Mark's 26th Birthday

Today Mark is 26 years old!! I met him at Sweetwater Grill (one block south of the Denton square) for lunch along with Lindsey and his best friend, Pat. DH and I got Mark a digital camera and when he opened it, all he said was ... "SWEET!" Apparently he's been wanting one for awhile. Naturally, being a young person, he figured out how to use it immediately. Probably won't even need the documentation!

And I got a good picture of the "three amigos".

I can highly recommend the Bubba burger I had for lunch. It was great. What's not to like - blue cheese and bacon on a luscious burger. AND the sweet potato french fries were to die for.

I gave Lindsey, Pat and Mark each a basket of goodies ... rum cake, buckeyes, people chow (aka white trash) and chocolate almond cookies. Mark always brags about his Mama's cooking, so I try hard to meet up to the reputation he's given me! My kitchen looks like hurricane Daisy went through there.

I also made him the ugliest birthday cake I think I've ever made. I hate it when the crumbs get into the icing, don't you? Soooooooo, I just disguised the imperfection by putting multicolor sprinkles all over the cake. You couldn't tell it started out b&tt ugly -- it looked pretty good when I was finished! Thank God for sprinkles because I don't think toasted slivered almonds would have done the trick!

Have a wonderfully imperfect but covered in sprinkles Monday.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Due to an untimely flu bug, I almost missed Christmas! Well, the flu plus DH’s accident that put his car in the shop. He’s been driving my little green bug, God bless him! I didn’t mind being housebound because I felt too bad to get out, anyway. But I was beginning to worry that Christmas wouldn’t happen if I didn’t feel better SOON.

And I’ve been suffering from some serious blog envy of all those wonderful people who put pictures of their lovely decorated homes on their blogs. My Christmas tree didn’t go up until Monday.

Then I decorated on Tuesday. (Sorry about the flash/glare).

And then on Wednesday there was the wrapping and wrapping. Even though some of the gifts were small – and some were of the gag variety (Kirsten got purple Duct tape in her stocking – Erika’s was turquoise and Mark’s was camouflage -- a little strange, but very funny ... yet oddly useful!), I still wrapped them all and put a pretty ribbon on it.

Bless him, DH did most of the cooking for Christmas dinner. I didn’t get the dining table ready for till after the girls arrived. It’s sort of like that old vaudeville act …. S-l-o-w-l-y I turn, step by step, inch by inch.

But in the end, it all came together and we had a wonderful time. There was much laughter with lots of hugs and kisses. The food was good and the love and champagne flowed equally.

Hark now hear the angels sing
A king was born today
And man shall live forevermore
Because of Christmas Day.

I hope you had a blessed Christmas.

Thankful

It was a quiet Thanksgiving here. Mark and Lindsey came on Thanksgiving day and Kirsten and Erika came on Friday for a Thanksgiving re-run. I got a picture of Mark & Lindsey together. Sometimes I think I love her as much as Mark does. I just think the world of her. She's got a good level head on her shoulders and she keeps my sweet Mark on the right path. They seem to truly be partners in their relationship - WONDERFUL! Cute couple.

Earlier in Thanksgiving week, I tried a new recipe for scalloped corn but it was a flop. Not sure why, but it didn't ring my bell -- or DH's either. So I dug up a bunch of corn recipes, scalloped corn, corn pudding, etc. And then on the big day, I threw them out and created this recipe which was a big hit.

Daisy's Scalloped Corn

Saute 1/2 onion in 1 Tbsp butter.

Microwave 2/3 large block of cream cheese and 1/2 cup of light sour cream for about 30 seconds - just till you can stir it together okay. (You don't have to use light sour cream -- that's just what I had on hand)

To the cream cheese mixture add the sauteed onion, 1 can whole kernel corn (drained), 1 can cream corn (obviously NOT drained) and about 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar.

Put it in an oven proof casserole dish and top with more cheese. Bake at 350 till it bubbles and the cheese melts.

This got rave reviews (DH says all the ingredients fall into the what's-not-to-like category) so we'll be having it at Christmas also.

In spite of the pies and dressing and gravy and corn casserole, I didn't gain any weight over the holiday. Probably because I worked like a Trojan the whole week before Thanksgiving! But that's a big WOO-HOO! for me!