It seems strange now that exactly one year ago today, I wrote a post about the Best Christmas Ever. It is crazy how quickly your life can change. I mentioned in some detail the fact that we lost Amy’s Mom around Christmas years back and how it changed the feeling of the holiday season forever. Earlier this year my mom passed suddenly, and my family has been struggling to adjust to life without her. My mother loved Christmas like few people I know. She loved giving gifts (she was quite the giver, but always spent too much), cooking (breakfast was her best meal, and Christmas morning was quite enjoyable in the Federighi home) and fussing over all of the kids. The wounds are not as fresh, so I can write this post without extreme emotions, but I think about her often and I know first-hand that during the holiday season, I’ll think about her twice as much.

On the bright side, Elliot made out like a bandit this year. He got tons of clothes, toys and books from friends and family and seems to enjoy playing with all of them. We cooked for my sister, sean and the kids as well as my father and his wife barbara on Christmas Eve. Amy absolutely knocked it out of the park with this meal. The highlight? I would say the Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin and the Peas mixed with Cipollini Onions and Pancetta. Awesome meal. This morning I made Challah French Toast with Applewood Smoked Bacon. Leftovers tonight consisted of the Pork Tenderloin, Peas along with some Thai leftovers from Christmas Eve Eve: Spicy Noodles with Beef and Yellow Curry Vegetables.

We listened to music all today and just lounged around. To make it an official lazy day, I decided to stay in my pajamas all day long. Quite a comforting experience to be honest. I will be working on my Best Songs of 2008 over the next week or so, but I’ll try and squeeze in another post before then. I hope everyone had a great Christmas.