Christmas Cookies

It's time to for the Christmas cookies to start coming out of the oven. I actually made my first set last week, and the way they are being eaten I don't know if they are going to make it till Christmas time. I thought I would share my cookie list with a few links to the actual recipes.
My Christmas cookies are a few tried and true favorites that wouldn't be Christmas without. I like to try new recipes, but during this time when time is premium I stick with ones I know and my family loves!
So here is my list and why they make it on my list.
1. Sugar cookies (this is an old family recipe). Who doesn't love sugar cookies with frosting and decorations. I use a Christmas tree, Santa and bell cookie cutter. The majority of the cookies get frosted and just a few get sprinkles. Growing up my mom made these cookies all the time with an appropriate cookie cutter. I have become a sugar cookie snob. I will admit it. I do not like sugar cookies from the store and there have been very few homemade sugar cookies from others that I have liked. I prefer my own! This is a recipe that my mom didn't pass out and share. She shared many recipes, but not this one. I am not really sure why, but I don't plan to share it either :).
2. Peanut Butter Snicker cookies. I actually found this recipe in the coupon section of the newspaper while it college and made them with my roommate. They are now the cookies that I take to Christmas parties and cookie exchanges. They are yummy!!!! http://www.food.com/recipe/snicker-surprise-peanut-butter-cookies-15477
3. Ginger cookies. I do not like these, these are not my favorite, BUT they are my brother's. And for him it wouldn't be Christmas without these cookies, so I make them for him.
4. No Bakes. My mom only made these at Christmas time so for me they are a Christmas cookie. I know that lots of people make them year round. They are one of my favorites.
5. Peanut Clusters. Again these are not one of my favorites, but that is because I do not like nuts. These are simply peanuts in melted chocolate/almond bark and spooned out into clusters or clumps.
6. Chocolate covered pretzels. Enough said. I use white chocolate/almond bark, nothing too fancy, just simple.
7. Whoopie Pies. These are a new addition to the Christmas cookie list. Whoopie pies were introduced to me by my husband. He grew up eating them and I enjoy them now too.
8. Monster cookies. Not really a Christmas cookie, but we had all the ingredients and these are the ones already made and almost gone. This recipe came from Paula Dean and here is the link http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/monster-cookies-recipe/index.html
9. Molasses with Raisins. I have never actually made these before. This was a cookie that my husband wanted when I asked him what he wanted. I have to get the recipe from Grammy and make them for him.
10. Puppy cookies. These are cookies for my puppy. He likes cookies too. I found this recipe on pinterest. Attawolf loved them when I made them for him before and plan on making some for him and some for my brother-in-law's new puppy for Christmas. They were easy to make and have everyday ingredients, if you have a dog make them! http://www.pinkpistachio.com/biscuits-for-boyfriend/.
That's my cookie list. I have several recipes to make this week so we can enjoy them. If you try any of these let me know what you think.

God's timing

God's timing is not our own, He works on His schedule. He is never late, never early or have a missed appointment. He is always on time!

The Lord is teaching me about trust, self-reliance, and His timing right now. After much prayer and wise counsel I have decided to resign from my current job. My last day is Friday, and right now that seems like forever away. I had decided that working in a call center just was not best fit for me. Russ has recently started a new job, which allows me to resign and take the time to look for a new job that fits better. That's where what God is teaching me is coming into play. I am learning again to trust God to provide and not to be reliant only on myself. The only time I have ever quit a job without a new one to go to was when we moved from Ohio to Iowa. This is something new for me. Even after I turned in my 2 week notice I doubted my design, not because I didn't feel it was the right choice for us right now, but more because of the unknowns I will be stepping into. I know that in God's timing He will provide the right job for me at the right place. I have to do my part in applying and getting my name out there, and trust in His timing. I also have to practice relying on my husband to provide for me. This is a first for me, I have not that sort of provision or support since high school, in a way it is difficult. I don't know if that makes any sense. I am glad my husband is working and wants to support me, it's just taking my hands off and letting him- it comes down to a control issue. I know that God is using this time to shape and grow me.

