where are the damn christmas elves?

I spent the last hour and a half writing my Christmas letter. I love this part of the holidays. Other things are not going so well and I could use the help of a few elves around here. Hey, Regis and Peter are both done with school. I see a to-do list in their future!

I've tried to do the things I enjoy and let go of the things that are a pain in the ass. I didn't decorate much, except for the tree. Ella and Tiffany helped with that. We've had friends and family over for dinner and wine and that's been great. I gave up on the idea of Martha Stewart entertaining a long time ago, so they get us the way we are...no matching pinafores or handmade place cards at the table.

Today, I'm taking Ella and Tiffany to the Nutcracker. Tiffany and I went when she was about 5. She loved it and sat in rapt attention for the whole thing. It's snowing a little bit this morning so that will add to the magic.

I went to the Pulse yesterday and did my weight routine and my running on the treadmill. I looked over at Sandy at one point and said, "Sandy, look at me! I'm running!" Ha! It's the daily miracle. Two years ago, I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without hanging on the railing and stopping in the middle to rest. Now, I can run and jump.

I've been digging through my recipe collection for the things I want to make for Christmas Eve. I have a pile of recipes, not cookbooks, but recipes in binders, folders, and on pieces of paper...that is seriously two feet high. They aren't very organized so it's a fair amount of work to find what I want. I did this one night last week and now I can't find the list I made for the menu. I'll have to recreate it sometime soon...like tonight. Peter said he would make meatballs (Grandpa Estle's favorite recipe) and Regis is going to make pulled pork. We went to Trader Joe's yesterday and I bought some sweet things so I think I'm off the hook for baking.

We went to St. Louis Park yesterday to visit a friend who has cancer and is in a nursing home. This kind of thing puts a different spin on the craziness of the holidays and helps me keep in mind what the important parts really are. Betty and Tom are giving Michelle's cat a new home so we had to fetch Bonita and we decided to make a day of it.

We had lunch at a great place called Laredo's and then stopped at Trader Joe's. What a hoot. If it hadn't been so dang busy, I could have spent some time in there. We bought: Peppermint Bark - $9.99 for a 16 oz. box Crushed peppermint candy layered between white truffle fudge and peppermint infused dark chocolate... deep breath...[sigh].

At Laredo's, we had a sampler of: Tijuana Torpedo Sliders (cola-braised shredded pork carnita with melted american cheese), Cowboy Sliders (shaved smoked bbq beef brisket & whiskey bbq sauce), and Santa Fe Sliders (mini-ground beef burgers with pico de gallo, chipolte mayo & pepper jack cheese). Just in case you wanted to know.

Now, I have to print my letters and start getting a package ready to mail. Oh my.