10 on 10: May 2012 - The I Almost Forgot Edition.

10 photos over 10 hours.

Remembered to do this mid-morning.

No big girl camera this month.

But it's pretty amazing what the iPhone can catch.

Enjoy!

Linking up here:

Do Something Good: Rainy Day Cookies

So.
If you know me in real life, you know what I do for work.

Somebody got me my first big girl job working in an office nearly TEN YEARS AGO this March.
I hadn't even graduated college.
But I had a full time job secured.
I even got to work with two really great friends, and made many more.

And it wasn't a teaching gig.
I was in a Teaching Program for my Undergrad.
I thought I'd check out the business world for a year or two...

Teaching and Business are two totally different worlds.

Props to the teachers out there. You are worth every dollar. Times a gagillion.
Seriously.

But back to the world I live in.

In the field I am in, rainy days are no fun.
At least for a few of my coworkers.
(Word on the streets is they aren't that hot for teachers either.)

Me? I love the rain. But I try not to bring it up around the office.

Try being the key word.

You can't keep love like that a secret.

As rainy season approached my coworkers would shout out:

"Oh no, rain forecasted Monday!" 

and a few days/hours/whatever later:

"Good news, forecasted rain has cleared!!!"

Last week - there was no such clearing.
The rain was forecasted.
The rain arrived.

I offered my coworkers a little wager.
The first to receive a rain crisis call would win a prize.
From your's truly.

I figured that it might be fun to add a little perk to the first downer of the season!

Julie over at Joy's Hope also encouraged us to Do Something Good to encourage those around us - this month's encouragement, Feeding People.

It took me a while to figure out how I could do this.

After all, I barely make meals for myself.
I'm just not home enough.
And I don't feed children or a family, so it's hard for me to know what is realistic, practical, and tasty for people with different tastes than my own.

But cookies.
I can do cookies.
I can actually do a pretty mean cookie.

A few years ago I  came across a Sweet Potato Raisin Cookie.

You had me at Sweet Potato. And lost me at Raisin.

I am a chocolate chip girl.
Through and Through.

So I took this recipe and I swapped out the raisins for chocolate chips.
Which obviously makes it a gagillion times better.

Here is another fun thing about the recipe,
(if by fun I mean doing more dishes, but in this case I do)
it requires a full set of measuring cups.

One cup, one half cup, one third cup, one quarter cup.
They all get used. (and then washed).
Actually it's almost two full sets.
But you only use the 1/3 cup once.
Except for me, b/c I was missing my second 1/4 cup. I had to improvise for the photo and use 1/3. LAME.
I don't know what makes me love that fact.
It's the nerd in me I guess.

So I am affectionately naming these cookies

"Cuppa Kim's Full Set Sweet Potato Cookies"

So bust out your measuring cups and let's go:

1 Cup: Mashed Sweet Potato (I bake them in foil, pricked with a fork for 1+ hour, and they are turn out mushy! Two-Three small or 1 or less large sweet potatoes will net one cup of mush)

1 Cup: Old Fashioned Oats

1/2 Cup: Chocolate Chips

1/2 Cup: Coconut Flakes

1/3 Cup: Packed Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup: All Purpose Flour

1/4 Cup: Canola (or Vegetable Oil)

(Makes about 20)

Combine everything. And mix.
It mixes together pretty easily, so even without a KitchenAid it is a snap!

I use a cookie scoop, and scoop out drops onto a baking sheet.

And then, this part isn't life or death critical, but I think helps a lot - I use the back side of the scoop to flatten the cookies.

These guys don't expand or puff up or spread out while baking, so the shape you drop them on the sheet in is the shape they bake in. So be sure to flatten, just a bit.

And then bake.

350* for 18-22 minutes.

I bake them until the coconut edges start getting a little toasty.

Let sit for about 5ish minutes to set, and then remove from pan with a spatula. And EAT.

Since these cookies don't have a lot of binding ingredients (think: eggs) they don't set very firmly, and stay soft when cool.

And that is it. They are SUPER easy.

And makes people's rainy day jobs just a smudge more enjoyable.

Coworkers are happy.

Tastebuds are happy.

Tummies are happy.

And for the cheater method - you can even use canned sweet potatoes - which saves you a step - and a full hour. I haven't tried them, but I know people who have, and they still turn out great! (I always bake my sweet potatoes the day before, and in bulk, so I have enough for a batch or two of cookies and sides with dinner).


And last but not least, these cookies are actually kinda good for you (just a little oil, and a little brown sugar)! I think I calculated them about 70 calories a piece. But I will have to double check that.

And also linking up with Heather of Life Made Lovely.

Hi, I am MOD, nice to meet you.

EDIT: MOD STRIKES AGAIN: Somehow this post lost it's pictures do to my technical failings. WHOOPS.


I make it a policy to not put stuff about work on the internet...and this is more about the work space, and zero about my company. All details have been removed to protect the guilty innocent.

***********


I'd like to introduce you to my alter ego.

Maude.
M.O.D.

I have quite the plethora of spiritual gifts.

In no particular order, they are, Excel spreadsheets, Words With Friends, and finding anything about anyone on the internet.

I am also exceptionally gifted at destroying things.

A few years ago, my coworkers started calling me Maude. Well, I thought it was Maude.

It was really M.O.D.

Which stands for Master. Of. Disaster.

I have worked at my office for almost seven years.

It is a gorgeous office. We have views of the Bay and the surrounding area.

Glass everywhere. Open floor plan. Tile. Granite. Cherry finished furniture.

