JUST A LITTLE MORE...

Just a quick post to show you some more of the presents I recieved for Christmas. Hannah got me a nice belgian waffle maker. You can probably guess what we had for breakfast on Christmas morning - yep, waffles. Naomi got me a very nice jewellry box. Just what I wanted.

Josh worked very hard and made this beaded barrette. It is gorgeous.

I really was spoiled this year.

AHHH!!!

So, the orgy of greed is over for another year. All that's left is to stuff our selves silly. As usual, I look forward to surprising the kids with things they really want, but never think we will get them. This year Josh got an xbox 360. He was not expecting it at all, but was very excited. It is something he has been saving up for. (Brian looks just as excited as Josh!)
We bought the girls each a t.v. and DVD player. Again, something greatly desired. They will be very handy when they are living in Whitehorse. Sometimes they just like to lie in their beds watching a movie. Actually when they are sick they have to stay in their room, so a t.v. can be a real sanity saver. We also got them ipod docking stations. All in all, they were all very spoiled.
I bought Brian a very cool Greek mythology chess set, a fishing rod rack and a storm proof lighter among other things. I think I was the most spoiled of all. Brian bought me a cappuccino maker and my favorite gift of all - a set of golf clubs. Not just any golf clubs either, but the set I really wanted. Now I can't wait to get out golfing - maybe I will have to settle for some snow golf to tide me over the next few months. (Start warming up Sonya, the game is on!)Of course, no Christmas story is complete without mention of Oscar. On Christmas Eve we decided to let the kids open one gift. However, we didn't want Oscar to get into present opening mode yet. So, we put him outside and opened the gifts, then cleaned up all the evidence before letting him back in the house. When he came in I was playing with some bubble wrap - this was very intriguing for him. He knew we had done something, but couldn't figure out what was up. He was very alert and waiting for something to happen, but we managed to keep out secret until Christmas morning. Then of course he went nuts for his stocking.

Brian's parents and brother's family sent money for the kids. So, I combined the money and bought them these fancy name-brand sweaters. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.

I think the Mom-of-the-year award is still up for grabs, I should be getting it this year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very merry Christmas.

This was posted by someone on SparkPeople: A New Years wish for you.

May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts.

May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $100 bills.

May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips!

May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires and may happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy.

May the problems you had forget your home address!

I'M FEELING GREAT

This morning is the first day of our Christmas break. YAY! Wouldn't you know it, I woke up bright and early as usual - 5:15am. I decided to start off right and I pulled out my runners and set up my treadmill ready for a run. I determined ahead of time that I would do 8km. A lot of this whole exercise thing is just a mind game for me. When I got to about 4km, I was ready to quit. The lactic acid build up was getting the best of me. I decided that I would just push to 5 and that would be it. But when I got to 5km, I said to myself it is only 1.8 miles left. I am going to make it. And I did!!! 53:50. That is more than 2 minutes faster than last time (56:06). Now I feel great. I will probably crash on the couch in about 5 hours.

EXPANDING MY REPERTOIRE

As the holidays approach I am always on the lookout for exciting new recipes to try. It is the one time of year when I bake. I didn't realize how deprived my family was feeling until I saw them delve into the baked goods. One of the recipes I have discovered is the following, melt in your mouth goodness.

Cream Cheese Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter
2 1/2 tbsp cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp lemon zest

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and mix well. Add milk and lemon zest. Mix. Gradually add dry ingredients. Mix well.

Drop by spoonfuls, or roll into balls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 350 for 12-15 minutes.
I usually place a chocolate chip in the centre (white chocolate for Brian). Half a glace cherry would be good too.

Enjoy!

I also discovered this picture on my camera - the beginnings of my very delicious fruit cake, made with real fruit, not just candied, dyed rutabaga.

CHRISTMAS BAKING

I came home from work today and had the time and energy to do some Christmas baking. It seems that all the previous baking I had stored in the freezer has been gobbled up by some very big, hungry mice. Hmmm. So, it was time to refill the freezer. Then I decided that no blog is complete without some pictures of food. Therefore, I grabbed the camera, much to Brian's enjoyment and took pictures of the cookies I baked. I made sugar cookies and glazed them as per Sonya's recommendation. They are delicious and look fancy without being overly sweet. Notice the empty spot where the mice have already started in. I also made some of Josh's favourite - nanaimo bars (over the top sweet). It is my Mom's recipe - far superior to the ones you buy from the store.

EARNING THE MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD

I am always joking with my kids that I am trying to earn the "mom of the year award." I think this time I've really done it. Our old dishwasher just wasn't doing it's job anymore. We had bought it second hand when we moved to Ross River, the converted it from portable to built in. We finally got fed up of having to rewash everything, so we bought a new dishwasher. I chose a very nice Fridgidaire. Unfortunately there was a delay between taking out the old, installing the new and getting the new d/w wired in. Today was a very happy day for all of us. No more washing dishes by hand. The electrician was in town and did the wiring for us. So, at last the kids can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that I won't be pestering them to do the dishes after supper. (By the way the picture is from the catalogue, not from my kitchen.)

