Monthly Archives: December 2009
A Questionnaire
Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.
~E.L. Doctorow
I stole this from Ashley over at Daddy’s Duty (and she stole it from another blogger named Ashley!). I haven’t done one of these in a while.
Are you a Black Friday shopper?
Oh heck no. You couldn’t pay me enough to go out in that mayhem. I hate shopping (yes, I’m anti-girl in that respect) but I also hate crowds. Mega shopping put together with mega crowds and you have Black Friday… mega unappealing to me!
When do you put up your tree?
This year, I have no tree to put up. Rather, I do have a tree, it’s just stuck in a storage shed 2,300 miles away from where I am. But normally I put it up the weekend after Thanksgiving or the first weekend of December. It’s a fake one… that way I don’t have to deal with the tender soles of my feet finding needles the other 11 months of the year. That and I feel bad putting a tree up for a month that took years to grow.
Do you travel at Christmas or stay home?
Well, I’ve always traveled in the past back to my mom’s house. Which I’ll be doing this year. But in the future, I’ll be staying in Washington and they’ll come and visit me 
What is your favorite Christmas movie of all time?
I love, love, love White Christmas. I like traditional Christmas songs sung the traditional way. It’s not Christmas without watching White Christmas.
Do you do your own Christmas baking? What’s your favorite treat?
Oh my. I’m normally a Christmas cookie fiend. I generally make about 23 dozen cookies (you REALLY want to be my friend/coworker during the holidays!). I do about a couple different varieties. I do Sour Cream cutout cookies, Cathedral Cookies (see my Mmm… Monday post this week!), No Bake Cookies and Jam Oatmeal Bars (lately with my own homemade raspberry jam!). My favorite are all of them! Though I think the Sour Cream are special just because I won “Best Cookie in the Fair” when I was 10 or 11 for them. That and they are just yummy without being overwhelming. Unfortunately, all my cookies sheets, spatulas, mixer and decorating stuff is… where else? In a storage unit in Washington. So no Christmas cookies for me this year.
Real or Fake Tree?
Fake. For reasons stated above.
What day (as a mom) does the actual panic set in to get it all done?
Well, I’m not a mom. But I generally panic the weekend before Christmas because I usually have a lot of baking left to do!
Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve?
Eh, sometimes. Not usually. I like seeing a Christmas tree with packages all around it.
What Christmas craft do you like the best?
Um, I don’t do any. I’m lucky that I got all my cards out this year!
Christmas music… yes or no? If yes, what is your favorite song?
If you know me, then you know Christmas is totally my favorite season. That’s why it’s killing me not to be able to get “into” the season this year. So yes, Christmas songs are a must. I love all songs. But “Carol of the Bells” is one of my ultimate favorites, as is “White Christmas” and this year, “I’ll be Home for Christmas” is a favorite. Even though it makes me ball. Like a little school girl getting her pigtails dipped in ink.
When do you plan to finish all your Christmas shopping?
Honestly? After Christmas. Huzzy won’t be back until after Christmas and I don’t want to buy things ahead of time just in case I move before he gets back and have to haul them cross-country. On second thought, maybe I should buy them so something happens and then I DO have to haul them cross-country. ‘Cause I’m tired of the “in limbo” life.
When do you take your tree down?
Generally on New Year’s Day.
Worst gift you ever received?
The Christmas of 2004 was the first one where my parents were divorced. So my dad had to buy Christmas gifts for my brother and I on his own… he’d never had to do that before. So he got all of us (including my mom… they were on good terms and actually still living together while her house was being finished) a calendar. From the local Chinese takeout place. That they gave him for free. I thought it was the silliest thing and rolled my eyes at it. Six weeks later, I found my dad dead outside of a heart attack. That calendar is packed in the storage unit in Washington. It is a permanent piece of decoration in my life (to be fair, it wasn’t a normal calendar… it was on a scroll and IS kinda cool).
When do you start shopping for the holidays?
Eh, I generally buy my first gifts in November… and then procrastinate with the rest!
Favorite thing to eat during the holidays?
All my Christmas cookies!
Lights on the tree?
Absolutely! But I do white lights. And gold trim.
Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angel. With a pink dress. Holding a white light surrounded by gold trim. LOVE IT.
Favorite ornament theme or color?
