GOAL REACHED !!!!

Yahoo! Finally got into the 130's. When Rebekah and I started training for our marathon two months ago my goal was to get into the 130's by the time we did not marathon. I am so excited to finally get down there. I have not seen this weight since I did my iron man 7 years ago, and did not expect to get there again.

Now I know the key. Run 35 miles a week and don't eat junk food or sweets. The last part was forced not by choice by the way. We have been trying to tighten our belts and cut out the junk and "non-nutritive" foods. That seems to work, unfortunately.

The good news is I have been working on cookies all day. My son wants to introduce our cookies to the neighborhood, so we made some to sell over the weekend and see how they were received. The bad news is chocolate chips are now $4.00 a bag now, holy heck I guess I will keep losing weight. May be in the 120's by the time our race day gets here in four weeks.

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT NUMBER 2

If the first and best way to get into the Christmas spirit is service, then making cookies is a shoe in for second place. Of course that is coming from a true "cookie monster". I love cookies. They are my number one comfort food and I turn to them frequently these days. When I went into labor with all my kids I always made a batch of oatmeal cookies. My thinking was that the kids and hubby would have a somewhat healthy snack for a few days until I was back up and around. I don't know why buying a box of granola bars never really entered my mind!

These cookies have a history. I learned to cook when I was nine years old. My mother put me into 4H and there I learned to cook and sew. The first thing I ever cooked was this cookie, snickerdoodles. They bring back fond memories and they are fun to make with the kids. I just have to relax and not worry about them being symetrical!

SNICKERDOODLES:

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup butter

4 cups flour

1/4 tsp. almond flavoring

Mix everything into a stiff dough. Roll into balls.

Roll in a mixture of 1/2 cup sugar and 1Tbls. of cinamon.

Place on a cookie sheet 2" apart. Bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees until lightly browned.

Cool on a paper towel and enjoy!

They passed this test for sure! She was a little disappointed though because when she saw me put them on the pretty plate and get the milk she thought it was for Santa! Soon enough.