Countdown!

Well, cute man and I got up at 7:30 this morning and braced ourselves to join the throngs of last minute shoppers and general mayhem at the mall....only there wasn't any. We parked almost in front and had no wait at the registers in any store... HMMMM....Maybe it was too early and it will be different this afternoon. Actually we hit Sam's first to get some baking supplies such as chocolate chips (they sell the yummy Ghiradelli Bittersweet chips), lemons, flour (they had whole grain white--score!), and other things. Luckily I had taken inventory before I went since I am notorious for overbuying...I practiced restraint and didn't get things to make EVERYTHING in my cookbook, like I have in the past...I am working on restraint and knowing when enough is enough...it is really hard! So, while hubby is checking on a friend's animals and braving Wal-Mart, I am working on the following goodies:

Cream cheese citrus pound cake
Lemon Bars
Giant Ginger Cookies
Mississippi Mud Cake
Fudge

And later the kids can help me package up some Hot Cocoa Mix in quart jars, and then we will dip pretzels in white chocolate coating. The recipe for the cocoa is really easy. I multiply it by 4 and make enough for jars of various sizes. Here is the recipe:

4 cups powdered milk
1 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
dash salt
1 cup non-dairy creamer

Mix it all together and put in jars of desired sizes. Add card to jar with the following instructions:

Mix 1/4 cup cocoa mix in a mug with 1 cup water. Enjoy!

We finally have the kids gifts taken care of---now we just need to wrap them. I practiced restraint in that areana too and let the kids know they will only be getting a few gifts since each one asked for a high dollar item. Usually I go on a buying binge at Christmas and the kids end up with stuff they really don't use too much...I came from a family where my mother went overboard every year, my husband came from the exact opposite, so we have been working towards a happy medium. It still makes me feel a little anxious to not underneath the tree completedly filled in......