Happy Mother’s Day! Moms come in all forms, too. Not all moms have had babies, but have a motherly influence on the loved ones in their lives.
So no matter if you have kids of your own or if you have people who look up to you as a mom, I hope you have a wonderful day today. Happy Mother’s Day to you!!
It’s that time of year again, folks. No, not tax time…though, as a friendly reminder from me to you, next Monday is April 15th – time to get your taxes filed!
Today is the St. Louis Cardinals home opener! Since no one has declared Opening Day a “St. Louisans-Don’t-Have-To-Work Day”, I listened to the festivities on 1120AM KMOX. I know I’m only in my mid-thirties, but listening to games on KMOX really brings me back to being a kid…growing up in central Illinois meant you either watched games on TV or listened to KMOX. I’ve listened to countless games, and never have I been so moved than today.
Stan “The Man” Musial passed away in January of this year. He is synonymous with the Cardinals, and with being a St. Louisan. I work in St. Louis, and drive by Busch Stadium each day. I remember seeing the Stan statue completely surrounded by gifts and tributes to “The Man”, and how touched I was that his family was willing to open up their grieving process to the millions of Cardinal fans around the world.
The Opening Day ceremony started with the entrance of the Clydesdales, then a tribute to Stan. The starting lineup was introduced, then another moment of silence in honor of all those we have lost, including the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary last December. I started tearing up with the initial tribute to Stan…and pert near lost it at the end, especially when the National Anthem was played by the Gateway Harmonica Club…Stan was a lifelong member of the club. The Cardinals have always been a classy organization, and it really showed today. They are planning a bigger tribute to Stan at Friday night’s game, and man…I wish I could be there! Does anyone have a pair of tickets they’d like to give me? Anybody?
I actually looked forward to my drive home tonight, knowing that I would be able to look into the stadium as I passed it. Granted, it was a tiny view, and I had to focus on the task at hand – safe driving. But I could smell the food…I could just barely see the fans decked out in red. Attending a home opener is definitely on my bucket list!
Even though the Cardinals lost (okay, “got their butts handed to them in the 9th inning” is more appropriate), it’s still been a great Opening Day for me. Today is the first of many afternoons where I’ll get a peek inside Busch…a peek inside America’s pastime. And right now, I’m watching The Sandlot, probably my second favorite baseball movie ever (A League of Their Own is my absolute favorite movie of all time), remembering when Dad used to take me and Greg to see the Cardinals play in old Busch and how we’d take our gloves, even though there was no way any ball was getting hit that far up…when we used to go to games in Springfield, IL, first Cardinals, then Sultans (the club in town now is the Springfield Sliders, and is part of the Prospect League).
You know, football may be the most popular sport in the country, but baseball will always be America’s pastime. To me, no other sport measures up to it…the history of the game, listening to the play-by-play, the sound of a bat knocking a ball out of the park, the smell of hot dogs and beer… Sitting close is awesome, but I think Alabama had it right when they sang, “There’s nothing like the view from the cheap seats.”
Someone once said, “The only constant in life is change.” If that’s true, then why do I always go kicking and screaming when change comes a-calling? I’m most comfortable with routine. I need to know that two follows one. If I have to do something new, I want to make a plan and also have a back-up plan ready to go if necessary. Oh, I know that I also have to be flexible in life within the routines and plans, but that’s different than change.
For example, one day last week our postal carrier at work, Jay, announced that it was his last day. The United States Postal Service, in its infinite wisdom, decided to shake up all the mail delivery routes in our town and moved all the carriers to different parts of town. I’ve been working at our local Chamber of Commerce for 7-1/2 years and, even before my time there, Jay has been bringing our mail, telling us jokes, and brightening everyone’s day. That’s a long time and maybe it was time for a change, but I gotta tell ya that it sure did come as a shock to us. It was like losing a friend.
To add insult to injury, the mail is now being delivered mid-afternoon rather than mid-morning. (Not the fault of the new carrier.) I mean, come on! Does the USPS have no feelings whatsoever? I’ve had to change my whole routine!
