Holiday Traditions -- Christmas Baking

I know it's almost the end of January but, as it's still in the teens outside and I'm wearing multiple layers and snuggling with my loved ones to keep warm, I think we can forgive a post that references Christmas and the holiday season without being too random!  (Hey, at least I finally took my Christmas tree down...the weekend of Epiphany, as it should be!)

One of my favorite holiday traditions that I hope continues well into my life is the tradition that my sisters-in-law, Cristal and Rainy, and I have of getting together one Saturday in December and just binge-baking cookies and treats.  We started it on a whim back in 2008, right after my husband and I moved back to Texas and got married.  My stepmom gave us all funny, dollar-store Christmas aprons to wear, and we spent the day snacking, baking, and connecting with each other:

2008

We decided to do it again the next year, and the next year, and the next year...

2009 (we still don't know why there's no photo! sad)

2010 (horrible quality photo, but documented the day!)

2011

2012

Each year, we dig out the aprons and the messy recipe cards/printouts and gather at my sister-in-law Rainy's house (it's always been at her house...God bless her for hosting every year!) and dig in for a long, productive day.

Rainy makes a darn fine pot of coffee.

We take turns and help each other mix, roll, sprinkle, fill, chop, etc., and someone is always watching or stirring our lunch (usually a warm, comforting pot of soup) on the stove or making an extra pot of coffee.

Prepping the soup! Zuppa Toscana this year! SO GOOD.

2013 was no exception!  We limited ourselves a little bit this past Christmas...we each only baked our "staples" and maybe only threw in one or two new additions (we've gone a bit overboard in the past...).  With busy schedules, the addition of little ones to the mix, and colds/stuffy noses, we wanted to make sure we still enjoyed ourselves!

The results were, as always, delicious and plentiful:

Sugar cookies

Andes Mint chocolate cookies

THESE from Bethany

Finished apricot cookies

 

Peanut butter cup cookies

FLOWER? Really, self?!

Cranberry almond biscotti

I love seeing how much we've changed (you can really see it when you look at my niece, Caitlyn, from year to year!) over the years....

I love this tradition because a) it's tradition! I love traditions! and b) I love these women, and I'm glad they're my sisters. I have always been known for pretty much thinking that my two brothers hung the moon.  They are fantastic, hilarious, pain-in-the-ass, smart men, and God gave each of them a woman perfectly suited to them...who will love them more than I do (which is a lot!) and put up with them and challenge them and make them into even better men.

I'm so glad this tradition started six years ago, and I can't wait to continue to add recipes and memories for years to come.

Ice Days!

I've mentioned it a couple of times, but in the past couple of weeks, our little area of North Texas got hit with some pretty nasty weather!  Not only was the 4-5 inches of solid ice dangerous, but we are notoriously ill-equipped to deal with it (or drive on it) once it's here.  (One would think we'd have learned something from the 2011 Ice/Snowpocalypse when the Super Bowl was in Dallas, and yet...)

Luckily, we were prepared.  I had already gone to the grocery store and stocked up on the necessities (you know, stuff for making cookies, baby formula, beer milk, etc.), and we just prepared for a few days of forced togetherness.

Now, having traded off a stomach virus and knowing that something was up with Z (turns out it was two very mean teeth coming in at the same time), we knew it could get a little crazy in the house after too long. 

But we found things to do. I set up our pre-lit Christmas tree, and Z was enthralled:

Then we got it all decorated:

We baked some delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and my little helper seemed to enjoy being in the kitchen with me:

We took naps (well, one of us did):

And my husband introduced Z to one of our favorite old cartoons, Ferdinand the Bull:

(look at him grabbing Michael's thumb! I am dying from the cuteness...)

We did venture out once the ice started melting on the roads so that we could take Z to visit Santa.  He was all smiles...until we walked away:

poor guy :( and poor Santa!

Back at home, we managed to get some much happier pics of the babies for our annual Christmas card!

