Stop and Think!

This blog post by Michael Hyatt really made me think:

A Tale of Two Coaches: What Kind Are You?

I definately want to be Victor, but I know that I tend to be more like Frank. Yikes. I hope this sticks in my memory and I remember to stop and think more before speaking!

Thanks Michael for a great inspiration post!

T.W.

Spring Treats

I have Chinese noodles and chocolate chips - and my sisters on the lookout for a good price on Cadbury's Mini Eggs. And then I'll be making these little gems!

The Basic Formula
Chinese noodles
2 cups (+?) Chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon Shortening
Mini Eggs

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Lightly grease a bowl and put in the bag of Chinese noodles. Melt chocolate chips in double boiler and add shortening. Pour melted chocolate over noodles and gently coat them. Pull out a portion of the melted chocolaty mass and form into a nest, approximately 2 inch across, with an indentation in the middle. I use my hands. Allow nest to set for several hours. Place "eggs" in nest and serve or display.

I'll try to get more specific measurements when I make them!

Enjoy!

T.W.

Good in What We Think is Bad

Recently I was feeling overwhelmed and weary, and I thought, “I need a vacation.” BUT, I knew that was a very unrealistic need. (Can needs be unrealistic?) Where would I go, and moreover, I didn’t want to spend any money. So that was the end of the story.

But it wasn’t the end. In fact, life got worse, and after valiantly fighting and hoping, I got sick. Mostly I breeze through colds with mild symptoms, but this was a little worse and I had to stop and rest. But that is when the good, in what I thought was bad, happened. I only felt uncomfortable for about two days, and then while I definitely wasn’t well and still needed to rest, I could actually enjoy this break thrust upon me guilt free. Furthermore, spring weather arrived, and with it a renewing of hope. Here is a quote from an e-mail I sent to a friend:

“This morning as a cool breeze from the outdoors stirred through the house and sunshine shone brightly outside, I felt reenergized and renewed, the promise of spring outdoors resonating with an emotional spring in my soul. I have been weary, but these days of rest have been like a drink from a cold winter well.”

That is what is was like, and it was almost ethereal. Resting all day, letting myself forget all the work I should be doing and indulging in “fluff” reading while wrapped in a blanket to ward off any chill from the invigorating spring air. I made one exception to my “no working” rule and did some hand sewing to finish a project I had wanted to do since Christmas, but that was it. The rest I just let go for a few days.

So often if find it hard to let go and place things back in God’s hands, but this gift of a rest period, packaged with beautiful sunshine and crisp air was a reminder to me of God’s goodness, of his control of even the smallest things, and that he can use even bad things to good purpose.  

The foolishness of thinking that I can do a better job if I keep control boggles my mind, and yet in a blink I forget and want things to go the way I plan them. Why do I so often and so quickly forget to trust Him?

Sometimes a vacaction isn't where we go, it's how it makes us feel. 

T.W.

 

 

Don't Try to Come Between Me and My Sister

The mindset of some people astounds me. I’ve heard it before, but the older man finished admiring my family’s picture and then told me, “Man, if I was a young guy dating one of you, I’d look around and say, hey, I have some more options here, which one do I choose?”

I informed him that my brother-in-law had zeroed in on the sister he wanted to marry and there was never any other option for him.

And that is how it should be.

If a guy was so flaky as to try and philander between sisters, we’d show him the door - collectively. Yes, I have very beautiful sisters, and we all do look a lot alike, but beneath that outer beauty are young women with similarities, but very different in our personalities, aspirations, goals and desires. Except that we’re all looking for a husband that is tall and wealthy. We all pretty much agree on that. Did I ever mention that we’re smart as well as beautiful? J Dreamers at any rate.

It wouldn’t bother me if a guy thought we were all pretty, that’s not a problem, but I react to the underlying spirit of focusing only on the outward appearance.  If a guy wants to pursue a relationship with one of us, he’d jolly well better see something special about that sister. Beauty is only skin deep and if you can’t appreciate what is beneath that, then forget trying to go into a life- long relationship.

I don’t mean this unkindly, but to provoke thought, “Is it any wonder that this guy was married more than once?”