God has provided some new friends into our lives. We have started going to a new church. We are involved with a small group of people who have become sweet friends. I know that God has brought this specific group of people for specific reasons. It has thrilled my heart to meet sweet Christian friends there who have brought much need sweet fellowship, encouragement and spurring onto growth. I am glad God brought us to Grace Brethren and I am excited in how God is going to use us there.

"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,

And in His word I do hope."

Psalm 130:5

Still alive

I know that I haven't posted in a long time, basically it's because that not everything in life is blog worthy or should be.

There isn't a ton new in our lives. I am still working at the same place. Russ just got a job and starts next week. So we have started the house hunt again. We are both ready to find a house of our own.

We celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. It doesn't seem possible that it has been a year. We got to celebrate in Chicago with our good friends Steve and Amy and their girls. It was a good weekend of catching up and spending time together.

At that time Amy got me addicted to pinterest. I am glad. I have made a few things from ideas I have gotten on there. I need to take pictures and actually. I have made several scarves from t-shirts, a wreath and a small cake plate. I am enjoying collecting ideas and recipes to try. So know it's finding the time and resources to try recipes and crafts. It has really gotten my creative juices flowing and I am enjoying that "ability" that God gave me.

I know this isn't a huge or deep post. Maybe more will come later. But I am not completely silent in blogger world any more.

Listening

I have realized anew recently that generally people don't listen. Not only do people not listen they don't know how to think or reason the words that were just said to him. Why is that? Do we not teach our children anymore how to listen, not hear? Because listening and hearing are completely different things. At this moment I am hearing the lady cooking on the Food Network. I can hear that she is cooking fish but I am not truly engaged with what she is saying. If I was listening to her I would be engaged with the recipe she was sharing and thinking about how I could make that myself and how to do that. People just hear, it goes in one ear and out the other. They are busy thinking of what their response will be or what is next on their agenda. Do we not teach our children how to think and reason, do we just tell them to do it and believe it because we say so. They did to learn how to think on their own, how to take facts and thoughts and mull them over in their minds and come up with their OWN thought and decision about it. Unfortunately I experience this on a daily basis on the phone. Somedays it is worse that others. Recently, I have made the intentional decision that I when I have children I will teach them how to listen, reason and think. I do not want them to come out of a conversation with someone not having learned anything new or even being able to know what they spoke about and reflect about it. I know that I still have to practice and learn to keep listening and not just hearing. Does anyone else see this problem out there or is it just me? This is something to think about and come up with your own decision. I would love to hear what you think!

Job

I got the job! I got the job!

This is such an answer to prayer. In order to put an offer on the house that we want I needed a full time job- not a temporary/contract job. Banks will not consider temporary income when considering income for mortgages, which makes complete since. Now that I have a full time position- officially starting on July 11, we just need Russ to also get a full time position then we can maybe buy a house.
The good news is that the house that we want is still on the market and has dropped in price. I know that if that is the house God has for us then it will still be on the market when we are ready for it and at a price we can afford.
My husband being the sweet loving man that he is got me a fantastic congratulations gift. Russ bought me a cricut!!!! I have wanted a cricut for a very long time. This paper cutting machine will be extremely usable for the crafting when it comes to scrapbooking and card making. I just wish I had all my supplies and time to play and use it. I got to play a little bit this weekend.
Now I have this dream of a craft room that will be in the house we hopefully can get.
Thank you Russ, for doing research and finding an excellent deal and giving me this special gift that I will enjoy for many years. I love you!

Time

Sometimes I wish I had more time in the day to get things done that need to be done and things that I just want to do. I know that you make time for the things you really want to do, but sometimes you still run out of time. One person can only get so much done in 24 hours in a day. And try as I may I am not the superwoman I try to be, and lovingly my husband reminds me of that.

