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Finally this semester is done and over with. Thanks goodness! It was one of the hardest I have gone through, but also one of the best.I am not going to waist anyone's time with me complaining.
So to you and yours close, Happy Winter Break!
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I am excited to be home and not be sleeping in a twin sized bed for a few weeks. I am most excited to have a kitchen to make anything I want with my Mom's endless supplies of ingredients in the pantry. My house looks like Martha Stewart threw up all over the place...in the classiest way possible. I will have to admit, I am 100% one of those people who have Christmas lights up all year long, and during the Christmas season, I put even more up. Today I spent the day with my brother, who might as well be my twin. I am so happy he is in my life, and I really do not know what I would do with out him in my family.

Then to embrace of the feeling of living in a Martha Stewart magazine I decided to make my personal favorite holiday season cookies.. I am guilty of making these all year long, but they are in the winter section of my Mom's cook book. They are just chocolate cookies with a little powdered sugar on top. It is a pretty simple cookie recipe, but you can dress them up but making them into different shapes. Usually I make them into crescent shapes, but I was feeling the round shape today. I'm going to share the recipe because they are THAT good. Let me know if you try these out and how they work out for you! Enjoy!

Directions
-Preheat oven to 325 F.
-In a small bowl combine flour and coca. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.
-In a medium bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add vanilla and egg and beat until light and smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl, then add flour and cocoa mixture. Bend on low speed until fully incorporated. The dough will be dry and crumbly.
*This is where you can get creative, I just made mine into cookie rounds with about a tablespoon of dough*
-Place on ungreased baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake for about 15-17 minutes, or until the outside of the cookie is hard but the center is still soft.
-Cool on pan for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a flat surface to cool for a few minutes more. While still warm, roll the cookies in confectioner;s sugar until you are content.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/3 cup of cocoa powder, unsweetened
1/2 cup of salted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

This Weekend

This weekend I put all my feelings on a piece of paper and let them burn with a good group of friends around me... boy did that feel good.

My People

I feel like finding people that you feel like you connect with 100% is a really hard thing for everyone. I never really have a hard time connecting with people, I seem to always find something to talk to with people and I can always connect with someone on some level; I have a hard time finding people who I feel like I don't have to force conversation. A week ago my aunt and I were talking about how finding 'your people' is one of the best parts of growing up.

I have only had 2 best friends my whole life that have stuck through, one of which has been in my life since I was 18 months old. Since I got to college I could never find that group of people where I felt like I was completely who I am. I think like many college kids, I have found lots of groups that I could fit in and hang out with in college but honestly, I always felt like I wasn't ever truly myself.

Finding my people has been one of the best parts of this first semester of my sophomore year of college. I felt like it was something that was completely out of reach last year, and to be honest I came close to giving up a few times. Even though this semester has been one of the hardest semesters of my life because I am facing a lot of challenges, but I can honestly say I am happy with how things are going.

That is because of my people.