This is the first in a series of lessons in spirituality and theology. It is primarily Christian based although I will try address issues from a neutral point of view. The most important thing you can learn about yourself is this: You are a child of God.So many times, as we talk to ourselves, we describe our imperfections, our weaknesses. But if we recognize that we come from perfection, we soon understand our importance. You are a child of God,...
As discussed Saturday, Moo and I took Phoebe to see Santa.
She did quite well, even if we couldn't get her to smile for nothing. But at least she's not screaming or hiding her face in my shoulder like the kid before us.
And how do you keep a baby's pant legs from riding up? I think I pulled them down about 57 times before this pic was taken and still, there are her legs sticking out like the long gangly things they are (The kid's seriously got my dad's long legs).
This Thanksgiving is unlike any other to me.In 2000, I was thankful for my new husband.In 2002, I was thankful that I had made peace with my dad shortly before he passed away.In 2004, I was thankful that Moo had amazing parents. They stepped up a lot when my mom passed away and were so supportive of me.In 2006, I was thankful that I had a job I didn't hate, a terrific husband, andLast year, I was thankful that after 2 years of trying, I was finally...
I don't bake a lot, but I love to.
This year, Moo and I will be spending Thanksgiving with Moo's family and I am taking pie.
Well, 3 different pies to be exact.
This delicious Sweet Potato pie.
This fabulous Coconut pie.
And this amazing Chocolate pie.
I'm sharing the Sweet Potato pie recipe with you. The coconut and chocolate pie recipes are family secrets and if I tell you, I have to kill you.
Oh My Sweet Potato Pie
Makes 2 pies.
This year, Moo and I will be spending Thanksgiving with Moo's family and I am taking pie.
Well, 3 different pies to be exact.
This delicious Sweet Potato pie.
This fabulous Coconut pie.
And this amazing Chocolate pie.
I'm sharing the Sweet Potato pie recipe with you. The coconut and chocolate pie recipes are family secrets and if I tell you, I have to kill you.
Oh My Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces butter, softened
- 2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 small can (5 ounces, about 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 prepared pie shells, unbaked
Preparation:
Mix butter, potatoes, sugar and evaporated milk until well blended. Add vanilla, eggs, and cinnamon; mix well. Pour into the prepared pie shells. Bake in a 350° oven for about 1 hour, until set.Makes 2 pies.
I've been scrapbooking for a number of years now.I've got to get things together and scan a few of my layouts so you can see how marvelous they are.
Anyway, I've been playing with digital scrapbooking over the last few days and since I'm working on my Photoshop skills, I decided to wander over to Jessica Sprague's website to see what she has to say about the subject.
Turns out she's got a terrific little class to get you started and her classes are on SALE right now!!!
Here's my first attempt at digital scrapbooking...
Wanna make an awesome turkey this Thanksgiving?
Here's my no nonsense, super easy method of cooking turkeys:
What you'll need:
- Roasting pan - either a real one or a disposable one
- Paper towels
- butter or margarine - stick butter is best
- aluminum foil
- salt
- pepper
Now for the steps:
- Get one turkey.
- Thaw out said turkey. In the fridge for a couple of days is the safest way, but there are quick thawing methods in the event that you forget.
- Wash out your sink really well. Lots of hot water, a little soap and then a really good rinse. You'll be using your sink to prepare the turkey.
- Prepare your roasting pan. I have an actual roasting pan now, but in years past I've used one of those aluminum throwaway things. If you're using a real pan, line the bottom with aluminum foil to make clean up easy then place next to sink. If you're using a disposable, just put next to sink.
- You'll want a strip of aluminum foil to "tent" the bird. Pull off a piece that is a little longer than the length of the pan. Set aside but close to the pan.
- Unwrap the bird, put into the clean kitchen sink, and pull all the giblets and other goodies out of the body cavity. You can throw them away or save for giblet gravy or making stock later.
- Give the bird a good washing with cool water. Wash the inside and out.
- Using one or more paper towels, dry off the bird. Skipping this step won't be a deal breaker but will make the next steps more difficult.
- Using an ample amount of butter or margarine, use your hands to really grease up the bird. I also butter the inside of the bird and leave little dollops of butter inside. To prevent cross contamination, I use stick butter for this step and throw away the rest of the stick when I am done. Really grease that bird up. You should see the bird turn yellow you put so much on. If you've done it right, Paula Deen will approve*.
- Salt and pepper the inside and outside of the bird. I've known folks watching their sodium to use Mrs Dash but I think that's a sacrilege.
- Place bird, breast side up, in the roasting pan.
- Wash those nasty birdy hands!!
- Then, take the piece of foil you've set aside and create a tent for the bird. Fold it in half and lay over the bird. DON'T press down. It should rest lightly over the bird.
