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!

Labor Day

I spent my Labor Day searching for a job.  How's that for irony?!  We did however enjoy a great Labor Day weekend with some family.  The last time we spent Labor Day weekend with our family was during our "big" wedding in 2009 so this was a nice treat for us.

My cousin and I started the morning by making our great grandmother's potato salad.  We had a blast in the kitchen together and we can't wait to try out some more of her, and our grandmother's, recipes together.  It doesn't look like much but it's the only potato salad I've ever liked!

Jason picked lunch, California Kebab and Beer Garden.  The food was delicious and there was a nice little view of the beach.  We'll be back for sure!

After lunch we spent a few hours on the beach with a million other people.

I get to call this handsome fella my husband!  He saw this photo and said "that doesn't even look like me".  That is because 1, he has a beard (I have to say, I feel like I'm kissing another man with that thing...it's weird!) and 2, I caught a genuine smile, not the fake smile that he usually gives me in photos.

My cousin, Tina, and I at Pacific Beach.

Jason's dad lives about 2 hours away so he came down for the weekend.  It is so nice to be close to some family again.

After the beach we went back to our place and grilled then introduced Tina to the awesomeness that is Settlers of Catan.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day weekend!