just call me Cookie

Grandma does! Every year growing up Grandma C has made the traditional Christmas cookies. As most of you have experienced, one taste of a loved ones baked goods will transport you right back to the magical joy you experienced as a child at Christmas. Since Grandma has come here the last two years, we have started a little tradition of our own where we make cookies together. I love our time together and we usually end up eating some dough and giggling along the way. This year we finished our cookie time by making spritz cookies!

Grandma C and "Cookie" in our matching aprons! LOVE her TONS!

Peppermint Choc-oooh-latte! Yum!

I walked over to Sbux today and got an Americano. The chick in front of me ordered a peppermint mocha. I should preface this story by mentioning that I used to work at Sbux and spent some of my free time on my shifts creating masterpieces via steamed milk and flavored syrup.
I was quite tempted to butt in and give her my recomendation (which I usually have to stop myself from doing when I'm in line at that particular coffee dispensary) but I have you all instead so I'll share with you how to make that holiday favorite better.
**Disclaimer** this recommendation is not for the faint of heart or one who doesn't thoroughly enjoy coffee/espresso

Next time you frequent your local sbux try this out for a holiday drink that will keep you going long enough to get ALL your shopping done!

Triple Grande
Soy
Peppermint Mocha
With whip
and an extra pump of peppermint.

The soy makes this drink so hearty you will feel like you should be out in the forest cutting down trees! It really is so delicious though. The extra shot lets you still be able to taste the espresso flavor over the chocolate and peppermint. And the extra peppermint really just adds the kick that makes it the perfect holiday treat!
If anyone does decide to try it, let me know!


Side note, unrelated to the above note, don't be like me and eat an entire bag of Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate with carmel center Chocolates. It hurts your tummy, and its stupid to eat that much candy at once. If you have more self restraint than I in regards to chocolate, PROPS to you but I wont be buying anymore of those anytime soon. And if I do, I'm asking my roommate to hide them! You never set out to eat the whole bag but when they're sitting there staring at you, you start thinking... one more? eh, yeah just one more. Ok, last one, one more. Ie-yie-yie : )
Delicious. Aka, Guilt.

Deck the halls (aka apartment)

It seems in the movies people are always complaining about the holidays. I don't really understand this. I love the holidays. I am so blessed to have wonderful family and friends and I genuinely look forward to spending time with them at the random get-togethers and holiday celebrations through out November and December.
This year I went and got a tree all by myself! As I was decorating, I ate a few candy canes, lit a few candles and sung all the parts of Christmas carols that I could remember acapella. I'm guessing my neighbor upstairs was probably pretty curious about the commotion, I don't sing quietly, haha!
Here are some pics:

















More pics soon!

Rewinding to Africa

I went for a run in the freezing rain tonight to try and clear my head from all that's been going on lately, (or more like not going on) and when I got back I felt like looking through my Africa pictures from last year. Here's a few that really hit my heart

Mmh, dark chocolate!

I'm sitting at my apt tonight, eating tiny squares of a large bar of dark dark chocolate, one at a time. I've been thinking way too much lately.
The kind of thinking you do when you have too much time on your hands
and you dont have anyone to talk to during the day

I've come up with some funny inventions (which I must remember to write down) because that's what I do when I'm bored.

Mostly what I've been thinking about is how odd it is that the older I get, the less sure of anything I seem to be. Shouldn't it be the opposite? The more experiences you have and the more people you meet and the more places you go should help you to be centered shouldn't they? Is it only things that are familiar that give you a sense of stability? Can't you carry around the familiar with you and therefore never be unsettled? (Which begs the question, does the familiar have to be physical or can it be mental?)

This is what chocolate does to my brain.

: )

I'm an ENFP

Extrovert, iNtuition, Feeling, Perceiving

I took a test online to determine my personality type and what kind of jobs I'd be suited for. Oddly enough, I had already considered alot of these, what do you think?

conference planner
speech pathologist
HR development trainer
ombudsman
clergy
journalist
newscaster
career counselor
housing director
character actor
marketing consultant
musician/composer
artist
information-graphics...designer
human resource manager
merchandise planner
advertising account manager
dietitian/nutritionist
speech pathologist
massage therapist
editor/art director

Ch-Ch-Cha-Changes

So little to tell, so much time to tell it. Strike that, reverse it

Here are a few of the German Fest photos I promised. I realized as I got into the project that I didn't have photos from every year like I thought. Bummer! But, still fun.

