Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yum!

That is all I have to say.

I have been craving chocolate chip cookies for almost a week now. We just got back Friday evening, and have gotten only a few necessities from the grocery store. I decided tonight that I wanted chocolate chip cookies, but we had no eggs.

What was I to do??

I looked online (thank goodness for the Internet!), and found a recipe for eggless chocolate chip cookies. They are great! Even C likes them (he was eating the batter with a spoon a bit ago).

Even though it's almost the end of June, for over a week now, I have been thinking it should really be July by now. It has been a busy summer. Things are slowing down a little, but not by much. My summer class ends in 2 weeks, art camp is over on Friday, and C and I have finally moved in together.

But, wait! That's not all!

(I feel like the announcer dude on the Price Is Right)

"Tell them what else they have won, Bob."

Alright, so get this.

I have 4 training sessions between mid July and early August that I will be doing for school.
I need to get back into my classroom, to get everything ready for the coming year.
I need to re-work some units, add to others for this coming year.
I need to get every unit ready so that I can begin to upload it to my lesson planner.
I have decided to open some of my Zentangle pieces for the upcoming fair, so I need to go through those and decide which ones to put in, and then frame them.
AND...
We found a house to rent! Oh happy day! (More on that in a minute)
So this means I *we* need to pack...again.

The move home from Virginia went well! Very minor things happened that someday we can look back on and laugh- stories to tell our children. Although, driving a Uhaul pulling a car behind with a tow dolly is not fun at all. I felt like we were at a rock concert at times because we were head bangin' so much. The mountains weren't so bad- there were times I was nervous, but I knew that C would get us out of there safely.

We got back Friday night, and had an appointment to go look at a house we have been talking about for about a week. A family bought the house (which was a foreclosed home) and is fixing it up. I'm talking, pretty much everything is new. The kitchen will be awesome when it is done- bigger than what we have now.  More space, which is what we need. I want this place to be both of ours- not just all of my stuff in one place.  It really is a great house for a great price, and I can't wait until we move in August 1st.

I need to finish baking my cookies before C eats all the batter. :D I kid, he stopped eating it awhile ago.

Weird Dream

I had this dream right before I woke up this morning that was incredibly strange. I think I was some kind of undercover agent. I remember someone stealing my wallet that my identification in it and being upset about my various identities.

So, then, I was eating red, white and blue peppermint patty bites. You know, like the Hershey bites, the Reese's bites, etc. But they were patriotic. I somehow got blue on my khaki pants, and had just commented to someone that I couldn't believe I did that. This woman says, "I have done that before. I got out the stain using a caramel apple pie." I must have looked at her funny, because she said it again. In my dream, I decided I would need to try this, and that she would be a new friend.

What a strange dream! And to remember the last part- especially in color- awesome! I still don't know why I dreamt of food, though.

Zentangles

Some recent photos of zentangles.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

In preparation for C's arrival, I have been condensing things in my apartment. Either I am putting things in totes to put in storage, or they are being given away/being sold at a garage sale. I have a couple of totes that have items from my childhood in them. One of the totes has graduation cards from high school, my cap and gown, and other mementos from high school. I went through my graduation cards (I can only surmise that I kept them because it was people in my life?) this afternoon. I kept those from very close friends, my grandparents, and some family. What struck me as sad is that as I went through them, I found about a handful from people who have passed away in the last decade- a couple passed away within a year of my graduating high school.

I have started to go through my clothes again, but haven't gotten very far. I need to get a couple more totes to put more items from my childhood in. I think I'm giving my parents my very nice desk/hutch combo that I just bought a year ago. I haven't used it in months, plus it's taking up space in the living room. I wanted to move it upstairs, but it's incredibly heavy. I'll put my office items in a three-drawer cabinet, using the art desk I already have set up stairs. It will free up just a bit more room for us both. Because I don't have a lot of pantry space (a huge annoyance!), all of the food items are currently taking up the 1 shelf, and using the 3-tiered metal shelf I have in there. I'm going to go through books that I have in the spare bedroom, box up what I don't want to keep out and put in storage, and use the 2 small bookcases for storing food on. At least, 1 of those will fit for sure in the pantry.

C and I were talking the other day about our items. He doesn't have a lot of kitchen items- which is a plus for me. He is bringing his 2 computers, a printer, his living room furniture, 2 small entertainment centers, a bed, frame and headboard, and that might be it. He doesn't have a lot in general, but I want him to feel that it is his place as well as mine. Plus, when I moved in, I knew I would be there by a year by myself. Although, I didn't know if we would be moving or not.

I finally got my KitchenAid all set up- it only took me almost 6 months. :) I didn't have room before and now I do. I just need to order a cover for it. Currently, I am on Amazon looking for one that I like that goes with my theme in the kitchen. That, and trying to find something close to the colors I have in there- I wish I had thought to check the place where I got them from a few months ago. I really like the colors I picked out.

All in good time. :)

Happy Birthday!

Today, my Escape turns 1!

Well, it's not really a year old, but I bought it a year ago today! I remember sitting in the salesman's office, signing papers, excited to finally have it. And it's been a great year. It has taken me out to Virginia to see C, to meet C in Gatlinburg, to work many times, and to top it- even my Grandmother likes it! I think, if she could drive more, she would be driving it.

So, anyways, I've put about 12,000 miles on it in the year that I've had it. I hit 10,000 just before our trip to Gatlinburg. I may be putting on 1,600 more by the end of the month, if I take it to go out and help C move back home.

I'm still in awe of the fact that in just 2 short weeks from tomorrow, we will be on our way home, to my apartment again. This time, we'll be sleeping in the same bed. I'm still in awe that the entire last year flew by. I do remember where I was a year ago, wondering when/if he'd be coming back.

I'm anxious for this, ready for it to happen. The closer we get, the more impatient I get. Although, the more nauseated and stressed I get. See, we have been looking into renting houses. As well as C finding a job. Neither are in our favor yet, and I'm making myself sick over it. I think the biggest thing I feel is that I don't want to let him down.

This is going to mean changes to our relationship. Not bad ones, but ones where we bot have to get used to being around each other more than a few days at a time. I'll have to get used to his snoring (he says I do, but NO! He does!), he'll have to get used to the fact that I rarely sleep without blankets (I like to be all bundled up), that I try not to waste things, etc. But all in all, we pretty much know how each other is, so it's not like this will be a huge shock.

I love my mom, but sometimes she'll say things like, "well, you know, this isn't contractual. If it doesn't work out, then you aren't out anything." I just look at her and think, "after 3 years, you have to say this?" Like she thinks it won't work out. They like C, so I don't get why she says this. Or tries to push houses on me after I have told her time and time again, "We are not ready for that yet. I am not ready for that yet. I can dream, but I know where I am at with finances and I don't feel comfortable taking that on on my own. Plus, he doesn't have a job just yet and we don't know where he will find one at." I literally just told her this tonight. I love her, but when she says things like this (and the above start of this paragraph), it bugs the crap out of me.

How did me talking about my Escape turn into this? Ugh, sorry. It was all on my mind. It will all be okay, I know. I'm going to bed, lots to do tomorrow to get my apartment ready for my man and his stuff! :D

Branching Out

I have decided that I am going to take the initiative to become more involved in the arts. Not that I'm not already, I just need to do more things for me that are art related. Specifically, it involves my Zentangles. I have begun to draw more and more of them in the last few months. This is something I enjoy, something that makes me feel better whenever anything is bothering me. I want to push myself further, want to take it to the next level, and begin to sell pieces to people. Sure, not everyone wants to buy then, but I don't solely create art for them. I create it for myself, and if someone wants to buy something that was a piece of me, and my life, then so be it. :)

I definitely need to post more pictures to either this site or my Facebook. Actually, I need to create a Facebook site just for that, so I can let others view them. I'll think about that one for awhile. Now, to change my background image on here.