Mine was full of present opening, breakfast eating, coffee sipping, and yelling at my brother. Wait, what? Yes, for some reason he likes to pester me. So, Christmas morning sounds a bit like this:
Daniel.
This is my warning. Very serious.
Stop it.
STOP IT!.
Daaanieeeel.
MOOOOOOOM!!!!
Mom comes in and gives him "the look". Yes, my brother is 35 and "the mom look" still works on him.
The thing that I look forward to every year is getting razors and shaving cream in my stocking.
I'm easy to please apparently.
My sister in law seemed surprised to hear that the one bottle we get at Christmas lasts me all year.
She asked what happens when I run out.
My answer?
I stop shaving my legs...hence why I hadn't shaved for 2 months!
Is this TMI?
The good news is that I have freshly shaved legs! woo hoo!
I have a dinner party coming up on Saturday that I am hosting, so I will be busy busy getting ready for it! I am so excited!
Get ready for some of the most horrendous iphone photography:
I went out with my family to go look at Christmas lights. There is a neighborhood near where I live, where every single neighbor goes all out with lights.
They put on little skits, or sell hot chocolate and other goodies, and just have the most wonderful holiday spirit going on.
However, we went WAY to close to Christmas and it was WAY crowded. But, We still had a great time looking at all the lights. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!
I have been quite the crocheting machine as of late. I was given a HUGE bag of yarn this week. I got right to making this wine cozy with some of the Christmas yarn in the stash. My mom asked if she could give one to the lady who had given me all the yarn, and of course I said, "yes"! She liked it so much she asked if she could buy some from me! It is always such a huge compliment when people want more! haha! I thought I'd get a little creative with some of them.
My photography skills are lack-a-crackin'...so I am going to blame it on the lighting. Seems legit.
Christmas is coming soon! I ventured to Toys R Us...and that was a delight! Seriously though. I really love angry holiday shoppers...they are SO entertaining that I just can't help but smile and laugh!
I'd like to give you some more Christmas cheer with what else than more Sufjan Stevens!
Anyone recognize that quote? (you know, I feel like most of my post titles come from movie quotes....I'm seeing a trend here!) Troop Beverly Hills anyone...anyone? Just me? Ok...moving one.
Yesterday my family got together to do a bit of cookie decorating...I'm fairly certain I ate about 231 cookies.
Arghhh typo in the watermark!
I thought I took photos of the finished products...but I think I got too caught up in eating them!
My nieces made these adorable gingerbread houses... aren't they they cutest nieces you have ever seen in your entire life (ok ok I am sure your nieces are very cute as well!)?
My brother decided he wanted to see how my camera worked...I don't think he was doing it right for some reason.
Sometimes... extra large pictures are just not a good idea.
Name that movie! I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but it's still way early in December and I'm sure I'll have plenty of chances to watch it over and over!
Image found on google search
We decorated the house for Christmas....and by we I mean my mom.
Sorry this pic is so blurry!
We have a little train going around the top of the tree (I think you should be able to see it in the pic), but my nieces love to make the train go round and round.... my pup hates it.
And also enjoy some more Sufjan Stevens Christmas music (am I annoying you guys yet? haha!)
I can't believe that Christmas is just around the corner! I'm not sure if California knows though--the weather was about 80F over the weekend! That didn't stop me from crocheting my blanket a bit. I will admit that I was sweating from how warm it makes me already! The sad news is that I ran out of yarn, so I am going to have to order more online (woo hoo for Cyber Monday and 30% off and free shipping from Jo-Ann's Fabrics!) and wait for it to come in before I can finish it...but I am nearly there!
I was listening to Sufjan Steven's new Christmas Album (You can totally listen to it on Spotify! Free rocks my socks! Though, I'll probably buy it- you know, once I get a job- because Sufjan rocks my socks even more!)
But, one of the songs is absolutely one of my new favorites- Christmas Unicorn.
Sufjan is brilliant when writing lyrics, and this song is no exception. I like the message behind the "Christmas Unicorn" so, let's all NOT be Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, or Winter Solstice, or which ever you celebrate!) Unicorns this year, yea?
I think I am going to start by giving more thoughtful gifts (even though my family said we aren't doing gifts this year). I just can't help myself! There are so many things that I had thought about making for people in my family and it was kind of personalized in a way, so let's just not tell them that I am making them things, ok?
Also, I tried out my new app that I had mentioned a while ago (I finally got out there and running!). It's called Zombies Run!
Photo courtesy of Google Search
This app was a bit pricey (I think it was $8.00? I'm not too sure because I bought it a couple weeks ago). But, I thought it would be worth the investment. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. I liked the story line (it kept my time interesting), but I thought that I would hear the zombies the whole time I was running.
You want to know how many zombie mobs I outran? Zero. I would die in the zombie apocalypse! At least it is something that I have to work towards...if I want to look at it that way!
I am a bit discouraged because I only did 2 miles (mostly walking). I have to remember that I am not at the fitness level that I used to be, but I will get there...in time, and I can work up to the mileage I was at before. Well, I am off to watch Sunday's episode of The Walking Dead!
When my mom told me that my aunt was going to make the Pumpkin Pie this year, I had to rethink what I was going to make for Thanksgiving. So, I thought I'd give Pecan Pie a go. Little did I know that my moms family in Texas had sent her some pecans. She said I could put them into my pie (I should tell you how much she loves these pecans...I mean, she loves them, a lot. a lot.) ...the pressure was on! What if I messed up the pies?! I couldn't just go out and get more pecans...I mean, these were from TEXAS (say that in your best Mean Girls voice lol)!
However, this was the easiest recipe I have ever attempted. I haven't tasted the pie just yet, but it smells of maple-y goodness and that to me equals amazing! Here's how easy it is:
Chop up some pecans (please note: yours do not have to be from Texas!)
Then throw the maple syrup, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, flour, butter, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl...and whisk that baby (whisk it good!)!
I wanted to double the recipe since I had an extra pie crust, but I didn't have quite enough maple syrup, so I one and a halfed the recipe to make two 3/4s pies. If that makes sense.
Then, put the chopped pecans in the pie crust, and pour the heavenly maple goodness mixture on top. Toss (gently!) that pan full of delight into the oven on 350F for one hour and that's it! (I did a little under an hour since it wasn't a full pie)
Super easy. It probably took less than 20 minutes to prepare the filling. I can't wait to dig into these babies! If you would like the recipe, I found it here: Maple Pecan Pie
Since I'm having Thanksgiving today, I spent a bit of yesterday making my yearly Christmas bow for my pup. I crocheted it this year instead of sewing, and it is adorable! If you crochet, you can find the pattern here: Bow Pattern
I don't think he likes it too much, and I know he hates having his picture taken. I was lucky this time and he didn't growl at me!
Also, since today is technically the day after Thanksgiving that means that I get to listen to Christmas now, right? Sure! Here is one of my favorite Christmas songs!
Sufjan Stevens: "Put the Lights on the Tree" Also, I fear that cartoon Sufjan has jaundice!