Sorry to be so dramatic, but that’s how I get when change forces itself on me.
Since “the only constant in life is change”, the important thing then is how we react to it. Going beyond my USPS woes… if something major in life happens that I have no control over, I figure I basically have two choices. Accept and keep moving forward or live in denial and stall out. I like to think that I will choose the former. With the help of family, friends and my faith in God, I’m sure I will.
Always remember that, even in the midst of change, home is where the heart is, and there’s no place like home. ♥
Sometimes we complain, but there is something beautiful about getting up before everyone else to get better at what we love. - Olympic Gold Medalist Missy Franklin on getting up at 4:45 a.m. for swimming practice.
This evening on ABC News I was watching the piece on Olympic Gold Medalist Missy Franklin competing in her high school swim meet. She was so full of joy doing what she loves to do – be in the water and swim faster than everyone else! The journalist asked the coach of the opposing team if she thought it was fair that an Olympic gold medalist was competing in a high school meet. Without hesitation she said it was wonderful and that the girls on her team had been looking forward to swimming with Missy. She said it was the closest they would ever be to Olympic glory and they were excited about it!
I just thought that was so cool. Mind you, Missy lapped all but one of the swimmers in the pool with her and won one of her races by 20 seconds! No jealousy or feelings of anything about it being unfair though. Very classy girls!
This little story, tagged on at the end of a news program, was so inspiring to me. It’s making me think… am I doing whatever is necessary to get better at what I love? Hmmm… I think there is always room for improvement! 
If you missed it on TV, the video from ABC News may be viewed here. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
I have a home hobby business which I really enjoy. I’m never going to get rich doing it. Goodness, it doesn’t even turn a profit! What it does do is generate enough sales so that I have to pay state sales tax. Not enough though to have to pay the state more than once a year. So, every year in the first two weeks of January, I’m trying to remember how to navigate the online sales tax reporting and payment system.
Now, don’tcha know that when you only do something once a year it’s hard to remember just how to do it? Wouldn’t it make sense for me to write down some important information like my online account username and password? Apparently, that would be just too easy because today I could not, for the life of me, remember how to get into my account. Oh my word. I had it on my schedule to do it today and by cracky, I was going to do it today. You see, I really do worry about missing deadlines and the possibility of having to pay a penalty. May as well flush money down the…well, you know what I mean.
So here I am trying every possible username I could think of. I’m looking in every possible computer file and hard copy file. If I could get the username right I could reset the password. But noooo! Not gonna happen. So I went to the “Help” page. The online help didn’t have anything about this. The phone help wasn’t open today.
I wasted, er… worked about two hours trying everything I could think of. Then it hit me. See if it will let me log in as a new user. Of course, that could make a bigger mess, but I was determined.
Long story short…it worked! I got into my account and, in less time than it took me to think of a new password, I had the return submitted and the payment sent. Yay! I’m good for another year!
Lesson learned? Of course, it’s to write this stuff down, keep it in a safe place, and for heaven’s sake don’t rely on my older-than-dirt memory! Oh, and thank the Lord that my hubby John does our personal taxes!
I hope when you pay your taxes – and we all do – it goes smoothly and is not too painful!
Christmas is over. 2013 starts tomorrow. And I’ve been thinking about the past year…
I’m still sad about the terrible shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. My heart is grieving for the parents, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends of those sweet souls lost that day, the 14th of December, 2012.
My heart is still heavy for a local family with two little girls who lost their grandpa last summer then their daddy a month later and their mommy is battling against cancer.
I can’t imagine how any of these families are getting through the holidays. I know there are many others who have experienced loss in 2012 as well and sometimes it all just overwhelms me. My heart goes out to each of them. I hope that they are able to feel support from me and others who care for them and are praying for them.
On the other hand, in January 2012 our son Greg and his wife Jessi moved back to our town and just few months later bought their first home. Just a few months after that Jessi was pronounced cancer-free for the second year. Hallelujah!! They are looking forward to what 2013 brings for them and so are we!
Emily’s husband Steven went through a health scare and came out with a good report. Again, hallelujah!!