There was another older guy there and he frequently talks about how beautiful our family is, which is flattering, but I’ve also with grief heard him talk about his wife pointing out attractive women to him. What’s wrong with that? Well, to be honest here, I doubt she’s saying, “Look at that lovely girls face.” Jesus said, “If a man even looks on a woman to lust after her he hath committed adultery already with her in his heart.” Jesus had pretty high standards, and I don’t expect everyone to be without sin, but to hear a Christian guy talking without shame about his eye for the woman is a sad statement for how far we’ve fallen.

Having said all this, it's not really to pick on the guys that I don't have great respect for, but becuase I know guys that aren’t that way. No, they’re not perfect, but they have a heart to hold themselves to Christ’s standard. That's pretty amazing.

Blessings,

T.W.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! May you abound in the blessings of Christ's love this season as you celebrate His birth.

Glory to our King!

T.W.

Let's Talk Turkey

My oldest nephew kept politely requesting things at the dessert table, very politely, but imperiously nonetheless. Finally I asked him, "Where's your kingdom?" He told me very ingenuously, "I don't know." I love that boy!

Later he informed me, "I'm eating lots so I'll be big and strong like Daddy." Ah, sweet Hallmark moment, but I couldn't let it go at that, I asked him, "Are you going to be smart and brilliant like your Aunt T.W.?"

One of my nieces took a bite of the cheesecake bars I had brought to the feast, I took one look at her face expression and asked, "Should I try a different recipe next time?" It was just such look as I might have given in my youth. She has a great future before her!

We took family pictures and froze! But it was still fun.

I'm so thankful for such a wonderful family!

Hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous!

T.W.

Election Day

A friend took my mother and I with her to vote today, but my mother discovered she didn't have a pair of glasses with her so she didn't vote becuase she couldn't see well enough. We did some shopping and other errands, mostly so she could pick up a pair of glasses.

She returned later in the day and voted, and then as she dropped her ballot in the box she told the elderly lady taking ballots, "This is the second time I've been here today."

PANIC!

It was eventually clarified that no, she hadn't voted the first time. It was the first and only time she had voted that day.

I'm not going to give a civic duty speech and tell you to go vote no matter who you're voting for, because I don't want to encourage people to vote the wrong way.

I mean, do you think I should tell people, "Yes, go jump off a bridge. It's your civic duty." If you're not going to vote wisely, I'd rather you didn't.

I'm just being honest. Don't you think that's refreshing in a political light?

Good.

T.W.

Leaving Things Behind

I vividly remember a story about a good friend of my grandmothers on a shopping trip when she purchased a pair of shoes for an incredible bargain -  but they weren't her size! She bought them simply because the deal was "too good to pass up."

In direct contrast, I love this post by Janice from The Vivienne Files: "It's Not In My Plan".

Is it greed to snatch something up that doesn't work and we'll never use simply because the deal is too good to leave behind? Maybe we need to stop and think, "I don't need this, so I'll leave it to be a blessing to someone else."

Do good buys catch you in their trap of being too good to pass up or do you find it easy to leave them behind if they won't work for you?

T.W.

Drama on a Quiet Tuesday Afternoon

My sister-in-law and I took the two little girls outside to enjoy some beautiful sunny fall weather. We got the mail, and then flitted around the yard between the interests of two wee girls when our travels took us to the front porch.

While I can’t recall the exact sequence of events, my oldest niece suddenly cried out in pain, and Mrs. S spotted a bee trying to sting her again. I grabbed my sunglasses since they were the only thing available to hand and was trying to get the bee off, but not having success. Then the Wee One cried out, and Mrs. S started screaming and ran off the porch. I was still trying to get the bee detached from Little Rose’s shirt, when her mother turned around and saw us still there and yelled at us to run! It was a good thing she did, because she knew there was a nest right by us, and they were starting to come out to attack!

We all reached the side of the house, thinking we might be out of danger, but quickly realized that we still had vicious bees on our trail. We ran inside as quickly as possible and Mrs. S started getting the clothes off the girls. Which was a very good idea, because those nasty things will crawl into your clothing and keeping stinging you. We were trying to comfort and check out the little ones when we realized that we were still under attack!

My sister-in-law grabbed the girls and ran into the other room, and then into the back bedroom while I attacked the bees. I don’t remember what I reached for as a weapon, but I assure you I stomped on those bees but good. There were only three, but there was something horrible about the fact that they had come into the house after us. Somewhere in there my sister-in-law had called her husband to ask about the stings, but by the time the call connected we were under attack again. I must confess to in all the madness feeling sorry for my brother who was miles away and couldn't do a thing to protect us from vicious bees.

