Christmas Cookies

On Friday evening, December 10th, my very good friend, Pam, invited me over to her house to have a mad cookie baking night. We ended up making several different types and Pam gave me a new recipe for the coup de grace, oreo cookie truffles. When I brought them home, Lewis proceeded to rename them "crack balls" because he said they were as addictive as crack.(not that he would know anything about that but, anything that I make that he absolutely loves is called "crack" whatever, as in the hash brown casserole that I make every holiday is AKA "crack potatoes". Anyone with a teenage boy will understand how they rename EVERYTHING!!!)

Here are a few pics of that night. Please excuse my hair. I must have gotten bedhead when I pulled my scarf off my head.

Here I am rolling the easy pecan balls and getting them ready to go in the oven.

The finished product! They taste just like Pecan Sandies. YUM!!!!

Here I am again spooning out the haystacks. These were okay, but I doubt I will make them again. They did get consumed, but let's be real. If it's chocolate covered it's a done deal in my house.

Finally, Pam with the be all to end all, Oreo Cookie Truffles!! After making these together I know I made at least 6 dozen more in the days leading up to Christmas. Jessica even made them using Sugar Free Oreos. They were mostly consumed before they even made it to the cookie tins.

So, just in case anyone wants to know how to make these delectable goodies here is the recipe! Enjoy!

I Think I've Ate Too Much Chocolate.....

and my tummy hurts. I've ate and I've ate and I've ate tonight. Ooooooh!!!!! I'm going to get sick, I think.....

Jessica is getting all of this awesome candy from work. "Ms. I've lost 79lbs" won't eat it. She sure doesn't get her willpower from me. The issue is, she brings it home and gives it to Lewis and I. Lindt Double Chocolate Truffles, Ferrero Rocher Chocolate Hazelnut Candies, Hershey's Dark Chocolate Bars, and the list goes on......



It started with dinner. I fixed Sloppy Joes. Slack I know, but I had the first one and gosh, I hadn't had a Sloppy Joe in ever so long and it was sooooooo good.

So I ate another.........

and, uh, I ate another.........

and I ate a Hazelnut Candie.....

and another.......

and a Hershey's Dark Chocolate......

and another......

and a Lindt truffle......

and another.....

and another.....

I think I'm gonna get sick. I don't eat much chocolate......really.......ask anyone that knows me.......I don't.

Boy, I sure know how to go overboard.

My last final is Saturday. So is Jessica's. We are going at 9AM. Phew, one semester down. I can't look forward, it all seems too far away. I can only look at right now. I definitely have three "A"'s, I'm hoping for a fourth, but will probably get a "B". I'm happy with that. Signed up for all of my classes for next semester and already ordered my books and will pick them up Tuesday. So has Jessica. We did not procrastinate this time. Unlike my last paper I wrote Monday night, at the last minute. Plus, I changed my mind three times about the subject. That's why I hadn't wrote in a week. I just didn't have it in me. I had six papers due since Thanksgiving.

See, I overdosed on papers too, not just chocolate....excuses...excuses....

Jessica thinks she has 2 "A"'s and 2 "B"'s. She will officially be in her Sophomore year in January. One year down for her.

I think it would be kind of cool if I can catch up with her, and maybe we can finish together.

Maybe looking forward isn't such a bad thing. Maybe you have to eat too much chocolate sometimes to remember when to say enough. Maybe you can't appreciate the good times if you didn't have bad to make them good. Make sense????

Nah, doesn't to me either. I think what I'm trying to do is justification. Oh well, it's Christmas time, that's justification enough.

A MeMe Tag and A Big Thank You!

Over the last few months I have picked up a few new blog followers. One of those followers has been especially supportive, leaving comments and tagging my blog of which I am very appreciative. Jennifer, I want to thank you for being so kind. I should probably come out to Oklahoma and help you clean your house or something nice, but if you could see mine then you would know that housework isn't my strong suit. It's like my mom always says, "your dad didn't marry me for my cooking skills (said with a wink!)". Butch may have married me for my cooking skills (he went from a 32 waist pants to a 42) but he didn't for my housekeeping skills. Oh well, we all have our faults.

Anyways, a few weeks ago Jennifer wrote this post tagging me. At that time, I was too preoccupied with the biopsy deal to respond. Now I am catching up.

5 Things Meme

5 Things I was Doing 10 years Ago:

1. Working as Claims Rep/Customer Service Analyst for TRICARE
2. Organizing a Christmas food drive at work for the needy and without thinking drove into THE worst neighborhood in Portsmouth to deliver to a family. I'm talking, this development was so bad that the ambulance wouldn't go in there without a police escort. I just didn't think about it until I was already there, and my car was surrounded by these great, big guys (who were probably a bunch of drug dealers) wanting to know what I was doing in their neighborhood. I explained why I was there, and they helped me carry the food in to the family. When I left and pulled out into traffic, I immediately burst into tears. Butch was terribly angry with me for not thinking and going there at all. Oh well, I was doing a good deed.
3. Mom to a 9 year old! Gee, where has all the years went?
4. Still missing one of my best friends, Gwen, who had moved back to Georgia the year before. I still look out my kitchen window and wish she was back across the street.
5. Ten years younger(36) and on the downside to forty, not fifty!!!



