Reverb #'s 4 & 5

I am sure I am not supposed to be doing like....three at a time, but I have this sense of urgency to catch up since it just turned into the new year! How can i make a new year's resolution if i haven't reflected on the last one? how over-achievingly perfectionist am i? next up....

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)

Hmm well ok so this is going to sound a little goofy, i think, but it's true. When I was younger, I was good with kids. Like...kids LOVED me and everyone said I should be a teacher and then I did a teaching thing and found out really fast that I was NOT a good teacher. At least not a natural. Fast forward, i dunno, ten years and I have gone through all this personal life stuff, including turmoil over not having kids and my brothers having kids but I'm not and so then i kind of avoid kids and then i get over the whole thing and I have this thought of, "I am not good with kids anymore, I'm going to do stuff with kids."

I guess I wanted to reconnect with something good about my old self. So...

I signed up to do kid's church once a month at my church :) It was good times and I enjoyed it immensely. I dunno that I was the best teacher ever, but i know i changed from the beginning to the end. I improved, felt more comfortable, and took some pride in being able to entertain 10-14 pre-k kiddos for an hour and half. 

So to answer the question, HOW I did that was to approach it from a sense of enjoying seeing things through they're eyes and allowing myself to learn from them. Not seeing myself so much as the adult, although that is needed to help them...but if you want to know how to have patience with kids, try just not thinking so high and mighty of yourself and empathize with them a little. Its more fun, at least with sunday school.

December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)

Wow, well, i think i let go of more this year than I ever have in any other year that i can think of. Especially people though. I thought there was this group I wanted to be a part of. And I was wrong, so I let that go. More so, my husband and I let go of the place we grew up and had roots. We moved to a whole new state, let go of conventional wisdom to do what we felt led to do, and it has worked out for the better so far. Things are still changing, but I don't regret the move. And I don't regret the letting go.

 

The Bra Purse: A Humorous Christmas Story

First, I have to say, my poor husband was definitely dealing with an estrogen explosion this night. Lucky for him the Wii was there to help him survive it.

Our friend and current roomie needed a gag gift for her company party gift exchange, and she needed it asap since her original idea rather fell apart. Twizzlers and hot glue don't mix so well I guess.  Lucky for her, there were about six females total in the room! Give us 10 seconds and we have a creative idea you can make in about as long as it took to think it up! Inside reports say that significant embarrassment was induced.

Step One: You need a Bra, the flashier the better, although if you have enough craft supplies flashiness is easily achieved through alternate routes.

Step Two: Align the two cups together, make sure the straps aren't all wonky and tucking the material that goes around the rib cage into the cups. Glue the cups together along the edges. We used hot glue but a good fabric glue would be just fine.

Step Three: Once the glue has dried, align the material you tucked into the cups (which are now, for all intents and purposes, the exterior of the purse) and glue together to make a handy pocket.

Step Four: Embellish with glitter or rhinestones. or feathers. or any other flamboyantly appropriate item. tassels maybe.  this is not a time to hold back your creativity! have at it!

Step Five: Have your lovely assistant pose for documentation of the fun.

Step Seven: Fill the purse with other embarrassing items, such as fake breast enhancement pills (take a medicine bottle, change the label, fill with MnM's for the "pills") or a breast enhancement cream (pretty much the same idea, just with lotion).

Reverb10 #'s 2 ad 3

December 2 – Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it? (Author: Leo Babauta)

I would say that I cook, clean, interact with others but really it all contributes to my writing. I couldn't write without influence, food or some sense of order to keep my brain from being distracted. These things are all needed. And the other things I do lately...help my grandmother, encourage my husband and support my brother... well they might not contribute to my writing but I won't eliminate it. That's pretty much my life right now. 

December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)

We were swimming in the pacific, the bay was warm and clearer than any other water I had ever been in. Glassy, soft, enveloping. All the while that we explored,  a haze over our vision from fogged up lenses and sand stirred up by the occasional rolling wave. The rocky barrier was invigorating to climb over, the current pulling one direction and then the next, the water getting so shallow you could barely float over the jagged surface. It was an adventure, the possibility of unknowns and being overcome together. It was an experience to get the adrenaline up a notch in your system. We swam past and on and on, clicking noises of the fish eating algae off the rocks, eagerly we looked for more and more life. Its a strange, indescribable feeling when the earth drops out from under you...and yet you're floating...its ominous, the concept of depth is there in all its undeniable reality. Its overwhelming, invigorating, inviting and frightening. We float there for a moment, taking it all in- The drop in the waters temperature, deeper gradient of the blue, the unmistakable feeling that out there something could be much bigger than you and hungry enough to consider you a meal. When I can't take it anymore, I tap out, pulling my husband's arm to get his attention. His eyes are wide, he nods and holding hands we turn to go.

