Freeze my cookies? Yes I did!

Well. Well. Well.

Look who's back?

yup! It's me! I'm back from crazy move land.

You know, in blog world, it's almost a sin to admit you've been gone for any length of time, but seriously. 

{I know you are smarter than that} 

I know you know when someone's last post has been more than a month (Almost 2! *Gasp*) and they haven't been visible on their facebook page, their pinterest, or well.. anywhere else for that matter. 

Well, I'm back. At least slowly coming back. And it's not cause I haven't been busy. I surely have. 

This was taken March 3rd, 2013. This is just about every worldly possession my family owned. We packed it all up and headed west. Literally. We moved from Buffalo NY, to Castle Rock, Colorado. 

I am a Yankee among Cowboys. Cept there are a lot of Californians, New Mexicans, Texans, and even some Arizonans here.  

Castle Rock, Colorado. Someday I will blog about the very un-eventful, peaceful, God - Favored trip we experienced coming out here. But that's not for today. We are all settled in our apartment. Our house in NY is sold, and we are in a new season in life. It's very exciting, and somedays I feel like I'm on an extended vacation. Do I really live here? And truthfully, pictures do nothing to exhibit the astounding beauty that is everywhere. Sometimes I think "is that a post card backdrop"? Again, Do I really live here?

Kisha, you are not in New York anymore. 

Well that's ok. There's a lot of adjusting to do. Everything is different. Driving is different. Grocery Shopping is different. Cooking is DEFINITELY different. Baking is impossibly different. 

And speaking of baking. Look at what Genius idea I came up with a few days ago. Sure, it's not new, and I'm SURE that someone else has thought of this on a million other blogs. But the other day, it clicked.

Seriously and literally clicked. Woohoo Score one for the Yankee!

Frozen Cookie Dough. 

Yeap - I scooped up my cookie dough, piled it on cookie sheets and popped it in the freezer overnight. Once they were good and hard, I placed the all in a gallon size ziplock baggie, and now they are ready to bake, a few at a time, whenever we please, right from the freezer. 

Now, I've long known that the best way to bake cookies is from cold dough... but seriously? 

These were delicious! My go - to Chocolate Chip cookie dough is super easy and with a medium size cookie scoop makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies. Whip up your soft/wet ingredients first, stir in your chips, and then stir in the dry ingredients. It'll incorporate the chips better throughout the dough, without toughening up the dough and final cookie product.

Bake from Frozen at 350 for about 13-15 minutes. Chewy and good!

Enjoy! :) 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dry Ingredients:
2 3/4 c (14.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt 

Combine all in small bowl and set aside 

Wet Ingredients:

(2) sticks of Salted butter (whip in kitchen aid for about 8-10 minutes. Trust me) 

1 c (6.5 oz) light brown sugar
1 c minus 2 T (6.5 oz) white sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 1/2 c (10 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients, one at a time into Mixer, beating until incorporated. Add chips at end.

Slowly add Flour mix into cookie dough by thirds. Incorporate. Scoop onto a cookie sheet and refridgerate for about 10 minutes. Scoop the rest of the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet. Freeze.

Bake thawed cookie dough 8-10 minutes. Bake Frozen cookie dough for 13-15 minutes.

ENJOY! :) 

Breaking a weekend rule

So, normally I make it a rule not to blog on the weekends. There's so much going on that a lot of times it's impossible to sit down at the computer for any length of time to assemble my thoughts. This weekend isn't much different, except that I am forcing myself to do exactly that, while I have a few minutes that I can.

I haven't blogged much this week because several big things are going on. First off, I debuted on Facebook my first official "fan" page - The SunflowerGal Design Team.

 I.   Cannot.   Tell.   You.   JUST HOW EXCITED I am about this!

Seriously! I invited (3) very dear, very crafty girlfriends of mine to be the first official "SunflowerGal Designers" and they all accepted! It's huge for me! HUGE! We'll showcase so much on the Facebook page, everything your crazy little hearts desire - from Cooking and crafting to furniture redo's and just about everything in between. One of the girls is an amateur photographer whose work you are going to love. She's just so talented! I can't wait for the next couple weeks as I feature each of the girls, and some of their various skills and talents. So stay tuned to meet the team!

