This year it is true:  March came in like a lion and is going out like a lamb.  Our weather is mild and sunny and looks to stay that way for the next week (mild, that is). 

 

Along with the mild weather, allergies are blooming once again.  An often heard question in my household is, "Are your allergies bothering you today?"  The Boy and I seem to react to the same allergens and Himself to others.  When we all react, well, it becomes a competition of "who can top this:" 

 

"My head hurts so much I think my eyeballs are going to pop out."

 

"Well, I'll top you my head exploding to your two eyeballs!"

 

...and so on.

 

It seems a common human behavior to want to interject our experiences of bad health when someone else is telling about theirs.  When I am saying that something hurts and Himself tells about when his whatever was even worse, it makes me feel as though he is telling me that my hurt isn't so bad because it could be worse - and his was worse!

 

Ever listen to a group of senior citizens converse?  It is just one health complaint after another. 

 

"I'll raise you two stents to your one pacemaker....."

 

I think, maybe, that we are not telling the other person their pain isn't real as much as we want validation for our own trials.  Than again, we do tend to be egocentric.  Whatever.

 

It was a pretty good week here in our little part of the Great Atlantic Northeast.  We got to spend some time with our Isabella and that is almost always a good thing.  Four out of five of us is healthy (The Girl is sick) and we have food in our house and clothing on our backs.  What more can we ask for?  In good conscience, that is.

 

My folks leave this weekend for a three week trip.  They are driving to Texas to see my Baby Bro and his bride.  B.B.  took a transfer to TX from Orange County, CA.  He and his wife were sick of the "real housewives" there.

 

Do you think you would be able to travel halfway across a country the size of the USA with your spouse?  If not married, a family member?  Absolutely...........NOT!  When Himself and his brother traveled cross county, Himself spent fifteen minutes at the Grand Canyon and had had enough.  Also, he left his brother in the Painted Desert because he took too long taking pictures (yes, he came back).  I like to stop and smell the roses.

 

What is your favorite way to travel?  By book.  Honestly.  I'd rather read a book then travel.  However, if I could "beam" myself to different places I would.  Especially England an Malaysia - you know why!

 

Do you have a vacation away from home planned for this year?  Or next?  I plan to visit my Baby Bro this fall if all goes well.  Maybe the transporter will be perfected by then?!

 

You have the choice to drive five hours or fly 45 minutes.  Which do you choose?  Can you say "road atlas?"

 

Do you like to swim.  As per my 100 list, I don't like to be wet so that is a negatory.

 

Have a wonderful weekend.  blessings all around, g

 

 

In the beginning of this week, a light jacket or long-sleeved shirts was enough to be comfortable outside.  This morning I woke up to snow!  It's a good thing we didn't put away the brushes we use to clean off the cars yet.  I had many miles to go before I could rest today.

 

Our best laid plans often don't come about.  When I entered college, my "plan" was to immediately get my graduate degrees and open a counseling center for adolescents (yes, there is only one "l" in counseling even though it looks weird.  I looked it up to be sure).  I figured they were the lost souls because they weren't cute like little kids and adults had many options.

 

Well, I finished my degree in psychology with an unofficial minor in health education and set out to conquer the world.  However, I impulsively made some decisions that sidetracked "the plan."  Marriage, child, divorce, single parenthood, remarriage and another child caused me to set aside the dream.

 

In my mid-thirties, I earned my teaching certificate for grades K-8 and taught for one year.  The principal decided it was not my bag.  He liked sweet young things and, honestly, I could have tried harder.  The conditions were not all that good but it was a major blow to me.

 

Unable to find another teaching position, I took on office work which is something I could always lean back on.  Then, after about four or five years, I entered a deep, clinical depression.  So bad that I eventually qualified for permanent disability.  Definitely not part of "the plan."

 

A full year was spent "on the couch" fighting anxiety and watching home decorating and cooking shows.    I never "planned" to get off that couch.  I did, though.  Then the anorexia (third bout).  Then more treatment.

 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity."

 

Since I was 16 years old, I have counted on God.  I have never wavered in my belief in Him.  The mistakes I made were made because I didn't include Him in "my plans."  I was a spoiled child blaming everyone but myself for the situations I found myself in and self-loathing and self-pity were the result.

 

After Isabella was born, I realized I had to get my act together.  I was already doing fairly well but wasn't experiencing joy in my life.

