All day today I have been distracted by potential New Year's resolutions. Is there anyone else out there feeling my same pain/shame/confusion over this dilemma? Here's the rub...I want to resolve to do all kinds of great stuff. A few things on the agenda- end world hunger, bring about world peace, get back to my 22 year old weight, cook home made meals every night, always keep a clean house, entertain like Paula Dean, redecorate on a dime, save 20k and pay off all of my remaining debt. For starters.
I know that there are a few things on there that just aren't going to happen; such as cook home made meals every night and always keep a clean house. World hunger? Peace? Totally doable in my mind. So why is it that we tend to sabotage ourselves before we even get out of the gate on January 1st? I always set these lofty goals that are just crazy unobtainable and beat myself (and my family) up when I just cannot get there.
Do I think I will look like my 22 year old self? No. Do I really want to? Not exactly. I would love to fit in those clothes and have all my parts in their proper places without the use of straps, wires and boning. But I also know undoubtedly that I have grown fond of my scars, my wrinkles and my grey hairs. Could I lose weight? Of course. So why not resolve to set a reasonable goal? One that incorporates grey hair, scars, wrinkles, straps, wires and perhaps less boning?
And while I may never entertain quite as well as Paula Dean I recognize that it would be nice to hear a neighbor confide that she looks forward to dinner at my house? I can conquer world hunger and world peace one meal with one neighbor at a time, can't I?
Yes, I will make resolutions. I will make some very important resolutions as this year they are much needed. In fact, I will even let you, my three loyal readers, know exactly what those resolutions are. But I will also try to be realistic in doing so. What are you going to do?
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas Ramblings
Merry Christmas to all!
A few noteworthy things...sorry for the stream of consciousness, but I did say "ramblings", didn't I?
First, Christmas is all hustle and go. Our Pastor recently remarked that people are so nice on December first; positively filled with the Christmas spirit. By the 24th, that spirit has faded away at best. It returns to our dog eat dog world. Kill or be killed. We are consumers, driven by a lust for that special something to surprise our overly spoiled kids. They have to have the newest, fastest, coolest, most expensive whatever to win their little hearts and minds. Right?? We are ready to snap and our credit cards are ready to ignite from the whirl of running it through those little scanners at break neck speeds. Sometimes I think the only miracle left at Christmas is that some of us don't actually kill someone.
This year, I jumped off the crazy train. We set a budget. We almost completely stuck to that budget. I was proud of our restraint this year. Amazingly, I don't think our kids noticed a difference at all. I only threatened to kill my sweet husband two or three times over the last few days. It has been a banner Christmas!
Moving on to Christmas eve. Hallelujah, we slept in! I don't know how to start a day any better than sleeping late; especially given that we have a two year old who has the energy of about five highly caffeinated toddlers. After having realized I got to sleep in, my mind immediately went into overdrive as I remembered all the wonderful hand made gifts I had decided to make this year. You guessed it...they all needed to be finished. And when I say finished, I mean they were mostly undone. So what do you do when you have too much to do? Kick the family out of the house and get on Facebook to complain about the amount of work left. Yep, that's how I roll. Somehow, I finished, so I won't spend time with explanations. Just know I got it done and am nothing if not amazing. And humble.
First stop: Christmas Eve services:
We sang all the wonderful carols and had a blast remembering the reason why we celebrate Christmas. We remember that Jesus was born in a humble manger. God came in the flesh with a wonderful, amazingly simple yet elaborate plan to redeem us with the perfect Lamb. A cute little cuddly baby Jesus who would save the world and who is to one day return for his spotless church. Good stuff!
The toddlers of the church did a nativity scene, complete with a lamb who did not want to be on a stage with that donkey and elephant. Yes, I said elephant. Apparently, the second donkey did not want to be a donkey but rather enjoyed being an elephant this past Halloween. So we had a lamb, a donkey and an elephant. Mary and Joseph toddled down the aisle with baby Jesus, followed by the an angel (who thankfully was the sister of the crying lamb and was willing to comfort the scared little lamb), three wise men and the cutest shepherd in all the world, my Levi.
Here's the story of Levi's arrival at the manger. He strutted down the aisle like he owned it and when he arrived at the front, saw me and a camera and immediately announced that he was going to take pictures. I quickly explained that he had to go up on stage and that I would take his picture and lickety-split, he was up there and posing. I guess you had to see it to appreciate how precious it was. He loves being in the lime light, which was apparent even after the Pastor began his message and Levi yet again took the stage. Thankfully, Pastor Michael didn't seem to mind sharing.
Next, was the elementary aged children's choir. Complete with my 11 year old fifth grader singing the hits. He did a great job, smiling for pictures and then making faces at the entire congregation. A few people remarked that they were making faces back, namely, the Pastor's wife! You've just gotta love her for that!
It was a wonderful service with a stringed trio, a few soloists, amazing musicians, lovely message and a special visit by the Holy Spirit. I am not surprised that the HS showed up (we're pals, He allows me to abbreviate) since He tells us he will and all...It was nice to reflect back on God's amazing love for us and that he was willing to show us in such a simple, yet amazing way. Again, good stuff!
