Doggy Don't

As of late, I have had a few cooking mishaps, most involving my dog. You remember my dog? The one I adore, the one I devoted an entire Meet and Greet Monday to? Well, in recent weeks, I haven't been too happy with my usually loveable pup. Allow me to explain.

Mishap #1: For our office Secret Santa, participants were supposed to make or bake something for our Secret Santa rather than spending a lot of money on buying a gift. For this reason, we each filled out a questionnaire listing a few of our favorite things (now you're singing the song, aren't you?). My Secret Santa (I'm not sure that both parties are called Secret Santas, but I have no idea what the recipient would be called [other than a recipient], so just go with it) indicated that she liked raspberries. I can't craft to save my life, so I immediately thought of baking her something. And I knew just the thing: raspberry thumbprint cookies.

I had never made them before, but I found a recipe on Pinterest (where else?) and set about making them a couple nights before we were to reveal our made and baked gifts. The cookies aren't hard to make, but the dough does have to chill for an hour before the cookies can be baked.

Luckily I had another batch of cookies to make (for another office holiday party) and my friend Shawna to keep me company while I not so patiently waited for the dough to chill. Fast forward an hour and some-odd minutes, and all the cookies were baked and cooling on the counter. I had separated the SS cookies from the ones I would keep and stupidly left the SS cookies closest to the front. [note: I separated the cookies because many (way too many) of them didn't really look so good.] Shawna and I realized we needed something for a Christmas gift we were making and ran to Walmart.

Upon our return, Shawna immediately noticed that some of the SS cookies were gone. Deuce was sitting innocently on the chair, looking rather satisfied. After a thorough examination of the remaining cookies, I deduced that Deuce had eaten a dozen raspberry thumbprint cookies. I promptly sent him to my bedroom to think about what he had done and then realized that I would have to whip up another batch. Needless to say, I was quite unhappy with Deuce Wayne. (Yes, he has a middle name; it comes in handy for times such as this, when he's being a brat.) In the end, it worked out for me because the cookies were absolutely delicious and I ended up having many cookies all to myself, once I finally got the proper amount of decent-looking cookies for my SS.

Mishap #2: My dear friends Shawna and Laura bought me a mini-pie maker for Christmas, one that I had been eying for months. I finally got the chance to try that bad boy out a few days ago and was so excited that my mini apple pies came out looking exactly like the ones on the box. That never happens to me, so I was expecting a pie fairy to swoop in and give me an award or make me Pie Queen for a day. Sadly, that never happened.

But back to the pie-making process. I actually remembered to take pictures as I went because I planned on blogging about my wonderful Christmas gift that keeps on giving. I got a picture of the four dainty circles of pie dough just waiting to be put in to the pie maker. I got one of the scrumptious apple pie filling. I did not get one of the filled pies waiting for their top crust because by that point the pie maker was already baking the bottom crust. I didn't figure I had time for one more photo and just thought I'd wait until the (hopefully) gorgeous pies were finished baking. [note: I did not include the pictures I did manage to get because this post is already getting long enough.]

About ten minutes later, I removed said pies and set them on a baking rack to cool. They were golden brown and flaky, and it was all I could do not to tear into one right then and there. But I was taking them to Laura's and wanted her and Shawna to see the fruits of my labor. Once the pies had cooled, I put them on a plate (yet again on the counter) and went to my room to change and get ready. Big mistake. I realized too late that Deuce was not curled up on the bathroom rug, under my feet, and ran to the kitchen, only to be met by the sight of him with his front paws on the counter, licking his chops.

But what was even worse was the sight of the lone half a pie that remained on the plate. Telltale crumbs were also scattered all over the couch. So apparently he had time to steal one mini pie at a time, take it to my couch, and enjoy it there before going back for another...and another...and half another. He was punished yet again, and I made a mental note to remove all foodstuffs from the counter when he is unsupervised. That darn dog!

