A Week Of Cookies: Snickerdoodles

Out of all the cookie recipes I am sharing this week, Snickerdoodles are the one cookie that isn't good dunked in milk or hot chocolate. They are best when they are dunked in coffee, which I don't like at all, but with Snickerdoodles, yummy! 

If I had to describe a Snickerdoodle, I would describe it as a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon. For these cookies to turn out well, it is important to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes, but one hour would be better. 

Snickerdoodles

• 1 cup of soft shortening (I use Crisco.)
• 1 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 cup of flour
• 2 tsp of cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 2 tbsp of sugar 
• 2 tsp of cinnamon 

 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Mix the shortening, the sugar, and the eggs together until well blended. 

Sift together the flour, the cream of tartar, the baking soda, and the salt. Add to the sugar mixture and blend until a dough is formed. Chill the dough.

When the dough is chilled,  combine the 2 tbsp of sugar and 2 tsp of cinnamon in a big Ziploc bag. (I really don't measure these out. I just eyeball the much I think I will need and alway add much cinnamon than it calls for.) Roll the dough into one inch balls. Place them in the bag and shake to coat the balls in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Place the cookie balls on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. With the tines of a fork, slightly flatten the cookie balls. Bake them until lightly brown around the edges. Usually takes about 10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute, then remove them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely, but all means, eat them when they are still warm, too.

 

Here are a few tips I have learned from baking these over the years. I turn them once during the baking process. I also look for them to puff up for a minute or two, right before I take them out of the oven. They are better when they are still a little puffy when you take them out. After baking a few batches you will get the hang of when they are ready to come out.

The finished prodcut!

Snickerdoodles are just simply one of those little yummy things in life! Enjoy!

A Week Of Cookies: Sugar Cookies

Cookies are a good treat for your family because they are so portable and easy to eat on the go. Leave a cookie tin or container on the counter for easy access and they will disappear in no time. So this week, I will be sharing my family's favorite cookie recipes. Some of them are easy to make. Others are a little more involved, but all of them are YUMMY!

The first recipe is a sugar cookie recipe. I found it in a coupon flyer around Christmas time. It was part of an advertisement for McCormick herbs, spices, and extracts. It originally a spiced sugar cookie recipe, but I dropped the spices and just made it a sugar cookie recipe. This recipe is a good one for rolling out and cutting into shapes with your favorite cookie cutters. You can sprinkle them with colored sugar/jimmies/sprinkles before you bake them or pour a glaze over them or put icing on them after they have cooled.

Holiday Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup of better, softened
• 1 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 1/3 cup of flour
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1/8 tsp of salt 

Place butter in mixer bowl and beat until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add sugar, egg, and vanilla, then mix together. In another bowl; mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture until combined. Chill the dough for about 1 hour or until firm.

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees before removing the dough from the frig. Roll the dough out to 1/8 " thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Repeat process until the dough is used up. At this point, you can add colored sugar, jimmies, or sprinkles before baking. 

 

Bake on greased cookie sheets for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges. Let the cookies cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet before removing them to a cooling rack. When cooled decorate as desired.

 

If you want to make these spiced cookies, add 1/4 tsp of nutmeg to the flour mixture. 

 

Glaze

• 3 to 4 tsps of milk
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla
• 3 to 4 drops of food coloring of your choice
• 1 cup of powdered sugar

Mix all the ingredients together. Add additional milk as needed to thin or more powdered sugar to stiffen. Pour or spread over the cookies. Enjoy!

Cookies are just one of those simply good things to be enjoyed!

My Hobbies

What do you enjoy doing? Are you a crafty person? Or are you the type that likes doing outdoor things or sports of some kind? Or is cooking and baking more your thing? Or do you like a variety of things? What do you like to do?

I am more of a crafty person myself, although I do enjoying cooking and baking. I also like gardening and exploring the great outdoors. I also have gotten into photography. I am getting quite good at taking nature pictures. I enjoy all of these things but crafts are my biggest hobby. Yes, before, you even ask, I have a hot glue gun.

