X-mas 2011

[pellegrino]

Ouch. I have been there on the quartet thing. Nowhere to hide when one of your comrades lets you down.

Yep, it was pretty bad. I made eye contact w/ the mrs. at one point and her face said it all. The first words I said to her when I sat down again were "that was a train wreck." She just nodded.

[UtahDan]

Yep, it was pretty bad. I made eye contact w/ the mrs. at one point and her face said it all. The first words I said to her when I sat down again were "that was a train wreck." She just nodded.

Well, if you ever need a stand in I will sing for pizza.

[mtnbiker]

Here's a tradition that we started about 10 years ago. Sukiyaki dinner. The kids love it, which shocks me because some of them were fairly picky eaters when younger. About 2 years ago I suggested having turkey instead, which is what we always had when I was a kid. I about had a riot on my hands.

Our version of sukiyaki starts with some soy sauce and water in an electric fry pan in the middle of the table. Toss in a little of everything: thin-sliced New York steak, Napa cabbage, tofu, bean thread noodles, udon noodles, green onions, snow peas, bamboo shoots, enoki mushrooms, kamaboko, and everyone dips out what they want with their chopsticks, and eats it over sticky rice. Good stuff.



My wife totally surprised me with my main gift this year. My dad was in WWII, and was injured in France. A bullet went through his helmet, creased the top of his skull, and exited the helmet. The doctors at the time experimented with casualties to see if the skull bone would grow back. It didn't, and he always had a dent in the top of his head after that. He passed away almost 5 years ago.

A number of years ago, my mom and dad were going through things and were going to throw out a bunch of stuff, including his old army uniform, coat, and jacket. They're pack rats, so I thought it was pretty extreme for them. I thought it would be nice to honor my dad and all veterans by keeping the clothes. My wife and I had talked years ago about framing his jacket and putting it on a wall in the family room downstairs. Well, my wife got it done this Christmas. Interesting that I got a premonition a few days ago, but I didn't peek in the closet to see if she'd spirited the jacket away.

Not only did she frame the jacket, but also put a picture of my dad from his service days, along with his purple heart and another service medal that she got from my mom. It's pretty awesome.

[The_Tick]

Here's a tradition that we started about 10 years ago. Sukiyaki dinner. The kids love it, which shocks me because some of them were fairly picky eaters when younger. About 2 years ago I suggested having turkey instead, which is what we always had when I was a kid. I about had a riot on my hands.

Our version of sukiyaki starts with some soy sauce and water in an electric fry pan in the middle of the table. Toss in a little of everything: thin-sliced New York steak, Napa cabbage, tofu, bean thread noodles, udon noodles, green onions, snow peas, bamboo shoots, enoki mushrooms, kamaboko, and everyone dips out what they want with their chopsticks, and eats it over sticky rice. Good stuff.



My wife totally surprised me with my main gift this year. My dad was in WWII, and was injured in France. A bullet went through his helmet, creased the top of his skull, and exited the helmet. The doctors at the time experimented with casualties to see if the skull bone would grow back. It didn't, and he always had a dent in the top of his head after that. He passed away almost 5 years ago.

A number of years ago, my mom and dad were going through things and were going to throw out a bunch of stuff, including his old army uniform, coat, and jacket. They're pack rats, so I thought it was pretty extreme for them. I thought it would be nice to honor my dad and all veterans by keeping the clothes. My wife and I had talked years ago about framing his jacket and putting it on a wall in the family room downstairs. Well, my wife got it done this Christmas. Interesting that I got a premonition a few days ago, but I didn't peek in the closet to see if she'd spirited the jacket away.

Not only did she frame the jacket, but also put a picture of my dad from his service days, along with his purple heart and another service medal that she got from my mom. It's pretty awesome.

That gave me goose bumps, and has left me misty eyed. A gift like that can be so simple, yet so thoughtful.

[TripletDaddy]

The sukiyaki looks like a LOT of fun. Great idea. And looks very tasty. I want to be able to do my own shabu shabu at home but I need the individual hot plates. Would you mind posting a more specific recipe (how much soy sauce vs water?) for the sukiyaki? My fam loves shabu shabu and Im confident they would love this, too.

I thought your post was going to be about food and then I was blown away by the pic of your dad's military uniform. Then you casually mention that he also received the Purple Heart. Wow, your dad is basically a war hero. That is one of the best gifts I have heard about today. Thanks to your dad, as well.

[mtnbiker]

The sukiyaki looks like a LOT of fun. Great idea. And looks very tasty. I want to be able to do my own shabu shabu at home but I need the individual hot plates. Would you mind posting a more specific recipe (how much soy sauce vs water?) for the sukiyaki? My fam loves shabu shabu and Im confident they would love this, too.

