"Maybe if you tell me the bad news, in a good way, it won't seem so bad!!"

Today's blog features good news and bad news. In true "Robin Hood; Men In Tights" fashion, I'll try to tell the bad news in a good way...

The good news:
I finished the tree skirt today. My very first pinterest copy was a success. It was pretty tedious, but for the price tag on things like this I'd say it was worth it. There's a few things I would change, but I love it. Plus, all of the fabric was free from my moms closet. We even used the old curtains that my mom made for my room when I was a little girl. How fun is that?? Can't wait to put it around our tree!

My next project will be stockings. They may take a little longer... but at least they are all cut out:

Now for the bad news:
When Caleb and I first started dating I tried to make a loaf of cornbread without a recipe. There are some things you can do without a recipe... chocolate chip cookies, for example. A little flour, a little sugar, a little butter, you know. It turns out that cornbread is not one of those things. After what seemed like FOREVER in the oven we decided that it was just not going to finish baking. Then, after it cooled, it turned into what shall henceforth be known as "the building material". I managed to eat a few pieces of it (mostly because I am stubborn) but I'm pretty sure bit of that bread are still in my large intestine somewhere.
A few weeks later, I decided to redeem myself. I had one of those "just add an egg and water" mixes for cornbread. "Even I cant mess this up" I thought to myself. It was a 'blue corn' bread that looked yummy. It finished baking and I pulled the beautiful, puffy, soft, loaf out of the oven triumphantly. I put the cover on the pan and set it on the counter. The next day, when Caleb went to grab a slice, he bursted out laughing. I prayed he was laughing because of how beautiful it was... but alas. There on top of my perfect blue cornbread was little white flecks of mold. Apparently I had closed the lid too soon and the moisture ruined my bread. Foiled again.

For whatever reason from that day forth any time my dear sweet loving husband wants to tease me he just pulls out the cornbread jokes. We cannot even eat chili without hearing jokes--because of it's well known affiliation with cornbread.

Today he asked me to make a loaf of PLAIN, gluteny white bread. I've been experimenting too much with gluten free and fruity breads, apparently. So I found the most simple recipe I could in our bread book. Flour, eggs, water, yeast, sugar, salt. What could possibly go wrong??

I really should've taken a picture earlier, too, when it was still in the bread machine. The sides and top had exploded and touched the ceiling. And that was after it went through the "runny as snot" stage while kneading. *sigh* It is remotely edible; albeit dense, flavorless and a few steps past 'crispy' on the outside.

I've succomed to the fact that I will never, EVER, live this down. Ever.

We decided that if we ever muster up the gumption to add on to our house, I will just begin baking bread (without recipes, of course) and we will save up our bread loaves, AKA building materials, until we have enough to put on a new wing.

CHRISTmas? Or not...

I've recently been inspired by this video.

And also, my husband. Who is the most amazing guy I know... and is (as I lovingly refer to him) somewhat of a scrooge around Christmas. He rolls his eyes at me every time I mention Christmas tree hunting or turn the radio to the 'all Christmas' station. Upon deeper probing though, I found out why. He confessed to me that he finds himself prone to selfishness and the idea of getting a ton of presents is a little like giving a lottery ticket to a gambling addict. Not helpful. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense, and the more I realized that I fall victim to that trap too... More often than I'd like to admit.

We also spend a lot of time talking about how we want our children to be raised; and the words 'selfish brat' are not really topping the list. We want our children to be grateful, appreciative, and thankful for the blessings they have. And of course, we want to remember Christmas for what it is; a celebration of the birth of our Saviour. Not a panic inducing gimmie-fest.