So, while we were all very ready for all that nasty ice to melt so we could get back to our regular, daily routine, it was really nice to have my very favorite people (and my favorite dog!) in the house all together, cozy and warm and safe for a few days!  Staying in PJs all day, napping at leisure, baking, and togetherness.  A nice precursor to our first Christmas as a slightly larger family!

A Legacy of Prayer

Last night, as I was trying to fall asleep and saying my prayers (which, admittedly, I sometimes do because I notoriously fall asleep while praying, and was hoping it would help me relax and go to sleep...sorry Lord), I noticed something...

I use some of the exact same words/phrases/verbiage in my nightly prayers as I have since I was a little girl.  I don't necessarily go on autopilot with my prayers or anything, but I just noticed that, when I pray for certain things, I use the same words every time.  Things like my prayers for protection over my house...prayers that I will sleep restfully and peacefully...prayers for friends struggling with illness, etc.  Names and circumstances vary, but the basic format is the same.  And this is because it's how I was taught to pray by my mom and dad.

When I was afraid, as children often are when they're left alone at bedtime, my mom told me to pray that God would place a holy hedge of protection around our house and our yard (for the dogs, you know) while we slept.  When I wasn't sure how to move past "God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food" at the dinner table, my dad told me to pray that God would bless our food and make it a nourishment to our bodies. When I was afraid of having nightmares, they imparted upon me to ask the Lord to cleanse my mind before I fell asleep so I would not have bad dreams. I still use many of those exact phrases today.

Then I realized that, when my little brother prays, he does and says some of the same things he's said since he was a little boy when we'd take turns praying as kids.  (Note that my little bro used to pray all. the. time. Like, before soccer games and such. I used to get annoyed with him about it.  I know...what a horrible Big Sister!)

Suddenly, I felt tears in my eyes...tears of gratitude for my parents for instilling prayer habits in my brother and me that we continue at 27 and 30 years old.  (Side note: this is not to say that prayer should be habitual or rote...just that praying isn't a bad habit to have, ya know?) My parents taught me to trust that God would watch over me while I slept.  That God would heal us if we were sick.  That God would give me restful sleep if I talked to Him beforehand and cleared out my mind.  Then I thought of my baby niece, and the child that I some day hope to have with my husband, and how I know that my brother and I, along with his wife and my husband, will (and have an obligation to) teach our children in the same way.  

The legacy of prayer will continue in our families, and it's my (new) prayer that those children will keep it going.  

Life Well-Lived, Vol. 16

Can you believe it's been almost a full year since I wrote a Life Well-Lived post?!  Well, readers, my life is definitely still very well-lived.  I daresay it's even better, hence the lack of actual blogging. I just have so much awesome going on that it's hard for me to sit down and write a blog post these days.  But, today I feel compelled.  And!  It's Wednesday!  So it works out perfectly!

Life Well-Lived, in case you've forgotten, was conceived and implemented by the amazing Kelsey, and there's a Twitter account and everything.  So, blog about your own awesome life, tweet about it with the #LifeWellLived hashtag, and let us all rejoice with you in your awesome life!

1. I've had some truly special theatrical experiences since the last LWL post:

I was a part of an original creation with Sundown Collaborative Theatre about artists and the artistic process. 

I was in the ensemble for Kismet in concert with Lyric Stage.

 

I was the assistant director for Dog Sees God at the DCT Black Box, and I also played Van's Sister. 



I directed a staged reading of a brand new play, Clipped by Lance Griffin, for DCT's Method & Madness Playwriting Festival. 

 

I was cast in my first fully-staged production at Lyric Stage: an ensemble role in Oklahoma!...

...where I met two of my very favorite new friends in the entire world!

 

2.  I donated 8 inches of hair to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program:

3. I got a brand new baby niece, with whom I am 100% completely in love:

I think that's a pretty good start for getting back into the groove of things, don't you? So, what's new with you?

