Christmas She is So BAAAAD for Meeeeee!

If you want to see my favorite dessert of this holiday season, visit my friend Julie's blog and see the positively sinfully stuffed full of fatty fat deliciously dark creamy chocolatey melt all over your tongue and slide on down to the tummy goodness of Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake she made for her Christmas party. Oh my. I could not properly enjoy and appreciate it the night of the party, because me hads too many tastings of the wine offerings (it was a contest, okay?), and too many other delicious snacky things, and the brilliance of the dessert was someone diminished by my altered state. However, Jules had the foresight to send a LARGE portion home with us, and on Monday night, my wine-free taste buds did a happy dance at the first bite. Much better also having been chilled in the fridge so that the chocolate was nice and chewy. I likes my ice cream chewy too.

Now, today, what am I having for lunch? Why, the leftovers of my wonderful cheese ball (which was also at the party, but did not get eaten and so got to come home with me), on lovely Toppers crackers which are all buttery and oval and have a little lip to keep the cheesy goodness from falling off. Yep, that's my lunch. Yummy. Healthy, not so much.

Oh well. Only two more gatherings to go. One at my MIL's house, where we have just lots of snacky finger foods. And Christmas morning brunch at my house where I will make the wonderful breakfast casserole, again with the cheese, along with sausage and eggs. And of course some pumpkin bread and some kind of other cinnamon roll thing because Andy and Jay won't eat the pumpkin items). Not so slimming, no. But you know, it is CHRISTMAS. The season of joy and happiness and eating things you only get once a year.

Why is it, by the way, that we only make these wonderful concoctions on Christmas? Could make them anytime really, but we seem to save them for the holidays. Maybe we wouldn't gorge so much if they were not so few and far between . . .

Sam Strikes Again . . .

First, you need to be familiar with The Princess Bride. Next, you need to know that it is one of our very favorite movies, and that we recently introduced Sam (age 4) to it, at about the same age Andy discovered the adventures of Westley (or as Sam says it, Wesseley), Buttercup, Inigo Montoya, Vizzini, and the rest. He has taken the movie home, and has been watching it - a LOT.

Last night we were keeping Sam and Jillian, and I decided to put on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (the classic Rankin-Bass version from 1964), another family favorite. At the beginning, as you know, the snowman, who bears an eerie resemblance to Burl Ives (if you know who Burl Ives is, you are OLD like me), narrates the story, and his name is Sam.

Me: Hey Sam, did you know the snowman's name is Sam too?

Sam: We have the same name? You mean there are two Sams?

Me: That's right.

Pause for a few beats. . .

Sam: INCONCEIVABLE!

I'm not sure if he actually understands that word and so used it in a proper context, or if he was just parroting Vizzini, but it was sure darn funny!