He just earned a big, fat candy cane!

2011 Winter Piano Recital,

with our favorite pianist,

which just happens to be one of our favorite people, too.

Fourth Day in Advent

Who liked a girl who could barely do laundry.

He thought she was hot,

And she liked him a lot,

So marriage was not much of a quandary.

And Lil Ditter, I have some of Dad’s old appetizer favorites, that I set forth below for your convenience.

Shrimp Dip. I learned about this in a wonderful entertaining/recipe book my friend Carol gave me and love it!

8 oz cream cheese

5 oz can evaporated  milk

1 can deveined bay shrimp

Dash of garlic powder

Dash onion salt

Warm Cream cheese and add shrimp. Stir in evaporated milk and season with onion salt and garlic powder. Serve with Ruffles or your favorite vegetable. Guess which one I use…

From The Gathering of Friends, Volume 1, p. 82.

Gouda Puff and Crackers. DEE.LISH.US! My friends Laura and Holly gave it to me years ago. Always a holiday favorite. The measurements are approximate because Holly never measures and I lost the note I wrote when Laura told me the recipe! Ladies, feel free to make corrections in the comment section!

Thaw Puff Pastry sheet according to directions.

Warm ½ cup of Butter, ¾ cup of brown sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon.

Remove wax from Gouda. Place pastry on the dish (Must bake and serve in same dish). Place Gouda in the middle of puff pastry. Put some of the sweet butter mixture over the top of Gouda, and then wrap it up like a cute little present (I think those were Laura’s instructions? ). Pour the remaining sweet stuff on top and bake. Baking temperature and time have been debated. I am convinced it has to be at a high temperature for a relatively short amount of time to melt the cheese satisfactorily. I say 400 degrees for 16-18, or maybe even up to 25 minutes, depending on your oven. My oven runs hot. Watch the puff pastry for color. I am thinking of putting parchment paper at the bottom of the dish to help on cleanup and to help get to all of that caramelized yumminess – even though it’s not as cute….Suggestions welcome.

Hummus and Pita Bread (Or flatbread in a pinch) and Carrots. We buy it. I would make it, but I don’t have a blender or food processor. And I don’t want to buy one. Or store one in my cozy (i.e., tiny) kitchen. Hummus is awesome.

Mini Corndogs. Something hot for the kids, that gives the appearance of protein.

Spinach Dip with Tostitos. We bought it. It was fresh. It was on sale. And I am all for shortcuts this week.

Warm Salsa and Tostitos. A staple for the Hubby. Homemade Salsa recipes welcome!

Rice Krispie Treats. Again, a favorite for the Hubby.

Banana Muffins. Because our bananas were overly ripe.

Panettone and Mascarpone. Heavenly. At least I think so.

Lemon Pudding Cake. Another recipe from Holly that Jacqueline and I are making because she wanted to make a cake like the cake our wonderful neighbor brought to us On Christmas Eve Eve. Yummy.

1 yellow cake mix

1 package instant lemon pudding

4 eggs

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 1/3 cup whole milk

2/3 cup vegetable oil

Bake in Bundt pan at 350 degrees for approximately 35-45 minutes or until done.

Glaze: Mix 2 cups powdered sugar and juice of 2 lemons

Cookies. As many as we can make today, starting with Chocolate Chip (Nestle Toll House Recipe) , then Peanut Butter, Snickerdoodles and Chocolate Cookies (all recipes from The Gathering of Friends, Volume 1.  Let me know if you want any recipes.

Here’s some that my family loved growing up (or at least the adults did…)

DAD’S TACO DIP

2 pounds ground beef

2 packages taco seasoning

2 cans chili with no beans

1 large package Velveeta Cheese

Brown and drain beef. Add taco seasoning and cook as directed. Add chili with no beans and Velveeta Cheese in Crock-Pot. Add hamburger mixture into Crock-Pot. Cook ½ hour on low. Serve with tortilla chips.

DAD’S PARTY BALLS

Cheese

1 jar Kraft Old English Cheese

1 jar Kraft Roka Blue Cheese

1 dash of garlic powder

1 tablespoon wine vinegar

1 8-ounce package Philadelphia cream cheese

Mix; shape into a ball.  Roll ball in parsley flakes.  Refrigerate.

Beef

1 8-ounce Philadelphia cream cheese, softened

1 package chipped beef, chopped into small pieces

2 green onions, diced

Mix. Refrigerate. Serve in Bowl.

7-LAYER DIP

Layers:

1          Refried Beans

2          Avocado dip mixed with taco seasoning

3          Chili

4          Sour cream mixed with taco seasoning

5          Grated cheddar cheese

6          Minced onions

7          Tomatoes or salsa (right before you serve)

VARIOUS APPETIZERS (ideas other have given to me):

Mix salsa and cream cheese and serve with tortilla chips.

