Thank Goddess That Crap Is Over Day

I was on Facebook this morning and saw that a friend of mine had posted that it was Thank god that crap is over day. So I changed it a bit to make it ore fitting for me. But isn't it true. We spend weeks worrying about whether or not we bought the right gift for each person on our list. Did I spend enough money? Did I spend more for that person than I did for this person? Is she gonna like it? Will it fit? We torture ourselves. Then we go to the holiday gatherings, often with people we don't like or at least cant tolerate for long periods of time. Then we worry about the food. Does it taste good? Will everyone like it? How will I get it there without it falling apart?

I was so careful when I bagged up my pies. I put the pumpkin pie on the bottom of the bag. Then I put a piece of cardboard on top of it. Then I put a chocolate cream pie on top of that. I was so afraid that the chocolate cream pie would get smashed. Well it made it just fine. But the cardboard slipped and the side of the pumpkin was smashed. Then I forgot to buy whipped cream for the pumpkin pie and of course nothing was open to buy it on Christmas day. And no one wants to eat pie with no whipped cream.

As far as gifts, I bought my MIL a really nice coffee maker. You can make two pots at once. She usually makes a pot of regular coffee and then when its done she makes a pot of decaf for everyone who doesn't drink real coffee. I thought this would be the perfect thing for her. She could make both at once. Well, she plugged the thing in and immediately blew a fuse. She finally got that straightened out and discovered that there were no filters in the box. We don't use filters in our coffee maker so I didn't even think about them. Besides that, who ever heard of a coffee maker that didn't have at least one or two filters in the box. And of course it didn't take the same kind of filters as her old pot did. So she had to make a pot of regular coffee and then when we were finished with it she made a pot of decaf for the others to enjoy.

Everyone seemed to have a good time. After dinner the BIL went in the bedroom to work on his daughter's dot to dot book. My MIL and DH's Uncle played cards in the dining room. DH and his sister watched Christmas Vacation for I don't know how many times. And my FIL did the dishes.

Tonight we are having a party with friends. It is our Thank the Goddess That Crap Is Over Day Party.

Blessings,
Kathi

Joyous Solstice

Joyous Solstice to Everyone! It is officially the first day of winter today. But what most people don't think about is that today is actually the first day of the return of the Light and warmth to the earth. From today on each day will be a bit longer. We will have a minute or two more daylight. And the temps in general will begin to warm. Most people think of this as the dark and dreary time of the year. But as each day brings more light we can begin to see that winter will end and Spring will soon be here.

So I wish you all warmth and light as we move into this new phase of the year. And remember, it is only 89 days until Spring.

Snow

Well, we are supposed to have a party tonight. But the weatherman is predicting anywhere from 5 to 18 inches of snow tonight. It depends on who you listen to. But our guests are all listening to the one who predicts the worst snow. So they have all canceled. Now we have lots of food and no party.

They said this storm was supposed to start by lunchtime. Well, it's now 2:00 in the afternoon and not a drop of snow. Not a flake, not a smidgeon, nothing. Makes they think there isn't going to be a storm at all.

I hate winter. You can't plan on anything. It's cold. It's yucky. It's cloudy. And it might snow. Or it might not. The only thing for sure is that we are not having a party tonight. I want to sit and pout.

Winter! YUCK!

Cookies

We baked cookies today. I love making cookies once I get started. But it takes me a while to get going. A few days ago we made 8 dozen chocolate chip cookies. Today we made 7 dozen peanut butter cookies and 5 dozen oatmeal cookies. We also made 4 loaves of pumpkin bread. I still want to make sugar cookies. I guess we will try that tomorrow. And a loaf of cranberry bread. We are having a party on Saturday so I want to have lots of goodies available. Then I will be done with my holiday baking. Well except for pies to take for Christmas Dinner with my in-laws. I can't really make them ahead of time. When I was younger, I used to make candy as well. I haven't done that in years. The last time I made divinity I burned up my mixer. Maybe someone will bring fudge to the party. It's been a long time since I've tried to make that as well.

So the presents are wrapped and the baking is almost done. Yeah

Shopping

Are you done shopping yet? I have one more package that I'm waiting for. But other than that, everything is wrapped and waiting for a tree to go under. I love giving gifts, but I hate shopping. I already mentioned how I used Amazon.com so much this year. It made my life so much easier.

Another thing that I have recently discovered that is making my life easier is Peapod. Peapod is a wonderful thing that is offered by Stop & Shop Stores. You can sit down with your computer and go through the lanes of their online supermarket. As you find the items on your shopping list, you just click on them to add them to your cart. I like to start right after delivery day to work on my next shopping list. Then as I think of things we need, I go add them to my cart. When I'm finished with the week's shopping I just click on the calendar to choose a delivery day and time. One more click and I'm all done. I just have to wait until the guy brings my groceries. No more walking up and down the aisles of the grocery store. No more rude people to deal with. No carrying the groceries up the hill from our parking lot to our apartment. Just wait until the guy brings everything to the door. Even after you have placed your order you can go back and add to it. It is another wonderful way to save time and energy for more important things in life. (Like writing a blog about it.) I love Peapod. I love waiting for the Peapod man to come to my door. It's like a mini Christmas as I unpack all the goodies that he brings. Yeah for delivery!!!

What a week it's been. Bob has been home most of the week with some kind of creapy crud. He finally went to the doctor on Friday and she said he had a sinus infection. She gave him a bunch of antibiotics for it. I was afraid it might be the H1N1 but she said no. Now Dakota and have have the runny nose crud. I hope we don't get as sick as he was. Did I ever tell you that I hate winter? We got a bit of snow last night. And they say it's going to snow again tomorrow night. Yuck, yuck, and double yuck. Well what can you do. It's only 105 days until Spring. Come on Springtime.