by Sarah | Dec 5, 2008 | Crap, Holidays
Life lessons from Cookie Land Central – i.e. my house for the next 3 days.
1. DO take out your butter and eggs several hours before you begin. It allows for much easier mixing.
2. DO NOT – I repeat – Do NOT crack your egg so hard that it splits completely in half, dropping half the shell into your running KitchenAid that promptly shatters it and mixes it into 1c of butter and 1c of shortening.
3. DO ignore directions and go with your instincts on cookie size. Otherwise you end up with one GIANT cookie where 5 smaller ones were meant to exist.
4. DO NOT think that the fit of the bowl is “Good enough” to be a double boiler if it moves at all…the chocolate gets burnt and you get miserable.
5. DO make plans for a bigger kitchenm and then pretend you’re in it so the misery of no counter space seems far away while you’re trying to work under those conditions.
5. DO NOT forget to clean as you go…makes it much easier to get to the NEXT type of cookie.
6. DO make a complete list of ingredients needed and make SURE you have enough so that last minute supply replenishing isn’t required.
7. DO NOT forget to enlist the 10 year old to frost cookies so that once they are baked you can put your feet up and let them have the misery of frosting 10 dozen cookies.
I’m sure many more lessons are left to be learned…but we’re still on day 1 of cookie time!!
by Sarah | Dec 2, 2008 | Holidays
Cookies.
Last year at Christmas I baked about 600+ cookies – about 5 different kinds. I tried new recipes and not one of them flopped. I discovered the best-ever sugar cookie recipe, and discovered a few others that were just to die for.Â
This year I’ve found new recipes to try, and I just don’t know where to stop.
I have to make at least 5-6 dozen for a cookie swap party – of one kind of cookie. That will stamp out one kind.Â
But how do I choose what else to make? I don’t want my house overrun with cookies when my husband is a diabetic. I know he’ll take some into work to share with everyone. That will take care of several dozen as well. Plus I have to send some to our soldier.
The problem comes down to what kinds to make? I have too many options before me. Want to help me choose? Just select below. I’ll choose the top 4 to make with my standard cookies and giveaway cookies!!
by Sarah | Dec 1, 2008 | Random
The blog has been in the planning stages for months, but we’ve just now managed to get the coding/graphics done and the site put together.Â
My BFF Jess and I have joined together to start a review blog! We’ve called it:
Two Brooms Up
Today I’m over there with a review of Sandra Worth’s: The King’s Daughter. It’s due to be released tomorrow!! So go on over and read the review and click my link to preorder the book!!
Preview of the review:
Elizabeth of York was the only woman to be a daughter, niece, sister, wife, and mother to English kings. Her wide connection to royalty did not prove to grant her a charmed life, quite the opposite.
by Sarah | Nov 30, 2008 | Weekly Winners
For the week of 11/24-11/30/08
Weekly Winners is the brainchild of the wonderfully Sarcastic Mom, Lotus
This week all pictures were taken at our town’s holiday celebration – Christmas on the Square. It involved games and food, and ended with a tree lighting.
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by Sarah | Nov 27, 2008 | Holidays
The past week I’ve been a little mopey. We had no one coming to dinner. On Thanksgiving…no family…no friends. Our friend and neighbor was coming by…but not for dinner, just for leftovers. My parents were being charitable by helping serve dinner for the needy at their church…but it meant they weren’t coming.
Then last night as I was setting up to make the pies, and run to Wal Mart to get out of Archie’s hair while he mopped pick up a few last minute items. The phone rang. It was my mom wanting to know our plans for the Holiday. I told her we’d be eating about 1:30 but our day was otherwise wide open.
In surprise she mentioned that would be when they were done at the church, and they didn’t want to disturb our dinner.
I just blinked in surprise, and said “Your dinner will be done by 1:30?!”
She said that yes, the dinner ran 11-1.Â
So…I invited them to dinner. My mom actually hesitated because she didn’t want to “invite herself over.” But they’re coming to dinner. A day with just the five of us…has become a day of family!Â
It makes me very happy…despite the last minute guests…I had plenty of food anyway (I always make too much – leftovers, you know).
by Sarah | Nov 26, 2008 | Crap
Total and complete denial.
About everything that I have to get done today.
No, I’m not having company, really. My parents will probably stop by, some time during the day (no, they aren’t joining us for a feast. Why would that do that? Why would ANYONE join us for a feast…and no, no one is…despite the TONS of food I HAVE.)…and my neighbor will join us for leftovers and some friendly conversation at dinnertime. But we won’t have a houseful of guests. It will just be us.
But still I have no dishes…well, I have dishes, but never enough in this house. So I need to do dishes…and then do dishes AGAIN after dinner. I have to finish the laundry (seriously…it’s overtaking my house again).
I have to make my stuffing.
I hve to make sure that I do dishes after dinner so that I can get the turkey in the sink to finish defrosting overnight.
I have to make my pies.
I have to have hubby bathe the girls (yes, dear…that’s a hint).
I have to start prepping and planning my adopted soldiers care package. AND send him a letter/email to let him know about us. (It only took ONE day to get our soldier! I’m so excited!)
I have to figure out how to hook up my printer to my computer in its new location. See, the printer cable is VERY short…and I can’t afford a new one just yet.
I have to clean off my camera card just because I can’t let it get as bad as it was before.
I have to finish the remaining 3 layouts before the weekend is over. (OH, didn’t you know? I just redid THIS site for my BFF. No, I didn’t do the coding, but I adjusted the coding and did all the graphics on my little lonesome.)
And yet…despite all of this I’m still sitting here writing a blog post and chatting with my BFF before she abandons me for the weekend.
Oh, and over the weekend I have three books to read that I need to do reviews on. I’m supposed to have a fourth book, but it never came. I also took out a couple of craft books from the library last night and I need to pick out craft ideas that I want to save (and copy) for later use.Â
Oh yeah…and somehow I have to get back to writing. Maybe my muse will return to me when I haven’t got so much to do (HA! Yeah…like I’ll never have 5,000,000 things on my plate).
