40 Dozen Cookies Later

A couple of weeks ago I was trying to brainstorm a few different fundraising ideas for my aunt who is battling ovarian cancer. I thought that a "bake sale" would be a fun thing to do and figured that some of our family's coworkers and friends would be interested in buying some goodies from us to help out with my cause.

Little did I know that I would be baking over 30 dozen cookies and 10 dozen cupcakes all in less than two days. I knew that some people would want some cookies but I didn't think that many people would. I am extremely happy with the turnout but wish I had a little more time so I wasn't rushing around.

I headed home Friday night and didn't get home until almost midnight. As soon as I got home I tallied up the orders and wrote out a shopping list. The next morning I headed to the store and grabbed everything I needed and immediately started baking once I got home. Of course I forgot a few things so my mom and step dad were kind enough to make a few errands for me.

My brothers were also nice enough to help me out occasionally. They helped to cut up the caramel pieces, carry trays for me, and loaded up my car with all of the orders.

(Photo by Michelle)

I also had a little bit of help with packaging up the orders. I stamped "Thank You" on tags and tied them with teal ribbon on the bags and boxes. I stuck with the teal theme because it is the color for ovarian cancer.

Thank you to all of you who ordered and helped out my cause! If you would like to help out click here and find out some more information on how you can donate.

I will be posting the recipes for all of the cookies and cupcakes I made. Be sure to stay tuned for the recipes for Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies, Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss cookies, Lemon Crinkle cookies, Chocolate Chip cookies, Red Velvet cupcakes, Chocolate cupcakes, and Vanilla Cupcakes!


Have you ever done a bake sale?

Dark Chocolate, PB, and Cookie Dough

Today was a good day. I spent some time over at my aunt's house with a few family members so I could visit a bit more before I go back to school. When I got home I figured that I would throw together a fun circuit workout that I could do while watching some of my favorite movies that were on TV today.

Then after my workout I got ready to go and meet up with a friend at YOYOs for some frozen yogurt. I went in there wanting to get some yogurt topped with strawberries and kiwi but then when I saw that they didn't have any fruit out I opted for something chocolately. I filled up my cup with the Dreamy Dark Chocolate yogurt, Old Fashioned Peanut Butter yogurt and some cookie dough pieces. It was seriously delicious. I figured it was okay to splurge today as I am starting my training for the race and probably won't be eating like that very often.

Another fun thing I did today was work on my t-shirt quilt! I wanted to be done with it by the time break was over but due to procrastination I didn't get around to it. I did get the shirts cut and sewed together so I am happy about that. Some of the shirts were printed crooked so it looks like I went a little crazy with the scissors...you would think they would try to center the designs.

Have you ever had frozen yogurt? Are you a fan?

The End of the World

According to the Mayans, today is supposed to be the end of the world. Other than a power outage and breaking some glass, nothing too horrible happened around my house. Did anything crazy happen around you that made it seem like the world was ending?

Workout

 

I began my day with a workout. Over the summer I was regularly attending fitness classes at the Y near my house. Because I am home for a few weeks I thought it would be fun to go to one of my favorites - Turbo Kick. Turbo Kick is a high intensity cardio kickboxing class and is so much fun! The workout leaves you sweaty and at the very end we do some leg and core work which makes your muscles burn. I love the class because I always know that I will get a great workout out of it.

The Asics I bought a few weeks ago ended up being too tight and then when I went to exchange them for the next size up they felt too big. So look what I wore to Turbo Kick today...

They are super comfy, I love the colors, and I got a great deal on them. Everything you can ask for when it comes to buying new shoes!

Dinner

After my workout I headed to the store to pick up a few things for dinner tonight and to make dessert for a family Christmas party on Sunday. Tonight my grandpa and his friend came over for dinner. Mom made a pot roast that was full of vegetables and buttery biscuits. We were freaking out around 3 when the power went out because the roast was cooking in the crock pot and we thought we were going to have to have a plan B for dinner and for a place to sleep tonight because we would be freezing without heat! Luckily for us the power came back on and we were still able to have dinner tonight.

 After dinner we enjoyed a dessert of fudge brownies and peppermint ice cream. Peppermint ice cream is my absolute favorite but I hate that it only comes out around Christmas. I would buy it all year round if they had it! The brownies were still really warm so they didn't stay together when taking them out of the pan but they tasted great.

