ex(PR)essed

Well, sadly yet another annual Christmas-Cookie-Baking-and-Crafting-Extravaganza has come to an end. We declared 2006 the “best year yet” for our cookie baking — the new Kitchen Aid mixer had whipped up soft sugar cookies and the buttercream frosting was of perfect consistency. While quality is always key, this year the name of the game was quantity! We rolled, cut, baked, frosted, and decorated 122 sugar cookies alone! Plus, two types of spritz cookies, white chocolate chip cranberry cookies, and chocolate, chocolate chip peppermint cookies. As Jamie’s husband Brad said…”The whole house smells like a cookie!” Not such a bad thing in my book!

In addition to the cookie-baking (did I mention the 122 sugar cookies?), we had time for creating homemade Christmas cards and tags, addressing Christmas card envelopes, playing with Sydney, the yellow lab (who was a constant companion and help in the kitchen), attending a craft show too entertaining and racy for the limited space of this blog, and enjoying church activities. No joke — I felt like I needed today at home to recover! And unpack. The photo that is missing from this collage is the one of my very full Element!

So, Christmas is a mere two weeks away now. While I’m happy to have a freezer full of cookies, I’m still feeling pressure. There are gifts to buy and wrap, cards to write and send, and plenty of evening commitments to keep from doing all of the above. The anticipation of time with family warms my little heart — I can hardly wait to see Mom and Dad Bertram and the Bertram family Christmas tree in all its splendor!