Chch Santa Run - USA Christmas Run

We ran the 2.5k Santa Run last week, was great fun really.




We are getting ready for our trek back to the US for a brief two week stay. Forrest will be based in CA and I will be headed to CA-MI-NY- and then meeting back up with Forrest, Tom and Christina in Las Vegas for New Years.

If you are able to meet up in any of the places I menioned, I would love to see you. The best way to contact me during this time is my gmail address as my US Verizon phone has long been cancelled.
Or you can just show up at my parents house between Dec 20-27 and hang out with the Gulick Family. We're Fun.

Santa, Baby, Hurry Across the Pacific, Tonight!

We decided to get a Christmas tree (read: I convinced Forrest that we should get one)!
Forrest assembled the tree yesterday... yes, fake. but whatever, we'll find pine scented candles, eventually.
In addition to the tree, I couldn't resist a Christmas hat.







We decorated the tree yesterday, then realized we didn't have an extension cord. So the tree lighting this evening was extra dramatic and perfectly aligned with the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting in NYC. See video below.






Here is a photo of our tree from outside our house.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanks to Mom, Lisa and my dog nephew Cash for the Thanksgiving wishes!

We celebrated Thanksgiving this past Saturday, 26 November. It was a beautiful day, sunny and low 70's. Two of Forrest's coworkers joined us, one from northern Australia (his first Thanksgiving!) and one from Netherlands Antilles area but went to college in the US.

The menu included:

artichoke dip

roast turkey (with lots of fresh rosemary)
pan gravy
old fashioned stuffing (mom's recipe, made with homemade bread)
roasted sweet potatoes (called kumara here)
mashed potatoes (with plenty of full cream, cream cheese and butter)
grown up green bean casserole
apple curry
canned cranberry sauce (sad i couldn't find fresh cranberries and couldn't make Aunt Nancy's famous recipe)

apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream
pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream
side-note: if you don't own this cookbook, own it soon. it's an absolute kitchen necessity.

and Forrest and our guests did all the dishes!
perfect!!!