High School Homecoming

High school... that word conjures up all kinds of memories for me.  Some good, some bad but truth be told if I was offered a re-do I would have to pass.  Some may say instead I have chosen to live vicariously through my daughter.  Is that wrong?  I don't know but what I do know is the blessings I have received being involved in her life are immeasurable. 

McKenzie is a junior in High School and this is her second year of being on the cheer squad.  Amazingly enough when I went to the first cheer booster club... I came out the President.  Call me crazy but even though it’s actually a lot of work I totally love doing it.  I've gotten to really know the girls on the team as well as the coaches and I have to say I love each and every one of them.

This past week was homecoming and what a week it was.  Besides cheer there is also a 28 member dance team at the School.  I like to make treats during homecoming for our girls to give to them just because that’s how I am. This year I decided on chocolate dipped pretzels.  I googled around and thought it looked easy enough so on Wednesday I went to work on them.  Why oh why just once couldn’t it look as good as the ones on the internet?  There were pretzels pictured with crushed M&M's and they looked amazing.  Mine... not so much and I use the term "not so much" loosely.  Could it be because I beat the heck out of mine with a rolling pin? How else was I suppose to crush them?  It didn't give directions for that part... of course not that would be too easy.  Is it just me or do you think they leave out a key part of instructions just to mess with us? I switched to chocolate with sprinkles and chocolate with drizzled white chocolate and finally managed to make something presentable.  Thursday, I put them in bags with ribbon and tags. Whenever I do something like this, I always add some kind of cute quote on the tag to make it special. Here's how they turned out.

Next was treats for my cheer girlies.  If you haven’t been to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory you are missing out.  Besides everything else… they have the most amazing caramel apple.  The last two years I have placed an order for 20 of them.  Of course they also had to have ribbon and tags added but no big deal that’s easy.  Easy yes… fast no.  Who would have thought it would take so long to attach ribbon and tags to pretzels and apples.  I was up until after midnight.  For those of you who don’t know I’m usually in bed by 9, sometimes 8, possibly 7 and maybe a time or two 6.  Oh well they were worth it… here they are.

So… you thought I was done right?  Nope I had to get up at the crack of dawn on Friday to make cupcakes for the clam chowder fundraiser at the school before the big game.  Luckily I can pretty much make cupcakes in my sleep because that’s exactly what I did. 

Since I was to tired at this point to decide between lemon or chocolate… I made both.  J

Did I happen to mention we were not only having a Clam Chowder Feed Fundraiser before the game but I was in charge of it?  That my friend is a blog in itself. I'm not posting any pictures because that is definately not the highlight of my week.   Let's just say it ended up fine but had it not been for the other great parents helping, I would have resigned  as  President, ran home and cried. 

We won the football game on Friday night and Saturday was the big homecoming dance.  I had two hair appointments... my niece and my daughter.  I think I spent a total of 3 hours curling and 3 cans of hairspray.  They are both beautiful girls but I have to say their hair turned out equally beautiful.  I don't have a picture of Delaney but here's Kenzie's group.

Sunday....was there a Sunday?  If so I slept right through it.  It was a great week but it was equally great that it was over.  :)  "Life's better with butter" but sometimes you need to add lots and lots of caffeine.  Dear Lord thank you for the opportunities to use my gift of hospitality.  I hope my recipients see a little of you in everything I do. 

Sometimes even butter doesn't make it better...

What I've learned this week is that there is no pain greater than watching your child suffer.  My son's first love and girlfriend of 3 years broke up with him last Friday.  The breakup was made even more tramatic by the circumstances that surrounded it.  I won't go in to detail, but let's just say  in one day he went from being on top of the world to losing all that was dear to him. There was nothing I could do except to remind him how much I loved him and to promise that one day he would be happy again.  It has definately been the hardest week of my life and unfortunately even butter couldn't make it better.  I've never felt so helpless and I knew there was no way I could handle this on my own so I turned immediately to God.  I literally fell to my knees and begged him to help Logan as well as me through this difficult time... it wasn't just once it was every day and sometimes every hour.  My family and friends have also been an amazing source of love, strength and support.  My son is still fragile but he is getting better and stronger each day.  Logan will be happy again and I have faith something good will come of something that was so bad.

This week in church, I've been asked to read the following scripture.  It never ceases to amaze me that God's words are not only perfect but they also perfectly timed. 

Lamentations 3:19-26
New Living Translations

The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:

The faithful over of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!"

The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.
So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.

Dear Lord thank you for giving us hope when our life seems hopeless.  Without you we would have nothing but with you we have everything. 

Butter, Neighbors and Steak... Oh Yeah!

My family is blessed in so many ways... one being the best neighbors in the whole wide world.  Kenzie's car had a belt going out so Randy our neighbor who lives across the street offered to fix it for her (us).  While replacing the belt he found the water pump was going out too so he fixed that as well.  He has a big project going on at his house right now and the fact that he dropped everything to help us out means more to me than I can ever say.  What if everyone was like Randy... what if I was more like Randy...  What a wonderful world this would be if we not only went out of our way to help others but we did it with a happy heart. 

