Snapshots of my Christmas break

Best friend photo shoot

Best friend photo shoot

Best friend photo shoot

Best friend photo shoot

My other dog who has problems

Elaborate Christmas breakfast

Pad's first Christmas. She didn't eat

the wrapping paper and I was so proud.

Christmas morning

My first trifle

Hosting a Christmas feast

(Drawing by Theodore Tarantino)

Taking advantage of Theodore's

orange zesting skills, and his

ability to look candid for a photo

Cookie monster

I think it's required to take food pictures

up close like this.

Parson Brown

I might be most proud of these holly berry

cookies. I've never actually eaten one,

but look how impressive.

Some may call me a child; I just say I'm American. I know nothing but instant gratification. And to make things worse, I am a bit privileged and was slightly spoiled as a child. Perhaps these are the reasons why Theodore and the employees of three different grocery stores experienced my fake smile and bubbling anger last night in a seemingly endless quest for Christmas shaped cookie cutters.

I have baked cookies almost every single day since I finished the semester a couple weeks ago. I started with chocolate dipped ginger snaps, then moved on to coconut jam-thumbprints and glazed sugar cranberry. I am finding the most creative excuses to bring cookies to anyone who has a digestive system. (If you want some, give me a call.)

This semester has been quite a hectic one, with my full class load and editing the paper. I used to love hearing the beep of a text message or phone call, but now I dread it, knowing that it's something to do with the paper or one of the other obligations I have dedicated my life to. And so once Christmas break hit, I was excited to do something other than write and fix people's grammar.

Baking provides delightful projects for me that I am actually very good at. Sure, giving cookies away and making people like me a bit more is always a pleasure. But personally, I think people eat too many sweets, me being one of them. Not one of the sweets. One of the people who eats too many sweets. It is really the actual process of rolling, whisking, sifting, frosting, rushing around and burning your elbow that I enjoy.

Theodore came over around 7 last night and I told him we were making cookies, whether he liked it or not. We were going to stay up late and frost Christmas shaped sugar cookies and make them look absolutely superb. Others would ask, "Where did you buy these marvelous cookies?" "Oh," I would say. "Theodore and I finished them early this morning." That is not exactly what happened.

I made the dough just fine. I am a pro, after all. But it needed to chill for a couple hours and we were without the necessary Christmas cookie cutters. The only shapes we had were a Christmas tree and a circle, which I consider a ornament with the proper imagination.

While the dough was in the refrigerator, we went to the first grocery store.

"Cookie cutters are on aisle 6."

There were not an aisle 6.

"Let me go check if we have any in the back."..."No, sorry. We sold out of them."

Second grocery store.

"They're on aisle 12."

They were not on aisle 12. I asked someone else.

"Oh, all the cookies are right here."

"No I don't want cookies. I want to make cookies. Do you have any cookie cutters?"

"Try aisle 12."

"They're not on aisle 12."

He asks a coworker.

"Sorry, we don't have cookie cutters."

After a moment in the car, I realized we were at the point of no return. It was almost 11 p.m. and I was determined. I drove a little further to the biggest grocery store I know of.

I walked up to a cashier and asked if they had any cookie cutters.

"We're closing in 4 minutes and they are on aisle 5."

They were not on aisle 5, and I swear, every damn baking aisle in every store looks the same.

We walked up and down the aisles as a voice over the P.A. system hurried us up in a countdown to closing time.

I ran up to a manager-looking person.

"I'm sorry. I work in a grocery store, too. I know how annoying it is when customers are in here when you're closing. But I have to find Christmas shaped cookie cutters."

He was very generous and helped us look. After a minute of quick paced walking, he found them by the yogurt.

"They must have moved them."

Swell.

I walked out semi-victorious. The only shapes they had were Santa Claus and a Christmas tree. We already had the tree. So that entire hour was spent on purchasing a $2.59 plus tax rubber and metal Santa Claus.

