Day 91 & 92 - Christmas Eve Stripes & Christmas Day Snowflakes

Christmas Eve still remains my most favorite eating day of the year. For lunch we have shrimp, crab, fresh bread, and about 6 kinds of cheese. Then for dinner we have fried bread, more cheese, deviled eggs, jello salad and all my favorite Italian cold cuts. Cappicolla, Salami, Pepperoni, Soppresetta, and Proscuttio. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's so tasty. After our Italian meat feasting we open presents. Got some new clothes, the Pacific on Blu Ray, a new wallet, scarves, and a new coat among other things.

The pork eating continues on Christmas morning. Breakfast of bacon, bagels, and bread. Another yummy meal. We spent the morning playing Wii, which Bridget got for Christmas. Followed by Christmas dinner of Ham, Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Asparagus and Rolls. Think we may scale that back next year though. It was WAY too much food. Afterwards more Wii. The best part was watching Mom school my Dad at boxing.  I spent the evening being lazy, finishing my second book of the trip, and watching The Tooth Fairy. BTW, the movie is not recommended. However I really liked the book, Easy Company Soldier, a biography from one of the Sergeants from Easy Company 101st Airborne, the company that inspired Band of Brothers.

Definitely feeling stuffed after two days of eating!!

Day 89 & 90 - Noel & Reindeer

Got to the airport bright and early on Wednesday morning. There were an alarming number of people there. Yes, it's the holiday season, but it's the third year in a row I have traveled on December 22nd and there were by far more people than ever. Thankfully the lines moved fast. So I made it to Naples without a hitch. Had lunch with Mom and Bridget at my favoritest Chinese place. We went to Ruth's Chris to celebrate Dad and Bridget's birthdays. The steak was yummy! I seriously don't think I have had a steak since this summer. The more you don't eat something the better it tastes when you do.

Wednesday and Thursday afternoon were mostly filled with Christmas chores, collecting and making food for Christmas Day and Christmas Eve. And there was some present wrapping since I got all the family's gifts shipped here. Other than that there hasn't been much excitement. I have been going to bed ridiculously early and waking up before 8. It's like Naples has turned me into an 80 year old. Oh well!

Day 88 - Winter Snowmen

The last picture of Christmas socks from MA. Tomorrow's will be from FL. Leaving at 8:30 for Naples. Have yet to get packing. That's on the agenda for later this afternoon. Need to watch another episode of Band of Brothers first. Started yesterday. I swear I will never tire of watching it, all 10 hours. And the Blu Ray version has a cool special feature with extra info as you watch. Plus they have commentary for each episode. After I finish the series with the extra info ( field guide), I am gonna go back and watch with all the commentary on. I can't wait!

Day 87 - Christmas in Black

There are little wreaths, bulbs, and snowflakes on these.

Feeling pretty sluggish today. I didn't get enough sleep this weekend. And I kinda still feel hungover from Saturday night. Steph, Elyse and I hit up the North End for some Peroni and pizza. Then joined up with a bar crawl. It was a super fun time, but I am suffering a lot for it. It's like all my healthy eating and exercising has erased all my ability to recover from drinking. It's sad : ( Hoping a nap will help today.

Only another day til I leave for Florida. Trying to get everything situated for the journey. Won't start packing til tomorrow but I am getting everything washed today for packing. Also finishing up my Christmas movies. Saved the best for last, Rudolph and Elf.

Having our first real snow of the year. It's not suppossed to accumulate which means no shoveling! I'm definitely happy about that. Glad to see everything all white outside though. It's so pretty!

Day 86 - O Christmas Tree

There is no good way to phograph knee socks without making my legs look HUGE! You are just gonna have to take my word that they don't look nearly as scary as the picture makes them look. Another thing to note from the picture is Miles off to the right. Everytime he sees a camera he wants his picture taken. He is such a camera hog.

Was unahappily awoken this morning. I was under the impression downstairs construction was drawing to a close, but apparently I was wrong. I woke up at 8:30am to sounds of a nail gun and something that was so loud it vibrated my entire apartment. Ugh! I was so looking forward to sleeping in. I even stayed up late after getting home from dinner, knowing I wouldn't have to get up early in the morning. I really hope that doesn't happen again tomorrow.

