Cookie Dough

This is completely random but I have been thinking about it a lot lately.  Yes, I have been thinking about cookie dough, weird I know.  But to my defense, I have been nannying for the past 11 days and is there anything more fun then baking? Nope and it is something that every single kid I have ever watched likes to do.  So I have been making cookies.  And eating cookie dough.  Now this is where you might gasp and say, "how can you let the kids eat raw eggs?"  Well, I guess you should never let me watch you kids then.  But please, how many of you have eaten cookie dough.  I would hope every single one of you because let's be real for a minute, the cookie dough is about 248389758934x's better then a baked cookie.  One of the kids I was watching did give me an absolutely disgusted face when I asked her if she wanted to lick the spatula and told me there are raw eggs in cookie dough. So she missed out by not eating any.  It's not like I force fed them or anything.  I just let them choose.

http://www.foodliabilitylaw.com/uploads/image/Real%20Cookie(1).jpg

So here's my take on cookie dough. 

1.) It's delicious.  Like seriously one of the best things you can eat.

2.) No one I have ever known has had salmonella from eating cookie dough or even had it for that matter.

3.) People still ate beef when there was Mad Cow, still ate tomatoes when they had salmonella, still ate chicken when there was bird flu, ect...

4.) If for some reason I get really sick, I can go to the doctor and tell him/her that I ate raw cookie dough and then they can hook me up to IV's or whatever and I will be good as new again.  But until this happens, I will keep eating raw cookie dough. Is too darn good not to.

Cookie Dough

This is completely random but I have been thinking about it a lot lately.  Yes, I have been thinking about cookie dough, weird I know.  But to my defense, I have been nannying for the past 11 days and is there anything more fun then baking? Nope and it is something that every single kid I have ever watched likes to do.  So I have been making cookies.  And eating cookie dough.  Now this is where you might gasp and say, "how can you let the kids eat raw eggs?"  Well, I guess you should never let me watch you kids then.  But please, how many of you have eaten cookie dough.  I would hope every single one of you because let's be real for a minute, the cookie dough is about 248389758934x's better then a baked cookie.  One of the kids I was watching did give me an absolutely disgusted face when I asked her if she wanted to lick the spatula and told me there are raw eggs in cookie dough. So she missed out by not eating any. 

 

So here's my take on cookie dough. 

 

1.) It's delicious.  Like seriously one of the best things you can eat.

2.) No one I have ever know has ever had salmonella from eating cookie dough or even had it for that matter.

3.) People still ate beef when there was Mad Cow, still ate tomatoes when they had salmonella, still ate chicken when there was bird flu, ect...

4.) If for some reason I get really sick, I can go to the doctor and tell him/her that I ate raw cookie dough and then they can hook me up to IV's or whatever and I will be good as new again.  But until this happens, I will keep eating raw cookie dough.  

Crafternoons!

I am back to the blogging atmosphere hopefully for a good long while. I literally can't sleep at night because my brain is thinking of things I could blog about and that I want to share.  So many things to share, so much happening.  Well, I feel like a lot is happening but then I think about what I did and it doesn't sound like that much.  Time is funny, isn't it?  Sometimes there aren't enough hours in the day, sometimes there are too many.  Tangent. Okay, back to what I was talking typing about. 


Other then babysitting and nannying I have been trying to accomplish all my crafts that I have wanted to do all summer.  Some are going pretty well, one is complete (YAY!!!), one is taking forEVER but then again I knew it would.  I am sure you are wondering, "Well Caroline, what crafts are you doing?" Why thank you so much for asking!  I am trying to make my house next year beautiful and my bedroom fabulous! I have such a vision for it and I just hope hope hope that it will turn out like I how I think it will.  


I have been collecting/hoarding picture frames because I want to make a huge wall picture frame collage on one wall with my pictures from Italia and Europe.  It is going to be fabulous, well at least in my mind.  I have these super cute prints that I bought that are Italy related along with two pictures that I am having blown up.  I am also decorating lots of frames to hang.  So this is one of the frames that I just finished painting but now that I look at it, I think I am going to put it somewhere else with my group Summer Staff photo.  

I am also trying to make a bunch of these flowers with all my sisters leftover sewing fabric.  I think I need to buy some more basic fabric but for my first try, these turned out pretty well.

And then, Ta-Da! The one project that I actually finished!  Initial hooks for me and my sweet roommates that we can hang our keys and what not on.  I LOVE the way they turned out and I hope they do to!

Then my one super big humungous project that I should have started back in May, my scrapbook from studying abroad lest semester.  Such a huge task.  I took so many wonderful pictures, it is hard for me to narrow it down.  And I am not even very good at narrowing it down!  Rome is 12 pages and I didn't even really like Rome that much.  Well, I liked it but it wasn't one of my top favorite places.  I think I printed about 100 pictures of Rome and no, that's not really an exaggeration. I just finished Rome today so that's why it's on my mind.  I am just trying to get it done before I go back to school and I am determined to finish! 

So I think that's about it craft wise.  I have more flowers to make, more picture frames to decorate, pictures to print, and a scrapbook to finish.  Maybe I should stick to one project at a time but that's just not my style. We'll see what I actually finish and what I have to continue working on up at school. 

Vanishing Cookies

Oh my goodness, these cookies are to die for!  Seriously, I think you could die from them because they are so good that you could eat such an ungodly amount that you would die.  Everybody should have a go to cookie recipe and this is definitely mine.  Well, this and cookie bars but those can be for another day.  Why must I love sweets so much?


The name vanishing is completely appropriate too because they just vanish, especially if you have a 14 year old brother.  You can also double the recipe like I just did because I am getting ready to go to North Carolina with my parents, brother, brother's friend, and boy cousin.  Those three boys will probably eat all the cookies in the car since they are that good.  If you do double it, it will almost bubble over the side of the mixer.  It makes a ton!

So here's the recipe- not doubled:

Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup + 6 tbsp butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups old fashioned oatmeal (not cooked- duh)

1 cup craisins (I add a little more)

1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or more)

1.) Heat the oven to 350.  In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy

2.) Add eggs and vanilla, beat well

3.) Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt- mix well

4.) Add oats, craisins, and white chocolate 

5.) Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet 
6.) Bake for 6-8 minutes until lightly golden brown. 
7.) Let cool and then devour! 


Oh my, these cookies are by far the best.  They are the best smelling cookies and just wait until you taste them.  So stop reading and make these cookies.  Or don't because they are seriously the devil in cookie form. 

Funny Friday

Yay! It's Friday and if Rebecca Black's awful song isn't in your head yet, it now is :)

So another week of day camp is over and thank goodness for that.  It was a long day today.  So here are some funny things the kids did or said to hopefully brighten your day if it's as rainy and gross as it is here.

The kids tied jump ropes to a hula hoop and pretended they were dragons by putting the hula hoop around their middle.  This prompted a lot of: "He's stepping on my tail!" "Stop pulling my tail!"  "Rawr, I am dragon.  Do you see my firey breath?"  "I am going to eat you!"

One little boy wanted his jump rope made into "that thing cowboys have since I am a cowboy."  Then came the scream of, "Jackson is trying to lasso me!" 

"Can I have a hoop de hoop?" (Hula hoop)

"I am going to beat my boyfriend Max... Max, I just beat you! He's my boyfriend." 
Max, "No I am not." 
Caitlin, "Yes you are.  Sometime he just forgets."  

While giving a tennis lesson to my five year old neighbor, I told him we were going to start by hitting some balls and then we'd play a game.  He walked over to the ball hopper and starting hitting the balls with his hand and asked, "So can we play a game now?"

And last but not least my 14 year old brother who is currently in a stage where he says that he is brown.  I think the picture sums it up.  

The left sticky note says Kenny

The top one says Kenny's real mom. 

Oh boy, what I am going to do with this kid?

Have a great weekend y'all. 

Windy Gap Say YEEESSSS

"For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them." Ephesians 2:10

Here we are- Summer Staff Session 1

My time at Windy Gap was incredible.  I had more fun then I thought imaginable and made friends that I love dearly. I am not really sure how to write this since so much happened and so many memories were made.  I guess I will just start with the basics and ramble on from there.

I was assigned to be a PM cook which means that my three wonderful friends, myself, and our amazing intern Jill prepared dinner for around 400 people every night for three weeks.  You would be amazed (I think) at how much food teenagers eat.  It's incredible.  The kitchen was so much fun too.  I had my doubts at first but I cannot image being placed anywhere else.  God sure does know what he's doing. 

The evenings were filled with fun, laughing, and just plain old ridiculousness.  We helped with the obstacle course that was every Sunday night where Sam, Sam, Elizabeth, Hannah, and I got to whack campers with pool noodles as they ran through a trench of mud.  Sam and I became four year old boys when this happened and told the campers they were running through poop and found ourselves (and songs) hilarious.  We were so muddy by the end of the night from being splashed that it looked like we went through the course too.   

We tribal danced in Cedar lobby, sang praise and worship, went to club, stayed up late talking, had girl time that went for hours (which was wonderful) and became closer to one another and the Lord.  It was amazing.

We also had a few minutes of free time where we could participate in some of the fun things the campers get to do like the nascarts and the big swing.  SO FUN.  I think Hannah and I smiled the entire time of both things. Don't let the picture on the swing fool you, we were told to make silly faces. 

My lovely fam after riding the nascarts.  Awkward family photo award right here please.

The big swing. 

My summer staff coordinators were the absolute best. They cared for each and everyone of us so much.  They are truly a testament to God's love.  Here is the lovely Jess and her husband Andy are being loved by some sweet friends.  The funny thing is that in the picture I took before this, poor Andy is all alone. Luckily some silly boys came to his rescue. 

The saying that God meets you where ever you are at is so so so true.  I feel like I met God again at Windy Gap.  I suppose it would be kind of hard not to when he's all around.  I saw God literally all over the place.  I saw God in every summer staff friend.  I loved seeing God work in them when they would be doing their devo's or just spending some sweet time with him.  I saw God in the Assigned "A" team and their beautiful families.  I saw God in 300 and some campers who accepted Jesus into their lives over the three weeks I was there.  I saw God in their leaders who loved their kids so well.  I saw God in my summer staff coordinators through the way they loved us and through their faith.  I saw God when 350 teenagers where jumping and singing in the club room.  I saw God in the work crew who worked their tales off for kids their own age to be able to have the best week of their life.  There is not one place where I can say that I did not see God.  He is everywhere and he is amazing. I am so glad that I was able to go to Windy Gap, experience a Young Life camp, and meet God again in this way.  My faith has deepened and so has my love for my Lord.  He found me at Windy Gap and I needed him to find me. My God is so good and he loves me perfectly.  How amazing is that? 

  

The kitchen is a dangerous place.  

Hannah, me and Jill. 

 Only one of us really needed the blue wrap. 

Little Kiddos

After about a month (or two), I am back and ready to start blogging again!  These next few are not in chronological order.  I woke up this morning and thought that I wanted to share with you all the funny things the kids that I work with say.  

So Fridays for the next couple of weeks will be funny phrase Friday. 

This week at the camp I work at, I was asked by a darling little 4 year old if I would go on a date with him.  When I asked him again what he said, he told me that he knew I would say no.

There was a fire alarm that went of yesterday at camp and the same little guy from above told me that it was a good thing that he was there because he is a firefighter. And if he isn't at camp and there's a fire, I should call him because he fights real and fake fires. 

This one may be a tad inappropriate but it is funny.  Another little guy had been in the bathroom for a while so I asked him if he was okay.  He replied, "Geeze, I am just trying to wipe my butt." 

A precious 4 year old came up to me on the playground and said, "Do you know I am a real money?  My dad says that I am."  He then proceeded to climb up the pull up bars and then beat his chest and make monkey noises.

I have a feather in my hair from a camp I volunteered at a couple of weeks ago (much more on that later).  When the little girls saw it, they were amazed.  I get asked multiple times a day if they can pet my feather.  They always answer with, "Oohhh, it's so soft."

I babysit and give tennis lessons to this absolutely adorable little four year old who says some of the cutest things ever such as:

What a beautiful day! The crows are crowing, the faces on the trees are smiling and the blue jays are chirping!

Well, I think this play date is off to a very good start. 

My mom keeps throwing away my Christmas lists and I am mad at her.  Don't tell me when to forgive her because I already decided that I will forgive her December 1st.  (Then I said) "Don't you think that's a long time?  Maybe you should forgive her a little sooner since we have a couple of months to Christmas."  J replied, "Okay, how does August 2nd sound then?"

I absolutely LOVE kiddos.  Not only are they adorable, but they put a smile on my face every time I see them.  I cannot wait to work with little ones for my real job and hear what funny things they will have to say (especially since I will be working with kids who need speech therapy).

Happy Friday!

Here's a sneak peak of what I will be blogging about next- Windy Gap! 

Lazy Summer

I went to the beach for an overnight with my mom.  

One of many things that I love about the beach is how relaxing it is.

I think it is the only place that I can go (and I know that my mom can go) and I can be content sitting and staring.  

It is so peaceful and relaxing. 

I took long walks and had great conversations with my best friend. 

Just the two of us, two beach chairs, an umbrella that we did not use because it was too cold if you sat under it, good books, and fun food.

Two perfect days of summer. 

The beach was, as my dad would say, wide enough to land an airplane on. 

Another Year, Another Week

Twenty 

20

Venti

However you say it, I am now the big 2-0. 

2 decades!  

But, what can you do.  There is no way you can stop time, you just have to embrace it.

