Muffins

Be adventurous. Be bold. At least with muffins.

I am not a big fan of muffins these days. So often they seem too dry or too sweet. When I was given the opportunity to make muffins for the work Christmas party, I jumped at the chance. I was looking for the Goldielocks version - just right.

There are thousands of recipes online for the 'perfect' muffin. Everyone's tastes are different and therefore, so is their version of perfect. Mine is balanced between sweet and tart. Very moist, but still bread consistency. And addicting!

The fruits of my hours of labor in the kitchen -- a bowl full of lemon blueberry and orange cranberry muffins. Delish!

My only regret is not making extras to freeze. There is always next time.

Warm and Fozzie

What gives you the warm and fuzzies?

My new nail polish is from the OPI Muppets line and called Warm and Fozzie (as in everyone's favorite joke telling bear). Every time I glimpse my sparkling ten little finger nails, I get the warm and fuzzies. My nails feel like such a statement in these gray days.

This is what they speak to me:
Christmas
That I am worth the fifteen minutes of quiet time it takes to paint them
And they remind me of my mother (who LOVES having painted nails)

I was surprised at how much putting a little paint on my nails would make me smile. I often need little reminders like this to see that the world is shiny and bright.

Christmas has arrived

My heart beats wildly when spring bulbs begin to emerge. My mouth waters in anticipation when the first fruits of our garden are ready to harvest. Fall leaves are the perfect back drop to cooling days. But there is something so magical and wonderful about Christmas, nothing compares.

When I was a little girl, most Christmases were spent with my mother, who made each day count. Our birthdays, which are dangerously close to the big day, we're set apart and we were treated like the miracles we were.

I was worried that as I got older, the magic would fade. I've heard so many adults only speak of Christmas as hurdle they dread each year. To-do lists, shopping, and travel complicate their already busy lives. So I made a promise to myself, that I would fight to keep my Christmas joy alive. So far it is working.

Everyone has important holiday traditions, so we honor only the ones dearest to our hearts.

We decorate the house before most people do (a few key pieces went up before Thanksgiving this year). We love that the living spaces glow while we rest at night.

For the first time in my entire life, I am living in a house with lights outside. I grew up in base housing and apartments, so putting up outside lights weren't really a viable option. Thanks to solar panel lights, we have a modest strand on both the upstairs and downstairs porches. Our neighbors are already enjoying them. Apartment living at it's best!

I am a list maker and goal setter. I have been since I was a little girl. But Christmas is the one time of year that I let it all go. We send out a small handful of Christmas cards (last year we sent seven), cookies only get made if we have time (last year they were squirrels, brontosauruses, and stars), and our gift giving is VERY limited. This leaves plenty of time to watch my favorite TV Christmas movies, still go to the gym, and avoid holiday crowds.

Of course there are things I just don't get to -
The newsletter I've been meaning to write for six years.
Handmade bird ornaments for the tree that I started three years ago.
Homemade cookies for everyone that we love.
But these things aren't more important than the feeling of Christmas. Instead of focusing on the things I didn't complete, I try to spend quality time with loved ones and those who need my time. That is what Christmas means to me. Gifts of love, time, and self. After all, that is exactly what Jesus did.

What do you need to take off of your Christmas to-do list in order to find joy?

We wish everyone peace and joy this Christmas.

What to pack

Always be sure to include:
Enough socks and underwear
Weather appropriate outfits
Snacks
Your kitty

Making myself smile

There are millions of images on the Internet. My husband has gotten in the habit of searching for something silly or cute to send to me when I am having a rough day (he is brilliant AND kind). I thought that I could join him in this habit. Below is one of my favorite pictures you can find on the vast world wide web. This sweet boy brightens my day. I hope he does the same for you.

the iPhone

So....

I got the beautiful white new iPhone 4s. Our credit card debt is not completely gone, but it is so close we can taste it.

I had promised myself (and others) that we wouldn't buy the phone until all the credit card debt was done - - but all those plans were Lord willing. The plan was good. The self-control displayed was wonderful. But things change.

My red phone served me for five years. The past year or so, the internal antenna must not have been working, because my signal was terrible. If someone called while I was at home, it didn't usually ring. To make a call, I would stand in the corner of our bedroom and it would still break up horribly. I just stopped using it. Then a few days before the iPhone pre-order started, my phone started to physically fall apart (literally, pieces were falling off of it).

My husband has hated that my phone doesn't really work. He hated nights when I was out late and he couldn't reach me. He loves me. He worries about me. And I love that about him.

So when the opportunity to pre-order the new (gorgeous) iPhone came, we did it. Because I hadn't upgraded in ages, I got a wonderful deal. Plus, it is beautiful (did I mention that?).

My best girlfriend, Sara, was my first called and she could hear me clearly! Praise the Lord! No more repeating myself and trying to figure out broken sentences.

A small bonus is that my purse is so much lighter now. My new phone replaced my old phone, my iPod touch (Eric's old one that I used), and my calendar.

A huge blessing was how well the phone worked when we were traveling for my grandmother's funeral. I was able to keep in touch with people when I only had minutes to spare. My heart needed that contact and well wishes.

And it is so pretty.

A beautiful woman

My grandmother died today.

Before I ever knew who Martha Stewart was, I loved my grandma-Esther. She was a woman that I always admired and constantly found myself trying to measure up to. She sewed and cooked and created and knit and cleaned and entertained and baked and hosted and prayed and LOVED. And she was loved by so many.

She married "later in life" at the ripe age of 29. She raised four wonderful children who grew into amazing, life changing human beings. She made her home a place of love and warmth. She spent summers teaching me to sew and create. I never thought that I was creative enough until I heard her words of encouragement.

Then I got married. And it turns out that having a wedding does not suddenly make you an accomplished homemaking wife. I was devastated that my meals left my husband unsatisfied. Trying to darn even the smallest of mitten holes was frustrating. And my knitting projects never elevated to much more than scarves. I spent an evening at my grandmother's table crying, "Grandma, why can't I be a wife like you? How in the world have you become so good at everything and why didn't I inherit it?" She and my grandfather laughed. "When I married your grandma, she couldn't cook a bean!" Then I learned how hard she worked over the years to be the woman she had become. It wasn't by accident or chance that she was so wonderful; it was from loving her family and working hard.

Today she went to heaven, where she will spent an eternity with the God who so lovingly created her. But today I am sad for my loss. And for those who lost their wife, mother, and friend.

My heart and life will not be the same.

I found this picture today. It beautifully captures who she was. She had a way of making us feel special (I am positive my grandpa was never allowed to have crackers in bed) and we couldn't help but fall in love with her. I hope that one day I will be as good a wife, mother, and friend as she was.