Cousin Britt
'08 '09'10


Cousin Matt
'05'08 '09'10


Boy-ance Kevin
'05'08'10


Brother : )
'09'10


Bri
'05 '08'09


J-Mo!
'05'09


Jim
'08 '09'10



Moving right along, I'm beginning to think that this time of year is my turning point. Last year as NP homecoming festivities began, I was meeting with my personal trainer for the first time. I was so sore after the work out that as we went around visiting other cousin's and family members homes, I had to take extra time to walk up and down the stairs. Each person's home we visited lived on the 2nd floor or above. Gotta love Chicago! As I look back on that weekend and see how far I've come it still doesn't phase me. I can see the physical difference in myself when I look in the mirror, but I'm starting to feel like the few years in between (when I looked how I should and when I weighed too much) just didn't happen. I'd kind of like to take those years, wipe them clean and re-do them. But, once again, I wouldn't be the person I am now with out them.
So its a year later and you're wondering, what do you mean turning point, whats going on this year? (ok maybe you didn't think that, but I'm leading you there...) It's back to homecoming weekend. I'm 54 lbs lighter than last year and have officially lost 20 inches over all. This alone should give me a new lease on life but that's not all. I lost my job yesterday. I'm choosing to see this as an opportunity rather than a hurdle. I'm looking forward to finding a job that doesn't make me sick to my stomach when I think about going in on Monday morning. Oh the opportunities that await!
So for now, I'm looking back and looking forward. Gaining strength from where I've been and facing the future with trepidation and anticipation. Most important though, I'm looking up. Lord lead me!

Epic Fail

So I left you all waiting and waiting and waiting for those german fest pics and never posted them. Unfortunatley, I can't help that right now but instead, here are a few pics from downtown the other night! I'll get the g-fest ones up soon!

da bean


I'm sorry, is this Chicago or Gotham city?

thoroughly enjoyed sitting down by the water



Last but not least, the harvest moon.
No that is not a speck on your screen, that little white dot under the moon is Jupiter. Awesome.

Anticipation...

Tonight is the long awaited German Fest !!!
I have attended this odd little version of NPU homecoming + beer for the last 8 years (only missing one, for being in Sweden and we made a point to go to "Oktoberfest" in Norway even though it was nothing like germanfest, it took away a little of the sting of missing it!)
Today I thought it would be funny to find all my old pictures from German Fest and do a little collage of pics through the years. There are certain people that I'm pretty sure I've seen almost every year that I've been there.
As I got all excited about this new photo project I realized that I have to go back and find all these photos... and I'm not sure where they are.
So, on Sunday or Monday, after 2 nights of Germanfest and hanging with my long lost friends and relatives (who only manage to make it out when some sort of liquor is involved, just kidding! ) I will find said pictures and post them here as a little trip down G-fest lane.

Are you as excited as me? : )

There's something fishy going on...

I was running a little late for lunch today. Trying to get some things tied up before I took my break.

I ended up running (walking slowly) over to Wendy's next door. On the way I thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine, fresh air, and brisk temperature. I walked along thinking how nice it was outside.

When I arrived at Wendy's, two polite gentleman held the door for me as I walked in (thank you very much) and there was no line so I was able to order right away. Lunch began so well!

With a little bounce in my step I walked back to the office. Went in the front door, said hello to the receptionist (who was opening a package of some beautiful flowers), and turned down the hall towards the kitchen where my lunch buddies awaited my return.

The moment I stepped in the kitchen, everything changed.

My nose was abruptly and violently OFFENDED! Apparently, just moments before I had arrived back to the office, SOMEONE had decided to warm up the STINKiest fish I have ever had the dis-pleasure of smelling. Oh good grief, the smell was so strong, so pungent and over bearing that I considered finding said offender and sneezing in their food so they could be as upset as me. How could you RUIN my lunch like that? You know its bad when you breathe a smell and you can taste it. Now im destined to spend the rest of the day with this nasty fish odor in a cloud around me because my sweater thought it would be funny to grab the smell and take it with us as we left the kitchen.

Dear Co-Worker,

Shame on you. Eat your fish at home.

Thank you.
Me

Upside down or RIGHT side up?

