Jenny and Susie

Yes, my sister and I are pregnant at the same time! No, we did not plan this. She is due two-three weeks before me. Here we are in Florida last month. I think I'm about as big now as she is in that picture. I am so excited to meet her little boy when he arrives! Once both kids are here, it will be so funny for them to meet.

Jennifer has been trying to convince me to get on facebook for the last couple of years. She apparently has posted some pictures from the vacation. This picture was taken by my sister-in-law Anna, a great self taught photographer. I often use her nature pictures from her blog as my background on my computer at work.

For Easter, Brian and I plan on going to church in the morning and meeting some friends at the Indian Buffet for lunch. Then we may catch a movie or watch the latest episode of Lost. I hope you have a great Easter!

Christmas Cookies

Today, I made my mom's Christmas pecan cookies for a Christmas party at our church tomorrow. Here's the recipe. You can also roll them in powdered sugar after they have cooked to give them a snow ball look. Enjoy!

1 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup pecans chopped
red and green sugar or powdered sugar

Cream the butter and vanilla; add sugar, creaming the mixture until light and fluffy. Blend in water. Stir in flour, mixing well. Add pecans. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll in colored sugar.

Bake 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet in slow oven (325 degrees) 20 minutes or until firm to the touch. Cook before removing from the pan. Makes 3 dozen.

Another week of Illness

Coming off of my allergic reaction, I contracted the stomach flu, along with 11 of my co-workers and about 8 of my clients. It's been a rough weekend for us all. I'm just hoping that the many body parts pictured here will be cooperating with me soon! I have Holiday parties to attend here!

Is it me?! This is my fourth week in a row being sick in some way. I have missed 3 Wednesdays at work in a row because of illness. This has to stop some time, right?

Really Thankful

This year, on Thanksgiving, I realized how thankful I am for several things I had taken for granted previously. Two days ago, I suddenly had an allergic reaction, to an antibiotic (didn't know that at the time). My body was covered head to toe in burning itching hives. I could not sleep, sit, lay down or stop moving for 24 hours. After vising my doctor on Wednesday Morning, I was given several meds to get the rash under control. My rash continued to progress, so my Doctor suggested I go to the emergency room, due to their fear that my air way may be compromised. I spent several hours in the emergency room with a team of doctors that were trying to figure out what was wrong with me. They were all very kind people and did what they could to make me feel comfortable. A few hours after they sent me home, the rash began to subside and the few particularly painful areas dulled out a bit. I was able to sleep 5 hours that night and woke up feeling significantly better. I'm still not 100%, but I was able to make some pies for thanksgiving (pecan and pumpkin, with store bought crust of course!). My friends who were coming over ended up making almost all of the food and cleaning up entirely after the meal (as I took a nap). They were a real joy to be with even when I was not feeling my best.

I'm so grateful that I'm not in the hospital right now. And that I have good health insurance and many great hospitals to choose from. I'm so thankful that Brian canceled his day to be with me and that my work place did not give me a hard time for calling out sick again this week for two days. I'm Thankful that this holiday was not one where I worked like crazy to entertain others, but my friends really provided for me. I can't say it enough, I'm just really thankful.