cookiemas 2010

as i mentioned in my last post, cookie baking is what i live for.  unlike most people, i don't get together with a bunch of girlfriends and bake cookies all day.  i like to do it in the quiet calm of my own kitchen with christmas carols playing at a reasonable decibel in the background.  something about measuring out the specific ingredients for each cookie, mixing them according to the instructions, and then pulling them out of the oven looking like the little picture at the top of the recipe is therapeutic for me.  at a time when i feel like i am doing a number of things the wrong way (ahem, what wedding??), i need to have these small things to remind me that i am capable of completing something successfully.

here is my day (actually, two days) in pictures:

first i wanted to do something easy to get my feet wet, if you will.  so i went with hershey peanut butter blossoms.  they are so simple and the recipe always produces massive amounts.  they're a good filler cookie.

then, to honor my nephew, i made o'henry bars.  not only do these bars share a name with owen, they are delicious as well.  if you have never had these, make them.  you will not regret it.

next up on my list were these bad boys.  three years ago, andy's mom gave me a great cookie recipe book.  i told andy to browse through the pages and pick one he's like me to make.  he picked these, and they have been a huge hit in the family.

to add a little something new to the mix and also to use some sprinkles, i decided to whip up some whoopie pies (hint hint if you need to get me a christmas present - i would LOVE this cook book).

i think they are adorable.



amidst all this cookie making, i called my parents and asked my dad what he wanted me to make him (of the cookie variety).  classic dad, he said he wanted chocolate chip cookies (sad horn).  so i made some of those.  is it me, or are these the hardest cookies to make?  i can never make these right.  for that reason, no one except immediate family members will be munching on these this holiday season.



these ones were new last year, and i decided to bring them back for an encore.  they seem to be lighter and healthier than all the other cookies (i can believe what i want to believe) and sometimes it's nice to have a break from all the chocolate.  the only downside is that you have to make the dough ahead of time and then let it chill in the fridge for two hours.  i tend to forget about that part.
 

i have been making buckeye balls for a number of years.  they're always well-received.  they are incredibly easy to make, they just take some patience.

every year there is a last-minute cookie idea.  it's usually because i forget how much i've made and i panic that i haven't made enough to share with everyone.  this year's panic cookie was the snickerdoodle.  they are pretty easy to make in a hurry and the recipe calls for standard ingredients.

i could have kept going.  i seemed to have endless energy when it came to making these cookies.  i didn't care that i was washing the same bowls after every batch and i didn't care that my hands were so dry from washing dishes that they were starting to crack.

thankfully, i ran out of eggs and had to stop. 


 

christmas preparations

i love christmas.  always have.  i love decorating the house and i love baking cookies.  it's the one time of year when i feel like i can fly my martha stewart flag high and show my face in the craft store without feeling like i'm forty years too young to be thrilled about yarn.

i was sick last week.  so sick, in fact, that my christmas preparations were in real danger of never even happening.  there is so little time between thanksgiving and christmas.  those few weeks are critical if you want to pull off the perfect christmas.  and for some reason, this year i was determined that it would be close to, if not perfect.  probably a continuation of the whole buying the house and wanting it to be absolutely perfect the moment i moved in thing.

anyway, last saturday when i finally started feeling at least a little bit better, i felt so behind on everything that it was overwhelming and i almost just said screw it, i'll wait 'til next year to have a perfect christmas.  i even thought that i would forgo the cookie baking thing (if you know me, you would know that i live for christmas cookie baking.  this was a big deal).  i have no idea what it was that lit the spark in me, but one minute i was relaxing on the nap couch and the next minute i was yanking the christmas tree box out of the storage closet.  i even had andy help me bring it upstairs.

andy is somewhat of a reluctant christmas celebrator.  it's not that he doesn't like christmas, it's that he doesn't like the setting up of christmas trees and the sending of christmas cards and all the work that goes into christmas.  he basically complained the entire time we were setting up the tree...."why are we even bothering to do this when we're leaving [for my parents] in ten days?"..."why are you bothering to set up a tree when we have a kitten who messes with everything?"  i tried telling myself that it was just him being a boy and that all the christmas preparation is part of what makes it special, dammit.



after we set up our christmas tree with colored lights, i went to town on the mantel.  i was inspired by this mantel i saw at crate & barrel:

now that i've linked it i'm embarrassed to show a picture of my mantel because mine looks pretty pathetic compared to this.  but what the heck.  you only live once.





note: i did not leave the stockings up for long because god forbid i have anything dangling in the way of curious kittens in my house.

once i had finished my tree and my mantel, i added a wreath to our front door and voila! it was christmas.

