No Ordinary Recipe

I've been thinking of new ideas to add to my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. You know, besides, well, chocolate chips. 

There are these yummy Nestlé chocolate chips that are dark chocolate and mint chip-mixed. 

I haven't got to making these "wonder cookies" but when I do I believe they will be delicious. 

And also I wanted to try cutting Andes mints into little slivers and throwing them in the dough like you would with chocolate chips. Ooh, what about candy canes? Or candy canes and mints? 

Tell me (in the comments section of this post),  what would be your favorite substitution for cookie dough instead of chocolate chips?

Happy New Year's Eve!

Quote of the Day:
"Work hard in your life. Remember, you can only go forwards."

I'd just like to wish you all a Happy New Year's Eve and a (late) Merry Christmas! What's your New Year's resolutions? My main one is this: Stop being a chocolate fool! Although, that resolution might not happen considering I got a huge Godiva chocolate basket for Christmas. Yum! So tell me (in the comments section of this post), what is your New Year's Resolution?

Do You Rule School?

Quote of the Day

"To can't be the best if you don't believe you are"

Quiztime!

Ready to find out if you're school savvy or if you need to step up your game?

Take this super-short quiz to find out!

You have a quiz Monday... what do you do over the weekend?

A. Ahem... do you even have to ask? I wait till Sunday night and party the rest of the weekend.

B. Study of course. 24 hours straight.

C. Study a little bit each day.

Your English teacher just gave you back the big English tests that were graded. You generally get a...

A. F. I'm flunking the class, but my friends don't seem to care, so why should I?

B. A. As always.

C. B. Not too bad. I made a few mistakes on the last questions.

If the teacher asked you to study harder, what would you say?

A. Why? I wanna be a supermodel, and all they need to know is how to be pretty.

B. I'm sorry. I'll try harder.

C. Well, alright.  

Do your parents know your grades?

A. Heck no! If they did they would kill me.

B. Of course. And they're super proud of me.

C. Yeah. They say I can get my B in English up to an A, but they think I'm doing pretty good.

If you got mostly A's...

You're lazy daisy! Seriously? You need to think about your grades. And you should keep your parents up to date too. They have a right to know! Don't think that your grades don't matter. They do. And if you want to go to college, you should start trying. Advice? Ask for a tutor if you're seriously flunking, but if you're are just lazy, have your parents help you get motivated.

If you got mostly B's...

You're school savvy! You totally got everything covered. You have your goal, your motivation, and the brains! You're a complete package; be proud of yourself! Don't stretch yourself though. Try hard, but don't harm yourself by doing it.

If you got mostly C's...

You're in the middle! You've got some ups and downs. My advice is to try both. You're in a good spot, but if you want to stick in one spot... I recommend being school savvy!

Scentsy!

Quote of the Day

“You can’t enjoy your life if you don’t enjoy it with others”

I was browsing one of my favorite sites Kevinandamanda the other day and I came across a post. It was about a Scentsy Candle Giveaway Contest, and I was super excited. There is this brand of scents called Scentsy and they look absolutely amazing! If only I win the contest. My dreams would come true. I'm dying to try Sticky Cinnamon Bun, "Cinnamon and sweet icing with warm, nutty nuances". I heart bakery scents! And I love cinnamon buns! I really, really love them! 

Also I think Hazelnut Latte would be really good. "Frothy steamed milk, toasted hazelnuts, espresso, and vanilla with a dusting of cinnamon". Ahh. Sounds like heaven. 

  

Oh, and I think Scentsy products would be a really good idea for Christmas presents. I love Christmas. Happy Early Holidays! :) 

Baking & Cookie Tips

Who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies? Okay, if you're answering yes, please tell me and I'd be happy to give you a taste of my favorite recipe.


And if you don't like cookies, why not cookie dough? You have to like cookie dough. Smooth, sugary, vanilly cookie dough. You have to like it. It's so amazing. 

Well if you like cookies (the real thing or dough), you should like baking. Why not make cookies or any dessert the way you wanna make it?


I'm here to give you some tips on baking, since I love to bake and I know the ways that work best for myself. 


Okay, to start you off, I'm going to give you tips on...

Vanilla: What a delicious ingredient to add to cookies. You can tell a good cookie when you taste the vanilla on your tongue. Tip #1- I enjoy vanilla, so when I make desserts, especially cookies, I always add extra vanilla. There is definitely a difference when you add more. Believe me.  