Another thing is that life has gotten into full swing. As you may, or may not, know we host exchange students, and this year isn't any different. Abdul, from Saudi Arabia has been with us for almost a month now, and he's fantastic. But, having a kid in highschool means shopping and trips to the mall, and soccer practices and everything else that being a teenager requires. So time is minimal.

AND if that wasn't enough - we've been in the process of repainting the hallway stairs. *sigh* don't hate me. I didn't take a SINGLE picture of this process - and believe you me, it's been a process. A three week process.
All the cleaning and preparing of the stairs, and then the scraping and sanding.
Then the caulking.
Then the cut in.
THEN the priming.
FINALLY painting the stairs. or I mean, every OTHER stair. Then, the stairs that weren't done yet. Then the second coat.

We should even probably poly them - but since I'm selling the house, we are NOT going there. However the painting of the stairs pointed out some serious need for attention to the walls and ceilings. And then, the doors to the basement and the outside. And all the different wood finishes. And everything else.

So yeah. When I say a process. It's a Process. And I want it done. Yesterday. no, really - like yesterday.

I think we are down to the last bit. I really do. One last coat of paint on the opposite stairs (the ones that say "step here") - and a couple coats rolled or brushed on the doors and we're thru. I think.

Then it's on to the kitchen. Yes. The kitchen. No lack of cut in to do there! LOL

In other news, my Aunt & Uncle came to visit from New Jersey. They finally decided that up north, to see Niagara Falls, was a good idea for a trip. Double bonus that we got to see them on the way up, and then on the way home :) Stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel - yummmmm.... 

Also topping the list of things this week was Polina, my Russian exchange student from the 2010-2011 School year. She's in the middle here with some of her house mates. She was accepted into a special Chemistry Academy in St. Petersburg! I'm so proud of her. She's moved to the city all by herself, and is now dorming with 6 roommates. You should see the size of their closet... I mean... Bedroom!

And the last little bit of news is my boy, and his girlfriend. They've exchanged promise rings. Which is a pretty big deal in our circle of people. They've made the commitment to each other to remain pure until marriage. I'm proud of them! Aren't you?

New lunch thingie ma bobber

This is the week most Yankee kids go back to school. Yeap, makes for a nice long, hot summer where most parents are frantic to figure out what to do with their kiddos. Thankfully for me, we are now past that stage, and it's not my problem anymore!

BUT, what is my problem, is how to make a decent lunch that I am willing to take to work with me, and actually eat, instead of opting for take out instead.

 And, T has been starting to take his lunch to work too, and our Saudi boy will probably need to pack HIS lunch as well, soooo while perusing the Lunch bag aisle, I found this little do-diddy. A lunch BLOX. By Rubbermaid.

*disclaimer* I am not endorsed, I am not sponsored, and I am not paid to write reviews on anything. But if you know how to let that happen, let me know! Cause I AM NOT one to turn down money just to tell you'all what I think!

Whatcha been up to?

Well I can tell you what I've been up to! Goodness life is so busy! It's a miracle I get any sleep, ever! :)

So lately, the focus has been on removing the 'extra' or added things in my life as we prepare to move forward with things and the big changes coming up. I know that I really need to get the house on the market, so I've been focusing on de-cluttering, packing and cleaning up. A lot of that had to wait till Nuth went home to Thailand. Which he has now. Actually that was a hard day. I hate "goodbye" day.

This isn't the best pic of us, but it's the last one so I'm posting it. It was soo windy on Good bye day! Anyway it took Nuth 3 1/2 days to get home. I couldn't believe it. He finally arrived in Thailand last Thursday night (Our time) but it's 13hrs ahead in Thailand, so he actually arrived Friday morning. And then his dad promptly took him to school. Crazy! Poor kid! LOL No breaks anywhere BUT America! Welcome to the land of the entitled...lol

Last week I got the priviledge to help Pastor's Joel & Amy put together a ministers luncheon for Dr. & Nancy Dufresne and all the ministers that were here in the NY area for their meetings. That is such a blessing. It was a great day, and Pastor Amy recruited some GREAT help from the Family Churches (Fredonia & Jamestown) to help with serving and caring for our guests. Oh man what a blessing those Ladies were! IF they ever read this blog, then I want to say a big FAT thank you! You were the BEST!

