finally

all of the christmas stuff is up!!  tree and all, thank you very much!  it was tough for me to get it all out this year.  once the tree was up, it gave me that last kick in the rear to get moving..."umm, hi, new years will be here if you don't finish!"

i thought about not putting our village up at all, but its just not christmas without it.  where we normally put it is directly in the danger zone...meaning, david can reach it...and WILL touh AND break something.  then i remembered that back in our apartment days hubby(before he was hubby) built me a mantle for over the tv.  AH HA!  i couldn't put it all out.  i opted to not use the 3 largest pieces, but it really looks cute, and i'm glad i made myself(well, hubby) drag it all up ;o)

here's the dining room table.  i keep it wintery so that i can leave it up for a while after christmas

some of our fav christmas books

i got this idea from Hope Studios

i made it our snow day project last week!

the tree!  i made a popcorn and cranberry garland this year.  i should have made one more strand, but i stabbed myself in the thumb with the needle enough!

with all of the cookie dough in the freezer, i just needed to bake something!  so i made some white choc chip oatmeal raisin cookies...hubby looved them! bonus!!

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups quick cooking

2 cups (12 ounces) white chocolate morsels

1 cup raisins

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in oats, morsels, and pecans. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets.



Bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 3 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.