Holidays and Music Memories

Oh my!  It looks like I was so busy celebrating Thanksgiving I forgot to post.........=)  How was your Thanksgiving by the way?  Obviously mine was lovely! lol  Actually it was very nice.  Quiet, but that's the way I tend to like things anyway.  I had 2 days off (the holiday and the day after), which felt like a mini vacation. Not to mention that as a nurse having 2 days off over a major holiday is a real bonus.  That's one of the perks about working in dialysis----you get the 3 major holidays off.  Anyway, back to celebrating.  I spent the day relaxing, doing a bit of crafting, a bit of shopping and a bit of cooking.  I baked a turkey breast---thought about doing a big turkey since the price was better, but 19 lbs of turkey for one person seemed a wee bit extreme...........=P---so I just did a small breast and then did some green beans and an apple pie.  I actually ate the pie before dinner so I could eat some hot.  Mmmmm!  Love, Love, Love HOT apple pie!  It was probably the simplest Thanksgiving dinner I've ever had, but it was really quite tasty.  Now, though, I'm in the mood to make a big Thanksgiving spread! lol  Funny how that goes.  Women and their moods......  I know that's what you guys were thinking so I just said it for you.  =)  The day after Thanksgiving was cleaning day.  This house has been looking like a tornado tore through it for much too long!  Besides, I have company coming this weekend and Friday was my last day off until they get here (except Sunday, but I don't clean then).  I cleaned like a mad thing!  My microwave, fridge, and kitchen sink are still getting over their bemusement! lol  I still have some to do, but was really happy I got as far as I did.  I didn't get to the dreaded bathroom, but that's good because I will do it like the night before my company gets here so at least something will still be sparkling! lol  I don't know why I dread the bathroom so bad, but I do.  I don't need a maid for anything else in my house---don't mind the dishes, the laundry, the sweeping, etc---but I would LOVE a maid for the bathroom! lol  Can you see it now?  "Merry Maids?  Yes, I need someone to come once a week to clean just the bathroom"......  *sigh*  I suppose it's good discipline for me to not do that and to just suck it up and continue doing it myself.... Besides, the money I save can be put to other, more "crafty" use, if you know what I mean!  =) 

Here's a shift in gears for you.  I've been meaning to post about this for days, but the celebrating got in the way.....lol   Several days ago I was playing a couple pieces from Handel's Messiah and it brought back memories from Thanksgivings past.  Music was always a big part of our family celebrations at Grandma's house.  And many times Handel's Messiah was a part of that music.  I have so many memories of family gathered around the piano playing and singing.  You never knew who it would be, the group was always different.  Depended on who was in what mood.  And while the ones at the piano were singing, there was probably most of the time someone in a chair resting or reading who was also humming or singing along.  Sometimes Handel, sometimes other holiday music, but always music.  We can't help ourselves, it's in the genes. =)  For some families, it's football on Thanksgiving---always and without fail.  It's a cherished family tradition and they wouldn't want to be without it.  But me, I'm thankful for the music memories made over many years.  It's a family tradition I cherish, and I'll take it over football any day.

Thanks Be To God!

Today was one of those mornings that seemed as if God was saying "Just want to remind you who is in charge here, and Who is supposed to get the glory out of this."  Let me explain.  It started out as a perfectly normal Sunday morning---until the music started.  When the praise team was practicing it seemed like the instruments just weren't lining up right, tunewise.  Then the choir practiced for our song and it seemed like we were stumbling around.  The pianist was Very nervous because she had not gotten to practice the choir song very much due to being away. During service, pastor tried to show us a video.....quit in the middle; during singing the slides got mixed up so we in the congregation lost our words for an entire verse; and again, there was some trouble with instruments and voices lining up both in tune and rhythm.  Seemed like one thing after another!  I was a little fearful how the choir number would sound after all this!  But we went up and "sang with abandon" and from all accounts it sounded good (Thanks be to God!).  Now, depending on your perspective, you could say that these were all attempts by Satan to distract us from worship---and they very well could have been.  But I was reminded that all the talents we have come from God.  Every one.  And He expects us to use them for His Glory.  That is the only reason they were given to us---to bring glory to our Creator.  The thing is, sometimes we forget.  And then we go off down the garden path thinking that we are something special, and our abilities come from our own efforts. Oh we are so grand!  That's when it happens.  A morning like this morning when God cares about us enough to let our notes go sour or off kilter in order to remind us Who really is the Grand one.   Now I'm not saying that anyone was forgetting this morning.  I don't know that.  Thankfully that is God's job and not mine!  =)  But whether we have forgotten or not (yet!), the reminder is a good one: God is the One who is "all that", and all our talents are gifts meant to bring Him praise. 