While Theodore watched music videos and napped with Padme, I cut out the shapes and baked the delicious cookies. He left around 1 or 2 a.m. and I continued with my decorations. After decorating with my homemade frosting, I finally went to bed at 3:30 in that damn a.m.

Was it worth it? Of course. I could have waited until the morn to buy cookie cutters. But by that time, my desire for them would have passed. I am quite impulsive.

If I ever tell you I'm going to get a tattoo, please don't let me.

Stay Tuned This Christmas!

It is difficult for me to be upset at the commercialism of Christmas. Sure, I hate working during the holidays, dealing with the crowds, parking lots, and upset housewives who have to cook for thirty. But when it all comes down to it, that's the spirit of Christmas, nowadays at least. As most learned people know, Christmas was originally a pagan holiday, specifically a Roman solar holiday. It has since evolved into the day we are to celebrate Christ's birth. And with the rush of materialism that has inevitably engulfed society, the holiday called Christmas is now a tool used by hundreds of industries to promote themselves and their profits, an evil commercialistic scheme that has depleted the "true meaning" of Christmas. Wow. Apparently peoples' faiths can be pretty easily smashed by lines at the mall and electric talking Santa Clauses that repeat "ho ho ho have a merry christmas" from Thanksgiving until New Year's Day. It happens. People can be pretty greedy. But faith in the real spirit of Christmas, if we're going to talk about origins, is really worshipping a Roman sun god, not the Christian God and his son. Once people become aware of this, the nativity scene manufacturers are going to run out of business.
But the holiday has changed, just like most ancient holidays that have managed to stick around this long. It changed into what is supposed to be a birthday party for Jesus into a gift exchange between friends and family. "The First Noel" isn't the most fitting song, but "Santa Baby" is what most shoppers are singing in their heads while buying gifts for others. I was unfortunately at the cash register the other day (on the side where you collect totals and give change, not the side where you have money and purchase things that you want and/or need) and a customer starts complaining about the commercialism of Christmas. She was evidently upset about the craziness of the holidays, the greed, materialism, and the deviation from the "true meaning" of Christmas (I think she'd just been hanging out with Linus). She was saying all this while loading onto my counter free-range organic turkeys, christmas cards, pancake mix, and knic-knacs from our plethora of the hard goods section. Eight hours scanning barcodes can make me talkative and more willing to express my opinion to these strangers, whether I am opposed or in favor of their quibbles.
"Well, I think Christmas couldn't have come at a better time," I said, rather politely I might add.
"Maybe for you. Do you have to cook for three families and buy gifts for greedy children?"
"No. I'm busy working the register while people buy all the things they need. I'm just glad people are forced to spend their money."
"Why?"
"Well, so I have a job, for one thing. With all these crazy lines I was able to pick up more shifts so I could have money to pay for the gifts I have to buy. But on a larger scale, tons of companies are getting money again. Which will just come right back around to you and me."
I'm not sure if she knew where I was going with it because at this point I was finished ringing her up and another angry christmaser was ready to give me money in exchange for his products and proof of purchase, so she left the store to prepare for the ominous 25th.
That's just what Christmas is right now. Buying things for people and receiving gifts from others. That's what it all comes down to. Of course those who wish to are more than likely to celebrate Christ's birth on this day, because it has been intended for such worship and recognition for some time now, not always though. Things change. This year I personally didn't actual get excited about Christmas until I faced the insanity at the mall. So I not only concede the "commercialism of Christmas", but I endorse it. Without offering my arguments supporting capitalism, I will say that Christmas without presents isn't really Christmas at all. If we are allowing the change of the holiday from pagan to Christian, then we can accept the modification of Christian to commercial, especially if it's going to keep hundreds of industries' heads above water.
(And something that I think is rather obvious but I think should be made clear: people like giving and getting gifts. Why some complain about ripping paper open to discover an item they've been wanting but would never buy themselves is beyond me.)