Thoughts on a Thursday

1. I just finished re-re-reading Mocking Jay in anticipation for the movie which opens tomorrow (technically it opens tonight at midnight but I’m old and lame). Why?! Why do I do this to myself?! Who else is pumped to see this movie though?! I’m a little hesitant that they decided to split it up into two parts, but I guess that just means more room (and time) to include ALL of the details.

2. This song has been stuck in my head for 36.777 hours now. I’m going to go ahead and apologize right now to my poor coworkers who have had and will have to put up with my mad karaoke skills for the rest of the day/week.

3. Um, can we talk about how incredibly cute Mr. Adam Lavine is here for a second?  #sigh

4. I just had a really big interview (if you’re counting, it’s number 4,367) for an Adult Graduate Student Librarian position at Bryan College in Dayton, TN!! I’d say I feel really good about it, but I’ve felt “really good” about all 4,367 interviews before this one. Any good ju-ju thoughts, fingers-crossed, and 11:11 wishes directed my way would be mucho appreciated.

5. To celebrate said interview, I got a #facelift. Because how else is one supposed to celebrate other than buying and devouring a cookie the size of a small hippo?

6. Speaking of hippos…

7. Turkey Day is less than 7 days away!!! That means we’ve only got one week to train. Our stretchy pants, that is.

Have a great rest of your Thursday, guys!! 🙂

These are my confessions

1. Confession: “I’ll have a Brew Christmas without you…” (I think Elvis sang about that once). Apparently, my friends and family know the way to my heart. I am happily all set for baseball season, which, BTW’s is only 94 days away. I. Am. Obsessed.

2. Confession: I may or may not have had one (or five) of these beautiful babies for breakfast. And brunch. And Lunch. Cookies monster, you’ve got nothin’ on this girl. P.S. Check out the Wisconsin-themed treats; they were almost too cute to eat. Almost 😉 Thank you so much to my bestest bud Mary for the awesome WI cookie-cutter.

3. Confession: I think I am the only person who actually cried (CRIED) at the movie Ted, one of the funniest and most ridiculous movies ever. Yes, I got all teary-eyed at a teddy bear. A TEDDY BEAR! I am that girl. Oy.

4. Confession: It’s completely normal that I am starting to go through grad school withdrawals only five days into my winter break, right?

5. Confession: The other day I ran out of laundry detergent. So I used shampoo. My clothes have never been so full of body and shine 🙂

6. Confession: I JUST got used to writing 2012 on all of my checks. It’s going to be 2013 in four days. I am in trouble.

7. Confession: The last two nights I have been in bed by 10pm. I have either been really, really exhausted or have officially turned into an old lady. Or both.

8. Confession: I was on B&N.com for three hours last night drooling looking at books that I could get on my Nook with the spiffy gift cards I received for Christmas. The result? A list of over 160 books I want/need to read. I may need more gift cards.

9. Confession: Eggnog on your Rice Krispies INSTEAD of milk?! Why didn’t I think of that before?!

I hope you all had an absotively positutely fantabulous Christmas friends!

Question of the day:

How was your holidays?

Confessions of your own you’d like to share with the class?

Friday Fav’s

Ho-ho-ho-how are you guys doing?

Holy cow!

Guess what?! There are exactly four more days until Christmas! That means there are three more days until Christmas Eve. Two more days until Christmas Eve Eve and only one more teeny tiny itsy-bitsy day–24 hours–until my most favorite of days….Christmas Eve Eve Eve.

Holy cow! Where did the time go? Where did this year go? I swear it was just yesterday I was wrapping up the last of my gifts, baking the last of my cookies and putting up the last of my Christmas tree ornaments. Okay. It was just yesterday, but you know what I mean. Whoofta! I absolutely LOVE me some Christmas! I love to give, I love to sing carols, I love tacky sweaters and I love the lights. I love the snowmen (and/or women), I love the lights, I love the stockings and the trees. I love the cookies and cocoa and candy canes and egg nog. I LOVE me some Christmas!

But you want to know a little secret?

The real reason why I love this season, this special time of year  so, so much?

I love what Christmas represents. I love how it brings people–family and friends and complete strangers–together. I love the precious time spent with loved ones, long-lasting memories made, laughs shared, smiles given and bear hugs exchanged. Beyond the presents and bows, the fancy parties and delicious food, Christmas is a time for reflection, a time to remember the miracle that occurred in Bethlehem oh so long ago. It is a time to be grateful for what we have and generous to offer what we can to those who aren’t as fortunate. It is a time to believe, to hope, to give. It truly is magical.

But you want to know another little secret?

Christmas is FUN!

To help shed some of that joy, I decided to share with you some of my favorite finds from around the web and more…all Christmas themed!

