1. Wake up to sounds of three-year-old singing Christmas songs in her bed. Look at clock and realize it's after 8:00, and feel even happier.
2. Watch three-year-old in awe of her presents from Santa, presents from Mommy and Daddy, and presents from wonderful friends - well, in awe of everything but the boring old clothes... :)
3. Go outside and watch three-year-old and her daddy try out the new purple sled that Santa brought. Laugh when she says, "I wanna do it again!" every time the sled comes to a stop.
4. Do not bother taking a shower, changing out of pajamas (except for the brief jaunt outside) or putting on makeup.
5. Watch Wall-E (one of top 5 great movies ever) on new HDTV.
6. Play with three-year-old's new toys, including Play-doh (which smells weird and feels weird, but she likes it so it's still fun, I guess).
7. Make a very simple but delicious dinner of ham, broccoli casserole and "Mimi mashed potatoes" (potatoes with cream cheese, butter and sour cream).
8. Relax while husband does dishes.
9. Watch Frosty the Snowman for the 8 zillionth time, but that's okay. Smile when kid sings along with the theme song at the end.
10. Feel very lucky to spend the whole day hanging out with my little family.
Merry Christmas!
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
It is so hard to focus!
You know, Christmastime is very distracting. Especially when you have a little kid who loves Christmas lights and Christmas trees and Christmas everything else. And super-especially if you happen to work with a bunch of wonderful people who get way into the holiday spirit and plan no less than six holiday activities for your department. And really-especially if your birthday and your anniversary all happen around Christmas. It's fun, but I am having a hard time getting anything done at work or at home!
Like right now, I should be working on the second question of my take-home essay final exam for one of my classes, but I just kind of don't feel like it. So I'm procrastinating. But I said I wasn't going to bed till it was finished, and I meant it.
I will just have to put the following thoughts out of my head:
1) I have not started Christmas shopping.
2) I haven't even made the list of people we need to shop for.
3) I haven't begun to think about sending Christmas cards.
4) I would really rather be thinking about any of these things than multicultural marketing.
And so...back to my regularly scheduled essays. But this was a nice break. :)
Like right now, I should be working on the second question of my take-home essay final exam for one of my classes, but I just kind of don't feel like it. So I'm procrastinating. But I said I wasn't going to bed till it was finished, and I meant it.
I will just have to put the following thoughts out of my head:
1) I have not started Christmas shopping.
2) I haven't even made the list of people we need to shop for.
3) I haven't begun to think about sending Christmas cards.
4) I would really rather be thinking about any of these things than multicultural marketing.
And so...back to my regularly scheduled essays. But this was a nice break. :)
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas chicken
Merry Christmas! We have had a fantastic day here with the Christmas-crazy toddler. There were gifts, there was merriment, there was food. And that's what I wanted to post about, because today I cooked my first-ever whole chicken.
A couple of weeks ago it just sort of hit me that I'd never cooked a whole bird of any kind, and I thought I needed to try it. We've been trying to figure out a good Christmas dinner for about four years (ever since we stopped visiting out-of-state relatives on the actual day), with the only constant during that time being broccoli casserole. One year we had lasagna. One year we had ham. I kind of can't remember what we had last year. So roast chicken sounded pretty good, and appropriately Christmas-y. I'd just never cooked one.
So, after consulting with the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook, my mom, my sister, and various people at work, and calling my parents from the grocery store to find out the difference between a "roaster" chicken and a "broiler" chicken (turns out the roaster is just bigger, but you can roast either one; do they just label them that way to be confusing?), I was ready to give it a shot today. And I must say, it turned out really good, and I don't mind saying I am quite proud of my culinary accomplishments.
My sister swears if you cook a bird upside-down, it keeps it from drying out. I believe her, but since the logistics of bird-cooking were new to me, and I spent a solid couple of minutes just staring at the cookbook illustration of how to tuck the wings (which I still don't think I did right), I just cooked our chicken right side-up. I didn't think I should try to get too fancy on my first chicken-cooking adventure.
