Northern California Nesties
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Holiday Poll:
Good Morning Ladies.
Not sure if everyone is working today, but for those of us that are around how about a recap from the weekend? Anything to keep me from actually working 
How many "Christmases" did you have? (how many different places did you go to celebrate)
What was the best and worst thing you ate?
What was your favorite and least favorite gift?
MAJOR bonus points for any drama/WTF moments/entertaining/ridiculous family stories you share 
Re: Holiday Poll:
How many "Christmases" did you have? (how many different places did you go to celebrate) I guess we technically had three celebrations, Christmas morning breakfast at T's aunt's, Christmas dinner at his mom's and an evening party/drunkfest with some extended family.
What was the best and worst thing you ate? The breakfast strata had bacon in it, so I only was able to eat a muffin. My MIL's dinner was fabulous though.
What was your favorite and least favorite gift? We didn't really do gifts. MIL gave us a generous Pier 1 GC and my parents cleaned out the SF Giants website of it's WS gear!
MAJOR bonus points for any drama/WTF moments/entertaining/ridiculous family stories you share. No real drama this year. Thankfully. That's why I didn't go to CA.
How many "Christmases" did you have? (how many different places did you go to celebrate) We had 4 this year! I felt like we were running around all day on Saturday.
Christmas Eve with my aunt on my moms side of the family
Christmas Morning #1 with DH parents
Chrstimas Morning #2 with my Parents
Christmas dinner with my aunt on my dads side of the family.
What was the best and worst thing you ate? I think the best thing I ate would by my aunts homemade mac and cheese. It was amazing and towards the end of the enormous dish she made the cousins were practically fighting over it! The worst thing would be the scrambled eggs we had at my inlaws. They were plain without a drop of seasoning and way too dry for me.
What was your favorite and least favorite gift? I was incredibley spoiled this year. One thing I especially loved was a necklace given to me by my brother. I had pointed out a necklace that I really liked and he found one at an antique fair in L.A. that is similar but a million times better. Its hard for me to pick a least favorite gift because to be honest I just get really happy and grateful that someone thought about me enough to buy me a gift, but I would have to say all the candy that MIL gave me. Mostly just because I dont want all that candy in my house!!!
MAJOR bonus points for any drama/WTF moments/entertaining/ridiculous family stories you share
I forgot to post some of my own great moments of Christmas 10
*My aunt, who doesnt typically do a lot of cooking had made some cocktail weiners in the crockpot. For reasons I still dont understand she wanted to heat them up faster so she put the crockpot on the stove top. When she went to take it off the entire bottom split from the crockpot and the biggest wave of sauce I have ever seen flooded her kitchen! It was a ridiculous mess.
*When we showed up to my other aunts house for Christmas dinner it was in the middle of a downpour. She lives out in the sticks and has a long dirt driveway. There was no room to park on the driveway because of all the cars when dh and I got there. Trying to be nice DH dropped me at the driveway so I had less distance to go and was going to park on the headlands of the vineyard. Unfortunately, I had my hands full and was trying to hurry to get inside and slid in the mud and baically did the splits and walked up to the house with my hair dripping wet and muddy jeans. I should have been named Grace.
How many "Christmases" did you have? (how many different places did you go to celebrate) We did two: Christmas Eve at J's aunt/uncle's house, then Christmas Day at my parents' house.
What was the best and worst thing you ate? Worst: Pepperjack Cheeseball, yuck. Best: J's Grandmother's Wassail.
What was your favorite and least favorite gift? Favorite: right hand ring with J and my birthstones and names on the ring band. Worst: The dreaded "green purse" via my family's White Elephant exchange we do for laughs.
MAJOR bonus points for any drama/WTF moments/entertaining/ridiculous family stories you share Christmas Day we had to take my Dad's new kitten, Tommy to the emergency vet. He had been having a little diahrea (sp?) because he'd been getting into the adult cat's food (other cat is 4 years old), but then some blood came with it and my Dad was freaking out since Tommy had JUST turned 3 months old. So I called the emergency vet and told them what happened and they asked to see him. So I went with my Dad to the vet and Tommy is fine. It was the adult food wreaking havoc on his poor tummy and the bleeding was from the straining to poop (which the vet says is common in baby animals). He also ended up having some type of round worm anyways so they gave us medicine to give to him which J and I did. Yesterday when we woke up, Tommy was back to his normal self and as playful as ever with no more tummy problems.
I am one of the *lucky* ones that gets to work today. At least the commute was better than normal.
How many "Christmases" did you have? Just one on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas day. We celebrated with DH's family a week ago, so three altogether.
What was the best and worst thing you ate? Bests were deep fried prime rib and eggs benedict. I didn't eat any worsts because I did not try my aunt's jello salad since I already knew I wouldn't like it.
What was your favorite and least favorite gift? Favorite gifts were a new D&B purse, two pairs of earrings and a necklace from DH. Close second was an electric razor from my mom because leg shaving is becoming a challenge and I don't want to mutilate myself with my regular razor. Least favorite was a sweatshirt from my cousin that had a little chicken and said *Paralegal Chick* because it reminded me that I have not been promoted to a paralegal at work and cannot go job searching until after little one is born. We also got a bunch of receiving blankets from DH's aunt which was really nice of her, but we were hoping to avoid receiving baby stuff for Christmas.
