When something crosses your mind

I found myself turning off the music in my van today as I ran around town, accomplishing all that needed to be done.

I had so many thoughts and ideas running through my mind and the music was distracting.
Mind you, I usually have some kind of music on, turned up loud, singing away!!!

But not today.
I was pensive and thoughtful.

Being a parent is tough work.
Being a really great parent deserves some quiet time of reflection some days.

Quiet reflection time also opens your heart up to listen to where the spirit may guide you.
Stay with me here...I am not a loon!
I had a woman cross my mind today.
She is not a person that I would consider to be one of my friends.
I have a feeling if we spent any time together at all the likelihood of a close friendship forming is highly possible. However, I find that we have only had the opportunity to converse when we are making plans for our children to get together.
We are each very busy in our own lives and are content to encourage our children to love each other and be good friends to each other.

When she crossed my mind the first time it was brief.
Several months ago this dear lady had some sort of major surgery and has had many a long list of appointments to keep. So I did ponder for a moment how she was doing, but got distracted by the other thoughts that I was supposed to be thinking about.

My daughter is having a bit of drama in her sweet little life right now, and I just had to see her. I went to the school, arriving late for her lunchtime, but needed desperately to see her and kiss her face.
I walked up to her, and kissed her. She smiled and gave me a big hug around my neck. She said "Why are you here Mom?" I said "Well, I just wanted you to know that I love you." I then asked her if she wanted to come and finish her lunch with me, or stay and hang out with her classmates. I am so very glad to say that she thought a moment, looked at her buddy and said, "I think I will stay here." That let me know beyond a doubt that she was doing just fine and didn't need me there at the time, so I kissed her again and left. It was a precious moment!

See, that made the timing of the rest of my errand running just so.
Just so that I arrived to pick up dry cleaning at a certain time.
Just so that I arrived at a local bread store here in town at a certain time.
Now, I know you are wondering why I am out buying bread....Well, it is because I had a buy a loaf get a loaf free coupon. This is really delicious bread which I would never, never purchase without a coupon...it is way too expensive!
As I walked out of the store holding two loaves of bread this lady came to my mind again.

Now, just why did this happen???

Right then and there I decided that I would take that extra loaf to her home and check on her. Right at that moment, arriving at her house at that certain time.

I drove up and parked outside her house. I collected my sack with the bread in it and twisted out of my seat. As I closed my door I saw a car approaching. It was this lady in the passenger seat being driven by a friend.
She slowly, with great effort got out of the car.
I approached her and told her "You were on my heart twice today and I decided I just had to stop by." She remarked in her gentle soft spoken way "Well, it must have been because I was in another of my long appointments and needed the encouragement." She then told me that she simply had to go in and lay down right now, but to stop by another day for visiting time.

Which I will do.

I tell you all of this today to remind you to listen when God's spirit is whispering to you.
Trust that when your baby says she doesn't need to you stay and that breaks your heart just a tiny bit because she is growing up , that God gives a way to fill your heart back up in other ways.

I am gonna go switch out the laundry now and shed a few more tears.
I am not sad, really.
I am just intrigued at how God can work in a life, how He is working in my life.
I am thankful and overwhelmed and grateful.

Day 5 was Sound

Hello Friends!!
Look at that you got a capital letter.
Come on, let's face it...you deserve it for stopping by to read for a bit.

I can honestly say that I did not have time available to write on Friday.
I did find sound to be a tough sense to bring in the thanks with.
It seems that most sounds that get my attention are annoying or distracting. So, turning those feelings into thankfulness made this quite a challenge.

I found in the "senses thankfulness challenge" that my sense of sight is the one I depend on.
It is the one that comes most naturally to me, and I am betting for most of you as well.
I do find myself being constantly thankful for things that I see, especially because of all the amazingly wonderful, creative things God puts before us each day.
Well, anyway, I hope that got you out of your box a bit to be thankful and near to God.

Hey, while you are here let me change the subject and tell you about a few things!

First and foremost...something happened and my camera is back to being friends with my computer! I am not sure what the problem was, but I am sure glad they got it worked out.

