Baking Bonanza.

Today, I was off work and instead of the nap that I had been fantasizing about all day, I went on foodgawker.com..like Pinterest, but ONLY food. That changed my plans a bit. So, I went to Wal-Mart and am now experiencing a food frenzy. I just finished making my first masterpiece which are Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies, and put it in the oven. Nom nom nom. Eight minutes left. Here's the recipe:

Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients(Makes 14 cookies):

• 1 cup no-stir peanut butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 King size Reese’s peanut butter cups mini unwrapped

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine in a large bowl the peanut butter, egg, sugar, baking soda and vanilla and mix.
3. Add and fold in the mini Reese’s.
4. Roll the dough into balls about an inch in diameter in between your hands and place them on a non-stick baking tray.
5. Press down lightly on the dough in a criss-cross pattern with a fork.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely before moving them or otherwise they will break apart.

[SOURCE: http://www.thewannabechef.net/2012/09/26/reeses-mini-peanut-butter-cookies/]


This is what they're supposed to look like. We'll see how mine did in exactly...SIX minutes.

 

[Six Minutes Later]

 

THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL.

 

Blogger won't let me add the picture, but they look pretty darn close to the original picture! Use your imagination. Now, I have to let them cool before I can try one.

 

 

Now, for Project #2: York Peppermint Patty Cookies

Mmmmm. You're just gonna die when you see the picture:

 

NOM NOM NOM. You see, that was very similar to my previous Nom Nom Nom, but it was bold and capatilized. That makes it way nomier more significant. Just saying.

Anyways, recipe time: 

York Peppermint Patty Fudge Cookies

makes about 2 dozen

• 1 cup + 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (I used 2 Ghirardelli bars)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 14 snack size York Peppermint Patties, chopped

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 1 minute. Stir. Continue to melt in 30 second increments until fully melted and smooth. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla. Set aside.
With an electric or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Beat in the sugars, scraping down the sides every 10 seconds or so. The mixture will be granular. Mix in the beaten egg/vanilla until incorporated. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined. Add the dry ingredients on slow speed. Fold in the chocolate chips. Do not overmix at any point in this process. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop about 2 Tbsp of dough and roll into a ball. Press a few pieces of peppermint patties on the tops of each cookie ball. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies have just begun to set with the centers still appearing very soft. They will firm up as they cool.
Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
[SOURCE: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/09/23/york-peppermint-patty-fudge-cookies/]

WONDERFUL. Baking is delightful.

Maybe if you're lucky enough, you'll get something tomorrow at school? ;)




THE MONSTER.

Imagine this: Footsteps creaking in the hall behind you, pitch darkness, a hand slowly curling around your shoulder. You scream, but no one hears. You kick, but your foot hits nothing. (Scared yet?) The monster takes you, grabs you, kidnaps you. And you're gone.

You might be wondering why I've told this short, yet chillingly frightening tale..It's a metaphor. This weekend, I was once again taken prisoner by the Craft Creature, the DIY Demon, the Baking-Ideas Boogie Man, some even call him He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named..Actually, I might be mixing him up for someone else.. Anyways, if you haven't caught my drift, I was attacked, mugged, and held for ransom by none other than the Pinterest Monster. (I would have used alliteration, but I couldn't think of a good enough P-word) Hold your gasps and shrieks until the end of the post, if you will. You heard me right.

Now, there have been earlier interactions that I've had with this monster, but it wasn't until this weekend that he really made his move. He would lure me in, get me going on one craft, and then disappear from my life for a while. But he always came back, more charming and attractive each time. That's where I started to realize he was a monster. But I couldn't resist. I felt like Bella in the clutches of Edward. Knowing he was dangerous, knowing he was a monster, yet not being able to leave out of pure love.

Yes, I said it: love. I love Pinterest. Judge me how you please. This weekend was enough to prove it to me. I'm in love with a monster.

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Pinterest was a monster. Second, there was a part of him - and I didn't know how dominant that part may be - that thirsted for my social life. And third, I was unconditionally, irrevocably in love with him.

ALL I WANT TO DO IS CRAFT. I think he has me hypnotized. If I don't answer your calls or texts anytime soon, I'm with Pinterest...and if you don't see me for a few weeks, I would go around and collect a ransom. Pinterest demands cash. Or your social life. He also accepts VISA and Mastercard.


DISCLAIMER: No Twilight characters were actually present or liked in the writing of this blog post. Also, I am not actually kidnapped. Do not call police or FBI.

The A.C.T.

ACT.
Those three letters normally are just a normal verb - to act. You can act natural, you can act in a play. But when those three letters are capitalized, the entire meaning changes, and a darkness fills the room.Those three letters can cause the earth to quake around us, the sun to melt out of the sky, long-inactive volcanoes to suddenly erupt, and high school students to spontaneously combust.

Not really. But pretty close.

You see, I took the ACT this morning. For the second time. And let me tell you, it didn't feel any better this time around. It's so hard for me how to say I did on tests, because, well, if I think I did good I usually don't do too hot, and vice versa. So, I've trained myself to just hope I did well, but not to expect much.

I didn't actually have to take it again, but when I got my first score, my dad practically called every single college in the Continental US (okay, like three schools) to talk about scholarships. I really want to go to BYU-Provo, and I guess they told him if I improve my score by one or two points, I can get a FULL-flipping-RIDE. Yes sir/maam, you heard my correctly. So, I tried again. And in 3-8 weeks I will know. If anyone who works for the ACT is reading this, MY WHOLE FUTURE DEPENDS ON THIS SCORE. TAKE PITY. Okay, it doesn't actually depend of this score, entirely. But, I don't think I'll be too upset if I don't improve. At least I tried, y'know?