- Cook the bird overnight in a 275 degree oven. Yes, 275. Yes this is too low for safe cooking. Trust me. There's more. I usually start my turkey before I go to bed.
- In the morning, the house will smell WONDERFUL. BEWARE. You've cooked this bird with the low and slow method so we need to deal with any bacteria. DO NOT DECIDE TO EAT BIRD WITHOUT COMPLETING THE NEXT STEP or you'll spend the next couple of days regretting it!**
- Remove the tent. This will allow the bird to brown.
- Crank up the heat to 375 for 1-1/2 hours.
- Remove turkey from oven. Let rest for about 20 minutes and then lift out of juices and serve. The turkey will be perfectly done and delicious.
** Salmonella poisoning is no fun.
I met my husband in 1998, but I designed my husband in 1992.
My bestest friend and I had a fun idea one night. We would write a list of all the attributes that we wanted in our perfect mate and we would NOT settle for less. BFF's list was well over 100 attributes; mine had a little over 50 items.
What kinds of things did I put on the list? I decided this was to be a serious list so I didn't put things on it like "Must be cute" or "must be awesome"...
Moo and I took Phoebe to see Santa today. Yes, I know it's November 22. Yes, I know that it's not even Thanksgiving yet. But Moo and I decided that the lines would be obnoxious after Thanksgiving and decided to go ahead and do it today.No, you may not see the picture yet. It's going to be posted the day after Thanksgivi...
I am an only child.So far, my daughter is an only child. Our fertility journey with her was not as painful or arduous as others' journey. But it made an impression on me that I will not soon forget and I am thankful for that impression. Why am I thankful? Because I don't know that I would be as grateful for my daughter as I am now. She is a miracle. She is my miracle.But as I said, she is an only child and will probably remain that way. I have...
Phoebe had a very good 4 month check-up on Monday.She's up to 15 pounds 2 ounces and an amazing 26-1/2 inches. The kid is TALL!! I didn't realize how tall she was until I was sitting in the well waiting room at the peds office and met a 9 month old little girl. She was toddling around and was fascinated by Phoebe. The little girl kept coming over looking at Phoebe and wanted to take the baby with her.Conversation with the little girl's mom turned...
My daughter turned 4 months old yesterday. She's getting bigger every day and as this post updates to my blog, we're on our way to her 4 month well baby exam. Yes, there will be shots. But overall, I'll find out how amazing the doctor thinks she is...
I sat her in our favorite chair for these shots. She's such a happy baby. She can't sit up on her own, but she wants to sit up all the time. She doesn't like to lay on her tummy or on her back for that matter. She can't see that way.
Her little face lights up my world.
This may seem like an idiotic question, but what do you do with a baby after they stop sleeping all the time?
Let me expand on this a bit.
My daughter is 3 months old. She's awake a lot more now and I don't know exactly what to do with her. She likes to sit in my lap, so we do that a lot.
She'll sit in the bouncy for a few minutes so I can do stuff in the kitchen.
She occasionally decides that her swing is not some sort of medieval torture device and will swing in it for 20-30 minutes before remembering that it is her mortal enemy.
I can also put her on the floor on the cute little play mat I got for her, but she doesn't like to be alone so I have to sit there with her while she's on it.
Let me expand on this a bit.
My daughter is 3 months old. She's awake a lot more now and I don't know exactly what to do with her. She likes to sit in my lap, so we do that a lot.
She'll sit in the bouncy for a few minutes so I can do stuff in the kitchen.
She occasionally decides that her swing is not some sort of medieval torture device and will swing in it for 20-30 minutes before remembering that it is her mortal enemy.
I can also put her on the floor on the cute little play mat I got for her, but she doesn't like to be alone so I have to sit there with her while she's on it.
I also occasionally put her in the carrier and she has a good time there for a while (here she's trying to eat her hand - a favorite past time).
Of course, now that I look at this list, I realize I've got a lot of options.. so maybe y'all could just suggest some other activities??
This is the ongoing series where I detail how I am screwing up my kid... part one is here, and here is part two5. I am no longer allowed within 10 yards of my delicate baby with nail clippers in my hand. Why? Because both times I've attempted to trim the claws that she insists on gouging her face with, I've nicked her fingers. This clipping has resulting in bleeding (minor), screaming (her - quickly comforted by momma), and crying and curling...
If you've read my blog at all, you probably know that I only post once or twice a week and that in the last few days, I've posted EVERY FRICKIN' DAY in NOVEMBER.I'm participating in NaBloPoMo this month. NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month and was started as a counter to NaNoWriMo which stands for National Novel Writing Month whereupon writers promise to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. NaBloPoMo is supposed...
