Delightful things!

Well it has been a while, but one of my loves is still a love: list making! Today's list, 10 things that are delightful.

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1. White kidney bean magic!!! I recently learned a beautiful  replacement for butter in cookies! When making chocolate chip cookies, and I'm going to go out on a limb and assume this applies to most cookies- replace the butter with pureed white kidney beans!!! My next adventure will involve garbanzo beans! Now I know you're probably saying, NASTY!!! But they're SO yummy!!! I will say this, you can taste the beans in the dough, but once they're baked- the beans are gone! And everyone who had some liked them! Here's my favorite recipe (Mrs. Field recipe):

1 c. butter -1 cup pureed white beans (I used a food processor)
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
2 1/2 c. oatmeal, ground in blender (this ingredient is a must, and a food processor works great, or you can buy oat flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
12 oz. chocolate chips (go for the milk chocolate Ghirardelli chips!)

Cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour, oatmeal, baking powder and soda. Stir in chips and Hershey bar. Bake 7-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Yum yum yum- I'm inspired to find other healthier replacements!

2. Students. My students say the funniest things! Whether they're asking me, "Are you married? How old are you? Why are you single?" Or, "Did you make your hair today? Did you know Carson is a girl? He plays with dolls and sings like a girl! (Response from Carson:) I am! I half boy, and half girl," my students are always entertaining me!

I love this video! These are not my students, but I experience this caliber of pure kid genius daily!

3. My Christmas tree! Shelly helped my decorate it, and yes- those are all my ornaments!

Tree. Homemade paper stocking for Brangelina and the kids, my roommates, Shelly, and...me. Shelly's masterfully crafted mistletoe above the front door.

4. RACQUETBALL!!!!

5. CAR DANCING/KARAOKE

6. DANCING!!!

7. GOOD man hair. You know- the kind you wouldn't get your fingers stuck in, but the kind that you'd certainly want to run said fingers through. I'm talking kitten soft forearm and chest cuddle clouds. I'm talking the kind of beard that massages your face like butterfly kisses from a gay Pegasus who bathes in vats of sunshine lotion. "Si, azul...EXACTAMENTE!"

8. This next delightful item is something I've most definitely blogged or mentioned before: Great Lake Swimmers. I LOVE THEM. P.S. Perfect Christmas gift- I've only got Bodies and Minds, I want their other CDs. When I was making breakfast this morning I had my itunes on shuffle and this song came on. I thought to myself, "This music is heaven...it's like drinking in some warm heaven, and if it were summer it would be like drinking in cool heaven." Unfortunately the leads singer seems to have shaved his beautiful beard off for this video. Also, I don't love this video, especially compared to their other videos- but the song still rocks.

9. Feeling in control of my body. So, as I previously blogged about, I went on a sugar fast. Yes I ate fruit, fruit is SUPER vital. Anyway, I didn't have sweets or deserts etc. for three weeks before thanksgiving, with the exception of the Harry Potter party because my friend Anne made delicious home made treats. However, though delicious they may have been, it made me feel awful eating all of that sugar! When Thanksgiving rolled around I for sure had some Egg Nog (I love it!), and some pie- but in contrast to previous years, I had a few pieces (rather than 15 pieces of something terrible like that). Now that the Holiday has passed and I have about three weeks until Christmas break I feel rededicated to eat less, if any, sugar. If something looks terribly wonderful, I will eat it. But if someone says, "Want a Zinger?" I can confidently say, "No thank you," because guess what? I don't like Zingers, and I'm only eating sugar if it's really worth it!

10. My dad's nub. I know it's gone forever, but we love it! The nub is where it's at.

When my dad was born his mother had the German Measles. He had a heart defect since birth and Forrest Gump style leg braces. He was born with his fingers on his right hand fused together, and after many painful surgeries, he ended up with the nub. I'm happy that thanks to the resurrection he wont be stuck with the nub forever, and that his spirit is whole- but that doesn't mean I can't love the nub.

So there you have, 10 delightful things in my delightful life. Isn't it delightful...delightful like a viking riding on the wings of a tempest.