Holidays

No, I do not say Happy Holidays on Thanksgiving or Christmas, but when talking about Thanksgiving, Christmas AND New Years all lumped together, it's the holidays. Get over it. ;)

I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving, even if you don't celebrate or you celebrate in a 'non traditional' manner.

I wouldn't say how we celebrate is traditional, although it is most certainly traditional for us. We do have 'the traditional' turkey, mashed potatoes and the pumpkin pie. But otherwise, it's different.

Don't expect all of the same foods year after year. Ok... Definitely expect green olives and cranberry sauce; my grandmother and I are really the only ones that LOVE that stuff. And definitely expect black olives. Mom, Zach and myself love those.

But don't expect that because there may have been corn last year there will be this year. Don't expect yams. We could very well do butternut squash. That shit is AMAZING. So much you can do with it, and it's always NOM.

And never EVER expect yams to be candied (ew) or that we have greenbean casserole (ew times infinity).

I made my famous pumpkin pie. Seriously, everybody who tries my pumpkin pie says they never want to have a pumpkin pie from anywhere or anybody else ever again. They ask for my recipe and I refuse to give it. My future daughter in law is going to have a hell of a time prying this recipe out of my brain.

I also made eggless pumpkin eggnog and EVERYBODY LOVED it. Brenden couldn't get enough and I finally had to say NO because he kept asking for more. But oh man.. It DOES make FABULOUS coffee creamer. Oh yes.

Other than mashed potatoes and the pumpkin pie, I've never seen him ask for seconds and thirds and fourths and fifths. Shit howdy.

I also surprised my mom. She's such an amazing woman and mother (AND grandmother). I'm thankful for all of my family, of course, but especially my mother. She pisses me off like nobodies business. She makes me want to punch pillows. But no matter how much she pisses me off, she loves me, respects me, and is amazing as a mother and as a friend. To 'give back' in a way I knew she'd least expect (lets face it.. cards are kinda cliche, as are flowers) I made one of her all time favorite dishes. A dessert. Bread pudding. But... A twist. It's pumpkin cranberry. It sounds slightly disturbing but it tastes fabulous. Brenden finished our portion off this afternoon, which is better off. Even though it's actually made with healthy stuff and low in calories and points, I really don't need it in the house. I plan on hopping back on the WW train Sunday. I was hoping to maintain weight, but now I'm expecting to have gained a pound or so because of just how bad I suspect I've been all week. I didn't track my points at all this week after Monday because of all of the baking. I mean, how can one expect to bake so many calorie enriched foods without 'taste testing'? But I won't fret if the scale adds some numbers to the last weigh in.

My grandmother bought me a Christmas tree today and the family delivered it. It's one of my Christmas gifts. It was definitely not expected. I called my mom to tell her about a phone call I'd had just a few minutes prior when she told me they were on the way over. Oh.. ok then. I unlocked the door and went back to cleaning the kitchen when they came with the tree. I was so surprised! On my own I put that tree up, STRAIGHT. It's 7.5-8 feet tall! I wanted it by the window but, at it's lowest point, it was too short for the ceiling. Thankfully I have vaulted ceilings which, by the way, are flipping AWESOME! So I had to move one of the gliders' cages with the back sheet (since they're messy eaters) and the tree is right by the fireplace. It's SO beautiful.

Tomorrow well do a deep cleaning of the house, although I have already cleaned where I put the tree (prior to putting the tree there, of course). I will then drag the Christmas boxes from the garage into the house where we will decorate the tree and house. I'm actually pretty excited. I REALLY look forward to the fact that we have a fireplace to hang stockings. Freakin AWESOME!

Lucky for me, when I get to these deep cleanings, I end up sweaty as hell so it's like a work out. Hey hey heyyy! It'll sorta kinda help make up for my inability to work out for a week (and a half? I don't even know). I've been so disgustingly sick! TMI but.. I can taste the infection with every mucous ball I cough up. Then I start dry heaving because it tastes so fucking disgusting. And even though the coughing happens on it's own, strenuous activity really kicks my ass. I just break into these horrid coughing spells that leave me doubled over in pain, gasping for air, tears in my eyes. This SUCKS.


But hey... The holidays wouldn't exactly be complete without the 'standard' head cold. Lame as it is.

So, next blog, get ready. I'm going to share some pretty epic news and pics!