Christmas Cooking

We had a very Merry Christmas.  Let’s just say that Char and the kids were very good this year.  Ava woke multiple times in the night in anticipation.  We all got up around 6:30 (normal time) this morning.  The kids rounded the corner to see the gifts Santa left (the unwrapped ones).  Char said, “look at what Santa brought!” and Ava added, “from Target!”  Their big gift was the Step 2 Retro Diner pictured.  It is a big hit, the kids can take turns serving each other and pretend cooking.

Today marked the second traditional Daddy Christmas meal.  Luckily, this year I had some help with the ham from Honey Baked Hams .  Just a little word of advise, let them do it, they are really good at it.  I fixed yams, green beans, corn, and rolls to go along with it.  Char fixed a pecan pie and cookies last night for the feast today.  Everything was delicious.  So what makes holiday cooking better? Real butter, cream, and sugar!  During the holidays everyone has a free pass to forget about what the health nuts say, no chemical substituted flavor.  Granted we are finding out more and more that the natural stuff is still better for you in the long run anyway.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

You’re still never too busy to see Santa

Sorry it has been so long.  The last couple of weeks have been busy for all of us.  At work the crew is moving aboard their new ship.  That time period is always a little hairy.  While the ship is new, it still must be aligned and tailored for the new crew.  It is not uncommon to find small piping leaks, incomplete connections, and equipment that does not operate as expected.  One of my jobs is to look at the issues that arise and determine how to correct the problems, no matter how big or small.  Many times the responsibility for a specific issue is not well defined and requires a compromise between the shipbuilder, the Navy shipbuilding oversight (contract manager), and the crew.  I help shape that compromise using technical details and balancing cost, schedule, and quality. 

At home we have been hanging the Christmas lights and making sure the children have a good first Christmas together.  Binh may not understand it right away but Ava surely will.  Last night we took a trip to a lighted wonderland.  What an amazing place that was.  We met up with another family and had a blast.  Ava has always been a little scared of Santa but each time we see a Santa set up for pictures we “test” Ava to see if this will be the time she is receptive.  Well, last night was it, she hopped up in Santa’s lap and asked for a soccar ball.  I guess I should also mention that we forced Ava to try once each year.  Well because Ava was receptive, this was the time we felt we should push Binh a little.  The results were expected.  

He was there about 10 seconds so I hope we don’t get a psychology lecture about how bad this was.  I promise it will not happen again… until next year.  Hope you enjoy Binh and Ava’s first picture together with Santa as much as I do. 

 

Office of the President Elect = ?

Has any past president used the phrase “Office of the President Elect?” Why would one have a podium made with such a title?  Initially, I thought that is was because major change was coming and the Obama campaign intended to use his new self-made title help prepare us for this major change.  I don’t think that is the case.  Lets take a look at some of his major cabinet picks.  We don’t have to talk about Joe Biden.  I understand, he represents the foreign policy experience, using that term loosely.  Lets look as some of the others:  Secetery of State – Hillary Clinton:  What a surprise!  Change…  maybe not.  Attorney-General: Eric Holder – Deputy AG under the Clinton administration.  HHS – Tom Daschle:  Democrat that lost Senate majority during the Clinton admin turned lobbyist with his wife (I thought he said he would not use lobbyist).  Commerce – Bill Richardson:  a UN ambassador and Energy secretary under Clinton.  Chief of Staff – Rahm Emanuel:  Bill Clinton’s political and policy aid.  Special Counsel – Greg Craig:  Assistant and special council to Bill Clinton…  This “Change” sure looks familiar.  I guess when you lack DC experience, you go with what you have. 

As I’ve said before, the best indication of future performance is past performance and that goes for his cabinet as well.  Do you really think that these career politicians are capable of change?  Maybe he realizes that the country can’t afford the change he originally planned.  I would rather have Clinton experience, be it good or bad, in the White House over crooked Chicago politics any day.  It’s amazing how mum the media is with the IL governor’s arrest.  President-elect Barack Obama’s ties to Blagojevich run primarily through felon associate Tony Rezko.  Rezko served as a political mentor and financier for both Blagojevich and Obama, helping both to rise in Chicago and Illinois politics. Obama himself has credited Rezko with helping to his political career. 

Instead of looking at the links between people associated with the selling of a US Senate seat we will focus on labeling Blagojevich as “insane” in order to discredit any incrimination that would follow.  This is starting to look like change alright, change for the worse and he doesn’t even have a title with teeth yet.

Dads and Christmas

Do you ever think back to your best Christmas memories and recall what made them so special?  My mother’s home-made candy was pretty high on the list along with Christmas morning.  While we may not have had much through the year, my parents rarely skimped on Christmas presents.  Now that Ava is at the age where she is starting to understand the idea of Christmas (both Christ birth and Santa), it is important to step up to the plate and do the dad stuff. 

We absolutely had to get a tree this year.  We have been using a tree Char’s parents gave us for the last 5 years.  We have higher ceilings so we got a tall pre-lit tree.  We decorated it together as a family, good fun.  The kids love Christmas lights, on the tree and on houses.  I decided to piece together enough lights to minimally cover the roof perimeter in stead of paying $10+ for 35 ft worth.  We will take advantage of the end of Christmas sales to get some new lights.  

I know there are some families out there that wait until December 31st to celebrate Christmas just so they can get gifts at 50 – 75% off presents.  Pretty good idea except for the fact everyone gets stuff that was returned or not all it was cracked up to be.

Dads set their children’s expectations and begin providing their reference for their Christmas traditions.  That is a real motivator for me.  Hopefully, their faces on Christmas day will be as well.