Yes, they're good for my eyesight, but will they help my camera take better pictures after dark?

The li'l cookie and I are just sitting here eating carrots after a lightweight evening of holiday cookie party baking.  Oh, yeah, and the cat's got his nose in my business, too. 


Stripe Elastic Tunic by Topshop Maternity and pants from Uniqlo

Tonight, I ran out of butter, so I only made it through one batch of spritz cookies before we had to wrap.



One of the reasons I make a spritz cookie recipe each year (besides the butter in these babies, of which there is an outrageously delicious amount) is that my mom gave me an antique, aluminum cookie press a number of years ago.  It works better than any "newfangled" plastic cookie press I've ever tried, and cleans up easily.  I love my cookies and I love my cookie press.





It even came in a box with a mailing label that proclaims it was once mailed to a Mrs. Eddie Locker of Dayton Ohio, shipped as "aluminum articles" from the Weyerhaeuser Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.


Cookie Count: 491

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Cookie Count: 416

Toffee Apple Oatmeal


Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

[Not pictured: Magnolia Peanut Butterscotch]

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And so it begins, with...

120 Snickerdoodles.

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Subway Snack

These animal crackers were a closing-night gift from Averyn, a fellow cast member in Field 309, the play I just wrapped. I ate them while waiting for a train.

Question: How long have these been branded "Barnum's?" I've never thought about that before.

Answer: Since 1902! [source: Wikipedia]

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Nobody loves me; everybody hates me. Guess I'll go eat...

I did not anticipate finding any fault with the infamous "dirt and worms" dessert that Brock and August made tonight.

However, I discovered that although I enjoy the components on their own (pudding, whipped cream, Oreos, gummy worms), they don't actually work well together. It's a cute idea, and cuter still with a sprig of "grass" (a clipping of chive) as garnish [nice one, guys], but the Oreo dirt, made muddy with a cold chocolate pudding, chills the worm and makes it extra tough and chewy. Additionally, the flavor of the gummy (or, at the very least, the red worm I found at the bottom of my plastic cup) seems medicinal and unpleasant when paired with the chocolate.

I'd happily eat another cupful of dirt, but I'd like future worms served on the side, please.

The all day sucker (c'est moi)

The Sugar Daddy (sent by Tia) is a "Milk Caramel Pop" that used to be called the "Papa." It's a big guy, too. Looking at it, I thought it might be the only thing I get done all day.

I put the thing in my mouth at 11:26 am.

11:26 a.m. -- It's quite sticky when moistened, so I am trying to keep my teeth off of it. I have some more dental work in my future and I don't want to get into trouble. Chewing it is unpleasant because it worries me.

11:41 a.m. -- The top is melting and distorted, but I don't feel like it's getting smaller. I have to take a shower. I've got stuff to do!

12:02 p.m. -- Seriously. I have to catch a train. My mouth will never taste anything but caramel ever again.

12:07 p.m. -- I can finally fit the whole thing in my mouth relatively comfortably. I am very distracted by this sucker. When will it end?!

12:18 p.m. -- Guess I have to take it with me. It's still bigger than my thumb. I thought my tongue might be brown, but I looked in the mirror and it's still pink/red.

12:23 p.m. -- Finally smaller than my thumb.

12:27 p.m. -- One hour and one minute after unwrapping this baby, I have - at last - sucked the last sliver off the stick and scraped the last bit off the back of my teeth. Need a one-hour, 200 calorie snack? I've got an idea for you.

In conclusion: It tasted classic, if the experience was a bit epic. I enjoyed the milky, caramel flavor, and I appreciate how caramel melts slowly in the mouth, but the Sugar Daddy is far too big for a lolly. I think I would go for the junior size pop (or Sugar Babies) in the future.

Ooh, and they should make a version with sea salt. I'm so in love with salted caramels right now.

Poetry Tuesday: Sweet Revenge

I, whom you lick,
I am burning on your tongue I am your lost youth
I am a trip I am a trick I am the true truth
I powdered out along the hillsides of your tongue's scoop.

