Good Bye Christmas 2006

Hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone. This morning I got up and flicked on my faithful Christmas radio station to hear a classic pop song on, which had no Christmas context. I turned off the radio and said to Ryan, "I guess Christmas is officially over". I would have like to have been listening at midnight last night. Do they cut right to the 80's pop at 12:01? Why wouldn't you keep the holiday music with us throughout the holiday season, which to me is until after New Years. Oh well, I will protest by playing my Holiday collection of Cd's.

We had a wonderful Christmas season. We were very fortunate to see everyone in our family this Christmas season. We went to my parent's house this weekend and had my entire family there. It is always nice when you have everyone together.
We had to leave on Christmas Eve because I had to work yesterday. The duty of being a young RN. Ryan's parents were planning on coming for Christmas but Ryan's mom has been very sick this past week. Luckily she is starting to feel better. I had a nice treat though, Ryan came and had lunch with me at the hospital. Then last night we went for a drive and looked at Christmas lights. All in all, we had a wonderful holiday season, and before you know it, it will be upon us again. Time sure does fly.

Wishing you all an enjoyable rest of the holiday season.

Our Christmas Morning

This morning Ryan and I had our Christmas morning. We have been doing this early because I am always working on Christmas day. We have come to realize that the actual "date" does not matter, as long as we are together and sharing our time together it really does feel like "Christmas morning" to each of us. Above is our "coordinating" Christmas morning photo as the celebs say. Unfortunately for you, all that we have that coordinates is our bath robes.

We started our morning off with a yummy eggs and bacon breakfast, then off to our stockings and the tree for our gift exchange. Ryan and I have placed a limit on our spending for the last 4 years. In the past, we would go overboard, spending an extreme amount of money. Since then we have only 100 dollars to spend, and it always fun to try to get the most for our money. Instead of just spending money to spend it, you have to think about what each other wants, and actually 100 dollars is quite a lot to work with. We both received great gifts this year. The best one that Ryan gave me was an ornament for our tree with every one's photo in it from our Thanksgiving/Christmas party. I think that the best gift I got Ryan was a Michigan Rose Bowl T-shirt, and a Michigan Football DVD. I think you can see the trend. Since we are going to the Rose Bowl, Ryan now has a shirt to wear.

On another note, I have finished my stocking for Jillian. I am glad that I have gotten it done in time for Santa's arrival. I have made both Emily and Matthew stockings, and now Jillian has her own. Here is a photo of it hanging on our fireplace. This all started when I made one for Ryan in University. I worked all summer to get it done. I had never done anything like this before, and when I brought it home from the store, my mom thought that I was crazy. Now, I am in demand. My sister thinks I should travel to craft shows. I don't think it is worth it, it is very time consuming and I probably would not enjoy it as much if I wasn't making it for someone I cared about.

Cookies for the Neighbours

This morning I got up and wrapped Ryan's presents and placed them under our tree. Then I made the neighbours these Martha Stewart Cookies: "Chocolate Peppermint Cookies. They are pretty tasty. I hope that they enjoy them. The boxes I got from Target, aren't they cute.

Here is the recipe for those who would like to make them. The only problem I had with them was they stuck to the parchment paper due to the peppermint candies melting. Very tasty though, a nice holiday treat.

Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

3 large eggs

45 round swirled peppermint candies, coarsely crushed


1. Preheat oven to 325°. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add sugar, both extracts, and eggs; mix on medium-low speed until combined. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture. Stir in one-third of the candies. Refrigerate dough until firm, about 30 minutes (or wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight).

2. Using a 1-inch ice cream scoop, form mounds of dough; dip tops into remaining candies to coat. Place cookies, candy sides up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through until just set, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Note: Recipe from Martha Stewart Holiday Handmade Gifts

4 years ago, on this day . . .

Four years ago, I was 23 years old.
Four years ago, I lived in Canada.
Four years ago, I had only one niece.
Four years ago, I lived in the same city as my brother.
Four years ago, I was a student at Queen's University.
Four years ago, I finishing my last fall semester ever.
Four years ago, there was snow on the ground.
Four years ago, I did not have a job.
Four years ago, I did not own a car.
Four years ago, I rented a room in a house.

Four years ago, on this day, my life changed forever.
Four years ago today, I got engaged.



This is a picture of Ryan and I in the spot where Ryan proposed to me.
This was taken after we have been married when returned the following year to Kingston for Homecoming.

