Life has been a bit crazy! With the kid, and the puppy and work semi annual project winding down, i have had little time to write. The project now over, Christmas looming around the corner, and almost 2 weeks off of work, I am feeling happy.
Christmas will be a my house this year. Just me, Li; A' and his dad. Most of my friends think it is weird that i let M so far into my life. Sometimes even I wonder if i am insane to do so. However, having mom and dad together over special holidays makes Lil' A so happy! So there.
All the Christmases during my marriage have been such a big deal. All of M's family and extended family, his mother cooking, in laws taking over the kitchen, it has all been overwhelming for me. A perfect Christmas for me is what my parents and I used to do. Cook a big fat steak, or Kuftete (Bulgarian meat patties fried and served with red onions, home made french fries (with crumbled feta on top) and all kinds of fatty, unhealthy fried things. Some surni (similar to Dolmas, but ground meat in cabbage leaves -- YUM!) as appetizer... ok wait.. I am hungry and got distracted...
I was saying that Christmas was always a nice rich meaty meal, with a bottle of wine, just immediate family, on the beach in Australia (where mom and dad live), or in the back yard, surrounded by various strays I adopted in Zimbabwe.... not much ado, presents optional, a Christmas tree - rare. Just sitting down, relaxing and preparing for the new year.
Well, with a 3 year old, that version of Christmas is practically impossible, but I am still having it on my terms. At home, in my cozy 680 sq ft apartment, with just Lil A and M. A and I got a Christmas tree and decorated it all in white and red. He picked out a cute candy cane ribbon that we put around it. Its perfectly understated and charming. Under the tree there are about 10 presents. One I gave myself (yay! I finally get something I want!), one for M, one for the puppy (hooray for naturally stuffed furry, squeaky toys), one for the kitty (A window sill bed! oh the joy and comfort!) and the rest for Lil A.
For food we are having New York steak, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted bell peppers, asparagus and broccoli and bacon salad. Dessert remains a mystery:P but I am sure I will get inspired. A nice bottle of wine to top it all off. Some Christmas jazz in the background and voila! A cozy Christmas. No big fiasco, no crazy relatives (aside from M! ha!) and a quick end to it all. I am tempted however to hire a Santa to stop by.
A has picked up the concept of Santa from somewhere... daycare perhaps. I know neither M nor I have encouraged that... so it would be nice to see his eyes when Santa shows up. Interestingly enough I was not able to find any Santa delivery services. Perhaps an interesting business venture to consider?
Oh, and a non sequitur, but I am growing more and more in love with our dog.
He is growing like crazy and is already about 40 lbs. He is such a smart boy and aside from the fact that he needs to constantly chew on something, he is a sweetheart.
I love all the loose skin he has that he needs to grow into. It folds around his shoulders and head. When he is trying to figure out what is going on, his floppy ears perk up and three wrinkles (they are the opposite of wrinkles, maybe more like folds of skin) appear on his forehead.
His lips droop well below his bottom jaw and he often looses treats in his mouth (usually later located by me as the fall out when he sleeps upside down, and his lips flop open).
He has the most soulful eyes. Always looking so sad, so experiences, so intelligent.
And, he needs to be next to me, no matter what. Needless to say, sleeping in his crate has been overturned and now, much to the chagrin of my cat, he spoons with me all night long.
I am crazy about the dog!
Christmas will be a my house this year. Just me, Li; A' and his dad. Most of my friends think it is weird that i let M so far into my life. Sometimes even I wonder if i am insane to do so. However, having mom and dad together over special holidays makes Lil' A so happy! So there.
All the Christmases during my marriage have been such a big deal. All of M's family and extended family, his mother cooking, in laws taking over the kitchen, it has all been overwhelming for me. A perfect Christmas for me is what my parents and I used to do. Cook a big fat steak, or Kuftete (Bulgarian meat patties fried and served with red onions, home made french fries (with crumbled feta on top) and all kinds of fatty, unhealthy fried things. Some surni (similar to Dolmas, but ground meat in cabbage leaves -- YUM!) as appetizer... ok wait.. I am hungry and got distracted...
I was saying that Christmas was always a nice rich meaty meal, with a bottle of wine, just immediate family, on the beach in Australia (where mom and dad live), or in the back yard, surrounded by various strays I adopted in Zimbabwe.... not much ado, presents optional, a Christmas tree - rare. Just sitting down, relaxing and preparing for the new year.
Well, with a 3 year old, that version of Christmas is practically impossible, but I am still having it on my terms. At home, in my cozy 680 sq ft apartment, with just Lil A and M. A and I got a Christmas tree and decorated it all in white and red. He picked out a cute candy cane ribbon that we put around it. Its perfectly understated and charming. Under the tree there are about 10 presents. One I gave myself (yay! I finally get something I want!), one for M, one for the puppy (hooray for naturally stuffed furry, squeaky toys), one for the kitty (A window sill bed! oh the joy and comfort!) and the rest for Lil A.
For food we are having New York steak, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted bell peppers, asparagus and broccoli and bacon salad. Dessert remains a mystery:P but I am sure I will get inspired. A nice bottle of wine to top it all off. Some Christmas jazz in the background and voila! A cozy Christmas. No big fiasco, no crazy relatives (aside from M! ha!) and a quick end to it all. I am tempted however to hire a Santa to stop by.
A has picked up the concept of Santa from somewhere... daycare perhaps. I know neither M nor I have encouraged that... so it would be nice to see his eyes when Santa shows up. Interestingly enough I was not able to find any Santa delivery services. Perhaps an interesting business venture to consider?
Oh, and a non sequitur, but I am growing more and more in love with our dog.
He is growing like crazy and is already about 40 lbs. He is such a smart boy and aside from the fact that he needs to constantly chew on something, he is a sweetheart.
I love all the loose skin he has that he needs to grow into. It folds around his shoulders and head. When he is trying to figure out what is going on, his floppy ears perk up and three wrinkles (they are the opposite of wrinkles, maybe more like folds of skin) appear on his forehead.
His lips droop well below his bottom jaw and he often looses treats in his mouth (usually later located by me as the fall out when he sleeps upside down, and his lips flop open).
He has the most soulful eyes. Always looking so sad, so experiences, so intelligent.
And, he needs to be next to me, no matter what. Needless to say, sleeping in his crate has been overturned and now, much to the chagrin of my cat, he spoons with me all night long.
I am crazy about the dog!
