Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix sugar, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl by hand.  Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt.  The dough will be very stiff. You can even use a Kitchen Aid mixer for this first step.  I use the batter attachment and mix on a lower setting.  Just be sure that the dough is well mixed before moving on.Stir in chocolate chips by hand.  You'll need to use a sturdy wooden spoon for this and a bit of muscle.  You can add the pecans, or other nuts, at this time if desired.  Keep stirring and folding the chocolate chips and nuts into the dough until they are evenly dispersed.Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.  The chocolate chip cookiesneed to be this far apart because the dough spreads during cooking.  No one wants to cut the cookies apart after baking. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown.  You may even think that the chocolate chip cookies are underdone, but they will finish cooking through out of the oven.  If you leave them in too long, the cookies will be tough or crispy. The centers will be soft.  Let cool completely then remove from cookie sheet.  I use a flat spatula to remove the cookies from the sheet.  It helps to get them off quickly.  If you try to remove the cookies while they are still warm, the chocolate chips are still very soft and this can cause a very big mess as well as messy looking cookies.