- That is IS possible for a 9-month old infant to pull down an entire Christmas tree.
- That hand-painted ceramic ornaments from your grandmother that have survived four decades do not survive 9-month old infants.
- That fruitcake, despite a willingness to overlook it's bad rep and give it a try, really is the vilest dessert ever created.
- That kids in school (who told Grace that Santa is a fake) are assholes.
- That a quick call to NORAD can totally restore a child's faith again in Santa.
- That being unemployed means lots of time for baking.
- That baking gets in the way of knitting (at least if you're me).
- That zoo-themed cookie cutters make really cool Christmas cookies:
- That husbands tend to ignore the "Let's just buy for the kids this year" rule.
- That I'm really REALLY glad my husband ignored this rule. ;)
- That it's okay to ignore the rule, too.
- That I can distract Jim from the absence of a completed pair of handknit socks with smelly Armani cologne. (I've got other ways too, but I won't mention them here. ;)
- That two children in the house means twice the wrapping paper and twice the trash littering the living room floor.
- That twice the children means double the level of noisy toys running rampant in the house.
- That I wouldn't wish for it any other way.
- That I have the best friends in the whole wide world.
- That this really was the most perfect Christmas. =)
Made these for tonight's Knitters' Christmas party, and thought I'd share. I got this recipe from my Mom, who used to make them around the holidays when we were kids. They are very rich and sweet, and taste excellent with a tall glass of milk. =)
Ingredients:
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter, melted
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8-oz. block of cream cheese, softened
4-oz. sliced almonds (a regular-sized bag is 6-oz. and I like adding extra, so... go nuts, ha ha)
1-lb. confectioner's sugar
Combine cake mix, butter and one egg. Spread in bottom of greased 13x9 pan. Combine two eggs, vanilla, cream cheese and confectioner's sugar; beat well. Spread mixture on top of cake mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Top with almonds then bake for another 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.
And a new pair of socks to go with it:
Yarn is Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Color 4-ply / 4-fädig #5440.
Things I accomplished today:
- Brewed coffee
- Laid on the couch with a sleepy Sam and watched the Discovery channel
- Thought about folding laundry
- Had delusional fantasies about all of the holiday baking I might do this month
- Internet window-shopping for gift ideas
- Laid on the floor as a human jungle gym for Sam to crawl over
- Thought about that laundry again
- Had an hour-long phone call with my mom and didn't have to end it with "Someone's IMing me, I have to go."
- Read books and played dolls with Gracie
- Started foot portion on my sock
It was a good day. =)
