Lots to Say, Lots to Do, Lots of Pics

We've had a nice break for the holidays. We got to spend some lazy days together. I swear the kids slept past 10 almost every day.The only time they didn't was when we had somewhere to go. Yeah, that didn't happen very often. Hubby and I had some last minute running to do. We turned it into date night and just took our time. It was lovely. We even found a nice sushi restaurant. Bonus!

 This was my dinner. I like crunch. If I'm going to have a snack, I like a little crispness. I either get a tempura roll or a spider roll. I got the spider roll, which is at the top left. So, so good. I like the little bit of soft shell crab that sticks out. Yummo!!

 This was hubby's dinner. You can always tell his plate because it has tuna on it. I'm not big on tuna, but this was good enough for me to take two bites! I can't remember what the roll is in the middle of his plate, but it got shared. I think we fought over the last piece.

There was nothing left but wasabi and ginger. I like that they don't use the pink ginger. Ginger isn't supposed to be pink. I could steal their dishes, though. You should have seen the boat the couple at the next table had. It took up the whole table. We almost invited ourselves to sit with them.

We had to rearrange the living room again this year to get the tree up. That meant moving couches and the TV and the entertainment center. We ended up putting the tree behind our sofa, but kind of in front of the front door. I didn't like it, but our other option was to unload the book shelf, move it, then load it back, Thank you, but no. Hubby had to stop by his parents' house to pick up gifts from them so we could get them under the tree. So after rearranging, last minute running and wrapping, and gift pick up, this is what it looked like.

I sure like to see the tree with lots of presents. And there was really good stuff there, too. There was some not so good stuff, but I am trying to focus on the positive.

I couldn't get the front of the tree because it was that close to the sofa. Trying to get between the two was quite the feat in trying to not knock down the tree. We definitely need to figure something different out for next year.

Last Easter, we had the opportunity to go see The Rock and the Rabbi. It was amazing. This Christmas season, we were able to go see their newest production, The Child. It was wonderful, too. It had a smaller cast, but the music just moves you.



 Just like the last show, the cast was out in the lobby doing a meet and greet with everyone. I like that you don't have to have a back stage pass. The boy took over the autograph getting. How can you refuse that sweet face? Well, it's easy for me, but I'm his mama. We bought the CD again. Our favorite song is "Taxes". It's just fun to hear. The only autograph we didn't get was a young man that played keyboards and sang. he wasn't out with the rest of the cast.

But he was coming around the corner as we were leaving. Very nice, humble young man. He seemed confused as to why we would want his autograph and picture. Because he was awesome. The sweet young lady next to him is MC. This was the cast member she really wanted to talk to. I do what I can for my kids, including being an eagle eye. And listening to the boy when he says, "Look, there he is!" So it really wasn't me, but I'll take the credit any way I can get it. The girl next to MC is KT. That's what we call her anyway. And Baby J. And, of course, my eagle-eyed boy.

The weather got pretty cold. When the weather gets cold, I like to make soup. The big girl had been after me to make Italian wedding soup. So I finally did.

I usually combine two different recipes, but this time I stuck mainly to one. And I had everything I needed, including the Italian sausage, and that is rare for me. I used chard for the green because that was what I had. It was delicious and the big girl was happy. And so was everyone else.

New Year's Eve is a quiet night at home for us. I make a bunch of appetizers and finger foods and we eat all night long. Well, until midnight anyway. Usually we have soda and lemonade, but we are working at cutting the soda from our diet. I made fruit punch instead. We drank so much punch, we floated into the new year.

This is only part of the table. I wasn't done cooking yet, but if I didn't get a picture, you wouldn't have seen most of it. Bunch of vultures. Then when I was done with the rest of it, it kind of disappeared before I had the chance to get the camera. I tried, but I was too busy stuffing my face to think about it. Then it was too late. You should come over one New Year's. We throw a heck of a party!

I think that's about it for the end of the year wrap up. We may travel next Christmas. Maybe somewhere tropical and warm. Like Tahiti or Fiji. Wanna go? Start saving your pennies.

Have a great day.