What else has been going on? lets see, this weekend I was at all 3 services, in the sound booth which is always a ton of fun. Don, the new guy who's doing sound is also an electrician and has offered to get my new Chandelier up in the hallway. He's coming over Thursday to do that. Thank you GOD for that blessing! Omygoodness! So many silly projects going on that I'm not capable of doing, it's great to have help :)

And what else? Well, Tye has now picked up Two jobs. He'll be interning at our church this summer for the youth summer camp, and he's at the local pet store. Which is great, cause he's got some student loans to pay back before we move. And, he's super motivated to have his own car. Can't blame him there! Sharing hasn't been too tough of an issue yet, but I can see it becoming more challenging!

and... OH! This weekend we went down to see our family in Binghamton because of my Uncle Bob's 75th birthday! Wow 75! He's so spry and sharp, you'd never know he was that old, well except several of his kids are in their 40's and 50's... which to me, even at 37, still feels so much OLDER than I am. Oy... the joys of being a young mom. I feel like I haven't aged much since I was 20 :) 

Well but I am much more mature....

Ok, so what's next? um... Jim and Jill Kelly are coming to our church to share their testimony and talk about what's in their new book. Interesting huh? I won't be there, cause I'm singing that day at another church, but praise God I hope lots of people come to hear what they have to say.

And I guess the last thing is that on Sunday, my dear friend Julie and her boyfriend Paul threw me the nicest party ever. I was floored by the love and care and the cards, and sweet things everyone said and I was so grateful for their prayers and love and support. God is just so good. I'll be heartbroken to say goodbye to them, but as Paul so aptly put it- they will always be a part of my "God" story.

So that's it for now - I'll update more soon! :)

Be Blessed! Oh and here's a video just for fun!!! one of my fav worship songs!

Random musings

So it's been a while since I just blogged. Or unloaded. Or vented. Or just spilled. Or whatever these random musings are considered.

Gotta admit that having blogger on my phone is a ton of fun. But, I've discovered that while I can see my phone perfectly clear, I may be straining my eyes. It seems they are always teary. Of course that could be my makeup, could be my moisturizer which has sunscreen in it and tends to irritate my eyes, or a combination of all three. My first plan of attack is to stop using the moisturizer and see if that gives me any relief. If not then I think I better start saving for an iPad because not wearing makeup is just NOT an option... lol

So what's going on? There's like 36 days till our exchange student goes home to Thailand. First though he's going to Disney world this week. Exciting for him! I'm going to see my mom this weekend. We always go for Memorial day and I'm really looking forward to seeing her :)

Tye is done with school, my flowers are coming up in the garden and life is moving quickly. The house isn't on the market yet but we are getting there. Slowly but surely. I anticipate sometime in June but I really have to get moving on it. My friend and I are flying to Denver in June and I can't wait to scope out the land. It'll be so new and different! Never been out west before!

Well that's it for now - dinner is mostly ready and it's gym day so Tye and I are gonna head up there after dinner :)

Have a great night y'all!

Busy days...

But the end of the hosting year usually is. I can't believe this weekend is already the pre departure orientation. That means its only 6 weeks or so before these kids head home to their countries and their natural families. What a whirlwind!

Today was fun - aside from waking up to my sweet niece singing to me, I spent the whole day with the AFS kids in orientation - I had Jordan, Bahrain, thailand, Japan, pakistan, and russia in my group. Quite a mix of kids talking about re entering their home countries and some of the challenges they might face.

I took a bunch of pics too :) here's a fun one of zoey and I :) She's my little dolly! Love her!

Thought it was time for a new profile pic

Sooo I've updated! :) First time in about 3 years... whew... I think I actually look younger... hahahaha oh wow. Well anyway - off to the gym! Have a great day everyone!

