2010 Perspective

As I sit and think of this year there are a lot of good things that have happened to me, good changes in who I am. I am very thankful for the changes that have taken place in me.

All my life, I have been very fearful and have let fear dictate a lot of my decisions. A couple of years ago, I realized that fear was a giant in my heart and it was time for it to move out. Consequently, God has so graciously put me in tests to help me overcome the immobilizing fear that had dominated my life. I'm not totally free but I have come a long way. What is exciting to me is perfect love cast out fear so as fear is leaving I know I am being perfected in God's love. God's love for me!

I've also gotten a lot better at thinking before I speak. Is this ever a biggy for me! I've learned that if I'm speaking judgement on someone, it's usually in my life too. Pretty interesting but unfortunately it's true.

I'm learning not to take myself so seriously. To enjoy life and be myself. The key here is "be myself" and not be what I think people want me to be.

I have become more conscious of living in the moment and enjoying it, not thinking of yesterday or wondering about tomorrow. This takes some effort but there is a lot to be said about this. Life is more peaceful living in the moment. I definitely want to perfect this in my life.

One of the perspectives I'm most grateful for is learning that no emergency, irritation, or crisis is worth the regret I feel if I am harsh and rude with my family. I haven't arrived yet, I still have my ugly moments, but overall, my responses have changed. I wish it hadn't taken me 25 years to learn this particular lesson. But what matters, I did see it and I changed.

I am committed to incurable optimism. I am absolutely certain that the best and most glorious moments of my life are yet to be.

It's really been great taking the time to think about this year and the good things that have taken place in my life. I am very thankful for the changes and look forward to this new year.

I started out my blog saying that I hoped I could enrich your life in some way and I hope in some small way I have done that this year. I want to wish you a new year filled with love, happiness, health and peace. I am looking forward to another year of sharing my life with you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

THE GARDEN

A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift. Above all, it teaches entire trust.


____Gertrude Jekyll, 1843-1932, English gardener and writer __________

Be a Producer and not a Consumer

The majority of our society has come to a place where they are consumers and they never even consider the idea of how can they produce something. Whether it be growing a garden, making a garment (if you don't know how to sew take a sewing class) I'm taking a knitting class and loving it, make a gift for someone or read a book where you are learning something. We have tons of resources at the tips of our fingers, two hands and an amazing mind that we only use a fraction of.

I would like to challenge you in this new year to start thinking of ways to be a producer. And from the way groceries are rising in price you might want to consider a garden. Don't start with something massive, start with one raised bed and grow a salsa garden. Tomatoes and jalapenos and you have to throw in a couple of basil plants. Who doesn't like salsa? You can make fresh salsa, you could have canned tomatoes instead of buying them at the store. I have also canned tomatoes with onions and okra and it is a great addition for beef stews. I also have a recipe for canned salsa that I will share with you later. With your basil plant, you can make pesto and freeze it. If it's in a good container it will keep in the freezer for 8-12 months. I put pesto in lasagna, on warm pasta, pizza there are a millions ways you can use pesto.

When you start thinking of producing things and doing it, (the key is doing it) you will feel really good about yourself. You will feel creative, it will help you become organized and you will feel like your making your little corner of the world a better place.

Tackle those projects that you have been putting off. I know, if you are like me, I look at a big project and think I need to finish it all at once and I become over whelmed and I never start. But if you will look at the project and say to yourself, I am working on this for 2 hours every day until I get it complete. You will be amazed at how fast you can accomplish something. Again, it can be a sewing project, pulling weeds out of the garden, cleaning the garage etc. We live in the country and we have LOTS of BIG projects. Off and on for about two weeks, my husband and I have been cleaning out our shop (a 25x50 metal building) full of everything. We have thrown away old containers of dried up paint, stuff we have been saving thinking someday we will use it(nope, if we haven't used it in the last year it's out of here). Tools everywhere and probably 5 of everything. We are making up tool boxes for each one of our children, keeping what we need and putting the rest toward a huge garage sale in the spring. You can actually walk through the shop now with lots of room to spare. I stood and looked at how great it looked and wondered why we hadn't done this before now. I'll tell you why, because we looked at what all needed to be done and it was over whelming.

