Christmas Prep, a Reality check!

     I had a friend of mine, who was following my blog posts about getting ready for Christmas, informed me my posts were making her feel guilty. I asked her why and she told me, because I was so on top of everything as far as getting ready for Christmas goes. And I laughed at her. I realize I've been attempting to guide you through everything to make everything less stressful for you in your Christmas preparations, but if you think I've done EVERYTHING I've listed thus far, you are dead wrong.


     So Okay, I've stayed on top of things like shopping, decorating, and wrapping, stuff I would call, The fun stuff. HOWEVER there are SEVERAL things that have fallen through the cracks for me, that I have to get back on top of. IE, cleaning the damn appliances. Remember when I told you it's my least favorite thing to do? I put it off. This is my personal assignment for tomorrow when I'm off. Baking.

    The confession has been made to my mother in-law, and I said I may make 1-2 batches of cookies, and my chex mix this year. I usually do like 5-6, but I simply can't be bothered.

    The closets aren't cleaned, and the cards aren't ready. By no means do I have it all together! So anyone beating themselves up, stop, I'm lagging a bit too.

     What is interesting about this point in the planning is we start to prioritize. Remember in the beginning of all of this we had that magical list of the perfect Christmas? If you've been able to keep it all together, and are getting exactly what you wanted on that list, good for you. If not and you're seeing things more clearly now, welcome to Christmas reality.

     Do you know some of my fondest memories of Christmas is when something went wrong? Like the year the roasting pan didn't fit in the oven and we had to cut up the turkey to cook it. Or the year I overflowed the sink. Christmas is about being together with people you love, Christmas is not perfect.

     So, as we sit here, the day before December, it's a time to stop beating yourself up, prioritize your list, and get ready for the highest gear we've been in, but enjoy every second of it!

Freezer meals

     Today we're talking about meal prep. Not meal prep for Christmas, that's still a little ways off. No today we're talking about keeping things as simple for you as possible. If you're at work all day, then headed to the Christmas concert, you don't have time to make a real meal, and will likely be super stressed and rushing and....you get it. Now is the time to think of meal prep. This is something I do regularly anyway, but this time of year, it's about keeping it simple and cutting corners.

     You can do this a couple of ways. What I do is take one afternoon and make stuff for a week. I end up freezing half of it and then I'm good to go.

     Soup is a good go to right now because it freezes well, is generally easy to make and made in big batch to cover several meals.

     Double or triple recipes when you make them, freeze em and you've got a few more go to meals.

     Super simple, buy a heat and eat meal in BULK, and package it up.

     These will come in handy on those days where you just can't bring yourself to cook

Frozen Foods

     Happy Black Friday! So I will warn, I did write this one WELL in Advance. Why?? It's Black Friday, and I work in Retail. When this gets posted, I'll already be working. None the less I wanted to make sure I put a post on here, however brief it might be. So back in September, we made our Grocery list, and we broke it down into 3 parts. Non-perishable, Frozen, and Fresh. I also instructed you, to get started on those non-perishables. Hopefully your collection looks something like this.

      We should be getting close to the end for those, keep your eyes peeled for your handful of non-perishables, but now is the time to start watching for those Frozen deals. Yup, we've made it, time to start our freezer foods. 

My Go-to Potluck Recipe

     I work in retail, and have Black Friday coming up. One really cool thing my workplace does for Black Friday is we have a Potluck. Last year, I was the one who brought the coffee travelers BUT this year my typical go-to potluck contribution has been requested. Not the first time I have had this requested of me, so I thought I'd share the recipe. It's super easy. The pic above is for 2 batches, because this is for the potluck on Friday. So below I have posted the recipe, enjoy!

     Ingredients:

     

     1 Cup Sour Cream

     1 Cup Mayo

     1 Pouch Cream of Leek Soup

     1 Pack Frozen Spinach (or half of the pack you see above)

     1 Loaf of Sour Dough Bread (optional)

     Thaw Spinach

     Mix together all the ingredients except the Sour Dough and let sit in Fridge for several hours

     Cut Sour Dough into a bowl, and tear up bread for dipping. Empty Dip into "bowl" and serve

Gifts and Wrapping

   

Black Friday is this week. This marks the official kick off to the Holiday shopping season. If  you haven't started shopping yet, now is the time. A LOT of stores start  their sales on the American Thanksgiving here in Canada.

