#BookWorm: What She Knew

Hello fellow readers,

I recently picked up a great mystery/thriller called What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan. This book was on my Amazon wish listed and recommended after reading other books like The Silent Wife, Girl on the Train, and Sharp Objects. It was a mystery about a lady named Rachel who went for a normal Sunday walk in the woods when her son, Ben, disappeared. The story goes through what happened in-between Ben's disappearance and present day police interviews. I found the characters super interesting and relatable. Rachel reminded me a lot of Rachel from Girl on the Train with all of her relationship issues and lack of coping skills, minus being a raging alcoholic. However I must admit that I did guess what happened about halfway through the book. I won't say too much more about that other than it wasn't a mind-blowing ending. I did think it was a good ending nevertheless. Overall I would give the book a 8/10. It wasn't life altering, but it was a worthwhile read if you're looking for a good vacation or plane ride read.

I always find mystery or thriller books intriguing. They just tend to fit with my type of mind and it is my favorite genre. I've added a few more of these to my list of what to read next (this ever growing list). Many of my patients who are retired keep telling me how they read two or three books in a week and I am envious of those summer days when I had all the time in the world to read my time away. Keep sending over suggestions! There are many books being made into movies in 2018, and I am excited to see what the future of book to movie adaptations brings.

Thanks for reading with me,

- Olivia

2017: A Year in Review

Hey all,

I can't believe 2018 is here! It came so fast as per usual. This year was filled with exciting times, but also heartaches and losses. Last year I totally forgot to go through my goals and post like I typically do, but here are some of my favorite things that happened in 2017:

1) Passed my OCN Exam
I was super excited to check this career bucket list item off of my list. Becoming an Oncology Certified Nurse was always a goal of mine, and I was happy to get it done the first time I took it!

2) Took a Disney Cruise
Disney Cruise Line does it best and we had a blast on our Disney Cruise! Highly recommend saving your pennies for this one! We hope to do it again one day once we have a family of our own!

3) Traveled Somewhere New: Savannah, GA
I loved Savannah. The Southern charm presence and AMAZING food made this trip 100% worth it for me. I can't wait to go back someday!

4) Attend a Concert: All Time Low & Mayday Parade (again ;) )
This is a band I have loved since middle school, and seeing them live was always a goal of mine. I was so happy to fulfill that! They played old and new songs and Sondra and I sang our hearts out. If you love or have loved All Time Low, they are worth seeing live! And if you haven't listened to their newer stuff, it's worth it! Mayday Parade was the best I've ever seen them, and loved that they played their whole A Lesson in Romantics album from start to finish!

5) Volunteering More
A lot of you know that I have been involved in Summit Kids at church and absolutely love it! Sondra and I started team leading at church for nursery and it has been a blast! I also have volunteered with a few work events for cancer research funding at Duke which have also been fun as always!

6) Babies, babies, babies
We welcomed little London and Sawyer into our lives this year one week apart in March, and it seems like lots of babies came in 2017! These two hold a special place in our lives and we love visiting them! No babies for team Franek yet though people, so you don't have to ask! :P

2018 is going to hold a lot of exciting things as well. I can't wait to share them all with you! My goals for 2018 are:
1) As always, read more books than the year before
2) And again another yearly goal, travel somewhere new
3) Get Madi Graduated!!
4) Run a 5K in March (wish me luck!! it's been a while!!)
5) Move up the nursing ladder to CNIV

What are your goals in 2018? Even if goals aren't met it is still fun to have some.

Thanks for keeping up as always,
- Olivia :)

DIY Chocolate Peppermint and White Chip Cookies

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Christmas is approaching super quickly and I was super excited to test some new cookie recipes this year! One is a chocolate cookie with white chocolate chips and candy canes, hence the name Chocolate Peppermint and White Chip Cookies! They were an instant hit on one of the doctors that I work with's birthday and a hit again in the cookie bags I made for my co-workers this year. I'm glad they went over well, because I loved them too! They are featured below with some yummy ginger snaps too (one of my good friend's Grandma's recipes) and another one of the ADORABLE pieces of bake ware that I got from my Grandma Sandy last year for Christmas. I really do believe in the power of baked good ;).   

Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 10-12 minutes, Total time: about 30 minutes

Makes about 18 cookies

Here's what you'll need:

Standard mixer

Spatula

Medium mixing bowl

Small mixing bowl

Rolling pin (or something to crush candy canes with)

Cooling rack

2 Cookie sheets

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips melted

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 stick (8 tbsp) butter room temp

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp peppermint extract

1 cup white chocolate chips

4-6 crushed candy cane pieces

How to make it:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2) With your standard mixer, whip the butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and peppermint extract together for 2-3 minutes 

3) Meanwhile, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together well in a medium bowl

4) Melt the chocolate chips at 15 second increments in the microwave, stirring well in-between each increment to avoid burning. Once melted add this mixture to the butter and sugar combination

5) Add the egg and yolk into the butter/sugar/chocolate mix

6) Slowly add the flour mixture into the mixer while on a low speed 

7) Crush the candy cane pieces into small bites in a small bowl carefully with the end of your rolling pin

8) Remove bowl from mixer and add in chocolate chips and candy cane pieces by hand with a spatula or spoon

9) Roll into small 1 inch balls and place onto cookie sheet

TIP: If mixture is too sticky place in refrigerator for 5 minutes or so 

10) Place one tray at a time onto the center rack of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes

11) Let cool for 2-3 minutes before placing on cooling rack 

12) Enjoy!

Madi and I are looking forward to a quiet weekend together for Christmas as we both had to work last week and have to work next week too before heading to Florida for my brother's fiance's wedding shower and bachelorette over New Years weekend. We got to attend Christmas at DPAC last night for our church's Christmas service which was awesome as usual, and spent today resting as I am recovering from a head cold too (yuck). Excited to enjoy rest and relaxation (and hopefully read a book or two) with our time off! 

Thanks for reading,

- Olivia :)