Happy New Year's Day!

I'm ready for 2010. No resolutions to make--I never keep them anyway. But, it's going to be a great year. 2009 was not so great.

We woke up to snow this morning. I need to go to the grocery store and one of my kids is not feeling great. Yep, tomorrow (next year) will be better.

Pete went to the Finger Lakes area to hunt this weekend so the kids and I are on our own for New Year's Eve. I'm such the party-er. He wanted us to drive up today to join him but I'm content to sleep in my own bed after traveling for Christmas. And tomorrow there is football to watch. We'll be heading over to our friend's house for lunch and then we'll watch LSU (hopefully) beat Penn State. Sorry, but I'm always rooting for the Southeastern Conference. I don't care who they're playing. I normally don't root for LSU, however.

So, I must get ready and head to the grocery store. I need to buy some black eyed peas for New Year's Day. What do you eat for good luck on New Years?

Christmas recap

Well, we had a nice Christmas but never made it to New York City. We left on Christmas Eve and arrived to Cambridge around 10 pm. Because we weren't going to be here for Christmas, I got to open a gift early. OK, it wasn't wrapped. Anyway, I got a 32 inch flat screen TV. Yahoo!

All Kendall wanted from Santa was a 'Just Like You' American Girl. Santa delivered. This is the doll Kendall wanted even though it doesn't look just like her. Oh well. She was a very happy girl.


The day after Christmas my in-laws took us to Legal Seafoods in the Charles Hotel in Cambridge. They have really good seafood. I just love the way Clayton looks here with his knit hat on. Sometimes I feel like I'm looking at a much older Clayton. After the late lunch, the kids and parents went ice skating in front of the hotel. It was a blast and worked off some energy from the kids and calories from the adults.

We drove home on the 28th. It was a good drive and the kids and dogs are good travelers. We were all very tired from the few days visiting Pete's family. It was a good visit, though. On Sunday night Pete's 96 year old Nana insisted on making dinner for everyone. While Pete was cleaning the kitchen, Anne (Pete's sister) and I got to sit and chat with Nana.

Me: Nana, what's the secret? How have you lived so long?
Nana: I don't know.
Me: I know. It's coffee in the morning, an alcoholic drink at 5 pm, and ....?
Nana: Dark chocolate!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We opened some presents this morning since it looks like we're headed to the in-laws today. The weather isn't cooperating and while I'm stubborn, I'm not stupid. We need to beat the freezing rain that is coming our way. Besides, my kids just love being around their cousins.

So, Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you get everything you want. Don't forget the real reason for Christmas. We've all been given a precious gift.

O Holy Night

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

At least in my kitchen. Tomorrow the kids are putting on some sort of program at school. I think they are going to sing some Holiday songs and do other things. It's a big secret for the parents. The parents are bringing in the sweets. I decided to bring in cut-out sugar cookies with a Christmas theme. After all, that is the big day this month!!!

I found this recipe on the web and it is delicious. The buttercream frosting comes from Mark Bittman's How to cook Everything cookbook. The frosting uses cream as well as butter to make this the most heavenly frosting ever. I only ate two of the cookies this evening.

Our tree is up, as well. We got a real one and the presents are surrounding it. The kids got to open one present each tonight. I always got to open a present early when I was a kid. They were so happy.

We might get to stay here for Christmas Eve and then after the Santa stuff on Christmas, we will drive up to Boston to see Pete's parents. I'm hopeful it will turn out that way. There's just something about watching your kids in your own home opening their presents under their own tree.

I received this in my yahoo email account. It went to the SPAM folder. I called my VISA company and they said don't click on the link. It was not a legitimate email. Wow. There are some nervy people out there. It seems the crooks are getting sneakier and sneakier. Like the two airplane tickets that someone bought in the Ukraine with my husband's debit card earlier this year. Yep, we must always stay on our guard, I guess.


Dear valued Visa Card Customer,

It has come to our attention that your Visa Card information needs to be
reactivated as part of our continuing commitment to protect your card and to
reduce the instance of fraud.
Once you have reactivated your Visa Card records, your card
service will not be interrupted and will continue as normal.