I hope I have inspired you a little to tackle those projects you have been putting off. Remember.....a little at a time, not all at once. And become a Producer this year!!! :)

Festive Cheese Ball

I tried four new recipes for the holidays and these is the only one that was a keeper. I will definitely make it again and it does look very festive for the holidays or any winter parties.

1 1/4 cups whole natural almonds
1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese
1/2 cup real mayonnaise
3 crispy cooked bacon slices, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dill weed, (I had fresh on hand and I used 1 tablespoon fresh dill)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped green onion

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place and spread almonds on a cookie sheet or in a shallow pan, pushing the almonds around until they turn color, about 20 minutes.

Mix together the cream cheese and the mayonnaise. Add the bacon, salt and pepper, dill, and onion. Mix well and chill over night.

On a serving platter, make 2 pine cone shapes with the cheese. Begin to press the almonds at a slight angle into the cheese, starting at the narrow end of the pine cone shape. Do this in rows, continuing to overlap the rows until all the cheese is covered. Garnish with rosemary or fake sprigs.

Serve at room temperature and serve with crackers.

Enjoying little bargins

Everything in the picture is from a garage sale except ,of course, the flowers and candles. The platter was from a friend. She gave me a box of stuff she didn't want. I was so excited.....I love old platters. The vase, toothpick holder and votives I picked up at garage sales. This little grouping sets on the island in our kitchen and I will switch out napkins and flowers for the season. I find good deals on fresh flowers at our Wal-Mart and I have had some of the flowers to last for almost 2 weeks. I love fresh flowers and since I spend a lot of time in the kitchen I get to see and enjoy them a lot. I also find great napkins at Tuesday Morning Inc. They have a great variety and great prices.

Another thing that I do in this grouping, is to remove the votives and I have an antique cup that I will put Andes mints into. I have also removed the larger vase put in a smaller one for several rose buds and used a large (pillar) candle. I used cocktail napkins instead of the dinner napkins too. There are a lot of ways you can change the way it looks.

This is just a little touch for your home that brightens things up and it doesn't cost a lot.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole

After spinach enchiladas, I love chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce and then I love cheese enchiladas and then homemade tamales (laughing) I could probably write down everything that is on a Mexican menu. I love Mexican food and I think just about everyone does.

It is so much work to make individual enchiladas and such a mess that I don't hardly ever do that. I came up with this recipe in an attempt to create chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce. My family loves it and I made this for a ladies luncheon that I catered a year ago and I had several women come up and tell me that it was the best casserole they had ever eaten. :)

The picture that I have posted of this casserole is a double portion. This is what I make for my family when we are all together. This will keep in the frig. several days and is really good warmed up if you have any left.

4 chicken breasts, baked and cut into bite size pieces
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 onion chopped fine
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can chopped green chilies, (the chopped green chilies come in small cans but the large
is still small but a little bigger than the small size.)
I don't have one on hand to write down the exact size.
I'm guessing 6 ounces.
1 heaping cup of sour cream
1 package of corn tortillas
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
1 teaspoon of cumin
3-4 fresh jalapenos
1-16 ounce Monterrey Jack cheese grated
1-16 ounce Monterrey Jack pepper cheese grated

When I make this for my family I boil a whole chicken until it is tender and after it has cooled I remove it from the bone and cut into bite size pieces. I would not cook 8 chicken breast to double this recipe that would be too much meat. If you are cooking the chicken breast, wash off the chicken breast and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees cover with foil for about 45-55 minutes until tender. Remove from oven let cool then cut the breast into bite size pieces.

While the chicken is cooking take a large mixing bowl and put in your chicken soup, green enchilada sauce, green chilies, sour cream, chopped onion, and cumin. Mix well. It the mixture is too thick add 1/4 cup of chicken broth to thin it down a little. When the chicken has cooled add the chicken to your soup mixture and stir well.

