Christmas Eve | Table for Five

January 5, 2010 By Elizabeth

The decision I made to take a break from blogging over the holidays turned out to be one of the best professional decisions I've made in a long time. Compared to last year, when I was stressed out and grumpy over having to be away from my computer, this year my mind was clear and I was able to truly enjoy everything about Christmas. Consequently, it was one of the best Christmases I (and my family) have had in a long time. My Dad and Stepmom went to Arkansas to be with her mother, so instead of our usual Christmas Eve at Dad's house, we just hung out here at home. We watched movies, played video games, and then sent the kids to bed so Chris and I could do our traditional "wrapping all the presents on Christmas Eve". Even though we both bitch about it, neither of us ever wraps anything ahead of time, so I guess we both like staying up together late on Christmas Eve to wrap. Oh, Chris made the BEST coffee for us to drink to help us stay up so late - a mix of Boca Java's … [Read more...]

I Survived Christmas 2008!

December 27, 2008 By Elizabeth

You know what doesn't seem fair? That stores can start putting out Christmas decorations in October, that we can spend months buying and wrapping and decorating and baking, but then Christmas itself is over in a snap. Shouldn't Christmas itself last about a week for all the work we put into it? My husband deserves a medal for going to Meijers (our big grocery store) on Christmas Eve morning to get groceries for dinner that night plus food for Christmas Day. He called me while standing in front of the refrigerated case that normally holds all the Pillsbury products to report that there was not a single can of Grands! Cinnamon Rolls left in the entire store. And that every one of the 25 checkout lanes was being used with people lined up waiting. This is a man who hates crowds, so he got major brownie points for that. We went to my Dad and Stepmom's on Christmas Eve, where we were showered with new clothes from Macy's and Kaitlyn got this ginormous, super-soft teddy bear from my … [Read more...]