Boba Tree

I just thought Boba Tree deserve proper treatment by being able to see him instead of picturing him through my description.

And yes, GM and I know we are nerdy. We love it.

Everything is coming together.

There are some moments in life which give off "natural highs". For example, when you are in a packed parking garage, but find a spot right next to the doors. Or when you check your bank account and there is more money than you originally expected to find. These little things help us find tiny nuggets of joy throughout the day.

And that is one of my favorite things about being alive.

So, GM and I have finished our finals this week (hallelujah), which means we are finally done with a huge portion of our lives, me being in school. It's a weird feeling, albeit a refreshing feeling, to think I don't have to sign up for classes next semester. I believe my planning and organizational skills I've developed through balancing my work schedule with my school and social schedules will come in handy when I'm a mom (I am definitely  not at my mother's level though), but for right now I get to breathe easy because I only have to juggle two schedules. Well, and GM's final semester. But, I always have thought it is easier to manage someone else than yourself, so I'm not too flustered about it.

Now that I can actively work full time without the worry of missing homework deadlines or meeting for group projects, I have decided to move on and "do something with this degree of mine." I honestly think that I can find work in what I want to do, which is content writing, editing work, or teaching. I know this because I have found received some positive responses from the career searching I've been doing.

Oh yeah, and my last days at my job are this weekend. Because I quit.

I have learned I don't have to stay somewhere they don't respect me or my time. I know I have to understand currently I receive the steady income for my tiny family, but I also know I can get a job fairly quickly that will pay the bills. I just want to find something I enjoy doing. And the saddest part of this whole crapshoot job I'm leaving is at the start of working there, I really did enjoy it. But, as the weeks have turned to months, it's been a deteriorating atmosphere. So, I'm leaving and I feel ecstatic about it.

GM and I now get to focus on all the Christmas festivities without worrying rushing to classes or shifts, and I can't wait to start baking!

I want to bake for neighbors, friends, family, I have presents to finish wrapping, activities to plan, it really is going to be a great rest of the holiday season.

And baking means more recipes, so there's something to look forward to!

I feel so unburdened now as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I did it. I left my soul-killing job, I finished my Bachelor's Degree, and now I get to write about how I'm going to spend my favorite holiday, I'm truly blessed.

I just wanted to leave the song we made for our tree. We don't have a ton of space in the apartment, so GM and I decorated a life-sized, cardboard cutout of Boba Fett (Star Wars' bounty hunter, it was an amazing birthday present for yours truly), and call him Boba Tree (Complete with star).

These are the little moments I hope to remember and tell my kids one day. Because the quirkiness and the random parts of our lives give me those pocket natural highs, and that's what makes me happy.

Oh Boba Tree [Sing to the tune of O Christmas Tree]

Oh Boba Tree, Oh Boba Tree,

How lovely is your blaster.

Oh Boba Tree, Oh Boba Tree, 

The Rebels you are after.

Your plasma guns are super cool, 

The Galaxy youll finally rule.

Oh Boba Tree, Oh Boba Tree,

You are a Bounty Master.

Baking time!! Chocolate, white chocolate chip cookies addition.

Okay, that was a necessary long title because I wanted to use those particular words in that particular order to describe what this post was about.

So, almost like it was a title. 😅

Also, I just found out I can but emojis into my blog posts now. MUAHAHAHA. I'm just kidding, you'll probably just find the same 3 emojis over and over and over again because I'm redundant in my emoji-ing.

I made these cookies because I decided to, but I didn't have a recipe. I looked online, got a base idea and then adapted it to make it work for me (and my married student housing pantry).

ENJOY!
Pro Tip: Do not eat all the batter, for you need it to produce cookies. And always drink with milk.

Step 1: Ingredients

• 2-1/2 sticks of butter/margarine (soft or slightly melted)          
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 whole eggs (not half eggs)
• 3 teaspoons of vanilla (or best guess)
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
• 1-1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F (177 Celsius).

