My Heart My Home

No Tuesday Tastiness This Week

Hey, all of my many readers...lol. As difficult as it is to admit to having a blah holiday season, I will throw myself out there and admit it anyway. I fear invoking pity by some and judgment by others, but whatever.

I think I'm going to put off the Tuesday Tastiness until after the first of the year when the holidays are over and the new year has begun. Maybe I'll be feeling better by that time.

In the meantime, I will hopefully have some posts up that are uplifting and encouraging. Downer posts can be a drain on readers, I know, and I don't do them well anyway.

I will concentrate my efforts on remembering the reason for the season for now. Love to you all!

:o)

Friday's Fave Five

1. Coffee. I am never so fond of coffee as when cold, gray, blustery winds are blowing on the other side of my front door. This week has been one of those weeks for sure! Yummy, yummy coffee. Warm and black and the perfect compliment to...

2. Peanut Butter Fudge.  This is one of my favorite holiday treats.The kids like chocolate fudge better, but my husband and I go for the peanut butter. Soft, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth peanut butter fudge and a cup of black coffee have been my simple pleasures this week.

3. High School Psychology. It has been very neat to see my high school senior enjoy his Psychology studies this year. It never entered my mind, until this year, to actually find a course and use it as a school subject for him, even though I knew in the back of my head that he enjoyed that kind of thing. Par for the course that I waited until his last year of school to have that lightbulb go off. (Wonder if that means anything? Maybe I should ask my son.)

4. Fruit, Crackers, Cookies, and Tomato Products. I work a very part-time job keeping our local soup kitchen stocked for each week's meals. They have provided me with a Walmart credit card to pay for the groceries, so that is where I shop every week for them. I have been thinking lately that if only I didn't have to buy the heavy cans of fruit cocktail (the BIG ones always on the BOTTOM shelf), 15 boxes of crackers, 15 packages of cookies, and countless cans of tomato products each week, my job would be much more enjoyable. (Do I detect a discontentment issue here?) Lo and behold, the soup kitchen coordinator called me this week and told me some supplies had been donated, which is not super unusual for this time of year, so I needed to go arrange the storeroom to accommodate them. When I got there this afternoon, I found large cans of fruit, lots of crackers, lots of cookies, and some cans of tomato products, along with a few other things. Do you think Someone may be sending me some hugs this week? I think so.  (((((Me)))))

5. Food co-ops. I picked up my first Azure Standard order this week and will pick up my Oklahoma Food Cooperative order next week. I am so thankful that these options have finally become available to me! I have wanted for a long time to be able to buy as many of my grocery and toiletry products affordably and locally. Azure makes them more affordable and the Oklahoma co-op helps me purchase healthy foods from independent, local farmers who sell grass-fed beef and free-range eggs and all sorts of other wonderful types of foods that I love to feed my family. This has become even more of a blessing to me after watching Food, Inc. last night! Very informative documentary about big business and not-really-healthy food supplies.

Thanks for being a part of my favorites this week! I hope you're having a wonderful one!

If you would like to be a part of Friday's Fave Five, visit Living to Tell the Story

Tuesday Tastiness #7 - Wassail

Wednesday evening doesn't seem to be the proper time to be posting a Tuesday Tastiness post, but here I am! Yesterday really got away from me with lots of duties out of the house and today has been a busy day at home.

I am excited about this wassail recipe! A friend gave it to me a couple of weeks ago and my daughter and I just love it! It is perfect for the holidays and with our weather here in southern Oklahoma being colder than normal for December, it really hits the spot.

So without further adieu, here is ONE AWESOME WASSAIL RECIPE:

Wassail

1/2 gallon apple juice

2 c orange juice

2 c cranberry juice

1/4 c lemon juice

1/2 c sugar, or to taste (I used 1/4 c honey instead of sugar)

1 cinnamon stick

5 or 6 whole cloves (You can put in a teaball or cheesecloth. I just let them float around loose.)

Mix all together and heat. I put ours in the crockpot till heated through and then the next day heated it back up in a stainless steel pot. It was delicious both days!

Try it! You just might like it!

This post linked to:

ann kroeker - Food on Fridays

The Grocery Cart Challenge

WFMW at We are THAT Family

Friday's Fave Five

This past week seemed very uneventful to me until I started trying to remember some things about it. I guess when I spend a lot of time at home, it is easy to think that a slower pace equals ho-hum. But after coming up with this list, I have changed my mind. It has been a very good week!

1. Weather was perfect to go out into the woods at my parents' house to look for a Christmas tree. Usually, it is cold or windy or wet or some other kind of uncomfortable, so I let my husband and kids go on without me. But this year, I went with my husband and helped him pick one out while the kids stayed and spent more time with cousins before they went home after Thanksgiving. I was thankful for a nice day for tree "shopping".

2. I am so happy that our tree is decorated as well as the house! And it's only the first week of December. lol. That almost never happens!

3. I made wassail this week from the recipe a friend gave me. I love it! My daughter and I are looking forward to making more in the near future.

4. I was glad to hear a few weeks ago that Azure Standard has begun a Midwest route and I can pick up an order only a half hour away from me. I placed my first order this week and am excited to go pick it up next week.

