visions of sugarplums

since my last post i found a "cider six ways" article in the december cooking light and am definitely going to simmer some in the crock pot christams eve--check out the poll to the right and vote for your version of choice! (of course this cocktail also looked fun!).

i've also been thinking about what biscotti i'm baking this year--last year jenn & i made giada's version of this holiday treat and i loved the lemon zest but i'm a bittersweet and not a white chocolate kind of girl. thinking doing some dried cherries and toasted almonds dipped in dark chocolate. any suggestions there?

but mostly i'm excited because owen's holiday zeal is infectious. tonight we read; no, analyzed! the night before christmas (i'd change the "what we're reading now" to the right except owen would sing the 12 bugs hourly if i'd cooperate!)--he was very interested in the "nice" and "naughty" list (especially since we've been having discussions about what's nice and not nice to do at preschool--like throwing sand and pushing in line and not shouting the abcs during rest time) and was going to work very hard to be "in the middle" of the "good list." he thought that if i worked hard at my school santa would put me on the nice list too. and if santa ate his cookies then santa could be a good boy too. we also danced to ella fitzgerald's rendition of rudolph the red nosed reindeer and i'm looking forward to a festive thursday in the middle of an otherwise hectic week.