Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas?

So what are you doing Christmas Eve day? Baking? Last-minute shopping? Wrapping those last few gifts and putting them under the tree? Maybe even decorating the tree?




Know what we're doing?




Making a big mess of the foyer and cleaning out the coat closet.



Why are we doing this?



I have no idea.

But Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. :)

Thursday, December 22, 2011

In the mood

I finally got in the mood to bake some cookies.

Yeah, I know, they don't look like much. But they are absolutely my very favoritest cookies in the whole world. Cinnamon snaps. Kinda like ginger snaps but... well, you get the picture.

I've already eaten a whole bunch, and they're out there on the table calling to me. Trying to resist, but it's hard.

So in case you love cinnamon as much as I do, and prefer crunchy cookies, here's the recipe. Don't say I never gave you anything. :)

CINNAMON SNAPS

1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
1 c. butter
2 eggs, beaten
3-1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 T. cinnamon

Cream the sugars and butter. Blend in beaten eggs. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Shape dough into two logs, 2 inches in diameter. Wrap with wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Slice rolls into 1/4-inch thick cookies. Dip top in sugar crystals or sprinkle on if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes, until edges are golden brown.

And that's all there is to it. Easy and cinnamon-y. Guaranteed no calories during the holiday season.

Enjoy!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Sweet treats

These are reindeer cookies, made by Betsy. Aren't they cute? And easy: Just make the Hershey's kiss peanut butter cookie recipe, roll the dough into balls, flatten them into egg shapes and bake. When they come out of the oven press in M&Ms for eyes and nose and chocolate covered pretzels for the antlers.

Below is a picture of one of the five boxes of assorted cookies made by Molly and sent to relatives. Yummy! Molly also decorated the house while I was at my mom's.

Made by me: nada... zip... zilch.

I'm still working on trying to be happy for the holidays, or at least not too cranky. My mother-in-law breaking her hip last week, precipitating two trips to the Catskills, hasn't helped.

What has helped... cookies. I'll regret it when I make my annual New Year's resolution to lose weight, but nothing says happiness like a peanut butter kiss cookie.

Ernestine Ulmer said it best: Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.

:)

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Guilty pleasures

Why do they make Harlequin romance titles and covers so embarrassing?

Somebody gave me a box of 10-15 year old Harlequins & Silhouettes, and I'm reading them in secret... Oh, well I guess it's not a secret anymore, huh? *blush*

Most of them aren't too bad if you want a quick, easy read with a guaranteed happy ending. But then when I review them on Goodreads, everyone will know what I'm reading.

Is it really humiliating to read light romances? I always thought so, but now I'm not so sure.

Heck, even Nora Roberts, the queen of romance, started out with Silhouette. How bad can that be?

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

It's Al Right

I've been reading a lot of free Kindle books, and it turns out many of them are self-published.

Being a bit OCD, especially during the holiday season, the errors drive me insane, and I've been tweeting advice to self-publishers. Examples:

Tips for #selfpublish: Hallows=holy relics. You don't have dark hallows under your eyes unless you were slapped by a dead saint. #badgrammar

Tips for #selfpublish: If you're following the rules, you TOE THE LINE. Tugboats tow the line. #badgrammar

One of my pet peeves is the use of the non-word, alright. ALRIGHT IS NOT A WORD! Another is the non-word alot. ALOT IS NOT A WORD!

My dear friend Rosie Lane gave me a terrific link to a blog post by the brilliant Allie Brosch about the alot, an imaginary creature that looks like a cross between a bear, a yak, and a pug. Then when I wondered what an alright looked like, she gave me a link to a youtube video song, Alright, by Jamiroquai.

So from now on, whenever I see alright used in a sentence, I will think of my friend Al Right with the funny hat and mustache. "I was feeling alright" gives me the picture of the writer stroking Al Right's mustache.

Stupid... maybe. But it helps me deal.

You gotta take your fun where you find it, right? Al Right!