In Which I Bake Christmas Treats

Happy Christmas!





I am officially on holiday until 8 am January 3!!!!!!! I spent the day baking, which is my one of my favorite forms of stress relief. Today, I baked chocolate chip cookies, Mexican wedding cakes (1 cup butter, 4 T. powedered sugar, 2 cups flour, 1 cup chopped walnuts, shape into small balls, bake 350 for 15 minutes), Magic squares (cookie crumbs, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts layered in a pan and baked until gooey and yummy), and finally, a cranberry coffee cake. I've never made anything with fresh cranberries before. They are a bit sour, so I had to add a sugar glaze (thanks for the tip, mommy). Next time I will have to remember to taste them first.

Needless to say, I am going to have to buy bigger pants or work out a lot. I am actually showing some restraint in the baking department this year. One year I think I made 15 kinds of cookies, but I was in college at the time and had a rather stressful semester. Baking is much more relaxing than, say, writing an 8-page paper in German or calming a tantruming 10-year-old, or developing crises intervention plans for depressed teenagers. Flour, sugar, and butter are easier to manage. They are predictable, and nobody sues me if I make a mistake and burn the cookies.

Hope everyone has a nice holiday!!!!

In Which It is the Holidays Again

Happy Holidays!

I had a great Thanksgiving. I got to visit with the family, eat turkey, see the newest Harry Potter, and eat pie. Everything is better with pie. I forgot to bring my camera with me for Thanksgiving, so I have no pictures to share, which is a shame. The gingerbread houses at George Eastman House were quite good this year.

I did go to the annual Christmas Parade yesterday, and got in a couple pictures before my camera died from the cold. It wasn't snowy, like last year, but it was still cold, especially the wind. My camera lasted about an hour, though, which is not bad. At least I didn't need a blanket to make it through the parade this year.

The highlight was the county library "cartwheelers". It was something I totally would have come up with if I had been in charge. It was so incredibly geeky that all I could do was laugh. I also really really really like this car. It was for sale, only $30,000, so if you don't know what to get me for Christmas, this would be perfect....

And now some more pictures:

In Which I see My Grammaw

I took a leisurely drive up to the Philadelphia area this weekend to visit my Great Aunt Wanda, and my grandparents, who were visiting her too. It was like a pre-Thanksgiving bash. My grandma even made turkey! It was so nice to visit family. We chatted and ate because that's what the family does when we are all together. I had the best milkshake this weekend! We went to a 50's-style diner, complete with red pleather seats and waitresses wearing short red-striped uniforms. They had the yummiest, thickest, ice-creamiest milkshakes ever. Grandpa and I had chocolate (of course!), and Grandma had strawberry. We actually drank all of them, even though they were huge!

Aunt Wanda and the grandparents say, "Hello, and Happy Thanksgiving!"

Happy Halloween!

It is autumn again in Virginia. Sunny, cool, colorful autumn. Yesterday I went hiking. I tried to go to Great Falls, which is supposed to be really amazing. However, there was a very big rally in DC on Saturday (the Rally for Sanity, which was insane), and traffic was backed up for almost 30 miles in every direction going toward DC. Totally crazy. So I turned around and went to a local place instead.

I made a Halloween feast for a friend who had never ever had Halloween fun-food before. We made mummy hot dogs, witches' fingers, ghost potatoes, and monster mouths. The food came out pretty good!

In Which the First Lady Speaks

I went to the National Book Festival a couple weekends ago. It was, of course, incredibly cool to be surrounded by 130,000 other book-lovers. I walked around, collected bookmarks and posters and tote bags. But really I went because Laura Bush, the former first lady, was speaking. I had to wait in line to have my bags searched by the Secret Service before I could enter the tent. It was just like on tv --- the guys in black suits, with earpieces in their ears, constantly eyeing the crowd for threats. I was almost as entertained watching them as hearing Mrs. Bush speak. She was very good. She read an excerpt from her autobiography, and then answered a couple questions from the audience. She seems like a very gracious lady, and I admire all she has done for literacy efforts in this country. It was a very memorable event!

In Which I Hang with my Peeps

I went on an adventure to Old Town Alexandria, then a boat ride across the Potomac to National Harbor, MD. It was a beautiful day yesterday in the afternoon. Alexandria's old town is a picturesque area with lots of small homes, shops, restaurants, and tourists. It is right on the the river, and it attracts a wide variety of people.

The boat ride over to National Harbor was enjoyable. First, we stopped at the Gaylord National Hotel, the largest non-gaming hotel on the East Coast. It is impressive! The atrium is 18 stories high. I am planning on attending a conference there in April for the Council for Exceptional Children. I hadn't planned on staying at the hotel, even though it's a 9o minute drive, but if I save up all my pennies, I might splurge and stay one night, just for the experience!

The next stop was National Harbor, and the first store I saw made may day complete. I spent almost 30 minutes hanging with my Peeps!

There is also a very odd statue on the beach, of a man (Poseidon?) buried in sand. Kids really had fun climbing all over him. I just thought it was rather disturbing, yet funny. I really wanted to stick my fist up his nose and have my picture taken saying, "Look, mommy, I'm picking his nose!" My friend did not think this was funny. So I am standing next to the head, instead, being a level-headed adult.

In Which I Discover Korean Food

There are several Korean bakeries/ coffee shops not too far away. I drive past them frequently, and I always think about stopping in to see what they carry. This weekend, I finally made the time tp try out a couple, and I will definitely go back again. They are 100 times better than Starbucks!

First of all, the coffee is much better.

Secondly, the baked goods are little rolls and buns with interesting fillings and in cute shapes, like turtles and lady bugs. There are also varieties of breads, but the buns are eye-catching. They also offer uniquely Asian and Korean foods, like red bean buns and red bean bingsoo, which I tried for the first time. Bingsoo, is like an ice-cream sundae, but the bottom layer is shaved ice, red beans or fruit or other flavoring on top, then a tablespoon or two of cut up fruit chunks and marshmallows, and finally a small scoop of vanilla ice cream or sweetened soy milk. It's incredibly delicious, especially on a hot day!

Thirdly, the atmosphere is much more relaxed than Starbucks. Families stop in to get coffee or a treat on their way to or from music lessons. Men sit reading Korean newspapers while sipping cups of coffee. Family members of the baristas stop in to check and see how things are going. They feel like neighborhood places to sit and watch life go by, not just a place to get coffee. I intend to do my part to keep them in business.