Coming Back Down to Earth

Whew!! Anyone else feel like the rush of the holidays came and went in the bat of an eye and you're just now recovering??? I hope everyone had a great one. I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and the days that followed. I always feel it goes too fast. I really do enjoy the anticipation, and then the day comes, and boom! it's over. But we had a really good one here, and it's now time for me to look at the mess and clean it up. UGH!! It's time to pick up the boxes, any wrapping the kids have squirreled away (they do that), toys, etc., and put them where they need to go--either the garbage, recycle bin, or toy boxes. So that also means I'll be spending the day going through all the toys my kids have and seeing what they want to donate because they don't play with them anymore. I enjoy the "culling of the stash", so to speak, because it means they get organized and cleaned up, but UGH--so much work. I do the same for my husband and myself. What don't we use? What don't we wear? Off it goes to Goodwill!

Does anyone else have this ritual? I can't imagine I'm the only one. I think a lot of us take this time of year to take stock of things and give away and clean up what they don't use anymore and clean up their spaces and look at and be thankful for all they have. I know I find that this is when I really get to look at the gifts we got and feel thankful for all that we have. So I'll be spending my day as such.

I have lots of things to share with all of you--as soon as I'm done tidying up, I'll be posting plenty of pictures, so stay tuned!! I hope you all have a great day today!

Things I have learned from my kids

about the holidays

1. Once a candy cane falls off the tree, it is not good enough to be put back on, and must be eaten IMMEDIATELY. Even if it didn't break. It's obvious it didn't want to be up there in the first place if it just jumps off.

2. More really is more, especially when it comes to lights or decorations. Less is just not enough.

3. Cookies are a perfectly acceptable breakfast. After all, they contain eggs, and wouldn't you eat eggs for breakfast?

4. You really can watch "Arthur's Perfect Christmas" every time it comes on PBS, even if you've seen it 1000 times before in the past week. You never know what might change.

5. Holiday dresses are especially wonderful and should be worn as MANY times as possible before the day you're mother says your supposed to wear it. However, holiday vests and pants are no good at all and should NEVER be worn without a fight.

6. Hot chocolate is the ONLY way to warm up on a cold day.

7. Snow is fun and should be thrown at your mother no matter what time of day it is or where it is she's trying to get you to go.

8. It's perfectly acceptable to sit in the back of the car on a long ride and shout out "Christmas lights!!" every time you see a lit house, even if that means you'd be shouting for a full half hour. Everyone likes to be informed, after all.

9. Cats really DO want to wear those sticky wrapping bows on their necks, even if they run away every time you approach. They are just playing hard to get.

10. One ornament per branch on the tree is for weenies. Every good decorator knows that clustering your accessories is the best way to show them off, so clustering your ornaments is the best way, too. Don't be afraid to put 6, 7, or 8 ornaments on one branch--it can take it, and the effect is so much more full.

Best wishes to all of you for a wonderful holiday! Enjoy your days! See you all soon!

PS--The cookies in the first picture are called Springerle. They take 3 days to make, and are mostly egg whites and powdered sugar and Anise oil. The reason they look like that is that they are pressed with a cookie mold on the second day. It leaves a lovely design.

Abundance

Ding, dong, I am done! I'm all "cookied up". I thought I'd share some pictures of the bounty. I filled every tin I have and then some. Wow. There is just something about looking at all of that and knowing that it's all going to people you care about and appreciate to make you feel warm inside. That's what the holidays are all about, right?

I enjoyed every minute of the work. Enjoy your day!

Back to the Land of the Living

Ugh. I've been so sick. Finally, though, I am feeling better. The diagnosis from Mom the Nurse is that I had the Flu. Yippee. Time to go get that Flu shot I've been putting off. I don't want a repeat performance of this one, if I can help it.

I started feeling much better Friday, so I jumped back into my "routine" of cooking and baking, because I'm a bit behind at this point. The recipe I would like to share today is called Mexican Hot Chocolate Balls. It is from the Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies magazine from this year. It is a good cookie--not what you'd expect from a cookie, so if you're looking for something a little different and really good, I'd recommend it. It's a hard cookie with a lot of flavors, chocolate and cinnamon and pecans. Usually when I think holiday cookie, I think soft and chewy or hard like a sugar cookie or gingerbread. This is a little harder than that and the flavor is a little more "exotic" and not too sweet. In fact, most of the sugar is on the outside of the cookie. They are delicious! So, without further ado:

Mexican Hot Chocolate Balls

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Beat butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Beat in 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and the vanilla until combined, scraping the side of the bowl occasionally. Bet in as much flower as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour, 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and the pecans.

2. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

3. Combine remaining 3/4 cup powdered sugar, remaining 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll cooled cookies in the sugar mixture. Makes 48.

Enjoy, my friends!