Wednesday is Lensday: Cookie Party Edition

I’ve been to several parties this week. A party/reception, a cookie party, and tonight, a dirty santa/white elephant party. Then tomorrow I am going to a local Twitter party! I don’t know a lot of the Lex twitterites, but it will be nice to meet up and mingle, as well as hang out with my friend Chris. This week is going by sooooo fast. Christmas will be here before I know it. I actually am getting together with the fam this weekend, so that should be swell. I haven’t packed a single gift. I’m having a feeling it might be a gift bag Christmas! The sad thing is that I haven’t even gotten my decorations out period for the holidays. I’m just not in the mood this season. Maybe that’s a bah humbug on my part, but there’s been a lot going on! It’s hard to do everything. I live in an apartment and I never get visitors. So, the
lights would be for my enjoyment only. I think it does help put me in the mood, but it’s also another thing to do.

Well, I thought I would share a few quick photos from the cookie party I went to on Monday night!

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This is my friend Donna Bush, who hosted the cookie party. She’s one of the craftiest and most talented ladies I know! At work, I call her Donna-Mom. She takes care of me and is so very thoughtful. She’s a very special friend in my life. I wanted to do something special for her, so I picked out the material and got my mom to embroider up Donna’s gingerbread men that she had designed for a project at work (as seen here). She was super excited! My mom also made cute little potholders, too. Donna can do just about anything crafty, so it was nice to have something made for her that she couldn’t do hersef!

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Check out this absolutely adorable snowman she crafted up in the kitchen. I think the outside was cream cheese-frosted, but inside was beer cheese! It was way too cute to eat, but we did!

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Carrying on the snowball theme, she made these awesome snowmen buckeyes. I swear, she could work for Kraft Foods on those crafty recipe designs!

the food was awesome!
All of the food was so awesome! Everything Donna cooks is to die for!

cookie party presentation!
Everyone presents their cookies in different ways…some turn out super elaborate. There’s a winner for best presentation, but without a doubt, it always ends up to someone who uses an animated stuffed animal!

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All the cookies were laid out for judging.

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Judging is tough, but someone has to do it! Donna’s husband Barrie and her son John came armed with water in their glasses to cleanse their palette and do the job!

Carey's the cookie winner!
And the winner was Carey’s Oreo Balls! Here she is wearing the traditional winning garb…the gingerbread apron and santa hat complete with the Martha award pin…because her cookies were a good thing!

The 7/11 game
Of course, we had to play the 7-11 game! It’s a tradition!

silly bunch
Here’s everyone who attended. We sure are a silly bunch! It’s a great party and Donna is an awesome hostess! It’s really a nice way to unwind and enjoy the season!

Have you ever attended a cookie party or thought about hosting one? I’d love to hear what you did. We play a lot of different games (ornament pass, minister’s cat, etc) and Donna always tries to come up with something new each year. She puts a lot of work into it. It’s always such a blast!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Cookie party 2007

cookie party mosaic

So, I went to the cookie party tonight. This is the 5th year, I have gone and my friend, Donna does put on one helluva show. She’s amazing…the food is like a spread you would see in a magazine (and you wondered who really had time to do that stuff – she does…she’s hyper organized and on top of things).

I should have known, though, that the night wouldn’t go as planned, when I realized that I had forgotten the earrings I had made for a friend who owns a shop that I sell my jewelry in. She was at the party, too, and I was going to hand over the jewelry for her to sell in her store. Well, I left it at home, and that was a mini bummer, after I had stayed up late to make the cards and get them ready for her.

Everything started out fine. I was a little bummed that game after game, I was never the recipient of a prize. Now, this sounds childish and silly. I don’t get that upset over such things (and the prizes were “chance” prizes, nothing based on skill). I just never got one and pretty much everyone else did and sometimes little things like that can make your day.

So, I had planned to make beaded bracelets…purchased mini boxes, organized the beads by color category, etc. Then while setting them out (and everyone oohing and ahhing over the beads) that I didn’t have the Stretch Magic I had bought the night before. I went out to my car to look to no avail, so I came back and apologized, kinda embarrassed about the whole thing. Donna said we could do it during our luncheon, but I had wanted to do it at the party and I was bummed. Around this time, with my mood at an all-time low, I started to really feel some cramps comin’ on.

Cramps + a bummed mood = a not so nice/spunky Alexa. I am usually the entergetic one at a party. Jovial, upbeat, and a cheerleader in some ways. When I’m sick, I’m withdrawn, sad, isolated, and quiet. Everyone kept asking me what was wrong, and I would muster up a quick answer. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be there…I just was disappointed by my own mistakes and my current state of being. I’m not the type to be all babyish or “look at me”, I just want to be left alone and it just sucked. I always look forward to the cookie party, and this just wasn’t my night.

I guess we all experience such things from time to time. I hate being the buzzkill, but you can’t help how you feel, and I’m sorry, but putting on a fake smile just isn’t my thing.

I’m fine now. I took some medicine, watched me some Hills and beaded some when I got home. I finished a cute bracelet using some clearanced “Stuff by Duff” charms from Michael’s. I’ll post a pic soon.

I just wish my night had gone better, but I guess that’s how things go sometimes.

Weekend Update

Geez oh pete. This weekend went by waaaay too fast. I wish i had one more day to get together, but I guess I’ll have to accept it for what it was.

Friday, I compiled all my ingredients for my cookies and did some shoppin’ at Hobby Lobby (bought some beads, like I needed more of those-ha!)

Then Saturday, I got up and going and made my cookies for the cookie party I will be attending tomorrow night. They were Butterfinger cookies. They turned out super good and I was really excited about them. Here’s a few pics.

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I then got together my gifts for a holiday party with my girlfriends. The gift was supposed to be valued at $20, so I got this yummy (and pretty- I’m a sucker for packaging) candle set. I paired it with this jewelry set that I made…

party gift

earrings and bracelet

I used stretch elastic on the bracelet. I saw a bracelet like that at the drugstore a few days ago and thought that was a really good idea, considering that everyone’s wrist size is different and this way, it stretches to fit, but still looks elegant with the toggle and toggle charm. I liked the end result.

I stopped on my way to Jessica’s to help her get ready for the party at our local bead shop, Dandelion Beads, but they were out of the wire I needed. I was bummed.

dandelion beads

I then went on to the party. Everyone brought a dish (I brought pumpkin dip and brownies and cookies – you know, the good stuff). Jessica did a great job on the ham and everything was super yummy.

why does this look last supperish

And, of course, Michaela (pictured) and Parker were totally cute, like they always are. Oh, I totally posed her. She’s so easy to coerce.

an awww moment

After our game, I walked away with this purple purse (thank goodness, I drew the last number!)

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My Sunday, was admittedly lazy, but once I got out to Michael’s and got to going, I was fine. I just sometimes need that boost of motivation. I also did some laundry, watched some E!, got my cookies ready for the cookie party I will be attending tomorrow night, got some earrings ready to present, and organized my closet.YAY!

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So, tomorrow begins another week. Just thrilled.