Yummy Goodies . . . That I Can't Have

One of my favorite things to do is cook - even when I have no time to do it. It's cathartic for me! Plus my second favorite thing to do is give it away. Right now, I'm in a weight-loss challenge and am down 7 pounds. So when I feel the urge to cook or bake, I have to give it away if it's anything very fattening.

The day before yesterday, I spent the afternoon cooking meals for Sean to take to his mom's house. She was having an out-patient procedure done and he was going to care for her for a couple of days. So of course, my first instinct was to think that the last thing they'll want to do is cook. So I got to give all of that away (except for a bit I kept back for the boys).

Then yesterday I had some over-ripe bananas, and if you know me at all, you know it would kill me to throw them away. So I made banana chocolate chip bread and gave it to Seth's teacher and his speech therapist when I worked at his school in the afternoon.

The cutest part is that Seth wanted to give some to Mr. Mike, his bus driver, but I'd only prepared two plates. So when we got home, he found the leftover cinnamon rolls from what I had made and sent with Sean and insisted that we hurry up and get one ready for when Mr. Mike shows up. My sweet boy!

We heated it up and gave it to him when he pulled up, and he was quite appreciative.

So I guess for World Kindness Day, Seth and I were able to make three people smile with really fattening goodness.

I Love to Write

In case you haven't clicked over to it lately - there is another blog that I write on my church's website called In the Thick of It.

Sometimes the posts on both blogs are duplicate, sometimes not. You never know!

Check it out sometime.

Beeeee Kind

Today is World Kindness Day. I think every day should be a celebration of being kind; but alas, it is not.

I have a naturally biting personality for some reason, and I have to work against this a lot. I'm sarcastic, prone to judging people, and can be taken down easily by small situations - situations that are manageable for others. I'm better now than I used to be, but it's because I am constantly aware of what I'm feeling and work to turn it around.

I do not have a hard time being kind to people that I run into. In fact, I try to teach my kids to engage everyday folks that they come in contact with in conversation just to show that they care how their day is going. But honestly, being truly and genuinely compassionate and kind is something I really consciously have to work on. My own emotional inadequacies often hinder this.

My genes are twisted around somewhere, somehow - because my mom is genuinely compassionate and built an entire life as a nurse on this quality. She really inserted herself into the lives of her patients, and they absolutely loved her for it. She cared for them above and beyond what the job required.

Well, let me back up a bit. It's not that I don't feel it, I just often have a hard time expressing it. Ask Sean and he'll tell you about my "bleeding heart" issue. My heart often aches for things when others couldn't care less. I'm always wanting to take people - and animals - in. I feel sorry for people for a number of weird and probably uncalled-for reasons.

But when it's time to express it, I always think the same thing, "Who in the world am I?" I often feel like I would be looked upon as an idiot; like people will wonder why in the world I think I have anything to offer.

Twisted, I know. I suppose true kindness and compassion can be shown in many ways and perhaps I'm not as damaged as I think.

I did actually tell Sean once a few years ago that I wish I could have a job where I just make people's days better. I love the small things that brighten people's spirits. Ya think there's a career in that somewhere? And do you think my experience in the cutting world of advertising and my journalism degree will even matter in that search?

It sounds like I have a future as a Walmart greeter. Though I need to put on about 30 years to qualify for that position.

Happy World Kindness Day! Go be nice to someone for no reason.

I Love Cranberries!

I realize I've neglected posting recipes, like I was asked to do, so here is one of my favorites. And not only is it one of my favorites, it's one I get requests for - especially around the holidays.

I give it away on platters all the time - especially to my kids' teachers. And it's easy!

Cranberry Orange Loaf

¼ C. margarine or butter
1 C. white sugar
1 egg
¾ C. orange juice
2 C. all-purpose flour
1 ½ t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 T. grated orange zest (Imperative! Don't leave this out!)
1 ½ C. fresh or frozen cranberries
½ C. pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional, of course)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in orange zest, cranberries, and nuts. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together butter or margarine, sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in juice. Pour in flour mixture, stirring until moistened. Scape into a greased 9” x 5” loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour, (may have to cover with foil last 10 minutes if top gets too brown). Let stand 10 minutes before removing from loaf pan. Cool on wire rack.

Mmmm, That Feels Good

In honor of winter finally hitting here in central Indiana, I have dressed up my blog in richer, deeper colors - colors that make me want to cuddle up by the fire and relax.

That almost never happens, but I can pretend.

Enjoy!

Let's Get Real.

I just read this in an article on MSNBC about this country's economic downturn and how it could affect movies.

"Even if a nickel no longer gets you a double feature, movie tickets remain one of the great entertainment bargains available ..."

Um, what? By the time I walk into a theatre with my husband and three kids before the show has even started, we have spent between $50 and $60 for tickets and snacks - that must be shared. And it costs just as much if you don't take your kids because then that money goes to a babysitter.

Does film critic Alonso Duralde (the author of the article) know what the word bargain means? I'm going to take a giant leap here and say he's either unmarried with no kids or hasn't a clue what real life is like for most "normal" folks here in America. Or both!

Looks like I'm right on at least one count.

Seriously.

Go Ahead, It's Okay.

Wanna publicly admit that you follow this blog?

Well, think about it.

If so - check it out to the left.

Updated to add: Danielle, for becoming my first official follower, find me at church and I'll give you a hug. Not a prize in your eyes, you say? How about a free goodie the next time I make food for the small group leader training class on December 7th? It's a SWEEEET deal.

And as the first person to admit to reading all of this nonsense - you get to name the followers. Might I suggest something peppy, yet filled with meaning. For instance, "chaotic" in Filipino is "gulo" - how about Gulos?

