Hello! How was your weekend? How was your Christmas?? Mine was great because it involved a lot of running and eating and spending time with my family. I like them.
Here are some of the highlights of my Christmas…
Top 10 Moments of Christmas 2016
1. Run! I ran 10 miles Christmas morning because…
A.) I didn’t have any other plans / little ones to open presents with.
B.) I like running.
It was COLD again Christmas morning!! That’s not my super favorite, but I’m glad it’s just cold and there’s no rain or wind.
2. This small gift I think is great for EVERYONE including but not limited to : the person who has everything, guys, girls, moms, dads, dog owners, runners, bakers, nose pickers, rocket scientists, baristas, Type A personalities, Type B blood types…
I am obsessed with Chico Bags. They’re reusable shopping bags that tuck into a small pouch.
The Vita Bag version (they have an original too) opens up BIG and can hold up to 40 pounds. Even the grocery baggers are impressed when I pull out this tiny pouch, pull out the bag and tell them “it’s super strong, just put everything in here…”.
California has a new law that now requires grocery stores to charge you for bags so we really need these around here.
3. After my run and breakfast I gathered all the gifts and food I was taking to my parents’ and got on the way. I feel like I’m getting sick so I had to really rally to get it together. Ugh. I’m trying to right it off.
4. My Christmas Stocking!
One of my mom’s friends made me and my brother these bear Christmas stockings when we were little. We’ve used them every year since I can remember. And Santa filled up my stocking this year! Love this!
5. After checking out our stockings my lil brother, mom and I went to visit my Grams.
(Before it times out – check out the quick Instagram video I made in the car with him.)
My Grams just moved into a new place the day before Christmas eve and this is the only picture up in her room right now. It’s not a good picture of me, and I don’t even remember when this was.
I’m guessing it was from her birthday years ago… I think it’s around sophomore year of college?
Anyway.
It’s me with more weight and less eyebrows.
6. General Mills sent me a package of goodies with all the ingredients to make a Cranberry Pistachio Trail Mix.
I made it this morning to bring and share with everyone. For such a last minute treat it was a big hit! I added cinnamon to the recipe and dark chocolate covered pretzels.
I also brought over my chocolate chip bread…
And my parents’ neighbors continued their Christmas morning tradition and brought over brownies.
7. The Pioneer Woman Lasagna I made yesterday was the main dish for dinner. We’ve never done lasagna before and I was a little nervous it wouldn’t be great. It’s hard when you can’t taste something before you serve it to other people! (Okay… plus I used ground turkey and turkey sausage instead of beef.)
Since it had been refrigerated it took a lot longer than the 20-30 minutes recommended on the recipe. We baked it for just under and hour and it was perfect.
And my family thought it was GREAT!! Yah!!!
8. My brother said, “This is really good!” (yes, kind of surprised.)
So I decided to snap a picture of my brothers enjoying it and they both acted like it was gross. Ha!
Awwww, c’mon… okay that’s better.
9. I eat eggnog with a spoon. Does anyone else do this?
10. My favorite tiny person is adorable!! But her hair is always in her face and she refuses to put a clip in it to hold it out of her face (she is cool with a ponytail a lot of the time).
I didn’t have a tiny rubberband so I tried to get her to agree to a clip.
Nope.
It wasn’t going to happen.
I tried to: force her, reason with her, bribe her, trick her, beg her, negotiate, pay her… nope.
I spent the longest time fawning over all the clips we had. She played along and was all about me putting them in my hair, but not hers.
Then, I found a bobby pin with ‘diamonds’ on it. SOLD! She knows what’s up.
She is super into opening presents and gets so excited no matter what’s inside! Love it.
Best thing I ate was acorn squash…Very good, but no, the best was home made broccoli soup. It was amazing! Best dessert? Pecan pie!!! YUMMY Best thing that happened? We got my son a laptop for Christmas. He’s a freshman in college and really needs one, so… Anyway,. when he opened it, he was speechless for over 10 minutes.
Your deer sweater is so cute! I don’t eat eggnog with a spoon, because I hate eggnog, but I do eat hot chocolate with a spoon. My family thinks that’s weird, so I’m glad to find someone who is similar.
Best thing I ate this weekend was a Venezuelan chicken salad on Christmas Eve Dinner. It is one of our typical side dishes for the holidays and this one was the best I’ve had in a long time.
Hey, it’s the same here…starting 1 Jan 2017, no more free grocery bags but I’ve been using my own recyclable bags and tupperwares for a few years now.
Oh yeah…Merry Xmas Monica!
My son received a Hot Wheels racetrack from his aunt. Needless to say I like playing with it just as much (or more) than he does. Nothing like being a big kid.
California JUST implanted the new law on paying for shopping bags? We’ve had it for years in Hong Kong!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
*implemented — oh dear, my brain’s not working today!
My boyfriend’s 11 year old left a note for Richard (her elf on the shelf). It was the most precious thing I ever read. She said “tell me the truth was I really good this year?” And “please help my mom be less stressed and get a job” and “I want to make healthier food options and have a wider food palate can you help me with that?” And she signed it “I still believe” love Kate. So freaking sweet. I love that she still believes.