Sweet & Salty Peanut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

It started with the arrival of my March issue of Cooking Light.
Then, while taking my Saturday mid-morning nap, I received a phone call from Dan who had snuck out and gone to the store. When asked if I needed anything, I swept the cobwebs from my brain and said calmly and without hesitation: "Roasted peanuts and chocolate chips, please."
After a wee mixing, blending, and baking, we had a beautiful plate of cookies! Mmmmm...
If you have a hankering to whip up a batch, the recipe can be found here.

Mail Art!

Well, it was an excruciating wait as my package arrived 3 days early, so I placed it strategically in a place where I would see it and be tortured by it for 3 LONG days! My gift came from Jesica, and I love it!

The fabrics she used are all remnants from past projects, which I think tells a lot about her fun personality, lots of colors, prints, characters, and textures. So much fun to pour over the teeny pieces and try to picture the other pieces of art she has created with them....
I am ready for 5x7 Art Swap #2, when do we sign up!

5x7 swap project mailed!

I have participated in the 5x7 Art Swap and finally sent off my package today (the deadline, of course!)...I was lucky enough to already receive my package which I intend to wait until Thursday to open, because that's when most people will be getting their's in the mail. Swaps are soooooo fun, you get to make a random gift for someone you don't know!  AND YOU GET ONE TOO!!! I can't wait to do another one. I will post pictures of my gift when I open it....

the joy of pregnant friends

I have found myself surrounded by the voices of pregnant women lately. I am both blessed and cursed by this. Most of the time I rather enjoy it, and the other 5% of the time it sounds like a lot of bitching, those of you reading know I say this with more love than is possible to describe.

pedicure perfect

pedi
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Mom and I went and got pedicures from Chikara last Saturday before she left for Mexico. Ah, Heaven.

Quiet morning at the office

There is something so nice about being at my office alone. I arrived early this morning and was able to set myself up and then settle in to a bit of NPR, reading, and drinking coffee. Being able to wake up and orient myself was so much better than my usual jump blindly into the problems of the day.
Sigh of relief.

it's happened to you too

This morning in a daze I went to the bathroom and failed to realize there was no toilet paper on the roll.

Me: "Dan?"
Dan: "Yeah?"
Me: "There's no toilet paper."
Dan: "Isn't there any under the sink?"
Me: "I'm already on the toilet. I'm stuck."
Dan: "Ok, give me a minute."

Like I had a choice.

Another day, another dollar

Often I sit at my desk in the late afternoons looking at all the piles that increased in height with the progress of the day instead of diminishing, which is what should have happened. It is very unsatisfying to go home at the end of the day and not feel like you cleaned off your desk of all the things that should have been done. It took me years before I realized that the healthcare profession will rarely ever allow you a day when you can sigh a breath of satisfaction with the end of your day.
Its leading up also to Love Day, which was started last year by Effie at two red lines. Dan and I are very into celebrating the day after Valentine's Day, and ignoring that horrid holiday altogether. This year we have made a date to celebrate on Friday. He has some sort of surprise planned... What oh what could he be up to?
Somehow my days has once again slipped through my fingers, and now I am left to muster the strength to head out to LCC for 3 hours of anatomy....ugh....

Mindy's Needlepoint

Today, after waking up early and seeing the joy of new lungs for Amber Zoe, the day just could not go wrong. I was able to go into work late, due to a Nursing Advision Session I had arranged to attend.


Once I got to the review session, I realized that tons of people were going to ask a lot of questions which were already addressed at her previous review session, so I decided to bolt and feed my body and soul at 5th Street Public Market.
This store, Mindy's Needlepoint, is down at 5th Street, and I wandered in to lose myself in possiblity for awhile. 30 minutes and $44 later I headed to the bistro for some coffee. "Sierrie! I heard excitedly, as Ash hurried across the dining room to greet me! I was just wondering if she was in town and presto! here she is!
After coffee with Ash and Casey, I headed off to work and had a generally productive day. Good for a Friday that involves only 6 hours of work. I love when productivity is condensed into a short time period!

The Emperess Has New Lungs

My friend Amber, as most of you know, is a force to be reckoned with. She is sassy, bossy, funny, can cook a mean meal, and is always ready to do whatever. When she can breathe. When she can't breathe, unfortunately the majority of the time over the last several months, she sits in a curled up ball and tries to stay calm.



