For the Chocoholics
So I love chocolate, it’s yummy, melty goodness wins every time. For Christmas my husband got me a Lindt Wafer Bar; Milk Chocolate with a Wafer and Hazelnut Cream Center. To be honest I was a little scared by the hazelnut cream center. I’m more of a caramel girl myself but WOW! SO SO SO very good. I told my husband if he ever needs some extra points in my book he can always get me one of these. DE-licious!
The wafer middle can make for a little mess so I advise breaking the little bars off upside down, it helps keep the wafer intact. 
Go out and buy one, you’ll thank me.
Don’t Forget to Plan
I’m excited to remind ya’ll about the discount The Success Choice is giving to my readers. If you decide to order from their site, you can save 20% off your order with the coupon code DOMESTIC. The coupon expires Jan 1, 2010 so don’t delay! I got my 2010 set for Christmas and my grandparents even got me the planner cover – yay! I’m SO excited and I love these planners. I hope you will too.
If you’d like to see inside these planners you can go to my previous post on the planner giveaway here and get a sneak peak into the wonderful world of organization! Unfortunately my giveaway is over, and Katrina is really happy she won the planners but you can get your own set and get organized today!
Product Review: Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix
Yay for cookies! We my husband isn’t much of a peanut butter fan (like at all) so I don’t make peanut butter stuff much because he doesn’t eat it. But I made this mix and I think it turned out really well. I love peanut butter and chocolate so that’s what I did. I couldn’t find normal Hershey Kisses at the store so I used their all Milk Chocolate Bells – yum – instead.
They turned out great! I do have to warn anyone that if you make these with the bells and you eat the cookies warm… the bells pretty much explode with chocolate gooey-ness all over; so consider yourself warned! Also I advise doing small balls of cookies rather than large so you can get more chocolate per bite! Overall I think this mix is a winner and I suggest it for anyone!
Christmas Traditions
I know tons and tons of people are posting about Christmas traditions but really when else can/should you post them? They are obviously important or you wouldn’t do them every year and they vary so widely that it can be really weird, all you married people know what I mean. That first Christmas with the in laws or with your spouse and all the sudden there are a hundred new rules and traditions to follow. We have to pick and choose which ones to keep and which ones to lose, and hopefully it all ends in a happy compromise although I know that doesn’t always happen, I’m still disappointed that after 4 years we still don’t have a copy of The Muppet Christmas Carol ~AHEM!~
My husband and I had very different childhoods so we’ve had to combine some traditions and some we would like to do but aren’t able to right now. My husband lived by both sets of his grandparents and spent many holidays with extended family whereas my family didn’t live close to any extended family and we did not travel to see them nor did they travel to see us. So growing up we always had a huge Christmas Eve dinner with the Gray’s and they usually invited several families from church so there were a zillion children running around, playing and tiring themselves out – which I’m sure was the parent’s intent. My family also watched The Muppets and once the kids woke up presents were ripped to shreds within minutes and toys and wrapping paper littered the entire living room. Oh yes, we also got to open one gift Christmas Eve from my grandparents which was usually pajamas or clothing of some kind. For several years I would sneak out and sleep under the Christmas Tree so I could catch Santa but somehow I always ended up in bed with no Santa sighting that I could remember.
My husband’s family must watch The Grinch some time after Thanksgiving, they have dinners with grandparents (generally on Christmas day) and open gifts one at a time. They are also generally fully dressed and ready for the day when presents are open – what? Our first Christmas we showed up at my in laws in pajamas and everyone was dressed and ready for the day… awkward. But it’s generally a family day, playing with gifts and big card games and lots of food.
I do like to have a big dinner and with this being our first year away from all family I was planning on inviting some friends over but my little boy has a cold and is coughing and has a runny nose, not something that most people find appetizing or inviting. *Sigh* So I guess we’ll just keep it small with the 3 and 4/5ths of us. We’ll have a yummy turkey dinner with potatoes, gravy, broccoli, rolls, etc. And we love hot chocolate so that will be our drink of choice. My friend Lara says her family drinks eggnog in the morning; yuck. Sorry Lara, you know I love you but… gross!
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and that your day is wonderful!
Picture courtesy of amazon.com
“One for the Money” by Janet Evanovich
I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to most everyone for a fun read. There is mystery, a little romance and a complicated murder to solve along with money struggles and a believable story. This is the first book in a series and I’ll be checking out the rest of the series soon. There was some foul language that I could do without but overall a fun read. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
Summery from Goodreads.com
Stephanie Plum is so smart, so honest, and so funny that her narrative charm could drive a documentary on termites. But this tough gal from New Jersey, an unemployed discount lingerie buyer, has a much more interesting story to tell: She has to say that her Miata has been repossessed and that she’s so poor at the moment that she just drank her last bottle of beer for breakfast. She has to say that her only chance out of her present rut is her repugnant cousin Vinnie and his bail-bond business. She has to say that she blackmailed Vinnie into giving her a bail-bond recovery job worth $10,000 (for a murder suspect), even though she doesn’t own a gun and has never apprehended a person in her life. And she has to say that the guy she has to get, Joe Morelli, is the same creep who charmed away her teenage virginity behind the pastry case in the Trenton bakery where she worked after school.
