Qoass

I can't bear the thought of eating the leftover pizza in my refrigerator. This may be a sign of impending apocalypse.

That's a big reason I don't have a smart phone.

Someone in my company has shared a gift box from Brownie Points and oh my goodness, every little bite is heaven sent.

It's not very fancy but I call my favorite smoothie the Elvis: half a cup plain fat free yogurt, one frozen banana, one tablespoon peanut butter, one tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder. Blitz and guzzle.

I did not flour the cutters because I feel extra flour can make cookie dough tough and I didn't want it to show up against the chocolate dough. I have this really cute cutter of a reindeer head and antlers but it's just too small to cooperate with me. Maybe I'll just loop some ribbon through it and hang it on my Christmas tree to save myself aggravation next year.

A coworker mentioned to me that he thought I had a light out on the back of my car so I braved the 12 degree weather this morning to bring it to my local brakes/exhaust franchise hoping they could look at it before I had to be at work. They had me in and out in 20 minutes and waved away my intention to pay. It turns out that as of the new year, the owner is retiring and turning the place over to a long time employee who is opening it as his own garage. After being gouged and intimidated by my dealership, I'm happy to give my business to a local fellow so at least my money will be going to someone I like and trust. Remind me of that when my brakes need replaced.

I'm halfway through Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies by Michael Ausiello and would recommended it. It's well structured with a present story intercut with the occasional flashback plus a photo at the beginning of each chapter tied to that chapter's events. It's my second book about a long time together/briefly married couple struck with terminal cancer in two months after Joyce Maynard's latest memoir but this one is much easier to read for lack of a better evaluation.

I have seen many news reports on how the new tax reform will affect "average" Americans. Apparently, as a single person with no children, I am not average. I guess many reporters missed the news that the two parent plus children family is no longer the norm. Just once I would like to see a financial story that speaks to people like me who are handling their finances without a net rather than married couples with two incomes from Social Security or middle aged people with kids going to college. We count too.

I'm not a fan of Marcel so was happy to see him eliminated. Little did I know he'd be even more annoying yukking it up in the peanut gallery. I'm sure Laura is a lovely person but I'm happy not to have to hear any more comments about the wilds of Alaska. I'm rooting for Lee Anne but Claudette intrigues me. It appears that she may be an example of a really good chef who had one bad day.

We don't give gifts in my family but I want some relative to do the DNA thing so I can have the information without giving away my genetic information to some faceless company.

I wanted to make sugar cookie cutouts and chocolate ones too but they kept sticking to the cookie cutters. I was halfway to the trash barrel with the doughs when I was inspired to roll them out, stack them and roll them up: pinwheels.

I finished Prairie Fire this weekend and disliked it for the reasons @MakingBacon listed. I really wanted it to be about Laura Ingalls Wilder rather than about life in the era LIW lived in. I learned a lot but it wasn't what I was hoping for.

Katie Brown is a "lifestyle" host of Katie Brown Workshop. She's less irritating than Ree since she's smart enough to have guests on her show demonstrate their own dishes or crafts but she speaks like a kindergarten teacher addressing her class. Her food is a bit heavy for my tastes but it hurts me to watch the craft segments because she takes perfectly serviceable basics and with a little glitter and a glue gun turns them into absolute crap.

Six geese a-laying; eight maids a-milking...

Yesterday, Lifetime showed the episode surrounding a train derailment around Seattle. Oops.

I think the rules all depend on getting the outcome they want. That's why I just can't take this seriously as a competition.

My beloved TiVo is listing something to that effect coming soon but I can't remember if it was for this or Holiday Baking Challenge. They all run together for me so for all I know it's also a repeat from a previous year.

Jesus, @BeachyWave, I was eating.

Hearing Carla talk about how her actual home with her husband is in the Beltway makes me dream that they can get a host willing to accommodate a New York filming week.

Hear, hear @Zola. I consider the winter solstice to be my winter holiday. In fact, this morning a store clerk wished me (an atheist) a Merry Christmas and I responded with "Warm Solstice!" but I don't think he "got" it.

Diane Keaton comes off as pretty cool in the memoirs she has written.

I'm listening to that interview now and for me, it's way too much information.

I was watching a Food Network competition show last night and a contestant was concerned that because her cookie dough was thick it might take longer to "cook". Maybe I'm overly picky but if you are making something in an oven, I feel you're baking (or less often broiling) it. If it's on the stove, you're cooking. If it's raw, you're preparing and if it's in a microwave you're nuking.

Yeah, not everybody thinks an unexpected snowstorm is a good thing.

CBS is showing the I Love Lucy colorized Christmas special again which is okay I guess but I'm frustrated to see that they're following that with two Dick Van Dyke Show episodes, also colorized. I don't care for that pastel palette anyway but what really frustrates me is that Dick Van Dyke has an absolutely wonderful Christmas episode that they never show on network TV. It's a special Alan Brady presentation with all the characters in the show singing and dancing. Fast forward through Larry Matthews performing Little Drummer Boy and you've got yourself a fantastic show!