Think I'm gonna watch Home Alone before I head out for pizza and Peroni in the North End tonight.

Day 85 - Snowman

Getting to the end of my Christmas socks. Only 8 left, which means Christmas is only 8 days away!!

Staying with the Christmas theme for Friday's

My Top Five Favorite Christmas Movies

1. Elf - Who doens't like Elf? It's hysterical. And "The Best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear."

2. The Santa Clause - I love Bernard, the head Elf. And the scene where Tim Allen comes to work in sweats and eats like a pig at lunch. Plus Santa's workshop looks better than it does in most movies.

3. Home Alone - It's totally unrealistic and ridiculous, but great.

4. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - I remember watching this since I was a little kid. It's always been a tradition in my family. The Island of Misfit toys is my favorite. Feel like I belong there :) I really like Sam the Snowman and Yukon Cornealius too. Really there's so many things to love about good ole Rudolph!

5. The Santa Clause 2 - This last one was hard to pick. There are so many great movies. Actually watching Whit Christmas now. That's a classic. But the second Santa Clause movie has a plastic Santa and a overeating Comet. And we meet Curtis, the #2 elf.

You will notice "It's a Wonderful Life" isn't on my list. I don't feel like it's a good Christmas movie at all. It's depressing for like half the movie.  I also don't see the joy in "A Christmas Story". Most years I don't watch either of those. No thanks! I'd much prefer to watch something happy and funny.

Day 84 - Naughty or Nice

The text is hard to read but these socks say "Naughty or Nice?"

Two big things to report for today.

1) After over 2 months I FINALLY got my severance check from Lockheed. YEAH!!!!!!!! It's about damn time!!

2) Had my first appointment with the Occupational Therapist for my thumbs. I was given splints for both hands. My hands sorta look like they are taped up like a boxer's.  I am suppossed to wear them 23 hours a day. Ugh!! Since they have only been on for 2 hours so far I am not sure what I think, but I know they aren't the funnest thing in the world. Hopefully they get more bearable as time goes by.

Day 83 - Christmas Tree

These aren't the most exciting of Christmas socks, but the tree is nice and sparkly.

I am happy to report my nighttime battle with Simon is improving. Last night he was only annoying for about an hour before he cut out the noise. Hopefully tonight it gets even better. One way or another he's gonna learn I won't be feeding him in the middle of the night.

Took my car in to get the tire looked at. It'd been leaking since Thanksgiving but I had been getitng by with just refilling it. Afraid it would be flat once I got back from FL so decided to get it checked out. Thankfully they were able to repair it so I didn't have to pay for a new tire!!

Thinking tonight might be a good night for a fire and some hot chocolate!!

Day 82 - Penguins with Santa Hats

Another pair of Christmas penguins. These have one Santa hats and are kinda sparkly.

Had a terrible night's sleep last night. Not really sure you can even call it sleep. Woke up at 2 to use the bathroom and that started the Simon terror. I don't know what gets into the boy. He goes bat shit crazy. He scratches the sock shelves, pulls up the rugs, sprints from room to room, attacks Mia and Miles, pulls out bins, climbs on the dresser, meows in my face, etc. I swear he finds every single way an 11lb cat can make noise. I know he wants me to feed him but I need to break him of that habit so it was me vs him from 2am to 5am. He eventually tired himself out and laid down to sleep with me. Hopefully I can make it through this week of ignoring him despite the lack of sleeping. Wish me luck!

Day 81 - Skiing Santa

It totally feels like a Monday. I am more tired than I should be today. Didn't get a good night's sleep last night. I just couldn't get comfortable for some reason. Simon's 4am outbreak didn't help either.

I have been doing laundry all day. I must have like 4 loads. It's ridiculous. Also trying to get my DVR down to below 70%. Not so hard to do since the last 3 Hallmark Christmas movies I tried to watch were so bad I only made it a few minutes in.

Think I need a nap. I can't stop yawning.

