That moment when.....

You know you've made the right choice.

So I'm sitting at the table while J4 eats his lunch. I'm reading about the Northwest Arkansas Business Women's Conference they had yesterday. There were booths, and vendors, and key-note speakers. Business and professional women from all over Northwest Arkansas came, net-worked, got out of the office, and did general adult, working-women things.

I sighed. A part of me (sometimes a big part, sometimes a smaller part) wishes I were part of that world. I was Salutatorian of my high school graduating class. (That's 2nd in line behind Valedictorian.) I graduated from Hendrix with a degree in MATH! I'm smart, dad gumit! I could easily be one of those women.

Instead, I'm sitting here at my kitchen table wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Pouring small amounts of apple juice into a paper cup so J4 can learn to drink without the aid of a sippy cup. (and without copious amounts of paper towels...)

So then he's done and we start getting ready for his nap. He has to go potty first so I'm waiting in there with him when it starts.... I don't know if he, well, expelled gas, or just started it for fun, but he purses his lips and lets out a big pppbbblllttt! Then he laughs! I smile and decide to answer him back with my own pppbbbllllttttttt! He laughs louder! Then, it's on! We take turns making pooty noises with our mouths and laughing in between. I do think to myself that I may regret this when he does it in polite company. However, since his speech is lagging a bit, I figure any sounds we can get him to make with his mouth should help his development.

As I sit there, ppbbllttt-ing and laughing, I can't help but smile inside. No, I don't get to attend the NWA Business Women's Conference. No, I don't get to dress up and talk to adults. But I get to BE here. With him. During these few short years where he loves me almost unconditionally. Before the distractions of school start occupying his thoughts. Before life steps in and forces each of us to chose our own way that ultimately leads us apart. Not too far apart, I hope, but not as close as we are now. Before I have to let him go and be his own person.

That's when I know. I KNOW this is where I'm supposed to be. For me and my family, this IS my job.

And I couldn't be happier. :)

It's Not (Necessarily) Your Fault that You're Fat

But it IS your fault if you don't do something about it!

This is the conclusion I've arrived at after nearly 11 months on Weight Watchers.

To be fat in the United States today is as American as (a BIG ole slice of) apple pie (with 3 scoops of ice cream on top of that....).

In our culture, food is EVERYWHERE. We are bombarded with radio commercials, tv commercials, billboards, and advertisements about food. We can't have a meeting, event, rehearsal, practice, open house, or even CHURCH without food. We have entire magazines, newspaper sections, and television channels devoted to FOOD!

So when you're trying to control how much food you eat, having all these messages about food surrounding you nearly 24/7 is almost too much for one person to handle. I know it has been for me. Limiting your food intake is like being told to not think about purple elephants for 10 minutes. Hey! It's been 7 minutes since I thought about d'oh! Purple elephants!

The near-constant barrage of messages telling us to EAT EAT EAT makes it very easy to OVER- OVER- OVER-eat!

So can you really blame the 2/3 of Americans who are overweight and/or obese? Is it really their (our) fault?

That's a rhetorical question....

HOWEVER, now that you know the situation and what you're up against, it's up to YOU to turn the tide.

YOU have to find a way to counteract the never-ending influences of advertising on your meal choices.
YOU have to decide to forego the fries at McDonald's. (Noooo! Say it isn't so!)
YOU have to decide to have a big bowl of fruit with breakfast. (But Poptarts are SO yummy!)
YOU have to decide to find a way to prepare vegetables every night. (and I'm not talking about potatoes.)
YOU have to find a way to eat less. WAY less. Portion sizes are out of control! (But an 8 oz steak with 2 cups of mashed potatoes and 2 rolls is a regular meal, isn't it? Isn't it???)
YOU have to find a way to get some exercise every day. (But the couch....it's so comfy!)

It all comes down to you and your own decision. You won't lose weight by doing nothing. You won't lose weight because your mother or husband wants you to. You won't lose weight if you keep listening to what "they" say and grabbing that burger on the way home or that milkshake in the afternoon. You have to decide that your health is worth the sacrifice of munching on fruit when everyone else has a fudge bar. (Because they need to change their habits, too.)

It's hard. But worth it. Good luck!

For Entertainment Purposes Only.....

I LOVE baking! Love it love it love it!

I've been baking a myriad of baked goods since I was probably 11 or 12. Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines, Pillsbury, you name it, I've done it! Well, except for one thing....

BAKING A CAKE FROM SCRATCH!!!!

Nope, I've never made a layer cake totally from scratch. I've made some recipes that were essentially cakes from scratch, but never just a plain ole white layer cake.

So today, I thought I'd change that. I went searching for my "Cake Bible" by Rose Levy Beranbaum. And it's lost! I'm afraid I may have donated it to the library in a fit of "anti-stuff-itis."

Being part of the modern world, though, I went and relied on Google. I found this recipe for simple white cake. It looked easy so I did it.

