i was going to post last

night but I was having issues with the pictures.

First thing's first.  I have wrapping paper and supplies out because 'tis the season.  When the baby got here this morning, I put the tape dispenser next to the tv where she can't reach it.  I saw this a little later.

She didn't do this because she can't reach it.  I didn't do it because I just didn't.  Cosme and Eric didn't do it either.  The tape rolled itself out and stuck to the tv?  I don't think so.  Just saying...

Okay, now on to what I wanted to share last night.

I tried a new recipe for Ranger Cookies that I found HERE and I like them.  I cut down on the coconut because I wanted to like the cookies and not spit them out.

I'd make them again.

I think our snowman's fallen off the wagon.

His scarf is around his head and his nose is stuck up in his hat.  He's smiling so it must have been worth it.

I know I said I was done with all my Christmas shopping the other day BUT... I saw a good deal and had to get it for Little E.

Not even $15.  How could I pass it up?  I couldn't.  I didn't.  It's already wrapped and under the tree.

NOW I'm done Christmas shopping... until I see another good deal.  Little E won't be here for a couple of days so that means one of two things: I don't buy anything because I'm too busy to stop and look online OR I have more time to sit and focus on what's on sale.  My to-do list says I'll be too busy.  We'll see.

I've been hearing about

a new cupcake shop in WC.  After my hair appointment on Friday, I stopped by.  I got a few cupcakes and a cinnamon roll.  I brought them home and nobody liked them.  I ate a lot of the Birthday cupcake. While its frosting tasted a lot like mine, the cupcake itself didn't have much flavor.  Cosme had one bite of the cinnamon roll.  It was really dry but I'm sure a microwave and butter could have fixed it.  We all sampled everything and the next morning, I threw the rest away.  There might have even been a whole cupcake in there.  That's depressing.  When I went to LJ today to purchase the last Christmas gift on my list, I knew I needed to stop by Gigi's Cupcakes to make up for last week.  I brought them home and they are good.  I have to say though, the first time I had Gigi's, I didn't care for them either.  This is different though.  Nobody liked the new ones I brought home, it wasn't just me.

Oh, and did you catch that?  I bought the last gift on my list today.  I'm still expecting a few packages in the mail, but shopping is DONE... unless there's some disaster that ruins all the presents.  (Oh, please don't let a disaster destroy anything.) If that happens though, I'm sure presents will be the last thing I'll be worried about.  I might worry a little about nobody getting anything, but I'm sure they'd try to reassure me and convince me that they can wait until next year for presents.  Now I just need to worry about focus on food and cleaning... and getting enough sleep.

I think I'll call it a day.  There's a BedJet set on 100 degrees at 40% that's calling me.  That's seriously our best purchase lately.  Well, that and the bed it's set up on.  Time to enjoy our purchases.

So that broccoli cheddar soup I made

last night was good.  I found the recipe HERE.  As usual, I didn't really measure anything.  I used one thing (head? crown?) of broccoli, two carrots, and part of an onion.  I eyeballed all of the seasonings.  I almost had two cups of broth in my carton so instead of opening a new one for 1/8 c, I just added water to top it off.  I didn't have half and half so I used 1 c milk and 1 c cream.  I didn't use the full amount of cheese.  I kept it at about two handfuls of sharp cheddar and then sprinkled 1/8 to 1/4 c of parmesan.  I also cooked the broccoli and carrots in the microwave for about five minutes before adding them to the pot.  Anyway, here it is.

I'd make it again.  I am glad I made it last night though.  I don't know if it was because of it being a new recipe or me just being unprepared (or both), but I was definitely all over the place.  There's no way I could've done it with the baby here.  Oh, another reason I'm glad I made it last night?  It's cold and we had hot soup ready to go today.

I should have a helper with cooking before too long if everything goes according to plan.  I gave the baby a pot this morning with a spoon and she was on the floor stirring.  I added some Cheerios so she could stir those and snack.  So basically, she ate breakfast on the kitchen floor out of a pot.  We're prim and proper like that.

Let's get back to that cup of soup.  It was really good five hours ago.  Now, where's the rest of my dinner?

I did a little raking today

and even had help for about two minutes.

I didn't even fill up my second bag.  The baby was more interested in exploring in other parts of the yard.  Oh, darn...  Really though, rain and cold are coming tomorrow so I thought I'd do as much as I could while it's warm.   We all know how much I like to hunker down and stay warm.  I should probably have a (long sleeved) t-shirt made for myself to wear when the temps hit the 40s that reads OUT OF ORDER.  I never would've made it in earlier times or up north.

That reminds me, I was going to make soup tomorrow but I think I'll go ahead and start it tonight.  Might as well get one thing out of the way while I have the energy to do it... or at least some of it.  It's a new-for-me recipe so if all goes well, I'll share how awesome it was with a link tomorrow.  I'm hoping for the best because if it flops, OUT OF ORDER means I won't be leaving the house to pick anything up.  I better get started.  Wish me luck.

Little E has a chair at

home that she will sit in to watch tv.  I decided to get one for our house.  I knew I had Kohl's cash to use so I thought I'd look there.  I pulled it up and it was on sale for $35.99, about the same price as Amazon.  I added some Kohl's cash, making it $5.99 BUT since it was under $50, shipping wasn't free.  I had another $20 in Kohl's cash so I figured I'd add something else to bump up my total.  I found a little pop socket to try on my phone and a couple of pairs of boots for Little E.  While this did bump up my total, the Kohl's cash and coupons knocked it all down again.  I was looking for other things I needed and eventually got to the magic number for free shipping.  I guess it's supposed to be $50 before coupons... whatever.  So instead of buying the chair for $6 and paying another $8 in shipping...