Take a 9x13 casserole dish and spray with Pam. Put half of your soup mixture in the bottom of the dish, on top of that tear your corn tortillas into bite size pieces and cover the top of that mixture (about 10 tortillas) then cover the top of the tortillas with some of the grated Monterrey Jack cheese (about 2 cups). Then the rest of the soup mixture on top of the cheese. Cover the top of the soup mixture with the rest of the torn corn tortillas then top with the grated Monterrey Pepper Jack cheese. Slice the fresh jalapenos and cover the top of the casserole with them. Bake at 350 degrees until heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

With the smaller casserole you might get by with an 8 ounce package of each cheese but I love cheese and I always use quite a bit. If your not a cheese lover and your concerned about fat you could get by with the smaller size. Sometimes I use a little more cumin. I will just taste it and go by how it taste.

Peanut Butter Fudge YUM!

This fudge is so good and rich that it will lock your jaws. Really......it's the best especially if you love peanut butter.

1/2 cup butter
5 cups sugar
1-12 ounce can of evaporated milk
1-18 ounce jar creamy peanut butter (I love crunchy so that's what I use)
1-7 ounce jar of marshmallow cream

Butter sides and bottom of a large Dutch oven, leaving excess butter in the bottom of pan to melt completely. Add sugar and evaporated milk stirring well until sugar is dissolved. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture reaches soft ball stage or a candy thermometer registers 235 degrees. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and marshmallow cream. With a wooden spoon beat the mixture until well blended. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish and allow the fudge to cool at room temperature. After the fudge has cooled cover with plastic wrap and do not refrigerate. I have found that putting fudge in the frig. causes it to get hard and I think it ruins the texture of the fudge. It gets grainy. My mom always put hers in the frig. but I stopped doing that and it really makes a difference.

Good Quote

THE HUMAN SPIRIT NEEDS PLACES WHERE NATURE HAS NOT BEEN REARRANGED BY THE HAND OF MAN.

anonymous

Loneliness

LONELINESS........... Our "friend" when it forces us to enjoy the fellowship of God as much as we would the fellowship of others.

I remember the day I received this note card with the Loneliness verse on the front of it. It has been over twenty years ago now, my two daughters had been in a special study for about 3 months and we had been meeting in the home of another student once a week for 3 months. On the day they finished the study, they had a little celebration that afternoon and one of the girls passed out notes to all the moms. When I opened mine and saw that it said Loneliness, I thought why couldn't mine have said Blessed or Cheerfulness why did it have to say Loneliness.

Several years earlier we had left organized religion and I was still dealing with things not being the way I wanted them and one issue was loneliness. For quite some time, I had continued to pray and seek the Lord on when we were going to get planted somewhere and one morning God spoke very clearly to me through the scriptures. My eyes fell on the prayer of Moses and my eyes landed on this verse. "Through all the generations you have been our home." It has taken years for me to learn the depth of that verse but I did know enough at the time to realize we would never be going back to what I considered church.

When I first came to the Lord I was very shy and easily intimated. Whenever I had questions about scripture or a minor crises in my life my first inclination was to call someone I considered spiritual. It never entered my mind to go to the Lord first. My comfort and my security always came from someone telling me I would be ok or someone giving me their opinion on what I should do. I want to say right here that we do need each other and that God uses other people in our lives but I was totally reliant on man and not God. One day I had a minor emergency and I can remember coming home and trying to call every woman I could think of and no one was home. I finally picked up my Bible and opened it and my eyes fell to the scripture that says "Why do you consider man who's breath is in his nostrils." Once again God was showing me I was not coming to Him first. When was I going to learn!

One of the most important lessons I learned from my spiritual father was to go to God and His word. If I ever went to him with a problem he never gave me his opinion or advice. He always pointed me to God and would always say "you need to get in the Word." He already knew this and I learned this after a while that when God tells you something, it sticks. You know that it came from Him and there is no second guessing. I have gone through many trials and tribulations learning that God is my home and He is the only one who can bring peace to my soul and comfort me.

Well, it's been quite a journey as I think back of starting down the road to finding God as my home. I do cherish my friends and have such wonderful fellowship with them but I can tell you that nothing or nobody takes the place of the fellowship I have with my Father. When something arises in my life it never enters my mind to even call anyone, I'm running straight to my Daddy.

