This weekend, we broke down and recycled nine metric tons of cardboard boxes which means that my office feels once again conducive to clear thinking and creativity. It is not, however, conducive to coming up with ideas for dinner. The segment of my brain reserved for storing meal ideas and lists of foods I have prepared and eaten in the past is strangely blank.
Let’s not think about food and do a quick recap of the holiday break so far, Yikes/Yay style.
YAY: My husband took the entire two-week break off, which means we are getting plenty of time together! We have started two new shows (Man on the Inside and Under the Bridge) and watched the first Lord of the Rings movie.
YIKES: Y’all, I knew that Lord of the Rings was a trilogy, but I did not realize that – spoiler alert – NOTHING IS RESOLVED in the first movie. I wasted three hours of my life for… nothing??? A bunch of bro-ing out and special effects that have not aged well? Now my daughter wants to watch the NEXT movie and that is also three hours?! And now that I have endured the shock of the first movie, I am highly suspicious that movie 2 will also fail to complete the quest, which means I am really in for SIX MORE HOURS of Elijah Wood looking Terribly Concerned?
YAY: One of the great things about my husband being off is that we have all sorts of plans for tackling lingering house projects. Paint the exercise room, finish the gallery wall in the basement, START the gallery wall (yes, my long awaited gallery wall!) in the upstairs, repair a shelf in the garage, replace the seal on the laundry room door, etc. etc.
YIKES: We have already used up half of our allotted time for these projects and we have managed only to procure paint samples for the exercise room.
YAY: We front-loaded the break with a ton of Fun Holiday Activities – a Christmas crafting session with a bunch of friends, a school event, a birthday party, TWO cookie-baking sessions, a visit to two of our old neighbors (and their dogs) – which felt happy and festive.
YIKES: Carla caught some sort of awful bug at one of these events and spent last Monday vomiting and last Tuesday lying on the couch like a used, feverish dishrag. This meant that we had to cancel our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day plans with my parents, which made both days feel a little sad. Christmas Eve was especially anticlimactic, because we had nothing planned (except going to my parents’ house), and because Carla felt so rotten. I spent most of the day on the couch with her, watching TV and rubbing her legs and back.
YAY: Carla’s fever was low enough Wednesday for her to enjoy Christmas at full throttle. Also, I didn’t have to clean my house. Even though we didn’t have Christmas guests, we still made our traditional beef tenderloin, garlic and goat cheese mashed potatoes, and Caesar salad, which were all delicious.
YIKES: Carla still had a low fever on Thursday, and had developed an awful cough, so we got her in to see the pediatrician who listened to her lungs and prescribed antibiotics for suspected mycoplasma pneumonia.
YAY: ANTIBIOTICS.
YIKES: In addition to yummy Christmas leftovers, we have so many leftover cookies that every time I walk into the kitchen I end up snacking on something. I am starting to look and feel like a bag of mashed potatoes.
YAY: Now that Carla is done with her course of antibiotics and seems to be on the mend, my parents are going to join us on New Year’s Day for some festivity and a makeup Christmas Eve (we haven’t exchanged gifts). I’m looking forward to spending time with them! I am also looking forward to eating bowls of my mother’s mulligatawny soup and coming up with some fun appetizers to make and stuff down my piehole.
YIKES: Since there are still presents under the tree, and also because my husband and daughter aren’t yet ready to say goodbye to the holiday, I haven’t de-Christmassed the house and it feels very cluttered and claustrophobic. And of course it is still Hanukkah, so the menorah is still out along with all its attendant wax drips. I am ITCHING to whisk everything back into storage.
YAY: It has been very warm (and wet, but we’re concentrating on the warm part) lately, so I have been able to walk outside without bundling up, which feels like such a treat in December. I think I’ll end this post and go do that now.
I’m sorry to hear that Carla was sick on Christmas Eve/Day. That is terrible timing. I was sick on Christmas Day and it was a real drag. I have 2 pictures total of the boys opening their presents. TWO!! That is how awful I felt. But I have copious photos of other parts of our extended Christmas celebration so it’s all fine. And blessedly no one except my MIL got sick and she had a very mild case. I’m glad you can celebrate on NYE/NYD with your family instead.