5 Things On My To-Do List Today:

1. Go to my last English class!!!! YIPEE
2. Stop by the grocery store for borax and bread.
3. Read two more chapters of my Developmental Psychology book. BLAH
4. Get more wood in from the backyard to inside the house. It's supposed to get cold this weekend and I still haven't turned on the gas to my furnace yet.
5. Fix the Christmas tree lights that Jessica hooked up too many on one circuit and blew a fuse somewhere. I'm not gonna complain, because she did put the tree up and decorate it.


5 Snacks I Love:

1. Montery Jack and Jalapeno cheese with crackers
2. Fritos
3. Brach's Maple Nut Goodies
4. Kraft sliced cheese
5. Ham & Cheese sandwich


5 Things I Would Do If I Were A Millionaire:

1. Buy the new 2011 Mustang in Black.
2. Pay off all our debts and my loved ones too
3. Not work, but I would volunteer.
4. Travel
5. Set up a scholarship fund for college for older women that are returning to get their degrees

Isn't this just a sweet car!!!! Oh, I could see myself getting all kinds of tickets in this baby!!!

5 Jobs I’ve Had:

1. Electrician
2. Medical Insurance Clerk
3. Medical Claims Analyst
4. Medical Claims Trainer
5. Tax Preparer


5 People I Tag: (That I know will respond)

1. Sarah
2. Lisa
3. Katie
4. Meagan
5. Curvy

How Can One Truly Study.....

When their cat is intent upon helping? When I am at home my cat, Tommy, is somewhere close by. When I go to bed at night, he is either on my pillow being a pig, with his paw touching my face, or under the covers fighting with the dog on who gets to sleep closest to me.

When I study, he is right besides me, or on my lap trying to push my book out of my way, or trying to sit on the laptop. Tonight he kept trying to grab my pen with his mouth and yank it out of my hand.

Notice his paw on my arm.....

You just can't get any closer than this!

Right now he is draped over my shoulder. Crazy cat!!!

A Lot To Be Thankful For!

I had the biopsy on Friday and got the call today. IT WAS BENIGN!!!! I am so grateful and words can't even begin to describe the relief I felt. When I got the call, I was told that Dr C wanted to speak with me, which of course made me EXTREMELY anxious, but she got on the phone and explained what the findings were and I immediately cried. I just couldn't help it. There are a few other issues that I have, namely lymph nodes all over that are enlarged, so I will be following up with my hematologist/oncologist, Dr. D for that. I already see her every six months due to an another ongoing issue, so that is not really a big deal. The mass in my breast may have to come out at some point, especially if it continues to grow, and I will be monitored every six months with additional mammograms and ultrasounds. That is okay. I can handle those and at least I know that Dr. C will be following those findings. I will say this. If I ever have to have another biopsy, the next time I will insist on being knocked out. This deal of having a biopsy while being awake, sucked, if I may put it so bluntly. I won't go into any great detail, but uncomfortable was putting it mildly.

On another note, Jessica and I went to see Butch yesterday and he is stable. He had a cardiologist appointment and since he hasn't had any more problems with chest pains and his heart, we are going to stay on the path that we are currently on, which is medication management. He is back on his anti-psychotics and is doing as well as to be expected. Since we were there yesterday, we are not going down for Thanksgiving. Two trips in one week is just too much. We didn't usually spend Thanksgiving together anyways, as when he was able, he was usually with my dad hunting in years past. We will be going down on December 5th, since the facility is having a covered dish luncheon for the residents and their families to celebrate the holiday. We will also go down on Christmas morning to exchange gifts and we will probably go out to eat at the local Chinese restaurant there in town, since that is the only place open on Christmas day. I guess that will be our new tradition, Chinese on Christmas but that is the way it is. I am just grateful that Jessica will have her dad one more Christmas.

Jessica and I made a pact on the way home yesterday, and that is that we will be spending more time focusing on the simple things that Christmas brings. I guess it's like my favorite holiday special says in The Grinch That Stole Christmas (the original, of course)

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." - Dr. Suess

That will be our focus this year. It's not about money, it's not about stuff, it's about the people you love and what's in your heart. One night we will set aside to go out and look at lights on people's homes, like we used to when I was little, and when Jessica was little. Another day, we will set aside to make Christmas goodies, and yet another, we will watch all the Christmas specials and movies that we love. I think we will sit around in our p.j.'s and drink eggnog and eat junk. But isn't that what the holidays are all about? Watching Christmas Vacation, The Grinch That Stole Christmas, A Christmas Carol, and my all time favorite, It's A Wonderful Life.

