Do Something Nice Day

Do something nice...seems easy enough.  I can do many little things all day, and I did.  But I was really aiming to do something bigger in honor of this national day.  As the minutes ticked away into hours, and the morning stretched to afternoon and then evening, I began to fear that the little things would need to be what I accomplished.  Little things are important, after all, small and simple things bring about great things.  I believe that.  I had finally settled on that simple truth and found great peace and left with G for our date night.  Little did I know that my desire would be realized very shortly by being in the right place at the right time.

My birthday is tomorrow.  G wanted to take me somewhere special for tonight.  At the very last minute, I picked a place I'd never been to, but had always wanted to go.  Off we headed to a very romantic and gorgeous restaurant.  We were seated at a beautiful table next to a series of very large glass patio doors overlooking a stunning courtyard.  The view was perfect for such a special day.  Not long after our arrival, two other couples arrived and were being seated at an adjacent table, one carrying a large, beautifully adorned gift bag.  They quickly became concerned about something and began voicing it to the host seating them.  The manager was asked for by name, and he soon arrived.  It quickly became evident that they were part of an elaborate plan.  You see a young man was going to be asking a special young lady to be his wife.  The young man had specifically chosen that table for them, the parents of each of the soon-to-be engaged couple, a surprise for his special lady.  It kept them hidden from view from his chosen proposal spot in the perfect little courtyard, but provided a window for the parents to witness the very special event in the lives of their children.  Our table was seated in front of the very window from which they would be able to view this.  They sat down and waited for the arrival of their children.

They began to visit with us as they felt they were being quite disruptive to us and were also quite anxious and excited.  We were actually quite entertained.  As it turns out, the plan was somewhat in jeopardy, as the girlfriend, a teacher, decided to stay late at school to work on some things, and was also not wanting to go to this dinner that her boyfriend said was to meet up with some friends.  Can you imagine the frantic scramble he found himself facing on the most important and nerve-racking night of his life?  Man!  Not an envious spot!

Due to the "later than planned" arrival, the parents settled into conversation with one another, no longer paying attention.  I noticed a young couple arriving in the courtyard, dressed nicely.  I wasn't sure where exactly they were to be sitting, and asked the parents what their children looked like and which table would be theirs.  The description fit, and I told them, "I think they just arrived."  Sure enough.  The parents went into a frantic dash to the window, completely surrounding us.  The couple was visiting with occasional kisses.  He had arranged with the manager to bring out a bottle of champagne and a card to the table.  One mother kept taking pictures, complete with a flash.  Talk about discreet!  Three of them were plastered in plain site at the window.  G told them they may want to hide behind the curtains.  The young man realizing what was happening leaned in to give her a long kiss and began signaling behind her and toward the parents to "get the heck back."  They were oblivious with their joy and excitement.  I told them what he was trying to say, and they quickly moved away.  One of the moms was adamant about not being seen and stayed right behind G, with both hands on his shoulders the entire time, a very personal thing to do considering they'd just met us.

Then, he got down on one knee and pulled out the box.  I suddenly thought of my daughter, T.  I was able to envision what it must have been like when she was proposed to by C.  How I would have loved to have been there.  I had to turn away briefly to not start crying.  In a way, this was a gift for me as well.  The young lady had long dark hair just like T.  I could put myself in the shoes of each of these mothers.

In the end, they were so grateful for the help we had been, more than just what was written here.  They felt like they had been such an intrusion into our dinner, but we were so excited for them because we knew how "once in a lifetime" this would be.  I was so grateful that I could do something nice for a few people that made such a huge difference in their lives and the memory they would forever cherish.

Homemade Cookie Day

I have a confession to make.  I rarely bake homemade cookies, but we always have freshly baked cookies at our house.  When G and I were first married, homemade chocolate chip cookies were frequently made and engulfed every week or so.  Then we moved.  From that point on, we painstakingly tried to create the same cookie experience, but alas, the altitude change befuddled our efforts.  We consulted expert bakers we knew, cookbooks, information on the internet (there was a much smaller version back then), and our own ingenuity.  Nothing worked.  They either came out like cake, hardened disks, or wafers.  We needed our chocolate chip cookies, though.  That is when we discovered Pillsbury ready-to-bake cookie dough in the grocery store's refrigerated section.  Once again, we were regularly enjoying our treat.  Once we took them to a potluck party at a friend's home and were asked for the recipe.  It's a secret recipe you know...well, it is...Pillsbury isn't giving it out I'm sure. 

 

As much as we like chocolate chip cookies, we longed for some of the other cookie gems.  We each had favorites from our childhoods.  The memories of the inviting and loving aroma from each cookie as our mother's carefully pulled the tray from the oven left us desiring more.  Luckily we were blessed with a daughter, T, who was born with a gene in her DNA for baking cookies.  She can whip them out quickly and successfully every time!  Same recipes we use with very different results.

T, with her brother L and Aunt J, rolling out a batch of cookies.

T, age 2-1/2, making cookies- LOVE this picture!

Every year, G asks for her to make cookie dough for the freezer for his birthday, Father's Day, Christmas, any gift giving occasion really.  We have some gracing our freezer now.  What are our favorites that her culinary skills have offered?  All come from our Mrs. Fields Cookie Book, although you can find the recipes in a few other places.

 

Blue-Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies   recipe

Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies   recipe

Jessica's Marshmallow Clouds   recipe

 

We have other favorites like snickerdoodles (from my childhood memory), and G likes almost anything with pecans or walnuts.  G calls them his "health discs" when he is sick.  They have healing properties apparently...some are good enough that I don't believe any would doubt that belief.

 

While we sit back and enjoy our cookies, make a batch of your own.