December 25 - A Day In My Life

Christmas!!  My favorite holiday and my last blog entry for the year.  I thought it would be fitting to finish with Christmas since I love it so much.  And, doing the ADIML blogs are my favorites...so here you have it.  We had a wonderful Christmas day - my parents came over to open presents at our house and then we ate cinnamon rolls.  Later in the day, we went to my parents house and had a wonderful Christmas dinner.  It was a fun day and a great way to end my 2012 blog posts.  I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and look forward to a Happy New Year! 
Who knows what 2013 will hold!!!

When I was little I would wake up VERY early, but now I appreciate sleeping in a bit!  

We opened presents around 9:30!

The cinnamon rolls before the oven.

Our tree with all the presents - remember, we were only 4 people!!!

Our stockings were hung by the chimney with care, and Santa filled them!

Bill's not sure he likes his present.

Just kidding...he loves it!

(He just wasn't ready for the last picture.)

Mom also loves her new lotion.

Bill opening one of the big ones!

Dad got a new knife...good thing since he's always losing it!

The mess after all the opening.

The cinnamon rolls after the oven (and after we ate some!).

Gadget is tired out from all the activity.

My contribution to Christmas Dinner - Cheesy Potato Casserole.

Mom making sweet potatoes.

Delicious ham and potatoes in the oven...it doesn't get any better than this!

The table without the food...

...the table with the food!

Gadget also got a special Christmas dog biscuit.

After dinner resting!

And we watched the Grinch.

Taking pictures of our pies.

Our pies (we had another one in the fridge).

Four pies for four people!

My choice - German Chocolate Pie with Cool Whip!

Our tree at the end of the day.

We had a wonderful Christmas!

I didn't get any pictures of myself...maybe I can get some from my mom's camera.  It was a great day and we are truly blessed!  I wish we could have celebrated with our family and friends around the world, but I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  See you next year!

Christmas Lights

This week, we went to several different Christmas light displays around Portland.  I decided it was finally time to do some Christmas-y activities so we did them all this week!  We started at the Winter Wonderland lights display at the Portland International Raceway.  We got to drive on the racetrack and look at all the lights set up all around.  It was fun!  Next, we went to the Oregon Zoo to see the Zoolights. We rode the train around and saw the animal lights and then walked around and saw some more.  It was very cool!  Lastly, we went down to the river and watched the Christmas Ship Parade.  People decorated their boats and then paraded up and down the river.  It was smaller than I expected, but cool.  I hope you enjoy a few clips from the Christmas lights we enjoyed...and hopefully it helps put you in the Christmas spirit!  (Sorry for the blurry video - my camera doesn't do very well at night and some of the lights were hard to focus on...but you get the idea, so just enjoy it!)

As always, click on the "HD" letters to watch the video on Vimeo's website with better quality.

7-Layer Bars

It's time for cookies!  Actually, I can't believe I haven't made any before now.  I've been busy, but I finally decided that I wanted cookies TODAY.  Even though Spritz are my favorite Christmas cookie, they take a little more time to make.  So, I decide to start with a cookie that's a little quicker.  7-Layer Bars are in my Top 5 favorite cookies so I was happy to start with them.  I don't know why they are called 7-Layer Bars because they only have 4-5 layers as far as I can tell (they only have 7 ingredients after all).  But, they are tasty so I don't care what they're called!  They aren't really cookies since they are bars and they are ooey and gooey, but if you like chocolate and coconut, you will love them!

The ingredients.

Mix melted butter and graham cracker crumbs.

Spread in the bottom of the pan and press into a crust.

Layer the coconut on the crust.

Layer the chocolate chips and nuts on top of the coconut.

Pour on the sweetened condensed milk.

This is what it looks like before it goes in the oven

(I forgot to take a picture of it after!) 

The tasty finished product...so good!

7-Layer Bars

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips (optional) (I never use these because I prefer just chocolate!)
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans, but walnuts are also good)
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:
-Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter.  Spread over the bottom of 9x9-inch pan.  Press into pan to create a crust.
-Layer coconut, chips, and nuts, one at a time, on top of crust.
-Pour sweetened condensed milk over layers.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Let cool and cut into bars.  Refrigerate leftovers.

 Dirty Dishes.

7-Layer Bars

Taste: 5 out of 5

Dirty Dishes: 4 out of 5

Time/Effort: 5 out of 5

TOTAL: 14 out of 15

5 Favorite Christmas Things

As we're about to start decorating for Christmas and getting ready to celebrate this exciting season, I thought I'd share a list of a few of my favorite things.  Christmas really is my favorite time of year for many reasons - these are just a few.  This year I feel like we're having a smaller Christmas because we're still getting settled and we're new here...but it's still exciting.  I hope you are all preparing for an equally exciting and joyous Christmas Season!

5 Favorite Christmas Things
1. Christmas Music.  I love listening to Christmas music and I love that there are radio stations dedicated to playing it 24/7.  However, I have very strict rules about waiting until after Thanksgiving to start!  I usually buy a new Christmas CD every year to add to my collection.  Christmas music always helps put me in a festive mood!

