The "Stick a Fork in It" Edition

So very done with 2016...

Let's focus on looking ahead, shall we?  :-)

Merry Christmas

Let's just sit here:

and listen to this:

okay?

~A Peaceful Time to All~

MoC - Christmas Eve Edition

The Mugs of Christmas

Mug Six:

The final mug for this year is just a little Christmas tree.

Simple, quiet, and charming - all the things we often forget to be during the holidays.

It’s the kind of mug I reach for on Christmas Eve, whether I’m feeling contemplative or up to my eyeballs in frantic, last-minute wrapping. Either way, it’s a soothing, calming design that helps me just… breathe.

MoC - V

The Mugs of Christmas

Mug Five:

Start the day with this guy and how can you help but meet the world with a smile on your face?

Although I certainly can (and do) drink coffee out of this mug, it’s real purpose for being is, I am convinced, to hold hot chocolate. Specifically, Ibarra Mexican hot chocolate, which is pretty much the Platonic ideal of hot chocolate - at least in my cave. 

Because this is a mug that screams, “Snow Day!!!!” to me, evoking the feel of stinging wet cheeks, the sounds of laughter and snowball fights, the smell of wet woolen mittens as you bring them to your face to taste that handful of snow. It’s stomping into the warm house with snow-clotted boots and a sniffly nose, puffing and cold and hungry, and already anxious to go back outside for more.

It’s a whole-body kind of happy that you rarely get to feel as an adult… but that I love to be reminded of.

So it’s a really good mug for a Friday, don’t you think?

MoC - IV

The Mugs of Christmas

          Mug Four:

If I’d photographed this with the handle on the right, the way the others are, all you would see is a classic, red-cheeked, right jolly old elf - a perfectly acceptable design for your Christmas mug, to be sure… but it’s the back side that makes this one so special: 

         Santa’s Diner

Wouldn’t you love to stop by there for a piece of pie?

This mug takes me back to a Christmas with the previous beau. We’d gone on a long excursion to the far end of a different state in search of the ultimate Christmas lights experience…, and ended up in a wee village, perched in an old-fashioned diner and watching a gentle snow paint the town with magic. Seriously, I expected to see George Bailey come whistling in for coffee at any minute. It was like being thrown back in time, to when life was simpler and joy more accessible.

So this mug makes me smile, even as it makes the tiniest bit wistful, too.
Happy, with an undertone of bittersweet.

Sounds about right for the holidays, doesn't it?.

MoC - III

The Mugs of Christmas

    Mug Three:

The blue is a little outside the usual Christmas color scheme but I fell in love with this guy at first sight. The set had a different design for each of the eight reindeer but I couldn’t afford (or store!) the whole bunch. I did spring for Prancer as well as this one, just to have another blue for balance, but poor Prancer rarely makes it out of the cupboard. 

Because, you know, Dancer is my spirit reindeer.

This is an excellent mug for when I need a morning pick-me-up. 

Like something to propel me into Hump Day, for example…

I like to pour the coffee and then mimic the foot positions as I sip. Between the dainty poses and the proud, erect posture, it makes me feel just like I’m performing in The Nutcracker. (Except, of course, that I’m doing so in the comfort of my big fluffy bathrobe, rather than a skimpy and undoubtedly chilly tutu.)

There is also the rather awkward fact that I have to practice the front and back footwork in turns, being severely hampered by my bipedal nature - but that just doubles the fun. 

Gets you going, gets you giggling…

What more can you ask for?

It’s a good mug.

MoC - Part II

The Mugs of Christmas

Mug Two:

The new kid on the block this year, this is a mug of subtle charms. (As befits a Tuesday, don’t you think?) The weight and curves of it are very satisfying in the hand and I love both the saying and the mix of fonts that it’s said in. This is a mug that says, “We’ve Got This!” (and then nods emphatically.)

I will confess that I am also smitten with the big, old-fashioned Christmas bulbs that adorn the top. Those are the Christmas lights of my childhood, those big bulbs. I’m so happy they are making a come back lately. For years, you couldn’t find a string of these for love or money. Everything was the twinkling mini-bulb. Which I’m quite fond of as well, mind you… any Christmas light is a good one… 

But I still retain a soft spot in my heart for a bulb that glows proudly with bold color.