Christmas is still up in our house and I don’t plan to take it down anytime soon… I need the glow of the tree to offset the darkness of this time of year. It’s warmed up here, too, but we’ve had fog that then froze into extremely thin ice so that’s fun. I would be in favor of some snow to brighten things up. It’s just so damp and depressing out there… Can you tell I am not in the best of moods? Ha.
I’m making 2 soups for meal plans this week – turkey wild rice and a double batch of a chili recipe. I will freeze one of the batches of chili to have while I am recovering from surgery. My plan it to make double batches of things over the next 10 days so we have some meals ready to go when I’m recovering. Phil keeps saying “geez, I can cook!” when I comment on needing meals froze but the guy will have enough to contend with without having to make meals, too.
Making a double batch of things sounds super smart, Lisa. That way you’ll have things you know you like to eat while recovering and it gives Phil a little breathing room while he’s primary parenting. This is clearly a Me Thing, but I also feel like this kind of preparation would serve as anxiety abatement in advance of the surgery.
The damp grey weather is kind of getting me down, too, and I am also wishing for some snow!
The second LOTR trilogy is so good! I do understand about hours of Elijah Wood looking concerned- just fast forward through most of the Frodo parts, and watch the Ents and the Battle of Helms Deep. Or go in and out during the movie – doing little chores- and only go in for the good parts. Laundry is really good for this.
I’m glad Carla is doing better, and that you have a special New Year’s to enjoy!
Okay, this makes me feel slightly better about LOTR. I suppose I could give it a chance. And I DO have lots of laundry to tackle.
Oh goodness, I’m sorry Carla was so sick, but YAY for antibiotics and the fact she is feeling better, so you can celebrate with your parents for NYE/NYD! Also, I love that your husband took so much time off! Hey, if nothing on that list gets done, so be it.
You’re right about LOTR. You are in for a lot and no resolution until the end of the third movie. Heck, one of the books ends in the middle of a scene. It’s ridiculous. I think he meant it as one book and it was just TOO big, and no one is going to sit through a 10 hour movie. (I rounded up, it’s probably 9). I liked the books fine, I liked the movies fine, but they’re such a commitment, I never want to deal with them again.
How is Man on the Inside? I was considering watching that yesterday, but watched another Netflix series, Penelope, yesterday. I watched the entire thing (just a bit longer in total than 1 LOTR movie) because I’m home with a head cold. Feeling better today, so plans will commence, yay!
Tomorrow is my birthday, and I’ve decided that for our NYE dinner, I want European Dinner. That’s a snacky meal with sausages, various fruits, bread, and cheese. Hopefully I’ll be feeling well enough for some wine as well.
I have a friend who made a compelling argument for waiting until Epiphany to take down Christmas lights. Not sure I agree.
Oh yay! Happy early birthday! I hope your cold is completely gone for your birthday. European dinner sounds delish.
I like Man on the Inside… but it also makes me kind of melancholy? My husband also isn’t sold on it. We’re only a few episodes in.
I found man on the inside such a letdown as i was expecting Good Place levels of humor, which it didnt have. And the insulting portrayal of teenagers and teenager parents made me want to punch puppies
I loved the Man Inside but then I do like Ted Danson very much and the series revolves around him. I’m not a huge fan of LOTR but made it through at least one book and maybe 2 movies. Then I lost interest.
LOTR is such a commitment! I have already lost interest.
And I’m glad that Carla is better and that you’re celebrating on New Year–seems appropriate to me!
Super hot and possibly very unpopular view: I fucking HATE Tolkien. Hate. Wow, that came out more vicious than I meant it to be. But I hated the books, and I actually saw part of one of the movies and my god, my GOD what a bore.
I think I just went against my “don’t yuck someone’s yum” and am considering deleting. Anyone reading this, this means MORE Tolkien for you! Less for me! Like pie or celery. Everyone, you go and enjoy it! I will be over here not enjoying it.
Eeee am I a bitch?
So sorry Carla was so sick! What a bummer. It always seemed like someone got at least a little sick at Christmas, when the kids were little. Probably just all the busyness of the season, and excitement, etc.