Mishap #3: Sunday night I was in the mood to bake. And I knew just what I wanted to bake: brown sugar cookies. Before you ask, yes, I got the recipe from Pinterest. Ever since I pinned this recipe a couple months ago, I have wanted to make them. So Sunday night I just went for it. I even made an extra trip to the store because I didn't have enough butter. When I got back home, I got out all my ingredients, mouth already watering. The recipe started out easy enough: cream together the butter and brown sugar. Then I added eggs, vanilla, and the dry ingredients. I then got my first indication that something wasn't quite right. The recipe said it made two dozen cookies. There was a LOT of dough in my mixing bowl. But I thought, What the hey, and just continued on.

My second indication of just-not-rightness was when I realized how soft the dough was. It was not firm at all and just sort of spread when I dolloped the cookies onto the baking sheet. Once again, though, I just decided to go with the flow. Five dozen cookies later, I knew something was wrong. The cookies looked nothing like the picture.

At that point I figured I would just see this thing through to the end, and I began making the browned butter frosting. It seemed easy enough to make: butter, powdered sugar, and milk. I think where I went wrong, though, was in the actual process of browning the butter. Looking back, I don't think mine ever browned. The recipe said to let it melt until it became a golden color. To my knowledge, melted butter always looks pretty golden, so it was difficult for me to tell when it was done. The recipe said it would happen quickly, though, so I waited just a couple minutes, and when nothing much seemed to be happening, I just took the pan off the heat and added the powdered sugar. I whisked the butter and sugar together then added the milk. Then it was time to frost the cookies.

As you may have guessed, I was only able to frost about two dozen cookies. And to be honest, the un-frosted cookies taste better to me than the frosted ones. Probably because the frosting tasted mostly like butter. You live and you learn, I suppose. You may be wondering where the "doggy don't" comes in to play in this story. Alas, Deuce did not get ahold of these cookies. I kind of wish he had, though.

On Forming Habits

As previously mentioned, I'm challenging myself to read 52 books this year. I thought it was only fitting that I start off the new year by reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. In this book, Rubin details her yearlong happiness project, for which she chose one resolution to keep each month of the year---remember love, make time for friends, and pay attention, for example.
This book got me to thinking about what twelve resolutions I'd like to work on and keep this year. I currently have eleven (gotta figure out just one more) and have decided to call them habits rather than resolutions. Some of the things on my list aren't life changing, such as make my bed every day for a month and forgo retail therapy for a month. But others will have a lasting impact on my health and life in general, such as focus on good posture for a month and refrain from eating out on weekdays and weeknights for a month. Some will be more difficult than others, of course, but my ultimate goal is to make these twelve things habits so that I continue to do one thing even when starting the next and so on until, by the beginning of 2013, I will have filled my life with twelve good habits.
I'm under no delusions that I'll be able to give up fast food and shopping altogether, of course (nor do I particularly want to), but I do hope to slow down these bad habits.
All this is to say that I have chosen and been following January's habit: leave the TV off every night. I know this doesn't seem like anything major, but for me it represents a couple different things. First of all, I used to sleep with my TV on as a sort of security blanket. When I moved into my house, it was too quiet at night, so I had to sleep with the TV on. Even with Deuce in the room with me, and now Chance living with me, I couldn't seem to shake the habit.
But I want to do so in order to conquer my fear, save on my electricity bill (although I know it won't be a noticeable difference), and get better sleep at night, which is the other reason I made this a habit of 2012. With the TV on at night, I was more inclined to stay up later to watch (or actually listen, since I'm blind as a bat without my contacts) Frasier, a basketball game, or The Golden Girls. So even if I got in bed at 10:00, I'd be up an hour or so watching/listening to the TV. In addition, the light and noise from the TV would often wake me up a few times a night. So by keeping the TV on at night, I was forfeiting good sleep.
I have seen improvement since I began sleeping in complete darkness and silence. I fall asleep faster, I haven't woken up in the middle of the night yet, and I do feel more rested in the mornings. I will certainly be tested on nights that Chance isn't home, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Stay tuned for the rest of 2012's habits!

