The Gift of Love

Merry Christmas, friends! We hope your day is going as you had planned, full of happiness and love, family and friends. 

Our day began by opening another gift we had bought for each other and my sweet man outdid himself! In the last post I explained my gift of a Crosswave mop, shampoo, and vacuum combination machine. I fell in love upon first operation of that beautiful gift. I threatened to bring it to bed with us and lay it down on its own pillow. I don't think Terry was quite up for sharing his bed, so it stands in the docking tray, abused, and all alone. I swear I saw a tear run down its beautiful copper colored handle. 

This morning I was given another gift that made me swoon for the man I love and begin another romance with an appliance. I peeled open the already Kit-the-cat-shredded-top and found a KitchenAid 13-cup food processor that I've had my eye on. It's a beautiful sight! I watched a video to understand the Tetris style assembly once you finish using it, but it also had a host of options for using this amazing machine. This should be fun. Between having clean floors now and all the diced and sliced food I want to make, I am in Suzie Homemaker heaven. 

My new toy even comes complete with a dough hook. Yes, dough hook, meaning homemade pizza is on its way! I will be crafting all sorts of cinnamon swirl bread and pizza crust with fresh pizza sauce and freshly ground herbs and ingredients. There is no end to the fun I plan on having with this machine!

Homemade mayonnaise, fresh pizza dough, breads, biscuits, and the list goes on and on. Nothing will be safe in the kitchen any longer. I have the new toy and plenty of Dutch ovens to cook it all up in. I am in a blissful state of mind right now. 

I will be a slicing, dicing, blending, French fry making, pizza eating, bread baking cook from here on out. I would love to blend up my own mayonnaise and try it homemade at least once. Guacamole, salsas, the combination of sauces, dips, and other cooking enhancements are endless. 

I had another food processor years ago, but the new ones are incomparable. These don't have the lids that you need to fight with to get the machine to turn on the power. Simply put the lid down and voila! It's ready to roll. The dicing blade is a new addition to the processors too. KitchenAid used to make them, but stopped for quite a few years. Now they're back, with a cleaning tool to remove food from the squares in the blade. 

My hubby received a nice pair of rain boots that he asked for. He walks the dog in the rain and tennis shoes just don't stay dry, plus his Crocs are not meant for rain gear either. He also asked Santa for a dice football game, which he received. We plan on playing that game and another one that my daughter bought him for Christmas too. They both look like fun. 

Between our family gathering on Saturday, Mallory and Hayden coming to visit on Christmas Eve day, and then this morning, our Christmas has been one filled with smiles and blessings. That's what the holidays are all about after all, isn't it? The gifts are awesome and yes, fun, but my true joy and love comes from those around me. Terry and I have been married now for a short six months and each passing day comes with more love, more laughter, and of course, our blessings. I feel as though we couldn't ask for a better holiday wish come true. Having our entire family around makes me happy as well. The family gatherings are a huge part of my life and inspire the fun of having a large family. 

We have plans to eat Christmas dinner at the restaurant this year, as Terry wanted me to relax and enjoy the day rather than cook up a large meal. That is a bonus! So, turkey and mashed potatoes it will be later on today. Then home again for a football game Terry wants to watch. A great day overall. 

We went to a local restaurant to immerse ourselves in turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and Terry's favorite, cranberry sauce. I had never eaten out on a holiday before and didn't expect it to be that great. But each bite was eaten gingerly to completely welcome the beautiful flavors of the wonderful food set in front of us. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the meal was. Maybe we'll eat there again next Christmas instead of cooking the meal at home. But again, maybe not. 

We were missing out on one delightful reason to eat at home, and that is those leftovers. Turkey sandwiches, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and the works heated up to be eaten later in the day, while watching a favorite football game or movie on TV. Nothing beats leftover holiday meal food. Midnight rolls around. You're hungry. Head for the fridge and pull out some pie or turkey and stuffing. Yum. 

Stomachs full, smiles on our faces, and happiness in our hearts, we left for home. I immediately changed into my new pajamas and grabbed the new heated throw. Moving the dogs over, I laid out on the couch, covered in a loving warmth which immediately had me napping. After dozing for a few moments, I looked over at Terry. He was laid back in his recliner and was caught in the act of checking the insides of his eyelids as well. Meanwhile, his team, the Baltimore Ravens were beating the San Francisco 49ers, my choice for the win. He missed most of it. 

Terry and I sat up for a bit. He went outside to smoke a cigar while the game played out. Once inside again, he was shocked at the score. I told him I was wondering why he didn't stay in and watch, but whatever he wanted to do was fine with me. 

Looking through photos we had taken over the weekend, it made me smile. We were sitting in a sea of empty plates, shredded boxes, tissue paper, wrapping paper, and bows galore. Cake and candy laid in packages on the kitchen counter, the dining room table and then of course on the desk in the office. New items were strewn around the house, calling our names to use them. I saw a mess, but a mess that makes me happy to clean up and move on. To me the mess was one that meant we had a great time. Christmas Day has come and gone. Underneath all of the packages, the shredded wrapping, and the leftover food and candy, our hearts were filled with the joy of the holiday. Seeing family and spending time with each other brought it all together for us. 

We had shot "Merry Christmas" greetings back and forth in our mass family chat and told each other how much we loved one another. Even apart we share that love, that joy, and that special family bond. Are we perfect? Oh, hell no. We have fought. We have cried. We have been through the ups and downs in life. But we have done it all together. The foundation those building blocks of family are set upon is love. If you have love, you have forgiveness. You have a bond that can never be broken and you have the best of friends in your siblings, daughters, sons, and grandchildren. Family and friends are love. Love is family and friends. May that chain never be broken. 

Hugs to everyone until our next post for the New Year! Please stay safe. Many happy wishes to you for the holidays and thank you, again, for reading the blog. We do love sharing our memories with all of you and appreciate each and every reader perusing our life. Until next week ...