On December 20th, 2002, we were getting ready to go home for our Christmas Holidays. At that time, Ryan owned a 1994 Blue VW golf. We had the car loaded down with presents and I decided that we needed to go do laundry that night because our laundry would not fit in the car. As a side note, I had gone out with my girlfriends the night before to celebrate our final -last ever- university exams. So, I was a little slow myself that day.
Anyways, Ryan got home from work and he said he had to go back because he had forgotten his shoes. At this time, Ryan was working on campus. I insisted that we go and do laundry instead because we needed to get our clothes cleaned before we went home. Ryan was hesitant, but I was not giving in.
You see, Ryan had wanted to take me to the spot that we had our first kiss, which was by his work. But I had thrown a wrench into his plans. Instead, he asked if I would like to go for a walk through the park filled with snow and decorated with lots of lights. I thought that would be great. I had noticed that Ryan had been pacing around the house while he talked to me. I even remember telling him to sit down, because I couldn't keep up to his pacing. Looking back, I now see how nervous he was.
So we went to the laundry first, put a load in, and walked over to the park across the road. We were walking around enjoying the lights, I went to go hug Ryan and before I knew it, he was down on one knee in the snow. Boy, was I surprised. Here I was in track pants, bundled up in a coat, not a clue that this was going to happen. He sure kept this a surprise. After saying yes, we ran home and made the phone calls to everyone. Both of our parents were waiting for the call, because Ryan had told them both it was going to happen.
That was one of the best nights of my life. We celebrated with take out from Swiss Chalet, the "Festive special". I still remember waking up the next morning and walking over to my jewelry box and looking in to find this new shiny ring. The ring of my dreams. I couldn't believe it had happened.

The Power of a Manger

As I write this update, we are just winding down from the Hewlett Christmas party, and what a great party is was. Ryan's mom made the most delicious dinner. We had Roast "Beast", Mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, green beans, my sweet potato dish,brussel sprouts, lots of appetizers and lots of sweets to nibble on and expand our waist lines. It was very nice to see everyone and to meet some of Ryan's family that I have yet to meet. There was 18 people here tonight and it was a lot of fun. It is always nice to catch up with family that we don't get to see all the time. We exchanged our gifts today, and it really does make me realize how fortunate we are. We are lucky enough to get such treasures as new flannel sheets for our beds, fiber optic Christmas decorations, and beautiful artwork for our homes. Lorraine made me the coolest sign for our house, when I get home I will post some photos. In a world of such need, we must really stand back and realize how fortunate we are to have all that we have. I thought that Uncle Paul had a smart idea to give money to a charity of one's choice for our Christmas gifts. These are the people that need to gifts of Christmas, and often the ones that have the most forget the reason for the season. Commericalization has made Christmas such a rushed season. You feel that you have to get your shopping done, your decorating done, your cards sent, etc.. etc. I know this feeling, as I feel it myself. However, we need to realize that Christmas is about a wondrous event that occurred on a Holy Night, the night that Jesus Christ, Our Saviour was born. What a wondrous story that needs to be focused upon more that this time of year.

Luke 2:1-20 (New International Version)

The Birth of Jesus
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place as Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The beauty and wonder of this story gives me a warm heart every time I read it, what a Holy Night this was. Take this story and share it with your families this holiday season, as it is the reason for the season.

3 Christmas parties and 1 concert please!

This weekend was quite a hectic weekend for us. We had both of our work Christmas parties as well as my high school friend's Christmas party. Our niece Emily had her Christmas concert yesterday which was fantastic.

This is a picture of Ryan and I on Friday night. Check out the attire. As you may have read in my previous post, I was out dress shopping without success. I decided to wear my high school formal dress. Such a proud day for a women when she can still fit into her formal dress from 8 years ago. I was very happy! As well, look at that handsome husband of mine. I even cut his hair that night for the party. He was looking quite dashing I must say. We had both of our Christmas parties on Friday night. We went to Ryan's work party for the dinner. This was at the Gross Pointe Yacht Club. Very swanky and fancy. The meal was OK. We had really small dinner plates, like the size of a dessert plate which made getting a lot of food on it kind of tricky. All in all it was pretty good, though. Got to see and meet people that Ryan works with, it is always nice to put a face to the name. We got our photo taken by a photographer and we are supposed to get it as a souvenir. However, we had to leave right after dinner, which was 10 pm to get to my party before it ended, so we did not get a chance to pick it up. We then drove to Rochester to a banquet hall where quite the party was happening. One of the MD's was up doing karaoke like no other. He was rockin' the house. My party was much more laid back and festive. It was nice to see everyone dressed up. People were surprised at how I looked since I literally roll out of bed and go to work in like 20 minutes. So needless to say, I had made myself look a little bit nicer that night. We danced and laughed and had a good time, then headed home for some quick zzz's before heading off to Canada for the weekend.

