"While the merry bells keep ringing, happy holidays to you..."

Wow, what a year! I know people typically talk about being thankful around Thanksgiving, but I was never one for tradition where being grateful is concerned. The picture to your left is my nine month old bundle of joy...affectionately referred to as, "little man," his proper name being Thomas. This little guy has very quickly become the center of my world, and life has never been so sweet. I've never been overly fond of the holidays, but having a child really does change the outlook. I went completely overboard gift-wise this year, singing my way through stores (when others were grumbling) and baking my ass off. (100 dozen cookies and counting...) My sister-in-law and her beau stayed with us for a few days, and we each made our own gingerbread houses. The pictures of mine are located below.

My in-laws came from South Carolina to spend the holiday with us, and I ended up cooking for 10 people on Christmas. I have never been so content as I was running around the kitchen hollering things like, "Does this stuff look too wet to you?" I cooked the turkey with marinated root veggies underneath, which seasoned the bird to PERFECTION. Have you ever had a turkey that you didn't have to either drown in gravy or salt to death? Yeah well, this one was rockin'! We also had a boneless ham that was cooked with a pineapple core and brown sugar nestled in the middle, and homemade sweet potatoes. Not to mention the regulars...mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, corn, etc. I even had homemade pear and mango jam for the warm rolls. The entire meal turned out fabulous, and I spent the evening beaming from all the compliments. Eat your heart out Rachael Ray...