smc cooks for Christmas

i have 2 sets of friends that i usually dont get a chance to get together with until after Christmas. this works out well for me because it gives me more time to finish putting together gifts. gives me something to do on a lazy Christmas day when i dont feel like picking up all the tattered gift wrap and crushed bows left about the living room.amongst these friends, we usually give little token gifts, but the thing we most look forward to is the exchange of the goodies. we all have our specialties, but besides my loved-by-all biscotti, i made a few new things that everyone went crazy over. i made some old fashioned chocolate syrup by alton brown and put it in some cool looking vintage jars. i had stopped making chocolate truffles years ago, but when i saw this interesting recipe by the pioneer woman, i just had to try it and i am so glad i did. everyone loved them! the dark and milk chocolates are balanced just right and the few grains of sea salt add an amazing layer of flavor.
i did a few more things, but my favorite was that i "brewed" my own vanilla. got a couple of vanilla beans and a jug of vodka and i was good to go. everyone has been impressed with their little bottles of the amber liquid with a vanilla bean soaking inside. kind of fun shopping for vodka in a small, mostly lds town.

may all of your wishes come true

“What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.”
— Agnes M. Pharo

blessed

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.”
―Burton Hillis

so i lied. SUE ME!

ok. i stand corrected. james taylor puts his spin on my favorite(and classic)Christmas song and I LOVE IT.

and one more

i really think this is it for my favorite Christmas songs. i dont listen to the station that has been playing all Christmas songs since before thanksgiving. i dont do caroling. i KNOW its sounds so grinch like, but i really am not. just hate all the hype. i heard the most AWFUL version of my all time favorite today in the car. the voice was somewhat familiar, but i couldnt place it. i listened to the whole train wreck just so i could tell all of you who decimated that beautiful song. of course they didnt say. who would want to take credit for not only singing off key, but 2 octaves too low?

my favorite Christmas song

a small effort to balance out my scrooge attitude from a few days ago. i am not a judy garland fan, but i love her version of this song. i also love "meet me in st. louis", it brings back a lot of fond memories of my dad. researching recipes for Christmas treats and posting this song....maybe the grinch didnt bite me in the ass after all.

opening presents

i was having a discussion on modesty with a man i have known most of my life. i will probably give the background story on him in another post, but i just need to get to the oddness of a comment he made to me. he said, "there is nothing more alluring than a modestly dressed woman. its like opening a beautifully wrapped present at Christmas time". is it just me? i thought it was a strange thing to say. i like when men can look at a woman who is dressed modestly and find her not only attractive, but sexy. i just thought his comment was so weird. i think part of it is because i think he is in the closet and maybe the attempts at commenting on the attractiveness of a woman rings false to me.