I thought your post was going to be about food and then I was blown away by the pic of your dad's military uniform. Then you casually mention that he also received the Purple Heart. Wow, your dad is basically a war hero. That is one of the best gifts I have heard about today. Thanks to your dad, as well.

Thanks for the kind words.
Actually, the sukiyaki is the one thing I don't measure when I'm cooking. I just cover the bottom of the electric fry pan to maybe 1/8 to 3/16 in. deep, then fill it the rest of the way with hot water. Don't fill it all the way to the top, so there is enough room to add the food. That may be a little strong for some people; you might experiment with less soy sauce to see how you like it, especially if you're used to shabu shabu, which has almost no added flavoring. Get it up to boil and start putting some of each item into the pot. Each person takes what they want from the pot, and the cook keeps adding the raw materials as the pot is depleted. You may want to add more water as you go, since it boils off and is absorbed by the food.

[SuperGabers]

woke up late, went to church, sang in perhaps the worst quartet ever (talk about a train wreck, our first run through was better than what we did today) came home, opened presents, and now we're about to eat lunch.

Merry Christmas to all!

Do you think it was because you sang in Italian and everyone else sang in English?

[Donuthole]

Merry Christmas, CUF. Thanks for sharing your Christmas stories.

[Jeff Lebowski]

That gave me goose bumps, and has left me misty eyed. A gift like that can be so simple, yet so thoughtful.

Amen to that. Very cool, mtnbiker and bella.

Thanks for the kind words.
Actually, the sukiyaki is the one thing I don't measure when I'm cooking. I just cover the bottom of the electric fry pan to maybe 1/8 to 3/16 in. deep, then fill it the rest of the way with hot water. Don't fill it all the way to the top, so there is enough room to add the food. That may be a little strong for some people; you might experiment with less soy sauce to see how you like it, especially if you're used to shabu shabu, which has almost no added flavoring. Get it up to boil and start putting some of each item into the pot. Each person takes what they want from the pot, and the cook keeps adding the raw materials as the pot is depleted. You may want to add more water as you go, since it boils off and is absorbed by the food.

We do yakiniku and lots of other Japanese dishes, but I was thinking the other day that I don't think I have ever done sukiyaki with my kids. You have inspired me to give it a shot. I don't know why I haven't done it more as it was a favorite of mine as a missionary.

[cowboy]

A belated Merry Christmas to all of you. Christmas dawned clear and cold here, and a fun time was had by all. I resolved not to open my laptop at all yesterday, which was a good decision. An hour of church, three hours feeding cows, and the rest of the day off to spend eating and playing with my kids' toys. My favorite gift outside of the gifts my kids made for me: The Penn State sweatshirt my BIL gave me.

[TripletDaddy]

Anyone doing the day after Xmas shopping thing? I have to go into work for a few hours but I'm avoiding the stores today. No thanks.

[Pheidippides]

Amen to that. Very cool, mtnbiker and bella.



We do yakiniku and lots of other Japanese dishes, but I was thinking the other day that I don't think I have ever done sukiyaki with my kids. You have inspired me to give it a shot. I don't know why I haven't done it more as it was a favorite of mine as a missionary.

I've done in a few times, and it's always great. There's nothing like a community pot of sukiyaki for some good times.

[cougjunkie]

Anyone doing the day after Xmas shopping thing? I have to go into work for a few hours but I'm avoiding the stores today. No thanks.

I have one thing I need to return at the nike outlet in south jordan I am trying to decide if it will be overly busy and if it is worth it.

[wuapinmon]

Good Mac Williams was in Asheville on the Feast of Stephen
all day long the Nerf guns launched foam darts for getting even
brightly shines the sun this day
though the weather's cruel
no, head shots are not okay
in a Winter's duel.

[Portland Ute]

The most unsupervised, mischievous family of boys in our neighborhood were given air soft guns for Christmas.

Their parents are so disconnected. Their kids never do anything wrong. It's always someone else's fault.

Late last summer, their 6 year old was riding a motorcycle around the neighborhood and through neighbors' yards.

You know the family.

My kid just came in from the front yard. The roving brothers (5,7,9) shot him in the face. Glad it missed his eye.

I came in and asked my wife, "Hey, guess what the _______ boys all got for Christmas?"

"What?"

"Air Soft guns."

"Whaaaaaaat???"

"Yeah, Son #2 has already been shot in the head."

"You have got to be kidding me..."

"Nope." says I.

When these jokers started renting a year and a half ago, we had high hopes since there would be some more boys close to ours in age. After about 6 months, we were wondering when they'd move. Now, that day can't come soon enough.

Merry Boxing Day.