Why did I eat all that??

It happens every year--but this year it happened even bigger. First off--we got a zillion delicious variations of sugar and butter and cocoa in little bags tied with ribbon. YUMMY! I'd tell myself every morning to stay away from the treats...but, I'd end up eating little bits throughout the day.

Then, we left Tennessee for our annual Christmas pilgrimmage to Georgia, and my mother (who happens to be the BEST COOK IN THE ENTIRE WORLD), greets us with...pecan pie, coconut pie, plum nutty cake, raisin cake, cocounut cake (made from REAL coconut peeled and grated) and assorted goodies her neighbor dropped by. I told myself that I would have just one piece of the coconut and raisin cakes (we only get those at Christmas) and that would be enough.

But, I had a sliver of pecan pie on Christmas Eve, a pile of coconut cake crumbs and sliver of raisin cake after feasting on turkey, dressing, squash casserole, sweet potato casserole, strawberry congealed salad, lettuce and mayo --with green peas and bacon salad, AND green beans. THEN in the afternoon I had my own personal spoon that I used to scrape the crumbs all the others left behind on both those cakes. I also took another sliver or two of the coconut cake and when the leftovers were set out for people to pick on for dinner, I did my fair share of picking with the rest.

I went to bed and my stomach looked like the grinch's when he finished taste testing the fudge in who-ville.

December 25.

So, on December 26 I said, "Leighann, no more sweets for you--that is enough!" In fact, I decided that I could most likely go until 2009 before I needed anything else to eat. But, by ten, I feasted on my friend Laura's leftovers--hashbrown casserole, egg casserole, ham, creamy grits, and ambrosia! YUM! (Their family had brunch on Christmas Day). Then, I actually asked her if I could munch on her daughter's chex mix??!! How ridiculous is that? But, since I'd been away from my mom's house all day, I did keep my promise to leave the coconut and raisin cakes alone. Until...I made my way back home for dinner. We ordered out Chinese. So--I ate rice and chicken with cashews, and pork and cabbage and who knows what else that always tastes good after eating ham and turkey AND for dessert? You guessed it, another pile of coconut cake crumbs and a tiny sliver of raisin cake.

December 26

This morning I got out of bed, squeezed myself into the biggest pair of jeans I own, went downstairs and ate a bowl of oatmeal. My stomach thanked me sincerely...finally something normal. (I even sweetened it with splenda). But, while I was eating breakfast my mother was making another pecan pie.

Why was my mother making pecan pie? Did we lack sweets in our Christmas house? NO...but my sister made this innocent comment last night when she was packing her Christmas sweets to go: "Oh, I missed the pecan pie. Bummer!"

That's all it took...with that, my SWEET Mama got up this morning and baked my poor sweet-deprived little sister her very own pecan pie to take home with her today.

So, what does that have to do with me? Well, you see, Mama had just a teeny bit of crust leftover when she made her pie. And so, she spread that little bit of crust in another pie pan, and topped it with just a dab of pecan pie filling. The result? One of the most delicious pecan pie tartlett/cookies you've ever tasted! And, yes...I tasted it.

But finally I made it home. No more pies...no more cakes. Oh, except for those candied pecans that are still sitting on my kitchen counter AND that chocolate pound cake I had to eat to top off my lean cuisine.

December 27.

Facebook and SNOW!!!

Oh my, I just couldn't pass this weekend up without taking a minute to talk about it. Wasn't the SNOW incredible? I felt like we were in a Christmas card!

Mikel got stuck in Columbia (much to her delight and my chagrine), Allie (Kaleigh's friend) got stuck here with us (much to Kaleigh's delight) AND TJ's Coach Kelly had to come home with Tom for dinner (much to everyone's delight). We had country ham, eggs and biscuits.

It was like the old days when traveller's dropped in when the weather got rough. The next morning Tom and I got up and out early...I'll show you the picture of the barn across the street when I get around to downloading the photo's.

Then..to top off all the excitement, Kaleigh decided to set me up on facebook. Within 2 days I had over 41 friends!! WOW!! Now that makes one feel special!! I'm feeling five years younger with each friend request that comes my way! Of course some of my friends are other mama's and married's but LOTS are my kid's friends!!

Oh yea, I'm cool!!

Hope you had as much fun this weekend as me! Maybe we WILL have a white Christmas even in Tennessee!!

Preparing your heart and home for the holidays

I bet some of you are thinking, "It's about time we heard from her!" Others might have wondered if we fell off the mountains somewhere in North Carolina. Then the rest of you might be so busy with your own holiday preparations you could care less that I haven't updated my blog in weeks.

But for those of you who are wondering, chomping at the bit to hear from your favorite "sister pastor" I'm back. I've been here all along, just writing in another place. My project? A book I'm calling "preparing your heart and home for the holidays." It is a book that challenges you to "make the holidays holy" mostly by not doing too much. The hiliarious irony of it all is that I am the least qualified to write such a book!! For, I of all people, need to STOP DOING SO MUCH!!!

Anyway, since the 2nd week of November I've written 57,612 words. I'm not sure how many pages that is, but it's about two of my books that are sitting on Lifeway bookstore shelves right now! The chapters are really daily devotions. They cover topics from "Don't miss Thanksgiving" to "What about Santa Claus" to "Preparing for the New Year." If we get this one published (which I sincerely hope that we do), it will take you from the week before Thanksgiving through Christmas and into the New Year--are you ready for this?....

....in 40 days.

Clever, I know. All I need now are a few more home decorating ideas and recipes to sprinkle throughout. We've been hosting this book as a class and have picked up quite a few decorating tips and recipes, but I could use a few more. So, if you have any you'd like to have published in next year's holiday bestseller--send them to me (just include your source).

Hope you all have been well. I'm now off to "prepare my heart and home for the holidays." So, you might not hear from me again until the New Year.

Merry Christmas.