Merry and Bright, indeed!

The Mugs of Christmas

OK, now that I'm back in coffee, I’m getting to use all my holiday mugs again.

I love my festive mugs… I get myself a new one every year and rotate through them. My collection is actually larger than shelf capacity by now but that’s okay. The excessive large number lets me customize each year's assortment according to what kind of holiday love I'm feeling that December, while still providing sufficient variety to accommodate my daily moods.

It’s a small thing but one of my favorite traditions of the season... and for the week leading up to Christmas, I’m going to share the fun with you.

Without further ado, Gentle Readers, I give you:

          The Mugs of Christmas

          Mug One:

This is a good choice for Mondays, when your head is still dawdling back in the weekend and you can't begin to wrap your mind around where to start... at least not before consuming the contents! It's a mug that signifies the many options before you, yet no matter which one you may contemplate, that festive holly sits front and center, bobbing cheerfully in front of your eyes with each sip and reminding you not to lose sight of the holiday.

But Today...

               I Haz Coffee

and even some Christmas spirit!

Debt, diet, and dubious relationship status be damned!

Peace on Earth, y’all.

Bah!

It is cold as a witch’s thorax, I’m cranky, in debt, having to diet during the holidays, barreling my way back to singlehood, and out of coffee.

I am, however, resplendently attired for National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day...

and I won a gift card to Dunkin’ Donuts!

All may yet be well.

The Day After

To All:

You are why I keep doing this...

You are what makes it fun.

Many Thanks.

J.

Cookies! Cookies! Cookies!

(Do I have your attention?)

Welcome to the Seventh Annual

Great Online Cookie Exchange Extravaganza! 

(2016)

Once again, our stalwart international crew of superb goodies makers has come together to offer you some pretty amazing holiday recipes, be they for cookies, cakes, pies, candy, beverages, breakfast treat, munchies, side dishes, or what have you.

The point is, they’re all terrific.

But don’t take my word for it. Go ahead...

Scroll down to that list and visit eveyone on it - see for yourself!

Just remember, December 7th takes a full 24 hours to dawn across the globe…

       and lasts a full 24 hours, too!

So if someone hasn’t posted yet, don’t fret. Just go stretch your legs and try again later.

Enough talk, more cookies!

Jan Hagel Bars

My mom loved Jan Hagel cookies. I think they must have been a great treat of her childhood because she would get positively giddy when she had some in hand, smirking through crumb-dusted lips as she offered the plate to me.

In my youth and ignorance, however, I would just turn up my nose and say “no, thank you”… 

       because who wants nuts on their cookies, for goodness sake?!?

Of course, umpity-odd years later, I know exactly who wants nuts on their cookies:

       ME!!

If you’re with me on that (or just in need of a darned good cookie,) 

       then you should really try these Jan Hagel bars. 

1/2 C sugar

1 C butter, softened

1/4 t almond extract

1 egg, separated

2 C flour

1/2 t cinnamon

1 T water

1/2 C sliced almonds

1/4 C sugar

Heat oven to 350º

Grease a 15x10x1 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, adding in almond extract and egg yolk; blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup and level off. Add flour and cinnamon; mix well.

Press the mix evenly into the greased pan.

Note: it will seem like there can’t possibly be enough dough. 

Ignore what your eyes are trying to tell you and just keep pressing. The dough will cover the pan, but only when pressed very, very thin, and that takes patience. 

And on that subject:

Tip: I find the dough sticks to my fingers but the heel of my hand presses easily and cleanly.

       just sayin’…

OK, once you’ve got it all pressed out…

In a small bowl, beat the water and egg white together and brush over the dough.

Sprinkle evenly with almonds and the 1/4 C of sugar. (I used turbinado sugar for this part.)

Bake at 350º for 17 to 22 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Immediately cut into 3 x 1 inch bars, and then DON’T TOUCH! 

Just let them cool completely in the pan. Do not be tempted to remove them while warm. 

Stick them out on the porch to hasten the progress, if you must, but do not remove them from the pan until cool. You will have a pan full of cookie chunks if you don’t trust me on this.

