Thankful

So I'm a little late on my Thanksgiving post, but I got distracted by this

and this

and this

and this

and by cooking, playing, taking family pictures, doing a little Black Friday shopping in the big metropolis of Pratt and just hanging out that I just didn't have time to get a post written.

However, this year I was inspired by this column to mention the little things that I am grateful for. As Suzanne mentions, we are all grateful for our family, our health, our friends, our jobs, etc. I don't want to down play any of these things because I know first hand that each of these are precious. With all that our friends and family have been through this past year, I've come to realize more and more how lucky we are to be healthy, have jobs and have our family members with us. But, this year, I want to remember the little things that I'm thankful for, so here it goes:

WICKED, cookbooks, The Pioneer Woman, social media, lunch dates with my friends, my candy dish at work (if you have candy on your desk, more people come to see you!), Sonic Happy Hour, cardigans, Coldstone, Brandon's camera and his desire to capture memories, my failed attempt to grow a hibiscus (nothing like being humbled by a stupid plant), learning life lessons at unexpected times, DVR, Dancing With The Stars, Real Simple, daily recipes in my inbox, vacation days, and last but not least, my blog which provides me an outlet to just be me!

A Little Product Review

I haven't done a product review in a while, so I thought I would list out some of my new favorites!

The first new (to me) product is Vitamin Water. On a recent trip to Manhattan, we stopped at Quick Trip to pick up some drinks, but it was EARLY in the morning and I didn't need a soda, so I decided to try this out. I first tried to Fruit Punch flavor and really liked it. Then, the next weekend, we did the same thing and I tried the Tropical Citrus flavor and liked it just as much. The water is full of different vitamins, ranging from Vitamin-C to b12, b3, etc., and it is only 10 calories per serving. And, to top it off, it is naturally sweetened so it doesn't contain that nasty aspertame! Since then, Dillons has had Vitamin Water on sale for $.88 a bottle, compared to the $1.60 at Quick Trip, so I have been stocking up. My new favorite flavors are the Grape Raspberry and the Berry Cherry! Brandon thinks they taste like slightly watered-down Gatorade, but I think they are much better than that.

The second product (or products in this case) are the Mrs. Meyers Clean Day products. I have had my eye on the Mrs. Meyers line of cleaning products for some time because they are "green" and they all smell so good! However, I could only find them at the Whole Foods store and they were a little expensive. But, lately Target has been carrying a limited line and it is cheaper than the Whole Foods line! The first product that I purchased was the all-purpose cleaner, in the Lavender scent. Friends, I have never found a cleaner that has cleaned my floors as well as this stuff!! A little dab goes a long way and it makes my floors clean and shiny without any leftover residue. I've also used the hand soap in the Lemon Verbena, Lavender and Basil scent and the liquid dish soap in the Lavender and Basil scents. All of the scents smell so fresh and the soap doesn't leave your hands feeling all dry. The soaps have lasted a long time, because again, a little goes a long way. My favorite scent is Basil followed by the Lavender. I hear the Geranium scent smells pretty good too, but Target doesn't carry that line yet.

I'm not sure shoes fall under the "product" category like the items above, but this pair of shoes is definitely working its way to my favorite shoe! I just purchased these fine beauties this weekend at Payless. I've been looking for cute silver flats since last spring, but all of the flats I liked were pretty expensive. The other day, I was browsing around on the internet and found these and thought I would at least check the local store. I haven't had the best luck with Payless in the past because I have a more narrow foot and their shoes tend to be a little wide for me. So, I found them in the store, tried them on and bought them in a matter of about five minutes. They certainly aren't shoes I would wear if I were doing a lot of walking, but they are great to slip on with some jeans! And, they are pretty comfortable!

That is all I have for now. We're heading to Pratt for Thanksgiving, but I hope to have a Thanksgiving post ready for tomorrow. We have A LOT to be thankful for this year (and no, I'm not pregnant!).

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies - YUM!

I have been wanting to try a new recipe for pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies, but haven't had too much time lately. Then, today our schedule was pretty empty, so I busted out the Kitchen Aid mixer and got to work.

I'm not the biggest fan of snickerdoodle cookies, but I absolutely LOVE anything with pumpkin, so I figured they were worth a shot. Plus, the rolling sugar mixture intrigued me - sugar, cinnamon, ginger and all spice!

