12-20-13

8:30am

You would have thought it was Christmas day

due to the kids getting up at 5:30am or earlier!

It's the last day of school before Christmas so

I'm sure it will be a much easier day for them

and then they get to look forward to getting

out a half hour early.

Today should be an easier day for myself as well.

Yesterday I made pumpkin bread.

I originally made just enough for hubby's 

coworkers in his maintenance department

then I found out about the card everyone got us

and had to make much more to include the office

folks at his work to show our thanks to them.

It wasn't much but they always look forward

to me sending in goodies this time of year.

I stayed up late getting the rest of these made.

It's a pumpkin bread done in a mini bundt pans.

They were then drizzled with a maple caramel

and then a cream cheese drizzle and sprinkled

with a little Christmas cheer to make them look festive.

They are about the size of a jumbo cupcake

and I think I made about 17 of them total along

with little gift bags for just the maintenance workers

which included a packet of hot chocolate,

a chocolate dipped marshmallow with mint

and a couple of homemade somoa cookies.

This weekend I will work on some more pumpkin

bread and cookies for neighbors and friends.

Plus I have a 10.31 pound ham I want to start

brining for Christmas dinner.  I've never brined a ham before

and got the idea off tv.  

3 two liter bottles of coke or dr. pepper,

1 1/2 cups kosher salt,

Score the entire surface of the ham in a diamond

pattern just down to the skin.

Submerge ham into the above mixture for 1-4 days.

Remove from brine, rinse and dry before baking.

Then about 30 minutes before done baking

I'll start glazing it with a mixture of

12 ounce jar orange marmalade,

1/2 cup dijon mustard,

6 garlic cloves,

1 cup light brown sugar packed,

1 teaspoon ginger,

1/4 cup orange juice.

Process in food processor

and pour over top of ham.

Here are some photos of when I got out of the

hospital a week ago.  I was pretty bruised up

from all the needles they poked into me.

They did not want to use the same veins twice

so I was poked in several places including the kink of

my elbows, forearms and hands (least favorite).

Then there was two IVs in my right arm.

Well it's only 9:00am and I think I'm gonna go lay

down and take a nap before two weeks

of kids being out of school and almost

a week of hubby being on vacation for Christmas.

Need some quiet down time for now.

I just took a handful of meds and they sometimes

make me feel funny.

Tonight me and hubby are going to his work

to cut up his scrap metal he's been collecting

and get it ready to take to the scrap place tomorrow morning.

Might stop by a thrift store to look for a couple

outfits for the boys for Christmas.

I had thought about using the money on the Walmart

gift card to buy them new clothes but for the price

of one shirt I could get them each a couple of outfits

at the thrift store.

9:10pm


I don't know what the deal was this afternoon
but I felt a little woozy and shaky for the longest time.
I laid down on the couch some after picking the kids
up from the bus stop.
I feel ok at the moment.  Will be glad to sleep in a
little tomorrow morning before heading off
to the scrap metal place.
Can't overdo it and try to pace myself when I can.
But the clock's a ticking and I still have so
much more to do like bake, wrap ALL gifts,
shop for a couple more gifts, and
get my ham brining for Christmas.
I got regular cherry Coke to brine it in.

Oh, hubby said the people 
at his work made this comment today about me
that I thought was funny and made me smile,
"She (me) is the most popular one here at work
and she doesn't even work here"
LOL