Really, God was very merciful! We didn’t suffer too many stings and the girls don’t seem all that bothered by them. Emotionally we may not be quite back to ourselves since there is something exceptionally traumatizing about being chased and attacked by bees, especially with little ones.

It was fresh clothes for all of us, since bees invading your personal space is unnerving. I’m not sure when we’ll ever go outside again. I might have to make cookies tomorrow, since I feel that we are never going to be quite all right until we’ve had some chocolate chip cookies. It’s a thought at any rate.

I hope the only thing dramatic about your Tuesday was the Presidential Debate.

T.W.

Who's Your Momma?

It’s an epidemic. Or something. The young daughter of a friend of mine has several times recently called me Momma, but it is all in play. She also has called me “horsey,” so you can see why I don’t take these things personally. I have to say, it can be a tiny bit awkward, but I try to be a good sport and not interfere with her games since one of the times dolls were also involved. I have to say it is rather a shock to take on four “children” suddenly. I can only hope, that should they ever occur, it won’t take me that long to get my own children ready for school. How many times can you change an outfit?!!!

But it doesn’t end there: I’m currently staying with my brother and sister-in-law and my oldest niece frequently refers to me as “Momma.” She picked it up from a movie (Aristocats?) where all the little kittens say respectfully, “Yes, Momma.” And when I first got here, that is what she did, answering anything with a polite, “Yes, Momma.” Now she often just calls me “Momma.” Mrs. S. and I have both tried to correct her to no avail. I even went through a long explanation, coached her through “Aunt” and everything, and did I make any progress? She looked at me and said, “Yes, Momma.”

In humorous retaliation, I told her at one point that if she called me “Momma”, I was going to call her Tahitian, because right before I came I watched a movie that supposedly it is a Tahitian custom to share your children with those that don’t have any. In the movie it bugged me and I was thinking, “Raise your own kids!” I actually think it was Hollywood taking license with a custom that includes grandparents and other family members helping to raise the children – now that makes more sense. Handing your child off to a single young bachelor to rear just because he doesn’t have any seems like an imposition at best.

Back to my niece, she knows I’m not her mother. That is not even an issue. The trouble is how to communicate to a three and half year old that “Momma” really isn’t a title I should go by. The logic of youth is escaping me. Of course, youth is escaping me too, but that is a whole other problem. I think perhaps just leaving the child to her own devices might allow her to work it out in her own way. Maybe. She did call me something today that roughly resembled my real name, and as butchered as it was, I applaud her progress. But then as she was heading to bed she told me, "Goodnight, Momma."

Leading a curious life,

T.W.

(Who attends widows luncheons and is “Momma,” but not mother, to dolls and assorted children. And is sometimes a horse. Neigh, it is too much to ask.)

Sporting Style

I'm dressed pretty casual here, but I added the hat to up the style quotient! I probably would have traded the flip flops out for black ballet flats if I had them.

Off to play volleyball after that. Well, actually, I was off to watch volleyball and hang out with three of my nephews and a niece on the sidelines!

I love the t-shirt I'm wearing here because it is roomy and modest, and yet if I style it right, the lines are flattering, not sloppy.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

T.W.

Friday....

But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 9:24 KJV

Rigor Mortis and......About Me

"Schedules aren't like rigor mortis, my dear, they're living, breathing things." -T.W.

Sometimes when I talk to myself I have the cleverest thoughts. This quote is rather descriptive, and true. Don't you think so? I have no idea where it came from, we were just talking along (Myself and I) and it popped out. I think I need to put it in a book someday.

On a more serious note, we shouldn't think of schedules as being unyielding. They are guidelines, fences, etc., but they should not constrain us. Sometimes the idea of a schedule overwhelms me because life is so unpredictable and how can I plan what is going to happen when, when nothing ever happens as I plan?

I think perhaps I should come up with a schedule for myself. I'll have to remember that line about rigor mortis of course and keep in mind that I can still be flexible. A change is not likely to break any bones. Schedule bones and all that you know.

I better change subjects because I'm becoming slightly ghastly. So, on another note, I'm working on an updated About Me for the blog and thought it would be fun if my readers wanted to ask questions that I could answer and maybe incorporate into my information somehow. Is there anything you're curious about? I don't mean to frighten you, but you do remember what curiosity did to the cat? Never mind. Ask away! How brave are you anyway? :)

Anyway, that's all for now.