MAJOR bonus points for any drama/WTF moments/entertaining/ridiculous family stories you share
My brother woke up with a major hangover on Christmas and proceeded to cuss everyone out and say f*ck Christmas multiple times. I think a fight with his girlfriend on Christmas Eve provoked this. Luckily, he cheered up a little by Christmas afternoon. Also, DH's family in Fresno was disappointed we didn't visit, even though we specifically told them that we spent Thanksgiving in Fresno because we were not going to be able to visit at Christmas.
How many "Christmases" did you have? (how many different places did you go to celebrate) Two. One on Christmas Day and we'll have another tomorrow with the inlaws when we fly back.
What was the best and worst thing you ate? Worst was the apple pie - tasty but it wreaked havoc on my tummy. Best? Tough one. My sister's green bean casserole was super yummy.
What was your favorite and least favorite gift? The gift I keep admiring the most are the bookmarks my sister made me. They're pretty and homemade and I like stuff like that. Not sure there's any worst.
MAJOR bonus points for any drama/WTF moments/entertaining/ridiculous family stories you share. None, really. We were woken up early Christmas morning because the neighbor got stuck in the snow in her driveway and my parents wanted to use dh's muscle to help get her out. Who the heck drives a non 4-wheel drive SUV with bald tires and lives at the end of a long, unplowed driveway?Number: We had 3. Almost 4.
Best Food: My family's recipe for cheesy potato casserole is always a hit. MIL didn't actually cook anything for dinner (we had cold cuts, finger foods, and appetizers for dinner) so there wasn't anything bad this year.
Favorite Gift: SIL and BIL got me a purple Coach wristlet. DH got me a Clairsonic and spa gift card. I made out pretty well.
Least favorite gift: MIL tends to get me a book with cats in it every year. I love cats, but the token cat book tends to be a little creepy each year.
Drama: My FIL complained the whole way home from Mass that the priest sang "Feliz Navidad" during the homily. And that he sang the Consecration of the Eucharist. Nevermind that the Mass was pretty, packed, and slightly entertaining. Apparently pop music makes the Baby Jesus cry. *Sigh*
More drama: BIL-2 was in a bad mood before dinner. We poked fun at him briefly and stormed off to his room with his dinner plate. We didn't see him for the rest of the evening.
FUN: SIL, BIL, DH and I went light looking on Christmas Eve and counted 107 lawn reindeer. Yes, we made it a contest.
More fun: My grandmother was recently diagnosed with melanoma. (VERY EARLY. Hasn't spread to anywhere but her foot.) Since the patch was on the bottom of her foot, she's got a walker, needs to keep the foot elevated, wrapped, etc. We collectively got her and grandpa a new flatscreen TV. She freaked out. In a good way. And then nearly made all of us cry with a thank-you speech.
How many "Christmases" did you have? (how many different places did you go to celebrate)
Three plus a post-Christmas brunch. We spent Christmas Eve with my dad's family. We had Christmas dinner with DH's parent, and then went to my mom's for dessert. Yesterday we had brunch with some of DH's extended family.
What was the best and worst thing you ate?
Nothing jumps out on either extreme. But I enjoyed some rich chocolate cake, twice baked potatoes, roast beef hash and mini cinnamon rolls. (Not all at the same meal!)
What was your favorite and least favorite gift?
DH spoiled me this year. He got me a T3 Luxe blow dryer and a Nutra Sonic. Some other faves were the super plush peacock throw blanket, the books on antique shopping, and a bunch of forensic anthropology books.
There wasn't any truly awful gifts. But if I had to choose something it would be a necklace I got. It's a little out of my tastes, but I may be able to modify it to fit my style better.
MAJOR bonus points for any drama/WTF moments/entertaining/ridiculous family stories you share
I was getting a big kick out playing with my 4 year old niece on Christmas Day. She and I would wrap up all kinds of random objects in used wrapping paper and present it to each other as "presents". My fave was when she wrapped up some more trash wrapping paper and bows and gave it to DH to unwrap. She was in fits of giggles watching him open it.
How many "Christmases" did you have? (how many different places did you go to celebrate) We had one Christmas at our house.
What was the best and worst thing you ate? It was all good!
What was your favorite and least favorite gift? I loved them all!
MAJOR bonus points for any drama/WTF moments/entertaining/ridiculous family stories you share
No drama, just a nice quiet Christmas, well maybe Bella trying to bite my dad.
- We had 4 Christmases. A week ago at my cousin's house for my mom's side, Christmas eve with DH's immediately and his mom's side, Christmas day with my family and then DH's dad's side.
- The best thing I ate... Probably the vegetarian white gravy at brunch on christmas day. Worst thing... Um. Worst for me? Or worst flavor? lol. I don't know.
