Oh, my ganache!

Today's topic: culinary hurdles met and conquered.

When I asked Marissa what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, she requested a blue or green pig. I turned to the ever-trusty internet and saw the best pig cake ever. I couldn't resist and had to try it. But it required some things I've never made or used before.

a) ganache
b) fondant

Don't you think just the sound of both of those is intimidating? But I decided to press forward undeterred. I found a recipe for ganache which looked simple enough and turned out divine. I don't think I can go back to regular frosting. Then, because I'm cheap, I didn't want to go out and buy fondant, so I tried a recipe for homemade marshmallow fondant. And it worked! The next step -- the fun part! -- was molding and assembly. The end result brought me great joy. Marissa was pretty happy with it, too.

Pigs in the mud

My pretty [and one of a kind] 12-year-old

This was a major milestone birthday for sure. Marissa graduated from elementary school, entered young women's, had a sweet birthday party, went to girls camp [which I also attended as assistant director], and got her ears pierced. In the same time frame she has played soccer as one of the team's top scorers, went to basketball and volleyball camps, participated in a piano recital, danced in the end-of-school La Fiesta, and I've-lost-track-of-who-knows-what-else. It's fair to say she's been hopping. And she's still nice. Phew!

The most wonderful time of the year

January is rough. I'm sitting here watching a nasty snow storm brewing outside. This after several days of rain and mud that got tracked all through the house. And this after some of the coldest temperatures I've ever experienced. I know, some Arctic dwellers are saying, "Waaahhh," but weeks of single digit degrees and me just don't get along. So I wish to take a mental departure and reflect on a few of my favorite Christmas things. Just a few. Humor me, please.

Now I know this is completely contradictory, but one thing I really enjoyed this year was our white Christmas. It snowed on Christmas Eve, so we woke to a winter wonderland. Of course, then I was done with it. But for the morning's ambiance, it was lovely. And moving on...

Ever since the kids were itty bitty, we have opened pajamas on Christmas Eve. I know this is a fairly typical tradition, but for me this hearkens back to my childhood when my grandma would make pajamas for all of her grandchildren under 12 years of age. I came closer to appreciating this feat -- she had 50-something grandkids -- when I saw a sale on fleece and decided to make p.j. bottoms for our family. Here was the final result:

Bonuses:
1) I could accommodate Caleb's freakishly long legs. Honestly, I don't think he'll ever be able to buy a pair of p.j.'s and have them fit properly.
2) Notice Aiden's shorts. He is always hot and won't wear pants to bed. So shorts it was.
3) Doesn't every grown man want dinosaur pajamas?
4) Oh, man, they're toasty. It's like wearing a blanket, without the embarrassment of being seen in a Snuggie.

A few years ago we decided to try something new for our Christmas Eve dinner. We picked a country, did some research, and planned a menu to represent that country. We also talked about how people celebrate Christmas there. I think we did Brazil that first year. Since then we've done Italy and Australia [I think that's it, but I may have forgotten one]. This year we did Argentina. That's where Jeremy went on his mission, and I was a little intimidated to try things he knew should taste a certain way. But I think we were pretty successful. The menu looked like this:

Appetizer: Empanadas
Main dish: Milanesas
Side dish: Ensalada Rusa
Dessert: Alfajores
Beverage: Ginger ale [cultural fail, I know, but oh well]

Here we are making our alfajores. They are basically cornstarch shortbread sandwich cookies spread with dulce de leche and rolled in coconut. Yum!

[I know I need practice taking food pictures. Not so pretty, but tasty.]

You can see in the background of one of the above pictures another of my favorite Christmas things. It's this:

My wall o' Christmas cards! Okay, I know it's January 27th, but the cards are still hanging. They keep me happy in the midst of wailing winds and blistering cold and post-Christmas doldrums. I have immense guilt for not reciprocating Christmas cards this year. SORRY!!! I hope my prolonged enjoyment of everyone's cards makes up for my neglect.