Michael W. Smith has a song that I love and it so expresses my feelings for God. It's called, Deep in Love with You.

Sitting at your feet
Is where I want to be
I'm home when I am here with you
I can't resist the tenderness of you
I'm deep in love with you Lord
My heart beats for you
Precious Jesus
Deep in love with you Lord

Humbled and amazed
That you would call my name
I never have to search again
There's a deep desire
Burning like a fire
To know you as my closest friend
I'm deep in love with you Abba Father
Deep in love you, Lord!

You'll have to listen to it. It's a beautiful song.

My little "Loneliness" note card hangs on my bulletin board in my work/office space and is a sweet reminder of my journey to finding God as my home and that Loneliness became a beautiful part of my life.

Gary's French Onion Soup

I was checking out some of my favorite chefs on the Food Network to see their recipes for French Onion Soup. This is one of my husband's favorite soups and my current recipe is not that good. I wanted to come up with something that he would really like. I took some of their ideas and added a few of my own and this is what I came up with. It was a hit with my husband. Very rich and satisfying. We had a combination salad with the soup.....it hit the spot!

1 Pkg. beef short ribs (4-5 ribs)
5 beef bouillon cube
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
8 sweet onions or 8 white onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick, then ring them
1 stick of butter
2-3 tablespoons flour
1 cup to 1 1/2 cups wine (red or white)
16 ounces Gruyere cheese
1 loaf crusty French bread (long skinny French bread) cut in 1/2 inch slices

Put beef short ribs in about 6 to 8 cups of water with bouillon cubes, bay leaf and Worcestershire sauce and cook on medium to low heat until the beef ribs are tender. Remove ribs and bay leaf from broth.

Now melt one stick of butter and add sliced onion and garlic and thyme to butter and cook the onions slow and low until they are caramelized. It will take 15-20 minutes for them to start of caramelize or turn golden brown. After they are caramelized stir in 3 tablespoons of flour and cook the flour with the onions for about 5 minutes. Now add your wine and stir well. Then add your beef broth from the ribs let it warm up a little and taste it to see if it needs more salt. Then let the soup come to a boil and then turn off the heat.

Take the sliced French bread and toast until golden brown. Ladle the soup into large soup bowls that are oven proof. Put two slices of bread on top of soup and top with at least 1/2 cup of Gruyere cheese. Put under broiler in the oven until cheese has melted and just a little golden. Be sure and don't burn yourself. Those bowls are really hot. Put something under them on your table.

Displaying Christmas Cards

This has become my favorite way to display Christmas cards. It is green flower bed fencing that I picked up at Wal-Mart. I'm not sure if they carry this during the winter months, I haven't checked. But they do carry several types during the spring and summer months. I'm also thinking you might find this at Atwoods or Ace Hardware. I have a brick divider in my breakfast room and I position the fencing down the brick wall. I put some evergreen along the bottom. As our Christmas cards come in I tape them to the wire frame. I leave our winter decorations up until the end of February so we enjoy seeing the cards and pictures we receive from family and friends long after x-mas is over.

Knitting Class

I attended my first knitting class yesterday and loved it! We made a scarf for the first class. Of course, we didn't finish it but we will be able to complete it this week and take it back for the finishing touches next Saturday. Next Saturday will be a dish cloth and the final class is a cap. We will learn all of the stitches by making these three items to get started making things.

The teachers are young, talented, and very patient :). I was very impressed. The shop is beautiful with all types and colors of yarn from floor to ceiling and comfortable seating. Several nights a week, after hours, knitters get together at the shop to work on their projects.

I am taking the class at L&B Yarn Co. in Norman. The classes are very affordable and the price includes your supplies. If your interested in knitting check it out!

Fruit Salad

I made a fruit salad last night for dessert and it was so good. My husband had a sore throat and was fighting off a cold and when I went to the store I was trying to think of something sweet and healthy since it was his birthday. I had already decided not to fix any kind of dessert because you know the information about sugar. I can't remember exactly but it's something like your immune system drops to nothing for 24 hours after you eat sugar.

