'Tis the Season

I love Christmas time.  I love the music and the lights.  I love the general feeling of goodwill and peace on earth.  I especially love an entire month dedicated to the Saviors life and, of course, His birth.  This year was especially different in comparison to any other Christmas because I didn't decorate my home.  I always put up a tree and some carefully placed decorations, however, with the move so close to Christmas I decided not to stress about decorations.  Since I have never lived through an undecorated Christmas I felt a little like the Grinch did on Christmas morning when the Who's were still singing.  Christmas came without trees, and garland, ornaments, etc.  Not having the decorations made me work harder to remember the Christmas Spirit.  I found my thoughts turning to what matters most.  I am so grateful for this rare, and most likely unrepeated, Christmas without decorations.

We spent a wonderful evening with Beau's parents and maternal grandparents.  We did something I have never done before, but will definitely do again.  We had griddles on the table and an assortment of meats and veggies that you sauteed and put sauce on.  It was so fun to cook right at the table.  It was so tasty and healthy too!  We finished the evening listening to Beau's father reading the Christmas story from the Bible.  Christmas day we slept in and enjoyed a quiet day at home.  I look forward to the day when we will have littles in the house excited to see what Santa brought them.  That was the only thing missing from our day.

Today I will begin packing the house - frantically. Our move out day is January 15th, but we are hoping to be out sooner.  I figure I will use the remaining time I have off to get things organized and as packed as possible.  Then we will live in limbo (stay with Beau's parents - not that their house is limbo, but it is just not our house) until our place is ready to move in.

I came to some realizations about myself again.  On Christmas I decided to cook up some t-bone steaks (thank you Tiffany) and potatoes and rolls.  This was a deadly combination.  I didn't do much preparation in advance to concocting this plan, so I made an entire meal of things I can gorge myself on.  I had 3 rolls because I forgot how much I love home baked rolls - and I gave in to my gluttony.  I didn't have any potatoes, but I did saute up some veggies that tasted fantastic with the steak.  At the end of the evening I was not satisfied and the monster inside of me screamed for more, More, MORE!!  It took all of my restraint to just put the food away.  Actually I did a lot of putting food away yesterday.  I put all of the cookies in the freezer so I wouldn't want to eat them every time I walked into the kitchen (since they seemed to be staring me in the face).  Basically, yesterday was the remember not to eat that day.  My head just screamed for goodies and treats.  I think I was a bit homesick thinking of what my family was doing in California.  I dreamed of the food there, and tried to recreate it here.  I needed to create a new tradition for my family  in regards to food.  The baking was actually a wonderful and relaxing time for me.  I enjoy baking so much.  I think that next year I will be better at finding a good place to store them so I don't have to look at them so much after they are baked.  I also need to plan Christmas dinner in a way that will allow me to enjoy the food while still being able to remain in check with my eating.

Another realization I have come to is that it is easier for me to eat out than it is to eat at home.  This isn't just because when you eat out they prepare, serve, and clean up the meal.  It is because there is a set amount of food available.  Once the food is gone it is gone.  When I cook I am left with leftovers, and the urge to grab another serving.  This is dangerous to me, since portion control is one of the areas I struggle with the most.  I can make good decisions, but too much of a good thing can be bad.

As I prepare for this move I have been considering one of the areas that is most difficult for me - eating.  Typically I pack the whole kitchen and then we have to eat out (typically a lot of fast food) until we are unpacked in our new place.  So I have devised a plan.  I am going to plan out a bunch of freezer meals, so that when we move we have ready to go food that I won't have to worry about preparation clean up - so much.  At least with this move we won't be moving several states.  We are moving about 15 miles - so freezer meals will not be hard to transport.

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday.  I know that I love being able to spend time with mine!