Driving in the Snow...

I for one am happy that it hasn't snowed much lately. Yes, snow would add to the ambience of the holiday season. BUT, snow is such a pain to drive in, especially when you don't have a four-wheel drive SUV.

Perhaps my bad driving experience last winter has contributed to my dread of driving in the snow too. Last winter I was leaving my apartment complex, and as I was coming down the mini hill, I saw a car had spun out and that cops were on the scene. So I freaked, and slammed on my brakes, which made my entire car spin, and I almost hit the curb--I missed it by like 2 inches. I was so shook up, becuase I'd never done that before, so I just sat in my car, until a guy in an SUV came and moved my car for me. Given this unfortunate experience, I now dread driving anywhere in the snow, especially because all the areas by my apartment are hilly! Maybe if all the roads in Colorado were flat like they are in Kansas, maybe, winter-time driving wouldn't be such a pain.

It's snowing right now, I know. But, I'm not worried because a) none of it's sticking to the roads, much less the ground, and b) I know this weekend is supposed to be nice, so even if it does snow the predicted 2-4 inches, it'll melt soon enough.

I'm considering asking S to show me how to deal with fishtailing in the snow--he knows how to drift in the snow, so I imagine that it's very similar to driving in the snow, and I do have alot of open space aka empty parking lots nearby.... it might be something to try this winter.

Cookie Swap

I'm participating in my first ever cookie swap! I'm really excited. I've been scouring the 'net and asking relatives for recipes.

So far the suggestions I've gotten are for "no bake" cookies from my aunt, my mom's oatmeal raisin recipe, and sugar cookies. I personally want to try making gingerbread cookies, but we'll see. I don't want anything too hard, as I'm most likely going to be taking over my mom's kitchen when I make these because she has a mixer. The people in my group request that there be no nuts in any of the cookies, which I don't mind at all.

Readers: If y'all have any cookie suggestions, let me know!


Here's the cookie swap details:

• Each person will make 3 dozen cookies and will mail each of their partners 1 dozen cookies along with the recipe.


• Cookies must be home baked.


• Cookies must be prepared by adult hands, no little fingers in the dough.
  


• All cookies should be mailed by December 6th.


• Cookies should ship well packaged in air tight containers (like Ziploc bags) and packed well with paper or bubble wrap to avoid breakage.


• You need not have a blog to swap with us, anyone is welcome!

I'm backkkk

Thanksgiving and generally getting away from the city was great. We stayed in a bigger condo this time--it was awesome. My parents slept in a king size bed in a loft, then the main level had a living room, kitchen, and 2 bedrooms with queen size beds. And the downstairs level had another mini kitchen, complete with its own bathroom/shower and queen size bed.

It was perfect. Well, almost. The kitchen appliances were kinda crazy. Case in point: On Thanksgiving day, we put the turkey in the oven, and set the cooking time for 3 hours. Well, in between that time, we put brie and garlic cloves in there to cook, and what we didn't know, but found out the hard way, was that everytime we opened the oven door, the oven would completely stop baking! Luckily, my mom checked on the turkey about an hour after we put in it there, and that's when she discovered the problem. Another problem we had was with the stove top. I ended up making all three sides--Cook's Illustrated Green Bean Casserole, glazed carrots, and squash with browned butter and fresh thyme. The problem I had, was that the stove top wouldn't cool down--for one of the dishes I had to go from high to lo, and even though the knob was on lo, it felt like high. I ended up just using different burners. And my glazed carrots--the easiest recipe out of all of them--I didn't read the directions right. *my bad* So instead of glazed carrots, we had steamed carrots--probably healthier anyways, right? In addition to the oven problems, my mom broke the blender, and we later discovered that only the right side of the toaster actually worked. We did survive though--instead of eating at 3:30, we ate at 6.

Good times were had by all. We didn't get any snow up there, so no one skiied, and it was 45 degrees on Thanksgiving Day. Of course when we left on Saturday, it was snowing. Figures! While we were up in Steamboat we went swimming in the hot springs and it snowed while we were out there! I caught snowflakes on my tongue. It was awesome. I had a blast. I even stayed the weekend with the family. It was nice having my mom make my meals, be around our dog Hailey, and play Wii with my lil brother. And I quasi helped my other brother with some RA stuff. I don't miss homework, that's for sure. All in all, it was a great weekend--I don't wanna be here at work, but I'm thankful to have a job.