Frogs

Mr X and I were wandering about in this really great store down in Denver recently and we came across some big, plump-looking frog legs in the freezer section.

Yes, of course I bought them! You aren't really that surprised are you? You shouldn't be.

So we thawed them and seasoned them.

We dredged them in a bit of seasoned flour.

We lightly pan-fried them.

And then we ate them.

So how did they taste, you ask? If a chicken and a fish had a baby it would be a frog. That's what it tasted like: elements that were reminiscent of white meat chicken but a moist tenderness of fish.

Fun with Cross-Country Skiing

During our holiday break Mr X and I played in the snow a fair amount. We snowboarded several times, skied a couple of times, cross-country skied a couple of times and we even managed to go snowshoeing once.

We failed to take many pictures of our adventures, however Mr X had his camera on him during one of the cross-country days. Unfortunately there aren't any photos of him. Boo on my part, I know.

Getting ready to head out.

Enjoying a fun and easy downhill section.

Working my way uphill (even though the angle of the picture makes it rather flat).

Ungracefully managing a downhill turn.

Having a rest.

The spectacular view.

End of Year Activities: Christmas!

On Christmas Eve day Mr X and I packed our things and headed to Winter Park for some snowboarding. The crowds thinned out in the afternoon and we had a really nice time.

We reserved a night in a studio at the base of the mountain so that we could enjoy the festivities that evening and then hit the slopes again first thing in the morning, on Christmas Day.

We snowboarded until the mountain closed and then we headed to our room to get cleaned up and warm up a bit before heading back out for the holiday show. In the photo above, Mr X and I were meandering towards the excitement, just enjoying the festive scenery.

Mr X decided to have a go out on the ice skating rink, minus the skates, for fun.

One of the many brightly lit Christmas trees at the base of the mountain.

At the bottom of one of the main runs the crowds were gathered around an enormous bonfire, singing and dancing to the Christmas music blasting through the loudspeakers. 

When the appointed hour arrived the mountain staff came traversing down the face of the run with red flares in each hand and not long after the fireworks show began.

I tried to embed a video of the event but I'm not sure it will work for all of you. If it doesn't the two photos above will have to suffice. If it does work for you, you may want to fast forward to about halfway through - that's when the fireworks start. There's music too so feel free to turn your sound on.

Once the show was over Mr X and I hopped on a gondola for a 'top-o-the-mountain' feast.

 The gondola rides (up & down) were pretty chilly.

The beautiful lodge at which dinner was served.

 There is lots of great woodworking in the lodge.

I took photos of our food with my iPhone but they really don't make the food look great. So you'll just have to be content with my word that the food was really good and I left incredibly full.

Mr X and I keeping warm by the giant fire while waiting for our gondola ride back down.

We did this all last year and had such a great time that we were delighted to be able to do it again this year. If any of you have the opportunity to do something similar where you live (or if you want to come do this here), you should!

End of Year Activities: Kicking Off the Festivities Part 2

After our last day of work before the holidays Mr X and I decided to kick things off by going to view some holiday lights. We went to the Botanical Gardens to see their colorful and twinkling displays. It was COLD but festive and we had a great time. Here are some photos we took. After a while our fingers were too cold and we slowly stopped taking pictures because of that.

End of Year Activities: Kicking Off the Festivities Part 1

Since both Mr X and I work predominantly from home, sometimes "the office" is a very quiet, lonely place. So last year I decided that we should have an "office" Christmas party. So, the last work day before our holiday break, we had a lunch party. I thought Mr X would think it was a bit silly (it was), but apparently he liked it well enough that he asked if we were having another "office" party this year. So we did.

First of all, I was gone the first two weeks of December on a business trip so I wasn't around to decorate our house for the holidays. Mr X volunteered to do it for me but I didn't want to miss out. However, when I got back from my trip there were 10 days left until Christmas and so somehow we felt like it was too much of a hassle to get everything out and decorate just for a handful of days. So I put some cheap red ornaments on our stick tree and called it good. Here it is:

Now onto the office party. The luncheon this year consisted an assortment of Thai food hors d'oeuvres.

There were door prizes: Movie tickets and fancy popcorn to go with those tickets. 

And then for dessert I had made a version of a traditional Stollen. It was my first time to make this. I've made Panettone as well as fruitcake before, but never a Stollen. Turns out that the Stollen is my favorite of the Christmas breads so far. It was good. 

And yes, after the party we both finished out our workdays.

SD Favorites

In San Diego, during the holidays, it's always nice to drive by the San Diego Temple and see the beautiful light displays there. Plus this is my favorite temple. And the most beautiful (my opinion, I know). It's where Mr X and I got married so I'm very partial to this temple. Here are some photos of it in all of it's holiday glory:

And on a completed different note - I've told you before that every time I'm in San Diego I HAVE to stop by the Blue Market Grill for fish tacos. Hands down the best fish tacos I have ever had. This particular trip was long enough that I was able to eat here several times. 

This trip I had the grilled Jumbo Shrimp taco (my favorite), the beer battered lobster taco (now my second favorite), and a grilled scallop taco (probably fourth favorite, after the halibut taco). These are SO GOOD people! My mouth is watering right now just thinking about them. And no, I'm not getting paid to say these things, unfortunately. Nor am I getting any free tacos. Also unfortunate.

Beer Battered Lobster Tacos.

Grilled Scallop Taco.

Grilled Jumbo Shrimp Taco.

Kicking Off December in San Diego

I was in San Diego for the first two weeks of December for work. It really made it feel like I skipped a large chunk of time for holiday preparation and festivities. During any time off from work I tried to squeeze in some festive fun. Mr X even made a whirlwind trip just for the weekend to see me. 

We happened to be in San Diego during the weekend of "December Nights". It's a holiday event that they do in Balboa Park every year for one weekend. Lots of vendors, holiday shops, free access to the museums, Christmas music, lights and performances. We showed up right when it opened because we didn't want to have to deal with parking problems or drive in traffic. Our plan worked.

 

The architecture of the buildings in Balboa Park is beautiful.

Behind that giant tree is an enormous pipe organ that was played later. In this photo a bunch of little kids are dressed up and singing Christmas songs & doing dances.

The Arboretum at Balboa Park.

The Old Globe Theater's Grinch Tree.

We checked out the Museum of Natural History. It was great fun!

Mr X's older brother came down from LA to visit us while we were in town. It was really nice to see him. He came to December Nights with us.

The food highlight of the evening was a food stand called "Sweiners". I suppose that's is a combination of Swiss and Weiners. Mr X and I have had something similar to this before in Vienna several years back. I remembered them being really yummy so we decided to see how these fared in comparison.

Basically they take a half of a mini baguette, punch a hole in it, fill that hole up with melted Swiss Raclette/Gruyere cheeses, stuff a roasted sausage in and then put a pump or two of mustard on the top. They are so, so delicious. I will admit that the ones we had in Vienna were better, but these certainly were not far behind.