I usually like to keep things to myself. Especially if I think it will make someone upset, but I keep hearing this same thing over and over in different settings, and I think this is a lesson that we should have basically learned by now. I do want to say that sure, there are probably some people who are 'exclusive' and don't really want to be friendly with others. However, in my experience, people are nice to people who are nice.
I know. It's a revelation.
Let me term this in the ways I have been hearing it recently. If you are in a group of people, and they aren't really talking to you, you need to step out and say something. Like comment on the weather, or clothes, or shoes, or hair, or any of the millions of things that women talk about. I would be willing to bet that 99.999999% of the time, people weren't talking to you because...wait for it...you weren't talking either.
I am a fairly introverted person. I could spend a whole day, alone, at home, and not talk to anyone or be around people and be beyond happy. I don't naturally start conversations. I am not super loud and aggressive in making friends. I had a really hard time in school because I am not that person. That super funny, outgoing, cutesy person. And I didn't really like those super outgoing, loud, funny people.
I have learned, however, through many years of feeling left out and not wanted, that if you want to have a lot of friends, or feel included in all the friend 'groups' that naturally happen, you have to be friendly. That's right. Pull up your big girl panties here. If you want to have friends, you have to be a friend.
Don't hate me, ok?
But all the people that I see complaining about 'cliques' or about how certain women are just friends with each other, and they are never part of the group, have excluded themselves. Literally. I have yet to actually met a group of women, that aren't willing to add another to their crowd. And believe me, I am more often than not, on the outside of the crowd. And I can let myself get my feelings hurt, and think how mean and awful those women are, OR I can walk into the group and join the conversation.
Is it comfortable? NO! It's awful for a few minutes. What if no one talks to me, or if they just keep talking to each other?!
But that hasn't happened yet. Sure, I have to try, I have to go beyond what is comfortable for me. I have to make the effort to join the conversation. I think more often, women just expect to be included, and when that may not happen, they get their big girl panties all twisted up, and start labeling groups of women.
And that makes me a little nuts. Because, as someone who is a part of all these different groups, I hear it from all sides. I hear that certain women just aren't talking to anyone anymore, and then I hear the same woman complain that everything is awful, people are terrible, and how she hates cliques.
Or, I see a group of women who 'hates cliques' become the most exclusive set I have ever seen. And you want to know the part that is a little funny to me? I am some how able to be parts of all these groups...
Because I...again, wait for...go out on a limb and talk to people. If you wait for everyone to come to you, you will be lonely for a long time. And sure, some people are way more shallow than others, and maybe you don't want to be best pals with them, but don't start labeling everyone before you make the effort. And if you have made the effort, do it again. And again.
Or you could just resign yourself to the fact that maybe you won't be friends with everyone, and that it doesn't really matter.
But please stop complaining about these groups that naturally happen. No one is being purposefully exclusive. No one is out to get you. Stop being so self-involved and go make a friend. Everyone is just as self-conscious as you, and feels just as awkward. Or maybe they don't. Some of my closest friends are the loud, funny, annoying-er-endearing people that I would NEVER have been friends with before. I have learned lots from them.
So chill. The sky's not falling. People aren't purposefully being excluded. If you want to be involved in the conversation, go join it.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
Saving a little money
I love to get a good deal. Actually, I can talk myself into buying something I probably don't need if it is a good deal. Ask my husband. What I don't like is wasting time. For example, I tried couponing, but I just don't have the time or energy to spend scouring through the ads, cutting out the coupons, then trying to make my grocery list around them. Truth be told, most coupons are for boxed goods and personal things, and we are cutting out processed foods from our diets, so most don't apply. And all that effort for a dollar off a razor?
Meh.
So I have never been a big couponer. I do scan through coupons.com before I go shopping to see if there is something I might actually use, but that's about it. What kills me is that there are super great deals at different stores, but I don't want to store hop for hours trying to find them. I like going one place and getting what I need, then taking it home. Grocery shopping itself is a HUGE chore to me, so really, why would I chose to go to 5 different stores. No thanks.