After service, we went home, packed up all the gifts, packed up the kids, packed up the two dogs and went over to my mom's house for more Christmas fun. There's nothing like a house full of people and pets when you are used to solitude of living alone. In fact, she's probably still twitching even though we left hours ago. It's what I do on the nights when my husband works. I get the kids in bed, clean the wreckage and then I twitch until I recover from the night alone with my two wonderful, sweet, perfect children. She may be twitching for days...
Christmas morning was magical, as usual. I would venture a guess that it was the most magical Christmas my mother has seen in all her years as it was the very first Christmas shared with all three of her grand children. We only had a few minor bumps and bruises and a I don't recall any major melt downs, which is phenomenal with a two year old and a three year old present. It was magical for me in that after all the fun of the standard Christmas day revelry, I got to take a nap. Yes, it was a good day and a wonderful birthday party for Jesus.
Now it is snowing. What more could a girl ask for? Here I am in Georgia, enjoying my very first white Christmas with an overly caffeinated two year old (he drank every last drop of my pumpkin spiced coffee while I have been typing) running around the house and an 11 year old playing in the snow. I am warm, cozy and most of all, thankful.
Merry Christmas indeed!
A few noteworthy things...sorry for the stream of consciousness, but I did say "ramblings", didn't I?
First, Christmas is all hustle and go. Our Pastor recently remarked that people are so nice on December first; positively filled with the Christmas spirit. By the 24th, that spirit has faded away at best. It returns to our dog eat dog world. Kill or be killed. We are consumers, driven by a lust for that special something to surprise our overly spoiled kids. They have to have the newest, fastest, coolest, most expensive whatever to win their little hearts and minds. Right?? We are ready to snap and our credit cards are ready to ignite from the whirl of running it through those little scanners at break neck speeds. Sometimes I think the only miracle left at Christmas is that some of us don't actually kill someone.
This year, I jumped off the crazy train. We set a budget. We almost completely stuck to that budget. I was proud of our restraint this year. Amazingly, I don't think our kids noticed a difference at all. I only threatened to kill my sweet husband two or three times over the last few days. It has been a banner Christmas!
Moving on to Christmas eve. Hallelujah, we slept in! I don't know how to start a day any better than sleeping late; especially given that we have a two year old who has the energy of about five highly caffeinated toddlers. After having realized I got to sleep in, my mind immediately went into overdrive as I remembered all the wonderful hand made gifts I had decided to make this year. You guessed it...they all needed to be finished. And when I say finished, I mean they were mostly undone. So what do you do when you have too much to do? Kick the family out of the house and get on Facebook to complain about the amount of work left. Yep, that's how I roll. Somehow, I finished, so I won't spend time with explanations. Just know I got it done and am nothing if not amazing. And humble.
First stop: Christmas Eve services:
We sang all the wonderful carols and had a blast remembering the reason why we celebrate Christmas. We remember that Jesus was born in a humble manger. God came in the flesh with a wonderful, amazingly simple yet elaborate plan to redeem us with the perfect Lamb. A cute little cuddly baby Jesus who would save the world and who is to one day return for his spotless church. Good stuff!
The toddlers of the church did a nativity scene, complete with a lamb who did not want to be on a stage with that donkey and elephant. Yes, I said elephant. Apparently, the second donkey did not want to be a donkey but rather enjoyed being an elephant this past Halloween. So we had a lamb, a donkey and an elephant. Mary and Joseph toddled down the aisle with baby Jesus, followed by the an angel (who thankfully was the sister of the crying lamb and was willing to comfort the scared little lamb), three wise men and the cutest shepherd in all the world, my Levi.
Here's the story of Levi's arrival at the manger. He strutted down the aisle like he owned it and when he arrived at the front, saw me and a camera and immediately announced that he was going to take pictures. I quickly explained that he had to go up on stage and that I would take his picture and lickety-split, he was up there and posing. I guess you had to see it to appreciate how precious it was. He loves being in the lime light, which was apparent even after the Pastor began his message and Levi yet again took the stage. Thankfully, Pastor Michael didn't seem to mind sharing.
Next, was the elementary aged children's choir. Complete with my 11 year old fifth grader singing the hits. He did a great job, smiling for pictures and then making faces at the entire congregation. A few people remarked that they were making faces back, namely, the Pastor's wife! You've just gotta love her for that!
It was a wonderful service with a stringed trio, a few soloists, amazing musicians, lovely message and a special visit by the Holy Spirit. I am not surprised that the HS showed up (we're pals, He allows me to abbreviate) since He tells us he will and all...It was nice to reflect back on God's amazing love for us and that he was willing to show us in such a simple, yet amazing way. Again, good stuff!
