A Weekend Blogger

Hello! Hello! So...this title is going to be extremely appropriate for the next few weeks. This is unfortunate but I am afraid it is the way it is. I have a few things to share with you. First of all, I hope your Memorial Day weekend was restful. We spent a lot of it by the pool. Brett's family came into town so I got to spend a good bit of time with them. Side note: I had something completely random happen Sunday night. We went to Macaroni Grill to eat and I had spaghetti like I always do! :) Afterwards, I started getting terrible stomach cramps at the top of my stomach. I figured something just didn't settle right after I ate but it didn't feel like an upset stomach. It just felt really like sharp cramps. As we headed back to Brett's the pain got worse and by the time I was in his house, I was in tears. This is so unlike me and I think I scared Brett and his parents. They called my mom and she came and got me. Keep in mind, I am bawling. I took some medicine, drove to the emergency room but decided not to go in, then came home and took some pain medicine. I was able to sleep that night and woke up fine the next morning. Bizarre. What's the verdict: I have gallstones and will have my gallbladder removed at the beginning of July. Happy summer. :) Just kidding...I don't think it will be too bad!

Gosh, what could top that? Oh, I know...an amazing cookie recipe that I tried on Memorial Day that my family LOVED! I got it from Amanda.

They are called Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I am a huge fan of sweet and salty so it was perfect for me!

Here is what you need:

2 sticks softened butter 3/4 Cup granulated sugar 1 Cup packed light brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 1/2 Tablespoons pure vanilla 1/4 Cup burnt caramel sauce (you can use any caramel sauce here, like Smuckers) 3 3/4 Cup all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 12 oz bag mini chocolate chips 1 1/2 Cups chopped good quality chocolate

Here is what you do...

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, and swirl in the caramel sauce until well combined.

Secondly, place the flour, salt and baking soda into a large bowl and mix. Slowly add to wet ingredients then add the chocolate chips. Save chunks for later. I mixed the dry ingredients by hand and then added them to the wet ingredients.

Yum!

Third, place a 1/4 cup scoop of cookie dough into muffin top cups.

Fourth, sprinkle a little sea salt onto the cookies

Now it is time to place your chocolate chunks on top!

Then you are ready for the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Also, if I forgot to mention, we baked them in muffin top pans which is what the recipe said but I'm sure you could do it another way.

The result?

The recipe says it makes about 18 cookies but I think we had a few more than that. They are huge and delicious and fairly simple to make! My family ate them all up!

So....what has been keeping me from blogging this week? Well, I mentioned sometime in May that I had applied for a summer enrichment program to get more experience teaching. I am so thankful that I did receive one of the positions and will be teaching 4th grade math. This past week was orientation type stuff, setting up classrooms, planning, and Friday, we had our first day with the kids. It has been such a whirlwind already. I am trying so hard to soak it all up and learn from the good things I do and the mistakes I make. Everything has really gone fairly smooth so far but it is busy busy busy. I felt like I didn't stop this week. My mind has been going 100 miles per hour planning and thinking of new ideas and ways to teach certain things. I feel like I am getting a great experience of what actual teaching will be like. I know it is only a snapshot and not nearly as stressful but it is painting a good picture for me. So, that is what has kept me away and probably will continue to keep me away during the next four weeks. I definitely will try and update on the weekends.

I will say, I would appreciate prayers over the next few weeks. You can pray for my health. I don't want to miss a day of this program and I have already had a couple of....what they call "attacks" with my gallbladder. Basically it is where my stomach hurts really bad and I am in tears. No fun.

Also, pray that I will do my best and remember that everything, including this program, is a privilege that has been given to me by God. I have struggled with thinking I am not prepared enough or good enough to teach this summer. I know that I need to just let go of thinking that I can contribute anything to this program without the help of my Father. I just need to trust Him. You can also pray for each of the precious children that are involved with this program. I know that they need prayers!

Lastly, I have had a struggle this past week with my priorities. I know how important my time with the Lord is and yet, with this work, planning, going to sleep early so that I can wake up early, etc. I have struggled to give the Lord the time that He deserves and that I know I need with Him. Pray that I will prioritize and remember again that I am nothing without Him and that my time with Him is the most precious and valuable time I will have all day.

Okay, I am done rambling. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! See you in a week, if not before! :)