Tomorrow, Fudge Week begins! I’m teaming up with Gayle from Pumpkin n’ Spice to give you some fantastic fudge recipes. We’re so excited to share with you!
Before that starts, though, I wanted to make sure your holiday pie plans are all set. The week of Thanksgiving I shared four pie recipes with you, but there are so many more that I love. Here’s a review of my favorites!
Do you ever wake up with a crick in your neck?
I never used to. I honestly never felt much pain at all in my now squandered youth. But these days, this persistent and quite literal pain in my neck just pops up most mornings and reminds me of my mortality. If I try to stretch it out or massage it, people just look at me funny. And since my mornings start with tons of students, it’s better to leave well enough alone.
I’m in the land of the stomach virus. Again.
If you read my blog with any regularity, you know that my children are constantly infecting me with diseases. I can’t seem to make them stop. And while I’ve grown reconciled to the common cold, I wish that stomach viruses could stop being the number one thing my kids transmit on a regular basis.
Some things kind of sneak up on you. Like gray hairs. Boy, did I get upset the first time I saw an entirely white hair sticking up out of my head. And you know, those babies don’t have the same texture as your real hair. They’re wiry and stand tall, holding a giant sign that shrieks, “Look at me! Time is winning! Gravity is losing! You’re older!”
Speaking of older, my kids getting older is also one of those parts of my life that is creeping up on me against my will. The other day I was shocked to look at my tall, lanky son. He was the size of a loaf of bread, like, yesterday. He weighed 6 pounds! What happened? His growing resemblance to my husband is kind of startling.
I thought I was done with pie. I really did, I promise! But that was before Friendsgiving happened.
Since this is the time of year that people usually count their blessings and express thanks, I have to think about the amazing teachers I work with. I don’t write about my job much here, but as many of you know, I’m a full-time, National Board certified high school English teacher. It’s a very intense job and my days are anything but relaxing, especially since my downtime is nonexistent with three small kids at home. But man, do I love it.
A few months ago, a reader wrote in to ask if I ever make recipes that are lower in sugar. To be honest, I typically don’t. My dessert approach is extreme, but to clarify, my lifestyle doesn’t reflect what I do on this site.
I love dessert. And so when I enjoy it, which is every day, I enjoy it at its best. But I also do so in moderation. Every recipe on this site gets tested by yours truly, but after those initial bites, the rest goes to other people. Sometimes I eat quite a bit more than a few bites, or something is just too amazing to give away. But I also temper that with lean proteins, veggies, and a daily and extremely rigorous exercise schedule.
Now that the holiday season is officially underway, I feel it only right to tell you that I don’t celebrate Christmas. In case Passover Week last year didn’t tip you off or anything.
But that doesn’t stop me from enjoying all this season has to offer. When I was a teenager, I’d hire myself out as a carol singer, and I still love those songs. In my childhood, I sang in the chorus of The Nutcracker every year, another beloved holiday season memory. And I have never, ever turned down a holiday cookie.
I never used to think about when I ate. Until I had children.
Turns out, kids like to eat on a schedule. A predictable one. They like to know that they’ll eat, I guess. Constantly. And as a result, I now always contemplate my next snack or meal as well. I think I used to spend that spare energy napping.
But seeing as how I haven’t napped since 2008, I spend a lot of time preparing meals and snacks for my brood. You’d think that I’d be eating a lot more as a result, but I kind of lose my appetite after I’m done fetching milk and napkins and yogurt squeezies and more napkins to wipe up the spilled milk and then more milk because, you know, it spilled.
