The Holidays

As per a lot of requests, I present to you those crazy Brits in their paper hats! We had an international Christmas this year, Dutch, Danish, American, but those Brits ruled over all. I was about to let their crazy Christmas traditions go by without a word on the blog. But, they think I write nasty things about them anyway, so I might as well live up to their expectations. First of all, just because they speak words that may sound like English, they aren't. Don't be fooled . . . crackers, biscuits, and pudding are not what you think they are, and if Christmas pudding sounds at all appealing, I promise. It isn't. And then there is that whole Boxing Day holiday. What is up with that? In any event, we had to start off the meal by opening these party favors that had a prize in them (similar to Cracker Jacks) and a paper hat. And as you can see, yes, they actually put these things on! Crazy, crazy, Brits. And just for the record for those still in denial about my cooking over here, I made another fabulous batch of sweet potatoes and green beans, if I do say so myself. After the Christmas holidays, we drove up to Dubai with some friends for a little mini vacation, an always needed shopping spree (Muscat has horrible shopping, so the closest place to get anything good is Dubai.), and of course, to celebrate the New Year. In the spirit of Dubai, Jason went to the indoor ski slope . . .yes, let me repeat that . . . an indoor ski slope. Dubai is all about having the biggest, the first, the most out of control everything that they can, so oddly enough, an indoor ski slope seems completely normal in Dubai. So while Denver was under miles of snow, we had skiing in 75 degree whether!