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Checks or plastic?
Do businesses still take check by phone? I rarely write checks anymore. It so much easier to just whip out the plastic to pay for things. The craziest thing, I still have to have my checkbook with me in my purse. Why? I don't know! I need to just leave it at home, and then I could put my pictures in the area where the checkbook is in my wallet. If only I had my rubber stamps and ink pads, then I could scrap a photo cover for the sleeve my pictures are in.
Whew!
I am getting close to finishing up all my homemade projects for Christmas! I have one more skein of yarn to purchase, and I think the one I want is on sale, bonus! As soon as I finish, I am going to take a small break from knitting, as my arm is starting to hurt again, and I so don't want to have to go get another shot! I have to find my exercise sheet and start doing those again, to strengthen up my arm.
Here I was thinking that I was just about done with my Christmas shopping only to have Trent tell me he wants this game, for either his DS or for the PS2. Great! Now I have to juggle some things around to see if we can swing this for him.
I have one gift that I am doing for each of the guys, and am hoping to get all the stuff this weekend, so I can get everything wrapped. Then I can relax the rest of the month and not have to worry or stress over it anymore. I say every year that I will have everything done by the first of December, and every year I am rushing around at the last minute!
Bathroom re-do
We are thinking about re-doing our bathroom, and considering doing some porcelain tile in the bath/shower. After watching lots of home improvement shows I think that both myself and my hubby could actually do this ourselves. Just hoping that we can pull it off in a weekend, as that will be the only time we can do it. Then the next weekend we can re-do the floor. Hopefully we don't kill each other in the process!
Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprint cookies
I think I am going to give these a try next week, along with my Grandma Ensiline's date cookies!
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed, softened
1-1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup red raspberry jam
Directions
HEAT oven to 375°F.
MIX flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min.; stir until chocolate is completely melted. Whisk in cream cheese. Add 1 cup sugar, egg and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour mixture. Refrigerate 15 min.
ROLL dough into 1-inch balls; coat with remaining sugar. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets. Press your thumb into center of each ball; fill each indentation with about 1/4 tsp. jam.
BAKE 8 to 10 min. or until lightly browned. Cool 1 min. on baking sheets; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.
5 hours of baking
Why don't houses come with multiple kitchen sinks? I have been baking all morning, and have washed dishes so many times its not funny! But I do have lots of yummy treats made! I started off by making the banana bread, which allowed for the butter to soften for the cookies I was going to make. I made a double batch of bread, which gave me 4 mini loaves and one large loaf of banana bread. The mini loaves I put in the freezer, that will be for Christmas presents, the large one will be consumed by the end of the day. Next up were peanut blossom cookies. Yum! Then chocolate chip cookies. We have enough cookies to last the rest of the week (the guys inhale them so fast!).
I will be doing this all over again next week, as I have a Christmas party with some of my mom friends, and we are planning on having a small cookie exchange. Then again the following week, as I will need to have cookies to put out for "Santa", and take to my inlaws. Plus to have some to give to the daycare family and a few of my neighbors.