Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies

     Recently for Mother's Day I interviewed some of the neighborhood kids.  I asked them the following question: " What do you love most about your mom?"  Six of the fourteen kids answered " the chocolate chip cookies she makes for me." 
     Since, that was such a popular answer I decided it was time to make some chocolate chip cookies to share this afternoon when the kids stop by.  I am sharing a recipe I have been making for years, long before I officially became a grandma. It is a family favorite.  I hope you like it as much as we do.

Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies

One cup white sugar
One cup brown sugar
One cup shortening
Two eggs
One tsp. vanilla
One tsp. almond flavoring
Two cups flour
One tsp. baking soda
One half tsp. salt
One half tsp. baking powder
Two cups rolled oats
One pkg. milk chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a cookie sheet.  Blend together the sugars and shortening.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and almond flavoring.  Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder together.  Stir into wet mixture.  Blend well.  Stir in the oats and the chocolate chips.  Bake for eight to ten minutes until lightly brown on edges.  Makes three dozen of the yummiest cookies ever!


    

The brownie, a flat, baked square or bar developed in the United States at the end of the 19th Century. 

The brownie,  a cross between a cake and a cookie in texture.

The brownie, leave out the chocolate and make with brown sugar and it becomes a BLONDIE.  Maybe that's why I like brownies so much.

LeeLee's Brownies with mint frosting and chocolate glaze:

12 Tbsp. cocoa with 4 Tbsp. oil or 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp.salt
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Grease a 13x9x2 inch cake pan.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt cocoa/oil mixture or chocolate squares, along with shortening, in a saucepan over low heat.  Remove from heat.  Mix in sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Spread in pan.
Bake for 30 minutes or until brownies pull away from sides of pan.  Do NOT over bake.  Cool slightly, eat immediately, or frost with Celia's mint frosting and chocolate glaze.  The choice is yours!

Celia's mint frosting and chocolate glaze:

3 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp. half & half
6 Tbsp. soft butter
1 tsp. mint flavoring
2-3 drops green food coloring
Combine together until mixed well and creamy.  Spread over cooled brownies.  Chill for one hour. (unless you are a type a personality and you cannot chill for even one hour)  In that case, dust, vacuum, fold clothes while the brownies are chilling.

Top with chocolate glaze:

1 cup chocolate chips
4 Tbsp.  butter

Melt together and spread on chilled brownies.  Cut into squares.  Now, let the chilling begin with a tall glass of milk!

My mom is a gem.  To honor her I made her this cute little silver paper mache box:  I painted it silver and the lid midnight blue.  I put polka dot washi tape around it when it was done drying.  Next I took my washi tape and I covered all my chocolate nuggets in different colors of washi tape:

It was really simple and fun.  I sprayed my box with glitter spray and put my little gems in it for my mom.


For my last Mother's Day story I asked my sister Lori to share a memory of my mom  The first thing that came to mind is a funny story.  In the summer of '77 My parents and Jim and I went to a family reunion in Seattle Washington.  The reunion was for my dads side of the family.  We stayed at his cousin's house.  The house was situated in the middle of the forest and there was a long, lonely stretch of road that ran in front of it.  One evening at dusk my mom, Jim and I, and a second cousin decided to go for a walk down this road.  The trees came right up to the edge of the road on both sides and they were thick and it was dark.  Of course we were talking about Big Foot as we walked along.  As we were walking, my darling husband decides to toss a rock into the trees just off to the side of my mom ('cuz you know, when you are 24 years old you do that sort of thing to your unsuspecting mother-in-law as she is walking along a long, lonely stretch of road in the middle of nowhere).  I am sure you will understand how it was that my poor, sweet mom threw out her arms as she bolted from the pack leaving us in the dust. It took her a few minutes to realize Big Foot was not in hot pursuit.  Jim likes to tease her all the time that all of her motherly instincts flew out the window as she left her oldest daughter out there on that long, lonely road.

That is a silly, but true, story.  But, in all seriousness, my mom is a gem!  Growing up, we spent a lot of time at her mother's house.  My Grandma didn't drive.  Every Friday night my mom took my grandma grocery shopping at Albertsons in Bountiful.  It was always fun when it was my turn to go with them because Grandma would let me pick out the ice-cream she would buy for our family.  Today my mom is busy taking my brother and sister-in-law out and about to their many errands because they do not drive.  Both of them are legally blind.  My mom is 77 years old and she is still taking someone shopping every Friday!

My mom has always been an example to me of a strong woman and of a loving mother.  She raised 3 daughters and 2 sons and we all turned out pretty darn good (except LeeAnn she's a little bit of a fixer-upper) .  Her youngest son George was born with disabilities and became blind at the age of 4.  When he was old enough for school, my brother couldn't go to Stoker Elementary like the rest of us.  He went to the School for the Blind and Deaf in Ogden, Utah.  He was five years old at the time.  My mom  would have to send him away to school for the week and have him come home for the week-end.  I can't even imagine how hard that would be!

Mom has been a Temple Ordinance worker in the Bountiful Temple.  She just finished up a 3 year service mission at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.  She loved it dearly.  She is still looking for other ways to help and to serve others.  Mom you really are a gem!  Thanks Mom-I love you!

My mom.....aka the mother leaf

     Six years ago this month a lot of things were happening in my life.  I had just come home from seeing my dad for the last time.  It was our final good-bye.  He would die on June 13th.
     I also walked into a stark and sterile room at the IMC hospital in Midvale, Utah to see my mom lying in a bed.  She was in a critical care unit.  Earlier in the day she had been at the L.D.S. Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah to have a stress test done on her heart.  As she ran on the treadmill she became very dizzy, her heart rate increased but her blood pressure decreased.  She collapsed and immediately had to be taken by ambulance to the IMC Hospital where it was determined she would need a pacemaker.
     I had just returned from seeing my dad.  My parents had been divorced for twenty nine years.  My mom has always been there for her five children. She has taken care of herself without financial help from my dad for all of those years.  She took care of my younger brother George both financially and physically without any help from my dad.  My mom is the lady I admire most in my life.  I love this picture of her:

I love my mom; she gave me birth
Because of her, I am here on Earth.

I love my mom; she knows me best
Even at times when our love has been put to the test.

I love my mom; when I failed ninth grade sewing class
She made me take summer lessons, so the next time I would pass.

I love my mom; she taught me to cook and to bake
Because of her, I always have food I can make.

I love my mom; for when my cookies were hard and brown and flat,
She would always eat them and tell me, some people like cookies like that.

I love my mom: she is very courageous and strong
She has been on her own thirty five years and makes it seem like a song.

I love my mom for being there for George,
It's not easy raising five kids; especially with a son whose problems are as wide as a gorge.

I love my mom for being his eyes, his ride, his strength
One day his strides will match yours length by length.

I love my mom for the food she would make;
Even though I was a picky eater and I would not shake.

I am not eating those mushrooms, spaghetti or meatloaf
I am not trying your liver and onions, eww!

I love my mom, her stuffed green peppers are mighty fine,
Her sugar cookies, fudge and divinity are divine!

I love you mom for putting up with me,
The daughter who sometimes didn't see;

The angel, the princess, the Queen
I would be so different without you, this is what I mean;

You taught me to live, to laugh and to love;
I just wanted you to know now; not when you are in Heaven above.

I love you mom, so I got you this card;
I know you will love it.  You will laugh really hard!

Inside reads:  Mom, thank you for your gentle encouragement throughout the years.  I love you mom!  Happy Mother's Day!

Carla Barlow (the leaf I call my mom-in-law) a tribute by her son

     I first met my mother-in-law when I was 21 years old.  The memories I will always take away from her are these three things: her  accent, her cooking and her ability to make a beautiful yard and garden where ever she goes.

     She has a green thumb.  If she plants a flower under a tree that doesn't get any sun, her flowers will thrive.  If she plants a flower in a pot, the flower will thrive.  I have enjoyed her beautiful flowers not only in her yard, but when she has shared them  as gifts with me to grace my table.
     I asked the Silver Fox if he could write up a little Mother's day ditti for me.  I figured he would know his own mother as good as anyone. He wrote the following tribute for her:
     My mom was born in Massachusetts and grew up on beautiful Cape Cod.  She met my father when she was 18 years old.  He was serving in the Air Force and landed his eye on one of the most beautiful women God has created.

