I Got My Wish

According to my Grandma-in-law, it's only the 4th time on record it's ever happened here in Lubbock, TX, but we had a white Christmas this year: a beautiful blanket of snow descended upon the South Plains during the night of the 23rd, and on Christmas Eve morning, we woke up to two feet of sparkly snow. It was gorgeous. It did make getting out to my parents' vineyard that afternoon much more difficult, but we made it, and spent a lovely, relaxed evening in front of the fireplace and the Christmas tree. It was so nice to have a break, but I'm ready to be done with the holiday craziness, and hoping to put my house back into some kind of normal order tonight. Other happy highlights of the break:

-- Christmas breakfast with ma famille, featuring Aunt Sherry's incomparable blueberry muffins, Grammy's delicious sausage balls and egg casserole, piggies in a blanket, and some lovely fruit kabobs. Mmmmm.

-- Spending lots of time with my husband, who's getting a much-needed extended break from school until his classes start up for the spring next week.

-- My wonderful husband surprised me with a Christmas vacation! We left on the 28th for three days in Grapevine. We ate leisurely, delicious meals at Main Street Bakery, Maggiano's, Buca di Beppo, and Panera, saw three fantastic movies (Sherlock Holmes, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Up In The Air), and went to IKEA (!), where I was allowed to buy anything my heart desired (with saved up Christmas and jewelry funds). I bought a pine shelving unit, and this desktop and these trestle legs, plus lots of other inexpensive organizational wonders. I hope to have photos for you of my clean new workspace soon!

-- The Sanfords' annual New Year's Eve party, which was so much fun this year. We didn't get home until 2:30, and that's the latest I've stayed out in a very long time. (Yes, we're kind of lame.)

-- Spending some time with our adorable nephew Sam, for whom I made a spiffy Superhero cape.

-- A girls' day baking extravaganza this past weekend: we made the most delicious homemade cinnamon rolls while enjoying Sangria and great conversation.

By the way, I just wanted to say thanks to all of you, new and old, for following my blog. It's lovely to think I have something to say that you enjoy reading, and I hope that you'll continue to join me this year to enjoy all that 2010 has for us. Happy New Year, friends!

(Image credit: photo collage pulled from here, by Ez at Creature Comforts; see the post for individual image sources.)