Tuesday, December 16, 2025

I didn’t have a great idea for a post today so I thought I would just be random! This is just how I talk to my friends which YOU are!

I found these Boursin balls at Target – their Good and Gather food brand is supposed to be really clean and I find myself looking through their food selections sometimes. Some of their prices are really good and they carry different products than my Kroger.

They inspired me to make an omelet and then I repeated that for a few breakfasts.

I found the perfect ratio for me – two whole eggs and one egg white. I have the perfect sized pan for this omelet.

I did fresh chives, bacon bits, grape tomatoes cut up, and three Boursin balls crumbled up. I do spray some Pam. The secret is patience. Leave it alone. Fold it over with your spatula when it’s pretty done as you see here.

Voila! And, it’s red and green for Christmas – just sayin’! I can even flip it with my wrist and one hand. Bragging!

Fernando Mendoza – I loved how he thanked his abuelos in Spanish. I love how humble he was and how much credit he gave his mom. Yes, we moms are awesome. I hope all of my past sporty students thought of me. I would have started class with his speech. I liked to be of the moment with current things and relate Spanish to their real lives.

Broccoli soup a la Jenn – wow! It turned out great! I always feel like such a chef when I make a soup. The chopping and the stirring, you know?

I did carrot along with the onion instead of celery. I did two bags of broccoli. I added Tony’s Cachere’s cajun seasoning. I did not use an immersion blender, but I used my potato masher to make the broccoli a bit smaller.

I have done stocking stuffers by going to CVS, Walgreen’s, Dollar Tree ($1.25 Tree), World Market, and Kroger. Most everything is consumable or practical.

I have ordered from Amazon (can’t avoid it!), Quince, Target, and Banana Republic Factory. I am almost done.

Now, I need to plan an Eve meal, a Day meal, and the food I am taking to in-laws and to my extended family. That’s a lot of planning.

I thought this was so funny. Did you know you can totally renew your passport online now? Well, if you meet certain criteria. We first got passports for our kids in 2016 and renewed ours at that time because we hadn’t used ours in such a long time. Well, kids’ expire in 7 years so they had to get new ones in 2023 but Tom and I didn’t. Tom and I took the worst pictures of each other for the online renewal:

But they worked! I renewed our passports online and it took like 5 minutes and $130 each! Gone are the days of going to Walgreen’s to get your picture taken and standing in line at the post office. Now, I found this easier to do on my phone. Sometimes a laptop is the way to go and sometimes the phone is the way to go. Because the photos were on my phone, it was such an easy process to choose them from my camera roll. #Tip!

I have been asking Alexa to play quiet Christmas music for Eddie Otis. It drowns out the outside noises that put him on edge like car doors slamming and those pesky delivery people dropping things on our porch. He likes it when I dance to the music and he goes in circles. He likes the quiet carols and he falls asleep.

Did you like this random post?

What random thing would you tell me?

Are you stressed out or calm, cool, and collected regarding the holiday?

Amy

24 thoughts on “This and That – Fernando, Shopping, Omelets and Soup, Christmas Music, and Passports”

  1. I did know about renewing passports online- I was not able to do it. Passport photos are tricky- you aren´t supposed to smile if I remember correctly?

    Fernando- I have SO MANY thoughts- every single one of them good! First, his adorable face reminds me a lot of one of my girl´s ex- boyfriends. I often see resemblances that others don´t see in people but everyone in my family agrees that there is a resemblance between Fernando and the guy we know. I didn´t listen to his whole speech- I didn´t know about the abuelos thanking. I do know that after every game, he thanked God. I have no idea what his faith actually is- he may be thanking God in a very generic way or it may be sincere- there´s no way to know that. But, I think that for young kids looking up to this talented QB, it´s nice to hear the humility and the gratefulness that emanates from a posture of giving thanks to a higher power- in this case God. I read a letter that his mom wrote to him, describing Fernando´s character and drive. It was so sweet! He was QB4 for a while in high school or something crazy like that but he had drive, determination and athletic ability that put him in the position to be in the running for the Heisman. And then to win it! And to help catapult his team to number one in the nation. Love it so much! Go Hoosiers!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. If your current passport is already expired I don’t think you can do it. You have to show some shoulder, not smile, and be in front of a white wall. So, it’s a bit involved.
      He is a devout Roman Catholic being of Cuban descent. I just love his message of discipline and hard work to our young kids and then you see the Diego Pavia sour grapes and F that attitude and that is not what our kids need.

