Best Cookie Ever

As a responsible FHE mother..I made refreshments.  I found this recipe on a Utah food blog called "Our Best Bites" and everyone LOVED them!

 Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cooks Illustrated  from Ourbestbites.com

2 C plus 2 T flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
12 T butter (1 1/2 sticks) melted and cooled until warm
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 C semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower- middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside. 

Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips. 

Take about 1/4 C dough and form into a ball.  Break ball in half and place dough on cookie sheet with broken edge facing up.  (Or just use a standard sized cookie scoop). Bake until cookies are set around outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 10-13 minutes.  Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.

Ice Castle

So in the middle of nowhere Utah..aka Midway, we drove to see a guy's creation of Ice Castles.  I had no idea what to expect especially since the weather has been pretty warm lately.  The drive was around 30 minutes and we reached this small nestled town...and there it was!  These "Castles" are actually really big. You can walk inside them and there are hundreds if not thousands of icicles overhead.

On my mind....

In the Priesthood Session President Uchtdorf said, "Some suppose that humility is about beating ourselves up. Humility does not mean convincing ourselves that we are worthless, meaningless, or of little value. Nor does it mean denying or withholding the talents God has given us. We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves. It comes as we go about our work with an attitude of serving God and our fellowman."

Being a Single Mom (for Family Home Evening)

So today I decided being a single parent would be very difficult.  You alone are in charge of a bunch of crazy kids aka college students.  How are you suppose to please everyone?  I decided that you can't but providing brownies and ice cream can help!

From today's stressing over FHE I learned:

-brownies taste very good with 3 sticks of butter in them
-last minute groceries runs can be made in less then 20 minutes

Ode to the College Dances

To the awkward dancers of the "Y"
Don't you know that you can't jive,
To any beat that is played to you,
No matter how catchy the tune.

When all moves fail you can jump,
Because elbowing people in the side isn't enough,
To keep you from being a sad wallflower,
But getting stuck in a crowded pit that devours.

Oh we are so lanky and white.
And our generation is not as quite,
Characterized by our form or our grace too,
But on a boring weekend what else are you suppose to do?

Semester Eve

Twas the night before winter semester and I am sitting in my room alone.  The burnt smell of a roomie's forgotten chicken which I just took off the stove lingers in the air around.  A sad little lamp eluminates a light halo in the dark kitchen due to the lazy shelf builder leaving his project 1/5 way done.  I am back to tofu chicken patties, western family concoctions, and spinach leaf.  My bed is still not made..bytheway..my bed is now a third of the size of the beautiful one I left at home.  A roommate is in the other room watching t.v. on Hulu and the other is waiting for water to boil in order to make mac-in-cheese.  I love college!...and I am currently eating a warm bowl of oatmeal...

What I learned during break...

1.  The term "White Christmas" was phrased to make people stuck in Utah feel better about being homebound in a blizzard
2.  My mouth does not set off metal detectors
3.  Food tastes better in 80 degree weather
4.  When people say "almost free" they still expect money
5.  Maids will leave towel creations if you give them a high enough tip
6.  "Some where over the rainbow" can easily get stuck in your head
7.  There is such a thing as a "cute" loaf of bread
8.  Things taste better with buttermilk
9.  As Duffys we enjoy speed race snorkeling
10.  A person can reach a state of being sick of eating chocolate
11.  Never trust a Verizon saleswoman with your phone
12.  Mom is capable of staying up till midnight
13.  Dad dreams of Dwight Howard
14.  Mexico should switch to self-service gas, so tourists do not have to make a scene
15.  Short people do not appreciate when you are pointing directions over there heads
16.  My father is a "Sugar Daddy"
17.  That I should wear a mask to filter the air I am breathing here in Utah
18.  Cell phones can talk to you
19.  Turkeys are not the only things that Gobble
20.  Haircuts turn out better when the girl knows what angle to cut layers
21.  Caden's fingers can withstand hours of strumming
22.  "Topes" known as road bumps should be farther then 50 ft apart
23.  Mexican waiters think I know spanish
24.  Found out what market Nacho Libre bought his wrestling mask
25.  Chocolate and chicken can taste good together
26.  Learned how to say "no gracias" to hundreds of people
27.  Cameron now knows to never play "52 card pick up" again
28.  Learned to express emotion through saying the analogy of "Little kids...."
29.  To just spend the money to buy the pork salad from Cafe Rio which is already made
30.  Whoppers can become a heated debate
31.  Photoshop is possible to decipher
32.  Nerf guns can inflict pain
33.  A grocery store can be a highlight to a trip
34.  A person would really have to bend there knees to be dunked in a tiny ancient baptism font
35.  Dad is Iron Chef Horchata Maker
36.  There is a pool big enough to handle the Duffy boys water adventures
37.  Bats are not afraid to get close and personal with humans
38.  Chinese food tastes great on Christmas Day and New Years
39.  Can understand why people get seasonal depression in utah
40.  To-Do lists are annoying but helpful