Life is Sweet

Monday, December 13, 2010

Squished

This past weekend we were squeezing it all in.

On Friday I was determined to get our neighbor goodies delivered. The fam and I had been working on them all week, and I noticed that my gingerbread men were beginning to look diseased. The icing was morphing into gingerbread-men-chicken-pox or something like it. The end of their lookin'-good counter time was fast approaching.

This picture is pre-disease. Some of the gingerbread men started getting spots on them. I had to sort through them to find the best to give, the rest are comfortably sleeping in my freezer, waiting to be consumed by those of us who don't mind diseased gingerbread.

I assembled the goodies, prepared packages for giving, gathered my girls, and sent them out.

I know it's a little early for such things, but we're on a schedule around here as we try to get ready for our
Big Christmas vacation (4 days!).

For date night on Friday, Bill and I tried to finish up the small and simple Christmas shopping for the kids. We had only limited success (but luckily we did have some), so I guess that means we didn't finish. Which means we have only 4 days to do it. Oh my.

Saturday morning we had to divide and conquer. Bill and Mauri attended Breakfast with Santa at the church,

and Shilo and I headed off to her swim meet. Shilo was swimming the 100fly for the first time competitively on her Aces team. She was nervous.

(Shilo's in lane 2)

She got a Silver State time, and could qualify for A-League in high school swim if she can repeat her performance this upcoming Thursday. She kept saying, "Butterfly isn't my stroke." I told her maybe it is. She also took 3 seconds off her 200free, so she was satisfied with her performance, however, she told me after every event that she hadn't swum her hardest. I wanted to shake her and say, "What do you think this is?? It's a competition!! Swim your hardest!!" I look forward to the day when she tells me she gave it all she had.

The rest of the day involved:

trip taxi-service scheduling (Bill)
a horse parade and McDonald's (Bill and Mauri)

toy-selling and pizza-delivery (Taylor)
house cleaning (almost everyone)

a babysitting job (Shilo)

a tanning salon (Lexee)

a ward Christmas dinner (Bill and Tina)

a boys high school basketball game (Lexee, Taylor, Bill and Tina)

and a haircut (Tina for Bill, at 10:30pm).

Sunday was loaded too, with:

meetings (Bill)
talk preparation (Mauri with Tina)
invitation creation for an upcoming stake event (Tina for Bill)
church (good thing my kids got there on time and saved me a seat)
talk giving (Mauri)
choir nursery (Lexee and Shilo)
2 batches of Mrs. Allen's candy
(one with burnt sugar bits in it, one slightly hard... I guess that's what you get for trying to git 'er done on a Sunday)
tithing settlement (everyone)
temple recommend interview (Taylor)
phone call with Britt (Bill and Tina)
finals-week stress (Britta, Lexee, and Shilo)
and gift wrapping
(Mauri was so excited to finally have presents under the tree, she could hardly get to sleep).

How's that for squished?

Friday, December 10, 2010

Reflections of Light

In all the hustle and bustle around here, there are those occasional moments when something causes me to stop and reflect on something beautiful. In the midst of the craziness the other day, as I was briskly walking to the stairs, I caught of glimpse of our Christmas tree. The sunlight from a window was streaming in (like an early Fall day... the weather's been fairly toasty for December around here), and it lit a section of the tree up. It actually caught my breath. Of course I ran for the camera (good ol' point-and-shoot) to try to capture the glisten and radiance of it all. The camera couldn't do it justice, but mercy me, I'll post the pictures anyway.

It gave me a minute to reflect.

On beauty

light

Christmas

gratitude

Jesus Christ.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Peppermint Patty

Last year we discovered a new favorite Christmastime confection to add to our holiday repertoire.

Creamy Peppermint Patties

1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. peppermint extract (I like more, so I add 2)

9 cups powdered sugar (I use about 8 cups)

3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3 Tbs. shortening

In large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and extract until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating well. Shape into 1-in. balls and place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Flatten into patties. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.

In microwave, melt chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Dip patties into melted chocolate; place on waxed paper until firm (I refrigerate). Store in the refrigerator. Yield: about 4 dozen.

Note: I think I burned out my hand mixer making these last year, so this year I made the peppermint centers in my KitchenAid with the cookie paddle attachment... it worked much better.

The bottom of a glass works perfectly for smashing the centers.

I think I had a problem with the milk chocolate chips last year, since I had made a note to use only semi-sweet. However, NOW I think they set up better with the milk chocolate chips added, so next year I will probably try again.