     If you started your shopping back in September when we were first talking about starting your gift lists, and your shopping, you should be close to done. I personally have fur babies left to do an hubs, and I'm done. Time to start REALLY ticking people off that list. If you missed my last post, check it out, it has some tips to keep you sane as you venture out into the potential insanity of the stores. So part of the prep here is, wrap up as much of your gift shopping as you can. If it's something you have to get done little by little, make sure you get on the gifts that need to be mailed NOW.

     And speaking of wrapping, it's also time to consider how you want to handle this part. Are you going to do one big evening of wrapping? OR are you going to wrap as you pick up gifts? Hubs and I have done kind of all of the above. We're almost done shopping, but we went out and got most of our gifts this week, and did our wrapping the same day. If it's a fun thing for you, you turn on the tunes, grab a glass (or bottle) of wine and make a night of it, plan when you want to do that. If it's more of a chore, do it as soon as you get your gifts home to get it out of the way.

Cover The Stuff you Forgot, and How to Handle the Christmas Crowds

   

I sit here and sip my coffee, I'm completely thrown off because I usually work Monday's and I'm actually off today so this is super weird to me. But it has the wheels in my head spinning on what to accomplish today, while I have my husband with me because he is off today too. So What I am assigning to myself is exactly what I will assign to you as well.


     We've been doing a lot of list making in our planning process, and some stuff may have fallen through the cracks, or you may have put them off. For example, I haven't done my linen inventory and I know I need to because a lot of our towels became Alice's towels this fall. I also have a few things that I've let go longer than I would have liked, like I need specific boxes for some of the gifts this year, and I still haven't picked up our light timer. When I went grocery shopping the other day I did get all my slow cooker hot chocolate stuff. So remember that really early on list I said to make and check, and then remake? Now would be the time to remake that list, see what needs to be covered and see what you can cover now.

     For me, after this week, I need to psyche myself out to go shopping. This Friday is Black Friday, so Christmas Shopping is getting kicked into high gear for EVERYONE after that. I love the crowds when I'm working because I love always being at a steady pace, but when I'm shopping I enjoy quiet. If you're like me and you need to mentally prepare after this week, here is what I do.

     1. I never go when I have no time, it's a day off thing so I'm not rushed, and I remind myself I can take my time
     2. Take a deep breath, figure out where you want to go in what order and just tackle that plan
     3. Make sure you're comfortable. I'm in sneakers for this, and very likely yoga pants. I'm also avoiding wearing my jacket because there is a lot more body heat.
     4. Make it fun. I'll grab like a gingerbread latte while I'm in one of these crowds because while I wait, I can calmly enjoy my holiday drink
     5. This one is personal to me, but I feel like I'm not alone in this. I hear people say they hate Christmas, and I'm not sure that's true. They have let Christmas stress them out, and they hate stress. I've somehow held onto my childlike excitement for Christmas, and never want to be stressed about it ever because that would just contribute to the problem I always see. So I remind myself to not be like that.

If You are Reading this....

Super old pic, but has the triumphant look I wanted...HI KATE! 

     If you are reading this post, I did it! I wrote this post on Tuesday, kind of to motivate myself. In my post I did on Tuesday, I shared that I had some personal stuff going on. I'm still not ready to share those (because as I type this it's ACTUALLY like and hour later), but one of the things I can share with you about it is, I have to lose weight. Doctors orders.


     I would love to tell you, that when I got said orders, I came right home, got on a strict diet and a really tough workout plan, I would like to tell you that, but I would be lying. No, when I got the news I ended up eating an entire bag of poutine chips. AH progress. No, unfortunately, my motivations have been much more shallow. I looked at a group picture that they took at work on Halloween and didn't like what I saw. Then I saw another picture from work, and a picture from last year's Christmas party, and then they announced this year's Christmas party, and I want to look GOOD, It's incredibly shallow I know, but this is unfortunately what has motivated me.

