Welcome to 2011! What will the year bring?

So did you make it through? did you survive your wild night of partying into the new year? I did because I stayed home and played Wii with the Hubbie once we reclaimed the machine from the two oldest boys. I think there will be some competitions for ownership this year. I will of course have to stake my claim on the Mother's Day give of 2009! ha!
TJ got a Pirates Game from Santa, he's really enjoying it. He's even got his pirates dancing with women in low cut period costumes. ha! funny to see that at 11, it's totally just a woman in a dress. (wipes brow so far so good)

The Hubbie and I ended up staying up until 2am playing Glee Karaoke (can not spell that word without help) and had a great time. 2011 We're here we made it, and we had fun.

Christmas holidays are still a go here. The province/District has the kids off until the 11th. It's really amazing just how long they can stretch out a holiday. I don't think I ever had a Christmas break go this long when I was a kid but they did start late. Last day was the 23rd of December.
I have to say I'm a bit disappointed in our "visiting" we didn't get a single call from anyone here to visit us but I guess since we don't call, they don't call. We had a good Christmas Eve dinner with friends and I may invite them all here next year. Our Friend has a small apartment so a bigger place might be more fun for all the kids too. There was the one visit from my Cousin. I'll miss him when he moves back to the island for good.

I talked to my family on the island yesterday and today, lots of Well Wishes but really Christmas here is nothing like home. I suspect it's one of those caught between a hard place things. If we go to the island? it's winter driving, and running from house to house and us trying to fit everyone in and everyone thinking we have all time in the world to visit or all the space in the world to bring gifts back here?
If we stay here? they mail everything or send it on the Bus (thank you Bus company, excellent service again this year! you ROCK! ) and everyone misses the kids reactions to gifts. Where is the balance? we're calm cool and relaxed, we aren't rushed, we are but not missing out on seeing anyone at home because we aren't expected there but we are here alone, us 5. We are due to go to the island this year 2011(stop casing my house) for Christmas, but will it be rush rush rush? or will be find the time to relax and enjoy?
Should I really start my Santa list now?
Do I miss the rush? or do I miss the calm? Or am I just complaining? And really is Jan01st too early to think about Christmas Holidays? only 6months to find a beach.  Happy New Year Friends, Readers, Followers and those lurk in the quiet of their laptops/cellphones and whatever else this year bring to blog reading technology. <-I resolve to work on my run on sentences....

Virtual Cookie exchange-Chocolate Chip or Cranberries and White Chocolate

OK  Karen sent me a email today, full of holiday wishes and ideas! This right here is the idea. A Virtual Cookie Exchange. Here is the code for the buttons.





Now my coding skills are a bit off so I'm going to have to work on that, but in the meantime, RECIPE? right you all want the recipes?



In yesterday's Random Tuesday I was talking about Chocolate Chip cookies for My son's Curling potluck. If you've ever gotten an email from the Cookie countdown on Allrecipes? you've seen this before. It started as White Chocolate and Cranberry cookies. The recipe there asks for Brandy and if you saw me Friday night? well uh I drink Rum, and the boys they dont' drink yet. give it time, there are 8yrs to legal age for my oldest. ACK!

So here's my revised for us recipe...
Excuse the spots...
1/2 Cup Butter (I used margerine, cause that's what I had) softened
1/2 cup PACKED Brown sugar.
1/2 cup white sugar
1 Egg beaten
1 TBSP Brandy... replaced with 2TSP Vanilla
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour(or replace 1/4 cup with whole wheat if you use them for kids lunches, then you can say YES my kids eat whole wheat cookies when the teacher asks about healthy choices)
1/2 TSP of Baking Soda (not sofa as I first typed)
1 cup Chocolate chips (ORRRRRRRRRR the 3/4 cup White chocolate chips and 1 cup dry cranberries, also yummy)


Cream the first 5 ingredients, and then add in the dry at the end. You can use a mixer but make sure it's got GOOD power. I have a tendency to ask Santa for Mixers for Christmas on about the 20th or 24th of December.....

Friday Fill-ins Happy Ordinary Canadian Weekend

1. Three things I must have on my Thanksgiving table: _Mash potatoes, Turkey and Gravey. The rest well I'll wait a bit and then put it on the table____.

2. _I wish I was____ sacked out on the couch.

3. This is _year I did get a turkey Wednesday night but it came from Maine and was FROZEN so I put it in the freezer again here for Christmas dinner. In order to get my turkey fix I cracked open a can of Flakes of Turkey and made Turkey Salad Sandwiches. It did not exactly measure up but the peppered Steak in the crockpot for supper over mash potatoes helped____.

4. ____I have_ to decorate _the house, if I don't get it done soon, I'll be too overwhelmed to finish. I also have to decorate me soon too____.

5. Oh, man, thankfully it's __only 29days until Christmas morning. Can you believe that it's already the count down to Christmas? Let the counting begin ___.

6. __My sons___ perfect the art of _driving me batty, but I Love them so much____.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _going shopping to decorate me, I need new pants, we wont discuss sizes K?____, tomorrow my plans include _Bowling, Train show, Santa Parade and maybe just maybe more shopping and selling of Avon too____ and Sunday, I want to _get everyone to mass on time (ooops last week we were late), and kids to sunday school and practicing their songs for the Christmas concert. I also have to start baking, I could try ot get me some of that done after mass? oh and sell more Avon____