So my mum and I went to get a photo with Santa today (Christmas eve) and oddly, I don't think I look too bad (normally we are both hesitant for photos but I try and have one taken every year).
We are all prepared- the horses have christmas carrots, the birds have bird treats, and the dog will have a new toy to destroy ^^
Sounds like you all had a lovely Christmas! Hope your New Year is also wonderful!
Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 10:15 am
JoyRose
Darkerdemons
JoyRose
gaia_spoons Whatcha doin' for fun these days?
twisted Throwing a 45 pound rock at a house. That's what I do for fun in the winter.
Maybe I should call the activity curling... No windows were damaged in the process. lol
45 pound rock - sounds like it could do a lot of damage to some part of the house even if you missed the windows! But probably builds muscle strength!
twisted Absolutely~ *flexes muscles*
Darkerdemons
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Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 10:29 am
The(Sic)nessWithin
This is my first year home with the family now that I have a baby (well, toddler. He turned 1 in oct lol). My husband is deployed though so that's crummy sad But at least I don't have to spend the holidays by myself. I'm not sure what traditions I'll start with my little nugget. My husband mentioned I should do some new things but I'm not sure what to do! Maybe I'll get some ideas from this thread.
I did try out the advent calendar of books this year, where you wrap a book for all 24/25 days, or the 12 days of Christmas if the whole thing is a bit much. Thankfully Goodwill has lots of kid books so it was very cheap to do and now he has a good little library going. He won't remember it but at least he enjoys opening presents and ripping the paper to pieces haha. As he gets older the advent books may be unrealistic/too expensive, but cute to do when they're little!
I guess one tradition we do have, food wise, is my mom (and then I) always made sausage balls (They are literally just sausage, cheese, and bisquick rolled into little balls and baked for 15 mins) for Christmas. Since my siblings usually stopped by in between visiting their inlaws and such, we would have mostly finger/party type food and then a ham for dinner later on. Sausage balls, BBQ little smokies, a veggie platter, etc to snack on throughout the day. Can't have dairy at the moment so I'm going to attempt using vegan cheese for the first time. Most people don't like it, but I've been dairy free for almost a year now so maybe it will be more bearable haha. I hope it works out because I would really like to have the food at least be the usual. My mom passed earlier this year so Christmas will already be different enough as it is sad But we are managing!
Hooray for a family Christmas! Hope you all had a blast!
Haven't heard of the advent calendar of books before. Used to have the advent calendars with the tiny pieces of chocolate when I was younger. The past two years my family has been trying out 24 Days of Tea sets.
Sorry to hear your mom passed earlier this year, but glad you are managing.
I think the perception for most foods is influenced by how the food is prepared. I used to not like asparagus, but after some family friends served the vegetable prepared well, I started liking it. Fish can be really delicious, but it's easy to overcook and most people do not like it when it's overcooked: dry, bland, chewy. Same probably applies to vegan dairy products: find the right brand and cooking/preparation method and more people might discover they like it.
Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 10:31 am
Rin Kairiu
gaia_spoons Who would you spend the holidays with (dead, alive, fictional) if you could?
So, this is going to sound incredibly nerdy, but.... if I could spend the holidays with anyone then it'd be with my BF and we'd want to meet our various OCs. I'm mostly curious if we could predict everything that would happen on the holidays, since we created them, but it would be really cool if shenanigans happened and things occurred that we didn't expect. Like I said, nerdy.
I'll second this. (Although in my case, BFF). Hooray for nerdy! whee
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Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 10:35 am
Achilles the Red
Hoot hoot!
An owl flies around in the Festive Playground.
JoyRose
gaia_spoons Whatcha doin' for fun these days?
Composing music and writing original stories.
eek Composing music?! Wow! Haven't heard that one! Any specific type of music/instruments?
Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 6:16 pm
JoyRose
Emalthya
So my mum and I went to get a photo with Santa today (Christmas eve) and oddly, I don't think I look too bad (normally we are both hesitant for photos but I try and have one taken every year).
We are all prepared- the horses have christmas carrots, the birds have bird treats, and the dog will have a new toy to destroy ^^
Sounds like you all had a lovely Christmas! Hope your New Year is also wonderful!
thanks! I've been enjoying watching your outfit changing XDD
For most of December with my Mom's supervision, me, my brothers and some of our cousins were creating miniature exploding volcanoes, rocket experiments and other science experiments in our basement. My parents turned part of our basement into a science lab for my brothers and me to experiment in last year. We outgrew/became bored with our "Hogwarts Potions Lab" that's located in the same area of the basement.
