Painting is Finished!

I eluded to the painting on my last post which "everyone" read. Now, here it is.

What We've Been Doing Lately...

I have officially finished college! The last assignment I turned in for my online class was on Aug. 6th; just so that we are all 100% clear, unless I decide to get a bachelor's degree in the future, I am done! I finished with a 3.6 GPA and all A's my last summer semester. My GPA would have been higher if I had done better when I first started college back in 2001 (I returned to college on academic probation).

Now, I am putting in more hours with my internship at the church to get more "real world experience" as well as put a good portfolio of my work together. Which leads me to the other thing I recently finished, my web-site. I have posted five videos that I have edited so far, with new ones to come in the future.

http://www.wix.com/seankenney/videoeditor

Sarah and I are still training for a marathon, however we have decided to change it from the CIM to the Napa Valley Marathon next March. The reason being that we do things together, and the CIM forces the men and women to finish at different places, and that was not acceptable to us.

In other news, I had a great 29th birthday, thanks in large part to Sarah for my great gifts and the large amount of time and energy she put into planning everything; she made andouille sausage burgers (best burger ever, by the way) and we enjoyed them with Sprecker's Rootbeer. We also went with friends to a cabin near Bass Lake where we wake boarded. A big thanks to our friend Carrie McChesney for taking lots of video of us actually getting up onto the board (video soon to come). Tip for getting up on the board: think, "meatball." :)

I am also nearing completion of a painting that I have been slowly working on for months (or a year), but stopped for a while during school. I am hoping to have it done in the next few days; I might post a picture of it when it is finished.

Nothing Much

Why haven't we updated lately? Because we just aren't that exciting. :(

Not much has happened since our last post:

Sarah still really loves her new job.
I have 2-3 weeks of school left (2 weeks of physical classes, 3 until my online class ends).
Steve and Mojo are still doing very well.

I was training with my friend Jason for a marathon in December; unfortunately he injured his foot doing so. Now, Sarah is training with me. Jason and I will pick up training for something else once he's back on his feet, literally.

The Sacramento Zoo's ice cream social is this Saturday, and we are taking our niece Kaidence with us. It will be our first play date with her, and her first time at the zoo.

Other than that, I'm looking for a job in the video production field now. The good news it that there are lots of those jobs out there. Bad news is that they are hundreds of miles away.

Home Sweet Homewood Suites!

(Top three pics are a few of our new problems. Bottom three was our Homewood Suite)

We are officially back into our apartment as of last Thursday. So, we stayed at the Homewood Suites from April 15 'till May 20th. No, it was not like being on vacation for a month; it was more like,"Would you mind putting most of your life on hold for a bit? Thanks." Yes, the apartment management paid for the hotel, and breakfast/ dinner was provided to us most nights as well.

We are very happy to be back home, unfortunately we came home to an apartment that was not renovated well at all. So, the apartment issues will continue for a while longer until the maintenance guy fixes what the contractor "fixed."

ON TO HAPPY NEWS!

Sarah got a new job! The pay is better, shorter commute, close to zero phone calls, interesting work, nice co-workers, a boss that respects her and an excuse to buy new fancy clothes. What more could you ask for? She is now a Senior Consultant for an executive search firm. So far, she loves this new job. Thank you Carrie M. for the hook-up! :)

I finished my last full semester at American River College; I got four A's and one B! Now I have to take three classes this summer, and then I will be FINISHED! I will be taking a Photoshop class (again), an Illustrator class, and a sociology class. Unfortunately, the graduation ceremony isn't until May. So we will just have some parties with friends and families this summer, and then do the ceremony thing later. Big thanks to Nate Romo for his hours of help on my Adobe Flash projects this last semester. You rock, Nate!

Some final random things:

We loved the LOST finale; we thought it could have been better, but it was very satisfying.
We have started to watch 24 on Netflix. I think we are the last people on earth who haven't watched it yet.
We started drinking decaf coffee at night from home; it's a great way to end the day.
The kitties are doing great. Mojo and Steve play and fight with each other on a daily basis.

Some Things

Goodness gracious it feels like we've dropped off the face of the earth. We've neglected to post any one of the many interesting things that have happened in the past couple of months, so here's a short list:

We celebrated our five-year wedding anniversary with a trip to Mendocino. We stayed at the same B&B that we visited in year two, and we had a (mostly) wonderful time (see below for explanation of "mostly"). I (Sarah) have been watching "Murder She Wrote" on Netflix lately, so I got really excited when I found Jessica Fletcher's house in the town of Mendocino. Sean was indulgent enough to take my picture in front of it.

On the actual day of our anniversary, we got a call at 9:45am saying that our apartment had been flooded by a broken toilet pipe. So, here's what happened:

Sometime on the 1st, the toilet hose broke and began filling our apartment with water (while we are several hundred miles away in Mendocino).

The flooding spills over into our neighbors apartment and he calls the maintenance guy.

Friday morning we get the call from Sarah's brother (who was checking in on the kitties) and told us what happened. They then proceeded to frantically move all of our belongings into another apartment (all while we are still away).

We stayed in the model apt. that weekend and they had new carpet in that Monday. Wheeee!

Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there. We now have a mold problem, since they didn't replace any of the drywall or molding, just the carpet. An independent inspector came out this last Saturday and today and found moisture in all but one wall about a foot of the way up AND moisture in the new carpet, because the cement didn't dry all the way.

So now, we have a large & loud dehumidifier in the living room and a air purifier in the office (also loud). Sarah and I are going to have to spend the next week in a hotel, and professionals are going to come in, move everything, clean it, replace the drywall and put everything back. Did I mention that I am in the last few weeks of the semester when projects and tests are all due? Fun.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but it will probably be awhile before we can do it again.

One last thing, Sarah and I are running a half marathon this Saturday! That's 13.1 miles. Piece of cake.

Update Tuesday 4/27 11:30am: The mold remediation people say it's probably going to be 2 weeks, not 1. At least we're staying in a suite with a full kitchen and our cats.

Steve & Mojo

Steve and Mojo are getting along wonderfully. They play with each other every day, and Mojo likes to lick Steve's head right before he starts to play fight.

That big lump under the blanket in the picture is Steve. He has taken to climbing under there to sleep, and then Mojo finds him and sleeps next to him on top of the blanket. Very cute.

Mojo loves getting into closets. We have closed him in a couple times, not knowing he had walked in; never more than a minute or so because he starts meowing pretty loud.

All in all, it's nice having two kitties around. :)

Craziest Call Ever! I just had to share it.

Steve Gets a Friend

(The cats are trying to scramble my brain with their eyes!)

His name is Mojo, and he'll be staying with us for an indeterminate period of time (he belongs to Sean's brother David). He's somewhere between 17 & 19 years old, but you wouldn't know it from his energy level. He's practically running Steve ragged with his youthful antics. We were worried that they wouldn't get along, but they're playing together quite well. I keep waiting for the moment when we catch them sleeping in a basket together. I guess I'll have to be patient.

If this was my own work...

I'd make it my personal manifesto. My heart sings.

http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2010/01/rules-for-writing-well.php

Homemade Bread on a Weekday!

So, yeah, I totally whipped together a homemade loaf of bread last Thursday. I started the bread in the morning (literally stirred the ingredients together and walked out the door), then finished it when I got home. I had homemade bread on the table at 7pm. If you haven't heard of it already, "no-knead bread" is THE thing this year. It was quick (as far as hands-on time goes, less than 10 minutes), and it was delicious. I even substituted regular all-purpose flour for bread flour, with no discernible sacrifice in taste or texture. It also makes excellent toast, when it starts to go stale. Plus, something really neat is that you can cook it in a Dutch oven, a casserole dish, or any number of round-ish vessels of the right volume. It was so easy, I'm thinking of doing away with buying sandwich bread and instead making this every week. Here's one of many recipes available on the interwebs:

No-Knead Bread makes 1 loaf

3 cups bread flour

3/4 teaspoon regular yeast (not instant)

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups water

Mix all the ingredients in the morning before you go to work. This should take about 3 minutes and leave you with a thick, slightly goopy dough. Cover with a towel or some plastic wrap and leave it in the warmest spot in your kitchen. It should get a 6 to 8-hour rise.

When you come home from work, lightly mist a counter or baking sheet with spray oil and turn dough out on it. Shape it roughly into a ball (a bench scraper is useful here), mist with oil again, and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Let proof for about an hour, or however long you have.

Heat the oven to 450°F. Put a Dutch oven (or an alternative vessel with similar volume) in the oven to heat. When the dough has doubled in size, put it in the pan. You may have to pour it, pry it off the baking sheet, or just roll it in - the dough is very wet. Don't worry if it looks a mess. Cover the pot with a lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes to let it brown.

You can be really sure that the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the side of the loaf reads 210-220°F.

New Year!

Just wanted to give a quick update:

Christmas was great this year; all of Sarah's decorations + 2 cartons of egg nog + lots of Christmas music at home + several "fun" trips to the mall= feeling like Christmas.

New Years Eve was spent with friends again and I won second place in the 80's attire contest; I was going for the Marty McFly outfit, but couldn't get a red sleeveless vest.

Lastly, the thing that I am most excited about right now (which is what actually prompted me to do this update) is that I got all my grades from this last semester; five A's and one B! Not too shabby. :) Five more classes next semester, two in the summer and I will be done (which is 213 days from today, but who's counting?)

More Apt. pictures...

2nd Annual Cookie Exchange

I had a cookie-exchange party last year that went so well that I decided to do it again this year. My other friends have stolen the big holidays (Thanksgiving, New Year's Eve, etc.), so I decided to stick my own event in during the middle of the month of December. I went kinda crazy and obsessive decorating the house for the party. Note: cutting hundreds of snowflakes out of cover stock is rather hard on the knuckles. There were supposed to be 8 attendees, but two of them ended up sending cookies and flaking on the party. Because I am a kind-hearted soul, we exchanged their cookies for them and carried on. I was rather pleased with the selection and quality that showed up this year, and I'm definitely going to carry on the tradition for the next Christmas season. In the meantime, Sean and I have a tray full of cookies to devour.

P.S. I got an awesome cheese to serve with rustic bread as an appetizer. It came from the Nugget Market and is called "Fromager D'Affinois." It's creamy and mild, with just a slight bit of saltiness. I'm in love with this cheese.

SNOW IN CITRUS HEIGHTS!

Sarah and I went for a walk around the mall last night and I thought it was starting to rain on us. The rain was blowing around, so I just figured it was a light rain. But, it was the first hint of snow to come! Very cool.

The school semester is almost over for me; December 17th is the last day. Thanksgiving was great this year; we had dinner with Mom & Dad Kenney, and then on Sunday we had dinner with friends. We also had a surprise birthday party for Sarah's grandma & Kaidence's first birthday party the same day up in Smartville; Nana was definitely surprised.









Hmmm, what else? We put up our tree on Saturday and finished decorating our house for the holidays yesterday. I told Sarah that the last few Christmases went by too fast, so we had to make sure that: the tree was up in time, Christmas music is playing at home, & we need to take frequent trips to the mall to soak in the experience. So far, so good.

We Live!

I had no idea it had been almost two months since our last post. There's a lot of stuff I can't remember that's happened in the past couple of months, so I'll just focus on our trip to Oregon two weekends ago. I don't have a lot of time, so I'm going to break it down in the form of awards:

Best Provision of a Comfy Guest-Room Experience: Patrick & Mary

Worst Cheese & Ice-Cream Tour: Tillamook Cheese & Ice Cream Factory

Best Made-Up Car Game: Sarah, for "Follow Words" (I just named it)

Best Made-Up Car Game Save: Mary, for "caseworker"

Best Use of the Word "House" to End a Made-Up Car Game: Patrick

Best Assassination Scenario: Patrick

Best Catch-Phrase Partners: Mary & Sarah

Best Catch-Phrase Answers: Patrick, for "Jib-jab! Sad!" and Sean, for "Red kryptonite! Blue pants!"

