Wahoo! I’m all caught up with blogging– thanks to the help of Ecto! Yep, that’s right. I got Ecto fixed yesterday afternoon. I visited the Apple store where the Mac Geniuses worked their magic and cured my defunked blogging software.

Those Geniuses are an amazing bunch! Obviously, they are super smart, but they’re also wonderful people, especially since they didn’t even have to fix a third party program like Ecto. But, they chose to help me out of the goodness of their hearts, and I’m ever so grateful!

If you’re having the same Ecto issues, take your computer to the Genisuses Bar at the Apple Store. (You can even make an appointment online so you don’t have to wait around.) Most likely the issues are caused from the recent WordPress update (that also wipped out my blog).

After getting my laptop fixed and doing some Christmas shopping, Mal and I were starving for lunch, so we stopped into Panera to grab a quick bite.

It was a chilly afternoon, so started with a cup of Orange Ginger Mint tea.

And then I ordered a cranberry-orange-walnut bagel with cream cheese.

The meal hit the spot and fueled me through a few more hours of Christmas shopping and weekend errands.

When we got home from shopping, Mal and I took Murphy for an hour-long walk around the neighborhood. It was nice to get some exercise together as a family.

For dinner, Mal and I had leftover Thanksgiving sandwiches complete with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato on raisin bread from French Meadow Bakery that the company sent me. My sandwich was so delish! I love Thanksgiving leftovers!

And then it was time to make Christmas COOKIES!

Making cookies, right after Thanksgiving to kick off the holiday season, is a little tradition for Mal and me. Last year, we baked cookies on the exact same day as this year. However, this year, we skipped the refrigerated sugar cookie dough and made our own cookie dough from scratch.

Not surprisingly, I used a Real Simple recipe for Sugar Cookies, and then we decorated them with red, green, and multicolor sprinkles.

Murphy snoozed while we listened to holiday music and baked cookies.

I guess he was too tired to get into the holiday spirit.

Even still, we made him a pug cookie!

Mal and I had a blast making cookies last night. It’s such a nice tradition that we have together.

Hopefully, I don’t eat all of these delicious cookies in a day or two!

It’s breakfast time here. I think egg sandwiches and iced coffee on are the menu.

See ya later!