Share 4 Somethings in December

Since it's the last Saturday of the month it's time for Share 4 Somethings with Jenn. As always we're sharing some things we loved, some things we learned, some things that went well, and some things we let go of. 


Some things I've loved: I had a fabulous time at my husband's executive Christmas party at Via. The food and company were so good (I only took food photos though!). 

 

We had fun at my in-law's house on the 21st, good food, family, fun games, and gifts!

 
(Alec was at work so he's missing from the photos)

This new cup game was so much fun! Two people work to be the first ones to toss the candy up in the air and catch it. The one that makes it to the end first wins. There was a cash prize so the teens were ALL in! 

My brother and two of his kids came over for Christmas eve and we had so much fun playing cards all night. But once again I only thought to take food photos!

 

Alec made us the most incredible almond croissants that we ALL LOVED! 

 

We had a very lovely and relaxed Christmas morning that I loved; we even watched Scrooged before opening gifts. Then spent the afternoon at an AirBnB with my mother in law, brother in law and kids playing games and enjoying the meal my mother in law cooked. I have very few photos from the day but it was very relaxed, fun and easy.

 

Some things I've learned: I wore a continuous glucose for 2 weeks this month and learned a lot about my blood sugar, proper eating, the importance of exercise, etc... I mean I knew a lot of it ahead of time but seeing the real time data of what different foods and exercises do to glucose and the body's response to it is really neat and undeniable.  The app gives you weekly reports as well and I found that my glucose levels were fairly good and consistent. 





 I also learned far more about replacing computer parts than I would ever want to as Evan tried to update his PC-- thank goodness for YouTube/Google and Best Buy!

 

Some things that went well: Ben's minor surgery went real well (he had a piece of metal shrapnel taken out of his neck). Evan got another college acceptance so he's 3 for 3 with merit scholarship offers all around.  


he's accepted Clark's offer so he'll be staying local

Some things I let go of: I knew going into this month that our Christmas was going to be so unlike any other so I let go of all expectations and my need to plan everything out and decided to just go with the flow and see what happened. Until December 12th we still had no plans for Christmas eve or Christmas day. Once we figured out Christmas we still had Christmas eve up in the air until the 23rd! But it all worked out rather well regardless. 

Linking up with: Fine/whatever


 

Comments

  1. Amy ScottDecember 27, 2025 at 7:04 AM

    Do you follow Glucose Goddess on Instagram? She talks about the order of food you eat - start with vegetables instead of starches - I think. From another source I learned that keeping your bread in the freezer and baking your baked potato, then refrigerating it cuts down the glucose levels? Isn't that crazy? If I got all that right.
    I'm glad everything worked out! It seemed like it was lovely. I always feel the need to overplan and control things and I'm really working on that!

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    Replies
    1. Joanne December 27, 2025 at 9:29 AM

      Yep I do follow her and I read her book years ago; she's the one that got me looking into CGMonitors but the one she supports/offers/developed on her site is crazy expensive. I honestly didn't notice a difference eating my starches last but I did try that. I'm not sure how far she zooms in on her spikes and dips though as the app I used didn't really allow that at all. I mostly just stopped eating all carbs and sugar and lost a good 5 lbs while doing so... then Christmas came around and I feel like ALL I've been eating is sugar and carbs! LOL It is definitely all about balance.

      Delete
  2. GinaDecember 27, 2025 at 9:51 AM

    I do love the idea of letting Christmas flow naturally, and that's big for me as I have been the main Planner of Christmas for years and years. Feels good to let the season just BE. (:

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tamar SBDecember 27, 2025 at 10:09 AM

    Congrats on accepting Clark!! Such a wonderful schol!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 27, 2025 at 7:45 PM

      Thank you! That was his top choice from day 1 so he's thrilled.

      Delete
  4. Maria RineerDecember 27, 2025 at 10:14 AM

    Great family photos! We played some minute to win it games one year and I had Starbucks gift cards as the prizes- it worked like a charm to get the teens in game playing spirit :). I´m sure the cash prizes were a hit. I will look into the game that you guys played. Some of those types of games involve needing a lot of space or complicated things. We did a game with a cup and cotton balls if I remember correctly. How interesting about the glucose monitoring! Congrats to Evan´s scholarship, acceptance and decision!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 27, 2025 at 7:49 PM

      My husband's step mother plans just one different activity each year and the prizes always include some candy and either cash or gift cards. This one was a really simple and fun game.

      Delete
  5. Jenn LloydDecember 27, 2025 at 10:16 AM

    Your Christmas looks like it was lovely! Those croissants look amazing. I'm so glad everything turned out well for you this year; we all seem to be writing about expectations today. Funny, right?

