Gratitude List

I called to make an appointment with a rheumatologist today (my dad sees one at U of M, which is considered a great healthcare system, and my mom gave me that doctor's number). My insurance doesn't require a referral, so when I see a specialist, I can usually just call and make the appointment as needed.

When I called today, however, I was told that I have to jump through hoops just for the doctor to consider seeing me! I have to get doctors' notes (including symptoms and a diagnosis), test results, lab work, and basically my entire medical chart from the onset of symptoms. I first saw my primary care doctor about my pain in 2015 (that was when it was just my back).

Since then, I've seen four specialists (orthopedist, neurologist, podiatrist, and an orthopedist who specializes in back pain); had an MRI; had two sets of x-rays; had lots of lab work; done physical therapy; seen a chiropractor; and probably other things I'm forgetting right now. This was in four different healthcare systems. Tracking everything down would be a nightmare. Not to mention that I don't have a diagnosis--that's why I want to see the rheumatologist! 

I cried when I hung up the phone. I felt sorry for myself--I was finally feeling good about making an appointment, and then I was unable to make one. I got over it, and I'm not giving up--I'm sure if I call some other rheumatologists I'll be able to find one that will see me without having to collect six years worth of my history. I asked my primary care doctor if she knows of anyone, so hopefully I'll hear from her tomorrow.

But anyway, all of that was basically to say that I'm grateful that right now, my biggest concern is finding a specialist who can diagnose what the heck is wrong with me. I'm lucky that I have good insurance and am able to get care when needed. 

I thought it would be fun to write a short gratitude list. I don't want to include the obvious things like: my family, my house, food, clean water, and things like that. I want to pick out the "little things" that's I'm grateful for today.

1. New socks! There is nothing quite like the feeling of putting on a brand new pair of socks. My whole family has needed new socks for a while now, so I finally just bought some on Amazon. I really wanted to buy Balega socks (my very favorite) but they're so expensive. If I only needed a couple of pairs for running or something, I'd buy them; for everyday socks, I just couldn't bring myself to spend $12 a pair.

I read a bunch of reviews and in one brand, several people mentioned that they are very similar to Balega. So, I bought two packs (6 pairs in each). I got them in the mail yesterday, and they were SO comfy to put on! I have to agree that they are similar to Balega. You can tell the quality isn't quite the same--they are a little thinner--but the comfort is identical. I just imagine I'll have to replace them sooner. (My Balega socks lasted about five years before getting holes!) Anyway, I am grateful to get to experience putting on a brand new pair of socks for 12 days in a row. (Here are the socks on Amazon, if you're interested--affiliate link.)

2. Being able to watch Eli play baseball. (Noah isn't playing this year.) One of the many reasons I love being a stay-at-home mom is that I am available to go to the kids' events, whatever they might be. I've only missed ONE game in 12 years! It means a lot to Eli when people watch him play, and I would feel terrible if I had to miss it. I'm grateful that we have the means for me to be a stay-at-home mom and I never take that for granted.

3. Convenience food. Yes, I know--it's not healthy, but on busy baseball days, it's--well, convenient. I bought some chicken pot pies to throw in the oven for dinner after the baseball game, and they were delicious. (I do remind myself that I need to utilize my crock pot on days like this--I'm just terrible at thinking ahead!) So while convenience food isn't ideal, I am grateful for it on the days that I don't have the time or I'm not prepared to cook dinner.

4. Vaccines. Jerry and Noah just got their second dose of the COVID vaccination, and my appointment is on Thursday for my second one. It will be such a relief not to worry every time Noah goes to school or when Jerry goes to work. Eli isn't old enough for the vaccine yet, but he and his baseball team get tested every week. I know that the vaccine doesn't mean that we are completely immune, but we have greatly reduced our chances of being hospitalized or getting very sick with COVID.

5. My new electric blanket. Jerry got me an electric blanket for Mother's Day, and I love it. I used to have one but it stopped working a few years ago, and I never replaced it. Instead, I just use a heating pad on my back (both because it helps the pain and because I'm always cold). Using the electric blanket yesterday was heavenly! I was falling asleep on the couch because I was so cozy. (Do you spy Jerry in the pic? haha)

I like to think that I am generally a grateful person on a day-to-day basis, but it feels good to write these things out. It's easy to be grateful for the "big" things, but the little things go by unnoticed sometimes. 

