Victory times Two

This is a picture of our tree...two years ago. But eh, who cares?...it's still the same tree, right? :) But the point is to say:Yes. The Christmas tree lights are back on and in working order. Hallelujah! (refer to last post)

Word to the wise. If you, too, own a pre-lit Christmas tree don't use the online helping service. They just refer you to their phone service. Odd way of helping in my line of thinking. "Hello, My job is to direct you to a different person. Have a nice day."

To which I have to say: Do not...I repeat DO NOT...call the listed help line. It's a waste of time and energy. Because they, nicely put, cannot help you.

Sure, they talk with you. Make you feel like you're being heard. like you've just begun a fabulous, understanding friendship. And then before you know what's happening, your new-found friend instructs you to cough up some money and order a new part.

Well, THAT friend comes right back off the Christmas card list. Imposter.

But you CAN call my husband. He fixed what they said couldn't be fixed without buying new lights. And he did it all without paying a dime. So, moral of the story?

You got tree issues? Contact my hub.

On a different note...

Tis the season to be baking, right?

Picture it. Multiple sticks of butter. Pounds of sugar. Egg yellows and salmanella viruses. And enough chocolate to choke a herd of elephants.

Ah, the weight of glory sits right there on my counter. In the form of holiday pounds-to-be.

Mocking me. Tempting me. Demanding that they be used. You know, since any and every ingredient closely resembling lard suddenly becomes of key importance when using holiday recipes.

Nice.

So today, as I prepared to bake with the girls, I scanned the internet in search of a healthier way to make Oatmeal Chocolate chip cookies. And I came across what sounded like two relatively good recipes, combined them, and set to work. We mixed. We rolled. We baked. We tasted.

Um. Not as good as my normal butter-laden cookies. These have applesauce. And part whole-wheat flour. Hmm. In theory, looks good on paper. But doesn't sound so appetizing.

Yet, the girls seem to like them! Maybe because their taste buds aren't as refined as my own?
ButI, in my practiced ability to make a decision and then regret it, was tempted to throw some good ol' fashion butter in to the batter. ...yet, I refrained.

And honestly, they aren't so bad! ...in fact, with the extra chocolate chips I put in, you can't really tell the difference. heh heh

Stand back, Martha Stewart!

I've said it before... I love listening to the conversations that my girls have with each other. I'll hear things like "If a bear scratched you, I'd put a bandaid on it. Because I'm your best friend." And "Don't worry, when I grow up and get married, I'll still be your friend."

I love those moments. I think, proudly to myself, about the oh-so-wonderful job I'm doing as a mother, enstilling such a bond of friendship in them (*insert awkward clearing of throat). ;)

But today, as I heard them in their room playing pretend kitchen, I had to wonder about the job I'm doing. Especially as it pertains to the culinary arts.

Charis, the chef, says to Selah, the restaurant patron:

"I'm sorry, we don't have any water made up yet."

Cooking lesson, anyone?

Cookie Tip

One hour after making my butter laden cookies (see post below), I came across this "Make it Healthier" tip in a magazine. What convenient timing for me. But maybe I can spare you the additional calories this little tip says it saves when making a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe.

"Cut the sugar in half and replace one stick of butter with 1/4 cup of mashed bananas. It will save you a 1,361 calories per batch"

Grant it, I haven't tried it out yet, as I still have a whole batch of the extra fattening kind. :) Therefore, I can't attest to its taste. But just in case you like cookies with less fat and want to give it a go.

Ingredients of Life

Have you ever been making something and left out a key ingredient?

This afternoon, while the girls were napping, I decided to surprise them by making a family favorite: oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I was throwing ingredients in left and right, trying to get it all done before it was time to start dinner preparations. Mixing like a fiend. Giving my arm a good workout while I worked that spoon round and round.

Finally, I added the chocolate chips. Ahhh, the best part. Now time to try to batter. Yes, I like to live on the wild side. I laugh in the face of salmonella.

Hold on. *insert sounds of spitting batter out* The batter tasted a lot like butter. Ew.

Now, grant it...the recipe did call for TWO whole sticks of the stuff but it's never tasted like that before. Everything about it was gross. Texture. Taste. The Thought of what I was ingesting.

Then I looked over the recipe again. Add Flour. Huh...there on my kitchen counter sat the new bag of flour still sealed closed. Oh. I guess I forgot that stuff.

Allow me to remind you that I had already "finished" the mixture. The oatmeal and the chocolate were already mixed in. So I struggled for the next while trying to get the flour...one of the key ingredients...to mix in. What should have been an easy thing, had I done it at the right time, turned out to be a near impossible task. It just wouldn't blend in. Yet, if I left it out, the cookies would have been a disaster. Inedible. Flat. Disgusting.

In the Bible, the Psalmist speaks again and again of rising early to talk with God. Early in the morning will I rise up and seek thee! Why early? I think it's because if I do it out of order...like I accidentally did with the flour...the whole mix of my day will be harder. I'll spend a better part of my day striving to make things work. And if I leave out that key ingredient all together. The aroma... the taste...the appeal will be all wrong.

And my day will be a far cry from what it was intended to be.

As a mom of a new baby, I tend to be really lax about getting up early to spend time with Jesus. I figure, I've been up all throughout the night. He knows that. He won't hold it against me. He can wait.

But as I stood there, wrestling to get the batter and the flour to mix like it was supposed to...knowing that if I didn't do it, the batter would be trash...the thought occured to me: Getting up early is not about "appeasing" God. It's more about making sure my day doesn't end up as something worthless.

A lot like my batter...without the flour.