Fabulous Friday #12: Naps

Yep, I said it---naps are fabulous. I actually just woke up from one. Apparently, though, naps make some adults feel guilty. I first heard about this in college (a time period when I took daily naps). A professor mentioned that naps for grownups was considered taboo. Rather than argue on the side of the AWNs (adults who nap), I slid down in my seat and fought to keep my eyes open. It was an 8:00 a.m. class, and yes, I went home after my next class and promptly took a nap. I don't remember much about the nap, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say I didn't regret it.
Now, naps for me aren't usually as energizing as they are for most people, but that doesn't stop me from taking, on average, two naps a week. What I mean by that is I almost always wake up from a nap with a headache and am just as tired or more tired than when I lay down in the first place. But the thought of sneaking in a couple hours of nap time during the day is too darn tempting to resist.
And it turns out, my professor was wrong...about the nap thing anyway. She really was quite smart and qualified to teach the classes she taught.
But anyway, there are obviously benefits to catching a few Z's during the day. According to a study (actually more like a Google search I just did), some of the benefits of naps are:

• relaxation
• reduced fatigue
• increased alertness
• improved mood
• improved performance

The website I consulted [read: quickly looked at just now] also gave the downsides to napping. I think it's telling to note that there are only two:

• sleep inertia
• difficulty sleeping at night

I do suffer from sleep inertia (previously mentioned symptoms of headache and grogginess) when I take naps. But I never have trouble sleeping at night...or any other time. So I'll gladly take the sleep inertia on those days when I can take a little cat nap during the day.
So all you AWNs out there, nap often and nap proud. My extensive [read: not extensive at all] research proves that the benefits of napping greatly outweigh the consequences.

New Year, New Me

Okay, I know everyone says this every year. I probably do too. I just can't remember from one year to the next. But this year, I mean it. I mean, I really mean it. I've made some resolutions for myself that I know I can stick to, even though they'll require hard work, time, and discipline. But by the end of the year, I'll be able to say that I finally stuck to a New Year's resolution, and I know I'll feel better about myself for having done so.
I don't really remember what my resolutions for 2011 were, but I did accomplish a few things I'm proud of. But I want 2012 to be even better.

What I did in 2011:

• read 31 books (outside of work)
• went to Mardi Gras
• got a promotion at work
• celebrated my one-year anniversary with a great guy
• paid all my bills on time

What I will do in 2012:

• read 52 books (again, outside of work)
• go to England
• teach a Zumba class once a week
• lose 10 pounds
• triple my savings

Looking back at the last year helps me see that good things come to those who work. Did I have to work to read 31 books after reading all day? You betcha. But I love reading and have a massive list of books on my to-read list, and I'm going to knock at least 52 of them out this year.
Did I have to work to go to Mardi Gras? In a way, yes. I had to work to save up the money to go, of course. While vacations are fun and often relaxing, the amount of work and preparation that must be done beforehand can seem daunting. But that won't stop me from going to England this year.
Did I have to work for my promotion? Of course. That one goes without saying.
Did I have to work to celebrate one year with a great guy? Not very hard, actually. Randel is an amazing guy, and a relationship with him never actually seems like work. But, as all couples do, we have our ups and downs. Luckily for us, the good dramatically outweighs the bad. But I do know that the downs will eventually come and we'll have to work to make it work.
Did I have to work to pay all my bills on time? Most definitely. I had to work in the literal sense of working to have money, of course. And I had to work to stay organized and on top of things, which has never really been my strong suit. But writing each bill's due date on my kitchen calendar and keeping a list of each bill website's username and password made the incredible task of paying bills easier to manage.