I am your: fun dip,
Your brain's in: deep slip,
You cannot: come nor quit
And there's: no use.
I am a flash, I am a sneeze, I am a screw loose.
I'm sugared trash, I ride the breeze, I take abuse.

I, whom you dip,
I am cooling in your cheek I am your white knight
I am an eagle soaring peering through your skylight
I crunch like aspirin in your teeth I put up no fight.

I am your: lik-m-stik,
I taste: so opposite,
You think you have: a grip
And then: you flip.
You are alone, you are undone, you've come to care.
You're lying prone, you taste the fun, you dip you dare.

Another treat from Tia

One of the items in Tia's Goodie Box was this roll of Necco Wafers. Necco are (is?) made in Revere, MA by the New England Confectionary Co. I've been aware of Necco rolls, of course, but I have no solid memory of eating them as a child. I vaguely imagined I found them chalky and dissatisfying, but I was game to try them as an adult to see what I thought.

Upon inspecting the packaging, I was horrified to discover that one serving = one roll. No way would I be eating the whole thing in one sitting. In fact, I ended up sharing the remainder of these with my coworkers, some of whom are bigger Necco fans than I.

I was pleased to discover that each color was a different flavor. They're not tasteless at all, though I still found them a little dry, hard, chalky, and dull. They taste like old Valentine's Day candy hearts. I suppose that could be comforting if you startle easily. They'd be a good candy for the brittle (not unlike the Necco, actually) elderly or infirm - you know, people who need to be kept calm.

My Necco rainbow breakdown:

Red - very little flavor, like a candle's scent - or the scent of flame? Peppermint, then.
Orange - faintly, fairly orange.
Yellow - mild, mild, mild with an almost-citrus whisper at the end.
Green - clear-tasting, like some kind of nontoxic pine cleaner. Lime.
Violet - Sort of soothing, like cinnamon if it weren't at all spicy.
White - blank + vanilla, like a page from a book rendered as candy; again there is a sense of almost-spice, and finally - cinnamon?

They grew on me. I have no contempt for the Necco. I even had a few extra, beyond what my taste-testing required. But I didn't finish the roll. I left that to the more diehard, true fans. It seemed only fair.

The final word on Necco? Jane said it well when she commented, "Sure do taste old-fashioned...Candy's come a long way."

Perky, popping pick-me-up.

When you're sleepy enough that your average, workaday sugar isn't going to cut it, try a peck of Pop Rocks. Sweet and snappy with audible and textural zizzow, a slug of these potent poppers just might keep keep you on your toes and awake longer than some silent sugar would. So the Strawberry isn't strictly Strawberry? It's still a pinch of pick-me-up you can trust to put the vig back in vigor for a time.

You're gonna come down, though. Watch out for that crash.

(Thanks, Tia!)

Our Sandwich

As far as I'm concerned, Dan invented this open-faced beauty. And I became a believer when we ate dozens of them on a day's drive from Colorado to Kansas in my little used Saturn (deceased). They're good at home, in the car, while camping (you may want to swap out mustard for the mayo), while picnicking, at the beach...

The variation pictured here (from last weekend's bocce picnic) is bread, spreadable cheese, Viennese mustard, and Hormel Turkey Pepperoni, but the original version (still classic and my favorite) is a Triscuit, a dab of mayonnaise, a small slice of cheese, and a slice of the turkey pepperoni on top.

Fireball: 2 pieces (1 edible)

Taking into account only spell damage, cast time and points in Improved Fireball, the following equation computes the DPS of Fireball. In this equation, d is the amount of Fire spell damage, B is the base Fireball damage, and X is the number of points in Improved Fireball.

(d + B)/(3.5 - 0.1*X)



Unrelated (?): today I found out I need 7 fillings to replace old sealants on my teeth. To be fair, I hadn't been to the dentist in 6 years until recently. I'm two fillings richer so far!