Dry Ingredients: When you're dealing with dry ingredients, it's tough to measure the exact amount. Right? Wrong! In fact, it's very simple if you do it the right way. Tip #2- For me, that means scooping the ingredient up, making sure it's a little over the top, taking a knife, and slicing the access ingredient off. That's right! Oh, and Tip #3- Make sure you swipe all access ingredients off over a small bowl. That way, it will make it much easier for you to clean up! 

Baking Soda: This is a very simple tip, and it usually says it on the Baking Soda containers. Tip #4- Get a new box of Baking Soda every month. This makes fresher-tasting food, and you know we all love fresh food!

Eggs: Cracking eggs is kind of tough. Sometimes you mess up so badly you need to crack a completely new one! But this trick will help when it comes to making mistakes. Tip #5- Crack your eggs in a small, seperate bowl. This way, in case you do mess up (for example, dropping egg shells), you can just dump the egg and start over. You won't have to make the whole recipe over again!  

Thanksgiving Box

Quote of the Day
“Giving up is an F at life”

Thanksgiving- how do we show our appreciation? How do we say thank you for everything we have? Here's a fun idea. Make a Thanks Box for the people you want to thank, such as your parents or grandparents.

Make a Thanksgiving Box for someone important to you. First you will need a box. It can be cardboard or a shoebox. Decorate the box with pictures and your favorite colored construction paper. For example: if you were making this box for your grandma, you could cover the box with cute patterned paper and paste pictures of you and her on it. You could even add buttons and stickers to get more creative.

Okay, here's the fun part. It'll take some thinking skills... so get ready. Think of what you want to thank your (Example: grandma) for. Is it the present she gave you last Christmas? Is it her sweet smile? Is it her warm, chewy cookies she bakes for you every time you come to her house? You should probably make a list of this ideas so you don't forget them.


Now you're going to symbolize the things your thanking them for. If you're thanking them for love, put a stuffed heart in the box. Symbolize all your other things and place them in the box. 


Thirdly, you are going to include special things in the box. It could be pictures, or a poem she wrote you, or a painting you made together. Whatever it is, make sure it's something valuable between you two. You can even put a scrapbook in the box. 


Make sure the insides and outsides are completely decorated and give your box to the person you're thanking on Thanksgiving Day. It will be so special for the person to see how much you care about them and how you're truly thankful for the things they do!

 

Tiny Book of Happy Things

Quote of the Day

“If you believe in yourself, the world will believe with you”  *

I just want to say "Happy Halloween" to all of you out there. (I know it's not Halloween yet, but its Sunday so close enough :) I hope you have a spook-tastic weekend full of scares, fun, and lots of candy! (I MEAN LOTS OF IT!!!) LOL :) P.S., I have a craft for you!

The Tiny Book of Happy Things

Okay, I know this isn't the most creative idea out there, but I think it's pretty clever considering many people have anger management issues and don't know how to get rid of it.

Yelling at your parents? A big NO, NO. You need something that doesn't involve others, something that doesn't harm anything (including your teddy bear). This is where my idea comes into place. And this also could help when you're sad, so emotional wrecks, listen up too. 

Okay, I guess you can call this a craft. But it is also for useful purposes. For this, you will need pictures, newspaper clippings, magazine clippings (you'll know what you need once you hear the next part). Okay, you will also need paper. Patterned and colored paper might make it cuter, and stickers are also a good idea. You might also want some markers or a writing material. 

To start the craft you need to make a small booklet out of your paper. It doesn't matter if you tie, staple, or glue the papers together. Just make sure you can flip through it. P.S., if you read my other craft, this is similar. But also different. 

So once you make your booklet, gather things that are important or make you smile (that you can paste on paper). Maybe it's a picture of you as a baby, or a picture of you winning the science award; maybe it's even a dog collar because you love your dog so much. 

These are some good examples. Make sure you have several things (Pictures is a good idea and it would be much easier to glue a picture in your booklet then a medal). Make sure all these things remind you of a happier time. 

Glue the things into pages in your booklet and decorate this. This will be your "Tiny Book of Happy Things". Whenever your mad, tired, stressed, sad, bummed, or just waiting for a miracle, look at your book. 

It will remind you of all your success and how much happy times you've had. It can make you smile, laugh, or cool off. This is a good idea to keep you calm. Hope you liked it!