I was dropping some cookies off at the UPS store yesterday and one of the employees asked if I wanted a cookie. There was a large tray of cookies out on the table in the middle of the small room. About 2/3 of the cookies were gone. Looked like peanutbutter cookies and snickerdoodles.
Anyway, they guy had finished helping a customer and went back to his thermos of coffee and a half-eaten peanutbutter cookie behind the counter. "Would you like a cookie, ma'am?"
I am resigned to "ma'am."
I laughed to myself and politely declined the cookie offer.
No, really. I've had my fill. Thanks anyway.
Today I'm bringing them a small selection of my cookies. They're really nice people in that office - I've been shipping cookies out of that office for the past couple of years now and they're mostly the same group of employees and the manager. So. I'm sharing.
I have shipped all the cookies I'm going to ship.
Today we have our Christmas party in my dept at work. I'm bringing in Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Bisque - which is a fabulous winter vegetable soup that I've been making around the holidays (usually Thanksgiving) for a number of years now. Try it. It's easy and it's yummy and it's got roasted garlic in it, so how can you go wrong there?
Anyway, it should be a good day of eating.
I've still got Christmas shopping to do, some of which I'll attempt on my lunch break today, and more tomorrow. Oy. No matter how much I think I'm in good shape, prep-wise, I always end up feeling like I'm running around desperately during the last few days before the holiday. But oh well, it will get done.
I've still got cookies to plate up and hand out to family and neighbors. Last night I was putting together some trays and I got this insane thought that I just don't have enough. It happens every year, despite the stacks of plastic boxes filled with cookies in the dining room. I still worry I will run out and someone will go cookie-less.
I told Bill last night that some misguided part of my brain believes that I need to have enough cookies to feed every recipient for a week. I don't know where that came from, but there it is.
I still have cards to send out too. AAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH. I don't know when I'll get them done.
Well, enough of the whining.
I don't have a cookie recipe to post today - my apologies - it's just been so nuts these last several days that I am not prepared this morning. Hopefully tonight, but I can't promise anything.
So in the meantime, here are a few pictures I've taken recently. They're mostly my kids. Julia's eye will not be pink in the pictures, in case you were worried. Or hopeful.
Julia, by the way, is very much the little mommy lately. She has four baby dollies (all of them apparently are warm enough without clothing on, as Mommy Julia has removed said clothing long ago and who knows where it all ended up.) And there's also her pink elephant - her favorite stuffed animal and companion and germ receptacle.
The other day Julia and her elephant were sitting on the couch watching something on tv and suddenly I heard, in a small, cramped voice that came from the corner of Julia's mouth "shut up." Immediately, Julia's eyes flew open and her mouth made a large "O" of astonishment. "Did you hear that?" she asked. "Elephant said a bad word!"
Two of her little baby dolls spent the entire night in time out (on the ottoman in the basement) and when I asked why, Julia informed me that "They said a bad word called shut up and stupid."
Those - shut up and stupid - are Julia's favorite cuss words, and in order to say them without getting in trouble, she has figured out that if elephants or babies say them, she's not at fault, especially if she is just as outraged as us taller people.
And a couple nights ago I was in the kitchen working on cookies (what else?) and she came in with the smallest of her apparal-challenged children, held the doll out to me and said, in a thoroughly I've-had-it-up-to-here tone "Here. Take her. She did poop."
(Look, Ma! No neck!)
Okay...now my other child.
Another night while I was working on some cookies...I was just icing an outline on the cookies, and Alex came up to say goodnight on his way to bed.
He stared at what I had done so far and then asked "Mommy, aren't you going to decorate them with beautiful detail?"
His vocabulary frightens me a little. He trots out these unexpected words and phrases and I just stare at him - where did you come from??
And then he starts making monkey sounds (Curious George) and everything falls back into place.
Okay, I've got to get moving. Have a lovely day, and I'll try to put up a cookie recipe tonight. Sorry I've been slacking!
