Christmas Came. The Goose Got Fat

I cannot imagine anything more worthy than Christmas to be my 300th post. What perfect timing! Does that mean I need to get a life? No? OK. Good.

We had an incredible Christmas in our new home. It was just the two of us, and I didn't want it any other way! John and I slept in until after 7:00 and slowly made our way to the living room to open an entire tree of presents! I totally scored with a ton a camera equipment to help me take better pictures of my food. John bought me a lamp kit and an indoor lighting tent to improve my photo-taking conditions when natural light just isn't hacking it. I've been wanting them for a while, so it will be a ton of fun to try everything out. With the few tests we ran (with only one of two lamps, since I dropped the bulb for the second one), I am shocked at how amazing and crisp the photos turned out! I can't wait to have the subject be my baking! I got a Mickey Mouse carrying case from my parents for Christmas...they just got back from a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, and now I feel like I was with them. The bag perfectly carries my new lighting equipment, so I am stoked! John also got me a cupcake carrying caddy...a personal must-have. I got a Ghirardelli Chocolate cooking book from my Amazon wish list! Thankfully, their hot fudge recipe is inside...I can feel the weight coming on now. So worth it! And finally, John sent me a on a treasure hunt to find a Wii game I LOVE. This was quite a risk on his part, since I am not a big gaming fan. Other than Mario Kart, I am not good at anything and therefore don't enjoy many video games. He found a puzzle game for me called "World of Goo," and it has been so much fun to solve each level. Nice job, John. And you all know I love treasure hunts! Spending Christmas with John is a treat indeed. Did I mention he finished my sideboard? We brought it into the house last night. It's a beautiful and perfect Christmas present! The entire building process took two months and deserves its own post in recognition.

Despite a personal heated hatred for The Simpsons, my husband is quite a fan. So I decided to give him something he would really like...a couple of framed posters of his favorite character. These will be tucked away on a wall of his man cave, so I'm not too worried about the whole house coming down. He also got the new NBA Jam for his Wii and has played it several times today. Just for the record, I beat him in a game. Or rather, my computer player beat his team, and my guy did a lot of "supervising." John wants a rematch, but I prefer to end on high notes, thank you very much. He got the new Thomas S. Monson book from my parents. My in-laws bought us a wheelbarrow a few weeks ago for our Christmas present. John also got some slippers, but he's not a fan. They are already boxed up and ready to be returned to Amazon. By the way, that website sure made Christmas easy this year. And still lots of fun! John also got some speaker stands for the last two speakers in his theater. We will now have 7.1 surround sound...and my brain can't even wrap around how amazing it will be!

After a breakfast of muffins and playing with our toys for a few hours, I got to work making our Christmas Dinner. It was absolutely divine! Ham basted in the slow cooker with apple cider. Scalloped Funeral Potatoes with a crispy Corn Flakes topping. Green beans with caramelized onions, walnuts, and Craisins were our side dish. We had to have something on the table that was healthy, after all! Drinks were juice mixed with gingerale...one of my favorites. There is just something about drinking out of a goblet that makes everything taste better! I haven't made his dessert yet, but John's favorite cake is plain old yellow with chocolate frosting. That will probably be our dinner this evening!

It's been an incredible day. Family arrives tomorrow, so we will get to enjoy an extended Christmas weekend. I can't believe how blessed we are.

Merry, Merry Christmas!

Chim-Chim-Cha-Roooo

I was explicitly told by my husband when he headed to his job this morning not to work too hard since it was Christmas Eve. I try hard to obey, I really do, but I knew I had one more thing to accomplish this week before I could rest for the holidays. And it's finally done...I just finished the HUGE task of cleaning out and painting the fireplace in the Great Room. Really, I can't even begin to describe how great it feels to be done at last.

For the past five months, I've lost in stare-down contests with the fireplace every time I've entered the room. It has taunted me, saying "Look how filthy I am. Aren't you embarrassed?" I hate when inanimate objects talk to me, and I hate even more when they are right. Since grouting my shower took much longer than expected, I wasn't able to tackle this project of putting the fireplace in its place until today.

I ain't gonna lie. This was a miserable amount of dirty work, and I wouldn't wish it on my second-worst enemy. I have never been happier in my life about the fact that I only have one fireplace. I would probably just hang a brown paper bag over the other one rather than having to do this project again. But enough of the whining...I am very happy with how nice it looks as a done deal. All the pain, grease, ash, sweat, and tears were worth it in the end. I am so covered in soot that I feel like Mary Poppins! I keep walking back into the room to admire my handy work. And you know what? The fireplace hasn't said a single word in taunting fashion!

That's right! I win again!

We will eventually buy a fake gas or electric log to put inside. Those puppies are expensive and not very high-priority. In the meantime, I think I will buy several LED candles to layer inside the freshly-painted interior. It will be wonderful to enjoy a fireplace while reading in my nook, which is what this corner of the house will become when other more-important projects are complete. For now, I am just happy it's done in time for Christmas!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Creeping Up On Us All

I refuse to believe that Christmas will be over in just a few days. Don't get me wrong...I am ridiculously excited about Christmas. I actually think I know what I'm getting this year, and it's going to be insane. I've casually suggested to my husband about a million times that we should just open presents a few days early. When I started the nagging on such a topic, of course, it was a few weeks ago. And the time frame then was "a few weeks early" to open everything. I am tickled for what I got John, but really, really tickled about what I think he got me. That all being said, this whole Christmas season is still going by way too quickly for my taste.

Some signs of quickly-approaching Christmas: I went to the mall with T'liese and Evan to watch him get his picture taken with Santa. Needless to say, it wasn't too successful. As soon as Evan was in Santa's arms for the camera, he was crying with real tears streaming down his face. Kudos to that Santa for being so patient...and having an iron grip on a squirmy kid who wanted to be anywhere but on Santa's lap! It was pretty entertaining to watch, though certainly traumatic for Evan. Luckily, he won't remember a thing in the years to come. T'liese picked the picture where Evan was crying the least, and we were on our way.

Another sign that Christmas is getting close is some treat bags we made for our neighbors. Using my photo-editing software, I created our tags from scratch. If I could just sit at a computer and design things all day, I am sure a big part of my heart would be pretty happy. I happened to pick a rare rainy day to make deliveries...perfect timing since the treats were in white paper bags. I also learned during deliveries that I wouldn't make a very good math teacher since I apparently can't count higher than nine. We were out visiting houses within about a five-block radius of ours when I asked John if some bags had fallen out of view from the seat. I had written down eleven names but only made nine goody bags. Is this part of being old, I wonder? Luckily, the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever were made even better using Christmas M&Ms. And the few families who were scheduled to receive and didn't won't know the difference, right? Am I right?

As a slap in the face, one of those families delivered treats to our door today! They must have known! How dare they give us hand-dipped candies when I apparently can't count anything without using my fingers!

The other good news is that the Christmas Weekend Menu is complete. We have guests arriving Sunday through probably Tuesday...John's sister and family who live in Albuquerque. It will be fun to catch up with them but even more fun feeding them. I find that when I plan out a menu, an overwhelming weekend crunches into manageable items. Am I the only Type-A person out there who uses a ruler to make a shopping list?

I can almost hear crickets when I ask such a question to a "normal" person such as yourself.