Pumpkin Spice Everything

Fall is my favorite season for many reasons, not least of which is because it marks the beginning of what is known as Pumpkin Spice Season! Pumpkin Spice lattes, cereal, ice cream, scones--it's really amazing how many things suddenly take on the flavor of this awesome gourd once late September hits. In honor of this tradition, I wanted to share the best Pumpkin Spice item of them all: Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies!

While I didn't invent these babies, they've been a fall staple of mine for the last 5 years or so. Mostly because they're so dang easy to make, ie. perfect for office parties, potlucks, and all those other occasions where I seem to put off getting/making anything until the very last minute. So without further ado....

PUMPKIN SPICE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 can pumpkin, regular size
1 bag dark chocolate chips
1 box Duncan Hines Spice Cake mix

That's it. Seriously.

Combine pumpkin and cake mix in a bowl and stir until well combined:

Add the chocolate chips and stir:

Plop onto a pan in whatever sized mounds you find appropriate (the bigger the better in my opinion):

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-18 minutes:

I admit these won't be winning awards for appearance anytime soon (my coworkers think they look like fried chicken..), but it's the taste that matters, right? And these have gooey, pumpkin-flavored deliciousness in every bite.

Enjoy!

I turn 26…I think

         Yesterday I turned 26. But if you’d asked me a couple months ago, I would have told you I was turning 27. Math has never been my strong suit, and home video of my 6^th birthday provides definite proof of this fact. In the footage I recently came across, my dad asks me a seemingly straightforward question:

“How old are you turning, sweetheart?”

I respond by holding up all five fingers on my left hand and two on my right, then look confused for a second, and finally decide to put one finger down before smiling awkwardly with embarrassment.

         I’m sorry to report that not much has changed. While at my wedding dress fitting recently, I mentioned to my sister that I couldn’t believe I was going to be 27 by the time I got married. She looked doubtful, but I assured her that I was currently 26 and reminded her that I would be having birthday 21 days before the wedding. My sister was finally convinced. She shook her head and said,

“Wow, if you’ll be 27, that means I must be really getting old!”

A couple weeks later, I was in the kitchen attempting to hone my domestic skills when my sister called.

“Hi, I’m with mom and we were just talking…how old did you say you are?”

“26.”

“Well, Mom and I have been talking and we’ve figured out that you're not…you’re only 25!”

“I am? Oh.” 

When considering these two separate occurrences, I don’t know whether I have a problem or if it’s just that my age has never been much of a concern to me. I think for the purpose of my self-esteem, I’ll go with the latter.

To celebrate turning 26 (and getting a year of my life back), Mark planned a whole day for us yesterday. Our original plan for the morning was to grab a coffee and head to Capitola beach for breakfast, at a cute little joint I found online, Sweet Pea’s, and do some meandering around town. We swung by Peet’s and headed for the freeway. We had been cruisin’ easy for about 15 minutes and were pretty proud of ourselves when we finally caught up to the Labor Day beach traffic.

Deciding that we didn’t want to waste any of my birthday sitting in traffic, we flipped around and headed to Campbell for a breakfast of corn tacos filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese, and avocado, topped with salsa (him) and a bacon filled waffle with a side of scrambled eggs (me) at the ever popular and crowded Stack's. 

It really was delicious.

What do you do after you’ve just eaten a huge meal? Well, anything active was out of the question, so Mark took me to see a movie he never would have seen if he’d had a choice: Hit & Run. And despite having just eaten, we also bought popcorn, neither of us waiting for the other person’s hand to leave the bag before diving in with our own to grab a bunch of salty, buttery goodness. I loved the movie (perfect mixture of action, comedy, and romance) and Mark had the decency not to spoil the experience for me with his own opinion.

Rested and fueled by popcorn, we drove to Almaden Quicksilver Park for a nice nature hike to make us feel like we weren’t just fat couch potatoes. We took the same inclining trail that we’ve taken the few times we’ve been to the park and it was a very pleasant climb. The view from the top was all golden California hills and green trees.

Ignore my lovely windblown stands that decided to separate from the rest of my head. 

The only thing that sort of detracted from us fully communing with nature was the couple stalking us the whole way (almost 3 miles) up the trail. They never attempted to pass, but if we sped up in an effort to put some distance between us (and the rehashing of their Friday night) they kept right along. They didn’t even stop to admire the view to allow us a minute to get ahead. When we reached the top, they even walked over to the edge and stood behind us as we took in the view. Our suspicions were confirmed when the young woman admitted that she and her friend had been following us because they didn’t know where to go, to which the snarky part of my brain said, “Just walk uphill and then turn around when you’re done!” That’s all hiking really is anyway, walking uphill in the dirt. But it’s really fun.

On the way down I had to snap a picture of the trees because they’re changing color already. I just love fall; it’s my favorite season.

