Busy Weekend!
Between the housework (gods... doesn't it EVER end), Christmas shopping and decorating, AND the beginning of my Christmas baking/etc., it was a very busy, but overall satisfying weekend!!
I finished Christmas shopping for the husband on Friday night. He'd asked for Season 3 of Wings (guess he can't get enough of it on Nick at Nite!), so I got it for him at Best Buy. Then I had the somewhat brilliant idea that, since he and his buddies play poker once a month and I'd already gotten him a folding poker tabletop for Father's Day, why not get him some 'official' poker chips. Wal-Mart had a really nice set of 200 chips with two decks of cards in a metal carrying case for $10, so I picked it up for him!
I also got several things for my Mom... the newest Andrew Greeley book as well as a collector's edition of the musical, South Pacific. I still need to get her a Christmas sweatshirt (it's kind of a tradition between us) and a Christmas ornament.
Robyn's finished, as is my future son-in-law... well, except for the stockings I'm going to fill for them. I asked Bob if he wanted a stocking but he said 'no'.
I also spent part of yesterday afternoon making what I call my 'crabby spiced' peanuts; which are nothing more than dry roasted nuts that have been toasted in canola oil and Old Bay seasoning. I'd bought four large jars of Planter's dry roasted nuts because the weight was a little over 2 lbs., and I figured that since that's 32 ozs. and there are 16 ozs. to a pound, I'd get four 1/2 lb. bags (1 cup) out of each jar -- and I needed to fill at least 16 bags for my co-workers (I like to give them all a little something each year). Well, talk about figuring WRONG!!! Yep, I had MORE than enough nuts for the 16 bags, plus two additional bags (one for a basket I'm doing for my boss and one for another basket I'm doing for Robyn's best friend and her hubby because they are like my children, too) AND two apothecary type jars that I was able to fill for Christopher's parents (dad and stepmom, and mom and stepdad) as well as having almost a FULL Planter's container left over!! Go figure! But I'd rather have TOO many than not enough!!
This weekend I'm planning my fudge and peanut brittle making as well as chocolate chip cookies and (for the first time) chocolate toffee-chip cookies. I figure for the chocolate toffee-chip cookies, I'll use the Nestle toll house recipe and just add some cocoa powder to the dry ingredients so that the dough is chocolate flavored and chocolate in color and then add the Heath toffe chips I bought to it.
And thus did my weekend pass! I did do a bit of writing last night and this morning on Eye of the Beholder as I promised myself I wouldn't write any more on What Price, Love? until I'd finished the chapter I've been working on of Eye.
I finished Christmas shopping for the husband on Friday night. He'd asked for Season 3 of Wings (guess he can't get enough of it on Nick at Nite!), so I got it for him at Best Buy. Then I had the somewhat brilliant idea that, since he and his buddies play poker once a month and I'd already gotten him a folding poker tabletop for Father's Day, why not get him some 'official' poker chips. Wal-Mart had a really nice set of 200 chips with two decks of cards in a metal carrying case for $10, so I picked it up for him!
I also got several things for my Mom... the newest Andrew Greeley book as well as a collector's edition of the musical, South Pacific. I still need to get her a Christmas sweatshirt (it's kind of a tradition between us) and a Christmas ornament.
Robyn's finished, as is my future son-in-law... well, except for the stockings I'm going to fill for them. I asked Bob if he wanted a stocking but he said 'no'.
I also spent part of yesterday afternoon making what I call my 'crabby spiced' peanuts; which are nothing more than dry roasted nuts that have been toasted in canola oil and Old Bay seasoning. I'd bought four large jars of Planter's dry roasted nuts because the weight was a little over 2 lbs., and I figured that since that's 32 ozs. and there are 16 ozs. to a pound, I'd get four 1/2 lb. bags (1 cup) out of each jar -- and I needed to fill at least 16 bags for my co-workers (I like to give them all a little something each year). Well, talk about figuring WRONG!!! Yep, I had MORE than enough nuts for the 16 bags, plus two additional bags (one for a basket I'm doing for my boss and one for another basket I'm doing for Robyn's best friend and her hubby because they are like my children, too) AND two apothecary type jars that I was able to fill for Christopher's parents (dad and stepmom, and mom and stepdad) as well as having almost a FULL Planter's container left over!! Go figure! But I'd rather have TOO many than not enough!!
This weekend I'm planning my fudge and peanut brittle making as well as chocolate chip cookies and (for the first time) chocolate toffee-chip cookies. I figure for the chocolate toffee-chip cookies, I'll use the Nestle toll house recipe and just add some cocoa powder to the dry ingredients so that the dough is chocolate flavored and chocolate in color and then add the Heath toffe chips I bought to it.
And thus did my weekend pass! I did do a bit of writing last night and this morning on Eye of the Beholder as I promised myself I wouldn't write any more on What Price, Love? until I'd finished the chapter I've been working on of Eye.