I cannot believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve! Wow. Still so much to do. I even have one important person I need to get a present for. Yikes.
We were blessed yesterday to receive a box of hand-me-downs.
My cousin Terri, who lives in Texas, has two children, a boy and a girl. She periodically sends boxes of clothes they have outgrown or no longer want. The great thing is that her kids are roughly the same size as mine. Her son is older [21] and bigger than Mike, but Mike can still wear some of his things, with a belt. We got a box yesterday. It was like Christmas for the kids. Mike got 5 pairs of shorts and I think 5 nice sports shirts with collars. Alesia got I think 6-8 shirts and two pairs of shorts, plus a pair of earrings and a pair of shoes. She loved everything.
We're blessed to have a wonderful extended family.
I made my last pumpkin spice cake yesterday, late in the afternoon. It's not a layer cake. I was just too tired to do the layers. I'm sure it will be good, though.
We had fried chicken tenders last night. The kids both complained that I didn't make enough. I didn't realize they liked them so much. I take the chicken tenders and dip them into ranch dressing, then breadcrumbs. Fry in canola oil. The ranch dressing gives them a great flavor.
I want to say a word about breadcrumbs. All the cooks on Food network use panko bread crumbs. I bought some not long ago. I don't think they're all that great. They're OK. No big whoop. Last night, for my chicken, I used bread crumbs from Kroger that were on sale. They did fine. Don't pay big bucks for panko. If you have a few minutes, make your own - it's not that hard, for heaven's sake. The link above tells you how.
The kids have chore lists they have to complete this morning, before they can hang out with friends or play tennis. Bruce is supposed to come in late this afternoon. Should be an interesting day...
Our movie last night was The Blues Brothers, which is nearly the perfect movie. I get to listen to great music, and Mike gets to watch a bunch of elaborate car chases.
