12 Stresses of the Holidays

Throughout the holiday, my sanity survived,
12 dozen baked goods
11 presents wrapped up
10 embroidered gifts
9 sleepless nights
8 sticks of butter
7 loads of laundry
6 loads of dishes
5 CHRISTMAS PARTIEEEES
4 dinners with friends
3 Christmas brunches
2 worn out nephews
And one nervous breakdown full of tears!

I've almost survived now. We're on the downhill run to the New Year's Eve party, then I might hibernate for a month or two.

Ye Olde Candy Kitchen

I've officially done it. After MANY years of begging Grandmama to make me a batch of Divinity every Christmas, I've finally stepped (WAY) out on a limb and made my own. Divinity is a really tough candy to make, as it involves these scary things such as "soft ball stage" and "hard ball stage that cracks". I cheated and used a candy thermometer to take some of the iffiness out of those foreign terms. The sticky white vanilla goodness is currently cooling on a sheet of waxed paper on the kitchen table. IF they set up and turn out right, I might add a picture here. If they don't, though, I won't be able to take a picture, as I'll be busy spooning them off the waxed paper and eating them off a spoon. Or crunching them noisily. They taste good, no matter! Thanks SO much, Grandmama, for sharing this family tradition!!!

Now, off to wrap presents, deliver mail, get an oil change, tidy the house, bake cookies, ice cookies, make more marshmallows, make fudge, package and deliver treats, and nap. Nap? As if...

Weekend Recap

By the end of this weekend, I will have:

Attended
2 birthday celebrations
1 work party
1 holiday party
1 holiday/housewarming/birthday party

Made
1 double batch fudge
1 batch date nut balls
1 batch coconut marshmallows
1 coconut birthday cake

Cleaned house (sort of)

Changed sheets on two beds

Finished one embroidery, half way through another

4 loads laundry

Finished Christmas shopping

Wrapped all gifts

Given up.

So what've you been up to?

Tea Towels!

Just wanted to drop in to let you all know... I've officially COMPLETED 8 embroidery projects. They aren't large or fancy or anything, but they are COMPLETED, and darn cute, I must say. I'm in the middle of number nine, and I've suddenly realized I own NO white thread. How did I make it this far with NO white? Santa is distressed, as he looks rawther naked with no white cuffs or fuzzball on top of his hat. The kind people at Hobby Lobby greet me by name. BY NAME! Oh my...

It's SO Christmas!

I am feeling SO very Christmas spirited. (No, not THAT kind of spirited.) Clay and I have had an awesome weekend. We spent Friday night hanging out with Doug and Michelle and eating some fantastic Vietnamese food. I got my holiday haircut Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon was spent candy-making, baking, and burning some Christmas treats. Saturday evening we went to a friend's dinner party and enjoyed some wonderful chicken and dumplings, then we headed out to Bardstown Road Aglow. Bardstown Road in Louisville is the cool hippy-ish area with all of the local shops, restaurants, and haunts that we just love. Saturday night they all stayed open late and offered sales, specials, snacks, music, decorations, and all that jazz. It was bitter cold, but we survived for a little while. Today we woke up and hustled about, getting our humble abode in ship-shape, cleaning up the baking drama from yesterday, and putting the finishing touches on our Christmas decorations. This afternoon, our friends Melissa and Dameon invited us to join them in visiting the Louisville Science Center and the Muhammad Ali Center. We really had a great time, even when bustling in and out of the cold. After a nice Mexican dinner with them, we parted ways and headed to the grocery, then home. This evening has been spent with Clay at his video games, and me in my embroidering chair, stitching up the cutest little vintage Santa you've ever seen.

After all of that busy-ness crammed into one weekend, how could it NOT be Christmas??

But wait, there's more! Tomorrow night we're joining our friends Chad and Maria for some of our favorite Argentinean food. Tuesday night Clay will be spending at work preparing for his annual employee holiday meal. I think we have dinner plans with more friends toward the end of the week, and at some point I'll be baking one of Grandmama's wonderful coconut cakes to celebrate Melissa's Birthday.

If we survive the week, next weekend is shaping up to be every bit as busy as this weekend, if not even more so!! There is still a chance we're going to survive all of this holiday busy-ness so that we can travel home to Mayfield for some real Christmas tradition and cheer. We're loving the way Christmas falls in the week this year, as it will allow us to stay for several days and really enjoy a good home-holiday. Once we head back to Louisville, though, it will be right back into the frenzy as we prepare for our own holiday party, which this year will land on New Year's Eve. Sadly, that will be the first date we have available to host a party, so we're kind of melding Christmas and New Year's Eve for one giant bash. There are currently over a hundred people on the guest invite list, so it should be a GOOD one! Don't even ask how we fit that many people in our humble abode. It always just seems to work out somehow.

So, that's OUR Christmas month. How's yours looking??