Ideal Friday Evening

If it was up to me, I would be in my pjs by 7pm tonight baking Christmas cookies with Elf playing in the background. It still doesn't reallyyy feel like Christmas yet to me, so I want to do everything in my power this weekend to make that happen. We have family flying in early tomorrow morning from the west coast, so my mom is feverishly running all around town trying to "get the house ready" for them. She always gets super stressed....and pretty pissed off during this time. Talk about a Holiday Scrooge! ;) So, instead of my dreamy hot coffee, sugar cookie, Will Ferrell filled evening....I will most likely be vacuuming the basement, laying out clean linens, and cleaning my room. Woof.

I shouldn't complain, really. I have a wonderful loving family, uncles, aunts, and cousins coming in from out of town to spend Christmas with us, enough money in my pocket to buy decent gifts this year, a nutso pupp, and a warm place to call home. There are too many people out there that can't say as much. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones recently and whose days are filled with grief, instead of joy, this Holiday season. I can't fathom experiencing such loss, especially at this time of year. So, as much as I complain and go on and on, I truly am thankful for the blessings in my life.

That being said...if I do get the chance to enjoy some Christmas quiet time, I would like to bake some of these treats. Some are new finds across the blogosphere, and some are oldies but goodies :)

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies (... I know sounds pretty similar to the other cookie, but doesn't mean I'm not still very interested)

Low-Calorie Sugar Cookies

Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies (these sound AMAZING.)

Healthy Sugar Cookies

Healthy Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars (a simple classic)

Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies