Favorite Things 6: Attempting to make tasty treats. And other stuff.

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. Today is Christmas Eve Eve, my favorite day of the year. I hope my Christmas planning has been sufficient. I guess we will see in 36ish hours.

Today we had a family party with Shane's side of the family. I spent yesterday making Amy's favorite chocolate cake. It turned out good despite my attempts to sabotage it (I used Pam instead of butter to grease the pan, which made it stick. I tried to make it festive by sprinkling candy cane on top and then though better of it after it was done.) It looked like this:

I also made Swedish butter cookies, which was a new recipe I tried for the first time last year. So that I don't forget how to make them the right way again next year, here is the recipe and instructions:

1 lb butter
4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tsp almond extract

Cream the butter with the sugar. Add the eggs followed by the almond extract. Mix and then add the flour. Put them through a cookie press and bake in an ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Don't refrigerate the dough before putting it through the press - cold dough does NOT work.

This is how I made them - I was trying to half the batch because I didn't have enough butter:

1/2 lb of butter cut into the flour (not the sugar.) Added the egg (almost added all 4 eggs before I realized I only needed  two.) I realized my mistake when I still had sugar left to add. I dumped it all into the mixer, added the sugar, and somehow put 2 teaspoons of almond extract - you know, 4 times as much as I needed. My hands still smell like almond.

It was not a good baking day. But they both tasted just fine for the party.

This morning we went to church. The program was lovely. I wish every Sunday could be as wonderful as the Christmas program. One of my favorite Christmas songs is the Christmas Canon by Trans Siberian Orchestra. The piano melody is so beautiful. Our choir had a flute and a violin in addition to the piano to play the melody but sang the words The First Noel. I love it when choirs surprise you like that with music and words that don't belong but end up complimenting each other perfectly.

Other stuff we have done lately that I wanted to blog about but didn't:

•  We went and saw the lights at Temple Square. It was rainy but fun. And, we somehow were in the right place at the exact right time in time to find my mom, who was with my sister and her kids and grandkids. It was fun to walk through Temple Square with them.

 

• Made 20 nativity scenes out of sticks for neighbor gifts.

• Ate at Desert Edge, our favorite restaurant at Trolley Square.
• Decorated my dad's grave with a bunch of family.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve to you all. I hope that the last day before Christmas that has no expectations about it whatsoever was wonderful and you did something that made you happy.

Randomalities: The Memorial Day Edition

(I am super tired, so if this post is kind of wonky...well, I'm kind of wonky, so no wonder. Consider yourself warned! It's hard for me to speak a sentence when I'm tired, writing should be interesting.)

****Although I don't have a picture, I love seeing our flag waving in the breeze in front of our house. We had two this year - the scouts stake a flag our in the park strip for every holiday. It looks so pretty to look up and down the street and see multiple flags!

****The weather made me crazy all weekend. It was super cold, windy, and rainy up until today. Today was gorgeous, but not very warm. I was hoping all day Saturday to do 2 runs in preparation for Ragnar. At 4:30 I finally gave in and got on the treadmill because I realized that the wind gusts would not make an outside run pretty. Ugh, treadmill. Then yesterday we had a barbecue - we let the kids eat outside in the cold, but the adults stayed inside where it was warm. Mean? Possibly. I should just expect rain on Memorial Day, I guess.

****I took a picture of all the kids last night during our BBQ (we had our old neighbors who ditched us and moved across the valley over) just to document how big all the kids are getting. Then I lost the picture - where can a picture go from a memory card, I ask? Ugh, again.

****My dad's headstone is now in place. I was so excited to go and see it today. It turned out so nice. My mom put all of her children's names along the bottom - kind of strange to have my name on a headstone, but I'm glad that me and my sisters are accounted for. I hope my dad was pleased that we visited. I have to also say: this is the first year in more than I can count that I have actually visited a cemetery on Memorial Day. Go me!

****Last year, I got approximately 3 iris. This year, they exploded in my front flower bed - they are gorgeous! I took a few of the best blooms down to decorate my dad and grandparent's graves. My grandma would have loved the dark purple ones. (You can just see one over Ben's shoulder in the background of the picture above. Iris are my very favorite flower!!)

