Merry Christmas & other things

Well, Merry BELATED Christmas!  We had a lovely Christmas & was getting ready to be part of a friends wedding and we got hit with a flu that took my family of 5 DOWN hard!  Sheesh.  My oldest got it first & usually he can be sick & no one else will get it.  Then my other son got it, then my daughter & me and now my hubby.  It's taking a while to get over it but I can honestly say I feel the upswing happening. 

Christmas, as I said was lovely.  Christmas Eve we had our yearly Wagilia traditional dinner at my sisters then we went to church.  Christmas Day after opening presents & just relaxing we walked next door for a fun time at our neighbors house.  So much fun to have neighbors you can hang out with and just be yourself!  We have a few of them & are so blessed!

Thursday was the rehearsal for a friends wedding & my daughter was asked to be one of the flower girls with her little friend being the other.  We were so excited.  Then we woke up the next morning with 103deg fevers.  WHAT??!!  I'll be honest I was in COMPLETE denial.  I don't get sick.  This flu wasn't being discriminatory at all.  All day I walked around with a pit in my stomach that my little girl wasn't going to be able to do what she had been looking forward to for so long AND I felt like we were letting down our friends.  My prayer since then is that they are healthy & well on their honeymoon.  I found out other friends from church have also fallen to this bug.  Just nasty.  A friend asked if we had gotten our flu shots.  I can be honest -- I have never had a flu shot.  Ever.  I just always felt that my body could build up resistance huh?  Well, after this I may rethink that!!

Today is my beautiful princess' birthday.  I can only post this picture because of how sick we are, she just wouldn't have any other picture posted :)  She loved getting her little girly presents & playing for a little while with them. 

 

We are looking forward to bringing in the New Year healthy & blessed. 

 

What are some things YOU are looking forward to in this New Year? 

 

Be Blessed & Healthy!!!!

 

 

Christmas Prep

Ah, Christmas is upon us.  There are so many yummy foods to look forward to right now.  My family follows a Polish tradition for Christmas Eve called Wagilia.  Ours is a 7 course meatless meal that, may I say, the older I get - the yummier it gets :)  Nowadays even that has to look different for me with not being able to eat gluten.  We have soups, noodles, perogies (YUM!), fish and a very scrumptious apple rice strudel.  That is just ONE meal! 

We also have a cookie tradition.  We make lots of them & have cookies platters coming out our ears.  That is what I have been working on lately.  Making cookie doughs so this weekend I can bake.  I also made banana breads today.  We like to hand out cookies plates to our neighbors & special people in general :)  I am really looking forward to that part.  The giving :)

We are also invited to our neighbors on Christmas Day.  REALLY looking forward to that!  Usually we are the ones to have lots of people over for the different holidays.  We get to be guests this time.  It's something to get used to but I think I can handle it.

Christmas Day we have a Happy Birthday Jesus cake that I found a recipe for a long time ago.  It's cute the way there are different colors that mean different things throughout the cake & we talk about them with the children gathered.  It's fun for sure.

So, this is just the Christmas stuff.  I won't get into the New Years Eve meals :) 

My plan, and we definitely need a plan, is to continue my workout schedule maybe with some adjustments so I can still enjoy my family time.  I won't be skipping any meals.  That doesn't work AT ALL in regards to weight loss.  I will be good about my portions also.  The cookies?  Yeah, I might have to run a little longer to run a few of them off but I will schedule that also.

What are your Christmas traditions?  Anything that goes way back in your family?

Be Blessed & Healthy!!!