crack cookies

Ok,I have ANOTHER secret. I love cookies. There are few things that are more delicious to me than fresh homemade cookies,of almost any sort. One of my preschool kid's parents introduced me to these cookies about this time last year. I probably made them once a week during the holidays and gave out many,many batches as Christmas gifts. One of the BEST thing about these cookies is they take about .5 seconds to make. I introduce to you...Crack Cookies*

INGREDIENTS
1 (18.9-oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Moist Supreme® Funfetti® Cake Mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 (15.6-oz.) can Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Funfetti® Vanilla Frosting

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With bottom of glass dipped in flour, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness.
2. Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.
3. Spread frosting over warm cookies. Immediately sprinkle each with candy bits from frosting. Let frosting set before storing. Store in tightly covered container.


my end result:


*there is no actual crack in these cookies. they are named this way because they are super addicting,much like crack. you can't eat just one. if you have a problem with the name, too bad. it stays.

smarty pants

Yesterday I was showing a group of my preschool kids how to make shapes with play-dough out of cookie cutters. I found a shape in our pile of cookie cutters that I wasn't exactly sure what it was,so I thought I'd ask my kids for some of their input.
I held up this shape:



and asked the kids,"What do you guys think this is?". I got a collection of responses of animals including "Elephant!" "It's a cow!" or even "A hippo!".

After about 5 or 6 different responses one chilld literally took the cookie cutter out of my hand,turned it around and said, "No,it's a TRAIN!!"



Ooooooohhh...a TRAIN! Duh.

My kids are so smart.

true story

Life is short.
Break the rules.
Forgive quickly.
Kiss slowly.
Love truly.
Laugh uncontrollably.
And never regret anything that made you smile.

it's time to share my secret

a few months ago i taught myself how to make egg drop soup. this is the recipe i normally use:

ingredients(makes about 1 large serving or 2 small servings):
14 oz of chicken broth(1 can)
2 egg whites
pepper/salt to taste

*in a medium sized sauce pan,pour in the chicken broth and heat it until boiling on high.
*while this is heating up, put 2 egg whites(i use about an egg a serving,the most i would use with a 14oz can is 3 eggs) in a small bowl and beat them together with a fork
*after the chicken broth has boiled for a minute or so, take it off the burner and turn the burner off
*slowly pour the egg whites into the broth while briskly beating them as they enter the soup(this is very important,if you don't beat them fast enough they're just huge globs of egg white,not very "droppy")
*add salt and pepper and water to taste

this version of the soup tastes a lot like chicken noodle soup, to combat that i sometimes only use half the can of broth and pour in about a cup of water. also,if the soup is too salty for you,you can add water as well.

this looks like a lot when it's written out but the whole soup takes MAYBE 5 minutes to make,tops. so simple and easy,it's insane.

anyway,today i was feeling ambitious and decided to spice up my egg drop soup recipe. it was basically the best soup i have ever made, so i thought i'd share my recipe with everyone! here it goes:

ingredients(again,it will make 1 large serving, or 2 small servings):
14 oz of chicken broth
2 egg whites
2 Tablespoons of kikkoman soy sauce(the only kind i really like,but you can use your favorite brand)
1 Tablespoon of minced garlic
2 stalks of celery(this is what i used in my recipe,it was the only vegetable that was in my fridge,i would probably also throw in some onion and chopped carrots if i had them)
salt and pepper to taste

*i basically made it the same as the above recipe,poured the chickens broth into a pan and set it on high
*after i did this i chopped up the celery into bite sized pieces, minced the garlic,and put that all in the pan with the chicken broth along with the soy sauce.(this is important to put it all in before it starts to boil,that way the celery gets cooked decently and the flavors all have time to meld with each other)
*so while i was waiting for that all to boil i beat the egg whites in a bowl
*about a minute after the chicken broth started to boil i beat the egg whites into the broth, added some pepper,and voila! yummy delicious soup.

even though it has more ingredients and more to do than the first one,it still took the same amount of time to make because you're doing it all while waiting for the broth to boil.

this is what my end result looked like:



if i did anything different, i would maybe add about half a cup of water,just because with the soy sauce+chicken broth it was a tad salty.

if you are looking to lower the salt content i would suggest getting a low sodium chicken broth. in general this is a pretty healthy soup,it's virtually no carb and definitely low calorie. try it out and lemme know what you think!

this tastes good all by itself but i'm sure would taste amazing with gyoza,teriyaki,rice, and i didn't actually try it,but i think pita chips. but that just may be my current pita chip obsession putting that idea in my head.


if you have any questions or have any recipes you would like to share you can email me at bonamie21@gmail.com. Bon Appetite!

for it's root,root,root for the Mariners

You may or may not know that i am a HUGE fan of going to Mariners games. I love everything about them, the ambiance,the food,the unity of the crowd rooting the m's on,i even enjoy doing "the wave". Unfortunately, I have not been able to attend an M's game at Safeco field in almost 2 seasons,which is a rarity for me considering i used to go 3 or 4 times a season. needless to say,when the opportunity arose to attend the last m's game of the season, i jumped on it!

