Friday, December 28, 2012

A Merry Little Christmas

Merry Christmas!  If you're still in the holiday spirit here is our little Christmas recap. 

We watched all our favorite Christmas movies over the course of the season which include Home Alone 1 & 2 (although realizing that the invention and accessability of cell phones has made the plot somewhat of a head-scratcher), Fred Claus, How The Grinch Stole Christmas (movie and animation), The Santa Claus series, The Polar Express, A Christmas Story (on repeat Christmas day thanks to TBS!)and even enjoyed a new one, Arthur Christmas.  Yes, I like Christmas movies.  I also enjoy all the music!  We had 3 radio stations that played round the clock holiday tunes so I rarely had a car trip without festive accompaniment.  Christmas Eve rolled around and, while I worked that day, I was thrilled to have Christmas Day off, so we got to enjoy a lovely, cozy Eve at home.  I made an AMAZING pot roast, actually probably the easiest and tastiest to date, the finished drippings are ready made gravy also! Here in the recipe  (I did not make the onions as I would have been eating them solo, also I just used dried chives in the potatoes as the fresh stuff wasn't looking too hot in the grocery), TRY IT!

Anyways, back to our holiday, It even snowed!  There is something magical about snow on Christmas eve and Christmas day.  According to our local news it has only snowed on Christmas day 12 times in the last 100 years, so we really did appreciate it!  We went to bed with visions of sugar plums (well, at least the Finnish coffee bread I made), dancing in our heads.

Christmas morning dawned with a gentle snow still falling.  Our stockings were stuffed,

Our Christmas puzzle complete,
Yes, that IS Santa with a bag full of cats
And the presents were under our tree
I got the breakfast casserole started and waited patiently for the hubby to wake up.  Then it was present time! 
Cassidy checking out her stocking

And assisting in the gift opening

Stella is a little overwhelmed 

 A special Christmas bone
 After all the gifts were opened and awed over, we enjoyed a lazy morning and then some egg nog to get the creative juices flowing for my crudite tree
A festive way to eat your veggies!
We then spent the rest of the day surrounded by great friends and delicious food.  It was truly a wonderful Christmas.  Once again we were overwhelmed by the generous gifts from our family, we are truly blessed to have each of you in our lives, we love and appreciate every one of you, and hope to spend time together throughout the coming year.   I hope your Christmas was filled with peace, love, and joy!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Alright, I admit it, I love Christmas.  It truly is my favorite holiday and season.  Here are some things I've been loving most lately:
1.  Christmas socks.  I wear them daily from the day after Thanksgiving through New Years.  They make me happy
2.  All the decorations.  Our decorations are pretty much the same every year but I still love them, especially the lights and special family "heirlooms" that have been a part of every Christmas I can remember.
3.  Football.  This is the best part of the season, divisions are being won and the "if this team wins, and this team loses, and this team does the macarena, then this team will get a wildcard spot" really makes me chuckle.  Speaking of Football, look what my amazing Mom did for me
Ignore the weird way I'm standing and my messy living room

So dapper!
I also got Packers and Christmas themed stethascope covers!  It must have been good luck since they clinched their division today!  Go Pack Go!

4.  Cookies.  Usually every year I spend a few days in a baking frenzy making at least 4 different types of cookies to hand out to friends.  This year one of our friends had the GENIUS idea of a cookie exchange.  We each made a few dozen of our best holiday recipe then had a party and took home a half dozen of each.  It was PERFECT!  AND look at all the delicious cookies I got and only had to make one kind. 
Our lovely and genius hostess

The goods, I made the colorful ones on the left, eggnog cookies
 She even provided little baggies and labels to individually bag up each kind of cookie to take home, it was great.  So, yes, this was the Christmas win of the season so far.  I hope we make it a yearly tradition.  I still want to make a batch of my Mummu's coffee bread but I'm off the hook for more cookies. 

5.  Christmas carolers.  We have had many local singing groups come to work and sing/perform for our residents.  It really means a lot to everyone and I appreciate people giving of their time to share their talents with others, especially those who may not have many visitors this time of year.

Well that's all on the top of my list thus far, I hope to have more to share in the next week!  On a side note, I know this post sounds mighty cheery in light of the terrible tragedy that has shaken this country to its core.  I had to find something to be positive about as the never-ending news cycle has led to many tears for those all those innocent lives.  In the middle of such horror I think it is very important to remember the strength of love.  Set aside time to pray, honor those lost, and remember to love.  And maybe put on a pair of Christmas socks.