Splashing Water and Cookie Dough

 What do you do on those lazy days when it's raining outside, and you don't have to work? What hobbies do you have? What do you do to relax and enjoy those days? Today was one of those days. It's Sunday and even while the thought of Terry having to return to work kept haunting me, I did find a few things to do to keep me occupied. 

We decided to run to the store to get stuff for dinner. While there, of course we found many other things to spend money on. Dinner for tomorrow and munchies. Oh, the munchie junk food we buy! Now we have a couple of tubs of low carb, low sugar ice cream at home, but we just couldn't walk past the barbecue chips and the Cheetos. Cheetos is a must in my life. Those crunchy orange delights are the perfect match for movie watching fun. Now that I'm diabetic though, care must be taken to only eat a handful at a time. Naturally we grabbed things we actually found good use for, such as milk and hair conditioner since I was out. But while I'm grateful we can buy things that we absolutely need, I am also giving no shits about that stuff when there are Cheetos involved. 

Sunday also means time to have our conversations about life in general and for Terry to go outside to smoke a cigar. I decided to take advantage of the time he spent outdoors and grab the camera. I'm still adjusting to the device after using a phone camera for so long. It had been quite some time since Terry had used either camera, so this was a must to be able to check it out and ensure all is well with the operating parts. I wiped down the camera plus the camera bag it was packed in. It looks so much better! But this led me into a photoshoot of the flowers Terry bought me on Thursday. I wanted to practice. 

I picked up the now clean camera, removed the lens cap, and began to zoom in for the shot of a gorgeous deep red rose sitting amongst the floral arrangement. It is such a beautiful specimen, with perfect petals and the crimson color. The flower was so traditional yet stood out as a postcard perfect model of today's roses. I zoomed in. Pressed the button in halfway to see if it was the stunning shot I had in my mind. It was set. All was grand. I pressed the button and wham! The photos on the camera began to spin by rapidly, as though I was pressing a fast forward button. I had not even pressed the button for viewing the pictures either. Then a warning came up, claiming there was an issue with the software or some such thing. My excitement was deflated, pulled from me like a child not getting what they wanted for Christmas. 

Terry came in the house, and I explained to him what had happened. He has never seen the warning on a camera either, so we decided to try charging the battery before worrying about anything else on the Fuji. We'll see what might happen. The Fuji was going to be a way to enjoy getting awesome shots of things that were interesting, so I am hoping it is okay. I do have the camera on my phone and while being used to using it, there is no compromise when using a good camera to get those perfect far away shots.

Not being able to practice shooting pictures from the hip made my mind wander of other things to do to keep me occupied. I chose to bake and while baking, write our Sunday post in the blog. The results of the writing are what you are reading. The baking is going well too. I'm doing another batch of sugar-free chocolate chip cookies for Terry and then some raspberry muffins for me. 

When all else fails, I break out the recipes to keep my mind occupied and to remain active to fight off the boredom. Otherwise, it's nap time. Nap time is great, but it also means I'll be sitting up at 3:00 AM, trying to find a show to watch while Terry snoozes away. 

Mm. The chocolate chip cookie dough is so good! Yes, I helped myself to a bit while stirring. It's always a good idea to taste what you're making, right? 

The end result will happen soon. I love the sugar-free version of these. They are so good! Hey, melting chocolate in anything is good! I don't care what the base of the concoction is, just bring on the chocolate! 

This time I chose Hershey's Zero Sugar chocolate chips. I wasn't sure about them and was using Lily's brand with lower sugar, but the Hershey's is actually a great compromise. Much cheaper than the Lily's brand as well. I love Lily's products, but when you can delete all the sugar from the chocolate chips and for a better price, why not? Let's face it, while they're good, the cookies are considered "crap food" as I call it, so what's the difference? 

Freshly baked raspberry muffins are up next. Cannot wait! These delicious fruit-filled delights are so good and do take care of that sweet treat craving. The last time I baked them, they were perfect, with the addition of fresh raspberries. Hot with butter and you have absolute perfection. 

Muffin tops are the best! I removed this one from a muffin to show the gorgeous raspberries cooked throughout the dessert. A slightly sweet base muffin recipe with the tart berries to bring life to your tastebuds! 

I did pick up a couple of steaks yesterday too, so steak, mashed spuds and a veggie for dinner tonight. Afterward, we will be watching the movie, "PS, I Love You" and munching on chocolate chip cookies and raspberry muffins, both sugar-free desserts. It's a good night! 

Of course, this leaves the kitchen totaled out and let me tell you, I can really trash a kitchen! It's one of my traits. But the good thing is, I do know how to clean and will be washing dishes, scrubbing the sinks, taking out trash, and turning on the cleaning cycle of the oven. Things will be back in order quickly! 

Even Jasper is nodding off into laziness. It's just a rainy evening with a lot of relaxation going on. The Macrae household is a wonderful, wonderful thing. 

Jasper, falling asleep while his head is up. Yes, that is a tooth that is loose. He is 14 years old now and is too old to put under to pull those teeth. I love him just the way he is. I feel his adorable "snaggle tooth" gives him character. It doesn't bother him, and his eating habits are the same. 

Well, the cookies came out well and the raspberry muffins actually took a backseat on the "things to accomplish today" list. I sat with Terry while we ate dinner and proceeded to watch PS, I Love You. The movie was cute and is suggested if you've never seen it. Not an earth-shattering, OMG, you will change your life by watching this movie, but very good at the same time. It led both of us into a heartfelt deep discussion about the awful thought of losing one another. 

The film gives insight into the loss of a spouse. Main character, Holly (Hillary Swank) loses her husband, Gerry, played by Gerard Butler. Gerry has passed away from a brain tumor. But he loves his wife so much that he leaves her with 10 messages and suggestions for moving on. 

The cast is filled with big names, including Hillary Swank, Gerard Butler, Harry Connick Jr., Lisa Kudrow, Kathy Bates and more. Beautiful film, touching story, and a great cast. What more does a movie need? Oh, yeah. explosions, CGI, and the like. If you're into that style of film, this is not it. But what it is refers to, I guess from a guy's perspective, is being a "chick flick." Bottom line, it's a heartfelt, character driven film that leaves you contemplating your death. How can you pass love onto those you adore when you pass?

The movie was released in 2007 but is timeless. The premise of the film is to display the love between a man and a woman and how he eases the separation they face after learning of his upcoming passing. He loves her enough to ease her into the idea that her life is going to change and gives her ideas of how she can move forward. He gives her the greatest gift of love he can by staying in her life for a while even after death. It also shows the immense, true love of a couple. A film with a beautiful storyline, an amazing cast, and writing that is funny and yet will leave you needing tissue, it's a great film. Nice way to spend an evening with your partner. Terry chose well, for sure!

Wishing everyone a fun night filled with love and blessings!