Orange Cookies

These are one of my favorite cookies to make and eat!  My sister gave me the recipe a few years ago.  Everyone keeps asking for me to write it down, so here it is, for everyone to share! I love it when friends ask me to make something, like these cookies, and I have no problem sharing the recipe with others. :) They are just that good. and EASY to make.

Orange Cookies

1 white cake mix

2 eggs

1/4 C vegetable oil

1 C Flour

1/3 C Orange Juice

1 TB orange zest (grated peel)

-preheat oven to 350.

-mix all cookie ingredients,except for the orange peel. 

-Mixing with a spoon works fine, the cookie dough will be very sticky.

-Stir in orange peel.

-drop dough balls on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

-bake 8-10 minutes, cool on a rack

Orange Icing (yummy)

2 TB melted butter

1 1/2 C Powdered Sugar

1 1/2 tsp finely grated orange peel

1 1/2 TB Orange Juice

my weekend

The highlights of my weekend.

Have you seen Sorcerer's Apprentice?  Stars Nicolas Cage, the guy that did the voice to How to Train your Dragon (loved that one), and Alfred Molina (on a side-note. had NO IDEA he was the guy in the 1st Indiana Jones movie in the beginning, who I think is the guide that attempts to take the treasure, but then meets his death by a spear in the head...the guy is talented.)  Sorry, I digress. :)

In a nutshell, Dave is destined to be a great sorcerer, but first he must be trained by Nicolas Cage. Sadly time is running out and they are racing to train him while keep this important doll hid from his enemies (Molina) so they don't release an evil woman wanting to create an army of the dead to destroy the world.

For a PG movie, and a Disney, I thought the movie was just that...a Disney. The movie was fun, cute, the graphics were awesome, the storyline was good/predictable, but the downside is the chemistry between the characters was not there. Or maybe I just had a hard time with the main guy's voice. I hear it and I'm thinking about how I'm going to train a dragon, not how am I going to be a sorcerer! haha. what? that's just me? :) Well in the end I'll give this movie 6/10 stars.

That leads to my other highlight. I had my very first MASSAGE! Wow, why haven't I tried this before?? seriously.  My husband made me an appointment at Massage Envy near our home.  You walk in, the atmosphere is peaceful, the colors, the little water features...everything there is to help you feel comfortable and relax. Wow did I need to relax.  I didn't know what was going, what I wanted, if I wanted a soft, medium, or firm massage, nothing. My massage therapist, who happens to share my name, was very helpful. Did I mention magic fingers? For 60 minutes I laid there on the table and she worked her magic at the stress knots in my back all the way down to my tippy toes. Who know that massaging my arms would tingle and feel GREAT! Am I supposed to be sore after the massage? The only thing I really had to worry about was trying to stay awake..sooo relaxed.. (oh and hoping that I don't flatulate. hahaha) Well I'm definitely going again next month.  :)  This may be my new guilty pleasure (next to coke slurpees). 

Job searching..

Those that know me, know I have been a stay at home mom for 3 years now. As much as I've enjoyed just being a mom 24/7 -- which is a tough job, I'm seriously wanting to go back to work. I love working with people, I miss the interactions, the challenges, and just doing something different. I've been wanting to wait until the right time to go back to work, but is there ever really a right time? This is something we need as a family, my girls are a little older, and I really need this to keep me sane. :)

This week I'm going to polish my resume and start checking job postings for either part-time or full-time. I'm glad I have some job experience and my bachelors. I've managed an apartment complex, which was great for interacting with a lot of different types of people.  Then I've also worked on the phone for almost 4 years doing customer support/service for both an airlines and a contact supply company. 

Even though it has only been 3 years since I've had a paying job, I still feel like I am out of the loop. Right now I'm looking at all my options, hoping to find something new, different, and something that I can be apart of long term. *crossing fingers* 

Will you please keep an eye out and email me/call me if you know of any job opportunities?

You never know unless you ask. :) wish me luck!

Stuff Needs To Go

Friends, I'm cleaning out a much needed corner of my storage room. I have found items that have been there for years, never used, and are looking for a good home. :) Maybe you'll see something you like? or know someone that would like one of these items?


Here's a link to my 2nd blog addy (that I never use) to show you what I have available.


http://yummygingercookie.blogspot.com


Please let me know if you're interested! Really trying to clean out these things so they don't sit there for another 9 years. :)

*forgot I changed it to private viewing, fixed problem, now anyone can view.

4th of July Weekend

White Trash BBQ party with friends.