The majority of our ornaments are really mine. My grandma used to make them for me so they have a lot of meaning. I started buying Huzzy a Hallmark special edition Harley motorcycle ornament each year. Those are his
What gift are you hoping to receive this year?
Nothing. My mom already gave Huzzy and I our gifts back in August. We went whitewater rafting! Other than that, I’m not too into the holiday this year (which is saying a lot for me!).
Mmm… Monday #3: Cathedral Cookies
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.
~Charles Schulz
Today’s Mmm… Monday is one of my favorite Christmas cookies. Second favorite to Sour Cream Cookies (which I’ll post eventually). They are very quick and easy to make, but the coconut can make a mess. They are called Cathedral Cookies because the colored marshmallows make them look like stained glass windows.
Ingredients
12 oz. chocolate chips
1 stick of butter
10 oz of colored mini-marshmallows
1 cup of nuts (optional… and I don’t use them)
1 bag of coconut
Wax paper
- Melt and let cool the chocolate chips and butter. Don’t let cool to the
Photo from TasteofHome.com
point of the chocolate hardening, just enough not to melt the marshmallows.
- Add the marshmallows and the optional nuts. Fold in.
- Spread coconut over wax paper.
- Spoon the mixture in a long line down the wax paper (about a foot long).
- Roll the wax paper around the mixture (like a log) It helps to tape it with butcher’s tape to keep it together until it cools.
- Place in refrigerator and let cool completely.
- Cut into pieces.
That’s it. And it’s oh-so-yummy!!
Punishment Time for Me
The word aerobics came about when the gym instructors got together and said, “If we’re going to charge $10 an hour, we can’t call it jumping up and down.”
~Rita Rudner
I need to punish myself. I can’t seem to find the energy to work out after
coming home from a full day at work, letting the dogs out, feeding the dogs and finding something to eat.
After doing all that, I just don’t feel like going out into the freezing Michigan weather. By that time of day, all I want to do is curl up at home and try to stay warm.
So, as a punishment, I’m going to be getting up at 5 a.m. to hit the gym. I’m NOT a morning person. This does NOT sound like fun. But it needs to be done. Lovely.
Go! Go! GO!
Football is not a contact sport. It’s a collision sport. Dancing is a good example of a contact sport.
~Duffy Daugherty
Go NAVY... beat ARMY!!!
Go LAKERS, beat
THE BEARCATS!!!
I am not a sports fan. Huzzy doesn’t watch sports. I found myself a man after my own heart… he watches the Superbowl for the commercials.
But when it comes to my alma mater, I will watch their Division II playoffs. Today, the Grand Valley State University Lakers will take one of their rivals, the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats for the Division II championship game on ESPN.
And I love watching the Army-Navy game. I will admit, I’ve only been interested in it since I met Huzzy. But this is the first year that I am Navy too. So I really want to watch it.
Too bad both the games are on at the same time. Guess I’ll be acting like a true sports nut (which I’m not) and do some channel switching for the entirety of them. However, I’m sure the Lakers game is going to be more interesting since Navy has smashed Army five years in a row. It’s looking like the Lakers are predicted to lose 20 to 26.
That’s not much. And nothing that we haven’t come up and beaten before. It’ll be an interesting game.
Yay!
Winter either bites with its teeth or lashes with its tail.
~Proverb
The yay was both sarcastic and heartfelt at the same time.
The truthful yay is that I finally found and purchased gifts for Allison at I Heart Change. I can’t say anything on here until she receives and opens the gift but let’s just say that Michigan has some wonderful things to offer.
Okay, the sarcastic yay. Winter is biting with its teeth and lashing with its tail. We are under a blizzard warning. We usually only get a couple of those a year. Winds are supposed to increase to 45-50MPH by this afternoon. That’s on top of the 6″-10″ of snow that we are supposed to get with it. The National Weather Service is telling everyone to hurry up and complete all travel as soon as possible and not to travel tonight and not at all tomorrow. They are predicting widespread power outages due to the high winds and wet, heavy snow. Hey, at least I have a fireplace (that I’ve not used in the four years I’ve been in this house).
This isn’t fair… I’m supposed to be in Washington where the “worst” winter weather is a few inches of snow. I’m going to go hide in a hole right now.
