Christmas is over. I’m exhausted. The geekboy is at work, and I’m sitting here at home, trying to recover.

Last weekend was Ferd & Lara’s annual solstice party, which was superfun. I stayed away from the wine this year (went with G&Ts instead) and woke up Sunday morning migraine-free. Hooray! I made these cupcakes to bring to the party, and they were a big hit:

At the party, we were also introduced to this vodka treat (courtesy of our friend Andy), which has now taken up permanent residence in our freezer:

Christmas Eve was big fun, with my family and our close friends and their family coming over for tons of food. I can’t really describe to you accurately how much food we had without feeling totally grotesque. We ended up skipping four different dishes because we simply couldn’t eat any more. I made Megan’s famous buffalo chicken dip, though, and everyone went crazy for it. I attempted the no-knead bread again this year, after my fabulous success last year. This time I added minced rosemary and garlic. However, something was awry with the yeast, because it didn’t rise. SO DEPRESSING. The yeast was new; so I don’t know what happened. I baked it anyway and cut it up into bite-sized bits. It tasted great. Oh well. I’ll try again soon.

I made out like an effing bandit this year for Christmas. Spoiled rotten, seriously. My darling husband gave me a Robbie Williams DVD that I didn’t even know existed! Can’t wait to watch it with my girls. My parents gave me a telephoto lens for my Rebel. SO EXCITED. And our friends Anthony and Elda gifted the geekboy and I with Bruce Springsteen tickets for this summer. I couldn’t believe it; I actually got choked up. So generous, so awesome.

I gave this to the geekboy:

It’s a rocker that hooks up to your video game system and has speakers in the headrest. He likes to play xBox late at night and he always worries that the sound will wake me up, so he ends up playing with the sound down so low he can barely hear it. Now he’ll get it in stereo right next to his ears, as I slumber away in the next room. Yay!

Today, I need to relax. Spending seven hours on my feet on our tiled kitchen floor on Christmas Eve has left me with a severely sore back. I hear the heating pad calling….

I’ll leave you with a photo of the antipasto my cousin Shannon put together for Christmas dinner. My uncle usually does this, but he was sick, and our day actually ended with him going to the hospital. Everything is fine now; he’s okay and on his way home.

You know, it’s not a holiday in our family without something weird happening. We thought my grandmother would be the one to bring the crazy this year, but nope, my uncle wins! Grandma actually had a good day with us yesterday, although her dementia has left her on a 60-second memory loop. It’s sad, but you have to laugh, sometimes. Being asked the same few questions, over and over, for several hours, can result in some very creative answers. My place in hell is ready now, trust me.

Anyway, YUM. Thanks to my aunt and cousins for a nice dinner, even under trying circumstances.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!