Playing catch-up

It's been a busy weekend of trying to play catch-up for me. After the last great weekend, then the holiday party and Texas staff in our offices, the DC staff flew to Dallas for some meetings.

It's amazing how the time just evaporates down there! Had a lot of good talks, good planning, good goals... now it's a matter of making it all work!

I got back Friday night, and got right to work trying to prep for the holidays! Menus were decided, groceries were bought, Christmas cards were sent, and presents were wrapped.

In big news for our friends and guests, we made the big switch this week from Comcast digital cable to Direct TV. Mike's long been unhappy with Comcast (We get the extra NHL package, and half the time the stations aren't working. When they are, the games aren't broadcast in HD, and that really bugs him.), but the impetus for the big change came when we wanted to add cable to our guest room. Comcast (a cable company) no longer does cable installations.

Huh?

We'd have to get an electrician, then still pay Comcast a service fee to come out to the house to make the line active.

Instead, we canceled Comcast and got the statelight TV instead.

I'm still trying to figure out the stations, and I lost ALL my saved shows on the DVR, but this is the type of household decision that I just can't get myself to care about. :-)

Heard from my Scottish friends (the ones I met on the cruise last year) this weekend, who sent a care package including this magnet:

Also made Christmas cookies yesterday. I don't make many cookies, thanks to family friend Heather, who gives us dozens of all different kinds of cookies as our Christmas present each year. I think the cookies arrive tomorrow with Barb and Joe and I can't wait! She makes the best seven layer bars, and peanut butter and jelly bars, and chocolate chip cookies, and buckeyes, and... well, you get the point.

I only make one kind of cookie, and it's the one time of year I'll make them. Why? Because they don't have chocolate. And I just don't believe in making cookies that don't have chocolate.

But this is a recipe from one of Barb's friends, and Mike's favorite cookie.

Trust me, they taste better than they look. :-)

And about the yellow icing. Oops. I though it was red. But evidently I'm out of red. So we have green and yellow and white icing cookies. It's kind of like I made them for my high school booster club or something!

Today was about presents. Because these three can't actually read yet, I'm going to take a leap here and post up pictures of what I just bought for Aidan, Katheryn and Samantha. (They are visiting in six days! I can't wait to see them!)

I needed prizes for them to open (in addition to the savings bonds we get the kids - loved by their parents, not so exciting to open!). And these presents crack me up:

A remote control tarantula for Aidan:

A talking purse for Katheryn:

A Snow Princess tiara, wand and sash for Samantha (just don't tell Elizabeth!):

And new baking dish for me:

Oh, please, don't act surprised that I got a present when shopping for everyone else!