Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

It's been a while since I posted about food or even tried new recipes. I am blaming the children. My son especially is going through a very picky eater faze. I have been sticking to a particular set of foods just to make sure the children eat. You know what they're not picky about? Chocolate Chip Cookies! These are chocolate chip oatmeal cookies from a recipe I have had for almost 15 years. I got the original recipe from a website called Meals.com, which doesn't seem to exist anymore. Like so many recipes, I've made some changes. I have more brown sugar and less white sugar. This time, I also used a mixture of dark chocolate chips and semi-sweet. I also always use butter, not margarine. They didn't last very long. I took some in for my coworkers for a potluck. They were all eaten. The ones I left at home did not make it to the day after. It made me really happy to see people enjoying the cookies.

Since I can't find the original recipe, I found a couple that are close.

This is from Betty Crocker.

This is from All Recipes. 

(I don't know what the rules are for posting a recipe from a website that doesn't exist anymore.)

I'm really glad I printed off this recipe, which I highly recommend of any recipe you find online that you know you will continue to use.

Blog Facelift

I decided to give my blog a little facelift. The background picture is different; it is from an ice storm last winter. I kind of love it, the way the ice coats the branches of the bushes, the clarity of the ice, but also the harshness of it. I changed my profile picture. The old one was from when I first started this blog over 10 years ago, so definitely time for a change. The fonts are mostly the same, the colours are different though. I've also made social media connections easier. On the sidebar, I have some pretty icons I got from here, and I used the instructions I found here. I like written instructions with screenshots better than video. There is no pausing and it's quieter. I don't need the kids hearing it and asking me what I'm doing. I changed the theme the blog is based on. It's similar to the old one, but I think it lets the background picture through better. I'm thinking about changing the layout, but I'm not sure. I'm fairly happy with the way it looks now. Different, but not too different.

Queen Of Shadows

That was a neatly perfect ending. Is that giving away too much? I have mixed feelings about that end, to be honest. It did everything I wanted it to, in a beautiful, horrific, exciting way, but I would have liked one twist. I guess there was a twist, but it wasn't really a surprise to me. When it happened, I was like, oh ya, that makes sense. 

The characters though, are what made Queen of Shadows so amazing, and what keeps me coming back to the Throne of Glass series. I loved the other two female characters that we got to explore. Lysandra was someone we met along time ago, but in Queen of Shadows, Sarah J. Maas explores her thoroughly. She is so much more than she appears. She is forging a path for herself, becoming her own person, instead of what others expect her to be. I also just loved Nesryn Faliq. She was brave, strong and independent, and she loved. Maas created a character that was fierce, but also emotional. There is also more than just what's on the surface with her. I'm excited to see where Nesryn goes next.

I really liked how Maas dealt with Aelin and Chaol's relationship. Part of me wanted it to be different, but I understand why it was that way. It seemed natural, based on what happened to both of them in Heir of Fire. I'm excited for more Chaol. He has been a favourite for me since the first novel. I feel like his loyalties and morality have been constantly tested. He's been through so much and deserves his own story to explore those changes.

I wonder what will happen with Dorian. He has also been through more than his fair share of grief. He's not that young prince we met in Throne of Glass. He has loved, he has suffered loss after loss. He feels as though he has caused pain. Dorian's feelings about his friends, his family and himself are complex. I wonder who he will eventually become. I wonder what new relationship lies on the horizon.

I really liked the dynamic between Rowan and Aedion. Adversarial, brotherly, comrades, soldiers. They developed their own understanding, outside of their relationships with Aelin. I wonder if we'll see more of Rowan's former compatriots, specifically one who will have a big impact on Aedion's life. Will it happen in the next book? It adds to the incentive to read Empire of Storms soon.

I'm interested in how Maas will expand Eleria, as the location of the main story seems to be shifting. I hope that doesn't give too much away, but there's a big world out there and Adarlan is only one small part. What will happen in Terresen? What about the mountains? The other countries?

I was talking about books with a new friend the other day' she was asking who my favourite authors where. I gave my "usual" answers, but I also realized that Sarah J. Maas is now one of my favourites. I've read all but one of her currently published books. I'm always on the look out for when something new is coming out (Tower of Dawn). Where I hear she's touring, I check to see where. Like other favourite authors, there are some books I've liked better than others, but I've enjoyed them all. I'm excited to see what else Maas has in store for her readers.

Wonder Woman 2: Guts

Wow. That ending was nuts. Diana, Hermes, Zola, wow. I couldn't put it done. Wonder Woman: Guts was fantastic. It was exciting, full of action, emotion and the unexpected. It was a great, maybe perfect sequel to Blood. Hermes! I thought one thing, then it was totally something else. Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang and the team did a fantastic job. 

I don't know if I could have been more excited by what Guts did with all the characters. Diana, of course, was amazing. I loved seeing more of Apollo. We got to see Artemis, Demeter, and Persephone. The time with Hades, his whole story, left me a little heartbroken, but also with hope. I wonder if we'll see more of him in the future. The characters were explored and made three-dimensional. 

I'm not sure what else to say... If I say much more, I'm going to give away the end, because Hermes... Demeter... damn. Otherwise, I'm just gushing about how much I enjoyed this book and I am very much looking forward to more Wonder Woman from The New 52.