In 2012, I got to witness my brother and my niece each find love, get married, and experience reconciliation in their family. Times are hard but their futures look bright!
John and I got to attend a cousin’s wedding in his home town and while there re-connected with his brother, sis-in-law, and our wonderful nieces and nephews. It was a grand time!
After 20 years at this address, we finally got a garage for our cars with space for John to have a workshop. That was big for us, folks.
Oh, and I finally learned how to bake key lime pie and cheesecake. The pie was easy as, well, pie to make. It tasted just like the first key lime pie I ever had in Florida. Yum! The cheesecake took several recipes and several practice cheesecakes to get it right but since it was for my niece’s wedding, it was worth the effort. Comments we heard from guests included, “Best cheesecake ever!” Oh yeah!!!
I hope that 2013 will bring health, peace and comfort to us all. Keep the faith and remember to pray. As Tiny Tim said in A Christmas Carol, “God bless us, every one!” Always remember that home is where the heart is and there’s no place like home! Happy New Year!
As I sit here at the close of this year’s Christmas Day, I find myself reflecting on past Christmases. This is by far my favorite time of year. The air is crisp and cold, and we either have snow or are gearing up for an impending snow storm. Families and friends are reconnecting, perhaps planning a party, or at least dinner. For me, I’m celebrating three very different occasions: the anniversary of my hubby’s dad’s liver transplant, my wedding anniversary, and of course, Christmas.
Five years ago, Steven’s dad was diagnosed with liver failure that had no known cause. He was placed on the waiting list that fall…which just begins a long, stressful wait. I can’t find the words to describe what it’s like to wait for that one phone call…or two…or three. Two false alarms, and one “good-to-go” call is what it took before we could finally settle in for a very long night in the ICU waiting room. Three days before Christmas. Now, I’ve been on the living donor side of transplant surgery when my dad donated over half his liver to his cousin in 2001. But it’s a completely different feeling to be on the recipient side…especially knowing that my loved one gets a second life because another family is grieving the death of their loved one. Because of that family’s willingness to donate their loved one’s organs, not only my family, but also several other families get more time with their loved ones. This year, we were able to celebrate Dad’s 5th second birthday! Thank God for medical technology that allows for the intricacies of transplant surgery!
Steven and I met when I was a sophomore in college (Go, McKendree Bearcats!). He says that after our first date, he went home and told his mom that I was the girl he was going to marry, a story she confirms. Aw! In October of that year, he proposed on McKendree’s front lawn, one of my favorite places on campus. I was so surprised, but found the ability to say yes. I wanted to finish school first, and he was so understanding and patient…what a blessing! We were married two years later, on December 23, 2000. I think our relationship benefitted, though, from such a lengthy engagement. We were able to learn about each other’s habits, our family’s habits, and really see each other at our best and worst. Some days we can’t believe it’s been 12 years…and others…well, it feels like it’s been a lot longer. I am so thankful every day, though, that God blessed me with Steven. I couldn’t imagine my life with anyone else!
And now, Christmas…my very favorite holiday of the year. The cookies and candies…the decorations…the twinkle of lights on houses and trees – I just love it all. Each year, I make fudge for my brother and S-cookies for my dad…at minimum! I also made animal (cutout) cookies this year, and we’ll decorate them as a family on Friday night. We’ll get together with Mom’s family on Saturday, and just our six that night. Steven and I spent time yesterday and today with his parents, as well as this morning with just the two of us.
We started our Christmas festivities, though, with singing in both Christmas Eve services at our church, Leclaire Christian Church. The service, whether we attend or participate in it, always helps to get me centered on the real reason for Christmas. Without the birth of Jesus, we wouldn’t be able to know the power of God’s redemptive love. Without Him, my joy in celebrating Dad’s second birthday and my anniversary wouldn’t be as meaningful. Without Him, my joy in the Christmas season wouldn’t be complete. Thank You, God, for sending your Son for us. Thank You for loving us so much that you give us a second chance…a chance for eternal life.
My greatest wish for each of you is that you have a blessed Christmas, and that the memories of today stretch into the New Year.