later that evening, i was sitting downstairs on the nap couch with andy watching real housewives of BH and working on another craft project when we heard a loud crash and the scamper of little feet.  we ran up the stairs and i stuck my head around the corner, then immediately tried to draw back so that andy wouldn't be able to see into the living room.  despite my efforts at pushing him down the stairs, andy came up beside me and said "well, that was worth it".  someone had knocked over the tree onto the hardwood floors, which shattered the ornaments i had put on that side and also broke the stand of the tree.  so that was it for the short life of our 2010 christmas tree.  it was fun while it lasted.



decorating the house got me in the mood for baking cookies.  a post dedicated to cookie baking is coming soon.

thanksgiving re-cap

andy and i went down to southern virginia for thanksgiving.  the drive down was beautiful (although, it was a bit busy since we were one of the millions of cars on the road the wednesday before thanksgiving).  the crowded streets and massive buildings slowly gave way to farms and rolling hills, and soon we were approaching a bright orange and pink sunset that served as a beacon leading the way to a slower pace of life (and hardee's).

the view from the car

every trip to andy's home town seems to be marked not in hours or events, but in restaurants.  prior to our arrival, we always talk about the places we might go for dinner, lunch, breakfast, etc.  i think that must be the thing andy misses most about his home town -- the comforting smell of a hardees biscuit.

with that said, i will now do a run-down of the four-week trip.

wednesday night -- arrived in wytheville, met andy's family at cj's, a fine establishment specializing in pizza, calzones, and subs.  we ate with andy's mom, sister and brother-in-law.

thursday morning -- andy and i drove to wal-mart to get a sports bra for me and i changed in the back seat of his durango so we could get a little bit of exercise.  we jogged for about half an hour, then met his mom at hardee's, where andy proceeded to eat a biscuit, eggs, cheese, and who-knows-what in a bowl drowned in gravy.  i had some oj.

thursday afternoon -- i helped andy's mom prepare the corn casserole (corn cassy for those of you who know me well), green bean casserole, broccoli casserole and various other side dishes.  kyle drove down from his parents and andy's granny came over and had thanksgiving with all of us.

thursday evening -- leftovers and football.  yum.  for some reason andy went through his old clothes and found a pair of pheonix suns shorts (that go with the coordinating jersey) that he wore in middle school.  let's just say he may or may not have put them on and worn them all night to make us all feel awkward and uncomfortable.  we played grey's anatomy trivia, trivial pursuit and scrabble slam.

friday morning (black friday) -- andy's mom got up early to go to walmart to get a tv.  i slept in until 9 and then vegged on the couch with andy for another hour or so.

friday afternoon -- we met andy's sister and brother-in-law at red robin for burgers, then went to every virignia tech bookstore in blacksburg. andy's looking for some inspiration for his basement. we also went to target and pier 1, where i picked up a few christmas decorative items.

friday evening -- leftovers again (i think).

saturday morning -- the entire group went to hardees.  andy reminisced about his friend's dad who used to go to hardees every morning and sit and read the paper while smoking. ah, the good 'ol days.

saturday afternoon -- the big commonweath cup (i think that's what they call it).  virignia tech played university of virginia and creamed 'em.  andy was happy.  we also set up andy's mom's christmas tree and ordered from his favorite chinese place (peking) at half time.

saturday evening -- we left andy's parents' around 5:30 and got stuck in post-game traffic in blacksburg.  i slept for about an hour in the car and we listened to christmas music and taylor swift.  when we got home it was close to midnight, and we both crashed.

as always, it was so good to get out of the city and the hustle and bustle of every day life.

pre-thanksgiving feast preparations

since i will not be traveling home for thanksgiving this year (we are going to andy's parents in southern virginia), i thought i would take advantage of my parents being in town the weekend before thanksgiving and host a mini pre-thanksgiving feast.  it also happened to be two weeks before my birthday, which also coincided with my dad's big new promotion at work, so there happened to be a lot to celebrate.

i was supposed to come home from work on friday night and clean the house.  that didn't turn out so well.  

luckily, i started to panic somewhat on saturday morning and was able to jump right out of bed at 7 am.  i went shopping at safeway to get some groceries for the big meal.  of course before starting the actual shopping i had to grab a caramel light frap at starbucks.  love those things. 

the "big meal" was:

- roasted vegetable lasagna

- orecchiette with cauliflower

- caprese salad (my own "recipe")

- garlic bread

as i went down the pasta aisle to buy the orecchiette, casually browsing the spaghetti sauce, i came across this:

wow. who knew that paul sorvino made pasta sauce?  shocking.  also a little funny.