I love my job!

This is so cool! My boss gave me this card and olive garden gift card for Professional administrative Professional day :) super generous and thoughtful. AND the olive garden is one of my most favorite restaurants:) thanks guys! You rock!

Meat Sauce Dinner

You know u want some! Yumm... But it's not for you it's for the exchange students :) boy are they gonna like it - I bet there won't even be leftovers! lol Sorry, there's no details. I just sort of threw it all together. Ground beef, two cans of crushed tomatoes, chunky diced onions and peppers, red pepper flakes and lots if italian seasonings, probably an entire head of garlic (I Love garlic!) and it smells AMAZING!

mmm.... don't be shy - just throw together your own sauce, you'll do great! And then share here with me your success!

I work out... ♫

hehe yeap. So I joined a gym. I can't say I'm overly regular at going TO the gym, but I've been twice this week and that makes me feel better :) I just got back actually - walked "quickly" almost 2 miles on the treadmill with a 2.0 incline and then I worked out my arms, and stretched some. I feel good!

Tonight was also the last night for our 40 days in the word bible study. It was great! I learned so much about Bible study - and more than just to "read". I learned all these great little tricks and tips to actually meditate on God's word and I know it'll help me more and more to grow and grow!

Things go well with Nut, he's starting to integrate into the family, and has been really helpful around the house - when instructed what to do. He's taking care to do his homework and joined the Air Rifle club, so I'm glad about his involvement in school :)

And... that's about it! Work, church, kids... gym.. zumba, that's life right now and I'm lovin every minute of it. God has blessed me abundantly!

<3

Kisha

owe an update!

Well I was really on a roll there for a while wasn't I? :) And true to form, haven't been back in about two weeks...lol I have a lot to update, but as I'm running off to work, right now is not the time. Just thought I'd share a quick couple things with you - first my new favorite song:



and second - ain't this the cutest? I ordered it from Etsy a couple of days ago, and cannot wait for it to get here. It'll be personalized, and what a fun way to pack my lunch every morning for work? :)

Well that's the quick news! :0) Have a great day everyone! 

Amazing sleep...

I passed out last night, and slept a full 9 hrs in my own bed. I'm refreshed, awake and can't WAIT to start the day. I'll be updating more on my Haiti trip soon, but for now I'm off for a girls day at Olive Garden for lunch, and then to the mall for some fun girl time w/my sweethearts, Nada from Egypt, Komal from Pakistan, and Natali from Russia!

Pictures from haiti coming soon!

Some days... I completely feel like this.

Preparing for new seasons...

Welp, the deck is just about all cleaned up for Winter. Have to admit, it looks awefully bare, and exposed out there. I got used to all my pretty things forming a bit of privacy from the rest of the world... but... isn't that how it always is? We try to block out what we don't want to see, but eventually in order to prepare for new seasons, we must take down the walls...

a little of this, and a little of that

So life has been pretty good lately. Have to admit it's been a lot of fun. Between getting to know Jeff and all the activities that keep us busy, workin on my return trip to Haiti, and learning my job at work, it's been a whirlwind of activities!

This week is a unique experience as we're hosting (2) English teachers from Thailand. They are lovely ladies - Gayoon (Gaye-une) and Mrs. K! Gayoon is from Central Thailand and is an administrator at an English immersion school, and Mrs. K is an english teacher at a Thai school. Both are thrilled to be here, both brought me beautiful Thai gifts, and last night, they cooked us an authentic Thai meal of Chicken soup and Beef curry, which they said wasn't very hot... but after a few bites I found that my pallet was on fire! ;) It was awesome though! The entire AFS WNY team is helping a lot by planning activities and outtings for them when they aren't observing in different area schools - so already they've been to the AFS orientation, Niagara Falls, Fowler's Chocolate, a tour of the Buffalo Pier, and Buffalo State College. Tonight they are with another AFS host family cooking for them, and making an authentic Thai meal. Pretty cool because the girls this family is hosting are from Pakistan and Egypt and maybe have never had Thai before?