Anytime someone new stops in they immediately compliment the views along with the gorgeousness of the details.

However, in those (almost) seven years, I have maimed the following parts of our office:

The carpet, from an Amish Friendship Bread leak...

The wall from my desk from a teal gel pen that I left open and touching the fabric overnight - it absorbed into the fabric partition...

One time, someone gave me a peel and stick white board that I stuck to the wall behind my desk. I never use it, but I left is up. And a few years later I went to peel it away, only to see discoloration around it...So now I just leave it as is....

And my most epic disaster.
The disaster of all disasters.
I had only worked here a year or two.
And I was sitting at the front shared desk.
And I spun around in the chair.
And heard what sounded like a round of firecrackers.
Or an AK-47.
Not that I really know what an AK-47 sounds like.
And shrapnel particles were FLYING through the air.

The back of the chair, scraped the edge of the desk, and chipped off a million little chunks. Just like this one.

My coworkers were with me. And I think we all froze in total fear.
What had I done??
And could it be undone?

I immediately dropped the floor and picked up the little cherry colored particles.
And then matched each half moon shape to its corresponding hole in the desk.
And I did what any terrified employee would do.
I found the Elmers glue.
And glued each little particle back on.
I smoothed as best as I could.
Tried to make each piece flush with the desk.
And said a little prayer.
That no one would notice.


And you wont believe it.
A few weeks later.
I did it again.
More shrapnel.
More Elmers.
More prayers.
A lot of laughing.
It was holding me back from crying.

Every few weeks, I'd notice that some of the pieces were starting to come off.
I'd bust out the glue. And get those suckers back on.
I did NOT want anyone to notice.

But how do you not notice this.

 

Eventually, the pieces fell off, and were not recovered.

And the disaster area had been noticed.

And no one seemed to care that much.

Cheap quality was to blame.

Not me. 

Thank goodness.

It totally was an accident after all.

Twice.

Anyway, until last week, M.O.D. status was solely reserved for yours truly. 

But on Friday, I walked around the office and saw this awesomeness:

My Coworker (who shall remain nameless..but maybe we should call her Maude) - was fully missing the front of her desk drawer.

Yet the drawer itself was still in place.

And up close:

Sorry for the blurry cell phone pics.

Do you see what Maude had done? 

I was dying laughing and wondering what in the world had happened after I had left Thursday evening.

Apparently, there was something in that drawer that absolutely had to be reached. And the locking mechanism had malfunctioned and the middle drawer was locked shut, and the top and bottom drawers unlocked. The key would not work, and even fiddling with the mechanism with a screwdriver did not work.

So Maude did what any other person would do when it was crunch time. 

She put the screwdriver to another use. And pried the face of her drawer right off.

I think this means I have officially passed the crown, torch, title, of Master Of Disaster onto Coworker Maude. 

Jett Cakes: Take 2

Last Tuesday, I took an inaugural visit to the Jett Cakes Truck - it was fabulous.

When I returned to work that afternoon, I had one cupcake left to deliver - so I put it in the work fridge. When I took it out to take home one of my coworkers asked what I had, I told her about my Jett Cakes adventure (she actually is the one who told me about Jett Cakes in the first place!)

Anyway, on Friday, she decided to track down the truck and get a few cupcakes for her brother-in-law's birthday - and was kind enough to take orders from the rest of the office!

I had decided that I already had hit my cupcake quota for the week, and passed on the offer. In the mean time, I tweeted Jett Cakes to find out what flavors were offered that day.

I probably shouldn't have done that because what I got back was the following:

Today's flavors: chocolate, choc mint, vanilla, lemon, apple, red velvet, banana nutella, coconut, choc/vanilla swirl, caramel fleur de sel

Do you see that last one? CARAMEL FLEUR DE SEL? That would translate to Salted Caramel. I love salted caramel. LOVE.

So, of course, I emailed my coworker and changed my order - and threw in an extra chocolate mint for dad.


Please do not divide by when I tell you the caramel fleur de sel may be the best cupcake I have ever had, EVER.

The coarse salt was generously sprinkled over the caramel colored icing, which made me a little nervous, but at first bite, the zip of the "sel" paired with the sweetness of the icing was similar to that same experience you get from a chocolate covered pretzel, which leaves your mouth saying:

WHAT IS THIS AMAZINGNESS I AM TASTING!?!

The cupcake beneath had the most unique texture, the outer edges had a chewiness to them, a little bit like a a crust that had been glazed with a bit of sugar. Combine the two and what you have is a cupcake that is utterly

Heavenly.

Orange You Glad It's My Birthday?

I am fortunate to work with a group of fabulous peeps who love to celebrate birthday - with cake. Or CUPCAKES.

A few of us rotate making or bringing the treats. Tradition states that one or two of us will whisper (or IM) the plan of setting up the celebrations in the kitchen, while another passes out the party hats. (Yes, we wear party hats.)Usually the Happy Birthday sign is hung at your desk so when you show up to work on the day of your celebration things are festive. Well, as festive as can be in an office.

This year, my coworkers did not disappoint. Cake duty was assigned. Party hats were passed. And of course, Happy Birthday was sung.

I work with someone who could go head to head with Martha (yes, as in Stewart), and win. She has made many-a-Martha recipe for these celebrations. Her cupcakes always take the cake!

Using her near professional skills, she made an Orange Poppyseed Cupcake, sans the poppyseeds (now I can pass that drug test, phew!). A cupcake made from scratch, with real Odwalla Orange Juice in the recipe. A lightly whipped cream cheese frosting, zested with real orange peel.

Can you say yum?