Last week, however, I was blog reading during nap time (as usual), and I somehow came across this site that seems like the best idea ever. Now, I don't shop at Walmart. I just don't really like it. However, I was willing to give it a try with this site. The basic idea is that you go to this site (which has a free 2 week trial offer- it's only $4.99 anyways), pick the stores in your area, then it will bring up a list of all the best deals for that store for the week. You click through the list the deals you want, and it will generate a list for you. Do you see where this is going?
You print off the list, take it to Walmart, and price-match. Now. To make the price matching easier, the blog I was reading suggests using yard sale stickers, but I just had tiny post-its, so I used those. Basically, I made my regular list, then I went to the Deals to Meals site, picked out what I needed off the lists from the other stores, made a notation next to the item that there was a price match for, printed both lists, and headed to Walmart.
Now, I don't know this Walmart super well (read: I really don't shop there much), so it took me longer than my usual trip through. But basically, I just shopped, and as I came across something I wanted to price match, I made a note of the price on a post it, and stuck it to the item, which I kept basically all together in my basket. When it came time to checkout, I put all my non-price matched items on the belt, then let the cashier know I had some things to price match, and put them all together at the end.
After she rang up my normal stuff, I just showed her the system (tag with price on each item), and would tell her which store it is from (per Walmart policy, you don't need the ad, just the store where the deal is) as she scanned in the new price.
Now, since I was at Walmart, I bought all of our household needs for the next 2 weeks. That includes food, various soaps (laundry, dishwasher, body wash), pullups, and all those things that I would usually buy at Walmart/Target/Winco. I am also doing a juice cleanse, so I bought a TON of fruits and veggies. That being said, want to guess the total?
$174.00. We budget $200 for our family of 4, but that $200 is usually just food only. Not all the other 'needs' like the soaps and so on. So that is really good. And lest you be concerned, I did buy all of our regular foods, including snacks like string cheese, and so on for the kids.
The site Deals to Meals does charge a $4.99 fee monthly. But it paid for itself the first trip I made to the store, and I am still in my 2 week trial period. Anyways, I am excited to use this tool. Let me know if you decide to try it, and how it works for you!!
Meh.
So I have never been a big couponer. I do scan through coupons.com before I go shopping to see if there is something I might actually use, but that's about it. What kills me is that there are super great deals at different stores, but I don't want to store hop for hours trying to find them. I like going one place and getting what I need, then taking it home. Grocery shopping itself is a HUGE chore to me, so really, why would I chose to go to 5 different stores. No thanks.
Last week, however, I was blog reading during nap time (as usual), and I somehow came across this site that seems like the best idea ever. Now, I don't shop at Walmart. I just don't really like it. However, I was willing to give it a try with this site. The basic idea is that you go to this site (which has a free 2 week trial offer- it's only $4.99 anyways), pick the stores in your area, then it will bring up a list of all the best deals for that store for the week. You click through the list the deals you want, and it will generate a list for you. Do you see where this is going?
You print off the list, take it to Walmart, and price-match. Now. To make the price matching easier, the blog I was reading suggests using yard sale stickers, but I just had tiny post-its, so I used those. Basically, I made my regular list, then I went to the Deals to Meals site, picked out what I needed off the lists from the other stores, made a notation next to the item that there was a price match for, printed both lists, and headed to Walmart.
Now, I don't know this Walmart super well (read: I really don't shop there much), so it took me longer than my usual trip through. But basically, I just shopped, and as I came across something I wanted to price match, I made a note of the price on a post it, and stuck it to the item, which I kept basically all together in my basket. When it came time to checkout, I put all my non-price matched items on the belt, then let the cashier know I had some things to price match, and put them all together at the end.