Our first party for the weekend was with some good friends. They decided to go with a white trash theme party.  This picture is only a few that showed up to play along.  We just chatted, ate white trash food, and played a game similar to horseshoes. Then that night we walked down to Sugarhouse Park for the firework show! Did you know that this year is the first time the firework show was privately funded? Guess the state didn't want to pay for it this year. I love fireworks, so I really didn't care how the show compared to other years. I enjoyed the show.

Next night...4th of July Street Bbq

I put together a simple bbq for our street. We've lived on this street/circle for awhile now and I'm surprised at how we all don't get together more often. My neighbors are really great and we all pretty much get along, so why don't we do this more often?! Anyway, hopefully we can start a tradition on the 4th for those that are in town.  We met at the middle of the street, pulled out a few grills, and everyone brought their own meat and a favorite dish to share with everyone else. I was happily surprised at how many showed up!

Above is a picture of some of the neighborhood kids. We have about 33 kids on our street alone. After some good food, the kids were getting restless for fireworks.

My hubby and my brother decided to start a little early with parachute guys and snakes. The kids loved it, and that's really who we were entertaining. The hardest part of the night was getting the kids to not touch the used fireworks. Finally once the sun was far enough down we started the show.  What is with guys and fireworks? or is it just mine? :) They had a lot of fun lighting the fireworks for the neighbors. Below is most of our neighbors camped out to watch the show.

The fireworks were a lot of fun and it was great just hanging out with all the neighbors!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Don't you love the feeling when someone asks you to make something?? or is that just me. :)

A few days ago, my brother Jordan wanted me to make him some peanut butter cookies. I've never really made them, but I have a lot of good memories of peanut butter cookies. This was the cookie that my sisters and I would make with our Grandma all the time. She let us squash the cookie dough with our forks. That was over 20 years ago, but I still remember. Anyway. guess I never made them before cause I'm not a huge peanut butter cookie fan, that was something I only did with my grandma.

Luckily, I had a great recipe for peanut butter cookies. How would I know if it's great if I've never made them? Well, when I was first married, my awesome sister n'law gave me some of her favorite family cookie recipes, and each of the other cookie recipes have been wonderful. I just knew. :)

Really easy recipe, and the smell of the peanut butter cookie dough was yummy (remember not a huge peanut butter cookie fan). The dough, which is my favorite in taste testing, reminded me of the soft peanut butter center of peanut butter cups. tasty.  When they were done cooking, I even tried one. Maybe I was too harsh on the peanut butter cookie...still favor oatmeal. For those that like peanut butter cookies I wanted to share the recipe.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 C butter

1/2 C peanut butter

1 1/4 C Flour

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

extra white suage to roll in.

Cream butters, sugar and spices.  Gradually add flour.  Beat until combined. Roll into desired size.  Roll into white sugar. Criss cross with fork.  Bake 375 for 7-9 minutes.

Pre-View Showing of Eclipse!

First I have to say Thank you Thank you Thank you to two amazing people. Susie and Ashlee. Suz for calling me about an extra ticket for a the pre-showing of Eclipse (thanks All-State!), and for Ash who is a lifesaver and watched my kids for a few hours so I could go to 3pm showing of Eclipse!!

The night before, I was very lucky to get a call from my friend Susie who offered the ticket to this show. When she asked if I wanted to go with her, I was thinking, "pre-show, before all the midnight movie goers?...I will make this work, count me in!"  Luckily I have a wonderful friend who has kids the same age as mine and she was more than happy to help me when I called bribing her with baked goodies. :)

All State Insurance hosted the preview shows of Eclipse at Jordan Commons. The crowds were crazy, but I was very impressed with how they handled and took care of their customers at a movie theatre.  Eventually I met my friend among the crowds (my bag full of treats to share), we got our VIP lanyards and our goodie bag from All State, and then sat in our seats -- second row up front, I could almost touch those abs. :) Since this was a preview showing, we had Summit Entertainment security there monitoring for people who may be video tapping or taking pictures during the film. neat huh. ;) it's the little things that i love.

I really can not tell you how I would rate the movie.  For everyone it is different. I enjoyed the movie, they included one my favorite part in the book (tent scene!), but I would have liked to seen some more....anyway. Go see for yourself if you're interested. Me? I have another pair of tickets for tomorrow afternoon that I won from Kneaders Bakery! I never win anything, and even though I've seen the movie, I can not pass up winning tickets to Eclipse. Going to see it again tomorrow! Looking forward to it again. 

What's that phrase? Why be greedy, I want both! (i.e. love both Edward and Jacob)

Harry Potter Trailer!!

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 1

YAY!! anyone else excited for this?? :) Love the books.