And I will end with this: I am grateful for YOU, Friends, for reading my blog all these years. My writing has changed significantly--not just the writing style, but the topics on my blog--and I am still amazed that people continue to read about ordinary me ;)  Over the last 10 years since I started Runs for Cookies, I have made many friends, gotten TONS of support and advice, and had numerous opportunities... and I wouldn't have gotten any of it without you. I do not take it for granted--so, thank you, Friends!

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Photos of My Boys and Me

I was trying to think of a cute Mother's Day post, and I spent a couple of hours going through old papers and drawings that my kids have done through the years; in the end, I decided to forget the idea. If I'd have worked on it sooner it would have been a fun post, but as it was, I was overwhelmed. It was fun going through it, though--I showed the kids some of the pictures they drew or things they wrote. It was kind of sad; I miss when my kids were little!

And now it's the end of the day and I still don't have anything to post. So I'll just share some photos of me with the boys through the years...

I hope all the moms (including pet moms!) out there have had a great day :)

Yikes--that's the most recent photo I can find (without really digging) of me and the boys--and it was from 2016! I know I have to have more, but if there is one thing I learned today, it's that I need to get more pictures with the kids.

A few days after becoming a mom (this is Noah, born in July 2004)

Eli, who was born in January 2006

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HERITAGE RECIPE: Pumpkin Bread

Before I even get into this recipe, I have to say that I wish I'd chosen something more adventurous to make from the heritage recipe book this week. The only reason I made this was because I wanted to make a quick bread (my kids love quick breads for breakfast or a bedtime snack) and I figured if I was going to make one, I might as well pick a heritage recipe.

Even though the recipe isn't anything to write home about, the pumpkin bread is definitely delicious! It's a great recipe for pumpkin bread; there just isn't anything super special about it. When I have a craving for pumpkin bread, I can say this will be my "go-to" recipe. Sometimes, simple is best--and this is very simple! (I'll be more adventurous this week.)

This was submitted to the Rockwood, Michigan Area Historical Society by Donna Kay, in memory of Louella McDonald. I searched and searched, but couldn't find any information about either of them! When I post the heritage recipes, I like to read about the people who submitted them, if I can find any info.

I actually don't even need to post notes for this recipe, because it's simple and specific--I just followed everything exactly as written and it turned out to be delicious! Noah raved about this and probably ate a whole loaf himself. (This makes two small loaves--I used regular-sized loaf pans, but because you only fill them halfway, they are on the small side.)

Here is a printer-friendly version!

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
1 c. pumpkin, solid pack canned
2-1/4 c. flour
1 T. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin; mix well. Combine flour, pie spice, baking soda, salt in a separate bowl. Mix well. Make a well in center of flour mixture; pour pumpkin mixture into well. Stir until ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter into greased loaf pans about half full. Bake 1 hour or so, at 350 F. Makes 2 loaves.

I ended up baking mine for 53 minutes, and it was almost perfect--it was a tad soft in the center, so I would say 55 minutes would be perfect next time.

This is extra delicious with peanut butter!

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Friday Night Photos

I am overwhelmed with all of the kind and helpful comments on my post about my pain. My mom gave me the number to my dad's rheumatologist (my parents really like her) so I'm going to make an appointment with her to get checked out. My dad has a condition called 'polymyalgia rheumatica', which sounds like what's going on with me, but it's extremely rare in people under age 50. Rheumatoid conditions are scary, so I'm hoping that it's nothing like that. But I really just want to know what's wrong with me!

Anyway, it's been a couple of weeks since I did Friday Night Photos, so there are a few more than usual.

Duck has a routine that is as routine as my own--in the evenings, after picking Eli up from practice, I sit down in my bedroom with my computer to write a blog post. It NEVER FAILS that within two minutes after opening my laptop, Duck runs in and jumps on my lap. He insists on sleeping between my computer and my chest. It's really difficult to type, but it's so cute that I can't bear to move him!

