Holiday Half-Time

Whew.

So for a quiet Christmas at home things sure have been busy. We have a new roof leak to deal with that sprung up last week; Steve is on the roof as we speak with the guy who is making the repair, so we will be 750 clams poorer. I'm glad we didn't overindulge with gifts this year, bleh.

Christmas Eve was spent at our neighbor's house, where they have an annual party. Rita made ham, turkey and all the fixings, we ate like pigs. Towards the later part of the evening we all ended up in the basement (finished with a tiki bar, pool table and entertainment corner) playing "Left-Right-Center" when we ran out of Corona. Steve ran up to the gas station on the corner and ran into his brother Fred and his wife Suzanne who were dropping off Christmas cookies for us! Steve brought them back to the party where Rita heaped food onto plates for them, and they joined in the games. Afterwards they followed us the quarter-mile back to our house where we ate cookies, caught up, and drank hot buttered rum. They didn't leave until almost 2am and it was an awesome surprise to spend Christmas eve with them.

Christmas day was quiet, Sam got a good amount of loot from us, Santa, his dad and grandparents. I got Steve some nice sweaters, the Sunrise Earth DVD set, Frasier Fir scented candles from Thymes, (I got them for him last year as a joke gift-it was really more for me but he liked the smell so much he actually requested it again) and I filled his stocking with his favorite candy (M&M's and Resses' Peanut Butter Cups). Steve got me a gorgeous wool coat from Victoria's Secret, it has big buttons and and a really smart collar. He also got me a gift certificate for Borders so I can go get the new Dido album, a mortar and pestle for grinding spices, a cute wool hat, ear warmers, and some fuzzy black gloves. I made out like a bandit, IMO. We had a few friends over for supper; I roasted a turkey that I brined, and then coated with an herb seasoning (let me know if you want the recipe-it ROCKS!), made garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, warm Brussels sprouts with pancetta and balsamic vinegar, cranberry chutney, and hot rolls. Chuck made an apple pie and traditional Figgy Pudding with Hard sauce. Figgy pudding is something you either love or hate, I happen to like it-especially with hard sauce! It was a pretty laid-back dinner, and we all had a nice time with our friends.

On Friday Steve got called in to go to one of the plants in MA for the day and fix some financial issues, so I stayed home and cleaned house. I was pretty pissed off about this because Steve left in such a hurry he didn't see my purse, car keys and cell phone in the front seat so I was somewhat cut off from civilization, but I got some cleaning done and played Disney Monopoly with Sam so it wasn't such a bad day, but I wish Steve didn't have to go to work.

On Saturday we took almost half of the toys Sam got for Christmas and donated them at St. Josephs for the kids who were in hospital. One of our favorite family TV shows is John and Kate Plus Eight on TLC; Sam loves watching the kids because they are just a little younger than he is. In a recent episode, the family went to St. Jude's hospital and gave a donation and some coloring books and CDs to the sick kids, and Sam decided that next year he wants to donate to St. Jude. I am so proud of him for being concerned for those in need, I hope this is a habit that continues to grow and flourish.

Yesterday we went to Steve's brother Bob's house where Bob and his wife Paula had a smorgasbord of goodies set out for us to much as we all caught up with each other and watched football. There were at least five giant platters of sweets but I managed to behave myself and only eat two bite-sized chocolate cookies. Go, me! Dinner was sausage and cheese Zitti, home baked Mac'n'Cheese with ham and tomatoes, and classic Lasagna. Delicious! We didn't get home until after 11pm but we had a lot of fun.

So today....Well, Steve's home watching over the repairs to the roof, Sam's playing at a friend's house and I am going to start taking down some of the house decor. I always leave the tree up until New Year's, but some of the table and wall decorations can come down now.

*deep breath*

We both have the rest of the week off, as does Sam so we are thinking of heading to Ithaca. I haven't made any firm New Year's Eve plans, but we have an invite to go to Bambino's in Auburn with the crew. It's likely that's what we will end up doing, but I think first on my list is to have a nap, catch up on some work emails, and maybe sneak in a hot bath somewhere. Tonight we are heading over to East Syracuse to have supper at the Clam Bar with all of Steve's remaining family that's in town. It's been a whirlwind these past few days, but I've had fun...let the rest of the festivities commence!!!