Bacon, ohhh what a treat!

The in-laws came into town early Saturday morning so the wife and I could get some things accomplished without our shadow (the boy) chasing us around. The wife spent most of the day Christmas shopping while I helped one of the cousins with some auto related issues. His "service engine" light had been on for the last six months. While he wasn't experiencing any serious problems with the truck, he couldn't renew his tag because the vehicle wouldn't pass the emissions test. The problem was a vacuum line that had a hole in it. It was in the fuel vapor recovery system - which has to do with the emissions. While we were under the hood we performed some minor maintenance. We replaced the spark plugs/wires, air filter, fuel filter, another hose for the fuel vapor recovery system and changed the oil. It took us a good five hours between diagnosing, buying the parts and actually doing the work.
Later that evening we all attended a family friends Christmas party. It was a nice party and the food was great... which leads me into BACON. What is there not to like when it comes to bacon? Think about it. When I think of bacon, I think of the master multitasker of foods. You can use it as a primary ingredient. It can stand alone on a plate. Bacon really could and should be considered a spice. As far as I'm concerned bacon compliments most any other food. I love BACON! Well, here's the thing... they had these little tiny weiners wrapped in a thick, sumptuous layer of bacon. If that wasn't enough, a mixture of real maple syrup and brown sugar had been drizzled all over them and baked to a wonderful lightly crusted texture. I liked them. I liked them ALOT! Fortunately for me, there were three cookie sheets filled with these delightful little bursts of salty, sweet, treasures of goodness. Okay, I know I'm getting a little carried away but, for the love of God, we're talking about a hotdog wrapped in BACON. My mouth is watering right this minute. This is how bad it was. Everytime I took a few of them and put them on my plate, I looked around to see if anyone was watching me. Later on, towards the end of the evening, I didn't give a damn. I loaded my plate and ate with gusto. This was a Christmas party! Live it up! Ahhhh... the little things.
Sunday the out-laws helped us decorate the house and the tree. Last year they gave the boy those annoying Hallmark dancing Santa and piano playing Snowman singing, dog yelpers from hell. Oh all right! I don't really mind them that much. The boy loves them and insists on playing all three at the same time. What bothers me is that they are so damn loud. What the hell do they need to be so loud for? I'm not kidding when I say that he played with them for an hour today - nonstop. I finally made him play with them on the couch because it absorbed some of the racket that had previously been echoing off the glass coffee table.
We had a scheduled appointment today for some holiday photos but, I cancelled them early this morning when it was evident that he was not going to be cooperative today. It's amazing how out of wack he get's when his sleep schedule is disrupted. He didn't go to bed until 10:30 Saturday evening because of the Christmas party. Today we just took it easy. The rest of the week looks chaotic. Rest while you can... that's my motto.