Since my Oatmeal Chocolate chip Cookies are so popular, I decided to make another recipe that's basically exactly the same thing.

Only different.

You know me. I love three things (if you hadn't noticed):

1. Oatmeal
2. Blueberries
3. Chocolate Chips

So it was easy to decide I wanted something that incorporated all three. Muffins, breads, and bars seemed too easy a solution.

I then decided, "Why not a new cookie recipe?"

Granted, it isn't exactly new, since I've made oatmeal cookies before. However, these aren't quite as thick as the others... at least... that's the only way I can really describe the difference.

I'll let you decide for yourself!

Ingredients:

- 1/2 C butter
- 1/2 C brown sugar (unpacked)
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 3/4 C whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 C oats
- 1/2 C blueberries
- 1/2 C chocolate chips

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350. Prepare a cookie sheet by spraying or lining with parchment paper.
- Whip your butter until light and fluffy, then mix in the brown sugar.

- Add your egg and vanilla. Then mix in your flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.

- Fold in your oats.
- Add your blueberries and chocolate chips.
*You do not have to put both or either of these additions in. It is entirely up to you!*


- Use a cookie scooper (or whatever you have available to you) to put your cookies on your prepared sheet.

- If you wish, spray a spoon or spatula with cooking spray and then use it to flatten your cookies.

- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Move to a cooling rack for a few minutes before eating/serving.

These are perfect to have with a cup of tea or coffee!

Inspiration for these cookies came from : with love, rachel and my previous oatmeal cookie recipe!

Remember how in Crazy for Coconut I mentioned we were in for a roller coaster with our cat?

Well, this was the first incident.

Our second Christmas together we spent at home. But just the day after, we hit the road for Fayetteville, and then Germany. A sorority sister of mine was going to be in town (at school) after Christmas, so she said she'd take care of Coconut for us.

Never having a kitten before, I didn't see a dilemma. My cats had never been high maintenance when it came to care when we were gone. I told her just to check in on him every day. Clean the littler box. Feed him. You know, the basics. She mentioned she would be gone for a day or two around New Year's, and I really didn't think Coconut would mind.

Never mind that he was only about 2.5 months old. Never mind that our apartment complex didn't allow pets. Never mind that I had been there since we got him following him around and loving on him. It would be fine.

Can you see where this is going?

While we were in Germany it was easy to go a few days without getting on the computer. Especially when we were traveling. Our second trip to Germany we went to Rhotenburg; one of the prettiest places I've been to date.



When we got back to my parents place and I logged in to my Facebook... it was disaster.

There were several messages from our sitter. She had locked the key to our apartment inside the apartment and had no idea what to do. On the first day she contacted us. And the second. Finally on the third she went back and had to get help. Coconut was taken to the shelter.

I freaked out and burst into tears.

Not only had we had our kitty for less than a month, but in that time frame he had been almost starved to death and taken away to a strange place.

Clark was calm. First we called the girl and she explained how difficult taking care of him had been. Never mind that she locked the key in the apartment, but before that every time she left he would cry. She was certain the entire complex could hear him (I have no doubt of that).

Poor dear.

Next Clark called the shelter. They said they'd keep him there for the duration of our trip for a $25 fee. That doesn't sound bad, but at the time we budgeted things to the very last penny. I had to log on our bank account online and figure out just how we were going to pay that $25, especially since Clark had just left Walgreens before we flew out of the country.

When returning home, I was anxious about our kitty. What I wasn't thrilled about was having to meet with our RA (or whatever he was called) about the incident. We were forced to sign a paper saying we had a "mature discussion" about why we shouldn't have pets in the apartment, and then we told him we were wanted to move out of the apartments. It was possible to simply withdraw at that time, which was nice. Living in campus apartments meant no technical lease. So... we then had thirty days to find a new place to live.

Great.

It was our fault. Had we waited (like responsible adults) to get a pet once we had an apartment that allowed pets, we wouldn't have been crunched into a deadline. However, we jumped the gun (as was and is a trend with us) and got Coconut. So, we had to pay the consequences.

We were faced with another situation that reinforced the fact that God truly was looking out for us.