     Since I'm confessing here, I don't know about you, but I have pinned the CRAP out of a ton of stuff that was supposed to help me "lose weight fast"...but let me be frank, the would have made me "lose weight fast" if I lost it simply by clicking a mouse. Good intentions, but no follow through.

     BUT if you are reading this, I did what I wanted to do! Last Friday night, I weighed myself and said I wanted to be down 5 lbs by next week. If you are reading this, I did it! I may set the same goal once again for next Friday, and shed a little more light on what I'm up to, but for now, simply know I'm amped, and I reached my goal!:D

What I've been up to with planning, and what is next for you

     If you were to walk into my house right now, you would see Christmas is in full swing. If you drove by it you would too (oh yes the lights are on at night). What's more I've been helping a friend of mine with getting her stuff together too. Tonight the two of us will be going to one of the Christmas sales we mentioned a long time ago in a post, Hope to get some pics and stuff from that. We got a ton done yesterday too.

    Most of the people who read these posts live in the Greater Saint John area or the HRM. I know Saint Jon has it tomorrow, but I think the HRM has their big Christmas parade in the evening. From my years working in radio in Saint John, let me stress to avoid parking on the parade route after 4:30 or so, because that's when they will start towing cars.

     SO you're assignment this weekend is take in anything that's going on that you said you wanted to take in on your master list (remember that thing you wrote up in September?) And meal planning/ prep. I know some people go to the grocery store when they need to, or just buy a bunch of stuff they like and make it when they feel like it. If I do either one of these, I spend WAY more money (like double or triple), I buy less healthy things (or the healthy stuff goes bad), and I never know what to make. I have to plan my weekly menu, and what's more I take time on the weekend to do meal prep. Now I'm not pressing this notion on you completely, but over Christmas, early meal prep you can heat and eat later may just be your best friend. The other option is to pick up heat and eat options and just, well...heat and eat them.

     I've been doing meal prep for a bit now, and actually another benefit from it is coming in another blog post later today (already wrote it, you'll see the score later),

     Keep it as simple as possible. Soups freeze well, and can be the perfect thing after a long day of shopping. Also when you're cooking now, if you make a stir fry or casserole, double the recipe, and freeze the other half. This doesn't have to be hard, remember it's meant to help you.

This is all part of getting ready, but I hate this part SO much!

     

     You may not like reading this post, and believe me, I hate sharing this with you. Your next assignment involves some cleaning. it's my least favorite thing to do too, but here it is. What is more, it involves  my LEAST favorite cleaning on the planet.

    I chose to do this post today, instead of Friday because typically speaking, I go grocery shopping on Friday. Today's assignment is cleaning the large appliances in the kitchen. I've been after you for clearing out the freezer, now is the tossing of freezer burnt, and scrubbing. Take a step down (in my fridge, if it's my mother in-law's you'd go up) to the Fridge, toss the expired, scrub the spills. Time for that Fridge to shine...But we haven't gotten to my LEAST favorite yet...oh no, here it is...the oven. I would rather scrub the entire rest of the kitchen top to bottom, than handle the oven...but it has to be done. We're about to jump head first into baking, and anything else special coming, so let's just get it over with shall we?

What Is Coming Up In My Blog

   

     Let me stress, this is NOT my first blog. It's like my 3rd. I even look back to see my earliest posts, and they're kind of lame. Not saying my writing these days should be hanging on a wall somewhere for all to see, but I am more passionate about my posts these days, and I'm regularly getting a sizable audience reading. 

     The biggest thing I've been posting about lately is Christmas, but I suppose that is only going to last so much longer, and I do want to keep posting after the holidays come and go. I do tend to be rather enthusiastic, maybe more than I should be in a lot of cases, but for that reason, my posts might be interesting, question mark. So my plan is to continue to post, and try and grab random inspiration where I can potentially find it. 

    Another thing my brother has asked me is why haven't I done a vlog? I've done Youtube videos in the past, and have given this some serious consideration. In the new year I very well may start posting one of my posts as a vlog each week. I do however VERY much enjoy writing and typing. 

