1) Holiday cards - I put them in the mail Wednesday night. I presume that means my international friends will get them sometime in 2026. Woot woot! YOU GUYS. When I was cleaning my mom's house, I found my high school senior photos and there were a bunch of wallet-sized ones left, so I put them in all my high school friends' cards. Oh, and Allison got a couple. If you want to know what I looked like in high school, just imagine me with long hair and fewer wrinkles.
I ran out of stickers, so the last few didn't get a sticker. How much am I going to let this bother me? (I think you all know that it's going to bother me, but if you get an envelope that doesn't have a sticker, it doesn't mean I don't love you.)
2) Secret SANta - Sarah was my Secret SANta and look what goodies ended up at my door! A fuzzy scarf and hat set. I think you all know I'm always cold, so what a thoughtful gift.
The deadline San set for us to mail our items was December 6. That seems reasonable, but I wanted to buy something for my swap partner at the local Holiday Market that was on that date, so I went to the market in the morning and got to the post office with five minutes before it closed. I told the rest of the story on Nicole's blog, so why am I redoing this?
3) Weather - Friends. It's batshit here. And do you know what the highs this weekend are supposed to be? I can't even. A high of five (that's -15 to you Celsius folks). Dumb. So dumb.
4) Murderbot - Well, I am not going to let the weather bother me because my plan for the weekend is to sit on the couch with my favorite cat and watch Murderbot on Apple TV. My husband recently bought a laptop and we have three free months of Apple TV and you better believe we are watching A LOT of things.
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| Do you see that car covered in snow? It's an Audi wagon and I'm so jealous of it. It's beautiful and perfect and THEY DON'T SELL IT IN THE US ANYMORE. Ahem. |
5) Cookies - Workplace demerit and gold star incoming.
Demerit - Our holiday employee celebration was on Tuesday afternoon. It was an event running from 1-3 and we turned up about 2. I trudged across campus with some of my colleagues and arrived to find the worst food spread imaginable. There were meatballs in some sort of grey sauce (*gag*), an empty tureen of soup, some sad looking tiny sandwiches with one slice of lunchmeat (*heave*) on them, and a cheese plate. I liked the cheese, actually. There was a hot cocoa and coffee bar, but I don't drink either, so that was a bust for me personally, but went over well with everyone else.
But the kicker? They had put a lovely sugar cookie at each place setting at some tables and there was frosting and sprinkles to decorate said cookies. But, hypothetically, if you arrived at 2, there were NO MORE COOKIES. Did I need a cookie? No. Did I trudge across campus with the thought that maybe I could get a cookie? Yes.
I was actually more insulted with the lackluster food than if there had just been no food. That is all. Are you listening, Big Guy in Charge? (I actually really hope he doesn't read my blog.)
Gold star: The dean of our college
(This might actually be confusing for non higher ed folks. I work at a university that is made up of six individual colleges. I work for one of those colleges. People frequently say they're going to college and that's technically true, but not all colleges are universities, but all universities have at least two colleges.)
hosts a Cookies and Cocoa event every year. His partner is a baker extraordinaire and she makes SO MANY COOKIES. And guess what? On Wednesday, I got cookies and the leftovers stay in the kitchen on our floor! Woot! Cookies galore at the end of the week.
Also, I was bringing a friend a meal on Monday, so I made spiced chocolate chip cookies and brown butter sugar cookies AND we're going to a dealio tonight, so I made buckeyes last night. There has been SO MUCH BUTTER AND SUGAR usage in our house. It's going to be brutal when I have to go back to reality in January. But right now? My candy/cookie game is great.
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Are you going to be caught up in this Arctic blast? What's the last cookie you ate?
Engie, it is another snow day today. That makes 3 snow days (and a delayed start) for my kids in the last two weeks. The weather is NUTS. We've had snow. Rain. Ice. Sun. Extreme wind.
ReplyDeleteLast cookie was an oatmeal chocolate chip one my mom made; well, I also had some "Christmas Crack" also known as saltine toffee...which is kinda like a cookie?
Yay for a hat and scarf and bonus that THEY MATCH!
We haven't had ANY snow days! LOL. Most the bad weather has come on weekends which is good for schools, but bad for kids who want school off!
DeleteSaltine toffee sounds delicious. I love some sweet and salty.
I just got in from shoveling the driveway- Mother Nature's latest offering is powdery and easy to shovel at least. I'll be at a basketball tournament in the extreme cold this weekend, so I'll be putting blankets, shovels, and emergency supplies in the car in case we get stuck on the road.
ReplyDeleteI made chocolate chip cookies yesterday after a week of non cookie baked goods. I'm planning on lemon shortbread this weekend, if I can sneak it in between games and band concerts.
The scarf and hat are lovely- they look so soft!
Oh, man, I would be so upset if I had to go somewhere this weekend. The idea of getting the car ready is stressful to me!!
DeleteI'm being oh so clever and heading south next week so that I'll have normal cold instead of insane cold.
ReplyDeleteYou earned that cookie in return for that nasty food. Cheese plate FTW!
Thank goodness for cheese. It's definitely a Wisconsin thing the cheese obsession.
DeleteWell, tis the season- eat all the cookies! Maybe by January you'll be sick of them. I'm doing some baking this weekend, to the delight of my family.
ReplyDeletei know all about your weather! Well, I know all about the Chicago weather and it's usually pretty similar. My son is appreciating the Florida heat while he's home, but he also said he's been enjoying a real winter (for the first time ever.) I'm wondering how much he'll be enjoying it in February.
Right! I'm going to eat all the cookies and in January I'll go back to my salad and tuna existence.
DeleteI suspect he will be over the weather by mid-January. Ha!
Ugh what a depressing spread of food. Did I know you don't drink coffee? I am kind of surprised, I thought you did. Huh! Well you learn new things every day.
ReplyDelete(I'm feeling slightly sad I didn't get a high school wallet sized photo!)
(not really)
What a nice Secret Santa gift! And very useful given your weather. We have had just a super mild December with RAIN so it feels odd to see all these snow photos, like it's a whole different world. That used to be my world when I lived in Calgary! I hope it warms up for you! Although I'm sure Hannah is loving the snow.
Oh, I wasn't clear. I DO drink coffee, but really only as a treat and it has to be decaf. Decaf is not a regular option at this sort of affairs, so I don't drink it.
DeleteHa! I wondered if anyone would be jealous that they aren't getting wallet sized photos of me. But what would you even do with it?!?! I imagine Allison is going to put them on a dart board.
We stopped by the Post Office around 11 a.m. that morning. Saw the line was all the way to the door and decided we could just buy a book of stamps at Festival. I'm just glad we didn't actually have to mail anything!
ReplyDeleteIt was bonkers and they only had one clerk at the desk! She was very nice, though, and still in good spirits as she locked the door after helping me.
DeleteThis continued cold and snow--I cannot even. And the fact that I cannot shovel is making me so angry. I liked shovelling because it was my FU to winter. Thankfully, Rick does shovel the drive properly; I have no notes.
ReplyDeleteThere really is NO EXCUSE for the paltry and sad offerings at your "party." Perhaps it was done purposefully, with the hopes that Someone would be so offended that they would take over the planning and preparations next year. If so, well played. If not, SHAME.
Your cookies sound terrific. I have not made cookies in ages, but I finally made the requisite pumpkin pie yesterday. And totally forgot the sugar. Sigh. I ended up putting the sugar on top of it for the remainder of the bake time and it sort of soaked in...? Sam and Rick assured me it was good. I swear, my brain is taking time off lately.
Thank you, Nance. You're right. The paltry food offerings were inexcusable. It was like an employee holiday punishment or something. I appreciate that you understand my upset.
DeleteSo I take it that Boston College is a university that just has College in the name. I wish we had gotten Apple TV with my pricey phone purchase, but it was games and exercises or some such.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct. BC started as a college (only one school), but they didn't change their name when they added colleges (they now have six). They could conceivable change their name to Boston University, but I suspect they don't for historical/branding reasons.
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