- Best gift is my kitchen aid stuff (extra bowl, beater) and the anthro gc.... Worst is a super ugyl kitchen potholder and towl set. Bright blue with artichokes on it. :-
- Drama.... No drama. But best quote of the night. FIL: "I feel bloated. Angela, what do you take when you feel bloated? Do you ever feel bloated? What do you take for that?" :-O
How many "Christmases" did you have? (how many different places did you go to celebrate) Christmas Eve: 2 (Huz's parents and his aunt's- we usually go up to my grandparents', but I still wasn't feeling well enough to make the drive.) Christmas Day: 4 (just us in the morning, then Huz's grandma's, then Huz's parents, then my aunt's.) We also get a 7th Christmas in Texas with my parents and siblings in a few days! Yay!!!
What was the best and worst thing you ate? Best: my aunt's famous bread pudding. I stopped in my tracks and said "OMG, this is sooooo good!" Worst: I didn't eat it, but the "turkey neck and collard greens" that Huz's cousin made did not smell appetizing.
What was your favorite and least favorite gift? I don't have a least favorite. We didn't do very many gifts this year. I loved the badge pendant Huz got me. It has his badge number on it, and looks like a small version of his badge.
MAJOR bonus points for any drama/WTF moments/entertaining/ridiculous family stories you share I found out that one of Huz's cousins is pregnant again. It's not known by the family yet. She is not in a great position to have another baby and there is tons of drama with her and her family and her baby daddy. I also found out that she named her baby after a skateboarding company... and a type of jar.
How many "Christmases" did you have? (how many different places did you go to celebrate)
Just one. C and I did presents Christmas morning by ourselves and then we hosted a party that night with a bunch of friends.
What was the best and worst thing you ate?
Oh goodness, I made SO MUCH food. Best was probably homemade caramel corn snack mix. I can't get enough of that stuff! Worst was the roast beef (for me. It wasn't bad, I'm just not feeling beef these days).
What was your favorite and least favorite gift? I
C got me a 5dMarkii camera... so obviously that's my favorite! And my mom sent me some photography books she found in my Dad's stuff, so those are awesome and special. No least favorite gift.
MAJOR bonus points for any drama/WTF moments/entertaining/ridiculous family stories you share
We invited a bunch of the young single guys to our party so no one would be alone on Christmas, and 2 of them got W.A.S.T.E.D. They spilled two full glasses of red wine on the carpet. Then as I was cleaning up the at the end of the night (after cooking and cleaning literally for 2 days so these meatheads could have any imaginable Christmas treat available so they wouldn't be missing out on anything), one guy sweetly offered to help and another said, "Whatever, she made it, she can clean it up."
Then apparently on the way home afterwards, one drunk guy tried to "smoke" his wallet thinking it was a cigarette and lit it on fire. And then locked himself out of his dorm room and had to call his supervisor in the middle of the night to let him in.
Good grief.
1. 4 (plus a xmas eve tea with the ladies of my MIL's family).
2. Best: DH's grandma's cookies. They are like crack. Honest. Amazing, I dream about them all year! Worst: Tea from Aveda - ick.
3. Fave: MIL quilted a wall hanging for me. She is so talented and I'm always so honored when I am the recipient of one of her creations. Least fave: some silly card holder from one of Dh's relatives that we rarely see. It was lame. I appreciate the thought but also wish they'd just save their money. A card would be plenty.
4. So at Thanksgiving it was learned that one of the cousins got separated in February. Met a new girl in April and moved in together by May. She has two kids and the cousin has one. Well, by July this new girl was pregnant. I truly doubt the cousin is divorced from his wife yet. WTH are these people thinking. Geez. So, no major drama but I got to meet the PG girlfriend and her 2 kids at xmas.
5. I can't think of any particular moments right now but we had a great time!
Happy Holidays & Happy New Year to all!
Lighthouse State Beach, Santa Cruz.
Oh my gosh, I am seeing red for you!!!!
What an idiot! I'm sure he was just drunk and stupid, but it's really upsetting that he said that to you after everything you did for them. I'm sure you handled it with grace and class like always, but I'm irritated for you. =/
Yeah the guy that said that wasn't even drinking, so he's pretty much just an a-hole by nature. It seemed like he thought he was being all funny and he-man about it. I just gave him a look and then ignored him and thanked the guy who offered to help. He seemed embarrassed for having said it (or just embarrassed that he got a poor reaction?). I hope he was. Whatever. Guess who's not invited to any more parties...
How many "Christmases" did you have? (how many different places did you go to celebrate) 2, one with IL on the 22nd, one on Christmas with my family. It's nice to no longer have to do 3 like we had to after my parent's divorced in 2001-my grandma died in 2007. My dad died in between of cancer and my grandma blamed my mom. She would not speak to my mom until the very end of her life.
What was the best and worst thing you ate? My verenika (pan fried ravioli type thing with a white gravy) were the best closely behind were my mom's zwieback (rolls). The gingerbread cake my mom made did not rise properly so it didn't taste right.
What was your favorite and least favorite gift? The copy of the Blue Castle my mom got me and the Numi flowering tea set my brother got me.
MAJOR bonus points for any drama/WTF moments/entertaining/ridiculous family stories you share
No, it was probably the most drama free holiday ever for me!
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