It's Christmas! Flashback Cafe Style

As I begin this post, it is 10:20 pm in California on Christmas Eve.  I am lying here in bed, looking forward to the day ahead, and I begin picturing Christmases past.  Some are just little moments in time, while other recollections are long and elaborate.  These are some of my favorites:

The first one that comes to me takes place when I was a kid. We had Oma at our house for Christmas.  We began a game of Monopoly that went on for three days!  It was cutthroat mayhem!  Adults selling privileges, children selling chores, all to pay rent or buy properties.  The first year that board games were a major part of our Christmas traditions.

The next is just a picture and a feeling.  The single image of my dad leaned over a table struggling to put together my brother's new remote control car.  It was so awesome and I was so jealous, but it made that Christmas amazing!  And dad was SO frustrated.  Hehe.

Then I remember our Christmas dinner.  Oh that heavenly seafood!  See, most people celebrate with a ham or turkey.  Our family celebrates with this wonderful concoction that I don't even have a name for.  It has crab, shrimp, lobster, and it is similar to a chowder texture.  We pour the seafood over toasted, buttered bread cups and it is a match made in heaven.  Partnered with green beans almondine and cheddar bay biscuits, the meal is perfect.

Then I would think of Oma. She's been gone 5 years now.  We still talk about her when we are playing the games.  She cheated all the time and we just loved trying to catch her at it!  She always liked to have a fire going in the fireplace and had 3 blankets on her.  We still go to ask her what she wants to drink sometimes when setting the table.

Finally, I settle on last Christmas.  D's family came to visit for Christmas and it was awesome!  We took them to see San Francisco, had Christmas at my parents, went hiking, and played a LOT of card games!  It was stressful at times, but it was so totally worth it!

I am looking forward to adding more memories this Christmas.

Nice To Meet You

In many ways, I consider myself truly blessed.  I have a wonderful family, a secure and comfortable life, reasonably good health despite some aches and pains, an incredibly flexible and fulfilling job, and friends who truly love me.  But now the holidays are approaching and while this is my absolutely favorite time of year and I simply cannot wait to celebrate, I. Am. Freaking Out. 

Holidays are a time for smiles and hugs, greetings and celebrations, fun and laughter, games and cheer.  Trust me, I will have all of those.  It is the part leading up to it that gets my undies in a bunch, especially this year. 

See, my mother-in-law is arriving tonight.  8:30pm.  And she will be here through Thanksgiving. 

Maybe I should rephrase that.  Don't get me wrong.  I love my mom-in-law.  We get along great and she is one of the sweetest ladies you will ever meet, but she has never been to my home before.  The first time I met her, was at her home in Canada.  Her turf.  The second time I saw her for an extended period was when we visited her in Hong Kong for two weeks.  Again, her turf.  On her turf, the only thing I have to worry about is me and my actions/appearance.  But now, this is going to be at my home...on my turf. 

This, in theory, should actually make things more comfortable for me, right?   Oh hell no.  If anything, it makes it more stressful because now it isn't just about me.  It is now my home, my food, my habits, my animals, etc.  Now it is my entire life, and though I know better...really I do...I feel like everything I am is now under scrutiny.  Did I scrub that toilet well enough?  Do I have the food she likes to eat?  Do I have enough entertainment things for her?  Will she think I corrupted her son somehow?  What if she doesn't like our pets?   Is our home too cluttered?  And because I can always find one more thing to stress about, the dishwasher is now broken.  Have I mentioned I hate washing dishes by hand?  

And that doesn't even touch on all the possible mishaps for Thanksgiving dinner that I have running through my head.

So yea, in all honesty, she will probably just be thrilled to see her son again for the first time in over a year (hard to visit when she lives on the other side of the world), but this is who I am.  I am Alicia and my middle name is Worry. Nice to meet you.


.

I had a miraculous egg to show you...and then my cat stole it.

So last night I decided to make a cake.  Isn't it pretty?

See, we are having company over tonight for dinner and I thought we should have something available for desert should someone so choose to have a sweet tooth.  As I am adding the eggs, an incredible thing happened.  The last egg cracked perfectly around the center line with no additional radiating cracks.  It. Was. Amazing.  I showed it to my husband who so gallantly pointed out to me that this is exactly the type of thing you blog about!  "If it is cool enough to show someone, then it is cool enough to blog about."  See, being new to blogging, I don't always catch these things so he helps me along. 

