Happy New Year!

              I hope you and your loved ones have a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2019,
                      (I'm a day early, but I don't usually post on Tuesdays. There will
                                           be no post on Wednesday, 01/02/19.)

This I know for sure...

On Christmas day, I love visiting with family that I only see a few times a year, making the holiday meal, figuring out how we're going to fit everyone for dinner as our family grows each year. That being said, I was glad when all of our guests left around 8:00pm and everything was cleaned up and I could sit down and relax.

As much as I enjoy Christmas, I'm looking forward to New Year's Eve. We are having a very small gathering so it will be much less work and I'll be able to visit with our guests more and enjoy the party. 

Merry Christmas

                    I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Christmas holiday,
                      (I'm a day early, but I don't usually post on Tuesdays. There will
                                           be no post on Wednesday, 12/26.)

This I know for sure...

As much as I love most of the things associated with Christmas, I'm really looking forward to getting past it this year. (I'm not a fan of the shopping part where you have to fight for a parking spot, stand in line forever because there's only one cashier and the line to pay is snaking through the store, etc)

The lead up to the holiday seems extra harried this year. I feel like I'm so consumed/worried with getting everything bought, wrapped, baked, decorated, and more that I'm not enjoying the process.

While I'm looking forward to seeing family members that I usually only see a couple of times a year and seeing the young children in the family open their gifts, I think I'll be happy when the day is over. I hope that doesn't make me sound like a grinch.

What's Up Wednesday

There are so many things "up" that I haven't had an extra minute to put together this Wednesday's What's Up post. Apologies.

Cool Whip Cookies

Every year I try to make a new cookie recipe for the holidays. I keep the absolute favorites to make from year to year, and trade out the ones that either no one really cared for or the recipes that aren't holiday related and I can make any time of the year.

I mentioned to a co-worker that I'm having a hard time finding a new to me recipe this year. He quickly told me about a cookie his wife made last year that he couldn't stop eating. He brought in the recipe written on an index card. I asked if it was an old family recipe and he laughed and said his wife found it on Pinterest.

I'm sharing the recipe here, but don't know who the author of the recipe is. If you know, please leave a comment below so I can give the proper credit for the recipe.

Lemon Cool Whip Cookies

1 box lemon cake mix (Betty Crocker was recommended, but I'm sure you can use any brand.)
1 8oz container of Cool Whip
1 egg
1/2 to 1 cup of confectioner's sugar (also known as powdered sugar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, Cool Whip, and egg. The mixture will be VERY fluffy. Keep mixing until ingredients are well combined.

Drop rounded spoonfuls of cookie dough into the powdered sugar. Roll in sugar until completely covered. Set cookie ball on prepared cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8 minutes or until very lightly golden around the edges. Let cool on cookie sheet for two minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container. The cookies are best eaten within a day or two of baking.

Makes 24 cookies

This I know for sure...

Do you have that one thing, whether it be an ornament, decoration, or something special, that signifies the holidays for you?

We have a small Santa boot ornament that's covered in red velvet that dates back to my earliest childhood memories. We used to have two boots, but one was lost over the years.

I hang the remaining boot on the Christmas tree every year. It's not the prettiest ornament on the tree and it's definitely seen better days, but it's tied to so many wonderful Christmas memories that I can't imagine our tree without it.

What's Up Wednesday

This week...

My Current WIP (Work in Progress):  No writing done last week. I worked on holiday cards. 

Quote of the Week: "Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between." ~ Maya Angelou

What I'm Reading: I'm not reading a book right now. I'm planning on starting a new one either tomorrow or Friday night.

 Random Thoughts: Christmas is less than two weeks away and I'm still making holiday cards to send out. Where is the time going? 

Random Photo of the Week:

                       Somebody likes to lay under the Christmas tree whenever he can.
  

Holiday Traditions

(It was such a crazy, busy week last week, I didn't have a chance to come up with a blog post for today. The post below was originally listed on December 7, 2015 but is as true today as it was then.)

Every year I make Christmas cookies with my mom and have done so since I was a toddler. Of course as I grew older, my helping duties changed. It's something I look forward to. I can't imagine Christmas without making cookies with her.

Another thing I do every year is watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. This is another carried over tradition from when I was a child. I love snuggling in bed with hot chocolate and watching this cartoon.

A semi-new tradition is scheduling a girls' day out with my mom and one of my sisters. We pick a date in early to mid-December and go shopping to finish or try to finish all of our shopping, then we go to lunch and head back home. Sometimes we gather at my house to wrap presents, sometimes we just gather and do nothing but relax. It's always a lot of fun.

This I know for sure...

Everything I've read recommends not exercising late in the day because it can make it difficult for you to fall asleep. I've been using a rowing machine for 30 minutes every day around 5:00pm. I've had no problem falling asleep. In fact, I usually feel more tired after I exercise than before. It seems like I yawn a lot after I exercise too. Maybe I'm just different  than the average person.   

What's Up Wednesday

This week: 

My Current WIP (Work in Progress):  No writing done last week. I worked on holiday cards.

Quote of the Week: "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow." ~ Audrey Hepburn 

What I'm Reading: I will be starting The Bride Who Got Lucky by Janna Macgregor tonight. It's part of the Cavensham Heiresses series. 

Random Thoughts: I bought a tiny stuffed mouse for my cats for Christmas. It was an impulse buy because I don't normally buy Christmas presents for them. My excuse is that it was cute and was on sale for $2.00.

Random Photo of the Week:

                                 A practice panel applying snow for a holiday card. 

Unusual Holiday Cookies

Every year my mom and I make cookies for the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays. We give most of them away in cookie trays to friends and family.

My mom makes the cookies one usually expects around the holiday season - cut out sugar cookies with icing, spritz cookies in the shapes of poinsettias, wreaths, and Christmas trees, and shortbread cookies to name a few. She also makes a two not so traditional types - teacakes and coconut macaroons.

I always make what would be considered the not so traditional types. I make oatmeal walnut or oatmeal cranberry cookies, Sun Moon cookies which are orange flavored, light yellow colored sugar cookies that have half of the cookie dipped in chocolate. One cookie I make that gets a lot of requests every year are bourbon bacon chocolate chip cookies.

Do you have cookie or other kinds of treats you make that wouldn't necessarily be considered a traditional holiday item?