Playing CatchUp and Waiting for Midnight

Hello All!!!

Sorry for my absence as of late... I have been busy fully indulging myself in all things Christmas. Now it has come and gone and I am staring 2009 in the face. Before we start looking ahead, I just want to show you some of the products of my festivities...

I made three varieties of cookies this year; from left to right: Snickerdoodles, Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Martha Stewart's cookie of the month for December called Chocolate Peppermint Cookies. For my fellow Girl-Scout cookie junkies I highly recommend this recipe which, although labor intensive, will satisfy your Thin Mint craving.

This is an outstanding meal my husband made me. He was recreating a dish we tasted at Bonefish Grill called Saucy Shrimp. It is a creamy garlic lime tomato sauce with kalamata olives and feta cheese. Making it at home is great because you can completely overdose on the Feta. Amazing. I am such a lucky woman to have a man that can cook. My uncle told me that if I can find a man that can cook and dance, hang on tight. I did.

Lastly, these are the results of my adventures in Chestnut roasting this year. I had no idea Chestnuts sweeten so drastically when cooked.

And just for fun, here is a pic of an outfit I loved, but never posted.

And a glance into the new year...
In 2009 I plan to:

- Get all my muscles and tone back! I feel so physically weak and out of shape!
- Wear more red lipstick.
- Finally, finally, finally learn the piano... or start to at least.
- Infuse creativity into my daily wardrobe.

I know it's not much, but it's a start in the right direction. I'm sure I'll think of a hundred more ways to self-iomprove before the week is through.

Now for a long awaited daily tidbit of Useless Trivia:
AULD LANG SYNEThe song, "Auld Lang Syne," playing in the background, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days." Have a safe and happy New Years Eve and relaxing January 1!!