T.W.

Try These!

Uncooked tortillas - flour or corn (we found them next to the pre-shredded cheeses!)
1/2 pound of ground beef
1/2 packet taco seasoning
1 can of white beans
1 can of black beans
2 tomatoes, chopped (or use canned)
Guacamole
Optional:
salsa
shredded cheese

Brown burger with taco seasoning mix. Add both cans of beans and tomatoes, cook until liquid slightly thickens (it will still be quite runny). Cook tortillas in butter according to package directions. Spread about 1/2 cup of bean mixture over tortilla and top with guacamole and salsa and shredded cheese if desired, fold in half and enjoy!

The lady I'm staying with enjoyed these at her sister-in-law's house and recreated them at home on her health food kick! I've never seen tortillas that you cook yourself, but they are really yummy.

This recipe is super simple, tasty, and good for you! I love that combination. :)

House Cleaning

I'm house cleaning - on my blog. I didn't intend to, it just happened. I haven't been happy with the look ever since I changed it months ago. The graphics weren't as sharp as they looked before uploading, but I hadn't got around to fixing it. It's been bothering me. Really bothering me. I don't like things that aren't decoratively correct.

I kind of stumbled upon the current look, and at the moment I like the fact that it is more streamlined and utilitarian. Mostly though, it was simple and I didn't have to worry about trying to get a silly banner all lined up and centered.

What do you think? Is it okay for now but I should find a look that is a little more elegant? Or as long as I start putting in a little more content it doesn't matter what it looks like?

Happy Friday!

T.W.

(Friday used to be our big cleaning day when I was growing up, so today was perfect for cleaing up the blog.)

Keeping Life Real

The other morning I was up early brushing my teeth when I heard a weird noise that sounded ominous. I tensed and paused to listen, and then I realized............

It was my stomach growling. Growling is right, I honestly thought for a moment some animal was hiding in the bathroom about to attack.

That is the cold hard truth.

T.W.

Um, this could be me....

http://pinterest.com/pin/72128031502899710/

There Might be Something Wrong Here?

My sister and I joined a friend for dinner in a swank casual dining restaurant. The only seating was in the bar area. We ordered water to drink. And then we prayed over our food. Does anybody else see the humor in this?

Cheers and glasses of [root]beer!

T.W.

Farewell, Blue Castle

The ground below you slowly flowed,
Your foundation heaved, your wood buckled and bowed,

The property listed, we waited for lookers
But winter turned to spring without any tookers. (sorry, really sorry)

I'm going to stop right now. It's just better that way. I'm glad you agree.

Long poem short, we sold our mountain property! Actually, I'm not sure about that exclamation mark, even though it is a blessing, I have mixed emotions about it, but I am very grateful that God brough along a buyer. New beginnings my friends, new beginnings.

I don't know if I've mentioned that we had already bought another place in town that we are completely remodeling. I use "we" loosely. I'm afraid I've been pretty much gone since we bought it.

I'm back in my home state, but I'm house sitting so I'm still not home. Which is okay since they don't have plumbing or running water. Does anyone see a pattern here?

The Blue Castle had so many hopes and dreams, so much potential, and it was a good chapter in our lives - despite the harshness of the living conditions we faced within her four walls. I never expected to again, so many years later, become a "city girl". Would I have chosen to do so? Very unlikely, for I did so love being in the country.

There are many emotions surrounding the Blue Castle, and I have asked, "was it a mistake?" But I don't think so, I think it was part of a process. I should like to write more about this someday, but no promises.

For now, goodbye country living. Goodbye little Blue Castle, goodbye forever.

Am I making anybody cry? Just curious.

Do I need more sleep? I think it very likely.

T.W.

It's the Words You Use

My grandmother and I were watching one of the those mystery shows when a commercial started. My grandmother gets very annoyed with those things and used this descriptive phrase to order me to hit mute: “kill them!” (Just as there were two guys on the screen too, poor fellows.)

I pressed mute and then turned and looked at her, saying cooly “Are you ordering a hit?”

See, I know the lingo.

Ha, ha, she thought it was funny. But what put her into near hysterics is when I declared that I wanted some caramel at ten something at night. I’m glad it tickled her funny bone, but I have no idea why it was so hilarious. I really wasn’t suggesting that we get in the car and go get some. Shakes head.

My sweet tooth is not a laughing matter.