****My kids have been dying to go swimming, so swimming we went. It was cold, but they had fun.

****I have decided to do a triathlon in August. I want to write about this, but I am too sleepy to come up with the right words. But, today I swam 200 meters. I wanted to die each time I got to about 30 meters, but I kept swimming. More about this later.  But, those 200 meters boosted my confidence that I won't end up on the bottom of the pool during the tri. Wahoo!

How was your Memorial Day?

Christmas: Report

How was your Christmas? I'm sure it was every bit as wild/frustrating/fun/remarkable as ours. But, in the spirit of remembering all the little things, here's some stuff I want to make note of:

• My kids were crazy over presents. I spent most of Christmas Eve being mad at them because they went rogue and opened up presents at 10am without permission (sarcasm is not permission and, by the way, is not super effective for a 6 year old.) Therefore no Christmas Even jammies for them. But it was kind of okay, because there jammies were character jammies and I didn't relish the thought of character jammy pictures the next day. One day I'll laugh about it.
• We spent Christmas Eve Eve with friends and Christmas Eve with other friends and both nights were full of fun and laughs and yummy food.
• I was amazed at my friend Melanie who can cook an entire pan of sweet potatoes in less than a half an hour with a singular stick of butter. That lady can do anything in the kitchen. I had my doubts but she did it and the sweet potatoes were perfect. Hats off to you, Mel!
• Our reading of Luke 2 was just a little more exciting this year - Ben read a few verses. Yay for first graders!
• I loved having Christmas on Sunday. I had two moments that were amazing in church - one was a very touching testimony by someone I didn't know, and another a piano duet by two young women in in the ward. Amazing.
• I made 7 dozen rolls, 1 bundt chocolate cake, 4 dozen Swedish butter cookies, pull aparts, and breakfast casserole.
• It was a technology year with each member of my household receiving something new to waste time on. Yay us.
• My favorite gift?  A bracelet from Shane's mom. I haven't taken it off since the moment I opened it.
• I met my newest great-nephew. He is so sweet!
• Took a picture of all my sweet great-nieces and nephews born this year.

See, I've already forgotten so many things that I wanted to say. But I loved Christmas. And I loved when it was over. I took my tree down yesterday but left up all the other decorations. I'll have a hard time taking down the garland and the nativities, but the tree was just too sad without any presents around it.

What do you want to remember from this year? Write it down before you forget!

Happy Solstice!

One of my favorite books in the whole world is The Mists of Avalon.  It's basically the retelling of the King Arthur story but from the point of views of his mother, sister, and wife.  I love the main character Morgaine, whom history counts as a witch, but who this dear book details as a powerful priestess in the Celtic religion.

Throughout Mists, you hear of the Celtic holidays: Samhain, Beltain, the solstices.  And just in case you are wondering what all these holidays meant (because honestly, I just learned a little bit about some that I wasn't really familiar with), you can check them out here.  The definition for Yule is this:

Winter Solstice or Yule, occurs about December 21. This is the time of death and rebirth of the Sun God. The days are shortest, the Sun at its lowest point. The Full Moon after Yule is considered the most powerful of the whole year. This ritual is a light festival, with as many candles as possible on or near the altar in welcome of the Sun Child.

It is amazing to me how we have incorporated these rituals into our own Christian holidays.  We hang lights just like the pagans did, but call it in celebration of the Christ Child instead of the Sun Child.  We hold our sacred day just 4 days after this pagan holiday.  That Constantine sure knew what he was doing when he Christianized Rome.

Ever since I read this book, way back in my early 20's, I've loved the solstices. I get a little excited for today, knowing that while it's going to be cold, the sun will come back. And I get a little sad during the summer solstice, knowing despite its brightness, it carries with it the beginning slant toward darkness.


So, at the risk of being sacrilegious and in tribute to the fine religions on which our traditions are built (and, honestly,  because I'm a little bit pagan at heart, minus the idol worship), I want to wish you all a Happy Solstice.  Light a candle, enjoy the night, look forward to the return of the sun.  Or Son.  However you would like to mark it.

