Hi Everyone! I braved the malls today, but it actually wasn’t that bad. The urgency comes out more in people’s driving than anything else I think. 

Before I went out, I did 5.3 miles on the treadmill and the Detox Yoga Download. I’m an addict. Oh and Lora asked, “How do you find the motivation to do the yoga downloads? i have 2 of them and i just can’t make it through 20 minutes, because I dont know my poses yet so it sucks having to look at the guide lol.” 

Well, honestly, the 20 minute yoga has been motivating me to run lately. I just love it! I think it’s probably easier for someone who is familiar with all the poses to follow along with a class from Yoga Download. I’ve been practicing yoga for about five years so I know the names of most of the poses. If I didn’t I would probably get frustrated and stop too! 

Anyway, after this I had my usual yogurt, wheat germ, banana, peanut butter breakfast and headed out. I stopped and dropped off all the food at the Food Bank. The woman I spoke to was very appreciative and said they’ve been busy, which is obviously great. I tried to explain the concept of the blog and the Food Drive, but I am not sure she quite got it. She said to thank my friends for their help, so THANKS. 

Then I picked up friend and frequent commenter Heather’s Bestie and Cookie Recipient and we kicked it at the mall and Whole Foods for awhile. I love it when she visits from Arizona! Once home, I present wrapped and ate dinner.  

Garden Burger on Ezekial Bun and lotsa greens. 

Sometimes I take the worst pictures. Usually, it's when I am hungry and have no patience.

Then I enjoyed my new favorite tea with milk. 

Now, I am blogging and shall return to present wrapping momentarily. 

Cookie of the Day: My Mom’s Cut Cookies 

Well, it’s time for the last cookie recipe. My favorite Christmas cookie of all time, the only one I ate for most of my life, is my mom’s cut cookies. The cookie recipe comes from Betty Crocker and the frosting is just confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, milk and food coloring. I’ve been making them with my mom since I was little.

Rolling the dough in 1987.

My mom wants me to tell you she didn’t have a mullet, but rather, her hair was in a ponytail.

Light, soft, buttery, almondy perfection. Always beautifully decorated!  When I was a kid it seemed like there was an endless supply at Christmas. 

The cut cookies always live in here. When I was little I would sneak unfrosted ones! 

Here is one of my mom’s famous Santas. 

I hope you like them!

I need something, but I am not sure what it is. 

I love running, but I am feeling so blah with it lately. I see Caitlin, Meghann and Lindsay running in the Florida sun together and I am green with envy. Not that I run outside anyway, but they make it look fun. I am looking forward to joining a gym (once I get to N.J.), so I can try some new things and maybe some classes. Of course I will miss the treadmill in my parent’s house. It’s the most convenient thing in the world. I would sit on my butt all day long if not for that thing. Anyway, I did run today. A boring 5.3 treadmill miles and 1 mile walking. It’s not that I was bored when doing it. I was entertained by the Starter Wife, but I just don’t feel like I’m pushing myself at all. 

I continued my uneventful day with a game of Place Value Bingo with my niece. How do you say the word “Aunt?” I, and I believe all New Englanders say, “Ont.” 

Then I watched Drumline. That movie is good. Now Nick Cannon is married to Mariah Carey. What a riot! 

For dinner, I had two new things (1) Amy’s Vegetable Barley Soup; and (2) An Ezekial Hamburger Bun. That brought some pizaz into my day. 

It was definitely good for a canned soup, but not even comparable to theVegetable Barley Soup my mom made be on Oct. 27th. I think canned soup has a specific flavor that follows it no matter what brand.  But, it wasn’t greasy or overly salty like lots of other brands I’ve tried. 

I got the Ezekial Hamburger Buns upon Erin’s recommendation. Considering I’ve eaten an English Muffin produced by the Good For Life Company everyday (sometimes twice a day!) for the last three months, I enjoyed trying something new. I also like how they are already split in half so I am more likely to actually eat half like I always intend, but never ever do with the muffins. Definitely good, soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. I did miss the density of the muffin though. 

Today I also had a Macoun apple with Pumpkin Pie Spice. It’s so yummy. Two yums up. I can’t believe I just said that, yet I will not delete it.

About a week ago, I received a wonderful package from Megan at Megan’s Munchies I got lots of great stuff, including the three special Holiday Clif bars. I’ve eaten them all now and am here to share my humble opinion. 

I rank them in this order:

(1) Iced Gingerbread. Have you ever tried the Chai Luna bar? It’s similar in taste, but more moist and chewy.  A little spicy, but well balanced with sweet. Loved it. 

(2) Pear Apple Strudel. I was delightfully surprised by how much I liked the because I don’t generally like fruity bars. To me, they usually taste so fake that I don’t want to eat them, but this one had a subtle fruity taste and a wonderful aroma. I didn’t necessarily get a strong pear or apple flavor from it and I liked that. 

(3) Spiced Pumpkin Pie. I love  pumpkin dearly, so I was really looking forward to this, but there was nothing pumpkin aboout it.  I mean, pumpkin has such potential. It almost tasty minty to me. I actually checked to see if it was in the box next to something minty, but it wasn’t. V. sad.

Cookie of the Day: Lemon Squares

I love lemon, so a couple years ago I started experimenting with lemon squares. Eventually, I settled on a hybrid recipe. When making Lemon Squares, I combine the filling from this Emeril recipe (so I use the 4 eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and whole milk) and the shortbread base from this Gourmeet Magazine  recipe. I’ve made these a few times and everyone loves them. At first I was thrown off by the brown sugar/lemon combo, but they blend well and balance eachother out. Enjoy! 

And a special treat …

Date Balls

A visual for the Date Balls I posted a week or two ago. My mom made them today (I tried to help, but mine looked like cubes) and froze them for Christmas. The recipe made 77 balls this year.