Eating and drinking - Well, lefse! And eggnog and fudge all things homemade. It was just the 5 of us and with one non-eater and two light eaters, we didn't make a big christmas dinner, just a roast and salad. But that left time for homemade lefse. Last year we got some official tools (a lefse board and stick) and between that and using real potatos and not flakes (this recipe), we were able to produce what I think is the best batch of lefse I've ever had.
Or maybe this tradition of Craig's family and community is just growing on me. I actually enjoyed it this year. I've heard you may need to eat a food 10-15 times before you like it. Since I've had lefse once a year since 2005, that's about right! I've also learned a few tricks in that time, I prefer it warm not cold and like butter and cinnamon sugar. The butter and sugar is traditional; I'm not sure about the cinnamon. But its tasty so I don't care.
I also decided to make homemade eggnog for Craig. He loves it and I've always thought it was gross but I hate him drinking store bought eggnog with its yucky additives when we have fresh eggs, milk and cream at our disposal. It turns out, while I think store bought eggnog is unpalatable and won't touch it, homemade eggnog is amazing! I'm not sure Craig likes this. Instead of getting his own bottle, he had to share this year. I've got to make up for past years though, right? I'm already saving up our eggs for the next batch. Come on chickens, I've been opening up the garage so you can escape the rain, you owe me!
Praying - For all the people affected by the flooding. We're doing okay here but its pretty intense in our area.
Thankful - For Craig. He left work early yesterday and was able to get close to our home pretty easily despite road closures and traffic but stopped to do some sandbagging. The kids and I had a pretty uneventful day. No major discipline issues, no crankiness, lots of naps from the baby and I even gave a kid a bath before completing our full bedtime routine without help. But still, it was a long day and I was so happy to see him come through the door a little before 8pm! And I know that isn't unusual for a lot of families. I was once again reminded of how spoiled I am. He gets up super early so he can work a 9 hour day and still be home at 4pm for a full evening of family time.
Reading - None of my classics :-( Next year I'm going to make my list later on in December. I picked out all these books and then have to sit and twiddle my thumbs until the 1st to start them.
In the meantime, I'm working through two non-fiction selections, Better Than Before and Unglued. Both have got me thinking about habits and patterns in my life. I haven't decided for sure if I'm making New Years Resolutions (other than repeating the outdoor and back to classics challenges). I probably will just because I like that sort of thing. I happen to think the New Year is a good time to make changes, but so is the beginning of fall, and the middle of July and April 17th. I'm really always up for self-improvement if it involves lists and to-dos. For instance, recently I wanted to get a bit more serious about budgeting and being involved with our finances so I asked Craig for ynab software because his method of just looking at our bank account and keeping mental track of our bills doesn't work for me. Most people would probably have waited until the beginning of the new year, but I said, nay, it's December 5th so let's start now! Why not?
Watching - Hamlet. I'm going to start reading it soon with the ambleside group but I wanted to watch the modern David Tennant version that is on pbs.org before it disappears (mid-January I think?). It's long and our bedtimes are early but we're getting through it bit by bit and so far I like it.
Watching (part 2) - The kids build a brush pile. Lucy's been asking Craig for a little while now but every day he has off, its been raining and it gets dark so early that even coming home at 4pm doesn't leave enough time. But the flood means no work so today's the day! She's so excited but I think we might have to explain that it might take a while before any animals or birds call it home.
Anticipating - Getting back to our regular routine. I knew it coming into the holidays that we don't do totally unscheduled very well around here. Our routine is pretty flexible but boy do we need it! So I'm excited about one more three day weekend with Craig; a small kid-friendly New Years Eve Party we're hosting, and some ephipany celebrating but I'm still having to fight the urge to clean up the mess and get back to business. But first, a couple more batches of cookies :-)
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