Countdown to 2012: Day 24. Stocking Stuffers.

Here in the states it’s still Christmas eve for another hour or two.  My family’s tradition has always been to exchange gifts Christmas Eve, rather than the usual Christmas morning, so I’m sitting in our living room surrounded by piles of presents and the remains of paper that had been so carefully wrapped only hours before.

Tomorrow morning we’ll come down to our stockings, hanging neatly on the mantle.  If tradition holds mine will be filled with cooking gadgets, candies, maybe another small trinket or two.  Despite what some people have suggested, there will be no coal or switches.

I can almost picture the poor girl who isn’t quite as lucky, sneaking down the stairs on Christmas morning only to find her stocking full of switches.  Does she sneak back up to her bed, hiding under the covers until she’s called downstairs once more, her pajamas lowered, and each switch applied to her bare bottom before she’s allowed to join the rest of the family in opening their presents around the tree.

Or is she expected to walk to the corner and wait?  The others will come down soon after, gather around the fireplace, and open the gifts in their stockings.  Only after will she be called out of the corner to take her punishment.  She’ll sit uncomfortably at the breakfast table soon after the switching is done, but she’ll be a good girl once more ready for the new year to begin.

Countdown to 2012: Day 23. Friday Faves

And time for another week of Friday Faves.  Here are a couple of my favorite things from around the web this week:

Pandora Blake has been sharing enticing previews of her new “fairtrade spanking” site, Dreams of Spanking on twitter, email, and her blog for quite some time.  The site is now live and “offers high-quality, beautiful spanking films, photo galleries and audio stories which please the senses and excite the imagination.”  Check it out!

Pink certainly has a way with words, and she’s chosen just the right ones for her letter to Santa.

The Twelve Days of Christmas sung by Straight No Chaser:

Countdown to 2012: Day 22. Taking this show on the road

Today’s blog post marks the first day of my holiday vacation and comes to you live from an undisclosed location far, far, away from home.  The holiday traditions have begun: cookies have been baked, presents have been purchased, wrapped, and some have been exchanged.  Up next: holiday movies.

Here’s a clip from one of my favorite holiday movies, Love Actually:

Countdown to 2012, Day 21. Recipe Wednesday: Chocolate Crinkles

Over on my recipe request poll, Mija asked me to share my favorite cookie recipe.  My family makes these cookies every Christmas, and the holiday wouldn’t be the same without them.  I’m lucky they’re only around at Christmastime, or I’d probably eat nothing but them all year!

Chocolate Crinkles

Makes: About 90+ cookies

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 4 squares unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350° F.
2. Melt chocolate and mix melted chocolate, oil, and granulated sugar.
3. Blend in one egg at a time.
4. Add vanilla and sift in dry ingredients.
5. Chill overnight.
6. Form 1/2 teaspoon balls and roll in confectioners sugar.
7. Place on parchment paper covered cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Countdown to 2012: Day 20. Happy Hanukkah.

In honor of the first night of Hanukkah, please enjoy this clip from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s Christmas special: the Hanukkah Song.

I’m getting ready to head home for the holidays. I hope whatever you celebrate you’ll enjoy your time with friends and family.

Countdown to 2012: Day 19. LOL Monday

Countdown to 2012: Day 18. Make your own naughty or nice christmas card

One of my holiday traditions each year is sitting down for an afternoon (or two) to make the cards I’ll send to friends and family across the country.  It would be far quicker to pick up a box at the nearest store, but I always enjoy adding the special little touches that make them unique and I hope the recipients appreciate the extra effort.

This year the names on my holiday card list include a few of the folks I’ve had the good fortune to get to know online through twitter and blogs.  As I sat down to make my cards I thought it would be fun to design a silly naughty or nice themed one, and with the permission of the card’s recipient I’m sharing it here with you:

The inside of the card sported spots for two stickers, one which read “naughty” and one which read “nice” along with instructions to select the sticker which best describes the card sender and affix it to the “reply card” on the front.  As you can see, the nice sticker has been selected, with only the naughty one still remaining.

