Highlights of Christmas, 2008.

Very sorry I haven’t been around, but I kinda didn’t have readyI-net access over the Christmas holiday, and I haven’t exactly moved back into my apartment yet. I’m currently in the process of ubercleaning, reorganizing and uncluttering my little apartment according to feng shui. Good energy for the new year!

But, in the meantime, I wanted to let everyone know what the highlights of Christmas were. So, without further ado:

1. I graduated from the University of Georgia with a BSA in Agribusiness.
2. I took 354 home to meet the family.
3. We got engaged. (Thinking about getting married in July. TBA.)
4. I got two sets of stainless mixing bowls, new wooden utensils, Lowe’s giftcards, and a stainless five-quart KitchenAid mixer!
5. I received word from home not too long ago that if all goes right and I do what I’m told, I’ll have a job in Kentucky by the end of 2009. (Which is actually a lot sooner than I planned on, but sometimes you have to sacrifice.) 354 will also basically have his choice of law enforcement employment from city, county or state levels, thanks to some connections from home.
6. I didn’t cook a thing!

Like I said, since we got home last Friday, I’ve had a lot to do and a lot to think about (like taking control of his checking account for his own good…), so I haven’t really had time to get on here and post things about Christmas cookies.

BUT I have the pictures and when things calm down a little bit, I WILL be posting about them. I’ve gotten good reviews from the people that received them, so that’s encouraging. In the meantime, I’m going to finish up my feng shui revamp, and I will see you all in 2009! Please be careful during New Year’s Eve and enjoy it while it’s here!

Class of 2008, stand up.

As of today, I’m officially an alumna. Go me, right?

I’ll try to post some Christmas cookie photos through the week, but we’ll see.

The Great Christmas Cookie Bake, 2008.

As of now, I’m embarking on the largest cookie baking spree I’ve ever done at one time (and in this tiny kitchen, too). I have no cash, so it’s hard for me to buy as many presents as I have people I want to give presents to. Instead, there’s a classic fallback – homemade goodies!

Despite the mad rush of people at Wal-Mart and Michael’s, I ventured out into the world and picked up all the things I figured I’d need for goodie-making. I forgot how much fun I could have in Michael’s – and how much stuff they have in that store that I want. I spent a bunch of my paycheck in both stores, but it will totally be worth it.

The majority of my present recipients are from my dojo, American Black Belt Academy. I’ve made a lot of really good friends there since I started taking kama bushi kai with Shihan McElwee. The fun part about making cookies for these folks is that not only will they eat almost anything, but a big favorite in the dojo is a cookie that one of our attendees makes – apparently it has flax, oatmeal, coconut… a big kitchen sink cookie, healthy and delicious. But J won’t give me the recipe, so I’ll have to do my best.

• Gingerbread men (decorated martial-arts style!)
• Sugar cookie cutouts
• Matcha green tea trees
• Tassies with black bean brownie filling
• White chocolate macadamia cookies (though I’m debating on adapting the salted w. chocolate cookie from smitten kitchen to something with craisins and macadamias… ooh, what a thought)
• Chocolate thumbprints

I figured that would be more than enough. Though I’m considering adding espresso snowcaps and some biscotti… but we’ll see how the list so far works out as it is.

As for packaging, I bought some plain white boxes, white gift tags, thin red ribbon and red tissue paper. I figured I would divide the cookies among the tissue paper and tie the boxes closed with the ribbon. I have these ceylon green notecards that I’m going to use for personal messages – I adore them, really, very pretty. I bought an eight-pointed star stamp and a tiny stamp of a Chinese coin; I already have a set of twenty Hànzì (Chinese characters) stamps. I figure I can decorate the outside of the boxes with the star in silver and the coin in red, and the inside of the boxes with red Hànzì – not only is red Christmas-y, but also the color of wealth, prosperity and good reputation in feng shui.

Tonight, I’m gonna make up a massive collection of cookie doughs which will then be residing in my fridge for the night. Tomorrow — tomorrow begins the baking, Stage Two of the Great Christmas Cookie Bake, 2008.

My apologies, really.

Ever gotten stuck in a rut? Or, more accurately, fallen down from a high spot? That’s pretty much where I am, hence the lack of posts recently. Really, I haven’t been inspired to cook – well, I shouldn’t say that. I have been inspired to cook, thanks to the numerous beautiful and delicious-looking dishes posted all over my RSS reader for days now. I see them and go, ‘Ooh, that would be nice…’ But when I get home? It’s all I can do to make grilled cheese or cacio e pepe.

Basically, I’ve gone back to the basics: I’m living on fancy grilled cheese, cacio e pepe, and the occasional muffin or oatmeal for breakfast. I don’t know if it’s the holidays, which always come with a mix of gloom and cheer; the newest addition of giant dog into my tiny apartment, which makes three total; or maybe it’s time to rearrange the furniture and adjust my feng shui so it’s not getting blocked by ironing boards and kennels piled with clothes or saddles stacked three deep against the wall. Maybe I need to detox and spend seven days eating Japanese and South Beach-approved, deep in meditation, yoga and kami bushi kai katas. It could be my impending accounting final and my subsequent graduation as a member of UGA’s Class of 2008, or a few other rather important things that won’t be mentioned until after Christmas (Cat, you know what I’m talking about, hush-hush!)

Maybe I just need to suck it up and get over it. I have cravings for McD’s chicken nuggets, for crying out loud!

In any case, this weekend is going to lend itself to many things, likely including moving my furniture by myself (I’m afraid of what’s under the bed), having a barn party Saturday night, decorating for Christmas (and making my own ornaments), finishing up my last bits of homework for the last class of my undergrad career… and baking some kind of apple dessert, likely a tarte tatin. I have Granny Smiths still waiting patiently on my island to be used for something.

So please accept my quiet apologies for my absence. I’m doing my best to make a comeback.