What Are Your Holiday Favorites? Let's Hear 'Em!

Let's talk about Christmas, the holidays and all your favorite things that you love and hate about it.  Come'on - get into the spirit and answer my questions below, will ya?  And if you're Jewish or some other faith, please let me know your favorites about your holiday. I don't want to exclude anyone but I'm not as familiar with those traditions.

If you're reading this post, then you must:

(a) leave a comment and answer the below 25 questions that I made up,

(b) write the answers to the questions below in your own blog post, if you have a blog, that is.

or (c) call yourself a scrooge in the comment below and refuse to answer them. 

I hope you choose (A) or (B) but if you choose (C) then I'll just let the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future deal with you. If you do decide to write your own blog post about it, please mention me since I am the author of these important questions.  (Writers credit and all that jazz - thanks!)

Okay, here goes.  I'll answer them as well to be fair.

(1) What is your favorite Christmas movie?

A Christmas Story, hands down!
Elf is a close second!
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is a close third!


(2) What is your LEAST favorite Christmas movie?

Any frickin' cheesey @ss Lifetime movie with people like Crystal Bernard, Valerie Bertinelli or some old, has-been actress.



(3) What is your favorite Christmas song?

O' Holy Night (love the Martina McBride version) and Merry Christmas Darling (by the Carpenters).



(4) What Christmas song(s) drives you crazy?

Feliz Navidad and Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time



(5) What is your favorite Christmas drink? (i.e. egg nog, hot chocolate)

Hot chocolate with Bailey's in it! :-)



(6) What is your favorite Christmas memory?

When my dad spiked my great grandmother's drink (she was in her 80's at the time) and she had a buzz and her face turned red/purple. LOL! I guess that's wrong but it was darn funny!  And she was okay, I promise.



(7) What is the best toy/gift you've received on Christmas?

When Kirk and I were dating he gave me a pair of black leather gloves just like from the movie "Serendipity" which we had just seen together a month or so prior. It was in 2001. I still have those gloves and it reminds me of when we fell in love.  (awwwww!)



(8) What is the worst toy/gift you've received on Christmas?

Useless kitchen gadgets, disgusting soup and drink mixes or ugly socks from aunts and uncles when I was a teenager



(9) What do you LOVE about the holidays?

Family fun and making new memories. Cozying up by the fire and drinking.



(10) What annoys you about the holidays?

Crowds, impatient people, and TRAFFIC!



(11) Do you prefer star or angel on top of a Christmas tree? Or something else?

Star - make it a flashy one!



(12) What is your family favorite recipe at Christmas?

All of my grandmother Ethel's fudge and turtle candies.  She was/is such a great baker!



(13) Are you a Grinch or a Who at Christmastime?

Somewhere in between and depends on the day and who I'm around.  I try to be a Who for the most part. 



(14) Christmas light displays - Love them or Hate them?

Mostly love them.  So long as they're not too tacky or full of plastic figurines.



(15) Santas at the mall - Fun times or Creepy?

Creepy. I have never taken Vivian and I really don't want to. The old guy just seems like a pervert in those department stores.



(16) Christmas cards - do you send them, yes or no?

Usually yes, but I'm really procrastinating this year.



(17) What is the best thing about Christmas, in your opinion?

Spending time with family and being appreciative of what we have.



(18) What is the worst thing about Christmas?

Ugliness, selfishness and those who try to "out-do" each other



(19) When do you put the tree up and take it down?

Day after Thanksgiving. Sometime after New Years Day.  One year we left our stockings out on the fireplace until March or April.



(20) Out of the 12 days of Christmas, which day and item would you want your truelove to give to you?

Nine ladies dancing. I need someone to get jiggy with these days and Vivian would love to watch them groove. Forget the golden rings, I'm not a jewelry person.



(21) Why do you think that Grandma got run over by a reindeer?

Because Grandpa's dinner was late and cold and he had enough of her sass!  And because Santa had been drinking and let the reindeer run wild!



(22) Who is your favorite reindeer?

Comet



(23) Do you believe in Santa Claus?

I do now.



(24) What is your favorite smell at Christmastime?

Freshly baked desserts. Cranberries. And real Christmas trees.



(25) What would make you happy at Christmas this year?

Just being with my family in my new house is all I need.  (Click here to see photos of our new home and Click here to read about our memorable moments moving into the house if you haven't been keeping up with our recent move and new abode.)


Thank you to those who play along with my above Christmas/holiday survey.  Admit it, you had fun and it took you down memory lane!


Even though it is 73 degrees here in sunny Florida today, I am feeling rather Christmas-y.  So I hope you are in a great mood wherever you are no matter what the weather is like right now.  I wish you and yours a very Happy Holidays! And I hope my above questions will put you in a loving, giving spirit!


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Tour de Fernandez

Good day!  Thank you for joining us on the Tour de Fernandez - the new home of the Fernandez family: Mandy, Vivian, Kirk, Bono the dog and Sam the Cat. 

We thank you for being with us and hope you grab a comfortable seat while seeing each room, corner and detail into our lives.  Be sure you follow the safety procedures given to you. 

Please remember to be courteous to others on the tour.  Best of all, wine and cheese will be provided at the end. 

Let me introduce the two ladies hosting the tour - Mandy and Vivian - a wacky mother and diva daughter - who keep things in life interesting, funny and enjoyable. 






And here is our leading man Kirk with leading lady Vivian looking OH-SO-ADORABLE -






Here is the dumbest dog on the planet - Bono (named after U2's lead singer, of course!) but gosh darn'it, he is one handsome fella.  When he's not running into the screen door, he's melting our hearts with those eyes and smile:






Meet the most annoying cat on the planet - Sam - When he's not jumping above the kitchen cabinets (as pictured here), then you may just find him pooping in Vivian's shower or crying for attention in general:






We live in northwest Pensacola in a rural part of town.  There is a farm just behind our house.  Often you hear chickens, roosters, ducks and other animals while sitting outside.  It's very peaceful though.   Our home is part of a two-street neighborhood with just a total of 36 homes in the association.

Here is our house:




Here is our living room:









Here is our dining room:






Here is our kitchen:






Here is our patio:






Vivian enjoys it out here!






Here is our bedroom (where the magic happens, as Kirk would say :-) 







Here is Vivian's room (still have some decorating and organizing to do~):






Here is the master bathroom:





And my garden tub that I can't believe I haven't used yet:




Here are the two guest bathrooms:







And the guest bedrooms:  (want to come visit?)








Here are some of our Christmas decorations we put up yesterday:







Photos really do not do our home justice.  It's cozy, beautiful and well.... ours!  So it's perfect. 

Even though the walls are mostly white and not painted yet.  Even though we have almost nothing hanging on the walls nor any pictures hung.  Even though we still have a few boxes tucked away into closets, it's still perfect for us, the Fernandez family.


When our family is not coordinating world peace efforts, drinking beer or baking cakes, you can find us enjoying leisure time in the backyard:




Sometimes, we even like to get dirty:





We also take advantage of our new city's local attractions, such as Pensacola's beautiful Palafox Pier where Vivian enjoys feeding and chasing birds:












This will now complete our tour.  We hope you found it educational, entertaining and not too boring. 

As promised here is your wine and cheese.  Enjoy!

Easy Apple Burritos (Recipe)

This morning I attended a recipe club meeting that one of the mom's groups I joined hosted.  What's not to love?  Everyone brings a yummy dish and shares the recipe.  Then we all dig in and add new items to our cooking collection.  I see no downfall to this! 

This particular group meets once a month and tries to have a theme.  Today's theme was "Christmas breakfast traditions." It suggested we share what we do for Christmas morning or bring in a new dish that we want to try.  My past Christmas mornings were usually spent eating leftover cake, fudge and candies that my grandmother made from the day before.  Or usually just some hot cocoa because I was so stuffed from the ham, dirty rice, deviled eggs, various casseroles and more that I had consumed. 

This year in honor of being in my new home in a new city, I decided that maybe it's time for me to start a new tradition.  And I want it to be a healthier choice.  So I dug through my cookbooks on Sunday which I had just unpacked and found this one, "Easy Apple Burritos." 

When the word "easy" is listed in the recipe, I give it a second glance.  Easy it most certainly was!  And very tasty too!  So of course I had to share it with you.  Perhaps you will make it, love it and add it to your family traditions as well.

Enjoy the recipe, the photos and the simple, step-by-step instructions I provided below:


Easy Apple Burritos


(Note: This recipe modified from the Pampered Chef “It’s Good For You” cookbook)



3 Large Granny Smith apples (about 4 cups)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon butter or margarine spread

1 orange (for ½ tsp zest and garnish)

6-10 flour tortillas, medium size (I made 8 with mine)

1 bottle of “Magic Shell” caramel topping

Additional pinch of cinnamon for topping

1 large skillet pan for sautéeing

1 large baking pan – I used rectangular, glass pan

1 zest tool for the orange, (½ tsp of zest total)



I like to lay out all my ingredients before I begin.  It makes it so much easier!

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Peel, core and slice your apples to desired size and thickness. Keep in mind that you’re eating them within a burrito so use that as your guide.







Cook your apples along with butter, sugar and cinnamon in skillet pan for five or six minutes, until apples become tender.



Use a zester for orange until you have a ½ tsp. Add that zest to sautéed apples.



Lightly grease your baking pan. Spread your apple mixture into burritos. (I made 8 total with the above mixture).



Fold your burritos and tuck them in to keep apples in.



Bake uncovered for fifteen minutes in oven at 350 degrees.



Pour “Magic Shell” caramel topping over burritos before cooling. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of each one as well.



Garnish with remainder of orange, if you’re into garnishing that is.



Serve warm.  Enjoy! Very tasty. Low fat and low cholesterol without the high fat content or guilt that apple pie and other desserts have.   Mmmm..... I'm off to have another one now....

Memorable Moving Moments

Moving itself is not very exciting to write about.  It's a pain.  It's stressful.  And seeing boxes all over your place is not enjoyable. 

However, each move can bring interesting moments, funny incidents, and challenging instances.  This is my sixth move (if you count apartments, condos and homes I've lived in) and this is the fourth state I've lived in.  Thankfully, this move has been the least stressful and the most well-coordinated I've experienced.

Here are a few highlights from our move that I thought were worth mentioning (and remembering for moaning and laughter's sake):

• Our movers hit a neighbor's mailbox, a lady who just moved in a week ago herself.   Nice way to introduce yourself, eh?  Excuse me, I'm your new pal across the street and your mailbox has been obliterated.  (update: movers did fix it, thankfully)
  
• Another neighbor and his wife brought us beef stroganoff and pound cake on our second night in the house. It was so yummy!  And I didn't have to worry about cooking! 
  
• Vivian took a huge dump within an hour after we stepped foot in the house.  I think it was her own special way of "christening" the home.  ;-)  (This is how she leaves her mark.)
  
• Our cat Sam jumped inside his crate, which was sitting on top of the dog's crate, around 4.a.m. on the second night there.  It made Kirk and me both jump out of sleep!  (I'm thinking about serving skinned cat for Thanksgiving!!)
  
• Our idiot dog Bono ran into the screen door when I called his name to come in from playing outside.  It was hilarious!  I wish I could have videoed it.  (Me thinks we have the dumbest dog on the planet!!)
  
• Watching Vivian play by herself in her own room, a room big enough that she can actually have toys in.  She seems so happy here, going around from room to room. When she's outside, she points at the plants and flowers and smells them.  It's really great to see her like this.  She hasn't had a real room or much space to play in since she was just six months old. 
  
• Our dog ran out the front door when a neighbor came by to say hello. So instead of Kirk having a nice conversation with this lady, he had to chase Bono down the street and haul his furry butt back inside.  (Add a side of barbecued dog to our upcoming Thanksgiving feast please!!)
  
• All of our gas/smoke detectors kept going off and beeping.  It turns out we had a small gas leak.  (update: We think the problem has been resolved.)
  
• Our movers all spoke English and one was even cute!  (big differece from our previous moves!!)
  
• Nothing broke during the move (truly amazing!) And nothing seems to be missing, that we know of....
  
• Seeing our new neighbor, Bob, walk down his driveway with a beer in his hand at lunchtime.  He looked embarassed and said to me, "Hey, it's the afternoon!"  I laughed and replied, "Listen, I'm from south Louisiana, we drink at all times of the day.  On Mardi Gras, we start at 8a.m."  It turns out this man is our homeowners association president and is a great resource for anything we need to know about the house and neighborhood.  (Oh yeah, I think I'm going to like Bob!)
  
• After unpacking, I realize I have somehow collected over twenty chip-clips and six pairs of kitchen scissors.  How did that happen?  (I wonder if these chip clips and scissors plan to start an army and take over our home?) 
  
• Best thing about the house -- sitting on our back porch as a family, rocking in the patio chairs and enjoying quiet time. 

And with that, I'll close with a few photos of that favorite spot of ours -- the backyard, patio, and Vivian exploring her new terrain. 













(I love her face in the above photo.  It looks like she wants to say... "Bring me my damn coffee, mom!"  Hahaha!)

I'll post more house pictures at a later time.  I am still working in various rooms and I don't want to photograph the rooms until all the boxes are gone and each item is put away. 

I have a busy week ahead of me.  We have family coming to visit us for Thanksgiving.  So I have much cleaning and preparing to do.  But I don't mind.  After all, I have so much to be thankful for this year and I look forward to giving thanks with each new day.  I will be blogging less for awhile but I will be enjoying life a lot more.  In fact, I already am!  Go out and enjoy your day too.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and enjoy your time with family and friends!!