Cookie Party with a Commitment Problem

The older I get, the more I realize that I tend to think about things for a long time before I take action.   It's not simply indecisiveness, though that's a piece of it.  It's more like not wanting to tie myself down to an action before I know that it's what I really, really want to do. 

 Actually, writing that out makes me realize that what I just described is probably the very definition of indecisiveness.   Oh well.   I don't know...let me think about it and I'll get back to you when I decide whether I'm indecisive, or merely just a bit of a commitment-phobe.   Or whatever.  This blogpost is going nowhere fast.   

Back to the story at hand.  

Sometime early in Christmas break I got the great idea that I wanted to throw a New Year's Eve cookie party, reminiscent of my birthday cookie party of 2023.     Why a cookie party and not a regular party with normal party food and fun activities?   That's a really valid question and I can't really answer that without reminding you all of the fact that throwing parties is really, really, really not my strong point.  Remember this one from back in the day?    Yeah, well let's just say that I may have an empty nest and a house much more suitable for entertaining, but I really haven't changed much in 18 years.   

Oh yeah, and I really like cookies. 

Emma, Adam, and I made a plan and started baking and freezing cookies several days before the intended party.   

Did I start inviting people then?  

No, though that would have made perfect sense.   

I  thought through the details of timing and such and created this cute invite. 

Did I start inviting people then?   

Nope, not yet.    

I went full-blown Lara 2008 mode and waited until December 30th (the day before) and with hundreds of cookies sitting in my freezer, a whole hot chocolate bar set-up, and all the paper goods purchased, I decided it was time to start officially inviting people.   

So, I finally did.   

I'm happy to say it was not near as chaotic as the birthday parties of years' past.   

We had hot chocolate...

and cookies galore (all gluten free)...

that were enjoyed by all who came.   

Though I consider the party to be a success, I know more people would have come with more notice. But, upon reflection, I think that very concept is a big  part of my chronic indecisiveness.   I'm the kind of person who likes to invite everyone, so no one feels left out, and when you invite everyone, that means it could get overwhelming fast.   So sending invites last minute, I think became my own subconscious  defense mechanism to keep the crowds manageable.  

So, once again this blog becomes Lara's therapist.   Now let's see if processing all this helps me to plan a party with more notice next time.  Or helps me to make a decision and stick with it.    We shall see, but I recommend not getting your hopes up!   HAHA!  

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Obsessed and Boring

 Hey there! 

Here's a boring little life update...

 I think I have discovered the yummiest cookies in the history of the universe.  They're brown butter maple pumpkin cookies.    I used gluten free flour and subbed some of the brown sugar with coconut sugar, but that didn't affect the deliciousness level one bit and I think I may be obsessed.

  I made them once in Saint George, then made them again because I couldn't stop thinking about them...this time with a healthy maple frosting (sweet potato based with maple syrup, a bit of maple extract, and a little coconut oil).   It sounds weird, but it was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good.   Have I mentioned that I'm obsessed?   

 

 Also, the garden harvest has been plentiful this year and I'm loving it, though I am kind of over all the giant zucchini....and I haven't checked yet, but it was 31-degrees when I woke up the other day, so it might all be dead now.  Boo.

I went on an 8 mile hike the other day in the fall perfection and my average mile was 15:18...it felt great!

Glen didn't come with me on the hike, because he was doing his annual fall fishing trip on Strawberry Reservoir with Alex and boys...

The next day, Glen smoked that very trout and we ate it for dinner, which was quite delicious.   The kale salad was from our garden, the bread was GF, and the sweet potato a nice touch.   We ended with the aforementioned cookies that I'm currently obsessed with, so I ate way too much and ended the day with a tummy ache....

I keep finding photos like this in my camera roll (which we share with the youngest 3 kids) and it makes me smile!   I think she's liking college life!  

I haven't seen Lucie, Cam, or Garrett since Labor Day weekend and I have been missing them extra lately (probably has something to do with the empty house).   Every picture (even when taken at a gas station)  I get makes me want to get on a plane right now...   

In the meantime, I am eagerly looking forward to Thanksgiving! 

Thanks for reading!  Have an amazing day!

Smokin' Hot

I got Glen a smoker for Christmas.  

 

Why?   

Because he's smokin' hot...

and I like good food....

especially food that I didn't cook myself. 

Note to self (and any potential smoker users out there that might be reading this post):   

Electric smokers don't work at temperatures below freezing.  

ALSO...

Electronic thermometers are NOT meant to be placed IN the oven/smoker. 

We learned both things the hard way (yes, that's a melted thermometer that had never been used before). 

