Red Velvet, Red Velvet, Let Reffie Get Older

My blog looks a bit lonely.  Oreo Cat is not being cooperative.  He's tired of writing.  He would rather eat, sleep, poop, and play with his favorite toys.  I think he fully understands how to be a cat.

I have a birthday coming up.  It has a zero in it so maybe I should do something special.  

Evil Twin is telling me that she has bribed the aliens to stay away on my special day but she is having some kind of problem with the robots.  I told her there are no robots to worry about. She just gave me that "you're an idiot" look.  She just watched the movie, I, Robot, and she is very impressionable.  I watched it, too.  DANG that Will Smith in his underwear!  He sizzles.

I don't know what I want to do to celebrate except that I want to make these RED VELVET COOKIES!  Hubby told me I could make them right now.  Why wait?

No, there will not be any left for any of you.

Sorry.

Not really.

Oh, BTW, I wrote a little story using five sentences with five words each.  I stole this idea from the Saturday Centus group.

 

The TV blares boring ads.

Why do we pay attention?

They numb us, closing minds.

Easy Zombie fodder, we are.

Fascinating, right?

"Evil Twin, quit snorting.  It's rude."

Spring has come early around here.  Bluebonnets are in full bloom and the irises are opening.  There are weeds everywhere.  I need your help pulling them.

 It's a bit wild right now but I don't want to mow the bluebonnets!

Oreo Cat surveys his wishful outside kingdom from the window.

If I see you out there pulling weeds, I'll save a cookie for you.

"Evil Twin!  Put that cookie down!"

A Creep, a Feast, and a Furry Beast

I stopped by an estate sale on the way to run some errands.  One of the estate worker-bees was sitting down on the couch using the previous occupant's foot massager.  He started flirting with me, admiring my girlish figure (Ahem!) and convincing me I needed to try this contraption.  (Oh yeah.  I was excited to do so after seeing his ugly bare feet on that thing.)

But I did.

I left MY shoes on!

BuzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZ!  It felt nice on my feet for about two seconds then I thought my teeth were about to fall out of my head.  "Gee", he said.  "It's only twelve dollars!"  Yeah, I thought.  As huge and clunky as that thing is, that's about all it's worth.  

"No, thanks.  I really don't need anything this big."

He kept jabbering at me.  I jabbered back, telling him I was hoping to find some large containers for my garden.  Finally, he went out and looked for some.

That would have been a good time to run to my car and quickly dash away.

But, no, that's not what I did.  I went outside.  He started jabbering again, asking me how I stay so thin.

Ugh.  Goodbye Creepy.  Got errands to run.

We attended a funeral service for Mark's uncle.  His life was cut short but he died happy and fulfilled.  The ladies at the church had lunch for us after the service.  I noticed a homemade Coconut Chess Pie, got a piece before the minister saw it, and sat down to enjoy.  I was moaning louder with each bite until my sister-in-law told me to stop making those noises.  They are not allowed in the Baptist church. 

Hee Hee.

I'm fairly certain the minister was moaning louder.

One of our neighbors was given a stray cat.  Their other cat (the cat in the flower bed in my previous post) would not tolerate it and they called Hubby and me practically begging us to take the beast. 

Ahs.  After hearing how friendly, clean, and well-behaved this cat was, we had to go see it. 

Yes.  Yes.  It was time.  It is now taking over our household:

 I think I must have been a dog in my past life. 

I act like one and I have a tail that looks like a poodle tail.   

Evil Twin and I will become great friends. 

So far, we haven't settled on a name.  We've called him Cat, Lump, Dufus, Goofhead, Oreo, Domino, Stubby, Pinky (big pink ears), and Rex/Wrecks because he acts like a dog and is a bit spastic sometimes!

A neighbor found him.  We think someone turned him out once he grew out of the cute kitten stage or maybe he didn't fit it well with other cats and dogs.

Week Ending - Pass Go and Collect a Cookie

Thanks to you wonderful bloggy friends I've made it to the second round of Blog-Off 2010. Our next post is due Sunday morning. Tune in and poke fun at my childhood. Afterall, everyone else did. ;-)

Until then, I give you permission to have an extended Happy Hour, starting now. I don't care what you drink, Diet Dr Pepper, Gatorade, Coffee, Warm Blood, etc. Drink whatever you need to help you survive this Artic blast. Wait. Isn't a "blast" supposed to be fun?

Liars. All of them. I always knew Mother Nature was a politician.

Have you noticed the lack of cheer in your fellow man lately? One might think Christmas is over and it's January. Many folks are starting diets and signing up for boot camp. Who am I fooling? I'm about to hit the gym myself. There is a bike and a swimming pool with my name on it. I will sit on the bike and sleep and grab a float for the pool. Just getting there is exercise, right?

I was evil. I made chocolate chip cookies. I labeled them "healthy" chocolate chip cookies since I made them with whole grains (whole wheat flour and oatmeal), reduced the sugar and fat and used organic chocolate chips and added pecans. Sheesh! They are almost calorie-free and believe it or not, they are extremely tasty once you break them up and scatter them over your ice cream.

Just kidding. They are yummy and I didn't have them with ice cream. I had the ice cream by itself.

Healthy cookies? Liars. All of them. I sound like a politician.

It was nice to be back in "the routine" this week but Fridays are always good. It's too cold, though. Anyone want to join me hitchhiking to Hawaii? Let me know if you have any ideas on crossing that big body of water. I don't think I could swim or float quite that far.

Warning: Geek in the Kitchen - Blog Give-away!

It's that time of the year again. That's right. Baking season. It's been cold here so the oven and stove have been working overtime helping me make yummy goodies. Since I'm such a nice geek (when Evil Twin is locked in the attic), I've decided to share some of the goodies with my favorite people.

I called Will Smith and Kiefer Sutherland.

I'm waiting on them to return my calls.


**Crickets**


**Jeopardy Theme**


OK. OK. I give up. Now what am I going to do with this stuff?


**Clicking noises in brain**


I've got another idea. Maybe I can give some to you guys!

Yes, I will do that. Here's the plan:

THREE of you will be the lucky recipients of chocolate fudge and/or rum balls. Here is a post from last year with photos and yes, you can have both.

All you have to do is play my little game.

Game, you ask?

Yes. Replace a few words in this snippet from a Christmas non-favorite and come up with something amusing. Well, even it is not amusing, it still counts. Just play already. Here is the original lyric:

I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus
Underneath the mistletoe last night.

Your mission is to change it up a bit. Be creative. I KNOW you people can do this! My example:

I saw Mommy burying Santa Claus
Underneath the barn last night.

Details, details:

• A comment with a snippet gets ONE entry. (You can enter as many comments/snippets as you like.)
• If you comment with a snippet and mention the game on your blog, you get ONE entry.
• If you win, I will need a valid address so I can give you your balls send you your goodies.
  

I will take all of your entries and throw them, and a mouse, in a big box. Cat will then be asked to pull out the three winners. (I hope he gets the mouse, too.)

Winners will be announced Sunday, 12/13/09, so put your Santa thinking caps on and start typing.

Finally, to keep you in the holiday spirit, I found this cute photo on flickr:

What? I saw a squirrel in the tree.... No really.

Photo credit: Yum Photography on flickr.com, Creative Commons license (See sidebar.)

Food with an Attitude Still Gets Eaten

Hubby is not overly fond of turkey. Me? I love it but I also love Hubby's family's tradition of Mexican food on Thanksgiving or Christmas or just about any time.

Over the last few years, our combined families have tried to alternate between the pilgrim traditional and the Hubby traditional. Here's the menu for this year's celebration at the Geek household:

• Spanish Spare Ribs (It's almost like a stew: pork with Mexican seasonings, prepared by RG)
• Spanish Rice (Sister-in-law makes from scratch)
• Flautas/Taquitos (homemade by RG)
• Pinto Beans (loaded up with plenty of gas for our farting pleasure)
• Tamales (Mom is bringing these. I don't really want to know where these come from....)
• Guacamole (Wait. Green stuff? Uh oh.)
• Chips and Salsa (duh)
  
• Spiced Pecans (Nuts for the nutty, pecans with a sugar and cinnamon glaze)
  
• Pumpkin Pie (RG is trying a new recipe. Wish her luck.)
  

Oops. Did I say Pumpkin Pie?

I did, didn't I?

I just couldn't resist stealing from the pilgrim tradition.

There's a problem, of course. The Pumpkin Pie has developed a bit of an attitude and is complaining about being on the menu with what he described as "pond scum". I tried to explain that none of the food swims therefore it couldn't be from a pond. I still don't think he understood. I'm not sure I do either.

Reforming Geek sighs in frustration with Pumpkin Pie's snotty attitude.

Wait. Does this pie know my cat?

I countered with offers that his beautiful orange color will be the centerpiece of our meal, telling him that he is certainly the sweetest dish and is a true reflection of the season.

He called me a liar and threatened to hurl himself out of the oven onto the floor. I told him that he'd better clean up his act or I'll tell him where he really comes from:


If the menu caught your interest and you'll be crashing my party, be prepared. I need help with the dishes and there are leaves to rake. That's right. The tree poop (leaves, twigs and other detritus) has taken over again out here. You can have some pie after you finish the work.

Have a great holiday. Be thankful, healthy, happy, and, of course, humorous!

Photo: I'm so thankful for friends that send me Email.

As the Weird Spin Around Us Eating Stew and Seeing Ghosts

If you haven't eaten, keep reading. I've got something that I'm sure you will enjoy.

Curious?

Good.

Remember all my talk about animals chasing me and animals that I encounter flattened on the road?

That's right. Roadkill. Yum! I was working on a stew recipe but someone beat me to it:

Yep. Made in Maine but I'm sure Texas has their own version!

EEEEWWWWW!

That is Moose Pee in the background and will serve as your beverage. Enjoy. Be sure to click on the photo to see all the gory details (and Hubby's hand).

My humblest apologies for that awful meal but please blame VE. After reading one of his recent posts, I remembered I had those photos.


Waiting for the Weird

If you get bored waiting for your flight, plant yourself just outside the security checkpoint and you won't have to wait long for entertainment. Seriously, a girl went through security wearing these shoes:


I didn't see how long it took her to put them back on after she was done.

A Ghostly Encounter

I was at a fitness instructor training workshop awhile back. I usually meet up with people I know from previous workshops. Sure enough, I see several folks I know and we start talking as we are signing in and meeting the instructor. Then the instructor's assistant looks up and the conversation goes about like this:

Assistant: "Hi *Carol!"
Me: Giving her the "I think I know you" look.

Assistant: "I remember you from last year in Austin."
Me: Continuing to give her the "I think I know you look" and starting to grunt things like hum, um, er....

Assistant: "You look my my mom."
Me: Changing the look to "WTF" and making faces and grunting trying to find an excuse. Surely, I need to pee or something.

Assistant: "Yeah. She's dead now but...."
Me: Finally responding with "Um, Wow!" and mumbling "Is there a bar nearby?"

*That's what my mom named me. If my dad had named me, I'd be Leticia. Hum....

What's the strangest thing someone has said to you recently?

Photo credit: Roadkill: ReformingGeek at a "homemade" shop in Maine.

A Rant With a Slant

While on vacation in Maine, Hubby and I went shopping. Yes, I know. You don't believe it. It's true. We do that occasionally and Hubby comes with me rather than sleeping on the park bench like some of the other husbands we noticed. The poor sods most likely followed their wives off the ship but really just wanted to sleep off the buffet breakfast. Yeah, like that guy. Really.

As long as we keep the shopping timeframe/threshold/parameters to within a couple of hours, we are OK. Otherwise, we start to morph into shop zombies and start buying refrigerator magnets and plastic wind chimes and think that lobster claw Christmas ornaments would make great gifts. Then we eat fudge and ice cream and swim naked in the Atlantic. Wait. That didn't happen. I promise. We had cinnamon rolls and brownies.

Anyhowsitwhatever, we were in a cute little "natural/alternative" shop and I decided to purchase some locally made jams. Keep in mind this is in a town where there is a cruise ship docked at the harbor. That's right. TOURISTS shop here. I take the jams to the cashier and ask for a bag and packing materials. I hand her my credit card. She starts looking at me like I've sprouted another head and gives my credit card the evil eye and holds onto it for dear life. After I sign the receipt, she compares my signature to the card signature. So people REALLY do that? While she was waiting for the credit card approval, she pulled out one small paper bag and puts my four jars of jam into the one bag. Yes. Really. No padding. No nothing.

I ask again for packing materials. She offered me a couple more small bags. Sheesh! I had to wrap and pack the stuff myself. Folks. I'm an obvious tourist. Did she not get that I have to get this stuff home somehow?

She got under my skin faster than the the last splinter I got from my old wheelbarrow and you don't want to know what I did to that one-wheeled monster. It took some deep breathing to stop me from jumping over that counter. This girl was starting to resemble Anne Boleyn and I was thinking about heads on platters for some reason.

Maybe I was getting hungry?

Later, Hubby reminded me we were in a "natural/alternative" shop with a bunch of tree-huggers. Oh. Right. Now I remember. I believe in taking care of the earth but I'm sure they didn't want blueberry jam all over their store because their Nothing-Between-the-Ears cashier only gave me ONE bag to hold FOUR jars?

Hubby had to help me with the perspectives in this situation. He nicely suggested that I was supposed to have my own canvas bag, like the locals do. Um, OK. Yes, I have those. HERE. IN TEXAS. WHERE I LIVE. No, I don't take them with me on vacation.

Well. Teach ME a lesson. Maybe I should.

That's right. The "bag" can serve multiple purposes while away from home. Not only will it hold multiple jars of jam, it will keep the sun and rain off your face and with those handles, it could possibly be used as a weapon.

Hum...

Photo credits: bagged geek: ReformingGeek self-photo, check flickr.com for more of my inspired self-photos........KIDDING, sleeping off the buffet: troyperkins on flickr.com, Creative Commons license, see sidebar.

It's Not a Roast, but it is a CROC!

I owe everyone who visited during the Virtual Road Trip a humble apology. I forgot a very important delicacy, a very special treat for all of my guests. I don't understand how I missed this opportunity:

Thank you Star-Telegram for the photo!

Recently, a few miles outside of downtown Cowtown, this poor fella did not make it across a busy street. Yes, I know that it's an alligator not a crocodile. Silly thing. He must have thought the creek was deeper on the other side of the street. Sheesh! I guess when you're 10 feet long, you'd want to find the biggest creek. This unfortunate creature's demise is my good luck. Coming soon, updates to ReformingGeek's Roadkill cookbook, on sale now for only $1.99. Check out unique but delicious recipes for alligator strips, alligator dumplings, alligator rings, and a special Father's Day recipe for grilled alligator. Oh yeah. It doesn't get much better than this!

But wait. There's more.

I pulled out my spy scope and the GOOGLE and tracked down Guido. Guido has some special....um....talents (NO, NOT THAT!) and he helped me with some items I now have for sale on an Etsy site. Yep. Don't miss out on a pair of alligator roper boots, a couple of belts, and....

Uh, ReformingGeek?

Yes?

Shut up. You're not supposed to let people know about OUR secrets, OK?

Oh, well, OK. Sorry. I got carried away.

In other news, I noticed that a few of you were not familiar with the very tasty dessert sopapillas that we have here in Texas and that I referenced in our tour of Cowtown. If I thought they would keep, I would make you some and send them to you but since they're fried and with this heat, they would be a gooey, stinky mess by the time they got to you. You might be able to use them to throw at an unsuspecting co-worker.

Basically, it's fried bread. They are similar to Indian bread but a little lighter in texture. The basic ingredients are flour, baking powder, shortening, and evaporated milk. They are rolled out, cut into squares and then fried in hot oil. In Texas, they are served as dessert usually with butter and honey and sometimes with a strawberry or other fruit sauce on top. Sprinkling with cinnamon and sugar is also common.

Hum... It looks like a scoop of ice cream and some whipped cream is on that plate in the picture. WHEW! SUGAR HIGH! I have a recipe but I'm not that great with my Fry Daddy but I'll gladly let you try. Let me know if you would like the recipe.

In New Mexico, they are served with the meal (I originally wrote mail???) without any sprucing up with cinnamon/sugar or fruit sauces. Honey and butter are available and the purpose is to offset the spicy New Mexico chiles used in their dishes. These are actually my favorites. We make quite a few trips to Santa Fe so if you need restaurant suggestions, I've got them!

Last and probably least, for those of you that don't know what calf-fries are, I hope you have a strong stomach. Click here if you dare. Ha! Chickens! Wimps! Now did you look?

Anyone hungry yet?

Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to all you dads and yes, you're a dad even if you only have a pup, kitty, or alligator.

Christmas Goodies and The Gong Show

I just couldn't call it THE BONG SHOW. Keep reading.