 

Three months after her birth I gave up smoking.  A year and a half after her birth, when I began to lose my smile again, I decided to continue in a therapy I had started with a qualified person from my church.  (The therapy is based on the book "Walls of My Heart" by Bruce Thompson.)  What took one person three months to do has taken me over a year and a half to and I am not through yet!  However, I have found my smile and I can truly tell you....

 

 

Deep down, earnest, sometimes giddy joy!    Where before, I was unapproachable and people told me they were afraid of me (they told me after they got to know me), now they seek my company!  I still don't like mornings but at least I am no longer annoyed  that the world still exists when I wake up...I still need my cup of tea and quiet before I am approachable.

 

Becoming a Christian doesn't guarantee you will have an easy life.  Nor does it guarantee you will be happy.  It guarantees you a place in heaven and the opportunity to be joyful.  Once I put my life in His hands and got over my self-pity, God was able to do a wonderful work in me.  And He continues to.  I don't know if this makes sense to you but it is the main reason I write.  To share Him and the transforming power He has if we only allow Him in.

 

The snowfall could have dampened my plans but it didn't.  Although it looked bad, it was gone in hours.  "The Plan" has still not come into fruition but I am seeking a better one.  Counseling?  Maybe.  I'll let Him guide me.

 

It took me thirty plus years to make Him the center of my "plans" - although I slip up a lot.  For others it takes an instant to relax in His arms.  Oh, what a stubborn woman I am!  Oh, what a patient Father He is!

 

Do you believe in the supernatural?  Absolutely.  I know there is spiritual warfare between good and evil going on all the time.  However, I read the end of the book and I know who wins!  (I do not believe in ghosts but angels and fallen angels or demons.)

 

Do you believe in coincidence?  Not any more.  That annoying thing at home that made me late might have kept me from getting into a car accident.  Or worse.

 

Do you put your keys in the same place every time you come home or are you always searching for them?  Mother got me into the habit of placing them in the same place when I was still living at home.  It is a good thing.

 

Do you habitually turn off lights when you leave a room?  Once again, Mother training kicks in and I do.  However, getting The Boy to do it.....I make him get up to turn them off even if he is settled in and I am going in that direction anyway.

 

Have you become more "green" since the price of petroleum products went up?  As a matter of fact, yes.  Even though the prices have gone down, I am still driving differently to consume less gas.  I've always kept the heat low but have lowered it even more.  Finally, I have been remembering to bring cloth tote bags to the grocery store.  I'm trying

 

Have a blessed weekend, all.  Hope I didn't go on too much but my fingers seemed to do what they wanted to do today!  hugs, gail

 

 

 

I sing the refrain all the time!  If you need a chuckle, click here-     

Good news - my cholesterol is down from 322 to 197!  Woo-hooooo

 

Do you have someone you know you will be friends with forever?  Even if you move a world away or you or they inherited millions?  My bff, L, is that friend. 

 

L and I met when The Girl was, I believe, four years old which was almost 25 years ago.  We both worked for the county social services office; she in food stamps and I in AFDC (Aid to the Families of Dependent Children or welfare).  My job took me to different departments and hers was one of them.  After passing L's  desk many times, we got to chatting and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Where I can be "excitable," L is even-tempered.  She has been a great sounding board when I don't know if I am overreacting to something.  In the same way, I just don't get how she can not get excited about some things!

 

When I was a single mom, L told me that she figured if anything happened to her husband she would make sure to have a place the girl and I could move into with her.  I don't think anyone ever thought of that with me.  I was not the easiest person to get along with but she accepted me, warts and all. 

 

For more than 22 years, except for the years they lived in Florida, L and her husband B and I have gotten together some time in March for corned beef and cabbage, potatoes and soda bread.  When the kids were little, L and I always "forgot" something and had to run out to the store - just the two of us.  Did the guys ever catch on?  Who knows.

 

Tomorrow is our big day.  The one day of the year we know we will get together without fail.  We live about one hour away from each other but the rigors of life often keep us from getting together at any other time.  However, tomorrow,  we will talk as if we visited last week. 

 

That's why St. Patrick's day is one of my favorite "holidays" of the year. 

 

Do you celebrate St. Paddy's day?  If so, how.  See above.  Also, we watch the move The Quiet Man.

 

Is there any Irish in your heritage?  Except for all of us coming from Adam and Eve, not that I know of.

