Cutout Cookies Tips

I made cutout cookies for the first time.  Thanks to tips from the internet they didn't turn out half bad.

Tip One - chill the dough - I chilled mine overnight.

Tip Two - divide dough into smaller sections - this allowed me to keep dough chilling.

Tip Three - parchment paper is the best thing ever!  I rolled the dough between two sheets - no sticking!  It was also great for baking and decorating - easy transfer and clean up.

Tip Four - use an easy cookie cutter.  I remember my mom making reindeer and there were always limbs lost.

Tip Five - use a ziplock bag for decorating.  Put icing into ziplock, twist bag, and cut a small bit off of corner.

Cutout Cookies

1 1/3 c butter, softened

1 1/2 c granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

2 tbl milk

2 tsp vanilla

4 c all-purpose flour

1.  In a large mixing bowl beat butter.  Add sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Beat until combined.  Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined.  Beat, or stir in flour.  Divide dough into four sections and chill overnight.  I wrapped mine in plastic wrap.

2.  Roll a section of dough at a time.  I rolled mine between two sheets of parchment paper.  Roll to about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut with cookie cutters.  Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

3.  Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

4.  For icing I just mixed powdered sugar with milk until I got the desired consistancy.

Reflecting and Planning

image from Pixabay

I like to take some time at the end of the year to reflect on the past year and plan for the new year.  One of the best resources I have found is from Susannah Conway.  Her Unravelling the Year workbook leads to deeper thinking. The reflection portion has been bittersweet for me this year, as much of the year involved goodbyes- the hardest was saying goodbye to my dad.

It was a crazy year.  When I looked back at the workbook pages from last year I was amazed.  In one exercise you had to draw an image of an ideal life.  This is what I drew:

This was going to be my ideal in the next few years-not this year.  At the time this was drawn my husband and I had no plans of moving.  What this picture shows is us living in an area that is in walking distance of restaurants, yoga studio, etc.  This is where we live one year later. The top corner of my picture shows me getting some help taking care of mom and dad, and being able to get some space away from caregiving. I got it, but have mixed feelings about it.

The planning portion has been hard for me this year.  I think so much happened last year that I hate to set any goals while the dust is still settling.  I may just keep it simple and try to remember to meditate daily.  (Oh, and find meaningful work-no biggie.) 

Whatever I decide I will break it into small goals like I described in an earlier post.

This year I decided to stop trying to fit myself to a certain planner, and am making my own. Martha Stewart has a great line of organization tools at Staples.  Using her small three ring binder I can customize goal sheets and clip them right in the binder.

It will certainly be interesting to see what next year brings!

Grounding

photo by Melody Augustin

Last week I had a few bad days.  I'm not sure that I was homesick; it was more of an unsettled feeling.  I felt very ungrounded.  That makes sense I guess, as I just moved.  One of the best ways to get more grounded is to get out in nature.  Yesterday was a beautiful day, and I went to the nearby Anne Springs Close Greenway.

photo by Melody Augustin

photo by Melody Augustin

photo by Melody Augustin

Vulnerability and TED Talks

Have you ever had the experience where something keeps popping up in your day to day life?  For me lately it has been the name Brene' Brown.  I think I heard her mentioned at least five times in the last two months.  I finally Googled her today and found this TED talk.  It was just what I needed.  I have been having a rough week in regards to this whole move.  The talk reminded me that I am probably feeling vulnerable as everything is new to me right now.

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

Other TED talks I've enjoyed recently:

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/12/ash-beckham-ted-talk-boulder_n_4256778.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_palmer_the_art_of_asking.html

Scenes From a Walk

photo by Melody Augustin

photo by Melody Augustin

photo by Melody Augustin

photo by Melody Augustin

photo by Melody Augustin

photo by Melody Augustin

photo by Melody Augustin

Simple Pleasure - Reading

These are my new purchases from my local bookstore.  I usually use the library to save money, but I didn't know if I would finish a library book before we move next week.  Rather than use Amazon or Target, or get something on Kindle,  I decided to support my local bookstore.   http://www.indiebound.org/

To be honest, sometimes reading relaxes me more than yoga or meditation.  Sometimes my mind just needs to go somewhere else.

Here are some of my favorite reads:




Pictures courtesy of http://www.indiebound.org/

Time - Having It All Part Two

Drink eight glasses of water, meditate for twenty minutes a day, spend quality time with your spouse and family, do aerobic exercise, lift weights, do yoga, read, keep up on the news....

Recently I wrote about "having it all".  What about "doing it all"?  If we added up all of the recommended items out there it would add up to a week, rather than a day.  It has only been in the last few years that I became OK with not doing it all.  That doesn't mean I have given up completely, I've just set more reasonable goals, and made broader categories.

Reasonable Goals - Gretchen Rubin who wrote The Happiness Project helped me with this a lot. She suggests setting small, meaningful goals and tracking them.  The tracking really helps.  My teacher friends will understand this.  It is similar to having students keep a reading log.  Here is an example of my goal log:

Breathe/Meditate 10 minutes day
Yoga at least two times week. Other workout two times week.
Read – three times week.
Relationships Activity two times per week

Broader Categories - You will notice that I don't do yoga everyday.  I do try to do something mind/body everyday, however.  For example, if it is a day that I am walking or working with weights, I try to meditate longer. Sometimes meditating is just cuddling with the cat and listening to her purr. For the sake of full disclosure, meditating ten minutes a day has been the hardest goal to keep up with.

Weekly goals work best for me, but I  just found this great infographic that I may try out:

by 24slides.
Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.