5. I am a homebody and love being at home more than out-and-about. This week has been a wonderful week for me to be able to stay at home the majority of the week without too many outside obligations. Add to that the fact that winter has hit southern Oklahoma a bit early (COLD!!), and it has been a fun week for me to be huddled up at home with hot coffee and warm wassail and a ceramic heater at my feet. Love it!

If you'd like to add your favorite five to your blog, go here:

Living to tell the Story

Finding Joy in the Christmas Season

For many people, Christmas is their favorite time of year. It pleases all five of the senses - the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and many new things to hold and touch.

But when the main focus for the season is the "many new things to hold and touch", Christmas joy can be replaced by sadness and depression and anxiety when funds are limited or even non-existent for exchanging gifts. The gift-giving ritual of Christmas has become paramount. The other enjoyments of the holiday season seem to be secondary.

It has been said that when one of the senses is lost, others heighten and make up for the loss. For instance, a blind person has increased ability to rely on hearing and touch more so than those of us with eyesight. I believe that for those of us with limited ability to purchase gifts during the Christmas season, we have been given an immeasurable gift - the ability to increase our senses of sight, sound, taste, and smell. And with this gift can come abundant joy as expectations lessen, hustle and bustle slows down, trips to the mall (for just one more thing) cease, and the peace of the real reason for the season begins to envelop and calm us.

For me, I look forward to putting on some Christmas music, watching the lights twinkle on our (free) Christmas tree, enjoying the decorations throughout the house that Rachel loves to put up every year, driving through the park to see the Christmas lights, taking pictures to post on Facebook (lol), hearing Ryan play Christmas music on his guitar and listening to Rachel as she learns to do the same, smelling and drinking up some Christmas wassail, and baking up as many goodies as the budget will allow this year.

I do enjoy gifts and, when monetary constraints lessen one of these years, you can be sure there will be more of them under our tree. But for now, my choices (sometimes difficult ones) are JOY in the midst of struggle, PEACE in the midst of turmoil, and an awareness of JESUS in the midst of it all, choosing my sense of touch to be satisfied by hugging and holding onto my family and friends.

If these things sound difficult to you, please know that you are not alone. They are difficult. Yet I pray that you are able to find JOY, with ALL of your senses, during this Christmas season.

Our Frugal Christmas Tradition - Free Tree!

When we moved to Oklahoma seven years ago, we were staying with my parents at Christmastime due to job loss and new job and job loss again - blah, blah...

We decided it would be great fun to go out in my parents' back forty and chop down a Christmas tree from the thousands of cedars that were overtaking growing on their property. Our children (ages 14, 11, and 5 at the time) had a blast with it (not so much the 11-year-old).

Well, it has become a tradition that some of us might give up with just a little nudging, but our daughter, now 12, insists it is one that shall never cease in her lifetime (or something to that effect).

So, with the explanation out of the way, here is our tree this year:

Before -

After -

Don't you wish you lived at my house?

This post linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family

Tuesday Tastiness #6 - Holiday Pretzels (or Oyster Crackers) (or Goldfish)

We love baking and cooking at Christmastime here at our house! Over the next few weeks until Christmas, I will be posting some of our favorite holiday treats. But be forewarned, I am not always the healthiest cook on the planet when it comes to holiday recipes!

We really enjoy these pretzels. I have tried to make a healthier version than the original by foregoing the usual "packet mixes" and substituting ingredients purchased, as much as possible, from companies that produce quality herbs and spices "unadulterated by sulfates, irradiation, or extraneous material" (quoted from the Azure Standard catalog). One of these days, I may try this recipe with healthy homemade crackers. When I get ambitious. And just a little crazier.

Holiday Pretzels (my variation)

16 oz. pkg. of pretzels (or any combination of pretzels, oyster crackers and/or goldfish)

2/3 c. light olive oil (or a little less)

1 t. lemon pepper

1/8 - 1/4 t. cayenne pepper (or to taste up to 1 t. if you like it really spicy)

1 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. salt, optional (there is usually plenty of salt on the pretzels)

1 t. parsley

1/2 t. dill weed

Toss all together and put in a container with a lid. Flip every 15 minutes for an hour.

Very good for taking to Christmas parties or just for snacking on at home.

This post linked to:

Real Food Wednesday at Cheeseslave

Food on Fridays at ann kroeker 

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Giveaway at We are THAT Family!

Another giveaway over at We are THAT Family .

If you love Chris Tomlin, as I do, you won't want to miss this giveaway! And while you're at it, read through the blog . It's a great one!

Giveaway at The Nourished Life!

I am loving the new blog, The Nourished Life ! Elizabeth is a mom after my own heart in her quest to feed her family in a more nourishing way. Her posts present usable information in an understandable manner. Perfect combination for anyone who is interested in beginning a new way of feeding her family. 

In honor of her one-month blog anniversary, she is giving away a free book! You have your choice of three books, any of which I would love to have, but my first choice is definitely Eat Fat, Lose Fat.

Go visit her site now and sign up! I'm heading over there NOW! The giveaway ends on Sunday, December 6.