Christmas recap

I don't know if it was the weather or not celebrating the holidays with a large group like usual but I just was not feeling the holiday cheer this year.  I tried.  I tried so hard.  I decorated and baked and all that jazz but I just wasn't into it this year.  I've been missing my family something fierce and not being with them just took it's toll on me this year.  We still had a great Christmas and I have much to be thankful for, this year was just very different.

We Skyped with my family a few days before Christmas and I loved every single second of it.  It was hard not to be there with them but Skype is definitely the next best thing.  I can't imagine living far from my family 20 years ago.

I drug the hubs an hour away to see a pretty spectacular neighborhood light display.  I told you I tried to get into the spirit.

 We even had hot cocoa and tea while we sat in the car listening to Christmas music.

Christmas Eve rolled around and we had to make a trip to the Navy base on Coranado.  While we were there I convinced Jason to take me to the beach.

70 and sunny on Christmas Eve.  Like I said, I have a lot to be thankful for!

Jason's dad came down for the night and my cousin joined us for dinner. 

I had great plans to make a fancy 3D fruit tree using a watermelon as the base but it's apparently not watermelon season and that thing was nasty and wouldn't hold up so I improvised.

My awesome hubby bought me flowers.  Cranberries made the perfectly festive vase filler.

Since it was a special occasion, I broke out the only bottle of my favorite umeshu I brought back to the States with me.  Oh joy this stuff is so incredibly yummy.  I would love to be able to find it online or in a store here but I couldn't even find it in a store in Japan, only at one specific bar.

 

I was apparently digging the Christmas tree theme this year.

Since it was just the 4 of us and we don't have a "traditional" Christmas meal in our house, I decided to go uber fancy and cook steak (for everyone but me) and lobster.  YUM!

My cousin gave me the coolest gift, a Settlers of Catan cookbook.  I've already ordered the hexagonal bowls and cannot wait to make some of these fun themed meals.  Now we just need to make some friends to invite over.

We don't have a lot of traditions in our house but homemade biscuit donuts on Christmas morning is a must in our house. 

We decided to share some homemade Japanese food with Jason's dad while he was in town.  Sukiyaki for Christmas lunch.  WIN!

Basically we ate a ton of food and played a few games!  Christmas was a terrific success.

I usually leave the tree and decorations up until New Years but I was just ready to put this holiday behind me and move on to the new year so they got packed up early this year.

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas!

On to Christmas

 

 

I fully agree with this meme that floats around every year.  I do not like that we see Christmas everything beginning in October.  I don't understand the rush.  I like to savor each holiday as they come.  That being said, the day after Thanksgiving is always dedicated to getting ready for Christmas in our house.

 

This year I woke up early enough to make my favorite breakfast, "homemade" donuts.

I dug all the tubs of Christmas décor out of storage and started decorating.  I love the kokeshi nativity I picked up at a bazaar in Japan.  I think it's my favorite decoration.

I finally made use of all the stickers the military movers stick to our packing boxes each time we move.

 

 

This year we decided to use the "big lights" that we've carried with us for years but never used and I'm in love with our tree this year.

We ended our night with a Big Bang Theory marathon and homemade turkey pot pies made with left over Thanksgiving turkey.  The perfect transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

Merry Christmas

We've returned from a freezing fabulous week in China and I'll get around to some recaps this week but for now I'm pausing for a couple of days to celebrate the birth of my Savior.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Procrastinating

We are leaving for China in less than 12 hours and I haven't packed a single thing and I've done absolute NO research.  For the 1st time ever, we're doing a tour package so it's very strange for me not to have to do any research   We asked Jason's uncle who lived in China for a year if the tour we had selected was good and he said yes so we just booked it.  It hit me yesterday that since I didn't do any of the planning, I also didn't do any research and I have absolutely no clue what I'm about to do.  Hopefully things all work out but it just feels strange not to know exactly what we'll be doing on our trip.

Instead of packing, I thought I'd do a bit of a Christmas prep recap since that's about all I've done for the past 3 weeks.

My mom sent me a Thanksgiving card that included the names for our family's secret Santa gift exchange

I found last years Christmas card list which made sending cards this year MUCH easier!

We did a little decorating around our house.  I can't wait to own a house with a real fireplace/mantel, but for now this will have to do.

