I made a thanksgiving resolution to find something to be thankful for every day until next Thanksgiving. Here’s what I am thankful for this week!
Thursday: That the water pump on my car wore out in the summer rather than the winter. In the summer I can fill the radiator with water for free until we can afford to fix it, rather than buying two jugs of antifreeze a day!
Friday: Packages in the mail! I won a cupcake pop mold from Five Great Kiddos and got it in the mail, along with two bags of candy melts, chocolate jimmies, and lollipop sticks. I also got some extras I wasn’t expecting, like cloth flower pins from The Pleated Poppy,and a matching set of paper goodies including a journal, greeting cards, recipe cards, magnetic listpad and grommet tags. Thank you, Susan, you are too generous! I can’t wait to try the mold out and make some cupcake pops with it. You all know I’m crazy about cake pops!
Saturday: That the move from our old church location to the new went smooth and fast. We were all done by 2 PM!
Sunday: The tremendous blessing of our new church building, which we worshiped in for the first time. We have more room than we need, definitely plenty of room to grow into, it is in great shape, and we got it for almost 1/4 of the cost of its value.
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
Monday: That my sister got an order for 5,000 lip balms shipped by the deadline. (Danielle owns a gift boutique where she sells her own bath/beauty products which you can also order online.) She enlisted my help among many others and when I saw how much had to be done in such a short amount of time, I was a little worried about it, but we got ‘r done!
Tuesday: That I was able to use up the rest of an open package of ground venison before it went bad. That would have killed me-I hate wasting food, especially good food!
Wednesday: Remember that test I took a while back? Well, I got a good score that was high enough for them to consider me for a career (permanent) position and I had my interview this morning. I won’t know for sure for two weeks, but the interview went well and I expect to be permanent by August 1. :)
I made a thanksgiving resolution to find something to be thankful for every day until next Thanksgiving. Here’s what I am thankful for this week!
Thursday: I didn’t have to cook dinner! Maybe my enthusiasm seems strange, since I’m a food blogger and therefore should love to cook, but honestly cooking isn’t really my thing. I love to bake, but I’d rather eat a meal cooked by someone else any day. Anyway, some friends had us over for dinner, and I was also thankful for the time we had with them as well. I never remember my camera when we visit Ben and Ashley, so I have no pics of the wonderful taco dinner, which included homemade tortillas and a smorgasbord of fillings, including pork, shrimp , cilantro lime rice, and everything else you can imagine. MUST REMEMBER CAMERA NEXT TIME.
Friday: the internets. We got a DVD from Netflix that we’ve already seen, but thankfully we were able to watch Dr. Who online with “instant play.” The more I watch the latest season, the more the new doctor reminds me of a fairer version of my cousin, Tyson. I know that has nothing to do with being thankful, but it’s wigging me out. Maybe you’d have to know my cousin and watch the show regularly to see it?
Saturday: a husband who is willing to go grocery shopping with me. Although I do it faster alone, it’s not nearly as fun without him coming up with new ways to annoy me. His favorite thing to do is to grab random, horrible food items and ask for them like he’s three years old. For instance, if there was something called cotton candy cereal, he would pick it up, then smile and hold it up and bounce around, saying, “Cotton Candy Cereal!”
Sunday: The current Sunday School teacher for the preschool/elementary class is out of town, so I had an opportunity to teach the twins for the first time in over 6 months. I didn’t realize how much I missed them!
Monday: 1) For our wonderful Declaration of Independence and the freedoms it gives us as Americans. 2) For Katie, Den’s co-worker, who invited us to her 4th of July gathering, thus sparing us from a depressing holiday spent at home without fireworks since we are too cheap to purchase them ourselves. 3) For the people at said party, who were so friendly and made me feel at ease despite not knowing a soul there. Many were foodies, and that helped because we could all relate to the love of food! 4) That we haven’t had war on American soil in over a hundred years. The party we joined was in Derby, where more fireworks are allowed, and boy it was crazy! The steady stream of explosions and the heavy haze of smoke made me feel like I was in a war zone, and very thankful that I never have been. It also made consider and all the more thankful for our soldiers who risk their lives for the sake of others.
Tuesday: Puppy antics. We’ve been taking care of Ben and Ashley’s chickens while they’re away camping and although another friend is taking care of the dogs (there are five of them), we always end up staying to play with and pet them. The golden lab is about a year old and has a ridiculous amount of energy. Today he nabbed a squash Dennis picked and rolled around with it, chomping on and playing with it like it was the most delightful thing he’d ever encountered. At one point, he was rolling on his back while holding it up in the air with his paws. The joy of a puppy is a beautiful thing.
