Citrus Crock Pot Christmas Ham Recipe

I thought I'd offer a quick suggestion for a great recipe if you're making ham this year for your holiday celebrations.

I found this recipe last year and it was delicious and so easy! I substituted orange juice for the ginger ale and added a few extra cloves and brown sugar for a larger ham, but otherwise stayed pretty much with the recipe.

The awesome thing is that you can do it in a crock pot and have it cooking while you're at church or opening presents or busy with other things, then its' ready when you are! It has amazing flavor and doesn't dry out!

Give it a try and let me know how you like it.

Citrus Crocked Ham Recipe  (compliments of BetterRecipes.com)

Enjoy!

Journal Your Christmas 2009

Yes, it's true! I have signed up to participate in "Journal Your Christmas". It started on December 1st and goes thru early January. I just signed up last night, and as you can see, I'm already behind. But it's all good! See...the cool thing is that if you pay once, then you can participate every year until...forever.

So, here's what I'm thinking...this year will be my preview and warm up year. I'll get all the materials and information and if I have time to post or scrap book, then I will. If not, then I'll just start digesting the resources and thinking about what I'll do for next year. Then I'll have a whole year to prepare and ponder and get ready to do it for real. And next year they'll add even more cool stuff!

I just started downloading the materials and supplies and I'm very excited about how much is included so far! She is very thorough in giving you all the tools you need to complete an awesome project.

Don't worry, I'm sure I'll post something about Christmas in the next month or so.  It just may not be every day.  But even if it's not about Christmas, it will be interesting and insightful (at least I like to think so).

See you soon!
 

Christmas Sunday
As mentioned before, we waited to do our Christmas until Amy & Andrew were there on the weekend.
Notice Shredder in one of her favorite sunny spots. Her tail kept knocking down the trees on the window sill. She's so funny and oblivious.

Terry and I opened our Christmas Eve PJs and ornaments on Weds, but stockings and the rest of the gifts waited until Sunday. This is me in my new soft flannel pajamas, not too heavy so I can wear them longer in the year.
Amy & Andrew opened their Christmas Eve gifts on Saturday afternoon. This is Andrew's pirate ship ornament. He really likes pirates! Amy posted a pic of the camera ornament that we gave her on her Teegan Photography blog here.

Here's also a photo of Amy's new pj's and some new socks that Andrew's mom gave her. Doesn't she look cute and comfy? Then she's modeling her green cardigan from Julie, her mother-in-law and her red slippers. Classic Christmas colors!

Kevin called on Sunday and we gave Amy most of the time to talk to him, since she hadn't spoken with him in quite a while. She was excited to get to spend some time with her brother. We had time to talk to him on Christmas day, so we were happy to share. It was sad not to have him here, but at least we got to hear his voice and catch up a little with him. More to come about him in another post. We did find out that he's in Afghanistan now, and not Iraq. We miss him!

I thought I'd show you an example of one of the tags that Terry wrote. He started the tradition of the creative gift tags and Kevin and the others have carried on the tradition. There are some standards that I always get, from Terry like: To Lady, From the Tramp, or he'll write the name of the artist on a CD like: To Nancy, from James (on a James Taylor CD). So it's always fun to try to guess what's inside based on the tag. Kevin's tags are much more random and unpredictable, but lots of fun too.

Terry was fortunate to find out that he gets a $400 reimbursement from his employer each year for any money he spends on fitness related expenses. Could be things like gym membership, exercise classes, even Wii Fit. This year he chose to buy himself 2 new golf clubs, so they were like Christmas presents, but we got reimbursed for them. Cool huh? Now he just needs to get out there and actually golf. Note how close his club is to the overhead light. Fortunately he didn't break anything.

We all got great gifts! Way too many to list here. I especially like my digital picture frame and can't wait to get pictures loaded and take it to work. I also like the book on how to use exposure in photography. I've started reading it and have signed up for an official Nikon 1-day photography class that's coming to town. I also got permission to attend a class on Adobe Photoshop Elements during work time, since I can use that for some of my projects at work. I'm very excited about learning and using my photography more for gifts, projects, etc. this year!

