Thank God that's over with (almost)

I am still recovering from the holidays and have yet to take down the Christmas tree but I'll get to that soon enough.

I have to back up all the way to Thanksgiving and tell you how all my festive dishes turned out.  They ROCKED the Casbah!  All I heard during dinner were groans of delight and clinking of serving spoons because everyone was going for seconds.  There was the big ol' ham, mashed potatoes (I was so worn out by the time it came to the potatoes I just made a regular batch instead of garlic and horseradish like I said I would make), a modified green bean casserole, rolls, sweet potato pie, apple pie, mocha silk pie, and pecan pie--ALL FROM SCRATCH!  It was pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself.

We had quite a mix of family to help us count our blessings and everything we are thankful for.  Some of my family, some of Eric's, and the house was packed.  I quite enjoyed it.

On to Christmas.  I tried as best as I could to start the shopping early this year and was successful at getting a big chunk out of the way.  My husband did most of his shopping online, which is way better than shopping on the 23rd or even the 24th of December with all the other dim-bulb procrastinators like he did last year.  No, instead of shopping at the last minute, he decides to re-do our garage.  A WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS!  There was no stopping him but I think he learned that a week before Christmas is not the best time to do a project that involves piling up a bunch of crap in the dining room, tearing down a half-wall which, incidentally was about as difficult to tear down as the Berlin wall; painting the walls and the floor, then moving said crap back into the garage.  Needless to say, it did not get done before Christmas but it's done now so I'll quit my yapping about it.  We had several different family gatherings to attend which is funny because at three of them we see some of the same people.  We had 5 in total and as much as I love my family, I'm glad that's over and I can kick back a bit.

I have lots of new toys to play with and a kid on break so we've been playing with this cool marble wall coaster.  You use putty to stick tubes and tracks to a wall to make a course for a marble to run through and it's totally awesome!  We've also been playing Scrabble Flash and it is super cool for word nerds like us.  One more goofy thing we've been playing with is the Criss Angel magic kit.  It was a gift for my daughter from my mom, and don't laugh or roll your eyes because it has some pretty good tricks in it that will blow your mind.  Seriously.  Tomorrow we are off to the Bricktown ball park to go snow tubing so that should be fun. 

I'll eventually take down the Christmas tree and we can call 2010 a gonner.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

3 months, really?

I just realized how long it's been since I last blogged and I have to tell you, it just seems like a few weeks ago.  But, it's right there--August was the last time and it was also the month I was supposed to get a new truck tag and I just did that yesterday so...yes.  I am the world's biggest procrastinator.  I take pride in it.

Anyway, I've been filling my time with the regular stuff--laundry, work, laundry, cooking, laundry, crocheting, and laundry.  For three people we wear a lot of clothes.  Also, there was getting in a routine with school, homework, Halloween preparations, rearranging my store, and more laundry.

To add a whole lot more to my plate, I'm going to have Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year.  See what I did there, more on my plate, dinner...I know, I know.  I really only did that for Nikki's sake.  (She is not-so-secretly addicted to punnery.)  I'm going to make a big ol' ham, roasted garlic and horseradish mashed potatoes, a Pioneer Woman green bean casserole along with her cornbread dressing with sausage and apples, and her sweet potatoes.  If you want really easy, great-tasting recipes, you must check out her website.  She has a lot of other great stuff on there and she's cute as a button!  And she's an Okie!

I'm also going to make pies from scratch too.  I have never made a successful pie, but this is my chance!  It's going to be my best pie-making excursion ever!  It better be or I might look back on this entry and cry.

I promise I'm going to at least make a more concerted effort to blog a little more frequently.  Notice the carefully chosen words that all procrastinators should know.  Wish me luck with all that cooking!

Horse Play

This weekend was quite an eventful one.  Of course it was Easter weekend, (more on that later) but our family had another event to attend.  My daughter had her first big horse show!  She was excited, but I think I was more excited and nervous than she was.  What's funny is that the only event she was riding in was a lead line class, which is just the kid riding on the horse's back being led around on a rope by an older kid.  Granted, some skill is involved, and it was her first real show, but I really got all worked up over nothing.  All that preparation and nervousness for a little three-minute ride around half the arena.  I was happy though.  She got a blue ribbon and looked absolutely adorable in all her equestrian garb.

Just look at that face.  Who wouldn't love that face?  I know, I'm her mom and I'm a little biased, but, come on!  Gorgeous!

My friend Laura saw K (my daughter) all dressed up and exclaimed how she was just going to start dressing like that so people would think she's a "horse riding girl" too.  Let's hope they don't ask her any questions about riding or horses in general.