Christmas 2010 in SC

I only have two complaints about our recent trip to SC.  The first is that we didn't have nearly enough time; we would've liked more time with our family as well as time to see friends we didn't get to see at all :(  The second is that saying goodbye to Mama on Sunday morning absolutely sucked.  The weekend really was perfect.  We arrived at Mama's house Thursday night around 11:30pm, slept great but not enough, and were back on the road before 8am on Christmas Eve morning to see Grampa Keck in Hickory, NC.  I wish everyone had the opportunity to meet this man.  Aside from poor eyesight, hearing, and being on oxygen 24/7, he is in excellent shape.  His mind functions unbelievably well; his memory is excellent.  I am so thankful we were able to spend some time with him as well as with my Aunt Barbara, who stopped by while we were visiting with Grampa Keck.  He even approved Gramma Keck's Christmas cookies that I baked/took to him.

We spent Friday afternoon at the Quillen household with grandparents and great-grandparents, eating chili, watching Caroline, Camille, and Vivian perform for us, and playing Wii.  Ben will be three in February and is at such a fun age right now.  I love watching him interact with his sisters; they absolutely adore him.  We went to St. James UMC on Christmas Eve with Memommie, and when I say 'we' I mean me, John, Mama, Anna, George, Jo, Mimi, Robert, Beth, Bradley, and Bailey.  Being in that church brought back so many memories from childhood and from our wedding this past June.  I loved every minute of it, and I also loved watching Memommie delight in being with her family.  That was the best Christmas gift we could've given her (aside from the couple hundreds of $ she received in Wal-Mart gift cards :)  John and I stopped by Lily's (one of Memommie's best friends) house after church in hopes of seeing Katy Lenderman (Lily's granddaughter and my good friend from childhood) and her baby, Jackson.  We missed them by about 15 minutes, but Lily and Katy's dad made sure our visit was worthwhile by placing us in front of the Christmas tree, in front of the entire family, to pose for a picture.  Fun times!  Back at Mama's house, we spent a good bit of the night making 3 pans of lasagna in preparation for Christmas day.  It was fun being in the kitchen (my favorite room of any house) with Mama and John.  John was busy browning (<---Mama's maiden name) the meat while I mixed the Oreo truffle (or dumplings, as my friend, Danielle, calls them) ingredients.  What a great day from start to finish!

We slept in Saturday morning, which was Christmas Day, and then invited Memommie over for breakfast.  John cooked pancakes, and I burned bacon in the oven.  Memommie always asks for crispy bacon when we go out to eat, so I made sure it was crispy (by burning it.)  I baked it for 12 minutes, like the instructions said to do, but broiling for two minutes (which the instructions did not say to do) was not a good idea.  I then started over and tried to make it in the microwave, and it somehow crumpled up into something that looked like a baby's hand - weird, I know.  The burned bacon got eaten anyway, as did the bacon John made in the frying pan.  Mama, Memommie, and I had scrambled eggs in addition to bacon and pancakes.  John claims he doesn't like eggs even though he hasn't tasted them in decades.  I spent the afternoon baking cookies and was able to squeeze in a 30 minute nap before getting ready for the entire family to arrive.  There were 15 adults (or at least old enough to eat like adults) and 4 children - a full house, for sure!  Being with the entire family (aunts, uncles, cousins, and then some) like that is always so much fun, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Around 4pm, shortly before everyone arrived, it began snowing- my first white Christmas ever!  Mama sent me an email last Thursday saying that we might have a white Christmas.  For those of you that know anything about Spartanburg, calling for snow is almost pointless; it rarely ever happens, and it usually doesn't stick even if it does snow.  Not this time!  It snowed on/off till after John and I left to go back to FL Sunday morning.  We even got to have a snow ball fight, make snow angels, and Camille worked hard on a cute little snowman.  I don't think the day could've been any "specialer."

When did I grow up?