Mix salsa and bean dip over low heat, and serve with tortilla chips.

*And she knows Latin.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I love that children think of the fantastical as normal!

She has been wearing the Superman cape faithfully all week.

She’s faster than a speeding sibling on a swift scooter.

At least she believes so!

It reminds me of when Sissy was younger and grieving that she had not discovered her superpower yet. However, she later determined that her super-power must be stirring “fast.”  She really could stir quite quickly!

The Valentine’s Day Table sans gifts

I have found that the best opportunity to make good memories is through family traditions. Doing the same special things week after week, or the same special things at holidays year after year.

One cannot put the gifts out too soon or the vulture’s begin to circle

It is like the children (and parents) have the opportunity to remember the “best of” and forget all the work, stress, or complications that may exist at different seasons of our life. Does that make sense?

Priddy likes her Sissy reading her Valentine to her –she receives compliments very well, indeed.

One family tradition that we have tried to form (since I was prego with Priddy) is family date night – pizza and a movie and popcorn and candy (I have also found that children more easily form good memories around yummy food and drink. So do I. Why should not the little humans?  This is the main reason why when grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins are around, my chil’ren, for better or worse, rarely get a “no” to sweets. And what an aptly named treat! “Sweets.” They really do sweeten occasions, don’t they?  I digress…).

Sissy reading her Valentine

Some nights I fall asleep during a movie (I try not to!), or we don’t have popcorn, or we pick up take ‘n bake pizza, or someone throws up on the den floor during the movie, but overall, we enjoy Andre’s homemade pizza and a fun flick together. Some Fridays we even include others in our special date night.

Fuffy reading his Valentine! Please excuse the old “LSU LAW” T-shirt and the lack of make-up and hair styling (not that it is that good anyway…) — but 3 out of 4 chil’ren were sick today, so no church for me! But HE is so cute, especially with his new hair cut!

Another special tradition we have tried to establish is our Sabbath Suppers.  I may have already discussed this, or may in the future…

Andre cracking up over one his “why I love you’s.” It was some funny stuff!

In any event, in my never-ending quest for making my family feel loved and have cherished memories, I decided to try something new with Valentine’s Day.

Sissy loves her Lollipop!

Something simple (did I mention that although I have an “intense desire to do things better,” I do not always have the will or energy to do the work that goes along with it?).

Priddy loves posing with her Lollipop (which the mamarazzi loves!).

I decided that sharing one thing each person loves about another, or a reason for loving that person, would be good and encouraging. As my husband emphasized today, God is love and Christ died for us on the cross because He loved us. We, too, ought to show our love!

A little snake enjoying his sucker

So, I interviewed all the members of the family that can articulate what they love about or why they love the others. I printed them out, cut them out with cutesy scissors, took a piece of scrapbooking paper, glued a doily to it, and pasted the Strips of Love on each person’s Valentine.

Bako’s Valentine — I don’t think he’ll mind my sharing

It was really fun. And really funny. Some I just shouldn’t share. You know how that is, right?

Valentine’s from Emmy and Granddad — except for my extra brownies sans flags.

But here is one that I received from my hubby that was really encouraging to me (mostly because of the first sentence of my post): “I love how she always wants us to do better.”

Oh, how I love this man!

Does my husband know me, or what? And, Oh! How this little sentence shouts to me that he appreciates and enjoys my clumsy attempts. God bless the man who can love me so much!

And for those interested, here are “my brownies,” with the homemade flags:

Pretty cute, eh? They received many compliments at open house! Try them!

]]> http://joyinvanity.wordpress.com/2010/02/14/irresistible-impulse/feed/ 0 joyinvanity Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2863 Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2864 Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2873 Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2874 Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2877 Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2883 Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2886 Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2887 Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2889 Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2896 Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2861 Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2885 Irresistible Impulse.IMG_2796 http://joyinvanity.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/questionable-theology/ http://joyinvanity.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/questionable-theology/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:26:51 +0000 joyinvanity http://joyinvanity.wordpress.com/?p=146 ]]> But oh, what sweet words!

One night before bed, Sissy confessed that she was afraid that she might die in her sleep during the night. I had that fear when I was young as well. While encouraging her that it was not likely, I reminded her that if she did in fact die, she’d be in heaven with Jesus! I also recited the little poem I prayed as a child: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

This darling daughter of mine threw her delicate arms firmly around my neck and exclaimed, “But Mama! I love you so much! I don’t ever want to leave you!!!” I attempted to soothe her by reminding her, “Baby, however happy you feel with me – it will be so much better in heaven!” While hugging me tightly, I hear these words cross her lips: “Mom, you’re my heaven!”