Ours was a bit unusual this year as we worked around the kids' schedules and had our first Christmas without The Big Guy's mom. But we managed to fit in everyone, had a lot of fun, and took some time to remember Grandma. We were well and truly spoiled (as usual!), including the cats who may have been most excited about a pile of tissue paper.
Here's What I'm:
Listening To: Nothing at the moment - the kids are a work and BG is off to run errands. It is blissfully quiet.
Watching: We watched very little television this week that wasn't football or Christmas programming.
Reading: Finally finished my book for the War Through The Generations challenge and now I'm reading/listening to I Am Madame X and should finish both it and The Secret Garden in the next couple of days.
Making: Homemade tomato soup and ham for BG's family Christmas and french toast casserole and egg casseroles for our Christmas day brunch.
Planning: On upping the workouts in January and rethinking (NOT dieting) my eating. A date has been set for my nephew's wedding and I've set a weight loss goal for that. I'll soon be begging for delicious, healthy recipes!
Grateful for: My mom and sister-in-law for hosting our family get-togethers. It's a lot of work for both of them and we are all grateful to have a place to be together where we feel so welcome.
Loving: Ssshhh - don't tell anyone but I'm kind of loving Christmas being over. It's all a little overwhelming leading up to those couple of days and I'm looking forward to getting back into a routine.
Feeling: Blessed to have families we love so much. We sometimes take for granted families who, by and large, get along so well and are fun to be around. Christmas is a good reminder that we are very fortunate.
Looking forward to: Another short work week, a lot of football, and, hopefully, a lot of down time with some good books in the next week. What are you looking forward to?
I'm secretly glad the holidays are just about over as well. I am sick of over eating and look forward to healthy eating once again. I'm feeling sluggish from carb-overload.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year
New Year's Cards. That reminds me...I have a few of my own to send out. Hope it;s not too late. Happy 2014 to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a cozy Christmas! I have been rethinking food and workout at my end too. It's so easy to get lazy that it isn't helping at all.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post--your Christmas sounds lovely, and the quiet afterward is blissful. Homemade tomato soup is such a treat--we ate gallons of it this fall when the tomatoes finally ripened, and there are lots of variations (orange, basil, etc.) to make it really special.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
How is The Secret Garden? I have that on my list.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a beautiful holiday! I'm sad that it all happened so quickly but I'm a bit relieved the hustle is over too.
ReplyDeleteCurious about the French toast casserole. I've never tried to make it that way before but I bet it's much easier!
What a lovely post. Sounds like such a nice time with your family. Great photo.
ReplyDeleteTHANKS for sharing, and thanks for stopping by my Book Beginnings post.
I hope you get to read the Wiley Cash book. My review is posted if you want a sneak peak. :)
Elizabeth
Silver's Reviews
My Blog
I'm with Diane. I feel so sluggish. I haven't been eating all that poorly but my routine is off. Getting up at 8:30 instead of 4am means that my digestion is off. Way off. I am looking forward to getting a lot of reading in. I've not been feeling the reading bug lately but just recently, I've been feeling the need to get stuff read. It's a good feeling.
ReplyDeleteYour Christmas sounds wonderful. I'm with you on being happy that it is over. We even put away the Christmas decorations today. I love the season and all of the time off of work, but I'll admit I am ready to settle back down into a more normal routine. In the meantime, football and books are definitely on my list of things to do this week!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fabulous Christmas! Glad you and your family were together and enjoyed it :) Good luck with your goals this year and hope you have a Happy New Year's!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a great Christmas! You know, as much as I'm fanatical about Christmas, I don't get as sad when it's over as I used to. I must be growing up....I look forward to new beginnings in the new year. ;O)
ReplyDeleteI saw you mention a song sung in German at the Christmas Eve service. Are you Lutheran? The reason I ask is because I was raised Baptist (not really practicing though...largely because I don't agree with their uber-conservative outlook), but converted to Lutheran when Reece was a baby. Me, the boys and my (ex) husband were baptized Lutheran in 2004. Of course, now that me and the ex are split, his mom probably says I forced him into it. haha! My kids will stay Lutheran though, unless they decide to change when they're adults, like I did.
I have that book, I am Madame X. Haven't read it yet. Are you enjoying it?
Wishing you all best wishes and lots of great books in the new year! I'm psyched that you're going to read Possession with us for TuesBookTalk. Yay!