 

What makes a person a friend?  I don't believe you can know someone is a true friend until the friendship has been tested.  With L, she stood by me when others didn't.  When I was pregnant with The Boy, she called me every other day to make sure someone was still talking with me (I was pms'y for nine months!).  She's not perfect but she's proven she will stand by me.

 

If you have just left your home and locked the door, do you run back in if the phone starts ringing?  I refuse to be a slave to my phone!  Absolutely not.  Himself does, though.

 

There has been such a lull in Spaces, lately.  I hope that ends soon.  I miss having participants in the Falderal.  It helps me to get to know you all better.

 

Have a great, safe weekend.  g

 

 

When I picked up Isabella for school this morning, I told her I love her.  She replied, "I love you, too, Boo-Boo."

 

First time ever.

 

It just doesn't get any better.  I am so blessed.

 

 

Started out as a mild cold and is now on the way to bronchitis.  I don't feel terrible - most of the time.  As my buddy Jane would say, "meh."

 

Isabella is doing very well in school!  She walks right up to the special door that leads directly to her class all excited to start her day.  Isn't that great? 

 

One odd thing, though, is that she has been eating like three people.  She'll finish her lunch and start on another kid's lunch.  Thankfully, they always have extra.  Maybe it is just a growth spurt. 

 

Thanks again to Deb and Nikki for the encouragement.

 

I'll start the falderal and see if I need to add anything later: 

 

When you are sick, do you want to be left alone or doted on?  Both.  I love when someone loves me enough to want to take care of me.  I also don't want to be bothered.  Also depends on how sick I am.  The worse I am the less patience I have.

 

Do you  have a favorite to food to eat when you are under the weather?  Used to be pasta, pasta and more pasta.  Now, I can't think of a thing.  Not even chocolate!

 

Do you know what a "mustard plaster" is and, if so, have you ever had one?  Once that I can remember.  It was before I was eleven and I must have been pretty sick because my mom set me up in hers and dad's bed - right in the middle, put the concoction on my chest and let me watch the little black and white tv they had in their room.  I believe I watched "The Monkees."  I must have been really sick to be set up like that!

 

When were you most scared by a sickness?  When the girl was in kindergarten, she had vomiting and diarrhea for days.  She was so dehydrated she needed to be hospitalized.  Poor kid had salmonella and we were in that hospital for four days.  That's a whole blog entry in and of itself.  She lost one fifth of her body weight and spent her sixth birthday in the hospital.  Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for taking us to the hospital and for all you did for us.

 

What did you have for dinner last night?  Pierogies with fried onions.  Wasn't up to making much else and I didn't want Himself to spend the money on take out.

 

I'm tired.  I'm going to rest now.  Hope all is well with you, gail

 

 

Now that I have your attention, ahem, I have a recipe to share with you.  I wanted to post it for Valentine's day but wouldn't without the cookbook author's permission.

 

Nick Malgieri is my baking hero.  I own two of his books, Chocolate and Cookies and have not been disappointed by either.  If you want more of a biography feel free to click on his name (in red) to visit his site.  Suffice it to say that I have been a baker for a long time and I know a good thing when I see it (I am "frugal" and rarely buy cookbooks).

 

When the food*network had a show where you wrote in to make your culinary dream came true, I tried to win a day with Nick to learn some of the finer methods of his craft.  Alas, the show was cancelled.  Oh, well.

 

Grand-Maman's Chocolate Cake

 

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft

4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled (not Baker's chocolate - use a chocolate you would eat plain)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Confectioners' sugar for finishing

 

One 8-inch round cake pan, 2 inches deep, buttered and lined with parchment or wax paper

 

1.  Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

 

2.  In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (I don't have a whisk attachment but have good results), whip eggs and sugar on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until very light and increased in volume (don't skimp on the time).  Whip in the butter, then the chocolate, beating until smooth after each addition.

 

3. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour by hand.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

 

4. Bake the cake about 30 minutes, until well risen and still moist in the very center.

 

5. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool.  When cool, peel off the paper and slide onto a platter.  Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

 

Serving:  This plain cake is great with any kind of ice cream accompaniment (I like it by itself!).

Storage:  Keep the cake at room temperature under a cake dome or wrap and freeze for longer storage (I use plastic wrap or foil for leftovers - if there are any.)

 

You can, of course, use a hand mixer if that is what you have.

 

When you serve this cake, its looks will not encourage great expectations as it is plain (I don't even bother with the confectioners' sugar).  With one bite, your guests will be in awe with your baking genius!

 

Please let me know if you give it a try.  Enjoy!  gail