After she rang up my normal stuff, I just showed her the system (tag with price on each item), and would tell her which store it is from (per Walmart policy, you don't need the ad, just the store where the deal is) as she scanned in the new price.
Now, since I was at Walmart, I bought all of our household needs for the next 2 weeks. That includes food, various soaps (laundry, dishwasher, body wash), pullups, and all those things that I would usually buy at Walmart/Target/Winco. I am also doing a juice cleanse, so I bought a TON of fruits and veggies. That being said, want to guess the total?
$174.00. We budget $200 for our family of 4, but that $200 is usually just food only. Not all the other 'needs' like the soaps and so on. So that is really good. And lest you be concerned, I did buy all of our regular foods, including snacks like string cheese, and so on for the kids.
The site Deals to Meals does charge a $4.99 fee monthly. But it paid for itself the first trip I made to the store, and I am still in my 2 week trial period. Anyways, I am excited to use this tool. Let me know if you decide to try it, and how it works for you!!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Well, that's a weird place to find them.
We have a thief in our house.
It is not an adult. Or a child. Actually, it isn't a human at all. Our sweet, innocent, large puppy (she's 8 months) Hammer, who likes to steal things. And she is darn good at it too. She comes in, sneaks something in her mouth, wanders outside, leaves it for later, then comes back in. Unless we actually see her take the thing in her mouth, we almost never catch her until the object (toy, shoe) has been destroyed. Obliterated. In tiny scraps all over the yard that have to be raked up into piles and thrown away.
We have done this a time or two, as you can tell.
Anyways, today was a crazy day at the Ivey house. LOTS of people came over, in comparison to the one person we see on a daily basis (Dee), we had upwards of 4 people come over at different times (actually, all in about a 3 hour time frame that I like to call "Nap Time") in addition to Dee.
The back story here is that our internet has been spotty because when Zach build the shop in the back, he may or may not have cut the phone line, then McGuivered it back together with tape/spit/gum, or any adhesive he had on hand. So, internet = spotty.
Which sucks because we 1) pay for it and 2) use it daily for school, both homeschool and college. So, we kind of need that line to be fixed. And thus, a repair team came knocking on my door just after naptime started. Which is the time that anyone comes knocking on my door, if they are going to during the day.
So, there stands a team of guys, ready to dig a trench in my backyard to run a new wire, baby backhoe and all. Which I am actually fine with, so I go and bring the dogs in so they don't bother the nice cable running guys. I go around the side to offer to move my car so they can have better access to the backyard, when, what to my surprise! But I come across, right there in my backyard, a pair of chewed up underwear. MY chewed up underwear. And the repair guys were already back there, making their plan on how they are going to dig up my backyard, that has underwear on the ground. MY chewed up underwear on the ground.
I like to think I was pretty quick about grabbing it and laughing at how silly puppies are and how she chews up everything before running into the house and hiding under my bed.
Ok, I didn't hide under my bed. But I also didn't go back outside, and Hammer for sure didn't get a treat when the other dogs did. YOU KNOW WHY.
As a side note, the repair guys are actually going to have to come back, because they have to get a "dig line" from the gas company before they dig in the back. So I get to see them again. And I plan to THOROUGHLY clean the backyard the day they come back.
It is not an adult. Or a child. Actually, it isn't a human at all. Our sweet, innocent, large puppy (she's 8 months) Hammer, who likes to steal things. And she is darn good at it too. She comes in, sneaks something in her mouth, wanders outside, leaves it for later, then comes back in. Unless we actually see her take the thing in her mouth, we almost never catch her until the object (toy, shoe) has been destroyed. Obliterated. In tiny scraps all over the yard that have to be raked up into piles and thrown away.
We have done this a time or two, as you can tell.
Anyways, today was a crazy day at the Ivey house. LOTS of people came over, in comparison to the one person we see on a daily basis (Dee), we had upwards of 4 people come over at different times (actually, all in about a 3 hour time frame that I like to call "Nap Time") in addition to Dee.