After service, we went home, packed up all the gifts, packed up the kids, packed up the two dogs and went over to my mom's house for more Christmas fun. There's nothing like a house full of people and pets when you are used to solitude of living alone. In fact, she's probably still twitching even though we left hours ago. It's what I do on the nights when my husband works. I get the kids in bed, clean the wreckage and then I twitch until I recover from the night alone with my two wonderful, sweet, perfect children. She may be twitching for days...
Christmas morning was magical, as usual. I would venture a guess that it was the most magical Christmas my mother has seen in all her years as it was the very first Christmas shared with all three of her grand children. We only had a few minor bumps and bruises and a I don't recall any major melt downs, which is phenomenal with a two year old and a three year old present. It was magical for me in that after all the fun of the standard Christmas day revelry, I got to take a nap. Yes, it was a good day and a wonderful birthday party for Jesus.
Now it is snowing. What more could a girl ask for? Here I am in Georgia, enjoying my very first white Christmas with an overly caffeinated two year old (he drank every last drop of my pumpkin spiced coffee while I have been typing) running around the house and an 11 year old playing in the snow. I am warm, cozy and most of all, thankful.
Merry Christmas indeed!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
What's in a name?
Why in the world would I name my blog "Love and Buttermilk"? Simple! I love buttermilk. I not only love buttermilk, but I love the thought of buttermilk. I love the sound of buttermilk when you say it. It rolls off the tongue so easily. I love how buttermilk is made- or more correctly drawn from the milk curd. I love what is left when the buttermilk is drawn off the milk fat. I love butter. I love cooking with buttermilk. I love buttermilk poured over cornbread. I just LOVE buttermilk. And since every single sensible name was taken, Love and Buttermilk it is.
I love chicken too, but that just sounds a little funny. Love and Chicken? No thank you! I dream of chicken and buttermilk. I marinate my chicken in buttermilk and eggs to fry it. In fact, I love chicken so much that I woke up from a major surgery in that drug haze talking about chicken once. The nurses wheeling me to ICU all got a big kick out of it and laughed it up that I was sooooo loopy from the drugs, but my husband set them straight. No, she really does love chicken that much. I don't love to eat chicken so much as I love the the bird itself. It is such a practical little animal. More on chicken later; after all this is a buttermilk post.
So in honor of the wonder that is buttermilk, I will leave you with one of my all time favorite recipes. Please, if you read this, give it a try and let me know what you think!
BUTTERMILK PIE
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup BUTTERMILK!
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 unbaked 9 inch pastry shell
Cream butter at hight speed of an electric mixer; gradually add sugar, beating well.
Add flour and beat until smooth.
Add eggs; beat until blended.
Add buttermilk and vanilla; beat well.
Pour filling into pastry shell. Bake at 400 for 5 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 45 minutes or until set. Cool to room temperature; then chill.
Enjoy and spread the buttermilk love!
~leah
I love chicken too, but that just sounds a little funny. Love and Chicken? No thank you! I dream of chicken and buttermilk. I marinate my chicken in buttermilk and eggs to fry it. In fact, I love chicken so much that I woke up from a major surgery in that drug haze talking about chicken once. The nurses wheeling me to ICU all got a big kick out of it and laughed it up that I was sooooo loopy from the drugs, but my husband set them straight. No, she really does love chicken that much. I don't love to eat chicken so much as I love the the bird itself. It is such a practical little animal. More on chicken later; after all this is a buttermilk post.
So in honor of the wonder that is buttermilk, I will leave you with one of my all time favorite recipes. Please, if you read this, give it a try and let me know what you think!
BUTTERMILK PIE
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup BUTTERMILK!
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 unbaked 9 inch pastry shell
Cream butter at hight speed of an electric mixer; gradually add sugar, beating well.
Add flour and beat until smooth.
Add eggs; beat until blended.
Add buttermilk and vanilla; beat well.
Pour filling into pastry shell. Bake at 400 for 5 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 45 minutes or until set. Cool to room temperature; then chill.
Enjoy and spread the buttermilk love!
~leah
Not sure why...
I have always wondered why in the world do people blog. Heck, I only recently learned what the actual word meant and where it came from! But there are stories inside of me dying to get out. And let's face it...I don't have a captive audience to relay these fantastical tales to. I love to do 'stuff'. I want to share that 'stuff' with the world at large, but again, no captive audience.
I understand that blogging will not mean I have an audience, captive or otherwise. I just think that it may help to scratch some itch that I cannot seem to reach yet. I guess that time will tell. This could be another one of my crazy whims that dry up and blow away like chaff. Who knows. I sure don't. So we will all just have to wait and see. I have no idea which direction this will take, nor do I know if it will take direction at all! I certainly don't do well with directions lately, so who knows.
Not sure why...but here we go!
I understand that blogging will not mean I have an audience, captive or otherwise. I just think that it may help to scratch some itch that I cannot seem to reach yet. I guess that time will tell. This could be another one of my crazy whims that dry up and blow away like chaff. Who knows. I sure don't. So we will all just have to wait and see. I have no idea which direction this will take, nor do I know if it will take direction at all! I certainly don't do well with directions lately, so who knows.
Not sure why...but here we go!
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