Coconuts, Christmas and Eggnog

Apparently I'm hard to shop for. There are tons of things that I want, but when it gets down to the holidays or birthdays none of the men in my family can remember any of them. They peer over my shoulder to see what I'm looking at online, they look at my Amazon wishlist, and they check out my bookmarks. Then they ask "What do you *want* for Christmas?"

I want my family to be happy and healthy.
I want NOT to have to do dishes or hours of cooking (Yay! Chinese buffet is becoming a family tradition!)
I want to turn on the news and see nothing but goodness and happiness, but also realize how unlikely that is
This year, I want grace and healing for all the victims of the tragedies that have happened in 2012.

Some of those things are doable, others are just wishes that lots of people are working towards. It's also not at all what they mean.

They wound up going to the craft store. Apparently, when in doubt, go to Michaels!

While they were there, TG and I went out for soup and tea at the mall. A small, locally owned restaurant. We talked of all sorts of things, then met back up with my husband and son and went to the grocery store.
William decided he wanted a coconut. So we got one.

Now, I love coconut, but don't get it often. William started opening it but couldn't find the ice pick, and asked Michael to use one of his screwdrivers, instead, Michael came over with his impact driver. Because you know, any excuse to use power tools. William drained out the water and asked if any of us wanted some. Then it was time to start on the coconut. He asked for a hammer. So Michael played "Can't Touch This" before giving him a hammer. STOP! HAMMERTIME!
As we were all enjoying the coconut, I looked at them both and said "If coconuts are going to be a power tool using, song and dance production, we don't need to have them often." They both looked at each other and laughed.

Today TG and I are making eggnog following a recipe that I got as a kid. It was simply the best eggnog I'd ever had as a kid, so we will see how it compares now. Michael and I will probably put a spot of rum in ours. If it turns out as good as I recall, I'll share the recipe tomorrow.