Wednesday: I’m not any fatter! I got my rear in gear and went to my first Weight Watchers meeting in three weeks, knowing that after all the stress-dieting I’d done (i.e. eating everything I possibly could to calm my nerves–emotional eating is my downfall), I was going to see a big gain. But I weighed exactly the same. Granted, the last time I weighed in I had a 3-pound gain due to the heavy clothes I was wearing and the later time of day I went, so weighing the same in the morning before eating, and while wearing shorts, definitely means I’ve got more padding now. But still. Technically, I weigh the same as I did at my last meeting. :) I’ll take it as a victory and move on, counting my points and working toward my goal like a good girl.
I recently read a short story, by an unknown author, that teaches a simple, yet incredible lesson about life. Since I’m sharing a recipe for coffee with you today, I thought this would be the perfect time to share this parable with you as well.
Life is Like a Cup of Coffee
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
“Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other’s cups.
“Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.
“Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savor the coffee, not the cups! The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.”
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
~Author unknown
*******************************
Since we’re concentrating on the coffee here, let’s talk about this recipe, which really lets coffee shine. Allowing the coffee to steep at room temperature overnight yields a strong brew devoid of any of the usual bitterness you get when percolating it. I have never been able to tolerate the bitterness of strong coffee, which is why I steer clear of Starbucks. I still prefer a milder coffee, but cold-brewing makes it so much smoother that I can even enjoy a strong cup prepared this way. You can control how strong your cup is by adding more or less water to the coffee concentrate.
Unless you are averse to sweet coffee drinks, I highly recommend you use some of that leftover sweetened condensed milk from my pound cake recipe to try a Vietnamese-style iced coffee. It is out of this world!
In a 4-cup measure, add 3 cups water and stir in coffee.
Unless you are super cool like me (are you laughing?!?!) and have Tupperware measuring cups, you will have to measure two 1/3 cups, or use one of those one-cup measures that have marks on the inside/outside to show where 2/3 is. I’m so happy to now have 2/3 and 3/4 cup measures for the first time since I left home!! Thank you, Tupperware! (Wait, am I already losing sight of the lesson by concentrating on the measuring cup and not the coffee?)
Cover your measuring cup with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature overnight or 12 hours. Line a sieve or colander with a large coffee filter, cheesecloth, or a double layer paper towels, and prop inside a bowl. Strain coffee through the sieve.
As you can see, my measuring cups are way cooler (why are you laughing?!?!) than my colander, which I’ve had longer than I’ve been married, and I’m pretty sure I bought it for 10 cents at a garage sale, where the owner was getting rid of it because it was the first colander ever made. So, you see, I can’t get rid of it. It is a piece of living history, in my very own kitchen.
Besides, it’s all about the coffee (or life, if you will), so whatever colander I use really doesn’t matter because it won’t alter the resulting brew, or my life. Wow, this “life is coffee” philosphy is so empowering! :)
Pour strained coffee concentrate into a jar, or rinse out the measuring cup and pour it back in to store. Keep refrigerated. To serve, fill a glass with ice, and add equal parts coffee concentrate and water, or to taste. Stir in milk and sweetener, if desired. For a Vietnamese iced coffee, stir in a tablespoon or two of sweetened condensed milk.
Bada-bing, bada-boom! If you like sweet stuff, you have to try it this way! I’m hooked.
Yield: 2 1/2 cups coffee concentrate, usually good for 4-5 servings.
I made a thanksgiving resolution to find something to be thankful for every day until next Thanksgiving. Here’s what I am thankful for this week!
Thursday: My husband’s sense of humor. As an example, here is an actual exchange we had last Saturday:
Me: “I wonder where the Kansas Medical Center is.” Dennis: “Kentucky.”
And this is the exchange we had this evening.
Me (after asking him a question from the kitchen): “Am I just talking to myself?” (no response.) “I guess I am if no one is listening.” Dennis: “I guess you’re not talking to any body if you’re not even listening to yourself.” (Silence.) Dennis: “Did you have something to say?” Me: “No.” (annoyed) Dennis: “Guess I didn’t miss anything, then.”
These exchanges occur regularly and I always act peeved, because it’s like a requirement to the balance of our relationship, but deep down it amuses me. We’re like an old Jewish couple.
Friday: I can’t believe I’m saying this…but…Doctor Who. That’s what I was thankful for on Friday. I’m sooo not a sci-fi girl, but this television show I’ve learned to enjoy. But I was more thankful for it as a distraction on Friday, the night before the 710 exam that would determine my future with the Post Office. I did all the prepping I could, and Doctor Who helped me unwind.
