Life Lately

Last Friday we went to a ward family dance. We had so much fun laughing with our friends, dancing around, and being entertained by cute little kids. Michael even danced with me. TWICE. He loves me. There were a few love triangles in the Sunbeam class that were pretty entertaining to watch. 

vine.co/v/bQIUXDLplux

— Maddie Daetwyler (@MaddieMDae) May 4, 2013

Afterwards we went out with some friends to get ice cream at Mrs. Curl. It was such a cute place - all the tables and chairs outside around a little ice cream joint, with hanging lights all around. So summer. I thought hard about what to get before ordering a chocolate malt. I don't know why I always think hard about it. I will always order a chocolate malt if it's on the menu. But at least I kind of sort of give the other options a little consideration. (You can see that Gabby's little baby Mia already knows what she's missing out on. Kristin is so unsuspecting.)

On Saturday morning we went to cheer on our friends in the Indianapolis Mini Marathon. Adriana was in town to run, so we were so excited to see her and cheer on all the runners. There were 38,000 people running those 13.1 miles together that day. The girls that ran said the crowds never spread out - practically the entire race was crowded. I loved the happy energy there that day, and wondered how anyone could ever want to hurt people. I love love Boston.

This is Indiana sky, from my car window. I forget every year how absolutely happy the sun makes me. There is something about driving down a freeway with bright sunshine and good music and just feeling good about where you are. The 55-mile speed limits on Indy's freeways do kind of dampen that moment...but,  C'est la vie.

We need curtains in our kitchen. We have them, but our living room is going to steal them. Musical curtains. I thought I was being so nice by bringing home samples and giving Michael a say in the matter. It's his kitchen too, right? But he was just not as into it as I for some reason envisioned in the aisles of JoAnn's. He's a good sport though. I'd ask for your opinion about which one you like best, but I went back to the store after 10 minutes of sample staring and already purchased my 2.5 yards. So...feel free to leave comments about how the left one is the best. Right? Right.

We had a "buns night" for a Relief Society activity this week. First we had some hair lessons from me and two other girls about different ways to do your hair in a bun. (I never knew there were so many ways...I've stuck with my hair habits since about 2nd grade). Then we learned some exercising tips for our other buns. Then of course we ate cinnamon buns (which was not one of the tips we learned). It was a lot of fun, I love the girls out here in Indiana so much.

And I'll leave you with these beauties. You may remember I'm on a quest for my favorite chocolate chip cookies. It's a process. But so far, an adaptation of these are the #1 contenders. The only reason I'm still out looking is because these might just be a little too cakey sometimes. You know? Try them and let me know...for now, I end up falling back to these after trying one or two rounds of new recipes. 

The [so-far] Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie

• 1 C. butter, softened
• 1 C. white sugar
• 1 C. packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 C. flour (no more! they're already almost too cakey)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. hot water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Lots of chocolate chips :)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cream together butter and sugars, beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. Dissolve baking soda in water, and add all of it to the dough with the salt.
4. Stir in the flour and chocolate chips. 
5. Roll into balls and place 12 on an ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 8 minutes, then leave on the pan for about 2 before moving to a cooling rack.

I'm still holding out for a slightly chewier cookie, but this is hands down the best cookie DOUGH we've tried. We put a major dent in the batch before it even makes it to the oven.