Happy Christmas!!!

Happy Christmas, everyone!!! I had a fun, exciting but very busy Christmas holiday!! I hosted Christmas Eve for the Fillback clan at my house, which went quite smoothly. Entertaining has never been my strong suit, but it seems to get better each time I do it. Now I just need to do it a little bit more. Ha!! I was even comfortable enough to try out a couple of new recipes, which I was a bit nervous about. The Fillback clan can be a tough crowd! I made a new tortellini pesto appetizer and a new bourbon ham glaze. Both turned out well and were a big hit. (I'll post the recipes soon!)

I received some great gifts that evening...a Hanley's gift certificate, wine, a running shirt & a nice Craftsman 16 gallon Wet/Dry vac with a detachable blower. Oh my! I never thought I'd be excited about such a manly toy!! I actually had to try it out that evening due to the crazy rain we received for the prior 48 hours! Thanks, Dad!

Christmas Day I headed to my mom's for fun, food, drink and loads of Hand-and-Foot (a card game that is popular with this side of the fam.) We had an yummy dinner which included chicken spedini and some great red wine shipped in from Napa (courtesy of John's sister, Laurie) that was left over from Turkey Day! I received another round of wonderful gifts...a subscription to SELF magazine, Saw V, and two of my favorites...Super Mario Bros Wii and wait for it...wait for it...my own Guide to Homebrewing. I also received some cash to purchase some of my homebrewing supplies. Yes, folks! You got it! I'll be homebrewing before you know it! John used to homebrew with his friends and is going to teach me how! I'm stoked! Now if I could only find the time to read the book.

This coming weekend we are exchanging gifts with John's daugther, Calyn...her husband, Ben and Lehni-girl! They couldn't make it on Christmas day because Ben's sister and her family were in from Paris, France. So were celebrating a bit late...but who cares!

Hope you all had some happy holidays! I'll post recipes and pics soon!