A New Pampered Chef

I'm proud of my little guy. He made muffins all by himself the other day. Granted it was the "just add milk" to the mix kind of recipe. I'm doing my best to make sure he knows his way around a kitchen, unlike another male in the house who shall remain nameless.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Being from Minnesota, and not a lover of cold and winter and snow, I think the idea of a "white" Christmas is over-rated. Now, if I had moved away to a warmer region, maybe I would appreciate the sentiment more. Or at least fantacize about the romantic notion of it all. But, I'm sorry to say, I don't dream of having a white Christmas. I actually thought about making up lyrics to "I'm Dreaming of a Brown Christmas." Something to the effect of not having to worry about bad roads when traveling, not having plans ruined or derailed because of the weather, and not being chilled to the bone every time I go outside.

This Christmas, we had the epitome of a white Christmas complete with plenty of inches of the fluffy stuff that later became heavy and dense which was perfect snowman weather. It also meant cancelling plans and worrying about the roads. On the bright side, we got some good outdoorsy pictures.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Well, it finally happened. We put up an actual normal-sized Christmas tree this year for the first time year. We eased into it slowly. I've always done some sort of Christmas decorating but didn't put up a tree because Troy and I didn't see the need (or have the ambition) when we are always traveling over Christmas. Then Mateo came and when he was really little, we felt it would be more of a nuisance (and another excuse). Last year I put up a four foot tree so Mateo could put up some ornaments. So now this year, I felt that it was time to stop the procrastination and get a tree for Mateo's sake. He really enjoyed putting on all of the ornaments, and I feel proud of myself for finally getting with the program. I must say, I like the coziness the tree provides to the house.