Cookies and 3 am

What do they have in common, well......... To begin with Christmas is my FAVORITE time of year. Call me “Martha Sewartish” but I look forward to it ALL year. There is magic in the air and Christmas has always been a happy time, even now when money is SO freakin’ tight that well, you know. (Blah blah blah, everyone is going through it right now…..) I LOVE picking out gifts for my loved ones all year long, putting up Christmas décor, listening to Christmas music and baking cookies. For my family it has always been a special family time. Yes, there are bad sides of Christmas, the materialism…..crabby people…..traffic jams… and people generally not paying attention to where they are going. Christmas mall crowds make me want to go postal. And that feeling of “I HATE people” comes on.

Anyway, I had a fabulous weekend. Baked cookies at my sister-in-law’s with church ladies on Saturday. You simply cannot beat a group of women, idle chit chat, wine and cookie dough. It helped ease my missing my Atlanta girlfriends. By the way, What is it about women that we can be in the process of eating great food and yet we can talk about other food?

“Girl, those eight cookies were so good, but you know they are going straight to my hips. I just don’t know what it is……………. I think my dryer is shrinking my jeans! But you know that reminds me, did you know the Pepperidge Farm came out with a new cake. It is so good. We had it at my mother’s house over Thanksgiving….FAB-U-LOUS!!!! Melts right in your mouth. But, man…..did I eat too much at Thanksgiving!”

As much as we talk about food, we should all weigh a thousand pounds. Or perhaps that’s why women talk so much in general, we have calories to burn.

Back the task at hand here, so Sunday after church the ladies and I decorated for the Cookies Exchange (Yes, more food.). It turned out very well. Everything was candle lit and cozy and of course there were tons of cookies. After that I headed over to the Browns Backer Club with Stu for their Christmas gathering. We lost of course, but that’s the life of a Brown’s Backer. But, more food !!!! Everyone brought side dishes. Jen made some delicious peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies, which were so good I had to eat two. (Yay, let’s talk about food some more.) The big news from the Browns Backer club is that the hubby is next seasons President. Woohoo, I’m first lady!!!! LOL. MORE planning!!!!!!! Yes, Event Planning PR Mieko (Who is Meiko you ask???? She is the Hawaiian slightly tan Barbie. My girlfriend Miranda is PR Barbie. We went to college together and both have degrees in Com/PR.) Anyhoo, post-Browns game. I went back to church for the actual Cookie Exchange Event. (Mmm, more food.) I met new people. We laughed, talked, ate, drank and were merry. The rum and bourbon balls helped. :-D I didn’t get home until 9 pm. And driving to Atlanta at that point was NOT happening.

So, this morning it was me and the open road at 4 am to Atlanta. As the song “Wide Open Spaces” flowed through my brain off and on for the 4-hour trip, I also did a LOT of thinking and God and I did a lot of talking. Still more questions than answers, but I suppose there is only one answer. He’s in control and I’m not. And some days that’s hard for the planner “Barbie” in me to get my brain around.

The whole post lunch, I’ve been up since 0315 is beginning to hit me, so I best get a few more quotes off to customers before my mind is completely gone.