Anyway, so I put the two perfectly halved shells on a plate to the side so I could finish making the cake and then take a picture later.  One problem with that plan.  By the time I was ready to take the picture, half the shell was gone!!  Knowing the cat likes to steal cool stuff of mine (hair ties, paperclips, lids to bottles, my shoes), I determine she must be the culprit.  Upon questioning the suspect on the whereabouts of my stolen treasure, this is the reaction I got:

Just like her to try to play coy with me.  I figure if I find the evidence, then she can't deny the act because I could run DNA testing on the cat saliva I was bound to find on the stolen treasure.  So I enlisted the help of my gallant husband who them found the second part of my perfectly halved egg shell crushed...CRUSHED...under the shoe rack by the door.  My miracle...destroyed.  It was a dark time in my life.

Now I know what you might be thinking.  If my husband found the crushed shell, perhaps he planted it and crushed it himself.  I suppose if he was the malicious type that would be a rather fitting way of crushing my blogging dreams, but given the fact he is the one who suggested the blogging idea to begin with, I doubt he would do such a heinous act.  It is much more likely that the cat did this as part of her devious plan to rule the world.  Now to confront the accused with the evidence:

How Sad. 

And the other half is so perfect...so straight...like they both used to be. 

Not even a crack anywhere else.

How do you think the defense will plead?  My guess: Meow.

.

Maybe I have been reading too many of these child development books

So last night the hubby had game night with the guys after work.  What is this you ask?  Well first, keep in might that D works for Sony Online Entertainment.  Yes, he makes computer games for a living.  This also means that he works with a bunch of other gamers.  Computer nerds unite!!!  Oh how I wish I could work there too.  LOL.

Anyway, they had decided that after work last night, they would play a Magic tournament.  That is all fine and dandy with me.  They also sometimes stay after to play other games too.  Card games, LAN parties, yea, they are gamers.  Totally sweetheart gamers too.

So yesterday I was thinking I would do something sweet and make D the crabcakes he has been craving and bring them to him for dinner along with cookies or something for the other guys.  Went to the store, got all the stuff, got home, then promptly got sucked into the internet and TV.  Next thing I know it's 5:30pm and I haven't even started yet.  Well, I thought if nothing else, I could throw together the crab cakes for him real quick and bring at least those anyway, cause you know, I love my man and all.

So I message him explaining how I planned to feed him and how time got away from me and I ask would you still like me to make them for you and bring them?  His response: "I brought dinner so I'm fine.  Make them tomorrow."  Ok, he obviously didn't understand the meaning and the feeling behind what I was planning on doing for him, but that's ok because he is a guy and I am not going to argue with him while he is at work.  Instead, I decide to try to forget it, feed myself, and find something distracting to do until he is ready to be picked up after the game.

Apparently the distracting thing didn't work so well because this is how the conversation went on the way home:

Me: Did you have fun?

D: Yep.

Me: Did you have enough to eat for dinner?

D: Yep.

Me: Sorry I didn't have the crabcakes ready for you.

D:  That's ok.  I told you I brought food anyway.  We can have them tomorrow.


Me:  You don't understand.

D:  Ummm...apparently not.

Me:  Don't you know that all I wanted was to feel included, needed, and like I belonged?

D:  ...

Me:  Hmm...That sounds like something from the positive discipline book I just finished reading for school.

D:  ... (yes my husband is a man of few words.  it's frustrating sometimes)

Me:  Anyway, I just kinda thought I would be all awesome-like and walk in with crabcakes for you and cookies for the guys and everyone would think how you have such an awesome wife and I could have significance and belonging for a little bit.

D:  *chuckles*

Me: What?!  Is it wrong for me to want to feel included?

D: No.

Me: ...

D: ...

Me:  Well, maybe you actually did me a favor.

D:  Oh?

Me:  Yea, cause I have never made crab cakes before, so you were actually protecting me!

D:  Uh huh?

Me:  Well, how embarrassing for me would that be had I come in, dropped off what seemed like delicious treats, and then you bit into a crab cake just to spit it out because it tasted awful!  See, you were protecting me.  You are so good to me honey.  I love you.  *big grin*

D:  I love you too.


Why do I feel like I need to feed people to feel accepted?  I think I need therapy.