Right now Zoey is here, and she's getting so big! started pre-school this year and wow, talks up a storm!

having so much fun :)

So those of you who know me, and know my 'dating styles'... or lack of them to be specific, and since, well it's been a super super long time since I've dated... I'm having a ton of fun with this. But I have to ask, could God be soo good that he would bring the first guy along to be the best match for me? It sure seems like it. Of course I'm not getting much sleep! LOL

Otherwise life is pretty status quo. This weekend is gonna be busy... can't wait for Saturday night - I'm going to see my dear friend Juli in Rochester at her church, where Restore Haiti is going to be doing a presentation. Also, my new friend is going to be meeting me there. I'm excited to see him again.

Sunday I have no plans so I am guessing I will finally catch up on some of my jam making, which is going extremely well this season :)

Tonight... I'm going to catch up on my sleep and think about how incredibly God is.

Netflix, you should be ashamed of yourself!

So frustrated! In the great big scheme of life, this is probably one of those things I'm going to have to just "get over"... but the reality is that I'm so upset! Did you ever call somewhere and get an endless circle of "gee we're really sorry but we are NOT going to do anything about it"?
Well that's where I am. In the haste to get out of town for my grandmother's funeral, and knowing that I had to get the video we rented back to Netflix (in light of their raising their prices and us switching to online streaming only), I accidently put the wrong DVD into the sleeve and sent it back to Netflix. My son, who had rented another movie from a local video store, realized it AFTER the mail had been picked up, and the DVD was already on it's way to Netflix.
I called Netflix immediately (i.e. Wed night) where "Brad" assured me it would be NO problem at all, and that Netflix would do EVERYTHING they could to ensure that I got the DVD back so that we could return it to the video store. He was marking my account with a note, and it would be resolved no problem. Watch my email within the next couple of days, and he was sure they would mail it back to me.

Well I got busy with family and being out of town for the funeral, and made a mental note that I needed to call Netflix again, because I had gotten a 'confirmation of receipt' email- but no email that they had that wrong DVD and would be mailing it back to me.

Soooo today? I call netflix on my drive home. What should have been a 10 minute, yes ma'am thank you we're mailing you back your DVD turned into an endless cycle of "Gee, we're really sorry you made that mistake, but there is absolutely nothing we can do for you". Too bad, so sad.

No assistance, no one will go grab the dvd off the shelf and send it back, no courtesy credit because they are keeping a movie that belongs to someone else... NOTHING.
I'm sorry... was I clear? Literally NOTHING! To be honest, I'm completely shocked and utterly horrified. I've been raving over this company for 4 years - the length I've been a customer and personally know about 6 friends who signed up because of how "wonderful" I've said they are.

And if THIS isn't the icing on the cake... they actually emailed me a customer satisfaction survey, AND said they were sorry I cancelled, and would love to have me back some day!

NETFLIX! SEND ME MY DVD AND I WILL HAPPILY REINSTATE MY MEMBERSHIP!

Now... Netflix - shame on you! I'm heartbroken! A company that uncocnerned about the well being of it's customers will NOT be on top forever... take heed! What goes up - must come down... it's the law of Gravity.

A very sad, sad customer who will now be heading to Redbox for her movie needs!

Canning Weekend : )

What a full, lazy, fun wonderful 3 day weekend. No Picnics, no cook -outs, no real hard plans... just flowed with it. It was a "God" thing in light of the circumstances. My grandma passed away. She was 81 so it wasn't totally unexpected, but still, much more emotional than I was ready for. So many great memories, so many dear family members - all stemming from such a strong, fiercely independent woman. Rest in Peace Gramma - till we meet again in Heaven. Love you!

So Friday night was movie night at a friends house, and we saw "Limitless" - which was... interesting. Nice though, to not have to think about anything in light of the sad news about Grandma. Saturday I made pepper jelly, took Zoey apple picking, made spaghetti for dinner, and then another movie night, which we watched the new Adam Sandler movie - um... what the heck is it called? I don't even remember... it wasn't that great - but it did have some very significantly funny parts :)

 Sunday was 2nd week at the new church. Have to admit breakfast and coffee at the tables surprised me quite a bit. It was uncomfortable, but for whatever reason, it works for them. I'm just gonna keep praisin God and thankin him for whatever is coming and whatever assignment we have to learn there.