I figured out where I got "power-push".

In "The Firm" workout, every time you get to the end of the move, where you put it into half-time or whatever, she calls it your "power-push". That little extra something to get your heart rate up.

That's where it comes from.

Yesterday I successfully did the whole The Firm Bootcamp video. My plan had been to do it twice a week, every week this month. I think I've done it twice this month total.

Sadly Michael has been in a funk. It makes it really hard to prepare healthier meals and exercise more when Michael won't let me put him down and Clark's working more so he's not home.

I guess, in reality, it's preparation. I mean, when Clark has a "real" job, it's not like he's going to be home all the time to help me out. That being said, I think I've learned that I have a lot of work to do to get myself in a healthier lifestyle.

I gained a pound this past week, sadly. We definitely haven't been doing our best. While we've been walking and eating healthier meals, the sweets still tend to sneak into our house... or rather one of us *cough*Clark*cough* brings them into our house.

The other night we had brownies for the first time in almost a year. Sad. Horrible. Pathetic.

Oh, but they were so tasty.

Apparently I was wrong in thinking that blogging would help keep me accountable. Of course, it isn't truly this month's fault. It just happens that there's this extra 10 to 15 pounds that I cannot shake.

Which isn't fair to say because I know, for a fact, that it's my eating that needs to improve.

So how do I do it? How do we just cut out all the bad stuff? Even if it is a slow process... for example, Clark has cut out french fries. Well, we've both cut them out, but I don't eat them that much at all, so it really doesn't count.

How can I cut out chocolate? I can't.

How can I cut out muffins, breads, cupcakes, cookies, cakes....? I can't.

I suppose the correct response would be, I don't know how.

Even if I try to revert to my extreme diet that I did in high school (well, The South Beach Diet), I don't see it working. Plain nuts make me gag at this point because I ate them so much then. Sugar free stuff makes my stomach ache and gives Michael gas (and, I imagine, a stomach ache as well). Just fruits, veggies, meats, and a little bit of dairy doesn't seem to fuel me with half the energy I need to keep up with my son.

So what do I do?

Yesterday we went hiking. Five miles in about three hours, which isn't bad considering it used to take us 2.5 hours to do five miles. And we had Michael with us. And we stopped for lunch.


It was very empowering.

It definitely picked up my mood.

This blog has taken me about two days to write, so if it goes from negative-nelly to positive-peggy that's why.

Last night, after a family-filled day, Clark and I had a chat. We talked about what we wanted to work on physically with ourselves, and even let the other have a say. I do think it's incredibly important to always be attracted to your spouse. After all, if you're not... what happens then? So, we're making plans. Plans to exercise together. Plans to improve our eating. Plans for being more responsible with money.

We're planning. And I really think that's going to help me continue with my "power-push"... or perhaps really start it.

Once again, I tend to be behind the camera more than in front of it. I promise pictures come August 1st.

Advice is still greatly appreciated!

See Power-Push #1 and Power-Push #2 to get the whole scoop!

I'm sorry my photography skills, and posting skills, have been slacking lately. It seems that when we eat late, I tend to just snap a couple shots and assume one of them is going to turn out brilliantly. My child has also been leading me on a crazy (crazier than usual, that is) roller coaster with his sleeping habits and clinging abilities lately.

This recipe is easy to put together and incredibly tasty. I have been told this is a perfect thing to make for when people come over (by my husband, but nevertheless it's true).

Ingredients:

- 1 lb chicken, cooked and shredded
- 4 oz light cream cheese
- 2/3 C salsa
- 1/3 C green salsa (see picture)
- Juice from 1/2 a lime (fresh)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsk onion powder
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 8 to 12 (6 inch) corn tortillas


Directions:

- Preheat your ove to 425 and spray a baking sheet (or, if it's nonstick, don't worry about it).
- In a large bowl, shred your chicken.

- Add your cheese, spices, lime juice, and cream cheese to the chicken and stir until well combined.
*If you want to dirty more dishes, but make it slightly easier, then do the chicken in one bowl and your mixings in the other, then add the chicken to the bowl of the combined ingredients.*



- Follow the directions on your tortilla packet to warm them and make them nice and pliable. Trust me, you don't want to just use them. Corn tortillas don't look pretty (nor do they work as well) unless they've been warmed.

