Happy New Year!

I have been thinking of several things to post. Now to sit down and post a few! :)

I hope your 2011 has started off well! Mine started off with a nice family get together at my brother in law's with his wife, their four kids, his in laws and my in laws. :) It was full of fun, games and good food. There was the toast at midnight, too. I decided on our short drive home that we should start a new tradition as a family of four. We should go on a walk when we got home... start the new year with fresh air, togetherness... family and fitness. :) As we walked, I realized that, although it was an unusually balmy 60 degrees this year... it very likely could be below freezing for our next walk. Hmmm, a good "new tradition" idea? ;)

I have started (yet again) a journal. I have written in it two days in a row. :) Hoping to keep that up. This will help me keep track of my thoughts, and hopes for 2011, which reminds me of my "resolutions, goals, plans, or procedures" that I'd like to start in 2011. I always thought of them as resolutions, but have read this blog post, this one and this post, too, and thought I liked these better. :)

A few plans I have for myself/procedures I'd like to start are as follows:

1. I had been thinking about my goals since around Thanksgiving (leading up to my one little word) and thought I'd like to work on my weight/fitness this year. I thought one habit I needed to break was Starbucks coffee-in fact, a grande, nonfat, vanilla latte with half the normal pumps of vanilla in it... EVERY DAY. So, not only was I drinking 200 calories per day but spending quite a bit as well (their prices went up around Thanksgiving, too.) So, I broke the habit. I quit cold turkey on Dec 4. I had one on our way to visit my family (New Year's Day, early...) and one on the way back. I didn't sleep well either night thanks to all the caffeine! :) I make coffee each day at home, and drink probably about 8 ounces.

2. I also looked at my garmin calendar which tracks each of the days/times/distances I run. I looked at 2010 and saw (after my run on New Year's eve...) that I had ran 596 miles in 2010. So, I set a goal to run 1000 miles in 2011. I will run the half marathon this spring and a full in the fall, hopefully (after stress fractures, we know nothing is set in stone!) I planned out my goal-52 weeks, about 20 miles per week. I have run 3.25 miles on the two days since I wrote out this plan.

3. I have been keeping track of my calories on www.thedailyplate.com and keeping the total low enough to (hopefully, eventually) lose some of the chubbiness my legs have acquired-the pants that don't fit can attest. I just want to be fit again and fit into the clothes I like. These three plans will help with that! :)

4. I'd like to take more photos-not an abundance at special family activities, but some of each day, of our daily lives. I am sad to think that our oldest is almost midway through her sophomore year and will be headed to college in a few short years-she turns 16 this month!! Even our youngest will be out on her own in 6 years or so.

5. I mentioned that I was contemplating my one little word being "Read" and I'm sticking with that, thus far. Since I posted, I have read my Bible, and read a book (got the new Laura Childs scrapbooking mystery, even though I like her tea books far better, these are good reads, too) and I'm halfway through that.

I think that's all for now. Don't want the post to be too disjointed! :) I hope you all are well on this 4th day of January, 2011.

Christmas Eve Plan

Cannot believe it is Christmas Eve's Eve tonight. Our tradition for Christmas eve is to have my husband's parents and visiting grandparents over for dinner and candlelight church service. The grandparents won't be here this year as one grandmother isn't up for it and the others came for Thanksgiving. This year it will be my family of four and my in laws. We're going to church earlier, this year and cooking after. We're doing our own version of Chopped. I have the dessert course four secret ingredients bought, and my husband will do an appetizer and main course ingredients. Then he will have to cook dessert with his partner. We will draw partners, which will be three pairs. Then we will draw courses, except for my husband and his partner, who will do dessert, as I mentioned. Then we will make our course with our four surprise ingredients.

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to make something different than we have before. We've done fondues, appetizers, monte cristo sandwiches, roast beef, among other things. My husband and I enjoy watching food network channel shows together in the evening. Chopped is one of the shows we like to watch together, and as they reveal ingredients, decide if we have ideas for what we would cook with them... I usually have an idea to make with two of the ingredients... but then the third or fourth I am sure I would crack under the timed pressure! :) Just in case, my mother-in-law is bringing a basic salad. :)

As we get closer to the holiday, I wish my parents lived closer, so we could have them over to do fun things like this.

We made several goodies over the last few days. We covered pretzels with white chocolate, and melted Andes chocolate mints, we made peppermint patty brownies (brownie batter on the bottom of the pan, then patties, then more batter, basically) frosted sugar cookie cut-outs, peanut blossom cookies-some with chocolate kisses and some with peanut butter cups-, no bake cookies, and some peppermint/chocolate cookies we had premade dough for. We didn't make our traditional peanut butter pinwheels, peppermint candy cane cookies, jingle jammin bars or haystacks. We took a break this year (although peanut butter pinwheels are my favorite. :))

May you and yours have a wonderful, safe, blessed holiday season!! :)

One Little Word

I have, once again, been revisiting my "one little word". Here are some posts about my previous words: here and here.
My words in the past have been faith, peace, grace and this year I'm thinking Read.
I have forgone book reading for tv watching or computer/online reading, so I want to read more books, again.
I have forgone reading the scale as the numbers continue to climb.
I have not been reading the news or newspaper (except the comics) since I dislike news that makes me sad inside, but I do need to be more informed on our government-national and local-as well as other issues and things I can do about them.
I also need to get back to reading my Bible. I go in streaks. It's always something I want to do, and feel I need to do, but I haven't been picking it up lately. It would be such a good example for my girls, too.
I need to "read" pictures to get back to retelling a story-in my scrapbooking; it's a tremendous gift of memories to give my family.
I need to write down and read my goals, to become the person I want to be-the example, good wife, mother and teacher I want to be.