If I had more time in the day what would I do....

I would cook a wonderful dinner every night for my family, like the ones they make on Food Network and then clean up the kitchen.

I would straighten up and clean up the house so that it wasn't so dusty and cluttered.

I would craft- whether that be sewing, embroidery, scrapbooking, card making, or trying something completely new.

I would keep up with everyone on facebook, blogs and emails.

I would spend quality with my husband Russ and my family.

I would be more involved in my church and serving God.

I wouldn't be tired when coming home from work, especially on Fridays.

I would be productive on the weekend's getting lots of extras done- like making sweets for my family to eat during the week, making a menu for those fabulous meals I would make, going garage saling for deals and special finds, planting flowers in front the house and all the other extra things that I want to get done.

But alas, I don't get much of that done. My house is not very clean and the clutter tends to drive me nuts. I would love to deep clean, but to do it in the evening just doesn't work like when I was single and on my own. I usually cook my family dinner, nothing close to gormuet but still tasty, but lately my husband and brother have been doing a lot of the dinner cooking. I do just a little crafting- last weekend I made a dress and have patterns and material to make a couple more dress and skirts, just haven't found the time to do it yet.

Weekends seem to go by too quickly- never enough time to get everything done. Monday comes around awfully quickly. I never seem to get everything done that I want to do. Sometimes there is just not enough time in the day.

How do I get everything done??????

Wedding Pictures

I have finally decided to post some of our wedding pictures and actually got around to doing it. After talking with my maid of honor this week, I realize that she as well as others have not gotten to see our pictures so I will post them here. I do want to say that our photographer Jolene Pilarczyk did a wonderful job. These are her pictures- and therefore copyrighted by her. The pictures are actually backwards from how I loaded them, so the beginning of the pictures are actually on the bottom, :( oh well.

Enjoy!!!!

My rings are very special! The middle diamond is mine wrapped between my Mom's and Grandma's diamonds. My wedding band is my Great-Grandmother's.

For my husband- O H I O !





























My husband thought it was very funny to dop some frosting on my nose.

My beautiful flower girls Abby and Hayley who actually threw fall leaves down the aisle.

Our wedding party:

Bridesmaids: Caitie (France) Rice, Amy Ross, Shelbi Millard, Belle Blair, and Maid of Honor Abby Peffer. Flower girls: Abby and Hayley Ross. Groomsmen: Carl Rice, Greg Pituch, Dave Carson, Ruben Troupe and Best Man Steve Ross.

In honor of my Mom who recently passed away my brother, Matt, carried a rose in her honor and placed it in the pew where she would have sat. I am so glad that I didn't get to see it- I would have bawled.

The first moment he saw me all dressed up :) special time together!

My grandparent's wedding topper.

Bringing me coffee in the midst of getting my hair done. They had been moving the rest of his stuff to the storage unit. It was a busy morning.

sinus infection

I really hate being sick. Sinus infections are horrible. I decided that I would like to cut my nose off, maybe I will feel better then. I have antibiotics which I think are beginning to help. The doctor was real assuring letting me know that I will feel start to feel better in about 10 days- woohoo!!! I can't wait. I want to feel better now and not have to wait that long. My nose is sore from blowing it, my sinus' are full and sore, my ears are sore, and just about every sinus cavity in my body, as well as my lungs and those muscles from coughing and coughing to bring the crap up. (I know that is gross and a little TMI- but I am sick and at this point I don't really care.) I just want to feel better, I would like to be able to go to sleep tonight and not wake up in a hour coughing and then a couple of more times through the night. I would like to wake up feeling more refreshed and ready to face the day. I would like to feel better, so that I can have a much better outlook on life and the tears will not come so easily. I do not want to feel crappy or icky anymore, I just want to feel better. I know that I am not facing a life threatening disease and that shortly in a few days I will feel better and go on living, so I am not thinking that I am worse off or woe is me. I just want to feel better, I am whining and I admit it, I just want to feel better.