(Or so they tell me. I wouldn’t know from experience, of course…)

Makes 50 cookies, at about 70 calories each

*******************************************

But that’s not all! 

I’ve also got a little lagniappe for you this year.

A young family member has been whining because they have to spend this Christmas in a tropical paradise. (You can tell I’m not exactly heartfelt in my commiseration, can’t you?) 

However, having spent some time living in tropical paradises myself, I actually do sympathize with not wanting to turn on the oven for hours in what can already be an ungodly heat. 

So, for those of you whose holidays are a little on the warm side 

Not my photo but I promise,
I've made this and it's yummy!

    (or who just want to be a little healthier)…

Gingerbread Smoothie  

       (cool, tasty, vegan & gluten-free, too!)

1 large banana, peeled, chunked, and frozen

small piece of fresh ginger 

                   (about the size of a small grape), peeled

1 T blackstrap molasses

3  medjool dates

1/4 t cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

1 1/2 cups cold unsweetened almond milk 

Pop everything into your blender and mix at high speed until smooth. (add more almond milk to thin, if needed)

(These recipes always call for medjool dates - and it’s true that those really are your best bet - but if you can’t find them, or don’t want to pay $7 for a container when you only need 3 dates, you can use regular dates. Just put them in a little bowl and cover them with boiling water and soften for a good 10 minutes. Drain the water off and you’re good to go.)

Makes one large smoothie.

(Or two small but really, what’s the point of a small smoothie?)

OK, now go visit the rest of the Bakers Extraordinaire!

abby

Bleue 

Cat 

collared mom

DelFonte

Ella

greengirl

His slut

Jz

Katie

Kelly

Lilli

Lindy

Mrs. Fever

nilla

olivia

ronnie

Ryan

Sassy

Let's Not Do That Again Soon

It wasn’t a particularly comfortable week here at casa de Jz…

Woes ran the gamut:

       stomach flu, agitated doctors, crashing networks, and a “talk” with my dom.

Well, not so much a talk. More like I yelled at him.

       Without actually yelling, of course.

              Because…, me.

In the general run of things, I have very little trouble telling people what I think or feel - but by nature, I am not confrontational. Blunt, occasionally tactless, and frequently oblivious, yes… but not confrontational. Disagreement is fine, but drama is not my thing.

But there was no way I could say what I needed to say without it being pretty clear that I considered him to have screwed up - which tends to make a person defensive, which makes me need to defend my viewpoint, and before you know it, you have a confrontation… and those often get ugly quick. 

Add onto that the fact that this was my dominant I was about to scold… 

Well, if you think that came easily, you’re living in a very different world than I inhabit. 

But things needed to be said.

So naturally, I fretted about “the talk” for three days ahead of time. (Which, btw, did not help produce a blood pressure reading to soothe my doctor’s soul.) Mentally rehearsing my words, anticipating his possible reactions, repeatedly exhorting myself to calmness…

There was no sleep in Jzville, I can tell ya.

As it turns out, however, the yucky conversation went well. We each said our piece, with no escalation, no drama (ok, maybe I did flail my arms and huff audibly at one point, but that passed quickly) and we both affirmed that we wanted to work on this, rather than end us.

I disliked every moment of it (except the hugging part at the end) but in a lot of ways, it was a good thing. Because this was actually the first time I've had to force a conversation like that - and that the process was unknown made it a scary thing. Not that it will ever be easy but at least now, we’ve got one successful head-butting under our belts and I can have a little more confidence the next time one rolls around.

Plus, ridiculous as this may sound, it was the first time we’ve actually verbalized commitment to our relationship. Mostly, we’ve just gone along happily without actually touching on the “C” word. And when you’ve never tested the strength of your relationship (and your partner is renowned as a Man of Few Words,) you cannot help but wonder (or at least, *I* cannot help but wonder) if he stays simply because it’s easy. You like to think that isn’t the case, but it’s uncharted territory, and what if you’re really just kidding yourself?

(Self-doubt, thy name is Jz)

So I was pretty happy that we survived it…

Conquered some of it, even.

Now if we can just resolve the original issue, the world will be a beautiful place!

Meanwhile, I think we should celebrate with cookies!