     I also have some rather personal stuff going on, I may or may not share. Part of me REALLY wants to, but at the same time I kind of like my privacy. So this is by no means a promise, but it's something I'm tossing in there as a possibility. However, I think it would likely be something I share when I get to the other side of this, no matter the outcome. 

     So I guess that's what's up with me, and my plans for my blog coming up soon  

Baking

     I had customers come into the store yesterday and tell me it's far too early for us to be playing Christmas Music. I giggled to myself thinking, If they only knew what I had been writing since September. I'm pleased to tell you, I am pretty well done decorating. There might be a couple more things I may do but the brunt is done, and I sit here under my Christmas blanket, by my tree typing this. As I said before, I'm not about to tell you when to decorate, but I'll tell you, in my neighborhood, it has all begun, I counted 3 other houses with lights on...mine aren't...yet.

     Getting way off topic there, because today's post isn't about decorating, it's about baking. I legitimately do not bake any other time of year, but Christmas. I'm a great cook, but not baker. However, my Santa Cookie Jar is watching me every time I walk by.

   At the very least right now should be when you're making the game plan. I know for a fact, I'm making the chex mix recipe my Aunt gave me. I've told her in the past she could make me a big bag of that for Christmas and that would be a perfect gift, I love the stuff. I also know I want to make my God mother's secret recipe that came with my big mixing bowl as a wedding gift. AND I either want to get the recipe or SUBTLY HINT ON MY BLOG TO MY MOTHER IN-LAW ABOUT EITHER HER GINGER COOKIES RECIPE OR HER MAKING THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE MY FAVORITE COOKIES EVER! I think that was subtle right?

    Anyway, gather together the recipes you want to make, and start scheduling when you can make them. Most cookies, also freeze well, so generally speaking, I have some go into Santa up there when I'm done, and I have a tin I like to put a chunk of the batch into (generally half) and keep for Christmas. The whole amount never makes it, but I have a nice variety to share after we look at lights Christmas Eve. While I'm saying plan now, you are totally able to start baking and freezing now. Also, keep an eye out for baking stuff because the big sales are coming up on baking supplies.

    Also remember to keep plugging away at that non perishable list we talked about in September.

Remembrance Day

   

     Today I'm not giving you any added assignments, instead I leave this day for both, it's purpose, and how you choose to use it. I feel due to some electoral choices recently made south of the boarder, I'm holding tighter to the ideals and freedom that we as Canadians far too often take for granted. Today is a day to very much our chance to take just one moment to remember this. This is why I stressed get your poppy.

    So take, and treasure that moment of silence, because yes, we are free, but this was achieved by many who sacrificed, some came back different people because of horrors they've seen. Some have come back wounded, and their lives have still changed forever. And remember, some didn't come back. Remember them, and be thankful for what they have given us.

I Just Put Up My Outside Lights

     Today, my husband and I put up our outside Christmas lights. I expect plenty of judgement to this point now, from those who think I’m disrespecting Remembrance Day. I fail to see how my decorations at my house prevent me from respecting, and appreciating what people have done and sacrificed so I can live in an amazing and free country, you better believe I will be holding that moment of silence in the highest regards tomorrow.

     Then there are those who tell me, “Wait until December 1^st”. To that I say…no. There are multiple reasons why I start early. One is flat out convenience. By doing my lights now, I’m avoiding colder weather, and if I have the house done, I don’t have to worry about doing it all when I’m pulling long shifts and I’m exhausted. Another reason, I want to.

     If you haven’t figured out yet, by the last 2 months of posts, I kind of love Christmas. It’s in my blood, my mother was a Christmas nut, and at Christmas, I feel most connected to her, so I’m not about to apologize for extending that. I see so many people when they got older, became jaded by the negative side effects of the season. I get it the kids want a ton of toys, and the malls are packed. There is so much to do, and you’ve got it all jammed into a short period of time (unless you follow my blog). And let’s not forget, if you have ever worked in retail, you probably have a horror story or two. I’m lucky enough, I’ve held onto that childish love for the season and everything it holds. I seriously hope no one who reads my posts gets their joy out of raining on some one else’s parade, because if that’s the case, I feel sorry for you.