The back story here is that our internet has been spotty because when Zach build the shop in the back, he may or may not have cut the phone line, then McGuivered it back together with tape/spit/gum, or any adhesive he had on hand. So, internet = spotty.
Which sucks because we 1) pay for it and 2) use it daily for school, both homeschool and college. So, we kind of need that line to be fixed. And thus, a repair team came knocking on my door just after naptime started. Which is the time that anyone comes knocking on my door, if they are going to during the day.
So, there stands a team of guys, ready to dig a trench in my backyard to run a new wire, baby backhoe and all. Which I am actually fine with, so I go and bring the dogs in so they don't bother the nice cable running guys. I go around the side to offer to move my car so they can have better access to the backyard, when, what to my surprise! But I come across, right there in my backyard, a pair of chewed up underwear. MY chewed up underwear. And the repair guys were already back there, making their plan on how they are going to dig up my backyard, that has underwear on the ground. MY chewed up underwear on the ground.
I like to think I was pretty quick about grabbing it and laughing at how silly puppies are and how she chews up everything before running into the house and hiding under my bed.
Ok, I didn't hide under my bed. But I also didn't go back outside, and Hammer for sure didn't get a treat when the other dogs did. YOU KNOW WHY.
As a side note, the repair guys are actually going to have to come back, because they have to get a "dig line" from the gas company before they dig in the back. So I get to see them again. And I plan to THOROUGHLY clean the backyard the day they come back.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Turning 3 is complicated and very pink.
Well, if you are my friend on facebook, you probably noted (or maybe you blocked me from your news feed, which I wouldn't blame you for, but it is strange you are here.) that yesterday, December 16th was my daughter Cadence's birthday. It has been a very interesting journey having a girl, and I love it! She bring so much fun to our life, and has completed our family in ways we didn't know were missing :)
So every year on their birthday, I do a 'survey' of my children, just to see what they have to say. I put these in a journal that I am keeping for them to have when they are adults. Or maybe I will keep them. Meh, I have a couple years to decide.
Anyways, here is Cadence's for this year:
What is your name? Cadence (pronounce Cay-nance)
How old are you? 2! (Bishop: Cadence, your 3!) um...3!!
What is your favorite color? Pink One!
What is your favorite food? Cupcakes
What is your favorite thing to play? Toys! uum...Barbie toys!
What is your favorite snack? Goldfish
What color are your eyes? Pink!
What color is your hair? Um...(twirls hair) Pink!
Favorite song? Popstar (as in Barbie: The Princess and the Popstar)
Favorite animal? Fish
Favorite drink? Chocolate milk! and water
What do you like to play with Daddy? Wrestling on the floor
With mommy? I like to play with mommy.
With Bishop? Play with animals
Who are your friends? Lili, Zarian, Shauna, Daddy, Heidi, Bishop, Lola (which she insists is pronounced La-LO) Jemme, Brooke, Elijah, Levi
She insists that her hair and eyes are pink, though we have shown her several times that they aren't. I blame Barbie. Literally.
So every year on their birthday, I do a 'survey' of my children, just to see what they have to say. I put these in a journal that I am keeping for them to have when they are adults. Or maybe I will keep them. Meh, I have a couple years to decide.
Anyways, here is Cadence's for this year:
What is your name? Cadence (pronounce Cay-nance)
How old are you? 2! (Bishop: Cadence, your 3!) um...3!!
What is your favorite color? Pink One!
What is your favorite food? Cupcakes
What is your favorite thing to play? Toys! uum...Barbie toys!
What is your favorite snack? Goldfish
What color are your eyes? Pink!
What color is your hair? Um...(twirls hair) Pink!
Favorite song? Popstar (as in Barbie: The Princess and the Popstar)
Favorite animal? Fish
Favorite drink? Chocolate milk! and water
What do you like to play with Daddy? Wrestling on the floor
With mommy? I like to play with mommy.
