Long time, no posting

It has been a while since I posted last (bar some quick mo-blogging) and have some updating to do.
Work Stuff
I’ve written that work has been up and down - it has been like a roller coaster.  I’d fallen behind on some key projects.  It was the kind of “behind” that would make me think twice about sitting down and reading a book on the weekend.  My team started a new status reporting process.  It was great – it helped me focus on the right things.
With the new-found focus, I actually made some headway on the projects that I was behind on.  I felt really good about where I was with them.
As the week before Christmas was winding to a close, I was feeling really good about the few days off.  No work to think about, I knew what I had to do when I got back – I was ready to relax for several days.  I finished up solving a problem that one of the plants was seeing – they were seeing a difference between our financial plan volume and the field forecast volume.  Unfortunately, it was due to an error that I made.  Everything I planned on doing that last day slipped out the door.  It really sucked and I lost sleep over it this Christmas weekend.
Cooking
All of us, the kids included, like Indian food.  I read a quick recipe for something Indian inspired, had most of the ingredients for, including homemade Garam Masala, so I tried it out. The food turned out just the way I wanted to, the color was right, the taste was right, it was perfect!  Heather and the kids were really hungry when they got home and they loved it.  This also happened on the same day that I made the great headway on the two projects.  It was a great day and I wasn’t sure which was better, my great day at work or the reaction to my cooking.
I’ve tried all kinds of new things recently.  I really like things with mint and during the holiday season, Peppermint Bark is prevalent.  So, I tried to make some (no recipe) and it came out pretty good.
My mom sent me a recipe for Truffles, which I really like.  I’ve never made them before and I gave it ago. Chocolate and raspberry go well together, so I bought some Chambord at the state run liquor store.  I made Chambord truffles, Kahlua truffles, mint truffles and plain chocolate truffles.  I ended up with a bunch of them and we gave them to the neighbors.
Heather found a Prime Rib dinner recipe on Martha Stewart.com.  I’ve never cooked a prime rib before nor have I made Yorkshire puddings (something else I really like).  I bought the prime rib at a local butcher, Fischer Brothers Meats.  It was one of the coolest stores I’d been in.  As I walked in, I was enveloped in the smell of smoked meats.  They had smoked salmon and beef jerky – and that was just where the line ended.  The serving line followed the meat counter and every step along the way there was more excellent meat.  I had to wait while they cut me some short ribs and I saw breakfast sausage.  Heather like that more than bacon with a nice breakfast so I decided to buy bought that too.  Then I saw the slabs of bacon – they would cut it to order for you!  It was a dangerous place to be. Recognizing that, I left with what I came to buy (the prime rib and short ribs) and the impulse purchased breakfast sausage.
Christmas
The kids woke us up at 7 am Christmas morning and the power promptly went out.  I’d like to think that across the state, other kids were waking up their families and turning on all the Christmas lights, which caused a power drain.  We pulled out candles and drove on.  About 9 am, the lights came back on, so we finally got our Christmas morning coffee.
Monday was a company holiday and I played chess with Alec, Go Fish with all the kids and went for a walk again.  Even though I had to work some, it was a very nice couple of days.