I was wrapping gifts last night in preparation for our trip to SC today and wondered how I got to that point.  I don't remember Mama or Memommie ever teaching me how to wrap gifts.  I'm sure I was around them plenty of times as they wrapped, but I don't remember ever watching so intently that I would learn the intricate details of folding the paper and such.  Ok, I realize it's not origami I'm talking about and that wrapping gifts is pretty easy, but still...  I just want to know at what point I grew up. It was like last weekend in Orlando... I wondered when I got "old enough," "big enough" to be out of town, in a hotel room, on a mini-vaca with my husband - my husband.  I have a husband.  I'm a wife.  Wow!  I've known this for 6 months now, but even still, the word "husband" sometimes seems foreign on my tongue.  I absolutely love referring to my husband as "my husband", and I wonder at what point, if ever, that will stop having an effect on me; I hope it never does. 

There are so many subtle transitions over the years that it seems like we wake up and we're big people all of a sudden, and for me at least, have no idea how or when that happened.  We just get so busy living life that the small steps often go unnoticed.  I am feeling especially sentimental today, and I love days like these.  We hung out with Pic and Erika last night.  We haven't seen them much since their wedding last month, and it was great to be with them, just like being with family.  This morning on the way to work, I was listening to "Your Love is a Song" by Switchfoot, and I was thinking about all the people, places, and things God has blessed my life with, for all these details are what makes up my life.  While the song was playing, I was looking at the moon that was still slightly visible in the sky, the birds perched on the power lines, the palm trees swaying, and everything seemed to be perfect.  I was thinking about driving to SC with "my husband" this afternoon and looking forward to every minute of it... of getting in late tonight and getting up super early to visit my 100 year old grandfather tomorrow morning in Hickory, NC... of spending tomorrow afternoon at my sister's house with her family (husband, 3 daughters, and son)...  of baking white chocolate island cookies tomorrow, making Oreo truffles, and putting together pans of lasagna for Christmas Day...of Christmas Eve service tomorrow night at St. James UMC with our family in the church I grew up in and the church where John and I were married... of waking up at Mama's house Christmas morning with "my husband," Mama, her 4 cats, and 2 dogs... of spending Christmas day with my dear, precious family... of driving back to FL with "my husband" on Sunday and celebrating Christmas with his side of the family sometime next week... does life get any better?  Truly, does it?  We didn't do much in the way of gifts this year (although John did surprise me with some shopping last weekend and a new Vera Bradley bag and matching accessories last night even though we agreed to no Christmas gifts,) but I was thinking this morning that just having enough to pay for gas to drive to/from SC is more than enough of a blessing for me.  As a family, being able to afford lasagna ingredients to feed 16 adults and 4 children, is more than enough of a blessing for me.  Oh, how thankful I am!

Gramma Keck's Christmas cookies = success

Yea for cookies!  I actually got them baked and iced last night, thanks to some fabulous girls by the name of Chelsea Johnson, Emily Brown, and Mary Gundel.  While the boys socialized in the living room, we gals socialized around the kitchen counter.  The cookies turned out perfectly, which is a relief considering I haven't made them in so long and considering they're not your typical roll-into-a-ball-and-bake kind of cookies.  I thought I had floured the flour mat well enough, but I obviously did not, as I quickly discovered that my flattened dough, already impressed by the cookie cutters, would not lift from the mat.  Fear not!  Scrape the dough off the mat with a spoon (or fingernails,) and pour massive amounts of flour to avoid further sticking - that is the key! 

I have to admit, I take pride in what I do in the kitchen.  I always say I'm not a creative cook or baker, but I can follow a recipe pretty darn well.  It's one of the traits I'm known for among my friends and family, and I sometimes have a hard time allowing anyone to share in my glory.  That said, I had a small battle within myself last night, trying to decide if I should solicit help with the icing or just do it on my own.  Icing the cookies is super easy, so it's not like I needed the help. However, I wanted it out of the way last night, and I also wanted to be a sociable hostess and not leave all of our guests in the living room (even though the living room is visible from the kitchen - they're practically one room.)  If I chose to ask for their help, I couldn't take pride in having successfully made Gramma Keck's Christmas cookies all by myself.  Hmmm... what to do?!  In the end, I decided that giving up some of the glory would be totally worth it, and it was.  We chatted in the kitchen, each with a cup of red, green, blue, or yellow icing, and talked girl talk.  I even gave in to Chelsea when she offered to help mix the icing and clean parts of the kitchen, and I discovered that sharing the kitchen duties isn't so bad after all and that it was, in fact, quite enjoyable. 