After Christmas my parents and brother came to visit. They were heading to Idaho to take Spencer to college and stopped here for about a week. It was the first time I'd seen Spencer since his mission, so it was good to have them here and spend some time. Extra bonus: my mom and I finished a 1000 piece puzzle in record time. We stayed up way too late a few times, but we got it done.

Every year I think about making gingerbread houses, and every year I don't quite get around to it. This year we did it. Not real gingerbread. I'm not that ambitious. Graham crackers did the trick, and I tried out boiling sugar for the glue. It was like magic. Those puppies weren't going anywhere. Cleaning up the aftermath was not one of my favorite things, but the process was still worth it. I doubt it will become a tradition, but I would do it again.

So there you have it. A few of my favorite Christmas things...and then I don't feel so bad!

If a Christmas letter I did write...

...it would have looked a little something like this.

2012 by the numbers

 1. New pet added this year. Aiden so badly wanted a tortoise he was willing to do hours of research and save up lots of money to get one. Finally, we decided to give him one for his birthday, and Rico the tortoise joined our household. Aiden also loves and excels at pretty much all sports and is doing well in school and at the piano. Now if I could just get him to fix his hair in some way other than a comb-over! 

2. Years I have now taught the gospel doctrine Sunday school class. I can’t say it’s been easy for me, but it has been a huge learning opportunity and has stretched me by making me do something hard. I also continue to teach piano lessons, volunteer at the elementary school when I can, love my book club, and sort of keep the house clean and food in the fridge. 

3. Days spent at Bear Lake for the S family reunion. We made some great memories swimming at the beach, eating raspberry shakes, and playing with cousins. Bear Lake has definitely become one of our family’s favorite vacations.
 
4. Kids in school. Morgan started Kindergarten, Aiden is a 3rd grader, Marissa is a 6th grader, and Caleb is in 8th grade. It’s a new thing having a quiet house for a few hours every day, and while it’s very nice I still enjoy when everyone is home during the holidays.
 
5. Number of breakdowns we’ve had this year. The car has been in the shop multiple times and we’ve needed to repair/replace the dishwasher, oven, vacuum, water softener, computer, garage door... uh, oh, I’m way past five. Oh well, I guess you can see it’s been one of those years where we’re really looking forward to our next tax return.
 
6. Caleb’s height, in feet. I really look up to him, literally. Not bad for a 13-year-old! He grew nearly six inches this year. Good thing he likes basketball. He’s playing his second season on a Bantam basketball team this winter and loves it. He also continues to play the piano, serves as his Deacon Quorum president, stays involved in Boy Scouts, and enjoys his percussion and science classes at the middle school.
 
7. Months Jeremy (and the rest of us) has survived his calling as 1st counselor in the bishopric. It has required some adjustments, but he does a wonderful job working with people in the ward and balancing his time between work, church responsibilities, and family.
 
8. Basketball games played in Marissa’s season. In each of those she was her team’s top scorer (and sometimes only scorer). The best was when a parent on the opposing team asked if she is our daughter and then said, “Boy, she’s got game!” She also showed her creative side by entering a story into the Reflections contest and having a solo part in the 6th grade Christmas program.
 
9. Date in August on which Jeremy and I celebrated our 16th anniversary. It’s so funny how that would have seemed like such a looooong time when we first got married, but it has passed in a flash. We count our blessings to be together every day.
 
10. Years we will soon have lived in S. S. in our little “starter” home. While the house isn’t quite where we want to stay for much longer if we don’t have to, we still love the community and the people here. It’s a great place to call home.
 
11. Time in hours Morgan is NOT heard singing, and that’s just because she is sleeping. The rest of the time her music fills the house. She is becoming a good little reader, loves her dance class and has started showing a real interest in the piano. I may have to start lessons for her soon, if only so I can hear some songs other than Peter Pumpkin Eater and her own rendition of Joy to the World.
 
12. Hours spent driving to California for a stay at the B family cabin. The drive was totally worth the chance to spend time with my parents, take in the refreshing sights and sounds of nature, relax on the deck overlooking the lake, and catch a record number of fish.

And by the random assortment of pictures