Things sure are smoking around here getting reading for Christmas. We will be entertaining family for Christmas dinner and extended family the Saturday after Christmas. After you read this post you may think that smoking is the wrong word.

Oh lookie. ReformingGeek's got herself all wrapped up in an apron again.



Uh oh......now what?



FUDGE! That's right. You know it's getting close to Christmas when the fudge appears. Hubby's office buddies will be very, very happy with the leftovers from this round of Christmas goodies.

And what's this?


Yep. You got it. *RUM BALLS:

If you said dog poop, thanks for that!

* No male mammals were harmed in the making of these balls.

It's getting close to Christmas and I would like to offer you a token of appreciation for reading this stuff I call writing. The first person to send me an email here (caroljean.fo@gmail dot com) with their address will receive a small tin of fudge or rum balls (ingredients list below). Please specify what you would like. They keep well so you don't have to worry about a trip across the country.

Since I'm in a baking silly mood, I got to thinking about "special brownies". These are the kind with pot, not Ex-Lax, and I'm not referring to the vessel rednecks use to stew their road kill. I'm talking about stuff you smoke in a bong; maryjane, grass, weed, reefers and doobies and I'm sure NONE of you ever tried it in your wild youth. Now there are other reasons I'm thinking of weed but I just can't elaborate on that on the Interwebs.

Also, Tracy over at Rambling Thoughts of the Never Ending Mind gifted Bee over at Bee's Musings some of this stuff in its native form so can you just imagine poor Bee and the issues she may encounter?


"Hey neighbor Bee. Need some help pulling WEEDS today?"

All of a sudden "friends" she has not seen in years arrive with tote bags and spades.

When a strong wind blows, Bee's spirits are very, very HIGH and all of a sudden and she's posting like there's no tomorrow.

Bee is paid a visit by hippie dude and his love children.

The squad car that formerly made weekly rounds through Bee's neighborhood has increased its frequency of drive-throughs and she's noticed the officers are now ordering 2 dozen donuts each on their breaks and the buttons are popping off their shirts.

OK, enough already. It's getting late in the week before Christmas. Go finish your shopping or something and have a refreshing adult beverage and toast me for making your mouth water and for bringing back memories of your wild youth. Remember to send me that email if you want the goodies and THEY ARE NOT MADE WITH WEED I PROMISE.

Take mercy on me and all these corny puns by clicking on the smiley and voting for me over at humor-blogs.com.

*Fudge ingredients: Sugar, chocolate, marshmallows, milk, pecans, vanilla, butter, salt
**Rum Ball ingredients: Rum, chocolate, sugar, corn syrup, walnuts, vanilla wafers

For those of you sensitive to foodie blogs, notice that I DID NOT post a recipe!!!!!

Oh No, Not Again - Happy Thanksgiving!

To commence the "eat until we pop" season, let's review a few of the food disasters that can make any cooking/baking endeavor pure hell.

Please note that MOST of these DID NOT happen to me. Somebody else was the sucker.

• Get out the 20 pound turkey for thawing Thanksgiving morning expecting to eat by 2:00 PM. Uh, no. Trust me. You won't be eating that turkey at 2:00 PM. I hope you have plenty of sides.

• Toasted Turkey Pieces and Parts: This is the classic stinky and messy disaster of cooking the turkey without sticking your hand you-know-where and pulling out the you-know-what. It only takes one forgotten orifice for this disaster to occur.

• Catering Malfunction: This is similar to a wardrobe malfunction but depending on how many hungry guests you have, I think it beats the slight showing of boobage. This is where you show up to pick-up your catering order and they are a) closed, b) got it terribly wrong, or c) forgot you.
  

• Egg Salad in a Box: Blow up eggs in the microwave, more than once. Yep. After doing this and scraping them from every corner of the microwave, just add your seasonings and your egg salad is ready....
  

• Molten Lava Cake That You Don't Want to Eat: Make a cake following the recipe in detail, noticing the symptoms of runny liquid goo being put into the oven and not realizing the problem. This happens twice. Call the person who gave you the recipe and review. YOU ARE THEN REMINDED THAT FLOUR IS A KEY INGREDIENT. DUH!
  

• Not so Yummy: Bake a cake that looks delicious. Serve your guests. They take huge bites and they all start gagging at once. What happened? YOU GOT THE SUGAR AND SALT MEASUREMENTS MIXED UP. OOPS!
  

