(no subject)
I'm normally a pretty Christmas-y person, but for some reason it just didn't feel right this year. I tried really hard too - I set up all the different trees I have, I decorated my work space with a pink Christmas corner....and yet, it was Dec 24 and I still didn't even really *know* it was Christmas. Very strange year, indeed.
It was also my first year doing Holiday Wishes - I sent out a bunch of cards & packages and I thought I would feel like I did something good by making people's holidays a little brighter....and all I felt was disappointed that I couldn't do more. I didn't go into it expecting to really get anything, but I have to admit that I was let down when I was promised some things by people and I didn't get them. Oh well, I did what I promised to do for people and surprised some other people, so I feel good about that.
Generally, I make all of the holiday dinners - I'm not sure how that came about, but it started a couple of years ago and for some reason my mother's never taken this task back. No one in my family aside from myself really enjoy turkey, so I'm always trying to figure out what kind of meat to make. This year, I made my first beef roast....and it turned out so amazing. Tender and juicy and perfectly cooked, I was so happy with how it turned out. The roast was coupled with: homemade (from scratch!) buttermilk biscuits, fresh garlic bread, mashed sweet potatoes, spicy roasted golden potatoes, grilled asparagus, sauteed garlic mushrooms, broccoli & carrots with almonds and pseudo-teriyaki sauce, peaches & cream corn, salad, whole wheat fettuccini in alfredo sauce, steamed vegetable medley and fresh fruit & chocolate hazelnut gelato for dessert. In typical asian fashion, there was way too much food but I packed some up so people could bring stuff home. I feel very domesticated sometimes, and spending a whole day in a kitchen isn't normally my idea of fun - but this year, everyone showed up on time and my schedule wasn't messed up, so I was thrilled. The one mar on the night was my cousin who decided that he would rather spend Christmas alone instead of with everyone so only his parents came. I don't care if you think you're too cool for family functions - but it's Christmas, damnit. I was still nice though, and sent home a plate of food for him (which I'm still waiting for a Facebook message to say thank you or something at least). Some people.....
Gift-wise, it was a strange year as well. Aside from family and the bf, I only exchange gifts with a couple of people. But we were always with each other this year when we were out shopping, so it ended up that we knew every single thing we got the other. And we even wrapped our own gifts together (she'd wrap one end of something for me and I'd wrap the other, for instance). Why she insisted on wrapping everything even though it was our own, I don't know. So there were no surprises in that sense. Guess it guarantees that we get what we want, anyways? My favourite thing from her was pink Scrabble that we found while walking through Toys R Us, and it was only $30!!! She also bought me bling Dominoes, which are dominoes with pink rhinestones instead of black dots. Have I mentioned I love all things pink? Sidenote: my tree & such at work are pink - and this year someone remarked that it looked like the pink Christmas fairy threw up in my workspace. It made me very happy to look at though. My sister went all out on me this year and bought me a million things, but the one thing that I had begged and begged for were honey swizzle sticks for tea (she also got me yummy new teas to try). Yes, I begged for sticks of honey. You wish you were this cool at 27! Sneaky girl kept telling me she couldn't find them and they were sold out at every Second Cup she went to, so I was feeling all disappointed - until my mom let the cat out of the bag because it was in my stocking and she thought I had opened it already. Haha. Thanks Mom! Christmas at the bf's house will be on the 28th, and I've been stressing about my gift choices for his parents....so we'll see how that goes. Now that I think about it, I should probaly bake something for that.
Boxing Day deals this year didn't blow me away from what I saw in the flyers, so I wasn't rushing out to the stores for 6am. I did pick up a microSD card for my phone that was cheap - even though it was later in the day, there were still quite a few in store. Speaking with various cashiers and people, the general consensus was that it just wasn't as busy this year over the holidays as it has been in the past. People just don't have the money to spend I suppose - the economy is really making people tighten their purse strings. I've noticed it too, and I'm definitely in the same boat - or else my shopping mojo is just out the door.
I didn't take any time off this season because I love going to work around now. The traffic is so much lighter, the office is quiet and I can get so much stuff done (gives me the opportunity to start the new year with a fresh - well, a less cluttered anyway - plate). Oh, work-wise I did find out at the beginning of December that I passed my certification exams! I now have letters after my name and am nationally certified to practice my field. I thought that was a pretty big accomplishment....but no one really seemed to care that much. So that was a bit of a blow to the ego. Oh well, I'm still proud. It's pretty sad when you're giddy at the thought of new business cards and a change to your email signature. Simple pleasures in life, eh?