 The good news is...

 meat slow cooked in the oven is pretty good too... 

and some goat cheese stuffed peppers and a hearty salad on the side will make it a downright delicious meal (some homemade keto friendly brownies will also help)! 

Now here's looking forward to warmer days and some more meat smoking adventures with my smokin' hot man! 

Project 365: January 1-7

After some self-reflection and feedback from family members, I've decided that I do not want to not document our lives at all, so I've decided to try doing a photo {or two} a day, instead of my normal blogging.   I'm hopeful that this new simplified approach to blogging will keep me from getting too distracted by it, while still providing an outlet for sharing pictures and updates on our lives.  Thanks for sticking with me and stay tuned for more day-at-a-time adventures to come!     

January 1:   This first day of the year brought  us a gorgeous sunset and fun family version of the cooking show, "Chopped"!  Glen and Cami tied for first in the cooking competition and I had great fun being the one to inflict the "fun" ingredients on everyone! 

January 2:  We enjoyed being a part of my niece Bridgette's baptism day and later we attended a performance of "Matilda the Musical" at the Kennedy Center.



January 3:  Emma chopped 12-inches off her hair, so she could donate it to Locks of Love.   We also dropped Cami off at the airport this morning.   :(

January 4:  Adam got a few cool Lego sets this Christmas and this model of the Salt Lake temple was  one that took him longer than most.  He was very proud of it when it was done!  Now he's off working on the next Lego set.

January 5:  Our  "Mommy and Me" book group is this Friday and Ellie and I are madly making our way through the delightful, "Journey to the River Sea".   We are reading every stray minute we can and enjoying every bit of it!    My book group is Wednesday night and luckily I finished  that one already, so it's not distracting us.

January 6:   For ten minutes this morning, the kids saw Glen for the first time this whole week.    He's been working absolutely insane hours (including two all-nighters where he got home at 5:30am and went back to work by 8:30am).  

January 7: My original plans for mutual tonight fell through, so I quickly had to patch together a last-minute activity for the Laurels.   It ended up being a very enjoyable night with 7 of my 8 Laurels, along with Ellie, who definitely is one of the gang.    I love these girls!

Catching Up

Sometimes I just need a blogpost to recap a whole week at a time.  Here's a glimpse at this past week (since Sunday): 

*After an entire month at home for Christmas break, we brought Spence back to JMU on Sunday afternoon.  It's been surprisingly lonely and quiet around here without him.

*Sunday evening  our YW presidency held a  super  planning meeting for the whole year that went all the way to midnight.  It feels good to have calendared out the year, but it got my week off to a sleep-deprived start!

*Speaking of sleep deprivation, I've been trying to be more consistent with my exercising routine and by golly if that doesn't make me more tired too!  (especially the getting out of bed earlier each morning).

*I am helping the Laurels (the 16-18 year-old young women at church) create a cookbook that they can take off to college and missions with them.  They're submitting some of their easy family favorite recipes and I am formatting them for the book.  On Tuesday we had a photo session where they each brought a dish they'd made and I took photos of the food and the lovely young chefs! (see picture below)

*We've been learning about European geography this week at homeschool and I taught the kids all about the Berlin wall. I told them how I'd been there in 1987 and had seen both sides of it before it was torn down a couple of years later.  I showed them a photo essay about it and was surprised when I found myself very emotional when going through the pictures with them.

*My mom is in town watching my brother's kids while they go on a trip to Spain and Morocco.  It's so weird to know my mom is a mere 35 miles away and I haven't seen her yet.  We hope to remedy that this weekend!

*My 6-year-old niece in California faceplanted it onto the sidewalk while their family was out on a walk.   She knocked six teeth out or loose and dislocated her jaw.  The poor girl had to spend 2 days in the hospital because she couldn't eat or drink anything.  I got a small glimpse of how helpless it feels to be so far away from someone when they need love or support.   She is doing a little better now, although it sounds like she is still in a lot of pain.

*As part of the geography studies, my kids have been having fun creating sentences from country names.  Here's a sampling of their work:

"I am Hungary for Turkey Greece."
"I had to Russia a Czech to my Swiss bank account."
"Italy's boot kicked us in the Netherlands and caused us Spain."

*I taught geography at our homeschool co-op on Thursday and on Sunday I will teach the young women about their divine worth, so I've been studying, studying, studying all week.   Although teaching has never been my strong point, I am happy that I'm growing to enjoy it more and more.

*Oman.  The kids had so much fun with it, now I'll Finnish up by telling you how Iran to scrub the Greece off of my China and now there's Norway I'm going  to do that anymore.   It's way too Chile for that.