Your Case ID Number is: RT87R7ER8R8D

To reactivate your Visa Card click on the following link:

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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Last Saturday Clayton and I had Breakfast with Santa. It's amazing how kids can believe and also refreshing. He told Santa he wants a dinosaur. Yep, he's easy when it comes to these things. But, both my kids are smart and they're asking questions that require me to come up with stuff. I can see how it will be a little easier once they know the truth regarding Santa. This might be the last year we have this magic of Christmas since we will be in NYC with the in-laws for Christmas. I will have to lie through my teeth for my kids to not learn the truth this year. The young cousins already know but don't have the wisdom (or unselfishness) to keep it a secret. I really don't want to go there, but I lost that battle. My husband is going to call his sister and try to explain that our kids still believe in Santa and we would like to keep it that way for now.

Speaking of the cousins, my husband are I are going shopping for them this afternoon. Last year our gifts were not great. How do you buy something for a kid that has everything? Seriously, the parents could buy us and sell us 10 times over. The niece wants whatever her big brother gets. Last year, she cried when she opened her gift because it wasn't like his gift. I think this year I will get identical Nerf things or something like that. Like I said, it's hard to buy for these very privileged children.

We are also going to finally get our Christmas tree today. We are so behind on this. Pete has been traveling so much and he insists on going to a farm and cutting it down himself. This, of course, takes preparation like remembering the rope to tie the tree to the car, remembering the snow pants and boots for the kids, etc. I would be fine just buying one that is already cut, but no, it's all about the experience. My experience as a kid consisted of getting the box out of the closet and putting the tree together. I do like the smell of the real trees better but I don't like stepping on the needles.

That's about it for this Tuesday. I'm a little lackluster due to a cold and really I would rather be sleeping. Oh well, how often does a woman get to go shopping with her husband?

it's that busy time of year...

As you know, the kids stayed home on Wednesday because of the weather. I finally went outside with them in the afternoon and helped build this snowman. It was a lot of fun once I got bundled up and went out there. But, the thought of playing in the snow didn't sound fun to me at first. I'm sure I loved it as a kid, though.
Here is Lilly leaping through the snow. She loves it. She's a crazy pup.
And here is the final product from our busy afternoon. I don't know what they named him. Was if Frosty? or Snowy? I'm not sure, but he did have a name.
The kids went back to school today. A welcomed break for this mom. Clayton was home Monday and Tuesday with a cold and fever and then the snow day on Wednesday was more fun than I could stand. :)

I've got a busy weekend coming up. Pete and Kendall will fly to Boston to see my in-laws. So, it will be a mom/son weekend. My neighbor called to request a dessert for a little party she's giving Saturday lunchtime. Tonight, I have my Girls Night Out at a nice restaurant. Saturday morning Clayton and I will be having breakfast with Santa. Saturday afternoon I will be baking cookies for the open house on Sunday at the Centre Volunteers in Medicine and Clayton will go to a birthday party on Sunday afternoon. Phew! I hope I'm not forgetting something.

Cold, wet snow!

This is what we woke up to today. The kids' school was canceled also. I hope the weather improves. I've been home with a sick boy since Monday and I'm getting a little stir crazy!

They're here....

Our friends arrived safe and sound last night. Pete got home about an hour later from the DC area. Ben and Emmy live in Taiwan and came to the states to see Ben's family for Thanksgiving. Their daughter, Florence, is the cutest little two year old. She has dark hair like her mommy and curls like her father's side. They said people stop them in the streets in Taipei because she is so cute. I believe it.

