Frozen memories

COLD COLD COLD here in Texas today (only about 20 degrees) and it is supposed to stay that way for the next few days to come - colder than it has been in about 10 years. I'm not complaining - and I know how cold it has been up in Minneapolis this year (stay warm & dry family!) - but this type of weather really reminds me of growing up in Minnesota. Great memories of playing outdoors in the snow when I was young, building snow forts in the drifts, and even jumping off the garage roof into the plowed snow piles next to the garage. I remember stepping outside in the mornings to head to the school bus stop, and almost "feel" the ice crystals lingering in the air, and you could almost smell the crispness of the frozen lake nearby. Feels a little bit like that this morning - and it's good.

Live a life that matters

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end. It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant. So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured? What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave. What will matter is not your success but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example. What will matter is not your competence but your character. What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone. What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live in those who loved you. What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what. Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice. CHOOSE TO LIVE A LIFE THAT MATTERS!

Where did the time go????

The Holiday's really flew by this year - lots of time spent preparing baked goodies, shopping for Christmas gifts, good times with friends and family and having house guests ;-) Whew... I have to say I'm tired - and glad for a New Year and a fresh start.

I don't usually make formal resolutions - I never seem to carry through with them - but I do have ideas for making this coming year better than the last. Here's to everyone I know having success, good health and happiness in 2010 ;-)

I hate shopping...

Maybe it goes against all of my natural female instincts, but I really hate to shop - especially around this time of year. Why are people so rude and obnoxious when it comes to finding a parking space (speeding through the parking lot to get a space - nearly running people over - just to get 3 spaces closer than the one they were waiting for in the first place), waiting in line (more like cutting in line), being so darn rude (bumping into other people without an apology)????? What horrible examples some people set for for their kids.

No wonder I do more shopping on line whenever I can, than in person in stores. I wish people would have more grace, gratitude and patience this time of year.

So Thankful

The time has really flown by quickly this past week or so - I can't believe it's already December and prep time for Christmas is already under way. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with a houseful of family and guests, and had great fun watching the Cowboy's game & eating too much turkey & ham. I'm so thankful for having Jeff home this year and enjoying the Holiday with our whole family.

I'm halfway through making our Christmas cards - and hope to have them all in the mail by the 15th. We are planning on getting the decorations up in the house this weekend - it's our tradition to do it all in the first weekend of December - but I'm sure we will have to schedule it around the Cowboy's vs. Giants football game on Sunday.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Preparing for Thanksgiving

I've been trying to get things ready for the company we are having for Thanksgiving - setting up the extra table & chairs, thawing out the turkey, polishing the silverware, getting some cookies baked and so on. I tend to get stressed out when we entertain, but this year I've tried to get past that stress by preparing early. There always seems to be something I forget every year - but hopefully I have all my bases covered.

I'm planning on trying something new this year too - it seems there are tons of recipes and buzz going on lately about cooking a bacon wrapped turkey - and it is supposed to keep the turkey moist when cooking. Here is a link to the recipe. Hopefully it will turn out!

My favorite time of the year

It is really is starting to feel - and smell - like fall here in Texas - and it's my favorite time of the year. I guess there are just certain things this time of year that really remind me of growing up in Minnesota, like the smell of crisp night air, falling leaves and cinnamon apples. I have such great memories of my Mom's cooking - and since we had a huge apple orchard behind our home - most of the baking & cooking revolved around apples. She was always baking apple pie, making apple sauce, apple bars, and whatever else she could think of with the crop that those trees produced. I try to treat myself to my favorite tea whenever I can - and there is nothing better in my humble opinion to take me back to those special memories than this: