We’re Done with Cookies!
Our twelve days of Christmas Cookies are up! Aren't you glad?! I am!! Baking for twelve days straight is a lot of baking, folks – but I'd do all over just for you! Really, it wasn't all that bad … I'd just fire up the mixer right after dinner, clean it all up at one time, and send the kids off to do homework or watch TV with the smells of Yummy in the air! They didn't complain too much. ;) I hope you found some treasures of recipes that you'll add to your repertoire and create traditions of your own with them. I was so pleased to see that one of my Spraground Friends (pen-name: "SchoolMommy") made the Candy Cane cookies and even made a recipe card for them! It gave me the idea to create Recipe Cards for my December Daily album … I did the first one today. One down, Eleven-to-Go!! I just keep creating more work for myself! I'll be posting updates to that album soon. Another Spraground Friend is complaining of gaining weight from just reading my blog! Now, THAT, my friend, is out-of-my-control! (And yes, she knows who she is!)
Now, what's.left.of.my.cookies are stored in the cool very cold of the garage for us to nibble on till my brother and his family come in eight days. Our garage is so cold because we had our first snowfall Saturday evening and it was gorgeous!
It was in the teens of temperatures last night and is 26˚F as I'm typing. My oldest baby is out with girlfriends watching movies and I'm praying for safe roads on her trip home. The main roads have been well cleared so I'm sure she'll be fine. I'm sure … Probably … Most likely …
Now that cookies are done … we can catch up on a few things! (Which reminds me that I have laundry in the dryer –ugh … a woman's work is never done!) Whatever. I'm visiting with you just now and that's where my attention is …
Have you heard of Pandora? That oldest baby of mine that is out on the icy streets and her beau introduced me to it and I love it! It's an online radio station that YOU control. No interrupting commercials, no music that YOU don't like … it's all up to you. You can create your own stations by typing in the type of music that you like and it will choose music that you'll like. If you don't like it, just click on the "next" arrow and it'll NEVER play that for you again!! How smart is that?! So … right now I'm typing in rhythm to the Dave Matthews Band and the likes of his sort (Jack Johnson is crooning in my ears at the moment!)
Speaking of music … I love Christmas music. Real good Christmas music … like the oldies (Bing, Sinatra, etc …) … like some of the newer artists that do good stuff (like Michael Buble, Harry Connick, Jr., …) … like 'some' Christian artists (like Amy Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman, … ummmm, can't think of names now with Dave Matthews rockin' in my head!) … like some country (and ONLY some, like Martina-'Powerful Voice'-McBride) … like some classical (think Nutcracker, Hallelujah Chorus, orchestras, piano, guitar, Celtic …) but I have to draw the line, though, at all the stuff that plays ad nauseum in the mall and stores for weeks on end … Everybody-and-His-Brother has a Christmas Album out! I vote for the brothers to stop recording. Are you with me?
(Now, I've switched to Christmas music on Pandora! See? It's MY choice. Only the good stuff!)
How's your cholesterol? Mine's fine. However, one of my brothers told me that he needs to lower his so I told him what Aly said to me the other day. She said, "You know, I eat Cheerios all the time and it's supposed to lower your cholesterol … Mine doesn't need to be lowered so mine should be IN-the-NEGATIVE!" Makes sense to me.
More changes on the blog … the comments section has been changed to a "threaded view" … which is a fancy way of saying that you can respond more easily to each other's comments as well as to mine! Just click "reply" if you want to respond to a certain comment. AND you can now have a photo of yourself showing in the comments section. I'm not real sure how that works yet … I think if you have a 'blog presence' and have uploaded an avatar that it will show up. Maybe some of you.more.technologically.intelligent folks can let us know … in our new "THREADED COMMENTS SECTION"!
And lastly … Back in the summer, my husband was approached about writing the script for a children's Christmas musical and he agreed. Yesterday, we attended the "Premiere"! To some of you who read: yes! I saw your children and was thrilled that they were participating!! It was kind of cool to sit in the audience, knowing that Ken had written it, knowing that no one around us knew that, hearing my children's names and personalities on stage (because Dad wrote them in that way!) and knowing that Ken and I were part of the few to know that! Very neat to see it all come together. (No pictures of the kids for lack of permission.)
Even more –out-of-body—was listening to the message of the musical and having mental flashbacks to conversations that Ken has had with our children about Christmas. The message is this … the gifts we receive at Christmas are wonderful (never-to-be-expected!), but it's about SO much more. It's about the Ultimate Gift that we've been given and whether we've acknowledged it or not … so much to ponder …
PS—for those wondering about my dad … he is doing very well!
Eight Days till my brother and his family come!