At the end of the night, I was thankful, as I always am, for my wonderful husband, for our friends, for our crockpot and John's excellent chili-making skills, and for Gramma Keck's cookies that turned out great and allowed for some precious time with great girl friends.  I got a text from Chelsea after she had gone home, saying, "You have such a warm home."  That truly is one of the highest compliments anyone could give me.  I don't ever want anyone to feel unwelcome in the John & Katie Sims household.  It thrills me that I'm married to a wonderful man who enjoys entertaining like I do.  It thrills me that I've been blessed with so much.  While a crockpot full of chili and some Christmas cookies may not mean much to some people, it meant the world to me last night.  Pictures to come...

oops - not enough flour the first time around

Emily had to check to make sure it wasn't poisonous.

Hard at work

Yes, I'm wearing an apron, and yes, that's flour on the collar of my shirt.

Nate came to make sure we were doing it correctly.

Aren't the pretty!

These are a few of my most favorite girls - left to right:  Mary, Chelsea, Katie, Emily.  The boys are laughing in the background because they stole cookies, and then they made fun of me for "fussin'" at them in my southern accent.

Gramma Keck's Christmas Cookies

So, my dad’s mom, Gramma Keck, who passed away 6 ½ years ago, used to make the most wonderful Christmas cookies.  I’ve got to be honest… I can’t necessarily say that these cookies taste any better than any other cookie I’ve ever had, but there’s something about the thin, crunchy, sweet, iced cookie that makes me smile.  I’m usually a soft cookie kind of girl, but there’s an exception to every rule, right?  When Gramma Keck could no longer make them, my Aunt Barbara (whose b-day I share) took on the tradition.  There have been a few years that I haven’t been able to make it to the Keck Family Christmas in NC, and I always get sad that I won’t get to eat the cookies.  10 or 11 years ago, when I was still in high school (yes, I’m getting old,) my friend, Cassie, and I made them together.  They’re not like my favorite white chocolate island cookies where you can mix everything together, roll them into balls, and toss them on a cookie sheet to bake.  Gramma Keck’s cookies take at least 2 days, 3 if you don’t have much extra time on your hands.  The dough has to be made a day in advance and refrigerated overnight.  Once they’ve spent enough time chillin’, the dough has to be rolled out and rolled out and rolled out, and did I mention that the dough has to be rolled out?  It involves a flour cloth, a rolling pin, and lots of flour to avoid the dough sticking to places and surfaces that it shouldn’t.  Then it involves cookie cutters, and then they’re finally ready to bake.  While a batch is baking, [the cookies are so thin that there’s such an abundance of dough that] you start rolling and rolling and rolling and flouring and flouring and flouring all over again.  If you have more time to spend in the kitchen or can bare to spend more time in the kitchen, they can be iced the same day they’re baked, but only after they’ve cooled, of course.  Fear not, I will post pictures of these cookies, and yes, I realize I’ve promised to post pictures at least once or twice already and haven’t followed through.  It might be after Christmas, but you’ll still get pictures. 

I’ve had the intention of making these cookies each year since Cassie and I made them back in 1998 or 1999, but I haven’t had 2-3 consecutive days to do so.  I’m usually traveling to SC, or Mama is traveling here, so there hasn’t been a good year to follow through.  Now that I’m married, I have vowed to myself that this will be a tradition.  Come hell or high water, these cookies will get made each year, and I can’t wait to make them with my children one day.  Last night was night 1 of either 2 or 3.  It’s probably the easiest night because it just involves making the dough.  I know for a fact that I put nutmeg in my shopping cart last week because I remember standing there trying to find it amidst all the spices that were not alphabetized, mind you.  What I do not know is if I actually got the nutmeg from the cart to the scanner to the bag to my car and into our apt.  I couldn’t find it anywhere last night and don’t remember bringing it home last week.  However, not remembering doesn’t necessarily mean it didn’t happen.  My precious husband was kind enough to offer to go to Publix for me at 8:50pm.  I couldn’t proceed with mixing till I had the nutmeg, so I rode with him.  He said it defeated the purpose of him going for me if I was going to go with him, but I quickly convinced him that there’s nothing more he’d rather do at close-to-9pm on a Monday night than join his wife on a trip to Publix, so off we went, and fun we had.  I love being married to John Sims. 

