The best laid plans...

6:30 PM
Ashton wants to bring cookies to her teacher and teacher’s aide. Rather than make them from scratch, I decide to fake it and splurge with a gourmet organic break and bake.

8:00 PM
Storm clouds gather. I wait, not wanting to lose power mid-bake.

8:30 PM
The fury of hell is unleashed above us, lights are flickering, and I decide to psotpone until the storms are completely past.

9:30 PM
I preheat the oven and slap those bad boys on a cookie sheet. Of course, a circle of raw dough is snagged for quality control purposes.

9:41 PM
The cookies are warm and soft, but still retain their block-like shape. The house smells oddly of sour milk.

9:48 PM
The cookies are brown and hard, and still in their original block-like shape. I throw them away and convince Rob to run to HEB for some trusty Toll House break and bake.

10:00 PM
Rob calls from HEB – there are no lights on in the shopping center.

10:05 PM
Rob is the last customer admitted to the generator-powered store.

10:10 PM
The store is not selling cold or frozen goods due to the power outage. I send him to the baking aisle for vanilla, brown sugar and flour.

10:30 PM
I commence the from-scratch baking that I oh-so-cleverly plotted to avoid five hours previously.

12:00 PM
Done.

6:30 AM
Remember the cookie dough I sampled? My gills are green and I’ve lost five pounds between waking up and right now.