Loot

We had the aforementioned quiet Christmas at home, and it was okay. Not terribly exciting, but nice. We did takeout Thai for Christmas eve, and it was probably some of the best Thai I've ever had. YUM. Then, Christmas day I made a strata for breakfast, had Thai leftovers (again: YUM) for lunch and ham/baked beans/coleslaw/potato buns for dinner. The buns turned out perfectly. I was amazed!! Just so I remember how to make perfect Christmas buns, I am going to put the recipe right here:

Christmas (aka Potato) Buns
1/2 cup mashed Russet potato
2 T butter
2 T Crisco
3/4 cup potato water
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
3+ cups flour (I used King Arthur's Bread Flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1 package yeast

I put it all (in order) into the bread machine, put it on the "Dough" setting and let 'er roll. After that was done, I kneaded it a bit, formed the rolls and put them on the preheating oven (375) to rise. I made 10 rolls, but I should have made at least 12, or maybe more. I put greased Saran wrap and a tea towel over the top while they rose. Usually I watch them like a hawk and fret that they are not rising fast enough, but this time I just left them alone for three or four hours and let them do their thing. When I came back to pop them in the oven they were HUGE. About 20 minutes in the oven and they were PERFECT. Undeniably perfect.

Gray, of course, didn't "get" Christmas at all. We took pictures of him crawling around with wrapping paper in his hands and a dog collar around his neck. He got: jammies, books, an "Animal Train" that plays the most obnoxious song (clearly, my sister hates me), a Radio Flyer roadster, a baby walker, a wagon and Santa brought him a drum with musical instruments in it. Phil got: whiskey, a catapult, books and a ton of clothes (this, after he told me earlier this week that clothes were THE WORST Christmas gift). I had fun with his stocking this year and bought him some DVDs (Mr Show and Wall-E), bologna gum, skiing sock monkey boxers, a shot glass, etc. I got: an electric toothbrush, a running fleece (which I loved but returned- didn't fit), sheets and a duvet cover, a necklace (not the one I was dying for from Boulder Arts and Crafts, but I can return it and get that one, hopefully), a huge check from my parents and a Genesis CD. (I have this new thing where when a Genesis song comes on I have this immediate reaction: "I LOVE THIS SONG!" and then I realize who it is and have this "Whaaa?" moment. I told P about it and so he got me the Greatest Hits as a joke.)

I also got a gift card towards a new vacuum, so yesterday I went to "look" and came home with a Dys0n. Oops. I just vacuumed the family room floor and I was basically horrified at all the yuck that came up out of it. I have avoided spending an exorbitant amount of money on a vacuum for a while but finally figured we have two dogs, a baby and new carpet. It was probably worth it, especially since I have probably spent that much on crappy vacuums over the past five years. So now I have one really amazing one and it was worth it. I am officially old and boring: I am excited about my new vacuum and electric toothbrush. Let the good times roll!