If this was a School Day it would be a Snow Day

So here it is a few hours later...for me it feels more like 2 O'clock in the afternoon rather than the actual time 8:20 in the morning, eek! I've managed to rearrange the pantry, have a Ragout simmering on the stove and a batch of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. I've washed down the kitchen, dried and put away all of the hand washed items, and am ready for a spot of tea. So what have my husband and children been doing all that time while I've done all of that work? They've been in a blissful slumber in their beds. My husband is off from work, the kids have yet another day off from school. If this was a school day it would be a snow day, no doubt about it!

I hear the humming of the snow plows outside. One side of our street has been plowed, now for the other side to be done. The snow is still falling ever so softly, it looks like the light and fluffy kind of snow not at all the wet kind needed to successfully build a snowman, but it's snow that the kids can play in none the less.

I'm using my silicone baking mat for the first time. I have always used parchment paper for lining my baking sheets but I've decided to test drive one of those a silicone mats. Hey the price was right...got it at Hobby Lobby with that 50% off all Wilton products Internet coupon a few weeks back. Depending upon how this goes, I just might break down and purchase a sil-pat brand mat for my larger baking pans. I've always heard good things about them and now I'm beginning to wonder why It took me so long to get one. Maybe it's the price, maybe? Heck of course it was! But I think that I'm now ready to do the switch. I'm tired of being a slave to parchment paper...at $4.95 to $5.95 a roll (depending upon where you can find it to buy) it's rather pricey! I will continue to use it for cakes and cheesecakes but I think that it's time to make the big jump. Hey maybe if I'm lucky I'll get some gift certificates from Williams-Sonoma for Christmas :) Now I've gone and switched over to silicone oven mitts and pot holders a few months ago. I especially love using them when I am draining large pots into the sink. No more worrying about the oven mit getting wet with hot pasta water and burning my hands!