Christmas in my life

a belated Merry Christmas to all my blog readers!! I hope you had a fantastic holiday. I managed to keep myself busy with my day job while simultaneously eating the cheese dip I made for all the parties I attended. normally that would qualify as part of a vacation's luxuries however, let me just tell you - I can't wait to get back to the office to help regulate my body.

average time I find myself heading to bed? 2am

average time I find myself waking up? 9am (or 12pm - but that was only once!)

average number of times I have been to the gym during the break? once.

9-6 schedule... please come back soon!

my family had the very usual holiday. my mom bit off more than she could chew with an elaborate menu and thus, overcooked the meat. my dad has more mood swings that a room full of PMSing high schoolers. and I rushed around desperately trying to keep wine glasses full (or at least just mine).

but no one can deny how fun it is to unwrap mysteries. everyone seemed to enjoy what I got them... which makes me super happy because I felt very uncreative this year with my gift-giving. and I love all of my gifts! thank you family and friends : )

and now that Christmas 2009 is over, we move swiftly in to 2010.

what are you doing for the New Year?

we will be in Tahoe with a large group of people... bodies strewn about the cabin... people rotating in and out of beds and on floors... multiple trips up the mountain... crossing my figners in hopes that none of my bones will be broken afterward. however you end up celebrating 2010, have fun! but please be wise.

in other news, wearing pajamas all day...

...saves water used in doing laundry

...makes one very white since you can't leave the house

...has given me ample time to discover and become addicted to new music

...is creating quite the coffee withdrawal. can someone drop off a tall soy latte at my front door please?

I present to you, my drunken family Christmas photos:

winner winner Christmas dinner

Christmas is done. and I am relieved. I can finally go to the gym. with my oh so lovely in-laws visiting for the past 5 nights, the most exercise I got involved pouring glasses of wine. so now I get to go back to the 'real deal'.. and with my fancy new Creative Zen mp3 player as well. goodbye iPod! you treated me like a piece of crap so farewell to you. now I have Zen. adding music is easy. adding photos is easy. and when my workout is hard, I want an easy player to help me through it.

anyway, I hope everyone had a most excellent last holiday of 2008. my highlight among several highlights would be the Christmas Dinner that I wrote, directed, produced, and starred in.

Warm Leek and Goat Cheese dip served with crackers and bell peppers. leeks sauteed in butter, salt and pepper with goat cheese and cream cheese stirred in later and thrown in the oven to get that pretty toasty look. goat cheese haters became lovers!

Beef Tenderloin marinated in balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, fresh rosemary, thyme, and parsley for 4 hours and then roasted to juicy perfection (I even offered Medium to Well done to all of my guests - the smart ones take the Medium).

Homemade Cranberry sauce.. cranberries, orange marmalade, cinnamon sticks, and sugar. a crowd favorite for years now.

Green Beans with Pecans. a recipe I picked out for my mom to make. steamed green beans that are later tossed with salt, pepper, EVOO, and toasted pecans. yumm-O!

Standard Salad which I also picked for my mom to make. an array of salad ingredients served with a homemade italian dressing made with a lemon infused EVOO that is to die for.

Mashed Potatoes. made it up. milk, butter, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. nothing extravagant.

Buns brought to you by Pillsbury.

Mixed Berry and Pear Cobbler. black, straw, blue, and raspberries tossed with pear chunks in lemon juice and flour with a rolled oats, butter, flour, and sugar mixture sprinkled on top. golden brown out of the oven! served hot with vanilla bean ice cream.

everyone was happy and full and my beef tenderloin is rapidly becoming as famous as my recipe for the thanksgiving turkey which is going strong for 4 years now.
another highlight of my Christmas? seeing how much my husband enjoys the ginormous ping pong table I got him that now takes my car's spot in the garage.

in other news...
...6lbs of tenderloin for 6 people is far too much. even with 3 days of leftovers-are-whats-for-dinner.
...27 year old's can shop at Forever 21. it's ok.
...27 year old's can read the Twilight series. it's ok.