We finally put ornaments and lights onto the tree we purchased before we left for Bali.

Buster was very sad that his bed was moved to make room for the tree.

I love this snowman refrigerator idea I saw on pinterest!

I decorated a gingerbread house with one of my students.

I baked 250+ cookies in 8 days and I don't want to bake again for a LONG time!

Some of those cookies were decorated with the wonderful ladies I teach English.

I spent 15 hours wrapping gifts at the PX as part of a fundraiser for our unit FRG

Our FRG also spend 3 days painting a 4x8 ft "Christmas card" that is now displayed near one of the gates to post.

I mailed/distributed the homemade vanilla extract I made as Christmas gifts.

Jason "wrapped" my Christmas gifts.  He couldn't find a box so he put one of my gifts into a cooler, put a piece of wrapping paper on top, replaced the lid and added a bow.  You have to appreciate his creativity!

We also purchased ourselves a couple of early Christmas gifts.

This entertainment center has been on my wish list since we arrived in Japan.  It's actually 3 pieces, but the "steps" are stacked together on the left hand side because the Christmas tree is in the way for now.  I can't wait to get it set up for real.

Jason also purchased the bar he's had his eye on for quite some time.

He wasted no time stocking it!

We're hoping to put it to good use on NYE =}

The dryer containing my last load of laundry just stopped so I suppose I should go pack now.  I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and I'll talk to you all when we get back from China.

#homefortheholidays {part 2}

We're back in Japan!  We had such an amazing time at home with family but it really is nice to be HOME!

Here's a brief photo recap of the rest of my trip {in no particular order}

the husband and I on Christmas Eve

My handsome hubby and his brother showing off their high school letter jackets

It isn't a trip home without a ride on the Anderson Ferry.  Some of our family lives in Ohio and some live in Kentucky and there is a ferry that takes you and your vehicle across the Ohio River.  It cuts our drive time in half! {plus Jason's grandfather's cousin owns the ferry, so Jason always gets out to say hi, even in the rain!}

my brothers have this game called Cuponk, it's basically like beer pong with one cup and no beer but it kept the boys entertained for hours!

I got to attend a hockey game with some of my favorite girlfriends

I was so excited to have my husband with me after a week in Cincinnati by myself

I'm not sure if this was Alaska, the North Pole, Russia or what but it was a beautiful sight during my flight back to Japan

On Christmas Eve, we stopped at a gas station for some beverages.  My husband walked out with beer and I decided I wanted OJ, a pickle, gummy bears and some gum.  I swear I'm not pregnant!

Jason ordered his grandmother a potted flower for Christmas, however, when it arrived it was just a pot, 2 bags of dirt and a bulb.  So he and his grandmother planted it together.

we put my brothers gifts {sake and sake glasses} to use immediately  

I got to spend some time with my college BFF during my layover in Detroit.  We don't get to see each other often {the last time was at our big wedding over 2 years ago} so I was very grateful she came to the airport to hang out with me for a bit.  Please excuse my tired look.  This is what happens when I have to wake up a 0330 for a flight!

Jason's brother Nik and his FIANCE!  They waited to tell everyone about their engagement in person and I ruined the surprise more than once.  I SUCK at surprises! 

us on Christmas

celebrating Christmas with my mom, and siblings.  I cannot believe we got such a good photo in so few tries!

I learned how to play and became addicted to a new game

the shirt I bought my husband.  He loves him some LMFAO

We ran into friends we met here in Japan at a casino in Indiana.  We both have family in the same area but didn't think we'd have time to meet up.  Little did we know we'd randomly run into each other!

it hit 63 degrees one day while I was home.   A lot of people were disappointed it wasn't snowing at Christmas time but I was loving the warm weather!

My cousin saw one of our wedding photos on the NBC Nightly news one night.  This is just a screen shot, but you can see the news clip here if you're interested.  It was part of a story about Brides Across America

I FINALLY got to meet our cousin's baby boy, Wyatt, just 2 days before his 1st birthday!  He is the sweetest baby.  I'm so glad we finally got to meet him!

Just thinking about everything we did makes me tired.  Tomorrow we are celebrating NYE at a Japanese Onsen, or hot springs, and I CANNOT WAIT!  It's going to be the perfect day of relaxing.  I can't think of a better way to end 2011.