Portrait of the Artist in a Christmas Ornament

Happy Boxing Day!

I took the self-portrait above yesterday, and have been thinking about it quite a bit.  There's a lot of information about me here, both obvious and just below the surface, and I wanted to make a note of it before it becomes just another of the hundreds of silly random pictures of me on Facebook.

The obvious:

• I'm wearing running clothes.  This picture was taken during a walking cool-down following a five-mile run on Christmas morning.  I ran past this tree twice, but it wasn't until the sun came up and I was moving slowly that I noticed my reflection in the ornaments.  I started to walk away, but thought I'd try to get a picture.
• Long sleeves!  That means cool weather - my favorite running conditions.  (that's my free race shirt from the Orlando Half, by the way)

The less-obvious:

• There's no chance I could have taken this photo inside my house, because I didn't bother decorating for Christmas this year.  However, a few boxes of my ornaments (just the impersonal ball-type ones) are out and proudly displayed...on someone else's tree.  A new-to-Florida friend mentioned that she only had 4 ornaments on her tree, and I gladly loaned her mine so hers wouldn't be so sparse.  
• The photo is a selfie because there was no one else to take it.  

So there you have it - seasonal happy runner and lonely Scrooge all in one picture. 

An Open Letter to Santa Claus

Dear Santa,

Hi it's Jamie. You might remember me from this picture *cough cough* years ago.  I was the little girl holding the red toy truck.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I won't be expecting any gifts this year.  Scott and I have decided to celebrate our anniversary and Christmas "off the grid" with no gifts.  Money is tight, and we have what we need and can wait for anything else we want.

Whatever extra money we do have this season is going to be donated to our two chosen charities.  This year, we'll be giving to the Alzheimer's Association (and not just because their ribbon color is purple!) and the Wounded Warrior Project.  We know our friends and family will understand our desire to "pay it forward" rather than give and receive trinkets, and we hope that they consider making a donation to a charity of their choosing instead of buying anything for us.

It's nice to know that our money will be helping those who deserve not only our help, but our gratitude.  And I'm not going to lie - not having to fight the holiday shopping crowds is a gift in itself!

Merry Christmas to you and the Mrs., and feel free to stop by for some cookies. We'll be sure the save you some!

Love,
Jamie

Nothing Under the Tree

Scott pulled out the Christmas tree this afternoon and put it up. We'll be decorating it tomorrow, adding ornaments picked up during our stay-cation in Tampa (Dali Museum melting clock, of course) and our way-far-away-cation in the Caribbean. I love Christmas, and I love our tree, even though it's too small for the angel we got last year. But this year, there won't be any gifts under the tree.

Like we did in 2008, we have decided to forgo gifts for friends, family, and co-workers and instead donate to charity. This year, we'll be giving to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. In '08, we had a lot of fun shopping for Toys for Tots, and it's something I'd love to do with my future hypothetical children. But this year I felt really strongly that our money should go to a more practical fund. Second Harvest actually provides food to other nonprofits - everything from homeless shelters to breakfast programs for school kids - and I would rather make sure that there's no one hungry on Christmas morning (and for the rest of the year) than give away toys.

But before anyone accuses me of Scrooge-ing underprivileged kids, please read on...

In 2008, we had plenty of gifts under the tree for ourselves, and this year we're buying nothing but stocking stuffers. That's because we decided to make an unexpected donation to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida. "Unexpected? How can that be?" Well you see...

As Disney Cruise Line prepares to bring its newest ship – Disney Dream – online, a special two-night and invitation only preview cruise will take place [...] in support of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida. As part of this one-of-a-kind sailing, 100 percent of the cruise fare will be donated directly to the organization, while select Boys & Girls Clubs children and their families from Brevard, Osceola, Orange and Seminole counties will have a unique opportunity to sail onboard.

(from the Disney Parks Blog)

Merry Christmas to us!

The money we spent on the cruise really wasn't that much more than we would have spent on actual gifts, and we justified the extra expenditure by telling eachother that the money was going to charity. I'm not even pretending that we booked the cruise strictly as a charitable donation. Scott and I have been gobbling up every story about this ship since they started hinting about the awesomeness aboard, and dreaming about the day - more than likely over a year from now - when we'd be able to get a booking cheap enough for us to afford. This also gives my inner journalist the chance to "scoop" ALL of our friends. And did I mention that the inaugural cruise is after our cruise? We're going on before all those Disney nuts who booked 2 years ago!

