New Years Cards

Since I didn't quite get all of my Christmas cards out this year, I've decided to send out New Years cards for the rest of the list. I even made them myself.

Big News

We're moving. It's finally official where we're moving. There were times when it seemed like we were moving to NYC. Chicago was even on the radar. But, after all that talk, we're moving to Richmond, VA. Just one hour and forty five minutes south of where we are now. A place that we actually already know fairly well. We've already started looking for a house (online that is). We're planning on going to look at houses next weekend. Of course, I'll already have been in Richmond for work on Wednesday. The one definite upside is no more commuting to Richmond since I'll already live there.

Upcoming 2nd Annual H's Christmas Party

This Saturday night we're going to have our 2nd Annual Christmas Party. It will be a night of food, fun and friends. I'm definitely looking forward to it. I have so much vacation left at the end of this year, that I'm taking Friday off to get ready for it. I'm looking forward to baking lots of cookies and other goodies. I'm planning on giving each guest a goody bag of cookies before they leave. The menu will probably include dark chocolate fondue with orange sugar cookies, homemade marshmallows, pecan brittle and fruit as dippers. There will also be lit'l smokies in bbq sauce, interesting cheeses and olives. I'm still thinking about whether or not to make a few other things like meatballs, some type of bacon wrapped hors d'ouevres and other types of cookies. I'll let you know after the party what ends up at the buffet.

Christmas Decorations Update

As I mentioned in my previous post, we bought a couple more nativity scenes to add to the collection. Here they are:



Since we were at a Christmas store, MTH decided we needed a couple more ornaments. Here they are as well. They're both inspired by The Nutcracker.





Also, here's an update on the how the paperwhites are doing! They're really growing. I have no idea when they'll bloom though. I wish it would be before Christmas but I have a feeling it won't be.

Christmas Decorations

I love this time of year just for the decorations. Here's what we've done in the house.

Paper Whites
MAK gave the container, the river stones and the paper white bulbs to me for my birthday. They are growing nicely. Hopefully I will not kill them any time soon! This table is just by the front door.

Our Official Christmas Tree and Manger Scene Collection
Here's our official Christmas tree. We put it on the highest shelf on our "entertainment system" in the living room. The pieces below the tree are our manger scene collection. We actually bought 2 more tonight but I took these pictures yesterday. I may update later but am too lazy right now.

Tinsel Tree
MTH "won" this tree last year at the annual H Yankee grab bag. It's on the cookbook bookshelf in the space between the living room and dining room.

Rosemary Christmas Tree
I found this tree at the Whole Foods near our house. I couldn't resist. I put it on the wine rack beside the back door. MTH bought the garland last year and now we've found a use for it.

Santa Display
I have a few different Santa Claus items so I decided to display them together on the plate rack in the kitchen. Before our party next Saturday, I'm going to add some fresh greenery above the Santas.

The Best Dessert EVER

MTH and I went to Eamonn's, A Dublin Chipper for dinner tonight. It's definitely a place that you don't want to eat at too often. Along with the traditional fish and chips and Guinness, we decided to have dessert too. The choices for dessert are: fried Snickers, fried Milky Way, fried dough and fried bananas. MTH decided he wanted to try the fried Milky Way. It comes out in the brown paper bag just like the fish and chips. The candy bar has been coated in similar batter as the other food. Then, when it's hot out of the oil, it's sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. When I first smelled the cinnamon, I was disappointed. I wasn't sure how the cinnamon would mix with the flavor of a Milky Way. I was wrong. It was the perfect complement to the gooey melted candy bar inside the crispy outer shell! I highly recommend this dessert at least once your in lifetime.

Grammar Question

Do you see something wrong with the following sentence?

This marks the beginning of ...



I thought that I remembered learning that there should be an object after the word "this". But it seems that is not the case anymore. I know that I don't always write or speak correct English but for some reason this issue annoys me. By the way, that piece of a sentence above is from a letter from the CEO of my company.