Cookies Galore!

Last week I got the notion that it would be fun for my kids and I to bake Christmas cookies.  Build a nice holiday memory, cross it off our bucket list.  We have never done this together and I, personally, haven’t baked cookies in decades.  Now I know why.

Sydney put Christmas songs on her iPhone to set the mood, while I started passing ingredients to Jayson, my son, to line up on the counter.  We were all excited.  Sydney picked a cookie to make (caramel and seat salt), Jayson picked a cookie (red velvet) and I picked a cookie (magic cookie bars) then we made two more kinds; the classic sugar cookie and the iconic peanut butter with a Hershey kiss – five in all.  Put a gun to my head.  I am an idiot.  Clearly I am not a baker because anyone who bakes knows better than to try to tackle five different kinds of cookies in one day.

While the kids woke up and had breakfast, I ran to Foodtown to purchase all the ingredients.  I have no idea why but I had the good sense to buy two more cookie sheets and two disposable cookie sheets.  Who knows how long the baking process would have taken had I not purchased more cookie sheets. 

Armed with six baking trays, a mixer, an array of bowls, sticks of butter, spoons, nut meats, bags of sugar and flour, Hershey kisses, coconut, condensed milk and a slew of other ingredients, we were ready and couldn’t wait to get started.  Sydney and Jayson unwrapped the Hershey kisses as I preheated the oven to, “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.”

First up, peanut butter and chocolate kiss cookies.  Burnt them!  I threw shade at my daughter for convincing me to leave them in another minute causing them to burn.  (Threw shade is the new hip term teenagers are using in place of: bitched at, picked on, gave crap to, etc.)  After completely stressing her out, she whipped up another batch of dough to shut me up and – burnt them!  This time it was all me.  I burnt the second batch.  She did not give me any shade for my mistake.  After four hours or so, my son lost interest and abandoned us for Xbox.  I was surprised he lasted that long.  Sydney and I took turns washing everything and wiping down the counters when we switched to a different cookie.

Twelve loooooong hours later – I kid you not – Syd and I were finally loading the last of the dishes into the dishwasher.  My legs were killing me and Sydney looked at me and said, “Mom, we are never doing this again.” 

It was my fault.  In hindsight, we should have picked two kinds and made the rest on a different day.  So much for fond, happy memories of baking cookies with my kids.
 

Vince and Me

With all the book launch hoopla, I forgot to post this – oops

Calling all Motley Crue fans – I kissed Vince Neil!

It’s insane even to me.  I was cleaning up a clutter pile back in October and came across a flyer from Neilsen Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram in East Hanover, New Jersey.  I thought I was hallucinating when I saw Vince Neil’s smokin’ hot self looking at me.  The advertisement read: Nielsen Monster Rockfest - Meet Rock Legend, Vince Neil in our showroom, Free Autographs!  – no way!  Monday, October 27th 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.  I knew the band was in town because I was holding my ticket to see their farewell concert at Madison Square Garden the following night.  I called a few die-hard fans trying to recruit someone to go with me and no one was available so last minute, but my girlfriend did tell me she had heard Dodge was sponsoring Crue’s tour and band members were obligated to do appearances.  I started to shake and my heart was pounding because up until that conversation some part of me thought it was a farce…had to be.  I would show up at the dealership to find a Vegas-type Vince Neil look-alike. 

Being a long-time Crue fan (who saw them for the first time in the 80s – at Madison Square Garden, their Shout at the Devil tour, floor seats, center stage)  – I knew I was going to Neilsen even if it meant alone.  Vince up close and personal…..ho-ly-shit.

My husband thought I was crazy when I left at 3:30 to go to Dodge, actually said Vince was a has-been.  Ha!  I got there a few minutes of 4:00 and there were already 75-80 people in line, by 5:00 the line was out the door.  As I stood on line, I watched as a steady stream of cars pulled into the lot.  When Vince arrived, I heard the line wrapped around the building.  Rock Station Q104.3 covered the event and provided cold drinks for us while we waited and gave out prizes.  Fans brought concert shirts, guitars, ticket stubs or one of Motley Crue’s books for Vince to sign.  I wish I had thought of that.

