That's the way the Christmas ball seems to be bouncing.

Brad always teases me when I try to use trite quotes in my everyday speech.  Instead of the correct "water off a duck's back" or "fish out of water" with me it comes out mixed up "water off a fish's back" and "duck out of water."  So I'm glad my title sounds okay.  The saying is "that's the way the ball bounces", right?

It all started with my Christmas letter paper.  I needed to buy some so I could get my Christmas letters sent off and was planning a special trip to Michaels to get the job done (15 miles down the road) when I spotted some at my local Walgreens.  With the time and mileage I would save, I didn't even think about the quality of paper I was purchasing until I opened my package at home.  After all, paper is paper right?  When I pulled out my paper to start printing and noticed it was thinner than an onion skin, I began to worry a little.  20 failed prints later, I was finally able to figure out how to get the paper through my printer without tearing and sent my letters off.  Thankfully, this year I remembered all the people I wanted to send letters to as I had no more paper at the end of my printing for extra copies. 

Then there was the fondant.  I always mess up the fondant.  I don't know how others can keep it from crystalizing, but I can't.  In the past, I've just not attempted to make fondant because it has caused me such grief, but this year I couldn't resist the challenge.  Maybe the higher altitude and dryer climate would cure my fondant's crystalizing plague.  It didn't.  I made two different batches, talking to my mom over the phone as I made the second, and it didn't.  This wouldn't have been so bad but like I said in my Sunday post, my caramel also failed me.  And like I said in my Sunday post, my caramel NEVER fails me.  I could have given it away, dipped the apples in it (oh, and the apples that I bought at Costco for the dipping were mushy.  Costco never has mushy apples, what's up with that?), but then I think more than one of my friends would have chipped a tooth or two.  That's how hard my caramel turned out. 

Brad sent me to Kohl's to buy a gift for his assistant who has been working extra hard since they are short one assistant.  He wanted the gift to show his appreciation for how hard she has been working.  I am a terribly indecisive person, even when buying things for myself, so after two hours I finally had something picked out.  Jacob was ecstatic that we could finally leave the jewelry section and return home so he could play with his batman.  When I reached into my purse to take out my keys...they weren't there.  I had left them somewhere in the store.  After a  thorough search of the store and inquiring at customer service and every register for turned in keys (all of which lasted an additional 30-45 minutes), I decided that it was necessary for me to lay down on the muddy, wet with melted snow ground underneath my car to access the spare key.  Key in hand I decided to inquire at customer service one last time only to find out that yes, someone did indeed turn in my lost keys and I had to return to the cold, hard, wet winter ground to resecure my spare key in its hiding place.

While wrapping up the Christmas presents last night, I ran out of wrapping paper and I still have half of my present to wrap. 

Finally, to top it all off, there was the burnt caramel popcorn.  Brad had been complaining this week that all the treats that I make for Christmas always go to other people and never stay in the home.  I do this on purpose.  I don't want to gain any weight over Christmas so I make my candy, have 1 or 2 and give the rest away.  It's a perfect weight control regimine for me over the Holidays that still allows me to enjoy my favorite treats.  So, with Brad's complaint I decided to make his favorite treats yesterday.  I made spritz dipped in chocolate, chocolate caramel corn, pumpkin bread, almond roca and maple fudge.  Everything turned out and in my mind I made a mental note to make all of these things for treats next year, leaving out the fondant.  I'm still undecided on my caramel.  With how well it all turned out I felt on top of the candy making world...until this morning.  To set up the chocolate on the caramel popcorn, I decided to put the tray in fridge...and then forgot about it overnight.  When I went to take it out this morning, it was soggy and no one likes soggy popcorn even if it is covered in caramel and chocolate.  Discouraged, I had a sudden stroke of genious remembering that you could crisp up stale tortilla chips in the oven.  I decided to try it with my popcorn...and one of the trays burned. 

With the way the tide is flowing (Hey, I got that one right too!), I think I'll just have Brad make the rolls for Christmas Dinner.

On a brighter note, it is a winter wonderland outside today.  We got a foot of snow overnight and it is quite the sight to behold, my pictures just don't do it justice.