Wordless Wednesday - Boys Will Be Boys!

Easiest Cookies Ever!

This recipe is so easy and since it's "semi" homemade, you don't have to have a lot on hand at home to make it. You can made the dough as a base and add whatever you like to make them perfect for you. I've added white chocolate chips, regular chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, mint chips...you get the point. The possibilities are endless and trying different things is yummy and fun.

It's your basic "cake box" cookie but I LOVE what vanilla does to get rid of the typical cake box cake flavor. Call me crazy, but I can tell the difference. LOL So here are pictures and the recipe. This time I used pecans and caramel chips to make "Turtle" chocolate cookies and white chocolate chips to make "black and white" cookies. The Turtle cookies turned out to be one of my favorite combinations.

Recipe
1 Devils Food Chocolate Cake Mix
1 Stick of butter (not margarine, good 'ole butter)
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon of vanilla
Whatever toppings you like
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

This is basically all you need.

Throw it all in one bowl together. No "wet" or "dry" mixing necessary.

Blend really well and then add your desired goodies

Scoop just like any other cookies into little balls and bake for 8-12 minutes depending on how big you made them.


Let cool and then you're done! I forgot to take a picture after they were already baked. Probably because they didn't sit around for too long. ;-)

Closet FOB

Yes, it's true, my mom is white. Hard to believe right? LOL Okay not really but something most people don't know (and a few of you do know. LOL) is that I'm a closet FOB. There's nothing bad about it right? LMBO I'm posing the question because I think a lot of us (myself included) think of the word FOB as a bad thing. I often think about how we negatively talk about people from our homeland and the way they talk or dress and yet we can't speak our own language and know little about traditional heritage. But that's beside the point on this post. What I'm really getting at is that I learned a few things by kickin' it with my gma this summer and I'm LOVIN it!

I've always loved crafty things, but making kafa's and kahoa's is a whole new level of craft. You can do whatever your heart desires and you have to broaden your creativity in order to turn something that you ordinariy find at your neighborhood Michaels into something that looks traditionally familiar to Tongans.

I learned how to weave the base and now I'm working with my gma to start decorating and dressing it up a little. I made 2 sets so far, one for a friends babyshower and the other for my sis Jigz who had to speak at church last Sunday. I'm diggin' it. Mine are no where near what my gmas look like but it's still fun to keep trying. The best part? Spending time with my gma and soaking up all the knowledge that I used to think I was too cool for. LOL

Gma showin' me the "ropes"

I thought it was hilarious that she had a "ring watch" on. Especially because the numbers are so small that she can't read them. LOL
The "set" I made for Jigz

Our gift at MonaLisa's Baby Shower

Update

Oh how quickly time flies! I say it all the time and yet it becomes increasingly difficult to really savor each passing moment. My babies started 2nd grade this year and we've made huge changes already. They're no longer at the age where I have to walk them into and out of class. It might sound like a small accomplishment, but after 3 years of parking and fighting through the crowds to get to their classrooms in time it feels so much easier.

Joshua is in Mr. Torres' class and he thinks he got the short end of the stick because apparently Mr. Torres doesn't have a hard time raising his voice. LOL Papa is in Ms. Yee's class and he's so excited about being in the 2nd grade. Joshy, though 9 months younger is a full 2 inches taller than Papa at this point. He uses it against his big brother all the time and I can only imagine how much worse it's going to get over the years. LOL He's so excited about soccer and has always been really good at sports. While they are both super helpful I've noticed that Papa has acquired the skill that most "oldests" have in that he looks out for his siblings and helps out without being asked. It's so funny to watch their personalities grow and change. I just have to be sure to "stop and smell the roses" so that I don't miss out on special moments that are sure to fade once they're "big boys".

"Oh My Goodness"

It's so funny how quickly kids catch on. Sometimes it's not so funny when you find them repeating something that you wish their sweet innocent ears never heard. I was lucky enough to catch my Luvie in a candid moment when she was singing what I've learned is her favorite song. If you know Mackenzie or have been around her enough, you know she's pretty timid and shy. I had to pretend I wasn't recording and you'll notice she asks at one point "What's that mom? A picture?" before going right back to Spawnbreezie lala land. Thanks Lomes for clarifying cause I'm so cool that I thought it was Josh White who sang this! LMBO

Please excuse the poor recording and angle. I could have edited it but didn't want to miss a single second of it. ;-)

Oh how I wish I had more TIME!!!

But don't we all? This new school adventure is really hard to get used to. I'm enjoying it all so far but the balancing act is a little difficult and I've found that I have to forfeit many of the fun, dorky hobbies I used to occupy my time with. Maybe taking a month break after work and before school wasn't the best idea. I got spoiled with all the free time!!!

It's something to get used to but I'm sure things will fall into place. I picked up a part time job to help "lighten the load" at home. Most especially because the holidays are coming up and we all know how crazy that can be. But I'll also just come right out and admit that I couldn't be more excited about working at Torrid. I'm a shopping JUNKY as it is so having a discount at one of my fave stores is icing on the cake. :-)

I'm just getting into the swing of things but for most hours during the week, my view looks a lot like this. ;-)

A sweet throwback...

Uh huh...we all know it when we see it. I'm sure we're all familiar with the bite and blow combination that comes with trying to eat them too soon after they've been taken out of the pot. No matter how old I get, eating keke isite always brings back fond childhood memories. My aunty Tala made the BEST. I'm sure we all feel that way about the "baker aunty" in our families. I'd like to continue those cultural traditions and the warm fuzzy feelings associated with them while raising my children as well. For that reason, jam pies for breakfast on the first day back after a break from school is a staple at home. Every once in a while, I'll replace brownies or cookies with keke isite or topai as a sweet treat. Yup, I'm steppin' up my Tongan cooking game and it's been a fun trial and error ride thus far. Gotta LOVE the joys of being raised Tongan. Even if I am mixed with a little somethin' extra, fai fai lelei na'a laka ange a'e kau palangi 'I he haka keke. LOL