Beyond the Recipe

Have you ever realized that a lot of wonderful conversations happen around food? Dinner time in college was one of the greatest socializing times we had. We'd develop a routine with what time we'd all naturally gravitate to the cafeteria, and then we'd linger as long as we could after our plates were clear just to talk.

At home we move slowly away from the table after we're done eating, too, but the food is much better (of course). We have some pretty great cooks in the family, and some tried-and-true family recipes.

You know what I love more than consuming the products of these family recipes, though? Having my family teach them to me. As I learn the right way to roll the dough or the secret ingredient or how high to make the graham cracker crust (or not make it, as the case may be...lol), it's amazing what I can learn about my family. It seems like with every recipe I also hear anecdotes about my relatives. I get to know them better as I improve in the kitchen. It's a win-win situation.

That was the creation of the week. Another family recipe gained, another thing off my To Do list, and more lessons about the people I love. A huge thanks to my Auntie Cindy for that. :)

When all else fails, I will not starve in my apartment because I can always resort to making a cheesecake. You know, when I have 2 hours to spare. I hear first year teachers have all the time in the world...(yeah, right). :P

~"Part of the secret of success is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside." [Mark Twain]~

Real Time And Conversations

I had the gift of spending a bunch of time with 3 of the girls I adore so, so much -- my cousins Jess, Jenna, and Jordan.When I'm home, I spend as much time as possible with my family, but really I think these girls get the most. I talk about them quite a bit, and I'll probably talk about them a lot more before The Big Move, too.

Friday: shopping, errand-running, and ice-cream getting (minus Jen). [Okay, so the ice cream was a bribe for Jor, who does have a fair amount of patience (sometimes) for a 9 yr old, but even a 9 yr old can understand the value of ice cream in exchange for stretching her patience and good behavior a liiiiittle longer. And it was THE most colossal ice cream cone I'd ever seen. There were at least 4 scoops in that baby!]

(Jor and I talking about The Big Move as we shop)

Jor: Why are you moving there? Isn't it cold?

Me: What?

Jor: Yeah, aren't there mountains and snow and everything?

Me: You're thinking Uh-Laska. I'm moving to Nuh-braska. No mountains there.

Jor: Oh, yeah! (thinks for a minute) But you went to Alaska once, right?

Me: Yes, yes I did.

Saturday: sleepover with the girls at our aunt and uncle's where I was animal-sitting (Thanks, Uncle Vic and Lizard!). Picking 2 movies and getting popcorn and candy to go with it. Making it through one movie. Singing and dancing. Jess joining us. More dancing. Hunting for the rumored second cat, Lucy, with no luck. TV watching together. Dropping off to sleep, one by one. Learning just how little bedspace you get when sharing a bed with a dog, a cat, and a little girl simultaneously.

(Jen's watching TV in the other bedroom...and I can't remember what Jess said/what I said...)

Jen: I'm hungry!

Jess/Me: So get something to eat.

Jen: I can't!

Jess/Me: Why not?

Jen: Because I can't pause the TV!!

Jess/Me: We call that 'old school technology'. We couldn't pause TV when we were growing up, and we survived!

Today: slow to wake up. Watch the girls tirelessly play ball with the dog. Homework after they go home. Jess keeping me company while I cook. Baby playtime break at her house. Back to the house to hang out until Uncle Vic comes home. Head home to my own bed.

A fantastic weekend with my girls. :)

~"Cousins are different beautiful flowers in the same garden." [-Anonymous]~

Soothing Surprises

Spent the day working on the house with Mom and Brandon. The house is getting closer to them being ready to move in, and it's great to see it pulling together.

Nothing ever looks the same when I go there between the work they've put into the house and the things that keep popping up in the yard....beautiful, colorful, surprises.

Here's the latest (and no, I don't know why they are huge pictures. Enlarged to show texture??):

We aren't sure what they are. We were just calling them Firework Flowers.

The lady who used to live here has so many flowers around the yard. A lot of them are purple, so Mom ventured that we can probably guess her favorite color.

This is one of my favorite pictures from today.

Sit really still and let it speak.

It whispers,

Please, child, slow down. Soak in the beauty in the simple things. Savor the surprises. Blessings abound. Rejoice in the good. Be okay not knowing everything.

Just what my heart needed: peace, comfort, stillness, beauty.

Hey, thanks, God. :)

~"My God's enough for me. This world has nothing I need. In this whole life I've seen my God is enough for me." ["Psalm 73 (My God's Enough" -BarlowGirl]~

(Part 2:) The World In Me

A continuation of yesterday's post, based off of yesterday's quote.

f r i e n d s

like

f a m i l y...

totally twins.

partners in crime.

some of my oldest friends.

the reason for the season. ;)

love those Schmidt boys!

these guys keep me grounded.

this boy loves peanut butter almost as much as i love our friendship. almost.

one of our last gigs while all of us were still at cuc.

two of the most beautiful women i know.

mama lisha!

big brother on the carousel at the mall. :)

gotta love a trip to Madison with Ls.

silly string fights were just the beginning.

~"Because I knew you, I have been changed for good." ["For Good" - Wicked]~

Christmas In The Air

Christmas took over my life for the past few days.

So much Christmas music.

So much cookie making.

So much Christmas Elf-ing.

Making stockings with our names on them, picking up the annual kielbasa (Polish sausage) from the butcher, and wrapping presents. My favorite part was picking up my cousin from the airport as a surprise for the girls. They didn't know he was coming home for Christmas (the first time he's been home since May).

And Christmas Eve was worth the year of waiting.

It's my favorite night of the year because my entire Dad's side of the family gets together. It's the one holiday all of my cousins are guaranteed to be together. And every year we have somebody dress up as Santa, a tradition we've had since before I can even remember. Nowadays it's usually a dear friend of my older cousin's. This year was the best. He was hilarious, and my youngest cousin LOVED it. She's the real reason that we do it; the rest of us have finally come to grips with the fact that Santa's not real. We watched a video of Christmas 1994 (discovering your brother rocking a mullet and obnoxious fist pumps: priceless). We ate, we laughed, we shared stories, and it was wonderful.

Now I'm watching A Christmas Story on TBS...the first half. I caught the second half first. That is just how I usually end up watching it every year. In pajamas...even if it's after noon.

Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope it's wonderful. I hope it's restful. I hope it's joyful. And I hope you make memories you'll look back on later and laugh about. I hope God's blessings wrap around you today.