"Thanks be to God, Creator of it all."

I went to a wedding today.  It was lovely.  It was not your typical wedding, which is one of the things that made it really fun and special.  The bride and groom are dear friends from church.  They grew up together, went their separate ways, then connected again in mid-life.  Unlike young adult weddings that tend to be full of much decoration and frill---and much stress about every detail being exactly right---this event was very relaxed and simple.  Just people getting together to celebrate the Love of two people they love.  Very few frills, but much laughter---even in the ceremony.  =) The bride was glowing, the groom obviously madly in love with her.  At the reception the food was simple and delicious, the guests lingering around tables talking, the wedding couple meandering among them.  And very unlike most weddings, the couple stayed around and said goodbye to the guests as they trickled away one by one (the bride's wish).  Everything simple, but filled with joy. Exactly what a wedding should be.  In recent years weddings in particular have become difficult for me to attend---for reasons I shall not go into here.  So I went this morning a bit reluctantly.  But I wanted to celebrate my good friends---and its good for me to mingle with people now and again instead of being the hermit I tend to become. =)  I'm glad I went.  It was one of the very best.

Congratulations B&C!  The best of everything to you!

Wordless Wednesday

Bass Harbor Headlight, Acadia National Park.  One of the few still working lighthouses---this one run by the Coast Guard.  This is one of Mary (my sister) and my favorite places to sit and read when we go to ANP, especially on a Sunday. =)

I really must do something about this posting every 5 days thing!  I know, there's no rule that one has to post on any kind of schedule, it just bugs me when I don't get posts up more often.  I can't help it, its my OCD! lol  Anyway.  There is something else that I have been trying to do, and so far I have done pretty well if I say so myself.  I get so frustrated at lack of time at home to do the things that I need and want to do.  And, since going part-time is not an option at present, I decided that I really have to get myself in gear after work and do a few things.  See the problem I've been having is Facebook.  I come home from work, get a shower, and then its 'sit down at the computer to see what my friends have been up to'.  You know where this is going, don't you?  After sitting at the computer for an hour I don't feel like doing one.thing. Not.One.  So I don't.  Consequently, what is left for the days off is too much!  This leaves me weighing the options of keeping house (or doing one of the other million things that also need doing) vs playing creating instead of having time for both.  This = frustration!!!  Feeling frustrated makes me feel like not doing any of it, so I get on Facebook.  You see my problem? lol  SO.  What I decided to try to do is to make a list--plan my week if you will.  I've started penciling in the things that I need to get done each day--and trying to be reasonable about what I can realistically get done if its a work day. In order to make this work, though, I have to stay away from the computer and Facebook until after I've at least worked on my list for that day.  Notice I did not say "completed".  Key words there! lol  C'mon!  A girl can't be expected to be perfect every day!  But I am proud to say that in the last couple days I have done good!  It feels good too, because when my day off came (today), not only was I able to get a lot done, I also got to play in my craft room!  Now if I can just keep this up.  I know there are going to be days when I am just too tired to do anything, or when I just "have" to go play in the craft room even if the list says "you must clean the bathroom". lol  I am not expecting Marine Corps perfection of myself in this.  =)  My goal is just to get better at my time management so there is less frustration, more creating---and a less messy house........=)   We shall see how it goes....

Recipe Review

This is the kind of post I would like to put up more often!  I long to have more time in the kitchen, but other supposedly more important things take up so much of my time.  What could be more important than being able to try new recipes every day? lol  Anyway.  I have gone through a few of my cookbooks and written down on a sheet of paper (one for each book) the I-must-make-or-be-unfulfilled-in-life recipes.  =)  The list for each book is then tucked inside the front cover waiting for the moment when I simply have to try a new recipe.  Saves me pawing through book after book trying to find The One that strikes me (passing over the Chicken-Fried Elk and Sauteed Frog Legs with Teriyaki Glaze) until I'm tired and no longer in the cooking mood!  I have considered just picking out a book at random and taking its list one by one until its done.  You know, a Random Recipe Challenge.  But that is a little difficult because sometimes I'm not in the mood for some "foreign"(to me, I'm not bashing ethnic dishes here!) Chicken Tortilla Casserole, but rather a new delicious dessert (its usually about the sugar here, ok).  But then other times I need a great new savory dish for a potluck and am not so in need of something like Caramel Praline Brownies.... (Although how could I ever NOT be in need of such a thing?!)  So I'm thinking the pick and choose according to my mood thing might work best for me.  I mean, where else in life can you pick and choose according to your mood?  =)  And by now you're thinking "I wish she would just go on and get to the Recipe Review already!!"  Ok!Ok!  I'm going.  Don't be so pushy.  Its better for your blood pressure if you take like a little easy now and then!