The pumpkin flavor is not overwhelming, although I would appreciate a little more, but the cookies are soft and chewy and wonderful! They texture is a lot like my mom's Lazy Sugar Cookies (I will have to post this recipe sometime soon - a perfect Christmas cookie) with added fall flavors. I will definitely make the cookies again!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

COOKIES:
2 sticks butter (1 cup), at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup pure pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

ROLLING SUGAR:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp allspice

1. In a large bowl, cream butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and pumpkin puree and beat well. Mix in egg and vanilla, scraping down sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the ingredients.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon. Beat flour mixture into liquid mixture a little at a time until incorporated.

3. Cover dough with plastic and chill at least an hour, or until dough becomes slightly firm.

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper (or spray with nonstick spray). Mix rolling sugar in a small bowl.

5. Remove cookie dough from refrigerator. Use a medium cookie scoop (1 1/2 Tbsp.) or a large spoon to scoop out dough and roll into balls. Use your hands to roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and make sure they’re coated really well. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use a glass with a nice, flat bottom to dip in sugar and flatten the balls.

6. Bake at 350°F. for 10 to 14 minutes, or until they are slightly firm to the touch. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes or so, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: About 3 dozen

Cooking Tips *Store in an airtight container. These cookies freeze well too. Place them in freezer zip bag and remove from freezer when the craving hits.

Recipe courtesy of Recipe Girl

Houston, We Have a Problem

Last night, we had our annual meeting for work. It is one of our biggest events of the year that brings our members and members of the community together to celebrate the Chamber's accomplishments, celebrate our city and listen to a national speaker.

Our speaker for this year was Gene Kranz, a NASA flight control director, but more specifically known as the man who was responsible for getting the Apollo 13 astronauts back to Earth alive. For a more current reference, think Ed Harris in the movie, Apollo 13.

I was somewhat aware of the Apollo 13 story, but have never really been too interested in space travel. However, after last night, my hat goes off to these men. Did you know that the average age of his team who worked on the Apollo 13 mission was 26 years old??? That is my age!

Mr. Kranz was a great mix of serious and funny and realistic. He talked a lot about how he handled the stress of the job. He was trained as a fighter pilot, so keeping his cool during intense situations was something he was used to. He said that there was a huge amount of trust between the Mission Control team and the astronauts and if they didn't trust each other, they wouldn't have been able to make the tough decisions that would normally take days and weeks in minutes and hours. An interesting thought for the business community during these tough economic times.

After the speech, Brandon and I had an opportunity to meet Mr. Kranz at the VIP reception (we were only VIP because I work there..ha ha!)

Oh yeah, and we organized for the Kansas Cosmosphere to come and make space ice cream!!

It was a fun night and this weekend, I think we're going to rent the movie again!

BUNCO!!

My friend, Emily, started a Bunco group this fall and it has been so much fun! I know a lot of people think Bunco is just a chance for girls to get together and chit chat and eat good food and really, I think they are right :)

Tomorrow, I am hosting the group at my house, so I've been busy cooking and cleaning today. I really wanted to have a fun theme, but I was getting too caught up in it and wasn't finding items that I loved, so I just bought some cute plates and napkins and I'm making easy, but good food. On the menu: pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, spicy hummus with pita chips and veggies, veggie pizza and a gooey peanut butter cereal mix (this doesn't really have a good name).

We also do fun gifts for the winners and losers. I did come up with a good theme for the prizes, but since they are supposed to be surprises, I can't mention them yet. There is one I've thought about keeping for myself though...

Hopefully I will remember to take some pictures to post tomorrow. But, we might be too busy having fun!

Never Take Anything for Granted

This week has been hard. On Wednesday, we said goodbye to my 22 year old cousin who was killed in a motorcycle accident over the weekend. When a young person's life is cut short it is an unnatural process for everyone. My heart goes out to his family - my aunt, uncle and two cousins. They are searching the depths of their hearts to understand why this happened, to somehow find peace and to move on with their new life. Nothing will ever be the same for them, nothing. While I'm not writing this post for sympathy for me, I am writing it to remember the lessons I learned this week.