Bill, Lex and Mauri did the dipping, with their "let's git 'er done" attitude. I was worried that they would be too ugly to give, but for the most part they turned out dandy. IF you take a few extra minutes in the dipping process, they will most likely turn out perfectly.

After a little trimming, they look great. Although there were a few too ugly to give (could that have been on purpose?):

Yum-O. I think I've put on a few pounds.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Venue for the Bash

At my house last night:

There's nothing like having 60 kids come play at your house. Luckily, it was in small(er) groups - the largest of which (Beehives/Deacons) had 35 youth. The good thing? I got my house clean(er). And those kids were in-and-out, and all was serene again.

Even Buddy and Tweety enjoyed the excitement.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Mrs. Allen's Candy

I was trying to find the only picture I recall of my Grandma G. making Christmas candy. I can see the picture clearly in my mind... she's wearing purple, and holding a pan of some kind of sweet homemade confection. But this hasn't been my lucky-picture-finding-morning, and as usual, I don't have much time.

In my search, however, I ran across this picture:

This is a picture of my Aunt Carol's family at the funeral of my Uncle Dick (her husband). Grandma G. is on the bottom right, next to Aunt Carol (middle). I am only left to assume that the sweet elderly lady on the left is Aunt Carol's mother.

What does all that have to do with making Christmas candy? Well, from my recollection, I believe that Aunt Carol's mother is "Mrs. Allen." In the Goldsberry family, we have been making Mrs. Allen's Candy at Christmastime for as long as I can remember. It seems like when I would ask, "Who is Mrs. Allen?" I would be told that she was Aunt Carol's mom. I know that kids can sometimes mix things up (I occasionally get in disagreements with my children on what really happened at one time or another), so if I'm wrong, don't correct me. Let me think I have finally put a face on the woman whose candy has always been my personal favorite.

I made my first batch of the season yesterday.

I still use the copy of the recipe I made back in a Home Ec class in high school. I typed it on a typewriter, for goodness sakes. I have been asked for the recipe many times, and have always explained that it's called Mrs. Allen's Candy simply because that's what it is, and what I've always known it to be.

So in the spirit of giving, I thought I would share this family favorite.

Mrs. Allen's Candy

1 pkg. brown sugar (1 lb) - 2-1/3 c. packed

Scant cup light corn syrup

(I shared this recipe with a friend - much younger than myself - who had to ask what "scant" meant)

1 can Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk

2 cubes margarine (I use butter)

Mix and cook until comes to a boil. Turn to low and cook for 12-1/2 minutes, stirring all the time. Pour on buttered pan (9x13) over broken walnuts (the nuts are optional - I LOVE the nuts, but most of my family prefers no nuts). Cool and turn out and cut. Note: We wrap these in waxed paper and keep them in the freezer. (That helpful hint is on my original recipe.)

This recipe is NOT rocket science... sometimes my candy turns out a little soft, sometimes a little hard. Once I boiled it for the 12-1/2 minutes on med/high heat, which I wouldn't recommend. The candy turned out so hard we had to chisel it out of the pan, then toss it in the garbage lest it create dental havoc.

Enjoy!

Monday, December 6, 2010

All In A Day

I loved that Pres. Uchtdorf talked about the Grinch during the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.

Mauri and I read that awesome Dr. Seuss book the other day. Maybe it was even THIS {blogged-about} day... but I couldn't tell you for sure, since all my days are running together like the watercolors in the Kindergarten class.

I've been feeling a little Grinchy myself this season, but I'm blaming it on PMDD.

I'm feeling much better today (sigh of relief -- I would hate to think I'm really getting crotchety and mean in my old(er) age). And I have renewed resolve (thanks, Pres. Uchtodorf) to get my heart in the right place.

On to the sharing of a single day in my life last week. I think it was a Thursday.
Oh yes, that was it.

I started the day going on a field trip. I feel like I've been on a bus more in the past two months than in the past two years prior to that. Probably because I have. And you'll never guess WHERE the field trip was to...

Here:

Just in case you aren't clear of where here is, it's the same place I spent nearly a week of my life (most of which was NOT sleeping, by the way), as I was cleverly disguised as an event planner.

For comparison shots, go here.

The Inverness hosts a Trash-to-Trees event, where different schools decorate Christmas trees with recycled (the "trash") objects. Then there's an auction, and prizes, and all sorts of good things. Last year, GRE won $300 for their learning lab. Nice.

