Ear Candy #1

I love music. I’ve been playing the piano since my first lesson in the 7th grade. I used to play with various singing groups and bands at the various churches I’ve been a part of. I’ve played in weddings, for competition, and for my kids.

At some point in my future, I’d love to go back to playing in front of a crowd. It’s one of the most challenging things for me to do because of the level of fear and nervousness that come with it, especially when I am backing up a vocalist. But the reward is always the same: a feeling of accomplishment, a sense of purpose because I am using a gift graciously given to me by God, and the camaraderie that comes with being amongst other musicians.

I also love listening to music. While I love living in a small(er) town, there is a downside: I don’t have nearly as many opportunities to listen to the radio in the car, which used to be a consistent way for me to hear some new tunes now and then. We don’t have a stereo of any kind in the house (shocker, I know), and I avoid turning on the house computer during the day to minimize my time in front of a screen while the boys are awake. It usually becomes a huge distraction for me as well, so it benefits us both. I do have an iPod, but since I no longer have a gym membership and I haven’t quite figured out how to implement an exercise routine into my week, then I’m really only listening to it when traveling.

A domestic Thursday

The pastor speaking at church this past Sunday intertwined his skill of baking bread into his sermon. He literally baked a loaf of bread during the service. At first I thought it was all just a set, like the bread and the oven were all props of some kind. But near the end of the sermon this delicious aroma crowded out any hopes of being able to pay attention to what the pastor was actually saying. All I wanted was that bread! Then he pulled it out of the oven and broke the bread (it was communion Sunday, after all) and my mouth was practically watering as I watched the heat rising out of the freshly baked loaf.

I was only slightly upset that the congregation was not given a sample on our way out the door!

And I was inspired. If this guy can make his own bread, then surely the same can be said for me! So to the Interwebs I went!

Needless to say, there are about a gajillion highly informative ways to make bread, with all kinds of tips and tricks, methods and warnings to heed. I decided to go with a recipe from the website Delectable Planet which included a video, being the more visual learner that I am.

Since I had plenty of whole wheat flour on-hand, then whole wheat bread it would be! I already knew it was easier and (probably) cheaper to just go to Costco and pay the $6 for my 2 loaves of Oroweat Whole Wheat Bread. The point for me to make the bread was partly to share in the experience with my youngest – just a “me and him” kind of thing. I also wanted to see if I could actually be successful at it. Last, I wanted to know if the taste would actually be worth the effort and expense of continuing to make it myself. I don’t own a bread machine, so I knew this would be an all-morning adventure and of course, the upside to making your own anything is that you’re well aware of the ingredients. Here’s all I needed for 2 loaves of whole wheat bread:

I thought I would use the King Arthur flour but I ended up having enough of the Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat flour, so that’s what I’m judging the bread on – not the King Arthur brand.

2012 W.O.T.Y.

It started with “Organize.” But that sounded too task-oriented.

Then it shifted to “Focus” which later became “Diligent.“ Nah, too harsh and I would easily have plenty of moments in the year that I could not focus on being diligent!

“Mindful” followed soon after, but that sounded too similar to last year’s WOTY, “Purposeful.”

I finally stopped thinking about choosing only one word for a few days and instead centered my mind on the purpose of the word I was choosing.

I knew that the words I had been considering were all necessary for what I desire for the year to come.

I do need to get organized, or at least come up with a way to stay organized. Now that D is in school, there are a lot more things to keep track of. There are therapy appointments to schedule and plan for, fundraisers, preschool plans for D. I have doctor appointments to schedule as I enter into the world of hormone replacement therapy (joy). More importantly, there is an incredible amount of information that I am going to need at a moment’s notice if this is the year that we’ll receive our first foster child placement. I can screw up my own kid’s schedules and not sweat it too much, but I need to be on the ball big-time when things like visitations and doctor appointments come about for the child placed in our care.

The appetizer dinner

When you have more than two families who wish to spend a holiday together, then a little “give” rather than “take” needs to happen. In our case, Hubs’ brother and his family wished to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with his wife’s family, so Friday night we celebrated an early Christmas Eve with them and other members of our family. The traditional Christmas Eve meal in Hubs’ family is fondue. Then on Saturday we celebrated Christmas Day with a traditional turkey dinner. Yum!

Since the grandparents were still in town on the real Christmas Day, we had them over to our home for a visit with the boys. However, nobody was interested in having a real “dinner” since we had just had meals aplenty for the last two day.

My answer: appetizers!

I prepared 5 different appetizers that fed 5 adults & 2 children and we still had a bit of leftovers, but not nearly as much as if I had put on a full dinner table for that many people. And I use the term “prepared” lightly when it came to 2 of the dishes!

Season firsts and hopes for next year

This has been an interesting holiday season for me. For starters, we’ve had several “firsts” in our little family this Christmas.

After 4 years in this house, we finally put up the Christmas lights, thanks to the help of my ever-lovin’ pa!

D has always loved driving around town looking at lights and “blow-ups” that people decorate their front yards with. I was able to score a nativity inflatable for us at one of last year’s Christmas clearance sales and the boys could not wait to see it out front this year.

This was the first year one of our kids had a chance to participate in a Christmas play. D was cute, funny and surprisingly a natural on the stage…especially in front of the microphone!

This was also the first year we enjoyed the annual Christmas parade in town. It’s never been a huge draw for Hubs and I with the boys being so little, but D’s school participated in it this year so I couldn’t really say no to going. I was surprised at how well he handled himself, wearing his cute hat and handing out candy and school brochures to the kids along the way. Apparently the holiday parade is a 2nd Halloween around here…SO.MUCH.CANDY!!