Closing Up Christmas, Movin' Toward Baby

I wrote on my family blog (when I finally updated the other day) that I have a bad habit of starting posts, then getting sidetracked. I've slowly been catching up on everyone else's blogs (which takes me awhile because I don't want to miss anything). I hadn't been in a blogging mood lately, but I think I'm back. Here is the post I started at the beginning of January.

 

On Christmas Day, Ryan requested fondue. I tried to add a few things this time we don't usually eat with fondue. Here we have: romaine, crusty bread, roasted brussels sprouts, ravioli, roasted potato fingers, Brazil nuts, garlic-stuffed olives, Tofurky kielbasas, and tofu cubes.

We also had our bell pepper/edamame/broccoli, tomato, almond tree to use for dipping.

I used a recipe from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. We love it.

I can't get enough of roasted brussels sprouts.

I had told my mother we were absolutely not leaving our home on Christmas Day. I was staying put to relax. If she could just remember clearly, this is how she always was when we were growing up. She would not visit any relatives on Christmas Day; it was a day for my parents, siblings, and me. Of course, now she can't stand the thought of us doing the same, ha! (We celebrated Christmas with them and my siblings the weekend before.)

So she goes to Whole Foods and buys A TON of vegan food and prepares it just to try to lure us over (and my youngest vegan sister was going to be there, too). Not that I can be bought or swayed by food (well, sometimes I can), but we did end up going over there for supper. (You're not going to sway me with food again, Mommy! Don't even try it!)

I took this picture only because she had such a overwhelmed, dissatisfied look on her face while asking what she was supposed to do with "the Tofurky." I told her to just cut it like she would anything else, and the "non-vegan" that my mother is, she just kind of hacked into it with her "I can't believe I'm doing this." face. My Mom is funny - she's so sweet to always buy us special food, and if someone criticizes our diet, she turns into Momma Bear in our defense. But I know she can't imagine how she ended up with 3 vegan/vegetarian daughters, a veg son-in-law, and 6 veg grandchildren.

This was my supper plate: Tofurky, homemade apples, brown beans, sweet potato casserole with nut topping, homemade cranberry sauce, a roll, mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts.

After supper, we had our usual Happy Birthday, Jesus! party.

So...I started this post before baby was here. This was me two days before I went to the hospital. If you blow up this picture, it might show how huge my ankles (along with everything else) had gotten.

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And that's where my post was going to end, but...something came along before I finished typing it...

Introducing Baby Vegan and So Forth! We are having a total blast with this new little guy. I'm seriously in love. I'll give ya more details in my next post!