christmas break random photo dump

the bean's winter break was actually pretty chill.  she was thrilled to have a break from cheer practice for a good chunk of it, as was i.  we really didn't have any commitments or responsibilities for most of the two weeks she had off, and it was pretty wonderful.  we were a little bummed that our disneyland passes were blocked out for the duration of the break, but from what i could tell we wouldn't really have enjoyed visits during the holidays anyway.  it's typically the most crowded time of year, and more than once i saw updates via twitter that said the parking structure was full, or that the park was full to capacity.  no thanks.

instead, we filled our time with lots of relaxing, napping and random outings.  one evening, we went out to old town pasadena with the hub for sushi and found ourselves exploring the peloton store.  he was pretty interested in the bike:

while the bean and i drooled over the newly released treadmill.  that thing was pretty sweet, and i might even get my running mojo back if we had one of these babies.

one evening, the old lady and her special friend asked me to make loco moco (basically a hawaiian plate lunch consisting of a homemade hamburger patty topped with gravy and a fried egg with rice) for dinner.  through the magic of google, i was able to find a recipe that i liked and served up bowls like this to the kids:

as we enjoyed our dinner, i got to open one more present that the old lady had forgotten to give me on christmas.  look at my pretty new ring:

one of my girl scout parents from our now-defunct troop was sweet enough to bake up one of her delicious christmas rum cakes for me.  i was super stoked - she first gave me one of these as a christmas gift three years ago, and then again every year since.  it just isn't christmas without her rum cake, and i treated it like gold.  it's so good.

since the hub's keto diet doesn't allow for the full loco moco experience, i winged it a little and served him one of the burger patties with a fried egg and a wilted spinach salad with sautéed mushrooms and bacon.

cousin seven met up with me for a barre class, which was super fun.  she always looks really cute, while i just look...old and busted up.  boo.

a visit to the anaheim packing house turned into my family's first hot pot meal.  it was really good, and everyone seemed to enjoy the swish-dip-eat concept.  even the hub, who typically hates "cook your own"-type joints.

the old lady picked up a fun tea drink at one of the other shops, while the bean got a shave ice/ice cream concoction.

and i wore my new fanny pack, much to the hub's dismay.  i was like "but you BOUGHT this for me!" and he said "i thought it was a JOKE!"  oy vey.  sorry, dude.  i adore this thing.  i've actually been wearing it every day since.  heh.

at my last orangetheory class for 2018, i busted out the brand new adidas kicks that the hub bought me for christmas.  i love these things.  they're so comfy, and really cute.  pink, of course, because duh.

new year's eve saw us hanging out at home again, having followed our typical tradition of trying to put something together last minute and finding no availability anywhere.  we swear every year to plan ahead the next year, and end up right here at home every time.  the hub and i both fell asleep on the couch in front of the tv, and i slept right through the ball drop and everything.  but first, i managed to throw together a pretty delicious dinner:

mollydog made her tv debut during the local news one morning.

and then it was time to pack everything up and put it all away until next year.  bye, christmas tree:

this is when you know the holidays are well and truly over:

and before we packed away all of the decorations i cut up one of our leftover christmas cards to put a picture in our annual family ornament.

sigh.  post christmas letdown in full effect.