After our hike, we hurried home to shower before running out the door again for dinner at our favorite Sushi place, Mizu. I had the Cherry Blossom and he had the Titanic Fire Roll.

Minus having to call Mark out for texting during dinner, it was perfect. And really, it was perfect even if you added that moment back in, because as I’ve been told, Fantasy Football is important too.

Once dinner was over, we arrived at the San Jose Repertory Theater to see The Death of the Novel (starring none other than Vincent Kartheiser, aka Pete Campbell from Mad Men, a television staple at our home). The play, about a young writer who becomes somewhat of a recluse after his first novel skyrockets to the bestseller’s list, was excellent. I had high hopes going in and the performances far exceeded my expectations. Plus, it didn’t hurt that Vincent’s rumored girlfriend (and Mad Men costar) Alexis Bledel was there. I noticed her at the concession stand during intermission and immediately embarrassed myself when one of her entourage overheard me exclaim to Mark, “Let’s see what she gets!” What? I just wanted to know if famous people eat chocolate chip cookies too. (I’m happy to report that they do!)

Having some wine at the theater before show time

After the play, I was craving something naughty (i.e. not pre-wedding diet approved) so we walked next door to Safeway so I could pick up some Pringles. I bought a canister of Sour Cream & Onion AND BBQ. Best (worst?) decision ever. I ate both cans down to about 15 chips left in each—oops. At home we watched a little TV while I devoured my chips and then crashed. I haven’t had such a full and fun day in a long time. What a great way to celebrate turning…26! Thanks for making it happen, Mark!

Conversations With Khalli--20 Questions

Ever notice how little kids have the ability to make you laugh, even when they aren't trying to be funny?

Khalli and I went for a walk on the Iron Horse Trail tonight, a distance that was lengthy enough for us to quickly run out of things to say about the usual topics of school, movies, books, and the presence of unlabeled genetically modified organisms in the US food supply--well, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. So Khalli suggested that we entertain ourselves with a game of 20 questions. The following is pretty much verbatim of how her last turn went...

K: Okay, it's an animal. Kind of between a horse and a giraffe. And it starts with an "O."

M: Does it live in the United States?

K: Well, I think it lives in the rainforest, so if we have those here, then yes. It's exotic.

M: Hmm, we don't. Not tropical ones anyway...so, it has hooves?

K: What? Oh, whooves? Yes.

M: Uhhh. It eats plants?

K: I think so..and it cleans itself by licking its own eyeball!

M: Ew! Uhmmm...I really have no idea! I give up!

K: Well, I don't remember what it's called. But it starts with an "O" and it's exotic. And it licks its eyeballs!

What?! You can't just leave me hanging like that!

So I suggested that we look it up on the computer after our walk. She agreed, but Google wasn't very helpful. Although, it may have had something to do with my search engine skillz...I typed "exotic animal licks eyeball o" into the box and the first result I got was for a leopard gecko, which is so NOT similar to a horse OR a giraffe. And it doesn't start with an "O."

I will have to be sure that she remembers to ask her teacher about it because I simply cannot go through life without knowing what kind of rainforest/jungle animal licks its own eyeballs. Although, it's more than likely she'll come home afterwards and tell me that it's actually some carnivorous marine animal that starts with a "b" and has stripes.

I'm a Hungry, Hungry Hippo

I started college when I was 18 and at 23, I am still going at it...with about another 2 years to go. How does one manage to do this, you ask? It's easy when you spend 2 years studying social work in NYC, then take a year off to share a bed with your sister in LA, only to transfer to a school in San Jose as a nutrition major. Until finally, you realize that by the time you finish the list of chemistry classes that you need to graduate, you'll be too old to work. So you study English instead, praying to God that you don't change your mind about anything regarding school EVER again. Because to be honest, it's just too exhausting.

So now I find myself in my second semester at San Jose State as an English major, living at home in Danville in my old bedroom, and generally wondering what went wrong. If you had told me in 2005, when I was graduating high school, that this is where I'd be in 5 years, I would have laughed. And then cried. But unfortunately, crying never accomplishes much. And I know that I have so much to be thankful for: I'm in school, working toward an education and a career, and I am surrounded by a wonderful family and amazing friends.

Something that it has taken me a long time to learn (okay, let's be honest, I'm still struggling with this concept) is that it's okay to just enjoy where you are in your life at any given moment. We all have goals, we all have places we want to go. And while it's important to think about and plan for the future, if the future is all you can see then you'll be missing out on your actual LIFE. If you're always waiting for something that isn't here yet, your life will never start. Lately I've been trying my hardest to keep this in mind. No, I may not feel super successful right now, but so what? I have to start somewhere and I can't wait on my future to arrive before I allow myself to be happy.

My goal is to try to enjoy my life everyday, with gratitude, while still considering the future and what I want mine to be. This is my blog, where I can write about my past experiences, my present journey, and my future goals. Welcome to my blog, where I remember why I am hungry for life!