Challenge of Positivity Accepted

This time of year, I hear so many people say, "I can't wait for this year to be over."
To me, that just seems to be a lack of appreciation and gratefulness for life.

Even at my lowest times, I haven't wished for a year to hurry up and pass. For one thing, this whole aging process is not something I'm embracing with love and affection. So, to have another year pass quickly - well...

A friend of mine posted a challenge on her Facebook page that I gladly accepted. She challenged everyone to start the year off with a positive post, either about your own life or about the lives of others. Mine is this entry to my blog -- my gratefulness for life and all that surrounds me.

2014 has been a particularly interesting year for me - full of growth (yes, even a 61-year old woman can grow), fun, travel, love, acceptance and change.

The year was full of trying new things and going outside of our regular comfort zones. We began by cultivating our own vegetable garden; two people who had always kept a prize-winning, well manicured yard, but had never lifted a finger (or green thumb) to growing tomatoes, green beans, corn and cucumbers. We harvested quite a few Seminole Heritage Pumpkins and enjoyed them throughout this past fall.

I was finally strong enough to go through all of my mother's things and donate her clothing and her bedroom furniture to charity, separate some photos to eventually give to other family members and make big changes to what used to be her bedroom and bathroom. ('Though truth be told, I still often smell her in there. I think she likes the changes.) This year, I'll tackle her living room. Everything in good time.

One of several highlights of the year was the surprise visit by my brother, older sister and my cousin and her husband when Mother's memory was honored at a luncheon to benefit Girl Scouts. I will never, ever be able to truly express my surprise when they arrived, nor my gratitude to them for being here to be a part of the celebration. Getting to know my cousin has helped me over a hurdle that I didn't even realize was blocking my journey, and through her, I feel even closer to Mother and Dad.

We've traveled more this year than any other I can recall. And those travels forced me to face my fear of flying and heights - over and over. (I faced them, but I didn't quite conquer them.) We were so blessed to be able to travel to Seattle, Alaska and Vancouver with our son and his wife, seeing sights I never imagined and sharing the love of the outdoors. Being with them - experiencing all that we did together - helped bring me back to life and made me feel good about and accepting of all things.



After 16-years with the same company and 10-years in the same position, I gave my notice and left to start a new career as a development director for a non-profit. This was a huge step and a decision that took me nearly two-years to make. But the very instant it was made, I knew it was right for me - the world suddenly lifted off my shoulders and I felt free. Free of deadlines, free of a 60-65 hour work week, free of the commute - free. For the first time in 10-years, I'm able to live in the moment, and not two-weeks in advance. It's unbelievable how that has changed my life. No longer am I rushing off to cover a story, but rather I spend evenings with my love. I haven't looked back for even one moment. A new challenge, but well worth it at this time in my life.

 

Our blessings continue with a daughter-in-law who understands my emotional attachment to lost traditions as she helps create new ones that have often brought tears to our eyes -- tears brought on by laughter. I look forward to more of her surprises.

 

We'll close out the year as we started it, surrounded by family and friends as the clock strikes midnight. I'm so grateful I can see the light, even if it took me 61-years.

 

Blessings to all of you and your families for a healthy and prosperous 2015.

 

Happy New Year, Mom and Dad.

Super Saturday - The Sprint to Bake, Make and Take

During the holiday season, we have Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday and now Super Saturday.

In my house, Super Saturday (the Saturday before Christmas) has always been the sprint to cook up those delicious goodies that most of us only bake, make or take once a year. (That wouldn't be me. My sweet tooth prohibits such behavior.)

This year, there's just four of us, so I'm not going crazy - just three recipes and fun crafts to share:
My son's favorite, White Trash, traditionally made by my mother;
My favorite, Chocolate Chip Cookies (Mom's recipe tweaked by me);
And one of my mother's favorites, Mexican Wedding Cakes (my little sister and I called them Snowballs).

First up -- What we call White Trash. This is a sweet treat that's so simple to make, and not just at Christmas time. When the horrendous 2004 hurricane season was deemed over, my family celebrated at our Thanksgiving dinner, where everyone had to bring something iconic to the "Year of the Back-to-Back Hurricanes." Because the streets were loaded with trash - palm frons, tree branches, pieces of window shutters, etc. for so many weeks, my mother made her White Trash and had it in little tiny trash can containers for everyone. Clever, right?

White Trash Ingredients
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips                          1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar                                           9 cups Rice Chex cereal

Put cereal in a large bowl. Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler, then add the peanut butter and melt, stirring with a fork. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal and gently stir until all of the cereal is coated with chocolate. Put powdered sugar into a large plastic bag, add chocolate coated cereal and shake until all of the cereal is coated with powdered sugar. Store in an air-tight container.

15-Minute Craft -- You know those metal burner covers you can buy for gas and electric stoves? Turn one over and clip clothes pins to the edge that's turned up. The small burner cover takes about 40 clothes pins. At this point, you can spray paint it, if you want to, but I left mine natural. Tie a ribbon around it and fill it with ornaments. Call it done!

Side bar -- I just looked up and there's my God Wink of the day. My cardinal is back and she's sitting right in front of me on a low branch of one of our cypress trees in the back yard - just staring at me. Thanks, Mom!

