Love Like This Life: December is a Flash! (Our Life Lately)

My apologies for not keeping up with the blog that well this month! December is always such a flash! I love this season, all of the fun and food and parties and celebrations are so great! But being so busy, the month does seem to go by in like one blink, doesn't it?

Here's a glimpse of what life has been like for us around here for the last couple of weeks...

It snowed. A tad.

I started driving to work. Because being terribly cold is just not for me, I have decided.

President Obama got pretty much everything he wanted for Christmas. Holy "lame duck" session! Work was CRAZY busy.

Late nights are tough for the work/home life balance, but wow is the White House beautiful at night!

There has been a little more of this around here than usual.

We got a package full of Christmas gifts from my Mama!

There was something for all of us.

First, Michael...

Then me :)

I know you've thoroughly enjoyed viewing me opening Christmas presents wearing my long johns. Very Cat Woman, right?

Now, the pets...

Katy got her prize first. For a nanosecond. Then she ran away faster than I could even get a picture.

Then Brokaw. Who opened his present himself. And may have enjoyed the plastic it was wrapped in as much as the tennis balls themselves.

Princess got one, too.

But, she didn't really care. She was off in her own little world, being content, as usual.

So... someone else got her prize. (and Katy's too...)

And, on this particular night we ate Chipotle.

May I also mention that we are both "expanding?" For M, this is a good thing. I consider it an accomplishment that he has some meat on his bones. My bones, however, were already quite meaty.... Oh well.

It snowed, again. This time a little more. Thankful for 4WD!

And there I go driving in it... taking pictures... I know, I'm awful.

One day, when I was in a particularly foul mood, there was a little party in the lobby of my office and there was a chocolate fountain. Turned my frown upside down! (Did I mention, I'm "expanding?"

Somebody was looking particularly handsome at church one Sunday morning, in his new scarf.

I baked some honey oatmeal rolls for our ministry teams Christmas Party. And I *tried* to make a red velvet pound cake in a bundt cake pan but ended up taking this instead....

We call this Red Velvet Cream Cheese Crumble. Sounds legit, right? Yeah.... well.... a little background for you.... Apparently I have much to learn in the how-to-grease-and-flour-a-bundt-cake-pan routine. Half of my cake came out. The other half didn't. I was a pouty mess! Because clearly this was my husband's fault because he happened to be "standing" there watching me during my moment of baking failure! I was just going to throw it way. M said, "Make it a crumble cake!" I was like, "is that even a thing?" Ugh. Pout. Pout. Stomp. Stomp. Then, I decided to give it a shot. I crumbled it all up, smashed it down in a casserole dish, made some cream cheese icing, sprinkled some more crumbles on top and some pecans and sold it as "Red Velvet Cream Cheese Crumble." It was a hit! Score 1 for Michael. I want to remember this because it's a great 'our marriage' kind of story. So typical, it's not perfect so I don't want it and he's all making something beautiful and useful out of nothing. Grr and :) all at the same time.

I spent an entire day this week doing absolutely nothing other than looking up recipes on the internet, reading Real Simple and snuggling with Brokaw. And opening a certain package that came in the mail with MY KINDLE in it!!! Thank you Mommy Claus!!!! :)

Today, I ran out to Trader Joe's for fresh flowers for our Christmas table.

Where, tomorrow, we will be having Roasted Turkey, Herb Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, Collard Greens and Cider Glazed Carrots for dinner. Oh, and Yeast Rolls, of course. And maybe Macaroni and Cheese, maybe.

Hopefully.

Note, there are no bundt pans involved!

Dessert is Carrot Cake I bought from Wegmans!

There, that's the last two weeks or so, in pictures.

Wait! There's one more!