Merry Christmas!
We wish you a Merry Christmas!
We wish you a Merry Christmas!
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
May your Christmas be full of wonder and may you be happy and well in the coming New Year!
God bless you!
Aunties M & Em ♥♥
Well, Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. I love everything about Thanksgiving…time spent with family, being grateful for what God has blessed us with, and, last but certainly not least, the food. A couple of weeks ago, Diane at White on Rice Couple (one of my favorite blogs), posted about Thanksgiving recipes, both old favorites and new interpretations. She got me to thinking about the most memorable dishes from throughout the years…both good and, well, not so good.
Several years ago, we decided that since we had all traditional Turkey Day dinners, we would try some twists on traditional dishes. We were inspired by recipes we found on FoodNetwork.com, like Giada’s Turkey with Herbes de Provence and Citrus and Sweet Potato Gnocchi. Dad followed the recipe for the turkey pretty much to the letter, except he opted to grill the turkey on his trusty Weber kettle grill. It looked and smelled delicious! Right on schedule, Dad pulled the turkey in the roasting pan from the grill, and set it on his grill-side table. Now, I still don’t know how it exactly happened, but the next thing I know, the turkey and pan are on the driveway…breast side down. A few irritated words and stunned moments later, Dad picked up the turkey, brushed off the teensy bits of gravel and brought it inside. That was one of the tastiest birds I’ve ever had! It earned the moniker “Driveway Turkey”, which we still use to this day when referring to any turkey Dad grills. I’d say this is a dish that succeeded when it nearly failed!
That same year, I made the sweet potato gnocchi with maple cinnamon sage brown butter. I had never made gnocchi before, and was pleasantly surprised at how easy they were to make. The brown butter sauce, on the other hand, was a little trickier, and I’m still not sure I got it quite right. We couldn’t find fresh sage at the grocery store, so we substituted basil…and boy, did it pop and sizzle when I added it the brown butter! It kind of caught me off guard, but it was really cool. Normally, we have leftovers of all the dishes we make, but the sweet potato gnocchi were gobbled up by everyone at dinner! Success! Hmmm…I think I need to make it again soon…
Before the Driveway Turkey and Sweet Potato Gnocchi, though, was the first dish we made that is not traditional for our family…the “fail” in this case. It has become the stuff of legend…Dad’s brother, Jerry, was joining us for Thanksgiving that year…and not a year goes by that he doesn’t mention this dish in some way. Let me turn this post over to Mom for more information…’cause I try not to think about it if I don’t have to…
Mmmmm…. Emily, we do need for you to make some more Sweet Potato Gnocchi! It was truly one of the tastiest dishes I’ve ever had!
But now, for the stuff of legend. Back in the 1990s…and I mean the entire decade… I worked for our local Head Start program. I made some good friends there and learned to appreciate diversity and family cultures different from my own.
One year we were all talking about our favorite foods for the holidays. My African-American friends said there are two soul foods that are must-haves for Thanksgiving: sweet potato pie and chitlins.
Now, I’d made sweet potato pie and it is delicious, but I didn’t even know what chitlins were. My friends went on and on about how good they are and how it wouldn’t be the holidays without them. So I thought maybe our family should also experience this ultimate soul food fare.
I got the recipe complete with extensive instructions about how to properly clean the chitlins before beginning the cooking process which, by the way, takes several hours. Yes, several hours of steamy goodness filling our home with chitlin anticipation.
According to Wikipedia.org, here’s what we’re talking about: “Chitterlings (sometimes spelled as pronounced: chitlins or chittlins) are the intestines of a pig, although cattle and other animals’ intestines are similarly used, that have been prepared as food. In various countries across the world, such food is prepared and eaten either as part of a daily diet, or at special events, holidays or religious festivities.”
Let me remind you, I didn’t know what chitlins were even when I was cleaning them. They were a little weird and slippery, but I kept thinking about how my friends’ eyes sparkled when they were talking about how good they are and so I moved on to the cooking stage. I followed the recipe exactly with every ingredient my friends used and turned on the stove. Soon this very, shall we say, “interesting” aroma filled the kitchen. I thought that maybe it had to cook out of the chitlins…surely it would taste better.
