I'm almost ready....

....for Christmas. The lights are up on the house.



I did that myself! Our tree has been up and decorated for weeks. I've decorated the inside of the house too. Christmas cards are written & ready to be mailed. Shopping started...

But the best part is, I got the god-forsaken Christmas Cookie Exchange cookies done. 4 dozen shortbread. Don't tell the other women in the cookie exchange, but I don't think they taste right. I used my grandma's recipe (she makes the BEST shortbread), which I found out is avtually my great grandmother's recipe. I started out feeling all warm & fuzzy & Christmassy, knowing that I was cooking a recipe that had been in my family for so long. That feeling didn't last very long when I realized the "baking gene" seems to have skipped a generation. It's too late to re-do them. We have to have them in tomorrow.



The boy offered to try one and promised he would give me an honest opinion. He said they tasted exactly how shortbread should taste....but then as I walked away I saw him break up the remaining half cookie and feed it to the dogs. Sigh.

Ladies, let me tell you, cookies are NOT worth fighting over with your significant other. This is a lesson I learned yesterday when I was verging on tears because of my failed recipe.

Boy: "Don't get upset. You say every year you aren't going to sign up for this thing and every year you do."
Me: "Stop yelling at me, you aren't making the situation any better!"
Boy: "I'm not yelling. But you should have just made the peanut butter cookies like I said."
Me: "ENOUGH WITH THE F***ING PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES ALL THE TIME!!!!"

To make myself feel better I also whipped up a dozen banana chocolate chip muffins and they turned out AMAZING. That's right. I made over 5-dozen baked goods yesterday. Suck on that Suzy Homemaker.