Thank God for a New Year :)

The days between Christmas and New Years Day tend to be my most contemplative of the year.  It's a time of re-evaluating who I am and where I'm at.  What do I want to keep and what do I want to chuck?  (chunk?)  And that question is regarding attitudes, behaviors, and patterns more than stuff - although I hopefully do some house cleaning as well :).  Hopefully, it's not a time of meaningless resolutions but of acknowledging that the days are meaningful yet fleeting. 
2011 was rough.  And that's an understatement.  I won't go through the laundry list of why, just trust me here.  I even tried to start the year over mid-way in June, but that didn't really work out.  I know it was all for a reason.  I know I'll look back at some point with greater understanding, and maybe even consider myself a youngster despite this year's challenge of aging.  I get that I'm supposed to stop feeling like a little girl and come out with guns blazing a la grown a** action hero (meets Mother Teresa, of course).  I have officially broken up with people pleasing, even if it's like the bad boyfriend you stay with for 10 years just because it's comfortable.

The lessons I am most grateful for from 2011are:

• Always show love and kindness to people when you have the chance.  Don't hold back.
• Be full of grace and mercy.
• Joy comes from gratitude, and there is always something to be thankful for.  Always.  Somewhere.  Even if it's hiding under a rock.
• It is not possible to always avoid conflict.  Sometimes doing the right thing creates conflict and ya gotta be grown enough to take it.
• And most of all:  "This is always the thing:  God is always good and we are always loved."  Ann Voskamp 

May 2012 bring you more blessings than you know what to do with :).

Babies!!!

Earlier this holiday season, I was pretty sad about not having my own kiddos.  I think God's sense of humor has kicked in because it's been all-baby-all-the-time since.  Christmas break gave me a great chance to hang out with my friend Huddy-huddy-who-who (Hudsy, Huds, etc.) and catch up on all that's been going on in his first few months of life.  I'm not sure exactly what has gone on, but he talked to me about it for about an hour.
Then, I had the opportunity to serve for one of our Christmas Eve services.  Where we had 17 kids and 3 workers (before a kind soul or 2 jumped in).  Three or four of these were babies.
On Christmas, my new great-nephew Eli Thomas was at my house (though still in his momma's belly).
Yesterday, I had the chance to drive to Nashville to meet my new baby girl Clara Jane on her 5th month birthday!  Finally!!  And, I had great riding buddies in two sisters aged 16 months and 4 years. (Still waiting to meet Ashley Caroline). 
And last but not least, I got to have lunch with my buddy Marcus today and feed him some peaches.

Yes, I have some adorable pictures of these babies but I'm extra cautious about posting pictures of babies that aren't actually mine.

Basically, I have zero shortage of babies to love and have had a wonderful baby-filled Christmas that has made my heart pretty stinking full and for that I am super grateful!

The Circle Maker

The new book The Circle Maker is lighting up the twitterverse.  Granted, I could think this because I follow the author on twitter :).  This book was written by my former DC pastor, Mark Batterson.  He likes to take stories from the Bible that seem hidden and make them real and applicable.  This book sounds to be about a guy named Honi that boldly drew a circle around his prayer for his people.

My current pastor, Chris Hodges, tweeted that he is reading this book as our church gets ready to enter 21 Days of Prayer in January.  Sounded like a good idea to me, so I just ordered the book to do the same.  Not because I'm a lemming, but because I want to and think the book sounds right on time :).  I'm hoping to start 2012 with some intentional prayer action.

By the way, going to National Community Church (aka - The Theater Church) is probably why I never thought Church of the Highlands was weird.  NCC has 7 locations and started in a movie theater, and sometimes you catch a sermon live and sometimes you watch it on a screen.  They had free coffee and donuts every morning, which really brought in the homeless surrounding Union Station, which meant you never knew who you were going to sit by during service - just as it should be.  While I lived there, their dream of operating a coffee shop came true and they opened Ebeneezer's, which I was thrilled to visit again this summer.  I did a lot of church visits during my time in DC and it's an extra weird place to look for a church - but I was always impressed by the heart and leadership of NCC.  Much like us at Highlands, they often found themselves being part of a glorious and unexpected movement of God.

