A peek at our Christmas

Our Christmas was very, very low-key.

We woke up Christmas morning to the usual.  Paul went to work.  I had to finish cleaning the house.

Paul went and picked up the kids at the airport about 6:30 and then after Cris' arrival....the festivities began.

It began with the decision as to what china we would be using this year.  The china Mary gave me many years ago (on the left) or Paul's grandmother's china which is very old (on the right).  I used a little of both.  Don't get to use them.....only a couple of times a year, but I really cherish both of these sets.

Dinner was on the stove cooking.  The feast would be pot roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and crescent rolls.

We also don't do dessert often....only special holidays.  I think the pumpkin cheesecake was a big hit!

And our little Christmas tree with the stockings and a couple of presents for the kids underneath it.  We have decided to open gifts on December 28th......not only to celebrate Christmas, but to celebrate Paul's birthday.  Plus it gives the kids a couple of extra days to get shopping and buy their gifts.

After staying up very late playing Milles Borne......it was time to call it a night. 

 

Oh how I enjoyed this quiet Christmas spent with my little family.

Fun times

This week has been filled with doing lots of fun stuff.

Not the typical boring, only working, kind of week

 

Got to blow off an afternoon and go with Paul out to the

Restaurant Depot to see how much stuff will fit in the new vehicle.

 

Not too bad.  We totally filled that thing up.  Love our new car!

And I just noticed that my little pony is in the picture too.

I've gotten to go out and get stocking stuffers.  I love doing that.  So much fun to find economical and fun things to put in their stockings.  Hope they enjoy it as much as I do.  I have pictures of what I put in each one of them, however.......don't want to post them and ruin a surprise for someone.

The stockings are stuffed and sitting by the fireplace.  Looks like we got Texas sized stockings this year.  Hope someone remembers to put something in mine (other than the stuff I already bought myself)

And we went out and splurged $1.94 on a Christmas tree. 

After all, you can't have Christmas without the tree!

 

 

How we spent our day

Isn't funny how some days don't turn out the way you originally plan them?

Today, for instance.  I have housecleaning, laundry, paperwork, meal planning, and last minute stocking stuffers to get.

Instead, we decided we needed to take the new vehicle into the dealer and get an extra key made for it.  It had to be programmed and was going to take about 3 hours.....so we were going to go to Academy and pick up some of those last minute stocking items.

But no.....didn't make it to Academy.  Instead, we had to take the 120 mile round trip out to Deer Park to pick up the ONLY motor in Houston so we could get the vent hood repaired today.  It broke yesterday and really needed to be fixed today.

However, the trip to Deer Park included big bridges and driving through the chemical plants.

  (photos courtesy of my-co pilot)

We did manage to sneak in a quick visit to Academy after running that errand and before we stopped at the dealership. 

Didn't get home until 4pm and then the rest of my day has been spent doing some of the important things that couldn't wait.

It might not have been the way we originally planned the day, but at least I got to hang out with the husband.  Doesn't matter what we're doing......I always seem to have a good time hanging out with him.

Fa la la la la la la la......bah humbug!

Can't believe it's almost the end of another year and another Christmas.  This house won't be celebrating much of a Christmas.  But at least I'll have my whole family here again this year.

When I look at it.....it seems to have whizzed by.  But then, when I stop and really think about it -- I remember all the amazing fun we've had this year.  I have also remembered all the hard work we've put in this year.

This picture sits in my bathroom and I look at it each morning and am thankful for the life that my husband works hard to provide for us.  I remember the fun that we had on this trip and all the other trips we are lucky enough to get to enjoy.  I smile when I look at my handsome husband, the guy that I was so blessed to have found.  I look at it and remind myself that I just need to get my butt in gear and work a little harder and the next fun adventure will be just around the corner.

 

And trust me........the next adventure is just around the corner!

Soup Adventure....Day 2, etc.

Part of our reasoning behind the soup adventure was so that we would stop eating such big and heavy meals at 10pm at night and then go to bed.  That's our life.  Can't change the dinner time very easily, so we are trying to change the diet.

If you think eating soup every night is easy.....it's not.  Lots of prep goes into every pot of soup.  But, we are eating home made food and not canned stuff.  Yay us!

Tonight's soup was:

Here's the final product......a creamy soup filled with potatoes, chicken, and egg noodles, and veggies

VERDICT:  Paul liked it.  Me not so much.  I personally like the other potato chicken soup I make.  Not sure if we'll keep this one or not.  However, the crusty bread that we ate on the side with it was delicious!

Now to change subjects.  We managed to get out last Saturday night to see a special band that was playing Led Zeppelin songs and there was no cover if you brought in an unwrapped toy.  This was the 3rd year that we have attended this event.  The music is always awesome.

We didn't get there until 10:30pm and the opening band was still playing.  We were shocked to see it was a band of 14 year old boys.......and they were amazing!  These kids have a bright future.

And to end this evening.....I want to give a shout out to my little sister who surprised me today with my birthday present arriving in the mail.  This beautiful evergreen wreath -- which promptly got hung on the front door.  Thank you Penny......it's beautiful!

What makes it even more special is that it will be the ONLY Christmas decoration we are hanging this year.  Bah humbug to us!  No decorations at the Gainor house this year due to too many other things going on and I just don't feel like getting it all out and then having to put it all away again.

Besides that.......I spent a whole evening helping this girl get her brand new Christmas tree and decorations up in New Mexico.

The Great Soup Adventure....#1

Tonight's entrée was the first night of us experimenting with new soups.

I've always been a little fearful of using ground turkey instead of ground beef, because I am a big beef eater.......but here's what we chose for our first one:

Here's the final product:

VERDICT:  Delicious. 

 

I loved it.  Paul liked it. 

I added shredded Parmesan to the top of mine.  Paul added Tobasco to his.

We ate it with Jalapeno Cornbread.

 

This recipe will earn a spot in our regular soup rotation.

 

 

In case you've been wondering

I'm back.  Just to let you know that I am still alive and breathing.

And in no particular order........here's a pictorial review of what we've been up to since we last "talked":

 Tried a new pasta........

 ......and made some Pasta Fagioli soup.  It was pretty good....just needs some recipe tweaking next time I make it and then it will be amazing!

 Ate some home made tacos, because life is better when you're eating tacos

 Cleaned my desk off.  Maybe I'll feel more professional (and motivated) if my desk is clean

 Ordering PZ supplies and a few small Christmas items online. 

Also having to spend time playing with that little dog.  She drives me crazy.

Framing this awesome picture that I took in London, where it will hang on our master bathroom wall.   We didn't like it in this frame........so we did this:

 

New frame.  Looks way better.  I really really love this picture.  Good memories

 

 Took a few hours off one day and visited IKEA.  Stopped at a restaurant on our way home and I seriously had the BEST tacos I've ever had in my life.  These things were amazing.
Paul opted for a hummus veggie sandwich on pita bread.  We'll definitely visit this place again.

 Messing up the house more as we begin the process of cleaning out the "game room" (aka junk room) and setting it up as our exercise room.  I'll have more pictures of this project later.  This was just the mess it created as we worked.

 

 It also spilled outside to the front porch.  (FYI....here it is 2 weeks later and we're only partially done and can't seem to find the time to work on it again.  We spent our Thanksgiving Day on it since it's the only day off we've had for awhile)

 We did stop cleaning for awhile to enjoy a small dinner with Paul, Cris, and I

 It was so nice, quiet, and stress free and I SERIOUSLY made the best stuffing I have ever made.  We all agreed we could have made a meal of just eating stuffing.

We had to get up early one morning and make a bunch of pizzas for a school

 

 We've been eating lots of really great soups lately and decided that soup was going to be our primary meal at least 5 nights a week.  That means doing research and finding all sorts of yummy soup recipes, making shopping lists, and hitting the kitchen.  Can't wait to try some of these.

 And last but not least, having to deal with this crap.  We were part of a group of small business owners that met with local law enforcement and our State Representative to discuss how we can all work together to stop all the crime in our area.

This is not something that I ever want to have to see again.