Happy New Year!!
Happy New Year, everyone!!
I hope everyone had a happy, fun and safe Christmas and New Year.
We had a very nice, quiet Christmas here at home. I wanted a Christmas at home this year, as much as I would have loved to spend it with our family. We travelled the last two Christmases and we have travelled a lot just this year besides the holidays. I wanted to end the year relaxed without having it rush around here and there and back home. We did have our friends, the Schaefers over to have dinner with us and I had a gift for everyone, too.
I did all my baking and deliveries the Sunday before Christmas. Last year, I did 10 treats and I had narrowed in down to 6 and then as Christmas creeped closer it moved up to 13! Here is what I made that are traditional: Peanut Butter Balls, Spritz, Lemon Bells, Gumdrop Fudge (2 different kinds-cherry, lime vanilla & the regular), Chocolate Fruitcake, Cranberry Swirl Biscotti and iced Pumpkin Cookies. The new ones I tried this year and will most likely make it next year too are: Oreo Cookie Balls, homemade Caramels, St. Nick's Dove Sticks, Chocolate-Filled Cookie Bonbons, Cosmo Cocktail Cookie Bars and Peppermint bark-regular and one with a semisweet chocolate base. I baked for a whole week, three to four things each day until I got everything done on Friday. I had eight trays to do. We delivered a few trays on Saturday and the rest on Sunday. I've hear great reviews of everything and I have another new favorite-Cosmo Cocktail Cookie Bars. All the recipes are fantastic, but these are just so light and refreshing. A great contrast to all the sticky, sweet, richness of all the other goodies on the tray and that we eat throughout the season.
Christmas Eve, I cooked out little 11 pound turkey, green bean casserole, rolls, stuffing, potatoes and gravy. Christmas day, I made my Brown Sugar Pineapple Ham and broccoli salad. Everything was wonderful. For dessert, I have a pumpkin roll I made a few days earlier and the cherry pie I made at the beginning of the week, plus a pumpkin pie our neighbors made for us and a chocolate silk pie that I bought. We had dinner, visited awhile, opened gifts, ate dessert and then ended the evening watching Salt.
Perhaps we cheated a bit when it came to opening gifts, but it was Christmas day. We got to bed so late, that is was almost 2am, and Jarom and I decided to open them before bed and sleep in. Jarom really spoiled me this year. We agreed on a $50 dollar limit and he went way over, while I still haven't been able to finish his embroidered shirts. I finished on last week and got one done yesterday, but I still have three more polo shirts and a t-shirt to do. He bought me some Australian sheepskin boots, in lieu of the Uggs I wanted, Cricut ultimate accessory kit, iTunes giftcard and the EA Sports Active starter kit and supplement workout accessories. We got a couple movies from his parents and socks. Jarom also got some clothes and I got the soundtracks for New Moon and Eclipse. Jason drew my name this year and he bought me a Cricut cartridge and Paul had Jarom and he gave him a nice polo. My sister and Dan spoiled us with some really cool travel mugs, DVD, candy, CD and a couple giftcards. My parents send each $100. I bought the YourStory Bookbinder & Laminator and the new (not even in stores until spring and out of stock online) YourStory Photo Personal Binder from ProvoCraft from Cricut.com and HSN, respectively. Jarom bought a new stock for one of his guns.
We had a great day and enjoyed how relaxed everything was. New Year's was extremely quiet and relaxed, too. We stayed home and didn't do anything. I watched a couple movies while Jarom slept and then he got up and stayed up until midnight rolled around. I was so tired that I got really sleepy around 11pm, so I was lucky to make it to midnight.
Now, I'm just trying to get Jarom's shirts done and studying for the CBEST. I am taking the test on February 5th-also the say of our combined birthday party with our neighbor, Leanne. I've planned a Wii birthday party for the three of us and I just know it will be a blast!
I hope everyone had a happy, fun and safe Christmas and New Year.
We had a very nice, quiet Christmas here at home. I wanted a Christmas at home this year, as much as I would have loved to spend it with our family. We travelled the last two Christmases and we have travelled a lot just this year besides the holidays. I wanted to end the year relaxed without having it rush around here and there and back home. We did have our friends, the Schaefers over to have dinner with us and I had a gift for everyone, too.
I did all my baking and deliveries the Sunday before Christmas. Last year, I did 10 treats and I had narrowed in down to 6 and then as Christmas creeped closer it moved up to 13! Here is what I made that are traditional: Peanut Butter Balls, Spritz, Lemon Bells, Gumdrop Fudge (2 different kinds-cherry, lime vanilla & the regular), Chocolate Fruitcake, Cranberry Swirl Biscotti and iced Pumpkin Cookies. The new ones I tried this year and will most likely make it next year too are: Oreo Cookie Balls, homemade Caramels, St. Nick's Dove Sticks, Chocolate-Filled Cookie Bonbons, Cosmo Cocktail Cookie Bars and Peppermint bark-regular and one with a semisweet chocolate base. I baked for a whole week, three to four things each day until I got everything done on Friday. I had eight trays to do. We delivered a few trays on Saturday and the rest on Sunday. I've hear great reviews of everything and I have another new favorite-Cosmo Cocktail Cookie Bars. All the recipes are fantastic, but these are just so light and refreshing. A great contrast to all the sticky, sweet, richness of all the other goodies on the tray and that we eat throughout the season.
Christmas Eve, I cooked out little 11 pound turkey, green bean casserole, rolls, stuffing, potatoes and gravy. Christmas day, I made my Brown Sugar Pineapple Ham and broccoli salad. Everything was wonderful. For dessert, I have a pumpkin roll I made a few days earlier and the cherry pie I made at the beginning of the week, plus a pumpkin pie our neighbors made for us and a chocolate silk pie that I bought. We had dinner, visited awhile, opened gifts, ate dessert and then ended the evening watching Salt.
Perhaps we cheated a bit when it came to opening gifts, but it was Christmas day. We got to bed so late, that is was almost 2am, and Jarom and I decided to open them before bed and sleep in. Jarom really spoiled me this year. We agreed on a $50 dollar limit and he went way over, while I still haven't been able to finish his embroidered shirts. I finished on last week and got one done yesterday, but I still have three more polo shirts and a t-shirt to do. He bought me some Australian sheepskin boots, in lieu of the Uggs I wanted, Cricut ultimate accessory kit, iTunes giftcard and the EA Sports Active starter kit and supplement workout accessories. We got a couple movies from his parents and socks. Jarom also got some clothes and I got the soundtracks for New Moon and Eclipse. Jason drew my name this year and he bought me a Cricut cartridge and Paul had Jarom and he gave him a nice polo. My sister and Dan spoiled us with some really cool travel mugs, DVD, candy, CD and a couple giftcards. My parents send each $100. I bought the YourStory Bookbinder & Laminator and the new (not even in stores until spring and out of stock online) YourStory Photo Personal Binder from ProvoCraft from Cricut.com and HSN, respectively. Jarom bought a new stock for one of his guns.
We had a great day and enjoyed how relaxed everything was. New Year's was extremely quiet and relaxed, too. We stayed home and didn't do anything. I watched a couple movies while Jarom slept and then he got up and stayed up until midnight rolled around. I was so tired that I got really sleepy around 11pm, so I was lucky to make it to midnight.
Now, I'm just trying to get Jarom's shirts done and studying for the CBEST. I am taking the test on February 5th-also the say of our combined birthday party with our neighbor, Leanne. I've planned a Wii birthday party for the three of us and I just know it will be a blast!
You are just so dang cute!
I love you,
Sherry