Christmas 2007

Christmas came and went with little fanfare. Kar spent most of her vacation with both sets of Grands. We worked.

Work has been a bit stressful worrying about all the robberies in the area.

Shopping was a breeze this year. Lots was done months ago. I went the "keeper" route for most. It's sad how few people are investing in their collections - knives, stamps, snowglobes, books - because of the economy. Thanks to our Secret Santa work-fun, I acquired several unique M&M additions.

Basically, Rick and I decided to add to our DVD library, a dozen new titles in all, including, "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," plus the Rambo collection.

We spent each night watching movies while eating dinner and cuddling on the couch under a soft, warm blanket. That relaxation pushed away all the stress.
The Last of Sheila (Coburn)

Glory Days

Talk radio used to be the only thing on my afternoon radio. I'd listen on my hour-drive home.

For years, I loved listening to Deminski and Doyle. It was intelligent talk, without leaning too far left or right. Real people would call in to the show about the various topics. D&D were just real guys. (Not like Howard Stern, who was forever name-dropping, but entertaining in his own way.)

Unfortunately, my listening has faded considerably in the past few years. They were usually long-gone by the time I headed home. On my days off, I'd try to catch their show, but it was so much commercials and not very listener-oriented. The audience rarely participated.

A few months ago, I found out why. The talk radio station had turned into a SPORTS TALK format. They weren't sports, though. Then, the afternoon show suddenly became a morning show. It had a frantic pace, and nobody really seemed comfortable with it. Even the sports updates were stiff and poorly written.

Now, D&D are leaving the station. Unfortunately, they have a 1-year, noncompete clause. But they are holding out for Detroit. Somewhere along the line, they started calling Detroit home. And some of us are willing to hold out for a return of the D&D glory days. Because they should be home.

The Last of Sheila (Coburn)

Cookies=KISS*

Wintery Sunday afternoons are perfect for a toasty fire, baking batches of cookies and reading a good book in the family room. That's my life!

I abhor complicated holiday cookie recipes. Gimme simplicity with Spritz or Russian tea cakes or Cake Mix cookies.

Yes, Cake Mix Cookies!

And when I don't have a brownie mix in the house (it happens), my quick-n-easy backup recipes are Chocolate-Drizzled Cherry Bars or Blondies.

The best, though, is cherry dump cake.

Seriously, if a cookie needs more than 6 ingredients, it annoys me. Cream of tartar, grated lemon/orange rind, buttermilk...are they kidding?!!? Cookies should be fun, have an air of spontenaity, not require a special trip to the store to round up a long list of (when-the-heck-am-I-going-to-use-these) ingredients.

I'll leave expense to a Mrs. Fields visit at the mall!

*(Keep It Simple, Stupid)
The Last of Sheila (Coburn)