Thankfulness

Well it's not Thursday, but that doesn't mean I can't be thankful, right? Plus, Nolan and I were noshing tonight on some tasty new treats that NEED to be shared! I used my lunch break to
stop at the store and pick up some ingredients that sounded good today, and then I found some recipes that were just calling my name. My new favourite recipe blog, Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, has some incredibly tasty treats, including one of the ones I made today (the other was a referral from the same blog).

The first treat was Honey Oat Lace Cookies. Made gluten-free, with natural sugars (honey) and the all-important orange zest, I tasted the first batch of these and immediately made a second. Mine were a little bit more like drop-cookies than lace cookies, but since I wasn't curving mine anyway, I think it was for the best. The same slightly chewy consistency of lace cookies was intact! See:

I'm telling you, that orange zest with the slight caramel taste is heavenly. As a sidenote: I used splenda because Safeway was out of palm sugar. And I don't really like the taste of the flour mix she uses, so I improvised with 1/8c almond meal, 1/8c corn meal, and 2tbsp brown rice flour. Tasty!

The next treat I tried was Almond Bark with Dried Cranberries. The key to this one is the sea salt sprinkled on top. The whole thing took about 3 minutes to make. So good with the tart cranberries and the dark chocolate!

As you can imagine, I had to ration out a very small amount of each treat tonight so we didn't get out of control with the deliciousness, which is something I'm trying to really hold myself to right now. I started a new "medication" of sorts this month, and not only has it majorly messed with my hormones, but the side effects: whew. First I was queasy all the time. Then I was tired. Now my appetite is raging (read: I eat all the time when I'm totally not even hungry, boo!) AND I've put on about 5 pounds, which for me is totally noticeable. I feel sluggish and heavy and hungry all the time. And yet: my doctor said "Oh yeah, that's normal and it should last about a month". What?! So bear with me, guys, if I whine a little: at least there is some really good cooking coming out of all this! Nolan wanted me to put the down comforter on our bed this week, and so I've been sweating my brains out at night because it's way too warm. But I have to admit that I wake up in sweat each morning and hope that I've at least sweated off some of this ridiculous water weight.

Anyway. A couple weeks ago I tried my first pottery painting class with some girlfriends. Since I've long been needing a spoon rest in my kitchen, I thought I'd make one! Here's how it turned out:

Overall I'm satisfied with it, though I seriously kind of hate the squiggly line. What possessed me to paint that? Oh well, at least it was fun and practical!

This week, I've been reflecting on how much I have to be thankful for. It's been tough these last 2 months now, and I'm finally coming up for air, it feels like. I guess I wasn't ready for what January would be like on top of December. So:

1. I'm so thankful that Nolan is done with trauma and back on a normal rotation. You guys. It was so miserable while he was on trauma. The small time I did get with him was like watching a zombie. The day he went back to the Emergency Dept. felt like the day I got my husband back, and boy was it awesome. It's so good to have sweet time together again.

2. I'm thankful that my project at work has an end in sight. It feels endless and mind-numbingly tedious, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and that makes me feel like I can start breathing again.

3. I'm thankful for a little extra sleep these past few days. I like getting up early in the mornings, but it's been nice to sleep past 5am for a couple days in a row and wake up feeling a little more rested.

4. I'm thankful that my sister-in-law and my little niece/nephew are healthy! Some nausea, dehydration and a diagnosis of HG had us worried, but all seems to be well now!

5. I'm thankful for a little more time recently to do fun things like experiment with cooking and baking! I've made some AMAZING dinners and desserts this week (if I can be just a little cocky), and it's been so much fun to try new things!

What are you thankful for?