my week via iPhone

< the softest christmas socks

> this guy loves the snow

 

< chocolate crinkle cookies (recipe in previous post)

> some chamomile and mint tea

 

< my weirdo puppy

> still loving our christmas shoot

 

< does somebody want to explain to me when and why this happened?!

> i mean, he was just so little

 

< survived by diet coke

> 5 minutes with the toy and it's cappa was detated. (get it? the office? hehe)

< my very favorite are his sleepy cuddles. so affectionate

> 5 minute, 4 ingredient peanut butter cookies (recipe in previous post)

The 5 Minute Cookie

These cookies are so easy, it's almost questionable. I love cookies. I love baking. And I especially love it when it's simple, and made of ingredients I have on hand regularly. It literally took 5 minutes to get out my mixer, all the ingredients, mix them together, and get them in the oven. How easy is that?!

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES:

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter (use whatever kind you have/want)

1 cup sugar

1 large egg (slightly beaten)

1 teaspoon vanilla

(seriously. it's that easy).

Directions:

I threw the egg in my mixer first, and mixed it just until the yolk broke, then I piled the other ingredients in, and mixed until it was all combined.

Form 1 inch dough balls (I just use a tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop them out and keep them all the same size). Place the dough balls onto lightly greased or wax paper-lined cookie sheet.

Use a fork to create the signature peanut butter crisscross top (press lightly as you make the marks).

Bake at 350 for 10-14 minutes. (I say that, because the recipe I went off of said 10-12 minutes, but I ended up doing 14)

Make sure you give them a few minutes to cool on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Cooper's Birdie

So, we got Coop a new toy from the pet aisle at the grocery store. Not only was he absolutely terrified of it at first, but it was ripped in half within 5 minutes of getting over his fears.

The 2nd Date of Christmas

We spent all day together, and it was magnificent. We slept in late, and when we woke up, I made us a big waffle breakfast with nutella, fruit and whipped cream. Delicious. Then we wrapped some presents, and went Christmas shopping. We also went to Goodyear because there was a nail in our tire! They fixed it for us and when Devin asked how much, the man just said "it's on us. Merry Christmas. " Are you serious? That kind of generosity is so incredible. We have been on the receiving end of so much service this year, and it has only encouraged us to pay it forward! So later that day, when we took Cooper to the dog park, and some people there had dropped their keys (in the park, in the 8 inches of snow), we spent the rest of our time there helping them search for them. Once they gave up, we gave them a ride to their house to get their spare key, and drove them back to their car at the park. It was the least we could do.

We ended the night at our ward christmas party. We have such a great ward! Everyone is friends, and everyone is involved, and it makes living this far from home and family that much easier.

The 1st Date of Christmas!

Yay! Christmas has officially begun, once Devin and I start our christmas dates tradition! Last night was date number one! We started the night at Devin's parent's house, because Amanda and Jason came in to town (since they now live in Vernal, which kills me!) and we played with the babies and gave them their Christmas present, then we went to my company christmas party.

Reunited with my Addi-mae. Oh, how I love this little girl. She's growing up way too fast. Good thing we've got another baby in the family coming in just a few weeks!

The party was at the new Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo. It is such a gorgeous building! And HUGE! We walked into the wrong party at first. There were way too many people there for it to be my family-owned company party, ha! We finally found the right crowd, and had a good time! I was surprised at how much fun I had. I was nervous by default (just how I am), and I have only been working there since August, so the only people I know are the ones in my shop. I only knew a few people in the Orem and Provo stores. Kristy, who had trained me, and works as the A/R Manager in Provo is engaged to one of Devin's high school friends, so we sat by them and had a good time. We also sat by Haley and her husband. Haley works as the receptionist in Provo, and her and I talk on our company IM chat pretty much all day long, haha.

The dinner was catered by the convention center, and absolutely delicious! We had a little work trivia, which was informative and hilarious and our table won the prize! Devin and I came home with a bunch of candy (snowman peeps!!!!) and a costa vida gift card. There was a slideshow honoring one of the owners, James, who died in August, and then a white elephant gift exchange. I was so so nervous about whoever had me and what they gave me! I ended up with a thermos and some lotion from Caleb - fwew! It was pretty cool. I drew one of the body techs, Brandon and got him a snuggie covered in penguins. It was pretty hilarious. After that was another slideshow, but Devin and I left early because apparently Cooper had thrown up at devin's parent's house! (He's fine.)

This is the only photo I got from the work party. Apparently, this escalator is the longest in the world, or some crazy statistic like that. It's pretty long, so I believe it.

Christmas Photos 2012

this week has been an especially hard one. hard enough that i can't, at this moment, remember a week that was worse, so it's pretty bad. i don't even have any satisfaction of making it over the hump, because i know the rest of the week isn't going to let up. work has been extremely stressful lately, devin has been working a lot of consecutive nights, on top of all his finals this week, and neither of us have been feeling well. we've both got the beginnings of a nasty cold, and i haven't been myself lately for a reason i can't quite seem to pin down. but looking at these photos, i can feel happy. that handsome man holding my hand, kissing my cheek and looking at me all lovey? yeah, he's definitely why. and that psycho dog that never looks at the camera, or holds still. him, too. thank heavens for husbands, am i right? not quite sure what i'd do without him. 

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

I haven't posted a recipe in awhile. And I haven't baked in awhile, either. But it was time for a new cookie. I wanted something chocolaty. Devin wanted something soft and chewy. We found the perfect cookies! And they're seriously delicious.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

In mixing bowl, mix together cocoa white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt, then mix into cocoa mixture.

Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours, or the freezer for 1. Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (or lightly grease them). Roll dough into 1 inch balls, coat in powdered sugar, press down on dough balls softly with the bottom of a glass to flatten them just a little bit, and bake for 12-15 minutes. (This batch made me 4 dozen, and by the 3rd dozen, the dough was getting really soft and hard to work with. I just put it in the freezer for a few minutes uncovered and let it firm up, and it was totally fine after that! The dough is much easier to work with then it's really cold.)

Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before transferring to a cooling rack. Devour while warm with milk. :)

Simple, right? I love recipes that don't require any special ingredients. These are things I almost always have in my pantry, so I can make them on short notice for parties, or... to satisfy cravings :)