Scrap booking could occupy hours and hours of my time, if I let it. I have completed at least 2 of my scrap book projects, but have many more to finish, including our 25th wedding anniversary trip to Walt Disney World. It is hard to find enough time to do all I want to do, but in those rare moments I get the chance, I lose myself in it. 

I don't crochet or knit, but I do like cross stitching and embroidering. One of the projects, I am the happiest about is the cross stitch birth announcement I did for DD many, many years ago. For Christmas presents a few years ago, I embroidered my grandmothers and aunts tea towels for their kitchen, a pillowcase for a very special aunt, and scarves for my nieces and little girl cousins. I have embroidered apples onto cloth napkins for our kitchen and am currently working on an apron for me. This hobby is something I  pick up and work on for a while and then set aside for months at a time. 

Trying out new recipes and improving my cooking and baking techniques is something I have a lot of time for in the winter. The days are short and it is cold outside, so there isn't much that can be done outside and I have to cook anyway, why not use that time to experiment. I try out new recipes, perfect old ones, and have big messes to clean up. I enjoy this time, because I know spring and summer will bring busier days outside and the need for quick meals. 

My veggie and flower gardens beds take up a lot of my time in the spring and summer. I grow stuff for us to eat but I also like growing different flowers to brighten up our home with and experimenting with different organic gardening techniques.  My seeds for this year have already been bought and I will be ready to plant in about 2 weeks. 

In the Fall and the Spring, DH and I like to ride around in our beautiful mountains and enjoy the great outdoors. We look for places to hike to and have seen many, many gorgeous waterfalls in our state. Some places we go back to time and time again, just to enjoy the beauty. We also use this time to practice our photography skills. Over the years we have made some really great pictures of the beauty found in our NC mountains. 

Hobbies are a way for us to unwind and escape the cares of the world. I look forward to those special times I get to devote to one of my hobbies. They seem to make the world a happier place by just getting to simply enjoy what you like to do. 

I would love to hear from you and what hobbies you enjoy doing. Just leave me a comment and tell me about them. 

Simply enjoying life and the joy of getting to do something extra special!

25 Random Things About Me

Today, I am sharing 25 random things about me. 

1. I am scared of heights, small closed in places, and spiders. 
2. Clowns, muppets, and gnomes freak me out. 
3. One of my pupils is bigger than the other. 
4. I like having someone to brush my hair. 
5. I like learning about history. 
6. The 1940's and 1950's fascinate me. I love the fashion of these decades.
7. I like to take long, hot baths.
8. I am prone to migraine headaches. 
9. I am dyslexic. 
10. I like playing Farmville. It relaxes me and helps me to unwind. 
11. I could eat chicken almost every day of the week. 
12. My husband is my best friend. 
13. I love my Mother-in-law and Father-in-law. They are the best in-laws anyone could have. 
14. I have one niece, 3 nephews, two great-nephews, and two wonderful step-nieces. 
15. I would love to write a novel one day. 
16. I want to live in the Biltmore House or at Walt Disney World in Mr. Disney's apartment on Main Street or in Cinderella's castle. 
17. I could eat my weight in MacDonald's fries or Cadbury Creme Eggs. 
18. I have lost 29 pounds to date. It has taken me around 5 years to do so, but slow and steady wins the race. I need to lose another 50 or so. 
19. I am pretty perceptive when it comes to people. I am usually right on about the type of person they are after being around them a few times. They arrogant ones are easily identified. 
20. I sometimes have dreams that are premonitions. When I do and they come true, it frightens me. I don't like having them.
21. I am very rarely sick. 
22. I am a very organized person and it is almost to the OCD side of things. 
23. I don't like false, fake people. Be who God intended you to be. 
24. Growing up, I was a big fan of Princess Diana. Now I am a big fan of and greatly admire Princess Kate. 
25. I am a BIG Downton Abbey fan and will miss it greatly.

Simply sharing a little more about myself and living a simple life! 

25 Things I Dislike

Yesterday, I shared 25 random things I like. Today I am going to share 25 things I dislike, loathe, or just out right despise and hate. I know, I know, it isn't nice to hate but as a flawed human there are a few things that I do hate. 