And then if I don't pet him or pay attention to him, he reaches out and touches my face over and over until I pet him. He's lucky he's so adorable!

My brother, Brian, is a pilot for Delta--and he was just promoted to Captain! This is a huge deal for him and super exciting. Becky held a little surprise dinner for him when he returned from a trip (just my parents, Nathan and his girlfriend, and my family). Luke and Riley were SO entertained by the balloons--we all had fun just watching them play! 

If you happen to see my brother on a flight, make sure you tell him you saw his picture on my blog--he'd be thrilled! ;) 

I saw this ad on Facebook Marketplace, and thought it was an interesting selling strategy... list your machine as boring. Then I realized that it's actually called a "boring machine"--a machine for boring holes in wood. Hahaha!

I bought a piece of used Pottery Barn furniture (again) and planned to restore it to use in the bathroom. We'd been using my old dresser, but it was really impractical (lots of shallow drawers). I love the pieces I bought for the living room, so I was excited to find this one on Marketplace. It's going to be a while before I can restore it, but it's totally functional now and works well in that space. The cats were all over it when we brought it in!

This was shortly after I woke up (the time when my hands are swollen and the most painful). I was demonstrating to Jerry how my right wrist is really messed up compared to my left (although both of them hurt). In this photo, I was trying to pull my fingertips back so they were pointing toward the ceiling; you can see how there is pretty much no range of motion in my right wrist. What you see in the photo is how far I was able to bend it.

I don't even remember why I took this photo--probably because the three cats were hanging out together.

I went into my closet and I saw a bin of my clothes dumped over on the floor. I went to pick it up and put it back on the shelf, when I saw the offender. Little Duck!

Eli's in full baseball-mode and we've been going to games 2-3 times a week. Right after I took this photo, Eli hit a two-RBI double! He's been doing great this season--he plays catcher and he's really good.

Just a meme that I found hilarious... (lumber prices are INSANE right now)

I'd removed two glass panels from the doors of the tv console I refinished, and while I was cleaning the garage, I gently set them down next to a desk and they seemed to just explode and crumble into tiny pieces. This took a long time to clean up!

This popped up on my Facebook memories a few days ago and I never noticed it before, but look how awesome the photobomb guy is in the background! Haha

While I was cleaning out the garage, I moved something back from the wall and there was a decent sized spider behind it. I got so used to NOT having spiders around (we had the house sprayed last year and there was not a SINGLE spider on or in our house until just recently). I decided that it's time to get the house (and garage) sprayed again immediately. Tim ("the bug guy" is coming on Wednesday. We are going to power wash the house tomorrow to get it clean before he sprays (well, Jerry is going to power wash while I point out the spots he misses, haha).

Another lumber meme--this is so funny! I spend the longest time trying to find decent boards at Lowes--they are usually warped in some way, so you try to find the least-warped-looking boards of all. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Remember I mentioned how the landscaping weeds are calling out to me to pull? Look at this! A month ago, it was just dirt--nothing else was in there. I thought I'd pulled out all of the tulip bulbs, too, because I wanted to replant those, but I guess I missed a lot of them. Anyway, we had decided to start our landscaping from scratch this spring so we dug out the plants that were there. Now, I want to pull these weeds and spray with weed/grass killer before we plant anything. However, since my hands are so messed up, I asked Eli if he'd like to earn some extra allowance money by doing a really good job pulling all these weeds. I'll post a before and after on Transformation Tuesday soon.

This is a project I was working on--I wanted to build a large work bench that could surround my table saw. Right now, my work bench is the garage floor ;)  I spent quite a bit of time working on this, and kept running into problem after problem. I finally decided that it was more trouble it was worth, so I took the whole thing apart. Now I have lots of scrap wood to use, when I can start building again.

Jerry and I were playing Carcassonne and Duck decided to join us. Here, he was deciding whether he wanted to claim a road or a monastery...

And that's all I've got! It's been a LONG day. Eli had baseball over an hour away and it was a double header. We just got home at 10:00 PM. 