My boss ("Mrs. C" to all the special needs children) was the creative genius, and the kids had been working for the past two weeks in the lab on all the decorations. GRE's mascot is a Golden Retriever, so the tree had a dog theme... Santa Paws is Coming to Town or something like that.

The kids had a great time decorating the tree,

and I was totally impressed with the finished product.

And I just have to say, those Inverness people are the nicest people around. They were awesome with the kids. After Christmas cookies and lemonade, we were back on that bus, heading for the school.

After work I met a friend for lunch, ran some errands, and then ran home to make breadsticks for the cheer team dinner. And I had a helper. Who, by the way, is an awesome breadstick maker. I kept having that nursery rhyme run through my head about the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker... but I substituted the breadstick maker. Just to humor myself. I didn't share with Chase, since I figured he would think I was a nut.

Shilo helped whip out a salad, and I ran it all across the street where the cheer girls would gather for the big pre-State team dinner that night.

After the dinner, the girls were headed off to cheer at a wrestling match vs. a neighboring team (lots of rival tension) who has pretty much dominated the sport for years. As in State Champions. After the first 20-second pin, there wasn't a lot to cheer about, other than to encourage those LHS boys to give it their best effort. I've decided that wrestling is the most intense sport ever. It stresses me out. Every match has a winner and a loser, and there's only two of you out there.

Finally, after many losses (some quick, some not-so-quick, and one super close heartbreaker), the third-to-the-last (heaviest weight) Legend wrestler pinned his guy. Then the second-to-the-last wrestler pinned his guy. And the last wrestler pinned his guy. So although the final score wasn't in our favor, it was not a blow-out. Or a shut-down. It was a respectable loss. (Kind of like that last football game where we played the team that won the 4A State Championship this past Saturday.)

So that's about how every day has been around here lately, but we are counting down to our vacation.

11 more days.

I am anticipating

relaxation,

rejuvenation,

reconnection,

and rest.

I'm looking for a good book to take with me... any suggestions?

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Crazy Busy

Yesterday was Shilo's first high school swim meet. It was a non-league meet against a high school in the city. At a school (and pool) that had to be at least a hundred years old.

Traffic was a nightmare, not only because of construction narrowing a thoroughfare down to one lane, but because it was rush hour (which seems to start around 3pm, from what I can tell. What do all these people do for work, for goodness sakes?). I had a late start, because Bill called 2 minutes before I was leaving, letting me know that Taylor had a "problem." His car had been rendered unusable (on his lunch break from Toys R Us), and he needed to get to his second job at Dominos immediately following his shift. I started calling/texting Lexee, who was going to save the day because, thankfully, she didn't have cheer practice OR gymnastics after school. She would be able to pick Taylor up, have him run her home, then he could be on his way again. If I could only get a hold of her. That girl racks up the texts every month, but do you think she had her phone with her when I needed her to? It was on vibrate, tucked into the pocket of her jeans, which were tucked into her gym bag, since she has a PE class at the end of the day. And she decided to hang out at the school for a while, since she had the day off of all after-school responsibilities.

My stress level, as I navigated the horrendous traffic AND tried getting a hold of Lex, was extremely high. Then a car in front of me decided to make a left turn, in a lane that clearly had a sign stating that a left turn was not allowed. Our lane stopped. Cars to the right rushed by. I honked. Then honked again.

Remember my resolution to be more charitable and Christlike? Out the window in a few short days. And church on Sunday was meant just for me. I had even rededicated myself again to being better. More kind. More loving. More patient. I mean, I'm no ogre, but I could definitely improve.

The car finally noticed the no-left-turn sign (after my gentle reminder), and proceeded through the light. Once I arrived at the school, I didn't know where to park, so I selected the front, in the visitor parking. I walked into the school, and asked the group of students at the help desk where the pool was. A nice young man started to explain, then said, "I'll walk you there, it's kind of confusing." The kindness of humanity (and a teenager at that), shone at that moment.

We took the long walk to the far recesses of the school, and arrived at the pool area just in time to catch the first event.

Shilo did well. It was a new experience, since she was swimming 4 events, and several of them were one-right-after-the-other. After her backstroke, another mom leaned over and said, "Shilo just made an A League time!" Her excitement and exuberance let me know that it was a big deal. I decided that I need to do some research to figure out how all this high school swim stuff works. That way I'll know when it's a big deal or not. Which may lead me into being one of those crazy swim moms.

Today's loaded, and tomorrow too. I will exercise patience. I will show love.

I know I can, I know I can, I know I can.