Fake birthday and phone number! / Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

My dad forgot to pick me up AGAIN and detoured to do so, for the SECOND day in a row! He thinks I should just take the bus, but I did call him at 2:45! That won't help him with his memory! At least my sister would have remembered! As it was, I should probably have stayed home anyhow... but since SOMEONE didn't tell me about his Committee meeting, I just went over in blissful ignorance! Don't get me wrong: I love this person (in a platonic way, you perverts :P), but UGH! Eric: DO NOT MOUSE OVER THE BLACK BOX IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED! Oh well... at least I got to watch Jack Bauer go rogue on Doyle and leave him next to a fence, Cheng bargain with Jack (suitcase nuke circuit board for Audrey), President Wayne Palmer collapse with a cerebral hemorrhage / messing up people's names and not being clear with questions, Vice-President Daniels confirm that he and the blonde chick are getting it on (he's MARRIED, but she just wants [to be close to] power!!), Bill tell Chloe that he can't trust her, Morris and Chloe sparring over her illegal use of his workstation, and various other things like confused military guys!

Then we watched CSI afterwards: a movie actor gets killed, and investigation focuses on a rehab centre. Confessions, killing someone's sister, and a noose made out of dental floss stolen from someone else's room.. it's the guy's BEST FRIEND and assistant that kills him! After that, I was ready to go home... dinner was good, and so was this decorative dragon-phoenix tea set I got from my mom! Jon's friend Ray is moving across town tomorrow - that's going to be a big job! Before dinner, Jon and I helped set the table while watching hockey and basketball on TV - debris littering the ice at the Islanders-Sabres game? Man, those are some frustrated fans! (our rookie Jannik Hansen is from Copenhagen, Denmark - YAY!)

Unfortunately, I couldn't go home yet because my mom wanted me to do some stuff pertaining to the cruise for her. She probably thinks I don't ever want to help her out - that is certainly not true, but it would greatly expedite things if she would be clear and specific! Her first instructions: "Open the document and put all the numbers in!" Uh... WHAT document?! There are at least a trillion on the Web / her computer! Once we got that fixed, there was the matter of the booking numbers not seeming to be correct at first. It wasn't ME since I input them correctly - stupid computer having a mind of its own! After my sister and I got the hang of things, I was able to fill out online forms and such QUICKLY... that was a relief! We also found out that my mom has a fake birthday of April 6 (such confusing documentation!), and a fake phone number of 604-273-8844. The travel agent has an unusual name: Oshelia. Seems that SOMEONE was trying for "Ophelia" and missed it by a letter. :P

My parents seemed to think that I could sleep over: um, no. I like my own downtime and space from you, thanks! Besides, I can almost never sleep when I'm in the upstairs room! Not that I don't appreciate dinner and such, but it's human nature to just want a break from people once in a while! Then Mom tried to actively guilt-trip me because the videotape that Randal is currently borrowing has an hour left of recording time on it. She even admitted to it: "Don't you feel guilty about it?" Hell, no. I may have told him that yesterday, but I meant it as light humor and NOT a guilt trip! (I hope he knew that!) Personally, I don't see any reason why we SHOULD feel guilty over it unless we're ultra-Chinese and such! Luckily, Steph drove me home since I'd asked her politely about it at dinner, even though it was almost midnight and she should have been in bed! Good thing, too - I'd go nuts if I couldn't update journal sites since they're blocked with the parental control. I should have saved the episode guide site I'd found last week, too. I think I'll go CRAZY on the Friday that we get back from the cruise - no update except in Gmail draft (which somehow isn't the same), lots of stress, enforced stuff, etc. Maybe I'll have to get someone to help me carry my stuff in at night after Fellowship (I KNOW MY MOM WILL TRY GETTING ME TO STAY TILL THEN, because of past behavior like that), and try not to sleep in the next day (Henry!)... I don't think I want to take any more personal days off from Awana! (and of course, I should have thought it through beforehand - sigh!)


Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are Mrs. Fields cookies that are crispy around the edge and chewy in the middle. Be careful not to cook these too long. I know it becomes tempting to keep cooking these because they don't seem to be done after 10 minutes, but they will continue to cook for awhile after you take them out of the oven, and when cool, will be nice and chewy. Mmm... got milk?

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 twelve-ounce bags semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. With your fingers, place golf ball-sized dough portions 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 9-10 minutes or just until edges are light brown. Makes 30 cookies.