Christmas....what would it be without Fiddler-style drama!!

This is a simple Christmas tale.....actually a true life story!

Come with me now as we enter the world of the harried cook and self-made perfectionist at the Ellis household.

I was off work Friday (Christmas Eve) and planned to get some prep stuff done for our main holiday meal at Sharon's house on Christmas Day. Last weekend I had slow cooked a marinated briscuit and put it in the freezer thru the week.......I set it out to thaw Thursday eve when I got home from work. (The meat is easier to slice when still slightly frozen...just a little tip from Ellen, Master Chef). Then I brewed up the "special " barbecue sauce to steep the meat in after slicing. At 9 pm I hit the sack thinking the meat was continuing to defrost in the fridge since it was no longer in view on the countertop. (My sous-chef, Marshall, often helps with these details).

Yesterday I began to un load the dishwasher ...it no longer runs without making a huge hullabaloo so it has been relegated to "drying rack" status.

Well...what to my wondering eyes do you think appeared on the dishwasher rack???? Just two packages of cooked briscuit and 8 tiny reindeer! Of course, the meat was well thawed and reindeer, being herbivores, refused to touch it. I was completely stupefied....Christmas dinner in a shambles....my hard work down the drain.

I immediately called Marshall at work to announce his faux pas...the annual Christmas fiasco! When will I ever learn?? I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF!!

Andy, who lives with us, informed me that the meat was "just fine". I informed him that if he thought so he could have a slice of briscuit fresh from the dishwasher and we would just see about that..."let me know if you get the craps" I told him as I handed him a hunk of meat.

By nightfall all was well....and today, Christmas Day, Andy does not seem to need IV fluid resucitaion!! Gloriosky.....he was right! So I will proudly serve this beef (aged in the dishwasher) to my family later today...most none the wiser. Although, after my act as a drama queen, I may have to eat crow!!

Just another happy crazy Fiddler holiday....
Merry Christmas,
Ellen

Home for the Holidays

I don’t think I’ve had a chance to post on here since before I moved to Kansas, but I’m glad that several of you have been keeping us up to date on your lives and adventures.

First off, I want to say congratulations to Beth, Peter, and Jacob on the arrival of little Mya. I understand from my mom that Mya and Beth are home from the hospital and doing well. Yay! I can’t wait to meet my latest second cousin! What a lovely Christmas surprise for the Leyva and Kepka families!

It’s Sunday evening, and I’m listening to Christmas songs in our cozy one bedroom apartment in Wichita. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Sing it, Andy Williams!

Trent is back in Georgia right now to de-winterize the house, now under contract, for the home inspection, which took place last week. He’s waiting for our realtor to contact him regarding the inspection and whether or not the buyers want to change the terms of the contract. We’re hoping the inspection didn’t bring up any surprises. The closing date is Jan. 20 (Andy’s b-day). Here’s to smooth sailing until then. (And here’s to Trent getting back to Kansas before Christmas …)

The semester at Wichita State is finally over, and I am grateful to have not brought any work home this weekend. I’ll head into work Monday-Wednesday this week, but I’m hoping to take Thursday off to bake sugar cookies (that’s right, Andy!) and make my aunt Peggy’s chex mix (a.k.a. scramble). Time away from work is exactly what I need right now.

I can’t wait to see my and Trent’s families this weekend. The fact that we only have to drive a couple of hours to see everyone is a Christmas miracle. I hope that you are all experiencing blessings of the season. Merry Christmas!

Message from Santa

Peter found out about this site where you can have personalized messages from Santa made for you child. I hope the link works cause this is really cute & Jacob loved it.

Santa Claus has prepared a video message for Jacob with his PNP - Portable North Pole console. http://www.portablenorthpole.ca/watch/guest/lMDAGmIcApiljQqaL352fQ

Hope you enjoy it.

Katie, my email changed but I don't know how to update it so I get the email notifications. I'm not getting anything. My new email is bleyva1976@yahoo.com . Maybe you can figure out.