To Resolve or Not To Resolve

New Year's resolutions, for me, tend to be a waste of time...mostly because they are the same every year (exercise, lose weight, ho-hum...) and they are never fully kept. However, I am in the mood for a small change which I am not even going to call a resolution. So, no to resolve...and yes to evolve.

This 2011 evolution will consist of baby steps in the direction of bringing more openness into my daily life by:
1. saying what is on my mind rather than stifling myself
2. asking more questions, even unpopular ones
3. not worrying so much about what people think about me
4. relaxing my fear of conflict
5. developing a thicker skin

At the same time I want to retain my sensitivity to others' feelings and to be a kind person; I have no intention of morphing myself into a friendless know-it-all boor. I just think that a little more openness would be beneficial and help me enrich relationships with friends and family.

Baby steps...

Wordless Wednesday: That's a Wrap!

Who's Counting?



Just add brandy!

 Calories, that is. Well, I suppose I ought to be, but I am not. It is my favorite time of the year for indulging my palate, starting with the annual egg nog  purchase which happened yesterday. My sweet tooth is oh, so happy to have this old friend in the fridge.

Of course, that is only the tip of the iceberg. Continuing on with my sugar fest, I find myself in a baking mood, a very rare occurrence. Having already created delicious cranberry walnut shortbread cookies, I got out my well-loved recipe for peanut butter cookies, always a favorite. My intention in baking them was
to gift all of them away; I made 4 dozen but ate one dozen of them, including licking bowls, spoons and beaters. Oops.

I am well on my way to overindulgence but am trying to adhere to my moderation policy:

Everything in moderation,

Even moderation.

It is an effective mantra to carry around in my head but works better when there aren't so many holiday temptations in my path. So, calorie counting is not on my agenda. Fun is! I'll deal with it in 2011. As usual.

Wordless Wednesday: Decking the Halls

Let the Craziness Begin

Thanksgiving is behind us, and it was a happy one with lots of good food and fun...though the celebrating, which went on for several days, has left me wondering what is wrong with my bathroom scale; it is weighing me 3 pounds heavier. It must be broken.

The memories of a fun time at my daughter's home and, the weekend after Thanksgiving, with friends at Dillon Beach keep running through my mind for a repeat performance of holiday pleasures. However, now that December 1 has said hello, my thoughts are turning to other matters.

Away with all the turkeys and pumpkins! It is time to start thinking in a red and green mode, so today I attacked the storage room and rummaged through assorted boxes deciding what comes out to deck the halls and what stays sadly behind.

Yes, the madness starts here and now. Am I ready for it?

On Winning

How important is it?

The B instead of the A

The silver instead of the gold.

It seems to be

The father's desire

To vicariously live through his child

And push her

To achieve what he could not

In order compete and grasp

That golden happiness ring

 That is actually just a mirage.

janice

2010

Written for Magpie Tales...

The Case of the Hesitating Chef

I am a reluctant baker, mostly because it is important to be exact with measurements when baking, and I am a cook who enjoys just eyeballing my ingredients. However, Kary at My Farmhouse Kitchen recently posted a recipe for cranberry walnut shortbread cookies that appeared to be festive and, most important, so simple that I thought that I could put up with the rarely used measuring cups and spoons. I am so glad I did!

They turned out fabulously, just as delicious as Kary said they would . Her blog included a photograph of her beautifully finished cookies, showing evenly colored and perfectly round spheres while mine, typical of an uncertain baker, have uneven edges and spots that are a little on the burned darkish side.  But the taste...oh,so divine! This recipe is a keeper.

Cleo and Winnie hung around the kitchen while the cookie creation was happening, hoping that a morsel or two might fall their way. Since I am not the neatest of cooks, they lucked out. Who knew pugs liked cranberries!

The cats, on the other hand, snoozed through the entire culinary process, content to wait for their dinner and correctly trusting that I will keep them supplied with their favorite treat: green grass, for all year-round munching, growing in a clay pot inside the house.  The latest batch, just now sprouting outside, will shortly replace the half-eaten one now being enjoyed. Yes, I have spoiled animals!

When will I bake again? Well, probably very soon...and this same recipe will be my target. Since I have already eaten 5 of these marvelous cookies, there is no way there will be even a crumb left to take to Thanksgiving dinner, still four days away.

Wow. Baking twice in one week: That might be a record for me.