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COVID Diaries - Immunocompromised and COVID-19 Positive

COVID Diaries is a series that I started in order to hear from people in their own words about how COVID-19 has had a huge impact on them, whether it's from working closely with COVID-19 patients, or extremely different work protocols, or having been a patient who was gravely ill, or something else. I think it helps to keep it "real"--for those of us who haven't experienced something like this, it's hard to imagine.

That said, if COVID-19 has somehow had a huge impact on your life, and you'd be interested in sharing your experience in a guest post, I'd love to hear from you! Just send me an email at: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. I'm really hoping to hear from someone that works closely with COVID-19 patients--a nurse would be great!--so if you feel comfortable sharing, please do. 

Today's COVID Diaries story is from a woman named Bridgette. When I read her email, my jaw dropped (I won't spoil it, so you'll have to read it in her words). I imagine she is one of very few people who dealt with this particular situation. Bridgette said this is more of a cautionary tale and "certainly not meant to scare anyone, but I think people need to hear about what I've experienced."

So, here is Bridgette's story...

First, I’m a 48-year old single momma to two adult kids (my daughter is getting married in October!) and I live with my 70-year old mother. I had a kidney transplant in January of 2008 and am currently on dialysis while I wait for a kidney to be available. [Donated kidneys last an average 15 years - source]

With my children--Rob and Becca

My immune system is compromised for that reason, as well as from the medication I take to suppress my immune system. With my being immune-suppressed and my mother being age 70, she and I have been insanely careful since we first learned about COVID-19. We actually moved in November and by December, we felt like things were settling down.

We had family over both on Christmas Day and the day after--with never more than eight people in our house at a time. I woke up on Dec 27th with a really bad sore throat but didn’t think anything of it. Monday I had a video call with my primary care doctor who said she didn’t like that I got a sore throat out of nowhere and that I need to get tested for COVID-19.

I got a text from MyChart at 1:04 AM that I was, indeed, positive for COVID-19. Again, I was scared for my mom but also for ALL of the people (in total it was 12 people split over 2 days) that I'd come into proximity with.

Everybody got tested and I isolated in my bedroom. (Thankfully, nobody tested positive.) My mom, who wasn’t feeling great either, would bring food to me three times a day and would leave it outside of my door. I never had breathing issues but was really congested; I lost my voice; I had high fevers at night with some of the worst body aches; and on day three, I lost my senses of taste and smell. 

We got through it and were SO excited in February when my dialysis center had the vaccine available if we wanted it. Hell yes, please!! I didn’t ever want to go through having COVID-19 again. While I got really sick with BOTH the initial vaccine and the booster, it was still totally worth it; I will do it again if needed. 

About two weeks ago, I told my team of doctors that I had been feeling extremely tired, had some gastrointestinal issues and was getting kind of short of breath. All of these things could be contributed to being on dialysis because I’ve experienced them before but she told me to go to the emergency department to get labs done. She wanted to make sure I didn’t have a blood infection or that my dialysis catheter wasn't infected (the tip goes right up to the heart, so an infection in my line would be scary). 

Luckily everything was okay. Well, everything except being positive for COVID-19... AGAIN! I told the emergency department doctors that I had it in January and had the vaccine, so could it be a false positive? They said normally that's exactly what they would think, too, but because I had a negative test in February and two negative tests in March they classify it as a “re-infection”.

He said it’s not common but they’d seen several cases like mine in our area over the last month or so. He said they were sending my test to Albany to be tested for which strain I have because that's most likely why I got it again. It's probably a different strain than the first time and the vaccine may not be as effective against the other strains (the U.K., Brazil and South Africa) as they suspected.

For the record, we were so good at being careful--washing hands, wearing masks, etc., so it came as a total shock that I had it again. Luckily, my mom tested negative after both of my bouts with COVID-19. Also, all of the people who were at our home over the holiday tested negative. Thank God. I was so scared because the people who came were over age 70, with the exception of my 25-year old daughter, my 41-year old sister, and her 2 kids. As soon as I tested positive the second time, I went back into isolation in my room and mom has been leaving food for me three times a day. 