Have you given any thought to your one little word? Hope all is well, Dear Reader. :)

Hot Chocolate

Hello! It's been far too long since I posted. I haven't been sitting around, melancholy since my last post, just busy trying to finish up the last few days of school, and of course, getting ready for the holidays. I still have gifts to buy and to wrap... with less than a week to go! So, this post will be short, then hopefully I will get to add another later today. It's on my to-do list so it will get done, right? :) Saw this on another blog from Katie at the Daily Digi and loved the ideas! Which ones will you try? I thought some of the ingredients with a plain hot cocoa mix would be a nice hostess (or other) holiday gift, too! Enjoy, Dear Reader and Happy Holidays! :)

"This is the time of year when I (Katie) love to drink hot chocolate. My daughter and I often enjoy a cup at breakfast or as a late afternoon pick-me-up. One of our favorite parts of this routine has been to create new flavors by adding various mix-ins or combining more than one type of cocoa mix. Why not have a little fun?!

Here are some of our favorite mix-ins and mashups:

*Add a scoop of ice cream to a cup of steaming hot chocolate. It cools it right off and makes it extra creamy.
*Use sundae toppings to add a little flavor. We like a spoonful of caramel topping added into plain hot chocolate.
*Stir a spoonful of seedless raspberry or strawberry jam into a cup of hot cocoa. Raspberry is especially good with a darker chocolate.
*Squirt whipped cream (from a can) on top of the hot cocoa and add festive sprinkles.
*Add chocolate orange candy sticks (or a chocolate orange candy wedge) to a cup of warm cocoa and stir to melt.
*Cherry cordial Hershey kisses (only available at Christmas and Valentine’s Day) are also good stirred in and melted to either milk or dark hot chocolate.
*Mint chocolate chips are another great add-in.
*If a flavored cocoa mix is too strong, combine it with another flavor – such as Belgian dark chocolate mixed with French vanilla.
*Use flavored coffee creamers to mix in with hot cocoa.
*Cinnamon powder can be added to hot cocoa for a little extra flavor
*Chili powder or a shot of hot sauce can be added for an extra kick!
*Make hot cocoa with milk instead of water for a creamier treat.
*Buy seasonal marshmallow Peeps (we like snowmen) and float one on top of your hot chocolate.
*Use flavored marshmallows like strawberry or toasted coconut ones to add to a cup of cocoa.
*Experiment with a few drops of extracts like almond, orange, or raspberry.
*Add Andes mints or a York peppermint patty to a cup of hot chocolate and stir to melt.
*Stir your hot cocoa with a candy cane or add crushed candy cane pieces.
*Use a chocolate dipped spoon to stir hot chocolate.
*Garnish your hot cocoa with chocolate shavings and whipped cream.
*Buy some Mexican hot chocolate at a Mexican market or specialty grocery store. It’s delicious!
*If you are looking for a great recipe for homemade hot chocolate, Janet posted one last year so be sure to check it out.

Oh, and if you are wondering what the difference is between “hot chocolate” and “hot cocoa”, I found this tweet from Foodimentary – Did you know that “hot Cocoa” is cocoa powder and hot water while “hot Chocolate” has added milk or cream? I had no idea – Both are yummy in my book!"

Difficult

Sometimes the holiday time of year can be difficult. As I put out decorations, I am reminded of people who have gone before us. My mother's dad, Grandpa Red, has been gone since December 18, 1998. He was a great carpenter. He made us many pieces of furniture. He also made us a stable. My aunt, one of his daughters, made me some ceramic nativity items, and my grandpa made us the stable to fit them in. Every time I get it out I think of him, and think of how he'd enjoy our girls, and they him. A few things that were said this past Thanksgiving reminded me of him, and even though it's been 12 years, it can still sneak a few tears in on me. My husband's grandfather died that same time, that same year, but November 30. I used to send his grandmother a card to let her know I was thinking of her, but her memory and mind are clouded and muddled now. That is difficult, too. She sometimes thinks my father-in-law is in high school. She gets time and people confused. She's recently had visions of Grandpa. I hadn't known my husband's grandfather too long before he passed away, only about 4 1/2 years. My grandpa, though, I had stayed summers at his house while my parents were at work. He had a box of wood scraps, spare hammers and nails in his garage workshops for us to tinker with. I love the smell of all things woodshop: varnish, new wood, etc. The inside of my grandfather clock still smells new like wood and stain, and each time I open it to wind it I think of my grandfather. (I often think of my dad who learned some of his carpentry skills from my grandpa, too. :)) This time of year is hard, sometimes. Right now, I'm aging-well seeing others age. On one side of my family there are a lot of family members who are aging rapidly. One of them, my great uncle and godfather, passed away this fall and I know it will be very difficult for my aunt and cousin he has left behind. This was one of his favorite times of the year. He was a very faithful person and enjoyed celebrating the birth of our Lord. He liked the family get togethers, too. :) I have other happy thoughts, too, watching my girls grow and change through the years, traditions, and decorations made by wonderful family members who are living...I know we think of the good memories to keep the tears at bay, but sometimes, it's just difficult to stop these misty eyes.

Sorry to be so sad at this moment, just hit me these past few days.