Day 80 - Presents

Today was the first day of bowling this season. I did pretty well. Scored a 119 the first game and a 132 the second. Surprised I did better the second time around cause it was getting harder to hold the ball with my gimp thumb.  Sure bowling isn't good for it but whatever. It's fun.

Went out for lunch at Beer Works afterwards. It was so good. I don't think I have eaten a meal out since I was in Florida for Thanksgiving. Had a chicken BBQ sandwich and fries. OMG the fries were so delicious!!! I cannot remember the last time I ate french fries. I really like not eating stuff like that for a while cause when you  finally do they taste so great! I have the same reaction every time I have a doughnut or eat a real hot dog. I don't get either of those but once or twice a year. People who eat them often I'm sure don't get as much enjoyment out of them as I do.

Tonight's the Amazing Race finale. I am so looking forward to watching one of my teams win.  Technically I have already won since all Bridget's teams are out. We have been beating on the Race for a few years now, but this is the first year it's been a landslide. She picked some awful teams this year. I wonder if a two woman team will actually win this year. Seems like the tried to stack the deck cause there were like 4 woman teams to start out. Definitely looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

Day 79 - Winter Snowmen

Watching the newer Miracle on 34th Street. I have the older one taped too. I really love watching Christmas movies. That's a good piece of what's on the agenda today. Also gonna do laundry, vaccuum, and read my library books.

It's warmed up a lot here today. Yesterday morning it was 15 whe I woke up. Today 35. That's a big improvement. Looks like this week is gonna be a lot warmer. We are suppossed to get some rain so it's warming up to 50. Woah!! The last two years we've had a huge snowstorm the weekend before Christmas. Wonder if that will happen again this year.

Took a drive last night after a party to look at Christmas lights. There are some super impressive ones and some not so much. I am a little sad to see there are only 2 houses in my neighborhood that are decorated. That's pretty sad. Wonder if they are lacking outside outlets like I am. I wish I was able to put lights outside, but I can't figure out how to get power out there with no outlet. And from the second floor it's not easy to run an extension cord down the steps.

Only another 11 days til I leave for Florida!

Day 78 - Ho Ho Ho

In case you can't make it out in the picture all the O's are little Christmas ornament balls. Those ornaments helped me come up with the topic of today Top Five Friday list.

My Five Favorite Ornaments on my tree.

1. Have a few of these. The white part is all sparkly. They are very reflective and eye catching.



2. I used to have a lot of these Disney bells, but this is one of the only ones left after the cats knocked over my tree in 2009 and broke the tree and a lot of the ornaments. It rings every time the tree shakes.

 

3. I bought these icicles the first year I had my own Christmas tree. They are super fragile but I really like them. Down to only 3 after the cat tree disaster of 2009.

4. I like these icicles too. They have sparkly green and some red at the top of them. And the forsted glass makes them look different than most everything else I have. Down to only 2 now.

5. The ornament itself was one of the gifts my Mom got from a student. She wasn't gonna use it so I took it and found a perfect little JASS picture to put in it from Hawaii 2007. It's only of the only pictures on my tree so it stands out.

Day 77 - Christmas All Over

These are some super Christmassy socks! They are super cute though. And warm! Which is needed when it's 30 outside. Granted I don't really plan on going anywhere today. Making Chex Mix and cleaning the apartment are on the top of the list of things to do today. I may also swing by the library, I have a book to pick up. I need to finish one before picking it up. Feel like 8 is the max amount of books I should have at home.

Been watching a lot of Christmas movies, both from TV and from my extensive collection. Thinking about starting the Santa Clause Trilogy today. I love those movies. It's probably the only trilogy of movies that I saw in the theater. Well, that and Toy Story. :)

Bought the kitties a few new toys yesterday on my adventure to PetSmart. Next time I need to read the packaging more clearly cause I purched an over the door mouse toy that actually makes mouse noises. It's so awful to listen to, especially since I am terrified of mice/rats. And of course it's the toy Miles loves best. He has been playing with it for the last 20+ minutes. I don't know how much more of the squeaking I can take. I feel bad taking it away from him though. He seems to love it so much!!