I hope everyone's Christmas/Boxing Day/Hannukah - holidays were enjoyable. I hope that you all got to spend time with those you love, and that Santa was kind to you. Most importantly - I hope you got to eat lots of yummy yummy food and had the chance to relax. :)
It was also my first year doing Holiday Wishes - I sent out a bunch of cards & packages and I thought I would feel like I did something good by making people's holidays a little brighter....and all I felt was disappointed that I couldn't do more. I didn't go into it expecting to really get anything, but I have to admit that I was let down when I was promised some things by people and I didn't get them. Oh well, I did what I promised to do for people and surprised some other people, so I feel good about that.
Generally, I make all of the holiday dinners - I'm not sure how that came about, but it started a couple of years ago and for some reason my mother's never taken this task back. No one in my family aside from myself really enjoy turkey, so I'm always trying to figure out what kind of meat to make. This year, I made my first beef roast....and it turned out so amazing. Tender and juicy and perfectly cooked, I was so happy with how it turned out. The roast was coupled with: homemade (from scratch!) buttermilk biscuits, fresh garlic bread, mashed sweet potatoes, spicy roasted golden potatoes, grilled asparagus, sauteed garlic mushrooms, broccoli & carrots with almonds and pseudo-teriyaki sauce, peaches & cream corn, salad, whole wheat fettuccini in alfredo sauce, steamed vegetable medley and fresh fruit & chocolate hazelnut gelato for dessert. In typical asian fashion, there was way too much food but I packed some up so people could bring stuff home. I feel very domesticated sometimes, and spending a whole day in a kitchen isn't normally my idea of fun - but this year, everyone showed up on time and my schedule wasn't messed up, so I was thrilled. The one mar on the night was my cousin who decided that he would rather spend Christmas alone instead of with everyone so only his parents came. I don't care if you think you're too cool for family functions - but it's Christmas, damnit. I was still nice though, and sent home a plate of food for him (which I'm still waiting for a Facebook message to say thank you or something at least). Some people.....
Gift-wise, it was a strange year as well. Aside from family and the bf, I only exchange gifts with a couple of people. But we were always with each other this year when we were out shopping, so it ended up that we knew every single thing we got the other. And we even wrapped our own gifts together (she'd wrap one end of something for me and I'd wrap the other, for instance). Why she insisted on wrapping everything even though it was our own, I don't know. So there were no surprises in that sense. Guess it guarantees that we get what we want, anyways? My favourite thing from her was pink Scrabble that we found while walking through Toys R Us, and it was only $30!!! She also bought me bling Dominoes, which are dominoes with pink rhinestones instead of black dots. Have I mentioned I love all things pink? Sidenote: my tree & such at work are pink - and this year someone remarked that it looked like the pink Christmas fairy threw up in my workspace. It made me very happy to look at though. My sister went all out on me this year and bought me a million things, but the one thing that I had begged and begged for were honey swizzle sticks for tea (she also got me yummy new teas to try). Yes, I begged for sticks of honey. You wish you were this cool at 27! Sneaky girl kept telling me she couldn't find them and they were sold out at every Second Cup she went to, so I was feeling all disappointed - until my mom let the cat out of the bag because it was in my stocking and she thought I had opened it already. Haha. Thanks Mom! Christmas at the bf's house will be on the 28th, and I've been stressing about my gift choices for his parents....so we'll see how that goes. Now that I think about it, I should probaly bake something for that.
Boxing Day deals this year didn't blow me away from what I saw in the flyers, so I wasn't rushing out to the stores for 6am. I did pick up a microSD card for my phone that was cheap - even though it was later in the day, there were still quite a few in store. Speaking with various cashiers and people, the general consensus was that it just wasn't as busy this year over the holidays as it has been in the past. People just don't have the money to spend I suppose - the economy is really making people tighten their purse strings. I've noticed it too, and I'm definitely in the same boat - or else my shopping mojo is just out the door.
I didn't take any time off this season because I love going to work around now. The traffic is so much lighter, the office is quiet and I can get so much stuff done (gives me the opportunity to start the new year with a fresh - well, a less cluttered anyway - plate). Oh, work-wise I did find out at the beginning of December that I passed my certification exams! I now have letters after my name and am nationally certified to practice my field. I thought that was a pretty big accomplishment....but no one really seemed to care that much. So that was a bit of a blow to the ego. Oh well, I'm still proud. It's pretty sad when you're giddy at the thought of new business cards and a change to your email signature. Simple pleasures in life, eh?
I hope everyone's Christmas/Boxing Day/Hannukah - holidays were enjoyable. I hope that you all got to spend time with those you love, and that Santa was kind to you. Most importantly - I hope you got to eat lots of yummy yummy food and had the chance to relax. :)