A Guaranteed Christy-fied Baking Experience

Yesterday I made Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal cookies and I was going to post a picture of my delectable creations. However, before I could find our ever-illusive camera, my family (i.e. my brother) finished off the last of my Cinnamon Apple Delights! But I remembered the recipe (well, rather the process) so I decided to post it for any of you adventurous culinary artists out there who need some holiday baking inspiration!

• First, have your dearest mother buy a bag of Cinnamon Chips from Wally World in hopes that her children will make some cookies.

• Second, have your most beloved sibling reject your ultra-cool idea of Cinnamon Blueberry cookies. (I thought it was a perfectly logical idea! I mean, if cinnamon goes well in blueberry pies and blueberry crumbles, then why not make Cinnamon Blueberry cookies!?!)

• Thirdly, be inspired by the applesauce simmering on the stove.

• Fourth, look at the back of the Cinnamon Chip package and notice the recipe for Cinnamon OATMEAL cookies.

• Fifth, exclaim with great enthusiasm and zeal, "I know! I'll bake Cinnamon APPLE Oatmeal cookies!!!!!!!" (Don't forget to add the seven exclamation points at end.)

• Sixth, rummage up a mixing bowl and the needed utensils and add liberal doses of the indicated ingredients. (Feel free to use whole wheat flour instead of the nutrient-starved white flour or applesauce instead of eggs.) Don't worry about amounts--measuring is over-rated.

• Seventh, look in the cupboards and add any other spices, seasonings, or yummy-looking ingredients that you find. (Don't forget to look in the freezer! That's where I found the frozen apple juice concentrate!) Mix thoroughly.

• Eighth, steal an apple that your mother is trying to wash and chop half of it into small bits. Add to batter. (Use the other half of the apple to calm your borborygmus stomach).

• Ninth, taste it! And be careful when letting your family taste it, they might take more then you expected!

• Tenth, plop the batter into small roundlets on your cookie sheet and bake at 350°. It's ok to run upstairs while they're baking and read blogs but make sure to listen for when your mom calls you to tell you that the cookies are getting black.

• Eleventh, don’t burn your tongue while you carefully nibble at the steaming cookies because you can't wait until they've cooled down to try out your new creation!
  

• Twelth, for a ‘more excellent way’ (1 Corinthians 12:31) dip cookies in honeyed peanut butter or add a fluff of whipped cream to the top!

Enjoy!

My grammy and I :D

So Joel and I drove up to Maryland Wednesday night and stayed with my Grammy. And as I write this, we are in an Apple store at the mall buying my grammy a Mac computer. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to blog so I convinced my grammy to take a picture with me. :D

Caitlin graduates. We take pictures. Not normal ones, cuz that would be boring... Enjoy :D

Character Development

my goal:

"God's work is ever characterized by calmness and dignity." -Selected Messages

however:

"The Christian life is more than many take it to be. It does not consist wholly in gentleness, patience, meekness, and kindliness. These graces are essential; but there is need also of courage, force, energy, and perseverance. The path that Christ marks out is a narrow, self-denying path. To enter that path and press on through difficulties and discouragements requires men who are more than weaklings.

"Some have no firmness of character. Their plans and purposes have no definite form and consistency. They are of but little practical use in the world. This weakness, indecision, and inefficiency should be overcome. There is in true Christian character an indomitableness that cannot be molded or subdued by adverse circumstances. We must have moral backbone, an integrity that cannot be flattered, bribed, or terrified.

"God has given us ability, to think and to act, and it is by acting with carefulness, looking to Him for wisdom that you will become capable of bearing burdens. Stand in your God-given personality. Be no other person's shadow. Expect that the Lord will work in and by and through you.

"The same spirit and principles that one brings into the daily labor will be brought into the whole life. Those who desire a fixed amount to do and a fixed salary, and who wish to prove an exact fit without the trouble of adaptation or training, are not the ones whom God calls to work in His cause. Those who study how to give as little as possible of their physical, mental, and moral power are not the workers upon whom He can pour out abundant blessings. Their example is contagious. Self-interest is the ruling motive. Those who need to be watched and who work only as every duty is specified to them, are not the ones who will be pronounced good and faithful. Workers are needed who manifest energy, integrity, diligence, those who are willing to do anything that needs to be done." -Ministry of Healing