Alive and Well

Happy New Year!

Yes, I am in fact still here. The last few weeks have been quite a ride...a super fun, action packed, noisy, cork-popping, cookie-filled, laughter-inducing ride but it's time to hop off now.

2 weeks with no school, 11 house guests, 2 major holidays, 7 rolls of wrapping paper, 8 airport runs, one 17-pound roast beast, 0 missed Insanity workouts (dig deeper, right?) and way too many new toys, books, and art supplies to count have left me gasping for air. Happily, no one starved or had to sleep on the dreaded air mattress (I know Aerobed makes a super comfy one but trust me, this ain't no Aerobed). Of course it just wouldn't be Christmas without a scuffle or two but for the most part everyone came out unscathed. Thanks so much to all of our wonderful family and friends that put forth the effort and expense to come spend time with us and make merry this Christmas and New Year!

Today it's back to reality. All 3 of the munchkins are back at school, the tree is out, the lights are down, the stockings packed and sadly there's no excuse to eat a piece of fudge right now or start drinking before 5 pm.

Fortunately I have a few new toys of my own to help me through the transition! Thanks to a somewhat miraculous survival football pool victory this season, I have a brand spanking new tripod and ball head scheduled to arrive today. I can't wait since my "starter" tripod shakes more than my hands and that's on the rare occasion I can get the camera screwed down properly. I haven't used it in months because it's more trouble than it's worth. I'm also learning the ropes of Photoshop Lightroom and working on my RAW photo editing skills. Last but not least I'm catching up on current issues of Cooking Light, Fine Cooking, and Food Network Magazine and flipping through my newest additions: The Food 52 Cookbook Volume 2, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, and The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. No shortage of inspiration over here!