Secondly...

Yummy! Chocolate covered pretzels! This is insanely easy to do and they turn out so pretty and leave people begging for more!
Simply melt the chocolate, (slowly in the microwave, stirring often)
coat the pretzels, (you may need to use a spoon to get it on there good)
let them dry on wax paper (this takes quite a bit longer than you might imagine as you stand there waiting to devour the first one, to make sure the taste is just right because you wouldn't want to send something crazy weird tasting with your kid to school, especially since it is a new school and you want people to like her snack, especially since it is not some of those cupcakes with all of the insane icing that stains everything)
and eat. (No explanation needed)
I added sprinkles to this bunch because it was the treat going with my daughter to school, and you know how kids love sprinkles!!


Mmmmm chocolate and sprinkles!

Thirdly. Wow, thirdly is a very strange word.

I decided to do an oriental themed birthday party for my little shnookums! I readily admit it was because I was at Target and the dollar spot had all this uber cute oriental stuff covered with the pretty shiny fabric and it got my juices flowing on an idea. Not to mention it was all on sale! Half off of a dollar is too good to pass up!


So, this was the party favor! A cute little "to go" box, a bracelet, a notebook and fun dragon pen for writing, and the pretty headband which was a total hit with my girl!!

I think she is planning her outfit for the day around this headband!
She's only 7, should this be happening already??


I knew I wanted to play some sort of games with rice, so while I was at Sam's the other day, shopping with my 13 year old who was liberally giving advice, I chose the 25 lb bag of rice.
You know, so that I would have plenty of rice for whatever we might want to do, and enough to feed the entire neighborhood for 3 solid weeks should a disaster strike.
Yes, it was way way way too much rice.
Did I ever tell you that my oldest child has a strong penchance for rice??
He was thinking with his stomach on this purchase, and I was not thinking at all.
At least it was cheap!!

We played a few games with rice, but this was my favorite! It is the fourthly thing that I want to tell you about.
As a birthday present to my little darling, I cleaned her room.
It was "the mommy" kind of clean up!
The "dump everything in the middle of the room and start over" kind of clean up.
The "why in the world is she keeping this" clean up.
The "fill a sack with what looks like trash to me and take it out before she gets home" kind of clean up.
I had a secondary mission as well. I was on the look out for small objects to make a game with.
Check out what I found.

I split these things up and put them into 2 jars filled with rice, then printed off this search and find paper. The goal is to shake around the jar looking for items and cross them off as they are found.
I gotta say, this was so much fun!!
It is frustrating, but in a way that propels you on to search for yet another item!

And now fifthly!
I took huge liberties with this next thing, but loved how it turned out.
I found each party attendees name in Chinese.
I then sketched it out on a piece of paper for each child to paint at the party.
I think they all really enjoyed having this little "craft" time, while seeing their name in a different way.
I wanted these to have a traditional (as far as I could remember) feel, and did the characters running down the page. I have no idea if it is right or not, but liked the look of it.
I also found a neat dragon stamp, which brought in that little touch of red to work with the red string.
One of the moms hung one on a tree to dry, and it was such a neat look that we kept going and then ended up with this shot of it.



Sixthly, I just can't imagine that seventhly is actually a word, but I just had to type it out anyway!! Say that 4 times in a row!!!
seventhly seventhly seventhly seventhly
Ahhh Ha Ha ha! It is the little things that just thrill me!!
You know what??? Have a great day, I am gonna!

Day 4--Taste

I must tell you I specifically assigned TASTE to this day on purpose!
It is the birthday of my baby!!
She is 7 today!
sigh!!
I am not sure when than happened.
I knew today would be an excellent taste day for me, so I worked it like that.
I admit it!

My sweet dumpling asked for "Shooshe" for lunch! Ha! You gotta love that.
Sushi at 7!
Am I raising her right or what??? (no comment Nicoll)
This is the only kid I have any sort of a chance with in the food department.
Oldest brother eats almost no fruits and veggies and has a very limited taste acceptability factor!
Older brother changes on a dime what is palatable. I don't know from one day to the next what he may decide he doesn't like anymore.
But not my tiny baby girl. She will eat almost anything, and is game for trying new things as well.
Hence the "Shooshe"!!
Psalms 34:8
O taste and see that the LORD is good ; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Hmmmm, nice how that scripture works in with our week!!!

