When I was younger, a friend of Mom’s gave us a set of cassettes (yes, cassettes) with classic crooners caroling. So some of my favorites are oldies that don’t get nearly enough play on the radio.

Direct link for the feed readers: Christmas in Killearney, Bing Crosby

Direct link for the feed readers: The Holly and the Ivy, King’s College Cambridge

And then there’s this combination of a carol I care little for (Little Drummer Boy) much improved by a counterpoint (Peace on Earth)

Direct link for the feed readers: Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth, Bing Crosby and David Bowie

The story goes that David Bowie wasn’t a big fan of Little Drummer Boy, either, and pretty much refused to sing it with Bing. Instead, he and a couple of others wrote Peace on Earth just to keep the show going as planned.

Back in middle school we’d put on join band and chorus concerts for winter and spring performances and one of my favorite pieces to play was Pat a Pan.

Direct link for the feed readers: Pat a Pan, Julie Andrews

Of all the classic carols, though, Carol of the Bells has to be my all-time favorite.

Direct link for the feed readers: Carol of the Bells, Mormon Tabernacle Choir

So I managed to get more than halfway through this list without mentioning Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and that was tough. I could fill this list with three of their albums and have plenty of songs left over. Two of my favorites are Old City Bar (never fails to bring a tear to my eye) and Christmas Canon Rock (an edited version of which we used in our wedding).

Direct link for the feed readers: Old City Bar, Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Direct link for the feed readers: Christmas Canon Rock, Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Did anyone else’s parents love the PBS pledge drive programming during the holidays? Mom was a big fan of Peter, Paul, and Mary and so when they’d play their holiday concert it was required watching in our house. What I liked most about it was not the Christmas songs, but the Hannukah songs, many of which were written by Peter and Paul.

Direct link for the feed readers: Light One Candle, Peter, Paul and Mary

And, finally, this PP&M song that always struck me as a but on the mystical side for my Baptist upbringing, but it was so pretty to listen to and is one of my favorites to sing in the car.

Direct link for the feed readers: Cherry Tree Carol, Peter, Paul and Mary

The 12 Days of Blogmas is a link-up hosted by The Coastie Couple and The Petite Mrs. Check out either of their blogs to see what everyone else has to say on today’s topic!

The 12 Days of Blogmas is a link-up hosted by The Coastie Couple and The Petite Mrs. Check out either of their blogs to see what everyone else has to say on today’s topic!

12 Days of Blogmas: Holiday Food and Drinks

Just for Fun

Now we’re getting to the good stuff!

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It always amuses me that Mom and I have to discuss what we’re doing for the holidays when, 9 times out of 10, we do the same thing every time. My family isn’t big on change, especially when it comes to holiday menus.

Glazed Ham

If Thanksgiving is all about the turkey, Christmas, to me, means ham. And not just any ham, but Mom’s glazed ham. It’s the glaze, which is super simple, that really makes the holiday ham shine. What she does is makes a paste with brown sugar and spicy brown mustard and then thins it out just a bit with orange juice. Spread it over the ham and bake according to the package directions. It’s just that simple.

Candied Sweet Potatoes

These are a holiday staple, any holiday, and because sweet potatoes are our go-to, we pretty much never do mashed potatoes for any family holiday dinner. We don’t go the mini marshmallows and nuts direction, just slices of sweet potato sprinkled with cinnamon and dotted with butter, topped with a cooked syrup of Karo syrup, brown sugar, and butter. So indulgent and so delicious.

Cheese Plate

This is a relatively recent addition to our holiday traditions. Who doesn’t love a good cheese tray, right? Ours follows no particular rules other than what sounds good when we go to the store. Some nights it’s been Boursin and St. Andre, other nights we’re doing Havarti and a blueberry-coated goat cheese. Wensleydale and Port Salut. Brie, however, is a staple. Sometimes it’s baked in pastry, but a wedge of brie never goes amiss at our house.

Cheese-Covered Something

Growing up, broccoli and cheese or cauliflower and cheese were regulars on the holiday buffet, it just depends on what looks best at the grocery store that week. Mom makes an enriched white sauce (a bechamel with eggs added) and adds a healthy dose of Velveeta with more on top. Now, okay, I’m not a big fan of Velveeta, but it definitely reminds me of my childhood. So points for nostalgia. Some years I’ll do homemade mac & cheese, instead (with Swiss, Cheddar, and Monterrey Jack). That’s our idea of switching things up.

Rum Balls

I mentioned these in my Memories post, and because of that story, I make Rum Balls most Christmases, even if it’s just a small batch for myself. Now, most recipes I see for these call them Bourbon Balls but Maw Maw always used rum so that’s what I use. I stopped using nuts in them when Todd came along (just use more crumbled cookies) and we always roll them in granulated sugar, not powdered sugar. They’re best if they have a few days to “set-up” so I guess I better get those started this weekend. (And just hope I can stay out of them until Christmas!)

Christmas Cookies

I usually bring dessert to Christmas Eve dinner and what I bring is more or less up to me. Last year I couldn’t decide what to make, so I decided to make a bunch of different cookies and call it a day. It went over so well I’m doing it again this year and it may become my new holiday tradition. Growing up we’d do the rolled sugar cookies but I don’t always have the patience for those, preferring drop cookies instead. So chocolate chip, chocolate snowball crinkles,  fudge cookies (can you see a theme?) along with simpler drop sugar cookies and cornmeal cookies were all a big hit. And I never make small batches, so we brought half of them over to Mom’s and snacked on the other half at home for weeks.

Egg Nog

Egg Nog is a love it or hate it thing for most people, I think. I love it! I put it in my coffee, I drink it regular or spiked, I adore it. I stock up starting on Thanksgiving, but since I’m lactose intolerant I stick with the Lactaid brand Nog and it gets scarce pretty quickly. Our local Publix was completely out last week, so I stopped on my way home from Tallahassee and they only had 1 carton at the newer, big Publix on the north side. I didn’t even see a space for it, so I doubt it’ll be restocked. So I also settled for a carton of Silk eggnog, though it’s not my favorite. Maybe if I mix it it won’t be so bad.

Leftovers

The last thing I want to do, after prepping a big dinner for days, is get right back in the kitchen. We always cook for an army no matter how many or few we are, and it’s totally in service of having leftovers for at least a few days. In previous years I’ve made a separate Christmas Day dinner for Todd and I but I decided that was really too much work for what it was, so we’re going to nosh on leftovers and some other finger foods we’ve laid in for the day and take a holiday for extra work and extra dishes!

The 12 Days of Blogmas is a link-up hosted by The Coastie Couple and The Petite Mrs. Check out either of their blogs to see what everyone else has to say on today’s topic!

The 12 Days of Blogmas is a link-up hosted by The Coastie Couple and The Petite Mrs. Check out either of their blogs to see what everyone else has to say on today’s topic!