    ReplyDelete
  6. MarilynDecember 27, 2025 at 12:12 PM

    It looks like your last minute Christmas plans were lovely. Congrats to Evan on his college decision!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kim CarberryDecember 27, 2025 at 2:52 PM

    Yum to the food at the Christmas party and it looks like lots of fun at the in-law's house. Fab photos! How great to have Alec with his cooking skills, the croissants look amazing and it sounds like a lovely Christmas Day!
    How interesting about the glucose and good job to Evan upgrading his PC. I watch my fella mess with his and I have no idea what he's doing!
    I am glad Ben's surgery went well and congrats to Evan with another college acceptance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 27, 2025 at 7:51 PM

      Thank you, Kim! We all definitely learned a lot with Evan upgrading his PC; it wasn't nearly as easy as we/he expected but he does say it was worth it.

      Delete
  8. Kim December 27, 2025 at 2:58 PM

    Your Christmas celebrations look like a lot of fun. Ours have changed dramatically over the past few years, since everyone has moved, but we've still managed to have some lovely holidays. I think the key is letting go of what it's supposed to be, sounds like you did just that! Congrats on the college acceptanaces!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kim December 27, 2025 at 2:59 PM

      oops...acceptances.

      Delete
    2. Joanne December 27, 2025 at 7:53 PM

      Thank you! Our celebrations have changed dramatically over the past few years as well. But I'm learning to just roll with it.

      Delete
  9. Handmade in IsraelDecember 28, 2025 at 4:35 AM

    It sounds like you have had a nice Christmas. I am glad to hear that Ben's surgery went well and the college acceptance.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Happy WhiskDecember 28, 2025 at 12:59 PM

    Looks like a great meal and cake. Yum. So nice you got to enjoy that with your hubby.

    The view outside your in-laws house is amazing. Love that.

    LOVE that she got a standmixer. I got one a few Christmasesesss ago and OMG, what a great tool. I use it way more than I even thought I would. It was one of those tools that took me forever to finally pull the trigger on and now, one of my most valued tools in all the land.

    Very cool on the blood sugar lessons. Even like you said, with knowing a lot about it already, I agree, there’s something cool about real time. Very, very cool.

    Here’s to a wonderful 2026 to you and the family.

    Cheers, Ivy.

    ReplyDelete
  11. JoyceDecember 28, 2025 at 6:30 PM

    Congratulations to your son on his college acceptance. It's so nice to have the decision made. I am someone who wants to manage Christmas (if I'm hosting), but I've learned to let go of a lot of my expectation. This year we were at my sister's and I said to hubs several times-it's not our job to figure it out. It's kind of freeing actually : ) So interesting about the glucose. I need to get serious about a few things health related. Everything food related is so overwhelming in terms of figuring out where to start and what's right for you. Happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 29, 2025 at 5:37 AM

      It is definitely freeing to let go of being the one to always figure it out.

      Delete
  12. Leslie Roberts ClinganDecember 28, 2025 at 9:00 PM

    Sounds like the very best kind of holiday celebrations to me...relaxed and easy. PC and I were both sick so we just stayed home and stayed in and opening presents together then had a makeshift charcuterie board for dinner. Congratulations on all of Evan's college offers. You have raised and schooled 3 very successful kids!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 29, 2025 at 5:38 AM

      It was very relaxed and easy! I'm sorry to hear you were both sick. This was one of the very few years that none of us was sick (I swear someone is ALWAYS sick for the holidays!).

      Delete
  13. FitFoodieMeghaDecember 29, 2025 at 5:23 AM

    All is well that ends well. You had a wonderful family time and that's what is important. The games and food looks fun. Have a fantastic week ahead!

    ReplyDelete
  14. HollyDecember 29, 2025 at 6:47 AM

    It sounds like it was all came together so wonderfully! So happy for you :) Congrats to Evan on this acceptances- no surprise!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 29, 2025 at 12:21 PM

      Aw, thank you! I was rather relieved to find it wasn't any harder to get a homeschooled kid into college than a more "traditional" schooled one.

      Delete
  15. nicole orriensDecember 30, 2025 at 3:14 AM

    I love how your in-laws positioned the tables! That is such a great way to seat everybody.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 30, 2025 at 6:25 AM

      It only works when some of us are missing or we don't all fit but it is something we've done off and on for years and works great; the person in the middle sits on a swivel chair and moves food around as people ask for it.

      Delete
  16. Jen WhiteDecember 30, 2025 at 8:36 AM

    Looks like a lovely Christmas…the almond croissants look amazing, and I love your table setting. Congrats to Evan!

    ReplyDelete
  17. mireilleDecember 30, 2025 at 9:29 AM

    Have you read the glucose revolution by Jessie Inchauspe. Learned a lot and very practical ideas!
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 30, 2025 at 11:11 AM

      Yep, I read that a few years ago; it's what got me interested in wearing a Continuous Glucose Monitor in the first place.

      Delete
  18. CatJanuary 2, 2026 at 12:34 PM

    That really sounds like a lovely Christmas. I'm always for quiet and relaxed and it's great it worked out that way for you.
    Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 2, 2026 at 2:34 PM

      Thank you; I"m so used to loud and crazy Christmases that this was quite a change for us but I liked it a lot.

      Delete

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