As is no surprise to the followers of this blog, I am sans children. There's a little dog named Goliath and a tortoise named Martin (currently on loan to my parents), but no wee ones. So, it came as something of a surprise that my Christmas festivities started prior to 6:30 a.m. today. Yes, Mr. T wrenched me out of bed, insinuating that I somehow loved Christmas less because I wanted to spend more of it under the covers. (Kind of rude, I thought.) Grumps aside though, the man spoiled me rotten (Stay tuned for panoramic pics from my latest gadget) and I thought about how amazingly blessed I am this holiday season.
Despite bumps in the road and hiccups here and there, things are pretty fantastic in my world. One aspect is the starting of new traditions. It always occurred to me that Christmas traditions are made with families. What I mean is, as a single person, I always went where the family was. As a couple, we bounce around from family to family. And yet somehow, Mr. T and I managed to carve out our very own Christmas tradition within the last few years... without having midgets of our very own. Ladies and gentlemen, we have Christmas waffles to thank! 
It began a few years ago when we invited Tim's parents over for Christmas breakfast and I made my now almost-famous waffles... raised Belgian beauties with Tim's rum-berry compote, home fry potatoes and scrambled eggs. (I'll post the waffle recipe from the Sunflower Hill Inn later!) Last year we added my fam and it seems we might have a real tradition on our hands. Even if people get sick and can't make it (boo!) or if some of the waffles turn out mushy (damn new waffle iron!), it's still really special to me to see this new Christmas ritual evolve.
And so as I eek out the last remaining minutes of Christmas 2009, I hope all of you are having a wonderful day, whether you're making new customs or perfecting the old. Stay safe and happy, and if possible, have some tasty waffles and think of me!
xoxo,
shawna
P/S Runner-up for new favorite things at Christmas: going to the movies. T and I saw "Avatar" tonight, in 3D. Get thee to the theatre, it was AWESOME (like a hotdog)!!Labels: Belgian, Christmas, Mr. T, Traditions, waffles