So how are we doing this? Good question. Like most things in life; it's a work in progress. This year so far we are making a point to:
* Volunteer our time during the holiday season (we chose Habitat for Humanity and Safe House)
* Respectfully request that our family not give us any gifts this year; and limit the gifts they give to our children (we know they love buying presents for the kids--but one gift is plenty).
* Spend more on charitable giving and less on meaningless gifts (we love Heifer International!)
* Spend less (or nothing) on decorations, Christmas gifts, etc.
Example: I recently raided my mom's fabric closet for material to make a tree skirt and stockings--it is our first year together in a new house, after all! I'm also planning to make goodies and home made presents for some friends and family that cost little to nothing but hold deeper meaning.
* Keeping traditions alive, and creating new ones. My mom and her family (my aunts, uncles, etc) always make a gingerbread house around Christmas time. The gingerbread is home made, and we spend hours picking out the candies, laying the foundation, and decorating and designing. There have been a few architectural masterpieces over the years, if I do say so myself. And it was always a fun way to connect and spend time together... isn't that what the holidays are for?

(Yup the one on the right is me. Cheesy grin and all.)


Just for fun, and to drive home a point, think of this: What was your favorite Christmas gift? Do you still have it? Where is it?

Can't remember?
 
How about this: Name one family tradition or experience that you remember around the holidays?

Bet that was easier. And I bet your smiling now.
See my point?


So, what say you? What traditions do you have with your family? How do you keep CHRISTmas alive without falling victim to the consumerism trap? Let's share some ideas!

Scrubbing what??

Please scrub your souls at the door!

I decided I wanted to start a blog. Why? Too much spare time.

Just kidding!

I don't think I want to blog as much as I need to blog. Well, what I really mean is that I need to journal. And, since I like to journal as though I'm talking to someone; I thought, why not blog?? Then someone might actually read it. Plus, I heard from from some of you that the book I published was actually fun to read... So I thought, hey, maybe if I journal in a public place (I hear they call this "blogging" nowadays) people would actually read it... And like it. Who knows, maybe someday I'll publish all of my old journals from my teen years, too!!

No? Too far? Ok. Fair enough.

The truth is, When I was about 12 I started journaling, and I loved it. I had a few bumps and bruises in my childhood (who doesn't?) and it really helped me mentally and emotionally. And I realized I loved writing. It clears my head and recharges me.

So... what will I be blogging about? I don't know. But I'll make you a promise: it's gonna be real. It's gonna make u think. And it's gonna help scrub your soul a little. In a nice way, like baking-soda-and-a-tooth-brush scrub not green-scratcher-and-bleach scrub. Because truth be told I need some soul scrubbing myself right now... I find myself at the corner of "impatient" and "cranky" more often than I care to admit lately and I'm putting up a stop sign there. (Like that pun?) ;)  The kind of soul scrubbing I plan to do here is the kind that forces me to reevaluate my life and priorities. Not the kind that makes me curl up and cry. The good kind. The "Ahhh, now doesn't that feel good?" kind. Because I am all about grace.

I'd love to have you join and share this blog, or listen to me twit, or look at my my-face page... or whatever they call it now. Here's a few things you'll need to know about me, though;

I LOVE ellipses... Really love them.

I'm old fashioned and a little bit country. In a ribbons and lace, God-fearing, blue jeans and boots, drop it in 4low, make my own socks kinda way.

I think I'm absolutely hilarious. My husband begs to differ (he actually begs sometimes... "Please stop telling jokes, you're not funny"). Consider this your disclaimer.

I am a mom. AKA: there will be little kid pictures. Lots of them.
See? Here's one now:

My little sippy cup queen. Cutest. Thing. Ever. But I digress...

I am not perfect. Shocker, I know. If your looking for another "50 ways to iron your bed sheets and t shirts" type of blog I'm not your girl. I'm gonna fall on my face. A lot. I pick fights with my husband and ignore my daughter and i struggle with insecurity bigtime. Ill probably post a recipe for broccoli kale quinoa followed by double fudge brownies. You can laugh at me or lend me a hand; I'm really perfectly fine with either. Laughter is good for you.

I'm a little bit of an organization nazi... Ok fine, borderline OCD. And I usually find the most inefficient way to do something. This=projects that take twice as long as they should. (I like to think I make up for it a little with a good work ethic. Thank my mom for that one.)

Last but not least-I like typing. Can u tell??

So welcome, come in, sit down, grab some coffee and a gluten free brownie. We've got some icky sticky work to do but it will be fun and oh so worth it.