Christmas Day

Here is a glimpse into our lovely Christmas celebration.   Luke and I had a wonderfully relaxing day together, just the two of us.  I must admit, it is a very different experience being away from family over Christmas...  So, in an attempt to allow our family to feel closer to us, I took a TON of pictures! (just a warning ;)  I want them to see what our Christmas was like, and how special it was even though we were so far away.  

    Plump stockings.... the best kind :)

    Circus trying to get a peak inside his stocking

    He loved his new toy!  I was worried the wrapping paper would steal the thunder but oh how he put on a
    show for us with his new red ball.

    And of course the wrapping paper was irresistible too.

    Peek-a-boo

      Some of my awesome presents :)

    Luke's new pride and joy

    Wrench wraps being put to use right away ;)

                      Whipped cream on my coffee, just because its Christmas

    MMMMmmmmm Christmas Breakfast (with real maple syrup, what a treat)

    Note:  For the first time ever, I chose to alter my pictures below with photo editing software.  The reason I
    chose to break my own self-enforced rule was because the natural lighting was quite horrible by the time I
    got around to snapping these photos.  I have included one picture left in its natural state just to show how
    cold and lifeless the pictures turned out.... the reason I altered them was because I felt they did not
    accurately reflect the beauty and warmth of the environment at the time.   The sun was just starting to set
    and I refuse to use the flash on my camera so I was left with pictures like the one you see below.  (Oh how
    I wish mother nature had co-operated and provided us with a bright sunny day.... at least we had snow:)

    The remaining photos were all altered using Picasa, I used the 'warmify'  effect, and slightly heightened the
    colour saturation.  I feel like these photos are a more realistic portrayal of how the environment looked and
    felt at the time.  I must admit, this software really saved me in this instance! I took such a long time making  
    these 'displays' of our gifts and was soooooo disappointed when I finally transferred the pictures onto my
    computer.   This experience has given me new appreciation for having the option to use photo-editing
    software and I have a greater understanding of why people use these tools :)

    These are my amazing gifts!  Everything was so thoughtful and practical (well except for my hello kitty
    erasers because I don't plan on using them, they just make me smile :)

    And here is Luke's pile-o-presents

    And his new boots get featured in their own picture :)  He loved these so much

    Circus's Gifts  (the colours were perfect for Christmas and I didn't even plan it)

   Christmas Dinner:

    (As I'm sure you can tell, these are un-edited photos now ;)
    These are the ingredients for a delicious new recipe I tried: Creamy Crab and Red Pepper Spread. You
    can view the recipe here at Kraft's website, and I suggest you do!

    The cheeses are colour coded - red: edame, green: gouda, and yellow: white cheddar - you can laugh at
    me, yes I am a geek

    Halal Chicken just about to be popped into the oven

    I made homemade gravy for the first time ever and it was delicious!!!!   I'm not sure what scared
    me away from trying it before....  it was so easy!

    We ate so many appetizers (and chocolates) that all we wanted for the main course was chicken and
    mashed potatoes. And we had to save room for dessert of course!

    Please, everyone who has access to Presidents Choice products, go out and buy these next year. They are
    to die for!!!!! You can only buy these for a few weeks leading up to Christmas and the sell FAST! And
    don't bother reading the nutrition information, you won't care about any of that after you try your first bite :)

     I just wanted to include this picture of our Christmas 'leftovers' because I was pretty impressed at how
     little garbage we produced (remember it was just the two of us). That cardboard box is where I keep our
     recyclable items, it had a bunch of cans in the bottom from earlier in the week and we were still able to fit
     all of our wrapping paper in there.  The bag and bows I will reuse next year, and the plastic bag contains
     our garbage.  Next year I plan on using re-usable fabric bags for gift giving, I may or may not try to make
     them myself ;)

     I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!!