The Pay-It-Forward Plate

Today I'm grateful because last week was so rewarding. On Tuesday, I took a plate of Pecan Puffs to my Baristas at Starbucks. When they tried to return the plate, I told them no, that it's a pay-it-forward plate, which meant that one of them could use it to treat someone else to a kindness from their kitchen. The cookies, which came off of this plate, were a huge hit, so I imagine that one of those baristas will take the plate home, wash it up good, and fill it with some other favorite tastes-like-Christmas delicacy.

When I told John that these are my favorite seasonal cookies, he asked why they were seasonal; the only answer I had was that Grandma Natzke only had them at Christmastime in her house. I think they're also a wedding cookie, because some people call them Mexican Wedding Cakes. I've also heard them called Russian Tea Cakes. I just call them Pecan Puffs, though saying Nutty Butter Balls would work, too, since they're basically butter and pecans. Here's our recipe:

So much crumbly goodness; they truly just melt in your mouth.

On Wednesday, I found this written on the lid of my mobile order.

And, in true kindness-boomerang fashion, I got a text from a former student on Thursday after school asking if I was home. I said I was, and a few minutes later there was a knock at the door with a sophomore boy handing this beautiful bouquet to me.

He stayed for a good twenty minutes to visit,

which made my evening so very merry and bright!

Never underestimate the power of reaching out,

reaching back, reaching in, reaching forward,

because the little things are the BIG things.

Another thing I'm super excited about and grateful for

is this Printed Gift idea I stumbled on recently.

They put two of my mom's cookie recipes on a hand towel;

isn't her handwriting so elegant and beautiful?

And the recipes crack me up; just Bake at 350 degrees,

no time or instructions for the choco-chip champs.

And then there's the HS student who asked me to teach her to knit while I was a guest teacher at the high school on Friday. I happen to have extra yarn and needles, so I cast on a scarf for her to knit as a surprise for her Grandma. She asked, "how will I get this thread back to you?" to which I answered, you guessed it, "just pay it forward."

And since my plate is so full thanks to the extra endorphins from unwrapping the gift dubbed the most wonderful time of the year, I decided to use my Kohl's cash to buy some of these tasty treasures and put them in pay-it-forward bowls for a few friends at the HS to enJOY.