I started off with a recipe and some recommendations from the cookbook, and then sort of made it up from there...I didn't have all the herbs that were called for, but I had some other ones, so I just went with it. Below is my "recipe," mostly so I'll remember it if I ever want to try this again (like, next Christmas):
Christmas Roast Chicken
1 "broiler" chicken (mine was 4.3 pounds)
About 4 tablespoons melted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 garlic cloves, chopped in half
Half an onion, chopped in big pieces
About a 1/2 cup of celery, chopped in big pieces
About 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
About 1 tablespoon dried basil
About 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
About 1 teaspoon dried parsley
About 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt
Pepper
So, I remembered to pull the little bag of icky stuff out of the chicken, and I rinsed out the chicken and patted it dry like the book said. And after tucking the wings and skewering the neck skin (also like the book said), I stuffed the chopped onion, celery and garlic in "the cavity." That was kind of a gross thing to do, and I had to keep myself from thinking about it very much. (By the way, we didn't eat the "stuffing"...it was just to add some flavor and keep everything moist.) Then I put the whole bird in a cooking bag that had some flour and water in it. I rubbed the melted butter on the chicken (I would have brushed it on, but I couldn't find a basting brush so I just used my hands), and then the minced garlic. In a separate bowl (before all this chicken handling), I mixed all the dried herbs, salt and pepper, and then I put that on the chicken. I closed up the bag (and cut slits in the top) and baked it all at 375 for a little over an hour and a half. And it was really good.
Cooking a whole bird successfully makes me feel more grown-up for some reason. And with some mashed potatoes, our favorite broccoli casserole and some whole wheat dinner rolls, it made a very nice Christmas dinner. :)
Merry Christmas (again)!
A couple of weeks ago it just sort of hit me that I'd never cooked a whole bird of any kind, and I thought I needed to try it. We've been trying to figure out a good Christmas dinner for about four years (ever since we stopped visiting out-of-state relatives on the actual day), with the only constant during that time being broccoli casserole. One year we had lasagna. One year we had ham. I kind of can't remember what we had last year. So roast chicken sounded pretty good, and appropriately Christmas-y. I'd just never cooked one.
So, after consulting with the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook, my mom, my sister, and various people at work, and calling my parents from the grocery store to find out the difference between a "roaster" chicken and a "broiler" chicken (turns out the roaster is just bigger, but you can roast either one; do they just label them that way to be confusing?), I was ready to give it a shot today. And I must say, it turned out really good, and I don't mind saying I am quite proud of my culinary accomplishments.
My sister swears if you cook a bird upside-down, it keeps it from drying out. I believe her, but since the logistics of bird-cooking were new to me, and I spent a solid couple of minutes just staring at the cookbook illustration of how to tuck the wings (which I still don't think I did right), I just cooked our chicken right side-up. I didn't think I should try to get too fancy on my first chicken-cooking adventure.
I started off with a recipe and some recommendations from the cookbook, and then sort of made it up from there...I didn't have all the herbs that were called for, but I had some other ones, so I just went with it. Below is my "recipe," mostly so I'll remember it if I ever want to try this again (like, next Christmas):
Christmas Roast Chicken
1 "broiler" chicken (mine was 4.3 pounds)
About 4 tablespoons melted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 garlic cloves, chopped in half
Half an onion, chopped in big pieces
About a 1/2 cup of celery, chopped in big pieces
About 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
About 1 tablespoon dried basil
About 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
About 1 teaspoon dried parsley
About 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt
Pepper
So, I remembered to pull the little bag of icky stuff out of the chicken, and I rinsed out the chicken and patted it dry like the book said. And after tucking the wings and skewering the neck skin (also like the book said), I stuffed the chopped onion, celery and garlic in "the cavity." That was kind of a gross thing to do, and I had to keep myself from thinking about it very much. (By the way, we didn't eat the "stuffing"...it was just to add some flavor and keep everything moist.) Then I put the whole bird in a cooking bag that had some flour and water in it. I rubbed the melted butter on the chicken (I would have brushed it on, but I couldn't find a basting brush so I just used my hands), and then the minced garlic. In a separate bowl (before all this chicken handling), I mixed all the dried herbs, salt and pepper, and then I put that on the chicken. I closed up the bag (and cut slits in the top) and baked it all at 375 for a little over an hour and a half. And it was really good.
