January 7, 2025

Holidays & Happy New Year

On Thursday November 26th, Thanksgiving Day, after we slept in, I started the day by organizing and vacuuming the house. As I get older I realize I like things do be clean more often. It was supposed to be just the three of us for dinner because Brendan was eating at his girlfriend's parents house. But then Ryan asked if he could come over which was a nice surprise.

In the afternoon, my brother Ryan came over for Thanksgiving. I was nervous because I haven't spoken or seen him in five years. I wasn't sure what to expect. But when he came in, he gave me a hug and was very chatty. After five years, of course we had to give him a tour of the house, since a lot has changed. 


While we chatted, Mom and I did some last minute touches on dinner. Then we sat down to eat. It was just the four of us. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, Hawaiian sweet rolls, turnip and my mom's famous homemade gravy. I learned that my brother really loved the sweet rolls. It's hard not to like them. 

After dinner, we digested. Then Lily and Brendan came over for dessert. We had haagen daz ice cream, cookies and a cup of tea. 

On Saturday December 21st, it was my dad's birthday. For dinner we went to Outback. Mom got a burger, I got chicken tenders and French fries (never too old to order chicken nuggets) and the birthday boy got chicken with mushroom and onion gravy with french fries. The waitress was very nice. She even wished him a happy birthday. 

For dessert we stopped at carvel and got each got an ice cream. I got my usual chocolate and vanilla swirl with rainbow sprinkles. My parents' got a vanilla ice cream with wet walnuts and chocolate syrup. When we got home, I didn't have a candle so I improvised and found a small LED battery operated light. I stuck it on top of the ice cream on the outside (while it was still covered) Sometimes you have to get creative.


On Sunday December 22nd, we had our family Christmas party. I made my famous fried chicken cutlets. Mom made a ham and we got potato croquets. Brendan, Lily, Grandma, Larz, Aunt Amy, Uncle Brian, Aunt Jena, Uncle Anthony, Henry + William came over. We were a total of thirteen people. 

After dinner, we went into the living room and played two games. White Elephant and the Saran Wrap Ball. Saran Wrap ball game is where you put on gloves and try to unwrap as much as you can until the music stops. (Kinda like the hot potato game) Inside the ball is candy, cash, lottery tickets and a gift card. 

For the White Elephant game, you pick a card (in this case it was a number between 1 & 13) to see who goes first. I ended up getting number one. You choose any wrapped gifts in the pile, and unwrap it. Then the second person goes and does the same thing. But they get to keep their gift or steal yours. At the end of the game, the person who went first gets to decide if they want to keep their gift or steal from anybody else. I ended up stealing from my grandma. I got a m&m mug set. 

After we played the games, we did our gift exchange. I was the chief elf and William was my elf helper. He brought the gifts to the people. 

We had a lot of gifts this year. I think a lot of people prefer to put gifts in bags instead of leaving them wrapped without a bag. Everybody has their own preference. 

I got a lot of gifts from my family this year. I even got a vintage Ronaldo Manchester United Jersey (not pictured) I'm very blessed. 

As you can tell I'm a big Roblox nerd. 

On Christmas Day, Mom and I slept in till noon. Well technically mom slept in till almost one. But to be fair she needed her rest. I came downstairs and wished Dad a Merry Christmas. Then I went to check my stocking. (Yes at thirty-three I still get excited). 

Dad got me real Irish Cadbury chocolate and Milky Bar white chocolate from The Butcher Block in Sunny Side, Queens. 

Finally, mom woke up, we had our cup of tea then the three of us went into the living room and exchanged gifts. Dad got suspenders. Mom got an Athleta sweater, Inside Out 2025 Calendar and Cadbury chocolate.

 I got an Oxford United jersey, Sam Kerr Chelsea jersey, more Cadbury chocolate, Animal Crossing WHOT card game, Animal Crossing bead set, Hues & Cues board game, metal bulletin board, ESV Study Bible and a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. 

For dinner we went out to China New Star. It's our tradition. It was delicious. 


On Thursday December 26th, I went to my friend Abby's house in Bay Ridge to see my best friend Margaret. She's in the United States Army and was in town for Christmas. 

When I got there, she gave me two awesome gifts. A Mookie Betts bobble head and Los Angeles Dodgers World Series socks. 

The two of us walked to fourth avenue to get pizza. I treated her for lunch cause we don't get to see each other very often. 

There was no place to dine in at the pizza place so we walked back to her sister's house. Apparently Abby was in the shower for what seemed like entirety, we kept knocking and texting and ringing the bell to get back into her apartment but she was taking too long. 

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So we wended up eating our pizza outside her door in the lobby. 

The best part of visiting Margaret, was finally meeting her cat Ranger. He's such a friendly cat. When I first came in, he greeted me on the couch and rubbed his head on me. 

Of course I had to get him a gift. I couldn't come empty handed. I ended up getting him a squeaky toy that was shaped as a dog and chicken flavored treats. 

He loves to play fetch, go for walks, and cuddle with his mom. (he's a dog in a cat body)