Best Scenery: The State of Oregon

Recent Weekends

Two weekends ago we went to San Francisco to see the "Tut" exhibit at the De Young museum in San Francisco (note: we hate San Francisco; it's a dirty, frustrating city). My parents gave Sean tickets for his birthday, and the exhibit was really interesting. After having wandered through the museum looking at artifacts and art from South America (from the A.D. time period), seeing what the Egyptians were doing in the B.C.'s was amazing. Most of what we were looking at came from 1450-1300 B.C., and the artistry was incredible. Also, did any of you know that there were actually five boxes surrounding King Tut, not just the one sarcophagus? I didn't remember that from my sixth-grade unit on ancient Egypt. Alas, there aren't any pictures, because photography isn't allowed inside the exhibit.

Last weekend (i.e. a couple days ago) I made some curtains for our kitchen. That's right--I MADE CURTAINS! Previous to my weekend project, the only thing I had ever sewn--ever--was one button back onto my favorite peacoat. I had received a small (read: beginner's) sewing machine for my college graduation, so I decided to put it to use. Steve likes to get up on the counter in our kitchen, which means we either leave the blinds up all the time or he messes them up. We've been leaving them up, but that means potential naked exposure (the kitchen window practically looks right into our bedroom at the back of the apartment). So, curtains. Or sew curtains. Either way, I made them. They are nowhere near perfect; in fact, I'm probably going to make some more in a different fabric. However, the important thing is that I finished them, and they are curtain-like enough that they'll do for now. Sean was kind enough to say that he likes them, but I'm not happy enough with them to post photos just yet.

The Rest of August

Sean actually got to have three birthdays this year. We did a Scandia video game/batting cages/minicar race birthday on the Sunday before his birthday with my side of the family (plus Becky & Roshni), then we did a small gathering on Sean's actual birthday with some friends, then we did another family birthday dinner with Sean's side of the family Friday night. Scandia was fun, although they didn't have any air-conditioning inside the arcade. My mom and dad played a first-person shooter together--my mom played with a rather disgusted look on her face (which was awesome). I made Sean's new favorite burger, the Andouille-Beef burger, for his "friend" birthday, and it was generally agreed that they're very tasty.




A couple weekends ago, we took Friday off and went up to Eureka through Sunday. The goals of our journey were thus: to escape the searing heat of Sacramento; to visit Sean's family; and to explore the area's outdoor wonders. The weekend started off with a sense of doom hanging over our heads, because we almost got into three accidents on the way up and because Nate convinced Shelly we were coming on a different weekend (hence, they were not expecting us when we called to say we were 20 minutes away). So: Nate got in trouble and Shelly was a good sport, and everything turned out great (except for everyone else being out of town for a funeral). They led us on all sorts of adventures in the greater Eureka area and generally impressed us with how close they are to all sorts of natural beauty. One of the highlights of the trip was their sewage treatment plant/bird sanctuary. Seriously. You should check it out if you're ever in the area. It was an exhausting weekend (Nate and Shelly have energy to spare when it comes to walking), but super fun. The one disappoint is that apparently local Humboldt County coffee shops can't make a good iced white mocha; we had to give in and just go to Starbucks. Oh well.



To make our August even more exciting, we drove down to San Diego for a quick baby-shower (for my friend Naju)/visit the Martas trip. We had a bunch of fun hanging out with Sharon, Isaac, and Reece at the Wild Animal Park (amazing), and it was great to see my still-skinny-except-for-her-baby-bump friend. We rounded out the day by watching a movie with Sharon & Jake--an unintentionally hilarious stealth-Christian movie that provided ample opportunity for commentary. It was really sad when we left the next day, because Isaac was crying and saying he wanted to go to Sacramento with us. It almost made me cry, too. He drew me a picture later, so I guess all is well now.