If that hard-luck story doesn’t sound compelling enough, Stephanie’s several unsuccessful attempts at pulling in Joe make a downright hilarious and suspenseful tale of murder and deceit. Along the way, several more outlandish (but unrelentingly real) characters join the story, including Benito Ramirez, a champion boxer who seems to be following Stephanie Plum wherever she goes.
Janet Evanovich shares an authentic feel for the streets of Trenton in her debut mystery (she developed her talents in a string of romance novels before creating Ms. Plum), and her tough, frank, and funny first-person narrator offers a winning mix of vulgarity and sensitivity. Evanovich is certainly among the best of the new voices to emerge in the mystery field of the 1990s. –Patrick O’Kelley
Finish It Friday: To Do List
Alright, so I know that some people for Finish it Friday post what they want to have done by Friday so they can then post on Friday. Some post on Monday what they accomplished on Friday. Well I’m going to tell you what I want to do and then update later today. Lame I know but I didn’t get my kid’s activity done in time to post today – sorry. So you can look for my kid’s activity next week.
My Friday To Do List is massive, at least for an 8 month pregnant lady with a toddler, a friend coming over and a birthday party all in the same day.
-Clean Fridge and freezer
-Clean Kitchen; sweep, mop, counters, stove, microwave, finish dishes
-Vacuum home
-Clean bathrooms (Okay at least the hall bathroom)
-Shower
-Pick up kids for birthday party
-Go to birthday party
-Clean new changing table and dresser
-Fold washed baby clothes and put away
Now that you’ve seen my list maybe we should guess which ones I’ll actually accomplish today and which will hopefully get done tomorrow morning and which ones wont get done at all. Wish me luck.
Disappointment
Oh sadness. I was TOTALLY excited for my haircut today because I’m going to cut off several inches and get layers and get an entire new look when the salon called and said my stylist is sick. GRRR! I mean I’m sad for her that she’s sick and I’m glad she isn’t exposing people but it’s a major bummer because I’m really ready for a change and my brother and his family are coming in town Saturday and I wanted it done by the time they came. Disappointment.
Anyway I have to run some errands but check back later for my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip bread post!
Peanut Butter Cookies
I have been searching for my friend Nicole for a delicious Peanut Butter Cookie recipe and unfortunately I haven’t had time to try this one out but it sure looks yummy! This picture and recipe come from Baking Blonde, called The Best Peanut Butter Cookies. Period. and they are on my list to make. I’ll have to update once I actually get these made and have a review for you but I couldn’t deny you or Nicole the opportunity to make these should you feel the need.
In the meantime I will be running to the post office to mail gifts… 8 months pregnant with a toddler. Wish me luck.
Need a New Do… as in Hair
I need a new hairdo. So I’ve been looking up pictures and have a few to choose from and I need your honest opinions! I have blond hair, that’s turning more and more red – eek! (No offense to all you red-heads I’ve just been a super blondie my whole life.) My hair is also very fine and is kind of anti-volume without a lot of help. The deciding factor on a new haircut was my wonderful husband. He basically said I need a new cut… he said it in a nice way.
So this is what my hair looks like now, I know it’s actually a belly-shot but I didn’t feel like taking a billion pictures of my face and ug-hair for you. But currently it’s one length with bangs… plain I know. Just keep in mind I’m having a baby next month so I need easy to do hair that I can still pull up. Also my hair can have a little curl if the stars align just right but generally it’s quite straight.
Option 1:
Who doesn’t love Reese Witherspoon? I love her hair in this picture. I’d have to do a slightly shorter version of this do because my hair isn’t quite as long as hers. And I probably need some layers to get some volume.
Option 2:
Okay so I have no idea who Ginnifer Goodwin is, but I thought this was a fun cut.
Option 3:
And I’ve seen Taraji Henson before but I don’t remember what show or movie. I love this haircut though, way cute. But I’d probably do a slightly longer version of this so I could still pull my hair back.
So those are the options that I found and liked, if you find one you think would suit my toddler/baby life and still be cute then be sure and let me know! And be sure and leave your opinion in the comments because I’m hoping for a haircut next week! Thanks!
Pictures courtesy of Hollywood Celebrities HairStyles
