Happy Thanksgiving a day late! This was my second year away from my home for Thanksgiving, but I had a good time in Seattle with my brother and his friends.....Friends-giving. At least I did not have to make the turkey!

However, I was expected to contribute to the dinner, which I did with yummy mashed potatoes. They turned out pretty good considering this was only the second time I have ever made them.

BUT the day before Thanksgiving I was told we needed another dish. So, having the major sweet tooth that I do, I decided to make a dessert.

Growing up my favorite Thanksgiving dessert was never pumpkin or apple pie. No, it has always been peanut butter cookies with chocolate kisses in the middle!

I have been wanting to attempt these cookies for a while, but after a recent failure at a no bake cheesecake, I wasn't feeling confident. Plus with all the organic, overly healthy, pretentious stores that are around here, I knew I would have to make it from scratch. I have never successfully made any baked good from scratch, so I was a little concerned.

Anyways, I use this recipe, which is pretty simple. First, you put the egg, milk, regular sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, and butter in a bowl.
My brother does not have a mixer, so I had the pleasure of mixing this stuff by hand.....yay. I have very weak arms, so it was a bit of a struggle. Thankfully Matt came in and helped at the end, because apparently I was doing it wrong...

Anyways after that, I added the flour, baking soda, and baking power, and mixed it all together again! Next, roll them into balls, stick em on a baking tray, and put them in the oven.
Look at those beautiful things cooking away. Best looking cookies I have ever made. There was some difficulties because it took about twice as long for them to cook than the recipe said it would. I ended up standing in front of the oven while watching Parks and Rec on my laptop and checking the cookies every few minutes.

They did finally finish! And as soon as I took them out I smooshed Hershey's kisses into them. Hershey kisses that were obnoxiously hard to find btw. This city needs to chill on the super organic food everywhere.

ANNNDDDD.....

THEY CAME OUT PERFECT!
Of all the things I have done in my life that I am proud of, these cookies are top ten. Literally could not have been better. Plus they were a huge hit! Matt was hovering like a vulture until I told him he could have one, and on Thanksgiving day most of them were eaten before dinner even started.

I am really pleased with how it all turned out, and it was a pretty good first Thanksgiving in Seattle. We watched a lot ....(a lot) of football, played some weird card games, plus I got to see this little baby, who I occasionally take care of these days. I really had a great time.

Okay that is a lie. It is like my third library card. But, my two previous cards were from when I was a child, and I never used them.

This is my first library card as a certified adult and I WILL actually use it! As evidenced below, I took out two books already! Of course they are historical fiction because...I am addicted to that genre.

It is that time of the year again! National Novel Writing Month AND the time of the year when many people, including myself consider it to be the beginning of the holiday season.

Yes, I am one of THOSE people. I am the reason Christmas decorations go on sale the day after Halloween. I am part of the problem. What are you going to do about it? I will force Christmas cheer down your throat. I do admit though that the fact that most of the trees are still green in Seattle definitely puts a damper on the spirit. Oh well. I will jingle bell rock on anyway. I bought a Christmas themed oven mitt from Goodwill for my apartment (whenever I get one). I am determined to be full of cheer.

In Birmingham, my former home, it is around this time they put up the German Christmas Market in the city center, so really I am just following a precedent.

Apart from the beginning of Christmas, it is also NaNoWriMo. Yes that is a really long abbreviation. This is my second year where I am attempting to participate. Basically you try to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. You are *supposed* to write like 1,600 words a day. That didn't really happen last year, but this year I want to do better. If you want to track my progress, you can follow my profile here. If you are participating as well, add me as a writing buddy! We can do this together!

If you look, my word count is just north of 15,000 words right now. I promise I did not write that in one day. It is the accumulation of almost 2 years worth of work...which is pretty sad.

I hope to see you all writing away! I am off to attempt my best now. Good luck and HAPPY HOLUDAYS! :D :D :D

I am not the type of person who likes to interact with strangers on public transportation. In fact I avoid it at all costs. I see someone trying to start conversations with those around them, and sit as far away from them as possible. You start talking to me on the train? I will respond as little as possible until you get the hint. However, things happen, and sometimes it becomes necessary. When one nerd recognizes another nerd and wants to discuss something nerdy, for example, is one of those times.

One of the great things about living in the country are farmers markets! And up in my area there is one that is still going through the fall season. They have all their fall harvest goods out, and plenty of pumpkins to go around! It was exciting to get out of the house and be around people, and to see all the things for sale.
By the time we got there I realized I had forgotten to eat anything that day, and bought a blueberry muffin and a fruit and cheese danish from one of the local berries. Both were absolutely delicious!
Outdoor markets are always so atmospheric. I visited so many all over the world in the past year, it was great to be able to come back to one I have visited almost all my life. And it was the perfect time of year for it as well.
If fall wasn't the last state before the eternal death and misery of winter, it might be my favorite season! Fall in the Northeast is the best in the country, in my opinion. I will try to enjoy it while I can, and enjoy the absolute beauty that has been this fall. However it may be a bit hard, it SNOWED all this afternoon! Bundle up everyone! Winter is coming....