Saturday: That my test is over! It is a relief to have it behind me. I put my trust in God and that made a big difference. I’ve taken this test four times now and never felt as good about it as I do this time. I won’t know my score until next week, but I know I did my best and so I’m at peace with whatever it may be. I’m fairly certain I at least did well enough to keep my job, even if it doesn’t help advance me to a permanent position.
Sunday: Money is tight this week, but God always provides! I got an unexpected grocery gift card and $10 for a cake I made that I asked no $$ for.
I showed you guys the July 4th wedding cake I destroyed. I gave free cake to the bride for a year and this is my last one, requested by the mother-in-law, a topper for their first anniversary, since there was no surviving topper for them to freeze. It is a near-exact replica of the top of the actual cake, minus all the carnage. The MIL took this photo from the side instead of the front (the stripes should be going down the front at a slant), but you get the idea.
Monday: For having enough but not too much.
Tuesday: A couple week’s ago, my Dad’s cell phone, which is on our plan, died and refused to charge when we plugged it in. It is still under warrantee and ATT&T said they would mail a new battery and charger to see if that would fix the problem. Well, the battery they sent wasn’t the right size and when I called, they said they didn’t have the right one and to go on Amazon.com to buy one and they’d reimburse me. Aggravated, I finally just tried to charge Dad’s phone with his old battery and the new charger. And it worked! It was just the charger that had stopped working and now that we have a new one, the phone is good as new. Woot!
Wednesday: Children. I have felt very poor physically the last couple days and after work I just wanted to lie down and die. But I teach a toddler Bible class on Wednesday night so there was no lying down or dying tonight. I sucked it up and got myself to Church and went in still wanting to die, but after an hour with a delightful two-year-old girl, I was much restored. It was my body that was ailing, but Leah helped me focus on something else and was her usual delightful self (The most precious moment came when I said “It was a miracle!” (about Daniel not getting eaten by lions in their den) and she repeated “imacurl!”) I know children can be a challenge, but they are also one of God’s greatest miracles and blessings. And thankfully, as I don’t have any of my own, I don’t have to face the challenges very often and get the benefits of brief contact instead. :)
We all had a special someone or someone’s on our minds and hearts on Memorial Day and for me, that was my Grandma Davis, my paternal Grandmother.
Grandma and Grandpa Davis with their eight children. My Dad (front middle) was the surprise, born when Grandma was 45 and most of the other children were grown.
As a kid, I remember being annoyed when she telephoned because she would talk our ears off and at that age, I didn’t have the patience for it. I remember listening to stories from her childhood while visiting her, often wishing I was outdoors playing instead. I now wish I could do those years over and spend the time with her that she craved and that I long for now that it is too late.
Grandma (left) and a friend in 1961
I want to ask her what life was like during her childhood, during the Depression, and how she felt the first time she rode in a car. (She was born in 1904.) I want to hear more about the years when they had a farm and ranch in Nebraska and she cooked for all the ranch hands. I vaguely recall a story she told me about stuffing mattresses with human hair, and now I burn with curiosity about it. Was it hair from concentration camp victims during World War II? Why was she stuffing mattresses with it? I think I remember her saying that the government was letting poor people do it for free so they had something to sleep on. Could this really be true? At the time, all that really made an impression was the way she pronounced mattresses. How sad, when obviously there was quite a compelling story there if I’d just had the interest to ask.
In Grandma Davis's arms the week of my birth, with Grandma Millner on my left and cousin Tammy on my right.
There were a few stories she told that did pique my interest, and they were usually the ones in which she was being ornery or rebellious. I guess I held her up as a hero for these instances, like when she set her mother’s kitchen on fire as a child because she didn’t like the new curtains. I thought that was brilliant, because I would have loved to take revenge on my mother for all manner of wrongs (mostly imagined) that she committed against me. I also loved the story of how she punched her future husband when he tried to be a gentleman and pick her up and carry her over a puddle. She was indignant because she was a self-sufficient woman that could walk over the puddle on her own two feet and didn’t need a man to show off for her in such a silly manner. That really tickled me! Or the story about when she punched him years later when she thought he was asleep, (apparently she had waited for this moment to punch him because he had made her mad!) and he bit her thumb when the punch landed. Or the time when she found him gambling with his friends and started throwing rocks at them in a fury.
Meeting my Great-Grandma Gailey. Looks like we don't quite know what to make of each other! Grandma Davis, her daughter, is behind her and my Mom is holding me.
