Grandma's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

We had some new neighbors move in - and what's a better way to welcome someone to the neighborhood than with the best cookies ever?! These are my favorite cookies of all time. Straight from my grandma's cookbook. This is the dirtiest page in the cookbook, that tells you how good they are.
I made a simple tag with this cute stamp. I am glad my sister talked me into buying it. It makes me want to make treats for more people.

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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
3/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 cup quick rolled oats
1 pkg chocolate chips

Cream together shortening and sugars. Add eggs. Add remaining ingredients in order and mix well. Bake at 350 degrees until done. (That's how my grandma wrote it - but for us it is about 12 minutes)

Tips:
Add 3/4 cup chopped nuts if you'd like (and I do!)
I like to go a little lighter on the chocolate chips - like 3/4 of the bag
Use a small spring-loaded ice cream scoop, like this one, to make uniform sized cookies.

Friday Favorites

I feel like Maria when I say this but, These are a few of my favorite things:

Skype Group Video Calling: We were able to talk to everyone in my family (that has a web cam) on Sunday - it was totally fun! My sister told us to make a silly face as she took a screen shot.
Let me introduce you to the family (from left to right): Brother and Sister-in-law (They live in DC); yours truly, Husband, Daughter (in Nebraska); Dad, Mom (living in Hawaii); and tiny at the bottom -  Sister, Brother-in-law, and Nephew (Utah). So nice to have the technology to "be together" even though we stretch from one side of the country to the other!

Pinterest: I know you have heard it from every other blogger, but it is so nice to organize the things I want to do/make/remember. You may notice, the majority of my pins are food... I must have a problem.

Free Sprint-to-Sprint phone calls: If not, my 4 hours of talking to the family in one day would have used the majority of my minutes!

Making Plans with Mom: My mom and I have been planning her trip out here for the baby. We are planning lots of chatting, relaxing, a zoo visit (really Omaha has an amazing zoo!), making healthy meals, workouts (I need to loose the baby weight fast!). Nothing too big - but Mom time is always the best!

Looking forward to General Conference: A time to relax, hear some great council, and eat cinnamon rolls. If you want to check it out you can watch it on TV, or online!

It's taken our home by storm...

... the flu that is. That terrible bug has taken quite a toll on our family - all of us, even the extended family. Little Lou, I think, scared us the most. After a few days of fighting, she seemed to be turning the corner and feeling much better. Only to scare her dad, grandma and me with a seizure. We were taken to the ER and then had an EEG done the next day. I am very grateful for the training I received in nursing school, it helped me feel a bit more calm.
Lou is doing great now - we are recovering well. Lou has made a full recovery. We are thinking the seizure was just due to her fever - thank goodness. We will hear the full results from the EEG soon. We are not too worried though now - she is acting normal, playing normal, eating normal, and even went to a movie this morning.
But please be patient with me as I try to get my family over this bug (and myself for that matter) and recuperate from the big events of last week ... not to mention Christmas!

Aloha!

image via

Well, we made it! After 11+ hours in the plane, Lou and I arrived in Hawaii yesterday. Her calm, sweet personality suffered a little due to the lack of sleep, but really she did wonderfully! (But hey, I wasn't the most pleasant at the end of the day either)
For those who don't know, my parents live here (yes, I know, they think it is rough too). We are here to relax, hit the beach, visit the temple open house, and eat delicious foods. It's funny, my sister, brother, and I were talking about our "must-do's" in Hawaii. All of us mentioned restaurants. Nothing more. I will let you in on some of my adventures here. Plus, my mom and I like to cook together in the kitchen so you won't be without a recipe or two. Just so you can enjoy my surroundings with me: It is 78 degrees, 75% humidity, there is a great breeze; I can hear the kids playing at the school next door, and if you listen - the ocean off in the distance. This place truly is paradise!

Happy Father's Day

Thanks to all those great Fathers out there. You make such a difference. To my dad - thank you for being the man you are to make me the woman I am.
To my husband - thank you for being the greatest father to my daughter. You strive so hard to be the best man you can. I love you. Thanks for the genes - they helped make such a cute girl!

For everyone else, enjoy this funny video. For more, you can go to the Fatherhood website. Check out the cheerleader that's my favorite... but I thought this one was perfect for a food blog.