Here's a link to more info on the book (it has videos and stuff).  I'll let ya know what I think!
http://thecirclemaker.com/

I've Got Love

Tonight, I went my church's Christmas program.  (And can I say I love my church?).  My pastor said that he was praying that each of us have our own "star moment" this Christmas - meaning a moment when the Holy Spirit shows us God is real or speaks to our heart or shines light on us.  Mine came during one of the special songs.  I'd never heard it before, but they did such an amazing job interpreting it (I wish I could buy tonight's version on iTunes, but the original is wonderful).  It's called "The Earth Stood Still" and it's by a group called Future of Forestry (lyrics below).

During this song, I had a star moment.  I heard "Christmas is about love.  A baby Godhead King coming to earth was about love.  Good Friday is gruesome, but it's really about love.  Easter is about love.  It's all about Love.  And this love is for me too, it's all over my life, and what living is about.  This Love."

This was significant for me because I have a love/hate relationship with love.  I've never been in a reciprocal/real romantic love relationship, so songs and quotes saying things like "You're not really living unless you've loved" and such really make me ill.  They kinda make me want to punch something.  All sorts of untrue messages can be communicated that you're lacking or not living a full life if you don't have this.  I get that it's so often just to sell records (downloads/cars/images) or put music out there, but the fact that most songs are about relationships can really make a girl stop listening to the radio. 

I know that love is big and my life is full of it, but it's so easy to discount a life full of love when it doesn't include a dating or marriage relationship.  Tonight reminded me of the big picture and that marriage is just a slice of the big love pie that is intended to redeem us all.  God is Love and this is all consuming.

Here's a real love song:

A teenage girl and her soon-to-be.
A simple trip far as they could see.
The sky was clear and the hour serene.
But did they know what the night would bring.

Lonely hearts strung across the land
They've been waiting long for a healing hand.
My heart was there and I felt the chill
Love came down and the earth stood still
Love came down and the earth stood still

Shepherds stirred under starry skies
Tasting grace that would change their lives
The angels trembled and the demons did too
For they knew very well what pure grace would do.

The hope of the world and a baby boy.
I remember Him well like I was there that night.
My heart was there and I felt the chill.
Love came down and the earth stood still
Love came down and the earth stood still
Love came down and the earth stood still

Made Up Popcorn Stuff

I previously posted about the peppermint popcorn munch that I'm planning to make a version of for my nephews on Christmas.  Then, my mom sent me a recipe for some other yummy sounding chocolate covered popcorn stuff.  So, I decided to combine the two and produced this:

Made Up Chocolate Popcorn Stuff.

I learned several lessons while making this, which I'd like to share with you now:

• Don't have someone help you clean your kitchen and then make really messy stuff with melted chocolate 2 hours before your company shows up.
• Do not try to stir the ingredients up while on the cookie sheet like the original recipe says.  Trust your instincts and use a big bowl.
• If you try to use the chocolate almond bark disks, then get a lot of them because they do not go very far - or just scrap them all together.
• Do keep some of these in your pantry in case of emergency, because they will save you from popcorn fiasco:

• Reserve your silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheets for letting the popcorn dry once you've stirred everything up in a bowl.
• Beware of stray unpopped popcorn once eating this stuff.  In my attempts to not burn the popcorn and to work quickly, I wound up with a lot of kernels in there.
• Watch out for precious faced sneaks that hang out at your feet in hopes of falling pretzels and popcorn.  Don't let them get the chocolate.  Who, me?

My prayer ladies and my super-baker coworker have approved this easy recipe for consumption, so here it is:

2 bags popped popcorn

1/2 bag of pretzel sticks

1 cup toasted pecan pieces

1/2 bag of dried cherries

1/2 bag of Jet Puff marshmallows (I was going to go generic, but the lady in Winn Dixie pointed out that their generic ones clump and the Jet Puff do not, so they are worth the price difference.  I can tell it was worth it in this recipe to have well dusted, individual marshmallows.)

