I had some extras I wanted to blog about but they were just odds and ends so we'll have the first installment of reaching into my barrel of monkeys to see how many I get.

Monkey 1:
My reward for having met the Sex Scene Challenge arrived and I finally got a pic of it so I could put it up on here! It’s absolutely gorgeous! I Love It! Love It! Love It! Thank you, Deb. You’re brilliant with fabric.

Monkey 2:
I’m about to become a baking fiend here so the blog entries will curtail down to a trickle once again. A few friends/family have requested cupcakes for Christmas and I finally decided upon a recipe: Dark Chocolate cupcakes with White Chocolate Mint icing, and crushed Peppermint Bark on top. Whew, that’s a mouthful.

Also? Doodlebug has requested – and by this I mean he’s begged, pleaded, and cajoled for weeks on end – that we make Gingerbread men this year.

PLUS I need to make my yearly batch of fudge (which would have been great last week while the temps were low enough for it to set properly)…

AND I’m doing some rich chocolate brownies with a hazelnut frosting and a dusting of toasted hazelnuts on top. For the frosting, I’m going to try a simple buttercream but substitute Nutella for the butter and add a little Frangelico…

AND I’m thinking of possibly doing some Lebkuchen…

AND little jars of my special recipe hot chocolate (though I have to find crystallized vanilla for that).

To say I’m going to be a busy Elf would be like saying Santa has a long list. Understatement!

Speaking of lists, though… mine is almost complete! I have a few gift cards to pick up, gifts for Mr. Clean’s parents, and then we’re D-O-N-E Done. Yippee Skippy!

Well, except for all the wrapping that needs to happen. And the baking. And the wrapping of the baking.