Catching up

The holidays have been fantastic.  I really have enjoyed every minute, and I hate to say that I'm sad to see them go.  They've also been a whirlwind of presents, paper, food, traveling, family, and friends.  So as we head into the new year (can't believe it's going to be 2011) I'm going to try to do a little catching up. The week before Christmas we had all of Speed Racer's side of the family over for dinner and presents.  It was the first time since we really got a lot of work done on the house that everyone had been there at once.

So we pulled out my Grandmother's china, decorated with cheer, and cooked a ham.

The day of was a bit of fiasco until everyone got there.  I had been having terrible headaches every night the week before that were keeping me up at night (more on that later).  I was tired, moving slow, and just downright not thinking.  I was feeling so bad at work that I knocked off a little early and came home to take a nap, knowing that I had plenty of time to put the ham in before people got there.

Oh what a lie that was.  In my tiredness I had misread the cook times, and there was not enough time for ham.  So, I ran back to the store...in the rain...and bought another, precooked, smaller ham.  As I started cooking everything became a disaster, the potatoes, the ham still wasn't cooking fast enough, things still had to be done...I was on the verge of giving up and going back to bed.  But who came to my rescue?  None other than my Speed Racer.

He kissed me.  Told me everything was going to work out, that the mash potatoes were bad but fixable...put on some Christmas music and got to work.  He ironed the table cloth, started the fire, and then helped me in the kitchen.  It was teamwork and just as people were arriving, we pulled a beautiful ham out of the oven.

Everyone started tearing into their presents, and the kitties were glad to play with all the paper.

It truly was a wonderful evening.  I love having family and friends in this house, it brings me complete joy and reminded me that this is what Christmas is all about.

Christmas Tree, oh, Christmas Tree

I woke up this morning to snow.  I'm sure many of you did.  Snow in Knoxville, Tennessee though is a big deal.  People freak out a little bit about it, and not just like, "OOO snow!" more like, "We may get stuck in our houses forever."  There was not even an inch this morning, and by this afternoon it had all melted.  There were still hundreds of cars in the grocery store parking lot...no joke.  However, it was very pretty this morning and put me in a great holiday mood. This is what it looked like on my walk to work...

...I'm a very fast walker, but the guy in front of me was movin'.  It was really cold.

And of course all the morning commuters.

This is one of my favorite statues.  It's of a man rowing a boat, but the way the sculpture is done he is rowing it into pavement, and it looks almost like he is sinking.  The irony of this is that he is right outside the building where I work, and sometimes when I walk by I feel like I'm sinking in there too.  Ahem, in a non-emo way of course.

When it was snowing on Sunday, Speed Racer and I were tackling our Christmas decorations.  It was pretty perfect, Christmas carols were playing, christmas lights were not working, and the fire was beautiful and warm.

Ah, perfection.  I mean, the lights, not the handsome redheaded man right....there.  But I'm getting distracted.  It does puzzle me how every year you can buy new Christmas lights, when they are done put them into a safe, dry box, and then the next year half of them do not work.  What is the deal??  I want answers Christmas light industry.  In the end we went out and had to buy some more...these were gonners.

Now we just need the star!

These cute little owls are some of my favorite ornaments.  I got them at Le Target when we first moved here and I just think they are adorable.  They make me smile every time I see them.

Speed Racer on the other hand...

...thinks they are weird and creepy.  It's Christmas by gosh and it's not Christmas without...Christmas owwwwwllls???  As I say with most things, "Whatevs, I do what I want."  Le. End.