Create your own Friend Test here

Note - to submit the results you are required to register but they don't email you so it's pretty painless. Also, please ignore the typo in the last question - it won't let me edit the test.

Query

I enjoy making both baby blankets and baby layettes and sometimes I am at a loss for which to make for an expectant mother. For anyone out there (mother or not) which would you rather have? On one hand I can see a blanket being very useful. But then again, babies tend to get a TON of blankets so maybe it's over kill. Layettes, although not as useful, are so cute and can easily be put away for the next child. I've reserved all my layettes for girls because I have yet to find a boy's pattern I liked so maybe take that into consideration as well.

CD Recommendations

I realized today I don't have a good Beethoven CD. I know several of you out there are well educated in music and have quite the CD collections so I'd appreciate any recommendations you might have for a Beethoven CD - or set of CDs. It doesn't have to be any specific type of music (Symphonies, piano, etc) - I like it all. Thanks in advance.

Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I keep losing this recipe so I'm posting it here for easy reference. These cookies are great alone or as a homemade ice cream sandwich (which was how they are intended to be served.) Once the cookies have cooled spread any flavor ice cream on one cookie bottom and top with another cookie. Serve immediately for a crunchy cookie with soft ice cream or stick in freezer for a softer cookie with a bit harder ice cream. Either way it's delicious!

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup good unsweetened cocoa
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds good white chocolate, coarsely choppedPreheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter and 2 sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the chocolate with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Fold in the chopped white chocolate.

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly. Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

So everyone can see how much fun Jack & Julie are having at Disney

I woke up this morning to find this picture in my inbox. Not sure if it's appropriate on an empty stomach! :-P

Why clean when you can post?

I'm putting off doing a bit of house cleaning so I thought I would do a short update post. Nothing much exciting has happened since Christmas and that's the way I like it. Christmas was a bit overwhelming and by the time everything was over and done with I was ready to get back to normal. Our excitement this week was a smallish snow storm on Thursday. We got a decent amount of snow (enough to cover the ground) and some sleet and ice. Thankfully we didn't lose power. I have become very attached to heat! We are also keeping Jacques while Jack and Julie are at Disney. He has been a lovely house guest except for the occasional burping. (Who knew dogs could burp so audibly. My dogs generally don't. I guess that's a male dog for ya!) Hopefully the next time I post something exciting will have happened and I can regale you all with the adventure that is my life. :-)

Would you be interested in any . . .

I tried to post this a while back but Blogger decided my post was unworthy of publishing and promptly lost it. Hopefully this time it will deem my post worthy.

We've recently had a new grocery store built in our area and one afternoon I decided to check it and get some grocery shopping done. Bloom is a division of Food Lion and their big thing is convenience but since I was unfamiliar with the store layout it took me quite a while to find all my items. I wound up and down the aisles familiarizing myself with where stuff was located and also finding new and different things. I had finished the end of my shopping when I remembered I wanted to look for a particular eye care product so I made my way over to the Health and Beauty products area. I proceeded to wind up and down these aisles and made it all the way to the end somehow missing the eye care section. I backtracked and found it directly across from the feminine products section. As luck would have it a guy about my age was stocking said section but since I didn't need any of that I proceeded to ignore him. Well, he would have none of that. About the time I approached he turns to me, with a large box of tampons in his arms, and says "You wouldn't be needing any feminine hygiene products, now would you?" I don't know about you girls but shopping for those items isn't on my top 10 list of fun things to do, much less publicizing it to the help in the store. I smiled and said "No, I just need something for my eyes." He sighs and says "Man, I have all these boxes that won't fit on the shelf and I really don't want to take them to the back." He pauses and I figure he's done so I start to move on and then he says "And my wife doesn't need them either cause she's pregnant." With that newfound knowledge I started to move on but not before I hear him say "Hey Linda!" (Linda appears to be a fellow employee stocking a few aisles away) "You wouldn't need any feminine hygiene products would you?" Linda pauses for a moment and says "Not my brand." All recent trips to Bloom have been much less eventful. :-)