Double Feature plus one

Friday night I had a little girls night with a couple of friends I've known since I was 12 yrs old--my sister, Susie, and Liz.  My friend Liz and her family are moving in a few weeks to Nebraska, where her husbands family lives. This was a small goodbye movie night!  Originally we were going to just meet for dessert, but then someone had this brilliant idea to go see a movie!  They chose to see Prince of Persia, which I had already seen, but more than happy to see again. Love that movie. My favorite part of that movie??? my sisters reactions. I laughed more through the movie at how she was reacting than the movie itself. She is definitely a talker and probably said "I hate this movie" over and over again (I'd give more info, but that would include spoilers).  In the end they loved the movie..and the eye candy in the movie! even my sister loved the movie at the end...it was a love/hate relationship with the movie. :)

After the movie, we didn't want the night to end, so we went for ice cream across the street and chatted for a while. The night was still early (10:30 is early right:?) so we went to another movie! None of us had seen The Killers with Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl.  I had heard some bad reviews for this movie, so I went in with low expectations. The movie wasn't great, but I thought it was fine for a romantic comedy. Definitely a  matinee or dollar rental. Love Ashton Kutcher (and his sculpted abs).  The movie is basically about Kutcher, who plays a hired  killer. He meets Heigl, they fall in love and he wants out of the business.  Three years later, they are still happily married, but now he has many people trying to kill him. Heigl didn't know of his past and now they have to work through that while staying alive.  The movie was funny, cute, and there were a few times where Kutcher played a believable hitman. Other parts he's the lovable goof from 70's show that I love. 5/10 stars. The other girls liked the movie too. Sad to say goodbye to Liz, but we will have another girls night out when she comes to visit!

The next day I took my girls to the local parade! But that's for another post.  Saturday night I took my brother Jordan to a movie while my hubby watched the girls. (he had no interest in seeing this movie).  Jordan and I had already agreed months before that we would see this movie. Have you see Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz??  LOVED the movie.  Basically, Cruise plays a secret agent that has supposedly gone rogue and the agency is after him. He has something they want. Diaz is thrown into the mix by accident and now he's trying to keep them both alive, and try to clean his name at the same time. The movie was funny, had action, and a little romance. I really liked Cruise's character and Diaz was great opposite him.  8/10 stars.

Three movies in one weekend! how lucky is that?? love the movies. Anyone else seen any good movies lately?? THIS JUST IN! I won tickets to see Eclipse Wednesday afternoon through Kneaders bakery!! LOVE Kneaders! I was a fan on their facebook page and they've been having random drawings if you comment on their page. I've been commenting for a couple weeks and I won! yay! I never win anything...so excited. Know what will be even more exciting?? finding someone to watch my kids so I can go see it. hehehe. :)

Running With Angels

I learned something today. Running is not for me. :)

For those that are interested.  I started training for this 5K in March, and that lasted maybe a week. Then we went on a trip, walked everywhere we went, but by the time we got back, my training went downhill. Even though I'm way out of shape, I still wanted to try a 5k, just to say I did it!. Usually I'm competitive, but not with running. :) I was more than happy to let people run on by.

The race was through the Thanksgiving Point gardens. So beautiful this time of year. They also had around 1000 people show up for this run/walk.  The Running with Angels was started about 6 years ago, gets the name from a book, and many groups were there remembering someone they lost.

My race started with my friend Ashlee. But we realized early on, that I was holding her back. :) She wanted to run! (and did awesome! finished in 32-35 minutes) Last thing I wanted to do was make her go at my pace (slow...er).  Ash went off at a pace that she was more comfortable with, and I found a random person jog/walk with me the rest of the way. I am more of a jog from this point to another point, walk to catch my breath, then jog again cycle. I admire people who can just run and run for fun!  I felt like such a wimp. I didn't want to stop, just went at a pace that worked for my out of shape self. :) I started out just fine, eventually my shines were killing me, and my favorite part? half way through my left foot fell asleep. I could not feel my toes. seriously. lol. My jogging friend was worried that I was going to crash (how embarrassing would that be!) but I made it through. By the last half mile I was ready to go, second wind I guess. But my friend was starting to tucker out. Finished in 45 minutes. sad, but not bad for an out of shape 1st time runner. First thing I did was take off my shoes. :) that felt fabulous.

me and my friend Ashlee at the finish (ignore time on clock) :-]

To treat ourselves, my friend Ash and I went to Kneaders for their chunky cinnamon french toast...yeah, all those calories we lost running? back plus some. :) Good experience, would do it again, but really need to be more on top of training.