12.24.03

i did it! i made christmas cookies! this may sound like an easy enough task, but trust me, it isn't...

it all started when i saw a magazine ad for sugar cookies. pretty cookies. so i set out to make cookies that looked like the ones in the ad. ha! after several trips to several grocery stores i finally got the necessary ingredients. see, i wanted the kind of sprinkles on my cookies like they used in the ad. pearl sprinkles. i don't think it's fair for a company like betty crocker to create an advertisement using cookie props that are unavailable to the average individual because they shop at average grocery stores. anyway, i found the sprinkles i needed at our local gourmet grocery store, draeger's. but then i didn't have a star-shaped cookie cutter. that's because i don't have any cookie cutters. so emily and i braved the crowds and went to williams-sonoma. they were OUT of star cookie cutters. really, you'd think these stores would buy extra of items that are sure to be sellouts. anyway, i found the cookie cutter too at draeger's. plus, it was only $1.00. those of you familiar with draeger's will be amazed at the low price. i inadvertently stumbled upon the cheapest item sold at draeger's. it offset the price of my pearl sprinkles, which were $5.99.

my next task was bake the cookies. an easy enough task for people who bake. all i have to say about this aspect of my journey into the land of christmas cookies is, "know thy oven." it took me one smoking batch of black cookies to realize that my oven runs hot. therefore, i had to cut the recommended cooking time by 1/3.

ok, my sugar cookies were baked to light beige perfection and the only thing left for me to do was frost them. i couldn't sleep for thinking about how i was going to get my frosting to look like the frosting in that god damn picture -- smooth and hard. but i had bought canned frosting, which i knew to be soft and gooey. i was missing some crucial piece of information, but what? i did some online research and realized that i wanted to glaze, not frost my cookies. then on the inside wrapper of the frosting can there was my answer (once i knew the question), how to prepare the frosting to get the glaze of my dreams. basically, you microwave the frosting for 20 seconds. oh. duh.

the rest of the process was cake (or cookies) -- a drop of blue food coloring, a baby spoon to lightly drizzle on the frosting, a sprinkle of sugar pearls... i was so pleased at the outcome that i went on to make walnut brownies frosted with powdered sugar and chocolate chip cookies drizzled with red glaze. cool! the painful learning curve is over and a tradition is born. :)

in other news, my last day at work was friday the 19th. for the record, i worked at avantgo/ ianywhere/sybase from may 30, 2000 until december 19, 2003. i learned a lot working there and i consider the experience to be extremely valuable. my co-worker frank organized my good-bye lunch and everybody chipped in and got me a $100 gift certificate at TJ Maxx, which they know is my favorite store next to target. i'll use the money to buy my mommy wardrobe of sweats and t's. i'll miss my co-workers and my "adult" job a lot, but i know i made the right decision.

mike update: our relationship survived THE MAKING OF THE CHRISTMAS CARD PHOTO. there's hope! also, emily and i visited him at google the other day for lunch. that place is pretty cool. free food, free sodas, washlet toilets, and impromptu visits from people like bill clinton, gwenyth paltrow, jimmy carter. what more can you ask for from a job?

emily update: she's looking forward to baby's first christmas. actually, she's totally clueless about christmas, but that's ok. we're having fun.

fitness update: i love love love my baby jogger! emily likes it, too.

xoxo
mary [mary @ marytsao.com]




©copyright 2003 mary tsao