Plus, we'll be able to give all of you the "gift" of another vicarious vacation. Sure, I've been remiss in blogging at all about our last cruise, but aside from the ports of call (and Cozumel doesn't even count because we never even got off the ship. don't judge - it was raining AND Mexico!), it really was quite similar to the Disney Magic cruise we took in 2007. I'll put something up this weekend, I promise. But this will be a NEW ship with NEW restaurants and NEW shows!

You're welcome!

...and I hope you have some money in your budget to donate to your favorite charity. All kidding (and cruising) aside, I'm grateful that we're in a position to do so. And I know that our gift to the food bank will go to better use than a gift card or knick knack would, and that the memories we make on our mini vacation - and the ones the kids make at the local B&GC's - will last longer than a video game or jewelery would have.

Not Really...I'm Totally Lying

Scott and I are considering modeling next year's Christmas Photo after this family.

(do coconuts come in bigger sizes?)

Christmas Miracle?

Anyone who follows me on Twitter might have noticed the following tweet a few days ago:

Just informed TODAY by JCPenney.com that gift I ordered for @mob308 on 12/14 is no longer available. It took them 8 DAYS to figure this out?
9:15 AM Dec 22nd

I spent a day whining about there being a GIANT HOLE OF DISAPPOINTMENT IN MY CHRISTMAS to anyone who would listen. It didn't occur to me that there were tons of retailers offering free shipping upgrades on the 21st and 22nd and that maybe I could find a replacement elsewhere. In short, I was being an ass.

Yesterday morning, I went online and found a different item in the same genre, plus a sweet bonus gift (and something for myself) for less than the cost of the one item that JC Penney screwed me out of. They offered very reasonable 3-Day UPS Ground shipping, which meant that it wouldn't be here by Christmas, but that I would get it next week. That was fine with me! (The alternative - overnight shipping - was $20. Since it wasn't a "Santa" present for a small child, that wasn't going to be worth it to me.)

I came up with creative ways to package "future gifts" so that Scott would still have something to unwrap tomorrow. I came to the computer just now to do some creative photo editing, and went into my email to pull a picture from the original order. The package shipped yesterday afternoon, and I decided to check the shipping email and see whether it had really shipped, or if the company had done one of those "notified UPS to pick up package" things. Imagine my complete and utter elation when I saw the following:

Status: In Transit

Scheduled Delivery Date:
12/24/2009 (Updated)
12/30/2009 (Original)

What's completely shocking about this is that I've followed packages online before, and have seen a shipping company (I'm thinking FedEx) HOLD things in their local hub in order to not deliver before the promised date. To think that there was room on a truck and that UPS said, "hey - she didn't pay for the quickie shipping, but we have the space!" just absolutely blows my mind.

I'm not getting my hopes up too high... I'm betting that my package has the lowest priority on the delivery truck. But for now, I'm holding off on doing my creative packaging. I might not need it after all!

And so, I'd like to wish a VERY Merry Christmas to the UPS drivers and warehouse workers out there delivering Christmas to children (and grown-ups) everywhere! I'd also like to wish a Merry Christmas to the people at an internet retailer whose name I cannot reveal at this time. I'm a fan for life!

It's Beginning to Look...

It's beginning to look moderately like Christmas here at Casa ParkHopper. We put together our tree last night. We didn't decorate it (though allow me to say again how freaking awesome the pre-lit tree is!). We just assembled it and left it alone. This gives the cats - especially Elphie, who hasn't been around a Christmas tree before - a chance to get used to being squirt every time they touch it.

Unexpected, in a Good Way

I've been PMSing pretty madly for the past few days, so apologies for not writing anything warm & fuzzy. Honestly, I was watching stories of people stranded in airports and yelling at the TV. Sometimes it was, "you're having a WHITE CHRISTMAS! be HAPPY!" and other times it was, "this wouldn't have happened if you had just stayed at HOME!" Of course, the latter came when I was pissed off about work. Every year at this time, we have the same diners who have come in for the last 5-10-15 years to have Christmas/Eve/NYE dinner here. Repeat diners give The Boss stress, and stress, much like shit, rolls down hill.

That said, Scott and I did have a lovely Christmas (Eve) together this year. We opened gifts in the morning, had Japanese for lunch, and since it was just the two of us, we decided to have steaks for dinner instead of ham or turkey. We each knew what our "big gift" was going to be, having picked them out ourselves. But neither of us really had a list this year, so the other gifts were a surprise. And I think we both did pretty well.

