One beefy post

So much ground to cover, much of it boring to relay. I’ll start with the timeless tale of the Christmas tenderloin. Sit back for this - it’s a long one. On Christmas Eve I volunteered to host a dinner for Mark’s 95 yo Grandma Laima, his Father Martin, Martin’s wife Sylvia and my Mom. As I have mentioned before on countless occasions, Martin is a picky eater – and since he doesn’t eat chicken, fish, seafood or pasta and his wife doesn’t eat pork, I have to make beef every time they come to visit. The thing is that I don’t often cook beef on any other occasion so I’m always testing out some new recipe on the fly, which is never a good idea. Mark would tell you everything always turns out okay, but that’s because Mark is a very kind man who is happy to have a wife that feeds him. When I got this month’s Family Circle (don’t laugh - I subscribe specifically for the recipes which are good without being too time consuming or using too many unusual ingredients that you don’t have around the house) I was pleased when they had a “holiday favorite” recipe for beef tenderloin in wine sauce that looked tasty and simple. So the day before Christmas Eve off I went to the store to buy the necessary ingredients for our holiday meal. I took Noah with me so that Mark could work on straightening the house while we were away. And as usual Noah was a big distraction so I was just trying to fly through the shopping and get out of there and get to the liquor store (a whole other story) before his patience wore out. That night I was discussing the menu with my mom on the phone. When I told her I was making beef tenderloin she said “A tenderloin is what they cut filet mignon from. That was an expensive piece of meat, wasn’t it?” Honestly, I had no idea what I paid for it. Not only had I looked at the label to make sure the cut was at about 2.5 pounds but neglected to note the price, I also had no idea what my total bill was at the grocery store because I was bagging and baby entertaining and just slipped my card through. In my mind’s eye I pictured opening up the fridge and being taken aback with shock while I looked at the label and realized I paid a whopping $25 for the tenderloin. But that wasn’t the case. The truth was I looked at the label and realized… I had paid FORTY FIVE FREAKING DOLLARS. I nearly had a heart attack. And now I was really sweating the fact that I had NEVER cooked this piece of meat before and I’ve NEVER been happy with the way beef has turned out when I cook it. And it was worse still on Christmas Eve day when I pulled out my meat thermometer and it wasn’t working. But it was a Christmas miracle when not only did it turn out perfectly, but my mom was able to fix the botched attempt I made at the gravy. Even the side dishes were good - sautéed potatoes, Szechwan green beans, and braised carrots. But I have to admit the citrus dressed salad was weak, but you can’t have it all. The thing is that I would have been in a complete panic in the grocery store if I had realized the tenderloin cost that much because that was the recipe I was banking on but I would have refused to pay that much – but I don’t regret it in the end because everyone really enjoyed it and not only was it one of the best pieces of meat I have ever eaten, it was without a doubt one of the best meals I have ever cooked.

And now on why I am a grinch. Mark and I didn’t buy Noah any gifts for Christmas. Not even a one. We’re watching our money, he just got a million things for his birthday and was bound to get a million more from family for Christmas, and he doesn’t yet have any understanding or expectations of Christmas so we decided he was getting squat. I felt pretty good about our decision until people would ask us what Santa brought Noah and I had to say “Ummmm….. nothing.” Oh well.

Mark and I set a $50 limit for buying each other a gift – and much to our surprise ended up exchanging watches. Funny thing is I’ve been asking Mark to buy me a watch for every gift-giving occasion for the last three years, and he always forgotten. This Christmas I asked for a locket to put Noah’s photo in, and Mark finally got me a watch. He said he forgot I asked for a locket. I know there is a lesson for me in there somewhere.

On Christmas Day we went to my Dad and Oma’s place for a few hours in the afternoon and then went to my Mom's to see my step-brother Brian's family and the have dinner with my Grammy. We spent the night there and on the 26th picked up my 10 yo sister Jessica so she could spend a few days with us. Though she is my half-sister from my paternal side of the family, my Mom’s family was incredibly welcoming of Jess when we brought her to our family gift exchange at my cousin Tammy’s place. On the 27th Mark, Jess, Noah and I went to breakfast at Morning Glory, played around the house in the afternoon and then went to Longwood Gardens in the evening to see the Christmas display. There’s a long story there too – but I’ll sum up by saying it took us an hour and forty five minutes to get there when it should have taken 40. Luckily we were able to shrug off our collective irritation to enjoy the Gardens. Yesterday Mark went back to work and I took Jessica shopping and in the evening I took her home after I put Noah to bed. Of course Murphy’s Law says that is the perfect time for Noah to wake up half an hour later and be really pissed off that I’m not there to put him back to sleep. Both Mark and he had a really rough hour but both survived. I even recovered from feeling like the worst wife and mother in the world. Well, a bit anyway.

So I think I caught you up. I still have a bunch of pictures and observations about the holidays – but this is hella long already. I’m amazed you got through it. Plus I gots to get something else done during Noah’s nap. Oh – did I mention he is a one nap man nowadays? Yup. The days of two naps seem to be long gone. Whoa is me. So nap time is of the essence, so I’m off.

Oh and the big Christmas surprise is that my sister Elisha is pregnant!