One of the more precious Christmas blessings

Merry Christmas. Today has been a day from start to, well now!

Last month, my sister and I decided that we wouldn't exchange gifts this year but it was totally okay for the tazmanian cutie to get spoiled. Which of course, how can you not spoil your nephew?

By mid-morning, after enjoying a Christmas walk in the snow I got a phone call from everyone back home. With the monster in the background shoving jelly beans into his new tool box and my brother in law trying to figure out a nerf gun, I got the news from the source.

When my sister said we weren't exchanging gifts, she lied. BIG TIME.

They're expecting! The tazmanian cutie will be a big brother come August, and skype will officially be my best friend for the next 9 months.

What an amazing way to end a year for them. After a full year of going back to school to finish up his paramedic certification all while working double shifts on the rig, my brother in law, Mr. Safety extraordinaire will again be a proud papa. My sister, who has spent the entire year trying to keep the family in check and a full head of gorgeous red hair, soon to be a lovely mama of two!

An amazing and perfect way to cap off the day and year altogether. Congratulations to a family well deserving of beautiful bliss!

On top of this batch of news, I just got word that another friend and her husband have been directed down to the delivery ward and are getting ready to introduce their daughter into the world. Talk about Christmas Blessings indeed!

Courtesy of Google Images

Around Town

A few words of encouragement can go for miles in reaching people you didn’t even know were listening.

Last night was the cookie exchange and it was nothing short of exciting, fun and completely heartwarming.

I set up an event through a social network, started threads for people in the area expressing my interest and excitement in all hopes of getting others involved. Mainly because I wanted to bake, but really it was to get others who loved to bake, to actually do it and see if we could all meet up. An impromptu meetup so to speak.

For an entire month, I dusted off the pom poms and started cheering people on to see how many I could get involved. This is what blows my mind.

Timout Chicago, a citywide paper/website that promotes events happening around the city heard my voice. They published my event in their newsletter and then also on their website!! I knew that the original network I organized the event through had published it as well, but to see an outside organization pay attention to this little event really hit me, and made me feel a huge ounce of pride.

Everyone came that had signed up, people from Timeout showed up not knowing anyone and we all started conversations and laughing over anything and everything. At the helm of a cookie.

This is what I love about people, it doesn’t matter who you are, what you do or where you come from. There is always something that will eventually bring us all together into this crazy melting pot that is life.

After a hugely successful exchange, I walked away with an appreciation for those who made it out and for myself.

It sounds selfish but it’s really not. Every single person who came, came up to me and kept telling me that they were so thankful that the event actually happened and we all were able to make it out.

Do I smell a future in PR, that's probably the aroma of the cookies so I am not counting on it. You never know how you affect someone, the smallest words of encouragement or even a glint of excitement can hit someone without you even knowing it.

I will say that going through last night made me realize that I like who I am as a person, that I went into the exchange not knowing anyone and walked away with future dinner partners, conversations with a food scientist and got the plans of two girls who (luck would have it) are getting married on the same day, in the same year!

What an incredible way to wrap up a year.

From my kitchen to yours, love what you do, show excitement and the world opens up to you!

C is for cookie, it's good enough for me; oh cookie cookie cookie starts with C~ Cookie Monster

Who doesn’t like to munch on a little sugary biddy that fills your stomach with glee and turns your kitchen into a workshop? So to pay tribute to the baked goodness and the holiday season, this weekend I am hosting a cookie exchange and absolutely cannot wait!

Typically, I’d be excited on a completely different level. The event was pieced together through a social network so I don’t know a soul that is going. But we’ve all been messaging back and forth and everyone is dead set on coming.

Apart from not knowing anyone, there could be quite a bunch of people that turn up (up to 40 + which is still not fully confirmed and I’m trying my hardest not be edgy about it) and of course the entertaining aspect is great. This week the exchange was even featured in a weekly newsletter! I was like a proud mama hen, watching over this little exchange that could.

There is a bar in the city that during the holidays is a hot spot for serving Glogg (mulled wine)which have been nice enough to let us takee reign. Utter geekness, getting excited about turning into domestic goddesses and lordships (no way am I calling the guys a God unless they bake an almond cake with a chocolate ganache glaze just for me!) to have gotten this thing off of the ground.

Hosting a party….yes please! There is a little sadness with it since this type of exchange is taking place at a bar. Not to say the least that I’m not super excited for the mulled wine and tons of people who will show up because I totally am….but….there are several people that have children and it would have been nice to have been able to include their munchkins and do something like a cookie decorating section just for them. Maybe next year.

So X marks the spot, and my kitchenaid is going to get used to its utmost powers starting tomorrow. For the cookies, because several people are seriously bringing their baking side out hardcore, I am going to be making three different types.

-Gingerbread Snowflake Sammies with Lemon Meringue filling (the ever faithful recipe!)
-Guy Fieri’s Crazy Oatmeal Cookies
-Rugelach or Baklava (I’m still torn)

I love the holidays for these reasons, memories, sharing and good company! And TONS of cookies!

Of course the cheering antics are back: Game Night at the Saddledome. Please keep this streak alive! Hardwork and determination pays off but keep it going! Go Flames Go!