Day 3--Touch

Whoa, this is gonna be a challenging one today!
I mean we touch everything, right.

How many things have I touched and it isn't yet 9 in the morning?
Here, let me name a few just for fun!
Bread for sandwiches, apples for snacks, clothes, hairbrush, water, dishes, blankets, toothbrush, coffee cup, chips, cookie dough, oven handle, dirty dishes, my cell phone, a sharpie marker, my children, my dog, my dog's leash, door knob, tennis shoes, my keyboard...obviously!!
Whew, that is just the obvious big stuff that I remember off hand.

Now some of that stuff God didn't make directly. He didn't create my spinning toothbrush, or sharpie markers.
Big deal, the stuff he designed and made is way more impressive!

God made your world.
The things you touch were created for you!
God didn't have to make it all amazing, but He did.
Let's take pleasure in that, but also let's show our admiration and appreciation.

Hey, you better get with it, you are gonna be busy today!!

Day 2--sight

Alright-y friends, our sense of the day is sight!

I must confess that yesterday, by the time afternoon rolled around I forgot about our assignment. I was so caught up in my mommy duties, which compound exponentially once half past three hits!!

I was running my oldest home from Taekwondo class in the 7 o'clock hour and forgot to take advantage of all the smells of sweaty children, cars and parking lots, and so many more things.

Remember our project is to be over the top thankful to our heavenly father who blesses us beyond measure. The idea is that our thankfulness draws us nearer to Him, and our nearness to God is our good.

So, as you look around today be thankful.
Look extra careful today, really pay attention to the details our master designer has worked into everyday objects that we may only give a passing glance.

Go!

Thankful

I was working up a lesson the other day for a class I had to teach and came across this verse.
Psalms 73:28
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good ; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge

It is so simple, but tells us so much!
If we could somehow, possibly remember every single minute of every day that the nearness of God is our good....wow!!!

One way to stay near to God is to be thankful to Him.
Let's challenge ourselves this week to be over the top thankful to our God who has bestowed such blessings on us.

Let's work to acknowledge all those things we take for granted each day.
I have an idea! Let's take each day of the week and use one of our senses to guide the beginning and direction of our thanks to God.
I will randomly assign something for each day....here ya go.
Monday...smell
Tuesday...sight
Wednesday...touch
Thursday...taste
Friday...sound

So, today as different smells reach your sniffer, think of how you can be thankful to God for what that smell puts through your mind.
As I sort the laundry and smell the dirty clothes and the laundry soap so many things will flood my mind.
Who makes those clothes dirty, and what do they do to make 'em smell the way they do?

(the smell isn't all that bad, but work with me here okay??)
That thought alone takes my mind buzzing in so many directions with so much to be thankful for. My kids, my husband, healthy bodies to play and run, places that I need to be that call for different clothes and how those places bless my life! You get what I mean, right??!!

This is just a bit of a challenge to get us out of our normal routine, and really thinking about the wonderful creator we have, who is so very very good!

Okay, get out there and be thankful, it should be fun!!

Too hard!

My husbands favorite cake is German Chocolate.



Somehow in the 19 years of our marriage I have managed to not make it from scratch!

How did that happen?
Oh, yes...the old days of cake mixes and tubs o' frosting!
And, visits from his Mommy, who made sure to fix her babywaybee's special cake!
Aren't Mom's the bomb!!

Anyway...
I determined this year I would tackle the cake.
I searched the internet and found a recipe which seemed determined to maximize the number of cake making steps to the fullest.
I must have been in a hurry and half out of my mind to choose that stinkin' recipe.
By the time I got done making that cake, I was exhausted!

I threw the recipe in the trash.
No really I did.
Pitched it right in there along with the 8 egg shells, and crushed it all down, listening gleefully to the sound of their further smashing.

