mint oreo yummies

i ate a christmas cookie the other day that was incredibly delicious! it was chocolaty, creamy and super yummy. i do this cookie exchange with a few girls at work and this recipe took the prize for best tasting cookie (i won for prettiest cookie... my aunt mary's russian apricot torte). anyway, here it is:

1 pkg. mint oreo cookies
1 pkg. cream cheese
mix these ingredients in the food processor. blend the heck out of them until they are super smooth. roll them into small balls (maybe the size of a quarter) and then dip them into melted chocolate. my friend denise then sprinkled crushed candy canes on top of the melted chocolate. you get approx 4 doz. cookies out of one bag of oreos.

these cookies super easy and delicious. merry christmas!

O Christmas Tree

The trees are up and I am happy.

Right after Thanksgiving we put up the trees. It's easily a 2-3 day process. Day 1 is lights. We put on lots! If you can't read a book by tree light, there isn't enough. Surprisingly, it's not the light wrapping that takes the whole afternoon, it's the bulb testing and cussing. This year we didn't have enough matching lights for the downstairs tree so we had to buy new. I like them... they're big and bright and slightly retro. They make me want a cocktail.

Day 2 is ornaments. I've been collecting them since I was born. We unwrap each one and choose our favorites to go on... there are so many. At some point in the 1980's I started recording who gave me which ornament and when. My family is patient with me as I tell the same stories about the same ornaments each year. I've started a notebook for Ross' ornaments, too. He doesn't understand why. I tell him his wife will thank me someday. And day 3 (if we don't have time on on day 2) is the tinsel. Does anyone else other than my mother and I still hang icicles on their tree!? I love how they sparkle in the 800 lights!

So bring on the shopping and stress of the holiday season. My happy place is ready!

happy thanksmas!

thanksgiving was awesome! on thursday john and i hosted 32 russells for dinner. we squeezed them into every nook and cranny of the house. family was everywhere and i was lovin it! the worst part was, of course, cleaning the house... every nook and cranny. this is a completely different level of clean that we're used to. ross, actually doesn't like the house all picked up. he claims he can't find his stuff if it's put away.
the next morning we packed up the car and traveled to connellsville to celebrate christmas with john's brother and sister. nathan and bri won't be home in december so we trimmed the tree and exchanged gifts on saturday. i love it when we're all together. it only happens a couple times a year, now.
so here sit in my clean house, very happy. this was the best thanksmas ever!