      Like

      Reply

  2. I do not know who Fernando is but it wounds like he made a great speech. I am not at all stressed about the holidays, but it doesn’t seem like I really have to do anything other than finish wrapping gifts… which are trickling in since I already wrapped all the gifts I bought in person. I do think one of Evan’s gifts is lost for good in transit but luckily he’s an adult know and will just shrug his shoulders and we’ll figure it out in the new year.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    2. Fernando Mendoza, winner of The Heisman Trophy from IU. I just need to shop a bit more, wrap, and plan the meals. Ha – good attitude and one that my sisters reminded me of. We don’t need to buy that much or stress that much for our kids.

      Like

      Reply

  4. Love the random post. Haha
    The omelette looks delish. I just put a note on my phone that I need to plan Christmas breakfast and dinner and make a Kroger list. The soup looks delicious. That’s awesome that renewing the passports was so easy!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. I have no idea who Fernando is! I’ll have to look him up.

    I am calm about the holidays. Looking forward to being done with work on Thursday. I’ll wrap next week and grocery shop.

    Your passport renewal sounds painless! I’ll have to remember that when we need to renew ours. I hate that they ask you not to smile.

    xo,

    Kellyann

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. I love a random post. … a bit of everything! Your omelette looks so tasty. I will look for those Boursin balls! Your soup also looks delicious. I love making soup and freezing the leftovers for when I’m craving soup but don’t feel like making it. I’m doing the same..planning meals and gathing gifts. I’m mostly done wrapping. I hope you’re having a great week!

    Like

    Reply

      1. I use souper cubes to freeze mine and then pop 2 blocks into a quart sized freezer zip lock bag. They have been so great! https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/souper-cubes-freezer-tray-with-lid/?catalogId=79&sku=5426032&cm_ven=PLA&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=Home%20Essentials%20%3E%20Food%20Storage%20Containers&cm_ite=5426032_14572997884_aud-868821414659:pla-371154302295&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=14572997884&gbraid=0AAAAADrs9cHJLgi48Be3cb2Qfu4eJFPp-

        I have to wrap as I go, I don’t have room to store all of the gifts so I put them under the tree after they’ve been wrapped. >

        Like

  8. I love a random blog post! Music for dogs is something I’ve always done; it keeps them calm, too. I’m glad you liked the soup! The carrot was a good addition. Something random I’d tell you…I foresee this being a night when I get into my bed early and watch Christmas movies while I read blog posts. I did this last night, and it was amazing. I also talked on the phone a lot while I laid there…. to Chris, my sister Lisa, then Chris again. I have that amazing new to me headboard that’s fabric and sturdy enough that I can lean up against. I love it so much! My sisters call this act “taking to the bed”. I’ve needed to take to the bed this week.

    Happy Tuesday!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. I really like Boursin products but haven’t seen those balls before. That omelette looks so good and the soup too!
    I am sure my dad renewed his passport online last year, I remember taking the photo which wasn’t fun as he kept smiling or moving. lol

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. Boursin is the bomb.com. I’ll have to try those small balls! The soup sounds super yummy. Recently went to a UK extension office evening event “soup & swag” where they provided soup and all of the trimmings to make holiday swags. The broccoli cheese soup was SO ODD. No one at my table could figure out what the issue was! 🥴

    My cousin’s son (2nd cousin?) is at IU and realized last week that Mendoza is one of his classes! He’s might have been sleeping through class to just now realize… 😆

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  12. That is really amazing about the passport photos and process. I remember it was such a big deal to get the kids’ passports. I think both parents had to be there etc. at an official appointment/meeting. And I remember we had to go to the US Embassy in London to get ours renewed when we lived over there. You couldn’t bring in any key fobs or phones, so you had to check them in at a location nearby. I loved the Fernando speech. He seems like such a great young man. Your omelet and soup look delicious. I agree about the Good and Gather brand. I also still need to plan out our meals!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment