Cookie catastrophe

I had a brilliant idea at the end of last week to make some fire engine and fire hydrant cookies for a party we were having for our friend Nick, who just graduated from the fire academy. I was sure that this was going to put Martha Stewart and me on the same level.

So, I found the cookie cutters, bought all the ingredients, rolled out the dough, cut the cookies, baked them, frosted them, decorated them...and four hours later, I was wondering where my evening went! (To be fair, Janice helped--and we did enjoy each other's company at least.)

To make matters worse, the cookies got fat in the oven and didn't even resemble fire trucks when we took them out (see below). As a final touch, in my failed attempt to make the frosting a little redder, I added a few drops of blue in the hopes that it would darken. I must have missed the day in third grade where I would have learned that red and blue make...purple. Though they did at least taste good.

I have no idea how people have the patience or the skill set for this. "Cookie decorating" is going on the list of things that I do not plan to do again. Right after making another meatloaf.