May Your Buns Be Merry and Bright

It's hard to say what the best part of the holiday break is: basically it's a close tie between (1) not having to get up in the morning and face a strict schedule, and (2) not having to ever put in my contacts. There are the added benefits of: not having to leave the house if I don't want to, not having to deal with needy students and their needy needs, no endless errands and chores, no writing, no teaching, no workshops or presentations, no commuting, etc.

G has been off for the last couple of days and so now the level of slovenliness in the house has doubled. Or, tripled, if you count Loo Loo Bean.

She crashed yesterday. The holiday festivities finally did her in. Notice that her front feet are wrapped around her food bowl. That's not accidental. She's what is commonly called a "resource hog" in the veterinarian circles.

In case you're wondering how two introverts with no kids spend the holidays (apart from the family chaos of every other year), here's how.

Step 1: Relax in front of the tree

G's dad makes lots of beautiful things out of wood. Check out these wood shaving ornaments he sent us this year! Aren't they gorgeous?

Step 2: Bake and cook

In case you're wondering, no, I didn't eat this all in one setting. It was my food allocation for the day. As they say in the South, I "ate on this all day".

The meal:

*Rotisserie Chicken (one does not cook full turkeys or ham in this house as that's largely a waste of a valuable animal life)
*Meatloaf
*Homemade Dressing (Gama's recipe)
*Roasted veggies
*Corn
*Mashed potatoes
*Mac & Cheese
*Green Bean Casserole
*Rolls
*Chocolate chip cookies
*No Bake cookies

This is the gift that keeps on giving, as we will live off the leftovers until, literally, next year.

Step 3: Digest while watching movies

We watched Sully (really good!) and Dead Pool (so good and also soooooo bad). We called Gama and texted back and forth with my bro and G's fam. We read a ton (often while standing because...digestion) and one of us may have taken the teensiest nap. Then there was more reading. Lots more texting. Lucy eventually roused from her slumber and joined us.

Step 4: Night Night

I read myself to sleep listening to G cackle and hoot his way through some video game with his brother. There was a lot of yelling about various trucks and guns. So classy, we are.

There is a cheesy Christmas song goes, "Count your blessings instead of sheep when drifting off to sleep" or something like that. Lots of blessings over here. Lots of things to be thankful for.

Enjoy the last week of the year! Thinking of resolutions?