The Day After Christmas

How was your Christmas?

I admit, after the early morning when no on was awake, I stayed off the computer. I opened it once so my mom could check birthdays on Facebook, but that was it. And I didn't suffer *much* withdrawal (though I did check my emails a few times using the phone).

We had a quiet Christmas. My mom came over in the morning to open gifts and have a homemade cinnamon roll. Then the next couple hours were spent getting dinner ready.

DH was sick, so we didn't attend the after dinner family gathering. Made it a lot less stressful for me and DH, though DD said it didn't feel like Christmas without going.

She and I hung out all afternoon doing this:



I love puzzles. I remember when DD was little, I hated doing all those little kid, 25-piece puzzles, so when she was about four we started doing smaller, adult puzzles. Yanno, 500 pieces with a very simple picture.

It was a challenge for her at first, but I spent time sharing puzzle hints and tricks and after not too much time (by the time she was six or seven) we had advanced to 1000 piece, more challenging puzzles. I remember, two Christmases ago, one of her aunts gave her a 100 piece puzzle. She said thank you, but gave me this look.

Actually, sometimes I wonder if adults realize that kids grow and change at a rapid pace. Two of DD's gifts yesterday weren't age appropriate. She got this science lab project book with the "equipment" (things like a balloon, packs of salt and pepper, etc) that is clearly meant for a kid around 8 y.o. And she got two pairs of Christmas socks from a cousin that are kids sized 6 - 8. My DD has bigger feet than I do (she wears a woman's 10 currently).

Then, conversely, we got a family gift from those same cousins -- a really neat game from Cranium -- that DD can't really play. It has cards with words on them (events, things, people, etc) and then a set of six dice with letters. The object is to roll the dice and use those letters to give one word clues to the word on the card.

Fun, right? Until you realize some clues are things like: Woodstock. Botox. Poodle Skirts. The Grateful Dead.

DD hasn't a clue what those are (well, she does NOW because I told her ... but even so, were she to play, "Woodstock" wouldn't really be something in her frame of reference).

She didn't get any books, but she did get one Barnes and Noble GC (thanks, Judy!) and a Visa GC (thanks, Mom!). She also got a pair of Croc-like shoes so she can stop stealing MINE (Thanks, Mom!). No electronics -- we really don't do that here. She doesn't have an iPod (she listens to music on her Nook). She doesn't have a gaming system of any kid, handheld or otherwise (unless you count my phone, lol). And yet, she still had a wonderful day -- she drew on her new sketch pad with her new pen set, wearing her new fuzzy socks.

DH and I agreed it would be a very, very, very small Christmas gift-wise. He actually made me another, smaller cutting board (out of scraps from our oak stair treads from when we put in the hardwood stairs). It's gorgeous.



Today, I'm going to hit the after Christmas sales for some Christmas items I ran out of: cards, tissue paper and more. I'll keep an eye out for gifts as well -- it's the best time to buy (if you're a cheapskate frugal like I am).

Hope you had a wonderful day celebrating.

===================

Your Holiday Spirit Comes From Making Treats

You are the type of person who relaxes by doing. And there's nothing more relaxing than a little holiday baking. You're also quite generous, and you enjoy giving out the delicious creations that come out of your kitchen. You are affectionate yet mischievous. You have a warm, welcoming spirit - but you also like to spice things up. Every single one of your friends feels valued. You are true through thick and thin.

Where Does Your Holiday Spirit Come From?

That's about right. My DH doesn't undertand the "you relax by doing" thing about me. He likes to go out into the woods or out on the boat and just sit... for hours. :::shudders::: I'd lose my mind.

===================

Let It Snow!

Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. ~Oren Arnold

We finally had a little snow yesterday -- flurries, really, and it didn't leave much on the ground, but my DD is thrilled. Having grown up in California, I don't really require snow for Christmas, but my DD is born and raised here in New Hampshire, and the two go hand-in-hand. It's supposed to snow again today, so she should be in hog heaven.

Because we were expecting snow, I had to spend yesterday pulling all the cut wood out of the woods behind us and get it stacked. I moved 1 1/2 oak trees yesterday that were cut into 16" logs... one log at a time. They were about 100 yards down a hill, so I'd get one log, carry it uphill 100 yards, stack it and head back. There are too many other trees, bushes, stumps and rocks to drive anything down there to help haul, but I suppose the exercise was good for me. I walked slowly and carefully to avoid messing up my knee (any more than it already is), and got the job done in about two hours.

I complain about the work, but I sure do love the warmth during the winter.

Yesterday, Dru Ann asked: How difficult is it to remove the old one (wood stove) and hook up the new one?