So grab your hot chocolate and your ginger bread man, sit back and relax and enjoy my fantabulous and festive Friday Fav’s 🙂

Favorite furball: Snowball. OMG CAN YOU EVEN HANDLE IT?!

Favorite frozen: Peppermint Ice Cream Cake. The other day one of my dear pals told me that snow always makes him crave ice cream. I thought about it for a second and realized I feel the same way! (Although, if we’re being honest, a lot of other things do too.) Must be why this frozen chocolate & peppermint cake looks so dang good.

Favorite dip: Peppermint Crunch Cookie Dough Ball. OH YES!!! A wickedly delicious cookie dough ball laced with peppermint, slathered on top of Oreos. This would be such a hit at a holiday party. Or, you know, on a Friday afternoon. By yourself. Watching Ellen.

Favorite cozy: Hello Pullover. So adorable, and perfect for lounging around the house on those cold winter mornings.

Favorite spot. Sigh! So cozy.

Favorite place: Barcelona, Spain. One of my bestest friends just recently got back from studying abroad here, and I’ve always been a little jealous. I love the mix of old and new in the beautiful city. Plus, how beautiful and picturesque does look all dolled up for Christmas?!

Favorite sip: Cinnamon Bun White Hot Chocolate. This is soooo happening!

Favorite Song: The one, the only. Adam Sandler ladies and gentlemen 🙂

Favorite project: Holiday Woodland Wrapping. Not only is this a super cute way to wrap holiday packages, but I also think it’d be really cool to “wrap” different sized shoe box lids or cheap frames then prop them on the mantel for the holidays.

Favorite cookie: White Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies. Two of my faves – white chocolate and peppermint – in one cookie! Love the chewy, gooey center too.

Favorite funny: Dear Santa…Oh snap! 😉

I hope you guys have an amazing start to your Christmas celebrations! Eat a ton, laugh a lot and don’t forget to leave some cookies and milk for the big guy.

Oh…and don’t forget the reindeer! Carrots are always a good choice 😉

 

 

Find Your Chocolate Chip

Hey guys!

Happy Monday! Or as happy as Mondays can get I suppose. Mondays to me are like those burnt bits of cookie you sometimes get when you forget to check on them in the oven. Not that I have ever done that of course 😉

Although they may not taste the best at the very beginning, once you are able to get past the brown and extra-crispy parts and get to the ooey, gooey chocolatey goodness that is the rest of the cookie, you’ll find that it’s not all that bad. Mondays are kind of like that; once you get past the having-to-set-the-alarm-clock, going to work/school, the weirdnesses, the stresses, the hecticness of the day, those burnt bits and pieces of that cookie, you can enjoy the rest of the week knowing that the best is yet to come.

Sometimes though, I think poor Mondays get a bad rap. After all, even an overly well-done chocolate-chipper, as brown and crispy as it may be, is still a chocolate-chip cookie. And really, who cannot not smile when eating a cookie, burnt or not?! I know I certainly can’t 🙂

No matter how crazy or weird or hectic a day that you may have had, I believe in always trying to find something that was good about it, the silver lining, a reason to look back the next morning and smile…the chocolate chip of the day. Life is too short not to indulge in your sweet tooth!

Today was one of those days for yours truly. It started off a little crispy, a little burnt, but it ended up being pretty darn sweet.

Let me explain.

I woke up this morning with the headache of all headaches. I’m talking temple-thumpin’, brain-freeze-topping, turn-off-the-lights-and-close-the-shades, kill-me-now kind of headaches. I used to get really bad migraines when I was younger and this was almost as bad as those nasty things were. Ish. After I hit the snooze button once, twice, three times, I decided to get my lazy bum up and out of bed and finally start the day.

As I was walking zombie-like to the bathroom to brush my teeth, I tripped over my dog’s big toe-killer of a bone, sending me into a fit of not so nice words (sorry Thunder–ear muffs). There’s just something about that big toe and your funny bone that when hit or wacked sends your nerve endings into a frenzy. Not the best way to start the day but hey, at least my headache didn’t seem so bad compared to my now throbbing appendage.

After I trudged downstairs, I saw my pup, anxiously waiting to go for his walk. Thunder was waiting by the front door, doing the potty dance he does every morning, so I quickly changed and headed on out. Usually I don’t really think about bringing a doggy bag, a homemade and very cheap pooper-scooper if you will, because he is usually good about not going in the neighbor’s yard, preferring the woods instead. I guess today he decided to switch it up a bit. Just when I looked down to change the tune on my i-pod, he decided to leave a little gift, a BIG gift actually, right in the middle of one of my neighbor’s flower beds.  And then proceeded to step in it. All up in it. Oh that dog! I swear sometimes…

He just looked up at me, those big ‘ol eyes, his tail wagging and happy as a clam. Gotta love him. As crappy as it was–pun intended–I couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. After my pup was happily walked, relieved and clean, I made my way back down to the scene of the crime and picked up the evidence. Gross gross gross.