 Preheating the oven to 350 degrees. (and using the heat of the oven to soften the butter.....come on, I can't be the only one who doesn't set their butter out 30 minutes beforehand to let it come to room temperature!)

Mixing the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.

 Voila! Perfectly placed from-scratch cake! (This recipe was great because it only made one layer! Perfect for experimenting.)

I don't have a picture of how it looked right out of the oven, but I trust you've all seen a naked baked cake before.

Hmmm, now what should I frost it with? I was going to make some regular buttercream icing, which I've done countless times. But that seemed boring. AH HA!!! I've got it!

Marshmallow Fondant from Pinterest!

Bit 'o background: Fondant cakes are BEAUTIFUL! You can cover them and cut out shapes and make oh so cute stuff. It's the primary way that Duff from Charm City Cakes decorates his. I've tried using the Wilton Fondant but it doesn't taste very good. I even have a friend on facebook who is a chef. She says that professionally made fondant doesn't taste that good either. So I thought this marshmallow fondant would be a good idea. It's just marshmallows and powdered sugar! What's not to love?

Read on......

For this step, I had to run to the store down the street and buy an entire bag of mini marshmallows. I put them in my big Pampered Chef batter bowl, added a little bit of water and some almond extract. I then microwaved the whole thing maybe a minute and a half or two minutes total. (and forgot to take pictures. Hey, I'm not the Pioneer Woman....)

Next, I added some Wilton blue food coloring gel.

And finally, I turned it out onto a cookie sheet covered in powdered sugar. (and a silpat)

During this entire process, my hands were covered in white sugar and sticky, blue goo. So there are no pictures. I kneaded sugar into the marshmallows, coating my hands in cooking spray the entire time.

To no avail, I might add. That stuff is STICKY! It even stuck to the Silpat! Yes, the Silpat! (A silpat is a silicone mat that nothing sticks to. Or so their website claims. Unfortunately, I think I've found a way to defeat it...) Can you see the small spatula I had to use to remove the stuff from the silpat? This is some powerful stuff!

The blog showing how to make the fondant claims that after kneading in the sugar, you can roll it out with a rolling pin and use it to decorate your cakes and cookies. Well, I don't know if it was the weather (hot and dry), my technique (ok, ok, questionable....), or whatnot, but mine never was able to be rolled. Oh, I tried, but it stuck to the rolling pin. I added more sugar, like the website says, and then it was just white. I finally coated my hands in a ton of cooking spray and moved the lump over to the cake.

Using my palms, I spread it out as best I could. Leaving me with a beautifully smooth, satiny-sheen candy coating on my freshly baked from scratch cake!

 Or it would have been, had it stretched that far..... Try as I might, I could not get it to stretch any further. I think it had cooled so much by then that it wasn't going anywhere.

Since my beautiful cake was already, well, not ruined, but not near like I envisioned it, I decided to just experiment. Have you seen that wedding cake on Pinterest that's covered entirely with sprinkles?

 

Yes? Well, I made 4 small little sprinkle areas just to see. Yep, it's as hard to do as it looks. Whatever they paid for that cake was probably inadequate for how difficult it is to get sprinkles ON THE SIDES and everywhere! Not to mention how much sweeping and near-falling the lady did while walking on her floor afterwards....

Finally, I had to taste my cake. It was good! Not quite as moist as a mix cake, but definitely had a good flavor and it's definitely one I'll make again. Also, after trying ready made and now homemade fondant, I can honestly say I don't like the taste of either one. Plus, while this one tasted better than the store-bought kind, it still had the consistency of, say, a balloon. I took a bite or two with the fondant on my cake, and then just peeled it off and ate the cake. (Less points that way, too!)

Next time I'll make a really pretty icing creation and let y'all see it. I promise it'll be better than this stuff!

Eureka!

For the past 18 months, Jim and I have lead Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course at our church. It's a fantastic course that teaches you how to handle money God's way. In leading this course, we've come across many different financial situations. Throughout it all, I've started to wonder just how much we should rely on ourselves to provide for our needs versus how much we should rely on God for the same.

I've been wrestling with this question for months now but I think I found a wonderful answer! I was reading the "Dave Says" newspaper column archives on Dave's website. Here is a wonderful question and answer that I'm going to print out and post somewhere in my home! Haha!

Here is the link to the original post. I have copied and pasted it here so you can read it immediately.

Impulsiveness is not faith

Dear Dave,
My husband and I would like for me to be able to quit my job and stay at home with our kids. We’ve got a little money saved up, but we’re not sure we could make it on just his salary. The money would be very tight. In your mind, how do we know the difference between being financially responsible and relying on God to provide?
Michelle
Dear Michelle,This is a great question! I admire the desire to be at home with your kids, and that you realize you can’t just act impulsively and call it faith. This is a concept that’s misused and misunderstood a lot.