I am so obnoxious. The constant fabric softener fumes from today's laundry-doing must be settling in.

Oh No You DIDN'T!

Oh yes we did.

What Heidi looked like last week:

Heidi after being groomed Friday:

WHY why oh why? Because she had a few mats, so we decided to start all over. We recently adopted her and the previous owner failed to mention how I was supposed to groom her a certain way. I bathed her and brushed her, but with the wrong kind of brush. So now we know.

And now we wait. And wait. And wait . . . for her crew cut to grow out.

For now, we have renamed her Mrs. Bigglesworth.

Can You Say AWESOME?!

Friday night was the greatest gift - on many levels. The Zipps came through and were able to provide for Sean and me tickets to Third Day through a friend that once worked in the biz. You can click their album cover at the bottom left to learn more about them or visit their website HERE.

We first became huge fans after seeing them perform at a music festival in northern Indiana a few years ago along with Kutless (another of my favorites) and Michael W. Smith. We already loved their music, but seeing them live is amazing. They connect very well with the audience and are just quite inspirational. We happened to receive free tickets to this from a radio station.

When I found out they were going to be here this summer, I wanted to go so incredibly bad, but we are trying to be very tight with our money to pay down debt. So the obvious answer was that concert tickets are not on the short list of needs (which really could be argued against). The day before the concert, I was offered free tickets from someone who received them from one of the concert's sponsors, Habitat for Humanity. I felt good about this because Sean, Alexx, and Joel had worked on building a Habitat house just a few weeks before with our church.

Again - an awesome performance.

When they began announcing the dates for the tour for their new album, Revelation, wouldn't you know - two dates in Indiana were among the first ones! I kept harping on Sean about it, to which he stood firm. Yes, he wanted to go badly as well, but we have financial goals to meet. Fine. Be mature about it.

The Zipps then asked their friend if he could hook them up with tickets, and a few days before the concert - dude came through. And did he ever! Along with the terrific tickets (14th row), he included two passes to the meet and greet after the show. Oh. My.

Now, let's just say this - I'm quite the Mac Powell (lead singer) fan. Sean would laugh out loud at this understatement. It's not so much a physical rush, but an emotional one - the man's voice and the words he sings move me. I'm not even kidding you when I say this - when I was trying to convince Sean to buy us tickets to go and he was standing his ground on the financial plan we have, I actually compared my going to see Third Day to how some people feel when they go to the Billy Graham crusade. I know. But I was just trying to make him understand how much my life depended on doing this. Okay. Now you may laugh. (And my mom is now having flashbacks to how I tried to get my way as a teenager ...)

Long explanation short - I love them. I love them more that I love Keith Urban and his music. And that says a lot. Another important point is that their music has been very instrumental in Sean's walk as a new Christian these past few years. Music is a huge part of our lives as an entire family, so it's no surprise that listening to different kinds of music helps us through many things. There are days when I am trudging through autism, where listening to certain music that reminds me of what I have in my faith is what gets me through that hour to be able to tackle the next issue. So this is a little more than fun for us. It means something.

Of course, they did not disappoint. We had a great time being uplifted once again by Third Day, and were also introduced to a band we weren't aware of, Need to Breathe, and found that we really enjoyed them as well.

We also had wonderful time as a couple, which all marriages need. The concert was at IU Auditorium in Bloomington, so we also had great alone time on the drive there and back. It was a good evening all around.

AND I GOT TO MEET MY FAVORITE BAND. They were incredibly nice. During the meet & greet, they moved around the room separately, so you were able to talk to them individually, get things signed if you wanted to, take pictures, etc. They then moved everyone through so they could all get a photo with the entire band. There are a couple of photos on the website that were taken of us by their photographer that I haven't been able to download yet.

When Mac Powell walked up to me, held out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Mac Powell," I may have grabbed his hand a little too hard - and maybe he thought it was weird when I then smelled it for a minute or so? We were able to tell him how their music has helped in the ways that I mentioned above, then he began asking about our kids and their ages and commented on how far apart they are and that they'd really squeezed theirs together . . . and then I only remember taking photos and asking if I could have his shirt to make a pillow case out of it.

Is that weird?

Fun, fun night. Now I can die.

And the next day I said something about the bottle of water I was drinking from was my "Third Day water" because it was what I got at the meet & greet. A few hours later, I noticed it was sitting on the fireplace mantel. Huh? Sean said he figured I wanted it on prominent display and that no one should touch it. Funny. Funny guy I'm married to.

Wouldn't this make a great poster? Or wall mural?

Having great couple time!

Sean and bassist Tai Anderson.

On the way home, we were recognizing God's hand in all of this. All three opportunities were put before us by others. We wanted to do something, but felt we shouldn't for financial reasons - and God provided. For all three events, all we had to pay for was gas money and, perhaps, a soda or two at the shows.

.

Now I know it may sound silly that we see these things as God providing. But we do, and we are grateful for the experiences.

And the Zipps totally rock for loving us enough to try and make this happen on their end!!

Boo!

Once upon a time when we lived elsewhere, we would sit in our garage on Halloween and hand out warm apple cider and candy.

This is the first year we have done it since moving back here. And as we do much of our life now, we did it with the Zipps! We all had great fun.

Making lots of spider cupcakes ...
Preparing for the evening ...

Ready to go!

Star Wars dudes Seth and Joel.

Even Heidi got in on the fun! Doesn't she look thrilled?

Mr. Zipps (with his injured leg and crutches) and I stayed back and handed out cider, cupcakes, candy, and trinkets and chatted with neighbors while Sean and Susan took the kids trick-or-treating.

Great fun was had by all!