Josey Gregg CAS Blogs

 Over the past week I have been testing out lots of new recipes for my upcoming treat box. I have wanted the theme the box after supermarket treats that are better homemade, so I've been scouring the aisles looking for household favorites. My first thought was the lofthouse cookie: the classic combination of pale cakey cookie with sweet frosting. When I made these they turned out great and tasted delicious because of real ingredients being used instead of what might be found in the store-bought version. My next idea was giant bakery style blueberry muffins. I always think of these with the sugar on top of a sweet streusel bursting with blueberries. I made these with fresh picked blueberries and they were amazing. Much more moist and fresh than the storebought counterpart. So far things were going well! Next I attempted hostess cupcakes: a chocolate cupcake with a chocolate glaze stuffed with marshmellowy filling. I thought these were going to be great...until I forgot the sugar. Th...

 I would consider myself a strong hiker because of the numerous trips my family has taken where we embark on challenging hikes, but I questioned all of this when I climbed my frist 14,000 foot mountain, Mt. Bierdstat in Colorado. The hike was short, but that only meant one thing: it was extremely steep. Going into the hike I was very excited, but also nervous of what challenges the high elevation would bring, since I had never been that high other than being in a plane. As the trail started everything was going smoothly because it was flat and not to challenging of terrain. Then we reached the uphill. As we progressed it felt like it was getting steeper and steeper and each break became more and more necessary. The high altitude caused a headache for me, who lives at sea level and was not so acclimated to this hight, and the thin air made me want to rest every few steps. Despite this feelings of discouragement, I knew I had to continue because I had already come so far and would be...