We wanted to give Randy a small gift for his hard work.  After some thought... we decided on a package of good steaks.  Everyone deserves a nice juicy steak once in a while especially Randy.  I hope he enjoys it. :)

I should share my good friend Joel's trick for barbequing an awesome steak.  It starts with a good cut of beef like T-Bone or Ribeye, put your seasoning on and throw it on the grill.   Here's the trick...  when there is about 5 minutes left you put butter pats all over the steak and finish cooking.  Oh yeah... "life's better with butter" and great neighbors and a good steak.  Dear Lord thank you so much for blessing us with Randy, Kelly, Amanda, Alexa and Hunter as neighbors.  Please help me to be more like Randy, willing to help others without expecting anything in return. 

It wasn't my fault...

Firm, fair and consistent... three words I try to live by.  If I’m going to ground myself from a week of baking I need to stick to it.  Problem is I didn’t give myself any consequences like if I bake… I will have to go buy some new clothes or if I bake… I will have to get a pedicure.  You know… something that happens if you don’t do what you’re suppose to do only with adults I think it’s fair to have it be a good thing.  We’ve already learned all our lessons so it’s not like we need to drive that point home.  Back to the whole baking thing… I’m ashamed to say I only made it until Tuesday.  It really wasn’t my fault.  I couldn’t just let that frosting sit in my fridge and when Kenzie asked me to make cupcakes for cheer homecoming practice how could I say no.  Then of course I had to bake a cake for my decorating class.  It’s not like I could buy one.  By that point I’d already blown it so I just decided to throw in the towel or should I say apron.  You know what "life's definitely better with butter" if I do say so myself… also with new clothes and a pedicure. J  Dear Lord thank you for the grace you show me when I don’t obey even my own commands please help me to be better in obeying yours.   

Go figure... pun intended!

When you have gastric bypass surgery and your body can't tolerate sugar what do you do... start baking of course and that's exactly what I did.  All my life I've suffered with a weight problem.  I think it actually started with a distorted body image and then eventually my body morphed into what I had always envisioned it to be. Last June I was at my highest weight ever.  I was physically unhealthy but more importantly I was mentally unhealthy.  I honestly felt like I was teetering on the edge of a big black hole and every bite of food pushed me closer and closer to going over the edge. The more I wanted to quit the more I ate... it was a vicious cycle. I have no doubt that if I had not had the surgery on July 1st of 2009 I would not be here today and for this second chance at life I am eternally grateful. I started baking as a way to fill the time that I had previously used for eatting.  It is a safe hobby  for me because even though I would love to sample everything I make, eatting sweets makes me nauseas so it's just not worth it.  I love love love to bake for my family, friends, neighbors etc.  People often ask me if I'm going to turn baking into a business but to be honest the smile I get when I drop off my treats is the best payment I could ever ask for.  I  like to think my baking is a way to show people they are loved and that "life's better with butter".  Thank you Lord for the gift of life and for my friends and family who have supported me through thick and thin but more importantly didn't give up on me when at times I had given up on myself... I am very blessed.

July 2009 - the day before surgery

July 2010 - looking Butter :) but not quite there 

Sunday Night Dinners

This is my first post on my  new blog site.  A huge thank you to my bestest friend, Joey for setting it up for me.  She means more to me than she could ever know.  More on that later..  my first blog is dedicated to Sunday dinners.  Between Kevin and I we have 4 children.  Chris is 25, Logan is 21, Nick is 21 and McKenzie is 16.  We don't have a lot of sit down dinners but all the kids are expected to come home for Sunday dinner unless they have a good excuse.  Tonight we are having spaghetti.  My brother-in-law turned me on to the trick for good sauce...half hamburger, half spicy ground sausage and a can of chopped olives. Most of my kids don't like olives but what they don't know can't hurt them so shhhh it'll be our little secret.  Now on to the butter... technically mayo is not butter but it's pretty darn close in my opinion.  With spaghetti we always have cheesey bread it's ooey, gooey and probably one of the most fattening things on earth.  What can I say "life's better with butter" or in this case mayo.  You've got to try this recipe... after you make it once your family and friends will literally beg for it.  In a bowl mix mayo, shredded cheese and oregano.  I don't measure so just dump it in until it looks good not to much mayo but not to dry. ( I'm guessing maybe a cup and 1/2 of mayo and 3 cups of cheese.)  Spread it on your french bread pretty heavily... don't skimp.  Bake it in the oven on 350 for about 20 minutes or so until it's nice and bubbly.   Sunday nights are pretty crazy around this house. The kids come in like a whirlwind  and when they leave it looks like a tornado hit but between you and me I wouldn't have it any other way.  Thank you Lord for these beautiful children and the fact they want to come back home for dinner.  ps... if you could give them the desire to help with dishes that would be good too.  :)

Introducing...

My BFF Karrie is one of the most kind-hearted and inspirational people you will meet.  An amazing story of faith, fight and frosting; she is sure to bring not only deliciously delightful baked goods to her blog, but also amusingly affecting anecdotes.