We got home to a winter wonderland. My parents had had 18 inches of snow the day before. Needless to say, the snow was beautiful. We spent the afternoon helping my mom decorate her tree, catching upon the local news, and I spent some time working on Jillian's stocking. Then we went over to my friend Patti's house for her annual Christmas party. This is one of my highlights for the Christmas season because I love seeing my old girlfriends. We get to laugh and catch up and the great thing is that we all just start up where we left off last time. I consider these girls to be my closest girlfriends because of that. We don't have to see each other everyday but our friendship is still strong when we do see each other, which is so great. Another cool thing is that our party keeps growing. As we are getting older, we are starting to have kids and the kids come to the party. It is so great to see the little kids, which were all so adorable this year! Above is a picture of my girlfriends from high school. Thanks guys for a wonderful night! Cant wait until next year. Most of all, thanks to Patti for the party and a great night!

On Sunday, we went to Emily's concert. Emily is a member of the St. Mary's Children Choir. This is a very prestigious choir to belong to. We are so proud of her. She did a wonderful job and she works very hard at her music. Keep it up Emily! We love you very much.

On a upsetting note for the weekend. Ryan's parents car got broken into in Toronto. They smashed in the window to steal Dad's blackberry. It is so upsetting it think about how bad people are in the world. Ryan's parents still travelled to Emily's concert even after this had happened. They are such caring people and Emily did appreciate "her people" coming to see her. And it was nice for us to see you as well. I never can get enough time with our family!

White Christmas

Last night Ryan and I had a very nice night out. We went out to dinner at Andiamo's. This is an Italian restaurant in his building. It was very good. We sat so that we were right on the river front, looking back at the good old homeland of Canada, and its picturesque Windsor Casino. We then went over to the Fox theatre and enjoyed the musical by Irvin Berling "White Christmas". You will know this as the Christmas movie with Bing Crosby. The play was pretty good. The singing and dancing were fantastic. The scenery and costumes very nicely done as well. I would recommend it to others, however the movie is still an A+, and would highly recommend that as well.
I think I am starting to feel the pressures of the holidays. It seems like there is endless things to prepare for and things to get done. I am probably putting this stress upon myself but I know when my body is telling me "hey I am tired" because it did that last night. Those of you who know me well will know what I mean by saying last NIGHT. I have just worked the last 7 days and in between that I have everything else I am trying to get done before we go to Canada. Ryan thinks I am crazy, but sometimes I think that men don't get it: I have Christmas cards to do, Christmas letter to compose and print, a Christmas stocking to complete for my new niece Jillian, baking to do, as well as Christmas shopping, Christmas wrapping and getting ready for Christmas parties. I know people wouldn't mind if I didn't get things done, but it is me the busy body, Martha wannabe, that wants everything to be done just right. The holiday time sure is a busy time. I am going to make sure that through this chaos that I am going to enjoy all the fun things we are going to do. We have two parties tonight and one tomorrow. I am really looking forward to that!
Anyways, speaking of time, I better run to get some work done.

