Woo Hoo

I get to learn how to take x-rays. Of the feet, that is. I am going to be the bestest foot x-rayer ever.

I take the class in October, and then the test, and then I will be qualified.

And there are Chessman Cookies in my cubbie at work.

Now, what could be better than those two things?

Okay, hundreds of thousands of things but today, these two are keeping me going.

CHOCOLATE MINT COOKIES

Here is the recipe for the Chocolate Mint Cookies I took to the Cookie Exchange.


Original version:

Easier version:Enjoy!

WHAT IS IT

A mystery.

What is this?

Answer tomorrow.

Tonight was our Relief Society's cookie exchange. I made the chocolate ones on the bottom row. They had to be baked and then topped with a mint candy. Supposedly it would melt and then you were supposed to swirl it around on top. I used Jr. Mints and they did not melt so they had to go back into the oven for two minutes. A lot of work when guess what? I could have opened a can of chocolate frosting or made some from scratch and it still would have been easier. I could have added a bit of mint extract, if I wanted the mint flavor. The cookie was very good. I'll put it on my cookbook blog in a day or two. The cutest ones were the turkey and the one next to mine, it is an acorn. It didn't photograph well. The same woman did both of them. Annette. She is Wonder Woman. And here is her post about them.

Every single cookie I have tasted so far has been a keeper.

And now, I hear them calling, "Yoo hoo! Come and get me."

Oh my.

CAKE AND COOKIES

Tonight I whipped up a cake, we called a couple of neighbors, and we had Family Home Evening on the lawn swings. Toward the end a bunch of teenagers--in two cars and a motorcycle--roared up and delivered these cookies. They were from the BYU ward Phil serves in. Yesterday in one of their meeting they talked about the kids serving others. So, today we got cookies! I have a feeling the Bishop and his two counselors got cookies too. I made a cake that I got off Muum's Musings and served it after our lawn swings lesson. It was delicious. Recipe here.

It was so pleasant to have neighbors over. I love them all.

We had a couple of youth here, one eighteen years old and one a returned missionary and they both refused cake and ice cream! Amazing. Then our newest returned missionary--he served in South Africa--, came by to tell his mom he was going for a run. He refused cake too. "That would defeat the purpose of the run," he said.

So the youth are healthy and the rest of us...let's not even think about it.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

A snowy Valentine's Day today. On Thursday I stood in line at for thirty-nine minutes--yes, I kept track--behind a young mother and her two-year-old--the two-year-old did not want to be in line for thirty-six and a half of those minutes. Neither did I, actually.

With my milk chocolate Bordeaux in hand I left and hoped that the ribs in the car--this was the day I locked myself out of the Clown Car--were not warm. Luckily I didn't have any frozen items. Phil was surprised and I'll bet he hasn't even opened his Bordeaux yet. (He only got a half pound box) This is what they look like on the inside. If you haven't ever had a Bordeaux I suggest you do so.

I talked him out of buying flowers and also forgot he was taking me to lunch and so I ate lunch while he showered. It's an economical Valentine's this way.

This afternoon I baked and delivered Ginger Cookies (Recipe here) to the sisters I visit teach. Well, to be totally honest, Phil delivered them, as the driveways were icy. He always does the hard stuff in this marriage. Like today, he shoveled the driveway and sidewalks four times as the snow just kept falling. I sat in the rocking chair and watched it snow. I thought I should participate in the endeavor somehow and watching seemed like a good idea. I'm nice, like that.

So, it was an uneventful Valentine's Day today. A lazy one, but nice. I even had a nap so I can stay up until the wee hours seeing how everyone else celebrated the day.

I hope yours was happy and if it wasn't as happy as you thought it should be, here are a couple of quotes that I like:

Be strong now because things will get better. It might be stormy now but it can’t rain forever.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.

I've googled the quotes and can't find the author's. If you know please tell me so I can give credit.

PEOPLE WHO GO THE EXTRA MILE

Tonight was card class. Our card class friend had six cards ready for us to make. She won't take any money for them. She designs them, buys all the supplies, pre-makes part of them, and then welcomes us into her home for as long as we want to stay. She is amazing.



Here are my favorites. This one is made like a quilt, all the colored pieces are different bits of scrapbook papers. We pieced them together on the back and then turned it over to see how it looked.
This one folds open, the first heart says, "Love," and the second one says, "You." There is room for a personal message under the 2nd heart.
The "candle" on this cupcake pulls up to read, "You take the cake."The white part on this one is embossed and a little gold heart hangs from the "E."
One of the women who comes to card class couldn't come tonight. She is home with a bad cough and is trying to get well so she can go to Oregon for her grandchild's baptism. She sent fabulous chocolate waffle cookies for everyone there! This woman is the Primary President in our ward which means she is in charge of all the children, age three to twelve for two hours every Sunday. It is a huge calling and she is always smiling. How does she manage that job with such grace? I have been in a Primary Presidency as a counselor and I can tell you it was a huge job and I was just a counselor.


Two extraordinary women--women who go the extra mile and even a whole lot more. I am privileged to have them as friends.

THE RUSSIAN TEACAKES

The kitchen table has looked like this for some time now. Tins, waiting to be filled. The most time consuming of them all--the Russian Teacakes are finished. .

Here they are, all rolled and chilled in the very cold garage, waiting to be baked.
The baking part. The first dusting with powdered sugar.

The tin, all lined with waxed paper.
The second dusting with powdered sugar.

And here they are, all filled and ready to go into the cold, cold garage, awaiting delivery to the kids.

The other day I said to Gilmore Girl, "The first tin is filled with Russian Teacakes and the person who gets here first gets it."

There was a long pause on the phone and then she said, "That's not fair! The Brown Dot lives only eight minutes away!"

Today I told Her Excellency of Mousehole that the Russian Teacakes were finished and she said, "Don't count on it!" I fainted dead away.

Recipe here. Be warned, once you taste them and your kids taste them they will become a tradition and they are time consuming...just like children, and just like children, they are worth it.