One Word

December 1 - One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?

The first word that came to my mind was "Hope" and I had to think about it a little before I even knew the extent of  why that word is so descriptive for 2010. So much happened! I probably won't even remember it all if I list it. The DIY wedding, moving five times,  money concerns, job changes, family matters, family health matters... I suppose 2010 will be remembered as a year of change, transition, but within all of that commotion you have to have something to hold on to or you'll just get washed away by it all. It's the hope for something better, maybe, or the hope that things are not as out of control as they seem. That it's all, in someway, Ok. Maybe you know why, maybe you don't, but knowing is the key to it. The faith that feeds the hope and vice versa. Its hard to have one without the other.

I hope (there's that word again) that in 2011 the word will be Growth. I was going to say "fulfillment" like the fulfillment of a promise you're hoping for, but I think even progress towards fulfillment of a promise would be enough for me :) And Change is different that Growth. Growth means you have a place to take root, it means you've found a foundation and you're settling in, getting a process going. I could go for that!

Reverb10

So I am late to the game on this but it seems like such a great idea that I decided to go for it anyway. You should check out Reverb10 for more info or just to peruse the concepts of others. Here's the general rules:

Here are the rules:

1. The Reverb 10 challenge starts at midnight on Dec 01, 2010 and ends at 11:59pm on Dec 31, 2010. Each day we'll post the prompt to reverb10.com.
2. Create something, blog or journal on each of the 31 days.
3. Tweet (using the hash tag #reverb10) to signal you'd like someone from Team Reverb to visit your blog and read your post. Tag it #reverb10 on Delicious.
4. Support the community by reading and commenting on one other person's post each day.

I barely squeezed in! but i am going to do it anyway. Isn't this a fantastic way to wrap up the year? =D I am excited. Ok gonna go work on the first one.

Christmas Eve Brunch

Today could be amazing, I am hoping for amazing, because I am going to be making recipes out of this book I "got for Christmas" (ok i saw it in a store, it was on sale and I begged my husband to get it. It didn't take much really, considering it has a recipes for White Hot Chocolate and he loves white chocolate...)So you wanna know what I am going to make?! Here's the menu:

White Hot Chocolate with Orange
Baked Eggs in Ham Cups
(Possibly) Roasted Pears (i have to see if i remembered orange juice... OH and thanks to our Aunt and Uncle for the special delivery of the pears!! yay!)
Egg Nog French Toast
Goat Cheese and Chive Hashbrowns
Herbed Mini Popovers

Does it sound AMAZING? Do you see how this could potentially go wrong? Its a lot to undertake, especially when I have never made any of it before. BUT I am going to give it a go!  :) As long as its still edible I am sure it will be fine.

 

Mushroom-Brie Soup ala Me

So its snowing like crazy outside, and after shoveling, having a snow fight, playing snow-baseball, building a snowman... I thought it was time for some soup! Back home, a deli near my parents had this Mushroom Brie cream soup. It was AMAZING. So I made one up after looking over a few other versions. This is a random compilation all my own! Yay!

1 1/2 c. dry sherry
6 c. chicken stock
2 T butter
1/3 c. diced ham
4 strips turkey bacon, diced
10 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 T cornstarch
12 oz Brie cheese - rind removed, room temperature
1/3 c. white onion (shallots would probably taste better but i didn't have any on hand)
12 oz Brie cheese, trimmed and cubed
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 tsp pepper

Boil sherry to reduce by half; set aside. In large saucepan melt butter, stir in mushrooms, shallots, ham and bacon. Cook over medium high heat, 4 minutes. Stir occasionally. Stir in cornstarch, add stock and sherry. Bring to boil then simmer 15 mintues. Add brie, stir to melt. Add 1/2 and 1/2 and pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and either serve as is (which is what I did because the peoples were hungry) OR puree in batches (OR try an immersion blender) and serve it creamy.

 The Verdict: Tasty goodness, the masses enjoyed it :)I think it would work great minus the meat too, but it was the whole dinner so i needed some protein in there.