Next are some of the best Chocolate Chip Cookies you'll ever taste. The secret to these cookies lies in the oatmeal, a little extra flour and eating them while they're fresh.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients -- 350-degrees
1 cup sweet unsalted butter                                     3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar                                        1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs                                                              1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda                                                    2 1/2 cups sifted, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup one-minute oatmeal                                    18 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy, add both sugars and beat until creamy, then add the two eggs and vanilla and beat until creamy. While mixer is on a low speed, add salt and baking soda. Then add flour 1/4 cup at a time and slowly increase speed of mixer. Add oatmeal and mix until well blended. Then add chocolate chips by hand, stirring until completely blended. Don't scrimp on the chips. Every bite of each cookie will be filled with the sweet taste of chocolate. Note -- I hate spending all day putting cookies in and out of the oven, so I make mine larger than most, using an ice cream scooper. Place cookies on a greased sheet and bake for about 15-20-minutes. Every oven is different, and I have a convection oven, which is another secret to what makes these cookies divine.

15-Minute Craft -- Using hot glue, silk flowers and ribbon, attach a flower and a bow to plastic shower curtain rings. Viola! You have beautiful napkin rings.

We never celebrated Christmas without Mexican Wedding Cakes, and you can see why my sister and I called them Snowballs. These are best with a glass of milk. (Good to leave out for Santa.)

Mexican Wedding Cakes Ingredients -- 325-degrees
1/2 cup powdered sugar                                            1 cup sweet unsalted butter
2 tsp. vanilla                                                              2 cups sifted, all-purpose flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans                                     1/4 tsp. salt
additional 3/4 powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. On low speed, add flour 1/4 cup at a time, then add pecans and salt. Mix until well blended. Form into 1-inch balls (again, I have no patience for this part of baking, so mine are always larger) and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake 13-17 minutes, or until set but not brown. Basically, they'll look about the same coming out as they did going in to the oven. Remove from oven, and place on cooling racks for 10-minutes. Place the additional 3/4 cup of powdered sugar in a small bowl and roll cookies around in the powdered sugar until coated. Cool 15-minutes then roll in powdered sugar, again.

15-Minute Craft -- Have your children/grandchildren help you with this one. Using white copy paper, cut into shapes of the season (Christmas tree, bell, stocking, et.). Have the children color them, spread with glue and glitter, etc. After they dry, turn them over and write the date and name of each child. Poke a hole at the top and put an ornament hanger on them -- Hang them with pride. The ornaments pictured were made by my son in 1981.

What fun! That's my post for this Christmas season. Probably should have done it sooner, but with the children home from school this week, maybe you can do some of this together.

Love to you all. Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and blessings for a wonderful holiday season!


Merry Christmas, Daddy and Mom.

The Children Were Nestled, All Snug in Their Beds

I lived a charmed childhood. My parents did the best they could with what they had and what they knew. I may not have always gotten my way; I may have even been rather hateful in my teens, but the bottom line is that I never really wanted for anything, and both my father and mother loved me unconditionally (a bushel, a peck and a hug around the neck). I have such fond memories of my childhood, and of course, this time of year, I think about our holiday traditions.

For example: my  mother baked and baked and baked for days and days before Christmas, but if my sister or I or my dad tried to snatch one of those home-baked goodies, she'd slap our hands saying, "Those are for Christmas!" She baked enough to feed an army, but because we also had so much other food for our Christmas Feast, the cookies were always barely touched. She kept that up until her very last Christmas.

My little sister and I looked forward to the reading of the Night Before Christmas at the end of the local news broadcast on Christmas Eve. She and I would sit crossed legged in front of the black and white TV, our hair in sponge rollers so we'd be cute as buttons on Christmas morning, and watch as Ralph Rennick of Miami's Channel 4, surrounded by his own wife and children, read the famed poem.

Our next door neighbor, whom my sister and I called Boo Boo, dressed as Santa and came over to our house after the news was over to give us a gift for being good little girls. We'd sit on his lap and giggle and play with his beard, knowing it was Boo Boo, but never saying that we knew.

Then Mother would put us to bed, and we would anxiously await for morning to arrive. We were so determined not to fall asleep in hopes of seeing "the real Santa." Of course, we always fell asleep.

Ahh, the memory of those fun traditions takes me to a wonderful place of childhood anticipation.

Here's a fun, no-sew, no-glue project that you and your children or grandchildren can make together, perhaps creating a new tradition to share with everyone in your family. It's a Christmas pillow that's so easy to make, you can do it while watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Supplies:
fleece fabric, scissors and a pillow form

Lay whatever you are using as a pillow form on top of two layers of fleece, and cut the fabric about 5-inches larger than the form. (I used some old pillows that needed to be recovered, anyway.) And then cut away the corners, about 4.5-inches deep.

Once you have your two pieces of fleece cut, leaving them together, begin cutting the fringe. There's no measuring or worry here. Just cut them about 3/4 of an inch apart and about 4.5-inches long. Cut the fringe all the way around. This is what will be used to hold the two pieces of fleece together as a pocket for your pillow form.

 

Being careful to match the two sides together and using a piece of fringe from each of the two pieces of fabric, begin tying the fringe into knots, tied twice. Tie around three sides of the fleece fabric, leaving one side open for the pillow form.

Now you can push your pillow form in between the two pieces of tied fleece, and then begin tying the rest of it together to hold in the pillow form.

You and/or the children have a soft, new Christmas pillow to nestle on while visions of sugar plums dance in your heads. (And it's completely washable - just untie one side, slip out the pillow form, and put the fleece in the washer and dryer.)

I hope all of you have fond memories upon which to build and help you make this the best year, yet!

 

I love and miss you, Mom and Dad.