Whew, we survived!

I love Christmas! I love the lights, the sounds, the smells. Christmas Eve is Mike's birthday though, so first things first.

He bought a new desk system for his office last weekend. He couldn't get his file drawer open and closed without tools, not a good thing. So, he has been looking at Ikea, and finally got something. He spent Saturday and Sunday putting it together and dragging the other stuff (with Alec's help) out of his office. Then on his birthday, he wanted to go to work! What a funny boy! The good news is that he got all of his stuff back in, and organized. He is thrilled with his new setup, and not having to go to the floor for a drawer.

He did get home in the late afternoon. We had planned on having New York steaks after our French Onion Soup. But, the soup was so yummy and so filling, we put off the steaks for a couple of days. I fry up 3 large onions in butter... maybe half a stick. I add some garlic cloves in too, maybe 2 or 3...depending on my mood. Then I put two heaping table spoons of flour and fry up some more, looking for some brown. Then I add 2 cans of beef broth and about a cup of good red wine (whatever we are drinking at the time). After it starts to thicken up some we scoop it into bowls for baking. I put two slices of sourdough baguette and two slices of swiss cheese on the top, broil until brown.... and YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY. So, there you have it!

After we cleaned up, we put some goodies out and opened our gifts. The boys seemed happy with a few gifts from gramma and granpa Donovan, some cash from gramma and granpa Strickland, and a gift card each from Tabitha & her new hubby Mark. They each got a few gifts from us too. I was happy with a body pillow from Casey, fuzzy socks and a big punch from Alec (OK I told him which one to buy), and some nice base makeup from Mike (Jane Iredale). Did I mention we had goodies?

It was pretty late when we started, and finished our gifts, so off to sleep! The boys get stocking stuffers from Santa in the morning... but they are too old to think that is worth waking up really early. So, about 10am they were both up checking their stockings. We enjoyed a few hours of peace and quiet. Then it was time to get to work! For Christmas dinner we had Danielle & Bill (our neighbors from the coast) and Danielle's sister Wanda over for dinner. We had lots of yummy cheese and crackers for appetizers. Then for dinner we had roasted red potatoes, veggies, and Cornish game hens with a raspberry red wine sauce. It was very good. Casey just would not eat the hen. He really could be a vegetarian some days. If he sees it raw, chances are pretty good he will not eat it! Dinner, complete with good wine, was followed by Mike's famous Banana's Foster. OMG it was wonderful! And of course, he lit it on fire for us too!

Wednesday morning was Mike's follow up to his cortisone shots. The good news is that he is not currently a good candidate for surgery. Yahoo! There are other procedures that they will try first. In the past the shots have worked, but not this time. So, today we went for another series of shots with both cortisone and numbing medication. Hopefully this will offer some relief. But, typical Donovan style, it can't be the simple answer. Figures, huh?

I am enjoying the week off from the pressures of school, well Alec school. I love sleeping in (well except for today when we were on the roads at 5:55 am). And, I am looking forward to another week of this.

We don't know what we are doing for New Year's Eve yet. But, I am sure something good will come up before Monday. Happy Kwanzaa to you. L