Tis the Season

There's really not much Christmas spirit here. Bill and I decided to have our little Christmas at home.

On the 24th, Bill told me that Christmas day back home means cold cuts and movies, and that we were going to make eggnog (We couldn't find eggnog anywhere in this town. What a shock).
I was thrilled 'cause (1) I love eggnog and (2) I've always wanted to know how eggnog's made. It's kind of embarrassing but it took me much longer than anticipated in the supermarket 'cause I didn't know how to say "Rum" in Chinese. People asked me what it was for, but then I realized I didn't know how to say "eggnog" in Chinese either. Anyway, after prolonging the sound "rrruuuuummmm", the woman at the liquor store finally understood what I was looking for. Turned out, the Chinese word for "Rum" is exactly the same as the Chinese word for "lime". Go figure! I also bought lots of yummy cheeses and meats. I was very excited about making eggnog.

Christmas morning came. The first thing I did was cleaning up the kitchen. Well, how could we make eggnog in a messy kitchen? While I cleaned, Bill went out to get some coffee. We had French toast for brunch. Later in the afternoon, we had French Truffle Brie, Gouda, Salmon spread, ham, turkey breast, and whole wheat crackers. We also watched "The Contract" (with Morgan Freeman and John Cusack) and "Orange County". I kept on wondering when we were gonna make eggnog, but every time I asked, Bill's answer was always, "Later, Babe. Now it's not the time." .... as if there was "a time for making eggnog".

After the movies, we played some video game.
There was still no sign of any eggnog-making activity.

When it finally turned dark, I nearly gave up. Bill put on "The Christmas Story" for me and went into the kitchen.... Nope! Not to make eggnog. He wanted brownies.

I, more than anything, wanted to make eggnog.





Finally when the brownies were about done, Bill came into the living room and announced, "I'm making eggnog." I shot straight up from the couch, grabbed my camera, and ran into the kitchen.
His right arm was sore of whipping egg whites without a whisk. I was shocked by how much sugar was needed for making eggnog. No wonder people say eggnog's extremely fattening. It didn't matter much though 'cause it turned out fabulicious!

I didn't take more pictures while we were making it 'cause I had to help. I didn't take more pictures afterward 'cause we were too busy drinking eggnog and having brownies while watching "The Christmas Story".

I went to bed wondering if my tummy's gonna burst!

Boxing Day

After a day cooped up in the house, we went out for Boxing Day dinner with friends. We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant in Taipei -- La Casita. I wanted to have some good food before checking myself into the hospital tomorrow.


Ben showed up with a black eye.
He said he got it from Jingjing (his wife) because she didn't like the Christmas gift he got her. Since Jingjing wasn't there with us at dinner, Amber demonstrated how it was done.


Simon was feeling under the weather. When he wasn't eating, he spent most of the time sitting in the corner with his scarf on his face.
We thought he looked a bit like a terrorist.



With my tummy full of all sorts of yummy goodness, I'm now ready to spend a few days in the hospital.