We are staying home for Christmas this year. For the first time ever, my children will wake up in their own beds on Christmas morning. This is only the second time in my whole life that I have not been at my parents' home on Christmas Day. To say it will be different is an understatement. While we will miss my parents and my brother and his family this year, it will be a chance for our family to be together in a very meaningful way.
So the downside, or maybe I should say the scary part, is that we have to eat. And because it is a special day, a holiday, we feel like we should celebrate and eat well. This means I'm cooking. I generally don't really like to cook. Most of the time, I don't see the cost/benefit tradeoff leaning in favor of cooking. Especially when I am working and taking classes. But this is the rare time of year when I am on vacation, and I'm out of class for the semester.
My husband and I planned the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus last night. We chose things that a) we like to eat, b) don't get to eat very often, and c) that I'm relatively confident I can make. Since point c. narrows the list of options considerably, it wasn't too hard to plan 6 meals. Then we had to come up with a grocery list, and go to the store. Check, and check. I'm going to start cooking tomorrow, as there are several things on my list that can be made ahead and I really don't want to spend all of Christams Eve and Christmas Day cooking. In addition, I got a nice promise from my husband that he's going to be cooking with me, and will continue to help through the clean-up process. I have to say that I don't mind cooking as much when I have someone to share the WHOLE process with......I will post again with results.
But altogether, I am feeling very with it this Christmas season. I got cards out (and early) thanks to a Creative Memories consultant/friend who really wanted to help me out this year. I did much of my shopping online starting on Thanksgiving Day. I went on an overnight shopping trip with two dear friends that was both very fun and helped me out A LOT, and I've had some time this week to get my last minute things done. I don't feel this way every year, but for now, I'm savoring the moments of having "it" together!
P.S. My husband thinks he smells something funny again. I've already checked the dryer vent which was (thankfully) clear. I'll let you know if the smell turns into something....
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Basketball
I loved to play basketball. I played in high school for awhile, until my knee hurt too much. I wasn't all that good - I was never a good ball handler, and I wasn't a scorer. I liked defense, but I didn't have much meat on my bones back then. But I did love to play.
I played intramurals in college. If I remember correctly, my team won the all-sorority tournament. I'll leave it to you all to judge how impressive that was. I had a few more pounds on my frame by then, and my knee cartilage wasn't as inflamed because I wasn't playing regularly. I still wasn't a good ball handler, and I still wasn't a scorer, but I think I was a pretty fierce defender.
So - both of my children play basketball. I like to watch them play, and I like to see them improve. They both had a game Friday night. After the game, they were shooting around, and playing each other one on one. They were having such a good time, I wanted to join in. I challenged them to two on one - them against me. There will be a day when both of my kids indivually can smoke me on the court, but Friday night was not that day. My son said that I was playing some pretty tough D. My daughter tried to play me close, and unfortunatley got a little too close. She got clipped on the chin, but no harm done. It was a great time, and I guess I had forgotten how it felt to be out on the court.
5 minutes later, my lungs gave out, so I told the kids it was time to go home. On the way home, my son commented again on my defense. I replied that if I could play him like that at 40, just think of how I played at 20! The look on his face was priceless. He was impressed, and I think I found just a little bit of my youth for a moment.
I played intramurals in college. If I remember correctly, my team won the all-sorority tournament. I'll leave it to you all to judge how impressive that was. I had a few more pounds on my frame by then, and my knee cartilage wasn't as inflamed because I wasn't playing regularly. I still wasn't a good ball handler, and I still wasn't a scorer, but I think I was a pretty fierce defender.
So - both of my children play basketball. I like to watch them play, and I like to see them improve. They both had a game Friday night. After the game, they were shooting around, and playing each other one on one. They were having such a good time, I wanted to join in. I challenged them to two on one - them against me. There will be a day when both of my kids indivually can smoke me on the court, but Friday night was not that day. My son said that I was playing some pretty tough D. My daughter tried to play me close, and unfortunatley got a little too close. She got clipped on the chin, but no harm done. It was a great time, and I guess I had forgotten how it felt to be out on the court.
5 minutes later, my lungs gave out, so I told the kids it was time to go home. On the way home, my son commented again on my defense. I replied that if I could play him like that at 40, just think of how I played at 20! The look on his face was priceless. He was impressed, and I think I found just a little bit of my youth for a moment.
The Tale of the Guacamole....
I had an epic failure in the kitchen this week. Guacamole, based on my previous experiences, should not be hard to make. I promised to make it for a department Christmas lunch. In the end, we ended up with salsa.
In a nutshell, this is what I learned:
1. Ripe avocados are key. Putting unripe avocados in the little chopper gadget does not mash them properly.
2. Add the lime juice AFTER the avocados. Otherwise, it's pretty easy to get too much.
3. If you have unripe avocados and too much lime juice, your guacamole tastes awful, and 3 hours later, you'd really just like to drown your failure in a couple of oreos.
In a nutshell, this is what I learned:
1. Ripe avocados are key. Putting unripe avocados in the little chopper gadget does not mash them properly.
2. Add the lime juice AFTER the avocados. Otherwise, it's pretty easy to get too much.
3. If you have unripe avocados and too much lime juice, your guacamole tastes awful, and 3 hours later, you'd really just like to drown your failure in a couple of oreos.
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