By far, my favorite unexpected gift was a pastry bag with multiple tips. I actually used the classic Jamie phrase, "I didn't know I wanted this!" But it turns out I totally did. He also bought me all of Scalzi's "Old Man's War" books and "Agent to the Stars" in paperback to complete my collection. I've already read one, and am about to start on the others.

When I asked Scott what his favorite unexpected gift was, he had to pick two: the 2009 Chick-Fil-A calender ("Cows in Blue" - if you like cop shows, you need this calendar!) and the DVD of Airplane, "Don't Call Me Shirley" edition. These were two of the last things I bought, and were both impulse buys. Much better than the year I bought him the plastic yellow bell pepper!

Oh - and the most unexpected gift of all (for both of us) was a Pennsylvania care package from my Grandpop. It has Tastykakes and Goldberg's Peanut Chews (which don't go by that name anymore) and some other stuff in it. How wonderful! ...and I was touched when he sent an old picture of "Mullet Jamie With Clown" in the Christmas Card earlier this month. (yeah - I totally need to scan and post that!)

I'm working really hard on focusing on the positive right now, but work really is kicking my butt this week. So please enjoy the remainder of the Month of Holiday Cat Photos. I'll be back when I have something else nice to say!

December 24

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse (because I ate it).
The stockings were hung by the Elphie with care
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there...

Common Sense

I don't usually have it. But this morning, I got it right.

Scott left the house before 8 am for a very early doctor appointment (of the standard "come in or I won't refill your prescriptions" variety). And since I had a chiropractor appointment scheduled for 11 am, I decided the best thing I could do was wake up early and wrap presents. That way, I could do some damage and then go at my appointed hour and have him UN-do the damage.

The chiropractor was amused. He told me he gets at least one call every year that goes something like, "I'm sitting indian-style on the floor and I can't get up." I thought of that, and figured Scott would be able to fold me into his car and drive me if anything really bad happened. (that did happen to me one year - except I bent over and couldn't stand back up)

This year, I was fine after wrapping everything. Of course, then I came home and scooped a ton of stinky cat litter and now my back is a little stiff. But that's just old muscle aches. Nothing to worry about.

And in case you were wondering, I can now turn my head more than 90 degrees to the right and almost 90 on the left. And the sound of the popping in my neck when I get adjusted still makes me want to vomit!

And on an unrelated note, Scott and I met up after our appointments and went to Crispers for lunch. If you do the cup-o-soup and half sandwich combo, your sandwich options are somewhat limited. BUT you can get corned beef and swiss on rye and substitute thousand island dressing for mayo and it's just like a Reuben, but without the sauerkraut. It was delish! And their chicken & dumpling is a decent soup... even if they are cheap on the chicken.

Habitat for Candy

Some pictures from Scott and Jamie's afternoon-o-fun:
Building supplies

Scott the BuilderOur houses from the back

Bird's eye view of the neighborhood. Please note that Scott's house has a pool. Sadly, it must not have a heater, since it's partially frozen!

The front of Casa de Jamie. I'm particularly proud of my flower/tree beds. And in case you noticed that the path was made from halved Ghirardelli squares, don't worry. They are left-over candy from last Christmas, just like those Kisses on the roof!

Scott's house from the front. He made a snowman, but it's out of focus in this picture. I also totally dig his pool and his shoveled-but-still-has-snow-on-it walkway. It's like he grew up in my neighborhood!

It turns out that gingerbread (ok, graham cracker) houses are another of those things that Scott never did as a kid. He did pretty well - cut his own crackers, made the icing, and did some really cool stuff with candy. What a fun way to spend an afternoon. Of course, now we have 20 pounds of left-over candy, and had to move the houses to the bedroom to keep the cats away from them.

How about a little contest with no prizes?

Who can name the most candies on the houses?

It's Beginning to Look Moderately Like Christmas

Scott and I decided that there will be no Christmas tree this year. Ironic decision, considering last year's investment in a pre-lit fake tree. No one told us last year that we'd have a kitten this year - one who likes to jump and climb and be everywhere she isn't supposed to, especially when there's no one around to tell her not to do that. So we went to plan B, the wreath.

It's not quite done. It's still rather barren, so we're going to hang some of these balls once we get some new ornament hooks. In case you were wondering about the eclectic selection of ornaments, the wreath only has "us" ornaments: (clockwise from top) the Lenox wedding couple from my Grandfather, one of our two "first Christmas together" ornaments, Milo's First Christmas, Santa riding a dolphin (from Hilton Head - see below for detail), the other "first Christmas together" ornament, the Incredibles, Cruise Line Mickey ornament, and the Wicked Witch, which represents Elphie. (nope...not mean spirited at all. haven't you seen the show??) And the candy canes were actually made by Scott and me a few years ago to hang on a tree.

And I'll leave you with one last picture. It prompted me to lament that we'd already sent out our Christmas cards for the year...

From the Mail Bag

We got two cards in the mail today. One was an anniversary card (thanks, Janette!) and the other was a Christmas card. The first one of the season!

Amazingly enough, the card was from Bill. Why is that amazing? Because his was the last card of the 2007 season to arrive... in February of 2008! In his defense, there was some confusion with my address and the card kept getting returned to him.

Anyway, fa la la! Our cards will be going out this weekend, with a special bonus card inside.

...and in other news, ten days off seemed like plenty of time to dye my hair, let it fade, and have it be mostly back to normal before I go back.

It's a little penny-colored (less in the photo than in real life), but it's not as pink as I was worried it would be.

Hey Tots...

Here's your toys!

Scott and I had a grand old time last night running around a certain undisclosed location buying toys at a special holiday rate, going to his office to take this picture, and then dropping the whole lot into the Toys for Tots box. The box now runneth over.

I picked out almost all of this stuff, as you may have guessed from looking at it. There's lots of stuff that's artsy - the Mickey version of magna-doodle, a Pirates art supply case, a Pirates activity set, and (my personal favorite) a wildlife origami set. Although I am by no means artistic, I always loved my crayons and markers. Every store we went into, I found something else along those lines.

There's also a puzzle, a baby toy, and some toys with moving parts. And a football.

What's above is half of our charitable donation for the season. We're also going to be donating to Second Harvest, but not until after vacation. Hopefully that's not too late to put the money to good use.

Sunday Snippets

...a list of random odds & ends tied into one post

Yesterday The Restaurant got a new menu item: Grouper with Geoduck Clams. What's a geoduck? Well first of all, you pronounce it gooey-duck. And here's some pictures. Did you blush a little? I was explaining to The Chef that The Husband (you know - Scott) was quite intrigued. After all, and product that has been featured on Dirty Jobs, No Reservations, and the Bald Man's Quest for Disgusting Food must be tried! The Chef claimed he didn't know it had been on any of those shows, but I totally think it's on the menu because it was on those shows.

Next Topic: Politics

(notice how I sandwiched between less divisive subject matter)

I want to move to Georgia so that I can vote for Rep. John Lewis (D-GA). Regarding the recent shenanigans at McCain-Palin rallies, he said:

"What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse,"

You should read the rest of the article, too. Looks like McCain can dish it, but he can't take it.

And finally, a healing moment of kitten cuteness

Elphie then and now. Look how much bigger she is compared to the kitchen tiles:

Elph-butt is at that stage where she doesn't understand "no," and thinks that being on the kitchen counter might actually be worth getting hosed with the squirt bottle. In short, kitty adolescence. Scott and I have basically ruled out a Christmas tree this year, because she's insane and uncontrollable. I have that wreath from last year - I figure we'll throw a string of lights on it along with a dozen ornaments, and voila! Instant Christmas!

Milo's first Christmas was when I lived with Cat. We had a 18" fake tree I got from WalGreens. It sat on top of the entertainment center, and we locked Milo in the laundry room when we left home so that he wouldn't jump up there unsupervised and knock the whole thing down. Somehow it seems more humane to just rule out the tree this year!

Christmas Eve

Today was a good day for me.

(Scott is coming down with his first big cold of the season, and is at work, and is therefore miserable. But since he's not home yet, I'm taking this opportunity to bask in my own holiday joy)

I got up a minute before my alarm clock and was out the door by 10 am. My goal was to be at work by 10, but I didn't set the alarm earlier than 9, so I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen. I stopped at Chick Fil A for breakfast (and yes, there is a third cup holder in the car for my giant un-sweet tea), and rolled in to work by 11.

Work wasn't quite as productive as I'd hoped. Actually, I got a lot done - just not the things I wanted to get done. Who calls a restaurant on Christmas Eve to buy a gift certificate? I have three names for you! ...but I won't share them.

I got a lot of very cool gifts from the folks I work with this year - home-made cookies and chocolates, LOTS of candy, a gift basket of random yummies, a few gift cards (Target, AMC, or Best Buy, anyone?), and I got the most random and fascinating gifts from one of our servers.

His brother is a famous writer/director who has a new movie coming out soon. And I got a promo t-shirt from the new movie and an autographed comic book of said movie. Yes - autographed! This particular writer/director has die-hard fans. I know a lot of them. And I feel like I am unworthy to possess these items. I haven't even seen the films that made him a cult legend (though I have seen and loved 2 of his more recent movies). Needless to say, as soon as I got to my car I called Scott, who was duly impressed, and Cat, who agreed that I was completely unworthy.

Speaking of Cat, we got together tonight to have some wine, torture some hapless souls in the hospitality industry who had to work so we wouldn't have to cook, and exchange gifts. But not in that order. She got me an electronic game, but we couldn't play because it needed AAA batteries. I didn't know anything took AAA's anymore! So we went to Logan's Roadhouse and had fried mushrooms with horseradish dipping sauce (wow - I never got a horseradish headache before! yum!) and big fat steaks. OK, little steaks. But they sure were tasty! And then we came back here and reminisced fondly about the year we lived together. (yeah - we gloss over the bad parts... life's too short to dwell on the negative)

So yeah, I'm all aglow with yule. Or chardonnay. Either way, I'm sure I'll be back (with pictures!) tomorrow after Scott leaves for work. I hope that anyone who reads this between now and then is having a fabulous holiday filled with good friends and cheer... or at least a good glass of chardonnay!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Dispatches from the Camera Phone

Two completely separate photos. The only thing tying them together is that they were taken from the phone:

This is my desk. With four open bottles of wine. Sadly, none are mine - they rarely let me drink on the job! We had some finicky diners last night who only wanted sweet German and Italian wines, so the server brought me the bottles so that I could put the wines on their menus. These same half-full bottles were still sitting on my desk this morning. Hopefully they'll be gone by the time I get back on Thursday!

And this picture was taken on the way to work today. This is the inside of my car - with two potted plants in the cup holders. Though it's a nice look, it's not a permanent arrangement. I bought the Chefs, Managers, and the other reservation girls random cacti for Christmas. The Chefs got the aloe, the girls got the little mini cacti, and the Managers got little gardens (3 different plants in a short wide-mouth terra cotta pot). Since the other girls all gave out chocolate in some form, I figured I'd be different. Anyway, I have been taking the plants in a few at a time (still have 2 at home for the girls who are off until January) and these two got a ride in the cup holders.

(and yes, that IS a PEZ dispenser. it's Remy from "Ratatouille" for our head chef. because I'm cool like that!)

The Tree

Obviously this tree is much denser than the old fake tree. How can I tell? We had to buy new balls to hang, and the tree still looks pretty barren! (and yes, the bottom portion is devoid of kitty-tempting dangling ornaments on purpose)


And in case you were wondering, that's Bright House's "Yule Log on Demand" on the TV. The music was terrible, but I needed some non-commercial background noise while putting up the last of the ornaments.

Christmas Survey

I haven't done a survey on this blog in forever (since the formation of the now-defunct "Quiz Central" blog), but hey - it's Christmas! And the bonus is I can copy & paste this right into a MySpace bulletin... because everyone loves a MySpace survey!
(via Adventures in Juggling)

