This Christmas came and went again like all other Christmases... FAST. Ha! I feel like I just put up the tree now it is already time to take it back down. Sad!
This year we were unable to go to Alabama so my parents drove over. We spent Christmas Eve with Doug's parents and then Christmas day everyone came over for dinner. Thanks to my Mom for helping me cook and thanks to Doug's Mom for making the yummy ham!
Our Christmas was pretty uneventful so I do not have much to blog about. We missed all of our family and we hope to make it home next year. Doug was permanently restricted from handing out presents this year. He accidentally (aka didn't look at the tag on the present to see who it actually went to) opened one of his Dad's presents. Would not have been that big of deal if it was not his Dad's big, surprise present. Yeah, he ruined that! But in his defense the tag probably did say "To Doug". They just did not specify which Doug. I got Doug the XBox Kinect and we have had a great time playing it. The best part is the game takes pictures of you as you play. The are so much fun to look at after the game is over.
The snow the day after Christmas was so nice. I wish more snow would have stuck to the ground but it was nice having the snow without the mess. We thought it was going to stop snowing around lunch so we waited until then to get out and about. Since it did not stop snowing we got to shop in the snow. It was really cool. A little wet and cold but how many southerners can say they were out shopping while it was snowing?
I am off today and tomorrow and I am using the time to get stuff done around the house. From putting up our new bedding set for our bedroom to cleaning windows, I am going to be very busy the next few days. It's amazing how much stuff you can come up with that you have been putting off doing!
So as most of you know from my Facebook status, I have my first set of stitches. Well, a couple of weeks ago I noticed a mole on my arm had turned really dark and it felt like a scab. So I called my family doctor and they told me to come in so they could look at it. They thought it would be best for me to go and have it biopsied so I went on Tuesday to a dermatologist and had that done. The doctor said it should come back ok. I will let you know if it doesn't.
So that was my Christmas. Short, sweet, and calm. Now on to tackling that to do list. Wish me luck!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
M&M Cookies
I will blog about Christmas soon, I promise, but this topic deserves a blog of it's own. Yes... M&M cookies are getting a whole blog dedicated to them.
It all started when I was little. For Christmas my Mom and Dad go bake-crazy. They make a little bit of everything for us to snack on and to take to parties. One of my greatest memories from Christmas growing up is all the yummy sweets I never got to have the rest of the year. Now of course I have developed my favorites and my parents had to make them every year no matter what. My most favorite of the treats were the M&M cookies my Dad would make. I only eat the ones my Dad makes. No cookie store or package from the grocery store will do. They have to be from my Dad.
Now as I have gotten older I have got the recipes from my Mom and made some of the yummy Christmas treats. I, however, do not always wait until Christmas to make these. I will do them for no good reason at all or for parties. Of all the ones I have tried, the only one I fail at every time is the M&M cookie. Every time I make them they come out harder than rocks. I am serious. You can't even cut them with a knife! The first time I used the solid Crisco instead of the oil. Yeah, I ended up with hockey pucks. I call Dad every time I make them to make sure the recipe I am using is right and he says it is. After a few tries I gave up. I had no clue on what I was doing wrong. I mean, I am not a baker. I am a cooker. I can't even make brownies from a box. They come out hard as a rock or doughy. So maybe I should just stick to cooking.
Well this past weekend my parents came up for Christmas. We had Christmas dinner at my house and my Mom helped me cook. I bought tons of cooking items and I realized that all I needed for M&M cookies were the M&M's. Perfect! I would have my parents make the cookies with me so I could see what I was doing wrong.
Or so I thought...
Mom and Dad spent half the time in the kitchen arguing over the recipe. Mom says use a full cup of oil where Dad says use a 1/4 cup. Now I am not baking expert but that is a big difference. Well, Mom ended up having to add a ton of flour to thicken up the batter. However, when I make the cookies I used 1/4 cup like the recipe says. So now what! Mom said try a half of a cup. Thanks Mom!
So another year down, another Christmas gone by, and I still have no clue on how my Dad makes his M&M cookies. I think it is a conspiracy. My Dad doesn't want me to know how. They are purposefully telling me the wrong recipe so I will never be able to make them myself. I guess they will have to start putting batches of M&M cookies in the mail and over-nighting them. I have to have my M&M cookies!!
It all started when I was little. For Christmas my Mom and Dad go bake-crazy. They make a little bit of everything for us to snack on and to take to parties. One of my greatest memories from Christmas growing up is all the yummy sweets I never got to have the rest of the year. Now of course I have developed my favorites and my parents had to make them every year no matter what. My most favorite of the treats were the M&M cookies my Dad would make. I only eat the ones my Dad makes. No cookie store or package from the grocery store will do. They have to be from my Dad.
Now as I have gotten older I have got the recipes from my Mom and made some of the yummy Christmas treats. I, however, do not always wait until Christmas to make these. I will do them for no good reason at all or for parties. Of all the ones I have tried, the only one I fail at every time is the M&M cookie. Every time I make them they come out harder than rocks. I am serious. You can't even cut them with a knife! The first time I used the solid Crisco instead of the oil. Yeah, I ended up with hockey pucks. I call Dad every time I make them to make sure the recipe I am using is right and he says it is. After a few tries I gave up. I had no clue on what I was doing wrong. I mean, I am not a baker. I am a cooker. I can't even make brownies from a box. They come out hard as a rock or doughy. So maybe I should just stick to cooking.
Well this past weekend my parents came up for Christmas. We had Christmas dinner at my house and my Mom helped me cook. I bought tons of cooking items and I realized that all I needed for M&M cookies were the M&M's. Perfect! I would have my parents make the cookies with me so I could see what I was doing wrong.
