I've been taking lessons in Javascript and HTML from Codecademy the past few days. As part of the interactive lessons, I was stepped through making a recipe in HTML. I've swapped out their recipe for my Mom's chocolate chip cookies. So what is the post? It's proof that I'm learning to code and that my mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies.

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup (1 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup NESTLE TOLL House Milk Chocolate Morsels

1. PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F
2. COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Based on the Nestle Tollhouse recipe

Book Rec: Heist Society

Heist Society is a fiction series by Ally Carter about teen... thieves. But big time thieves - like the ones who switch out the Mona Lisa for a fake that nobody ever notices.

Like the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter, the story centers around a teenage protagonist, Kat, and her friends. Unlike it, the format is more conventional. While each of the Gallagher Girl books is a "report" on the adventures that follow, Kat is simply the point of view in Heist Society. Without  pro and con lists and other characters butting in to say things, Heist Society lacks the whimsical charm of the Gallagher Girls.

While it annoyed me that the Gallagher Girls could sneak out of the school so easily, I was actually completely distracted by the ease with which Kat and her friends travelled the world. I think the series would have been more fun if these thieves-in-training were less slick and more time had been spent building a "world" that they inhabit.

Oh dear, this is starting to sound like a bad review. I really did enjoy them. I finished each book in an evening and I will read what comes out next. I just think that Carter was trying to differentiate the series, but instead should have stuck with her winning recipe.

Rating: This series is Vitamin Water. It quenches your thirst for a new, good read and even has a hint of delicious flavor. But, you find yourself craving a more concentrated taste.


Heist Society Series Book Order
1. Heist Society
2. Uncommon Criminals
3. Perfect Scoundrels (2013)

Book Rec: Gallagher Girls

The Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter is a delightful, witty, and at times suspenseful summer read. Set in an all-girls boarding school (think Harry Potter), centered around one girl - Cammie - and her band of friends (think Harry Potter), they must do their best at school (again... think Harry Potter) while carrying out secret - completely against the rules - spy missions (... not Harry Potter, more Agent Cody Banks). Cammie's mom is headmistress and the background in the first novel carries through to the next - setting up for a serious climactic adventure in book six (which isn't out yet).

Each book takes place during a semester, starting with her Sophomore year. I enjoyed the balance of spy lingo/adventure, quirky friends, and romantic interest. After gobbling them down in a couple of days, I can't wait for the next.

Rating: These are as good as Apple Blossoms (mini apple pies) - sweet, fun, a plot with just enough substance, and you can't wait to have another.

Gallagher Girls Series Book Order
1. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
2. Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy
3. Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover
4. Only the Good Spy Young
5. Out of Sight, Out of Time

Fun Books Recommended for a Busy College Student

Ever since I discovered the Magic Tree House series, I've been a big reader. Big reading - unfortunately - leads to big textbooks in college. This list consists of all the books that I have enjoyed enough to finish since the start of second semester. Every college student needs a list to recommend good, fun books to read.

1. Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald 
2. A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff 
3. Chasing Shakespeare by Sarah Smith - a little dry
4. Mrs. Hudson and the Spirits' Curse by Martin Davies 
5. Sarah by Marek Halter  - a little meandering
6. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks 
7. Shade's Children by Garth Nix 
8. Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots by Abby McDonald 
9. Savvy by Ingrid Law 
10. Dinosaurios al Atardecer by Mary Pope Osborne  [in Spanish - what can I say? I'm a Spanish major]
11. Scumble by Ingrid Law 
12. Getting over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald
13. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella 
14. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
15. Endure by Carrie Jones 
16. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson 
17. Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson 

Rejects: Smudge's Mark by Claudia Osmond [so bad], The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson  [Disney shouldn't write books set in Disneyworld], Martha by Diana Wallis Taylor , The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (WAY TOO LONG! I skimmed it but I want to murder appropriately punish his editor for letting him publish the book without a severe hedgewhacking). Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors (It was somewhat original and fun but it was a skim read - I just didn't care enough about the characters to read their angst). 

I've been watching a lot of The Big Bang Theory, and so when we were cleaning out the cookbooks and stumbled across this newspaper insert from Sunday November 15, 1992, I went "YOUNG AMY FARRAH FOWLER!". (On the show, Amy is a Ph. D. who joins the friend group of Penny, Bernadette, Sheldon, Howard, Raj, and Leonard after being matched with Sheldon on an online dating site.) This is a picture of Mayim Bialik at age 16, when she was starring in NBC's Blossom.

Easy Paper Clifford Craft and Coloring

When I was a kiddo, I made a paper Clifford the Big Red Dog with posable legs and head, using brads/paper fasteners. I recently found the original project and decided to turn it into a vector so that other people could use it. The inspiration for this Clifford project update was an event at the Beaverton City Library called "Book Crafts". I searched the web for ages for Clifford paper projects, posable Clifford, and paper dogs to no avail. All this to say, if you are responsible for the original - please let me know! I made it about 15 years ago?

Here are the links to the printables!

Print or photocopy on red construction paper. After cutting out the pieces, connect the Clifford body parts with brads/paper fasteners

Scalable Vector Graphic

Adobe Illustrator (opens like a PDF)

Scalable Vector Graphic

Adobe Illustrator (opens like a PDF)

Scalable Vector Graphic

Adobe Illustrator (opens like a PDF)