Be Still and Know...Then and Now

Well in hindsight I think I may adopt the no new recipe’s during the holidays rule that Paula advocates. Live and learn. All I can say is that I feel a bit vindicated when I scrolled through the reviews of the recipe and found several very negative comments Needless to say I had a a good laugh at this comment about this recipe being a fire hazard……..had I read the first comment listed below I may have thought twice about putting my family and Christmas all together in jeopardy for the sake of a sticky bun. Copied straight from the Food Network Website: “Fire hazard.. do not make. I followed this recipe exactly.. 400 degrees for 30 minutes. 15 minutes into the baking the brown sugar and butter was scorched and the whole house was filled with smoke. If I were you I would not make this unless the oven temperature is reconsidered. A epic failure of a recipe.” In any event I followed the direction exactly! My first indicator that things were not going well was that the puff pastry seeme...

Merry Christmas! I just popped my ham in the oven and my house is nice a quiet after a whirl of family activity. The highlight of the morning was when I set the oven on fire making my sticky buns . Regretfully we were to focused on putting the fire out to get any pictures but I did however snap a few of the aftermath…needless to say Ina would be horrified at the end result. I am scratching my head trying to figure out exactly what went wrong with this recipe, it seemed fairly straight foreword however it was far from the wonderful sweet sticky puffy creation I watched her make on television………Y’all will just have to wait until next week for a full blow by blow account of the Epic Sticky Bun disaster but all is not lost and Christmas was not ruined. Looking back in the past week I will say that as weeks go it was a very nice week full of wonderful surprises. Sunday, December 18 Being the novice gardener that I am I was unaware that Lettuce is a fall/winter crop. When I was planting ...

Why is it that our holiday memories are so tied to the smells and taste we experience. Smell has a huge impact on memory. A smell will waft by in the breeze and I will be instantly taken back to what ever memory is sparked by that olfactory sensation. I remember the way my grandmothers kitchen smelled. I remember the way she smelled. I have to wonder sometimes what Muffinhead will remember about time spent at my house. Yesterday the DD and I spent time in the kitchen. I was supervising in the yearly macaroni and cheese making (oven timer………back in a minute)   Cookies cooling on the counter…….. So where was I…….right back to the mac and cheese, which is the DD favorite, she was rather distressed when she found this item lacking on the Christmas dinner menu. I had decided to make scalloped potatoes instead. She said “But if you don’t make it now I'll have to wait until Campmeeting to get it again!” Well I did a bit of menu shuffling and she is now a happy camper. However I did ...

Now that I have recovered from the shock of actually snapping a picture for each day I will forge ahead before I become overwhelmed with the reality of my accomplishment…… Sunday, December 11 The Music department at church puts on several different Christmas Concerts. The first one was called “The Sweet Sounds of Christmas”, this consist of the seven different choirs we have. The hubs and I were obligated to attend since the Girlchild was singing. I win the bad mother award and at Christmas too! Yea Santa will be putting me on the naughty list for this one for sure. I love my child, I think she has a beautiful singing voice, however, I know that there are lots of folks who have there souls filled up listing to music, who find great joy in the Sweet Sound of Christmas, i however am not one of those people. Now don’t get me wrong, I love listing to music, I draw the line at sitting in the sanctuary on the inadequate pew cushions for almost two hours. I think they must have sung every C...

I don’t have Muffinhead today, it’s only been a few weeks since I started watching her in the mornings, but already I miss seeing that little head pop around the corner when she wakes up. The hubs left for a business trip the morning and the DD is off to school. It’s just me and the dog cuddled up on the sofa enjoying the lights on tree and the peace and quiet of my house. The random thoughts that are passing through my head this morning….. Planning my Christmas brunch menu and a Christmas dinner menu, thinking about going shopping for a new sweater for the hubs company Christmas party on Friday, mentally putting together the last Christmas gift I have to make, wishing I had a new phone but dreading the weeding out process as I research which phone out of the thousand on the market will best suit my need, why oh why can’t things be made to last! I saw one of our church youth on FB today posting about her “Tacky Christmas Sweater Day” and realize that I have the very same sweater han...

Tis the season….to totally not take any pictures…… All the Christmas business has occupied my time with other things. However now that I am done I am looking forward to just enjoying the rest of the time until Christmas! Friday, December 9 I was shocked the other day when I was finishing up he last of my Christmas shopping. As I have mentioned before I am on a quest to try to be as “Made in the USA” as possible this Christmas. Can I tell ya it is not easy. Trying to find the where something is manufactures is a chore and trying to find the labeling on the packages can be even more difficult. I am surprised at just how many products have no indication on the labels what so ever as to where they are manufactures. Some even go as far as to simple state that the item is “imported” but neglect to state where it is imported from. However when I picked up this roll of wrapping paper in nice big bold labeling right across the front it read “Made in the USA”. It was $2.44 and it even has t...

Can I just tell ya that taking care of a two and a half year old really cuts into the blogging time. I did however manage to work on a few Christmas crafts as well as get a few more Christmas gifts checked off my list. So all things considered maybe it balances out a bit. No pictures on Sunday, November 27 or Monday, November 28 Tuesday, November 29 Muffinhead has a new favorite spot. She loves this basket, normally I keep all my unused throw pillow in it but today it was her own personal reading nook! She sat there for several minutes looking at books. Wednesday, November 30 I saw this cute idea floating around on Pintrest a few weeks ago. Since I am all into trying to keep it either made in the USA or Homemade well this little craft project fit the bill. The toilet paper is made in the USA, the glue I bought was made in the USA, the paint was made in the USA, the red yarn was made in the USA however, sadly the red glitter was made in China. One toilet paper roll cut into six ...