Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

24 Years....

Twenty four years ago, I married the love of my life. Here's to many more years together!

I love you, Hon!
xoxo

The Reason I Caved....

I am a huge fan of the Real Housewives television series on Bravo. I love to watch the Trainwrecks while they happen...they make me feel so normal. After each episode, Andy Cohen hosts Watch What Happens Live in the Bravo Clubhouse and he always has some wonderful guests to give their take on the latest episode.

He is constantly saying that the viewers can tweet him @BravoAndy and ask questions for the guests to answer. I held out on having a twitter account for the longest time because I'm pretty much a boring Midwest Housewife and don't have that much going on in my life (I certainly wouldn't qualify for a Real Housewife in Farm Country series). I really don't think that people would be interested in hearing that I'm leaving for my part time job! or I just put a meatloaf in the oven!

BUT, because I love Andy soooo much, almost as much as I love my pretend boyfriend, I decided to create a twitter account just so I could follow Andy's tweets. I also 'liked' his Facebook page so that I get updates on my Facebook home page. (I also am following my friend Melisa, and as soon as I created the account, I got an email from her with SHUT UP in the subject line...hehe.)

Anyhow, I'm trying to get up the nerve to tweet Andy and ask him to move to Farm Country to be my bff. I wonder if I send him enough tweets he'll move here...we could do such fun stuff like play Pictionary, drink cocktails, talk about the Trainwrecks, etc.

OR....maybe he'll put out a restraining order on me....stay tuned. ;)

Spiced Pecans

I love going to the mall this time of the year. Our local mall sells different varieties of spiced nuts that smell ridiculously delicious, but the only problem is, they cost about a gazillion dollars for 1/4 pound of goodness. So, I asked my dear friend Sara if she had a recipe for spiced pecans, and lucky for me she did and was willing to share. :) Pecans can be a bit pricey in the grocery store, but this time of the year you may be able to find a good sale price for pecan halves. And you do want to use pecan halves, not pieces, for this recipe.

Spiced Pecans
1 egg white
2 Tbs water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
3 cup pecan halves

Whisk the egg white until frothy; blend in the water, sugar, and spices. Add the pecans and toss. Spread mixture onto a foil covered baking sheet and bake for 250 for 45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes. Spread onto wax paper to cool.

Ahead of the Game

This past weekend, I baked the last of the cookies I'm planning on baking. I still want to make 3 different kinds of candy and some spiced pecans. The cookies are in the freezer until closer to Christmas, when I'll take them out a little at a time for the cookie trays.

Today I finished wrapping the last of the gifts, minus the one that hasn't arrived yet. My cards are addressed and ready to be mailed (tomorrow). It's nice to enjoy the season without feeling like I'm up against the clock....and believe me, most years I feel that way.

We have so many things to look forward to the next couple of weeks.....The Boy coming home; White Christmas (the play); our 24th anniversary; The Girl coming for Christmas; Lori, Mike, and Jamie coming for Christmas; Wicked; our annual New Year's Eve extravaganza with Jim and Melisa. Good times!

It would be even more perfect if our parents could be here, but since they live across the country, we'll have to settle with phone calls on Christmas.

I'm planning on posting recipes for goodies in future posts.
Stay tuned!

PS....I now have a job! Merry Christmas to us!

Hero

For the United States of America, December 7th will always be infamous for the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the beginning of WWII for our country.

Unfortunately, for my family, December 7 took on a whole new meaning in 1993. My father, our own personal hero, passed away.

Daddy, you are missed more than words can ever say.

What I've been Missing and didn't even know it!

We have one child. He's a boy. He never appreciated Barbies, make-up, perfume, etc. (Not that I tried to force those things on him!!!) He has always been 'all boy.'

This year, he's bringing the girlfriend home for Christmas. Her mom has to work, so she's coming down for a few days and two of those days just happen to be Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. How did I get so lucky to have her here for both Thanksgiving AND Christmas?

Anyway...the point of this post is.....it is so much fun to buy stocking stuffers for a girl!!!!

YAY for girl stockings! Oh, and it's equally as fun to fill the boy's stocking too, but it's just different for a girl, that's all. :)