Sunday, November 16, 2008

How much can you do in one day?

First of all, I do not believe that I will ever watch regular TV again. What I mean is TV without Tivo. Outside of a few bits and pieces of shows I catch with the hubby while I'm going to sleep I really can't remember the last time I watched regular TV and let me tell you why...Today while I was working diligently on the kick butt laundry challenge, I thought I would catch up on my kick butt watch TV challenge. Oh wait...I never made that a challenge. Anyway, miraculously enough today I have watch 8 episodes of Young and the Restless the entire CMA's, 1 episode of Private Practice, 4 episodes of Gray's Anatomy...and the only thing that awaits me now on my Tivo is 5 episodes of Brothers and Sisters. I have decided to not watch Boston Legal this season since I just really can't fit it in. So...all told I have watched 16 hours of TV today...in about 8 hours, dropped my son off and picked him up from his tournament, and cooked breakfast and lunch. In addition to that I have completed 9 loads of laundry. Only 3 to go to complete my kick butt laundry challenge for this week one of which is in the washer right not. Sadly, I believe I'll need to do 20 loads of laundry each of the next two weeks to be caught up. Ugh! The good news is I have 5 large bags to go to Good Will...hooray....things I will never wash again. and I am just about to the point where I can sweep the basement floor and organize my Christmas decor, just in time to get it out again! So...TIVO is the way to go...if you don't have it...get it! It's for real the best $12 a month I've ever spent. For this free plug I'm thinkin they should give me about 6 months free!
I just have to make a comment about the CMA's...WOW, Trace Adkins, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban really outdid themselves this year. If you haven't seen their performances on the CMAS's this year and you are fans...check them out on you tube. Did I mention that's another great thing about TIVO? Rewind...I can watch my favorite parts again and again...like when Kenny won Entertainer of the Year for the fourth year in a row!
I finally got started on this list... Making Christmas cookies is the highlight of my Holiday Season. I make about 200 dozen every year and man do we get fat! Just kidding! Most of them I give away as gifts and of course we do eat a lot as well. I've added a new goal this year after I've read the chapter on 'shipping' in this new book I got. I hope to send some off to my cousins this year to let them know we miss them at Christmas. Last year I took a large box to my friend Sandi who spent Christmas in the hospital. It is a tradition that goes back to my Grandma Stockenburg who had the most amazing kitchen ever. Each year she would make hundreds of Swedish Christmas cookies and homemade pies. She would give me my own little (6") pie tins to make my own pies and then of course I'd get to take yummy cookies home. Most of my favorite holiday memories revolve around Gramma Stockenburg. This babe had 4 Christmas trees and the one I got to decorate was 4 feet tall and I swear it had 200 balls on it. You couldn't see a pine needle anywhere! The house was always amazingly decorated with table of food in each room. People came from all over to share in the holiday. No body missed it. In pure Swedish tradition you never really got a chance to eat: Just as they finished passing the last dish, they began passing the first dish again! We all dressed up and each year Santa made a visit. She and Grandpa Stockenburg truly hosted magical holidays. That is a tradition I long to establish in my family. This year...if you got no where to go...head on over to the Ruchus...the more the merrier! I think I'm having 19 for Thanksgiving this year which is super fun! If you're on the invite list...The Moffitt's, The Fritz's, Tracey & kids, Tara & kids, Grandma, the Olson's, we're gonna gather about 3 or so. Please call to see what you can bring...k? ;) Thanks! It's so exciting to finally have my Christmas cookie list made. This year I will be sharing recipes here of my favorite cookies. Stay tuned! I use a system that makes the cookies over 5 days. On the first day we shop for ingredients and scrub the kitchen so everything is ready. On the 2nd day we make all the dough and throw it in the fridge (as most needs to be refrigerated anyway), on the 3rd day we bake and bake and bake, on the fourth day we decorate all the cookies and on the 5th day I make anything miscellaneous that cooks on the stove like fudge, rice crispy treat snowmen and corn flake wreaths. Yum.my! Those are my favorites. I like to make those the day before Christmas so they are nice and fresh. With the new goal to mail out some cookies this year, we may have to do two baking batches. I am gloriously off work the 21st of December until the 5th of January so that makes things a whole lot easier! I just can't wait to get started!
Today in N. Illinois it has been doing this off and on. I for one love a change in seasons as it gives me a renewed boost of energy to clean out some closets, make some lists, and put up some decorations! Today is snowed big clusters of flakes, my favorite kind and tonight it is beginning to stick. What this means for me is that I better get 'clean out the garage' on one of my lists so that my car can fit inside. How I hate to scrape windows!
I really must run now...that laundry challenge is still calling my name!
Until next time...

2 comments:

Sarah Doyle said...

I am hosting a scrap night in december and a cookie exchange with it! You will be so prepared;)
Wasn't Y& R good? I love Nick and Sharon and I hope 'Phil' is out of the picture before too long! stick her back with the evil Jack!
good luck on the laundry challenge!

Krishana said...

I started a tradition last year with Ryan's parents and Danae and Bob and will continue this year. Ryan's mom and I bake LOTS of cookies...and she sends them all home with me since they can't eat them. Haha. Yea---too many cookies. Then, Danae, Bob, Ry and I get together while the guys watch football and the kids and Nae and I make cookies. Last year we had a chocolate chip cookie bake off. LOL. She won. We also bake a lot together. And--the point here is...I combine all the cookies and send some out too! Last year, Cassie's package never got shipped. Crazy shipping store! Ugh! So, her cookies were a bit hard. But, if you want company while baking, we can try to fit that in. :)