It just doesn't have to be that hard to make a deliciously wonderful cake.
I would never recommend that recipe to you.

Now the cake however....YUM!!!
It is really, really good.
It is light and fluffy, ooey and gooey.
So delectable.
But not good enough to make again!
Ever!
So there!

Now the peanut butter cookie recipe I also tried....oh yeah!
I will be sharing that one with ya, asap!
Not making too many promises though as to the when.
It is my babies birthday this week, and that means busy busy Mommy.
Hey, I gotta carry on "the bomb" tradition, right!?!

What do you see?

I have quite a busy day ahead, as were the two before this one.

I do have something that has been on my mind to share with you though.


I was stumbling the internet the other day and came across this!



Perspective is an unusual thing, is it not?
See the cute little doggie ears, eyes, and nose?

See if you can make it happen on this picture too!



Yikes, that dog is looking a little angry!

Just something to get ya thinking, and smiling.

Have a great Wednesday!

Fish for lunch

Nicoll, I couldn't possibly do a whole blog post about silly bands,
however...


When I pulled back the curtain in my middle sons room this morning, as I do everyday, this is what greeted me on the windowsill.
(I rearranged them for this purpose.)
He said that he figured some of them were glow in the dark, so he had them there soaking in what would prove to be a sunny spot later in the day.

Silly bandz, in the window!
Now that is something to blog about!

Here is what Wikipedia said about them.
"The original shaped silicone rubber bands were created in 2002 by a Japanese design team who wanted to introduce a more environmentally-sustainable rubber band as an office product. Robert Croak, owner of Toledo, Ohio-based BCP Imports (known for distributing the Livestrong wristbands^[2]), encountered the bands on a business trip and decided to re-purpose them as a toy by making them larger and thicker, and marketing them as a kids' fashion accessory."
I had no idea...did you??
I have got to admit, those little colorful shapes are fun to look at!


I might possibly be able to write an entire post about chocolate pie, but not today.
I did, however, make chocolate pie the other day.
Why did it take me almost 40 years to figure that one out??
It is really not that big of a deal, and oh so yummy.
Along those lines I am thinking about making this Cafe' au lait pudding!!!
But after making my chocolate pie the other day this recipe makes me have so many questions which will send me on several wild goose chases to find out what I want.
Why are there no eggs?
Can I make it without so much cornstarch?
Why do I care that there is so much cornstarch?
Could it be more chocolaty and still maintain the integrity of the au lait part of it?
Do I have to put it in an ice bath??

Sigh!!
I wish it was like the Matrix and I could just download a program and have instant pudding making knowledge and skills!
Maybe my cooking friend will come to my rescue!?!



See my little dog?


I put the nerf bullet there for you as a size comparison, and to work it into the conversation!
She is less than 20 pounds and as strong as an ox!!
Those little legs which happen to be
...hold on a minute let me measure.
Ahhh yes...
9 1/2 inches long,
can walk faster than my 3 1/2 foot long legs!
How can that be possible??
She is relentless in her energy and speed!
And aren't those ears just the bomb? They are so expressive!
That is just a nice way of saying HUGE! That is some big ears on a little dog!



Did I tell you about the new plecostomus (a large common algae sucker catfish looking fish)?
I can't remember.
This one I am referring to, had outgrown his tank and needed a new spacious dwelling!
He has been living here in our pond for a good 3 weeks or so, and is very elusive.
Yesterday I finally spotted him, hiding near the base of the water lily plant!
He seems to be quite content.
Not that I am sure how I would know otherwise.



How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
I have always wondered that?


I went to the fish store yesterday!


I couldn't get over these fish, and their soft colors!
Lavender, pale blue, soft pink, seafoam green, butter yellow.
They would all swim around then all at once turn and look at you as a group, then take off again!
FREAKY!!!
I was entranced!
I was creeped out!
I don't like it when fish look at me.


Is it wrong that I am thinking about having fish for lunch?

Is it wrong that I am thinking about chocolate pie?

