Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Doing Something Different

I'm mixing it up - or not - this year by doing something I've never done before - I'm going to cut down on that Christmas baking. I don't know if it's the "liver in a quiver" thing, laziness or just plain old running out of time, but I'm just thinking that not many teachers want lots of cookies. I really don't have the time - between painting, shopping, cleaning, parties and concerts, I just don't have one large chunk of time to devote to baking before Friday, which is the last day of school for the girls. I think we'll all be healthier for it!

I also had a long discussion with my aunt today about Christmas dinner, which is here again. She suggested we order dinner from Mimi's Cafe, which we love. I have to admit, when she first suggested it I was really skeptical, but then when we weighed all the benefits of how we could feed the close to 20 folks on Christmas day without the hassle of organizing oven space, timing it all and guessing on amounts, I think we both decided this might work. Of course, there are a few things I'll miss (the stuffing INSIDE the turkey... and smell of it cooking all day!), things I will just have to cook myself (the stuffing!) and the idea of "hosting" people with food I did not prepare. In the end, I'm thinking it will be nice to blame the third party for the dry turkey meat. I did put my foot down when she brought up Bob Evans... not having that for Christmas day - no way!

Sometimes changing things up is good. They say it's great for your muscles and I believe it's great for your heart as well. I would love to focus on other Christmassy things on Christmas day, not just stressing about orchestrating the perfect dinner. I also want everyone to feel like they are welcomed, wanted and to enjoy the company of family and friends - not like I didn't think about them because the mashed potatoes ran out! We are going to work out some different muscles for this meal, skip the cookies and possibly even try something new - eggnog, anyone?

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