And We're Back!

Happy New Year! 

Although it always seems you can't believe it is the New Year, I will say this past year doesn't seem like it could have fit anything else in it!  What started as a busy year with the final stages of wedding planning ended as just as busy a time with filling the final Christmas orders and traveling all over the southeast to see family. 

Since we knew we would start back up in January with a packed schedule, we decided we would take this week "off" as much as possible!  Reid still worked all week and I started orientation as the new part time clinical dietitian at Wills Memorial, but overall we really relaxed.  We ate out a lot, laid low at night watching movies and just enjoyed a week without any real deadlines.

Friday night we went up to Athens for dinner and realized that although a Japanese steakhouse is great in theory, the amount of margarine added to innocent rice and vegetables is borderline criminal.  (Not to mention the couples beside us who added about two cups each of mayonaisse based "yellow sauce" to their plates which kind of grossed us both out big time.  Atleast it did give me an idea to do a few posts centered around how good food can be turned bad so quickly...).  I was in bed by about 10:30 and woke up right at midnight somehow to squeak out "Happy New Year."  Not quite the exciting end to such an exciting year but it felt great to not be staying up all night baking for one of the first Friday nights in months!

Yesterday we continued our holiday theme with sleeping in.  Since we had plenty of time, Reid cooked a big breakfast of grits, organic cage free eggs, some of Tink's pastured pork sausage, with some of Sandy's whole wheat sourdough bread toast and sharp cheddar.  I think by far this was the best meal we ate all week.  Maybe because he lived alone for so many years, Reid is a grand master champion at grit cooking.  He doesn't add anything fancy to them, just salt, pepper and butter but they are incredible. 

For dinner I cooked black eyed peas, collard greens, cornbread in the cast iron skillet, and a little risotto.  I overcooked the peas so we didn't eat a lot of them which maybe will indicate a little less change in 2011 than 2010 but you never know- I think we would both be happy just working on what is on our plate already!Luckily Reid did eat plenty of collard greens...

After dinner Reid taught me how to play gin.  (And then I beat him in 2/3 games to 100).  Between games Reid read out goals we had each written down for the year.  He had told me Saturday morning he "needed my goals by the end of the day."  So before he read them out he told me that since this was our first holiday together married and we were creating traditions, that he thought sharing our goals together should be one of our traditions.  It was fun to see what we each put down and a lot of them were along the same lines.  I even did a little separate section for Southern Scratch which I think I need to formalize some what to guide our decisions over the next year. 

After a few more rounds of gin and a mug of Rocky Road  for me (for some reason I hate eating ice cream out of bowl and just always eat it from a coffee mug-maybe because I like adding just a little milk on top to make those ice crystals form) and some dark citrus ginger chocolate for Reid (my sister's in-laws gave us this awesome gift bag of all kinds of artisan chocolate for Christmas addressed:  To K&R, from K&R-loved it!), we went to bed pretty early again. 

Today after church we decided to go to Heavy's barbeque in Crawfordville.  I had never been but seen all the signs and heard all the legendary tales about the place including the filming of part of "Sweet Home Alabama."  The food was definitely just good ole' barbeque and stew and fit into our "let's not cook so much this week" plan!  I was so full we fell into a total fat-kid-coma and took a Sunday afternoon nap. 

I (finally after nearly ten months of living here) made a primary appointment for annual check-ups tomorrow in Augusta.  And in more eat-whatever-you-want-because-heck-it's-the-holidays confessions, I totally signed Reid and I up for a free Chick-fil-a spicy chicken biscuit in the morning.  (Definitely not pre-doctor's appointment food).  After our "morning date" Reid has to go to work and I'm going to do some shopping/errands in "the big city."  Then maybe I'll save any Sam's errands for when Reid get's off work so we can hold hands and people watch together.  Oh what an exciting life we lead.

Then Tuesday it is back to busy!  I am loving the time I have spent so far at the hospital and looking foward to seeing patients in the morning.  Then heading over to our kitchen in Tignall and getting dinner fixed for our first ever TUESDAY night Weekday Gourmet meal. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's!  I think our "tradition" is definitely going to include the week after Christmas being our real "low key family holiday" time when we (and maybe one day our children) get a break from home cooked meals and get to eat out, sleep in and play games. 

Well, I've got to hurry up and finish because Reid is fixing hot chocolate and then we are on for another gin match-up... 

Thank's y'all for making 2010 so wonderful!