Not So Random Friday On Saturday – Christmas Edition
December 18, 2010 
21 Comments
Christmas is almost here which means we are busy, busy, busy here at Casa Vixen. The kids have school Christmas parties, and performances, secret Santa gift exchanges, there is last minute shopping to do, and all the craziness that goes along with the holiday season. I didn’t even have time to do my Friday post yesterday. Now of course I can’t do all this without some sort of additional irritant to make me completely crazed. No. So what did I do? I got flaming eyeballs. That’s right, my eyeballs are on fire during the crazy countdown to Christmas so I look like I’m completely toasted twenty-four hours a day. Apparently I’m allergic to either my contact lens solution, my own protein or something. Anyway, to cure the flaming eyeballs I need obscenely expensive eye drops that my insurance, of course, does not cover.
I paid $70 for that teeny weeny bottle of eye drops. I put it next to a two liter to give you an idea of just how teeny weeny it is. I had to be careful with the lighting lest it get lost in the shadow. /sarcasm. After two days of drops, my eyes are slightly less on fire. *sigh*
So, while my eyes flame and I go bankrupt buying teeny weeny bottles of eye drops, this is what I’ve been up to:
I supervised the decorating of the family Christmas tree. Then took really bad iPhone pics of it.
I went shopping at Target and wished they had these in my size. I settled for buying each of my little daughters a pair. Big daughter just won’t cooperate anymore. *grumbles*
I picked out insanely cute Christmas dresses for the little daughters. Again, big daughter balked. Notice how I don’t complain about spending $$$ on cute Christmas clothes?
Luckily big daughter does not object to helping build our cookie house. (Little daughters call it a cookie house and I think that’s cute so I’m going with it.)
Things were going really well. We all helped out. Well ok, I took pictures and once again supervised. Hey, some of us are worker bees, some of us are bossy and in charge. *shrugs*
It was all going well until….
Oh no is that a crack in the roof? I think it is. Oh well slap some more icing on it and move on, we have a schedule to keep dammit, it’s Christmas.
Oh damn, did the roof just fall off? I think it did. Just act like you don’t notice it. *Whistles*
I don’t think our earthquake insurance covers cookie houses. Damn.
Ingredients:
- 1 recipe Gingerbread Cookie Dough (see link to recipe below)
- 1 recipe Royal Icing (see link to recipe below)
- Paste food colors (red, green, brown, black)
Preparation:
- Prepare gingerbread dough, and chill.
- Prepare royal icing, and flavor it with a teaspoon of vanilla if desired.
- Divide icing into 3 bowls. Leave one bowl of icing white. Use the brown food coloring (plus a little bit of red) to color the second bowl of icing a reddish brown.
- Divide the third bowl into 3 parts, and color one red, one green, and one black.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out half of the gingerbread dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out cookies and place on parchment lined cookie sheets.
- Reroll scraps, until all the cookie dough is used.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.
- Fit one icing bag with a plain small round decorating tip and fill with white icing. Fill another bag with brown icing.
- Decorate the cookies with a brown and white pattern, as desired.
- Let icing harden until surface is firm, about 2 hours.
- Place black icing in decorators bag, and pipe some ears, and eye, and a nose.
- Use the red and green icing to add a holiday decoration, if desired. Let icing dry thoroughly before transporting cookies.
Post Author Info:
I feel your pain. I had to pay $50 for some inhaler that didn’t help anything and I lost after just a week. Whenever something like that happens I always think of the books I could have bought with the money. Hehe, I tried making a ginger bread house once but what it ended up being was a gingerbread pile with frosting and candy on top.
Stephanie G
Paranormal Haven
LOL Every damn year I make a gingerbread house and every damn year it falls apart. I make peppermint bark snowflakes on a stick this year. I DARE them to fall apart. Verra cute dresses and shoes. Kidlet won’t wear cute Christmas dresses anymore.
She refuses to be my fully functional dress up doll anymore. I love the llama cookies. They rock.
@Paranormal Haven: Usually our house turns out great. I don’t know what happened this year. What a mess. And yes, my eye drop money could have bought some good books LOL
@tori aka ggs_closet: My girls love to dress up in fancy dresses. I know my time is limited though so I’m enjoying it while I can.
I want peppermint bark snowflakes on a stick!! Like now!!!
The shoes are adorable, oh, now I want children so I can dress them in cute clothes…can’t let bf see this, he would freak, lol
@blodeuedd: I’m glad I have girls, so much fun to shop for LOL.
I got quite the laugh out of your poor devastated gingerbread house as it went from pretty little house to earthquake victim. Then I felt bad about laughing about it. Then decided it really was funny, ’cause the exact same thing would happen to me if I ever attempted anything so elaborate.
So do the obscenely expensive eyedrops at least make you look not so toasted? At the very least, you’d think for $70 it could take away the red. I hope the flames go away very soon.
@Ava March: Don’t feel bad about laughing. We laughed, then laughed some more. I think it was all the candy we ate while decorating. A jittery sugar buzz goes a long way.
My eyes are slightly less red. I look like a have a good solid alcohol buzz going, heading straight for completely toasted. I wonder why the moms at preschool and kindergarten don’t talk to me?
Loved your gingerbread llamas. Will be decorating our cookie house with my sixteen year old daughter next week after she gets done with finals. Hopefully, it will stay together long enough to get pictures. We are hopeless with anything that involves icing.
Hope your burning eyes are better. It’s no fun to look toasted if you are not toasted.
@snethet: Actually, those are not my llamas. They are the picture that came with the recipe I would have been better off following rather than trying to build a gingerbread house LOL.
I think I need to get toasted just for the sake of harmony. I can’t be looking toasted if I’m not. Right?
Jeez, that is an obscenely tiny bottle for $70 indeed. Maybe the pepsi would’ve had the same healing effect? Well, it always helps me when my stomach is a bit upset, so… *g* …and it’s not so expensive.
I hope your eyes get better soon, so that the other moms will talk to you again.
Ow, those Christmas dresses and shoes look so adorable! It almost makes me wish I had some little girls of my own.
LOL, that poor cookie house. I hope at least it did still taste good.
Have a great weekend!
70 bucks for that teeny thing, makes you wanna scream. I hope your eyes stop burning soon.
My son hasn’t let me dress him cute since I don’t know when lol , part of growing up I don’t like.
LOL at least it tasted good ??
Happy Holidays to you and your family
Those shoes and that dress are adorable!!! Too bad about the house, but hey – at least now you have an excuse to eat it…
Dear god my Christmas tree looks like it came from Charlie Brown O_o
No, I’m not panicking that Christmas is NEXT WEEKEND #i’mtotallylying
@KC/Smokinhotbooks: LOL Charlie Brown tree LOL
OMG… The gingerbread house collapse is too funny! Earthquake insurance. LOL I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!
That sounded pretty fun! Well, after the eye drops part, and thanks to your general cheeriness! Hope all is better and happy Sunday.
Your house story made me giggle. I hope your eyes are better soon.
Happy Weekend!
@twimom227: Thank you! You too!
@AllisonH: Happy Sunday to you too! xoxo
@Julie: Eyes are feeling a little better already.
We are attempting a gingerbread house this week…yours makes me giggle!
I want those red mary Janes..zomg. Srsly. I suppose my boys wouldn’t look appropriate wearing them?
Llama gingerbread cookies FTW!
I hope you survive the season hon…
That’s one of the reasons I am glad I have boys – if I had girls I wouldm’t stop buying all those cute little dresses and shoes… (that red shoe is gorgeous)
We have no tree this year and just stuffing ourselves silly – easy peasy christmas sorted….
Be well my dear…