Favorite traditional Christmas song: “O Holy Night”
Favorite contemporary Christmas song: "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
Least favorite Christmas song: "Last Christmas..."
Christmas song that makes you cry: “I'll Be Home for Christmas”
Real or artificial tree: fake...and pre-lit this year!
Favorite Christmas edible treat: cookies! lots and lots of home-baked cookies!
White lights or multi-colored: white this year
How many Christmas parties will you go to this year: zero?
Favorite act of kindness to perform during this season: hmm... kindness? I got nothing!
Favorite sounds of Christmas: the occasional bell choir performing in the lobby of The Hotel
Favorite things to wear: well, given that it's Florida, I'll go with flip-flops and jeans
Favorite Christmas movie/TV special: The Jim Carrey Grinch movie
Favorite Christmas episode of a TV Series: I got nothing!
Eggnog or hot chocolate: bring on the 'nog
Favorite Christmas book: I once had a coloring book about Noel the Christmas Ornament...
Christmas books on my “to read” list: none really
Peppermint or cinnamon: Peppermint
What’s on the top of your tree: An angel in a red dress. She's out of proportion with this tree though, so we'll probably have a new one next year.
Traditional Christmas meal growing up: It was always breakfast - pancakes or waffles, and of course, more chocolate chip cookies. Dinner was turkey or ham or at someone else's house.
Online shopping or traditional “go to the store” shopping: I sure prefer online, but I think this year was about half and half
Something you received as a Christmas gift as a child that you still have: Christmas ornaments and lots of Cabbage Patch dolls
How many Christmas cards you have mailed so far: around 25. the only other ones I have left are for co-workers
Favorite source for Christmas ideas: probably the internet
Coordinated/themed or hodge-podge tree decorations: hodge-podge
What’s on the top of YOUR Christmas wishlist: I didn't make a list this year.
Roles you’ve played in Christmas plays/programs: I was the narrator in the 1st grade Christmas Pageant, and Elf #5 in "A Cause for Mrs. Claus" in 5th grade. Other than that, it was all choral concerts
Wrapping paper or gift bags: paper!
When do you put up the tree: this year? last Wednesday.
When do you take the tree down: some time between January and May (it was just that one year when I didn't take the tree down. usually it's by the end of January)
Do you have a nativity scene: no
Hardest person to buy for: this year, it's the generic-yet-thoughtful gifts for co-workers and bosses that have me stumped!
Easiest person to buy for: Scott... though I'm sure he could live without the random stocking stuffers I come up with!
Worst Christmas gift you ever received: Probably clothes that didn't fit
When do you start shopping for Christmas: November
Have you ever recycled a Christmas present: No, but I did recycle a few really random wedding gifts into Christmas presents.
Travel at Christmas or stay home: Home is where the heart is
Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer: yes
Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning: Christmas morning. Got that Scott? ;-)
Most annoying thing about this time of year: How darn busy I am at work. Why does everyone want to eat at a restaurant on Christmas Eve/Christmas day? Doesn't anyone stay home and cook anymore?
What I love most about Christmas: the music

Two Randoms in One Post

First: Check out the world's thickest mattress!

This is our new mattress. In case you were wondering, the old mattress came up to the top of the wrought iron...at the corners! This one is at least 6" taller. And boy oh boy - I can't wait to get a good night's sleep on this thing!

Second: In case you were wondering what a plate full of love looks like, this is it.


I decided to take my experimental corn poop cookies to work, so I made some more PB&J's for Scott to take to work. Going clockwise around the plate, there are the last of the CPC's at the top, then PB&J with raspberry jam, them PB&J with grape jelly, and then you can see one of the PB&J's from the first batch.

It turns out this particular cookie recipe puffs up a little too much for decent thumbprints (first batch), so for the second batch, I rolled the dough into balls and made "belly buttons" with the end of a wooden spoon and filling them with jelly. I'm still not happy with the cookie-to-filling ratio, but I think that just means I need to make smaller cookies. Some day I will get this recipe good enough to give as gifts... along with a loaf of banana bread.

Yes, that is the sum total of my cooking prowess. Thank you for asking!

Corn Poop Cookies

(If you've gotten the impression that today is going to be a day-of-many-posts, you are correct. I have a lot to say, and this will probably be my last free time until Monday afternoon)

Today was cookie baking day. I made two separate batches of cookies. There were supposed to be three, but the mini peanut butter cups didn't have a traditional Toll House cookie recipe on the back, and I lost steam before going to the web to find the recipe and copy it down.

I did made some more peanut butter cookie dough, using the recipe in a book because I have once again forgotten to put the family recipe (which, let's be honest, probably came from a different book) some place it wouldn't get lost.

The other batch was totally unplanned. We still had 1/2 bag of peanut butter chips, and the chocolate cookies pictured on the bag just looked so darn tasty I had to try them out. Problem: no cocoa powder. HOWEVER, I did have tiramisu-flavored hot cocoa powder. That's close enough, right? And I needed 3/4 cup and only had 1/2 cup. And as always, I used self-rising flour instead of AP with salt & baking soda.

Obviously, this was going to change things a bit. It turns out that hot cocoa isn't as dark as regular cocoa powder. This means I ended up with cookies slightly darker than normal, with light brown chunks. Yep, corn poop.

They really are quite tasty. The chocolate flavor is very mild. And I think I'd like to try the recipe again using actual cocoa.

I ended up baking 2 dozen corn poop cookies and 1 dozen PB&J (6 raspberry, 6 grape). And I bagged up the remainder of the dough and put it in the fridge. This solves our cookie storage problem, and we can bake them a dozen at a time.

...because nothing covers the smell of dirty cat box like the smell of baking cookies! Bon apetit!