I said to the driver – STOP HERE! So we paid and hopped out of the cab. As I walk towards the glowing light, I was almost nervous about seeing it. And there it was…..

I was without words. Yes, the person who always has a story, a thought or an opinion, was without words. I was actually choked up. It was so beautiful, that there isn’t a picture that could do it justice. You just have to see it once in your life. I just stood there and took it all in. The briskness of the winter air, the glow of the angels, the lights, the size of the tree. It is 75 feet tall. So, if you live in a house with 10 foot ceilings, look up, look way way up and you can imagine how tall the tree is.

Of course, me, Pam and what felt like the whole universe was trying to have the same experience that I was having, so taking photos was very difficult to do. I did what I could, but I will also tell you that the memory will last for a very long time.

We lingered with the crowds, being bumped and pushed around so that everyone can try to capture the same shots. It is like a bob and weave between people trying to take pictures. We looked at the line of people waiting to skate, and then we got up close to the tree. Standing and looking up at it was again another perspective of its beauty. From far away it was like an oasis, and from close it was a giant. A giant beauty. Long beautiful branches with twinkling lights all over, and a star as bright as can be at the top.

Well, that I have found out is easy – a chocolate chip is not a chocolate chip when it is the no name brand from Sobeys…that’s when.

And I found this out – how you may ask? I will gladly share with you this very important piece of chocolate chip purchasing detail.

Last weekend I was coming home from a friends house late at night and realized that I had wanted to make cookies for a friend of mine…so, where do you go – Sobeys open 24 hours. All I have to say is they compensate for their staff’s 24 hour a day wages by the prices that they charge in that store. WOW!

I normally ONLY by either PC decadent brand semi sweet or Chipits semi sweet chocolate chips. I had already seen the Chipits at No Frills earlier that day for $7.19 for the largest bag they had. Forgot to add it to my cart and realized I didn’t buy them half way to my friends house.

The SAME bag of Chipits was $9.99 at Sobeys. Really? I couldn’t pay it….but in retrospect should have paid it, because I bought this bag of no name chips for $2.49 and then of course, had to buy the good stuff for $7.19 so I paid almost the $9.99 to get what I wanted. I digress….

I opened the bag last week….and tasted the chips….really, were these even real chocolate? I had already thrown out the bag and put them in my choco chip jar (yes I have a jar for my chips) so I can’t tell you what these were made of, but I can tell you that I dumped the whole jar in the garbage. They were NASTY!

So, now I have my chipits (the PC ones were sold out) and the holiday baking can begin. I know that I have a few houses I am invited to over the holidays and I was hoping to get a jump start to holiday baking. It hasn’t happened yet, and I am out of the town this weekend…so next week it is.

Here is a fool proof Chocolate Chip cookie reciepe:

2/3 cup of soft butter or margarine (do NOT use becel)
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

1 and 1/2 cup of flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
6 oz pkg of chocolate chips
1/2 c chopped nuts if desired.

Method:
Blend butter, sugar, egg and vanilla.
Sift dry ingredients together and stir into batter.
Stir in chocolate chips and optional nuts.
Drop from teaspoon onto an ungreased baking sheet about 2″ apart.  (I use a spray for the tray).
Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes
cool slightly before removing from tray

Additional Notes:
– for softer chewier cookies, bake shorter amount of time – my oven works out to about 7 1/2 minutes.
– you can make the dough and add all kinds of different things into the cookies to change them up – I have done white chocolate chunks and dried cranberries, skor bits, raisins and pecans.
– you can also melt chocolate and at it to the blended wet ingredients before adding the dry.

Enjoy….oh yeah, btw…the freeze well and are VERY GOOD to eat frozen! Seriously, don’t knock it ’til you try it….

Sweet dreams y’all…………….

I have to admit – I didn’t quite get to 30 published posts in 30 days. I do have several in my drafts folder that will be published, but past the November 30th deadline. Faithful readers, don’t worry, just because November is over, doesn’t mean I will stop writing.

I was trying to formulate the thoughts about what I wanted this last day of the NaBloPoMo to be about.

How does one start to write about thoughts in their head? It is a crazy process that sometimes starts off in the middle of the night and actually wakes you up and if you don’t get up to write about it, you will forget your thoughts (that has happened). You start to listen to people’s conversations in a different way, or listen to the radio and pick up on something that someone has said that sparks a thought in your head.

One day I sat down to write and had the thought in my head. When I sat down at the keyboard and the post was finished, it was actually about a completely different thought that my subconscious had more control over my hands then I did. It was a great post, but the original story was never told.

I can say that this experience has made me want to write more. My mother keeps telling me I need to write a book. But what would it be about? I read so many novels and get so swept up in them, could I write the next great Canadian novel? How would I start? I wonder how Margaret Attwod, Danielle Steele, Emily Giffen, Lauren Weisberger or any of the number of women novel writers I read sat down to write their first words, sentences, paragraphs?

Maybe my lead character will be a travel agent who has been in the business of making people’s dreams come true for over 20 years and wants to know is there more out there? Maybe she needs to meet her Mr. Right and let him tell her all the amazing things about herself that she already knows and how to make her dreams a reality? Maybe she figures out that living life on the side lines vs. playing the game really isn’t the way to live.

I hope you will continue to check back on this blog and see what other stories I have to share with you. I have enjoyed writing and I hope you have enjoyed reading!

to be continued…..