     My mother and father moved to Salt Lake City soon after this picture was taken.  I was just a baby when they moved. Mom would make Utah her new home.
     My mother was a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Her faith and her determination have been examples for good in my own life.
     My mom is a very hard worker.  She was a dental receptionist in Bountiful, Utah for many years.  The Christmas after I graduated from Bountiful High School was a tough one for our family.  Money was very tight.  My parents had recently divorced.  My mother was very concerned about providing a Christmas for our family.  She decided to work a second job.  When she finished her regular eight hour shift, she would go work another three or four hours wrapping gifts for Christmas at Keith O'Briens.  It was a local store at the five points mall in Bountiful.  Neither exist today.
     She has a talent of making anything beautiful, so the packages she wrapped always looked exquisite.  I like to think of my mom as the original " wrap artist ".  (haha Darrell)
     For Christmas of 1975 I received a Book of Mormon, a Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.  Along with the Bible I all ready had, these would be the books I took with my on my mission to Auckland, New Zealand 38 years ago this July.

     I still treasure this book of scriptures today.  They are as priceless to me as my dear mother is to me.  We have been blessed to have Carla Barla (inside joke) for a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to our family.

OWL always love you....Kim

     Recently I tried making  some cute paper mache canisters.  The idea was there ,however, they weren't quite right.  I decided to try my hand out on one more because I had an idea for this post and I needed a visual for it.

     I love the way this one turned out.  It's just what I wanted.  I used my basic supplies:
     Paper mache canister
     Wooden knob
     Delta paint in tahiti blue and crocus yellow
     Owl inspired washi tape
     Wooden label tags made by Ball jars I found on my last shopping trip to JoAnn's

    I glued the knob onto the canister.  Painted the canister inside and out with Tahiti blue paint.  I painted the knob and label in crocus yellow.  I had a vinyl cut out that spelled out love.  When the paint dried I applied the vinyl to the tag.  I attached red ribbon to the tag and tied it to the canister.  Hoot,hoot it was done in under an hour.
     I was inspired to make this cute little canister for my daughter Kim.  She is the mother to two of the cutest children on the planet.  Which makes me  ( pictured with them )  the grandmother of two of the cutest kids on the planet.

     When my son-in-law to be called me with the announcement that Kim was expecting their first child together or at least she thought she was expecting their first child together it came as a complete unexpected announcement.  You see they weren't married yet.  They were engaged, but their wedding wasn't planned for another four months.
     With the news a few things had to be changed.  The wedding we thought would be held at the Bountiful Temple was no longer going to be held there.  The wedding itself,  that we thought would be held in April was moved to March.
     The reason I am telling this part of the story ( my daughter did give me permission ) is because it was somewhat of a trial for our family.  First of all Kim was sicker than a dog!  I think she threw up more times than has ever been recorded in history.  Second we are Mormons and when our children are preparing to be married it is usually for time and all eternity in one of our temples.  In order to do this you have to be worthy.  Being four months pregnant out of wed-lock doesn't qualify a person to be worthy to be married in the Temple.  It doesn't mean they never will.  It just meant for now they wouldn't be.
     My beautiful daughter did get married.  She was four months pregnant.  She was a little bit embarrassed and felt a little uncomfortable.  Her wedding was somewhat different in the fact that there were people she felt like she couldn't invite.  People she felt like might be judging her.  She was twenty years old at the time and my cute son-in-law was twenty two.  What they did have going for them was their love and commitment to one another.
     This was also a difficult time for me.  For a little while I felt somewhat embarrassed.  I had to tell people Kim and Chance weren't getting married in the temple when they asked.  I had to put on hold the plan I had made along time ago that my children would be married in the temple.
     One day after Kim and Chance had been married about a month Kim and I went to the grocery store.  We ran into several people we know.  Both Kim and I noticed that people weren't making eye contact with her.  They were looking directly at her stomach.  It was obvious that this newlywed of one month was several months pregnant.  One of Kim's trademarks is to say the word GOLL.  As we were leaving the store she made this comment " goll people yes I'm pregnant.  Do I have to wear a sign around my neck saying "Look at me, I'm pregnant!
     At this moment my heart changed for the first time for this young daughter of mine.  I had been so caught up in the fact that she was four months pregnant that I never put myself in her shoes.  I never realized how hard it must have been to tell people that she wasn't getting married in the Temple when people would ask.  How hard it was to be told that some children wouldn't be invited to her wedding because they needed good role models in their lives.  How hard it was to be throwing up every five minutes and trying to adjust to being a newlywed ( challenging enough without being pregnant ).
     For some reason we are a people who find it hard not to judge.  We judge people by the color of their skin, for the way they look or don't look, for the tattos they may have on their bodies or for the babies they are carrying before they are wed.  I've done it.  I've done it to some of the people I love the most.  I have tried to be careful and when I catch myself judging someone I try to repent as soon as I can.
     The year Kim got pregnant out of wedlock was difficult for many reasons.  The year Kim got pregnant out of wedlock was a year of blessings.  It took me ten months to realize a few things.  One of the things I realized was Kim gave me a beautiful gift.  She gave me the gift of being a grandmother.  A grandmother to the cutest red head on the planet.