Thursday's TV

I do enjoy my Thursday TV viewing schedule. I watch Big Bang Theory on CBS at 7:00pm. I am not exactly sure exactly why but that program makes me laugh and I sooooo enjoy watching and laughing at it. We quote from the program all the time.... "It WAS you...."it makes me laugh. Then at 8:00 I switch it over to the History channel to watch Swamp People. It is a program about the alligator hunting season down south in the bayou. It is rather interesting, you should check it out- it's addicting really.

Spring is Here

I saw my first daffodils today. There are outside of the door I use at work. They weren't out this morning when I walked in, but I was excited to think that there would be daffodils soon. Then when I walked out to go home there were some bright, sunny, beautiful daffodils there looking up at me. I smiled and beemed all the way to my car. Spring is here. The daffodils are here, the daffodils are here, the daffodils are here!!!!!!!

Update

I thought I would give a quick update on some of the things I have recently shared about.
We ended up trading Zippy (my car) in for a new Subaru Impreza that we get to pick up Wednesday night. We have had to wait to get a standard, we both wanted a manual transmission, so we waited patiently.
Yesterday we went to another open house at the house we have been praying about and thinking about. I fell more in love with the house this time and thought about how I would decorate and design and such. So now we are even more fervently praying about the house and making an offer. We would appreciate your prayers as well.
My job is continuing to go well. In just a few weeks I go back for some more training.
Russ and I are anticipating working with the youth at our church and praying on how God will use us there.
I think that updates the major points, oh and in case your wondering yes I am still on Kool-aid strike :) for those of you who know what that is :).
My puppy needs to go out and is looking at me like you said just a minute, I'm ready now, so I will go take him out and continue working on the laundry.

Abide in Me

"I am the vine and my Father is the gardener.

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,

while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes

so that it will be even more fruitful.

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you.

No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.

Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches.

If a man remains in me and I in him,

he will bear much fruit;

apart from me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not remain in me,

he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers;

such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you,

ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you.

This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit,

showing yourself to be my disciples.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

Now remain in my love.

If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love.

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you

and that your joy may be complete."

John 15:1-11

We are having a revival at our church this week. It has been a great reminder of where our faith should be and examining ourselves to see if we are living the way that Christ has called us to live. Last night's message really spoke to me, it was the reminder I needed about abiding or remaining in God. To be quiet honest that is an area where I have failed most recently, and this was the reminder I needed of where I need to be and what I should be doing about it. The speaker, Luke Garrett, said that we are only as close to God as we want to be. That is so true and it got me thinking about how close am I to my God, what am I letting get in the way. He also gave us a challenge about praying every hour, not a long prayer, but just something simple like Lord, help me abide in you this hour. I tried today to do this, in the morning I did well, but as calls came in this afternoon unfortuantly prayer went by the wayside. I am determined to try again later. I am working on being sure that I abide in Christ. It was exactly what God knew I needed to hear, and I heard it.

