My week in review

I hurt my back yesterday, pretty badly actually. I've been on the couch, floor or bed pretty much constantly for the last 36 hours.

I made some delicious dinners this week, which you can read all about a few posts down. I started crocheting a new blanket for Ashley, I had hoped to get more done on it this weekend, but I can hardly move my arms, so that didn't happen. I'll probably post a picture of it next week.
I went to the dentist and had the work started on a crown. It is my first crown. I go back in another week to have the permanent one put in. The temporary tooth has only fallen out once, I'm a little paranoid that it will fall out when I am sleeping and I'll choke on it.
My family has been wonderful while I have been laid out on my back. Christopher did the dishes, did laundry and attended to my every need. Ashley helped out by doing some housework and fetching things for me.

My week in review

This week was pretty low key. Christopher and Ashley both had the week off. They played video games and ate junk food while I was at work. They both deserved a break. Christopher has been stressed out with his new position at work and Ashley has been working hard at school and begins rehearsals for "Seussical" tomorrow.

Aside from working, cooking and reading I didn't do much. I bought some cut flowers for New Year's, which is so unlike me. I already feel guilty for supporting the flower industry, but there are NO fresh, local flowers in Wisconsin in December/January and I couldn't resist.

I did go a little jerky crazy this week. I made seven pounds of beef and turkey jerky. What can I say, I was on a roll. It is delicious and it may take us forever to eat it all. Want some?

New Year's Eve was quiet. It was just Christopher, me, Ashley and her BFF Jackie. Christopher, Ashley and Jackie played a lot of "Halo Reach" and I caught up on some of the blogs I like to read but have been neglecting. We ordered in Taco pizza and all four of us were in bed shortly after midnight. On New Year's Day, Ashley went to a party at a friends house for a few hours. Not a terribly exciting week, but a nice one.

My wonderful week

There were so many wonderful things this week that I'm struggling to decide what to write.

We celebrated Christmas in my husband's childhood home. It's a beautiful old home.












My mother in law does a bang up job decorating for the holidays. She thinks of every detail, right down to Chestnut scented soap and real pine boughs around the house. We all have embroidered stockings hanging on the railing.

The pictures/art on the walls even change with the seasons. This Santa face is my favorite. The books that are scattered around the house are Christmas themed too. There are lights everywhere. The outdoor lights emit a light glow through the snow. It's lovely to look at.

My mother in law bakes and cooks and basically spoils us rotten for the few days we are there.

Christmas Eve was spent at the house with just the 11 of us in the immediate family. This is a change from years past when the whole crew from the Cities would come down. We missed seeing all of the cousins and Aunts and Uncles. They will gather for New Year's Eve, but we won't be making the trip.


Christmas morning we opened gifts. We had asked for either consumables or items that we could put to use. I am happy to report that every single gift that we received we can use up or, in the case of my new food strainer, use for years to come. Receiving gifts that serve a purpose make me happy, the holiday seems a bit less superficial and materialistic.

Christmas afternoon we headed over to Grandpa's to celebrate with the extended family. This year we had 32 attending. Only two people were missing. The house was packed full and it was wonderful to chat the afternoon away.

Great Grandpa and almost all of the great grandchildren

Things I loved this week

 Christopher and Ashley playing Halo Reach together.

 Spot and Callie purring away in their cage.

Homemade cocoa mix and Chex mix.

 Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Ashley and Jackie ringing bells for the Salvation Army.

Birthday party for our friend Melissa at the Brocach on the Square.

Our beautiful Capital building in the snow.

Things that were good last week

I'm a little late, I was hoping to post this on Monday. I would like to make it a habit to post on Mondays what was good about y week or even just a summary of the week. The goal is to have pictures, but I don't have any for this first post.

On Monday my husband started a new position. Same company, just a promotion. The job will be very different than what he is used to, the people of a very different mindset and the building just a short walk away.
After a stressful first day on the new job, Christopher (and Ashley) graciously helped a former co-worker of mine move her office. She was moving over 20 years of stuff from her office to her home. She is 74 and wasn't able to do much other than tell us what to pack and what should go where. After we finished getting everything packed into her Condo, she made the three of us a delicious lasagna dinner and insisted we take all of the leftovers home with us. Even though we left tired, it was nice to be able to help a friend.

On Wednesday we made the difficult decision to stay home for the Thanksgiving holiday. The weather for Wednesday night looked bad and we didn't want to leave in a rush on Thanksgiving day, so we decided to make it a quiet celebration at home. In retrospect, we could have made the drive without incident, but we can't change that now.

I made Thanksgiving dinner for the three of us. It was my first time and everything turned out great. I didn't do a whole turkey, just a breast, and I bought the pies, but the rest was home made. We lazed around until Saturday when we took Ashley and her BFF downtown to do some Christmas shopping.
There was a big to do that day about shopping locally, so many of the stores had cookies or tea out and there was a trolley running up and sown State Street and around the square. It was a fun day.