Umbrella Sugar Cookies: Dec. 5

Lame, lame, lame. I baked cookies on Dec. 5 and I'm just now posting this?

Tick, tick, tick....

That's the sound of December ticking away.

And this is a photo of my Grandpa Elmer's favorite clock. It hung in his den for years and years. Every Christmas Eve my sisters and I were banished to his den while the women washed dinner dishes. (My grandparents' 1930s house, while charming, didn't have many modern conveniences, like a dishwasher.) And while we waited impatiently to open presents, we watched this clock.

Now it hangs in my family room, and when I look at it I think about those Christmas Eves. I remember my sisters and me in our tights and Christmas dresses, hair all curled, so excited for CHRISTMAS!

Now that clock whispers to me, "You're running out of time! It's not all done!"

What a difference 30 years makes.

Those Decembers dragged by. These days, they're on a nuclear train going 750mph. It's been a busy month.

I baked cookies on Dec. 5 for my friend Shauna's baby shower. I learned something important that day: I hate meringue frosting. That shit leaked out of the pastry bag. It was runny. And it dried in a nasty, sticky mess all over me. And the counter. And the floor. And the cookies weren't nearly as cute as the photos in the book. Instead of umbrella details, I ended up with a blurry mess. But they tasted good and the shower was fun. So whatever.

I can say this about December 2009: It hasn't snowed. Too much. Thank. God. James and I actually sat out on the back porch tonight, and I realized I was barefoot and NOT freezing. Freaky. I keep thinking about last winter and how f&*^#@ that was. Shiver.

I'm close to being done with shopping. Just a few last-minute things. I'm ashamed to admit, though, that I didn't bake for the preschool bake sale. I contributed $4o for the raffle prize and seed money. Can you believe that? Kiki the Cookie Blogger paid off the preschool to avoid baking.

Okay, so I wasn't avoiding. I was busy. Too busy to bake. I got a lot to do, man! Geez. Get off my back.

But I think--hope--I'm in the home stretch. I actually went to a party tonight. With grown-ups. I ate good food and drank beer. I had to leave early because that's just how it often is with me. And, unless Jamey the Proxy barters my white elephant gift for something else, I'll end up with a High School Musical alarm clock.

On second thought, maybe "grown-ups" is stretching it a bit. Check out Girlfriend Linda in her party garb, posing in the Regence stairwell tonight. And this is before the alcohol. (And yes, those are lights.)

Got a lot to do still before December is over. There's the holiday craziness. And a flight to Palm Springs. And a trip to Disneyland, where we'll welcome in the new year. Tomorrow James and I go shopping for a new car (pray for me). And when I come home in January, James will stay in Palm Springs for a month. I'll be the Single Mom for a while.

You're probably wondering, dear reader, what will become of this blog when December is done. When the year is over, is my cookie project complete?

Are you out of your mind? Do you really think I baked all 42 recipes?

The clock is ticking away. There are still Christmas cookies to bake!

Oh, and I've decided: 2010 will be the Year of the Cake!