I guess my Grandma was a feisty lady! But she also was incredibly loving. She cried every time it was time for me and my sisters to go home and she loved having us stay with her. Although I had no patience for her stories, I loved staying with her too because she let us watch all the TV we wanted, she always had tins of cookies and peanut butter crackers that I liked to sneak into, and I loved her cooking! She made us things like pigs in blankets, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, and let us have angel food cake with whipped cream for dessert. This was AMAZING food to a child that frequently dined on baked fish, plain salads (dressing was a no-no), lentils, and tofu sandwiches on Ezekiel 7-grain bread.
Grandma's yard in the 80s. Can you find the wind catcher she made out of a 7-up bottle?
Here it is, as clear as I can get it. She used to make a lot of these.
One of the things Grandma Davis taught me was not to waste anything, and that almost everything can be put to use. She made rugs out of empty plastic bread sacks. She made quilts out of old jeans. She took empty 2-liter pop bottles and turned them into hanging ornaments that caught the wind and turned on her front porch. She also taught me to make little cinnamon roll cookies with leftover pie dough, rather than throwing it away.
Photograph courtesy of Upscale Downhome. This is exactly how my grandma’s bread sack rugs looked!
Grandma made this blanket for us with old jeans. As for the identity of the naked child, I plead the fifth.
Photo source. My Grandma’s wind spinners were always made with 7-Up bottles and looked very similar to this, though she made smooth cuts instead of wavy.
I’m thankful for every story that I can still remember, and for this lesson in waste that she passed on. Sure, it can get me into trouble, because I tend to hoard things (for starters, I have a sack full of clean, empty food jars in my basement, waiting for an opportunity to be useful), but when it comes to these cookies, I feel the lesson is a blessing!
These cookies are delicious and so simple to make. Flaky, buttery pie pastry layered with cinnamon, sugar, raisins, and nuts makes for something nearly akin to a kicked up cinnamon roll, and I like to go ahead and drizzle a simple glaze over the top of mine since I keep the sugar on the inside pretty low. It makes them even more like a cinnamon roll in appearance, which I like.
I think many Grandmas taught their grandchildren to make these cookies, though my Grandma’s way seems to be a little different from the other recipes I’ve seen online. Those call for cinnamon and sugar only, but that’s not the way Grandma Davis rolled (if you’ll pardon the pun). She sprinkled on the raisins and nuts too! Maybe it’s only because it’s the way my Grandma made them, but it’s the way I like them best.
Leftover pie pastry (I recommend this recipe–it stays tender and flaky, even after gathering up the scraps, pressing together and re-rolling)
Sugar
Cinnamon
Raisins
Nuts
Powdered sugar & milk for optional glaze
Gather up your pie dough scraps and press together to form a new ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until ready to use. If you aren’t making the cookies for a day or two, you’ll want to remove the pie dough from the refrigerator and leave at room temperature for half an hour to an hour so that it is soft enough to roll out.
Preheat oven to 375. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, a silpat mat, or spray with cooking oil.
Roll out the leftover pie pastry on a floured surface.
Sprinkle sugar over the top. This amount won’t make the cookies very sweet, but that’s OK if you plan on using a glaze. If you’re skipping the glaze, you’ll probably want more sugar.
Sprinkle on the cinnamon!
You could stop there, but I like to add some raisins and nuts, because Grandma said so. And Grandma knows best.
Roll into a tight log, like so:
I didn’t get any pictures of this because my hands were busy doing this step, but use a piece of waxed floss to cut 1/2″ cookies from the log. To do this, run the floss under the log, then cross the ends of the string over the top, and pull the ends in opposite directions until the string passes through and makes a cut. This will be messy and you’ll have nuts and raisins popping out which you can then pop back in before placing on prepared baking sheet. Some of the cookies will have to be rewrapped completely, especially those on the end that are smaller. Place all the cut cookies on the baking sheet. I like to use parchment paper, but would like to get a silpat mat soon since it’s reusable.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. Cool on a wire rack. I just slid the entire sheet of parchment paper off the cookie sheet and onto a cooling rack. Handy dandy.
Once cool, you can make a glaze by mixing powdered sugar with a little milk until it is a drizzling consistency. I think I used like 1/2 a cup of powdered sugar and a teaspoon or two of milk. Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the top.
If you aren’t serving these right away, let them sit out until the glaze hardens, then you can store them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. Will keep for at least a week but they won’t last that long!
I made a thanksgiving resolution to find something to be thankful for every day until next Thanksgiving. Here’s what I am thankful for this week!
