This weekend, we are going to Canada... yes, AGAIN. Sunday is my dad's birthday, so we are going to take him out to dinner Saturday evening. I used to always bake him a blueberry cheesecake, but with his high cholesterol and the difficulty with transporting a cheesecake over the border, i am making him these super duper easy cookies.

First, i start with a chocolate cake mix.


After sifting the mix, adding a stick of softened butter, 2 eggs and used all my muscles, i get this thick batter.


Using an old tablespoon measuring spoon and a couple of spoons, i plop the cookies onto an ungreased sheet, then roll them into wee balls.


It hardly makes any mess at all.


They spread a little, so i am careful not to have more than 12 to a sheet.


After 10 - 12 minutes in the oven, an additional 5 minutes to cool on the sheet, i put them on a rack to cool.


They taste like brownies.... YUM!

I know ya'll might be anxious to see the pictures from the (e:PMT) New Year's Eve bash last night... and some of you may be cringing. But i had other pics i wanted to post too, so i thought i would do them all, for all the holiday, in one big post. So here goes...

The obligitory "godmom" pictures of Kirsten's pets taken over the holidays.

Cute lil Ava in her holiday wear


Elliott borrowed Ava's hat


Ava and Nolan


I must be boring Nolan.



Then there was the holiday with the family. Since they never asked to be stars of my blog, all the pictures of my brother and his family are, well, of them hiding mostly. Which is what the kids did naturally, i suspect.

Nephew Luke


Foster nephew Jamie


My brother, John


My neice, Arianna taking a picture of her Gramps


Arianna taking a picture of their dog, Rosie


Sister-In-Law, Michelle, petting Rosie


Rosie the basset hound


My Parent's dog, Ralphie, scared of all the humans, hiding behind his mom


My parent's little predecorated tree


My mom with her hand up a turkey


The piggie footie massager the kids got me for xmas


Me and a giant 10lb loaf of german rye bread my brother brought for us from the bakery he works for


And now, ladies and germs, the show you have been waiting for -- the (e:PMT) New Year's Eve bash. Thank you, yet again, (e:Paul) (e:Matthew) and (e:Terry) for hosting!

Oh, and before i go any further, thank you thank you thank you, my Secret Santa. I ADORE my gift!


The hosts with the mosts, (e:PMT)


(e:imk2) happy with her secret santa gift


(e:Terry) showing everyone the slight flaw in the design of (e:imk2) 's gift... the hole in the fabric should be down here, i think...


Uhmm... nice bottle, (e:imk2) !


(e:Enknot) 's crime fighting duo


(e:Metalpeter) and (e:Vycious)


The women of AbFab loving on (e:Metalpeter)


(e:Mike) drinking with style


awe, isn't dating cute?


(e:jenks) (e:Ladycroft) and (e:imk2) showing some girl on girl on girl action


Is this my best side, Darling?


From AbFab to I Love Lucy, all in one night


An (e:Jenks) sandwich... with (e:Soma) kicking out the jams

I stuck it in the bottom the freezer we have in our basement yesterday after a wash and a thorough dry. The bowl was ready to go. Since (e:jenks) suggested it, i asked my parents for an ice cream maker for christmas. And now, the eggonog is churning away! The recipe was easy. One quart of eggnog. We'll let you know how it tastes!!

Menstral cramps are the worst. So is getting up about every hour in the middle of the night to stumble into a cold bathroom to change one soggy bloody mess and change it out for something that will just be the same in another hour or so. I'm tired and drained (perhaps that pun was intended) today....

I love my family, but we are so damn disfunctional. I try my best to do what i think is right and not model the behaviour of my parents.

I wonder if it is possible for the group of us to get together for any reason without there being some sort of drama. No wonder i get horrid stomach pains or end up being sick every year around this time.

I avoid the conflicts now, at almost any cost, even when i feel strongly about something. The rights of someone unable to speak for themselves is someone i should stand up for, yet i didn't, so i wouldn't be in the middle of something i had nothing to do with in the first place. I'm torn by having kept my mouth shut. Knowing it would have caused more drama, yet very displeased with the behaviour of so-called adults.

Yet this year, only 2 bits of drama... pretty good for our lot. But, there is always the second gathering of the year, on the 28th. Still time.

I described the 36 or so hours when my brother, his family, my parents, (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i were at my parent's house as "pleasant" to a few friends since we have been back home. Yet when telling of the 2 drama filled incidents, i was met with shock that a time in which both happened could still be described this way.

My friend Mark said it best, "sometimes i am grateful all my family does is talk about the weather and watch t.v."