That's about it. I decided to not post every new recipe I make, because some of them have been complete flops. However, I made a quick dessert with some leftover berries I had from the farmers' market, and it turned out really well. Here you go (courtesy of Alton Brown):



individual berry crisps
(serves 4)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (about 5 ounces)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, or pecans)
• 1 1/2 cups crushed crackers, gingersnaps, or cereal
• 4 ounces unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
• 12 ounces fresh or frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries work well)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

directions

1. Place the flour, sugar, nuts, and crackers in a large mixing bowl; combine.
2. Work the butter into the dry ingredients, using your hands or a pastry blender, until it is crumbly.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the berries, sugar, cornstarch, and 1/2 cup of the crisp mixture in a medium bowl; stir gently to combine.
4. Divide the mixture evenly among 4 small (7-8 oz.) ramekins. Top each ramekin with 1/2 cup of the remaining crisp topping.
5. Place ramekins on a sheet pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until fruit is bubbling and topping is browned. Allow to cool 15 minutes before serving.

rating: 5/5 (I decided to change my response system so I wouldn't have to remember what people said....)

critique:
I can't imagine using crackers in this recipe, and I probably wouldn't recommend it. I used cornflakes, and it turned out great. Although the recipe doesn't mention it, this dessert pairs well with some good vanilla ice cream.

Friendship Camping and Recipe of the Week

We attended the First Annual Friendship Camping Trip at Collins Lake this past weekend. We have a group of friends that has been getting together for the past couple of Thanksgiving weekends to have a "Friendship Thanksgiving," and the people who started the tradition (and host the event every year) decided to give us something to look forward to in the summer, as well. The friendship part of the weekend was awesome, but the camping site itself was rather dismal (ubiquitous clay dirt, Martian landscape around the lake, and loud, drunken neighbors). We still had lots of fun, and we ate really well. Thanks to the McChesneys for arranging everything and making all the food I brought completely unnecessary. By the way, if any of you out there haven't had a camping cobbler made in a Dutch oven--get out there and do it! It was one of the highlights of the weekend. We did have to leave briefly and come down to Sacramento for Sean's cousin's wedding, but we were glad to be able to attend both events in the same weekend.

On a separate note, this week's recipe isn't new to me, but it's probably going to be new to you. It's my favorite chocolate cookie recipe, and it comes out perfectly every time. I had an urgent need to use up 6 1/2 Hershey's bars that somehow came home with me from the camping trip, and this recipe fit the bill. It came from Martha Stewart Living magazine--I don't know what issue.



double-chocolate cookies
(makes about 3 dozen)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 pound milk chocolate (4 oz. coarsely chopped, 4 oz. cut into 1/2-inch chunks)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Melt the 4 ounces coarsely chopped chocolate with the butter in a small, heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmer water; let cool slightly.
2. Beat chocolate mixture, sugar, eggs, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until just combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture, scraping down bowl as needed. Fold in chocolate chunks.
3. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice-cream scoop, drop dough onto parchment-line baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are flat and surfaces crack, about 15 minutes (cookies should be soft). Let cool on parchment on wire racks.

responses

Sean said: "...." (sound of chewing and contented look on face)
Sarah said: "I think these are better than America's Test Kitchen's!"

critique

I really don't have anything critical to say about this recipe. I would only caution you to follow the instructions and take them out when directed. They may look too soft or underdone, but they firm up quite nicely and form a wonderful crunchy outside/soft inside contrast.

Catching Up

We've been terribly busy (no, honestly--going to bed at 9:30 really cuts down on the amount of time in which we can get things done). Anyway, I haven't made any new recipes for the past couple of weeks. I'm restarting this week, but first more random bits of information:

• Camping for July 4th with my family was a blast (despite some weird family dramas).
  
  
  


• I got a bonus at work that allowed us to pay off my CR-V, with some money left over to spare (which means we now own both vehicles outright).


• We went boating with some friends on Saturday, during which Sean and I both failed miserably at our first attempts to wake-board; however, we did discover that night-boating is awesome.




