By Sheri Hopkins, Lifestyle Contributor
Hello everyone! I had to take off last week, I had so much going on and I had to get some rest. I’m rested up and ready to roll.
Have I told y’all that crazy things always happen to me? Well, they do, and I inherited this from my mom’s sister, my Aunt Pat. I’m not kidding, crazy things and situations always find us, it runs in our family. It also happens to my niece. Let me just say that I have learned to just roll with it. Like the time I was in a business in Greenwood and this man asked me for money. I had just been to eat, and I had left all my cash for the tip. All I had was my Aldi quarter. I told him nicely how sorry I was, and I only had .25 cents. He says, “he would just take it.” I’m thinking are you kidding me? I literally had to dig and dig to find that quarter and he is standing there staring me down. I finally found it and handed over my Aldi quarter, very hesitantly. Away he went, have no clue what he was going to do with a quarter.
I know y’all know my niece and nephew lost their brother and not long after, their mother. My niece had a little dog named Jolene, AKA JoJo. Not the prettiest dog, not the friendliest, but it was her baby. JoJo got really sick out of nowhere. My niece took her to the vet, and they gave JoJo some shots and some meds. Poor little JoJo did not get any better, so on Friday night she had to take her to the emergency vet. Poor baby had a ruptured tumor in her tubby and had to be put to sleep. My niece was devastated, of course. I was already in Fort Smith, so I took off to the vet to be with her. They put JoJo to sleep, and she let her dad know so he could get the grave ready to bury her. It’s just so sad and my niece is heartbroken. We head to Clarks Chapell to have the funeral for JoJo. We have a group text, so I tell everyone that we are having the funeral at my brother’s house at 8 o’clock. We get there and the vet has put JoJo in a little coffin looking box and we are crying, and everyone writes a message on JoJo’s box. My brother and Peggy get a waterproof bag and put JoJo in it and got things ready for burial. I have on sandals, and we are outside, and I feel something warm on my foot and ankle. Low and behold one of my brother’s outside dogs had hiked its leg and wet all over me. I mean I guess I’m so fat my leg looked like a tree. What in the world? That made everyone laugh and I had to go in the house and clean up. I’m sure I smelled like dog pee the rest of the night. I am 60 years old, and I have never had a dog hike it’s leg and wet on me. First time for everything I reckon. My brother got JoJo buried and we all visited a while. I did notice that nobody wanted to sit by me, just kidding.
This week’s recipe is for a banana pudding cookie. I have bought the ingredients but haven’t made them. I have heard they are really good.
BANANA PUDDING COOKIES
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
13.4 oz. box of instant banana pudding (dry)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
Preheat event to 350 degrees. I suggest you line your cookie sheets with parchment paper to keep them from sticking. Whisk together the flour and baking soda. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the pudding mix, followed by the eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, stirring until a dough forms. Fold in the white chocolate chips. Form the dough balls about 1″ and place on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-9 minutes until set. Let cool and enjoy. Do not overbake the cookies. Have a wonderful week and remember when you are smiling, the whole world smiles with you!