Well, long story short, my brother-in-law Jerry was with us that year for Thanksgiving, we did have chitlins on the dinner table and, in the spirit of friends, family and cultural diversity, we all did take a taste. Oh my word! Let’s just say, we decided chitlins must be an acquired taste that we really didn’t want to acquire!
Every Thanksgiving the legendary chitlins get talked about and remembered. I’m pretty sure they’ll be talking about them at my funeral and, who knows…maybe at the heavenly banquet table!
Even though chitlins may not be one of our cultural specialties, they are treasured and appreciated by many around the world! I encourage you and your family to try something new for the holidays or any day. You never know…it may become the stuff of legend!
I’ve been on and off a diet to lose weight since I was 11 years old. Back then my Mother counted calories for me, as well as for my Dad and herself. She made it easy for us and we always had tasty meals. In the 40+ years since then I’ve been on countless diet plans or programs.
A few years ago though a new wrinkle emerged in my dietary needs. I became lactose intolerant. It has been a challenge to navigate the world of American food where cow’s milk is a staple ingredient.
In the whole scheme of life though, being lactose intolerant is small potatoes compared to what other folks I know have to deal with. Gluten intolerance, diabetes, nut allergies, and on and on…these dietary needs make life much more of a challenge and I must give credit to families for all they go through to provide healthy and tasty meals for themselves and their children.
My daughter-in-law, Jessi, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the spring of 2011. She had two surgeries, had to go on a low-iodine diet, and then endure a radioactive iodine treatment (complete with days of isolation) to get rid of the cancer. When she was pronounced cancer-free, it was a high-five-supercalifragilisticexpialidocious kind of day!! Now just over a year later, she is back on the low-iodine diet again to prepare for a low-dose radioactive iodine scan to confirm her cancer-free-ness. We are confident for a good report, but once again we are exploring the world of low-iodine cooking.
It’s pretty obvious that on a low-iodine diet she can’t have iodized salt. But I’ll bet you didn’t know that all sea salt and sea food from the ocean, as well as all dairy products and most soy products are also not permitted on this diet. She can have the insides of a potato, but not the skin; an egg white, but not the yolk. It’s very interesting and challenging to say the least. The use of salt in pre-packaged foods is universal and since we don’t know if the manufacturer uses iodized salt or not, none of them are permitted.
So Jessi and Greg are making everything from peanut butter to tomato sauce to chicken stock from scratch. They are making some wonderful recipes, but it’s a lot of work. I give them lots and lots of credit for all that work! They are good cooks, but like most of us, they’re not used to making everything from scratch. Yet, here they are doing it and doing it well.
We were happily surprised when, in the Low-Iodine Cookbook from ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, what should we find but our family’s absolute favorite made from scratch cake recipe!!! It’s the very first recipe my Mother taught me to make and I taught it to Emily and Greg when they were kids learning to bake. We call it Crazy Cake. The Low-Iodine Cookbook calls it Wacky Cake. Either way, it’s so delicious and so easy to make. And it’s low-iodine!!! Woo-hoo!!! Here’s the recipe:
Crazy Cake
3 cups flour 2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups sugar 2 tsp vanilla
6 tablespoons cocoa 3/4 cup oil
1 tsp salt 2 cups water*
2 tsp baking soda
Sift the cocoa to get rid of any lumps. Combine all ingredients by hand using a large whisk. Don’t over mix. Spray 9 x 13 pan with non-stick spray or grease & flour pan. Bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean. Don’t over-bake.
*To enhance the chocolate flavor, I use one cup water and one cup strong brewed coffee. This is a recently added option.
If you want to turn this cake out of the pan, be sure to use parchment paper on the pan bottom in addition to the non-stick spray.
This cake is delicious dusted with powdered sugar. Almond flavored buttercream icing is also really good!
If you or a family member struggles with dietary issues, I wish you well. If the Crazy Cake above is something you can eat, give it a try! It’s really, really good and will put a smile on your face!
Written by Auntie Em
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