I am thankful

I have a confession to make to you. I have been hiding something from you out of pure confusion. It has come to pass that I have become June Cleaver.

(via)

I clean. I knit. I give jewelry parties. I even cook now. All with a smile on my face. I have no idea what is going on. The cooking thing is the biggest mystery of them all. I am cooking and/or baking all the time. And people are eating the food. And they are enjoying the food! It is absolutely insane. Jeremy would call it a miracle I'm sure. He gets this silly little grin every time we talk about this change that has taken place. It's almost as if in our house he's transported back to the 1950s and he's loving it. Makes me want to puke.

And it's just so odd. Even the cookies I think I completely mess up turn out to taste wonderful. I just don't get it.

Well, with all this new baking and cooking I have come across the need for more kitchen appliances. In particular, my eyes have been set on a KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

For over a two months, I begged Jeremy daily for one. I kid you not. I would bring it up in the morning before I cooked. I'd call while I was cooking. I'd especially mention it as he ate whatever it was that I had made.

We have researched, calculated how long it would take us to save up to buy one, thought about what we could live without... And all pointed to my dreams because clearly that would be the only place I could actually use one in this decade.

Then, Mr. UPS knocks on my door with this on his rolly thing.

I seriously lost my mind for about an hour. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. And I distinctly remember hearing angels singing the Hallelujah chorus.

You see, over the summer my Grandparents came to visit. And apparently while they were here, they took a look around and noticed I didn't have one of these and I needed one. It was a total God thing.

Two days before this amazing delivery, my Grandparents had called Jeremy and I to let us know that our Christmas gift was coming early so that we could use it over the holidays. I was extremely curious, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that this is what we would have gotten. It was beyond the perfect gift.

Isn't it gorgeous???

That night I decided that it must be used. My first item to make in it was a Halloween version of my Mexican Hot Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Soo good! And the KitchenAid was ah-mazing. It totally changes my entire cooking experience for the better. I have also made 3 batches pumpkin bread, a batch sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies, and another batch of just the regular Mexican Hot Chocolate Chip cookies. It is phenomenal.

I am so thankful for my Grandparents and their thoughtfulness. To think that they had this planned since the summer and that I have been begging Jeremy for one since the summer without them knowing is just beyond concept.

Now, please excuse me while I go stare at it and try to think of the perfect name for it. Any suggestions??

A gift from Mom

Yesterday, I talked about the great cookbook my mom (and dad) got me for Christmas. It changed the whole way I view the kitchen. Seriously, I think it came with pixie dust.

Well, my mom did it again.

Last week, she asked me to check out a site and tell her if I liked any of the jewelry. It's called The Vintage Pearl. All jewelry is handmade and stamped in Oklahoma. It's truly beautiful.

When I was checking out the site, all of it appealed to me. It's so unique and each is a keepsake. But one stood out more.

It was perfect. And on Monday, I got it in the mail!

Thanks Mom! It truly is something I will cherish always.

It calls me

It's cold and small, yet bright and intriguing.

It is here that I yell, cry, smile, laugh and conquer.

It brings out jealousy, anger, sadness and joy all within an hour.

It is the thorn in my side.
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When Jeremy and I first started discussing the possibility of me being a stay-at-home mom, it went something like this:

Me: Would I have to cook?

Jeremy: More than now.

Me: So like maybe one or two times a week? Cause right now, I don't cook at all.

Jeremy: Well, maybe a little more than that. I mean, you will be at home all day.

Me: Umm.. I'll be taking care of your child all day. And anyways, I hate cooking. I'm not good at it.

Jeremy: You'll have more time to get good at it. You just have to practice.

Me: I have a 30 minute limit you know. I get really ill if I am in there longer than that.

Jeremy: I'll help you.

Me: By cooking?

Jeremy: Some nights. You won't be as stressed when you aren't rushing to cook after work.

Me: Have we met??

Jeremy: We'll figure it out.

Me: Well, I'm just saying the food you will have to eat may be really bad... I do have a disorder.
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My disorder is called the "Amelia Bedelia effect". Recipes look like hieroglyphics. I read things literally rather than subjectively. I have no room for creativity. I am a disaster in the kitchen.

But now that I am at home full-time, I do feel as though I should contribute more by cooking. Call it a southern thing or my jealousy of all those who are blessed by having skill in the kitchen or plain possession. Either way, I made a conscience decision to start cooking again.

So when my mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I decided to ask for a cookbook.

The story goes that my mom and dad poured over cookbooks at the bookstore. They looked at them all. My mom wanted to find me one that had easy recipes that were quick to cook. She also wanted to find me one that used every day ingredients and where I could use all the recipes and not just a select few. My mom knows me oh so well.

When I opened up the gift with the cookbook, I seriously burst out laughing.

The cookbook consists of recipes from name brand companies like Perdue, Campbell and Flowers Foods, and all meals can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. It is the perfect cookbook for me. Seriously, it was made for dummies.

This past week, I made the Best Chili Ever.

Do you see that?? 15 minutes of cooking time!! It was delicious too.

And since it was such a success, I decided to be brave and make Doughnut Puffs for breakfast on Saturday.

They were soo easy to make and tasted so good that I even told Jeremy an idea I had for next time when I made them! Can you believe it?? Me? With ideas for the kitchen?? Seriously, I'm thinking about scheduling a cat scan, because I'm actually enjoying cooking. Yikes!

And thanks Mom for the awesome gift!