Thursday: More friends with benefits. This time I’m thankful for Steve and Carol, who have chickens and go deer hunting. We buy eggs from them and more recently got a big haul of ground venison and venison sausage from them. For dinner on Thursday, I made more Green Chile & Cream Cheese Burgers with the venison and it was fabulous. I was nervous to try it but I couldn’t tell the difference between it and beef, except it was even better. Any time I can get meat that didn’t suffer in a CAFO so that I can eat, I’m a happy girl.
I've got my green eggs, now all I need is some ham! :)
Friday: The $20 my parents-in-law sent with our anniversary card. We used it to have dinner out at Ghengis Grill, one of our favorite restaurants.
Saturday: My Aunt Ruby came out of her open-heart surgery with flying colors. We visited her on Saturday, and while she was very sore and weak, she was doing very well for having just gone through such a serious surgery.
Photo taken by Ruby’s daughter-in-law, Racine, pre-surgery.
Sunday: For my Fathers. My human father, and my Father in heaven, both of whom I love dearly, and I’m blessed to have their love in return. This is one of my favorite pics of Dad and me (the love oozes forth!):
Monday: Goodwill, baby! I was able to get my mother and myself some much-needed clothing on the cheap and picked up a couple stuffed animals for my itty bitty sweetie for 75 cents each. Jessie (who actually isn’t itty bitty at all, but I don’t care, she’s still my itty bitty) loves stuffed animals, especially if they are used because she loves investigating the new smells with her snout.
Tuesday: For a little ego-deflating. I needed it, because I was starting to get cocky, thinking I was going to ace this upcoming test at work because I have been cramming for it, even going so far as to print out a list of commonly unknown or misunderstood words and study them on my breaks at work. Then I timed myself doing the type of math problems that will be on the test (I made them up) and I totally sucked. I can do the math, but I need to go 50% faster (this is a timed test). The test is on Saturday, so at least I know what I need to focus on every day until then!
I timed myself for eight minutes, the amount of time we will get for the math section, and I was only half done when the timer went off.
I know it looks like a lot of chaos, but these doodles got me 100% correct answers the first time through (I checked them with a calculator). That’s the silver lining!
Wednesday: The library. Without it, I do not think I would love my job as much as I do! I am able to listen to audiobooks while I work, and I can do it for free thanks to the library, where I check them out. Today I picked up The Sentry by Robert Crais, and Divine by Karen Kingsbury.
I just realized I don’t think I’ve ever really described my job so if anyone is interested in the kind of work I do, you can click here to find out.
My sisters and I the year this story takes place, 1996. Left to right: Danielle (14), Lacey) (10), and me (16).
During my high school years, it became a family tradition to go camping at El Dorado Lake every summer. And from that tradition sprung another one amongst my sisters and myself: skinny dipping in the lake after dark. (Note to parents: if your young daughters ever ask to go swimming after dark, be on the alert! Our own parents were never aware of our shenanigans.)
No, we weren’t so bold as to strip nude at the beach at noon with everyone gawking, and we weren’t even so bold as to fling off our swimsuits on the beach even after it got dark. Rather, once it was pitch black, save for the moonlight and starlight, and the swimming area was completely deserted, we would enter the water with suits on, then pull them off once we were safely submerged in the murky depths. We managed to convince ourselves we were brave, bold, and ridiculously rebellious to dare to be naked in a public place, despite the fact that we never gave anyone even a glimpse of our nude bodies.
The last time we went “skinny dipping,” I offered to hold onto everyone’s suits so that they could swim more freely, and my sisters foolishly handed theirs over once we were in the water. We swam around a bit, and as you can imagine, it’s not easy holding onto three bathing suits while swimming or paddling water. Suddenly Danielle jerked, and her eyes got really wide.
“Something just slithered past my ankle!” she cried in alarm.
We all freaked out and swam like crazy to get away from the slimy underwater creature that was surely coming at us with teeth bared, ready to bite us in all manner of unprotected places. Then Danielle’s eyes got even wider as she came to a different conclusion.
“Do you still have all the swimsuits?” she asked.
My eyes mirroring hers, I raised them up out of the water, and we all quickly did a visual count.
Oh.
No.
One pair of bikini bottoms was definitely missing. Danielle’s bikini bottoms. The underwater creature had just been identified, which caused a new kind of horror amongst us.
We walked all around the area where they had last slithered, feeling around the bottom, to no avail. We finally had to face the facts. Danielle was going to have to walk back to camp. With no bikini bottoms. Without even a towel to shield her poor, glistening, white butt.
