Essence of Cinnamon, and Ugly Sweaters

I went to an Ugly Sweater Party this evening.

Jess made some homemade hot cocoa, and was sprinkling cinnamon into the mix (score!).

Seeing the cinnamon reminded Keri of something. "I've heard that if you put either teaspoon or a tablespoon of cinnamon in your mouth, you can't swallow  it."

Shalene wanted to know if it was true, so she volunteered to try it out herself.

Jess handed her the little jar of cinnamon, and I grabbed my camera...

She was a good sport, right? She was totally choking on essence of cinnamon for about ten minutes afterward (plus gargled, ate a brownie, and sipped water to help control the coughing). I asked her if she was sorry she did it and she said, "Nope. But I'll never do it again!"

I LOVE YOU, SHALENE! :)

While I'm at it, I might as well post the pictures that I took. (Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of everyone's ugly sweaters.)

Shalene, Brookie, Keri and Beth

Melissa rocked her Rudolph sweater!!

Keri, me, Brooke and Beth

I'm totally bummed because people told me my sweater was kind of cute (which is depressing to hear at an ugly sweater party!), but I tell you what, the neck was nasty, and it's got, like, a metallic glint to it! I'd never wear it under normal circumstances! In fact, I put the sweater on about an hour before the party began, and I sat on the couch reading trying to read; my sparkly sweater was so shiny that it TOTALLY distracted me, and I had to pull my blanket up all the way so I could concentrate on my book. 

PS I'm still reading the Hobbit; it's not that I'm not enjoying it--Tolkien is a stupendous writer, but I do NOT give myself much time to read! I'm almost done, though! Bilbo and the dwarves have already met Smaug; they're currently hiding and trying to figure out where he is and how to defeat him--meanwhile he's off trying to destroy the closest village. I'M GOING TO FINISH THE BOOK WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS, because I still need to read "A Christmas Carol," but I can't just push The Hobbit aside, or I might never finish it! Gah!

Sorry for that tangent.

Turns out, maybe I lent my ugliest of ugly sweaters to Beth and Kari...

Kari and Brooker

 Hooray for Ugly Sweater parties, and for fun friends!