...ramble ramble ramble

Today is the last day I will spend as a 23 year old. Why you ask? Well, tomorrow is my birthday of course. And ordinarily I would not mention my birthday, but turning 24 has been on my mind a lot lately, and well, what else do I put on this blog besides things that are on my mind?

I can’t believe I am going to be 24! How did that happen? When people ask me my age my instant reaction is to say “21”. I think in my head, I will forever be 21 years old. But turning 24 means a couple of things…

It means I should probably come to terms with being an “adult”. I guess I should have come to these terms when I went to college, or when I graduated college, or when I got married. Buuuuuuut it hasn't happened. Maybe this will be my year!! Rob and I have had some conversations lately that in my head I say “only adults have these conversations, not little ol’ me”. It’s a hard reality to accept sometimes, and I’d imagine it only gets worse!  

Turning 24 also means I have been back from New York for a year now, which is absolutely crazy. There is no way a year has gone by. Time flies! I’ve been thinking about NY a lot this past week for said reason, and I have come to the conclusion that I would pay an ABSURD amount of money for a Scarsdale bagel. Absurd meaning I’d be 100% willing to drop one hundred or more dollars for a bagel for cyring out loud. They are that good.

^^this is soon-to-be 23 year old me, bidding goodbye the man who changed my life forever with his delicious, bagels^^ 

Speaking of time flying though…did you know that time actually does go by faster the older you get? I’ll explain. When you are age 4…you are 1,460 days old. Say a week goes by. That means you lived 7 out of 1460 days of your life. But, if you are 50 and a week goes by that week would be 7 out of 18,250 days of your life. As a 7 year old, a week is .04% of your life. A week in a 50 year olds life is .003%. So, the older you get, the shorter your days, weeks, months, etc. will actually feel to you because they become a smaller and smaller percentage of your life. Get it? I don't know why this blew my mind so much the first time I heard it. And I also don’t know why I just tried to sound smart explaining it. But it totally had me ooing and awing when I found out—so I thought I’d pass along the info :)

^^Wow, never ever had that many numbers in a post before…ha!^^

Well, this post turned into quite the ramble. To sum it all up into a sentence that you probably didn't gather from what you just read…life is crazy. You never know where it is going to take you, and you never really come to terms with your age. So happy, gulp,  24^th birthday to me.

And in case you were wondering about that picture up top...i fully plan on living in the moment this year AND eating cookies.  

{a letter}

Dear February,

Today is a big day, and I welcome you with open arms. Because you walked into my life today, I can kiss goodbye the hardest 31 days of winter and not look back (no offense January). Because you graced me with your presence, I can look forward to Valentine’s Day and decorate my apartment with all things red and pink. Because you stepped up to the plate, we can all enjoy a long weekend in the near future (shout out to George and Abe). Because you decided it was your time to shine, I only have 28 more days until I can start anticipating spring. And while we are on the subject of spring, dearest February, could you please ensure the ground hog does not see his shadow? I would greatly appreciate it. You should also know how much it means to me that you are such a short month…thanks keeping my interest at heart (no pun intended).

Sincerely, Me.

the cookie quest

Well, the holidays were pretty dang good to us this year, hence the month long sabbatical from posting. Unfortunately, January doesn’t go by as quickly as December does. I’d like to throw a question out into the void while we’re on the subject of January. Does anybody like this month? Poor old January has got to be the most disliked month of the twelve—and rightfully so. It is cold, grey, long, dull, and monotonous. All I have to say is thank goodness for MLK day—the one day that redeems the entirety of the month. Without that simple day off to look forward to, I think people (namely me) would go crazy!

Since January can be so dismal, what better way to brighten the mood then with a baked good of some sort? I have been on a quest to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe for quite some time now; and while on this quest I have certainly unearthed a few goodies. But this week, I made quite certainly the best chocolate chip cookie known to man. And it was all thanks to the recipe I found in the New York Times {here}.

Now, this recipe is not one of those recipes you can just throw together quickly and enjoy, unfortunately; but trust me, it is so worth it! After a little more measuring than you might be used to, and the use of some ingredients you normally don't use in cookies you will have created a delectable cookie batter that will tempt you for at least 24 hours while it chills in the fridge. I’m pretty sure I opened my refrigerator 50 times in that 24-hour period, just to check and make sure the dough was still there. Don’t worry—it doesn’t go anywhere :)

After rolling out bigger-than-golf-ball sized dough balls, and baking them for a little over 15 minutes you will have yourself about 2 dozen, 5-inch morsels of heaven, right smack in the middle of January, and they will change your life. Well, they changed mine at least!!

So...what are you doing to brighten up your January?? 

Dog: Man's Best Friend

I don’t think there could be a truer statement. 

I mean, just look at this face:

She is the sweetest.

Life would not be the same without my little soph, and that is all there is too it.

She is a bundle of sunshine and cuddles and I am grateful for her every day.

{the cold never bothered me anyway}

Well we had a great thanksgiving weekend over here. It was full of food, laughter, movies, bowling, food, baking, movies, food, good company, and more food.

On Saturday we went and picked out our very first Christmas tree (cue the “awwwwwwwwws”)! Last year we didn't get to have one because we were living in New York and I came to Utah for the majority of December while Rob was on a business trip in Switzerland (wow my life sounds a lot more exiting back then). So this Christmas tree, it was a pretty big deal. Fat, skinny, tall, short? So many possibilities! And let me tell you, it took us (i mean me) FOREVER to finally decide on one. Good thing I’m married to an incredibly patient man! Anyway, here is how it turned out…

Now to address the issue of the snow we received yesterday. I’m sure you’ve noticed that I whine about winter A LOT on this blog. So I decided to man up (if a girl can do that) and refrain from complaining this time around.

I won’t complain about my car sliding all over the road

I won’t complain about cold fingers, cold feet, a cold nose, and cold cheeks (both kinds of cheeks, might I add).

I won’t complain about slush or the dirty water that gets tracked into my apartment

I won’t complain about getting wet

I won't complain about chattering teeth

I won’t complain about having to scrape my car off after being in the store for a mere 30 minutes.

I won’t complain about foggy breath in my face--luckily I brush!

I won’t complain about being stuck inside all day

I won’t complain about having to walk ridiculously slowly and cautiously to avoid falling

And I most definitely won’t complain about getting a little colder on the inside with every snowflake that falls.

 Wow!! It feels pretty good to not complain. 

All those thoughts aside, I must admit—a little white outside sure makes it feel like Christmas time. And if it must be cold and snowy, then I will listen to the Frozen soundtrack all day long to cheer me up.

Enjoy :)