I decided to start exercising again this month. I'm super dedicated like that. I know it's the holidays and all and there is no time and just massive amounts of sugar all over the place. But really, when it's your health in question, can you be too cautious? It started out like this --
Day 1 -- Wearing my super-flexible and trendy layered black work out outfit that form fitted to my exact measurements, I anxiously waited for the clock to strike 9:00am. I had planned my day out precisely so I would have plenty of time to exercise, shower, and still get everything done on my to-do list while still engaging in thought provoking and developmentally appropriate activities with my well behaved children. I pressed play on my very exercisey video that has 2 letters and a number and rhymes with "Smee-Pinetee-Mex". I got all sweaty kind of fast. And took off at least 3 layers of clothes.... but I did *not* give up. I kept pushing through and I was feeling mighty proud of myself until I realized I was only about half way through the warm up. During "stretching time" I took the liberty of stretching my hands while lying on the floor. I mean, really, when was the last time you stretched your hands? They're always overlooked. And I'm not about to just give up on making myself the best me I can be just because someone else is telling me to do ninety jillion pushups instead. No sirree. I will not be bossed like that. Then I took a water break. Because they say that you're 75% water. And that drinking water is more important that exercising because if you don't drink water you'll die. That part is true. I didn't just make it up. By that point I'd done at least 7 push ups and stretched my hands, so I pretty much called it a day and let my girls finishing watching what they thought was a push-up dance party.
Day 2 - I wore my old running shorts and a t-shirt this time. I didn't even put on shoes. It's IN my house. Why do I need shoes? Also, I wasn't able to actually reach my feet this morning because all those muscles in between kind of stopped listening to me after those 7 hard core pushups yesterday. But I was still ready to go by 9:05am. The girls and I decided on a plyometrics video. I thought it would be great because it sounds a lot like Lie-O-Metrics. And that sounds perfect. As it turns out though, plyometrics really means jumping until your legs fall off. And I like my legs. I don't want them to fall off. I did just the right amount of jumping so my legs stayed right where they belonged and then I went in the other room to "check on the baby".
Day 3 - At 10:00am my girls asked if they could watch the push-up dance party movie again. We watched it while eating my favorite Christmas cookies of all time. Whew. It was a good thing I started exercising so I didn't feel so guilty. Also, I think you can kind of see my arm muscles now. I'm totally planning on doing this again next week so I can justify eating more cookies. Like maybe some poinsettia cookies.
Start by cutting out a star cookie. Then take a point of the star and cut into each of the original points. There is no need to be neat or precise. Just haphazardly lop those points off.
1. Bake the cookies and let them cool.
2. Since this is all wet-on-wet and you have to work fast, I made you diagrams instead of taking pictures of the actual process. Outline and flood the cookie with medium consistency light blue icing.
3. Using a #2 tip and dark blue icing, pipe 5 loops. Start in the middle of the cookie and pipe a loop into alternating points. (Pipe a loop, skip a point, pipe another loop, skip a point...)
4. Immediately go back and pipe 5 more loops into the points you skipped the first time.
5. Pipe one more set of 5 loops, this time much smaller and into the "valleys" created by the double points. Basically... wherever there isn't already a loop...add one.
6. Quickly drop some tiny sugar pearls around the center of the poinsettia. And then breathe. It's like lightning round cookies.
They really are perfect for the holidays because you can decorate them all in one step and then let them dry while you go get ready for your fancy party. Also, I was going to make some in red and white too with silver dragees in the middle. But then I didn't. You know, because of all the push ups. (UPDATE: I finally made some....one year later!)
NEED MORE?
I think the stars with the wide points make the best poinsettias, like these nesting stars from Wilton.
Make the stockings from a candy cane cutter HERE.
Start a new holiday tradition with 3D gingerbread cookie sleighs! Tutorial, template and link to a cutter HERE.
