The Big Move

This is my first blog post using pictures from my new camera!

Today, Dave ditched the storage unit in favor of using my house to store his furniture. I can't complain much because I suggested it... It will save us the cost of renting the storage unit for five more months and the hassle of moving everything in closer to the wedding.

Before loading at the storage unit

Shortly after arriving at my house

My living room now looks like a storage unit...

Thank goodness for craigslist!

Christmas Cookie FAIL

On the eve of Christmas Eve, I headed home from work with intentions of baking Christmas cookies for my family. I figured I'd start easy: chocolate chip cookies with M&M's instead of chocolate chips. The batter was a little gooey going into the oven, but I didn't think much of it until I pulled out the cookie sheet after 10 minutes.


Instead of a dozen cute Christmas cookies, I had a caterpillar-like blob. After a couple of calls to my mother debating what I could do to rescue this recipe, I decided to force the cookies into perfect circular shapes using the best cookie cutter I could find--a drinking glass.


Despite my best hopes, I had to concede FAILure on this particular recipe and moved on to something different. I made a batch of red and green sugared snickerdoodles (which turned out perfectly), and went to bed with hopes of regrouping in the morning for round two with M&M Christmas cookies...

I found a different chocolate chip cookie recipe and was determined to follow each instruction perfectly to limit the possibility of another FAIL. I also discovered a cookie scoop in my kitchen gadget drawer which quickly became one of my new favorite kitchen toys. Since I was low on M&M's due to the FAILed batch, I made these with mini chocolate chips in the batter and one M&M on top.

See the difference? I now have a new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, and hopefully I won't have to endure another epic cookie FAIL any time soon!

Merry Christmas!

Since I will probably not be blogging much between now and next week, I just wanted to wish my few loyal readers a very merry and very blessed Christmas!

Ball!

It's my niece-puppy, Layla, and her squeaky ball!

Friday Funny

It's hard to believe that Christmas is only a week away!

LibraryDiva's Family

I can't help but think of LibraryDiva's fantastically funny family in Mississippi whenever I see a plastic light-up Nativity in someone's front yard... and I've seen three of them so far this Christmas (one even had a burnt-out Joseph!)

Monday Morning

Some Monday mornings really make me feel like this. Today is one of them.

Friday Funny

How About Them Apples?

The weekend after Thanksgiving, Dave and I took Mom up the road to Jaemor Farms to check out their apples and other natural goodies like cider, honey, and homemade pies and fritters --yum!


I got a bag of Pink Lady apples (right). Mom got a bag of monster-sized Mutsu apples (left).

Hiking in the Fall

I know this seems like a long flashback since we jumped from Thanksgiving into the Christmas season in the blink of an eye, but in reality, it's only been two weeks.

The day after Thanksgiving, Dave an I went for a hike. That was just before the weather turned from "brisk" to "freezing my buns off". Our wanderings in North Georgia took us out to Duke's Creek...
I apologize for the tiny low-resolution pictures, but my ancient digital camera has been having battery issues lately, and this was one of the days that it chose not to work. But never fear, there is always the cell phone camera that works as back-up!

Upgrade!

I have ditched the dial-up!
Dave has upgraded my internet!

However, my computer has outlived four hamsters--basically it's older than dirt in computer years--so it won't connect to the fancy high-speed internet boxes that have made a home in the corner of my dining room (see below). I somehow survived Thanksgiving break without internet (though I was overjoyed to check my email Monday morning at work! And renew my library book. And pay my credit card bill. Oh, and pick out Save the Date magnets for the wedding...)

I made a valiant attempt to make my home internet accessible--I purchased an ethernet card and installed it on my computer all by myself! But for some reason, I still can't do anything online, even though the computer registers that there is a connection...


In a fit of internet-deprivation induced insanity, I located the ethernet card for my super-ancient college laptop (Windows 98, baby!), but it won't talk to the internet, either...

Friday Funny

Yes, it looks a bit photoshopped...

But the hamster looks like Garfield's predecesor, Arby!

Hammie News

My foster-hamster, Trevor, died this past summer of old age.

My fuzzy punk, Garfield, joined him in the hamster burial plot in the backyard the weekend before Thanksgiving. He was one of the youngest hamsters I've lost--he would have been two in March.

I will try to find pictures to upload when I get a computer at home that connects to the internet...