Powder's Ghost Isn't Totally Worthless

It has been nearly a year since Powder disappeared into thin air, but don't you worry, he still haunts me. I spent a solid twenty minutes trying to figure out a way to get all of his fur off of a Christmas tree skirt the other day, only to end up throwing it in the washer.

Never throw a Christmas tree skirt in the washer. I mean, do it if you like glitter all over your entire house, but otherwise, DON'T.

(Thanks, Powder. You jerk.)

When at last I returned to the big Christmas tree and started to decorate it, Powder's ghost returned again. This time, however, it came in the form of Kiara.

She has been living under the trees, making it her mission to steal every ornament possible, and generally reminding me that kittens have a great time just enjoying their first Christmas.

There's nothing that Kiara enjoys more than playing with bead garland, or so I discovered. I discovered it as Alexis and I were attempting to circle the tree a dozen times. Around we would go and CRASH BOOM YANK would go Kiara as she ripped it right back off the tree. Kiara yanked and she pulled and she thought bead garland was the most amazing thing she had ever seen.

Just like Powder did every year for his entire life. A little over a year ago, his 17-year old butt was the one chasing the beads like a crazed lunatic.

But it didn't end there. OF COURSE NOT. Once Alexis and I finally won the battle of the bead garland, it was time for the ribbon garland and HOOBOY, I THOUGHT THAT KITTEN LIKED BEADS. I was wrong. Ribbon is her one true love.

As I pondered how the whole thing was all very Powder-like, Alexis continued to get annoyed. Her annoyance escalated to the point that she started yelling at Kiara to "Go away!" and "No!" and "Leave that alone!" and on and on.

After about the 400th time Alexis fussed at the kitten who CLEARLY didn't care what words were directed her way, I finally stopped Alexis. "Girlfriend, there is no point in yelling at Kiara. You have to pick your battles and you definitely aren't going to win this one."

Alexis asked me to clarify what I meant by "pick your battles," so I did. Alexis pondered my answer for a minute or two. Then she turned to me and deadpanned, "Momma, is that why you don't yell at me to wear a coat anymore? You're picking your battles?"

"Yes, yes Alexis. The only person you are hurting is yourself, so I stopped fighting with you about it."

"Ooooooh!" she replied. She turned back to Kiara and offered to let her play with a piece of ribbon.

Here's to hoping the lesson of battle picking will stick with Alexis. And here's to hoping Powder is finally done haunting me.

The Start of Cookie Season

Hello, Christmas Cookie season!

I know. Not everyone likes to start this early, but I do. There's a good reason for it, of course. I give cookie trays as gifts to a whole bunch of people, so I need to make at least 10 different kinds of cookies. I guess I could knock that all out in one weekend if I had a intense bake-off of sorts, but I prefer to space things out a bit. I start with the cookies that freeze well and are easy to make, and then I work my way up to the more complicated ones. That means I will have a large quantity ready to go after about three or four evenings of baking. Even if I flake out and don't make as many as I originally plan to make, it works out.

The very first cookies I bake ALWAYS are Seven Layer Bars.

They freeze REALLY well (I've tried them as much as three months after freezing and they were still fine) and I can knock out a batch with about five minutes of effort. If I throw a tray in a couple of nights the first week I bake, I'll have a solid base of cookies to give as gifts.

The recipe is over here. That recipe makes two dozen decent-sized bars.

Another one that I make early is the Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies. They also freeze well, plus they give me a chance to use up some leftover Halloween candy. 

I posted the recipe for them last year over here.

Another cookie recipe that gets used a lot in the first few weeks is the Dreamy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies. Again, they freeze well. As an added bonus, they look pretty and festive and all of that stuff.

That recipe is here.

The last easy recipe I like to knock out are these Sugar Cookies.

If I make them early and stick them in the freezer, I can take out a dozen or so at a time for Alexis to decorate. It keeps her busy while I'm baking other things, and it brings her much joy because I truly don't care how she decorates them. She comes up with some fun stuff in lots of different shapes. When she's done, I toss them back in the freezer and I've got some very obviously homemade Sugar Cookies to throw on those cookie trays.

And that's Phase One of the Annual Christmas Cookie Insanity. We'll see how far I get this year. My mission is to get all the way to the Linzer Cookies. If I do, that means I have achieved all of my cookie goals. That hasn't happened in like four years, though.

What a Difference a Year Can Make

Just over a year ago, Alexis grabbed my cell phone so that she could excitedly call home and tell the husband that she was at a Justin Bieber concert.

She didn't know we were going. It was a pretty exciting night for her because she was knee deep in her adoration of Bieber.

A year later, there is officially not a shred of his music anywhere in our house. Alexis has deleted it from every electronic device imaginable. If one of his songs comes on the radio, she demands that I change the station.

She is REALLY over him.

The best part of all of this, however, is the why. If you ask Alexis why she doesn't like Bieber anymore, she will sternly tell you that it's because he keeps doing bad things. The day he walked through a restaurant kitchen and peed in a mop bucket was the last straw in her eyes. She heard about it on the radio and that was quite enough for her.

He's gross now.

And that's quite all right with me.