Recipe of the Week; FORGOTTEN COOKIES

This recipe is a lot like my blog lately. Forgotten about for awhile, then remembered and enjoyed later on. Ah, fahget-about-it!

My son brought this recipe home with some Sunday school papers a few weeks back, and it's a really neat idea, I think especially because in the summer if I do any baking at all, it's later on in the evening.


INGREDIENTS


2 eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add sugar and continue beating until they hold stiff peaks. Add salt and vanilla. Stir well. Gently fold in pecans and chocolate chips.

Cover cookie sheet with foil and grease with butter or margarine. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the foil. Put in the oven, then turn it off. Forget about the cookies until the next morning, when you can enjoy them with coffee or tea!

Do not open the oven once the cookies have been placed inside.

The Great Longaberger Score

A new thrift store just opened up about 6 miles from my house, and about 1 mile from my office. You know what that means! Lots of lunch-time thrifting! It's called Thrift King, and during my first visit there I scouted a royal treasure to be sure!

LONGABERGER! Can you believe it! For (drum roll please) $6.00! I looked up this newspaper basket, a discontinued item, on EBay and other resale sites and the cheapest ad I saw for this very basket was $60.00! My basket is in pristine condition, too. Not a single nick, scratch or stain. As you can see, I've already found it's proper place, nestled right beside the love seat holding my magazines and whatever else.

I also found a great little wrought-iron shelf for my bathroom, and a pie-crust lattice cutter (still in the original packaging, appearing to be unused), both of which were less than $2.00.

Oh Thrift King, how I love thee.

Duck, Duck, GOOSE!

Look at the cute little baby geese that TJ and I spotted yesterday! First they were all lined up, waddling across the street, and causing a serious traffic back up!



Then they waddled up a grassy hill, while I further held up traffic long enough to grab my camera and take a couple pictures. "HONK HONK", said the cars behind me.


And "HONK, HONK!", said the birds in reply. Off they went!

Had to Share...

Okay, so maybe they're not necessarily America's superheros- but the picture is too funny not to share. And if Hilary ever really does go strapless, I'll loose my shit.

Mother's Day Reflection

The other day I was driving out to my Mom's house, with my son strapped in the back seat. As per usual, we had our music turned way up, windows down, and he was bobbing his little head and singing all the words to Jackson Browne's Doctor My Eyes word for word.

An indifferent feeling came upon me, as if I just realized for the first time ever that the curly-haired little boy I was watching through my rear-view mirror was my son. Not just some random kid, the the child I carried for nine months, gave birth to, coddled, cuddled and cared for with my utmost of attention and skill. I watched as he gradually made the natural transition from infant to toddler to little boy.

For almost 7 years, I've been a Mom. It's been flying by, and at that moment Mom became something that is more than just my title. It was a feeling.

What is amazing to me however, is how I adapted rather easily into Motherhood. I credit that to a few specific things- 1. We were older when we decided it was time to consider having a child. 2. I was ready; spiritually, physically, financially, and mentally. 3. We took child-rearing seriously. It wasn't an "oops- we're pregnant! Let's just deal with it" situation. We had been married for almost six years before TJ was born.

Perhaps it's because my venture into being Mom was done at a harried pace at the beginning- those first five years or so are busy. So many "firsts"- from teething to potty training to walking to starting school. I didn't really stop to reflect on how fast he was growing up. He just did, and suddenly I realize there he is. My son.

So with the forthcoming Mother's Day approaching, it seemed fitting to pat myself on the back a little. I've got a great kid. He's ornery and mouthy and testy at times. (So is his Dad.) But for the most part, he's very caring, loving, and just fun to have around. We laugh constantly, he has said and done some silly things that make me shake my head in amusement and wonder. And smart! I'm not just saying that, all parents are usually impressed with their kids. But this kid, seriously- he was actually figuring out Algebraic equations one afternoon with Daddy.

So while I'm busy gloating, I have to acknowledge the circle that is prevalent in my life. I have a great Mom. She had an awesome Mom, too. In fact, I come from a long line of awesome Moms- my Dad's Mom was the best. And I have the coolest Aunts on the planet, who have begat some pretty special cousins who have made excellent Mothers as well.

