Thursday, January 20, 2011

Invitation to Encouragement

I had a myriad of thoughts and feelings typed then laughingly shook my head and deleted it all.  This video doesn't need an introduction other than an urgent urging to watch it.   Ann Voskamp doesn't need an introduction other than an invitation to read the heart that she scrolls into words on her page.  So, take a moment to watch and listen then head on over to her blog and take a moment ... or hour to read.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Baked No Bakes?

I write this blog post at the risk of ruining a dear friendship.  You see, my friend Sharon will probably be deeply offended and maybe even become ill after reading this.  Out of duty, I'm broaching a difficult subject, for chocolate and peanut butter are held very near to her heart and should not be messed with. 

So, here we go. 

My Tommy has an interview tomorrow, praise God! In hopes of having him well nourished and happy for his interview I started to make some fun chocolate muffins to have ready for breakfast. While my Kitchen Aid was whirring around and around, I had this sudden panic that I wouldn't get up in time to make eggs to go along with them in time, because it takes all of 5 minutes and 72 seconds to heat a pan, through some butter in and fry two eggs. What to do, what to do? Those muffins needed protein! Hmm. Protein. In a chocolate muffin. Hmm? I know! I'll add some peanut butter! Fabulous idea. The peanut butter was very meticulously glopped by spoonfuls into the mixing bowl with all of the other ingredients.  Then, another fabulous idea ... oatmeal!  Yes, oatmeal would add a tiny bit more protein and some fiber too!  Not to mention it would taste pretty good.  So, then the oatmeal was carefully measu  dumped into the bowl as well.

Well, as my mixer whirred at a tiny bit slower pace, my mind started to go a little faster.  Uhoh.  Just how dry are these concoctions going to be?  Should I add milk?  Hmm, if I had extra.  How about just water.  Eh.  OH, I KNOW!

PUMPKIN!  Even more fiber and vitamin A to boot and it would even out the texture beautifully.  So, in the pumpkin went.

When out of the oven they came, of course they had to be sampled.  They were a resounding hit.



You see, I had no intention of defacing a no bake cookie.  It just kind of happened.  I do hope that Sharon will be able to forgive me.  Maybe if I forget to tell her that the original muffin recipe had cream cheese in it she will be less offended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must also admit that while I was waiting for the pictures to load I smeared a bit of peanut butter on the top of one of those muffins rather icing to cupcake like, and boy did they play friendly together!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Gingerly Speaking

Some people bake their ginger bread from scratch. Then, take it and transform it into a winter wonderland glistening with candies and sparkling treasures. Others, buy a kit two weeks after Christmas on clearance, 98.897% off to be exact, smear the "icing" on the "cookies", then fight over the "candies" to splat on top before praying that they won't break a tooth. Then they wash it down with sparkling apple cider (only 77.931% off after new Years) ...

In those "other" people's defense. Perhaps they saw the kit on clearance and thought, "Hey, that would be a fun snowy day project, let's get it and wait for the snow to fall! Who cares if the icing is really mortar with a gummy sugar like substance? They won't eat it, it'll just be for fun. Those candies? It doesn't matter that there is probably more petroleum in them than in vaseline; they won't be eating them, just decorating with them!" So, they bought it and tucked it away waiting for the right cozy afternoon to use it.

Then, a Sunday afternoon not too long later their daughter requested cream of wheat for dinner, made with their very own freshly ground wheat berries that were ground by their very own hands. Who knew that it took freshly ground cream of wheat an HOUR to cook?

Let's assume that then, the exhausted Momma that had been up with sick children for a few days before thought, "Hey! I'll let them build that ginger bread house! That'll keep them distracted until the cream of wheat is ready."

So, they all gathered around the kitchen table eager to build. The "icing" glopped out and failed to hold the house up. The walls came tumbling down like a freak winter tornado went through. That exhausted Momma just laughed hysterically almost causing herself to snort as her 9 year old first born jabbed her in the side and said, "Mom! Stop it! It's not funny!"

After reminding said 9 year old of the appropriate way to speak to her mother, that mother opened the tiny gum drops and popped two right into her very own mouth JUST because she was the Momma and she could.

I'd imagine after that the children just allowed their jaws to drop and try to work out in their brains why Momma was eating the craft supplies. What else could the Momma do but tell them all to grab a wall and hold it out so she could give them some glue to hold down the chewy notions.

I'm pretty sure that if that were to ever actually occur, the children would nibble the cookie around the "icing" and throw away all of the "candy" except for the gumdrops, gum balls, and peppermints since they were the only "candies" that actually possessed taste.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

It was time to move the coffee table ...

You know how sometimes you can just be sitting there folding laundry and all of the sudden the coffee table has got to be moved. That instant. Laundry? What laundry? Then, the chair, and how on Earth did we get this piano in here?

Well, it was just that time for me ... only for my blog's home. I wanted a new header. How could I not have a header with my sweet Jonathan in it? I wanted a cool background. I wanted my home on the web to be ... homey. I won't name any names, but my old blog site didn't want to push their sleeves up and help me move my piano ... well, they would but I'd have to pay them to let me. So, here I am. I'm adding some old posts as time allows.

Grab a cup of coffee and put your feet up for a while. Don't you think the coffee table looks better over here? Now, what about the dining room?