Last night, she received her SECOND LUNG TRANSPLANT!!!! She is in the recovery room at Duke University Medical Center right now letting her body settle into her third pair of lungs ever. What an amazing world we live in! I am in awe of medicine. I am humbled by the power of hope.

i'm edumacated

ode to coffee

I love my morning coffee. I love it more than I loved cigarettes when I was trying to quit so many years ago.
I spent years and years making coffee in an individual drip maker, y' know the ones that are plastic and you put it directly over your coffee cup and pour water in from the tea kettle? I loved it. There was something so satisfying about the whole beans being scooped into the coffee grinder and releasing that perfect coffee aroma as they are ground to a fine espresso grind. After setting up the plastic holder and brown paper cone filter over my chosen coffee cup of the day, I would lovingly empty the fresh coffee grinds into the cone and pour hot water over them, watching them bloom and bubble and release their oils creating a beautiful rainbow on top of the brewing mess. This step, my favorite because I know it is the final step in producing the elixir I crave, is repeated several times until the coffee cup is perfectly full. If the grind is right, my coffee will be a thick, black pool of invigoration waiting to be sweetened and lightened with cream and sugar.
When I moved in with Dan my morning coffee tradition was completely overhauled when all of a sudden we were making coffee for two. We decided to buy an electric coffee maker. It was here where things began to go down hill. It seemed like the electric coffee maker had a genuine dislike for me. Every time I tried to make coffee with it, following Dan's instructions to a T, it would produce disgusting brown water unfit for anyone to drink. After months and months of feeling rejected by the coffee maker, Dan discovered the root of my problem. I was grinding so fine that the water would seal the grounds together in a protected pocket, essentially only brewing a quarter of the grinds I put in the filter. It was a beautiful day when I ground the coffee beans to a coarse consistency only, and produced my beloved black sludge once again.
With that, I have swilled my last gulp and am off to work... Good day to all!

Super Lazy Sunday Bowl Activities

Dan woke up bright and early this morning. When I asked him what time football started he said with a sad look on his face, "3:25. " It was like a kid who tries to sleep as long as possible but can barely make it past 6 am on Christmas Day. All day it was like watching someone try to make time move faster. And now here we are, 2:40 pm, kick off is less than an hour away.
Before I met Dan sports was the furthest thing from my mind. I never would have imagined that I would move into a house where Sunday Football was the big activity of the weekend. And yet, I find myself here embracing it with a passion. I have found that Sunday Football allows me to sit comfortably on the couch and craft the hours away while watching an emotional saga happen within my fiance. I have witnessed him throw off clothing, scream, clap, change the channel with a vengeance, and clasp his hand to his furrowed brow in defeat. If anyone thinks that Sunday Football could be anything but dull they aren't watching it with the right person.

Longest Link List

In my avid blog perusing, I find myself drawn to sites that contain huge lists of links. I like to settle in to that blog and click on each link and read a little, or not, and continue through the list as long as possible until finally dirty dishes topple out of the sink... Because I love the list of links, I have decided to help my list of links grow. I will be adding to my list as often as possible so make sure you occassionally check them out. Inspiring lists come from Posie Gets Cozy, Turkey Feathers, Hop Skip Jump, Bella Dia, and Green Kitchen.
I may be a little slow catching on, but the 2007 Bloggie Awards, which have officially closed voting now, is a great place to find new and inspiring blog reading! I have added several to my links list, such as My Boyfriend is a Twat, Ping Mag, and Post Secret, among others. Happy reading!

Sometimes I post just 'cuz

I started posting to let my thoughts run into the rest of the world aimlessly. I stumbled across blogs that i had found unbelievably inspirational. I started crafting almost eight years ago after I fell of my bicycle and broke my left clavicle. At that time I was able to do little more than lie in bed and watch television. My great gramma was about 92 years old at the time, and something about her love of quilting moved into my soul at that time. Showing her what I had learned from her was so important during that time, every step I took was a connection with her across three generations. I was enamored with that connection. At that time I knew nothing about any kids my age who might happen to be interested in this type of expression.
It took a couple of years until my friends started listening with some sort of interest in my crafty inspirations. I have to say I took alot of crap from people whom now a days seem immersed in the joy of the crafty life. And i am so glad. Because somehow people understood the passion that I had at that time, and now they are worse off than me! Ah, passing addictions are a beautiful thing...

Dinner and a little kid

Dan and I had dinner at The World Cafe. He had a calzone with, brace yourself vegetarions, sausage, pepperoni, AND bacon. I had nachos with black beans. We almost died of happiness. I am not joking. We drank a pitcher of beer, read the weekly, and met a little girl named Hazel. After about ten minutes of conversation with Hazel, we introduced ourselves to her rather attentive caregiver, Rex. Funny how you can talk to a toddler for several minutes before realizing they aren't alone.