- Fill your tortillas with around 3 to 4 tablespoons of your chicken mixture. Roll them and place them on your prepared pan.



- Cook for 12 to 15 minutes. I found that cooking them longer than fifteen minutes made them far too crispy on the ends, but if you want them that way-- by all means! Just cook them to your liking.


Serve with anything from salsa to guacamole to sour cream!

Inspiration for this recipe came from: Sweet Pea's Kitchen.

Cookies & Cream has always been one of my favorite ice creams. I love oreos. I love ice cream. It works out.

And then I found this idea. It just seemed beyond brilliant to me.

If you ask Clark, he'd say it was. He devoured these cupcakes. Of course, he pretty much devours all sweets I make.

Ingredients:

- 16 to 24 Oreo halves
- 2 1/4 C All Purpose, Unbleached Flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 C butter
- 1 1/4 C Sugar
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 C milk
- 15 - 20 Oreos, chopped (I just kind of crumbled/quartered them into the mix)
*I limited the over all amount of Oreos to however many there were in a pack, but if you want to get two packs just to be sure, go for it! Also, use Reduced Fat!*

(There is also another list of ingredients for the frosting pictured below the cupcake instructions!)

Directions:

- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Line a cupcake pan, then put an Oreo half in the bottom of each liner with the frosting side facing up.

- Mix together your butter and sugar on a low to medium speed until well blended.

- Mix in your egg whites one at a time. Then add your vanilla.
- Mix together your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder) and alternate between adding it and the milk to the sugar/butter mix. So, add half of your flour, then half your milk, etc.
- Carefully mix in your crumbled Oreos.

- Fill your cupcake liners about 3/4 to 2/3 full.
- Cook for 22 to 26 minutes.


- Remove from the pan and let cool for a sufficient amount of time.


- You can frost these with just about any frosting. My husband actually thought they tasted better without frosting, but then he doesn't typically like a lot of frosting anyway. Look below for the frosting recipe I used!
Enjoy!


Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

- 8 oz Cream Cheese (low fat)
- 6 tbsp butter, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 4 C powdered (confectioners') sugar
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
Oreos to crumble or top with

Directions:
(Pictures are of a half recipe of the frosting)

- Mix together the cream cheese and butter.

- Add the vanilla and heavy cream.

- Slowly mix in the powdered sugar until there's as much as needed for the right consistency/flavor.
Voila!


Inspiration for this recipe came from: Stock Piling Moms

Christmas 2008 was about as exciting as Thanksgiving 2008... aka it was depressing.

Just a few days before Christmas Clark left Walgreens. There had been some mix-ups about his scheduling over the holidays. While we knew he had to work Christmas, he had requested off before and after to visit family. Walgreens wasn't so obliging, so Clark just left.

I wasn't very happy with him. He had been there for almost a year. If he had stuck it out just another month we would have qualified for so much more. But Clark didn't want it. So, I supported him.

As Christmas was only a couple days away, I got super upset. I realized we could have been in Germany spending Christmas with my parents and little sister, rather than at home opening presents and doing dinner by our lonesomes. While we looked into changing our tickets, we clearly couldn't afford it.

So we didn't tell our families. We didn't want my parents to get upset that we were missing Christmas, and we didn't want pressure from Clark's family to drive to Fayetteville to do Christmas with them. Instead we decided to do Christmas by ourselves.

Well, us and Coconut, of course.




The food turned out well (if I do say so myself), although I can't honestly remember what I made. We didn't do much. We hung out, we got ready, we opened presents, we cuddled on the couch. We just enjoyed being with each other, rather than putting pressure on the fact that it was our first (and thus far only) Christmas by ourselves.

There was a point in the day I remember getting upset. After all, this was the first Christmas either of us had spent without being around any "extended" family. We were still young and figuring out what it mean to be a family of our very own. It was Clark who reminded me that we came first, the rest of the family came second. Usually it was me reminding him, and I was so thankful that he stepped up to the plate on Christmas.

