The Most Wonderful Cookies of the Year

I baked my new favorite Cookie recipe this weekend to get into the Christmas spirit. I found this recipe in an old Southern Living Christmas Cookbook circa 1998 that I got for $3 at Half Price Books.....Uh-mazing. These cookies are delightfully delicious and come highly recommended by both Doug (the unofficial cookie monster) and me!

Chewy Chocolate-Cinnamon Cookies
1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 (3.9 oz) pkg. chocolate fudge instant pudding mix
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 (11.5 oz) bag semisweet chocolate mega morsels
1 (2-1/2 oz) pachage walnut pieces (optional.....I don't use them)

• Beat butter at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars and pudding mix, beating well. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
• Combine flour, soda, and cinnamon; gradually add to butter mix, beating just until blended. Stir in chocolate morsels and walnuts.
• Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes. Cool on cookies sheets 1 minute. Remove cookies to wire racks; cool completely. Yields 5 dozen.

I know it sounds weird to have a Chocolate-Cinnamon cookie, but I promise you'll love them! They taste and smell very Christmasey!! Enjoy!

In other news, Thanksgiving was great! We had Doug's family over to the apartment and enjoyed a yummy meal courtesy of Honey Baked Ham! Hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving! 18 days and counting until our Christmas trip to California! I can't wait!

ACU Homecoming 2009

ACU Homecoming was this past weekend, so we all headed up to the ole Alma Mater for all the festivities. My whole family was able to make it out, and we had a good time catching up and celebrating Heather's birthday a little early! We headed up on Thursday so we could have a little extra time there. Chelsea was on the Homecoming Court so we wanted to be there when they presented her in Chapel on Friday, and then we went with her to the Queen's Tea (which is honestly kind of lame, but at least there was food!). Chelsea looked beautiful as always! Saturday was our Club Breakfast bright and early. It was great to see some old friends! Next was the Homecoming Parade where Chelsea had to ride in a car and wave.....hillarious to watch if you know Chelsea at all! The football game was Saturday afternoon and ACU was #1 in the nation (Division 2 of course) prior to the game, but we ended up losing to West Texas A&M. Bummer. Chelsea's friend from club ended up winning Homecoming Queen which was so awesome! Don't worry Chels, you are a Queen in my book! It was such a great weekend! ACU has so many wonderful memories for both Doug and I! It is always great to go back! Here's a few pictures......

Us at the Queen's Tea on Friday afternoon

Homecoming Queen Nominees. Chels is on the far left!

The four of us at the Alpha Kai Omega Alumni Breakfast

The whole Fam

Texas State Fair! Yeehaw!

This Saturday we went to the Texas State Fair with Heather and James. None of us had ever been before and it was definitely way bigger than I was expecting! There were SO many people there even though the weather was kind of rainy. They have some crazy food there like fried alligator, fried snickers, fried oreos, fried corn, fried pickles, fried grilled cheese sandwiches, and if that doesn't clog up the arteries.....how about some fried butter? It was funny to see all the weird food, and even crazier to watch people eat it! I love Texas! Don't worry, we sampled the fried snickers. It was a big fat party in my mouth....literally I suppose! We also took a ride on the Ferris Wheel (which was absolutely terrifying), checked out the car show and caught up with some great friends! It was a fun time for sure. Here are a few pictures:

Doug and I with Big Tex!

On the Ferris Wheel

The fried snickers....doesn't look like Heather approves!

In other news, this Fall weather we have been having lately is absolutely fabulous! However, we do live in Texas so weather is subject to change at any moment. I'm still going to break out the sweaters, jackets and Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks. Bring it on!

Let's Picnik!

I have discovered this photo editing website called picnik.com that I am completely obsessed with! This is probably old news to some people, but I have absolutely fallen in love and spend waaaaaay too much time playing with it. It's really cool because you can make collages, add text, change the effects, frame it, and basically anything else you can dream of. If you pay a small fee (shhhh, don't tell Doug!) then you can do more "professional type" editing. I highly recommend this website to anyone who loves taking pictures! Here are a few of the things I have made so far....

That's all for now. Oh, and for anyone who is counting we have 30 weeks until Doug leaves for Officer Training School! It can't come soon enough.......

Wedding Weekend!

This past weekend was verrrrry busy for us! We had Kelly (Doug's sister) and Bryant's wedding on Friday morning in Denver, Colorado, and my friend Robin and Jeremy's wedding was on Saturday afternoon in Tyler, Texas. Doug was able to be home in CO for a week, so that was fun for him! I flew into CO on Wednesday in time to help with a few last minute wedding details. Doug and I got to go on a few good walks/bike rides while there....we had to take advantage of the cool weather! It was beautiful! Kelly and Bryant's wedding was at the Denver Botanic Gardens at 10:30 on Friday morning. I had to be back in Texas that evening in time for Robin and Jeremy's rehearsal which started at 6. My flight left Denver at 12:25 so after the wedding ceremony Doug rushed me to the airport, and I made my flight with 5 minutes to spare! However, after boarding we found out that our flight would be delayed (it ended up being about 2 hours!). I was very panicked, but was able to make the 2 hour drive to Tyler from DFW just in time for the end of the rehearsal! Whew! It was so good to get together with old college friends! Both wedding were beautiful and so much fun. Here are a few pictures!

Later that same day........I made it from Denver to Tyler for Robin's Rehearsal!

Doug even made it back to Texas in time for Robin's wedding! It was an eventful weekend that I'm sure we will remember forever! Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Stone, and Mr. and Mrs. Laningham! We love you guys!

Race for the Cure!

This past weekend we participated in the 5K Race for the Cure in Plano, TX. My whole family came up so that we could run it together in memory of our Grandma Shirley! She was a very special lady, and we all love her and miss her so very much! Doug finished in under 24 minutes and Chelsea wasn't far behind him. (Show-offs!) Heather and I came in next at 35 minutes, respectively. Cami, Mom and Dad all finished about a minute or so after us! It was a great time and we are hoping to do it again next year! The pictures below are before and after photos!