With Bishop? Play with animals
Who are your friends? Lili, Zarian, Shauna, Daddy, Heidi, Bishop, Lola (which she insists is pronounced La-LO) Jemme, Brooke, Elijah, Levi
She insists that her hair and eyes are pink, though we have shown her several times that they aren't. I blame Barbie. Literally.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
A new twist on the Advent season
Well, while perusing a few blogs a couple of weeks ago, I found this really awesome idea that I decided to try out this Advent season with the kiddos. While I was planning on doing an Advent calendar, I have never done one before, and I really liked the idea that was given on this blog for younger kids. So instead of doing candy, we are mixing it up with what we are calling a Jesse tree.
Now, everyone that I say this to has no idea what I am talking about, so let me explain the main concept. The idea is that you trace the line of Jesse through the Bible until you get to Jesus on Christmas. So you learn the lineage, as well as most of the 'main' stories in the Bible. You also get to color an 'ornament' the goes with the story of that day, and hang it on your tree.
While the blog wasn't really specific, she did suggest getting a mini tree, but I had this awesome idea last year (okay, okay, PINTEREST had an awesome idea last year) about cutting out a tree from felt and then letting your kiddos arrange felt ornaments on it to their hearts content instead of messing with the real tree. Since I never got around to that last year, I decided to do it this year (what with all the stay-at-home time on my hands), and then came across this blog, and BAM!! Genius was created. So the littles are coloring their ornaments after we read the story of the day, then putting them on their felt tree.
I know. Creative genius in the house.
So we started today, since it is December 1st and all, and will be tracking our way from Genesis to Luke, I believe. Today we read the story of creation. Tomorrow is the garden and so on. I am excited. Bishop really wanted to do more than one day today, but, alas, Advent does mean "coming" and is a season of waiting for the coming of Jesus. So the boy can wait a whole night. Ah, to be 5.
Anyways, today's ornament was a sun, for creation. We colored them, and then put them on the tree.
I was really excited to get this large piece of felt for a total of $1.40 after all the sales and so on for the week before Black Friday. We will use it again next year! I will keep posting pictures of our tree as it fills up! We will have 48 ornaments by Christmas, so it should be pretty full!!
So, do you have a fun Christmas tradition that you do? Do you have an advent calendar? I would love to hear about it!!
Now, everyone that I say this to has no idea what I am talking about, so let me explain the main concept. The idea is that you trace the line of Jesse through the Bible until you get to Jesus on Christmas. So you learn the lineage, as well as most of the 'main' stories in the Bible. You also get to color an 'ornament' the goes with the story of that day, and hang it on your tree.
While the blog wasn't really specific, she did suggest getting a mini tree, but I had this awesome idea last year (okay, okay, PINTEREST had an awesome idea last year) about cutting out a tree from felt and then letting your kiddos arrange felt ornaments on it to their hearts content instead of messing with the real tree. Since I never got around to that last year, I decided to do it this year (what with all the stay-at-home time on my hands), and then came across this blog, and BAM!! Genius was created. So the littles are coloring their ornaments after we read the story of the day, then putting them on their felt tree.
I know. Creative genius in the house.
So we started today, since it is December 1st and all, and will be tracking our way from Genesis to Luke, I believe. Today we read the story of creation. Tomorrow is the garden and so on. I am excited. Bishop really wanted to do more than one day today, but, alas, Advent does mean "coming" and is a season of waiting for the coming of Jesus. So the boy can wait a whole night. Ah, to be 5.
Anyways, today's ornament was a sun, for creation. We colored them, and then put them on the tree.
I was really excited to get this large piece of felt for a total of $1.40 after all the sales and so on for the week before Black Friday. We will use it again next year! I will keep posting pictures of our tree as it fills up! We will have 48 ornaments by Christmas, so it should be pretty full!!