When we could put it off no longer, Lacey and I got dressed and Danielle pulled her bikini top back on, looking rather pathetic. We situated her between us to hide her the best we could while we walked what seemed like five miles back to camp. We were as quiet as we could be and had a few close calls, but if anyone saw us in the moonlight, they were polite enough not to give a cat call or outright laugh. We managed to even evade our parents, and keep the secret of what happened between us so they wouldn’t know what we had been up to.
The following day, Lacey and I were swimming (poor Danielle was back at camp, now unable to swim…thus proving I’m a horrible sister because I should have been the one not swimming while she wore my suit), and a woman suddenly thrust a pair of blue bikini bottoms in the air and shouted at her friends to, “look what I found!”
I screamed loud enough to raise the dead and started running as fast as anyone can run under water, screaming the whole way. “Oh, thank you! I’ve been looking for those everywhere! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!”
I snatched the blue bottoms out of her hands and left her bewildered in my wake, as I ran out of the water and beat a victorious trail back to camp as fast as my legs could carry me. I wish I would have looked back to see the reaction I left behind while the entire beach tried to figure out why those bottoms had been in the water in the first place. Their conclusions were probably not as innocent as we were, I’m sure!
And now you know why that was the last time we went “skinny dipping.” Young people, you see, can learn from their mistakes, if the consequences are drastic or embarrassing enough. :)
The only swimming photo I have of us is when Danielle and I swam ghetto-style in the street when it flooded in 1988:
The closest photo I have is the right time of year (although two years prior to the missing bottoms incident), the right location (El Dorado Lake’s swimming area) but the wrong girls! This is me (far right) with two friends whose names I’ll keep private to protect their reputations. :)
I made a thanksgiving resolution to find something to be thankful for every day until next Thanksgiving. Here’s what I am thankful for this week!
Thursday: Free tupperware! (Went to a Tupperware consultant meeting and got a free Forget Me Not onion keeper for attending. It hangs in your fridge so you don’t forget it! *Note: I did not give in to the dark side and become a Tupperware consultant. hehehe)
Friday: Girl-time! (Co-hosted a Tupperware party with my sister at her shop.)
Saturday: Miniature Golf! (We got to play a round for $1 as part of the River Festival activities. Today was the last day of RiverFest.)
Sunday: Friends with benefits! (No, not thooooose kind of benefits! I mean the benefits that come with having an artist for a friend that can turn an ink stain on your jeans into a work of art. Booyah! Thanks Miss Tara!)
Before–plain jane jeans with an ink stain:
After-my razzle dazzled-up jeans:
I love it!
She even did the leg…
and pimped my booty too!
This is the same friend that pimped my hubby’s guitar with a drawing of Medusa and won second place for it in the misc. art division at the state fair:
Does she rock hard, or what?!
Monday:Dollar Tree & flash cards! (I found a pack of Disney princess multiplication flash cards at the Dollar Tree, where everything is $1. These are helping me with my pre-test studying as I forgot some of my multiplication tables and needed a refresher for the math portion of the test.)
Tuesday: Screaming bananas! (You know, the bananas that have been sitting on the counter so long they turn black and start screaming to be used? Don’t be scared of them–they are perfect for baking! I made the most delicious all-natural, sugar-free blueberry muffins with them.)
Wednesday: My hubby! (I locked my keys in the car at a gas station and he left work to come and save me. I’m also thankful he has a job with the flexibility to clock out whenever he wants to and for how long he wants to, as long as he gets in 40 hours by the end of the week. We were able to have lunch together before he went back.)
A cake I made, sugar roses and all, for my cousin and his wife for their 5th anniversary party. I stressed and agonized to complete this cake, took two days off work to do it, couldn’t get it as perfect as I wanted, but overall I was satisfied with the cake when it was finished.
Exhibit B:
A cake I made willy-nilly for a sister’s housewarming, completing it in 15 minutes from frosting to finish, and obviously exerting very little effort by comparison.
The first cake I did my way, striving for perfection. The second cake I made the way my husband would have me do every cake, taking the easiest route possible to get it done as fast as possible, without worrying too much about the end result and not stressing over it one lick. (Funny, but he doesn’t appreciate the level of stress in our home when I’m working on a cake!)
For your optional viewing pleasure, a video showcasing (some of) the stress that abounds during my cake escapades:
Obviously the effort I exerted had a direct impact on the finished cake. Although I think both have their appeal, I’m definitely more happy with the first and find it much more attractive. When I look at the second, I have slight feelings of shame and embarrassment for not putting more effort into it.