This is what he saw when he opened the card, along with my personal holiday message.

The front of the card was designed to be a fill-in the blank style, which the recipient could fill out and send into Santa, making a report on the person who had sent the card.  Since I’m such a helpful girl, I took the liberty of filling out the card before sending.  I’m sure the recipient appreciated my attention to detail and efficiency*:

The front of the card. I'm sure Santa will take this to heart when picking out my presents this year.

* I sent this card to Dev who has indeed confirmed that he thinks I am a very good girl who deserves lots of lovely presents.  Well, the words he used might have been slightly different, but I’m sure that’s what he meant.

Countdown to 2012: Day 17. Recipe request

Once a week I share a recipe as part of the Recipe Wednesday feature on this blog. Often I share new recipes I’ve tried for the first time, sometimes I’ll put up an old favorite.

Now I’d like to give you an opportunity to chime in and let me know what sorts of recipes you’d like see! Don’t be shy, you can select as many options a you want, and please leave suggestions for specific recipes or types of cooking in the comments section as well!

Countdown to 2012: Day 16. Friday Faves

We’re now past the halfway mark in our countdown to 2012!  As your present for sticking with me through this daily blogging attempt, today I’ve collected some of my favorite recent posts on my fellow bloggers’ sites.  There are so many wonderful blogs out there, it’s impossible to make a comprehensive list, so I’m sure I’ve forgotten to include something amazing I’ve read – sorry!

Double Play by Thomas Cameron on Pandora Blake’s Dreams of Spankings.  Maybe this is more indicative of the types of blogs I read rather than what is actually out there, but I rarely run across blog posts written from the perspective of the top and those that are tend toward generalities rather than specific scene deconstructions or a recounting of the physical aspects rather than mental (there are some notable exceptions, sorry guys!)   So, when I do find a great piece written from this perspective I’m always excited to peek into someone else’s mind.  Anyway, this was a long way of saying that I really enjoyed this post and you should check it out.

Mindy’s “Deck the Halls” guest post on Devlin O’Neill’s Web Log.  If you’re in the Christmas spirit (or want to be), a quick read of Mindy’s revised “Deck the Halls” can only help.  Sing along as you read, just be sure there isn’t anyone easily shocked by kinky goodness within earshot.

Spankos Join Us in Solidarity by Insatiabear.  The bear rarely posts (I think this is the 2nd post on his newly resurrected blog) but when he does it’s definitely worth the wait.  One word of caution – there are a few typos in this post (I can’t think of any other reason he’d suggest tossing *me* under a bus) – so wherever you see a reference to “Em” rest assured that he actually meant to write Indy, Judy, Scarlet, or Poppy, all far more accomplished bus-tosser-underers than I.

This is not a Scene Report by Mija.  A succinct and powerful glimpse into a lovely moment between Mija and Paul.  If I say any more my description may be longer than the post, which speaks for itself anyway.

What Did I Learn by Indy.  Another excellent glimpse into the mind of a scene’s participant.  Indy intertwines her kinky revelations with snippets and descriptions of her vanilla life in a compelling and enjoyable way.

Countdown to 2012: Day 15. 30 Weeks of Kink: Week 8. 1,000 words.

It’s been a while since I posted a 30 weeks of kink post.  This week’s topic – to post a photo.  I’d been having a hard time finding just the right one, until I stumbled across this photograph on Abel’s tumblr.  I wasn’t able to determine who originally shot it, so I apologize for not providing credit, if you know, please share.

The task was post a photo that I find erotic, and I suppose this is intended to be just that. The woman is lovely and, quite obviously, nude, positioned for any number of naughty interludes.  But, looking at this, what I feel is peaceful.  My heart slows, my breath quiets, my body goes liquid and relaxed.  This is how I feel in this position.  This is how I feel while I wait.  Safe and warm and happy.