Later in the afternoon I tried a new recipe for a seafood chowder that turned out pretty well. We served it in bread bowls with a green salad on the side. Mmmmm I'll post pictures on this later.

Christmas Week Activities continued...

6 different gatherings in 10 days - 4 of them at our house from Christmas day thru today.

Yes, I'm pretty exhausted and really not too excited about going back to work tomorrow, but there's no way I'd complain with all the time I've had off in December. I was really pretty conservative on the photography this season, but got a few good ones, I think.

I already posted about our delayed Christmas Eve on Saturday, 12/27 when we got to hang out with Amy, Andrew and a few of our dear friends. I actually missed posting our Perkins Christmas gathering on the 26th but will do that now, for those who want to keep things orderly.

We went to my sister, Diane's house, since we did Thanksgiving and most of our recent Perkins gatherings at our house. Her place was pretty "cozy" (read small) and we didn't even have everyone there. I think next year we should do Christmas either at our house or Sharon's since Diane's place is just too small with the tree and all. It also made a difference that it was too cold to go outside...so there was no place to really spread out. But we made do with what we had and I think everyone had a good time. Diane's boyfriend, JD (pictured with the red & green gift bag) made pans and pans of lasagna and even made a veggie one for Ashley. How nice of him. A few of us brought other side dishes and we had a great meal.
Some also brought little gifts for Hope & Steve's "little" ones who are not so little anymore, Kassidy, Jacob & Joshua. It's strange to think they I am their Great Aunt. I thought Great Aunts were always like 90-something. I think they're always confused about my role a little anyway, since they have another Aunt Nancy also. Anyway, it's so fun to see them enjoying their gifts. The little game that Kassidy is so excited about above is from an activity book that we got for her. Makes me happy that we picked something they liked...it's so hard to know sometimes.

We also did a white elephant (food related) gift exchange and came away with a few goodies to share with friends.

We had a random group of folks this year. Good news was that my brother, Pat was in town for the first time in a while and Bunny dropped by as well. Sad news was that Sharon, Dustin, Steve, Kevin, Amy & Andrew and others weren't able to be there this year, so we missed them.

We also learned that Lisa and Hope's grandfather (Diane's former father-in-law) passed away on Christmas Day, which was hard on the whole family since they were all very close to him. He will be missed by everyone. He was a dear man.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have an amazing holiday, celebrating the birth of our Lord!

Terry, Shredder and I are just relaxing this morning and will soon be wrapping presents...yes, just getting going on the wrapping. Don't you just love this pic of Terry and Shredder enjoying the Christmas paper together? I think Shredder is a bit put off by the fact that there's a PUPPY on the cover page! I mean really, what were they thinking?

Our sweet kitty is becoming more and more cuddly as she gets older (and the temperatures go down). Terry reluctantly lets her on his lap when my lap isn't available. So today we'll be lounging around most of the day, and also enjoy a special dinner together (just the two of us). We're hoping for a phone call from Kevin either today or Sunday (or both). We miss having all the kids here, but know that it's just another season of life that we're passing thru.

Our "official" Christmas won't be until Sunday when Amy & Andrew are here. We'll wait to open the majority of our gifts then.

Terry and I each opened our Christmas Eve gifts last night (pajamas and an ornament). Our Hann tradition is to get at least one ornament each year that relates to an event or interest. This year we got 3 ornaments.

The wooden one with the fruit tree we bought in New Hampshire in October at an artist's gallery. It reminds us of the gorgeous trees we saw there.

The camera is for me...self explanatory.

The wooden turtle is from Maui. We just bought it there earlier this month and it reminds us of the amazing animals and nature that we saw there.

I thought I'd share an updated photo of my branch as well. I've added the Christmas cards, photos and letters that we've received this year. It's so great looking at all those expressions of love and news from our dear friends and family when we walk in the front door. Thank you to all who took time out of their busy schedules to send them. I know that it gets more and more difficult every year to squeeze in all the holiday tasks. I didn't get a Christmas card or letter out yet this year but I'm seriously hoping to do one via email in the next week or so (since I'm off work).

