Merry Christmas, a little late. This picture was taken on Christmas Eve, a few minutes before going to bed. If you are a Mom, then you can relate to how I was feeling when I took this picture. Every last gift was wrapped, the stockings were stuffed (Sarah's delightful task), the groceries bought and put away, the cleaning done, and I could breathe deeply and enjoy the rest of the season.

Earlier on Christmas Eve, while I was still in the rush of trying to get everything done, Mike walked in from running errands and gave me these flowers. I love the way flowers give me a completely different outlook on life! Thanks so much, Mikey-dear.

Sarah gave Ollie a new dog bed that he loves. Isn't he a cutie?

The day after Christmas we ate these shrimp for dinner. What a treat! I was so tired of ham (Christmas with my family), roast beef (Christmas with church), and turkey (Christmas with our family), that I didn't want to see any meat of any kind. These shrimp are so easy and delicious. Just put a piece of thinly-sliced bacon on shrimp, pour a small amount of BBQ sauce on each shrimp, then broil until the bacon is done. Voila! This recipe also works well on scallops.All of our bunnies are bedded down with lots of hay. They love it.

Today I had fun making bread, breadsticks, and pizza from the slow-rise recipe that I posted about 2 weeks ago. It was sooo good!

For the breadsticks I put equal amounts of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, kosher salt, and minced garlic. We didn't have any marinara sauce for dipping, so we used pizza sauce.

We gave away several batches of Almond Crunch to Sunday School teachers, friends, and nurses. Two people asked for the recipe, so here it is. But I'm almost too embarrassed to post it since it is sooo easy. I will be sure to take a picture next time I make this:

Almond Crunch

1 stick butter (no substitutes)

1 tbsp corn syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup sliced almonds

Prepare dish: Wrap foil around a pie plate and smear with small amount of butter.

Melt butter in a 2 or 3 qt saucepan; swirl butter to coat the sides of pan. Add corn syrup and sugar; boil for about 3 minutes, until golden brown. Add almonds. Pour into prepared dish and refrigerate for 10 minutes or until cool.

We were able to make 2 batches in less than 10 minutes.

I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas Day. My parents arrived in Texas on Christmas Eve where they will be staying until mid-February. So while we enjoy the break from piano lessons, we miss them terribly. Enjoy your warm weather, Dad.

Many blessings ~ Kathie