Charlie Dog "Tails": December 2011

So this post is a few days late, but I've been busy playing with some new games I got for Christmas! My Christmas was great! It sure snuck up quickly though. I doesn't seem like it should almost be 2012!
Anyway, Christmas Eve we had my mom's sister and her family over. This included three of my cousins and uncle as well. We normally would have my mom's other sister over as well, but she decided to go to Spokane with her husband to spend Christmas with my grandparents. We had our traditional chicken noodle soup for dinner, all homemade (except the chicken which was bought from costco). The noodles are even homemade! In years past it was my Grandma that made the noodles, but for the past few years my grandparents haven't made it over for Christmas so the job fell to my uncle.
After everyone left we opened presents. We always open presents Christmas Eve. It has been this way for as long as I can remember! I got most everything I asked for! The games I mentioned early are the Sims 3 pets and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 for xbox. I also got part 2, but want to play in order. The next morning, Christmas, we opened our Santa Stockings. These are just small little gifts and candy. Later that day, my dad's side of the family came over. Again it was a small gathering. Normally we have his brother and wife, his sister and husband, his nephew and his wife and two children, and my nana, his mom. This year we only had the latter two. My uncle and his wife went to Arizona to have Christmas with his daughter and her family and my Aunt and her husband stayed home because they had to take my cousin and her family to the airport at the same time as dinner. For dinner we had some beef thing with gravy and potatoes. We always have that for Christmas dinner. I don't really like it to be honest...i'm not really a meat and potatoes kind of person, although I do enjoy a good steak every now and then (as long as it has no fat...because that grosses me out.) Unfortunately, I have no pictures from Christmas. I meant to look for my camera charger, but forgot and didn't really want to have to email photos from my phone to my computer, to much effort. :P I am already looking forward to next Christmas! I really hope that it snows next year though, I missed that these past few years, it just hasn't been cold enough (I like to say I am going to buy a winter home in Alaska instead of the typical Florida or Arizona because I like the cold that much!)

Well, I hope that everyone has a really happy New Year!!! Stay safe and don't drink too much!

It's been such a busy two days!!! Yesterday, Sunday, I spent 5 hours making and frosting cookies!!! For some really smart reason I decided to double the cookie recipe. Let me tell you, having to roll out dough, cut out shapes, and then later frost them! Hard work!!! I took a break right after the cookies all came out of the oven, about ten minutes probably, and then started on the frosting. I started the frosting at 3:30-3:35. My mom helped some, but not much. :P After 2 1/2 hours of frosting I took about a 15 minute break to eat dinner. After dinner it was right back to frosting where I eventually finished at 7:11!!! (that was the actual time I finished, I remember!)
At one point, between the after dinner frosting and finishing the Santa Fire Truck came through the neighborhood!! For those who are not familiar with the Santa Fire Truck, it is an old fire truck that goes around the neighborhoods of Redmond with Santa on the back. When they see you, Santa gets off the truck and gives you a candy cane!!! You can also donate to Hopelink, but as we already did shortly after Thanksgiving, we didn't again. One year, when the Santa Fire Truck came by I even got a stuffed animal!! It was a bear in purple pajamas with stars and moons on it that glowed in the dark!
I was glad when I finally finished the cookies! I already made a batch of Sugar cookies last week!

Today, I made some more cookies. I think I must be crazy because this isn't the end of the baking! Still going to make Spritz cookies, oreo balls, and fudge!! I made shortbread with Chocolate chips in the middle, as well as some popsika (a polish cinnamon sugar type mixture that goes in Kolaches, which are polish pastries!). These cookies only took about an 45 minutes (25 of which was the baking part!).

After completing the cookies I wrapped presents!!! I wrapped my presents to my brother and dad and then wrapped the presents to my dad that my mom got him. She doesn't have the time to wrap the presents because of work, so I wrap them for her every year.

What would a post be without any mention of dogs!!! Right now we have Bolt, Harry, and Teddy, in addition to Charlie! We have had all these dogs before and we like them all. Harry is a bit of a grump, I think he is actually bipolar because he is happy and wanting pets one minute and literally a second later will snap at you! Teddy is a terror! All he wants to do is play with the other dogs, but the other dogs won't play with him. He also has to wear a diaper because he can't resist lifting his leg. Bolt is a cutie. He is small and has an underbite. He loves to sit with me and be anywhere I might be. Charlie had been really good lately though is getting a bit tired of the other dogs.

I hope to have some more to blog about after Christmas!!! I just need to find my camera charger so that I can actually take pictures at Christmas time and not with my iPhone.

Santa Squirrel!

I attempted to make a nativity scene, but it is hard to make wise men!

My attempt at Jesus in cookie form. :) (baby Jesus that is)

I had to cut out wings with the dough, they are a bit big.

This is a Camel Ho. I made it, and another, to go along with the Penguin Pimps I made my brother and his friend. I don't have a picture of the Penguin pimps though!