10 Holiday Eating Tips

I came across the following list on a few websites over the holiday. I realize it is too late for you to keep this list in mind for Christmas, but hey, you can keep it in mind for New Year Eve and New Year's Day, before we all get back to normal life and eating habits next week.

A word to the wise:
1. Avoid Carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrot sticks on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas Spirit. If you see carrots leave immediately. Go next door they are serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much EGGNOG as you can. It is rare and can only be found at this time of year. Who cares if it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It is not as if you are going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it!
3. If something comes with gravy. Use it!! Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the Volcano.
4. As for the mashed potatoes, always ask if they were made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. the whole point of going to a Christmas Party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. This is the time for long naps, which you will need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and a vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and do not budge. Have as many of them as you can. They are like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention Fruitcake? Granted, it is loaded with mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it all cost. I mean have SOME standards. (Basic Grey's next Christmas line is named Fruitcake- You can have as much of that one as you want. IN STORES JUNE2010)
10. Remember this motto to live by. " Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the attention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, totally worn out and screaming, "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Last Day of 2009

As I start typing this post, it is 1:45am, December 31st, so, yes, it is the last day of 2009. It's raining at the moment, I think the rain is expected to stop by sometime this afternoon. We appear to be getting our share of rain lately, in short spurts lasting a day or two, which has been happening about once during each week for the last month or so. If this trend continues over the next couple of months, eventually the temperature is going to dip below freezing and it will be some form of frozen precipitation (snow, or more than likely around here, a mixture of sleet, freezing rain, and snow). The weekend before Christmas, the western part of NC got a good dose of snow. My Dad, who lives in the northern foothill area of NC, measured 10 inches in his yard. Daddy was very happy with the snow, and I heard that his dog, named Buttermilk, enjoyed romping in the snow tremendously. My area, Raleigh, was on the edge of the "frozen" line. For a brief 15-20 minutes that afternoon, it was snowing beautifully at my house, and a little later, early evening, there was some sleet mixed with more snow before turning to rain.

As I think back over 2009, I think about the good or nice things that happened this year, and I think of things that fall onto the "I could have done better" list. I guess most of us can put together similar lists each year. For my "good or nice" list, there's nothing on that list that would be earth shattering to others, but they were note-worthy to me. For example.... 1) I went on my first overseas trip in June, something a few years ago I would have thought would never have happened. 2) I got together earlier this year with a few cross-stitching friends in Arizona. That was the first trip I have ever taken that involved me flying somewhere that was purely a "get together with a few girl-friends for a short vacation" type of trip. On that trip, I got to visit the Grand Canyon, another first for me. 2009 brought continued enjoyment with various musical groups in which I play, especially with the dixieland band. For the "I could have done better" list, again, nothing earth shattering, but I did plan to spend more time at the gym (I started going in May, but not so much these last few months). And I could have spent more time practicing banjo, working to improve my "picking" skills. And I could have spent much more time cross-stitching the last 1/2 of 2009 and could have been much better at posting to this blog. Overall, 2009 has been a good year, but ending with the usual thoughts of "I could have done more".

For the end of 2009, I've been enjoying being off from work almost 2 weeks (2 week end-of-year shutdown). I am working Friday, January 1, but can work from home. For Christmas, I drove to my Dad's last Wednesday. There was still plenty of snow on the ground from the 10 inches of snow that fell the Friday before. I visited my GrandFather (my Mom's Dad) on Christmas Eve, got to see my cousins and their children while there). While at my Dad's, I mainly relaxed, spending time with Daddy and my StepMom, stitched a little. I stayed till Sunday, headed back home after church.

Since getting back home Sunday, I have consistently been staying up late every night. Tuesday night I went to bed around 2, which was the earliest I've gone to bed this week. I didn't plan to stay up late every night, just something that has been happening, most of the time getting into watching a movie that's on late, while stitching a little. Currently I'm watching "The Caine Mutiny", a classic. Before "The Caine Mutiny", I watched "Julie & Julia". I won't be staying up too late Thursday night since I'm working Jan.1. I'll probably stay up just long enough to watch the ball drop in Times Square on TV. Here in Raleigh, the New Year's Eve celebration includes the dropping (or lowering with a crane) of the "acorn". Raleigh is the "City of Oaks" and they lower a large acorn (made from copper I believe). If watching the local CBS station here, which is usually the station showing the lowering of the ball in Times Square in New York, they will have a small insert square in the lower corner showing the lowering of the acorn, so one can watch both the lowering of the ball in Times Square and the lowering of the acorn simultaneously.

Tuesday, I went to the movies for a matinee showing of "The Blind Side", which I have been wanting to see. It was a great movie. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

Well, it's now a few minutes past 2:30 and I probably should go to bed. "The Caine Mutiny", which still has another hour and a 1/2 to go, will have to continue on without me (not like I haven't seen it before).

I do have a few pictures to share, which I will try to do in the next day or so. Hugs to all of my friends and family. May 2010 bring good health and happiness to you all.