Christmas 2015

Christmas in Tallahassee this year included a lot of food, a lot of fun, and a bit of running in the record-breaking Florida heat. The first full day I spent in Tallahassee (December 23rd) we bought all of the groceries we needed for the holidays, had a delicious lunch at Smashburger, made some homemade lasagna for dinner (and many, many leftovers!), and took a walk in the neighborhood to see the Christmas lights. I even got all of my Christmas presents wrapped rather than leave them until the last minute, like I usually do. Not that wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve isn’t festive, but it’s pretty much the pinnacle of procrastination. On Christmas Eve my mom whipped up some homemade egg sandwiches for breakfast (my favorite), I bought stocking stuffers at Target, and went on a long walk at Maclay Gardens with both of my parents. It was unseasonably warm that week so it wasn’t the best weather for outdoor exercise, but I love to see the gardens anytime I can. We walked 4.5 miles today, which helped us work up an appetite for leftover lasagna for dinner. My mom and I also took a short walk in the neighborhood that night to see the Christmas lights on a different street. It’s a Christmas Eve tradition! Christmas Day was also full of traditions. A breakfast of my dad’s pancakes, my mom’s scrambled eggs, plus some bacon and fruit. It’s always one of the best meals I eat all year. The three of us opened Christmas presents while watching the Disney Christmas parade. Due to the hot and humid weather I didn’t think I’d get any running done while I was in Florida, but my dad and I braved the heat for a jog anyway. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be, but I was sure glad I’d packed running shorts in my suitcase! Christmas dinner was another tradition – smoked turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, herbed corn bake (I need to post this recipe sometime), and green beans. Delicious. Dessert was my mom’s incomparable pecan pie (another recipe I need to post) and an experimental pumpkin and sweet potato pie from a magazine recipe that I doctored up a bit. The pecan pie was marvelous, as usual, but the other pie was only a marginal success. Some recipes are winners and others aren’t! Our last activity for Christmas Day was going to see “Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens.” I had been looking forward to that movie for months and I wasn’t disappointed. It was so good! The perfect end to the day. On December 26th we braved the mall in search of some post-Christmas deals. We had minimal luck, but it was still a good trip, with the added benefit of Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets for lunch. My dad and I went for another run that afternoon to burn off some holiday calories. And it’s a good thing too because we had leftovers from the previous day for dinner. That night we watched the extended edition of “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (which I thought was far superior to the theatrical version) while I baked an eggnog cake for the next day. My last full day in Tallahassee was a mixed bag. First of all, I learned that broiling a pan of brownies doesn’t work as well as baking them. I should pay more attention when using ovens that aren’t my own! My dad and I had to go to the grocery store after that disaster to buy ingredients for another batch. We discovered that finding toffee chips after Christmas is not an easy task. No luck at either Publix or Target so we resorted to buying some mini Heath bars and chopping them in the food processor. Fortunately I got the second pan of brownies, including the improvised toffee chips, just right. I had some old friends from high school coming over for a little party that night so I made a big pot of chili for everyone. Seeing my friends was so much fun. We always talk, laugh, and eat a lot when we get together. We took care of that entire batch of chili! I was so glad we could all get together while I was in town. December 28th was the day I flew back to Los Angeles, but my dad and I still made time to go to a jog that morning. Without him my workout clothes wouldn’t have gotten any use on that trip! My parents and I had lunch at Burgerfi on the way to the airport. (This was the second gourmet hamburger place we went to since I don’t have the opportunity to visit them in California. Not the healthiest meal option, but very tasty!) My flight back to LA was uneventful and I got back to my house without any trouble. It was a great Christmas trip and I loved every minute of it.

Christmas 2014

The first portion of this post was written while I was on my way back to California after Christmas (12/29), but never got around to finishing it. Typical! Better late than never, I guess!

Sorry for the unplanned blogging hiatus, I was so busy on my trip to Tallahassee for Christmas that I barely touched my laptop! I know that’s a pretty flimsy excuse for not updating my webpage, but I wanted to give a reason for my seemingly lazy behavior anyway. At the moment I’m sitting in the Dallas airport for my flight to LAX in about an hour. It was a whirlwind trip even though it was six days long. There’s always so much to do surrounding Christmas with shopping, cooking, and family traditions. But I had a wonderful time and a lovely Christmas with my parents despite the strong thunderstorms that accompanied my arrival (although my flight landed pretty easily in such horrible weather) and power outage when we got home from the airport. It’s a good thing my dad always has lots of flashlights! We went to sleep without power on the night of the 23rd. Luckily it was back on by the time we got up on Christmas Eve.

The remaining portion of this post was written today.

The rain wasn’t over yet, though. My parents and I waited out another line of thunderstorms that morning before heading to the mall to do some last minute Christmas shopping. That’s when I got my beloved red Toms which I’ve worn just about every day since then. Later than evening the weather had cleared up so we were able to go for our annual Christmas light viewing walk in the neighborhood. The rain had put a damper on some of the festivities, but it was still nice to admire the light displays. When we got home I hunkered down in front of the TV to watch “A Christmas Story” and wrap presents. You can’t wait any later than Christmas Eve for that! The next morning we made a delicious Christmas breakfast of buttermilk pancakes (thanks to this recipe from Martha Stewart), scrambled eggs, bacon, and fruit. Yum! We exchanged presents after breakfast and then all three of us got some exercise. It was a little chilly, but I ran 5 miles around the neighborhood, my dad ran a different route, and my mom took a walk. We all ended up getting home at about the same time. Our next job was putting together Christmas dinner. We had smoked turkey, cranberry sauce (using my own recipe), sweet potato casserole, and skillet green beans (a recipe I need to post soon). It was the most traditional meal we’d made in years (I usually make lasagna for Christmas dinner) and it was scrumptious. After dinner we went to see “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.” As far as I’m concerned, the jury is still out on this one. I definitely didn’t love it, but I think I’ll have to go see it again before making up my mind. As soon as we got home from the movie we had dessert – my mom’s famous chocolate cake and pecan pie. It was the perfect way to end Christmas Day.