The first lesson: invest in the people around you. This side of my family is large. My dad is one of eight kids and there are 18 cousins, so I am not close to every single one of them. Yes, I "chaperoned" my cousin and his two brothers for a week when I was in college and yes, we would see them at least once a year at Christmas, but beyond that we didn't really know too much about each other. As I sat at the memorial service and listened to the stories about him, it made me sad to realize that I didn't know about his anal ways or how loyal he was or how frugal he was (he and Brandon really had a lot of things in common..he he!). I never invested much time in his life or finding out more about him. So, from now on, I'm going to take the time to invest in people - find out what makes them tick, what they like and dislike, ask them questions about their life and not worry so much about mine.

The second lesson: appreciate the time you have with people. As I mentioned above, Kyle's life was taken too soon. We all get caught up in the day-to-day business of our lives, but if we think about it, we're all only on this earth for a limited amount of time and so why do we take that time for granted? I know that I can get caught up focusing negative aspects of life and in other people; for instance, sometimes instead of appreciating the time I have with some people, I dread it because I always try to figure out what might go wrong. Or instead of see the positive in people, I focus more on their short-comings. Now, I think I will quit worrying about all of that and just enjoy the time I have been given because you just never know when it might all come to a screeching halt.

The third lesson: tell people how you feel about them. Kyle's brother spoke at the service and said that he and Kyle never told each other how they felt, but that they just always knew. Going back to my last point, you never know how much time you have with someone, so instead of putting off telling them how you feel because it might be awkward, just tell them! A simple "I love you" or "I really admire you" or "I appreciate you" might go a long way and you won't ever have any regrets.

The fourth lesson: always be willing to pitch in and help. Once we received the news, our family immediately started figuring out what needed to be done to help out. Two of my aunts and my mom jumped in the car and headed down to Tulsa not knowing what might face them, but they were willing and ready to do whatever needed to be done. They did everything from cleaning house, to running errands, to shopping for clothes. Some of the tasks may not have seemed that important, but I know in the grand scheme of things, it made my aunt's life a little easier in the midst of all she was dealing with. I know I can be selfish with my time and I can let my job or my chores get in the way of making myself available to others. Even if it is just a couple of hours, I want to take the time to help someone in need.

Saying goodbye to Kyle was hard. And, watching loved ones in so much pain was really hard. But, I know Kyle has touched the lives of people he may not have even known and he has opened the eyes of those he did know. Please keep his family in your prayers, especially with the holidays just around the corner. They have a long road ahead of them and as I mentioned, their lives have changed forever and they are just starting to traverse through this "new" life.

Blogging for a Purpose

Most people start blogs for a purpose: to keep family informed about what is going on, to blog about a specific interest (cooking, decorating, sports, etc.), to share information about a specific industry (health care, advertising, banking, etc.) and many more reasons. However, lately I've been reading blogs from normal people, not The Pioneer Woman, Young House Love types, just normal people who blog a lot, and they have been asked by companies to "review" products and write about them (Allyson this is NOT you! I love your Etsy finds of the week because you choose to do it as a way to help others - a totally different thing). To me, this takes away a little bit of the author's authenticity.

Now, some of you may say "Tessa, you have an advertising background, isn't 'Word of Mouth' advertising one of the best tactics?" and to that I would say "yes", but only if it is authentic. Knowing that someone has been asked to pimp a product on their blog or their Twitter page is not very authentic. In fact, (I'm going let you in on a secret that may make me shallow)I used to follow Kim Kardashian on Twitter because I think the Kardashian family is absolutely ridiculous and it intrigues me. However, the ENTIRE family started tweeting about some weight-loss drug that they were paid to promote. Then, a while later they were ALL tweeting about some new cupcake company in LA, who just happened to be supplying the cupcakes for a family wedding. Well, as a result, I quite following them because all it was was advertisements, not a personal look into their lives.

So, this takes me back to the bloggers. Most of these bloggers are just normal people who were sharing pieces of their lives and now all of the sudden, because they have large followings, they are being asked to review and write about products. It's just not my thing. Had they started out with that purpose, maybe I wouldn't be so critical.