Except for the fact that they weigh a TON (okay ... the old one weighs about 250 pounds, the new one weighs in at 450 pounds), it's not so hard. We have a regular fireplace that's been converted to use a wood stove, so it's a matter of putting on the adapter piece on the back of the new stove so that the pipe goes in the right direction, and popping it in. It'll take two or three nice, strong guys to lift it, but the actual install is pretty simple.

Today my big plan is to bake cookies. I'm making cherry, white chocolate chip, oatmeal cookies and sugar cookies (thankfully, I won't be tempted at all to eat them as I don't like either kind, lol -- there is a method to my madness). I wasn't going to make sugar cookies, but my DH asked for them very nicely Sunday.

I had two tiny gifts to mail out yesterday -- they were in little bitty padded envelopes and didn't weigh 10 ounces. I went to the post office and it was packed!! There must have been fifty people in line (WHY do so many people wait until the last minute?) and there was no way I was going to stand there for an hour. I love my relatives, but it just wasn't THAT important that these gifts went out. However, I remembered last year and went to the UPS Store. Sure enough, only THREE people were in line and they had two people working, so it took me about five minutes to get it done (the UPS Store mails regular mail, too).

So, YAY me!

Is your shopping done yet?

=====================

You Are Dumplings

You are cute, polite, and considerate. You are well known for your generosity, and you truly love to share. You have a real style and presence about you. You know how to take the simplest thing and make it look chic. You tend to order carefully and conservatively off the menu of life. Simplicity is your motto, and you don't like to take on too much at once. You are the type of person who does one thing at a time, really immersing yourself in the moment. You detest multitasking.

What Kind of Chinese Food Are You?

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

HAHAHAHAHA.... this is so far wrong I nearly fell out of my chair: You detest multitasking.

Multitasking is my LIFE.

*snort*

As an aside, I'm not a big fan of dumplings, either... just saying.

=======================

Christmas Shopping and Getting To Know You

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. ~Author unknown, attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby

Did yesterday feel about twelve hours too short to anyone else? I swear, it flew by and I feel like I got very little accomplished. Ugh.

In the "good news" category, though, DD and I had to run out a couple places on errands yesterday and I saw a BUNCH of things I wanted to get for her (including Holiday Barbie ... please let it still be there this morning). I made mental notes about them, and will spend the 90 minutes she's in art class running around and, hopefully, finishing my shopping for her.

She also gave me a Christmas list last night. Besides Holiday Barbie, she wants roller blades (not going to happen -- because I don't think she'll use them), a paint-by-number with an eagle on it, GCs to Barnes and Noble and various art supply places, glue sticks for her glue gun (she was specific -- she wants 35 of them, which makes me tempted to buy her 34 just because, but they might make a fun stocking stuffer), and some other stuff I can't remember off the top of my head.

In any case, I'm hoping 90 minutes will be enough. THEN, while she's at her friend's house this afternoon, I'll do the wrapping (I hate wrapping ... she's wrapped everything else we've gotten).

Are you done with your Christmas shopping?

====================

Yesterday, Joanna St. James asked her blog readers to post a short bio of themselves. It wasn't easy to think of how to describe myself in a few sentences, but this is what I put:

I live in New Hampshire but wish it were the Bahamas (or anywhere they don't get snow).

I've never been outside the USA unless you count Mexico (I don't).

I love pretty much every living critter (I even scoop up spiders and put them outside, except in the winter -- they'd DIE out there! -- so they can live in my house until spring. Yes, really ... I put them in the basement.)

I'm a freak about eating right and as naturally as possible, I prefer holistic medical treatments and so far that's working for me.

I write, therefore I am.

I have a husband, a daughter a cat and a dog. In the summer, I have dozens of caterpillars as pets, but sadly they grow up and fly away every year.

I have a warped sense of humor, leaning toward the sarcastic and twisted, but manage to keep it in check most of the time.

I talk to everyone -- salespeople, waitresses, people on the street. Despite that, I'm actually painfully shy.

Now it's your turn... today, I'd love for you to tell me (and my other readers) about yourself. Come one, share!

And, just to kick things off right ... let's all sing along:


===================

You Are Elegant and Sophisticated

You are an idealist. You have a dream of how the world should be, and you resist straying from from your ideals. People accuse you of being a romantic, and it's true enough. You believe in fairy tale endings. You're the type of person who believes that less is more. You don't like clutter of any kind. You appreciate luxury more than other people. You can't help it... you have expensive tastes!

The Smell Test

About 75% right .... though, if money were no object, the last would certainly apply. Sadly, I haven't been able to find a seed for the money tree, lol...

============================