So as discussed earlier, we spent Halloween at my in-laws' house. This is because:
For the most part, the decorations didn't photograph well, but this one did:
You've already seen Phoebe's costume so I won't bore you too much with photos of her.... well not much anyway.
- Moo loves Halloween and has had a passion to decorate our house every Halloween.
- We don't get any trick or treaters and they get them LITERALLY by the truck load.
- Since we don't get any, we aren't especially interested in decorating for ourselves.
- Gives grandparents a chance to see/hold/adore/drool on their granddaughter.
For the most part, the decorations didn't photograph well, but this one did:
You've already seen Phoebe's costume so I won't bore you too much with photos of her.... well not much anyway.
Unlike most people, I find Fridays to be somewhat.. challenging now.Let me 'splain.Moo and I only have one car. On Fridays, I drive him to the train station and keep the car for various and sundry errands and grocery shopping. This is not the trouble. The trouble is that no matter what I get accomplished on Fridays, I never feel like I've accomplished anything.Today, I've taken Moo to the train station, gone grocery shopping, stopped by the bank...
Today I've spent some time meditating about my intentions and I worked on my vision board.
What is a vision board you say? A vision board is a visible representation of the results of your goals and intentions. If you want a particular car, then you'd put a picture of the car. If you want to weigh a particular weight, you'd find a picture of yourself at that weight or someone else at that weight and put it on your board.
Vision boards help you focus more deeply on your intentions.
Do they work? Well, in August of 2007, I put this picture on my vision board:
and 3 months later I took this picture:
So yeah, it works.
So I'm sharing my vision board with you here. I'm making it my desktop background and will print a copy of it for my ACTUAL vision board in my bedroom. My vision board is in my bedroom because it's the first thing I see in the morning - well besides the lovely and talented Moo - and it's the last thing I see in the evening - except for the forementioned Moo.
What are you doing to make your dreams come true?
What is a vision board you say? A vision board is a visible representation of the results of your goals and intentions. If you want a particular car, then you'd put a picture of the car. If you want to weigh a particular weight, you'd find a picture of yourself at that weight or someone else at that weight and put it on your board.
Vision boards help you focus more deeply on your intentions.
Do they work? Well, in August of 2007, I put this picture on my vision board:
and 3 months later I took this picture:
So yeah, it works.
So I'm sharing my vision board with you here. I'm making it my desktop background and will print a copy of it for my ACTUAL vision board in my bedroom. My vision board is in my bedroom because it's the first thing I see in the morning - well besides the lovely and talented Moo - and it's the last thing I see in the evening - except for the forementioned Moo.
What are you doing to make your dreams come true?I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. Atlanta: the home of Coca-Cola, the best sweet tea in the world, and the middle of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement. Folks tend to think of the south as racist and backward with poorly educated rednecks.My mother had grown up in Atlanta too, went to a public school before desegregation and taught me not to judge someone by the color of their skin. She was staunchly anti-racist and slammed my father for his...
The second part in my ongoing series of how I will mess up my kid... part 1 can be found here4. She can no longer rest on the ottoman in our living room like a jewel on a pillow. Why? 'Cause she rolled right off of it today. Scared the hell outta me, but she's ok. She cried for all of 30 seconds and was quickly comforted. I'm paranoid enough that I immediately went to Dr Google to look up concussions to see if Phoebe had o...
Tomorrow is Election Day here in the states. While I've not been blatant about my pick - well unless you count the little sign over to the right of my blog page - I will say that I have already voted.I voted for Barack Obama.I have felt that Obama would be an excellent president ever since he spoke at the DNC back in 2004. After that, I read his book The Audacity of Hope and confirmed that his views on many subjects - politically, socially - mirror...
I had intended to start this a few days ago, but a cold, coupled with going out of town and my daughter's first Halloween, just pushed everything back.Over the next 100 days, I will focus on the following goals:I have a successful home based business where I use all the skills I really like to make a great income. I get to use my HR and payroll skills and knowledge every day. I use my creativity to solve problems and create products.I am healthier...
We just got home from visiting Moo's family over the weekend.
We decorated their house for Halloween since they get kids by the truck load and we get NO - I mean ZERO trick-or-treaters. Halloween is Moo's favorite holiday so we got to try out several props... I've got pictures coming.
So, this is a short post, but I'll share a picture of my little monster with you.
I love the Itzbeen.Oh folks tell you when you have a baby that you must have swaddling blankets (you do) and you must have a wipe warmer (what kind of pretentiousness is that?), but I'm telling you: YOU MUST HAVE AN ITZBEEN.What is an Itzbeen you ask? Well, I could say that it's a timer but that would be too simplistic. It is a timer on acid. It is a work of art. It has prevented more than one argument here at Breakdown Central. It is a GODSEND.OK,...
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