Trim up the tree with Christmas stuff...

...like bingle balls and whofoo fluff.

Centrepiece made from Value Village hurricane vase, dollar store candle, extra ornaments and old garland from Winners.

A candle tree and paper cone trees I made, the bigger paper tree took hours!

Shelves about the computer area with Boba Fetts, the Grinch and some gift candles

I made the wreath out of old garland, ribbon and some extra ornaments

Trim up the town with goowho gums and bizilbix and wums
Trim every blessed window and trim every blessed door

Jack-boy

Our 7' real tree! Only $35! The tree stand was $6 off craigslist last year and I made a lot of ornaments.

Hang up whoboohoo bricks
Then run out and get some more!

 "Winter-Themed" Star Wars Lego

 I added Christmas Cards to our photo wall

Whailand's countin' down

I was able to decorate a bit between end of classes and beginning of exam crunch time. Right now this is what I am looking at:

Cumulative Statistics Final! Whhhhyyyhyhyyyy1??/! :(

Pre-Christmas Diet and a Recipe

So far this year I have lost 14 lbs. However, I have not quite reached my goal for this year of being right smack dab in the middle of the normal BMI range. This requires me to lose another 3 lbs. Big woop.

No.

Not big woop.

This is hot chocolate baking cheese milk cookie gravy butter potato cider chocolate candy face stuffing season and it will be a little bit more challenging than if it were January or another boring month. So I have initiated: Diet Phase Three. (A follow up to the 7 lb loss of phase 1 in the spring and the 7 lb loss during phase two in the summer, neither of which I ever referred to as phase anything it just sounds fun to call it that now.) I will diet for about 20 days stopping on Christmas Eve so I can enjoy stew and pancakes and also allowing myself one holiday party in the middle. Woo. The rules are: No sugar or dairy, at all, no carbs after lunch and no food after 8pm (with the execption of days when I am working until 12am.) I will also try to get a bit of exercise but not worry too much about that factor. Yesterday was my first day and so far so good. I made this for dinner:

Pear, Butternut Squash and Chorizo Hash

1 tablespoon olive oil 3/4 cup chopped red onion 1lb peeled, diced butternut squash 1 large pear, peeled, cored and diced 6 oz soy chorizo sausage, crumbled 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon coriander poached or fried eggs for serving, optional In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil until shimmering. Saute onions until soft and translucent, about 7 minutes. Meanwhile, place the squash in a covered, microwavable dish with 1 tablespoon of water. Cook on high for 3 minutes, until just tender. Add the squash, pears, chorizo, cinnamon and coriander to the skillet with the onions. Increase heat to medium high and cook for 5-8 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until heated through and browned. Serve hot with poached or fried eggs, if desired

Recipe from http://www.carascravings.com/

I didn't measure things out perfectly, I used turkey chorizo instead of pork, I used a little bit of granny smith apple instead of pear, I didn't have corinander and I added some chilli flakes, salt and pepper. Still it was delicious. I had it with a poached egg and some spinach.

Stay tuned!