Wrap up on my 2013 goals...

I didn't do very well on my list this year.  

The first half was fail after fail.  However, the second half showed more successes.

Among the successes:

We finished the most MAJOR thing on the list...the garage apartment!  YAY!

I managed to finish all the books on my reading challenge...

Opened and contributed to college funds for all of the fab five...

And I am especially proud of myself for completing another year (my third!) of the 52 Letters in 52 Weeks challenge successfully.  As of the end of November, I had 49 letters mailed.  I mailed 30 Christmas cards mid December, with a handwritten note on the back of each.  I think that definitely puts me over 52 for the year.  :)

I love to create the cards, but I used to be just terrible at actually gettting them in the mail.  This challenge is just the incentive I need to get it done, and it gets easier each time I repeat it.  However, I know I would just stop the effort without the accountability of actually doing the challenge, so I will be repeating it in 2014.

Time for some changes...

image credit: http://olddesignshop.com vintage image treasury

So...

I gave two-weeks' notice at my job today.  Not without some sadness, because it has really been a great job with the best boss in the world.  However, it has taken a toll on me physically, working long hours with a long commute.  I have gained weight being so sedentary, and being too tired to shop/cook healthily.  I have lost a little of the weight gain since Kasey moved in and has been cooking for us, but I need to have the time and opportunity to work on it.  Exercise?  Fogeddaboutit.  It's dark when I leave in the morning, and dark when I get home at night.  

There are also some other considerations that are still under wraps for the moment.

I am reverting back to my previous on-call status, though I won't be working as much or as regularly as I did before going full time.  I equate the new status to substitute teaching...any branch in the vicinity can call me when they need somebody, and I fill in if I'm able.  That allows for a lot of flexibility (read: few work hours), while still being able to claim a current employer.

It's kind of scary.

Short catch up...

This year it was Chloe that missed out on getting her two front teeth for Christmas.  Last year was her sister's turn.

It has been a very laid-back month, what with all the time off I've had with the shingles and vacation that needed to be used by the end of the year.  Not much to blog about...or rather there is, but I can't really make it public yet...probably tomorrow... 

So instead of writing, I've done some consolidating, and neatening on my blog pages.  I moved all my annual reading lists into one.   Getting ready to do a final update on the 2013 goals.  ugh.

My keyboard is really acting up.  Cursor skipping all around, not fun or easy to type.  I wonder if I should see about getting it serviced.

Feeling antsy.  Making lists. Stocking up on hugs.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy

I'm not sure, but I may have read this before.  Either that, or she had another similar one.  The book is about a community, and each chapter is told from the viewpoint of a different person.

Not so thrifty thrift stores...

The Non-Consumer Advocate  frequently posts under the title Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will which is always very entertaining, and shows the good, the bad, and the butt-ugly things that she finds at Goodwill thrift stores.

Since there is a Goodwill store in the shopping center where my office is located, I periodically pop in.  I'm never so much amused as stunned by the unbelievable prices they put on things. 

Exhibit A: this pretty little green bottle.  Tip to base it was maybe 10 inches high.  $15.99!

Exhibit B:  These little brown bottles used to contain snuff.   I live in Texas...if not THE location of the highest usage of smokeless tobacco per capita, then it is certainly way up there.  In his younger days, my husband dipped this particular brand of snuff.  We had tons of these little bottles...in the kitchen window with wildflowers in them...at my mother's house where she was sure she would find a good use for them...in the trash (pre-recycling days).  I nearly choked when I saw these priced at $4.99...EACH!  I could have had a nice little nest egg had I been able to sell all the ones that passed through our house for that.

I left empty handed again today.  I just don't understand the business sense of overpricing at thrift stores.  You would think that they would have more turnover if they priced items to sell...they did receive all their merchandise as free donations after all. 

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's back to work I go...

I'm heading back to work bright and early tomorrow morning.  Still can't really wear shoes, so I'll have to play that by ear.  

While I've been off I've done most of my Christmas shopping online.  I've taken care of some long-procrastinated bookkeeping chores.  I crocheted a set of hot pads with a nod to Hudson Bay.  I've read a lot.  I tried a new cookie recipe.

I've done a tiny bit of decorating, and pointed others toward the boxes of ornaments so they could deck the rest of the hall.

Most importantly, I survived shingles!  :)  I lucked out and had a really, REALLY light case.

Cherry Shortbreads...

I have been meaning to try these for WAY too long...ever since I first saw Joolz post about them.  They are so pretty!  Joolz says it's a never-fail recipe, and I've seen her post about them several times, so I know they must be a favorite at her house.

Joolz' recipe is here.  I had to do a little web research to convert some of the measurements and ingredients, so I'm not 100% sure I got it exactly like hers, but they look the same, and they taste yummy!  :)

My conversion:
12 Tbsp of softened butter (not margarine!)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup corn starch
1 cup flour + a bit
candied cherries, halved

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Using an electric mixer, cream butter, vanilla & powdered sugar together until pale and creamy.  Stir in flour and corn starch to make a soft dough.  Add a touch extra flour if you need to.  Put dough in a piping bag, and pipe the cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Add a cherry to the center, and bake for approximately 12 to 15 minutes until just golden.  Watch that they don't brown too much.  

Since we have a couple of kidlets here that don't like cherries, I made some with cherries and some without.  They melt in your mouth!  I think they will be an oft-baked favorite at our house too!