Please, even if you've had COVID-19 and/or have been vaccinated, if you get any symptoms (respiratory, congestion, gastrointestinal issues, etc), do not hesitate to go get tested. Do not feel “silly” or like you’re putting anyone out by getting tested. It’s a lot better to know you have it than to potentially infect others. I just really want people to learn from me because had my doctor not instructed me go to the emergency department, I might never have known--and could have infected a lot of other people.

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I am shocked--not only that Bridgette got it twice, but that she got it the second time after being vaccinated! Bridgette, I am so glad that your mom is doing good--and I hope that you are recovering well, too. Thank you so much for sharing your story!

Here are the previous COVID Diaries guest posts, in case you missed them.

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Taking a Break

Yesterday morning after I got out of bed, I kind of lost it for a few minutes. I just started sobbing and telling Jerry about how I am so sick of being in pain all the time.

At some point, it became "normal" to wince whenever I stand up, or groan when I carefully lower myself down to sit or gasp when shifting positions. It became "normal" to get out of bed at 4:00 in the morning because it was too painful to continue lying down.

Until 2017, I had chronic back pain (I still do, but things changed in 2017, which I'll get to in a moment). I have a very specific spot on my back that has caused me pain from as far back as I can remember. I've had x-rays and MRI's and I've seen back specialists and I've done physical therapy, but I've never gotten answers--just that I have a couple of bone spurs on my T10 and T11 vertebrae. I accepted that I'll have the back pain forever--I know that if I don't stay on my feet too long, it doesn't get terribly bad.

However, in 2017/2018, I started feeling pain all the time--and not just in one spot. It started mostly in my shoulders. Then my arms and hands (when I started having carpal tunnel problems). Eventually, my hips were hurting really badly, and now it's pretty much every joint in my body. The worst spots are my hands, shoulders, and hips. And it's there all day, every day.

I hate to write about it because I don't want to sound whiny. But yesterday, I just completely broke down because I am so tired of feeling like this ALL THE TIME. I want a break! I wish that I knew I would get some relief eventually, but right now, this feels like it will never end. I've seen three doctors and nobody can give me any answers. I hate that it makes me feel like it's all in my head--because it's very VERY real.

Lately, I can't even stir a pot of food without getting tears in my eyes from the pain. Folding laundry, doing dishes, scooping the litter box--all of the daily chores that I never had problems doing--have started causing pain.

When I was talking to Jerry about this yesterday, he asked me, "Have you even taken a single break since you started working on remodeling the house?"

I immediately thought, "Of course I have!" but after I thought it over, I realized that I haven't taken more than a few days off between projects that have me doing physical labor--from lifting sheets of drywall, to sanding wood, to painting, even to contorting my body into odd positions (a couple of days ago, I made a shelf for a bathroom cupboard, and I had to pretty much put my whole upper body into the cupboard to screw in the supports).

When I started working on the home remodel, I became addicted to DIY stuff--and I'm always working on something. There are a lot of things I don't post about because they aren't very exciting--like the shelf in the cupboard--but I always have some sort of project to work on. I enjoy doing it! Restoring that living room furniture recently was so fun and I want to do it again (I'd love to "flip" furniture that I can buy cheaply on Facebook Marketplace). However, I feel like my body has finally had it with me. I haven't been sleeping much at all lately because I can't get in a position that isn't painful.

Jerry said that I should take time off--of everything--for at least a few weeks. I know that he's right. It's just really hard to do! Asking him or the boys to do the things that I've always done makes me feel bad. Jerry insists that he wants to do it--he said, "If you were in a car accident and had to rest for a month while you recovered, would you feel guilty having me do things for you?" When he said it like that, it made me feel better. Still, I'm just so used to doing things myself.

I decided that he was right--I need a break. So, yesterday, I didn't do anything that was physically challenging. I even had to describe to Noah how to trim a chicken breast while I watched him do it (something he should be learning anyways, so this will be good for the kids). The twisting motion with the knife bothers my wrists. I asked Eli to open a can of pumpkin for me today, and it felt so ridiculous--however, using the can opener is very painful in my hands.

I'm hoping that I didn't do permanent damage to my body after all the stress I put on it over the past few years. If I can take a good break now, and hopefully heal my body, I will be very careful about projects in the future--only working on them a little at a time, taking breaks between projects, etc.

My biggest fear right now is that taking a break won't help. If I still feel this much pain a month from now, after a lot of rest, I'm not sure what I'll do. I'm just hoping it doesn't come to that. Because the pain started after all of the physically intense work I was doing, my best guess is that the work is what started the pain. And the longer I go without a break, the worse it gets.

So, it's difficult not to be able to work on things. The weeds in the landscaping are calling out to me to go pull them (they are REALLY bad, and it would be so satisfying to spend a morning pulling them). I've been putting it off because it's been raining so much lately.

Instead, I started a list of things that I'd like to work on that aren't labor-intensive. I want to make a photo project, but I have to pick out the photos first--probably 150-200 of them--so going through photos will take a while. I've been wanting to update the pages on my blog for a while, but I never make time to. My inbox is totally out of control again, so I can work on that. I also want to update and organize recipes.

So, there are a lot of things that I can do that don't push me physically. I'd like to try it for a few weeks and see if I start to feel better. Let's hope so!

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Transformation Tuesday #25 : Pets!

Wow! I was thrilled to see so many submissions for Transformation Tuesday after my plea on Sunday ;) I have enough for this week and next, so I decided to go with a theme today: Pets! There are so many before and afters you can do with pets--before and after adoption, before and after a haircut, before and after telling your dog he's a good boy (try it--I have a few like that of Joey), before and after a bath, etc. Here are a few fun submissions...

My son’s dog, Bo, finally got his summer haircut. He’s an Idaho Shag and was very very shaggy from winter!

- Amber

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We adopted Bully (TK Bulls Eye) in 2012. He was five years old. He always had some stray white/gray hair mixed with his beautiful black fur as seen in these stunning photos in the snow.

Fast forward to 2021 and he's 13 1/2 years old. Some people don't even realize he's a black dog. His dermatologist's admin thought he was gray! 

He went from being the youngest greyhound in our house to the oldest. My how time flies.

- Susan

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This is our rescue dog, Skipper. There’s a lot of abuse in her past, and she still has the sweetest, most trusting soul. She’s such a happy girl. Here she is before seeing the groomer. We think she looks like Bernie Sanders! She doesn’t love going to the groomer, but she loves the attention she gets after!

- Jennifer, Skipper’s biggest fan

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And finally, I thought this would be a good post for an update on "the mangey squirrel". While most of the squirrels that come to my house have names, I didn't get around to naming this one until his fur started growing back.

If you missed the story of this squirrel, here it is in a nutshell (pun totally intended): I saw this squirrel when he'd already lost quite a bit of fur. I felt terrible for him, so I bought some Ivermectin paste (to treat mange) after reading about it on the DNR's website. It was in a syringe meant for a 1,250 pound horse, so I had to be VERY careful about giving him a tiny dose. I put a little dab on a walnut and watched him eat it. The next time I saw him, he'd lost more fur. So I gave him another dose, this time just a tiny bit larger. I have him two more doses over the next couple of weeks, and I've watched over the past couple of months as his fur has grown back in!

His coloring in the photos looks different because of the sunlight/time of day/weather, but if you notice the patches of skin that are slowly filling with fur, you can see that it's him--Patches. He finally has a name instead of "the mangey squirrel", and he's starting to look like a handsome little dude!

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I love seeing pictures of pets :) Amber, I would not have even known that was the same dog--he looks so spiffy with the new 'do! Susan, Bully is adorable--dogs that are going gray from age seem so sweet. I love the pic of him smiling! Jennifer, I'm SO happy that you took in a rescue pup! I LOVE how happy she looks after being groomed. I've never taken Joey to a groomer, but now I kind of want to, haha.

Thank you so much for sharing! Like I said, I am thrilled to have posts on hand for next week (so if you sent me one, I am not ignoring it--I'll post it next week) but please continue to send the transformations when you can. Just email a before photo and an after photo to me at: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com and don't forget to include your name and a description of the transformation. Thanks!

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How to Haunt Your Spouse

I'm really not in the mood to do the Affirmators! card today, so I'm going to skip it for now. Jerry is off work and we were cracking up earlier while talking about how we would each haunt each other if we become ghosts after we die. It all started with a yawn...

