Sunday Night Chit Chat: Christmas Recap

Howdy Humble Readers...

First and foremost, isn't this the sweetest little angel you've ever seen?  She was the teeny tiniest angel at our congregation's Sunday School pageant.  And she did pretty good too, at least she didn't stretch out on the floor in front of the manger or anything. 

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!  Everyone in the hobbit hole was spoiled rotten by Santa Claus.  Tops on the wee-lings haul are a remote control car for Pippin (that moves when he shakes the driver figurine) and a doctor set for Ginny.  My Beloved really seemed to like new leather jacket.

Ginny with 'Madeline Taylor'

Eating a chocolate marshmallow snowman
(at 7:30 in the morning... ick)

It was a major 'kitchen' Christmas for me.  I got a new set of pots and pans, a pizza stone, an asparagus steamer, and a beautiful glass serving platter.  I also know that there is a new large frying pan on back order.  Spoiled, I tell ya. 

With his new crayons

A new storyboook

The hobbit-hole was full to capacity both Christmas day and Boxing day. My mom, her beau, my sister, brother-in-law, and their two kids were all here for Christmas dinner.  It was great, albeit loud and crowded.  And on Boxing Day we had my Beloved's mom, her beau, and one of my Beloved's brothers and his wife over.  Not quite as loud, but still crowded in our wee little hobbit hole.

I'm very proud of how Christmas Dinner turned out.  I did turkey of course (two actually, so that I would be sure to have lots of leftovers to freeze), a small ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (a family recipe that is to die for... it has booze in it!), peas, and carrots.  New this year were stuffing muffins (rather than just in a casserole dish or stuffed in the bird) and I made what is quite possibly the best turkey gravy I've ever tasted... if I do say so myself.  It was a bit labour intensive, but it was soooo worth it! 

We took the tree and all the decorations down today.  I know, some people might feel that it's a bit soon, but I always really want to start the new year with a clean house, and having things back to normal.  Besides, the house really does feel so much bigger without all the extra clutter.  As much as I love it when we decorate, I do love taking it all down too.  Ginny was sad because she wanted more Christmas. 

Sadly, I have gained more than I would have liked over the holiday season.  Who am I kidding, I had hoped to at least maintain... that certainly didn't happen!  I'm going to have to get myself back in gear here right away, and get things going in the right direction again. 

On to this week's chit chat.  Here's what I'm...

Reading... The Emperor of Paris by CS Richardson.  I'm only a few chapters in, and I'm enjoying it very much.  I think it should be a relatively quick read.  Paris in the early 1900s has been a real trend in my reading the last four or five months. 

Watching... Right now, the Disney movie "Up" with Ginny.  She loves the balloons.  Later I'm going to make time to watch the finale to Downton Abbey season three, in preparation for the new season that starts next week. 

Listening to... My Beloved, as he tidies up the kitchen for me. 

Cooking/Baking...  Tonight was turkey shepherd's pie.  I did something a little different and put a layer of turkey stuffing in the casserole along with the turkey, gravy and veggies.  Managed to use up the last of the odds and ends of leftovers (like the mashed potatoes and the peas).  Yay!  Tomorrow, I'm going to make some sort of turkey soup, and then that's it for turkey for a while! 

Happy I Accomplished This Week...  That I not only survived, but actually managed to enjoy hosting Christmas and Boxing Day.  Usually I'm fairly stressed about the food and everything that I don't get to enjoy myself.  I'm also thankful for Boxing Week sales!  I got a bunch of stuff for the wee-lings at Old Navy, and a bunch of stuff for me at my favourite plus-size store.  I had been holding off on buying myself new clothes for a while now, and my size 20 jeans were incredibly loose and baggy on me.  I now have three pairs of size 16 jeans, and was able to get a couple of new tops too.  Yay!

Looking Forward To Next Week...  Getting back into a normal routine.  I have to go through the wee-lings' dressers again, and sort out which clothes still fit.  We are also going to be rearranging the nursery again next weekend.  Pippin's crib needs to be lowered another level (the stinker climbed out one day last week), and we need to figure out a better storage situation for their toys. 

Thankful For...  For safe travels for our family, who came from hither and yon.  For a happy holiday season, and for getting things back to normal. 

***Bonus Question*** What was the best gift you received this year? Well, I love the new pots, and I'm excited about the pizza stone, but I'm actually looking forward to the arrival of a couple of things that have been ordered but haven't arrived.  I'm getting a new big frying pan (because my old one is dying... all the Teflon is starting to come off) and Downton Abbey season 4 is on pre-order, but I won't be getting it until late January or early February. 

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This was posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat.  Click over to join in on the conversation.