Today was more cooking, and I had dinner with a couple friends. It was nice :) And to add randomness to the moment - here are some pics of the yummy food I made today. A small (4) Pint batch of the most DELISH salsa ever... but maybe that's because I grew the tomatos AND the peppers myself? Also, a batch of carrot cake jam, and a batch of Apple pie jam. (which ironically enough, can be ordered JUST by clicking the link to the right of this post!)

Well enjoy... My sisters and I will be making plans to travel for Gramma's funeral.... should probably get packed first!

Sunday

So, first things first. Blogger has a new interface. I'm playing with it, not sure I like it being a creature of habit - i'll probably switch back to the old, until they force me to keep the update.
Sunday mornings - it's quiet here. Tye and I have decided to go to different services at church. The 3rd service begins at noon, which means he can sleep till 11. You know teenagers! Apparently though, that service is more for singles and young people anyway, and he'll fit right in. For me? I'm guessing the 10:30 crowd will be more my speed. The nice things is that I can try it out and if I don't like it, switch.

It's been kind of a lazy, impromptu weekend. Spent a ton of time with my friend Terri, from my previous church who is such an amazing, Godly woman. It's good to have spirit filled people in my life to keep me current, fresh and real. To have someone I can hang out with, pray with, talk with and laugh with.... it's a good feeling to have in a friend :) Anyway - Friday night we went to her place to hang with her and the kids, we watched "Limitless" - if you've never seen it - don't rush right out for it. It was a bit on the weird side... and probably nothing we'd ever watch again. Tye decided to stay over and then yesterday they went to Chestnut Ridge and climbed the 100 stairs.

Have you heard of this new phenom? Planking. Yeap. Apparently ALL the boys are doing it, as you see below. You basically find a flat surface - any one will do... and you become a "Plank" or a "board" on that surface. Well...here's a few to give you some examples.

Well as you can see its apparently much fun. No thanks!

As for me, I spent the time with a very special little girl who I adore - my neice Zoey! No pics, which I wish I would have. We made Peach Jam, then had Tuna for lunch, and then went Apple Picking, so that we can make Apple Pie Jam, Maybe an apple pie or two, and of course... Apple sauce! It was a great day and we really enjoyed ourselves.

What's on for today? Well Church, and then... not sure. Probably start more jam. Tis the season for jam!  Have an excellant, blessed Sunday! (Oh and on that "new interface note"? It sure was easier to insert pictures than it used to be!)

new beginnings

such a simple statement... such big implications. Today, we had two new beginnings. Both are pretty significant, and both are things we will look back on and say... so thats when this started.

First, Tye started college today. And true to form, it was not an easy start for him. He was up early, 5am... and off to a 6:12bus, which got him to campus at 7am. Immediately he got his student ID, and went off to his first class. Which was wrong. Off to the department chair. Fixed the english class. Off to math class. Which was wrong. Off to the department chair. Fixed the math class... oh by the way - you can't take that Bio class, OR that lab yet. Fixed the Bio class. Kept the Psychology class. Financial aid? A (2) hr wait. Hand in a paper and wait for a letter because there is too much backlog. We don't have answers for you yet. Off to get the bus pass... 5-7 day wait. Use your student Id for now.

LOL My son had quite an awakening. Not only into College Life, but on how well equipped he is to handle it. He's stronger than he thinks... and he'll make it. I know he can do it.

Second, we went to the volunteer orientation at our new church. A lot of new people were there looking to get involved. That was cool. Tye signed up to work in the Cafe. I signed up to work in the tech/lighting/sound department and/or sing in the worship band. Wow. That's scary and exciting all at the same time. I know I can sing. Do I have the confidence to do it in front of a couple hundred people? I don't know. I do know that I received a prophetic word several months ago that said God would be opening doors for me to use my voice more in worship and worship settings. Is this that opportunity? I don't know... but we'll see!

Anyway - what a day... right?