Day 76 - Blue Snowflakes

Very late posting today. Did a lot of running around this afternoon. Actually took this picture in the patient room of the hand doctor's office. Was there cause I have been having pain in my right thumb for about a year now. It gets really aggravated the more I am on the computer. Anyway after seeing a doctor this summer who was less than helpful, I found a new specialist. She had a much better bedside manner and was so much more informative. She took one look at my little toe thumb and told me it was a genetic defect. Apparently there are others out there with Thumpers. Who knew!  Because of this my thumbs are more prone to arthritis, which is actually what is causing my pain. I need to start wearing a brace again :( , go to some therapy to learn exercises, and start taking an anti-inflammatory every day. She did tell me that the pain I have now is the worse it'll prolly ever be cause as the arthritis progresses the pain lessens mostly cause the range of motion decreases.  Awesome!

So who's jealous of my toe thumbs?

Day 75 - Blue Christmas

Not much happening here in Melrose. Just me and Mia hanging out on the couch. I did have an adventure out earlier. Months ago I bought a Groupon for a local butcher so today I went to check them out. I paid $10 for $20 worth of stuff, which I spent on a filet, sausage, turkey tips, and prosciutto. Freezing all the meats to cook later. I did sample the prosciutto. Yummy! I know I should have waited for Christmas. I was gonna get soppresetta but the prosciutto was on sale so I couldn't resist. I am such a sucker for Italian meats. I can't wait for the Italian cold cut eating on Christmas Eve!

Day 74 - Reindeers

Wow it's been cold today!! Thinking about making a fire tonight.

Don't have much new to report for the day. Spent some time applying for jobs on Monster. They aren't really jobs I want, but it's something I need to do. Also ran out for a few errands. Had to drop off a book at the library. Down to only 8 checked out now. Still seems like a lot to read. Hoping to finish the last 200 pages of the "History of World War II" in the next few days. Big exciting I know.

Hope to be more interesting tomorrow.

Day 73 - Snoopy and Charlie Brown Christmas

This is a pretty old pair of Christmas socks too. But they are great. It's the only Charlie Brown pair of sock I have.

On the agenda today. Watching Christmas movies and doing my Christmas cards. Gonna make some homemade vegetable soup this afternoon too.

Finally finished with my decorating last night. It looks very very Christmassy in here and I LOVE it. The pictures don't do it justice but here they are.

The Tree with Miles in his favorite spot

Stockings

Rudolph Characters

View into dining room



Day 72 - Christmas Penguins

I love Penguins!! Especially ones with presents!!

It's only 2:30 but I am exhausted already. Got up early this morning to try out a boot camp which is part of a Christmas celebration happening here in Melrose. Spent the morning walking around seeing all the fertivities. It was mostly like arts and crafts stuff, but most buisnesses had sales and treats for customers. I didn't buy anything but a Hot Chocolate from Starbucks, my first this year. I went to a large display of model trains which was kinda cool. It was a nice morning. I love that the town does stuff like that.

Made some super yummy mushroom soup for lunch. Plans for the rest of the day include watching a movie, takine a nap, finishing my light decorating and starting my Chrismtas cards. Definitely a happening Saturday for me :)

Day 71 - Black Christmas

These socks were super hard to take a picture of. The glittery pieces kept messing up the picture. There are snowflakes, trees, presents, bells, holl, stars, stockings, all kinds of Christmas stuff. 

Think I am gonna start a new Friday tradition on the blog. Top Five Fridays. A list of my top five of something. Today's is gonna be my.....

Top Five Most Memorable/ Best Christmas Presents

1. A toy kitchen that was too big for Santa's sleigh so I didn't get it until a few days later.
2. The Gump, which is a hideously ugly purse that gets passed around in our family cause it's an "heirloom".
3. Fat Baby aka Theresa. She was one of my first dolls that I carried around for years. She had her own highchair, stoller, and wardrobe.
4. The original Nintendo. It started a whole chain of Nintendo Christmas presents.
5. The best of all was of course, my sister. Techinically she was a few days after Christmas, but it counts. She used to be a fun interactive toy. Now she's my favorite sushi eating and hotel room sharing partner, among other things. Totally the gift that keeps on giving. Love ya Sissy!!