Step 2: Mixing

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then, add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition (it should look like a white cake batter at this point). Stir in vanilla.

Mix in flour, salt, and baking powder well. Then, add cocoa powder and mix until smooth. 

Add chocolate chips and white chocolate chips, stir with a spatula or spoon (works better than a hand mixer for this step).

Taste the batter.

Make balls (approx. 1TBS- 2TBS of batter per ball), and add to lined or greased cookie sheet.

Pro Tip: Make sure they are far enough apart that they won't melt together. 

Step 3: Baking

Bake for about 10 minutes in the oven. When you take them out, let them cool a few minutes before you transfer them to the cooling rack. If you don't, they might gooey up and be hard to move.

You can keep them in the oven longer, but they will crisp up fast, so be aware of your narrow, gooey-inside window.

Step 4: Eat and Enjoy!

Pro Tip: Make sure you have a hiding place so yourself or a certain GM won't eat them all/ for breakfast. 

Also, the above picture is what happens when they are too close together. Oops. They taste the same, but they aren't as pretty. That became our pan.

The pretty cookies are reserved for neighbors, friends, and social functions. The family already knows that sometimes I'm a hot mess so they can eat the other ones. 😅

Day 3 recap and Day 4- "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

Yesterday was Day 3 of the #LightTheWorld and I didn't feel as if it needed it's own post, so that's my reasoning for combining the two today.

On Day 3 it talked about keeping the Sabbath Day holy and doing things that would help draw families together. GM and I went over to my parent's house for a family dinner because we were celebrating the birthday of my sister (the 5th). I also wrote a letter to a good friend of mine who I haven't talked to in a while (so, I guess my good estranged friend).

Family is the MOST important thing to GM and myself. I always grew up hearing that "friends come and go, but families are forever". Which was really annoying when my siblings and I were fighting, but now that I'm older, I see the wisdom in putting family first.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't make room for friends and neighbors.

"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself", that's what Matthew 22:39 states and what is the theme of Day 4.

Now for those of you who don't know, I am a baking fiend. I love everything about it, the chemistry between ingredients, the way the house smells after good things have been in the oven, and the way food makes people feel loved. There is almost no bad side to baking, well, besides doing the dishes if my enthusiasm has washed by the time it comes around to do them.

And that's why you always clean as you go, that way there is no discouraging mound of dishes GM has to do after my goodie project is done.
I put my baking addiction in here because it's relevant, I promise.  I know what I want to do to spread love to my neighbors: chocolate brownies.

Nothing says "I care about you" quite like homemade chocolate, fudgy brownies. At least in my humble opinion. So look out neighbors, here they come.

Day 2- "I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink."

I really looked into how I could #LightTheWorld today. The theme is found in Matthew 25:35, where Jesus said, "I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink."

(Photo Credit: Link)

Now, I wanted to do something that I wouldn't normally do, because I think that's the point of this 25 Day Challenge, to get yourself out of your comfort zone and help. I asked GM what he thought and he said that when he buys games from HumbleBundle, they will donate a percentage to the charity of your choice, and he always chooses the water charity.

Well, me being me, and my mother's daughter, I wanted to do a little research before I donated to a charity. I am a wee bit paranoid and I want to make sure I am helping the right people and not just the perceived right people.

I was amazed by what I found.

Charity Water has funded over 24,537 projects to help provide water to over 7 MILLION people around the world. And they are 100% funded by those who donate, which means regular people raised enough money to help millions of people gain access to fresh water. Maybe the world isn't so bad after all, we just have to look to something other than the mass media (half joking, half serious).

I'm not a perfect researcher all the time, so I didn't go too far past Twitter, the web pages, and what scam finders, had to say. But, I also realized that as long as I'm sacrificing to help others, with the intent of doing good, it doesn't really concern me if I'm being scammed or not. I mean, use common sense, obviously, but I shouldn't be looking for an excuse to not donate.

I should just do it.