Christmas Shopping Blues and Little Black Dresses

Today I had to go to work for 4 hours in the morning for an educational session on using the computer for our charting, instead of writing everything down. Afterwards, I thought today is the day. This is the day! I am going to get some of my Christmas shopping done. So I headed to my trusty ol' Kohl's. I grabbed a cart and started to browse. I circled the store once and realized that I had not anything in my cart but what my mother had given my money to buy for her. So I went for another round. Nothing! I was so disappointed that I had to head towards the direction of lady's wear. Searching out two fancy cocktail dresses I headed to the dressing room. Tried them on. One would have looked better if I was pregnant. It was high waisted and honestly looked awful without a belly but would probably look quite cute with a belly. I considered the need to have this outfit in my closet for if such an occasion was to occur that I would be both pregnant and need an outfit to wear to a dressy party. Realizing the craziness of this idea, I hung that outfit back on to the hanger and tried option number 2. A nice black Velvet dress. The phrase "everyone needs a cute black dress in their closet" was running through my mind as a pulled it on. I did think this one was more fitting for my life now. It did look alright, maybe the red Christmas-light socks didn't do it justice, but to no avail it went back on the rack. Then I decided to look for new shoes. You see there is a method to my madness for what may seem to be a random attack of the black dress hunger. This Friday is both of our work's Christmas parties. Ryan's is actually quite the dress up event. The first year I didn't know what to wear and I thought about wearing pants. I decided to go with my simple "little black dress" and I was definitely under dressed. These girls get their hair and makeup done and they are dressed in formal dresses. Being thrifty, I looked at my dresses last night. I got out my high school formal dress and shimmied into it. YIPPEE!! it still fits, but today I had the purchase fever I guess. Needless to say, the shoe shopping experience did nothing for me either. However, I really do want a new pair of shoes, so I may look into that more deeply before Friday.
So that is my story of Christmas shopping blues and little black dresses. So disappointed that nothing was accomplished today. Oh well, there is always the next day. I will be triumphant!
On an exciting note, I bought tickets today for White Christmas, the musical based on the movie with Bing Crosby. We are going on Thursday night. I am very excited about it, as it is one of our favourite Christmas movie.

Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Mom! I hope that you had a wonderful day, and many more to come.
I wish I could have been there to celebrate with you, but I will see you soon.
I love you very much! You are one of my best friends. Thank you for all you do and all that you mean to our family. You are truly an inspiration to us all, you are the best.

Ode to Mom

Wayne F. Winters

My mom was always there for us through good times or bad.

Anything we needed she made sure that we had.

For Halloween she'd dress us up like a pirate or a ghoul

For Easter she would hide those eggs and chocolate bunnies too.

Our birthday cake always home baked and decorated too

The frosting spread with loving strokes as only she could do.

Each flower and each letter had to be put on just so

A masterpiece with candles lit, "Make a wish and blow."

Doctor Mom was ready for each cut and every sprain.

And somehow just a kiss from mom would get rid of the pain.

She didn't need a white lab coat her housedress did just fine

And when you left her "office" you felt better every time.

For Christmas and Thanksgiving you could count on quite a treat.

Roast turkey or a baked ham and of course some homemade sweets.

She'd be in the kitchen for hours on those days

To show how much she loved us in every single way.

I wrote this so you'd know How much I love you every day, even if it doesn't show.

I look back on my childhood and thank the stars above.

For everything you gave me, but mostly for your love.

The Best Party Yet!

Our Big Party went off so well! We all had a great time. Here is a picture of the family after we had ate dinner. Unfortunately our friends had already left when we thought of taking this picture. So add 4 more happy smiling faces.

From this shot, you can see the Poolton's and their family. We had such a great time. Let me fill you in on the details.

We were expecting Ryan's parents, Uncle Paul and Granny on Friday, as well as my sister Pam and her family on Friday. The Hewlett's made it here fine, but we got a sad call that Mr. Matthew was sick and that they were not going to be able to come on Friday and may not make it at all. Needless to say, we were all pretty upset about this. Especially since we had all been looking forward to seeing each other for a while, and my sister Pam had been a big help in all the planning of the party. So we all prayed and hoped that "Scooter", or Matthew as he is known to most, would make it. Those prayers were answered because on Saturday morning at 8 o'clock they were on their way to the big party.

Then for the next health crisis. My father had had surgery 9 days before the party and was doing great. However, on the morning of the party was having some problems. Again came the prayers, and again they were answered. My parents made it! I was so happy everyone was going to be here for the party!

Now, I have to say that without my most wonderful mother in law I would not have pulled this off. I would probably be still working on the potatoes in the kitchen. I am so fortunate to have a mother in law who is so wonderful, caring and loving. She helped me so much and made everything go smoothly. I guess you would say she is a veteran, as she has been planning and hosting this big gala events for many years. I guess I am in training and she is my trainer. Thanks So much for all your help! You are awesome and I love you very much!

I had made some of the dishes on the Thursday before the party, as I had to work on the Friday. We worked on the potatoes and turkeys on the Friday after I got home from work.

We did two different turkeys. One was brined which was very interesting and very yummy. This brining mix I bought from Williams Sonoma, and it was very flavorful. Our other turkey, was Tom's Turkey. He took control over this one as he brought his deep fryer and made deep fried turkey which was so moist and tasty. The deep fried turkey is not as fattening as it sounds. It only deep fries the skin and it cooks the turkey in like an hour! Supper duuper fast. This event did get a lot of attention, as you can see from the photo of all the guys hanging out outside.