For dinner last night I cooked poached salmon (aka Nana's salmon), steamed rice and green beans. Ben was so impressed that I had a rice cooker. I guess they aren't common in the states for non-Asians and I had to remind him who I was married to. Yes, my husband and his family had lived in Taiwan when Pete was little. They love Asian cuisine and my mother-in-law used to be a really good cook. The salmon had lemon, rice vinegar, white wine and some olive oil on it along with some herbs and Dijon mustard. It turned out perfect! The juices were ladled over the white rice. The green beans were simple with a little squirt of lemon juice and salt. For dessert, I made the apple tart again. Ooh la la. Ben brought some very good red wine from Napa valley and we opened our Riesling brought back from New Zealand. We were saving it for such an occasion as this.

We're going out to eat tonight. Yay for baby sitters! Emmy wants Thai food and since she is 24 weeks pregnant with their second child, I figure we will indulge her!

As far as the plans for the day, we haven't figured anything out to do. We woke up to a steady snowfall so I doubt we'll be playing outside much. I doubt there will be enough to build a snowman.

Domestic Goddess...

After my shower every morning, I put on some comfy clothes (until I figure out what I'm going to wear) and my house shoes. For those of you not raised in the south, house shoes are also known as slippers. Today, I could only find the left shoe of both pairs of house shoes. It seems Lilly likes to run off with a shoe in her mouth when she's excited about something. So, I am like the guy from The Best in Show and I have two left feet. If you've never seen the movie, you should rent it. It's a hoot. Anyway, I had to walk around the house like this this morning. I later found the right shoe for one of my pairs of house shoes so now my feet are a little more comfortable.

We are having company this weekend (Yay!) so I need to clean, clean and clean. I also need to go to the grocery store and get some food for our friends. And of course, there are all the other errands that I need to do. But one thing I MUST do today is sweep in the unfinished basement. It seems our old cat pooped down there back in the day when I would forget to clean his litter box. Pete has been after me for a week or so to get to it. I never knew he had done that since I try not to go to the basement EVER. Since it's been brought to my attention, I don't have an excuse now. Dang.

Happy Thursday, y'all.

My day

I got this beautiful card in the mail. It came from South Africa! It was sent from my blogger friend, Char. There is a nice message inside, too. The photo doesn't do it justice, but she also made a charm for my key chain. I love it! Thanks, Char!

It started out as a nice day and got better as the day went on. I met the mom of an old high school friend for lunch at Cozy Thai Bistro. It's nice to catch up. Her daughter will be coming for a visit right after Christmas, so I'm looking forward to that. I found out, though, that she and her husband ate at a restaurant for Thanksgiving. Ugh! I felt so bad to hear it. I knew I should have called her to see what she was doing that day! I (wrongly) assumed one of her daughters would be visiting her or she would be visiting them. You know what they say about 'assume'
don't you?

After lunch I went shopping at Kohl's. I bought a sweater for me (Merry Christmas to myself, I say) and found a cute dress for Kendall. I got a couple of things for my-gulp-great niece. She was born in August so she's just a young thing. Oh, and I did get something for Clayton earlier in the day. I'm doing fairly well with this 'getting ready for Christmas' thing.

I had a few minutes to kill before picking up the kids so I went to Walmart. I really want a 32" flat screen LCD TV. A girl can dream, can't she? I'm tired of the words and pictures being cut off of our curved screen. I only watch about 3 shows, but what the hey? They should be enjoyable!

And then I got home and had that great card! That is one thing I like about this time of year--getting all that mail!

Time is flying by...

Wow! I can't believe it's December already, but when I let the dog out, it certainly felt like it. The cold weather has ushered in. We've been lucky with the weather so far this fall with the exception of that snow storm mid-October. I start wishing the days away around Dec. 21. I hate to say it, but I don't like the short, cold days.

My kids went back to school today. They were home since the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It was fun hanging out but by Saturday night, I was needing a break. Of course, the kids fought a bunch but they played a lot, too. Pete took the kids to school today. It was nice to wave "bye-bye" to them! :)

So, let the day begin. I need to do some Christmas shopping, set up our nativity (it hasn't been up since before kids), wrap some presents that my mom left here from her visit, and grocery shop. And if I have time, I'll mop the kitchen floor since Clayton spilled some orange juice last night. I doubt the dog licked all of it up!