Harper Valley

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Over Memorial Day weekend, my nieces spent some time at my pad in the big city.  We tooled around town and played in the pool, but Saturday night was chill time.  And cookie time.  My only challenge: food allergies.  Lil' Meagan is allergic to lots of stuff, so the baked goods department can be difficult.  Fortunately, I'm reading Bethenny Frankel's Naturally Thin and discovered her perfect allergen free cookie recipe.

These cookies are free of gluten, dairy, egg, and soy.  The recipe called for soy milk, but I replaced that with rice milk and it the cookies turned out just lovely.  They were much better fresh than leftover the next day, but hey...a cookie is still a cookie.  And they won Meagan's stamp of approval.  She took one bite and said.."Mmmm, you're a good maker."

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1-1/2 cups oat flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1/3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips (highly recommend Enjoy Life brand)
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 1/3 cup rice milk 
• 1/2 cup banana puree (1 medium banana)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Combine all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.  Mix the dry and wet ingredients together until well combined.
2. Use a medium-size ice cream scoop or a large spoon to scoop batter onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. 
3. Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking, or bake until the edges of the cookies are light brown.

*Yields 10-12 cookies.

**Chef's note: I almost used regular sugar vs. raw sugar, but I'm glad I didn't.  The raw sugar added a nice little crunch to the cookies.  In fact, next time I'll probably sprinkle some on the top for extra snazz.

Here are Avery & Meagan baking their sweet treats.  Meagan snarfled down the chocolate chips like they were her last meal on the planet.  It was so precious because she is very chocolate deprived.

 

Memorial Day Memories

 

As a Gen-Xer, I vaguely remember our nation at war even though I lived through several of them.  I didn't personally know anyone who fought in Vietnam or the Gulf War.  I didn't know anyone in the military for that matter.  If I did, I sure don't remember.  I heard leaders and reporters discuss international conflict on TV, but none of that really affected me.  I was happily living in my sleepy, rural Central Florida town..wearing fluorescent socks and playing Pac-Man.  

Thoughts of our country's safety didn't really sink in my brain until 9/11.  By then, I was old enough to understand the implications of a terrorist attack.  I think that might ring true for many of us. 

While I mourn the loss of civilians and soldiers since 9/11, I am also thankful for the renewed sense of patriotism that's been stirred up in our hearts.  I don't remember a time when our country has been so appreciative of our men and women in uniform.  I could never hack military life or any kind of battle, so I have mad respect for the folks who willingly put themselves on the front line.  Thank you soldiers.  We salute you!  

Girls Rock!

I spent the last 24+ hours with my two favorite chicas, Avery & Meagan.  My little nieces are lots o' fun and all girl!  In the car ride on the way to my place, they chanted..."It's a girls weekend.  No boys allowed!  Girls rock!"  It starts young.

We began the weekend with pottery painting at All Fired Up in Winter Park.  The girls loved it.  Avery painted a big fish-shaped piggy bank, which looked lovely.  Meagan painted two smaller figurines that turned out very...abstract.  But hey, she's only four, so I was just happy she didn't break anything.  Their paints have fun names like Orange Crush and Cool Mint.  The favorite name at our table was Pumpkin Pie, which Meagan renamed Hunkin' Punkin'.  Meagan was seriously bummed that she had to leave her masterpieces there for firing.  She wanted to take them home so bad.  But Avery and I assured her that the pottery would come to life and look even better once it's glazed.  Avery said that firing is like..."lipstick for pottery."  Sounds like a great marketing tag line to me.  Here are the finished products:

Next on our schedule:  movie time.  We checked out the new Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.  I wouldn't give it two thumbs up, but the chicas sat very still and barely made a peep, so I guess they liked it?  I think the Sour Patch Kids put them in a trance.  On the way to the theater, they were bickering just a little bit.   Naturally, I nipped it in the bud and Avery said..."well now you know what it's like to have kids!"

We planned on swimming after that, but the weather was poopy, so we made a craft instead... Butterfly 3D Sun Catchers. I found this activity kit at JoAnn..it was easy, self-contained, and not horribly messy.  Their attention spans only lasted long enough to create one butterfly each, so now I have leftovers for the next visit.

To finish off the evening, we made cookies.  But these weren't just any old cookies.  These were special ones that Miss Mae Mae could eat.  She's allergic to almost every major allergan, so baked goods can be tough.  Luckily, I've been reading Bethenny Frankel's Naturally Thin book and discovered her tasty Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe (will share them in a later post).  Meagan liked eating the allergan-free chocolate chips more than the cookies themselves.  But she liked the cookies too.  In fact, she said I was a "good maker." 

 

The girls are just crazy about my kitties.  Any time Jasper and Stella make an appearance, they quickly try to cajole the cats a little closer.  Meagan's still learning cat protocol, but Avery's got it down pat since she's a little older and gentler.  This morning, Jasper let Avery pet him for a good ten minutes while he purred and purred. Avery decided that he purrs so "all the girl cats will be addicted to him." 

 

We were up bright and early on day two.  The sun was shining for the first time in a week, so we took full advantage of the empty pool.  Here's Avery doing the back stroke and Meagan floating on her noodle.  On our walk down to the pool, the girls noticed I was wearing earrings, which they thought "looked like an old lady."  Ha!  What a hoot!

 

Our pool is lined with big, bountiful hibiscus bushes, so we picked our favorite flowers.

 

Always a fab time with my chicas.  Although, when our time is nearing its end, I look forward to peace, cleanliness, and bottle of wine.  Props to all the parents out there!  

Step Into Africa

 

This weekend, I had the privilege of experiencing a glimpse into the life of a young woman living in Africa..and living with AIDS.  I took the journey of Olivia, a young person directly affected by AIDS.  I listened to her story and "became" her by walking through her world.  

