Thanksgiving

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings each morning, thank you, Lord, that I can hear. There are many who are deaf.

Even though I keep my eyes tightly closed against the morning light as long as possible, thank you Lord, that I can see. There are many who are blind.

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off the effort of rising, thank you, Lord that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.

Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned, and tempers are short, thank you, Lord, for my family. There are many who are lonely.

Even though our breakfast table never looks like the pictures in magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced, thank you, Lord for the food we have. There are many who have no job.

Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my circumstances were not so modest, thank you, Lord, for the gift of life.

Author Unknown

The Big Date

So much fun! My boys went to Preference and I had as much fun in the prep as anyone should be allowed. I figure this is great practice for when my own kiddos start this process! I love it.

Here are the pics!

The boys and me.



Her knight in shining armor or maybe just Prince Charming.



The dates



Quentin has a black eye due to a soccer game run amok. We decided to do the cover up thing for the dance. I never thought I'd be putting make-up on my seventeen year old, male exchange student.

The New Way to Swear

I had an interesting discussion with a friend the other day. Both of us are serving in our church with the young women and have found that many girls use text messages as actual words in English.

I find it interesting when I hear a gal say OMG when I know she would never actually say the individual words that make up that text word. WTF is another one I find interesting. Even when the person puts WT(Freak) in the comments. My question is this, do people really think that by abbreviating the swear word it's not swearing? Even if we're just writing it? Is it less offensive if we allow ourselves to pretend that what we're saying is not what we mean?
I think this is just one more way the general public removes themselves from having to be responsible for what comes out of their mouth. I guess it feels like we're keeping things at arms length or something, plausible deniability?

For the first time I have been solicited for baking advice.

Give me a moment....this may never happen again.

Okay, here goes;
Gingerbread houses are not that hard, believe it or not! Really, I promise. They are however very time consuming so here are my tips for creating a gingerbread house.

1) Buy a kit! No really, the first two houses in my previous post are both made from two Costco kits combined together.

2)If you really want to make your own gingerbread, use a basic gingerbread cookie recipe. You can find them all over the Internet but here's the one I used;
1 C butter, margarine or shortening
1 C brown sugar
1 C molasses
5 C flour
1-1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/3 to 1/2 c water
"in a large mixing bowl beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until fluffy-three minutes. Add molasses and beat well. Combine dry ingredients and add to the batter a little at a time, mixing in each addition. Divide dough in thirds and shape into balls. Cover with plastic and chill for several hours."

bake 10-12 minutes @ 350

3) Find a pattern online
You can create your own but that is a lot of time it's easier to use someone else's work.

4) Work with a friend. Especially a friend who is good at decorating cakes. I work with a dear friend of mine every year. I am the house builder, frosting maker and candy collector, she is the detail icing work/Christmas tree maker and color coordinator. We work well together.

5)Make your royal icing and keep the air from getting to it (we just put a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of the icing in the bowl. You have to put the wrap on the icing, not the bowl or the air will still get it. This stuff hardens quickly and is like cement once it dries.)

6) Plan on wasting a lot of money on candy.
Seriously, I buy extra candy because our houses evolve as we go. I spent $21 on Necco wafers and we didn't use one, they just didn't look right.

7) Have a vision. Try to have an idea of what type of house you want, otherwise you end up with a house that looks like a kindergartner made it. (That is good when you are actually making it with a kindergartner.)

8) Hot Glue. Seriously, use hot glue to build your house. Royal icing is great but takes even longer than hot glue to dry. Unless you are actually planning on eating the gingerbread, hot glue is fast and very effective and will keep your house standing long after it has been finished.

9) Plan on six hours! If you want a really finished looking house it takes at least this long to put it together and complete the fine details.

10) Don't be surprised if you spent the better part of the six hours following the completion of your house just staring at your creation. Sometimes it's just fun to sit and admire your handy work.

That's it! I hope you enjoyed this little "gingerbread houses" mini class from me because I sure as heck enjoyed spouting the information.

Happy gingerbread making!

Project '09

Here is our first, two years ago:

Here is '08:

And here is this year's gingerbread house. I think it's one of our best, you be the judge.

streamofconsciousness

Mysonhasdecidedthathemustspeakinstreamofconsciousnesstypeofspeechit'sjustasmuchfuntolistentoasitistoread.

Ode To Cheetos

I am in a funk
I need a little chunk
Of cheesey goodness, crunchy and orange
To keep me from being a grump

I'm housebound, that is to say, I am bound to the house. I am stuck here like the two kids in the Cat in The Hat Story, staring out my window but in my case I am wishing children were healthy. UGH, I hate sick days, let alone 10 in a row.

I guess I will clean my house (again) because it's either sit here and wish it was clean or get up and get it done.