Or so I thought...
Mom and Dad spent half the time in the kitchen arguing over the recipe. Mom says use a full cup of oil where Dad says use a 1/4 cup. Now I am not baking expert but that is a big difference. Well, Mom ended up having to add a ton of flour to thicken up the batter. However, when I make the cookies I used 1/4 cup like the recipe says. So now what! Mom said try a half of a cup. Thanks Mom!
So another year down, another Christmas gone by, and I still have no clue on how my Dad makes his M&M cookies. I think it is a conspiracy. My Dad doesn't want me to know how. They are purposefully telling me the wrong recipe so I will never be able to make them myself. I guess they will have to start putting batches of M&M cookies in the mail and over-nighting them. I have to have my M&M cookies!!
Friday, December 17, 2010
I've got nothin!
Well... it's been almost a month and I have had nothing to blog about. Yes my wonderful Auburn Tigers came back and beat Bama, yes the spanked South Carolina in the SEC Championship, yes Cam won the Heisman, and yes we are national champ bowl bound. But we knew all that was going to happen so not much to talk about. :)
Thanksgiving was nothing to blog about. We had a quiet dinner with Doug's parents and that was it. We had Ray's Birthday but I did not take many pictures. I was nice and spared everyone. We had Girls Night Out Christmas Party but the light was bad and I could not get any pictures. Trust me, I tried really hard!
Other than that we have been up to nothing. Getting ready for Christmas is taking up most of our time. Getting gifts, decorating, and trying to figure out where we are going to spend it. Drive home to Valley on Friday and come back Sunday (thumbs down) or have Mom and Dad come up (thumbs up). My Dad's family is getting together Christmas Eve and we would not make it there in time. My Mom's side is doing Christmas a week early. So I would be driving to just see my parents. They are off the following Monday and Tuesday so they have more time to come see us. But with my Grandmother being sick my Mom is scared to leave town. She just knows as soon as she gets here the hospital will call and tell her "it's time". So currently we are at a stalemate.
My Grandmother gave me money for Christmas this year and since they did not know if she would make it to Christmas I wanted to buy something special. I ended up buying a ring from Pandora. I was in the store for about an hour, poor Doug, but I did find a ring I loved. I will think of my Grandmother every time I wear it!
Funny story about Christmas decorations... I forgot I bought a ton of stuff the day after Christmas last year. Oops! So after I bought more wrapping paper and ornaments I now have enough to last a few couple of decades. Oops!
They have been doing some re-arranging at work and they took my best friend away from me. Yes. I am sad to report Sara is now working at a different location. Our branch is still in mourning. We are slowly getting back to normal but I have a feeling we will never be the same. We still have e-mail, text, and blogs but it is not the same. We may start doing Girls Night Out a couple of times a month.
Doug finally made me upgrade my phone. The dinosaur has been retired. I do miss her but I like my new Samsung Fascinate. It is taking some getting use to. This phone is way more high-tec than I am use to. I can text and get on Facebook. Making a call is not as easy as my old phone but I am getting use to it. Doug constantly yells at me for how dirty the screen is and how I never "play" on it. He spends hours on his phone so if I do not he thinks I am not spending enough time with my phone. I feel like I have to schedule a play date with it or something. It's a freaking phone, Doug!
Well I think that is all the nothing I have going on for now. Maybe I will have nothing happen again soon so I can tell you about it. Until then, I hope yall have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thanksgiving was nothing to blog about. We had a quiet dinner with Doug's parents and that was it. We had Ray's Birthday but I did not take many pictures. I was nice and spared everyone. We had Girls Night Out Christmas Party but the light was bad and I could not get any pictures. Trust me, I tried really hard!
Other than that we have been up to nothing. Getting ready for Christmas is taking up most of our time. Getting gifts, decorating, and trying to figure out where we are going to spend it. Drive home to Valley on Friday and come back Sunday (thumbs down) or have Mom and Dad come up (thumbs up). My Dad's family is getting together Christmas Eve and we would not make it there in time. My Mom's side is doing Christmas a week early. So I would be driving to just see my parents. They are off the following Monday and Tuesday so they have more time to come see us. But with my Grandmother being sick my Mom is scared to leave town. She just knows as soon as she gets here the hospital will call and tell her "it's time". So currently we are at a stalemate.
My Grandmother gave me money for Christmas this year and since they did not know if she would make it to Christmas I wanted to buy something special. I ended up buying a ring from Pandora. I was in the store for about an hour, poor Doug, but I did find a ring I loved. I will think of my Grandmother every time I wear it!
Funny story about Christmas decorations... I forgot I bought a ton of stuff the day after Christmas last year. Oops! So after I bought more wrapping paper and ornaments I now have enough to last a few couple of decades. Oops!
They have been doing some re-arranging at work and they took my best friend away from me. Yes. I am sad to report Sara is now working at a different location. Our branch is still in mourning. We are slowly getting back to normal but I have a feeling we will never be the same. We still have e-mail, text, and blogs but it is not the same. We may start doing Girls Night Out a couple of times a month.
Doug finally made me upgrade my phone. The dinosaur has been retired. I do miss her but I like my new Samsung Fascinate. It is taking some getting use to. This phone is way more high-tec than I am use to. I can text and get on Facebook. Making a call is not as easy as my old phone but I am getting use to it. Doug constantly yells at me for how dirty the screen is and how I never "play" on it. He spends hours on his phone so if I do not he thinks I am not spending enough time with my phone. I feel like I have to schedule a play date with it or something. It's a freaking phone, Doug!
Well I think that is all the nothing I have going on for now. Maybe I will have nothing happen again soon so I can tell you about it. Until then, I hope yall have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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