Christmas accomplished!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  My family was very blessed this year.  First of all I am typing this blog from my new Dell Inspiron mini!  I really wanted a netbook quite badly but I knew it was out of our price range this year.  As luck would have it my husband went to an IT conference a couple of months back and won one!!! He kept it a secret and gave it to me on Christmas Eve.  I'm still not fully recovered from the excitement.  I also got a new camera.  A Canon Powershot.  A big upgrade from my last camera!

Christmas Eve I stayed up late making bourbon balls.  I had a hard time with these as they were hard to form without melting and obviously once formed you have to work fast with the chocolate.  They don't look too pretty but they tasted amazing!  I could've eaten every single one.  I must say I made twice this many but the first batch fell out of the fridge into the floor! :(  I used this recipe for Kentucky Bourbon Balls.  I did use a few extra tablespoons of bourbon and a bit extra powdered sugar to make it easier to roll.  I also put the mix in the freezer for an hour or so instead of waiting overnight in the fridge.  Honestly these were a huge pain in the ass to make but they are so delicious I'll make them again for certain!

Here is a picture of me and my daughter enjoying the finished product.  She wasn't really eating hers, just posing!  They are an interesting creation because straight from the fridge you barely taste the bourbon...let them sit on the counter for an hour or so and you would probably fail a breathalzyer! lol!

Here is a gift I was very excited about!  Mom and Dad got me the cast iron skillet I've been wanting forever and have been to lazy to buy.  I am excited to start cooking with it!

Christmas dinner was delicious and gluten free!  Mom made her famous deviled eggs, sweet potatoes, and mashed potatoes.  I made the cranberry sauce and some Bob's Red Mill wonderful bread mix.  We had ham and turkey!  It was amazing!  The best meal I've had in weeks!  The best part of Christmas was enjoying time with my family!  We spent the day playing Beatles Rock band!  Even my parents were singing along!  Such fun!

Today was the last of our Christmas festivities!  Our friends Jessi and Danielle were to have a party last week but it got snowed out and was rescheduled for today!  It was an all appetizer party!  Everything was delicious.  Just for me they got gluten free crackers and made gluten free brownies!  I was also able to enjoy several of the dips!  I'm so glad I have friends who make special accommodations for me!  I know how hard and expensive gluten free can be so I would never expect anyone to cater to me but they insisted!  I am so very lucky to be blessed with great friends and a great family!

New Year's is fast approaching.  I can't believe 2009 has passed so fast!