Cookies in the Bathtub?

I intended to post last night.  I baked and baked and had a lovely time!  I took photos and thought of all the wonderful commentary I might share with you about the experience and about holidays and tradition.  Then, 8:30pm rolled around and I realized I was quite out of time; I had an important ladies night event to attend at my friend and manager's house.  So, I bagged up my goodies, set the brownies to cool, and burst through my front door into the frigid night air...blog un-blogged.  Alas, my friends, this post is doomed to be a strange one, full of half finished thoughts and yesterday's mental meandering. 

BEFORE I can get into the events of days past though, I feel its probably wise to preface with my experiences thus-far today. 

2am: Curl up in bed next to an already sleeping Tavi.

2am-5am: Listen to Tavi almost-snore...which is not his norm, and most definitely an annoying occurrence.

8:15am: Wake up to Tavi's alarm as he gets ready to leave for a haircut.

Sometime roughly between 8:15 and 8:45: Hear lots of shuffling and Tavi profess his love to me.  I am surly in the mornings and most any circumstance in which my sleep is disturbed, so I said something along the lines of "I asked you to be quiet, and you're telling me you love me??  Go get your haircut and let me sleep for another 15 minutes!"  (Apparently I take this sleep stuff WAY too seriously.  As an afterthought I feel kinda bad, but the truth is, its just how I roll.  I blame my mom.  She never woke me as a baby.)

9:05am:  Fine.  I'll get out of bed.  I hate you all.

9:20-9:45: Get ready and for some stupid reason decide to dry my hair since its frickin frackin freezin outside in lieu of eating breakfast.  Dumb. But you'll see why soon...wait for it...

10:00am: Arrive at work.  Instant crowd.  Oh, my dear god, its cold.  Why are you people here already?  Wow, retail the last Saturday before Christmas, I love you? Heh heh...

Noonish...maybe...I have no concept of time during this point of the day: Tavi arrives, as per my txt request (thank you past self, for thinking ahead on this one), to be my hero in shining armor, baring the sweet sweet gift of Jamba Juice.  Yum!  Thanks, love, you saved me!

4:00pm:  I ask Amanda, my manager, "Hey, Amanda, has anyone had their break yet?"  To which she chortles and replies, "No, and its 4:00pm...."  She went on about something involving grabbing food if we want but its almost not worth it or something.  I tuned out.  It was 4:00pm???????????????????  Good, god, when did that happen?  Ok, fuck eating, lets just be done with this workday.

4:25pm:  This is the slowest goddamn hour in existence.  

5:20pm:  Leave work.  Get in car.  Head towards Wendy's for a Spicy Chicken Ceasar Salad (my fast/quasi healthy food of choice these days).

5:50pm: Stop at home to use ladies room and change my coat.  Get in Jayney's car with Tav and Jayney to go to Willow Creek for their annual Christmas Eve show (a Tavi and Jayney tradition).  Yes, I did pout internally about having to go.  I wanted to lay down on my bed and not move all night.  My stomach hurt and I was hungry...I did NOT want to sit in church for an hour +.  BUT, I went.  And it was great.  Beautiful music, stunning dance, and a wonderful visual story of what the birth of Jesus might have been like if it had happened in 2010.  I nearly cried.  For real...tears to the eye...and not just the kind that form when you're yawning and trying to hide it because you're in church and you don't want people to think that you're really crying because the priest is saying something about the economy and hardship and you're ten and all you want to be doing is reading or something, but that's disrespectful...and its not like you don't enjoy the sermon, its just that you're ten...but that's another story.  :)  ANYwho, Willow was worthwhile.  I got to sing loudly and very much in tune (which, I remembered, was one of my very favorite aspects of church, back when I attended regularly...I no longer do, for various reasons, but that too, is another tale for another time), and I was blessed with precious memories with Tav and his mum.

9:30ishpm: We are at Kohls in Wheaton, and Tavi, bless his heart, is agonizing over what coat to get.  Long story.

10:15pm:  Finally, back at home.  Yes, Tavi, dear, we did make it in the time-frame you mentioned.  Good job.  Here's a cookie.  Ooooh, wait...burn!  ;)

10:25pm: I shoot the shit with Andrew for a bit, whom had a very physically trying day of recovery, but was able to bond with his bed.  I'm jealous. 

11:00pm:  Tavi returns with Arbys.  Yes, more fast food.  I'm sick of it, but you know what?  I'm starvin, Marvin, and there's NO way I'm making a meal right now.  Tav is now downstairs watchin tv, I'm blaggggin, and Andrew is still in bed.

Soooo, all of that said, you have about 10 more minutes of my time.  Then I will be retiring to my gloriously comfortable bathtub, which will be filled with epson salt for my aching back and shins, as well as lovely lavender bubbles...because I am a woman, and we, as the fairer sex, have earned the right to aroma therapy (what with centuries of childbirth and all).

I love the holidays, don't get me wrong.  I will never be the person who moans and groans about them, no matter how hectic they get.  There is something quaint and reassuring about the ebb and flow of tradition and time spent driving family batty, all to the sound of White Christmas, over and over again.  This year though, has been a new type of busy for me, and I am proud to say, that in the midst of it, I was able to find calm in baking.  I made chocolate/mint chip cookies (which are apparently the rage this year, as Amanda made them too...yes, two people = rage), and yummy Ghirardelli chocolate chip brownies. 

Yes, mum, I did get to eat some of my treats...and some of the brownie batter.  And I am convinced, beyond all doubt, that I am impervious to salmonella poisoning via egg, simply due to years and years of building raw cookie dough tolerances.  I WILL be passing this on to my children.

Here are the pics!

And yes, my spoon is smiling.  :)

Ok, bath time.   And maybe a cookie.  Probably a cookie.


*mmmmnnnummmnuuuumm* *crunch crunch crunch* *ahhhhhhhhHHhhhhhh*

-Jen