My co-teacher Schimere had gotten a few free tickets from a family she babysits for and so kindly invited me to go. It's basically been tradition that every game i go to a game the M's lose. I was completely surprised when not only were we ahead by the 4th inning,but we STAYED ahead for the rest of the game! It was tons of fun and I am going to make sure it is not another 2 seasons before i attend another game!


you can see we had pretty fantastical seats..right next to ichiro!


there he is!



it was very windy that day


i tried to get schimere to get in a picture with me...(that's her godson in between us,btw)


...but she was too busy doing this the whole time


finally i convinced her to take a (almost) group shot


this is what an 8 dollar beer looks like


wooo free seats! we played the texas rangers,and it was also kids appreciation day. they gave away TONS of prizes and we won zero. boooo


for some reason there were a bunch of mascots running up and down the stairs. we never did figure out what this one was...


bulldog(p.s. if you look to the left of the dog on the light up board you can see the pitcher last pitched at 95 mph. holy crap,that's fast! I can't even pitch that fast playing fake baseball on wii sports!)


some more random mascots (i REALLY wanna know who the hot dog was there representing)


the girl next to me thought i was gonna give her swine flu and the guy in front of me was at the wrong stadium


is there anything in my teeth?


he's baaaack


13 and a half years of living in Seattle,i still have no idea what this means


mariner moose! love that guy. (random fact: it is one of my ultimate dreams to take a picture with that moose. one day it will happen)



Thanks again, Schimere for the great time!! Let's do it again next season!!!

this is how i roll

Is/are your animal(s) spayed/neutered?
duh. i would NOT want to make bob barker angry.

Two sports you played in middle school?
none. i did play powderpuff football and volleyball in college,though(random known fact)

Favorite perfume?
strawberries and champagne, and love spell from victorias secret ( i also love most of britney spears' fantasy perfumes..don't tell anyone,though!)

Do you like thunderstorms?
yes,very much! that's the one thing i miss about living in oklahoma

Do you drink coffee?
this is like asking if i blink or breathe.

Do you like to bake/cook?
yes yes yes!!! gimme a recipe, i wanna make it!

What kind of car do you drive?
2000 Mazda Protege aka "Maggie"

What are your "comfy clothes"?
lounge pants and a tshirt/sweatshirt/tank top, depending on the season

If you could time travel, what would be your first stop?
50's malt shop

What is your natural hair color?
apparently dark brown,almost black,which i didn't realize til i dyed my hair light brown thinking THAT was the natural color. my roots proved otherwise.

What language would you like to speak fluently?
francais

Favorite hot drink?
peppermint white chocolate mocha with peppermint whipped cream and red sprinkles on top

Riding horses or riding dolphins?
riding dolphins! i love doing flips and shit.

left handed or right handed?
left handed writing,right handed everything else. i'm full of tricks you've never seen.

How many hobbies do you have?
all of them

Do you say "I love you" in the relationship?
yes,if i'm in love

Aliens have landed and selected you to visit their home planet. Do you go with them?
heck no,i won't go!

Describe your perfect Sunday morning?
sleeping in,making breakfast and coffee, and relaxing

If you have friends coming for supper what would you cook?
tacos! not gonna lie, my tacos are kiiind of a big deal.

What is your favourite word?
indubitably

How do you feel?
anxious to get off work,go home and get the weekend started! hello weekend,i missed you.

What size shoes do you wear?
10. you know what they say about girls with big shoes...they're super smart and funny!

what is love?
a friendship set on fire

Would you rather be hot or cold?
hot hot hot. i passionately HATE being cold!

Favorite fruit?
strawberries, mango,pineapple,apples. yeah.

Are you a cat or a dog person?
dog. cats are useless.

Would you rather be blind or deaf?
blind. life without hearing music would SUCK

Define yourself in 3 words...
full.of.life.

Are you fed up of all these questions?
yes. please stop.

What is your favorite TV show?
of all time-The Wonder Years, and Friends.

Kill the spider or let it out?
i found out the other day if i'm the only one home the spider gets to live because i do not kill spiders without backup.

Walking past a beggar, spare change or ignore?
if they're entertaining,spare change. if they're just sitting there,ignore.

Where do you want to travel next?
Paris.always Paris.

What would you do if Michael Jackson asked you out?
video record it,then sell the video to the media and get millions of dollars and retire for being the only person to have ever been asked out by a dead guy.

What is your favorite food?
pizza! tacos!nachos!coffee!(is coffee a food?)chicken teryiaki! potstickers!homemade spaghetti!!all of that.

Do you read harry potter books?
no way jose

What is your favorite place?
beach+sun+sand=heaven

If you could have one super human power what would you choose?
to be able to predict the outcome of situations

Have you had a beer in the last week?
ummm...yes actually. i HAD to get a beer at the m's game last sunday. it's basically mandatory.

