That Time of Year (Again)

Since I've been thinking about starting a blog for several months now, it is very convenient that Christmas break has snuck up on me! I finally have some time to sit down and compose my first blog.

Luckily, a lot of things have been happening in the last few weeks. Christmas is a catalyst for many get-togethers with friends and family, and this year was no exception. In mid-December, Ashley, Jeff, Steve and I made a batch of gingerbread men. We mixed the
ingredients, balled the dough (one of which I accidentally froze
while attempting to speed up the "chilling" process), rolled the dough, and used a new set of cookie cutters to make a variety of
shapes. Once the decorating commenced, Steve quickly became bored and mutinous, Ashley's imagination took a disturbing turn
(seriously, a snake in a box and a gingerbread militant!), and Jeff discovered the joy of gingerbread men with "angry eyebrows." I admit that I was happy when all the cookies were finally decorated! But they were also delicious, and the following day Tom ate three of them when I wasn't looking!

This year we once again had two Christmas dinners. My family had ours on Christmas Eve. We had turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing and apple crisp for dessert. My nephew, Dylan, is now 15 months old. This was the first time that he seemed to understand the novelty of opening presents. The first gift he received was a toy cell phone. Kelly-Ann and Chris tell us that Dylan LOVES cell phones-- and he certainly seemed to love his! He carried it around with him all evening, opening it and closing it, and punching numbers. Usually he likes to share
his toys with everyone, but he didn't want to let that phone out of his hands.

After a breakfast feast of crepes (ham, cheese and mushroom, yum!), Dinner #2 was on
Christmas Day with Tom's family. His aunt and uncle from Vancouver have been visiting this year. We spoke to their daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters via Skype. Their family was in Singapore for the holidays, and we learned that it was "REALLY hot" there, and that they had to leave a window open so Santa could get in! After the call, we exchanged more presents, ate more food, played some Beatles Rock Band, and watched some slideshows of old Christmas photos. Also, check out my feather eyelashes! If you're wondering what Tom is looking at... It was a football game.

Anyway, Christmas 2009 was definitely a success! The new year is fast approaching.

Here I come, 2010!