Have a blessed day, filled with the love of family and friends.

News from Maui
So we're in Maui now. As you can see I had time this morning to change my background. Today and tomorrow are free days for us to do whatever we want. There's so much more to post about, even though we've only been here since Thursday night. I won't be able to catch up on my sister in Kuwait until we get back because her last few emails are on my computer at home and once they're downloaded there, I can't get to them from here.

I have some pics of Christmas decorating at home and at my sister, Diane's for her birthday celebration with her grandkids and others. There are a few cute ones of the kids...I'll get to those at some point. I'll try to post some of my home decorating on the 15th for the Christmas Tour of Homes (at right). I'm sure mine will be minimal compared to others there, but it will be fun anyway. Linda, you should do it too.

I was also trying to do "Journal your Christmas" posts along with Amy, but we'll see if time allows for that. I have a few started, but it will just depend. It seems kinda crazy to be sitting in the room doing this when it is absolutely gorgeous outside and so far, I haven't found a wireless connection at the beach or the resort. I am a little stuffed up since yesterday and and I haven't figured out yet if it's a cold or allergies. So far not too big a deal. Just pray that it doesn't get worse and that it goes away VERY soon! Fortunately colds don't usually last long with me, but I know there have been some mean ones going around.

In the interest of time, here's a very brief summary of our group activities so far. As we go along this week, I'll also introduce you to the couples that we're traveling with.

When we got off the plane from Phoenix, our hosts, Steve & Barbara (pictured below) greeted us with welcome lei's at the airport. The large flower pictured is actually not real, but looks like it. It's attached to a hair clip, so I can wear it again and again.

Thursday night was just getting settled in.

Friday morning, we left for the heliport at 6:15 am (9:15 AZ time).

Left the heliport in 2 luxury vans for the Tempation Tours 5 hour drive (including stops) down the road to Hana. We drove along amazing coastline, thru rainforests, and beside gorgeous streams and waterfalls.

We saw hundreds of flowers, including 6 foot high poinsettia's growing in someone's yard. I've never seen that before!

Some brave folks from our party went swimming in this freshwater swimming hole at the base of a waterfall. It was pretty cold so we didn't go in.

Our leisurely drive ended at a beach in Hana for a wonderful lunch of chicken, mahi, rice, fresh pineapple, caesar salad and macadamia nut cookies.

After lunch we were taken to another heliport in Hana to catch the helicopter for our 35 minute flight back with a few detours to see some amazing waterfalls, coastline, etc.

We came home, freshened up then joined the group for sushi and an amazing dinner at the Hyatt hotel next door overlooking the beach.

Steve & Barbara treated us to all of this on the first day! They are such a dear and generous couple. What a blessing to be working for them and not only because they are taking us on a trip like this! They are so kind, encouraging and giving of themselves in so many ways. I love that I get to help them and help the non-profit ministries in the office too.

The background on this picture is the view that we saw from our dining spot on the patio. The ocean is right there!

O.k., as I said, I need to get going. We need to go to the store to buy some food for the meals that we'll have at home during the week.

Merry Christmas to Mom and Happy Birthday to Amy - and a great excuse for Terry and I to go to a Suns game!!!

It's so fortunate for us that so many of our family members are Phoenix Suns fans because then we get to find reasons to go to games. This year for Christmas we gave Terry's mom a personal gift certificate to either go on a weekend trip with us or to go to some kind of show or event and we would pay for it. After several months of debate, she decided that she wanted to go to a Suns game. What an awesome grandma is that, huh? It turns out that she had NEVER been to a regular season game even though she has been in the Valley since the franchise started!!! Can you believe it? We couldn't either. So we were very excited to fulfill her request. Also, since Amy's birthday was this week and she's moving to L.A. and won't have a chance to see her "Sunnies" very much any more, we asked her if she'd like to go to the game with us as her birthday present and, of course she said yes.

So, off we went to see them play. We were in for some extra treats as well! First of all they won by a huge margin. Then we got there early and were able to see Amare, Boris and Gordon Giricek warming up. And while we were wandering around before the game we walked by the stage where they tape the pre-game show and got to see some of the announcers doing the show. We also got to see my all-time favorite player, Kevin Johnson who just happened to be in town for a fund-raiser for his campaign for mayor of Sacramento. Awesome!