Nineteen was pretty fabulous.  A hard year to beat.  And in all honesty (not to be a pessimist) I don't think twenty will be the year that tops it.  I lived in Florence for four months and traveled to five different countries in Europe.  If I could see into the future, I would say that this year will probably keep me a lot closer to home. 

Saying that I miss Florence is an understatement.

I would be lying if I said I didn't think about it everyday.  Or look at pictures everyday.  Or talk about it everyday.  Or that I wasn't sobbing, yes sobbing, when I got off the airplane in Gainesville.

It was a wonderful part of my life. Amazing, fantastic, superb, incredible part of my life. I have made friends and memories that I know I will have for my entire life.  This is what I have to focus on.  

So a week has passed since I came back to the US from the place that I will someday call home again.  A week passed and I turned another year older. 

That's the way that life goes. 

Here's to a great week. 

And thank you for all the Birthday wishes. 

Firenze, ti amo

I love this city. 
I love EVERYTHING about this city.
(except the dog poop on the streets but that I can live with that)
I love being surrounded by the Italian language.
I love the art that is literally everywhere. 
I love that I walk past 500 year old statues on my way to school everyday.
I love my walk to school everyday.
I love the Ponte Vecchio, the Doumo, the Bell Tower, the Baptistry, Piazza Vecchio.
I love Boboli Gardens.
I love San Lorenzo Market.
I love the fruit and veggie vendors on the walk to school.
I love my house and my apartment.

I love that I live in a reality TV show.

I love the little Italian couples.

I love walking everywhere.

I love that Gabriella from my favorite sandwich shop knows exactly what I want.

I love the buildings and the architecture.

I love the green shutters on the buildings.

I love opening and closing my green shutters.

I love the food and the gelato.

I love the tiny cars.

I love/am jealous of the little Italian children I see being dropped off at school everyday.

I love that I know my way around and never used a map.

I love that I can understand most of what people say to me.

I love that tourists stop and ask me for directions- in Italian!

I love the view from my apartment.

I love my Via Romana Family.

I have loved living here.  

I love knowing that I will come back and live here again. 

I love that I looked up minoring in business so I can open an American bakery here one day.

                                       I am completely serious

I love that I was blessed enough to call the place my home for 4 wonderful months.

Firenze, sei sempre nel mio cuore. 

Buongiorno!

How could your day not be great when you wake up and see this every morning? 

Florence, your beauty never ceases to amaze me. 

God, this is what I want my heaven to look like.

Barcelona and Vilanova Spain

Last weekend, I went on my last trip while studying abroad for this semester.  I say that because I am determined to find a way back.  This is just going to be a really quick post because I am currently drowning in all the papers and finals I have this week not to mention leaving Italy depression is beginning to set in.
Well, on a happier note- Spain was beautiful and I loved it.  I am so so glad that I was able to make it there.
So now for some pictures and a brief explanation of what I did!

We left from Florence for Spain at 3 AM which gave us an entire day in Barcelona.

The first thing Kimmie and I did was go see the Temple Exiatori de la Sagrada Familia. It was one of the neatest churches I have ever seen.  We literally looked at if for an hour.

This is the other side of the church.  There are hundreds of statues and different animals carved into it.

Barcelona is an incredibly clean, beautiful, and active city.  We walked into the city center and trough the Arch de Triumph.

Next, Kimmie and I went to this amazing food market. It has won an award for being the best food market in the world!  There was so much fresh fruit.  We bought fruit salad for 1 euro, fresh juice, oranges, grapes, pineapple, and more.  

We wandered around the city and through the streets.  This is La Rambala- the main street.  The trees were beginning to bloom and we have great spring weather.

Then we went to see the Cathedral.  It was also interesting to see but it too was under construction. 

We then walked (and it might be important to note that we were walking with out backpacks that we used as suitcases all over and they kept getting heavier and heavier) to Port Vell and the marina. 

Then we went to where we were staying.  We stayed at a campground that is about 30 minutes outside of the city.  Campgrounds in Europe are so different then the ones in the US.  This one was amazingly nice.  It had a huge grocery store, three outdoors pools, one indoor pool with jets and hot tubs, multiple playgrounds, tennis courts, basketball courts, and soccer fields.  The best part- this entire cabin with a kitchen was only 12 euro a person for the two of us.  AND- you could easily sleep more.  The couches in the living room can be beds and there was a loft where people could sleep.  Talk about a deal!

This was our bedroom. 

Our second day, we went into Vilanova, the town where we were staying, to spend a day at the beach.  The weather was perfect and it was such a great relaxing day.

In the Mediterranean. 

Saturday was our last day.  We went back into Barcelona.  Barcelona is known for its gaudy architecture and this is just one of the buildings that lines the streets. 

