Aging

When the hell did I get older?  Just the other day I was in my early twentties and my only concerns were about partying and my social life.  Now I'm 30, working full time, griping about bills and preferring to stay home versus getting dolled up to "be seen" out at a bar.  Whaaaaaaat?

My friends that I thought would never mature are now wives and mothers.  Granted, children don't bring maturity, but most of my friends seem to have found it along the way.  It is hard to reconcile the girl I knew that danced on tables to the woman who now attends PTA!  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad a mother isn't out shaking her rear cheeks anymore, but when did we all change?

What the heck have I been doing that I've missed this?  Isn't 30 a little too young to be this creeped out by nostalgia?

Friday = Food Day

Most Fridays at work, our office orders in a lunch to share or brings in snacks.  Sometimes we invent occasions, sometimes there are actual ones to celebrate.  One co-worker completed her tenth year with the state, so we had to eat in honor of this milestone!

I opted for a giant chocolate chip cookie.  This is one of my favorite desserts and probably the reason I porked up every summer.  Mom's friend used to bring this everywhere and now I've stolen it as my own.  It's gotten popular with other friends and have been asked to share the recipe.  I thought I would post it here, so my sister has it to make when I come home to visit!  Assuming she still reads this...


Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

1 box French vanilla cake mix

2 eggs
½ cup oil
½ tsp vanilla
½ bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease (a spray like Pam) round pizza pan (the disposable pans are great) and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together cake mix, eggs, oil and vanilla. Once mixed, add chocolate chips. With your hands, press dough into the greased pan until evenly spread. Bake for 15-17 minutes until top turns golden. Remove and let cool before eating.

Enjoy!!  And remember, I love this and you should all invite me over next time you make it.  :)

Life vs TV

I have a passion for HGTV and the Food Network.  Give me a carpenter and I could have a room re-done and looking fantastic.  I have a decent talent for cooking and don't often jack up a dish I'm working on.  My problem is - I live in Cheyenne, Wyoming and life is not a television episode.  There are no giant stores with discount furniture and furnishings.  There are no specialty food markets here.  Sometimes you can't even find fresh regular produce!  Sure, I could travel an hour or two to find these things.  But unless you are majorly overhauling a home or planning a super special dinner party, you can't jet off for a 45 minute drive to the next closest city. 

I'd like to see HGTV or a Dinner Impossible show make magic happen with local buys in a more rural area.  Get out of Ontario Canada or New York City and focus on the regular folks that don't live in a giant urban area.  Try Cheyenne!  Sure, you can find the random cute vintage chair or lamp at one of our few antique or junk stores.  Yes, sometimes King Soopers carries seafood that doesn't smell like 10 day old trout. 

I realize that with the right checking account, you can have whatever you want.  But with limited funds, you have to get pretty clever with your purchases if you still want the wow factor. 

Maybe this is justification for my mediocre surroundings.  Maybe it is.  Maybe I still have a point.