Cooking a whole bird successfully makes me feel more grown-up for some reason. And with some mashed potatoes, our favorite broccoli casserole and some whole wheat dinner rolls, it made a very nice Christmas dinner. :)
Merry Christmas (again)!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Christmas song recommendations
I love holiday music. I say "holiday" because last year my friend Jen gave me the Barenaked for the Holidays CD (by the Barenaked Ladies) and I like the Hanukkah songs almost as much as the Christmas ones, although I confess I don't really feel the meaning of them since I'm not Jewish.
So on this, Christmas Eve Eve, I would like to offer a few of my favorite Christmas songs, because I can:
So on this, Christmas Eve Eve, I would like to offer a few of my favorite Christmas songs, because I can:
- Christmas Song - Dave Matthews: A new approach to the story of Mary, Joseph and Jesus that is both beautiful and incredibly moving
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan: I like this song, but I like it a lot better when they sing it...it's got a lot more pep
- Elf's Lament - Barenaked Ladies & Michael Buble: Just fun, and secular if you're not so into the "Jesus music"
- It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Sixpence None the Richer: Another updated take on an old song that I really, really like
- The Night Santa Went Crazy - Weird Al Yankovic: Because it's hilarious, even if I can't listen to it with my daughter in the car :)
- Christmas - Blues Traveler: Just discovered this one this year, and I love it
- Darcy the Dragon - Roger Whittaker: If you are under 50 and did not grow up with my parents, you have probably never heard of Roger Whittaker or this song; while I admit that it, and the entire 1978 album it is on, is extremely cheesy, for me it means Christmas and reminds me of home
- Best Gift - Barbra Streisand: My mom always said this song makes her think of me, because I'm a Christmastime baby...and that makes me feel pretty cool
- I Wonder As I Wander - Barbra Streisand: It's okay to have Barbra Streisand on this list twice, because her voice is awesome (especially for Christmas music). And this is my number one, all-time favorite Christmas song, and nobody sings it better than her. Although my MIL sang this at church one year and I totally cried because it was so beautiful
Sunday, December 9, 2007
P is for procrastinate
I admit it. I'm out of gas for this school thing. I am ready for a break. My brain is tired. I've been battling a cold for more than a week and a half. I am still fervently interested in the things I'm learning in class (I'm a nerd, but I really, really love going to class), but when it comes time to apply them in the form of a big ol' final project I'm supposed to turn in six days from now...I'm not into it. I would much rather be doing other things. Like looking at the Christmas tree we just put up today, or thinking about what gifts we're going to get people (especially the very fun, Christmas-crazy, almost-three-year-old in the house). Or reading my favorite blog. Or blogging, even though I don't have anything terribly interesting to say. :)
Luckily, right now I have a very good grade in my class, so if I can kick butt on the take-home final (which seems to be reasonable, given that, since it's a take-home, I can look up all the answers), I will have bought myself a pretty nice cushion for the grade on the project I can't seem to get into. I just have to actually finish it, and I should be in good shape.
I get six weeks off from school after this. I am so ready for it. I'm going to sleep in on Saturdays (like, past 7:00) and maybe read entire books for fun.
But first, there are the next six days...and the big project due at the end. Bleh.
Luckily, right now I have a very good grade in my class, so if I can kick butt on the take-home final (which seems to be reasonable, given that, since it's a take-home, I can look up all the answers), I will have bought myself a pretty nice cushion for the grade on the project I can't seem to get into. I just have to actually finish it, and I should be in good shape.
I get six weeks off from school after this. I am so ready for it. I'm going to sleep in on Saturdays (like, past 7:00) and maybe read entire books for fun.
But first, there are the next six days...and the big project due at the end. Bleh.
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