The energy was palpable as the tour bus pulled into the parking lot and Vince entered the building surrounded by security guards.  He walked right passed me and I got a great shot of him.  The line went quick now.  People were limited to one autograph only and if you didn’t bring anything with you, they had a photo for you.  I actually brought the Neilsen flyer, but opted for the free photo.  It was a good pic of him on stage.  Vince has his signature down to a second and the picture is snapped in the blink of an eye, but somehow I managed to tell Vince I saw him back in the day and my friend Mark got us to the front row.  I crammed all that in before kissing him on the cheek.  He smells great and has the softest hair – just saying! 

The whole experience was surreal, I started to wonder if the concert could even compete with the day I had had and the answer is HELL YES!  They rocked it – come on they’re Motley Crue.

The Black Friday Experience

I have never experienced Black Friday before in my life.   For me, I have avoided it at all costs.  Never had a desire to go out in the middle of the night no matter what the savings.  However my daughter has been asking me for years to take her.  She just has to experience this tradition.  I tried to persuade her to wait until she gets her driver’s license and go with her friends but you know teenagers everything has to be now.  I thought I was dreaming at midnight when she crept into my room and woke me up. I had been sleeping for hours being bedridden since dinner from something I ate that had wheat in it.  I forced myself out of bed and I felt drugged.  My son was ready to go, coat and shoes on.  I wasn’t expecting him to come so that was a nice surprise.  He said he should experience Black Friday just once.

As I warmed up the car, I thought you are an ass.  It was freezing and I had no list or game plan, we were just going simply for the experience.

We arrived at Willowbrook Mall and there was not an empty parking space to be had.  You would have thought it was noon on the Sunday before Christmas.  Clearly I was not the only idiot.  I was not prepared for the stampede of people inside…..families, kids in strollers at this hour.  We decided that it was just too crowded to browse the stores.  Some of the stores’ lines to pay were so long they went through the store and out into the hallway.  Some places like Pink and Game Stop had ropes set up to organize the people waiting to enter the store.  I told the kids we can each pick a store and get one thing and get the hell out of here.  Trying to get down the hallway was like trying to get to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree….insanity.  Even my daughter was getting annoyed at people who just decided to abruptly stop and window shop.  She picked Forever 21 and literally before she even found something to buy, my son and I got in the line that wrapped around the store.  The savings was 60% for most of the items in the store.  Our plan worked cuz she met us in line with two sweaters when just three people were left in front of us.

My son’s pick was Game Stop, twice we passed by the store and you couldn’t even get inside.  The line went all the way down the hall to the fountain in the middle of all of the wings.  Christmas music was playing and the hustle and bustle was evident.  Again, I pulled him away from Game Stop.  I chose Macy’s I wanted a new shirt for work (and just like my daughter) made my purchase without even trying anything on.  You just couldn’t, it was that crowded.  Security was everywhere.  Now it is 2:00 am and two hours later and we had only gone to two stores!  We ran into one of my daughter’s BFFs and her mom had the same look on her face as me, why can’t we ever say no…..and they had just come from Pink and were now leaving.  We didn’t even try to get into Pink; the line was longer than Game Stop.  Pink was giving $10 off every bra or purchase, I forget which. 

We were hot and tired but not loaded down with bags as one might expect.  I was ready to go.  My son was visibly disappointed in not getting his Xbox game so I told him we will go back one more time.  The line was now – at 2:15 am – contained to the inside of the store so I jumped on it while he found someone to ask if his game was still in stock.  It was and a half an hour later when we left with it and saved $7.00. 

We were sweating and thirsty when we hit the night air.  Almost 3:00 am now there were lots of empty spots and the mall had thinned out considerably.  I am so glad the kids and I went.  It was an experience.  I love creating memories with them and an adventure like this is priceless.

My suggestion to others would be sleep in until 2:00 am then go out.  It will be a lot more productive for you if you are there to shop and not just for the Black Friday experience.  Happy Holidays!