Arrived at the grocery store and they had wonderful fresh pineapples. They were so sweet you could smell them. The light when off "fruit salad". So I got a couple of Granny Smith apples, a couple of oranges, some bananas, the red grapes were also huge and very sweet, a pomegranate (my new favorite fruit), coarsely chopped pecans. It was great and he loved it.

There are different times of fruit salad but I almost like the fruit salad in the winter better than the fruit salad I make in the summer but I think of those fresh peaches and I guess I really like them both. :)

Anyway, just wanted to remind everyone that during this time of the year when we are bombarded by sugary treats remember to stick in some fruit salad and give your body a treat and a break.

Happy Birthday to my Dear Husband!

Today is my husband's birthday. As I sit and think about him, I know how blessed I am. I always enjoy remembering our story and how God brought us together. I was in the seventh grade and he was in the ninth grade. Back then, it was called junior high school. He was a starter on the basketball team, very good looking, popular and most of the girls I knew had a crush on him. We would stand outside the school on the lawn in the mornings and wait for the bell to ring so we could go inside and start school. I remember standing there with my friends and seeing him walk up the sidewalk with one of the cutest girls in his class. She was a cheerleader, very petite and cute and I remember thinking you will never have a chance with him. I was in pep club and I can still see him in that gym running down the court playing basketball and me yelling for him to make the basket. He never knew I was even alive. I admired him from a distance for many years.

The next year he went on to high school and I had two more years in junior high. During the next two years I attended several high school football games where once again he was a star football player. And again he had another pretty girl on his arm.

The summer before I went to high school my first job was working in a Diary Queen. I was working in the back cooking which I didn't like. I wanted to make the ice cream cones and malts. :) Anyway, there was a small window in the kitchen that looked out into the front of the Dairy Queen. Someone had come in and ordered a foot long hot dog and I just happened to glance through the window and it was him (my future husband). I was so excited that I was getting to make his hot dog. I kid him now and tell him I dropped the wiener on the floor before I put it on the bun. I started to high school that fall and saw him many times. Always thinking I would never have a chance with him.

After we were married I found out that during high school he lived behind me. Our backyards were adjacent to each other. I never saw him and it's probably a good thing I didn't know that.

He went off to college and then Viet Nam. After he was out of the service, he was good friends with my best friend's brothers. We ended up going out on a blind date with my friend and her boyfriend. We were married in about a year and a half after that.

We our best friends and he is still the love of my life. I am so thankful that we have grown together through the years and not apart. I don't know what I would do without him.

I want to wish him the Happiest of Birthdays today and I want him to know that through the years the sweetest days I've found I've found with him.
I love you!

Inexpensive Christmas Gifts

This is an inexpensive Christmas gift but one that is full of love. I did this years ago for my husband on Valentine's Day but you could do it for a special friend or your children or your husband. This is a great idea for any occasion.

At the time, I bought a heart shaped jar, it was red and had a good sized cork in the top. I went to a pharmacy and bought empty glycerin tablets and wrote him little notes of why I loved him, there were notes for a foot rub or back rub,a special breakfast (he loves breakfast). You can use your imagination and come up with all kinds of ideas. Then I carefully folded the note and put in the the glycerin tablet. My jar had a little tag hanging from the top that said love pills take one a day. Okay, I know it's a little corny but he enjoyed it.

For Christmas you could use a canning jar and tie some raffia around the top and tie a cute little x-mas ornament dangling down from the raffia. You could write your notes on red and green paper and it would look all festive.

These are some things my children have done during the years when they didn't have any money for gifts. They would make a coupon and put it in a birthday card or whatever the occasion was and it would be to clean the house for a month or do the dishes every night, cook dinner once a week. I'm sure you get the idea.

This time of the year can be stressful for families who are struggling just to make ends meet. With the economy in the state it's in be creative. Give some thought to things you can do this season for others that won't cost a lot. Think of some things you would like someone to do for you. I think you'll find that you will end up being closer as a family, you will be giving of yourself to help others and the holiday will be a happier time.... less stressed without a pile of debt when the season is over.