Even before making a sub-par (for me) cake, I had been thinking about my crazy perfectionist approach to things, versus my husband’s relaxed and laid-back approach. Evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of each, and coming to some surprising (to me) conclusions.
I used to envy, and still do, the way my husband breezes through life with scarcely a care. It is taxing to be as uptight as I am! Everything I do has to be perfect, which of course is impossible, which upsets me, which causes me angst and stress. I stress way too much because I can never attain the perfection I constantly seek.
You can see where I crushed my finger into the corner. Happens every time!
Dennis takes an interest in something and learns how to do it to a moderate degree, and doesn’t bother to perfect it or care that his technique isn’t perfect. His interests are wide and varied and he has talent in many areas, such as playing the guitar, drums, bass, juggling, doing martial arts like Wing Chun, Shaolin Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Kempo, and Aikido, doing Tai Chi, using weapons such as nunchuks and bali song knives, a whip, and a bow and arrow. A little more than a year ago he started taking singing lessons. He enjoys all these things and they never cause him stress.
You can see some of his skills in this crazy random video we made a couple years ago. (Just skip to :47 and 1:36 to see him in action.)
His approach seems healthier and I love the zen thing he has going on (I love everything about the man!), but I have realized there is a profound benefit to my own as well. The few things that I do, (obviously not including martial arts) I do quite well, or at least a little better than average. Which has led me to formulate the following philosophy for myself…
If you reach for the stars and land on the moon, you have still achieved more than you would if you had only reached for the moon to begin with. In other words, if you strive for excellence and come up short, what you achieve will still be greater than if you had little or no regard for the quality of the outcome. If you set your sights higher than what you think you can accomplish, you will attain something much greater than you would trying to accomplish what you know you are capable of.
I shared this perspective with my husband, who recently entered Guitar Center’s King of the Blues contest, and I could see the lightbulb go on in his head. He made it to the store finals here in Kansas, but only by default because they pick two players each night of the preliminaries, and the night he competed, there were only two players. Including him.
As always, his playing was decent (OK, a little less than decent because he was quite nervous), but we both realized it wasn’t on par with the people he would be competing against in the finals. I sometimes have trouble discerning when I should support him without criticizing, and when gentle criticism would be helpful, but I realized that he was going to have to try harder and reach higher, so to speak, if he ever wanted to get to a level where he was worthy of even entering this contest. It was hard to say, and I didn’t know if I was even doing the right thing, but Dennis is very open to criticism (I always forget this, most likely because I do not take it well myself) and was actually extremely grateful for it. Right away, he began practicing with a mental intensity he never had before. Before, he only strived to do as good as he could with the least amount of effort possible. Now he’s striving for excellence and not taking the shortcuts he used to actively seek out.
Realizing this direct benefit to striving for perfection or excellence makes me feel a little bit better about my anal approach to most tasks I undertake, however I feel I need to work on the stress that accompanies my perfectionist tendencies. Despite Dennis following my advice and applying higher standards to his guitar playing, I don’t see him stressing about it one little bit. He’s not screaming every time he hits a wrong note or wailing after he completely messes up the rhythm. (I can be quite dramatic when decorating cakes, and will wail like a colicky baby over every little single thing that doesn’t go my way.) He practices every night for hours, repeating the same things over and over like a machine. He knows what he needs to do and he’s doing it. He messes up, he corrects it, he moves on, and tries to get it right the next time.
“Reaching for the stars” had an impact on his performance at the store finals, which, while still not on par with the other contestants, was leagues better than his performance two weeks prior in the prelims. So if he can reach for the stars without herniating his anus in the process, that probably means that the stress is not a necessary byproduct of striving for excellence! Wow. News to me.
Here is a video compilation of the store finals, in which Dennis plays next to last.
Ultimately, these hobbies of ours have very little importance in the large scheme of things, so it does seem ridiculously silly to get so bent out of shape when I can’t get the sides of my cake perfectly smooth and the corners sharp. Particularly when I know, based on experience, that I can and will get them fairly smooth and sharp enough that the cake overall will be impressive even if it’s not perfect. Particularly when I consider the things that are most important to me. This differs from person to person, but I have to think, what is a finger smashed into a nearly perfect cake in comparison to growing my relationship with God, or helping bring someone to Him?
Not that everything is made unimportant by comparison to what is most important, for certainly our hobbies matter. They give us a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes they are a much needed distraction. They bring us joy.
Which is exactly the point. If I’m stressing over my hobbies, I’m not accomplishing the main reason to have them in the first place. Finding that joy!