Vitamin Water or Gatorade?
no.

Flip flops or sandles?
flippy floppies!!

What do you do on fridays?
work.stay at home. go out. go on vacation. whatever i feel like doing.

What is your favorite song of all time?
oh geeze. this is impossible to answer. next question.

Do you like bananas?
they're ok. i definitely have to be in the mood for a banana. i do not like banana flavored things. gross.

my favorite sound

is the sound of this little boys laugh

One year and counting

for those of you who don't know, the cutest nephew that's ever existed in the universe ever(connor,duh) turned one a few days ago! in celebration i decided to head down to texas to spend his special first birthday with him (and my sister and bro in law,of course). coincidentally, my parents had decided to join in the celebrating as well so they were there too. we didn't do a whole lot. i've found that when i go to houston to not actually expect to see the city of houston. we usually just lounge around and be super lazy at the house. which,this time,was fiiiine with me. unfortunately justin had some training to do for work in dallas so we only got to spend a day with him. my sister worked mon,tues,wed and used the only other car so me and my parents and connor just hung out at the house and played guitar hero and watched fox news together. well, my dad and mom watched fox news. i sat and wished i was deaf lots of times.

connors actual birthday PARTY wasn't until the weekend after i left(which i didn't find out until after i got there)so i am sad i'm missing that. in our family it's tradition that whoevers birthday it is gets to pick where/what we eat for dinner that night. obviously connor is a classy guy,so he picked popeyes chicken.

considering how little we did i'm surprised at how long this blog is! i did take a few pictures though,which was really more what i was trying to lead up to...so here is my trip in pictures!!!(WARNING: a lot of the pictures from my trip have babies in them. so if you hate babies, DO NOT READ THE REST OF MY BLOG!)


this has nothing to do with anything,but i currently have a minor obsession with sea salt flavored pita chips and the airport in houston had the BEST kind i've ever had...cherry coke zero complimented them nicely :)



these are a couple of the things that kept me entertained to and from houston-my itouch(specifically the app Sally's Spa. most addicting game.EVER) and the book Sarah's Key(which i HIGHLY recommend. i'm only about 1/3 of the way through it and it's SO good. there's also kind of a history lesson thrown in there,which i'm usually not into,but this one works it in the story well)



this is my dad kicking ass at guitar hero...something we spent a LOT of time playing:



me and my sister! <3



me and the conman-reunited!(i look like a different race, i swear the room+low lighting+bad editing on my part made for a very funny colored me):



the next morning i got to get up with connor and play with him for a bit before everyone else got up...this is what ensued...

you can tell he grew up with a camera in his face because everytime i said "connor,smile!" he put this huge grin on his face and waved his arms in the air, and the second i took the picture he stopped.

blooper pic:



cute bebe:



i turned on seasame street and as soon as he saw it he was captivated. especially by elmo. before i turned on the tv he had been sitting by where i was, and had crawled closer to get a better look:



wednesday was connors 1st birthday!! we didn't do a whole lot since dad was outta town, mom had to work, and his party wasn't til the next weekend, but we did have a classy dinner of Popeyes chicken complete with mashed potatoes, coleslaw,cajuin wings,and biscuits:



and,of course, guitar hero:



me and connor on his birthday:



the next day it was time for me to leave...connor was soooo tired from partying so hard the night before,he fell asleep in the car (couldn't hold his milk,i think. lightweight.):



i dedicate this picture to my dad,since he forced me to dedicate 29587 hours of my life to this channel during my trip:



p.s. ironically,this is also the store i got my pita chips and cherry coke

i'll make it there someday...



my flight home came with a meal of a "beef and swiss"sandwich,where the beef tasted like a mix of meatloaf and hamburger(imagine it),3 leaves of lettuce(aka,"salad") and a kitkat bar:



i'm not sure what it is about most major airports but it seems no airlines carry pepsi products (if someone knows of one, please let me know asap so that can be the only one i fly,ever)so this is the beverage i was FORCED to consume:



...TWICE!!

\

the inflight movie they showed was "The Proposal" which stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds,both of who i LOVE(in different ways). It's so funny,i recommend it to anyone with a sense of humor. here's one of my favorite scenes from the movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppU7hyTNmII

i landed safely in seattle at about 10 pm where my goooood friend Ashley gave me a ride home. we stopped at a coffee shop where i got my first peppermint hot chocolate of the season and happily chomped on the kettle corn ash brought for us.

the next day i started back at work again. my one year anniversary of working at boeing family center had passed while i was gone. in celebration of this event i came back to this huge poster,made just for me!



on it are pictures of all the kids i've had in my class this past year. it was a super great surprise to come back to!

that's about it for my trip. i probably won't be able to go on another trip until sometime next year...i'm thinking cincinnati,maybe???