We typically go to dinner with friends on Tuesday night, so when Emily mentioned it yesterday, I had to find a way to squeeze my baking in tonight.  Time is closing in on us, as we’re leaving for SC on Thursday afternoon.  Solution: invite everyone over for chili tonight instead of going out.  That way, I can both socialize and bake.  If any of my friends owned a flour cloth and a rolling pin, I could’ve asked them to join in on the fun, but they’ll probably just end up watching me instead.  I’m fine with that.  It’ll be fun to have the company while John and the boys chat, watch tv, and do boy things, which will probably include asking for a cookie before the night is over.  I love my boy, and I love the friends God has blessed us with.

Weekend in Orlando

John and I had a great weekend in Orlando!  I hadn't been feeling well at all on Thursday, so I was thankful to be feeling better by Friday evening.  I'm not a big medicine taker, but the Advil Cold & Sinus that Elise gave me worked wonders.  I knew it would only mask my symptoms and not cure whatever was wrong with me, but I was thankful for the relief nonetheless.  We enjoyed some delicious Indian food at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant by Westshore Mall on the way to Orlando Friday night.  We were pretty exhausted when we checked into our hotel, but we weren't too tired for dessert.  That said, we enjoyed a really yummy chocolate brownie with ice cream at one of the restaurants in the hotel and then went to bed.  We tried to watch the tail end of My Cousin Vinny, but couldn't stay awake much past 10:30.  Go ahead and call us old.  We slept in till about 9am on Saturday, ate breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts, and spent the majority of the day at the Outlet Malls.  The first few hours were rainy, but it didn't take long for it to slack off and warm up a little.  We didn't buy all that much, but it was fun just to walk around and see what some people deem fashionable.  We played putt putt before dinner, and I actually beat John; that was the highlight of my day.  Kristin highly recommended Cafe Tu Tu Tango, so we walked next door (after playing putt putt) and had a delicious tapas style dinner - hummus, mahi tacos, ahi tuna, chicken & shrimp potstickers, and one of the best desserts I've ever had, a chocolate calzone.  After dinner, we killed about 45 minutes at a different outlet mall before going to the Gaylord Palms for the ICE exhibit.  It was pretty incredible to see the ice sculptures, knowing they were done by human hands.  After ICE, we walked around the hotel to look at the pretty Christmas decorations and also had a few drinks before heading back to the hotel

We had Sunday planned out... We were going to park at Epcot, get our park hopper, take the tram to Magic Kingdom, then to Animal Kingdom, then to Hollywood Studios, then to Epcot for the Candlelight Processional.  However, Sunday morning was a little rainy, just enough to be enough, and it was considerably colder than the day before.  We didn't really mind the rain, but not knowing if it would get worse and not knowing if certain rides would be closed, we decide against the Disney parks.  I'm a big fan of World Market (a really cool store,) so we drove to Winter Garden and went to World Market, Barnes & Noble, Ross, Marshall's, Home Goods, Sports Authority, JoAnn's, Old Navy, and Staples.  We almost went into JoS. A. Bank since we have an ongoing joke about the one-day sales that they advertise about 10 times each morning on the Fox News Channel.  It seems as though they're always having a one-day sale.  We went to Millenia Mall, and neither of us was impressed at all - too fancy and way too crowded for us.  We went back to the hotel, napped, and then had a big, delicious meal at Outback.  We had planned to stay in Orlando till this morning, but we decided it would be easier getting up and driving to work from Dunedin rather than from Orlando.  We got home around 10pm last night after a wonderful weekend together.  It almost felt like our honeymoon all over again - no work, no cooking, no cleaning, no agenda - it was great!