     Two thousand years ago a man named Jesus walked the earth.  His message was clear and simple.  It goes like this:  "Judge Not, That Ye Be Not Judged".  It was needed then and it's needed now.  Let's leave the judging to him and the loving to us.

Mother's Day remembrance to Kara (the leaf who left us too soon) from her daughter Lindsay

     I asked Lindsay if she could help me remember her mom as one of my special mothers this year.  I only knew Kara for eleven months.  Her and I hit it off from the day we met.  I hold dear to me the memories I have of her.  I will always be grateful to the Stevenson family for letting me share with them one of the most intimate times in a person's life.  The weeks and days that are the final chapters of a persons earthly life.

     Mother's Day will be bittersweet for me this year.  It will be sweet because I will be celebrating it as a new mom.  I am a mom to the most beautiful, funny, cute little man in the whole world.
     It will be bitter because I will not be able to celebrate this special day with my mother here on earth again.  I will be able to celebrate her Spirit.  It is still a difficult thing for me.  This will only be my third Mother's Day without my mom.  People continue to tell me that she is always with me.  To be honest, I don't feel her being around.
     My mother, she was so special!  She was generous and kind.  She was always trying to help someone.  Even when she was so sick and standing was difficult for her she would want to cook something for someone. ( Kara was an amazing cook)
     My mother, she wasn't perfect, but she didn't try to be.  She did the best she could with what she had.  She taught me to be grateful for the little things.  She taught me to love with all my heart.  She taught me to give of myself and to give often and to give willingly.
    My mother loved her three children with every fiber of her being.  I feel so tremendously grateful that I am her daughter.  I was able to feel her love on a daily basis.  She spoiled the three of us with love.  I was able to share 19 amazing years with her.  I will always love that time.

    I will always remember the day my dad drove my mom to the hospital which unbeknown to her family would be the last time.  My mother slipped a twenty dollar bill into by hand as I helped her into the car.  That was so like her to do.  She would slip money to people all the time. ( hahaha ) I could go on and on about how much I love my mom.  I could tell you how beautiful my mom is.  I could tell you how sweet and amazing my mom is. I just want you as the reader to know she is all those things and more.
     Earlier I mentioned that I don't feel my mom around me.  For me, I have found so much joy and so much comfort in the wonderful blessing of being sealed together as a family in the Temple.  It means that my mom will be my mom forever.  Whether I can feel her around me or not, I know she will always be my mom and that I will see her again!
     I thank my Heavenly Father every day that  SHE is my MOTHER.  I feel blessed that she was the one chosen for me.  I feel blessed that I am forever sealed to her for all eternity.
     This knowledge makes the sting of her absence not hurt as much.  I know she is somewhere waiting for me to join her.
     Until that time arrives, I get to be a mother to the most beautiful, funny, cute little man in the whole world.