VOTE!

I went today and voted in the primaries. Early voting........ make sure you vote early or on Tuesday June 26th! It took about 15 minutes total, including driving time. Since my hubby is in a public office we hear alot of complaints from citizens (people are more inclined to complain that to give praise of any kind!). The first thing I want to ask when someone is complaining, "Did you vote?" If they didn't vote I would say they really don't have much to stand on when complaining. I figure that voting is the absolute least a citizen of the United States can do. We have the right to vote, to have a say, it begins at the most local level! Get out there! If you have concerns or opinions or an important set of values, find out who is running, what they stand for, etc. and Vote! If you don't vote, you are showing indifference. Vote, Vote, Vote, Vote, Vote, Vote, Vote!

Overwhelmed.........

I finally had got back on track for exercising.....3 weeks of only missing an occasional day. Then several overwhelming days and.... I better get going again. I am writing about being overwhelmed, not exercise. I have had several events and projects that I have been involved in planning, orchestrating, implementing....whatever. Seems that I have really become accustom to living just one day at a time.  Planning ahead gets confusing. I am not complaining! Ask me what I am doing tomorrow and I will have to really think, check the calendar and still not be sure! There's something about getting older that makes me feel more anxiety about planning things. I use to really enjoy it, I still do but find a bit of stress included. I think it is sad when you think, "well, when the next two weeks (or however long) are over then I will feel better". Do that all the time and life just slips away. Summer (I always count Summer as starting when school is out) has been underway for 3 weeks now. The days just spin on by with the usual busyness. The photo above was suppose to represent being overwhelmed by waves......but now, I am looking at it as a need for a vacation! I feel this need to party....to listen to Islandy music, relax by the ocean, sip diet coke with lime. As I ramble.....I went to see Tim Hawkins comedian last night.....he was great! Enjoy a little bit of his humor! See below:

Tim Hawkins is hillarious!

Cookies, anyone?

I began my love of baking (and eating!) cookies when I was about 9 years old.....I remember I would ask my mom if I could make some and she always seemed willing to let me, and then there was a rule put into place: If I asked to make them, I had to clean up the mess. If she asked me to make them, then she would clean up the mess. Early on I learned that you DO NOT exchange baking soda for baking powder. YUCK. The cookies in the photo above are a heirloom recipe of my grandma's. She got the recipe from Mrs. Hanson.  I love them. They are a bit "bland", but soft and I could eat several dozen in a sitting. Luckily, the recipe makes about a million. I have about 8 different sugar cookie recipes that produce cookies of different characteristics. Want a sugar cookie that holds an imprint well? I have it. How about one that tastes pretty good, and holds a pretty good imprint? I have that one too. Want one that just tastes absolutely the best? I have it. Want one that is poofy? Got that one too. How about one that makes the best frosted valentine hearts? Yep. A fairly decent collection of cookie cutters is in my pantry. As a young mom, I learned that one of the things I could do with one arm and hand while holding an infant in the other arm was make and bake cookies. And eat them. Contrary to what one might assume, I am much heavier now that I don't bake cookies almost everyday than when I did. So there. My recipe files contain approximately 91.67% cookie recipes. I can look through my recipes and am reminded of family and friends based on who shared each recipe with me. I love to make cookies for almost every kind of get together; wedding showers, baby showers, open houses for birthdays, celebrations and farewells. The more cookies, the better! Cookies freeze well, at least for a couple weeks or so. So bake up a batch or two of cookies and stick them in the freezer! I use to sneak into our basement storage room when I was young and raid the freezer there.  Frozen cookies taste great! Oh, and I almost forgot....when my kids set up "lemonade stands" in the neighborhood, they would also sell homemade cookies. It was a successful business venture. While living in student housing, one of my friends and neighbor told me that her pediatrician told her that a homemade oatmeal cookie was very wholesome! Add that to some ice cream and you have a well rounded snack!