     I guess why I’m posting this is because I have actually seen a lot of traffic on my Christmas themed posts, so I know I’m reaching some people. When I’m reaching you with my posts of happiness and joy (because that’s what these are, getting prepared for what should be the happiest and most wonderful time of the year), I hope you’re walking away with a little more appreciation for the season than you came with. 

Christmas Cards

     

Ah the Christmas Card, a lost art these days. I've noticed my collection gets smaller each year, which is unfortunate, because I love sending and receiving them. But if Christmas cards are something you do, it's time to start thinking of them now. If you're like me and actually lose your addresses every year (sorry Bev, it's always you I come to for that), you really need to get on that. I like to send them at the very beginning of December, perhaps selfishly because like I said, I like getting cards too, and often, people send them back when you send a card to them. But it is also to get them out nice and early. Doing up the cards is usually a team effort in my house. We split up the list, I take my side of the family, Cale takes his and when I'm done I help Cale with his list (Cale's family is bigger). 

So now is the time to get the list together, and get your cards picked out, or printed. And remember if you're doing a letter, get that done now too. 

What do you do with cards once you receive them? I incorporate them into my decor! It's not up yet, or I would share a pic. I take ribbon, and use painters tape ( to protect the finish) to attach it lengthwise down my kitchen cupboard doors. Then I use painted clothes pins to attach the cards to the ribbon. I got the idea from two places. One, I've seen people decorate their cupboards with ribbon before. And the other place was actually my mother in-law, who usually puts her cards all over her cupboard doors. How do you display your cards?

Your Wishlist

   

      If you haven't been asked yet, you will soon, "What do you want for Christmas"? You've already started your gift list, and have even probably asked some one yourself. Now is the time to get everyone in the household to make that list. This is actually a part that doesn't make things easier for you, but for others, you can give them a real answer.

     You can kick it old school and actually write an actual list. We're in the age of technology, you could have a bunch of photos you take while you're out and about. You could use pinterest...actually if you're a pinterest addict like I am, then you may have one on the go, it's time to clean it up and polish it off. This is your assignment because then when your parents ask, you can tell them, or send them the link.

A Whole LOT of Broth

     I make Broth, A lot, and I make a lot of it. It's the time of year, soup, is a fantastic choice to make on the regular. It takes a while, but it's so much better and far more cost effective. My biggest issue is usually storage ( I do plan on getting a deep freeze or another small freezer eventually). For a long time though I tried making this, and never actually made a pot that had any real flavor. I tweaked and played with the recipe, and I really don't have that issue anymore so I thought I'd share my recipe and what I do. 

You will need:

     A large pot, the biggest one you own (mine is one for canning)

     Bones, beef, chicken, turkey whatever you have on hand

     1 Red pepper, seeds and stem removed

     1 Onion

     1-2 Carrots

     A clove or two of garlic (unless I've got my father in-law eating it)

     2 Stalks of Celery

     2-3 Bay Leaves

     Salt to taste 

     Enough water to fill the pot

     A ladle

     Containers for Storage ( I use jars)

     A Colander

     2 Big bowls

     A Funnel 

     Large Measuring cup (optional)

Put all the edible stuff in a pot. With the Salt, less is more, you can always add more when you use it later, but you can't take it away once you boil it in. Bring it to a boil, and then reduce it way down, you want a basic simmer, and let it go for 12 hours. When it's done, you will want to give it time to cool down. I give it a couple hours, and if I want it to go faster, I do take the lid off obviously. 

My packaging method requires 2 large bowls, a colander, a funnel ( I use jars so my funnel is a canning funnel), and a ladle. It's a long process, not as long at the actual cooking, but it can be tedious (Cale and I trade off to break it up). I use the large measuring cup, or ladle, and I put the broth through the colander, into one of the bowls, until I fill it up. I move the colander to the other bowl to avoid to make a huge mess. Then ladle the broth into the jars, and continue to cool. You're going to want to make sure you give some room in the jar for expansion, I've learned the hard and rather messy way. You'll want to freeze most of it because it doesn't have the preservatives that store bought has. 