after returning from the store i unpacked the groceries and got to work.  i cleaned pretty much every room in the house and even tackled the front glass door with windex. 

andy was out of town for the weekend.  it happened to be the weekend of his annual vikings/packers game, and he kept me updated on his status pretty frequently throughout the day:

dave and kyle sharpen their deer hunting skills

andy discovers the perfect christmas present for percy

the guys enjoy a dangerous looking bloody mary (to me it looks like there's just too much stuff in there to actually have access to the drink, but maybe that's just me)

luckily for me, the family was running a bit late, so i was able to finish up my cleaning and actually get a head start on dinner.  by the time the fam got there, the house was smelling like garlic and roasted vegetables -- so good!  my niece walked in the kitchen and asked "what's that stinky smell?"  adorable.

my mom and sister helped me cook in the kitchen while my niece and nephew chased the cat around the house playing "hunt percy".  my dad and brother-in-law delegated themselves to the basement and watched football.  it was crazy and hectic and just perfect.

my niece, who is the sweetest little thing, but also loves percy somethin' fierce (a la elmyra duff from 'tiny toons') had to be reminded a few times that we don't pick up percy.  at one point my brother-in-law found her bending down and walking while holding percy's front paws.  he said "remember, we do not pick up or carry the kitty" and she replied back to him "i'm not carrying him, i'm holding his hands".

we had a little cake for my dad and me.  i got to blow out a candle.  my nephew licked the ice cream container's lid to make sure no ice cream went to waste.  he also gave me a christmas cactus and some skittles.

i can't wait to have many many more meals like this in my home.  it was so worth the wait.

home for the holidays

cousins!, originally uploaded by lizzybee122.

there's nothing like home for the holidays. for me, "home" is my parent's house in ontario. i've never "lived there" per se, but i have spent a couple of christmases there. it's funny because i think of all the places my parents have lived, their current city is the one i am most comfortable with. i always felt like we were outsiders when we lived in GA and NY, like those places were other peoples' "homes" and i was just there temporarily. when we'd go to canada during the holidays it always felt like my mom was going home, so in a way i thought it was the whole family going home. it feels good to have a place to finally call "home" and mean it.

christmas time is here

Since Laura blogged, I figured it was only proper that I update too.  

The government audit I was on finished up about three weeks ago.  It feels like a lifetime ago.  I have been sitting around in the office or at home, doing nothing really, but getting paid for it.  And I love that.  I have four weeks of bliss in exchange for three or four months of hell.  Not a bad deal, I suppose.  I start at a new client in January and I'm kind of nervous about it.  The client has a bad reputation for not caring about anything, and there are a couple of team members I'm not too excited about.  Plus, I don't really know anyone on my team and can say I've probably never even heard the names of most of them.  But it's always hard starting something new.  Hopefully in a few months I'll be able to call some of these people my friends, or if nothing else, my "work friends".  

I'm going home next week.  I think we are leaving Monday after work.  It changes depending on my sister's mood.  I'm looking forward to hanging out with my family for a week and just not working or thinking. 

In keeping with holiday tradition, I have once again baked more cookies than I know what to do with.  I come home from work at a reasonable time these days, and since I have nothing else to do, I just decide to bake another batch of cookies.  They're spilling out of my freezer to the point where I have to start getting rid of my frozen vegetables/other freezer items that have piled up over the years.  It's like I imagine giving trays of cookies to all of my friends...but when the time comes, OOPS I don't have any friends.  So once again Andy will probably have to eat most of the cookies.  

I got new glasses.  I've been having headaches more than usual, and decided that I'd rather have my eyes checked than get the teeth grinding issue resolved.  Hopefully with the new glasses I'll only get headaches half as much.  But we shall see.  

I've been thinking about going back to school for my MBA.  It's a tough decision, though.  It's so expensive, and I don't know how much money it will make me in the long run.  I think it would probably be more profitable for me to just take on another client or something here and work my way up the ladder.  But I think personally I would find more satisfaction in going back to school.  First I'll have to decide where I want to go to school (my top choice is $100k--hoooooly) and then I have to take the GMAT.  Which means studying for the GMAT then filling out those dreaded college applications.  It will take a lot of effort on my part, and I just don't know whether I'm up to it right now.  

I'm going to make a new year's resolution this year.  My resolution is that I will try harder to keep a clean apartment.  This year I wanted to focus on keeping a clean kitchen, which I have been doing pretty well lately.  I have consistently done the dishes before going to bed, and have wiped down the counters after almost every meal/cookie/whatever preparation.  It's time that I grow up and start cleaning up the whole apartment, though.  If it doesn't happen soon, my children will be living in piles of dirty laundry and dust bunnies, and I don't want that.