Christmas Twice

i get to celebrate christmas twice: once with randy's family and again with mine.

randy's family has a tradition of opening up gifts at midnight (hey, technically it is Christmas). There are lots of snacks and a lot of hot chocolate. My favorite part is no longer getting gifts, but tearing open the gift wrap and seeing all of it strewn around the floor. it makes the room seem filled with christmas cheer.


it's a little cheesy, i know, but i'm at the point in my life where i have everything i need, a lot of what i want, and very little room to put it all.

the next morning, i woke up early (and by that i mean before noon) to start cooking my part of christmas dinner - curry. i barely got to taste the end result of what i cooked before i left to see my family.

my sister cooks a mean meal. every time i go over, there is enough food to feed a small army (or a family of filipinos). chachi made a 16 pound prime rib roast and boy was it great.


the spread included the rib roast with au jus, thai BBQ chicken, home made salsa and chips, assorted veggies, dinner rolls, sliced oranges, and raw shrimp.


okay, so raw shrimp may not sound appetizing to most people, even to those who eat sashimi, but with the sauce that it's served with, it is delicious. i'd try to convince you that you need to try it, but then you might start liking it and there would be less for me.