Little Romo

Mylan got a cute little present from Santa...a long-haired teddy bear hamster. She is gray and white. Mylan seems to really like her although they need to bond and get to know each other more. He likes to put Romo in her little run-about ball and play with her. Every morning we give her a little treat (apple slice, sunflower seeds or a vegetable). So far we have only given her apples and she seems to really like them. She will rush down and take it from your hand and then run off to eat it. She practically devours them. She is also very weird because in her cage, she has a nesting house, but she doesn't use it. She will take a bunch of bedding and food up to her wheel and build a nest there. She sleeps in it all day and then at night she will run in her ball while all the bedding a food clanks around as she is running. It's quite entertaining!

The Holiday's

The holiday's for our family have been busy.

Saturday December 22nd, we had my family members over for an untraditional potluck dinner. There was 13 of us: Larry, Myself and Mylan, Mom and Pat, Bud, Posha and Val, Uncle Snuffy, Shonda and Michael, Mema and Papa. We had dinner, conversation and exchanged a few gifts.

Sunday December 23rd, I had to work from 11am to 3pm. Larry and Mylan dropped me off at work and later picked me up so that we could go straight to Uncle Rusty's house. We had soup, conversation and a kids gift exchange.

Santa Claus came to our house later that night because he knew that Mylan was at our house for Christmas Eve and at mommy's house for Christmas Day. Santa Claus knows everything. Mylan got a hamster from Santa Claus. He named her Romo after the Dallas Cowboys Quarterback. She's really cute! Later that day we went to my mother-in-law's house. We had a hoggie sandwiches and other goodies, conversation, and exchanged a few gifts. Alisha was there and it was nice to see her.

Christmas Day was a day for just me and Larry. It was nice. We saw a movie, National Treasure, and went to dinner at the Fox and the Hound. I didn't think the food was all that great. We saw a guy there who looked just like actor Seth Green. Weird.

Guess who called Mylan??

Mylan got a phone call...from Santa Claus! Really! Santa Claus called!! Mylan thought it was so awesome! When Santa called Mylan was in the shower. I ran upstairs and told Mylan to get out of the shower for a few minutes so that he could talk to Santa Claus. At first Mylan didn't believe me until I turned off the water. Then he was thrilled. He talked to Santa for about 5 mins. Later, after he finished his shower he couldn't stop talking about his phone conversation with Santa!!

Christmas Parties

Well it's that time of year. Lot's of family gatherings, Christmas parties, mailing out/receiving of Christmas cards, eating way too much delicious food... fun, fun, fun!

Last night, Larry and I went to our Annual Christmas Gathering. Larry has a circle of friends that he's grown up with and each year we take turns having our Christmas gathering at each others house. So last night was our 2007 gathering. I made Roman Noodle Salad and Chocolate pie to contribute to the dinner. The salad turned out pretty good but my pie didn't. The pie never set up like it should. So we re-named it "pudding pie".

Our friends, Ryan and Richelle, recently had a baby boy. He is now 4 weeks old. Guess what?! I got to hold him for an hour!! He is so adorable. He slept most of the time. When he was awake he would stretch his neck out like a little turtle and lift his little head to see what was around him. I could've held him all night!

Here is the recipes that I made:

Broccoli and Ramen Noodle Salad
Serves 10

1 2/3 (16oz) pkg broccoli coleslaw mix (or regular coleslaw mix)
3 1/4 (3oz) pkg chicken flavor ramen noodles
1 2/3 bunches greens onions-chopped
1 2/3 c almond slivers
1 2/3 c sunflower seeds
3/4 c and 1 Tbsp and 1 tsp white sugar
1/3 c and 1 Tbsp and 1 tsp virgin oliver oil (or vegetable oil)
1/2 c and 1 Tbsp cider vinegar

Directions:
-In a large bowl, combine the slaw, broken noodles and green onions.

-Whisk together the sugar, oil, vinegar and ramen seasoning packets. Pour over salad and toss to evenly coat. Refrigerate until chilled, top with almonds and sunflower seeds before serving.

Chocolate Pie
Serves 8

1 (9in) pie crust, baked
3/4 c white sugar
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c milk
3 eggs yolks, beaten
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Directions:
-In a medium micro-wave safe bowl, combine sugar, flour and cocoa. Mix well. While stirring, slowly pour in milk. Mix until smooth.

-Microwave cocoa mixture in 1 minute increments, stirring after each increment. Continue until mixture thickens, about 7 minutes.

-Slowly pour egg yolks into cocoa mixture, whisking rapidly until yolks are incorporated. Stir in vanilla extract and butter or margarine. Pour filling into baked pie shell. Chill before serving. Store in fridge.