I think Matthew 6:34 can translate to more than just worrying about tomorrow, and perhaps to cakes as well:
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ~Jesus
Perhaps it is high time I put my perfectionist tendencies to good use in applying this scripture to my life.
What about you? Do you suffer from perfectionist-related stress? Or are you one of those laid-back types that I would love to be? Do you think it’s possible to reach for the stars without getting stressed in the process?
Thursday: Is there anything better than getting baked goods, like homemade banana bread, in the mail? I bought two loaves, one with chocolate chips and one without, in an online bake sale and had forgotten about it so it was an even sweeter surprise when it arrived! The chocolate chip (not pictured because I totally ate it all before I even thought to take one) makes a yummy breakfast, especially spread with peanut butter!
Friday: Life has been chewing me up this week. First I find out that in order to keep my job, I’m going to have to pass a test I already (barely) passed in order to get it seven years ago. Tests really stress me out, so needless to say, I’m not thrilled about this. Then on Friday, a situation arose with someone close to me that put me over the edge. I was a bit of a wreck on Friday, so I was hugely thankful for the human kindness that helped me through. While crying at work and after asking for prayers on Facebook, I received a lot of it firsthand. As the kind words and prayers poured in from these dear souls, God comforted me and gave me the strength I needed to drive to this person’s house and have a heart-to-heart. While I wouldn’t consider the situation completely resolved, it is much improved and I’m no longer constantly worrying about this person. So I’m also thankful for that!
Saturday: 11 years of wedded bliss with my soul mate, and cheap fun! We celebrated our anniversary by doing all the free stuff that comes with a $5 River Festival button and did paddle boats, kayaking (Dennis went overboard twice and gave everyone a good laugh–see pictures of that here), and saw the Marshall Tucker Band live! Not bad for $5!
Sunday:Aldi! It’s our first stop for groceries because it’s got the best deals. I remember back when we both worked for the Church of Scientology and were dirt poor, we could live off of $15 a week in groceries from Aldi! We make ten times more than we did back then, but Aldi is still a lifesaver when it comes to our tight grocery budget.
Monday: Books, magazine articles, and Weight Watchers often warns people to watch out for salads at restaurants because although they seem diet-friendly, too often they are fat bombs in disguise. Well, I’m hugely thankful for this means of eating a large portion of fat without going (too far) over my daily Points Plus allowance, thank you very much! Using lettuce and other vegetables as the base of a meal makes for a huge, satisfying plateful of food that is very little calories, so I’m totally cool with drowning it in cheese, beans, eggs, full-fat dressing, nuts, whatever strikes my fancy. If it weren’t for salads, my fat intake would come mainly from the butter in my weekly dessert indulgences, so I’m thankful for these beautiful plates of healthful, satisfying, fatty goodness!
Buffalo Chicken (made with real butter) Salad with (full fat) Blue Cheese Dressing (that I thinned with heavy whipping cream-bwahahahahaha!)
Romaine Salad with Chicken, Cheddar, Apples, Spiced Pecans and Cranberry Vinaigrette (made with no small amount of extra virgin olive oil)
Tuesday: checking off most of my to-do list! I have a small planner that I carry in my purse, and I leave it open at my desk at work so that I can add things to each day’s to-do list as I think of them. By the time I come home, the day is crammed with things to do and usually I just put them off until the next day, and then the next, etc. Today I started my day with a prayer of thanks for the day itself, and asked God for help in using it to its full potential. By the time I went to bed, I’d made more checkmarks than I have in a long time. I really love seeing those checkmarks!
Wednesday: Finally! I finally did a good job teaching the toddler Bible class. Not that I was bad before, but I just wasn’t comfortable and knew I could do better. I did tonight! God gets the glory here as well, because both Dennis and I prayed about it and I know He was there with me because it was so different. The children really listened, they didn’t get bored or frustrated, they were adorably polite (plenty of please and thank yous!), they participated with relish, and I think that I got through to them. Here are the cutie patooties I had in class tonight, working on building arks (the focus of the lesson tonight was Noah and the ark, although since the blocks were out, we also went into the tower of Babel a bit):
You can see how cramped we are and why I was so thankful a couple weeks ago that we’re moving to a new and bigger building at the end of the month!
Oh wait! Can I be thankful for two things on Wednesday? Because I’m also thankful that I met my 5% goal at Weight Watchers today! I’m hoping to be up to ten pounds lost by next week. (I started going eight weeks ago so I’m averaging about a pound a week.) I love Weight Watchers!
OK, your turn! Anything you’re particularly thankful for right now?
Photograph courtesy of 
Veronica's Cornucopia 