We all had a great time and got to see ALL the players contribute, which is amazing since they don't always get to play.

By the way, I started my "Bucket List" and one of the things that I want to do before I kick the bucket is see a Suns game from seats on the floor. Can anyone help with that?

After our "Friends Get-Together" on the 29th we were talking (sadly) about the fact that Christmas was over for the year. We had given and received the last of our gifts and felt so blessed by the joy of it all, but sad that the season was ending. You see, giving gifts is one of the things I enjoy the most.

Little did I know that God (and my friend Scott) had one more surprise in mind.

You need to understand that I have known Scott since I was probably 5 years old (which is a LONG time)! He's close to my older brother's age and came to our house to do projects and earn badges for Cub Scouts when my mom was their Den Mother. Of course, at the time we weren't really friends, he was just one more boy at the house to keep my mom busy.

Many years later, Scott and I became great friends who shared our love for God and his Word. He was one of the people that helped me grow in my Christian walk when I first accepted Christ at the age of almost 15. We spent hours and hours in Bible study, learning, sharing, singing, worshiping, processing life and growing deep in God's love that summer and the following school year. We went through many joys and heartaches together. I loved to watch him sing and play his guitar and was amazed by his creativity in our high school art class as well. I still have pictures in my mind of some of the work that he did that was so wonderful.

Although it turned out for good, the following summer it was hard to understand when God chose to move my family to Arizona (from Ohio) and my daily times with Scott and my other precious friends came to an end. But, even though we've been 2000 miles apart for over 30 years, God has allowed us to stay connected over the years.

Before there was email, we would write back and forth maybe once or twice every year or so. I always looked forward to his long hand printed letters. You see he's an artist in so many ways. Even his letters are filled with gorgeous printing and beautifully descriptive words. Sometimes he even throws in a drawing or two! I loved them. We've had a chance to see each other a sprinkling of times over the years when my family would go back to Ohio. Maybe someday he'll get out to AZ to visit as well.

Now that we have email and blogs, it doesn't take quite so long to catch up. With busy lives like everyone has, we still don't write too often, but every once in a while Scott comes to mind and we reconnect. So...that's a long explanation to prep you for yesterday's surprise.

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Scott that asked to confirm my address because he had something to send to me. Of course, I wondered what it was...maybe a photo from those teen years or some other story or treasure, then I promptly forgot about it.

Late Monday afternoon, we heard a knock at the door. When I opened it, the mailman handed me our mail as well as a long cardboard tube, probably 5 feet long. What in the world was it? I could see that it was from Scott. Wow! I couldn't imagine what he could have from the past that would be so huge.

When I opened it, the note above was attached. It's always fun to hear about those mysterious people that are reading my blog, but choose not to comment. Scott is one of those souls.


Anyway, Scott is an elementary school teacher, which is how he had access to this truly amazing nearly life size poster of one of my favorite NBA players, Steve Nash!!!! Isn't it awesome! It just makes me smile. As soon as I opened it up I hung it on the wall just inside our entry in the living room. I know it won't stay there, but I just love looking at it. It will soon be moved to the scrapping and exercise room to provide extra motivation there. From what I've heard of Steve Nash, he's a bit of a rebel, but is caring, compassionate, fun-loving, hard-working, unselfish and so giving of the gifts God has blessed him with. What a pleasure to see his smiling face on our wall.

Thank you, thank you Scott! What an extra-ordinary gift from an extraordinary friend! I will treasure it forever!

And just for fun, I've attached a little clip of Steve shooting the ads for this BodyByMilk campaign.

Oh, and you can also vote for him to be on the 2008 All Star Team here.

Happy New Year!!!!

Merry Christmas!
I got up early Chrismas morning to finish wrapping presents. We knew that Amy and Andrew wouldn't be coming over for a while, so decided to get a good night's sleep and finish today. That's the first time I've done that, but as mentioned before, it's been a busy month. I imagine our traditions and plans will change often in the coming years as we adjust to the potential of the kids not being in town over the holidays and figuring out ways we can still be together somehow and then adjust again when grandkids come. We're looking forward to experiencing all those different seasons of life.

