Un-wrapping 2006

A thousand apologies to you, Life in the Rut readers. I have literally been in a rut for the past month when it comes to updating this blog. Of course, I have managed to leave my camera at my parents' house, so I don't even have any pictures to share! Not like there's any exciting footage to share of D and me unwrapping gifts- our Christmas was more of an envelope-opening fest. My mom was thrilled, in fact, when I told her not to worried about stuffing a stocking for me! No, this year's yule was spent the way it should be, bonding with family over games and yummy food. Christmas Eve was hosted by the Rut side, where we feasted on Momma D's awesome homemade spaghetti sauce and mile-high cheesecake from Pappa's. Afterwards we played Trivial Pursuit 80s edition, which my team won in a come-from-behind sneak attack (I could hardly believe it, myself!) and Scattergories, in which I and the rest were bested by my sister-in-law, Lori.

Christmas Day at the house of C and D started with more of a whimper than a bang. We watched Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (yes, I cried again), Love Actually, and parts of A Christmas Story as I slaved away in the kitchen finishing Martha Washington balls, Hash Brown Potato casserole, and roasted vegetables for the G/W/B/L/M/C Christmas festivities in the Land of Sucrose. D helped a lot with the Martha Washington balls. All I have to say about those puppies is that it's a good thing that recipe makes so many, because you only want to make those things once a year! Sheesh! The evening was a success, though, and the MW balls turned out to be a Christmas Miracle for my Uncle M, since Aunt J was too busy to make them this year. Momma D and I later staged a coups during the White Elephant Gift Exchange when I enlisted her as a double agent to steal back my nativity figurine from Aunt J. All ended well, however, as the next gift Aunt J opened turned out to be tailor-made for her by the talented Lottie McF. Another highlight was the face/ear-washing that baby C received from Jackdog, the resident lab-mix at my parents' house.

The past few days have been very low-key for moi and Otisaurus Rex. Lots of reading and movie watching. Some words to the wise, feel free to avoid Black Dahlia and Last Kiss when you're at the video store. United 93 was good, albeit understandably nerve-wracking and gut-wrenching. Was it me, or did the director try to create some sympathy for the hijacker pilot? It seemed that he was being portrayed as having second thoughts about the operation.

I'll include the recipe for the Martha Washington balls in my next post, for those of you brave enough to take on the task of endless rolling and chocolate-dipping. And maybe I'll have some pictures to share, as well.