christmas+flashback.

yo!  so i guess today did not go according to plan.. i was going to spend the day relaxing and doing some blog business and whatnot.  i spent the day out and about with the boyf.  just now opening the laptop and it is after 10 PM. hah! oh well, twas a good day none the less.

i have kinda lost track of the days lately.  i am digging this whole 5 day weekend thing but i can’t tell if it is friday or saturday or sunday.  pretty sure it is saturday, right?

and i am also pretty sure i left off saying i would be back to recap christmas.. so i suppose i should get to that!

christmas day.

marshall and i woke up around 8 AM.  he is a sweetheart and made me some coffee and brought it to me while i was still in bed.  we exchanged gifts with each other at his house… pretty sure he is the raddest boy ever.  i kind of hate it when i get outdone on christmas.  i would much rather be the out-doer.  well.. marshall wins this time around.

i am not really into talking about all the stuff i got for christmas because that is weird for me.. BUT i know you are all suckers for food and fitness things so i will tell you that he did get me some new puma running shoes that i am stoked to try out! 

and no, i have not worked out since wednesday.. haha.. so i have not yet tried them out ;) and he also got me a coffee bean grinder and a french press! yessss. i am so excited to taste the french press difference.

we headed to my parents’ place for christmas festivities.   i was sporting my little girls owl PJs from target.  the benefit of being pint sized? i can wear kid-steezy pajamas in an XL and get away with it ;)

my sister whipped up an amazing breakfast casserole~

 

this had obrien potatoes, eggbeaters, ham, cheese, mushrooms.. hmmm other stuff? it was so dang good! and actually really healthy, i will be making this for myself sometime for sure.

i also made some english breakfast tea~

we opened gifts at my mom’s house~again, not going into the details of it all but i do want to share some of the food & fitness related gifts i got, because i know you guys will be as excited as me!

foam roller!

my nieces were totally convinced that it was a giant tootsie roll when it was all wrapped up and were a little disappointed when it was just a boring old foam roller. but i was FOR SURE excited about it.

silicone muffin tins (mini + regular sized)

ah yes, can’t wait to do some baking with these.

mini grater.

 

as you can tell.. i was overly excited about this one. i love little things! (hopefully that’s NOT what she said.)

cute/funny story time.  my mom showed all of us girls a website that creates any word you pick and it uses unique photos for the letters.. such as a photo of a hole in a fence for the letter “O” or part of a picket fence for the letter “N”.  well, she asked us each what word we would like and said she would get each of us one for christmas. 

this was a few weeks ago.  i remember telling her that i couldn’t think of any word that i really wanted and not to spend the money on it because it woud probably be a waste. i don’t recall mentioning to her that if i were to get a word it would be “balance” but i guess i must have, because christmas morning…

i was in SHOCK when i saw my mom had got me a word even though i told her not to.. and even MORE shocked because it was the word “balance” and i didn’t even remember saying that to her! i thought for sure she was a mind reader!

the best part about it all is the frame she found for the artwork.  it just oozes the definition of balance, don’t you agree? i love how it is all wibbly-wobbly :) it kind of almost made me cry.

something else that was worth noting is my sister made me the most awesome pillow.  i used to be obsessed with volcom (a brand).. not so much anymore, but for years upon years my sister has made me a unique gift with the volcom logo.  first it was a wooden clock, then a pillow, then a quilt, then a set of mirrors, then a garden stepping stone, then a glass jar.. i think that is all, am i missing a year? anyway.. she found some awesome purple houndstooth and made me this incredible pillow~

i think homemade gifts are so much fun.  one of a kind!

it was so fun to spend the morning/early afternoon with my WHOLE family.  that is a rare occurrence!

after awhile hunger got the best of me and i snacked on leftovers from christmas eve~ more stuffed mushrooms, grape jelly meatballs, chips+guacamole and some honey baked turkey~

and my mom and i played a new word game (holly you would love it!) called word on the street.

super fun, highly suggested.  while we played, marshall & the kids slept the day away~

we eventually made our way back to marshall’s where i blogged and then we hung out at our friends’ house the rest of the evening.   dare say it was the best christmas thus far :)

saturday.

oh, that’s today!  just wanted to recap the eats~

woke up around 10.. brewed some coffee but didn’t eat.  i cleaned myself up and eventually ate some food around 1..

dear pita pit, why are you not located in the SLC?  why must i go all the way to ogden to enjoy your deliciousness?  please open a location near my house ASAP.  sincerely, janetha b.

wheat pita, grilled chicken, tzatziki, feta, mushrooms, sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, olives, spinach & avocado. heaven.

happy camper pita eater.

marshall got the breakfast pita.. genius!  it is like a one-up on the breakfast burrito!

we shopped the day away and worked up an appetite around 7:00.. we went to the macaroni grill because marshall had a gift card.  i got the halibut:

sounds good, right? looks good too:

note to self: never go to macaroni grill again. it is gross. thank goodness this meal was free. the halibut was tougher than a rubber tire and had zero flavor.  for the record, marshall’s lasagna was equally as gross. the only good part about the meal was the crayons supplied to color on the table. the end.

now marshall and i are watching inglorious basterds and eating vanilla bean ice cream + pears~

yum. pears are not something i would think to put on ice cream but the two paired nicely.  or should i say PEARed nicely :P haha.

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flashback friday saturday round eighteen.

it is kinda a given to flashback to christmases past, no? 

christmas 2005.

i lived in an apartment on my own and this was the glorious tree my mom bought for me :)

here i am opening the volcom mirrors~another homemade volcom gift from my siister.

 

so stoked to get my first pod that year. which coincidentally has recently bitten the dust and this year i got a new one to replace it.

in 2005 my sister and her family surprised us at our doorstep (on christmas eve i believe!)  they also surprised us by letting us all know they were expecting another baby.  look how tiny my nieces were back then! now they are 8 and 6 and the one she was pregnant with, sofi, is 3.

 

christmas 2006.

i lived with 4 other girls and we had a tree together~

sad.. my last christmas spent with mable.

you may recognize this in my cookie recipe photos!

 

clearly i was excited about this one.

christmas 2007.

i was in the same house in 2007 and we had a tree again.. this was the best shot i had of it though!

first christmas with marshall and randy!

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and my sister & her fam from california were in town again in 2007.  wow, looks like it has been every other year that they visit for christmas! guess they better plan for 2011 :)

the number of nieces and nephews had grown~

christmas 2008.

no christmas tree at my house this time around :( but still good times were had!

and apparently they were so good that nobody can locate the photos for the festivities but here are two i pulled off my sis-in-law’s blog..

i made a TON of food..

and it was penny’s first christmas <3

gee.. sure wish i had the rest of the photos from last year! hope they are somewhere.

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that wraps up the christmas edition of flashback friday..erm, saturday.. did you participate? let me know and i will link back.  i know that deb and tiff did!

daaaang. it is 1 AM. this girl is off to bed. lots to do tomorrow~hopefully will start making a dent in reader as well :P

hope you are all enjoying your weekend!! have a great sunday!

Qs~

1. did you get any foodie or fitness or blogging related gifts this year? what were they?

2. favorite thing to put on top of ice cream?

xo. janetha b.