Break Time

New this year - ornaments to represent all our kids!

I think the most frustrating thing about my ailments is that they slow me down! I SO hope that therapy and getting a start on fixing my knee in January get me moving and in the right direction! My arm is on the mend from that post Thanksgiving fall. I think that’s one of the more pleasurable parts of physical therapy. The first thing we do is I lay down and my therapist stretches and moves my arm, gently, but it really helps it loosen up! There’s still some pain, but I’m back to doing my normal stuff. I drive, lift, well lisftish, wash dishes and do laundry. I can lift up my text books for next term, as long as it’s one at a time! What is rough this week is that I have limited stirring capacity before I need to take a break. Yeesh! Who ever heard of getting worn out making a batch of candy?

But here I am, break time again! It’s not even a sore knee! THAT will come this afternoon when I am doing Mr. Goodcookies because tat takes a lot of walking back and forth between the counters and oven. SO far today I’ve done the Krisp Kringles and a small batch of diet peanut butter cup crisps. Normally I don’t make anything diet in my Christmas baking but I won’t serve these for UNO. I’ve been very, very good and dropped a few pounds of me. Now, I just want to not gain for the rest of the month with the intention of losing again starting January 3. But I will diet carefully for the days leading up to the 23 this week. That means I will only sample little pieces of my creations for quality control and the diet candies, made with reduced calorie chocolates and fat free peanut butter, will be my snacks. See? I’m learning how to plan ahead to save temptation for when it feels really good to be bad!

The diet break will begin with dinner on Thursday. David and I will have been married for 2 years and we’re going out to Ciao, in Sylvania. Then Christmas Eve will be an all day family day, Christmas will be just us and the kitty kids and Sunday will start with brunch out in Fort Wayne when I pick up Rina and Tori before UNO and well, desserts a plenty! I’ll go back to a sensible but relaxed food attitude after that.

We got the tree up finally. I tell ya, my pains, David’s nasty cold and the sheer fact that Christmas on a weekend is essentially everything a week short this year, it’s no wonder we’re behind! Right now, it has no garland. I have that gorgeous plush garland that Mom had talked someone at Bronner’s into selling her years ago. I didn’t want to put it on the tree this year, because we’ve reached the point where we have so many ornaments of our own that there would definitely be some trapped behind the thick garland. I got a great tip from The Fabulous Adventures of Listgirl’s blog for making simple paper garland but there might not be time for that this year. I thought maybe I’d see if I could find some skinny garland or bead garland when I’m out this afternoon for therapy.

Miss Edna's gift makes a festive Mantelpiece Yard!

I got a surprise in the mail last week. A box I didn’t order, but addressed to me! It was from Edna, a sweet gift from her Christmas collection! She needed to find a happy home for three HO gauge freight cars in Christmas paint. The mantel on our fireplace is known as “Mantelpiece Yard.” There is track there and David keeps model cars he’s working on up there. David put the cars Edna gave us in the middle of the front track for the holidays. The fireplace is right next to where the tree is, so it’s a gorgeous festive addition!. Again, thanks SO MUCH, Edna!!

Okay, now break ends, it’s time for laundry and getting ready for therapy ad errands before I come home to more cookies later on!

Links:

Ciao Ristorante

The Fabulous Adventures of Listgirl

Miss Edna's Place