1. I dislike/hate green beans. I eat any other kind of beans except for green beans. 
2. I loathe fish. I can stomach it once in a blue moon, but for the most part, YUCK!
3. I don't like arrogant, pompous people. 
4. I don't like hot, hazy, humid weather. Yes, I live in the South and should be use to it by now, but I'm not. It just drains me.
5. I don't like being in a crowd of people. 
6. I don't like going to the doctor.
7. I loathe going to the dentist. That is stuff my nightmares are made of.
8. I loathe, despise, the University of NC at Chapel Hill and all of their sports teams. I cheer every time one of them lose. You can thank their fans for that.
9. I don't like rice. I call it maggots on a plate.
10. I don't like coffee. I don't understand people's obsession for it. 
11. I don't like to be around people drinking. Some of my family members have had their addictions to alcohol and it has left a very bad impression on me. 
12. I don't like to wear make-up. You will rarely find me with it on.
13. I don't like getting my hair cut. I feel like I am wasting time sitting in the beauty shop chair.
14. I loathe being in traffic jams. 
15. I don't like eating at Texas Roadhouse. We have never had a good food experience there. 
16. I despise the Kartrashian family and all they stand for.
17. I don't like hip-hop music or rap music. 
18. I don't like having my picture made. 
19. I don't like people who can't seem to think for themselves. They just regurgitate what they have heard through them media without doing any research themselves.
20. I don't like people who complain about the snow. It doesn't snow that much in our area, so they need to get over it and enjoy it.
21. I don't like to wear shoes.
22. I don't like NBA basketball, hockey, or soccer. 
23. I don't like cleaning our bathroom. 
24. I don't like to wash dishes. 
25. I don't like thunder storms. They scare me. 

Hope you enjoyed getting to know a little more about me, flaws and all. 

 

Liking and loving this simple life we are living! 

25 Things I Like/Love

In order for you to get to know me a little better, I thought I would share 25 random things that I like or love. So here goes!

1. I like/love hot chocolate, especially with whipped cream and shaved chocolate on top.
2. The Duke Basketball Team is my team of choice for college basketball. 
3. The Alabama Crimson Tide is my team of choice for college football.
4. I like/love the color green, any shade. 
5. I like/love strawberries. I can eat them till I make myself sick. 
6. I like/love watermelon the same way as strawberries. 
7. Outback Steakhouse is my steak house of choice.
8. I like/love the Spring. It is my favorite season.
9. I like/love reading, any type of book will do. 
10. I like/love sleeping. I always have. Sleeping late is divine. 
11. I like/love to watch really good tv shows and movies. I will watch them over and over again. 
12. I like/love honest people. Don't lie to me. I am pretty good at smelling a rat. 
13. I like/love country music, classical music, swing music, classic rock, and heavy metal. 
14. I like/love chocolate ice cream. 
15. I like/love Dove chocolate. It is my favorite chocolate. (Sensing a theme yet.)
16. I like/love classic styles in fashion.
17. I like/love playing Rook. 
18. I like/love playing Nancy Drew computer games.
19. I like/love NASCAR. 
20. I like/love going to our beautiful NC mountains. They call my heart home. 
21. I like/love going to the beach. 
22. I like/love going to Walt Disney World. It is my FAVORITE place to go on vacation. 
23. I like/love learning about the Amish and their culture.
24. I like/love learning about the Biltmore Estate and its history. 
25. I like/love calling North Carolina home.

Tomorrow, I will share 25 things I dislike/loathe/ hate. So stop by for a visit!

Liking and loving this simple life I am living! 

Are You A Sheep Or A Donkey?

In our area of the country,  we have a coyote problem. They have been known to gang up on a cow, goat, or sheep giving birth, killing the newborn and its mother. They have also been known to pick off the smaller and weaker animals in a herd or to pick off an animal that strayed away from the majority of the herd. Some farmers have taken to putting a guard donkey in their herds. The donkey senses the danger, brays loudly to warn of the danger, and will even confront the predator to keep the herd safe. Guard donkeys and the animals they protect got me to thinking one day about different types of people. I came to this conclusion; there are two types of people in this world, sheep or donkey.