After a quick shower and change, I made my way downstairs to make myself some breakfast. I had Frosted Flakes on the brain, my still banging-like-a-drum brain, but when I opened the fridge to grab the milk, I saw this…

Oh shoots.

I knew I should have picked some up last night.

And why did I put an empty carton back in the fridge?

Well, so much for Tony the Tiger. I opted for oatmeal instead which sounded great until I had the wise idea of putting it in a glass bowl. A glass bowl that went into the microwave and came out wicked-lava hot, burning my hands and sending me once again into a fit of not so nice words (sorry Thunder). Good news? My headache and throbbing big toe where now just figments of my imagination.

Oy vey.

Again, as silly and as painful a situation that I was in, I just had to laugh. I never cease to amaze myself at, well, myself. After satisfying my tummy with my cooled down oats and bananas, I sat down and watched some Price is Right. Gosh I love that show! Plinko is my game, yo! I never usually have time to just sit back on a Monday morning and watch (and yell at the) contestants spin the big wheel. It was kinda nice. It was really nice in fact. Soon I will be so busy with school and work that these moments of mindless game show viewing, of waking up after 10 am, of taking my pup on a leisurely stroll with no rush because I have to leave the house to get to work on time, no matter how stinky that stroll may be, will be few and far between. I’ve got to take advantage of these opportunities, these little moments when I can.

Just when Drew Carry announced the prizes for the epic showcase showdown, I got a call from Panera Bread offering me a position as a part of their team and that I would start orientation later this week. Whoo hoo! Tutoring has been wonderful, but it’ll be nice to have a little something extra to do. Plus, it’ll be a great way to meet people and make some extra moolah (grad school is sadly not cheap). Of course the added benefit of all-I-can-eat delicious Panera Bread food whenever I want doesn’t hurt all that bad either.

My Monday started off a bit burnt, a bit crispy–the headache, the big toe, the way too hot oatmeal and don’t even get me started on  my stinky pup–but it was most definitely salvageable. I was able to find those moments of sweetness, those parts of the cookie that made me smile. Those parts that I just had to laugh at and really relish.

No matter how burnt your day may be, remember to look for that chocolate chip. I know it’s there somewhere 🙂

Unless you’re eating a Snickerdoodle…

Question of the day: Mondays-Are you a fan? What do you do to help get you through the day?

 

Behold! Tidings of Great Joy!

Wishing you and your family a very Merry and blessed Christmas!

May your day be filled with lots of love, laughter, and quality time with those that mean the very most to you.

And of course lots and lots of these…

Case of the Cookie-Napper

Nancy Drew.

Sherlock Holmes.

Columbo.

Bond. James Bond.

Macgyver.

All of these people have one thing in common: they were some of best and hand-dandiest spys and detectives around, fictionalized, yes, but still masters of their craft. I have always been a big fan of mystery, of finding and putting together pieces of a puzzle to solve a given problem or answer an unyielding question. As a little girl, I would pour through book after book, going on adventures and solving mysteries with the likes of The Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown, and my favorite…Scooby (Dooby)Doo. Some of my fondest memories growing up were sitting with my Grandma Hansen, all snuggled up together in her big blue chair, eating giant malted milk balls and watching reruns of Murder She wrote and The X-Files (you’ve got to hand it to Angela Landsbury…she was one hot momma in her prime and knew how to crack a case).

Secretly, I have always envisioned myself among this list of famous spys, even though my attributes only amount to a few cases of finding a “lost” car in the parking lot of the mall (So embarrassing! And don’t pretend that this hasn’t happened to you on one or more occasions. The important thing to remember here to act cool and pretend to know where you parked, even though you have absolutely no idea), retracing my steps to find out that my sunglasses were on my head the whole time and not back at the store where I thought I had left them (in the words of Homer Simpson, “Dogh!”) and winning game after game of Clue (it was Professor Plum in the library with the wrench). There is something so glamorous about fancying yourself a spy, a no-holds-bar, kick butt and take no-names detective.

This past weekend, I was able to put my inner Nancy Drew to the test. I give you….the Case of the Cookie Napper.

It was a rainy and cold Friday afternoon. The sky was gray, the wind was strong and the trees were losing what few leaves they had remaining on their branches. A perfect day to stay inside and get all warm and comfy-cozy. I was just sitting down to indulge in a little trashy TV therapy (Real Housewives of Beverly Hills…don’t judge) when I noticed it was getting a bit chilly in my apartment. I went over to turn on the heat for, gasp, the first time since there was still snow on the ground last March (ack…I can already feel winter slowly creeping in) but when I got to the thermostat on the wall, which did indeed read a brisk 63 degrees, and tried to turn the heat on, it didn’t work. I attempted to switch, jiggle and manuever the ‘stat in every which way, but I unfortunately still had no luck. Ugh. Time to put in a call to the apartment handy-man.