The four levels of Christmas

The year that Shane and I got married, I didn't have any Christmas decorations.  In the course of buying ornaments and tinsel and garland, I found a tiny white porcelain nativity at Deseret Book.  When I say tiny, I mean it.  It stands maybe 3 inches tall and probably that wide.  It has a stable with 3 figures underneath: a man, a woman, and a cradle with the shape of a baby.  It was the only representation of the real meaning of Christmas I had for for the first 3 Christmasses of my married life.  But I loved that little nativity and looked forward to getting it out each year. 

In a kind of related way, I learned a little about myself in church yesterday.  The lesson was based on the premise that there are 4 levels of Christmas.  The first is the Santa level.  The brightly wrapped presents, ribbons, tinsel, reindeer, and excitement that all go with Santa are in this level. I guess it is the most outward sign of Christmas (but it's still important in my book!!  Trees and Christmas lights are highly rated around my house.)

Second is the social aspect of Christmas.  This is where we enjoy the parties, the family get-togethers, the work socials that are so abundant. (So far, so good in my book. I love each part of this little 4 part premise.)  I love those gatherings of friends and family.  They are something I look forward to all year long.  It wouldn't be Christmas without them.

The third part is where Baby Jesus (and my little white nativity) come in. We remember the stable that the Baby Jesus was born in, the wise men who came from afar, the shepherds who ran to meet him under the star.  This is the level that I find myself in most often at Christmas.  You see, I don't hang a lot of church-related stuff around my house. That is, until Christmas.  I made it a goal this year to have as many of the nativities I've added to my collection as possible in each room.  I have one on a bookcase, on on the mantel, another in the spot in my kitchen window.  I have a table with a whole nativity set on it (all battered from my kids playing with it from year to year; Thomas particularly loved the donkey the year he was 1), and my Playmobile nativity on a table next to the couch.  (Which, by the way is awesome for kids to play with. My only rule is they have to keep everything on the table. Kids love it and usually keep the rule.  The only cause for alarm this year has been when Thomas introduced a Transformer into the game which was killing the baby.  I found myself yelling from the kitchen, "We do not kill the baby Jesus with Transformers!" It was awesome - who knew I would ever get to utter that sentence??)

So, Baby Jesus is my level of Christmas.  The fourth level - the adult Christ, who performs the role as savior - is still above me.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all about loving Jesus, whatever his age may be.  But my Christmas maturity level isn't there yet.  I'm still too enraptured with the infant that came into a stable.  I can relate to little babies who come into our lives, innocent and sweet and wrapped in soft things.  I understand the concern of a new mother; I feel for Mary and the circumstances in which she gave birth.  I sympathize with Joseph, finding himself with such an awesome responsibility to be the earthly father of the son of God.  These things I understand and relate to more than the things that come later.  Although I'm grateful for those, too.

We sang a song yesterday that I had never heard but was so sweet and made me cry.  It is called When Joseph went to Bethlehem. The words go like this:

When Joseph went to Bethlehem
I think he took great care
To place his tools and close his shop
And leave no shavings there.
He urged the donkey forward,
Then, with Mary on its back,
And carried bread and goat cheese
In a little linen sack.
 
I think there at the busy inn
That he was meek and mild
And awed to be the guardian
Of Mary's sacred Child.
Perhaps all through the chilly hours
He smoothed the swaddling bands,
And Jesus felt the quiet strength of
Joseph's gentle hands.

And close beside the manger bed
He dimmed the lantern's light,
And held the little Jesus close upon
That holy night.

So I'm alright with being a Christmas level 3.  It means I've made some progress, but still have something to work towards.  Truly, though, I am grateful for all the levels.  Because to have Christmas without any of them would be unimaginable.  To not have decorations, even if they are as hodge-podge and rag-tag as mine, would take out some of the warmth of the season.  To not give presents to my loved ones, however simple, would make me feel empty.  To not have my family and friends around to spend time with would be lonely.  To not see the representation of the nativity would be heartbreaking. And it is impossible for me not to acknowledge the person that Jesus became. 
 
So what level of Christmas is essential for you?  Is there one aspect that makes it all come together?