Please, celebrate me home....

Yes, I've been most remiss in posting - I apologize.

It has been insanely busy in this girl's life the past month.
I can't wait for New Year's Day because I'm just cooking all day - but in a way that's different than Christmas; it's a "lay around in pajamas and don't do anything else" kind of day.  I haven't had a day where I didn't need to go anywhere at all, since early November.  I've earned New Year's Day , God damn it.

Last night I took Princess Petunia to The Nutcracker.  It was a total surprise and she loved it - and in a time and place when maybe kids can be a bit overindulged, to see her happy and excited made me feel so good.  Not only that I was able to surprise her- but that she was so gracious and appreciative of it.  It sounds silly to say that she wouldn't be, but truth be told - today's kids get so much more than we did growing up, it's almost difficult to get kids to be excited about anything. So truly, last night was gratifying on so many levels.

Christmas dinner was wonderful; I love, love, love my new kitchen.  The functionality and flow is perfect.  And while it doesn't have a double wall oven - I did get from my father a rotisserie oven which has officially won the "my favorite gift of the year" award.  We roasted the Chateaubriand and it came out unbelievable.  And allowed for the ham to be in the oven, so that everything was timed perfectly.  I had 15 for dinner and truly, you never would've known it because the kitchen is set in such a way that I can cook, clean and put things away, without anyone even noticing.  Sounds crazy, right?  I know! 

Tomorrow is New Years Eve - and what is to be the end of the chaos for this girl.  Had we not moved, it wouldn't have been quite so stressful; truthfully, this holiday season ran incredibly smoothly at the store.  Everything went just right, I ordered enough without over ordering -and even stocking the inventory, I managed to come up with a system that made finding our back stock quick, easy and convenient.

I have to say, this was a great holiday season overall - both personally and professionally.

Tomorrow, will be the toast to the New Year....and a farewell to this one.
And a quiet night on the horizon.....

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....

And the most tiring one for this girl.

Can't wait for this weekend!
Truthfully I am so behind the eight ball.

Tomorrow night, it's Christmas shopping for G and food shopping for the holiday dinner.
Last minute gifts for company coming....

So little to do.  So much time.
Wait, scratch that --- reverse it.

It's mistletoe and falling snow...

Well, maybe not falling snow.
It's "Christmas in California" here in Boston, and this girl really just doesn't mind it.  Not one bit.

So, I took a tub in the jacuzzi in my MBR tonight for the first time.
Dear God - I love it. 

While I'd prefer more jets in the tub - preferably on my back - it's a keeper for now.

Did I mention that we have a hot tub in our backyard?
That's running at the moment?

We do.
But....it's just a tad too cold for me to take a chance on using it just yet. 
Maybe if I can convince G to use it with me.

We shall see.... !

Tastefully simple....simply tasteful.

It was a really nice weekend.....

Saturday, my son spent the day with one of his friends - and the rest of us went to a huge craft show in New Hampshire where we bought a beautiful vintage sleigh that's decorated and has lights - as well as a coordinating ice skate to hang from it.  It looks so pretty on my front door - I've wanted one for so long, it was pretty darn exciting for me to get it.  And we had fun in general, just admiring the artisan gifts - and of course, we couldn't help but purchasing some.

Then after, we picked up my son and had dinner at our latest favorite Asian fusian restaurant where we indulged in a little Thai, Japanese and Korean - all in one meal.

Today, we had a basketball game in Gloucester early in the morning and it was such a fun way to start the day!  My son is newer to the sport - and most of his teammates are 3 years into it - and they're so supportive of him.  He really started to come out and feel confident today; he even shot twice, and though he missed, he was pretty darn proud of himself.  They're undefeated so far this season, and let me tell you - this is a really good team.  Even better is that he boys are such good kids, they cheer him on and have really good comraderie.  It's awesome to see.

Then we came home, got ready for some football....I put a pork roast w/ sausage stuffing in the oven, got some pickies together - and then Princess Petunia and I decided to play makeovers.  I put makeup on her and did her hair....and she did mine.  Oh, but were we fabulous!   It was so much fun... truly.

Then, we had company for dinner....and some hard core Monopoly competitions.....and now that we're home alone, it's Christmas special time before bedtime for the kiddies.

Just a good weekend.... I'm really sorry to see it end.
Hopefully just one of many more to come.

'Tis the season to be jolly....

How can it be that Christmas is so close?
Two and a half weeks?  Say it isn't so....

And me without my menu planned.

One of the things I've discovered is that my new wall oven is much smaller than my previous traditional gas oven.  Which will definitely pose a dilemma while cooking. 
I barely can fit a ham!  And I know this, because I made one this past weekend.

Truthfully, I don't even know who's coming for dinner this year.  No clue as to how many people may grace our table.  I know at minimum I definitely have 11, but not sure if we will have more.

I'm thinking I'm going to keep it simple.

Typical shrimp appetizers...for a soup, I may do lobster bisque or a potato leek vichyssoise (which I may choose to serve cold as it's intended, rather than warm.  I have to think on that one....), lobster raviolis in a vodka cream sauce, and then ham & tenderloin with asparagus and roasted potatoes.

I think if I cook the ham and roast a bit early, then while they're resting I can finish the side dishes and that should all work.  I'm even going to simplify it more by not making my own ham; the one I made last year was horrible.  It tasted disgusting - I don't know what was wrong with it.  But even though the one I made this past weekend was fantastic, I think I'm going to do a Honey of a Ham.  They are flawlessly delicious.  (Not to be confused with magically delicious, which honestly it's such a perfect piece of meat one could think there may be some magic involved.  But I digress....)

I still feel like it's all coming so quickly.....

Lyrically speaking....

Mr. Bring Me Down
Well ya like to bring me down, don't ya
But I ain't laying down
Baby I ain't going down
Can't nobody tell me how it's gonna be
Nobody's gonna make a fool out of me
Baby, you should know that I lead --  not follow

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas....

It's funny - you don't notice the imperfections on the Christmas tree quite so much as when you see it in a photograph. 

But that's okay.  This year, a long time tradition was a first time in the new house.

My typical ornaments aren't on; and we have some beautiful new ornaments that were shared with us from my Aunt, and so we have some new ornaments to look at and admire this year.

Decorating the tree is always fun because not only is it a fun thing to do -- but it gives us the opportunity to think of our friends and family while we do it - because most of our ornaments are either from friends and family, or they're ornaments we picked out together as a family.

This year was a little more chaotic than usual; my son had a friend over and even though it was a different time than usual it still was a fun night, hopefully for all.

It's the kickoff to the holiday season here in the I'm Just a Girl household.
Officially.

The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right. ~Mark Twain

Sometimes, you just gotta laugh.
It can be difficult to not let things get under your skin - but it's always best to just let it roll.