A NEW 'DO

It's not often that I will share a picture of myself. But I had to show you my new hairdo. I went to my hairdresser and told her I needed something new. Here's the result:

BRAGGING RIGHTS

I have been working hard at my running lately. Times are getting better and better. Maybe I will improve with age.
5 Km times:
Tuesday, Dec. 4 - 33:43
Thursday, Dec. 6 - 32:50
Sunday, Dec. 9 - 31:34

A DAY NOT WORTH REPEATING

We just arrived home from our trip to Whitehorse. What an eventful trip it turned out to be. We left home on Thursday right after work. It was almost dark by that time and a chilling -33. But we braved the trek into town being careful to use the brakes regularly so they wouldn't freeze up on us. We picked Naomi up from the dorms and grabbed a late supper to eat in the hotel room. Friday morning dawned cold and windy. But we bundled up. Brian started his day at 8am at the dentist, while I took the truck to the mechanic for some much needed repairs. Then I had my turn at the dentist (and I'm proud to say I had very little plaque build up, especially since I haven't had a cleaning in 2 years). Next the kids all had their turn. It was after 10:30 by the time we were finished there. Then I had to start my Christmas shopping. I walked all over town and kept returning to the hotel with my parcels. It was 3:30 before I had the truck back! I still had most of my shopping left to do. Now I had 1 1/2 hours before we had to head out for supper. I power-shopped. Then we had supper at Boston Pizza (who knew that a pepper shaker could explode over my greasy veggies!) then we went to the ballet! Can you believe it? Josh opted out, but the girls went with us. A couple of Naomi's friends were in it. It was excellent. Then we raced downtown to see movies we have all been waiting to see. By 11:30 we arrived back at the hotel - slightly exhausted. But, that is not all, oh no, that is not all! Saturday was another cold, windy day in Whitehorse. But, being the hardy soul that I am I walked to main street to have my hair done, leaving the truck with Brian so he could take Oscar to the vet. I power-shopped some more and we headed out of town at 3:45. (Earlier than expected!) The truck, which we spent so much time and money getting fixed, is still not working properly, but we continued on. About 70km past Carmacks, a herd of caribou decided to cross the road right in front of us. It was really, really dark out - no moon or stars, just our head lights. So, Brian slows down as quickly as he can. We are swerving all over the road. Brian is just trying to slow down so as not to plow into any of the caribou. We just about made it too, but one stupid caribou decided to turn around and go across the other side of the road. By this time we are only going 20km/hr - just fast enough to hit the caribou and go into the ditch. The animal was long gone by the time we exited the truck, but we could hear it crashing around in the woods - too dark to see anything. No damage was done to the truck, but we were stuck! Eventually due to Brian's great driving skills and my muscular talent, we pushed the truck for about 100 feet along the side of the road until we finally got enough back onto the road. It was a bit of a slow drive home after that - we think the wheels are out of alignment too. But we got home safe and sound. I am definitely not in a hurry to make another trip to town anytime soon.

Here is Brian's version that he posted on his blog:

I hit a caribou on the way home tonight.It was a pitch black night, the darkest I've ever seen. From out of the woods a whole herd of the stupid things suddenly emerged and piled out on the highway right in front of me. I began a series of semi-controlled skids and swerved around the first four or five of the beasts. At that point I was completely surrounded by running caribou.

When I'm bowling I have the uncanny ability to seemingly roll the ball right through the pins without knocking a single one down and it was this ability that saved me tonight. As I was skidding through the center, the herd miraculously began to part like the Red Sea for Moses. For a split second I thought we were going to make it, but then one of the stupid beasts turned and ran right back across the road directly into my path. I cranked the wheel hard-a-starboard and dealt it a glancing blow as I plowed off into the ditch. The sickening crunch of metal against flesh is now forever etched in my mind.

I was pretty sure I hadn't killed the caribou, but I thought it might be lying injured on the highway. As I hiked back to look for the body I had visions of that scene from "The Long Kiss Goodnight"; you know the one where she snaps the deer's neck to put it out of it's misery. However, the caribou had scampered off into the forest where I could hear it thrashing away in agony. Long story short it ended with about twenty minutes of digging and pushing until we could get the truck back up onto the road. I'm glad I've got 4x4.

AHH - SWEET MEMORIES

One of my favourite things at this time of year is the arrival of school photos. We keep all the pictures in the frame behind the current one. I love taking them out and marvelling at the transformation through the years. I just had to share the kids' kindergarten photos. Wow, we created some beautiful children!

An added bonus: Josh at 2 1/2, when we first moved to Kitimat. Is is already 11 years ago?