Thursday 13: A delightful December snapshot

It's Christmas eve eve eve and I keep wondering what happened to December. Or 2011 for that matter. With wrapping yet to do, a paper half finished, a syllabus in progress, a messy kitchen, unfolded laundry, a dissertation to write... what better than a Thursday 13 snapshot of this glorious last month of the year?

1. A recent photo:

Me and my lovely ladies Heather and Jeanne at our White Elephant Extravaganza.

2. Current food obsession: Fried egg whites, Dave's Killer Bread (Powerseed variety!) and Reece's Pieces. Not together, of course.

3. Number of Christmas bread loaves baked so far: 40. This week I ripped into my second 25-pound bag of flour, cracked more than 75 eggs, measured out 10+ pounds of sugar and unsealed 30+ cans of pumpkin, pineapple, and pears.

Pineapple Banana Nut and Pumpkin-Pear.

4.  What I'm reading: "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott. It's a fantastic, funny book on writing and life. I've been carrying it around the last couple days as I finished up my Christmas shopping. I do believe a good book is the key to surviving long lines!

5. A new favorite recipe: Fiery Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup. Oh. My. Gawd. This soup is GOOD! And I don't even like tomato soup as a rule. It's broth-based so the calorie count isn't insane, although yours truly did add a few tablespoons of cream for good measure. Be warned, it lives up to its name... If you're averse to spicy, you may want to tone down the red pepper flakes a touch.

The recipe above gives step-by-step instructions. Don't skip the garlic cheese toasts, they are divine.

6. A photo I took:

The laundry monster attacked Goliath! 

7. Something I'm looking forward to: MY SISTER COMING HOME FROM NEW YORK! T-36 hours until I lay eyes upon her. Woot!

My gorgeous sister, the lead singer of North Highlands. Listen to them covering Wham's "Last Christmas" here.

8. What I'm working on now: A metaphor analysis, a syllabus for my spring class on interpersonal communication, and my dissertation proposal. Fun times!

9. Pounds gained since Thanksgiving: Negative two, thank you Zumba! And this is not for lack of trying, by the way. This week I'll hit at least three Zumba classes and hope that they make up for the three big dinners we're eating. We shall see!

10. Cookies eaten: Approximately 27(00). The flattering stat above is not likely to hold out much longer at this rate, especially considering it's not even Christmas and I'm making peanut butter blossoms and molasses cookies tomorrow!

Annual Christmas cookie decorating at my friend Shannon's.

11. A big accomplishment: Stringing Christmas lights without breaking my neck. And making new "friends."

I told T that an added bonus of Christmas lights (besides joy and merriment, of course) was that I would simultaneously string and clean out the gutters. As I flicked myriad oak leaves from the eaves, I noticed some "friends" come a-runnin'.

My suburban wild kingdom. All told, I had 24 turkeys on the lawn. 

12. Percentage of doctorate complete: After finishing up my fifth semester of PhD school, I am 62.5% doctor. It's just me and the dissertation from here on out!

13. What I hope to find under the tree on Christmas: A pony, of course. (Although I'd settle for a puppy since Mr. T keeps showing me ridiculously cute puppy videos!)

Miracle-o-miracles, I got most of my wrapping done early. Normally I just barely have gifts wrapped before they are torn open.

What has your December looked like?

xoxo,
shawna