So, do you have a fun Christmas tradition that you do? Do you have an advent calendar? I would love to hear about it!!
Friday, November 15, 2013
The wandering mind of a 2 year old
Well, it has actually happened. Though, if we are being absolutely accurate, my daughter lost me, not the other way around. And this is not a funny thing to her, as she is my reserved, shy child. Bishop, had he been lost, would have happily joined the nearest family that had brothers for him to belong to without even blinking. Cadence, well, she is a different duck all together. That being said, I do often wonder how well she really hears the things around her, as you will see in a moment. Now, having a fairly intimate knowledge of how her mind works (because, uh...she is my mini), I have OFTEN found myself thinking about something deeply and ended up somewhere in a store that I never meant to be. The difference of course is that I am an adult, and I don't have a mommy I am supposed to be following.
Ok, so as my children have gotten older, and more socially polite, I often allow them to 'orbit' the cart, as opposed to being held hostage within. So tonight, we had to run to Smith's to return a Redbox and because I realized I was out of rice. So there we were, in the back main aisle of Smith's, and Bishop is chatting about dobermans, and Cadence is following dutifully within a couple feet of me. I turn the corner to head to the front of the store, and somehow, in her deep daydreaming thinking, Cadence didn't notice.
Luckily, in my hyper-vigilant mommy ways, I noticed right away, and stepped back out into the main aisle to see her continuing to walk away from me. So I called out to her. A couple time. And she either didn't hear, or was really deep in 'thought' and just continued walking. So I told Bishop we were going to see how long it takes for her to notice, and to not say anything to her. (Mean? Maybe, but I kind of wanted to see how she reacts to being by herself...once she realizes that she is actually alone) So we follow her. From one end of the store to the other, then she turned to corner, and headed into the produce section. She made it almost to the front of produce before visibly realizing that I was no where to be seen.It was like she walked into an invisible wall. At which time, she started to panic, and loudly said, "Mommy?!"
Now, I could have not said anything, just to see how she figured the situation out, but my mommy heart responded too much to the clear distress, and I rushed over to her. She was VERY relived to see that we were behind her. I *may* have scolded her a bit for not paying attention, and then she had to finish out the store trip in the cart, which she was happy with, as she is not my adventurous one by any means.
So no, she was never really lost, but she thought she was. I will say it is more clear that she needs to be watched a bit closer, and even though she turn 3 in less than a month (!!! :( !!!) she is no where near independent. Which is actually pretty okay with me.
Ok, so as my children have gotten older, and more socially polite, I often allow them to 'orbit' the cart, as opposed to being held hostage within. So tonight, we had to run to Smith's to return a Redbox and because I realized I was out of rice. So there we were, in the back main aisle of Smith's, and Bishop is chatting about dobermans, and Cadence is following dutifully within a couple feet of me. I turn the corner to head to the front of the store, and somehow, in her deep daydreaming thinking, Cadence didn't notice.
Luckily, in my hyper-vigilant mommy ways, I noticed right away, and stepped back out into the main aisle to see her continuing to walk away from me. So I called out to her. A couple time. And she either didn't hear, or was really deep in 'thought' and just continued walking. So I told Bishop we were going to see how long it takes for her to notice, and to not say anything to her. (Mean? Maybe, but I kind of wanted to see how she reacts to being by herself...once she realizes that she is actually alone) So we follow her. From one end of the store to the other, then she turned to corner, and headed into the produce section. She made it almost to the front of produce before visibly realizing that I was no where to be seen.It was like she walked into an invisible wall. At which time, she started to panic, and loudly said, "Mommy?!"
Now, I could have not said anything, just to see how she figured the situation out, but my mommy heart responded too much to the clear distress, and I rushed over to her. She was VERY relived to see that we were behind her. I *may* have scolded her a bit for not paying attention, and then she had to finish out the store trip in the cart, which she was happy with, as she is not my adventurous one by any means.
