Sharing cookie recipes

bet y'all thought i've been goofing off this morning eh? lol
well i didn't sleep in and i haven't been slacking in my journal "duties"
what i have been doing is updating my Recipe collection with a few of my favorite christmas cookie recipes (along with pictures of course)
i know i'm late with the recipes and i apologize but i've got the next week off of work and guess what we'll be doing starting later this afternoon?
you got it .. we're baking cookies .. lots and lots of delicious cookies
all the recipes have been tested and out of the hundreds of cookies i've baked, these 9 recipes have made it to the top of my all time favorite cookie list
i'd be hard pressed to pick one favorite .. each one is unique and delicious
but if you insist ..  i'm going to pick the 2-Tone Cookies as my all time favorite .. of course thats the only recipe missing a picture .. these cookies are soft and chewy .. the first time i baked them i only baked one recipe (about 2 dozen) which weren't nearly enough .. so of course i double or triple the recipe now
i hope you enjoy and please let me know how they turned out if you decide to bake a few batches [the link actually works]
My Favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes

last night i had a dream

and such a wonderful dream it was ::sigh::

i dreamt that i woke up this morning and it was february 2004 and low and behold the 2,500 character text limit in journal entries and the 1,000 character limit in the All About Me section had been removed  .. hahaha

its now the day after Christmas .. i haven't written in my journal for 2 days and there is NO way i'm getting all this head noise out of my head and into my journal in less than 2,500 characters .. no freaking way

condense .. edit .. summarize .. delete .. i'm weary and i haven't even started yet

~ has anyone else in AOL-J land heard of this "short tag" thing?  i know its big over in yahoo groups where they have a limit on the group description .. a lot of people take advantage of this short tag thing to get around the limit .. its foreign to me and i'm not even quite sure what its called .. maybe someone with more savvy than myself can figure it out and pass along the information?

that said .. here i go .. attempting to empty my head of the noise that has accumulated over the past 2 days ..

headnoise from my holiday - part 1

~ i had a wonderful christmas eve with my children .. we opened our gifts, dined on a delicious ham dinner and then my son took off to a party

he called a few hours later making sure if he decided to drink alcohol that i'd be ok with fetching him after the party so he wouldn't have to drive

thats the deal we've had and i was so pleased he remembered and decided to take me up on it

 
~ i am seeing changes in my daughter that warm my heart to no end .. in her own way she is such a giving and caring little soul .. i see her face light up when her brother teases her about how he's going to end the life of any boy that she gets involved with .. calling her brother to make sure he's coming back home to spend the night and then setting a bed for him so he doesn't need to worry about it when he arrives home

i've missed her so much the past few days .. when she wakes up this morning i plan on wrapping my arms around her and holding her while i let her know how much i value her in my life

head noise from my holiday - part II

~ my daughter spent monday and tuesday with her father .. i was expecting her home tuesday afternoon and i was just a tad disappointed when she called to let me know she was spending yet another night with her dad .. then my son got on the phone and asked if i wanted to "hang" with him .. i told him i'd love to as long as he brought a few hungry friends to chow down on the mexican feast i had prepared for the evening

dinner disappeared in a way that only 3 teenage boys can accomplish while we played our little games of "do you remember when .. " .. i've known these young men for 6 years and we never seem to run out of experiences to remember and laugh about

after dinner one of his friends washed all the dishes while the rest of us sat around drinking coffee and smoking cigars .. soon it was time for them to take off and do what 18 year old boys do ..

hugs all around while his friends made sure it was ok if they came back to visit after my son heads back to Hawaii

~ my son loved his new dice that we purchased for him .. some amber dice from poland along with a pair of sterling silver dice in their own little silver cage

he thinks he's bringing some of his dice collection home with him to hawaii .. i told him i'd pick a few out that i was willing to part with .. me thinks he quickly discovered how possessive i am of his collection .. "gee thanks mom" he laughingly replied with raised eyebrows

he should be thankful i let him sit in his car for a few minutes

these kids .. so unappreciative nowadays

head noise from my holiday part III

~ i suppose i would be neglectful if i failed to mention the gifts i  received from my children eh? lol  my son made me a bracelet .. its an angel receptor that he tells me will keep me safe ::big happy mother sigh:: and from my daughter i received a gift certificate for a facial and massage at a local day spa .. i'm calling them today to make an appointment !!

~ my young nephew Michael graced us with his own rendition of KC and the Sunshine Band .. running around the house, singing at the top of his lungs .. "do a little dance, make a little lunch .. get down tonight .. uh huh .. get down tonight"

we tried so hard not to laugh aloud and give away his tiny little mistake .. i do believe i like his own personal rendition better lol

~ way back i wrote a series in my journal, entitled "Beyond Disneyland" about my experiences when my 2 nieces lived with us for 6 months when they were younger .. today my niece Sue Sue (sorry, Susan) is now 20 years old and has an 11 month old son Tyler

two days ago she separated from her sons father so i invited to stay with us while she gets her life back in order .. of course i checked with my daughter first to make sure she was willing to move out of her bedroom for "awhile" .. thankfully there are some things she doesn't share with her father and told me "of course Mom .. if family needs a place to live, that is what OUR home is for"

then she promptly went into her room and cleaned it up, moving her stuff into my bedroom

my daughter is so excited at the prospect of being able to spend time with her "favorite cousin" and at having a baby in the house

its going to be cramped here for awhile .. but thats ok with all of us .. at least we're able to help out and give my niece and her son a home .. cause thats what being "family" is all about

Question of The Day

~ i am sitting here now needing to tell my AOL-J friends how much you all add to my life .. the comments you've each left for me in my journal .. the encouragement and support you shown to me is invaluable and such a wonderful part of my life .. the email that i receive that shows me that you really do appreciate it when i try to help you in some small way .. even if i don't have the answers

i don't think i could ask for a better group of friends than yourselves .. thank you so much

~ i have you as my friends. i am surrounded by loving family, i live with a house full of cats each bursting with personality, i have been blessed with the best children anyone could possibly hope for .. i have angels that protect me, i have a massage waiting for me in the *very* near future, my house is clean and i have a fridge full of leftovers just begging to be finished !!

which brings me to my question of the day ..
does life get any better than this?

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

in anticipation of the upcoming holiday, i'm going to be taking a break from journaling for a few days
~my son is coming over to visit tonight (be still my heart!)
and my Christmas celebration begins early tomorrow with both of my children !!
i'll be spending Christmas Day with my sister and her family over at the beach
i'll be back to Journaling the day after Christmas
~so until then ...
From my family to yours
 Merry Christmas
and the happiest of holidays !!
and a huge thank you to Cassie for letting me "borrow" her Christmas graphics !!