The Ultimate Peanut Butter Cookie Bake Off!

Sending out the request for everyone's favorite peanut butter cookie reciepes, I came up with 4 distinct variations and whipped them up to find my favourite.

From left to right: Batch 3, 2, 1, and at the bottom--Batch 4.

1st Batch: Easy and Classic

• 1 egg
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup white sugar

Mix ingredients together, put spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, use fork to flatten, bake at 350 F for 8 minutes, let cool, and enjoy.

Result: A soft and nutty cookie with a sugary crunchiness to it.

2nd Batch: Katie's Secret PB Cookies

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 2 tbsp applesauce
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• tiny pinch salt

Mix dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients, then combine. Form balls onto sheet, bake at 350 F for 8 minutes.

Result: A great flavour, but even after baking an extra 2 minutes, these stayed dough-like. Someone suggested these would make good balls, and I did end up rolling the baking cookies into bite sized pieces (yes, they were that soft). I am curious as to what the sugar free ones would be like! Any suggestions as to what would improve the substance of these (their flavour was fantastic!)?

3rd Batch: Chocolate Oatmeal 

• 1-1/4 cup all purpose flour 
• 1 cup rolled oats 
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 2/4 cup packed brown sugar 
• 1/3 cup butter 
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup buttermilk (I used milk with a splash of vinegar)
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips 

Mix dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients, then combine. Stir in chocolate chips last. Roll dough into spoonful sized balls and put on cookie sheet. Use a fork to flatten cookies. Bake for 10 minutes.

Result: I liked the oatmeal and chocolate. The dough felt very dry while making it, so perhaps my buttermilk substitute was not as great as I thought. The cookies were fairly crumbly, though tasty.

4th Batch: Ooey Gooey Chocolate Peanut Butter

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup peanut butter
• Tbs vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips (or chunks for a better melted swirl)

Mix, spoon onto cookie sheet, bake at 350 for 8-10 mins depending on softness desirability. Let cool and savour!

Result:  The brown sugar compliments the peanut butter wonderfully! Simple ingredients, easy preparation, and chocolate. The cookies came out soft, the peanut butter was strong but not overwhelming . . . I present to you THE WINNER OF THE BAKE OFF! ^_^

Challenge: Daily Organizing (Junk Drawer)

Sooooooooo . . .  2 months later, I finally get started.

Day 1 consists of the relatively gentle task of sorting out the junk drawer.

Or ALL the junk drawers

Instructions were simple. My interpretation is as follows:

1) Pick drawer(s)

2) Take picture of chaos

3) Dump contents onto floor

 4) Take drawers outside and blow off accumulated pet hair/dust. (Aren't I classy?)

5) Sort junk into categories; keep, donate, or toss.

6) Put keep items either in their proper spot in the not-so-junky junk drawer or relocate to proper home elsewhere

7) Move cat out of drawer

8) Take picture proof that I was productive today

Ta-da! 

Conclusion:

If I am being honest with myself (always a dangerous thought), while the drawers look better, no system was set up for keeping the drawers organized. These drawers tend to act as a landing area for the various bits and pieces that you have in your hands when you come home. Currently I have a drawer for things I need to return to friends or the library, one for dog walking, and one for "I am going outside, but it is too bright/dark/buggy". No drawer for "I just came home with random things that I have to find a home for". This could be a good thing, forcing me to find a home for things. Yay! Knowing myself though, those random things will find their way onto the kitchen counter.

Constant vigilance, my pretties!

Challenge: Getting Organized With A Bowl Full of Lemons

The current state of our home is mid move chic. There are boxes from when I moved out from my mom's, and boxes from when my fellow and I moved in together, and boxes from our move into our new house . . . 18 months ago.

We have two of things that we don't use, and do use, and might use one day. We have sheets that don't fit on any of our current beds, two cats and two big dogs that like destroy things that then I like to think I can fix one day. In fact, I have an entire room dedicated to things I am going to make and fix one day. Every room is a big project with more stuff in it than we need or can use.

I dance, so even clothes I won't wear to work or on weekends, I keep "for a costume". We have books we've never read, furniture we can't use, and more posters, pictures, and art than we have walls for.

It is all very overwhelming and suffocating. I come home and want to be creative, but just walking into my "creative space"makes me tense and 9 out of 10 times I flee the scene of the clutter crime. Something has to change, and when I saw the challenge by A Bowl Full of Lemons to organize your home in 21 days, I knew I had to give it a go. I'm a drowning woman and this is my attempt at pulling driftwood together to make a raft.

Now, I do not have 21 consecutive days to organize my home, but I do have need and anticipation, which will get me at least into day 7. After that I have the commitment of having posted my intentions on here, which will hopefully help with the rest of it. I'm going to take this challenge in the spirit it was meant for, and do a challenge each day that I am able to until the very last "day".

So deep breath in, deep breath out, and let's do it!

Challenge: Happiness Advantage Week 3

More details about this challenge can be found in this post.

