cookie monsters in my house

bean update: still feeling shitty, but remains upbeat and woke up with a smile this morning. probably has something to do with the fact that she slept like a freaking log last night. i found some good natural meds that seem to work well, and she likes taking them because they're hidden in a sugar pill. and thank goodness, because she spits liquid meds out. and finding them in chewable form suitable for ages under 4 is damn near impossible.

sweet girl. thanks for the vibes and prayers - keep 'em coming. it'll suck if she's still snuffly and runny and stuff on christmas.

speaking of christmas, we finally got our tree a few days ago. because we've been so stinking busy, it's still sitting in the corner of the apartment with lights, a tree skirt, and about four decorations on it. and because all of our holiday decorations are stuck in a box, deep in the storage unit, we had to stock up on some basic ornaments when we bought the tree. of course, by the time we got home, everyone was too tired to actually decorate. d-oh!

through a stroke of luck (good for us, bad for someone else), the teen is actually going to be with us through this weekend. i got a call from her dad asking if we could keep her for a few extra days, as her stepbrother went off to the e.r. a few nights ago with abdominal pains. turns out the poor guy has shingles. ew. i sure don't want her exposed to that shit - it's super contagious!

so anyway, that gives us a few extra days to actually get that tree done and ready for santa to drop presents off underneath. we have no chimney, and i'm glad the bean is too little to ask questions like that yet. heh.

and because we lack proper tree ornaments, i got the bright idea to bake and decorate some gingerbread cookies and use them instead. i had a great recipe all ready to work with, but then the laziness hit again when i spotted pillsbury ready-made gingerbread dough - on sale - at the grocery store. i scooped up a tube of that stuff and took it home merrily.

with the teen in a grumpy ass mood and the bean absorbed in serving tea from her own kitchen, i ended up getting down to business all by my lonesome. i sprinkled flour and rolled out dough and busted out cookie cutters, all the while grumbling to myself about christmas spirit and bonding time over decorating cookies and other "nobody loves me, i'm gonna go kick some rocks"-style sentiments.

i was happy that these actually managed to keep their shape somewhat after baking.

i decided to use a drinking glass to cut out basic circles that i could mimic round glass ornaments with.

i hadn't mentioned this in my previous post about dying the icing for cookies, but i do actually have gel food coloring. i just didn't have it in red. so i stopped at my cake/candy supply store, where i didn't find the dye in gel, but in powder form. i decided it was worth a shot and picked it up in red and blue.

i scooped out my meringue powder and powdered sugar to mix up the frosting.

i divided it into four portions, so i would have red, blue, green, and white to work with.

who needs fancy schmancy decorating bags? not me. i'm ghetto-style. ziploc bags work just fine.

i really, really lack creativity (and skill) when it comes to decorating cookies and cake. i don't know why i keep trying. i posted these on facebook, whining about how lame they looked, but maybe they just photograph really well. up close and in person, they just look sad and completely un-pro. i guess that's appropriate, though, since i'm most definitely not pro!

i'd poked little holes through the tops of each cookie, so that we could hang them from a ribbon on the tree. but, as my friend california girl commented, the hub kind of gave me the side eye when i announced my plans. "the dog's going to jump up onto the tree and knock the whole thing down to get at those cookies." and knowing mollydog's tenacity when it comes to getting her paws on something to eat, i had to agree. and so these ended up in a big ass ziploc baggie, where they're slowly disappearing into the mouths of the cookie monsters in the house.

i'd worried that i would run out of frosting, but after i'd mutilated the last cookie with my skillz, i was surprised to find that the bags were still quite full. i was sad to toss it out, but it doesn't keep well, and i didn't have any plans to make any more cookies.

the girls snapped out of their funk long enough to come over and be my taste-testers.

the bean showed off her green-tinted mouth quite happily.

and i inspected my own damage - that food dye works really well. on skin.

so despite the fact that i completely suck at it and swear never to attempt it ever again, i know i'll most likely make and decorate cutout cookies again next year. hell, i may do them for valentine's day.

after all, how hard can it be to decorate a bunch of hearts??