spoonful of grace

I got to experience a spoonful of grace today at work and I wanted to share how God used one phone call I took today to impact my life. I take somewhere between 70-100+ calls each day, most calls I do not really remember as I help most members with similar things.
Today however I had a call that I hope that I do not forget anytime to soon. Because of security purposes I have to be extremely careful about what I share, so I will give just a general overview of the call.
I answer a call with Hello this is Joyce may I have your policy or certificate number please... and go on with the call. Today on this call a women answered told me the story of why she was calling. She was calling on behalf of someone else, she happened to go into a restaurant to get some soup, the owner not being able to speak very good English and asked her to call for him. By the end of the call I was able to help this family out.
I took this call right before lunch and quiet honestly it put me in a bit of a funk. I wasn't quiet sure what to think of the call and how the whole situation happened. I was able to tell my pod mate (one of the girls who sits next to me) about my call inbetween the calls we were getting. She commented about how nice it was that this lady called in. It got me thinking.
It got me thinking about how this lady went in for soup and she was able to help someone out in ways that she will probably not ever realize. I do not know if this lady goes into the restaurant all the time and knows the person well who she was helping or if she just happened to go into the restaurant today and was asked for help.
Regardless she was asked for and she gave it. She took the time out of her day to help this owner out. She could have very easily said no she was busy and had to go, and yet she didn't. It makes me wonder how many others may have been asked to help and said no. She said yes.
It made me think of grace. It also made me think that when someone asks for help and you assist you may never know what kind of impact it may have on them. It makes me think that I should not be so quick to say no. After all didn't Christ tell what we do to the least of these we do unto Him.
I know these thoughts are not very clear and a bit rambling. I however needed to share what I was thinking and what God is teaching me through one phone call I took today. I hope it makes sense and gets you thinking the next time someone one you may know and may not know asks you for help how you will respond. Thanks for listening to my thoughts as I process them out.

Trying again

Yesterday afternoon I tried typing out a long update for my blog and just when I had it all typed out I went to go post it and it was gone. So I will try it again.

It has been a long while since I wrote last- just about a month ago. So a quick update.... (or not so quick)
My job is going well, I am done with training until after tax season, then it is another 2 weeks of training. The calls have been going well for the most part. Thankfully we have a great help resource at ext 2012. I have used that quiet a bit and it is nice to have. It was nerve wrecking the first couple of days sitting out on the floor taking real calls from members. I have gotten some really good feedback from my manager, she says that I have a very professional sounding voice on the phone.
Russ's job is also going well. He has a lot of patience. It is a great blessing to have that amount of patience. I do not understand how he does his job, but I know that God has granted him this amount of patience so that he can work with these girls and help them. I know that this patience will also come into practice when we have children of our own (no not an announcement).
With our jobs going well we are beginning the process of looking for our own home. We have actually been looking for quiet a while just to see what is out there as options. We have seen a lot of homes that need a ton of work (which we don't mind) but cost more than they are worth, houses that are overpriced, houses that are not in the best of areas- my brother calls them the ghetto, and homes outside of our price range. So much to our surprise when we went to an open house on Sunday we saw a house that actually has potential. The house has character and is pretty much move in ready- we would want to change some paint and carpet, but no major projects before moving in. There are a few things that we would like to update and improve as time goes on like the bathrooms, kitchen and creating a master suite.
So now we are in the process of praying for wisdom about what God would have us do about this house. We are also looking into getting a mortage and seeing what all that entails. After that point we may proceed with an offer and all. We ask that you pray with us for wisdom. This is a huge purchase and it is a BIT overwhelming when I think of the enormousy of it all. The biggest purchase I have ever made was my car, which we are trying to sell (05 Hyundai Tiburon, 5 speed, 53K miles 7500 OBO- let me know if your interested or know someone who maybe). So I am very thankful to have Russ to walk through this process with. While I am excited to have our own place soon, it is a bit overwhelming. I am excited to see what God has for us and when in His timing it will all come into place. We will keep you posted on what happens.
I guess that pretty much updates everything. I will try to blog more consistently.

So Angry

Urrrggggg!!!! I just typed a really long update here and I went to go post it and boom it was gone, so fustrating!
So to steal a phrase from my brother "So Angry!"

Now to decide if everything I just typed is really worth retyping........

Craft Project and Cookies

I got one of my craft projects done. I got the idea from a magazine called Craft'n Things. I took the idea and twicked it a bit for my liking and to make it a bit cheaper. Their instructions said to use chip board for the hearts and letters, but that was more expensive than I wanted, so I used form board and cut it with an knife- with no cuts to my fingers. I really like how it turned out and have it hanging on the mirror above the fireplace.