Terry and Kevin slept in, so the house was quiet. I turned Christmas music on quietly and finished up the last of wrapping and stuffing the stockings. By the time Amy and Andrew arrived around 11 a.m. we were all up and ready to go. We missed not having Erin there with us.

Christmas is a relaxing day for us. You'll notice that several of us are still in our pajamas and it was probably early afternoon by then.













No big plans beyond opening and enjoying our gifts, some food and each other. We do our extended family gatherings on days other than Christmas, so as to reserve that day for relaxation and immediate family celebration.

We usually try to have a pretty simple meal so that we can just eat when we're hungry. That started when the kids were too excited about their gifts to stop for a nice dinner, and when I decided that it should be a day of rest for me as well. This year Terry cooked a turkey on the grill. It turned out well, but I think was a little too ambitious for him because he also has a bit of a cold, so didn't get to relax too much. We also had mashed sweet potatoes...they were just o.k. and a green salad (one of Andrew's favorite things). We've never established traditional foods for Christmas so we get to enjoy different things every year.

In talking with others lately about their holiday, I realized that we all have just a little bit different traditions and habits. Here are some of ours:

• Everyone gets to open new pajamas on Christmas eve. Terry doesn't really wear traditional pajamas so I'll usually get him aT-shirt that he can wear anytime. This year I got him a glow-in-the-dark skeleton playing guitar. He said it surprised him when he got up in the middle of the night and saw it in the mirror.
  
• Everyone gets a Christmas ornament on Christmas eve. We try to gear the ornament to an event, milestone or interest of the person that year. When the kids moved out, we let them take their ornaments with them so it gave them a good start on their tree. We continue the tradition now with the spouses too.
• We always put an orange in the toe of the stocking. This goes back to my days growing up in Ohio when it was a special treat to have citrus in the winter.
• Everyone gets a new toothbrush in their stocking (to take care of all the treats that they get).
• We put favorite candy, snacks and treats in the stockings. My family likes things like beef jerky, dark chocolate, Nerds, etc. Terry likes strange foods like oysters, clams, and sardines. This year "Santa" got him a can of spiced octupus...we'll see what he thinks.

• Andrew thinks it's strange that we wrap the little gifts in the stockings. For me it just helps with the suspense.

• On Christmas day we only open one gift at a time and go around the room so we can all see what each person gets. It takes a long time but is much more fun than rushing through it. Besides it takes months to prepare, so even when we're done it seems to end too soon.

• 

Terry makes up strange names for the gift tags, because he gets bored with the same old standards. He writes things like; To Lady, From the Tramp or he'll give one of us a CD from the first name of a musical artist. I got one from James this year (Taylor, that is). Amy & Andrew got a book from Boris (Diaw, of the Phoenix Suns, that is). Now Kevin does it too, but his names are so random that they're just funny.

• We set up our nativity every year and leave the baby Jesus out of the manger until Christmas day, since that's his birthday. When the kids were little, it was the job of the first one up to place Jesus in the manger.

When looking for a nativity I really wanted to find one that was somewhat natural looking. So many of them make the people look so perfect and unusual, not like real people. The one we have isn't too bad, but as you see from the photo, the baby isn't wrapped in swaddling clothes (he must be cold) and for some reason his hands are outstretched (probably because he's cold).
Have you ever seen what a new baby looks like when they're not wrapped in a blanket? They can't stand being exposed and not securely wrapped. They're used to being in a warm, safe, cozy place, after all. And Mary looks a little bit too fresh, clean and neat considering she just gave birth.
I'd love to find a nativity that's more realistic. If anyone knows of a set that looks like real people, in a real stable, I'd love to hear about it.

Well, that's just a bit about our day. Amy wrote more about it too. Terry and I have the whole week off so I'm looking forward to lots of relaxation, blogging, scrapping and spending time with friends. I'm even hoping to work on finally getting my scrapping area set up and organized...a little too ambitious, you say? ...we'll see.