I spent $56.  They're sneaky and I know it going into it.  Here I am again, now with more Kohl's cash that needs to be spent.  The good news is I did get the chair AND I saved $161... instead of paying shipping on a $6 chair.  No regrets though, I needed to spend an extra hour shopping.  At least I didn't buy more sweaters.

I know I said I was done

with the yard but you'll never believe who decided to sober up!

I was bringing him in to throw away and decided to try a different outlet first.  He started airing up super fast.  I took him right back out and used a different cord to plug him in.  Voila!  But then, after spending too much time in the yard, Benadryl was needed.

So Paige came to get the baby and I knew Cosme was working.  I went into our bathroom to get my Benadryl.  To the left of the cabinet, knowing I was alone, I still had to do a double take to make sure a shadow figure wasn't haunting me.

Can you imagine if it'd been dark and that happened?  My (new favorite) sweater was hanging on the steamer but earlier, I draped my hoodie over the top so the baby couldn't get it.  I forgot all about it.  It really does look creepy, especially when you see it out the corner of your eye. 😨

Oh, now that the sun's gone down, here's this.

And now the yard is done... except for those extension cords.  I need to work on replacing a couple.  Maybe I'll have it all figured out by Christmas.

Eric told me I could

not leave the empty bottle of Wild Turkey in the yard so I put it in the garbage.  I'm pretty sure the snowman will follow.  Enough of the yard.  I need to get the mantle started.  Tomorrow.  Or maybe even Saturday...

Tonight I took advantage of having a little energy and focused on tortillas.  I think I'll make tacos for breakfast.  But first, look at this.

For real.  I've never made a more perfect tortilla.  Look at the roundness.  They taste pretty good too.

I think I'll get ready for bed so that when I wake up, I'll actually feel like making tacos and not just rolling over and going back to sleep.  I did that this morning and it felt pretty awesome, maybe even more awesome than a breakfast taco tastes.

Well, there's good news

in the lighting department.  I think the snowman helps bring the warm and cool lights together.  The bad news is, I can't get him to work right.

But more good news.  I had a solution.

I'm past the date to return him.  I can't even leave a review anymore because he's gone from Amazon.  (Probably in rehab.)  I can't be too upset though. The reason I bought him a couple of months ago was because he was on sale.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.  I'm done with the lights.

You know how they say never go to the grocery store when you're hungry?  I have another one.  Never shop for clothes when you're cold.  I did some online shopping the other day.  I bought four sweaters.  Yeah, it's winter, but does anyone in SE Texas need four sweaters?  Seriously though, they were delivered yesterday and I've been wearing one ever since.  I might need more.

There's a show coming to Netflix on December 20th called The Witcher.  Eric told me about it months ago.  It's a video game that they've turned into a show.  Lately I've been seeing ads for it and how great it's supposed to be, compared to Game of Thrones.  That's going to be hard to schedule in binge-watching during Christmas.

Okay.  It's time to go chill.  I need major rest right now.  I'm headed towards the snowman's situation, minus the alcohol.

The new lights are

up and the "cool" white looks more blue and the "warm" white is more cool, at least when they're next to regular warm white Christmas lights.

It might not be perfect but it'll work.  Oh, I forgot about my snowman.  Maybe he'll help everything blend.  I guess I'll do that tomorrow.  I could go back out there right now and get one picture of the entire yard (that isn't blurry like the one I have), but no.  For that matter, I could even go out there and set up the snowman.  Not gonna happen.  It's chilly and I'm warm now.  My only problem now is that all the hanging lights are run on battery and remote control.  I guess tonight we'll find out exactly how far away I can be to operate it all.  I have two more snowflake/orbs that will go up tomorrow too.

Okay.  It's time for a shower and Benadryl... and maybe olive leaf extract to be on the safe side.

i posted on instagram

today.  My last post was October 16.  That was some break.  I hope it was enough.  If not, I'll take another.

I wasn't planning on it, but I got the Christmas lights up around the trees in the front yard.  There are some gaps but whatever.  I went ahead and ordered some other lights to hang from the branches.  I tried to hang a few tonight but it's not going to happen without a ladder.  I had a bit of a dilemma about what to buy though.  I settled on red snowflakes but the site kept getting hung up when I tried to check out.  I searched for the same red snowflakes on Amazon but found these instead.

Pulling them apart and getting the wires spread out wasn't the most exciting thing I worked on today.  I ordered ten and have six done.  Once I get a few up tomorrow, I'll decide how many more I want to do.  Here's a better example.  I guess I need a dance floor and tables in the front yard too.

That could be fun.  Anyway, the lights on the tree trunks are warm white and most of the stuff online is cool white.  I picked these because they have both and I'm hoping it'll blend well.  I'm also hoping to have a picture to share tomorrow.  The photo-a-day theme is lights so I really don't see why I won't have anything to share, unless I just don't hang anything.

I think that's enough for now.  I took a Benadryl about and hour ago and it's hitting me.  No more talk about hanging lights, time to focus on lights out.  I guess I'll be listening to The J Geils Band first.