Center and Balance for a New Year
Wow is it already January!? Christmas came and went in a blink of an eye. We had a really good holiday visiting with all of our families. We did tons of traveling, which was exhausting and hard. Especially since we had to coordinate vehicles, dogs, and children. Also on the menu for our holiday fun was a nasty cold that was/is being passed back and forth. I’m still recovering and I must say it hit hard. I am snotty, coughy, exhausted but I’m getting better everyday….mostly. I also really wish I’d blogged more during the time away but it was just that….time away. Sick or not, it was still good to spend time away from the computer. I took lots of great pics over the holidays and look forward to sharing in future posts.
Now I am ready to move on from the holiday fun and get back to center. I always make resolutions but I try not to share. Nobody wants to hear how I vow to loose XX pounds or will be more dedicated to <thing I need to be more dedicated to>. Instead I’ll be more vague and say that this is my year to find my balance and focus. First thing on that agenda is to get out of this brain fog. My mind is so muddled and I am having such a hard time concentrating and staying on task. I really feel I am just having a hard time getting over this cold, so hopefully that won’t be much longer. Until then I will try to post more cryptic blogs with pretty pictures.
in Love and Confoundment
Wenders
A story about an unfortunate candy cane incindent
Here is where it all went wrong.
and it is all my fault….
Apparently baby + candy cane = crazy pepermint monster
oh no! he has me in his sights….
what diabolical deeds are up his sleeve?!
oh help me! This can’t be good.
awe! I love you mama. Thanks for the candy.
Wanna bite?
.
.
.
and here is the part that really went horribly wrong…..
did you know that
candy + baby = no nap!
Exhaustedly yours,
Wenders
Wordless Wednesday – Christmas Parade
Smell of the season
It smells so good in the house right now…as long as you aren’t sitting next to a dog…. ok, despite that huge exception, Christmas is in the air in the Wenderflonia household.
December is all about the cookie. Didn’t you know?
Pretty sure I won’t have much to show for paintings this month, but the cookie photos are aplenty! First, we had the traditional Danish cookiepalooza last weekend. Unfortunately, I will have to post those pics later as they are still on my phone. But rest assured, we had a fabulous time.
Meanwhile…
Over the last few evenings, I finally worked out the kinks on the cookie press I bought on a whim, and now all systems are go for spritz cookies. Spritz cookies, if you didn’t know, are like perfectly formed, little butter cookies. They happen to be my faaaavorite!
Just in case you didn’t know!
This is now our new favorite kitchen gadget (pictured post-use). It is just a cheapy cookie press, but it has been a blast and remarkably easy to use. You just load the dough in the tube, put in your cookie template and squeeze….works remarkably like a caulk gun… Also, so simple even a 13 year old and a sleep deprived mom, with a baby tied to her back, can do it. Of course, the clean up is kind of a drag. With all that butter, things get….messy…
But…
Who can argue with the above results! ? The batches turned out great and as long as we made the dough soft enough, the cookies formed perfectly. Note: soft dough really is important…we know…there was an incident.
but…
Then of course there is the mess. Trust me, this kind of thing gets really messy… or maybe it’s just me. I am a really messy cook. (I apologize for the repetitive use of mess but it is an important keyword here.)
On a side note, that’s mainly why I hightail it with the baby to the bathtub every night while I let the boys do the post dinner clean up. I know what kind of mess they are in for, and bathing the 9 month old is a way better opttion.
but back to the cookies….. mmmmmmmmm
Don’t you see how perfect they turned out? The cookie press makes lovely little shapes as easy as 1, 2, 3… Google it or youtube it…I’m too lazy to link it, so do it yourself… trust me, it is worth it…
ugggh, ok maybe it is a little not worth it… That is alot of mess. I can’t believe I left my cabinet doors open like that. Now the whole world can see my dirty little spice secrets.
Nevermind….What was I saying?…LOOK cookies….oh yeah, totally worth it….
mostly…
kind of….
ok, atleast it will put my gym membership to good use…
In January… I promise…
COOKIES!
with cookie love,
Wenders
Wordless Wednesday…with a few words…
Light, when suddenly let in, dazzles and hurts and almost blinds us: but this soon passes away, and it seems to become the only element we can exist in. ~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827
Monday
Home again, Home again, jiggity jig…. What a great Thanksgiving Holliday with my parents, my brother and his family. We had a wonderful time; however, it is nice to be back home and sleeping in my own bed. It was an especially long drive home. We only stopped once during the 5 hour journey. But here we are successfully completing ‘Recovery Monday’. We did absolutely nothing today and it felt great.
Some needed more recovery than most. As you can see, poor Mags didn’t feel too bueno today. Grandma was pretty liberal with the table scraps and milk bones so I can imagine his detox today was pretty harsh. He spent the whole day on the couch, or in the bed.
Fat and Full Friday
So you want me to eat all day on Thursday and THEN shop all night and the next day!? Are you crazy?!
Here are my two cents on the ridiculousness that is Black Friday. It is a farce invented by greedy capitalistic machines that are hell bent on destroying simple family values. I will fight this super, world dominating machine by taking naps, eating pie and recreating the ultimate Thanksgiving meal on leftover dinner rolls. I will call these beauties “turkeyressing’a’mitchez”. I will subsequently ‘Ooh and awe’ over your super-awesome EvilFriday savings, but in reality I will sigh with inner peace knowing that I would rather pay full price than sell my soul to consumerism. (plus I know that I’ll catch any much needed items in the next Woot-Off and get it cheaper).
So my word of the day is RELAX-Friday, and my goal is to hand off the baby to the Grandparents as much as possible. I need at least a few days of peace before I have to figure out how to put all my Christmas decorations up and away from the way-to-mobile-for-my-peace’o’mind Jude.
Hmmmmm…. But maybe a quick peek at what Amazon has to offer today couldn’t hurt…. Right???…
Thankful Tidings
Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends. We are full, fat, and happy out in West Texas today. The food has been baked, smoked, boiled and cooked, and we devoured it all joyously. Now, while the babies and grandparents nap, there is nothing left to do but sit at the table and drink really bad wine! Take note of the bottle in the picture above. Never pay money for this wine!
Even still, my beautiful family is blessed to have such warmth and love on this very fine day! Many blessings to you and yours! Be thankful.