Sound intersting?  If you'd like to learn more about AIDS in Africa, then I encourage you to participate in Step Into Africa, hosted by Discovery Church.  This interactive, walk-through experience is full of stories, photographs, music, narration, and a clear call to action.  It's free and it's open all week with great hours!  Be sure to reserve your free tickets by visiting World Vision.

Step Into Africa is not recommended for children under 12, but if you have younger ones who'd like to participate, then come anywhere from 3:00-6:30pm for Family Friendly Hours.  Your child can walk through the experience with a narrator who will give them an age appropriate message. Following the experience, they can participate in a voluntary brief activity.  

Event Hours:
Saturday, May 16 = 11:am-9:00pm
Sunday, May 17 = 8:30am-10:30pm
Monday, May 18 = 12:00pm-8:00pm
Tuesday, May 19 = 11:00am-9:00pm
Wednesday, May 20 = 11:00am-9:00pm
Thursday, May 21 = 11:00am-9:00pm
Friday, May 22 = 8:00am-5:00pm

  

 

  

Good Timber

 

"Good timber does not grow with ease.  The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees."                       -J. Willard Marriott, founder of Marriott Hotels

I was reminded of something today.  As I sat at my desk watching and waiting for the impending thunderstorm, I noticed how furiously the trees were swaying and flailing about.  Then I thought, wow...it's amazing how strong some of these trees are.  The wind whooshes in and some of them are practically horizontal, but then they just pop right back into place. 

And then that reminded me of that Biosphere 2 project from the early 90s.  Do you remember that?  These scientists built a self-contained bio-dome thingie to observe nature and test theories, etc.  Well a funny thing happened to the trees they planted.  The trees grew fast, but they kept falling over!  After the scientists observed and investigated, they realized that the lack of wind created trees with softer wood than they would normally grow out in the wild.  They thought of every detail in the Biosphere except for one important factor --- the WIND.  Pretty interesting, huh?

So then I got to thinking that people are kinda like trees.  If we just floated through life without any trials or tough times (or wind) then we wouldn't know how in the sam hill to cope with a crisis.  Sure, maybe the mess we're in makes us feel beat up, and maybe we lose a few branches.  Maybe we even go from standing tall to flopped over and skimming the ground.  But we eventually bounce back up back to our original stance.  And we grow bark ...and we get strong. 

There are so many times that I've screwed up or just found myself in the middle of a good old fashioned mess.  Every time, I was convinced that my life was surely over...and that I could never recoup this time.  No way.  Never.  Not this time!  But my life was never over.  The clock kept ticking and I always survived.  And I came out stronger, a little taller, and ready for the next storm.

Craft Corps

Guess what?  I'm famous!!!  OK, so kinda not really.  BUT....I am a member of the brand spankin'  new Craft Corps website. 

Craft Corps is the brain child of Vickie Howell, knitting extraordinaire. Vickie's original plan was to create Craft Corps: The Book ...which is still happening and debuts in May 2010.  The book features some of our nation's fave and most interesting crafters.  Some of the featured artisans are in the public eye --think Carol Duvall (Carol Duvall Show), Jay McCarroll (Project Runway), Kathy Cano-Murillo (Crafty Chica).  Some are behind-the-scenes folks just doing what they do best..making stuff!

The book applicant response was overwhelming, so Vickie rounded up the extra troops (AKA the ones of us who didn't make the cut...AKA me) and gave us an online community home.  I feel grateful that she found a way to include us!  And a little bonus to being on the website ---> a new member will be featured on the home page and the newsletter each week.  Check out my profile here.  From anywhere else on the site, I'm in the Paper Arts section on the right sidebar.   How groovy!

p.s. I appear a little younger on the site because I turned in the app a while back.  That was my age at the time, so I guess I'll be 34 forever.  Yahoo!!!

My 100th Post!

  

Drumroll please.............

I am writing my 100th blog post.  Can you believe it?!?!  It's been 7 months since I created Harper Valley and I've enjoyed every moment.  I wasn't quite sure why I started a blog, but I am very sure about why I've carried on.  My blog has become a way to share my artsy projects, an avenue for staying in touch with family/friends, and a pretty kewl means of documenting my life. 

Before my blog bursts at the seams with data, I'd like to convert it into a book.  Maybe my future spawn will read it one day and get a kick out of it.  Who knows?  Check out Blurb to see how you can make a blog book too.  

So how do you like my Wordle?  That's the word cloud you see above.  I typed all 100 of my blog post titles into the Wordle text box and look what came out!  The program automatically ranks the words based on frequency, so the larger the word...the more I've used it in my post titles.  I found it interesting that "day" was the most prominent word.  Seems pretty apropos since my blog is full of a-day-in-the-life stories. 

As a way to say ~thanks~ to you...my loyal blog supporters, I'm giving away a soldered marble necklace charm, handmade by my friend, Amanda.  The charm is an orange speckled marble complete with a steel cable choker.  Enjoy more of Amanda's creations at her shop on Etsy.    

To win this whimsical and unique jewelry piece, post a comment below and I'll pick a winner at random (using random.org) on Wednesday, May 6th at 8pm EDT.  Be sure to complete the email/blog field so I'll know how to reach you.

Thank you for allowing me to share my DAYS with you!!!  =)

*UPDATED 5/6/08:  The winner of this lovely charm necklace is.....Janet Kornegay!  I know.  I know.  She's my sister.  I swear this is not rigged!  I used random.org to generate a winner and created the list based on the order the comments were received.  But don't despair!  Through a course of interesting events, I just so happen to have an extra marble charm and it may have your name on it.  So check back soon for another drawing!