Finally

So long, see ya next year!


Yep, finally packed up the Christmas decorations. We have accumulated about 5 boxfuls over the years. It's good to get it down and get things back to normal.

Keeping up with the daily cards, and enjoying it. I really think that doing just a small project every day keeps the creative juices flowing. I think I'll post them weekly here, then I have to stay on top of it!

Daily Cards 2009 - Week 1


There, I blogged. Eat it, TreeGirl!

Christmas: The Aftermath

We had a nice quiet Christmas, just the five of us. Missed you Mom and Dad! Big hit was the wii - we played it all night and day, and all the next day and night, and... so much fun! I've got a bit of a cold, which is giving me a great excuse to just relax and snuggle up at home. Been reading a lot, working on a hat for myself, and making some ATCs for another swap. Oh, and blowing my nose just about constantly. Blech. Watched a couple good movies this week - Step Brothers (totally stupidly hilarious), and Trans Siberian (intense!) and ate a lot of good food. Hope y'all had a great holiday, and a huge thank you to everyone who sent gifts and cards. Love you!

Oh Christmas Tree

This is our second year with the fake tree...I love it! Couldn't be easier, and no messy needles everywhere. The decorating went very smoothly, mostly because I have stopped trying to control the ornament placement. I didn't say things like, "the balls go first!" or "no, spread them out!" or "don't put that one on top!" Nope, I just sat back and let them have at it, and guess what? It worked out just fine, and no tension. The photos are dark and blurry but I kinda love them like that.




So cozy and festive, why don't we have a tree in the house all year?

Bail ME Out!

Well, it's official. The latest bailout is going forward, giving the auto makers a shitload of money the government cannot afford. Awesome. This really grates my cheese. Maybe if they had started making energy efficient cars that people want to buy instead of churning out the biggest beasts possible, maybe if they made some hard changes in the way they run their business, maybe if they were ultimately accountable for their own failure...LIKE THE REST OF US. And all the billions given to the banks with no strings - where did it even go? Things are still just as effed up, even after Citibank got bailed out twice. Shaking my head. And they called Obama a socialist, HA!

OK, enough ranting. Just couldn't help myself. On the holiday front, things are winding down a bit. Christmas break starts tomorrow, kids are excited. Last minute gifts being boxed up and mailed out today. I know it's late, and I apologize peeps.

I have baked/eaten enough sweets to last until next Christmas. Favorite of the bunch:

Peanut Clusters

• 2/3 pound vanilla flavored confectioners' coating
• 1 (11 ounce) package white chocolate chips
• 1 (12 ounce) can peanuts
• 1/2 (6 ounce) package almond toffee bits (Heath Bits O' Brickle)

Line baking sheets with waxed paper. In a double boiler heat confectioners' coating until melted, stirring constantly until smooth. Pour in white chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Stir in peanuts and almond toffee bits. Remove from heat and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Cool for an hour, or until hardened.


Deckin' the halls-







Notice that Evan is wearing shorts. This was a week or so ago when it was warm and sunny and felt like September. This week has been frigid. Single digits in the morning and raging wind, little bit of snow on the ground with more expected today...winter has bitch slapped us.

Our Thanksgiving Was...

...exciting. We left a little bit late on our trip over the pass for dinner with the family. I had to meet up with the person that found my cell phone in the grocery store parking lot the night before. Got it back no problem, filled up the tank, hit the road with brand new tires installed Wednesday night. Everything's groovy, right? Nope. About halfway through the trip, on top of the summit, the oil light comes on, the car starts making an awful noise and shaking. Luckily, we were near an off-ramp and there is a gas station there. We limped it in, checked out the car, and eventually called a tow truck. Again, we were lucky that it was sunny and warm, the station was open, and the staff were very helpful. The tow truck driver was way cool and got us back to town pretty quickly. Then we took a taxi back to the house. This all set us back about $450. Great. That's on top of the $700 for the tires.

After we got back home, I called our friends that were having a big turkey and no company and we spent the holiday together. So great of them to include us, helped turn our crappy day around. The food was fantastic, I'm still full this morning!