• We've got lots of trips coming in August, so that's going to be another busy month.

I just hope I can stay on top of these recipes, because that binder is fat with ones to try! This week's recipe was a big hit at Sean's maternal grandma's 94th birthday party, and it was super easy; it came from a website called Allrecipes that I often use (I modified it a bit to fit what I had on-hand). Sorry that there's no photograph, but the lighting in our house at night makes food look particularly unappetizing.

berry trifle

(serves 18)

• 1 package (10.75 oz) prepared pound cake, cubed
• 4-6 cups assorted berries (cut strawberries into slices, if using)
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 package (5 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 container (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed

directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix, milk, condensed milk, and 1 cup of whipped topping; whisk until smooth and set aside.
2. Place 1/2 of cubed cake in bottom of trifle dish or large glass bowl. Brush tops of cake pieces with 1/2 of orange juice. Layer with 1/2 of berry mixture and top with 1/2 of pudding mixture.
3. Repeat cake, berry, and pudding mixture layers. Top trifle with remaining whipped topping.
4. Refrigerate until well-chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 8.

responses

Sean said: "Really good."

Sarah said: "This was so easy! I'm making it my potluck go-to recipe."

Grandma said: "Delicious."

critique

The recipe, as I wrote it, already has some modifications of my own. The original recipe called for one layer of cake, one of berries, and one of pudding mixture, but I thought it would look nicer and be more balanced on the palate with two layers. Also, I was supposed to use frozen berries, but I had a quantity of fresh strawberries and blackberries to use up. I think it would work well either way. Finally, it wasn't nearly as good the next day, so definitely make sure it gets served and eaten within 8 hours.

P.S. The lack of formatting features is driving me crazy! I messed with the bullets and spacing in this post for about 20 minutes before giving up. I don't understand what rules govern the random spacing of bullets for this site.

Recipe of the Week and Random Bits of News

First, random bits o' news: I'm officially back to full-time work (bad news for quality time with Sean, good news for our bank account); David sent us an awesome, random present that promises to transport things, entertain both of us, and clothe Sean; Steve barfed on the carpet again; it got to 112 degrees in Citrus Heights yesterday; I made my first-ever grilled tri-tip last night, and it turned out very well.

Now for the recipe, reprinted without permission from http://www.cookandeat.com/:

strawberry semifreddo
(serves 8)

ingredients

• 1 pint of fresh strawberries, stems and caps removed
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 t vanilla
• 4 eggs, separated

directions

1. Mash the strawberries well (I used a potato masher). Set aside.
2. Whip the cream until it is firm. Cover and refrigerate.
3. Combine the sugar, vanilla, and egg yolks in the bowl of a mixer and beat until it is thick and pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Move to a large metal bowl, cover and set aside.
4. Beat the egg whites in a clean mixer bowl until you get soft peaks.
5. Fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture. Then, fold in the egg whites, trying not to deflate them.
6. Fold in the strawberry puree, mixing just enough to get some nice swirls and streaks but not a solid pink color.
7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. You’ll need to freeze it for well over an hour for more of an ice cream texture. Note: If frozen overnight, let it sit at room temperature for about 10 to 15 minutes before trying to scoop it.
   

responses

Sean said: "Mmmm."

Sarah said: "I would make this again."

Carrie McChesney said: "Light and fresh."

Dan McChesney said: "Like a light ice cream."

critique

I enjoyed this dessert very much, and I would make only a few minor changes. One is that I would probably macerate the strawberries in a teaspoon or two of sugar before mashing them, because they were a bit tart in the sweet, dairy part of the dessert. I would also suggest setting out the dessert for closer to 20 or 30 minutes after being frozen overnight, because otherwise it's a bit too icy in the middle. I ended up pouring the whole thing into a plastic wrap-lined loaf pan due to personal preference, which made for pretty slices. Those of you who know me well know I tend to like very sweet things, but this is one dessert I've found that had a minimal amount of sugar and was still very satisfying (especially with Belgian butter cookies from Trader Joe's).