I am trying to think of a fantastic way to tie all of this stuff together and wrap up this post with a bang.
I can assure you that it is not gonna happen.

I am gonna have fish for lunch though...
and chocolate pie!

My walk today!

Soooo, you know how I am supposed to be walking my dog everyday per the advice of my good friend Cesar?!
Well, I have been.
Except for weekends and holidays...just like government work! hee hee

Well, she has been out of control the last few days and I have found that I have not taken the time to enjoy God's creation like I want to when I am walking.
Today was the day to put an end to that.
She is not the boss of me!!
So I brought along my handy cell phone,which as you know takes amazing photos!!

And I will now chronicle my journey in pictures!



With all of the rain we have been having the toadstools are rampant around here. They range from little bitty about the size of a dime to really large, about the size of my dog's head. I mean her head isn't large, but that is a big size for a sh'room!


Wowza, see how amazing that is. I forgot to say, but it is obvious that the sh'rooms range from white to tanish brown.






I loved that there was this gorgeous rounded smooth one, hanging out next to the ripply, frilly stacked crazy one.

There was one other variety, which is small and almost see thru. Didn't take a picture of that one. I thought...ok...surely 3 fungus pictures is overkill as it is!!







These here roses grow just outside my front door.
They seem to be ever giving.
I really appreciate that about them!






Check out these crazy bean things.
I should have done some research, and maybe I will.
But for today I am trying to get this post up in ten minutes or less so photos and brief commentary is all ya get!
Those beans were at least 7 inches long. My favorite is the gorgeous yellow tops holding them on! Fantastic!






These are called Beauty Berries.
Of this I am certain, I had to draw 'em once for something and did the research then.
They start off green then turn this amazing color. The are quite prolific around here.








I hope this photo is clear enough for you to see the little dew drops on Shelby's nose.
She of course sniffs around in the grass and gets those tiny little drops clinging to her hair.
Adorable!!




I was soooooo very glad that I chose today to do my photo chronicles when I came upon this as I rounded the corner!!!



A yard full of pink flamingos!
Now, I don't know about where you live, but where I live this is a big no no!!!
We have very stiff rules about what can and cannot go in your yard and what color your house can be, and when your trash can has to come off the curb, and and and.

So this made me laugh out loud to see.

Enjoy your day...I gotta get!!!!

Riveting

Wow, I started this post 5 days ago, and never got it finished.
( I think the time and date stamp on it will still say the old date, but I don't want to risk erasing everything by trying to make a copy!)
Such is the life of a busy Mom!
Somethings have got to give some days!
This place for writing is one of those things.

So, I am supposed to be telling you about this plant which is growing in my pond.
As far as I can tell it is a Sagittaria latifolia - Arrowhead Duck Potato.

A duck potato???
Strange!
Being the responsible blogger that I am, I simply had to do some more research on this topic!
I mean you can't just throw the words "duck potato" out there with no explanation.

This is such an interesting topic, that I found another guy who had done some writing about it as well. Please click here for his riveting post on our topic!!!
I mean Duck Potatoes are fascinating and awe inspiring!!

I actually had no idea that they were such an amazingly entertaining and edible plant, I just thought they were a great place for bugs to live.
Ah, yes... on to the original intent of this post...finally.



I went outside to take a series of blurry, low quality pictures with my cell phone.
This plant is the one I was aiming for, you know the duck potato plant.
I just had to say it again.
But upon further inspection, I noticed a tiny little orange fly on there.

Do you see him??
I know, it is hard to see clearly, so just imagine if you will that tiny cute little orange fly is on that leaf. I mean, it is on there, but the photo is so bad that you might have to imagine it.
The leaf alone is spectacular, right?
As these age they begin to turn yellow, all except for the veins. This creates quite a spectacle for the eye don't you think!
But having the extra bonus of the little orange fly on that leaf really made my day.

Now check this out.

This is a younger leaf.
They grow on the top of tall, strong, straight stalks which are probably a good foot and a half high.

Now, I know you didn't miss that big black fly on there did ya???
Ok, some of you did.
Scroll back up and look at him there.
I took lots of pictures and he never moved!