THE GALLERY WALL!!! That’s super exciting.
We have been re-watching Barry. Season 4 is out and we watched the first two seasons when they originally aired, which is to say we don’t remember anything about them. So we are now on season 2 and it’s good but I think it’s giving me nightmares. Yesterday we watched an episode that was so violent, I think it might be a reason I stopped watching it.
So sorry to hear that Carla’s been sick over Christmas – what a bummer. YAY, that she’s feeling better.
I have never read or seen LOTR and really have no desire to – so I won’t. But I understand that some people love it – yay for them.
I am so excited for you about your impending gallery wall – I know that’s been on your want list for a while now!
Yay for the yays, especially the last one!
The only reason that I watched LOTR was that a few years ago I was on a mission to watch all 100 of the AFI Top 100 movies. The reason that it holds a place in my heart is that as soon as I started watching it my whole family dropped everything and joined in. It was an excellent three hours…and spoiler the six additional hours that followed were a bit too much of a good thing. But Elijah Woods has a great “concerned” face.
Just when we were starting to get to the bottom of our Christmas treats, we got invited to an NYE party tomorrow – and guess what they need desserts! So there will be another round of baking tonight and tomorrow! Wheeeee (I’m happy b/c it’s all easy stuff).
LOL! And this is why I have never rewatched the LoTR trilogy! Ha ha ha. Good luck!
That stinks Carla was sick over xmas eve and day. I’m sorry that happened 🙁 Pneumonia?! What the heck! Two thumbs down.
I do not know when the Lord of the Rings movies were IN THEATERS, but I do know that Paul and I saw all three. It was a long time ago, but here is what I remember:
Movie 1: SO LONG, introduction of characters, mostly boys, all super tough and fighty, wow Orlando Bloom is hot as a blonde.
Movie 2: Seriously so long, and seriously just a lot of warring, no real plot advancement, wow all you men are sooooo tough.
Movie 3: I assume there must have been plot resolution in SUCH A LONG MOVIE
I watched LOTR as a teen and loved them; now I find them too long. Anything more than 1.5 hours and my concentration starts fading these days. But my kids love them and even watch – wait for it – the EXTENDED versions. Yes, there are even longer movies.
They are classics for a reason, but I find classics are never beloved by all.
And, no – there is no final resolution in the second movie.
Also, don’t let Carla know there is a trilogy based on The Hobbit book (it really should have been a single movie, on this I feel quite firmly).
Having someone in your family sick over Christmas is the absolute worst. We have had so many years of that and it sucks every single time. It feels unjust! Ugh. I’m glad she was feeling better by Boxing Day and I suppose the delayed gratification of opening presents over a longer swath of time could be fun? But not fun enough to include vomit. I’m sorry for everyone involved!
I’m so sorry Carla was sick…
Glad that the antibiotics helped and that you were able to have a cozy Christmas and are looking forward to Round Two today.
I know what you mean about wanting to put things away–perhaps in a couple of nights it could be a clean sweep of both Christmas and Hanukkah? Happy, Happy!
My kids were often sick over the holidays when they were younger, but pneumonia is next level. I’m glad she’s on the mend.
One advantage of having skipped most Christmas decorating at home this year is that there’s not much to put away. I’m going to leave it up for another week or so, I think.
Oh no – a bug at Christmas time? Pneumonia – that is a definite yikes. That shut down all the gatherings. Crap that’s a shame. I hope your delayed celebration on New Year’s will be wonderful.
I have threatened Coach that he has to take more time off next year over the Christmas break. He ended up taking today off, because he is so sick. He never misses work, if that tells you anything.
So many house projects and just when it seems like there is plenty of time to do all of them, it’s time to go back to work. Ugh.
I am so sorry that you had illness in your household at Christmas. Hope everyone is feeling well now. Yay for antibiotics, for sure.
After Christmas we went to visit family in another state, and the 10-year-old announced to us on our arrival, “I have a cold!” Ugh. I mean, yikes! But yay, none of our immediate household came down with it.