As the years go by, lately even months or weeks, things seem to be changing so fast

Not little things, big things

And I've taken a lot for granted
because things came easy

But now they're not so easy
and I'm trying to figure it all out

By myself

Which is kind of really neat
and kind of scary

Mostly, I miss all my friends
and being in community with people who get me


I have so much to be JOYFUL about!
but once in a while

I let all the swirling whirling _____
overwhelm me. I allow it

Because sometimes you have to feel it even if you don't want to

Today I'm: confused, EXCITED, scared, tired, annoyed, THRILLED, amused, frustrated and BLESSED!

Are you really sure that you're right?

Sometimes when I'm at work and a Dr calls for information, they are very very certain that they are correct. They could be calling for any kind of information (log-ins, web addresses, evaluation processes) but when they ask you a question, they really don't ask you anything. They tell you what they are doing and that the website is broken.

(guess what? it's not broken)

Then they will proceed to explain to you every detail of what they have done and what they are trying to do. I usually use this time to look up their information and confirm what they are talking about. (All along, I know the answer to their question but I let them continue to talk) When they stop to take a breath, sometimes I politely interrupt and sometimes I just wait until they talk themselves out.

When I finally have a chance to explain what they need to do and why what they were trying to do was wrong, all the sudden the Dr will become very very pleasant and sometimes quite sheepish.

My advice? Trust that the person in the "call center" knows what you're talking about and give them a chance to help you...

But if you get stuck with someone who is clearly incompetent at least be a bit patient, people yell at us and talk down to us all day.

As a sidenote, I'm having an awesomely fun day and I'm not grumpy at all, I just thought i'd share my random musings on phone calls

Hidden flavors

I have the same cup of coffee every morning. Large, Black McDonalds coffee. More often than not I drink about 90% of it. Due to the way my morning goes, I'm done eating by the time I get to my nice warm beverage. This also means that I have been cheating myself out of some quite surprising experiences.
Today, I had half a donut (eep! I know! Don't tell me trainer, lmao). Now, I knew that coffee was meant to be had with treats (ie, fika in Sweden) but I had forgotten! The great delight I experienced after taking a bite of doughnut and then a huge swig of coffee just brightened my morning! To think, I have been drinking the same thing every morning. Tasting the same thing. Experiencing the same thing, day in and day out. All this time I could have been experiencing something new and exciting. The flavors that the coffee/doughnut mixture made in my mouth were so rich and pleasant.... I fear I might get chunky again just trying to re-inact this morning. hahaha (just kidding, doughnuts aren't worth being chunky)
I worked at sbux for a few years and we did pairings and tastings all the time and I have to say, I really miss it. I can also see how people would really enjoy doing tastings with food and alcohol as well, though after a while, I'd guess that almost anything would start to taste very good. haha.
All of this has got me thinking that there are probably many areas of my life that could be much more exciting and thrilling if I just let them. If I were open to pairing my daily activities or responsibilities with different "goodies" I might be a much happier person. I've felt stuck lately and instead of trying to get un-stuck maybe I should let God show me how I can enjoy the little things through him.
Happy Tuesday!

Lack of patience or an abundance of it....

Dear Prince Charming/ Future Husband,

I'm going to stop looking for you because I've been told that if I stop looking you'll find me.

So I'm going to go about my daily stuff and you just feel free to interrupt me whenever you find me.

Ok, see you soon! (hopefully!)

Thus far...

I'm having one of those days where I want to update my blog and post something amazing and funny that will make you cry and laugh all within 3 minutes but I'm at a loss. Instead, I'm going to share with you everything that has happened this summer

I think going to Vegas officially kicked off the summer. I went with Jes and Reid, we're Huey, Dewey and Louie.

We had a great time and I know I want to go back... : )


Next I headed off to Memphis for work. We were helping to host the National PTA conference. We got to go down town to hang for a bit and I found a street sign that was my birthday!


After Memphis I went to North Carolina for the Anderson family reunion! What a blast! My family is hysterical!








And now, I'm leaving tomorrow for Minnesota for my brother and soon to be sister-in-law's wedding!!!! I can not wait, I'm so beyond excited for them and we are going to have such a great time. Pictures will come eventually, I promise

Its been a good summer for the most part. There have been some very hard times too but you grow from those and they shape you as a person.