It made me wonder if a spider had sucked all his guts out and left him just sitting there.
If I were braver I may have poked him...but brave I am not.
I know, I know... it is just a fly but I am not much into bugs of any type.

Except for the exception of badly photographing and blogging about them.

Since I was already there, and this was turning out to be a bug condominium kind of day, I continued to inspect the leaves.
Just look what I found next!

It is a preying mantis!!
Won't you be glad when I get a new camera and you can actually see details that I am going on and on about? Sigh! Someday!!
Unlike the gutless fly, this little guy swiveled his triangular shaped head to follow my every move.

My

every

move.

It was creeping me out bad! I thought for sure he was gonna jump out and get me.
And do what???
I am not sure, but it wouldn't have been pretty, you can bet on that!

I went out the next day and Mantis was still there.

We were getting pretty tight, so I feel like I can refer to him by just the one word.

So as I was saying Mantis and I were hanging out by the pond.
He greeted me warmly, then jumped from one big leaf to another...freaking me out in a huge way! I may have squealed a bit.
But he said, "Hey lady, chill."
Then he crawled to the edge of that leaf and looked down at the fish, and looked at me, and looked down at the fish, and looked at me, and looked down at the fish, and looked at me, and looked down at the fish, and looked at me, and looked down at the fish and looked at me.


And I was like..."Hey Mantis, I am a busy girl. If you can't pay attention to me, then I am outta here"
And I walked away, just like that!
When I went back the next day to feed the fish, Mantis wasn't there.
I guess our relationship wasn't meant to be.

Hey!?!
Maybe he sucked the guts out of the fly???

If that is the case then good riddance...who needs a fly gut sucker hanging around negatively influencing the fish, right?


Maybe next I will write about nerf bullets and the places they land.
Or, how I sort my laundry.
Or, the best way to load a dishwasher.
Or, about the silly bands craze.

You just can't ever tell, now can ya!?!
Hey, I do what I can to keep you riveted.
Yep, doing my part.

Those cookies I promised

I got "in trouble" on Monday from one of my loyal readers!
Apparently, I mentioned in passing, a plant in my yard and did not follow thru on that (either).

Maybe tomorrow!!

I mean, really....just who does he think he is bossing me around about what I did and did not write about???

Actually

You know what...

just for him...

There is one of the photos I was going to include!
Hee hee, that oughta teach him!!
And don't believe him if he leaves a comment that he was just urging me on to great things.
I will deny it.

Truly, he is one of the few men who reads my blog, that I know of anyway.
(The other two don't really count since they are my husband and my "Dad")
(Okay, they do really count, in a big way, but don't tell them I said so)
C.D. is a loyal reader and encourager, so I had to give him a hard time here, in a public way. Thanks for reading and urging me on to great things C.D.

Hey, speaking of...
C.D. has had these cookies that I finally came to write about today!!
He was horrified that I used the "H" word to describe a cookie, but managed to eat quite a few anyway, or so I hear!
(I dropped them off as a treat for the kind people who helped my sis in law load up her moving truck a few weeks ago.)

I didn't have time on Monday to post that modified, "H"ealthier recipe, but will take care of that now.

On to the recipe!!!

Well, almost.
First I want to have a coconut chat.
We have talked a bit about coconut oil here in the past.
Remember it is still a fat, but it is a medium chain fatty acid type, so your body processes it differently. "They (medium chain acids) do not require the liver and gallbladder to digest and emulsify them. This means instant energy and increased thermogenesis (increased metabolic rate in the body) which leads to more heat production as well as improved circulation."
WHAT did that quote just say exactly???
More blah, blah, blah healthy talk.
I appreciated this post, where the above quote came from, explaining fats in an easy to understand way.
My point being, it is still a fat.
A saturated fat!
But, unlike butter it contains no cholesterol.
This is the reason I am trying to work it into my baking in combination with butter.
So, use it knowing that!
Moderation is key of course!
And I do NOT believe in the mantra "all things in moderation" but I bet you could have guessed that about me by now.