When Jerry and I were dating, I remember yawning one time, and Jerry used his finger to tap my tongue while my mouth was wide open. It instantly killed my yawn, and it was totally unsatisfying! If you've ever gotten interrupted mid-yawn, you know what that feels like.

Every once in a while, we'll do that to each other just for a laugh. I don't like having my yawn killed midway, but Jerry despises it--it drives him crazy! (For the record, he started it.)

Anyway, he killed my yawn today while we were talking, and I said, "When I die, I'm going to come back and haunt you by killing your yawn every time!" And he looked as if I'd just told him that I put arsenic in his coffee. He thought for a moment and then said, "I'm going to haunt YOU by turning the toilet paper roll the wrong way!"

And then it was game on. We just picked out each other's idiosyncrasies and exploited them...

Katie: "I'm going to make your coffee turn cold as soon as it hits the cup."

Jerry: "I'm going to turn all the clean laundry inside-out."

Katie: "I'm going to take away all of the Q-tips so you never have any in the house."

Jerry: "I'm going to turn the thermostat up to 69 while you're asleep."

Katie: "I'm going to make the water cold every time you take a shower."

Jerry: "I'm going to put cat hair in your ice maker."

Katie: "I'm going to change all of your preset radio stations to country music."

Jerry: "I'm going to set the autocorrect on your phone from 'there' to 'their' and 'too' to 'to'.

Katie: "I'm going to make all of your movies buffer while you watch them."

Jerry: "I'm going to make the fitted sheet on the bed all wrinkled."

Katie: "I'm going to drop your cell phone signal randomly. Hell, I'll take it to 3G!"

Jerry: "OHHHH. I'll take you off the 'Do Not Call; Registry!"

Katie: "TOO FAR. This is getting out of hand. If you die first, I'm going to have you cremated."

Jerry: "Well if you die first, I'm going to have you buried."

We were laughing SO hard each time we came up with another one. We definitely know which buttons to push on each other to be as annoying as possible, haha. What would be the most annoying thing someone could do to haunt you? It's funny, out of all the things we came up with, I think the one that would bother me the most would be the autocorrect on my phone! I try so hard not to care when I make a grammar or spelling mistake, but I just can't NOT fix it.

We know each other well, that's for sure! And we really started acting like the parents of teenagers when we asked Eli if he knows of any Snapchat filters we could use for ghosts photos. We then spent 20 minutes doubled over laughing at the photos we took. So fun!

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Chick in a Box

It has been one of those weekends that is just physically and mentally draining... I'm going to take the evening to chill and then (hopefully) go to bed early. I'll save my Affirmators! card for tomorrow.

Also, I have zero Transformation Tuesday posts for this week--please take some before and after photos (of anything--before and after a workout, before and after telling your dog he's a good boy, before and after cleaning out a closet... it's interesting, honest!) and send them to me: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Make sure you include your name and a description of the transformation.

I don't even have a photo to post, so here is a photo of Chick in a box a couple of weeks ago...

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I definitely feel like I need a relaxing weekend before starting the week off at the Secretary of State for Eli's driver's permit tomorrow ;)

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HERITAGE RECIPE: Sweet Buns

Well, I am pretty sure I messed up this recipe. I debated even posting this, but these were a lot of work. And honestly, they tasted good--I just think I did something wrong because they didn't rise like you would expect of a yeast bread.

This recipe looked interesting to me because of the note on the bottom: "Important: Serve buns with sliced bologna." I'm used to seeing things like, "serve with rice", or "serve over pasta" or thing like that. The bologna was pretty specific and atypical, so I was intrigued!

(As I do with all of the heritage recipes, I typed out the recipe and followed the instructions exactly as-written. Make sure you see my notes after the recipe.)

This recipe was submitted to the Rockwood, Michigan Area Historical Society by Marcella Rapai--it was passed down from her mother, Dora Gaynier, who got it from her mother, Stella Bodenmiller. Stella was born in 1875 and passed away at age 87. She had ELEVEN children; also, 41 grandchildren, 74 great-grandchildren, and 8 great-great-grandchildren at the time she died. I feel like I did a great disservice by messing up this recipe! Haha.

