Heyyyyy 2017. I’m sorry I’m a few days late, but hey, I got a snow day.

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Snow days=my favorites.
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Spoiler alert: They’re not my favorite because I love to play in the snow or sleep until 1 PM or watch movies all day long. They’re my favorite because I can get a lot done. I’m a productivity addict, and I have a really tough time sitting around or not getting things done (a.k.a. relaxing).
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So a snow day is like a dream come true because, yes, it’s a day off, but it’s also like a bonus day to WORK. And speaking of getting things done, it’s 2017. And 2017=resolutions. Did you make any? How are they going?
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I like goals, but I’m always a little afraid of “resolutions.” I checked back in on the ones I made for 2016, and I color-coded them. Red for ones I failed at. Yellow for ones I did ok with. And green for ones I killed. Long story short: There was a pretty nice rainbow across my spreadsheet.
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So for this year, I really only made a few fo sho goals that I wanted to hold myself accountable to (because productivity girl also hates not achieving goals and feeling like she struck out), and then I have a little side list of “things I want to work on, but I refuse to beat myself up about if I don’t.”

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This blog is one of the items on my side list. When I started it in 2015, I wanted to post a recipe every other Monday. I kept jennythebaker going at a decent momentum in 2015, but then 2016 was tough. Little did I realize that comparison, life, and crappy photos would get real, and that my initial goal was not sustainable for a person who had a full-time job outside of the blog. In other words, the hype faded and reality set in. Taking photos I liked, coming up with things to say, and getting all of it done in a timely matter turned out to be so much more difficult than I imagined. And oh yeah, I needed to come up with actual recipes. WHEN THERE ARE ALREADY MILLIONS OF THEM OUT THERE. (Seriously-just Google “chocolate chip cookies.” See how many hits you get. Point proven.) Any time I wanted to post something, all I could think of was, “My pictures are so much crappier than (insert name of a pro food blogger). They’re not worth posting. I am SUCH an amateur. I suck at this.”
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But toward the end of 2016, as I started verbalizing this internal monologue to others, I began to realize… I’m not a pro, and I am an amateur. I don’t have a fancy camera, dozens of backgrounds, or millions of props to make my desserts look picture perfect. But I have improved.
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I’ll be preaching this gospel of non-comparison to myself for the rest of my life, but I’m hoping that in my little corner of the internet, I can STOP comparing myself to others and start being PROUD of what I can do and have done.
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So here’s a little something I’m proud of, and that I think is fitting to start off a snow AND 2017 with: Malted Cookies and Cream cookies!

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Listen, we all know that trashing up cookies is my middle name, so here’s yet another piece of evidence to prove that theory. You’ve got your classic malted milk powder, oreos, and chocolate AND white chocolate chips. It all gets mixed up with a nice batch of your classic “I’m just waiting for mix-ins” cookie dough, heads to the fridge (or freezer) for a short vaca, and then heads to the oven for some good old fashioned bake time.
For the record, I think your photography is GREAT! And your recipes are fabulous! Blogging is not as easy as most people think it is, but I’m glad to see whenever you post! Keep up the great work!
Thanks for your empathy and visit, Suz! I appreciate your encouragement, and I admire your diligence. You blog like it’s your JOBS (that plural is intentional). What’s your goal with your blog?
I may be your mom, and just a teeny bit biased. But I love, love,love reading your posts! You capture your personality so perfexctly. And, I can just picture you saying these things to Me while we sit here in the kitchen over coffee and some ridiculously wonderful creation you have just taken out of the oven… after it has had the just barely
Enough time to cool so it won’t burn your mouth off……minute or two. I love
You, jennythebaker! !
Aww, thanks for your encouragement, Mom! Keep me accountable to keeping my voice “me” on this blog! <3