Memories of Grandma

I have always loved baking around the holidays. Honestly, there is more sugar in my house this time of year than any other as I make oodles of different kinds of cookies for gifts as well as school and office celebrations. I've tried out a couple of new recipes this year, but there are some that are "standards" in my book and this is the only time of year I make them

Today, I broke out my Grandma's decadent chocolate chip cookie recipe. Beware - these are NOT for the calorie conscious! It reminds me why I only make them once a year because (a) my Kitchenaid really gets a workout from them and (b) they seem to call and beckon me at all hours.

I always loved to cook and bake with Grandma, so it is extra special for me this year that Kyra has taken such an interest in baking. Yes, I can usually get things done quicker without her, but these are truly moments that I am going to treasure in my heart for years to come. It's hard to believe Grandma went to meet the Lord almost nine years ago this month, but I know I'm keeping her memory with me by passing these recipes on and I'm praying that the sweet smell of these cookies reaches her up in heaven.

OH! Christmas Tree!

As is our tradition, we set out on Friday to cut down our Christmas tree. Since moving here, we had yet to find the perfect "tree farm" so we set out this for Drumm's Christmas Trees in Maribel. It was perfect and we will be making this our Christmas tree home from here on out.

Finding the perfect tree is very much an obsession of mine. Though we have found some awesome trees in years past, other years the trees have turned out to be, well, quite ugly once they arrived home. We were very impressed with the different varietyies and sizes of trees and I knew we could go a little larger than what you typically will find on a tree lot. NOw, that being said, I am a horrible judge of "actual size". I just cannot see spacial relation when a tree is outside compared to when you bring it in the house. And thus, I fell in love with this tree.

As you can see from the picture, it is indeed a little -um- large. Ricih asked me if I wanted to move the ladder out of the way before taking the picture, but I think it gives a better idea as to the enormity of the tree. In fact, I had to take a break from decorating it yesterday because we ran out of lights! I ended up at Wal-Mart this morning to get a few more strands. I'm thinking (rough estimate) that there are close to 4,000 lights on this tree. I will have to say though, it is by far the prettiest tree we have ever brought home. I'll be sure to post pictures once it is all decorated which is tonight's "little" project.