Jesus used the shepherd and the sheep to talk about His love and relationship with the body of believers that made up the church. It is a good analogy. Sheep trust their shepherd to guide them where they need to go and to provide protection for them. It was an analogy the people in Biblical times could understand because it was part of the fabric of life in their area. 

However, there is another quirk about sheep, they follow someone blindly without giving any thought to where it may lead them. Once the flock or an individual member of the flock starts moving in one direction, all of the others fall right behind them. They don't stop to think for themselves they just go. They also have a tendency of getting stressed out when they become separated from the rest of the flock. Shepherds use their flock mentality to keep them together and move them with ease.

Donkeys are quite different form sheep. They are known for being stubborn. However, I see donkeys as an independent minded animal that is not easily moved. They are cautious animals with a high sense of self preservation. They are intelligent animals that study situations, people, and have to make up their own minds about something. Once a donkey knows he can trust and have confidence in someone, they become willing, hard-working, friendly animals. 

Now how does all of that relate to people. The behavior of the sheep and the donkey speaks volumes about people behave today. By placing people into these two types; it is easy to see who is of the world and those in the world. 

Sheep are people that are of the world and living in a worldly way. They conform to the world's way of thinking about people and their behaviors. They are conformist of the worse kind, because they don't seem to realize that they aren't thinking for themselves. They blindly follow whatever culture is dictating at the time. They are afraid to take a stand or to be different, because they can't handle being separated from the flock. They blindly follow people, public whims, and warped views of the culture without every stopping to think what harm they maybe doing to themselves and others. Sheep can't see the danger that is often right in front of them. 

Sheep are everywhere. If you don't believe, go to a public place to do a little people (sheep) watching. How many people do you see using their smart phones and are ignoring the people they are with? How many young ladies and young men do you see that are almost clones of each other with their choice of clothing and their looks? You really want to see sheep go to a high school or college campus. The students at both places claim to follow the beat of their own drummer. What they fail to see is that they are the biggest non-conformist, conformist in the culture.

Christians even fall into the destructive sheep mind-set when they makes statements like; "The church needs to change with the times.", "We shouldn't judge people, because we haven't walked in their shoes.", or my personal favorite "But God is a God of love." What they fail to see is that they are trying to make the church of the world, instead of being a separate people not of the world but in the world. They don't want to appear to be different from the world, because the thought of losing the world's approval frightens them. They want to claim Jesus with their lips, but are afraid to live Jesus in their lives. By doing so they are weakening the Gospel and the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for us. 

Donkeys are people that are in the world. They have placed their trust and faith in the Lord. They are independent enough to make decisions without the influence of anyone except for their master. They are non-conformist when it comes to the ways of the world. They aren't afraid to stand out and be different from those around them. If they like something, it is because they choose to like, not because everyone else does. They question the world and public whims. They go into a situation with their eyes wide open, looking for information, so that they can make an informed decision. They are often braying a warning for the sheep of danger close by. 

There are donkeys out there. Often times, they will stand out in a crowd. They are the people out there enjoying each others company. They have a sense of fashion and style that is they own. They like the things that appeal to them, whether it is the popular thing or not. They dare to be different. They dare to be the person God made them to be. They are the conformist, non-conformist. They are an individual. 

Donkeys are the Christians that are trying their best to let the love and light of God shine through their actions and deeds, not just through their words. They realize being a Christian isn't the easy thing to do. They know that God is a God of love but He is also a jealous God that can be a God of vengeance. He is a God that will hand out judgments and will judge us all one day. Donkeys know that Christians aren't to judge people of the world, but we have an obligation to rebuke one that calls themselves a brother or a sister in Christ out of love and concern for that person. Donkeys also aren't afraid to share the truth because they realize that there are going to be a lot of people loved right into Hell. They realize they aren't perfect and above reproach, but they try to live each day according to God's laws and commandments. They aren't afraid to proclaim God as their Father and Jesus as their Savior. They are unashamed to be in the world and not of the world.