Kids Say The Darndest Things

You know it's gonna be a good night when your last kid at work leaves at 5:35. Getting out 25 minutes early is the bomb. Yes, I just called it the bomb. In my head I said the bomb-diggity, so count your blessings.
Work is good, paychecks are good, kids are good. But getting out early is like a little piece of heaven, floating down and gently resting on my shoulder, whispering in my ear that "Yes! Life is good!" But then I go home to homework and a study date with my Chem book for a test tomorrow, but let's not focus on that...
This one little girl at work is, I swear, the cutest little kindergardener there ever was. I told everyone that last year too, but I haven't see him since MAY, and anyways he'd be in first grade now. (BTW I miss my Mayflower kids. I think I'm gonna visit them soon. I might regret it later, but, oh well.) Anyways, she's so cute. And presh. She always needs to go the bathroom, but if someone doesn't go with her, she's known to be found coming out of the boys, having no clue she went in the wrong one. And then when I play "soccer" with her (she plays goalie and I always let her get it) she gets so excited. You really have to meet her to see how precious she is. Today, I told her to stay away from this one tree, but then a few minutes later, when her dad came, there she was: up a pine tree, yelling "Daddy! Daddy! I'm a tree!" with the biggest grin on her face. And she's 5. I'm probably too much of a wimp to climb a tree now, let alone when I was 5.
There's a ton of cute kids, and I'll probably post their hilarious quotes every once and a while, also. Just for an example, cause they seriously do crack me up, last week one girl, named Sydney, and I were playing "soccer." For some strange reason, she never missed one of my kicks. She was getting a little proud of her awesome goalie-skills and exclaimed, "I am so good at being goalie! It's cause I've been practicing with my dad since I was like five!" I, acting awestruck, said, "Wow! That's impressive! How old are you now?" She shrugged her shoulders, "Five."
That's kids for you, and that's my story of the day.

Long Time No See

So, my friends, it has been a long time. It's so hard to make time, especially when I don't have convenient school laptops at my disposal...but I do now! So, hopefully there will more frequent updates. Speaking of updates, one of my last posts I was freaking out about Pre-Calculus and keeping my 4.0. I did it, folks. I only have this one semester left that I have to keep my 4.0 and then I'll be valedictorian! I can't believe it's so close. My speech will probably be amusing, to tell you the truth. "Erm...Once a Maverick.. uh.. Always a M-m-maverick." That'll be me. Picture those words coming out of my mouth with my face beet RED. Sad story.

Anyways, I've been thinking about my future a lot. Where I want to go to school. What I want to major in. What I want to do after college. It's all so intimidating. And it's all so close. SO. CLOSE. We're talking months. I'll be 18 in 10 months. College right after that. Ahhhh. Someone figure out my life for me, please and thank you. Once you do that, you can contact me through Facebook, text, email, calls. Anything.

Just kidding.
(But, not really)

Here I Am!

So, hello. I'm writing AGAIN. For the second time since November. Yeah, I know. I'm pretty cool. Ha, just kidding. It's only 7:50 in the morning. I'm so out of it. Pluus, my alarm didn't wake me up this morning so I missed seminary. So, I'm even more out of it. Stupid alarm - working against the Spirit, I tell ya.

On Sunday, we had a little surprise during Sacrament Meeting. Our dear President Ellis came and called on all the seminary students to bear their testimony. It was really nerve-racking, but I'm glad I had to chance to do it..

Oh! I took that math test on Friday that I was telling you about but the scores are STILL not up. AH! It's killing me. But on the bright side, he did put the Homework Quiz and the Review points in bringing me up 2 whole percent to a whopping 85. If the test brings me back down, I will literally cry. But if it brings me up more, I will shout for joy and do the macarana down the halls. Don't judge me if that happens. Can't a girl be happy?

Long time, No see.

So, today I logged on, and saw the sad fact that the last time I posted was in NOVEMBER of 2011. I can't even fathom that fact. I knew it had been a while, but four months? Really? I gotta pick up my game. I have no idea how to even begin to catch you up on the past few months. Well, a biggie is I kept my 4.0 last semester! Woop. Big accomplishment...now only three semesters left to hopefully do the same. This semester, though, Pre-cal is killing me. Like this was me before Pre-cal: ME. This is gonna be me after: ME. My teacher is a lot harder than the one I had last semester, so I kind of had a hard adjustment. He only really grades the test and that means I need to get A's on the test, a feat I have not yet accomplished...but tomorrow I'm going to. I have to. I currently have an 83, which is the lowest I've ever had in a class for the quarter, and the quarter ends next week...which means this 83 has got to got up with this test. Gah.

I should just drop out.

Just kidding, I would never do that. Plus, I could easily graduate next year midterm and still only come half day...but nope, little freshman me decided to go for the highest diploma, and I've been going. With hopes of keeping my 4.0 and becoming one of my class's valedictorians. But that's a high hope, and if I'm struggling with keeping it this year, I don't know if I'll make it next. But if I get a B in Pre-cal, it's going to be okay...

I feel like I've been talking about Pre-cal too much. Let's talk about something else, shall we?

OH! A super biggie is my brother, Logan Paul Cramer, has been called to serve the Lord for two years in...(wait for it)...(drumroll, please)...TORREON MEXICO. It was so unexpected and amazing. I'm so proud of the strides he's made in the past year or so in his life and I'm so excited that he gets to do this. My cousin, Brad, is also leaving on his mission soon, just a month before Logan, to Brazil! And my dad went to Spain when he was younger, so basically I'm going to have a walkin'-talkin' Hispanic family. Hola.

I'm going to try to start doing this pretty regularly again. I apologize in advance, though, if I start to wander. I give you full permission to slap me...figuratively.