That was fun!

So another Christmas is over and all that remains are the toy boxes for the recycling bins, the tree on the curb and the calories on our bodies. Christmas is a time for gatherings and celebrating. It is a time of eating, drinking and playing a friendly game of charades. The adults spend weeks of preparations on gifts, cookies and surprises. The children spend weeks of praying and hoping for the perfect gifts they asked for.

My Christmas was spent as it always is. With my kids, my husband, my sisters, my parents and my extended family which includes cousins, aunts and uncles. I had a wonderful time with my family. We ate, we drank and most importantly we laughed pretty much all night. When I was on my way to my aunts’ house I took a look around me at the cars beside me. They were filled with other families driving to their destinations. It is most definitely an important and special part of the year. Some people make the midnight mass as their tradition; some skip it and head to bed. We go to bed because we know Santa will arrive very early and we want to be well rested for his arrival.

Christmas has definitely changed for me now that I am a mother. I do the preparing; the gifts, the food and the glass of milk for Santa. It is just as exciting for me as it is for my kids. In the morning my kids all ran down the stairs to see if they got what they asked for. Low and behold, Santa delivered. Joseph got his Wii. At that moment he knew that he must have been a good boy because he got what he wanted. He was eager to set it up, and so was my husband. My daughter; got her Hannah Doll and her Moxie girls. She too, ripped open the box to begin playing with her new toys.

If we can just for a minute, bottle up their enthusiasm, their joy, their innocent smiles, then wouldn’t we? The price we paid for their excitement was the money we spent on their gifts. I am sure you will agree that it was well worth it. For that day on Christmas we remain calm, we find a little more patience in our bag of patience, and we smile a little more. It is a very important day, and we know it. We know what the real meaning of the day is, and believe it or not, so do our kids. For that one day we continue with the gift of giving and the realization of good family, and good laughs.

This year is almost over, another few days and we will flip the page of our calendars. I have not yet written down my goals that I plan to achieve for the year because I am still bathing in the previous days of Christmas. I will find some time to sit down and reflect on the past 365 days. I know that they will be good memories and they will bring me smiles. I am just grateful for my 2009 Christmas and everything that went right with it. It was another memory made, another few dozen photos shot and a few more toys added to the basement. The only thing I do know for sure is that it was special, it was a little cold, and it was exactly what I hoped and anticipated. I can whole heartedly flip my calendar on Thursday with a smile on my face and utter the words, “That was fun!”
That’s my peace today.

This is a classic Calabrese desert...fattening as heck but darn good!!!
Tordili
1 cup oil
3 cups white wine
8 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp salt
450 gram honey

Combine oil, wine and salt in saucepan. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and stir in flour and baking powder. Roll into dough and cut into strips, roll like a snake. Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Heat oil and fry each piece (oil must cover for about 8 min)
Once ready take honey boil in a double boiler with 1/4 cu water, when it foams, throw the fried tordili and stir around.
ENJOY!!!