It's the most wonderful time of the year...

It's so hard to believe another Christmas has come and gone... Another year will soon be behind us, too. Tom turned 26 last month, and 30 is looming over us. When people ask my age, I have to stop and think. I still feel like I'm 18 and trying to figure out the world. College and especially graduate school are just tiny blips in my history now. I have tons of memories, of course, don't get me wrong - it's just that sometimes I forget that I ever lived with Jennifer or Amy... Or that I was in a sorority... Or that I did an internship in Birmingham for a summer... It's just interesting to reflect on because as I was growing up, I always had a defined plan for the foreseeable future - the progression of schools, all the milestones of growing up, high school graduation, college, graduate school, finding a job, getting married, buying a house, getting a dog... but that's about as far as it went. Now, I've done all those things, and it's a really strange feeling (wonderful! but strange) to have all that I planned for in my past. It's behind me, and I stand gazing back at it in amazement and turning to face the uncertain future in awe. I'm at a crossroads - life's moving target is moving again, recalibrating itself, and defining different goals, different milestones for my future. I'm not one of those people that longs for the good old days - whatever days those are - for some people it's high school, for some it's college. I have always enjoyed each stage of my life more than the last in some way, and I have faith that the rest of my days will be more of the same. I don't mean to be melodramatic or too heavy - I'm just marveling at this stage, this crossroads, this time of bolstering up my courage to define a new set of goals for my life, a new map. I'm excited to be embarking on it - I'm so blessed to have my sweet husband, my wonderful family, and my loving and merciful God to share it with. And all of you, of course :-)

Wow, the last few weeks have been busy! So many events for Christmas - 3 different choral concerts for my church choir, mine and Tom's Christmas work parties, Christmas shopping, our traditional bell ringing for the Salvation Army and caroling and decorating our family graves at the cemetery, as well as various and sundry Christmas get-togethers with friends and family. I've also been doing some fun cooking! Check it out -

 This is another one of my "homemade-up" meals - inspired by Tom . He loves shepherd's pie. I've always hated it, but a few weeks ago, I randomly got a craving for it. Weird, I know. No, Kim, I'm not pregnant! :-) He also loves roasted asparagus and red peppers. I had a bunch of mashed potatoes I made the night before so I decided to use them to create my own shepherd's pie recipe. I browned hamburger meat, added onions and some frozen veggies, and the spices that make up Italian Seasoning in my spice rack (parsley, garlic, basil, etc.). I put the meat mixture in the bottom of a pan, covered it with mashed potatoes, and topped with parmesan cheese and baked for 20 or 30 mins! Delish! The roasted asparagus just has olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, red peppers, and a little parm on it. The pairing turned out really well!

Next up, I had a pot-luck networking meeting at the Chamber of Commerce - I signed up to bring a breakfast casserole. Of course, I went to www.foodnetwork.com to do some research. And of course, I found a recipe by Paula Deen that turned out to be fabulous (so they tell me - I don't like french toast)! I think it's called French Toast Casserole, and it was pretty easy. Just slice french bread and line a pan with it. Pour an egg/milk mixture over it and let soak overnight. Then cover with this sinfully delicious praline topping and bake. Needless to say, it was a huge hit... with other people, not me (see above).

Every year, my family gets together to decorate our relatives' graves for Christmas. My grandfather cuts the greenery out of his own yard, and we spend several hours arranging it in the various urns. My mom and I used to make the bows, but we wised up a long time ago and starting buying them - trust me, it was a good decision. It's a really neat tradition, and we enjoy it.

 (I branched out this year - ha! branched! get it? - and made a wreath. It was pretty fun and easy and turned out much better than expected. We held it down by sitting this poinsettia and reindeer stob in the middle of it.)

This year marked a huge change for me - I spent my first Christmas away from my family. Tom's extended family lives in Kansas so we went there. He actually still has all four of his grandparents - I think this is an incredible blessing, and I want to make it possible to visit them as often as we can. I was excited but nervous about going because I didn't know how I would react. I knew I would miss my family, and I didn't want to burst into tears right in the middle of his family get-together. Thankfully, I wasn't sad or homesick too much. We had a great time, and we did Christmas with my family right after we got back. It was really neat to experience other families' traditions and get to know them better and understand their dynamic more. The older I get, the more Christmas just means being with family, with people you love, and reflecting on all our many blessings. It was just more spread out for me this year, and that's not bad at all :-)

Here's a packing tip - I have these bags my mom got me for a trip out of the country several years ago. They are amazing!!! You put your clothes in there, zip it closed, and squeeze all the air out - no vacuum required! It's so easy and makes packing a lot of stuff a lot easier! The brand I have is called Space Maker.

Last but not least, tonight I made one of my favorite homemade-up recipes - ranch pork chops with sauteed onions! My mom and dad gave us a big box of goodies from Omaha Steaks for Christmas this year - perhaps the best gift ever. Included were 4 pork chops. I began by thawing them in cool water for about 20 mins (since I can't ever remember to put them in the fridge the night before). 

 While they were thawing, I got all my other ingredients ready - not a very tough line up as you can see. One small onion sliced, pepper (I've gotten on a seasoned pepper kick lately), seasoning salt, ranch mix, frozen chopped red peppers, chicken broth (not pictured), and sherry. I LOVE to cook with sherry - it adds such a great flavor.

 Optional - One small dog to oversee the operation :-)

 First, I trimmed some of the fat from around the edges of each chop. Then, I heated up my frying pan to medium high and plopped them in. I poured in a little sherry while they were cooking and sprinkled them with the seasonings (salt, pepper, ranch mix). Let them cook a little on the first side, then flip. Rinse and repeat. (Not really - just a metaphor!)

 After cooked almost through (the meat is white looking), add some chicken broth (enough to cover the bottom of the pan about 1/4 in. thick) and some more sherry. Add the onions and the peppers and sprinkle some more ranch on top. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 10 mins or so, until onions are translucent. NOTE:  I do not advocate using a whole ranch packet. I use about half and save the rest for some other concoction down the road :-)

While it was cooking, I was donning my new silver, flower clip for my hair. I never in a million years thought I would like something like this - I tried it on as a joke. To my surprise, I loved it! What do you think?

Add a side salad with bacon bits, croutons, cheese, chopped pecans, red wine vinegar, and the dressing of your choice and voila! Dinner :-)

A very Happy New Year to you and yours!