Day 15
Good restaurants to meet with friends and have date nights in
Finding mystery seeds and all the potential they contain
A merciful game master

Day 16
Beating my fear of making the wrong choice by making a meaningful but meaningless choice every day. Take left or take right to get to work. Depending on the traffic flow, one could get me to work faster or late, but in the big picture, it doesn't matter.
Playing real life Mario cart with my life fellow on the way to work
Celebrating birthdays to show your appreciation of someone

Day 17
Access to healthy food and clean water
Getting my registration as a therapist sorted out
Truthful meetings with the boss

Day 18
The magical soothing powers of a good cannoli
Lazy days off
Loooong weekends

Day 19
Sleeping in and snuggling
Hot showers and good accoustics
The sun in my window

Day 20
Having the ability to improve my mood
Cuddling and watching a movie
Fresh baked cookies

Day 21
Flexibility and adaptability
Access to good healthcare
Setting goals and sticking to them . . . mostly. =p

Week 3 conclusion:
Okay, my time goals were a bit out of whack. This one week was really two. While I thought about things every day, they weren't always new, and I didn't write them all down. I am glad I did this challenge, but I am also glad that I no longer have the small pressure to record things and can just sit back and enjoy. Every grateful statement had a moment of "this is life". I felt more aware of those moments by week 3-4, as if I was both looking back and feeling it happen at the same time. Revolving around the little happinesses and really seeing how good I have it.

Happiness Advantage Conclusion:

So now that my little experiment is done, and I am deeply grateful for my life. Yes I was grateful before in a "cool, I am doing okay at this life thing" sort of way. Honestly though, I can be a bit of a whiner, focusing on the things that went wrong in my day rather than the things that went well. I really do have it good. This is a feeling I would have in passing, but now, a month after having started truly thinking about the small and big things in my life that make me smile, I feel appreciation far deeper than I normally am used to. As time passes, I hope to still practice small moments of gratefulness daily.  

Enjoy what you have now, because tomorrow everything could change.

Challenge: Happiness Advantage Week 2

Details to the challenge can be found in this post.

To sum it up: find three things a day for 21 days that you are grateful for.


Day 8
Neighbours who shovel your driveway when you aren't home
Warm days that melt the ice away
People sharing hard won wisdom

Day 9
Creative outlets
Strengthening willpower
Laughter

Day 10
Finding my wedding rings the day after I lost them at the YMCA
Unexpectedly meeting friends in strange places
The joy dogs have in fresh snow that banishes my own bitterness at the lack of spring

Day 11
Being able to stay in the office on bad weather days
Sharing food with coworkers
Winter tires

Day 12
Making pancakes with my husband, each one a different type of fruit and candy
Reading a gardening book and feeling excited about spring
Finally fitting my car in the garage! No more ice scraping mornings!

Day 13
Playing dice with family
Flushable toilettes
Not crashing into other vehicles during a particularly bad stretch of swirling snow

Day 14
Being friends with your coworkers and visa versa
No injuries when pup got into a dog argument
Extra wedding dress material to make cool momentos out of

Week two conclusion:
This was the hardest week for sticking to it. I would find things I was grateful for, but not write them down, or forget to do it altogether. For future challenges, I am going to need a sticky note or some other daily reminder. It has definitely increased my willpower abilities to stick through with this. Huzzah!

Challenge: Happiness Advantage Week 1

Details for this challenge are in this post.

Summary: I want to rewire my brain to look for positives in life by spending a few moments every day thinking of 3 different things I am grateful for.

63 things I am grateful for? Eek!

Day 1
Employed in my chosen profession.
Own a house to call home.
Newly married to an honest, loving, supportive, and kind man.

Day 2:
2 dogs that are currently sleeping peacefully at my side
Access to beautiful music
Work out instructors that are encouraging and persistent.

Day 3
Long distance communication
Nearly telepathic shared thoughts
Lovely artwork in unexpected places

Day 4
Expensed lunches
Meaningful conversations with friends
People who just GET IT

Day 5
The funny face my big dog makes when food bounces off of his nose . . . for the 25th time in a row
The way we can't stay mad when saying "bubbles"
Getting caught up in a long awaited scene of a book

Day 6
Warm fuzzy blankets
Baths with lots of bubbles and scented goodies
Travel Treasures

Day 7
Rich dark chocolate
Feeling my body get stronger with exercise
Inspirational videos that give me hope for the world and my place in it

Week one conclusion:
I am finding myself searching my day for things to be grateful for that I haven't thought of yet. Even by reviewing what I am already grateful for, I find myself staying more positive, despite some not stellar moods the last few days. I wouldn't go so far as to say this is full life style change, but it is a start!

Two more weeks to go! ^_^

The Happiness Advantage

This week I have been feeling dissatisfied. It feels like I am unwanted, unneeded, unsuccessful. The key word there is "feels". At no point has anyone ever told me these things, nor do I have any evidence. It is a mental state I walked myself into and haven't yet figured out how to walk myself out of.

Wanting some advice, but not sure what I was looking for, I rifled through TED talks until I found something that seemed to call to me. A talk by Shawn Achor, called "The happy secret to better work".

If you haven't made your way to TED talks before, I highly recommend you give it a try! They host some of the most amazing people in the world to spread new ideas through videos and conferences. They even have an app. ~_^

With humour, logic, and good story telling, he rapidly leads you into a hopeful state of mind. You can change your mental attitudes. Then he sets a challenge: Rewire your brain.

Challenge accepted.

Part 1:

• 21 days
• 2 minutes per day
• 3 things you are grateful for

I will update this post at least once a week until the end of the 21 days detailing my gratitudes. After 21 days, I will try to honestly answer whether or not I feel it has helped.

Part 2:

These are other things he mentions, and I see them more as goals than daily challenges.

• Journal about something positive that happened to you in the last 24 hours to relive it
• Exercise to teach your brain that what you do is important
• Meditate to practice focusing on one task
• Perform acts of kindness to open up your world to small satisfactions

After the first challenge I will tackle these. ^_^