Christmas Eve

I am home all alone.  Quiet.  Peaceful.  Wondering.  Enjoying....
Here is what was left of Christmas at school after the kids went home.  One lonely ornament...

The kids all took home about 7 ornaments that we made.  Hope they find places on some of their trees at home.  The gift that Stevie and I gave them was a stuffed ocean creature.  Ocean creatures since our theme this year is Oceans and Islands.  Here are a couple of the cuties:

There were 5 different kinds and the kids all got to choose which they wanted.  I told them they could leave them at school to play with, but each and everyone took them home with them.  Smile.

The kids got me lots of sweet, cute and yummy gifts.  Even Karyn, my Zumba instructor! gave me sweets...yummy sweets.  The Rachel Ray 5 minute fudge....well, let's just say I hope she can work it off of me next week at Zumba!  Here's the recipie.   Sounds easy enough and I can vouch for the taste.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bag semisweet chocolate morsels (12 ounces)
• 9 ounces butterscotch morsels (3/4 of a 12 ounce bag)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 can or package of walnut halves (8 ounces)
• 1/2 cup currants (a couple handfuls)
• 8-inch cake pan, lightly greased with softened butter
• Candied red and green cherries, for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Place a heavy pot on the stove and pre-heat it over low heat. Add chocolate and butterscotch morsels and milk and stir until morsels are melted and milk is combined. Save the empty condensed milk can. Stir in the vanilla and remove the fudge from heat. Add the nuts and currants and stir in immediately.

Cover the empty condensed milk can with plastic wrap and center it in the greased cake pan. Spoon fudge into pan around can, making sure to center the can if it drifts.

The fudge will set up almost immediately. Garnish can only be added in the first minute or two that the fudge is in the pan, so work quickly. Decorate your wreath with "holly" made from cut candied red and green cherries. A wreath left plain can be garnished with a pretty fabric bow when serving.

Chill covered in the refrigerator. Slice the fudge very thin when ready to serve – a little goes a long way!

Mine was not in a wreath and was not sliced very thinly, but it was OH so yummy and it is all gone...well, probably just relocated to my thighs!

So, we have made one of our family visits and have one to go next week.  All the gifts are wrapped and I am relaxing and waiting for our Christmas Eve church service.  Carols, candlelight and communion...it's going to be great!  Hope your Christmas Eve is all that you hoped it would be.