Here is a printer-friendly version!

Sweet Buns

1 c. milk, scalded and cooled
1 cake yeast
1 T. sugar
1/2 c. mashed potatoes
4-1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg

Add yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar to cooled milk. Mix mashed potatoes and 2 cups flour to yeast mixture. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour in a warm place. Blend salt, sugar, shortening and egg. Then add to the yeast mixture and the remaining 2-1/2 cups flour. Knead. Let rise in a warm place, covered, for 2 hours. Grease a cookie sheet and form the dough into 2 or 2-1/2 inch balls and slightly flatten. Let rise again for 1-1/2 hours in warm place. Before baking, rub top of bun with milk and sprinkle a little sugar on top. Bake at 400 F about 20 minutes or until brown. When baked, size will be of a nice hamburger bun. Important: Serve buns with sliced bologna.

My notes:

First, I'd never used scalded milk before, so I had to look that up. In older recipes, before milk was pasteurized, scalding the milk (cooking on the stove until it just starts to steam) killed bacteria. This is likely the reason for the above recipe calling for scalded milk. However, I also read this:

"In bread making, scalding the milk serves a more scientific purpose. The whey protein in milk can weaken gluten and prevent the dough from rising properly. Scalding the milk deactivates the protein so this doesn’t happen." (source)

I scalded the milk and let it cool--it was about room temperature, maybe a little warmer, when I moved on with the recipe.

I'd heard of a cake of yeast before, I didn't know how much yeast that meant. When I googled it, I found that a "cake" was the same as a packet (2-1/4 teaspoons).

For the mashed potatoes, I wasn't sure if I should use just potatoes (cooked and mashed) or "mashed potatoes" (meaning with milk, butter, and salt). After cooking the potatoes and mashing them, I realized that I would have to add something because they were really dry and crumbly. I just mixed in enough milk and butter to make them look like typical mashed potatoes. I let those cool in the fridge.

The other ingredients are self-explanatory.

I've made bread plenty of times, so I know what dough looks like when it rises... and this just wasn't happening. It said to let it rise in a "warm place", and my house wasn't exactly warm (I didn't have the heat on, and the temp was about 64 degrees). It's also possible that I didn't give it enough time to rise--but I'm almost positive I did. I set the stove timer each time I did one of the steps, but I forgot to set it for the last part. Still, the dough didn't really change size at all.

Per the recipe, I rubbed a little milk on them and sprinkled with sugar before baking. When I pulled them out of the oven, the tops didn't really brown, but the bottom looked burned. I was SO bummed! I should have done two batches so that if I burned the first, I could try to salvage the second.

Because the dough didn't rise, the buns came out only slightly bigger than when they went into the oven... but nowhere near the size of a "nice hamburger bun". They were much denser than I expected, too.

When I tasted one, however, it was delicious! I even ate the burned bottom and it wasn't bad--I think it looked worse than it was because the sugar I'd sprinkled had caramelized on the bottom of the pan.

Anyway, I still wanted to try them with bologna. I wasn't sure if I should use cold bologna or if I should fry it (I've never had fried bologna, but I know that people eat it that way). I tasted it both ways, and I think the fried bologna is better. (The only way I ever ate bologna as a kid was spread with ketchup and rolled up--I would exclaim how gross that sounds, but honestly, it's kind of nostalgic! Haha.) The buns were much smaller than the slices of bologna, so I cut the bologna into quarters and layered it on the buns.

I can definitely see why the recipes says to serve with bologna--it was really good! The saltiness of the bologna went perfectly with the sweet buns. I didn't add any condiments or anything--just the bologna on the (sliced) bun. Maybe it's because the buns were so dense, but these were SUPER filling. They were the size of sliders, and I'd planned to eat three, but I could only finish two.

I'm going to try to make these buns again and see if I can get them to rise how they are supposed to. I read a little about how bread recipes with a lot of sugar need more yeast--so maybe I'll try adding more yeast. But still, if this recipe has been around for 150 years, I imagine it's probably already perfected. I may have just messed something up and didn't realize it.

If any of you make the recipe, please let me know how it turned out and if the dough rose like it was supposed to!

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