End of Year Crash

Thanksgiving came slowly, but it went away uneventful. Next thing I knew, Christmas was here. I spent it at home in Texas with family, quite happy I was able to go home. Last year I had to work, and I really missed my parents because we always spent Christmas together. Just before leaving, I was on a mad dash around the city delivering Christmas candies (I only made three successful candies this year-nougat, Jasmine tea caramels, and Thai chili truffles) to friends. Then NYE was upon us. I had such high hopes for this year. I won't go into detail, but I will say that this time around, only two of us on Team Pastry toasted with champagne, while everyone else cleared out quite early.

And now I sit here the first day of the new year with two fingers washed with hydrogen peroxide, swabbed with anti-bacterial ointment and bandaged. Dry torn, often bleeding cuticles are a hazard of the job.

Now that the busy holiday season is over, I can spend more time in the kitchen (at home), baking and finalizing some ideas I've had running through my head for a while. And I can spend time planning my vacation. A trip to Paris in February. I'm quite excited, but I've been too tired to show it. I've loads to do, I'm even planning a dinner out with friends (girls' night!) who have traveled to Paris in the past year to give me ideas about where to go and what to do.

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