• The Disaster Magnet. This is the guy you don't want to have lunch with for fear that his bad luck will rub off on you. This is the buddy that is always the recipient of bad luck at the restaurant. Either his food is a) forgotten b) dropped, complete with loud crashing noises and cursing, or c) completely and thoroughly screwed up. So when you are at lunch with this guy and you hear a crash of dishes, it's at least an 80% chance that it was this guy's meal. Poor guy.

• The Drowning Effect: I will confess that I have spilled a large Iced Tea on a friend or relative at a restaurant twice. I promise that I'm feeling better now. We really worked on this at the hospital. At first they wanted to shorten my long arms but then they encouraged me not to talk so much with my hands. It's much better to talk with your mouth, even if it's full of food and someone makes you laugh and.......

Sorry, that was a problem with my time machine. I was back in 6th grade with my BFF sitting at the table, eating crackers and making jokes.

Mom wasn't smiling but maybe we can give her one for putting up with the family for Turkey Day this year.

I know there are more disasters out there. Let's hope none of them come your way this season.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Resistance is Futile

Yesterday I completed my assimilation into the Borg. I have become a FOODIE and have been designated 7 of 9 in the Foodie Cube.

You're probably asking yourself if maybe ReformingGeek is on a sugar high? Or has lost her marbles? You're afraid that she is about to commit "harry carry" with her apron strings or something? ReformingGeek surely needs counseling.

OK. Here's the story: I feel like a geek foodie and maybe those terms are synonymous. The reason I feel this way is that when you don't work full-time you have more time to do things like enter your favorite cookie recipe in a local newspaper's cookie contest. Yep. I did and I made the finals. Me and a whole bunch of other ladies and 2 men. One of the guys was very intense about this competition. He looked like he'd been thru it before and was very proud of his cookie!

Making the finals means that you get to bake two dozen cookies and take them to the judges on the designated day. That day was yesterday and me and the other foodies took over their yummies for judging. There was also an associated little "party" in another room. One plate of everyone's cookies were put out on a table along with the recipes. After some quick announcements the hostess yelled "GO" and it was a free-for-all.

WTF? It was like the day after Thanksgiving 5:00 AM sale at the local department store (not like I'd be there shopping that early) or a bunch of pre-teen girls that just found out that the Jonas Brothers were outside signing autographs (or living next door*).

I am so glad I have long arms! Some folks weren't so lucky. Most of these were short little-old-ladies. Poor things. They probably got squished in the crowd. Move it or lose it, Grandma.

Just kidding. I didn't stomp on your granny.

I brought a large baggie and filled it up with just a few of the cookies that I thought looked tasty.

Just to wet your appetite, here they are (minus a few that I ate on the way home...it was a long drive OK!) The iced cookie is supposed to be a fire hydrant. It broke while I was rummaging for my driving home snack. Oops. The white cookie is a coffee meringue. There are a few bar cookies, a chocolate-cinnamon biscotti, a yummy carrot cookie and a few others.



Later there was a raffle for stuff like cookbooks and shopping bags; fun goodies but nothing fancy although they did give away a nice stew pot. There was one lady that screamed when she won a Cupcakes cookbook. OMG! I guess she doesn't have a zillion cookbooks like me. Let me make sure I'm out of earshot if she ever wins the lottery!

Finally it was time to announce the winners. We were holding our breath waiting for our cookie and/or name to be called. My category was announced first. When they started with 3rd place and I had already sampled her delicious cookie, I knew that was it for me. Of course my cookie is great but it really was a tough competition. 2nd place came and went. I didn't remember what cookie won 1st place since it wasn't me.

My cookie is called a Margarita Mac-Nut Cookie and it's made with lemon and lime zest, lemon juice and a shot of Triple-Sec. It has tons of macadamia nuts.

After all winners from all categories were announced, I thought one of the male finalists was going to pop a vein. He really looked upset. I guess he was sure he was going to win. Sorry dude. That's the way the cookie crumbles.

I'm so very sorry for that last sentence. It seemed so appropriate at the time ;-)

The event judging party was fun and I know I will enjoy making these treats for the holidays. Maybe next year I can boast in a post as the winner in my category.

*The Jonas Brothers recently purchased a home within a few miles of where I live. Whoopie.

Please feed smiley a cookie!