There was good conversation I am sure around that sizzling turkey. All the world's problems were solved I am sure!

Inside there was equally lots of laughter and conversation. Children's laughter, and a baby cooing. Emily tried her hand at her first babysitting job as she offered to be the babysitter of the 3 boys; Matthew, J.J., and Will. She tried her best but found it to be overwhelming as we did not have any toys for them to play with. She printed of pictures for them to color and tried her best to entertain. I was proud of her for her first babysitting attempt. It will only get easier as time goes on.

My menu was a big hit. I will say that the show stoppers were both from Martha Stewart. I was thinking of sending her a letter to tell her, and get on her show, but I am doubtful that I would be so lucky. These were the Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Caramelized Apples, and the Chocolate Pecan Pie. I will post both of those recipes for you all. If you can believe it, almost all the meat was gone! I guess we were a hungry bunch.

The best part of the day was when we all sat down at the table as a family. Everyone together giving thanks for the company that we were sharing. It was so nice to have our complete families together to celebrate. My father in law gave a beautiful grace that allowed us all to reflect upon how fortunate we are in our lives and to be grateful for the gifts we have been given in our lives.

I am definitely doing this every year. However, I do have one sad announcement to make. It looks like next year, Thanksgiving weekend, will be my weekend to work. So we will have to pick another weekend to do it on. Don't worry, we will do it! It is now a tradition!

So after dessert, we did the holiday family photo as you see at the beginning of the post. Then we did the annual lighting of our house! We herded everyone outside to the sidewalk. Ryan and I worked the switches of the lights. I got the crowd rilled up by getting them to sing a Christmas Carol - Jingle Bells and then they all counted down for the lighting of the lights. On the count of 1, Ryan and I hit the switches and on came the lights. This year without and power outage like we had last year. It was so wonderful. I am sure the neighbours where like,"what is with those Canadian neighbours?It is thanksgiving weekend, and they are all outside in 60 degree weather singing Jingle Bells at 9:30 at night!!! "

We then set up all the beds for everyone to have their long winter's nap, as we had extra people staying over! It was great! Everyone in the same house! We all found a spot to sleep and I slept like a log on the couch.

The next day, as people started to leave, I must admit I was very sad. These weekends do go too fast! I couldn't believe all the preparation was over and everything was gone in a flash. I wish we could have a whole week together. Maybe that is an idea!! We will have to see.

We finished the weekend off with a special treat. On Sunday night, Ryan's parents, Granny and Ryan and I went to Martina McBride's Joy of Christmas concert. It was fabulous. A perfect way to end our holiday weekend together.

A note from your hosts:

Ryan and I both had a wonderful weekend. We want to thank everyone for travelling to our party and for every one's help. We are so happy that you are all our family! We love you all very much. Can't wait to see you all soon. P.S. Think of dates for the next party!