I like to think that we truly made the holiday about the reason for the season, rather than the "stuff". We tried to focus on remembering that the day wasn't about presents or food, but about the birth of Jesus Christ.

Never have I ever made pizza before. I know, shocking. You'd think out of everything that'd be the ONE THING I have made. But, I hadn't.

Now I have. And I intend to repeat the process.

So easy and delicious. Homemade pizza doesn't make me feel like I'm leaking grease from all pores and need to go run around the block a bazillion times.

So, here it is!

Ingredients:

Dough
- 1/4 C warm water
- 1 packet of yeast
- 2 C unbleached, all-purpose flour
*Or you could do 1 C all-purpose, 1 C whole wheat. I didn't this time, but I intend to next time!*
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 C water, room temperature
- 1 tbsp olive oil

Pizza Topping
- 1 lb fresh tomatoes, thickly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, quartered
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
- 1 tbsp + 1 to 2 tsp olive oil
- Fresh Basil
- 1 tsp oregano, fresh or otherwise
- Parmesan Cheese
- salt or sea salt


Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 450.
- Place your sliced tomatoes and garlic on a prepared cooking sheet (lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper... the latter probably works better).
- Drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil and toss gently. Then sprinkle them with salt (I used sea salt).
- Cook the tomatoes for 30 minutes. Check on them halfway through. If they are browning too much, carefully turn them over with a spatula. (No picture, sorry!)
- Turn the oven off and let the tomatoes cool.

- While your tomatoes are cooling down, pour your yeast into your 1/2 C warm water. Let sit for around five minutes, until the water is bubbly.
- Mix together your flour and salt.
- Add your 1.25 C room temperature water to your yeast mix.
- Carefully add a little of the yeast mix at a time. I ended up using about 3/4 to 2/3 of it. Mix your dough accordingly. Should be just the slightest bit "sticky". DO NOT use all of your yeast mix.

-Preheat your oven to 350.
- Knead the dough into a fabulous pizza-esque shape and place on your prepared pan.

- If you haven't already, remove your tomatoes from the oven.
- Drizzle your dough with 1 to 2 tsp olive oil.
- Carefully arrange your tomatoes onto the dough.

- Add your freshly sliced mozzarella next, followed by the basil and oregano, and then top it with parmesan cheese (as much as you desire).

- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until desired crispiness.

Don't burn your mouth on the cheese! Let it cool down a bit before you gobble it down.


Recipe for the crust adapted from: The Curvy Carrot.

Inspiration for the Pizza as a whole came from: David Lebovitz.

OK, so the title is a mouthful. You definitely won't be attempting to tell someone the name, however, when you're eating one of these.

Because they are positively delicious and you won't want to pause to say their name. True story.

The inspiration for this recipe came from Daisy Chubb. However, seeing that I don't like Nutella, I made them a little differently. If you are one of those people that likes Nutella (nothing against you... I believe you may be the majority), then please feel free to alter mine and go more with the original!

Ingredients:

- 1 C butter/margarine (softened)
- 3/4 C sugar
- 3/4 C unpacked brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
- 2 C unbleached, all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt

Nutella or Jiff Chocolate Silk

- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Beat the butter until fluffy. Then blend in your sugars.
- Add the eggs one at a time (to the butter mix) followed by the vanilla.

- Add half of our dry ingredients, blend, then add the other half (switch to a spoon or spatula to blend if needed for second half).

- In a prepared mini-muffin pan, use a heaping tablespoon (or medium cookie-scopper) to fill the cups.


- Bake in the oven for 11 to 13 minutes (don't let them get TOO brown on the sides).
- When you remove them from the oven, immediately use the bottom of a shot glass (or spoon, or small cup, or something of that kind) to indent the cookies-- therefore making them "cups".

Like the shot glass from my sorority days? Funny... I really don't think I ever used it.

- Transfer to a cooling rack. Give them a few moments to cool.
- Add you Nutella, peanut butter, or whatever you like to your "cup".

Make sure to try to not eat ALL of them. They didn't last very long in our house.


Did I mention I made these for my little sister's 18th Birthday Care Package? HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOLLY (as of the 18th)!!