Now, which are you? A sheep or a donkey? As for me, I am more of a donkey, but I will admit, I still have some sheep characteristics to work on. 

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

The Toll Of Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's is a cruel, nasty disease. It robs a person of their treasure store of memories and eventually robs a family of a cherished, loved one. It takes a toll on the person afflicted and the loved ones around them. It drains all of them physically, mentally, and emotionally. Alzheimer's is a cruel, nasty disease. 

Tomorrow is my maternal grandmother's 89th birthday, but she won't remember that because she has Alzheimer's. She started showing signs of the disease about 7 to 8 years ago. It started out with little things, like forgetting to do something when making coffee in a coffee maker. It progressed to asking the same question over and over again over a period of time. It showed in conversations about rain and how it never rained at her house, when it clearly had because her driveway was muddy. It showed talking about her garden which was the worst garden she ever had but there would be fresh produce from her garden on the counter. 

Denial was the mantra of the day with my mother and her siblings for a long time, until it became so obvious something was wrong. The same question started coming over and over again within seconds. Names were forgotten. Items were misplaced. Pots of water were left on the burners unattended. As the disease progressed, it started showing up in her demeanor. She became mean and aggressive. At times, I think the anger came from a place of she knew something was wrong with her, but she didn't know what it was and it frustrated her.

Valiantly my mother and siblings did there best to keep my grandmother in her own home. It finally got to the point where my grandmother's health and safety became an issue. So reluctantly, they finally agreed to put her in an Alzheimer's full care facility. My grandmother has been there for almost a year now and is doing well. Some of the anger issues subsided. The caregivers said they saw that happen often and they believed because on some level, they know they are around people like them and it makes them more comfortable. Even in a place of comfort, the disease is still progressing. It is now to the point where she is not finishing sentences and her speech is at times garbled. 

My mother and siblings visit her several times each with, treasuring each moment they get to spend with her. She still recognizes her daughters as her daughters, but she can't put the right name to them. However, she often refers to them as her sisters.  She is slowly losing recognition of her sons. She talks often of going home, not the home of her married life, but of her childhood home. The few memories she has is from those early childhood years.

My grandmother no longer comes to family gatherings. It just became to stressful for her. It is sad not having her with us, but all want to do what is best for her. She is still our grandmother, but she isn't the woman we grew up calling grandma. Her memories of us are almost gone. We can still a glimmer of recognition in her eyes, but it only lasts for seconds. It is sadly to see her slowly fade away. In one way it is a blessing because we have been able to slowly say good-bye and begin the grieving process, but there are times I just want my grandma back. 

Alzheimer's is a cruel, nasty disease. It robs a person of their treasure store of memories and eventually robs a family of a cherished, loved one. It is robbing me of my grandma. 

If you have an Alzheimer's patient in your family or want to learn more about it,  please visit the Alzheimer's Association website. There you can find out the signs and symptoms. They have an educational and resource center. There are message boards you can sign up to discuss issues with other effected by it. They have news about the latest research that is being done. They have a blog and a caregiver center. It is a great place to get started if you are just learning about Alzheimer's or a newly diagnosed family member. 

Living with Alzheimer's in our family and praying for God's will be done! 

We Are Aspergers

Asperger's is a part of who we are as a family and it will always be a part of our DD's life. Our youngest nephew has it and we believe DH's youngest brother also has it. The curious thing is that all 3 of them - our DD, our nephew, and my BIL all had difficulties at birth. 

DD was born 14 weeks early and has other disabilities that helped mask the fact she had Asperger's. (You can read more about DD's early birth and disabilities, here.) From the beginning, we knew something just wasn't right with our daughter. She was easily overstimulated and had meltdowns, but we were told to expect that from premmies. There were other odd little things that she did, but thought it was because of her hearing impairment or her very mild cerebral palsy. 

I knew from my educational courses, she had some autistic tendencies. She would line up her toys and organize her toys, but never really played with her toys. She was affectionate, but not overly affectionate. She could communicate and carry on conversations, but it was often one sided and about her. Her vocabulary was way above her grade level, but we attributed that to all the books she read or we read to her from an early age.