Also, I know that the Pioneer Woman started out as a random blogger who just wanted to share her life on a cattle ranch, but she has taken steps to purposely market herself and I like her for that. I think she blogs with a purpose and she tells the reader when a giveaway is sponsored by such and such or when she's cooking recipes for brand XYZ. She doesn't act like she's just taking the time to review these products or share these giveaways because it is coming from the bottom of her heart (which sometimes she does because she's just that cool!).

Missing My Food Blog

Remember how I took down my food blog? I still believe it was a good decision, but there is something I miss - my blog lists of all things food/recipes/home stuff. I really didn't have time to maintain that blog anymore and really food/recipes/home stuff is part of my life, so it might as well be included on the main blog, but I miss being able to see when all of my favorite bloggers posted new ideas, recipes, etc.

I've tried to use Google Reader and I assume if I tried a little harder, I would probably like it. After all, it does collect ALL of my favorite blogs in one place and updates my list with the most current post. But, I really just miss going to my blog and clicking on the different posts. I know I could add them to this blog, but I feel like it just junks it up since I already have so much and I'm afraid it will take away from MY posts ;) Ha ha!

So here's the question - do you want to see which blogs I like to read on a daily basis or do you just come here to find out what we're up to? This is a burning question here so let me know what you think!

In other news, the big Sunflower Showdown is this weekend in Manhattan! I'm really hoping with whip up on those Chicken Hawks or Gay Birds, as my brother calls them. We REALLY need this win. We'll be there, sporting our purple and cheering LOUD, VERY LOUD! Go Cats!

Abbreviated Weekend Wrap Up

I know, I know. It seems my posts as of late mostly revolve around the weekend and what we did and that isn't always so exciting, so this week will be abbreviated and then I have a new story at the end!

Friday was a pretty low-key night. We took a late trip to Target to pick up a few things. While we were there, we ran into a girl (I say girl, she was probably in her late 20's or early 30's) who was quite dressed up for a late evening trip to Target. We first spotted her in line at Starbucks. She was wearing a cute black top with a white short satin bubble skirt and thigh-high black healed boots. She was draped in jewelry and her hair was all done up. We kept walking and minding our own business, but we kept running into her - we saw her in the Christmas section, the housewares section, the clothing, everywhere and she never had anything in her hands. Maybe she was wasting time before a hot date or maybe she had been on a date and it didn't go so well. Needless to say, I felt a little underdressed in my jeans and hoodie!

Saturday was a pretty productive day. We both got on the treadmill and then I picked up the house and went grocery shopping while Brandon mowed and cleaned up the garage. Then, I went out and about with Brandon's mom, sister and aunt while he stayed home and played Tiger Woods golf on the Wii. Then, we all ordered pizza for dinner and we watched the KSU vs. OU game and answered the door for the few trick-or-treaters that stopped by. Our favorite was Jacob, the little monkey (and our friend's little boy!). I must say, how about them Cats! Even though we lost, we still played a great game!

Sunday was a pretty typical day. We went to church and then had a small group focus group after church. Then, I went to do a little shoe shopping and ended up leaving TJ Maxx with a few steals! I got two purple vases for the top of my kitchen cabinets and a leather ottoman to go with the purple chair in our living room. The rest of the day was spent just relaxing and hanging out. It was definitely nice to be home with relatively little to do! That doesn't happen too often.

As I mentioned above, Brandon and I both got on the treadmill Saturday morning. We're pledging to do this every morning for a while. We have both gotten a little lazy in the exercise area (me especially) and decided that if we would work out in the morning, then it would be done for the day and we wouldn't have to worry about it in the evenings after we've been working all day. We decided that I would get up and get on the treadmill first since it takes me longer to get ready for work, but I knew I would lose motivation if Brandon was not up as well. The thought of him being all nice and snuggled into bed while I'm up sweating isn't much motivation. So, he agreed, but only on one condition - I have to iron all of his work shirts ahead of time so he doesn't have to wait on me before work. As much as I hate ironing, I took him up on his offer.

So, this mornign, I got up a little before 6:00 am and hopped on the treadmill and Brandon was up and awake - he had to let the dog out - watching TV. I was finished around 6:20 and got in the shower and got ready. I was so speedy, that I had time to get a roast in the crock pot and sit down for breakfast! If I can keep this up, I think I will be much more productive and I will feel so much better. So, wish us luck!!