Hi guys! So I guess I took a little vacation last week. I would have told you but every time I approached my computer, it was like two magnets repelling each other. I snuck up from all directions, but it was as if some weird force field was in place around my desk. And then suddenly I remembered that I had to clean out the freezer in the basement. Oh, and wipe out the silverware drawer. How do crumbs end up in the silverware drawer anyway? Everything in there is supposed to be clean. It should be spotless always! Anyway, when someone like me starts looking for things to clean, it's clear I need a break. Preferably someplace warm and tropical, but I'll settle for another room in the house in a pinch.
December was a dizzying combination of home improvement and holiday madness. Over the course of three weeks, we had the roof on our house replaced (planned) and a new hot water heater installed (unplanned). The Third Grader had a birthday, Husband got a shiny, new job, and I ran the school bake sale in which I continued the PTO tradition of requiring a police/fire department visit. It's not nearly as exciting as it sounds, trust me. I accidentally dialed 911 from the school while trying to track down the missing cash box that had all the change we needed for the sale. After apologizing profusely to the police dispatcher, they said they would still have to come and check things out. Because that's what parents like to see as they arrive at their children's elementary school holiday concert: the authorities swarming around the premises. Fine, I said, just please, please bring rolls of quarters and lots of ones. And don't even think about leaving without buying a cookie!!
Speaking of cookies, I had intended to write about the holiday cookie exchange that Next-Door Neighbor started a few years back, which is based on a tradition she grew up with. Here's how it works: Acquire a holiday-themed cookie jar (the uglier, the better). Fill it with homemade cookies of your choice, preferably an assortment. Give to your neighbor, friend, or crazy relative who can cook. Now they have cookies and, more importantly, the cookie jar. Next year, as they're unpacking their festive holiday knick-knacks and whatnot, they'll come across the cookie jar they received the year before and blurt out, "Oh, #$%#$&" (insert favorite swear here). Because now it's their turn to reciprocate instead of being the one to receive surprise cookies without lifting a finger. And back and forth it goes. It's delicious holiday revenge!
This year, we were the lucky recipients of the cookie jar packed with three kinds of cookies. As if I needed more cookies in my life. Turns out I needed more cookies in my life because we got the jar on Wednesday and it was empty by Christmas. There were soft frosted gingersnaps, pecan tassies, and these beautiful peppermint pavlova cookies filled with crushed candy canes, white chocolate chips, and crack. At least I think it was crack. That's the only explanation for how many I ate. I've never been a white chocolate kind of girl, but it appears I can be swayed.
Hope you enjoyed your holiday cookies (and the holidays themselves) as much!
I find it completely disturbing how much crack is served to unassuming cookie eaters during the holidays! Case in point, that cookie jar at my partner's parent's house. It appears to be sitting quietly under a low shelf and then -whizz! Bang!- I've eaten ten. It's despicable, I tell you.
Posted by: Phoebe | January 02, 2012 at 11:21 PM
What I can't understand is how the crack ended up in the Buckeyes I made for my kids.
I ate half of them myself! Time for rehab.
Posted by: Arleen | January 03, 2012 at 11:19 AM
IS this the neighbor that I know and love so much?! If so, I will be beating down her door for that recipe soon! yum.
---- and congrats hubby on the new job!
Posted by: sarah | January 03, 2012 at 01:39 PM
I love the ugly cookie jar idea. How do you decide who gets what jar?
Posted by: Blaine | January 03, 2012 at 06:51 PM