Anyways, we have everything we could ever truly desire. We have each other. We may not have a lot of money, but we have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food in our tummies, which is a lot more than others. We have family that loves us and we love them. It may not be what some would call normal, but what exactly is normal?

Sitting here tonight, I guess I'm a little nostalgic with what all has went on the last few weeks. I want simple. I want the box with nothing in it but a little love, and that's going to be our Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. My ham just came out of the oven in preparation for Thursday, Jessica just told me I'm the best mommy in the whole wide world and I got the best news from Dr. C. What more can one ask for?

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

P.S. Thank you to everyone that had us in their thoughts and prayers. I received so many comments, calls, emails, and cards that it makes one stop and realize how many people that they truly have that care about them. A special thank you to my mom and my childhood best friend, Janet, who was there in the waiting room while undergoing my biopsy. I couldn't have been as brave without you both. I love you. To my brother, Scott, thank you for listening. You always understand. Again, I love you all! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and new Mammogram Recommendations

As reported on the news yesterday, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended reducing mammograms for women under 50. Here is the link for the full article. Here is another link for the members of this task force and their credentials.

Obviously, with what I am currently going through, anything that I can possibly say about this will be skewed by my own personal experience. I do have some questions, since I see from doing a quick online search tonight, that this is turning into a firestorm with the recent health care debate.

1. Who appointed this task force and when? The findings that I keep coming up with is this is not a group that is appointed by the government. Yet another link here. Maybe it's late and I'm just damned confused.

2. How long has this study been going on?

3. From reading tonight, the same data has been used by several different groups besides the government task force with different opinions. Why is the task force coming to a different conclusion than the American Cancer Society considering that they both used the same studies and data? Here is the link concerning this.

4. Will this same task force look at other screening procedures and will they be making further recommendations over all?

Gosh, is it more expensive to pay a little for early detection or perhaps pay more when it is full blown metastasized cancer? How about the human loss to families?

I guess since I'm under 50 I should just suck it up and not worry about what's in my right breast. Of course today, I have been optimistic. Yesterday, was a different story as I posted then. I suddenly feel like I'm bipolar since I have been playing the waiting game. One minute up, next one down. From what I have heard, this is normal. Would I say that it's been stressful? HELL YEAH!!! Gee, I would rather have the stress and know, than to have stuck my head in the sand and not know.

Please, please, please comment me and let me know your thoughts!!! I don't care if you disagree, I am fine with that. Where do you stand on this issue?


Edited to Update:

This post helped a lot. Another good link was here. I couldn't have said anything any better. Explains how the stats were used. Considering that in the U.S. there are 74,281,974 women between the ages of 25 to 64 as of the 2000 census and three percent of women will potentially NOT be diagnosed that figure would be 2,228,459. I guess 2 million plus people just arent' worth it, huh?

It's been one month and I am MAD!!!

I woke up this morning, not in the best of moods. I wasn't really sure why, but deep down I must have known.

It was another night of not being able to sleep. At 1:00AM, I finally broke down and took an Ambien to try to get some sleep. It worked for approximately five hours. That is about as long as it lasts anymore. 6:41AM and my eyes popped open. Lovely.

I didn't want to go to work. The sun is shining. I wanted to be at home and not stuck behind a desk. I know I'm whining, but I can't help it right now. I'm lucky to have a job. Any job. Really.

I'm mad that it's another week that I'm having to wait for an answer. Stupid rain storm. Stupid doctor's office that had to be in downtown Norfolk where it always floods.

I kept brooding and thinking. I do that too much. Think, that is.

I looked back on the blog to the day that I found out that I would have to see a surgeon for this lump. One month ago today. October 16th. I'm still waiting.....

If I was brave, I would take a razor blade and go in there myself. That's how bad I want to know. I want this thing out, like.....well yesterday.

Every twinge, every ache, I am afraid. Afraid that it is something ominous lurking around in my body. I try to keep my thoughts positive. It is hard to do when you are dealing with the unknown.

I don't know what else to say right now. I have a lot of school work that I could be doing. The semester ends in less than four weeks. I'm not doing it though. I should be writing a paper for English. I have three due this week. I'm procrastinating. I have a test in Medical Terminology tomorrow. I haven't even begun the chapter. It is on Oncology. Yeah, like I really want to do that one. I still have an "A" average in all four of my classes, for the moment at least.

I think when I get off work at 2:00PM, I will go home, change into some comfy clothes with no bra, and sit on my porch in the sunshine for a little while. Oh, that's right, I will definitely get some sun as Lewis had to completely cut down one of my Bradford Pear trees in the front yard. It looks weird without it.

I want sameness. I want my tree. I want an answer.