Because of how much work last year's accomplishments took, I know that I'll have to work even harder this year. I may have to schedule daily time to read, I'll have to be diligent about saving and exert some willpower over too-good-to-be-true sales, I'll have to eat better and eat less, and I'll have to keep myself accountable to my Zumba class by showing up each week and making class fun. But I know it can be done, and you wanna know why? Because I said so! (Taking one from Mom's book with the dreaded phrase that every kid who asks why he has to clean his room hates to hear.)

Fabulous Friday #11: My Coworkers

I have to say, my coworkers are some of the best out there. Come to think of it, I've always had great coworkers. My first job was as a cashier at my grandparents' grocery store, so my grandparents were among those I worked with, and of course they're fabulous. They are related to me, after all. Besides them, though, I worked with several other fun gals and guys who were always so nice to the boss's younger-than-everyone-else granddaughter.
I got my second job in college, at a tanning salon. I loved working there because I got discounts on Silver jeans, was often able to do homework at work, and made some lifelong friends in the Howes, my bosses. I also worked with some fabulous ladies who made cleaning tanning beds seem like fun, which is no easy task. I mean, wiping up pools of sweat ain't exactly glamorous. But the constant laughter shared with coworkers made it all worth it.
And this brings me to my current job at Tate Publishing. I'm so blessed to actually enjoy my job. And a large part of the reason I like coming to work every day is because of the fabulous folks I spend most of my time with. I work with a variety of people who are all so different yet get along famously. I don't think there's one person in my office that I haven't spent time with outside of work, which really says something. Even if I hated the actual work I do, I still wouldn't mind coming to work because of the people. So thank you, Tate Editing Department for making work not suck.
Here's to fabulous coworkers everywhere!

Meet and Greet Monday: the Bestie

Meet and Greet Monday is back, and this month's feature goes to my best friend, Jennifer. Jennifer and I became friends in elementary school, closer friends in high school, and sisters in college. We are almost the same person and basically share mothers. Our childhoods were freakishly similar---we were both named after girls our moms babysat, we were both painfully shy, and we both went through bad hair years (she had "sausage bangs," and I had a jerry curl). We were destined to be best friends.
In college, we bonded over no-bake cookies, boys, and our hopes and dreams. We can talk about everything and nothing and have a wonderful time together either way. When we graduated from college, I moved to El Reno and she moved to Okmulgee, where her husband was finishing school. For over three years, we had lived across the hall from each other and shared a bathroom. I wasn't sure I could handle us living two hours apart. But text messages, phone calls, and weekend visits made the time we lived so far apart bearable. I still remember the day she called me at work to tell me they were moving to Oklahoma City. I was ecstatic. Jennifer and I started having lunch together every week and could pick up and go to the mall or have a girls' day in whenever we wanted.
While life sometimes gets in the way and we aren't able to spend as much time together as we'd like, that doesn't matter because our bond is unbreakable.
Being such good friends, Jennifer and I have some wonderful memories together. Here are some of my favorites (in no particular order):

• Jennifer would sometimes come sit with me at the tanning salon I worked at in college because a) we stayed open until 9 and it was dark out and I was a baby, b) she got bored at the apartment by herself, and c) to bring me a sno-cone or Sonic drink. When I closed the salon and we got in our cars to go home, we'd each take a different route and race home to get the good parking spot right in front of our building. I'm surprised neither one of us ever got a ticket.
• One memory that makes me laugh every time I think about it is the time I stayed with Jennifer at a hotel in OKC the night before she attended training for a new job. This was in January, I believe, and it was freezing cold and icy out. After we put our stuff in our room, we headed to the IHOP across the street. Just as we got to the parking lot, Jennifer slipped on an icy patch and went down. I immediately went over to help her up...and promptly fell as well. It took us several minutes to get up because we were laughing so hard.
• Jennifer and I took summer classes in college so we could graduate early (what were we thinking?). One of the options for a summer session class was volunteering at the Special Olympics in Stillwater. Jennifer and I figured this would be an easy way to pick up a couple hours. As soon as we got back from our first Special Olympics, we knew we'd be coming back the next year. Both years, we left early in the morning, but not before stopping for donuts and chocolate milk for our road trip. We stayed on campus and got to help out at events of our choosing. Jennifer and I always chose bowling and swimming. We had so much fun and were really changed after working with the Special Olympics athletes and their coaches and parents.
• On one of our random late-night trips to Walmart, our friendly cashier gave us a recipe for blackberry wine bundt cake. We have no idea why he gave us the recipe, but we're eternally grateful to him because the cake is to die for. Unfortunately, at the time he gave it to us, neither of us was twenty-one yet, so we couldn't buy the wine. Thus, it took us a few years to finally get around to making it. Jennifer actually made me one for my twenty-fourth birthday, and then we both turned around and made it for Thanksgiving the next week.
• Midnight Taco Bell trips are one thing I miss most about college with Jennifer. When we first got to college, we felt so powerful and independent when we realized we could pick up and go anywhere at any time. So naturally, we made many, many trips to Taco Bell at midnight. We'd get greasy Mexican food and Pepsi, bring it back to the apartment, and stay up for hours, just talking and listening to music. Ah...those were the days.
• I will never forget the day Jennifer called me to tell me she was pregnant. I had just gotten home from work when she called. She asked me how my day had been and listened to me go on and on before I finally let her talk. I asked her what was up, and she told me she was pregnant. I screamed and said "no way" probably ten times. She was so excited, and I was just as excited for her. Another great memory is the day Jennifer had Reed. I took the day off work and spent the day at the hospital with Jennifer's family. When I finally saw her gorgeous baby boy, my heart melted. And it does every time I see him. Jennifer is an amazing mom and has made me such a proud "auntie."
• On Saturday December 6, 2009, I called Jennifer bright and early, and she immediately knew something was wrong. Not because of the ungodly hour, but because she could tell I was holding back tears. She asked what was wrong and was heartbroken for me when I told her my boyfriend of five years and I had broken up. Without hesitation, she told me to pack up my stuff and come stay with her, because he and I had lived together. I didn't want to barge in on her life like that, seeing as how she was pregnant at the time. But she insisted. "You would do the same for me, and it's no trouble at all," she said. I cried even more, but this time because I was so thankful and blessed to have such a wonderful best friend. I brought my stuff over...and stayed for a month. She and her husband were amazing those four weeks, never making me feel like a burden to them and doing everything they could to help me find an apartment, furniture, and a way to begin a new life.

I really don't know what I'd do without her, but I'm so grateful that I'll never have to find out.

And now for the best part, the part where I shut up and treat you to a few pictures of me and my gorgeous best friend!

Fabulous Friday #10: Birthdays!

We all know birthdays are fabulous, right? And I don't just say that because today happens to be my birthday. I've always loved my birthday, though, because my family and friends make it so special. My mom is always the first to call and/or text me, and I'm guaranteed a cake from one friend or another. Here's this year's, courtesy of my good friend Shawna, who has mad cake-bakin' skillz:

You thought the outside was fun, wait til you see the inside:

Rainbow cake for birthday breakfast

Yesterday I had a birthday feast with a couple of close friends. We piled our plates with lil smokies, guacamole and chips, puppy chow, and popcorn while watching Water for Elephants on Laura's wall---because we converted her living room into a movie theater, using a projector. (If anyone wants to get me a last-minute gift, I will accept a projector.)
When I woke up this morning, I had four text messages and too many Facebook birthday wishes to count, including a super-sweet one from my equally as sweet boyfriend, who is taking me out to dinner tonight.
Even though I am still in my pajamas, ate cake for breakfast, and haven't gotten a thing done today, I feel fabulous because it is my 25th birthday and I have family and friends who love me and have done so much already to make this day special for me.
So now I think I will have my birthday cake and eat it too!