Ward Christmas Breakfast

Today was the day of our ward Christmas party. 

This year we held a breakfast at the Stake Center, and it was just me and Chris this time. Michael had to go to work and Corie didn't want to get up so early in the morning. Plus, Lizzie had come over for a sleepover and she didn't want to come to the breakfast either, so Corie stayed home with her. Mom eventually caught up with me and Chris after dropping Michael off. 

I did save a bit of chocolate muffin for Mike, Corie, and Lizzie; those muffins are huge. 

After we ate, there was a nice 12-minute clip about the Savior, of which I played a small part. Then the Primary kids performed a very nice version of "Silent Night" with their own little bells, and finally I participated in a little ornament painting craft. That paint was trickier to use than I'd thought, but it was still good clean fun...or mostly clean! 

Mather Family Party

Tonight was the night of the annual Mather Family Christmas party. Since I work in the daytime anyway, this was perfect for me. 

Aside from a nuthouse at work (I'm used to the Christmas crowds but they never cease to amaze me; everybody wants everything all at once) and getting briefly lost on the way, not to mention narrowly avoiding a wreck because another car ran a red light, it was fairly smooth sailing. We had a great time seeing everybody, with plenty of hugs to go around, and the food was delicious.

Good news for Mom, too: she's making excellent progress on her diabetes, to the point where the doctors are going to try to ease her off insulin (she'll still need to take special medication and watch her blood sugar) and it's possible her diabetes could be reversed altogether. I'm well aware that reversed diabetes is not the same as cured diabetes, but knowing the doctors are happy with what they're seeing is very heartening indeed. Goes to show healthy habits do pay off.

Ward Halloween Party

Oh, man, today was absolutely exhausting. While I am grateful to get some hours again (I do like being paid and my job gets me out of the house every so often), the Halloween holiday rush has been nuts and I'm already dreading Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everybody wants everything and they want it now, now, now.

It's a good thing I made my dessert for our ward Halloween party last night, so there was a little less stress on my plate. And the party itself was just what I needed to relax a bit. 

During "trunk or treat," we didn't have the car with us because Mom had to pick up Corie from work, but I still passed out some candy ("I may not have a car but I still have candy!" I told everyone) and our friend Kayalauna was nice enough to give us a ride home before it got too dark. Then my brothers entertained themselves with Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers while I took it nice and easy on my soft, welcoming bed.

2023 Inktober 26 - Cookie Monster

I may not watch Sesame Street on a regular basis anymore, and to be honest, I kind of don't like the new format anyway. But I'll always cherish those sweet childhood memories and Cookie Monster is still my favorite.

Tonight, I'm going to bake some cookies and put blue icing on them with candy eyes, sort of like little Cookie Monsters. It's for a Halloween party at my church tomorrow, but I have work tomorrow, so I'll save myself time and stress by baking them tonight. I'll be sure to show you a photo of them later.

UPDATE: Here they are! They didn't turn out quite like I'd hoped, but they were still fun and they tasted good. That's what counts.

It was kind of relaxing, really, almost like edible painting.