 After everyone had left I worked on my t-shirt quilt project a little bit more. Tonight I cut all of the shirts into squares. I hope to make some more progress on the quilt tomorrow!

Did you encounter any the-end-of-the-world type experiences today?

Scarves for Italy

Yesterday morning I had a doctor's appointment. I fainted a little over a month ago, so it was mainly just a follow-up appointment about that incident. I still have to go get a few tests done to see if I have sugar problems or not but other than that I am completely fine! He just told me to drink more water and talked a little bit about exercising and food intake.

After my appointment I went over to my cousin Rema's house. She is an Art Major and has the opportunity to go to Italy in the summer for a couple of weeks to take a class there and visit some different cities. The trip is quite pricey so to raise some money she has been knitting scarves to sell. So far she has knit 20 scarves and they all look beautiful! She was knitting the whole time we were there except when she was making us lunch. During the time she was making lunch I kept the knitting process going by helping her finish one of the scarves she had been working on. I have been feeling super crafty lately so I really enjoyed helping her. After all 20 scarves were complete, we dropped them off at our aunt's house. She said she would take them into work with her and see if people there wanted to buy them.

This just in! My aunt just texted me saying that she sold 16 of the scarves today and has special orders for 6 more! It looks like they were a big hit! I am sure that Rema could take those scarves to any office and people would buy them. They are adorable and the colors are so pretty!

After visiting with her and some other family members, I headed over to the bank to set up an account for the charity donations. I am excited that this process is really beginning! I have a few other ideas about how to raise money for my aunt's medical expenses but those are just ideas for the time being.

When we got home, Mom had a big pot of chili waiting for us. It was still warm so the cheese melted right in. Yummm

Disclaimer: I didn't actually eat the crackers but my sister, Stephanie, felt they were necessary to add to the photo to make it look pretty.

After dinner I worked on my t-shirt quilt project a little bit more! And will probably go do some more work on it right after I finish this post..

Workout

Today I had to work at noon so I woke up early (9:30!) to get a workout in. I did a workout DVD and it really worked my legs. I am already a little bit sore. After my workout I enjoyed a shake that I made using the fitmixer slim shake mix I received in the mail! I entered a contest a few weeks ago that fitmixer was having and I won!

The shake I made included the fitmixer slim chocolate mix, a big scoop of peanut butter, milk, and ice. It was delicious! I am going to have to try the mix by itself with milk tomorrow and so then I can tell how it really tastes by itself, without the peanut butter flavor thrown in.


What are your favorite ingredients to put in a shake after or before a workout?

Winter Break Project

Today began with a run. I wanted to run about 5 miles but it started sprinkling during the run so I decided it was best to cut the run short. I went to the YMCA and ran on the trails that surround the Y and ended up running 3.5 miles. The trails included lots of torturous hills that made for a good workout.

When I got back home the house smelled delicious. My mom and her friend were busy in the kitchen doing their annual Christmas baking. They used to make several different kinds of cookies but now make homemade cinnamon rolls to give to their friends and co-workers. They even made a few extra batches, which made for a great dessert after dinner. You can click here to see the entire recipe.

(Photo courtesy of Michelle D.)

For lunch we decided to get carry-out from a local sushi restaurant called Koto. We decided to get the California rolls, chicken fried rice, clear soup, and green salads with ginger dressing. The soup (not pictured) is one of my favorite soups, the ginger dressing is delicious, and the rice and sushi are to die for. This lunch definitely hit the spot.

Later in the day I saw this sitting in my room..

A basket of old race and high school t-shirts. Before I left for school this year I got them all together, picked out some of my favorites, and planned to make one of those t-shirt quilts out of them. I told myself the other day that I wanted to get this quilt done while I was on break and had a bunch of free time so what better time to start than now?

Most people don't really know that I have a crafty side but I have done almost everything from quilting, sewing, glass making, jewelry making, sketching, scrap booking, painting, drawing, card making, knitting... you name it and I have probably done it. I just don't use my artistic abilities as much as I could so most people don't know that I have this lovely trait, which I got from my mom. I even made one of my Prom dresses a few years back.

So with all of my t-shirts cut up and laying in a pile (once again), I need to go to Joann Fabric's and buy some fabric and stabilizer and this quilting project will be under way!


What do you do with all of your old t-shirts?