Which leads me to the first, and final point. I'm a Mom. That's both a special gift and an awesome responsibility. It's my hope my future generations of Moms will someday experience that moment of awe where they realize being a Mom isn't just a job, it's a privilege, an honor, and an immeasurable blessing. Thank you TJ for that revelation.

I Lost My Mind, Found It Just This Morning

It's the truth. These last few weeks have been a total whirlwind. I think I'm experiencing the onset of dementia. I've been forgetting my first name, and the street I live on. It's that bad.

Obviously, I published my Easter post on this blog instead of the one about TJ. I just realized that this morning, while sipping my McDonald's crack-laced sweet tea.

And I accidentally texted my maintenance supervisor, whose name is Chris, to let him know that we're having a meeting to finalize the planning for my step-sister Stacey's baby shower this Saturday. The text was meant for my sister-in-law, who confusingly enough is also named Chris. So, said maintenance super texted me back and informed me that he was certainly not interested in attending the meeting, nor did he desire to be involved in the planning of the shower. To which I initially suspected the text was from my sister-in-law herself, (not realizing my faux pas) and got a little irked by her curt, snotty reply. Until I caught my mistake and expediently re-texted my maintenance super an apology. The sister-in-law, of course was naturally much more friendly in her response.

I'm supposed to be working on my weekly recipes with my PA Dutch cookbook. Yeah, uh, haven't tried a new recipe in WEEKS.

TJ is busy with baseball. We've all been busy with baseball- Pirate games are a regular thing. I'm in the middle of a property acquisition at work, which means I've been busier than ever. Not to mention concrete season is in full swing and I rarely see my husband Monday through Saturday. Oh, and we've been dodging a lot of tornadoes lately.

On a good note, I happened upon some FREE vintage Pyrex mixing bowls a few days ago. With glass lids and all, the cool autumn-colored ones with handles on the sides. They need some serious scouring with some bleach, haven't got to that yet.

And if I hear Pink's Raise Your Glass one more time I'm going to lose my shit. Seriously, this station plays this frickin' song every 15 minutes. Moving on...

You know, at least once every six months or so I go through this, what I call reevaluation and minimalist phase. My husband (bless his cold, uncaring heart) suggests I rearrange a closet and take an aspirin.

I start to over-analyze everything- thinking even annoying liberal things such as:

1. I need to start eating healthier. Stick to whole grains and more fresh (organic only!) vegetables. I bet if I swore off red meat and ate only Kashi bars for breakfast I'd feel so much better. Really, I could do it. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for several years, until that one fateful day when my then boyfriend, now husband- grilled a delicious steak for me one evening for dinner.

2. I need to step it up with my exercise regiment, or more-often-than-not, my lack thereof. Take a long bike ride, join a gym, run the track. Hmm. OK.

3. I need to de-clutter my life. Rid myself of all of the excess junk in the basement, donate more and make more of an effort to RECYCLE.

4. I need to be more in touch with nature. You know, hug a tree every so often. Don't kill those pesky bees, just capture them and relocate them.

So, as you can probably tell, I've been completely off my rocker as of late. I mean really, relocate bees? But sadly, yes, I've thought those very things in recent days. I think it's because it's spring. I think of spring as a time of renewal and freshness. The blooming flowers and sprouting green leaves just reinforce these thoughts.

Well, at any rate, my brain may only be functioning at partial capacity, but at least I've got some new Pyrex. And that damn Pink song is finally over.

Easter

Easter Day sure was gloomy around here. But the bunny hopped into our house nonetheless, and TJ was busy looking around the house, the truck, (the dryer....) for all of the bunny droppings. (And by droppings I mean candy, some little toys and a DS game.)

We spent the afternoon pigging out on ham (pardon the pun) at Pappy's place. Then some more ham, along with lamb later in the day with Gram. Spending the day with in-laws usually induces this sort of reaction from Daddy:

But TJ had fun, running all over the yard looking for his basket stashed somewhere. Pappy left clues, with cute little rhymes. One in particular has us laughing with his inclusion of the words lumpy and grumpy.

What? I have to look in the outhouse?? REALLY? (yes, my Dad has a non-working outhouse.)

Just kidding- he found his goodies, in Pap's bedroom after all of that running around outside!