So no, she was never really lost, but she thought she was. I will say it is more clear that she needs to be watched a bit closer, and even though she turn 3 in less than a month (!!! :( !!!) she is no where near independent. Which is actually pretty okay with me.
Monday, October 21, 2013
A little recipe sharing
So, today is what I call 'baking day' in the Ivey house. I try to bake weekly so that Zach will have homemade muffins and so on in his lunch for the week. I know. I am the best wife ever. Just make sure your husbands don't read my blog or they might expect such awesomeness from you.
In the course of baking day, I baked two items, blueberry muffins, which are always a good breakfast choice, and chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, which are better than they sound. And they already sound good, so that is hard to do. These cookies are hands down my favorite cookies ever, and I only really make them in the fall, when pumpkin items feel appropriate. Maybe that's silly, because they are the best ever, but it doesn't seem right to eat them any other time of year. It's like eating watermelon in December. Which is impossible, because there is no watermelon available. But you get the point.
So here is the best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies ever. They are a bit tedious, but the best baked goods usually are :)
Ok, get out your mixer, medium sized bowl, a measuring cup, and a teaspoon. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In this exact order, you need to use a mixer, and mix the ingredients:
2 sticks of softened (NOT MELTED) real butter (mix until fluffy)
1 cup regular granulated sugar (mix with butter)
1 cup dark brown sugar (mix)
2 eggs (mix)
1 tsp vanilla (mix)
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned, or if you are really ambitious, make your own) (mix)
3 cups flour ( I have been using whole wheat flour-doesn't effect taste) ) (mix)
2 tsp baking soda (mix)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg (mix)
2 cups REAL chocolate chips ( I just dump the whole bag in ) (hand mix with spoon)
I always put tin foil on my baking sheet, but if you don't, spray with Pam so they won't stick.
Measure out the size of cookie that you want, plop it on your cookie sheet, and bake for 10-15 minutes. I set my timer for 10 minutes and then check them, since all ovens vary. I usually keep mine in my oven for about 13 minutes total.
These are the fluffiest (from all the mixing) cookies, and they are so delicious.
Hope you enjoy! And don't forget your cup of coffee to drink with you mouthful of fall.
Best. Day. Ever.
In the course of baking day, I baked two items, blueberry muffins, which are always a good breakfast choice, and chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, which are better than they sound. And they already sound good, so that is hard to do. These cookies are hands down my favorite cookies ever, and I only really make them in the fall, when pumpkin items feel appropriate. Maybe that's silly, because they are the best ever, but it doesn't seem right to eat them any other time of year. It's like eating watermelon in December. Which is impossible, because there is no watermelon available. But you get the point.
So here is the best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies ever. They are a bit tedious, but the best baked goods usually are :)
Ok, get out your mixer, medium sized bowl, a measuring cup, and a teaspoon. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In this exact order, you need to use a mixer, and mix the ingredients:
2 sticks of softened (NOT MELTED) real butter (mix until fluffy)
1 cup regular granulated sugar (mix with butter)
1 cup dark brown sugar (mix)
2 eggs (mix)
1 tsp vanilla (mix)
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned, or if you are really ambitious, make your own) (mix)
3 cups flour ( I have been using whole wheat flour-doesn't effect taste) ) (mix)
2 tsp baking soda (mix)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg (mix)
2 cups REAL chocolate chips ( I just dump the whole bag in ) (hand mix with spoon)
I always put tin foil on my baking sheet, but if you don't, spray with Pam so they won't stick.
Measure out the size of cookie that you want, plop it on your cookie sheet, and bake for 10-15 minutes. I set my timer for 10 minutes and then check them, since all ovens vary. I usually keep mine in my oven for about 13 minutes total.
These are the fluffiest (from all the mixing) cookies, and they are so delicious.
Hope you enjoy! And don't forget your cup of coffee to drink with you mouthful of fall.
Best. Day. Ever.
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