We went to Park Guell, which was created by Gaudi.  The wisteria was blooming and it was beautiful. 

Some of the gaudi architecture in the park. 

Such a neat park.  Once again, we had to carry our backpacks everywhere. 

Park Guell is also know for its mosaics.  These are on the ceiling of a covered area in the park. 

The iguana fountain!  It a mosaic and it the symbol of the park. 

We went back to the market for more fruit juice! I was indecisive about whether I wanted kiwi/pineapple or raspberry/pineapple so the lady gave them both to me!  So yummy. 

Our plane didn't leave until 10 at night so we had time to just wonder around the city.  Behind us is a Christopher Columbus statue. Yay USA.

So that was my trip to Spain.  I definitely want to see more of that country one day. 

I don't know if I will have time to blog anymore while I am in Italy, but I am sure I will have time when I get home.  Expect a lot more posts about Europe then!

Amalfi Coast

I am back for a moment since I leave in less than 9 hours for Barcelona!  I am going to do a quick over view of my trip last weekend to the Amalfi Coast.  It was such a beautiful place and I believe that I saw one of the most interesting places in the whole entire world- Pompeii.  Absolutely amazing.
Just look through the pictures to hear more about my trip!  It was awesome and I got a bit tanner :)

Warning: It's really long. I have 40 pictures for this one blog.

This is the town we stayed in, Sorrento.  It was beautiful.  We walked here on the way to the Marina.

View of Sorrento from the Marina

This is in Capri.  We came here on the first day- Friday. 

In Capri, we did a HUGE hike.  The views were stunning but the hike was definitely difficult in a good way.  The water around the island is so pretty. 

Me at the very top of Capri.  I was the only one from my program who came on this trip so I rocked the FSU gear this day :) 

More pictures from the amazing hike.

I met a ton of super nice people.  This is Katie and I by the Blue Grotto.  We hiked to this after we hiked to the top of the island. 

Unfortunately, it was too choppy to go into the blue grotto though.  I guess I will just have to come back one day!

The beach!  I absolutely love the beach.  I collected some pebble sand and a bunch of little pieces of sea glass.  I guess Italian's don't collect sea glass. 

The second day, we went to Napoli in the morning with our tour guide Bruno. He gave a great hour and a half tour of the city.  I am so glad I was able to see this other major city in Italia. 

Milan is known for vendors selling knock-offs and other trinkets on the side of the street.  I didn't buy anything though.

Some of the buildings in Napoli were really pretty. 

Bad part- trash strike in Naples.  This was a very small pile.

Some really pretty building that is now a shopping mall type thing.

The main Piazza in Naples.  It looks kind of like a mini-Vatican. 

The King of Naples Castle! This was neat to see. 

Does this look familiar to anyone? 

It's pizza from the oldest pizza place.  The place has been around for 150 years and it was in Eat, Pray, Love not to mention it was amazing!

After Naples, we came back to Sorrento for a minute.  

Then we went to Positano!  It was beautiful.  These are some of my new friends too! They are from Washington State but are also studying in Florence.  Kelsey, Taylor, and me.

This was too pretty not to post

Here's a view of Positano from the beach! 

And the beach of course!  It was such a beautiful day.

I got into the water about that far.  It was cold!

Sunset on the way back to Sorrento. 

I had a delicious fish dinner in Sorrento. 

We stayed in these super cute little cabins in Sorrento.  Ours was kind of messy but I really liked staying here. My roommates were also really nice.  I had the bed to the far right. 

Our final day we went to Pompeii.  It is definitely the most interesting place I have ever been in my life.  To say I loved it would be an understatement. 

Small theater.  The volcano erupted in 67 AD so this town was preserved super well.  Just image that this is exactly how it looked that long ago.  It's amazing. You literally step back in time and into history. 

Old roads!

A temple. Sorry, I don't remember the name right now

In the brothel 

Walking through Pompeii.  

The main forum area.  This area was actually huge!

You can see a dead doggie in the middle. I like to call this area the home and garden section of Pompeii because it reminded me of Home Depot a bit because of all the pottery, bowls, and vases they found. 

This is sort of sad- the dead man behind me looks like he was praying. 

This is the bakery of the town. 

Mt. Vesuvius in the background 

The Red Room.  Look at the frescos that are STILL there!

The cafeteria. 

Well, that was my weekend and it was amazing!  I loved the Amalfi Coast so much and I am so happy that I went considering that I almost did not.  

Now, I am off to Barcelona in 4 hours.  I will be sure to catch you all later!  I will be back super early Sunday morning. Have an awesome weekend.