None of this made any sense to us. It was hard to tell other people about it, because they weren't seeing the odd behaviors. They weren't dealing with the freak outs or meltdowns. All they saw was a sweet, smart girl and young lady. All of which she is. 

It wasn't until our youngest nephew came along and was diagnosed at the age of 3 with Asperger's that puzzle pieces started to fit. He was doing some of the same things our DD did at his age. He was having the freak outs and meltdowns. He was having the overstimulated issues. He was having sensitivity issues with temps and textures, which was something DD had issues with but we put off onto other things. 

As I began researching Asperger's in order to help our nephew and in order to support my BIL and his ex-wife, I began to find list of things DD had done and was continuing to do. One afternoon, I sat DH down and showed him what I was finding. With one look on his face, I knew he thought what I thought - our DD has Asperger's and what do we now?

We began to do more research and tried to learn as much as we could. We started looking into having her testing, whether it would help, and would insurance cover it. As we found out more and more, we knew testing was going to be beyond our financial reach. The cheapest quote we could find was $2500 and insurance wouldn't cover very much of it or any at all. 

Time went on and through some things we have had to work on and take care of, DD was finally tested with no cost to us. The psychologist she saw told DH there was no doubt in their mind that DD did indeed have Asperger's. The psychologist brought up signs and symptoms that we weren't even aware of but looking back we knew DD had them. While it wasn't a big surprise, it did help give us a peace of mind to know that all those odd things behaviors we were seeing weren't in our own minds, that they did have a cause and a name, Asperger's. 

I don't share this with you to garner any sympathy or for you to feel sorry for us. I share this in the hope to establish a little understanding and compassion. Not every child is born perfect. Most have some issue, handicap, or problem that they and their parents have to deal with. So the next time you see a child behaving oddly, in a wheelchair, or just having a bad day; don't look at them any differently than you would any other child. See them as the child of God they are. See them as the being God created them to be. Look at their parents with a look of support instead of a look at condemnation. 

Asperger's is NOT what has been inflicted on our family. It is just a part of who we are as a family and we are okay with that. We don't know what the future holds. We know there will be bumps along the way and things to get through, but we know who holds our future in His hand. We know with His grace, guidance, and love we can face anything. To God be the glory! 

Living life with Asperger's simply the best way we can, one day at a time!

Curing A Dry Winter Home

Does the dry, low humidity dry you out in the winter? It certainly does me and DH. This winter hasn't been that bad, but a few winters ago the humidity was so low we kept a sinus infection all winter from being dried out. It was that winter that I went searching for ways to add humidity to our house naturally. We implemented several of them and it helped tremendously. 

Tips For Adding Humidity To Your Home

• When you get done taking a shower, leave the shower curtain drawn back or the door open. A bonus to doing this is that I have seen less water stain build up on the surface of the shower by doing this.
• Use decorative bowls filled with water. Set them around the house in the bedrooms especially. You could also use vases. Change the water once a week.  
• Place ceramic or metal bowls filled with water on top of heat registers. Obviously, you will need to place them in an out of the way place.
• When you are cooking food or boiling water on the stove top, leave the lid off so the steam is released into the air. 
• Drying clothes in laundry room or bathroom. This is easy to do with the sweaters we wear in the winter. Those delicate items that you don't want to put in the dryer will work, too. 
• Houseplants are an easy, pretty way to add moisture to your home. When you water or spray them, they release moist in the air through transpiration. 
• Believe it or not, your pet's water bowl releases moisture, which is a good reason to have a pet living in your home. Right?
• Buy a sprayer bottle that has a mist feature and fill with water. Go around and spray a fine mist in every room, being careful not to mist too heavily.
• After taking a bath, leave the water in the tub until it has completed cooled. The cooling process will release moisture into the air. 
• If you own and use a dish washer, don't use the drying cycle. Simply open the door and let the dishes air dry, which will release moisture into the air. 

I hope these ideas will be of some use to you and help relieve the dry air you may have in your home during the winter. 

Forever looking for ways to live life in a way that helps us take care of the beautiful earth entrusted to our care and live it simply!