So, I did.

And that was Day 2.

Day 1: "Freely you have received, freely give."

Today is the first day of the #LightTheWorld challenge. As you could probably tell from my first post of today, I am pretty excited to start this challenge running. Well, in my case I start this challenge writing. Because I don't hate myself enough to run. No offense if you do, I just have different strokes, like not running ever.

With the Fight or Flight response, I've always been a fighter. Even when it was the most intelligent route. That's how much I dislike running.

Anyway, back to the reason I'm writing another post of the day, Day 1 of Aimee Lighting the World. Plus Giant Man.

The theme for today is found in the Bible, Matthew 10:8, "Freely you have received, freely give." This year I've received many blessings; from marrying my best friend to finishing up my Bachelor's Degree. I will never be able to give back to the Lord for all the blessings He endlessly gives me, but I can show my gratitude for the people in my life.

For today's act of service, it is actually an act of gratitude. On Instagram, I saw this suggestion to how I could "give freely". There were a few different suggestions, but I felt as if this would be the best option for me. 

I wrote my letter and I'll be mailing it today, along with GM's letter to his person. I don't know if it will turn around the day of the receivers or if they'll just be weird out by the spontaneous letter-writing. But, I do know that I don't let them know as often as I should how grateful I am and how much I love them. 

The world is becoming colder and harsher, but that doesn't mean I have to become a colder person, forgetting my basic manners and letting those who serve me go unnoticed. I mean, I work in the Customer Service Industry, I know how often that happens. I don't want to be one of those people. I want to be more outspoken in my gratitude.

It's one thing to feel grateful. It's another thing to express the gratitude to the person who has lifted you up.

Christmas Has Started

I'm one of those people who are adamant that Christmas shouldn't come out until AFTER Thanksgiving. I believe that Thanksgiving gets overshadowed in stores because Christmas advertising comes out right after Halloween.
But now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, including the leftovers that GM and I enjoyed in our apartment, I'm ready to dive headfirst into my favorite holiday, Christmas.

I have been personally trying to draw closer to Christ and to make the conscious effort of spreading happiness [insert holiday cheer] to those around me. I don't want to shove my beliefs down anyone's throats, but I do think it's important to say that I've been feeling more at peace than usual and I know it is because I've been more regular at praying and reading the Book of Mormon.

Which is good because work has been deteriorating at a rapid rate and I need some peace to cling onto in my life. Though in the words of my sister, we're just "rolling with the punches" and hopefully (if my cards were played right), I'll find a better fitting career before the holidays are over.

Now, all that above is a precursor to what I really want to write a post on, which is the #LightTheWorld the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is doing as a count-down for Christmas which focuses on giving, not receiving.

I am ALL for advent calendars. Almost to the point of obsession. Almost. In fact, as I'm typing this, Giant Man has asked if he could buy an advent game subscription on HumbleBundle.com. We're not new to the video game site and right now they have an advent where if you donate a flat rate, you get a new game every day until Christmas. And I can update my blog and say what they are because we just bought it. Anyway, that's neither here nor there.

The #LightTheWorld event is an advent that not only helps you become more Christlike but it also gives you ideas for acts of service to help show you care. I love this idea and though it may not be always convenient or I may not be 100% consistent, I am DETERMINED to do all 25 days and see how much light I can spread in the world.
By default, GM will also be doing this with me. He is my automatic partner in crime because marriage comes with perks like that.

I also want to write about my experience here so you guys can follow along with how I'm doing (please, hold me accountable) and even if you want to do it yourselves, I extend the invitation. But don't feel like you need to, I'm still grateful for you taking the time to read my posts regardless.

I feel energized for this holiday season. I am determined to make it the best one yet, I already have finished most of my holiday gift shopping and I'm ready to start my annual Christmas baking, something GM is very excited for as well. I hope I can keep this enthusiasm and momentum as I finish up my final semester of my Bachelor's Degree!!

I think it's going to be a great month.