It’s New Year’s Eve and I’m getting ready for our annual open house tomorrow. It’s a small group of about 35 friends (mostly the same ones every year) and it’s turned into a competition of how much can a person eat in one sitting! Lamb chops, sushi, paninis, crab cakes, deviled eggs… all devoured in a span of four hours. It’s actually two guys who eat most of the food and you know who you are. 🙂 The food is catered and I bake all the desserts. Today I made 40 97 macaroons, 48 lemon bars, 47 meringues, 49 pfefferneusses, 38 truffles, 48 seven-layer bars, and 51 chili-chocolate-cherry cookies. That’s 378 cookies! And it’s not enough! Let’s see…378 divided by 35 is 10 – almost 11 – desserts per person! Yikes!! Everyone needs to walk home!

(*Saturday morning correction: I made more macaroons last night – the chocolate dipped ones!)

This is me and Denis rafting down the American River back in the 90’s.

I didn’t have the stones to go shopping on Boxing Day (the 26th) but I went out last night.  We actually have a mall with a Target and a Neiman Marcus. In the same mall! You can buy one blouse at Neiman’s for 60% off or buy five at Target for full price…and have enough left over for slippers, a set of bowls, two books, a lip pencil, and some toilet paper.

Our critter guy set 74 gopher traps on the back hill. What if the hill is all Swiss-cheesy inside and full of tunnels? When it rains tomorrow, those little rodents will have their own underground water park with a half-pipe and a wave pool.

I’m trying to learn Spanish so Denis got me a learning system on CD.  Es muy bueno y me gusto mucho. Quero hablar espanol porque mi amiga, Antonia, habla espanol con migo todos dias.

That was lame, wasn’t it?

Merry Christmas, everyone!

All I want for Christmas is… more sandbags. 

Geez! Give us a break! It finally stopped raining today (for now) and the hill behind our house is still there so we’re luckier than some people around here.  We have sandbags along the back patio just in case, and we could use some more along the side for the next rain. That’s coming on Sunday. I went out to the back yard to check on the hill behind us and I saw this buck eating my grass. “Get out! Go away!” I kept yelling at him. “Stop eating the grass – you’ll expose the mud and cause as landslide!” The grass may be the only thing holding that saturated hill together!  He glanced up & kept eating.

Oh, a reminder if you’re making turkey dinner, don’t forget my recipe for fresh cranberries. It’s posted on the Recipes page.
 

I’ll be making a “petite” roast turkey just for two of us with mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy,  green beans, cranberries, and deep dish pumpkin pie.  

Then cookies. Lots of cookies.

The rain sucks but there is one bright spot. I went to the mall this morning for one last minute thing and found parking! Hand to God.

(update – 4 hours later) 

Remember when I said my hill was fine?

Look at the size of the boulder that just came down!

Good news: It didn’t hit the house.

Bad news: It missed the deer. 😉

Most people probably don’t know that before my talk show and before doing standup comedy, I was a musician & songwriter. I sang and played drums in a rock band and was also a backup singer for Wayne Newton in Las Vegas (I even wrote the theme music for the Jenny Jones Show!). So you can imagine how excited I was to sing again and especially to sing with the fabulous Brent Jones and the TP Mobb. It was back in December 2000.

I was so nervous that if it hadn’t been my own show, I would have probably cancelled.  I’m glad I didn’t because now, I can share it with you. Click here for “Silent Night.”

🙁

I just found the video of our Christmas show from back in 2000 and it was all about children’s talent.  Here’s a clip of an adorable 5-year-old named Madison Arnold singing “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.” You’ve gotta see this. She is so cute!

By now, she’s probably a 15-year-old teenager and I would love to hear from her.  Madison, where are you?

If anyone knows her, please get in touch.  Meantime, enjoy this oh-so-cute performance.  Just click here.

There were 271 ornaments on my tree and the person who came the closest was Heather, who guessed 280. (Daniel was as close 2nd with 286)

Congratulations, Heather! You just won a $100 Visa gift card.  Your extra Christmas money is on the way!

*Dec. 19th update:

Heather was nice enough to send us a photo with her pups – how cute are they?  Thanks, Heather!

And my thanks to everyone for playing.  

I love having contests and giving away money… let’s do it again.

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I love baking!  These are the first things I make at Christmas time and… they are the first to disappear!  Mine is a healthier version of sugar cookies and if you try them, I promise that everyone will be asking for the recipe.

You don’t have to use pounds of butter to make a delicious sugar cookie – I use part canola oil but nobody has to know. I had planned to make a video but this recipe is so easy, and besides, I would have had to do the hair & makeup thing and who’s got time?  I’m too busy looking for parking at the mall! Click here for my recipe page.

Oh, and one more day for the Christmas Tree contest (below). Someone is already within ten of the correct number! See who it is on Friday.