Give Thanks on Thanksgiving

So, today being my last day off before the big party on Saturday I set out with my list of things I needed to get done, and I have almost accomplished all tasks. I must say that I am very tired today. I made this absolutely delicious looking pie - Chocolate Pecan Pie. I wanted to eat it once it came out of the oven. Then I made my sweet potato dish, which is going to be an nice change from the norm, I hope.
Ryan was a great help today for me, even though I am sure he wanted to rest on his day off. Today being Thanksgiving, you must look at your life and reflect upon what you are thankful for. I know that there are so much to be thankful for, and here are some of them.
1. Ryan. Words cant express how thankful I am for him. He makes me laugh when I definitely need to laugh, and his love is so amazing. Like I said, he was so helpful today he definitely
earned his gold strip. Thanks Ry for everything!
2. Tears. I am thankful for tears. No, I didn't go insane today (This is in reference to my sister's call today to make sure I was still sane around 3pm after much cooking and preparation). I am thankful for tears in so many ways. Tears can be reflective of so many emotions; joy, love, happiness, sadness, and sorrow. Today I received a tearful call from Matthew my 3 year old nephew. His tears where of much sadness, as he thought he was coming today to see Ryan and I. These tears of sadness for me, however did make me sad, also made me realize how much Matthew cares for Ryan and I and how much he wanted to be with us tonight. Don't worry Scooter, you will be here soon. One more sleep and then we can play:)
3. Luck. Today Ryan and I had a small fight with our dryer. You see, this dryer can be very stubborn at times and today it was having a bad day I guess you would say. There seems to be an electrical problem with our dryer and it will not always start. Today was the day I thought it had died, especially after Ryan was through with it. We decided to take it apart, as much as we could and try to figure out what was going on. We have done this before, and honestly we don't know what is going on under that dryer hood, but we gave it the old college try. So, today I am thankful for luck because after fiddling with it, it did start to work. BUT speak of the devil, it is acting up again! So, we may be in the market for a new dryer pretty soon. This would bring me to my next thing to be thankful for . .
4. Sales. I absolutely love to get sales. Tomorrow is a big deal here for people looking for sales. I will be working but I believe Ryan is going out at 5am to shop. You heard me right, 5am. That is when the stores open! Actually, Birch Run is opening at 12 midnight tonight. Now, that is dedication, I will admit, I did think if I wasn't working tomorrow . . .So, I am thankful for sales, because I feel such gratification when I get a deal.
5. FAMILY. I am most thankful for my family. I am so fortunate to have a wonderful family whom I enjoy to spend time with. I am so looking forward to every one's arrival for this weekend's party. There is nothing better than a house full of laughter and love, and that is what I am hoping for this weekend. I cant wait to hear children's voices, from Emily, Matthew and little Jillian's gaa-gaas. I am so excited about everyone coming!! Hurry up and get here!!
6. Health. As a nurse, I definitely see my share of the sick. So, I am thankful for the health of my family.
So, on this thanksgiving 2006, I have a lot to be thankful for. There is more but this is just a tid bit of what I was just thinking of. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

The Menu . . (Drum Roll please)

I have had some requests for this weekend's holiday menu so here it is . .

Dinner Menu

Turkey with Apple and spices brine
Deep fried Turkey
Turkey Pan Gravy
Sausage Dressing
Bread Dressing
Oven cooked ham
Cabbage Salad
Mashed Potatoes
Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Carmelized Apples
Green Bean Casserole
Cranberry and Chicken stocked soaked peas
Turnip
Hot brown and serve rolls

Dessert
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Christmas PuddingAssorted Cookies

I know all your mouths are watering. For those who are coming, you better start your diet now because it won't stay with all this food.. Sorry :(

Getting ready for the big feast.

Well here I am, starting to blog. I have been reading and enjoying one of my friends blog so much that I have decided to give it a try.

So, I am Kelly. I am married to my husband Ryan. We were married on January 17th, 2004. We have been enjoying our married life very much. We try to travel as time and money has allowed us. We bought our first home in July 2005. We have been enjoying the joy of home ownership since then.

As the start of my blog,I thought I would tell you about what is going on in my life presently. We are getting ready for the big Thanksgiving celebration. As most of you know, this Thursday is Thanksgiving. Both Ryan and I are Canadian, living in the USA. So we are lucky enough to get to have 2 Thanksgiving celebrations. This year, I am hosting 24 people to our Thanksgiving party. As I mentioned, we are Canadian so all of guests are Canadian. And, yep you guessed it -that means we are having a lot of house guests. We are having 17 people stay over. So, do you think I am crazy yet? And to make this entire party even more confusing for all, I am calling it a Christmas party. As a RN, I often have to work Christmas, and this year is no exception. So, I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to celebrate with our entire family. I am really excited about this.

This morning I got the house cleaned from top to bottom. I just hope that it stays clean until Friday when people start to arrive. I worked on getting the table ready this weekend.

Here is a picture of our table setting.

I also made seating cards for everyone, here is a picture of these. I made them out of white Crayola molding clay. Painted them and then applied them with white craft glue to seating cards. I made extra and I plan to use the extras as wine charms for my guests, so hopefully people will be able to tell whose wine glass is whose. Here is a picture of the place setting and one of the seating cards.

I am trying to be very "Martha" for this party. I have my menu typed up. All the recipes typed up, as well as my shopping list typed up. We have the tree(s) up. That is four trees. One is a large one that you can see at the end of the dining table and the other are 3 small ones decorated around our fireplace. Our house is starting feel a lot like Christmas, which makes me very happy. I love the Christmas season. I makes me feel so warm inside. The local radio station has been playing Christmas songs since November 1st. It makes me sad to hear people complaining about this, because this is truly the most wonderful time of the year. We have our lights up outside, but have not turned them on yet. We are planning on turning them on on Saturday night with all of our guests here. It will be a great way to welcome the Christmas Season.