Saturday, December 29, 2007
Weekend Update
- Monday morning I made a couple of treats: strawberries (except all coconut, no nuts) and magic bar cookies. Partly because they were easy, and partly because I like them--they're from my childhood. I'm not sure if anyone else liked them or not.
While I was cooking, the kids cleaned up the house to keep them from nagging about their stockings, and Carl finished his last-second shopping.
When he got home, we decorated the tree. Finally. Here it is all finished:
and here it is with the lights on:- Christmas Eve, we opened our stocking stuffers. We've got really big stockings--about a yard tall. A friend made mine when I was in high school, and I made the rest of them. Mine's red gingham with red trim, and I made Dagny's to match, and Carl's is green gingham with green trim. When the boys came along, I got a little more creative: Curran's is a red teddy bear print with green trim, and Camden's is a blue rocketship print with red trim. Both Curran and Camden have outgrown their designs, and I'd like to be a little more creative with all of them, but whenever I suggest making new ones, they all object rather strongly.
- After the stockings, we had our traditional Christmas Eve supper of finger foods--cold shrimp with cocktail sauce, and we raid the commissary's freezer section for an assortment of fun and yummy things. While we ate, we watched this year's new Christmas movie: The Bishop's Wife (review will be forthcoming eventually).
- Christmas morning, the plan was to begin opening presents at 10. I think we started at 11, but we tried. It's much different now that the kids are older and like sleeping in as much as we do! Everybody was happy with their gifts and enjoyed giving each other presents as much or more than getting them.
After presents, I made dinner: ham, red potatoes with lemon & chives, confetti asparagus, and spiced winter squash. I couldn't find recipes online for the last two, but that doesn't matter much, because I changed the recipes anyway. Not a huge dinner, but stuff I like that didn't take all that long to make. For dessert, we had cherry cheesecake that Dagny made the night before. (She said she wanted cheesecake, so I handed her a cookbook and told her to go for it.)
After dinner, I crashed, and went upstairs to take a nap while Carl and the kids went to the Ohmbachsee for a walk--it was frozen over and Dagny took some gorgeous pictures of it. Maybe I'll use those pix for a belated TT, or for next week's.
In the evening, we played a game of Apples to Apples, the family gift left by Santa. Thanks everybody who recommended it--we loved it, and only managed to stop playing by setting a time limit that kept getting extended until we all got too tired to argue about extending it anymore. Then we settled in and watched Life of Brian, which was somewhat appropriate. The review for that will also be forthcoming eventually.
- Boxing Day (well, we don't call it that, but it sounds better than "the second Christmas Day" which is what my in-laws call it, or just "the 26th") we went to Carl's brother's house for the family dinner and gift exchange. We had a great time, and after Oma and Opa went home, the rest of us went downstairs and played Sing Star with the kids. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to post the video of Carl and Mike singing Achy-Breaky Heart. You'll have to take my word for it that it was amusing.
My mother-in-law, me, and Curran:
Camden, Oma & Opa, sister-in-law Andrea, and Dagny:
nieces Emily & Aileen:
brother-in-law Mike: - Thursday I crashed--I was wiped out. Hence the lack of a Thursday Thirteen. Carl and the kids went up to Idar-Oberstein so Dagny could do some shopping and Carl could get a replacement bowl for his little fountain. Thursday evening we went to see The Golden Compass (yes, review to follow).
- Yesterday, Carl had to work, and I had an appointment to have my teeth cleaned. I love having my teeth cleaned--they feel so smooth and slippery afterward. We got a whole bunch of mail--all the packages that hadn't arrived in time for Christmas, and--finally--my December order of books from Barnes & Noble. I have no idea why they took so long. Normally, they arrive in less than two weeks. This took about a month. Camden wasn't feeling well and was sporting a bit of a fever, so we ordered in from the döner place and watched Dagny's present to Curran: The Best of the Colbert Report.
- Today, Camden's feeling better. They bought a whole bunch of fireworks for New Year's Eve at the Edeka, and we're crossing our fingers that this year, it won't rain. Tonight, Carl and I are going to go see Gone, Baby, Gone.
- Hope everyone had as great a week as I did. Happy New Year!
Categories: AboutMe, WeekendUpdate
Labels: about me, weekend update
He replied that he felt he'd used them -- hard -- lately and they deserved a break, and that if they came knocking on his mind's door, he wouldn't turn them away, but tracing the arc of their relationship and lives over the five novels he wrote, there's a scary downward spiral that could only end badly.
I love the stocking story, by the way.
So you order books from Barnes and Noble on-line? I didn't think they shìpped books to Germany :)
Take care of yourself, you need it. And have good rest of the holidays and may the New Year bring you joy :)
Heh. Glad you liked the stocking story. :)
Julia: thanks! Glad you liked the pix. Don't worry--it's pretty relaxing from now on.
And yep--I have an APO address, so for B&N, it's like mailing something to New York... something a few online retailers still don't grasp. Grrrr.
I'm guessing Amazon is one of the online retailers who doesn't sent stuff to Germany...that be shame. Because I know you would have made a run of the money in their store *grin*......
Buy.com, on the other hand, doesn't ship to APO addresses, which is a shame, because they tend to have really great prices, especially on those trade paperbacks.
I haven't shop much at Buy.com but I do agree that the price are great there. I get some trade paperbacks books there too :)
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