I am not a movie fan, and definitely not a fan of the LOTR books or movies. I am the only one in the universe who has not seen the movies. “The Hobbit” book as a prequel was sorta good. I tried to read the next one but it was just full of cold and hungry folks endlessly tromping through the foreboding forest; the lack of female characters was disturbing to me. No, thanks, J.R.R. Tolkien. However, Tolkien’s “Letters from Father Christmas” was completely charming and fun.
Ug, bag of mashed potatoes! Yes. I am feeling the same way lately, and I need to get back on track. Usually the holidays don’t affect me, as I am not with people all the time and can control myself better when I am alone, but this year I have been staying with friends and family since the 11th and so have been eating out, eating crappy and eating a lot! So it’s about time to turn that around!
I have to agree to disagree with Lord of the Rings. Maybe it’s not the same if you watch it later in life, kind of like Goonies or Princess Bride, but it is a great rendition of the books, which also were unresolved after the first one. The thing that made me a bit annoyed though was that they also made a movie of The Hobbit, which is NOT three books (it is just one) and they made three movies out of it. So it left you hanging without being justified. Maybe after a few viewings you will change your mind. Or maybe you will be like me and The Godfather and not really understand what all the hype is about (I have since only watched the first one and likely will not watch the other two unless someone forces me to).
So many people really just want all the holiday decor down as soon as possible! Why am I the weirdo who wants the lights out as long as possible?!
Lord of the Rings is such a slog. I read The Hobbit (a slog) and The Fellowship of the Ring (a super long slog) and honestly? I don’t get it. I mean, I do get that it’s a foundational fantasy text, but so many authors have taken from it and DONE IT BETTER since Tolkien wrote it. There, I said it, fantasy fans. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but Tolkien was a chauvinistic user of too many maps and adverbs.
I’m so sorry Carla was sick for Christmas! I hate it when kids are sick at Christmas—it’s the one time of year (besides their birthday) when they’re so excited for an event or special day. But it sounds like she recovered pretty well, and it seems like none of you caught it? ❤️
I did read recently about how when they were filming the big battle scenes in New Zealand, they couldn’t find enough men who knew how to ride horses. So they stuck beards on a bunch of women and most of the battle scenes with horses are almost all women.
I was getting a bit of whiplash with the Yay, Yikes! Glad it all ended on a happy note. Sorry that Carla was sick, but don’t holidays always bring at least one virus into the house?
Two whole weeks off? SO happy you guys had this time together, even if Carla wasn’t 100%.
Enjoy your parents and all the good stuff you can put down your pie hole.
Ah, Christmas illness. It really messes everything up! My son was sick on Christmas Day, and then my husband got it and has been moping around ever since. I’m glad Carla is feeling better and that you get to see your parents today. Hopefully after this you’ll be able to de-Christmas the house? i definitely know the feeling of Holiday Clutter. We’re about halfway there- I got the tree down (phew) but everything else is still out. I’ll just work on it slowly this week.
Highs and lows over the holidays it seems. Sorry you had a sick kid and that derailed some of the plans but you also had some fun moments.
Home projects always take so much more time than you allot to them. The universe is mean here, right? We managed to get a bathroom mirror hung and the lights attached right before Christmas and we felt sooooo accomplished. But the other things I wanted to do while we were at it didn’t happen. Sigh.
Womp, I’m sorry that all the Christmas plans had to be cancelled due to sickies! That’s no fun at all. I don’t think I ever remember being sick around Christmas – that would have DEVASTATED me at Carla’s age, haha. I hope the NYE celebrations went well!
I had ALLLL of these plans for some projects I wanted to do when I was off for almost two weeks in December and did a single one get done? Absolutely not. Sigh.
PLUS ONE NICOLE!!!
(I do like Man on the Inside, but Ben does not)
Sorry she was so sick– yay abx!
Ugggghhhh, the joys of having youngish kids at Christmastime. The stomach flu used to tear through our house every damned year. I’m sorry your plans got torpedoed, glad you had all the fun stuff before, and hope New Year’s with your parents was lovely.
I made matar paneer with vegetables yesterday to see if I could get a new, vegetarian recipe into the mix. I liked it but didn’t love it. Other than that I bought a PC lasagna and we had bacon sandwiches one night – I didn’t even manage to buy a tomato. Cooking is hard.
I loved Man on the Inside.