Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

I hope you had a happy holiday! I know I did. I think I have a holiday hangover today from all the food, fun and festivities.

Ben and I hosted a big traditional Christmas meal at our house on Christmas Eve. The guests included my mom, dad and sister, Ben's mom and dad, our roommate Ryan and Ben and I (see the picture below of our happy crew). I got all Martha Stewart and made place cards for everyone. I had never made a meal like that before, so I went completely overboard and made enough food for about 23 people. The menu consisted of: pineapple glazed ham, pear, walnut & blue cheese salad, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, Waldorf salad, scalloped corn, broccoli salad, marsala glazed carrots with almonds and fresh baked bread. For dessert, we had pumpkin and apple pie. (Nothing was store-bought, by the way.) Needless to say, we will be eating leftovers for the next 8 months.

After dinner, we went to church and then came home for pie, snacks, presents and games. For those who are wondering, I gave Ben a laptop case, sweaters, Converse shoes, socks and underwear. (Yes, we are officially married.) He gave me a black jacket, red shoes and a pizza stone.

Christmas day was spent in Burlington, Kansas with Ben’s extended family. There was a lot of food there as well and I had approximately 9 desserts. Don’t worry – I paced myself. I’m thinking about going professional. Do you think you can earn a certificate in eating or is it more like a pilot’s license, where you need to have a certain number of hours? I better look that up.