Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Late, I know, but there's been this crazy phenomenon happening around here lately that, my days have gotten shorter. There's less hours in them or something.

I wake up (generally) between 6 - 8am, find a project to get started on, and bam, it's bedtime. Just.that.fast.

December flew by like, shoom! Gone. I'm not sure how I managed to be ready for Christmas. One of those Christmas miracles, I reckon.

We went on the 13th to our favorite Tree Farm and picked out our Christmas tree.

Some years ago I figured out getting the tree *about* 12 days before Christmas was just the right amount of time; not too long, not too little. Well, this year it seemed too little. It seemed like we had it just a few days.

I got presents ordered/bought and wrapped, and made some of my annual "Christmas Treats":

White Chocolate Covered Oreos & Pretzels

Chocolate Covered Oreos & Pretzels

Sausage-Cheese-Balls

Rice Krispy Treat "Wreath"
(using my Bundt cake pan and green plastic wrap)
(Red Hots "berries" not pictured)

New this year, I made "Candied Pecans" using the Pecans we picked up from the backyard and I shelled.  I made some little gift bags of them and gave as gifts (along with Rice Krispy treat wreaths) at our family get-together at my Aunt's on Christmas Eve day.

My oldest and his GF came up Christmas day and I made a pot of homemade vegetable soup and we had a nice Christmas day together.

I talked to my Mom on Christmas day. We usually go down to see them and visit my sister and her family the week after Christmas, but I didn't plan to this year. But then she said my sister/family wasn't coming to see them either. Kind of understandable since my sister has a new'ish baby (who doesn't love to travel) and besides that her husband is out of work and they don't really have the money to drive several hours, when my parents have no kids at home, no ties to home, and the money wouldn't put a hardship on them. But my Dad didn't want to go. Ugh.

So I felt sorry for Mom not having any of her kids visit for Christmas so I called up my Aunt and asked her if she wanted to ride down and visit Mom....and Dad.  I didn't feel like we could go that far (6-7 hours) and visit my parents without going on and visiting my sister, too, even though it's another 4 hour drive.

We drove down on the 26th, spent the next day with Mom & Dad, drove the next day to my sister's, spent the whole day with them, then drove back home on the 30th.

When we got back, J asked me what kind of pictures I'd taken while we were down there, and I hadn't taken a single one! How strange of me.

Then we went to my Aunt's on January 1st to eat New Year's Day dinner and I usually take pictures on the first day of the new year of the boys, whatever relative is around, the food, and whatever else catches my eye that seems "New Years-y" or worth recording for posterity.
Nope, didn't even get my camera out.

I guess two-oh-one-three
is going to be the year
We're not going to see
later.