1 bag chocolate chips of your choice (I used dark and it's a nice compliment to the sweet, tart, and salty).

Pop the popcorn

Toast the pecans in a skillet on the eye just until toasty (I usually go by smell.  Be careful to not let them burn).

Stir up the dry ingredients

Melt the chocolate (according to directions in a clean, dry microwave safe bowl!)

Pour the chocolate over the ingredients

Stir

Pour out onto lined cookie sheets to dry

Break up and put in treat bags

I won something!!

I kinda love me some Le Creuset cookware.  I know, I know, it can't love me back.  But I love it anyway.  And the stuff ain't cheap to pine for.  This is why I have a hodgepodge from their outlets, TJ Maxx, Rue La La, etc.  I've admired their pans from afar for some time, especially since I moved in my house.  I secretly heart hoped for a set of real, grown-up skillets when I moved in my house, but any that I would want were far too expensive.

Well, by the grace of God and a fondness for food blogs, I have won a big fancy LeCreuset frying pan!!  And here's the link to prove it:
http://savorysweetlife.com/2011/12/le-creuset-stainless-steel-non-stick-frying-pan-review-and-giveaway/comment-page-15/#comment-29311

In case you don't fully get my excitement - this one pan retails at $160, although it is currently on clearance on some websites for $119.  Yep.

Thank you Alice at Savory Sweet Life!  I'm sorry that I thought your email was a prank when I first read it.  I hadn't been awake long enough to understand that I really had won my favorite french cookware.   

It's a Drunken Kind of Potluck

Hi folks.  I finally made real yeast bread for the first time ever!  I think there is room to improve, but my first shot wasn't too shabby!
 
I had read about making beer bread for a while, and when I read the Beer Cheese Bread post on Buns in My Oven I knew wanted to make it.  I picked this to bring to my office Christmas potluck lunch because I knew the lushes would love it.  Just kidding - although we've got a couple of Louisiana folks in the office ;).  I have never bought a beer in my life, eventhough I am fascinated by the scientific brewing process.  I thought this could be a fun new activity, especially since Publix sells individual bottles of brewery beer now.  Instead, my friend gave me a couple from his refrigerator - which was cheaper and meant I could avoid remembering those Sunday alcohol sales hours (does the new law let you buy it on Sunday now, but still only during certain hours? Do those hours coincide with when I get done watching the kiddies at the church house?  You know, questions like that).
 
I measured all of my ingredients before I started because I didn't want to ruin my bread in a panic because I didn't have the right thing just when I needed it. However, I could not find my loaf pans anywhere.  I had some mini loaf pans for gift giving, but I had no clue how much to put in each one because I'd never made this before.  This elicited an emergency phone call to my mother, who suggested using her Christmas tree shaped bundt pan.  I was unsure about this, but ultimately it's what I went with.  The dough was stuffed in there, but it was almost midnight and I was pretty desperate.  
 
Y'all, this stuff smells amazing when you bake it!  And when you pull it out it is all gooey and cheesy and calling out to you.  I turned the bread out pretty quickly onto a cooling rack and it all came out in one piece.  Then, the cheese began oozing out of the top of the Christmas trees.  No lie.  Which is why everybody in my office would look at it and go "Who brought the volcano bread?". 
 
 

Since this was meant to be in 2 separate pans, it was pretty dense.  But man, was it yummy!  If you want to make bread but have been too afraid to try, this is a great place to start!

The great thing about this bread is that the beer cooks out while leaving a distinctive taste to the bread.  This was not true for our Office Assistant's doused rum cake.  I figured I'd be ok, because I mean - it's just a cake.  And how much more could she have poured on there after she took it out of the oven?  Well, let me tell ya - a lot.  That is why I have been tipsy for over an hour and struggled through this blog post.  Please forgive the errors :).  Because I'm not kidding.  Gonna take a nap now.

