This will be my first of an ongoing series of mounthly "roundups" based on Katie Nelson's roundup concept. I'm taking her class, Roundup Your Memories, at BPC right now. I love this idea and look forward to recording bits and pieces of our family life in a simple, consistent format. Since I'm pretty good at keeping my calendar and photos up to date, and I faithfully write to OhLife.com, it's pretty easy for me to round up my memories. Note: This one is especially long because December was ridiculously full. I really hope future roundups are shorter!
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1. READ
- The House of Wooden Santas by Kevin Major (read to all three girls)
- 7 Sleeps Until Christmas by Stuart Adams (read to all three girls) - this book is out of print, but I just learned it's now an iPad App - how cool is that?! See 7 Sleeps Until Christmas iTunes Preview
- Mercy Watson books by Kate DiCamillo (Madeline)
- Fancy Nancy books by Jane O'Connor (read to Georgia and Madeline)
- Titanic trilogy by Gordon Korman (Sophia)
- Neil didn't finish his book, and I had no time to read
2. WATCHED
- Bones (Neil & Kim; a long-time favourite of ours)
- Iron Chef America (all)
- American Pickers (all)
- Hell on Wheels (Neil watched in December; I started watching in January)
- Wizards of Waverly Place (the girls; over and over and over...)
3. EVENTS & OUTINGS
- Ringette games - played by Madeline and Sophia
- Gina's Pampered Chef open house - Sophia and I enjoyed many treats
- Steak night ringette fundraiser at 4Seasons - Neil and I went, and won a gift basket of beauty products
- My work Christmas party - dinner and dance at the Hungarian Club with band, Method 2 Madness
- Self Serve Project work event - pizza & Pat's game at the Brandt Centre
- Christmas potluck at work - Neil made bison stew for me to take - super good! (see recipes below)
- School Christmas concert - at the Orr Centre
- Sophia's piano recital - at Whitmore Park United Church; Sophia played Jingle Bells
- Sophia's class potluck - Neil made bison stew at Sophia's request (with flank steak rather than short ribs) - her class loved it!
- Lunch with my manager, Dana, at Cravings (okay food, but no desire to go back)
- Christmas celebration at Rob & Robyn's - dinner with Rob, Robyn, Ethan, Jordyn, and Kacy (who was ill and stayed in bed most of the time - poor girl!), my parents, Grandma Mantay, Aunt Colleen, Aunt Bev, Aunt Val & Uncle Cliff, Aunt Janet & Uncle Roger - first time seeing them at Christmas!
- Christmas Eve at Weisshaars - with Glenys, Mike, Jill, Lee, Curtis, Darren (briefly), and Mike's family - an annual tradition
- Saw Grandma Louise at Weisshaars on Christmas Day
- Christmas dinner at our house - with Laurel and Bronwyn. Roast turkey, dressing... the works!
- Neil's birthday dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, then DQ ice cream cake at home - with L&B
- Skating with the Pilgrims and Laurel at Cooperator's Centre (B stayed home with friends)
- Pat's game at the Brandt Centre - Neil, Sophia, Madeline, Wayne, and Cole
- Ali's birthday celebration at her house - Laurel, Bronwyn, Shauna, Rian, Georgia, and I went while the others were at the Pat's game - nice to see Darren, Gabe, and Avery, too
- New Year's Eve with L&B and Pilgrims at Laurel's house - dinner, visiting, and World Junior hockey on TV
4. RECIPES TO REMEMBER
- Neil's Bison Short Rib Stew
- Celeriac Remoulade (Alton Brown)
- Best Vegetable Salad (Company's Coming)
- Brunch Bake (Michael Smith)
- brine for turkey (Alton Brown)
- Classic Stuffing (#1) (Food Network)
- Golden Rutabaga Casserole (Canadian Living)
- Cranberry-Orange Sauce (Rachel Ray)
- Crustless Pumpkin Pie (Frugal Girl)
- Chocolate Ice Cream (Alton Brown)
5. GIFTS
- my manager and I exchanged Tim Horton's gift cards (same value, too) :)
- Sophia's class played Secret Santa (for each other) the last four days of school
- from Santa:
- for Georgia, a Bizu Style Studio and 4-pack of animals;
- for Madeline, 3 sock monkeys (rainbow, grey, and brown); and
- for Sophia, The Sorcerer's Companion: A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter and 3 HP collectibles - all other Christmas gifts given and received are recorded elsewhere
6. SPECIAL PURCHASES
- Christmas gifts
- comforter for our bed
- blankets to cover sofa
- shelving units for my scrapping space
- blinds for living room
- door knob for front door
- many mouse traps & poison - keepin' it real here
7. HEALTH
- cough & cold (all)
- stomach bug (all but Sophia)
- Georgia had an earache one night
8. ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- finished creating ALL weekly content for BSS on Dec 9 - 6 weeks ahead (major accomplishment!)
- submitted a boatload of expenses/benefits for reimbursements
- at work, posted our first holiday technical support guide (and related answers) before Christmas
- took down and put away all Christmas decorations before the start of 2012
- cleaned up the TV room in basement (major improvement!)
- cleaned and reorganized my scrapping space (love!)
- prepared my inspiration file for BPC class, Twelve.
9. DISAPPOINTMENTS
- not being able to enjoy the girls' Christmas concert thanks to a stomach-bug relapse
- not putting an end to the mice in our basement ceiling
10. GOALS
- didn't get November photos processed in December
- didn't keep up with Picture the Holidays after Dec 12 (but I did finish on Jan 8!)
- The Art of Composition - I submitted photos for coaching in week 11 (square photos), but not in weeks 10 or 12; read and viewed all class content, though - LOVED that class!
11. NOTEWORTHY
- incredibly warm weather and very little snow (until a winter storm on Dec 27)
- the mice that wouldn't die, in spite of significant efforts on Neil's part
- had to have the van towed to Toyota for repair (oil pressure sensor)
- province-wide Max outage - interesting day at work
- the girls saw all of their cousins, aunts, and uncles in the same month
- we all enjoyed the girls' new Kinect game, Just Dance 3
- Neil's 42nd birthday