Thankful

I really love Thanksgiving. I daresay it's my favorite holiday. I mean, I do LOVE Christmas, but because Thanksgiving is kind of the redheaded stepchild of holidays (in that it gets so quickly and carelessly passed over in favor of Christmas), I feel a connection to it. Also, I cook a lot more for Thanksgiving and am much more involved in planning and organizing than I am at Christmastime (when I'm usually just a pawn in the family plans and just wait to be told where to go and when).

Every year I cook the same couple of things: homemade cranberry sauce (none of that gelatinous canned crap for me, thankyouverymuch), corn casserole, and a ham. Yes, a ham.  We have turkey AND ham at Thanksgiving dinner because...well, that's just how we roll. 

Get it?? ROLL?!  Ahahahahahaha.

Ahem.

Anywho, this year was no different. I woke up at 6am on Thanksgiving morning, made a pot of coffee, and preheated the oven for the ham and started my mother-in-law's cranberry sauce recipe (one of two batches...for I had TWO events to go to that day...more on that later).

I listened to the radio that morning rather than holiday music...because it's Thanksgiving, not Christmas, so it was perfectly acceptable in my opinion to be listening to City and Colour, the Foo Fighters and the like as I cooked.

I turned on the Macy's parade at some point, showered, and tried to time out all the food, while my two sweethearts snored in the bedroom.  By the way...these two darlings below?  So thankful for them.  They make my life so special every day.

Around 10am, I packed all the food into a couple of boxes and bags and loaded up the car and headed to my dad's church...the church where I grew up and was baptized and which is just around the corner from my house.

This year, we did something that we have only done one other time for Thanksgiving.  See, with all the marriages, divorces, remarriages and such, we "kids" usually have to try to squeeze 2-3 Thanksgivings into ONE day, and it's stressful and chaotic and awful.  So, in 2008 we thought we'd try something new.  We invited the entire family...no, really...the entire family...to my dad's church fellowship hall to celebrate and be thankful together.

Even with the inlaws and outlaws, the new and ex-spouses, the children and the family friends...everyone gets along and respects and loves each other.  I KNOW, RIGHT?!  AMAZING. I mean, we wouldn't want to all vacation together or anything, but for one day in the fall...we can all be together and be grateful that we all have each other.

So for Thanksgiving 2011, we thought we'd try it again.  And once again, it was very special and wonderful.  There were, sadly, a few missing people this year...but they were there in our hearts.  The church was decorated, thanks to my dad and stepmother, and we had tons of food.
 

Dad carved the turkey...I'll make lots of things and try just about any recipe, but I dread the day when I might be responsible for the main course.  Let the Master handle that:

I kinda love this kid...my "little" brother.  I think we look alike! 

Those are my sisters-in-law up there ^^.  Aren't they lovely?  The one on the right is just starting to show her baby bump, and I can't wait to find out this Thursday if it's my niece or nephew in there!

SO, the family Thanskgiving was a huge success.  I was home for just a few hours, during which time I really wanted to nap, but I had to make another corn casserole and some stuffing for what is affectionately (or hatefully?) called "Hatesgiving" with some theatre friends, hosted and created by my friend (and the director of my recent show), Tashina.  This was a much more grown-up (and not in the "responsible, some of us have to work tomorrow" way) celebration, but I was seriously proud of all of us and our cooking (and drinking) skills:

With the exception of a couple of almost disasters (mac-and-cheese that wasn't thickening and an incident in which the turkey ALMOST didn't make it from the oven to the counter but since Tashina is a ninja and saved it and suffered burns in the process, all was well), the food was AMAZING.  The Hatesgiving Punch (1 part rum to 2 parts cider, plus some cinnamon sticks, heated on the stove) and the viewing of the horribly awesome film Thankskilling and the time with hilarious and awesome friends made it the perfect end to the holiday.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!  I've seen several posts on my Google Reader feed this morning that indicates the affirmative, and I've loved reading everyone's stories.

Now, onto Christmas! The tree at my house is up and the Indie Holiday station on Pandora is playing in my ears right now as I type.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!