"Fixed Expectations"

Cartoon from today's Washington Post.

In my family I'm the person that has all the "fixed expectations" of what Christmas should be and what we should eat and what we should be doing.  I have let some things go as I realized that absolutely no one cared whether we had gingerbread men or not, and I have managed to downsize decorations expectations but I still find myself thinking "Oh, we must must have fresh blueberry muffins for breakfast or it won't seem like Christmas."  Who am I kidding?  Yes, we like blueberry muffins, and yes people eat them, but no, they won't feel like they have been deprived of Christmas if I don't get around to making them.  And I think more feelings have been hurt by insisting on "traditions" than have been hurt by breaking traditions.  So, everyone, lighten up.  and Merry Christmas.

I need another list

Doing Noche Buena and Christmas breakfast and dinner in the space of less than 24 hours means that I need a list now more than ever.  None of it is that hard, it's just a lot and I'm afraid I'll forget some critical item.  So, here I go again.....

Baked goods -
cookies and sweets - done!
Make dinner rolls for Christmas dinner - can be frozen
Make cranberry bread and blueberry muffins - can be frozen

Monday -
Grocery store again - Aldi for Mediteranean dip and cheeses, block of cheddar for breakfast casserole, celery
Wrap gifts

Tuesday -
Sweet potato casserole - put in freezer
Stuffing casserole - put in freezer - half made - just add egg and broth and bake

Wednesday - make black beans, picadillo,


Thursday - set up tables, etc
cook sausage for casserole, shred cheese for casserole, do any other slice and dice tasks

Friday - cook turkey - what a great idea Daddy had - do this ahead and just slice and heat the meat on Christmas Day!
Make dips for Noche Buena
Get out all serving pieces and mark contents

Saturday - Make Breakfast casserole for Christmas morning.
Pick up cake at bakery!
Cook yuca, finish off picadillo
Cook fresh ham

pull everything together  for Noche Buena!  So far at 32 guests and counting!

I'll make many more grocery store trips before the week is over, and I've forgotten many tasks but this should help me stay on track.  And I hope the freezer will hold it all and that I remember to get things out of the freezer in time for them to thaw!

Please pass this on......

The Single Most Important Robert Reich Clip You Can Share Today

 

Robert Reich worked in the Ford and Carter administrations and was Secretary of Labor during the Clinton administration. He's currently a professor at UC-Berkeley and a commentator on NPR.

Please watch this clip and pass it along. It's a great explanation of why we should all support the "Occupy" movement.

I interrupt your holiday preparations with.....

...a little dose of reality.

Really, don't you think that we have set ourselves up for failure with the holiday fanfare?  Yes, grew up as a Christian, although I think I've now grown out of it, and yes, I have always and will always celebrate Christmas with the tree, the food, the cookies, the presents and the whole 9 yards, and yes, I'm as depressed as hell during this season.  I feel like Don Quixote in my quest for the perfect gifts; I am disappointed to acknowledge that my family drama will not resolve during the two hours of a made-for-TV Christmas drama; and my relentless need to try to create some special Christmas is totally unrealistic. So, today I'll do my best to get some perspective, and will fail miserably, but I am confident in my knowledge that in a week and a half this will all be over and things can get back to normal.  I can hardly wait.

I have a terrible time buying shoes. My foot is skinny, the only thing about me that is skinny, and  finding narrow shoes is difficult, especially at a price I want to pay.  I'm used to paying full price for shoes and I'm used to buying a pair of shoes that fits whether I need them or not.  The chances I'll be able to run out and buy a new pair of shoes when I actually need a new pair of shoes is very slim.

So last week when my very best, very favorite Clarks red clogs totally self destructed I was disturbed.  The sole of one shoe broke in half and the top of the other shoe separated from the sole.  What are the chances that both shoes "went bad" at the very same time? They weren't even worn down or shabby.  They actually looked great until the minute they were unusable.  It was like they had some internal expiration date that said, "make this woman go buy a new pair of shoes."

Today it was raining like mad, with giant puddles, so I pulled out a pair of heavy Eastland slip-ons that I could use to traverse the grocery parking lot.  As I was wandering through the grocery I thought that I had stepped on something soft so I looked at the bottom of my shoe.  The heel had separated from the sole and was sort of dangling and then as I walked I felt the shoe get bigger and bigger on my foot.  Now the top had separated from the bottom along the stitching!  It happened again!  I gingerly walked through the grocery hoping that my shoes didn't literally fall off my feet before I made it to the car.

Once home I chucked them into the garbage bin and now have resigned myself to going shoe shopping in the midst of all the Christmas shopping.  This was something that I definitely did not have on my to-do list.

Happy week....

Thanksgiving was great.  Beautiful day and I loved meeting G's family.  It was a nice prelude to the real event.

The wedding was perfect.  Perfect location, lovely brides, families happy, friends happy.