When in doubt... bake it off

Everyone has their own little way of relieving stress, dealing with anxiety, or other emotions. Mine are, but not limited to... baking, cooking, crocheting, and lifting weights. There are days though that I can't seem to figure out how to relieve the pressure building. For those days I usually just spew out, "When in doubt, bake it off" which is like a pep talk for me and a warning for my family to stay out of my way! My kids get to help occasionally if I can handle the stimulation but for the most part baking is my leech... it works GREAT while listening to good music! I will even honestly admit that most times when baking under extreme emotion whatever I end up baking doesn't turn out as good as I like them too. But after everything is said and done not only am I just less, I also have some yummy treats to chow down on as well! My personal favorite is when a recipe that I have made for literally years turns out different such as the recipe states that it makes 4 dozen cookies. I verified with 3 different people and sure enough that really does equal 48 which is the number that I always get when baking them except tonight. Tonight that same batch of cookie dough turned out 81 cookies... yeah go ahead and cock your head to the side and figure that one out if you can... while I am waiting to do the next step I am still working on the answer myself. No the answer does NOT lie in making them smaller. A notation on the side even tells me to measure out the dough for the chocolate pieces with a 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon, which is what I used... strange and peculiar but who am I to complain about having more cookies? Even better... the thoughts running through my head and making me a big pile of pissed off butterflies has finally calmed down and I even worked out a few issues with other stuff! Hot diggity dog! I is calmer already with powdered sugar coated goodness to make the last bit go away!

Happiness is working with what you got, NOT something perfect!

I have decided that all the money and all the hopes and dreams in the world are just that... hopes and dreams, yes we should ALL strive to have them come true but should also step back occasionally and take notice of what we already have.

One of my hopes for this year is to be living with my husband again. I hate living apart and even though it is only a 3 hour drive it seems like he is on another planet. We never have the money for him to come home and definitely can't afford to pack up the kids and go there and get a hotel since he lives in housing.

Yet, with all the things we are going without and all the things we wish we could do and see I am still happy that I get to stay home with my kids and help take care of my grandparents and I get to see my nephews, sister, and mom whenever I choose. I spent too many years away from them and after coming home everyone else moved away and then came back! So now we are all here (except my brother who is in jail for reasons I will NOT disclose) and I am loving it, not the drama but being able to see them is awesome!

Now if only I could find a good electrician, lawn care service, and general handyman to fix all the issues with this house so I can move! HA!