My Weekly W's

 

What's top of my mind:  September thru December is my favorite time of the year and I have to say the 'bers' were very good this year.  We enjoyed all four of the months with celebrating each day and making memories. For me, January is a slow month, mainly hunkering down reflecting on life. Now that Christmas is over, I'm looking towards 2025. We never know what a year will bring but I have to have faith and hope that it will be good.  Otherwise, honestly, what's the point?

Where I've been:  We went to breakfast yesterday and picked up a few things we wanted while we were out.  We stopped by the library but forgot it was Saturday, so they weren't open yet.  Other than that, we've been at home enjoying no schedule or routine and enjoying every minute of it.

Where I'm going:  I have no plans to leave the house until I go back to work on Thursday.  Most of administration will still be on holiday so I'll hopefully be able to get caught up on emails and do payroll.  I figured working two days, then having two days off would be better than taking two full weeks off and sending my body into shock with a full week of work. 😃 

What I'm watching:  SO many Christmas movies.  We also watched the season finally of Villans.  

What I'm reading:  I finished The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams and loved it.  Then I started Wintering by Katherine May.  I got to page 13 and put it down.  I've been looking forward to reading this but honestly, she comes across as a bit whiney and depressing so far and I don't know if I can finish.  Has anyone else read this?  Does it get better?

What I'm eating:  

Hot ham and Havarti cheese on brioche buns with a loaded baked potato

Stuffed shells, salad and puff pastry pesto bread.

Instead of regular jumbo shells I picked up a bag of these.  The extra piece of pasta across the top actually holds them together very well after stuffing with the cheese mixture.  You do need to cook them a few minutes more because the pasta is thick, but they were delicious.

Bone in turkey breast, cornbread stuffing, roasted parm Brussel sprouts, roasted carrots, orange cranberry sauce and yeast rolls.

Cornbread stuffing waffles with turkey and gravy and veggies on the side

Beef chili with garlic cheddar biscuits

BIG salad 

Tonight, I'm making Moroccan lamb meatballs, rice and Naan.

Who needs a good slap:  On pause for the Holiday.

What is making me smile:  So many smiles this week.  I've felt very blessed. I did realize how little I usually just sit when I'm home.  Binx took full advantage of the slow week and curled up to me each day as I sat on the couch reading or watching movies.  He enjoys it so much I have to work on making the time to sit with him a bit each day.  

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas!

A Good Reminder

 

Merry Christmas

                                     Wishing each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas!!

My Weekly W's

What's top of my mind:  Enjoying this wonderful time of year.  Our Christmas vacation started yesterday, and we celebrated by making our gingerbread house and attending the Lights at Cedarhurst.  The gingerbread house came out OK. We have a long way to go before anything spectacular comes from us.  But I do think this will be a new tradition because we had fun doing it.

The lights were as fantastic as always.  It was a little chilly but not cold, and the hot chocolate was abundant, so it was a good night for the two-mile walk. I won't bore you with all of the photos again this year, but here are a few.  

Where I've been:  I worked all week.  Ran to Kroger on Friday morning for fresh fruit, veg and dairy.  We also went out to eat twice this week, which is very rare for us, but it is the holidays.  After Cedarhurst we drove around a bit to see more lights.

Where I'm going:  I'm baking all of my cookies today so tomorrow I will be making deliveries.  Friday we'll be getting together with family.  The rest of the time is wide open, and it feels so good to know I'm done with work until after the New Year.  

What I'm watching:  A LOT of Christmas movies.  It's been a mix of old favorites and new movies.  The Holiday, The Family Stone, Christmas Vacation, Love Actually, A Christmas Story and so many more are a yearly tradition to see.  

What I'm reading:  The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams by Karen Hawkins is the latest in the Dove Pond series that I love.  I'm halfway through and enjoying it as much as the others. The next book up is Wintering by Katherine May.  I'm excited to read it.

What I'm listening to:  Christmas music and Christmas movies.

What I'm eating:  SO many treats from friends.  I'm excited to try the Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin from Poland.  And these chocolates were absolutely decadent.  

Dinners this week:

BIG salad times 2 on the nights that we had lunch out.

Chicken fajitas, rice and cheese roll ups

LO Beef chili loaded with jalapeno poppers 

Fried chicken strips, baked potato and salad

Lamb cheeseburgers with sweet potato fries

LO Brunswick stew and cornbread

Who needs a good slap:  On pause for the Holidays

What's making me smile:  SO many people and things have been making me smile.  TBG bringing two tubs of this Port Wine Cheese brought back so many memories.  My Mom used to buy this around the holidays and make me a large plate with it, crackers, pickles, turkey or ham and so much more.  It was her version of a charcuterie board, and it was so delicious.  She's the reason we have heavy appetizers every New Years Eve.

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the season.  The holidays are bittersweet sometimes but there is still a lot of joy and more memories to make.

My Weekly W's

I hope everyone that celebrates had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We're in full Holiday mode now and I couldn't be happier.

What's top of my mind: The Christmas season.  TBG and I sat down and decided what things were a must to put on the need to do list this year.  

1.  Visit Cedarhurst to see the lights. Enjoy this holiday season with family at "The Lights" at Cedarhurst!

2.  Make a gingerbread house.  I have vague memories of making one when I was young, but we've never made one as adults. I found this kit and thought it would be perfect for our first attempt.  If we decide to keep this tradition, we can get more creative.

3. Multiple Christmas movie afternoons and nights.

4. Multiple board game breakfasts.

5. Be a secret Santa for someone.

6. A cozy lunch with friends at Pinky's.  Can anyone else appreciate a heated igloo?  Pinky's

7. Drive around to see lights in town.

8.Decorate the inside of the house.

9. Make Christmas cookies

Where I've been:  We live in a town with about 13,000 people or less and most hard-core black Friday shoppers go to the larger cities, so we felt confident to run to a couple of places and we were not disappointed.  We went out for a good breakfast and then we went and ordered a new refrigerator that was half off the regular price, plus we can always use a tax credit. I'd rather get something for my money instead of just handing it to the IRS.  Last year was the first time in years that we actually had a federal refund, and it was all because we bought the new heating and cooling system and water heater.  

Where I'm going:  It's back to work this week but no other appointments so that is good.

What I'm watching:  We finished the Great British Baking show and was happy with the winner.  This was one of my favorite seasons in a while.  

What I'm reading:  Nothing much worth writing about.

What I'm eating:

Breakfast this morning was French toast for TBG and he said it was delicious.

Deconstructed stuffed poblanos over rice with a cheese roll up.

LO beef tips, mashed potatoes and asparagus.

BIG salad x 2

Thanksgiving meal.  Turkey and all of the traditional sides.  With pumpkin and sweet potato pies.

Beef cheeseburgers and 'fries'.

The traditional pot of Brunswick stew and garlic cheddar biscuits.  Culinary Adventures with Lori: Thanksgiving Leftovers

Who needs a good slap:  Mean and rude people.  I've seen a lot of keyboard warriors posting comments on a few different blogs lately and I just don't get it.  What is the point?  What could anyone possibly get out of it?  

What's making me smile:  We had a wonderful 5-day holiday break.  I truly have so much to be thankful for.  Then today I woke up to our first snow.  It was just gorgeous out.  This is the view from our bedroom window.

I hope everyone has a lovely week ahead and remember to put a little love in your heart.  Everyday, but especially this time of year.