Let me give you a little background first on one Mister Steve Jones, aka Timer Ridge Apartment’s resident maintainance man, aka prime suspect number uno. I have never actually met Mr. Jones in person but have spoken to, and have been a customer of his services, on a couple of occasions in the past year or so since moving here. He fixed a broken window I had in my living room, gave me back my hot water (after a grueling week and half of cold showers–never have I ever got scrub-a-dub-dubbed so fast in my life!), and repaired my air conditioner (precisely two weeks after the hottest period in Wisconsin’s summer). He wasn’t always the fastest (I always ended up waiting a heck of a lot longer to be helped than what he originally said) or cleanest (there was always a trail of dirt or dust whenever he went, not to mention the massive dumping of clothes, my clothes, all over my room when he came in to fix the air conditioner–it literally looked like a tornado had come into my place and had a party) handy man to have walked these apartments, but he got the job done and for that, I am thankful.

Getting back to my story. I put in a call to Steve and was told he would be out in an hour or so, that it would be “no problemo”. Since I had some errands to run, I decided to head on out, do my Wal-Marting,possibly pick up some dinner, and by the time I got back, would have (hopefully) a nice warm place to come home to. After an always eventful trip to Wally World and a very delicious pit stop at Panera for some soup and sammy action, I returned home and was instantly greeted by a rush a warm air upon entering my place. Nice. Once again, thank you Mr. Jones. However, I would come to find that that gratitude would soon suffer a bit. I put my things down and walked into my room when I immediately noticed my clothes once again were scattered about my room, the contents of my closet spewing out on the floor and bed. The heating and air conditioning unit is located in my closet so in order to get to it, apparently Steve had to move a few things around (not that I have very many things to move around in there…Carry Bradshaw I am not). I understand that he had to do that but to not tidy up, even in the slightest, was a bit unnerving. That however wasn’t what had shocked me the most. No sirry Bob. What happened next will make you shudder, make you cringe, make you pull a Tom Cruise and yell fantastical things while jumping up and down on your couch.

I looked over on my dresser where I had placed a plastic baggy of Packer cookies the day before. I ran across them at the grocery store and couldn’t resist. I mean, how cute are they?! Sugar cookies, frosting, and Packer-themed?! A.Maz.Ing.

I had hit the cookies hard the night before but had placed the remaining few I had in a Ziploc to keep them fresh and to carry around and nosh on while out and about. I distinctly remember having 5, count ’em 5, cookies left. 5 cookies  in the bag. On my dresser. Just waiting for me (or someone) to gobble them up and polish them off. That Friday night upon returning to my now heat-filled-clothes-everywhere-I-turned-room, I found the Ziploc bag, I found the cookies, but there were only 3, 3 cookies in the bag with a side of crumbs on my dresser to go with it. Someone (or something, but unless my spider roommates decided to cave into their sweettooths, I am going with the former). Ate. My. Cookies.

Cracking into my detective skills, I layed out all of the information I had, the clues and information presented to me, and the inferences that I had made based on what I  knew.

Crime Scene: My bedroom

Clues: Steve (Suspect number 1) was the only one to enter said room (besides me) between the hours of 6-8 on the evening of friday, October 28. Reason for entering said room: Repair heater. 5 cookies were placed in a air-tight and sealed Ziploc bag (you know the bag is closed when the zipper turns purple). Upon returning to the scene of the crime, only 3 cookies, the football, the helmet and the 52 jersey remained, Ziploc bag no longer air tight (zipper was a sad shade of pink).

Evidence: There seemed to be a trail of dirt going from the entrance door of my apartment through the living room down the hall and leading into my room, clearly indicating there was another person in the premises (by the size of the dirt molecules and rough sketch of the footwear outline, I would say the suspect at the time was wearing a man’s size 10 tennis shoe, Nike Shox to be exact). Said dirt was seen at the base of my dresser drawer where the cookies sat, perched above. Cookie crumbs lay scattered on my dresser, near the half-open bag containing not 5 but 3 cookies.

Verdict: I find one Mr. Steve Jones guilty on 2 counts of cookie-naping, one count for each cookie that was taken from their rightful home (my belly). Case closed.

I really think I could give Nancy a run for her money…Hansen. Wendi Hansen. I kind of like the sound of that. After tidying my room up once again, I took what cookies remained and sent them off on a final farewell, but not before giving them a chance to go swimming in a nice cold glass of milk. I guess losing two very sweet cookie comrades was just a small price to pay for a nice and warm home…but from now on, I am keeping all cookies (and other sweet treats) in safe keeping. Yeah that’s right…I’ve got my eye on you Mr. Jones. No cookies for you!