I recently purchased a "not off the grocery store shelf" variety of coconut oil.
It is organic, unrefined, cold-pressed, extra virgin.
I think that probably means the other cheap-o kind I bought before must have been the opposite of this product. Live and learn.
The other neat thing about this, that the cheap-o kind didn't have, is a distinct coconut smell and subtle taste.
I personally LOVE coconut, but know many people who don't like it.
Seemingly, the only reason they oppose it, is the texture.

I mean it is a really unique texture, and I get that!!

My all time favorite description of this is from a darlin' Texas lady who delicately cringes and says
"Ah just couldn't possibly eat coconut, it is like having a servin' of fingernails".

Ewwwww!!!
If you weren't opposed before, you might be now!
Cringe....fingernails!!!

What was I talking about??

Oh, yes...coconut flavor.
I adore how including this oil in my chocolate, chocolate chip cookie recipe, gives that delish coconut flavor without the unappealing (to some) crunch.
Mmmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmmm!
Yes, I did use the word adore...it was suitable in my opinion.

So here is my double batch (because I could get it to work out that way) version of the melt in your mouth buttermilk cookies that I referenced in the last post.
Remember my goal was to get a little bit of healthy in them while still maintaining the yumminess factor.
I haven't had any complaints around here, but what do these people know! HA!

NOW on to the recipe for...
let's call 'em
Choco-coco cookies

Start by making "sour milk" if you don't have any buttermilk on hand.

Pour 2TBS. vinegar into a one cup measure,
then add milk until it makes one cup worth of liquid.
Let this sit and get gross looking while you work on the other stuff.

In a medium bowl, whisk together
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups white, wheat flour (not plain wheat, but white wheat...trust me)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Ohhhh, look at my cute, cute bowls my friend gave me for my birthday, specifically for blogging!!!
Also take note of the milk looking mighty scary!

Next

Melt 1/2 cup butter
stir in 1/3 cup coconut oil until both are combined and liquid.
If you don't have or won't have coconut oil, maybe just use all butter here.
I assume the outcome will be the same, but haven't tried it to be sure!
Microwave as necessary!
Whisk in 1 1/3 cup cocoa powder until very smooth (that is 1 and 1/3)
Stir in 2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2+ tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk

I decided to use my mixer today to save my wrists a bit, but in the past have done it all by hand. BTW, doesn't that chocolaty drip hanging on the whisk look so very yummy??
Well, take my advice, it is not! Do not, for any reason, lick your fingers at this point in the operation.
Ewww, bitter!
Wait till the sugar is mixed in!


Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the liquid, just until combined then throw in
a generous amount of chocolate chips.
2-4 cups depending on your taste.
I use the Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips, which I think brings the adoration level of this cookie up by bounds!
I chose to measure my chips today and started with 2 cups.
It couldn't have been a more perfect choice! Just don't even try more...you might possibly die of chocolate overkill, if there is indeed such a thing.

Next make rough shaped balls 1-2 inches round and drop them onto the cookie sheet
These are firmer than the original recipe, so you may have to squish 'em down a bit, if you are into that kind of thing.

Bake 10-12 minutes at 350*
A good thing to look for here is the edges firming up. You do not want to over bake these and that can happen fast!
Cool these on the baking sheet for close to 10 minutes before removing from pan to transfer to a wire rack to cool until you can resist no longer.

I made squished ones and not squished ones.
I like the look of the shaped and squished better, though the other is a lot less work.

What do you think?

I went ahead and shaped the rest of the dough and put it in the freezer to chill. When the cookies are firm I will transfer them to my cookie dough tin. This is just a container which stays in the fridge that I fill up with pre-shaped cookie dough should the need arise for instant cookie happiness.
Do this.
You will thank me someday when you are having a meltdown and need chocolate to get you through.
Not that I would ever do that.
But for a friend in need of help, yes... I would definitely pop of few cookies in the oven so she can sit and drink coffee with me and eat them and feel better because of the love, and chocolate, and the coffee, all together, all at once!!!
Anyone...
anyone in need of help???
I am here, and I have cookies!