corn casserole recipe

Like corn bread isn't delicious enough, add a stick of melted butter, cheese and corn and bake it into a casserole.

I can not stop eating it.

Simple Woman's Daybook: Christmas Eve Eve (Wednesday, Dec. 23)

I am linked here with the Simple Woman's Daybook.

Outside my window:
Rain, grey skies and warm temperatures have me downright a grump. The first year I have a working fireplace and the weather is not letting me use it. Is a sunny 40 degree day too much to ask? It is December after all.... Seriously. Christmas. Where are you?






In the kitchen:
I have a friend who is recuperating from surgery, and I've been cooking for her. I made Vegan Apricot Bars (because I still LOVE them) and Energy Balls (she specifically requested these). I also made a meatloaf and this weekend, I'm making Chicken Pot Pie Soup.

I am looking forward to:  
Pittling around the house during my four day Christmas break. I'll be changing out the blue shears to white shears (These from JC Penny) in the upstairs guest room. UPS tracker says they will be here before Christmas. I'll also continue fighting with/yelling at/pleading with/crying over the wallpaper in the master bath.

I am Reading:
This weekly column in the NY Times on the internet.
So we read on  on Audible. A book about the classic book, The Great Gatsby, and it feels like I am taking a Master Level Literature Class, and not in a good way.... Its interesting but..... its in depth and takes all your attention. I can only read a little at a time.
Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg On Audible.  Its another deep thinking serious book., that I've tried to read for the last month. I just can not get into it. I am still trying.
Audacious by Beth Moore, the actual paper book. I think this is the best Beth Moore book she has ever written.

I am planning:
My end of the year work activities, which will include some very late office arrivals and very early office departures, planning a day sitting in a coffee shop (or more probably, the Law Library) to review 2015 goals and make some 2016 goals, and taking advantage of the after Christmas 50% off decoration shopping (staring with this white tree). 


I am a little irritated at:
A little list of the irritating things:

• The grey, rainy, warm Christmas weather.
• Starbucks. I heard you can order Vietnamese iced coffee even though its not on the menu, and every time I've tried, no one seems to know what it is. (Its ice coffee with sweetened condensed milk and it makes me gain  a lot of weight, so that's one up side to not having any)
• I've gained Christmas weight and don't feel good about it. I have no one to blame but myself, and the chocolate covered pecans in the office kitchen, and the white chocolate and peppermint Hershey kisses

 

Listening to:
24 hour Christmas music here

Favorite Quote for the day:
Fate whispers to the warrior, "you cant withstand the storm," and the warrior whispers back, "I am the storm."

BBW candle sale 2015 edition

The candle sale was the earliest I have seen it. This year it was Dec.4 and arrived on a Saturday, which I have also never seen. The price increased to $8.50 a candle.  But just like every year, when it is all over, I wish I would have bought more.

I got 13 candles and two body products and had two coupons. The body products were free and the candles were $6 each. (WHY didn't I get more?!) The limit is 15 candles, and I think my bag was just too full and heavy and I was too tired to wrestle with getting two more in my hands.

This year, unlike last year, I was able to actually pick out just exactly the ones I wanted because they had plenty of stock. The store was packed and I did have to wait in line for 40 minutes, but everyone was friendly and chatting the whole time and talking about the different coupons and the deals to be made by combining coupons and so forth. So I felt like I was surrounded by my people the whole time.

After all is said and done, my candle supplies are restocked, and I feel strangely comforted by having a full supply, and I am quite pleased with myself.

P.S... Had the annual Church Chirstmas party at my house this weekend and burned the "Joy" candle (peppermint marshmallow) and everyone raved (raved!) about how good my house smelled. Had a few people threaten to smuggle some candles out, but I think my stash is still safe.

a very little black friday shopping

The outcome of too much food/wine at an office Thanksgiving party on Wednesday and an entire day of feeling rotten and sleeping a lot on Thursday combined with so many online with free shipping sales and accepting a date for Friday made Black Friday shopping rather slim this year.  

Typically, Black Friday is an important day in my life. This year it was not. It was very low key. I just did not feeeeeeeeellll  like going out to the Outlet Mall or the regular Mall or anywhere else really. It was a slow day, and not a typical Black Friday for me.

I did get a few things at the Sephora $10 sale. A few of the items I snagged (or thought I snagged) disappeared from my online cart before I could check out, which I thought as really rude.  I ended up with the things below: A set of three Sephora Masks, a set of three Living Proof hair care items and Tarte blush and illuminizer. I had about three other items that apparently sold out before I could complete my order. The three items I did manage to get, I absolutely love all of them. I made good choices.

I tried to shop on line at ULTA but the things I wanted were already gone.

I also ended up at TJ Maxx to finally buy this little Coach pouch for my purse. I've been eyeing it for weeks and told myself if it was still there, I was going to buy it. It was $24, which I think is really expensive, but it is a real Coach (my ONLY Coach product) and I rationalized it by telling myself it would costs three times that much if it weren't at TJ Maxx and I'd probably have it for the next 20 years.  Both of which are true.

I also had a leisurely stroll through Lowes with a guy, getting some needed small house project type things, that had nothing to do with Black Friday, then had an equally slow lunch and Starbucks trip with the same guy, both not Black Friday related, but none the less, was my Black Friday activities.