Merry Belated Christmas, everyone! Seriously belated, I know. ^^;

I hope the holidays went well for everyone and you made out like a bandit. (Including not too much family drama!)

Mine went surprisingly well this year. No drama from my step-great-grandmother, though for the past several years she’s had to constantly lament her Celiac and that she can’t eat anything and everything tastes like crap. There was actually an even exchange of normal, Celiac-, and diabetic- friendly foods on the table this year. This is a huge improvement over last year where I ended up eating sea-food salad for my Christmas dinner and having a lime yogurt for dessert.

Nothing significant to report for gifts for us. I guess the rest of our family is just as stumped on what to get everyone as we are. I got a gift certificate to Express, a couple checks, and a mini food processor. (Which I plan to use, because fine-mincing herbs and vegetables for some of my recipes is a pain.) The rest of the family got gift certificates too. (Not that I’m complaining.)

I think next year I’m going to put together some jewelry like I’ve been wanting to do for a while or I’ll find one of those universal or multi-store gift cards. I keep threatening to make jewelry for everyone, but I’ve never done it because of the cost involved. Good beads and findings that don’t look flimsy or cheap are really expensive. However, now that all of us are employed, I think I can do it.

Anyway, aside from the snow, Christmas went really well this year. We’re still working on getting the leftovers out of the house, but we’re making progress. Though if I ever make my own low-carb cranberry sauce again, I’m either going to have to use more sweetener or else use a little orange juice instead. That was just a bit too tart. Maybe using the orange rind as a garnish instead of cooking it with the cranberries would be better too. (I’ll have to post it once I have more time to experiment.)

I’m also getting over a slight sore throat, but nothing major beyond a little cough and a bit of a runny nose. My Aunt Karla took mom and I out on a “Girl’s Day Out” at Woodland Mall on the 21st and found out Jass and I like clothes from Express. I went and tried on jeans, but between not wearing the right underwear for trying on low-rise jeans, being exhausted from work, and sticker shock at the $70 price-tag, I didn’t have the right mind-set to buy anything. Actually, I didn’t buy much at the mall total, but I did find a new purse, some new underwear from Victoria’s Secret, and had my first Starbucks cappuccino.

I told my Aunt she was going to have to kidnap me again sometime, probably a Saturday so I could be more awake to hit the mall. OH, and I had the best Japanese-style lunch at the mall too. They have this food court with different, little restaurants. They have everything from pizza to different ethnic foods all set up in little booths. I hit up the Japanese one and got myself some teriyaki chicken, steamed rice, and then some steamed vegetables. It wasn’t the sushi I’ve been craving, but it was still really good. Mom went next-door to the Chinese booth and got some great sesame chicken. I don’t remember what my aunt got, I think she hit the Thai or the other Japanese booth.

With the way Christmas was situated this year, I had to go back to work for Wednesday, Thursday, and then Friday night. Friday night, I got to work with Ryan over in the rework area and let me tell you he had me geeking out. He actually knew what anime was! That part of the conversation didn’t last long, since those are the only two he’s seen, but it was nice being able to talk with someone with interests more like mine for a change. He’s a Cowboy Bebop fan and likes what little he’s seen of Full Metal Alchemist, though he hasn’t seen much. I didn’t care. Someone actually knew about anime! I had so much fun! It was great!

Anyway, I guess I’ve rambled enough. Much love, everyone!