 

Holiday Recipe List

I have been keeping a list of recipes I'd like to make for the holidays.  99% of these are desserts.  I know you find that shocking ;).  Today, I thought I would share that list in case any of them are of interest to you.  I have been noting the blog source of the recipe as I've gone along, but today's review showed me I haven't been documenting that near as well as I thought...
And, yes, beer cheese bread is on here.  I've never bought a beer before.  Not that this is on my bucket list, but Publix now sells individual bottles of brewery beers, which means I can bake bread without strolling in for a 6 pack of Bud.  I've always wanted to make beer bread because it's so fun to read about.  I plan to make it for my office potluck, where there will be no controversy ;).
(Another beer story - I once had awful fruit flies in my apartment when I lived in the projects in Kennedy.  Someone out of town suggested putting out a bowl of beer as a way to get rid of them.  I thought to myself,  "I live in a dry county.  I'm not going to drive an hour to a sketch county line place to get one beer for fruit flies.")

Chocolate chip cookie dough fudge – Bake at 350


Nutella Pumpkin Cheesecake muffins – Tasty Kitchen (successfully made these and they are oh so yummy!)

Crock-pot Tiki Masala – I don’t remember where but how I must find you!

Coffee-and-Cream Drops – Tuscaloosa News

No-Knead bread – one of the baking sites

Honey oatmeal bread – Tasty Kitchen

Reese’s Pieces Rice Krispies – I have no clue

Chocolate Chip Pretzel bars – I have no clue

Beer Cheese Bread – Buns in My Oven

Thai chicken pizza – Tasty Kitchen

Peppermint Popcorn Crunch- Bake at 350

Scottish Oat Cakes – Tasty Kitchen

Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cookies – Buns in My Oven

Yum. And Easy.

I made Bake at 350's Bunny Bait for Easter.  It was really easy and really, really addictive.  Here is her similar recipe for Peppermint Popcorn Crunch.  The same thing, but minus the pretzels and with the hint of candy cane.  Genius.  I recommend it for a quick Christmas gift, office party, Tacky Christmas, etc.  Or, you can just dump it in a bowl and sit in front of your Christmas tree and not share it with anyone :).

**My note - do not attempt without lining the pan with a silpat mat or parchment paper.  I mean, really - who wants to clean up dried white chocolate?  You can also put the popcorn in a bowl and pour the candy over it - but then you're cleaning dried candy out of a bowl. 

http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/2011/12/peppermint-popcorn-crunch.html

Life and Such and Other Things

Hello blogging land.  I haven't written anything in ages because my time has jumped in a space ship and hiked it to warp speed.Who knows, maybe I'm actually in 2018 and don't realize it yet.  Hmm...if it's 2018 then maybe I should ask someone what happened with health reform (yes, a bad professor joke).

In this overwhelmed whirlwind, God has been moving.  As usual, in ways I don't see and in ways that I cannot figure out - until He chooses to reveal Himself.  I could probably write 10 blog posts and go on ad nauseum, but I'll spare you :).

Here is a Cliff Notes version of a few things:

• That car accident that so sweetly gave me a mild concussion a year ago means I'll soon be blessed with a deluxe refrigerator.
• That yucky depression and loneliness that decided to raise its head after being long-squelched meant I was able to empathize and compassionately pour out to God's precious daughters at LIFE Retreat.  It also means that I get to re-frame family, traditions, etc and focus on the blessings.
• Listening to a seemingly random message from the Spirit to my heart in late September regarding a complicated relationship meant I was used to bless a grieving family in mid-December.  (And be blessed in return).
• Cutting off your hair will freak men out.  It will even make them a little afraid of you in the workplace.  It will simultaneously garner respect from other women.  It will make you have an occasional panic attack, but also give you boldness.
• Sometimes mix-ups happen with The Body Shop and UPS.  Sometimes this means that you get to keep the 14 gift sets originally ordered by Sandra in Hollywood, FL and this is awesome.
• Living from a giving heart means you will be blessed in ways you couldn't imagine if you sat and tried to think them up.
• Don't stop to use the bathroom in Hayden Corner, AL because the toilet at the gas station/plumbing supply/frozen foods/backhoe rental/restaurant is on a platform 2 feet up in the air.  And it's weird.  And gross.

Love to you all!!

Oh, and Daytona Beach is a really strange place in December.  But, it has a really pretty castle stage: