Vacation & Holiday Baking
(Wow it's been a long time since I posted on here!)
So today was my third official day of vacation. It's so relaxing...thank God it finally came. I was definitely counting down the days on this one. The second year of teaching seems to be just as much pressure as the first year, I wonder if that will ever go away.
Since I have been home everyday, I have managed to get a lot done...although I haven't put away my clean clothes yet. :-( I wrapped all of our Christmas presents over the last three days...combined Julio and I have a very large family and many people to get gifts for. I have also been baking for Julio & his coworkers. I would be baking for myself except I have worked very hard to lose 30 pounds and I do not intend to put it back on by eating my own baked goods. So yesterday I made Christmas tree cookies with my mom. Then today I made chocolate chip cookies (which Julio said all the guys loved), pumpkin chocolate chip bread (so good!), holiday magic bars (the ones with coconut and graham cracker) and I made the sugar cookie dough so that tomorrow I can cut out the sugar cookies and bake them. Then when Julio comes home at lunch, he can return to work with fresh sugar cookies. I sound like Betty Crocker. Tomorrow I will be making more pumpkin chocolate chip bread to take to LA with us for the holidays.
In addition to baking, I finished Christmas shopping. I thought Julio and I had finished on Sunday but it turns out that Julio changed his mind about what he wanted so I returned the workbench I bought him. So, he ended up getting the Craftsman tool chest (which is as tall as I am), drawer liners, a mechanics tool kit, and an air compressor. I know it sounds like I went overboard (I did) but I had to compete with the Dooney & Bourke purse and digital camera that he bought for me! Yeah, there were no surprises this year in regards to Christmas presents but that's okay. His stocking stuffer will be a surprise. And honestly, if he's going to get me a $200 purse, I would like it to be the one I want. We did decide that even though we know what each of us got the other one, we still have to wait until Christmas to actually get our presents.
Anyway, I am super looking forward to this weekend and seeing my family as well as Julio's. I like our families' Christmas Eve extravanganzas. It's very helpful that my uncle and his mom live so close so that we can do Christmas Eve with my family, as is our tradition and then do presents at midnight, which is his famly's tradition. Julio is also happy because he gets to eat Uncle Dave's food. :) Anyway, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas if I don't talk to you before then!