Turkey talk

Christmas 2009

     If you've been following my posts from the beginning, you know we started talking about food VERY early on. And if you've been following my instructions, you've probably made a really good dent in the non-perishable part of the list. This would be a really good time, to do a refresher list, see what you've covered already, and what is still waiting to be picked up. We're not at perishables or frozen food just yet, but we are getting close. 

     This post is however about (potentially) the main part of your biggest meal, the Turkey. IF you're getting a turkey this year, you have an assignment. If you're ordering a fresh Turkey, now would be a good time to do that. Getting it done early basically covers you later, and let's be honest, the butcher is gonna like you way more than some one who pops in December 18th. 

     If you're going with a frozen turkey, don't get it yet, but do consider where you're going to keep it. If you have a place all set to go, you're all set. If you're like me, and you just have your freezer, start emptying the freezer now. Avoid buying stuff that will be stored in there for more than a week, and start using up the stuff you have in there. Again if you're like me, you're getting to a point where your freezer is going to be mostly for Christmas. 

PLAN your decorating

   

My Christmas Decorations, Hibernating 

Well I'm officially kicking into High gear at my house with Christmas planning and prep. Today's post is about decorating. By no means am I saying you should be doing your decorating RIGHT NOW. People have mixed feelings about before Remembrance Day, and before December. Around December 1st, I may light a fire under you and say get started, but beyond that, no, I'll never tell you WHEN to start decorating.

      There is actually a few things to take into consideration, for starters, are you doing EVERYTHING in one day? In my house growing up, and still today, we do the outside lights first, then the house and finish with the tree, generally each is done on a different day. So now I know I need to set aside 3 days for decorating. ALSO,is it kind of something you do as a solo act? do you want to do it as a family? Because now you need to take into account more schedules. Haul out the Calendar and plan each of these events. Also, did you want to have anything special for the decorating? I know when I was a kid we liked hot chocolate after setting up the lights, and I like to watch a christmas movie after the tree is up. Think of all of this and plan accordingly.

     Also, do you need to pick anything up? Well I'm in my first house this year, so we need to get a ladder, and outside lights. I've got an eventual plan for my house in my head, but this year we're keeping it basic and really only getting new lights. If I worked in retail or not, we'd likely be all decorated before December 1st in my house...if you haven't figured it out yet, I like Christmas...But basically after November 25th (ironically this year) Hubs and I have majorly conflicting schedules, so it's become a necessity. I will say this though, if you do no other part early, I do recommend doing the lights early if you have to go outside, because it's only getting colder.

     So in a nutshell time to figure out what you need for decor, and when you plan to do it, with all the bells and whistles.

A Wardrobe Experiment Week 2

     When I started out on this experiment, I said I wanted to do this for 2 weeks, which is where we are now. Last week I said I wanted to do 4 weeks. Where do I stand now? We'll come back to that. For now we'll do what I did for my last post, what have I learned. If you haven't read my last 2 posts, check them out here and here. 

1. My Colour Pallet is not what I thought. I knew Green was a big colour for me, I love neautrals. I expected more blue, and didn't expect as much deep red. 

2. I like Tights more than I thought. Up until recently, I didn't own any. Now I do, and I pinned 2 pairs, one basic and one super cute pair. They're comfy and versitile, and I need another pair

3. When it comes to Accessories, I take a very practical approach. My accessories weren't plentiful, but versitile, and there was plenty to keep me warm

4. I could probably go all of fall with only 5 pairs of shoes. I have like 5 pairs of boots for fall, and really only use 2. beyond that it's flats and a pair of sneakers

5. I'm drowning in basics and I really don't need to be. Thus far, I've pinned 6 basic, or layering tops, and basically I would rotate them. I have a drawer devoted to these, I again, don't need that!

     So what's next? Well, I don't really need another week, by looking at what I have, I can see a couple odd pieces I'm missing I can add to my board. Another basic top, another sweater, more pj's and a pair of slippers. Otherwise, mission accomplished