Yesterday in looking for recipe ideas for this week's menu I came across a cookie recipe that I haven't made in about a year so I thought I would make it again. I originally got this recipe at Starbuck's Cafe. I made them this evening and they were as yummy as I remembered so I thought I would share.

Outrageous Oatmeal Cookie

1 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup dark raisins

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (I just use what I have on hand)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

4 tbsp dark raisins for topping (I skip this part)

4 tbsp golden raisins for topping (I skip this part)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend together oats, flour, raisins, cranberries, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg, cinnamon and vanilla; beat until combined. Gradually add oat mixture; beat until combined. Combine raisins for topping in seperate bowl and set aside. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto two baking sheets. Place 1 mounded teaspoon of raisins on top of dough. Bake until cookies are golden brown but still soft, 12 to 16 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on sheets; transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Let me know if you try the cookies and what you think! Back to enjoying the superbowl commercials :).

work

I have completed two weeks of training at work. I know a lot of information about accidental death and dismemberment insurance and how to help the credit union members who have it when they call in, well at least I hope I do. I have felt like I was back in school. I think I understand what I am doing and one of the other girls in my class said she thought I knew what I was doing. We found out that we will start taking a few calls from actual members who need help, not just practice calls. I knew we would be out on the floor on February 14, so it came as a shock for Wednesday, I guess I am ready. I know that the first few will be nerve wrecking but I think I can do it. I am just really praying that this turns into a permanent job. I really don't want to have to go back to searching for a job in June ( I'm there till then).
I have been coming home tired in the evenings- mental- and by last night I was fried. I didn't want to even make dinner- it sounded like too much work. I would have loved ordering a pizza or even getting subs from sub city. That is not what happened however, we had dinner at home, I however had a ton of help from Ruben. It was a teaching opportunity. He made dinner and I told/showed him how to do it. It worked out well.
I don't know if I have a ton of energy today, there are several things that I would like to do today/this weekend. I am beginning to think that my list is too grand. I would like to get a haircut, work on the Christmas tree skirt, work on my model (yes, I said model. I started it last Friday night, its a 33' Ford. Russ and Ruben looked like they were having fun doing theirs that I wanted to try it.) and I want to do my valentine project- I got everthing for it, just need to do it, plus I need to go grocery shopping and make a menu for next week.
I guess I should get started :-)

Saturday Morning

This is the last weekend of "vacation." I get to start work on Monday. I am looking forward to it actually, while it would be nice to be a stay at home wife, I'd rather work now so when the day comes (not yet) I can stay home with my babies. To celebrate my new job I am going to buy a new lunch bag- you know like you do at the beginning of the school year. I can't tell you when the last time I actually had a lunch box. I used a gift bag for a long time so I think it is needed.

I have been working out. Today is my day off- basically because I would have to get up way too early to have alone time with the tv. I absolutely hate having people watch me work out. So one day off isn't going to hurt me. I am beginning to see a small difference. I will continue to workout and get in shape.



I am excited for this evening. Russ is taking me out on a date. It has been a very long time since we have gone on a date. I am not sure where we are going to eat or what we are going to do. But I am sure we are going to have a good time.



I am still working on Ruben's Christmas tree skirt and plan to work on it today. I am ready to be done with it and start a new project. Soon, hopefully soon.



I have trained my dog Attawolf in a way I am not sure was a good thing. Whenever I take him out to pee or poop when he comes in I give him a treat. Most of his treats are in an old cheese ball tub (the really big one from Sam's) and the tub sits on the floor in the dining room. Yesterday afternoon I took him outside and he didn't do anything except sniff around for squirrels and rabbits. It was very cold so we came in. He went right to his treat tub and sat there looking at it and then me. I preceeded to tell him that he didn't do anything out there why should he get a treat. However you cannot reason with a dog so I ended up giving him a treat. But I have trained him- outside and come in you get a treat. I guess it's not too bad if he actually takes care of business. I do love my puppy and I'll keep him anyways.

Time for coffee and cinnamon rolls.....