Cranberry Orange Cookies

I made Eldon the cranberry orange cookies he loves so much this morning as a surprise for when he got home from the women's shelter. It's been a hectic, stressful week for both of us (mostly for him, since I couldn't care very much less about my grades at this point) and he needed a little perk at the end of it. So I made the cookies, frosted them with orange glaze, and proceeded to make lunch (spaghetti with meat sauce ... so yummy on a snowy day). He was so happy when he came in the door. He'd had a good experience at the shelter and he was about to eat a hot meal with cookies afterward. Life doesn't get too much better in his mind than that. :)

Anyway, it's hours later and I took a little break from writing my essay responses for my last final to text a friend and eat a cookie. But the problem is that it's Saturday, and I made a goal to only eat treats on Sundays. I also made the mistake of having Eldon help me with said goal and he committed to being, as he puts it, "tough as nails, mean as snakes" about it.

So, back to today. I reach for a cookie, the smallest one of them all, and just as I'm bringing it to my mouth and my salvatory glands are preparing themselves to receive it, Eldon flies up from the couch and holds my arm away from my mouth. I switch the cookie to the other hand, frantically trying to get one good bite before he can react, but he's too quick for me. I drop it on the counter and lean over, with Eldon holding my arms back, to bite at it without my hands. But again, he's too quick, strong, tall for me to be able to get that cookie anywhere near my mouth where it belongs.

We're both dying of laughter by this time, and he feels me relax my arms in resignation and leads me over to the couch.

"You're so mean!" I exclaim, still laughing.
He just gives me this look where he smirks and just kind of shakes his head. It would be infuriating if I didn't just adore him so much.

We went back to studying and in a minute he takes the computer off my lap, pulls me over in a hug and says, "Let me hold you for a minute. You made a goal to only eat treats on Sunday and I told you I'd help you. But sometimes that goal changes, I guess, and it's hard for me to keep up. Which Shelli do you want me to be loyal to, the one who set the goal or the one who wants to break it?" His voice is just so gentle and sweet that I know he's being 100% sincere.

"The good one." I say. What else CAN I say?

"That's what I thought." he responded. Then he kissed my cheek, put my laptop back on my lap, and went back to studying his genetic book.

I just love him. That's the whole reason for this post. I absolutely love him.

And here is the bread I made earlier this week. Half wheat half white ... What would that make it, Bryce? I think it rhymes with Hulatto. :) Anyway, I was pretty proud that it turned out looking like actual bread. I'd only ever made rolls before.