2. Christmas Cookies.  I haven't made any cookies yet this year (some of my baking things are still in boxes), but normally I make many different kinds.  I love eating them and I love making them.  Spritz are probably the most iconic cookie for me so I look forward to enjoying some later this month!  I also like 7-Layer Bars, Moravian Ginger Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Fudge, Caramel Corn, and everything else!!

3. Christmas Decorations. I LOVE decorating for Christmas.  If I could afford it, I would probably have storage rooms full of decorations.  But, right now I have 5 bins with all my Christmas stuff in it.  I love getting it all out and placing things around the house.  I love using my tins for cookies and all the fun serving plates.  Last year I got a lot of penguin-themed decorations and kitchen stuff, so I'm excited to use that this year.  We also have a really nice tree and tons of fun ornaments.  This really is my favorite time of year!

4. Christmas Presents.  I am not ashamed to admit that I love presents.  It's a special part of Christmas for me because I love giving and receiving gifts.  It's fun to pick out presents for others and wrap them up in pretty paper.  It's equally fun to open presents from family and see what I got.  Presents are just fun for me - the cost of the gift doesn't matter, it's the act of giving that I like!  After all, the whole reason for Christmas is that God sent the ultimate gift to us...His son!

5. Christmas Celebrations.  I love all the activities that happen at Christmas time.  All the events and parties that people plan.  The tree-lighting ceremonies that bring people together.  Even the Christmas shopping is fun for me.  I love going to the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service and singing Silent Night.  I love all the traditions that we have that remind me of my childhood.  I just really love Christmas time.

I hope you have a wonderful and blessed season.  Merry Christmas!!

Week 51

December 18
I hosted a Christmas Cookie party. It was a wonderful afternoon and we had tons of cookies. Everyone brought their favorite treat and we were all able to sample each others delicious cookies. After the party, everyone took a plate home to continue enjoying the cookies. It was a lot of fun!

December 19
Bill wrapped a bunch of presents for me. He got too many gifts for me this year, but I enjoyed all of them! He carefully wrote on each gift...it was super cute!

December 20
Just wanted to show you that even my braces are Christmasy! I got red and green ligatures to show my Christmas spirit!

December 21
My turn to wrap presents. I love presents and wrapping...and opening! These are all for Bill.

December 22
HAM!! We're having HAM for Christmas dinner. We love ham! I splurged and bought an expensive imported ham because we love ham that much. We look forward to our ham Christmas dinner all year long!

December 23
We had a lovely afternoon going to lunch, going to a movie, running errands, etc. One exciting event was driving on the new overpass by our house. They have been doing construction on the overpass and roundabout for a year now and we've been eagerly awaiting it's end. Although the construction isn't completely done...the overpass is open and it alleviates some of the traffic headache near our house. We were able to drive on it to the mall and it was splendid!

December 24
Christmas Eve is not complete without a Candlelight Service. We enjoyed a lovely Candlelight Service at church before our traditional Chinese food dinner. I love Christmas and the candlelight service is one of my favorite parts! Happy Christmas Eve!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! I love this time of year - it's my favorite. I'm so thankful that we can celebrate Jesus coming to earth as a baby and remember why He came. Christmas always makes me think of family and traditions! So many wonderful Christmases have been spent with my family and life-long friends...and I'm grateful for those memories. Last year was particularly special as my entire family was together and we had a great time. Even though I'm not with my family this year (I miss them), I was able to talk to all of them and share my Christmas with them.

Another reason I like Christmas so much is because I enjoy celebrating traditions! There are so many wonderful traditions this time of year and each one makes me happy for a different reason. Some are old traditions and some are new - but they all add up to a wonderful Christmas season. Here are a few of my favorite traditions and moments from Christmas 2011!

Candlelight Christmas Eve Service - starting the celebration with carols and the Christmas story.

Chinese food on Christmas Eve - this year we picked a restaurant that was practically empty (but it was tasty!)

Opening presents on Christmas morning - I don't care if there is 1 present or 100 under the tree...opening something on Christmas morning is special and important for me. This year we had more presents than we deserve but it was a fun time!

Presents from Santa - with his handwriting. I don't remember when I learned that Santa wasn't real (I don't think it was very traumatic for me) but I still like to get presents from him. And, Santa has distinctive handwriting...I know my dad would be proud that Santa still uses it!

Bill with a few of his gifts from this morning. An 8-bit tie and an Oregon Ducks Calendar!

Me with my penguin gifts...I love penguins!

Bill preparing to take over the world...thanks to his new handy guide!

I love my new bathrobe! I probably won't use it much here in the jungle, but I can't wait to use it next winter!

Bill is very excited about our new printer!

Bacon was very excited to play with all the wrapping paper!

Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast - homemade cinnamon rolls are delicious and we always eat too many..but it wouldn't be Christmas without them!

Relaxing after opening presents - and playing with all our new "toys"!

Christmas dinner - whether it's big or small, Christmas dinner is always special. And, Bill and I look forward to HAM all year long!

It was so special to spend Christmas dinner with good friends. I was afraid we would be alone today, but we were able to spend a wonderful evening with great company!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that you were able to enjoy your family and traditions. Our day was happy and special and I'm already looking forward to next year! Merry Christmas!!