I got bored with science experiments and joined this Festival of Lights event. rofl
JoyRose
gaia_spoons Favorite traditions?
Every year my parents host our family's Annual Christmas Family Gathering. We also have an Annual Halloween Family Gathering and Annual New Year Family Gathering. In all these events, cosplay is mandatory, live action roleplay is optional, there's lots of food and games and too many relatives in our house for the whole day.
JoyRose
gaia_spoons Who would you spend the holidays with (dead, alive, fictional) if you could?
Lee Pace. So I can have an authgraphed photo of him as Thranduil for my Dad. Cause Lee Pace starred as Thranduil in the Hobbit movies and my Dad loves to cosplay as Thranduil during our family gathering events. I think my Dad's gonna skin me alive for telling you that he loves to cosplay as Thranduil. xd
Aw, thanks! I see you're celebrating with fireworks! Happy New Year! =D
Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 3:36 pm
Emalthya
JoyRose
Emalthya
So my mum and I went to get a photo with Santa today (Christmas eve) and oddly, I don't think I look too bad (normally we are both hesitant for photos but I try and have one taken every year).
We are all prepared- the horses have christmas carrots, the birds have bird treats, and the dog will have a new toy to destroy ^^
Sounds like you all had a lovely Christmas! Hope your New Year is also wonderful!
thanks! I've been enjoying watching your outfit changing XDD
My son Vincent told me I need to check this thread out, therefore I am here cheese_whine
Since I am posting here, I might as well answer these questions too:
JoyRose
gaia_spoons Whatcha doin' for fun these days?
1. As the founder and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the company that I started when I was 28 years old, I do my best to be the benevolent, calm and inspirational boss during office hours. I am now 38 years old and I have been doing that for ten years. Being the benevolent, calm and inspirational boss is actually quite challenging and fun.
2. With my beloved wife Leia, I do my best to raise our three mischievous teenage sons Vincent, Arian and Emmett into well behaved and upstanding citizens and try not to have a heart attack in the process. My beloved wife Leia is a stricter parent and her method of punishment is the removal of privileges and grounding that misbehaving son. I merely punish my misbehaving sons with verbal reprimands, lectures and additional chores. My sons avoid causing their Mom to become upset/angry but they do their absolute best to give me a heart attack every day. However, I find it challenging and fun to be a good Dad to them. cheese_whine
3. I am a marathon runner who has never drunk alcoholic beverages, used drugs or smoke cigarettes. My drug of choice is "runner's high" and to achieve it, a person must run for a while. Every morning I wake my wife and three sons up early and we go jogging for one mile as a family - half a mile out and half a mile back. This exercise keeps everyone healthy and we get to breathe fresh air. Then we eat breakfast together. These two activities allows us to connect as a family first thing in the morning.
Thereafter,
If it is a weekday: I go to my personal treadmill in our basement gym and run for the equivalent of one more mile to try to get that runner's high. Then I will take a quick shower, change into work attire and go to the office.
If it is a weekend: I go to my personal treadmill in our basement gym and run for the equivalent of two more miles to try to get that runner's high. If I fail to achieve that runner's high, I will hopefully at least be able to achieve my Maximum Predicted Heart Rate and get my heart to pound very hard in my chest. I need a healthy and strong heart to achieve my ambitions and goals in life. This gives my heart an excellent workout and I get an adrenaline rush and that makes me feel alive and great. Then I will take a quick shower, change into comfortable clothes and take my wife and sons wherever they want to go. If no one wanted to go anywhere, we will either go to the library to borrow some books to read, play online games as a family or watch a movie in the cinema or at home.
4. We go to church as a family on Saturday or Sunday evening instead of Sunday morning. This is fun because it is another bonding moment for my family plus the Pastor's sermons are always interesting and enlightening.
JoyRose
gaia_spoons Favorite traditions?
My son Vincent has already mentioned our Annual Family Gatherings.
In addition, every year I create an advent calendar for every member of my immediate and extended family. This year, I shared this Advent Calendar tradition in my Christmas RNG & Advent Calendar Event Thread. I hope everyone who signed up for it enjoyed my Advent Calendar. cheese_whine
JoyRose
gaia_spoons Who would you spend the holidays with (dead, alive, fictional) if you could?
My beloved wife Leia, our three sons Vincent, Arian and Emmett and our extended family members.
Vincent Von Richthofen
My Dad loves to cosplay as Thranduil during our family gathering events.
Indeed. I am THE KING of the Elves. Nyah ha ha ha! cheese_whine
Vincent Von Richthofen
I think my Dad's gonna skin me alive for telling you that he loves to cosplay as Thranduil. xd
No, son. I have no problems with you telling anyone that I cosplay as Thranduil. However, you are getting two weeks of additional chores on top of your regular chores as a result of joking that I will skin you alive for any reason. I am not that type of parent and I do not want anyone to get the wrong idea. sad
Vincent Von Richthofen
Lee Pace. So I can have an authgraphed photo of him as Thranduil for my Dad. Cause Lee Pace starred as Thranduil in the Hobbit movies
Thank you son. That would be a really good addition to my autograph collection. cheese_whine
Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 7:48 pm
Verner Von Richthofen
Greetings JoyRose,
My son Vincent told me I need to check this thread out, therefore I am here cheese_whine
Since I am posting here, I might as well answer these questions too:
JoyRose
gaia_spoons Whatcha doin' for fun these days?
1. As the founder and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the company that I started when I was 28 years old, I do my best to be the benevolent, calm and inspirational boss during office hours. I am now 38 years old and I have been doing that for ten years. Being the benevolent, calm and inspirational boss is actually quite challenging and fun.
2. With my beloved wife Leia, I do my best to raise our three mischievous teenage sons Vincent, Arian and Emmett into well behaved and upstanding citizens and try not to have a heart attack in the process. My beloved wife Leia is a stricter parent and her method of punishment is the removal of privileges and grounding that misbehaving son. I merely punish my misbehaving sons with verbal reprimands, lectures and additional chores. My sons avoid causing their Mom to become upset/angry but they do their absolute best to give me a heart attack every day. However, I find it challenging and fun to be a good Dad to them. cheese_whine
3. I am a marathon runner who has never drunk alcoholic beverages, used drugs or smoke cigarettes. My drug of choice is "runner's high" and to achieve it, a person must run for a while. Every morning I wake my wife and three sons up early and we go jogging for one mile as a family - half a mile out and half a mile back. This exercise keeps everyone healthy and we get to breathe fresh air. Then we eat breakfast together. These two activities allows us to connect as a family first thing in the morning.
Thereafter,
If it is a weekday: I go to my personal treadmill in our basement gym and run for the equivalent of one more mile to try to get that runner's high. Then I will take a quick shower, change into work attire and go to the office.
If it is a weekend: I go to my personal treadmill in our basement gym and run for the equivalent of two more miles to try to get that runner's high. If I fail to achieve that runner's high, I will hopefully at least be able to achieve my Maximum Predicted Heart Rate and get my heart to pound very hard in my chest. I need a healthy and strong heart to achieve my ambitions and goals in life. This gives my heart an excellent workout and I get an adrenaline rush and that makes me feel alive and great. Then I will take a quick shower, change into comfortable clothes and take my wife and sons wherever they want to go. If no one wanted to go anywhere, we will either go to the library to borrow some books to read, play online games as a family or watch a movie in the cinema or at home.
4. We go to church as a family on Saturday or Sunday evening instead of Sunday morning. This is fun because it is another bonding moment for my family plus the Pastor's sermons are always interesting and enlightening.
JoyRose
gaia_spoons Favorite traditions?
My son Vincent has already mentioned our Annual Family Gatherings.
In addition, every year I create an advent calendar for every member of my immediate and extended family. This year, I shared this Advent Calendar tradition in my Christmas RNG & Advent Calendar Event Thread. I hope everyone who signed up for it enjoyed my Advent Calendar. cheese_whine
JoyRose
gaia_spoons Who would you spend the holidays with (dead, alive, fictional) if you could?
My beloved wife Leia, our three sons Vincent, Arian and Emmett and our extended family members.
Vincent Von Richthofen
My Dad loves to cosplay as Thranduil during our family gathering events.
Indeed. I am THE KING of the Elves. Nyah ha ha ha! cheese_whine
Vincent Von Richthofen
I think my Dad's gonna skin me alive for telling you that he loves to cosplay as Thranduil. xd
No, son. I have no problems with you telling anyone that I cosplay as Thranduil. However, you are getting two weeks of additional chores on top of your regular chores as a result of joking that I will skin you alive for any reason. I am not that type of parent and I do not want anyone to get the wrong idea. sad
Vincent Von Richthofen
Lee Pace. So I can have an authgraphed photo of him as Thranduil for my Dad. Cause Lee Pace starred as Thranduil in the Hobbit movies
Thank you son. That would be a really good addition to my autograph collection. cheese_whine
Sounds like you're building wonderful memories for your kids to carry through their lives!