If you can’t make it on just your husband’s salary, then you’ve got to develop a game plan that involves a written monthly budget and some lifestyle changes. If you do this with diligence and sacrifice, chances are you’ll be able to make this happen and not bankrupt your family. This could also mean that you start a small business on the side—something you could do from home—to offset the difference.

Having faith that God will provide requires study of the Scriptures. But God also tells us that you need the maturity and wisdom to plan your direction. The Bible says, “The diligent prosper. He who is impulsive exalts folly.” Folly is a fool in action. It’s kind of like the guy who closes his eyes, jumps in the pool, and hopes there’s water in there—and calls that faith.
I love the idea of you coming home to be with your kids, Michelle. Just make sure you develop an intelligent plan, and mix intellect with faith.
—Dave


I LOVE where he says "You can't just act impulsively and call it faith." Ah ha! This is what I've been wondering. Do you just close your eyes and jump and hope everything works out? Or do you do your homework, do your research, make your plan, and THEN rely on God for everything to fall into place?  God gave us brains. I think he expects us to use them. He didn't make us blind followers who are supposed to just blow with the wind and then claim that whatever happens was God's will. 

I think in the end, you plan as best as you can and THEN rely on God to provide the rest.  I'm so excited that I found this answer! This has been bothering me since at least early April. Now maybe I can use it to help other people understand the relationship between planning and faith.

All Creatures Great and Small

When we moved into this house in 2006, I hated it. Yes, I had agreed on the floor plan with Jim and we liked it. But the neighborhood was barren. No trees, no hills. Half of the houses weren't even built yet so we had a lot of land out here. My dream neighborhood has lots of large, mature trees with tons of shade. Squirrels, birds, and other little critters flitter and scamper by as I sit in my kitchen and gaze out the back window.

But not here. Here the sun shines all day long. There are no trees from which to shield its glare. It's like crossing the desert just to check the mail. (Because someone in their infinite wisdom decided to put all the mailboxes on ONE side of the street. So half of us have to cross the street to get our mail.....grrrrr) I miss our house in Little Rock that had a huge backyard filled with 3 large trees, infinite numbers of squirrels (owing to one of the trees being a large oak), birds of all kinds, and two chipmunks. I've even prayed that God would have two huge trees sprout up across the street and we'd be known all around for having a miracle occur! (yes, I really prayed that. No, it hasn't happened.....yet)

One day, a few months after we moved in, God surprised me!

A robin had made a nest underneath the eave of our house on the gutter downspout! We could watch from our front window as the mother bird fed her babies. The girls loved it! Oh who am I kidding? *I* loved it! Even in our vast expanse of flat, treeless land, God had blessed us! Nature was just outside our very front door.

Well, it's happened again. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a bird in our backyard gathering sticks. And it was heading towards the kids' playset!!! I wondered if I should shoo it away, but then decided that if I didn't give the bird a home, who would? There are no trees in this neighborhood.

Here is momma bird sitting on our fence. She's smack dab in the middle of the picture. 

Here she is walking across the playset beam. This is how she lands and enters the nest every time. 

Now she's sitting on the nest. You can see her tail feathers in this photo.









Then, just yesterday, I got brave enough to go up and look in. BABIES! I thought I had a picture of the eggs, but I can't find it on my camera or my phone. But they've hatched now! On a sad note, there were 4 babies but one is at the bottom of the nest not moving. :(  I don't know how that happens but I figure it's just nature taking its course.

My main goal now is to keep our pesky dog, Harper, away from the babies when they get pushed out of the nest and try to learn to fly. I'd feel horrible if she ended up killing one. Maybe I'll even be able to get some video of the little birds trying to fly. They always scare me when they're that little. Geez, now not only do I have 3 kids and a dog to worry about, but I have 3 birds as well! Once a mother, always a mother, I guess!

A Kindred Spirit!

Pinterest.

I've blogged about this before. Most of you have heard about it. I've even vented on facebook about the appalling stuff you can find "pinned" on there!

Well, it turns out I'm not the only one to notice those things.

Pinterest, You Are Drunk is a website that takes some of the more egregious pins and showcases them in all their gutsy, outrageous, who-would-think-of-that glory!

It's like Cake Wrecks for Pins.

AND, it fits in perfectly with my Board on Pinterest entitled "Things That Make Me Want to Cry or Run Screaming from the Room!"

Go check it out. Perfect for a relaxing summer day!

M.O.T.H.E.R.

M is for the many things I need
O is for obstinate children, of which I have three.
T is for temper tantrums, which happen day and night,
H is for hives...oh what a fright!
E is for everything else I forgot
R is for remembering the three blessings I got!

No, I'm not a poet who didn't know it. I just saw the wonderful irony in celebrating Mother's Day with three children, whom I dearly love and devote almost every waking moment to, who did almost nothing but fuss and fight for a good half of the morning. So I composed this little ditty in my head. (To keep me sane.....) LOL!