The recipe is called Coconut Crunch Delight and it really is a Delight.  I made it and took it to work.  No reason, just because I wanted to.  (Of course if you despise coconut, then I'm sorry.  This is definitely not your recipe day!)  Its simple to put together, and is light and fluffy and delicious!  So yummy, in fact, that I have been informed that I must make more and take it to work. =)  Here's the recipe:

Coconut Crunch Delight

1/2 c (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 c flour
1 1/4 c flaked coconut
1/4 c brown sugar, packed
1 c slivered (I used sliced) almonds
1 package (3.4oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 package (3.4 oz) instant coconut cream pudding mix
2 2/3 c cold milk
8 oz whipped topping (Cool Whip)

Combine first 5 ingredients; press lightly into a 13 x 9 in. pan.  Bake at 350degrees for 25-30 min or until golden brown, stirring every 10 min to make coarse crumbs.  Cool.  Divide in half; press one half into the 13 x 9 pan again.  Beat pudding mixes and milk (you want really cold milk and whisk pudding until it thickens good).  Fold in Cool Whip; spoon over crust. Top with remaining crumbs. Cover and refrigerate overnight.  (I don't think you would have to refrigerate overnight)

YUM-O!  Try it.  Soon.  =)
~~taken from Taste Of Home Annual Recipes 1997

Ahhhh Saturday morning!  Of all my days off, Saturday mornings are my favorite.  I don't really know why.  Maybe its the sense of freedom I feel because I have to work 2 Saturdays out of the month.  As a nurse you get used to the fact that Saturdays are a part of your work life, but it doesn't mean you have to like it. =)  So maybe its because I get to be lazy on a morning of the week when so many other people get to be lazy.  Whatever the reason, I love Saturday mornings.  I mean, even the air is different, don't you think?  =)  So this morning I'm in lazy clothes (translate fleece and jersey knit), nursing my first cup of coffee, cantina lights on, Cider Donut candle burning and CHRISTMAS MUSIC playing!!!  Yep, I finally broke out the Christmas music.  I couldn't take it any more! lol  Now let me insert here that I am all for Thanksgiving.  I hate it that Thanksgiving gets swallowed up in the mad, materialistic, "Holiday" rush that is pushed by the commercial sector of our society.  I like to savor Thanksgiving and celebrate it and decorate for it with pumpkins and leaves and corn stalks, the whole bit.  However, you must admit that there is a Real dirth of "Thanksgiving Music".  I haven't tried it, but I doubt that Pandora would recognize what I wanted if I typed in "Thanksgiving Radio"! lol  So, since I don't have Thanksgiving Music to play, I substitute with the Christmas stuff.  After all, Christ's birth is the One thing in life for which we should be Most thankful, right?  It seems appropriate then that I should play Christmas music for Thanksgiving.  =)  Of course there is the dilemma of where Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer fits in all of this.........lol 

I have wanted/intended to post more this week, but for some reason its been a week of exhaustion.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe its still from getting back into the swing of things from vacation?  Or maybe its because I'm now 40 and this is the way it is? lol  I know this is coincidental, but it does seem like I have felt way more tired ever since I hit the big 40.  Depression maybe? lol  Anyway, I hope to do better in future with the posting business.  I said "hope".  You know how I am! lol  I've been trying to think up a little schedule-type thing for posting.  I can't always think of what to write or I'm too tired to come up with something witty, so I just don't post.  So I though that if I had a few things that were sort of "pre-written", as it were, maybe that would help.  You know, like a "Blessing of the Week" or "Quote of the Week" post.  I've already started with the Wordless Wednesday---and as you saw, this last Wednesday was Completely wordless.........  I also really want to try making some new recipes, so maybe there could be a Recipe Review day.  Of course, with the way my cooking skills have been working lately, I'm not sure ANY of my reviews should be trusted! lol  (I don't know what happened, but recently I have had a hard time getting my cooking to turn out.  Maybe the skills leaked out with the 4-0 along with my energy?)  I'll see how it works out.  It would be nice to be all organized and post to a set schedule, but that's not usually how I roll, so don't know what will happen.....  But that makes life interesting, right?

Ya'll enjoy your weekend!  There are a ton of things I need to get done (you should see my kitchen......um, no you shouldn't really!), but 7 Wonders (computer game) is calling my name...........=)