chugging along....

 It just doesn't translate in the pictures, how beautiful it is in here.  There's a bare spot in the middle of the tree, the lights aren't on quite right, but Paul and Camille put them on when I wasn't here, and I didn't fix them.  The grandkids like to take ornaments off, too.  

Well, this isn't so beautiful, but it is fun...it's holiday multitasking.  We're having a Christmas celebration at church on Sunday, so I made mini vanilla cupcakes, which I'm planning to decorate with buttercream trees and sprinkles.  I also used my chocolate chip cookie dough for the bottom of mint brownies...just mixed up the brownie batter, the Aldi specialty mix, added a little sour cream, extra egg yolk (leftover from the white cupcakes, which took five egg whites), and some mint extract.  I poured it over the top of the cookie dough, pressed into a 9x13 pan, added crunched up oreos and candy canes that I crushed up in our old coffee grinder.  (Shh, I might have added some coffee beans to the mint dust after emptying it, and made a pour over, with just a touch of mint flavor...mmm!).  Anyway, the oreos on top with the candy cane dust, mushed into the brownie batter with the rubber spatula.  It's one of those As Seen On TV brownie pans, with the fancy cutter thing you put in so they all come out the same size.  I plan to put a squiggle of white butter cream on top of each one, a dusting of the candy cane powder, and an Andes mint.  

Then, I made a wee lil cake, because Sunday is Margaret's birthday.  Oh dang, I still have to wrap her present.  

Today was a productive day though.  I got back from the pool, and went straight down to vacuum Charlotte's room.  I used Camille's personal vacuum cleaner, which she keeps in her room for spiders.  I don't even like to type that word, but I'm not as scared as Cam...I was all ready to step into the shower the other night, and she called me from her room...emergency, a big spider.  I just get all brave and kill them, don't like it, but life is full of things you just have to do anyway.  Anyway.  I moved Char's little bedside table to vacuum under it, and apparently it only has three legs?  Was it sitting on the lidded mason jar and I pulled it from there, or did I break the leg off and just happen to grab that jar and it worked to prop it up again?  I don't know.  I DO know there was a mostly dead plant that fell all over the rug, and a whole gaggle of markers that I had already gathered up and placed on the table.  It was Lean Over City today, and my poor back.  But, I got it done and it's all ready, just in time, she's flying in tonight.

Then it was time to make the meatballs.  They turned out really good, don't ask me how I know.  :). They're in the freezer, all ready to go into the crockpot on Christmas Eve.

Then, the cupcakes and cake and brownie things.  Somewhere in the middle of all that, I pulled the couch out and cleaned under it.  Can't you just tell when you walk into a room and the couch is clean under?  It's such a nice feeling.  I put away some toys and put some colored lights up at the toy end of the living room.

A perfect day for baking, the snow gives the whole house that special wintery glow.

She's not perfect, but she's a nice tree.

Now the oven is beeping again, those brownies weren't quite done yet.  I have the gingerbread cookie dough and the sugar cookie cookie dough out, all ready to roll out a hundred something cut out cookies.  Then I want to make the buttercream, so I can frost the cake and cupcakes tomorrow, as I'm going out the church to help set up and do things while they have a music practice.  

Monday will be cookie frosting day, unless something else comes up, like a trip to Target, ha.  

Well....I put this down, and went into the kitchen, and that was hours ago.  I have rolled out all the sugar cookie dough, six big cookie sheets worth.  Now, I'm baking, so the timer will go off in five minutes, I'll switch the pans around so they each get a turn on the bottom rack.

I have the gingerbread to do too, and I really really want to get it done tonight, already decided to make the buttercream frosting in the morning...

Ah well.  It's all good.  Rolling out cookie dough is fun, but it's kind of sad to be doing it all alone.   Paul made dinner again, burgers, which we had with salads.  Asian salad mix with lots of crunchy cabbage.  I'm eating between the oven timer going off.  He was watching a documentary about Auschwitz, which puts things in perspective.   Oh poor me, making all these cookies all by myself.  

I do love this season, just with there was magically like one more week between now and Christmas, but I suppose I'd just busy it up anyways.  

Have a really good evening!