Hot Rolls: So much more than just a recipe

After I posted a photo of my latest batch of hot rolls, I had several request for the recipe.  So here goes:

2 pkgs of dry yeast
1/2 c warm water
2 tsp salt
1 stick of butter or margarine
1 c milk
1/2 c sugar
3 eggs, beaten
5 -6 cups flour

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water.  Give it some time to activate.  Add salt.
In a microwave proof measuring cup, measure the milk.  Add the stick of butter.
Microwave for about 80 - 90 seconds.  Add sugar and stir to dissolve.

Make sure the milk, butter, sugar mixture is warm but NOT HOT.  
Add to the dissolved yeast.  Add beaten eggs. 
 Add 2 cups of flour and stir to incorporate.  Now, be patient and let it sit for a few minutes.  You'll notice some lovely little bubbles starting to form.
Continue to add flour until you can work the dough into a ball.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead the dough (at least 3 - 5 minutes).  You may have to add more flour as you go.  Work it sisters, get out some of those frustrations!  This is good therapy!!

Spritz the mixing bowl with nonstick spray. Place kneaded dough back into the bowl, cover with a dishcloth and let it rise until doubled.  You can put it in a slightly warm oven if you'd like to help it along.

After dough has doubled in size, punch it down.  Wait a few minutes.  Make into whatever shaped rolls you like best.  Let rise again.  And then bake at 350' for about 12 minutes (until slightly brown). I like to butter the tops of mine after they come out of the oven.  Enjoy!!

Don't get overwhelmed.  Try this out when you aren't rushed.  Realize it may flop the first time, but that's ok, you'll get the hang of it.

THE REST OF THE STORY

I've been making yeast bread since I was a little bitty thing.  My Grandma Clark and my Great-Grandma Vash taught my sister and I.  We watched and practiced with our own little bowls of dough. One of the nicest things that my Grandma Mother ever said to me was, "You have my mother's hands for making dough, you have your Great-Grandma's hands."  What a huge compliment from a lady that could whip out all kinds of pies, cakes, and cookies...but rarely breads.

Even better yet:  grab someone you love and make a batch of these together.  :)  

The Magnifier

I bought a special mirror a while back.  I thought it would be helpful for tweezing my eyebrows because it was highly magnified and, bonus: it has little suction cups so I can keep it stuck on my regular mirror in our bathroom.

It seemed like such a good idea at the time.  I even gave the mirror it's own special name:  
The Magnifier

Well honey, let me tell ya, I'm having second thoughts.

Last night when I flossed my teeth I decided I might have a little plaque going on so I grabbed my handy & sharp "tooth tool" and my tiny "mirror on a stick" device.  I'm sure these things have bona fide names, but just go with it.  Then I spotted The Magnifier stuck on the mirror.  As Peggy Hill would have said, "Oh Yeh!"  I must admit, with all the right tools I got the de-plaqing done in no time.
But then....................

Then I noticed I seemed to have dead flaky skin.  No problem, a nice face scrub with razor-sharp sand crystals did the trick.
But then.....................

When did so many of my pores get so clogged?  I know, I know, don't squeeze, but you know full well that I did.
But then.....................

And this was really the final straw, nose hairs????!!!!!  You have got to be kidding me???
Yep, they're gone. I might have had 1 big tear roll down my cheek, but they're gone.

Wow, does The Magnifier work or what?!

In the regular mirror, everything looked pretty good.  The flaws were hardly visible.  But with The Magnifier, WOAH Nelly!

It brought to mind a particular scripture in which we ask God to search us and point out anything that offends Him and then ask Him to lead us along the path He has for us.  If you let Him search, He will point out what needs pointed out.  And it might get a little painful.  But the end result is walking not only this here and now path, but the "for evermore " path with Him.  It's gonna be worth it.

Now what to do about those awful crow's feet wrinkles......

Psalm 139:23-24New Living Translation (NLT)

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

~Remembering 9/11/01~

13 years ago this morning thousands of people did just what I did today.  

 They got up, got ready, and headed out for their day. 

There were men, women, and children who were getting in cars, buses, and subways to get to where they went everyday.  

Moms were dropping off babies and children with their diaper bags, men were riding up the elevators in suits carrying briefcases and cups of coffee, maintenance workers who had worked the night shift were looking forward to going home and going to bed, firefighters were packing their gear for whatever their day would bring them and police officers gathered at their station for their morning team briefings. 

I could name many other scenarios that I'm sure happened that morning, but my point is I'm remembering all those who did what they did every day, but not knowing that it would be the last morning they would ever enter the Trade Centers, the police stations, the firehouses, board airplanes, etc.  Later that same morning our country would be attacked by terrorists.  People would die, families would be separated forever, and heroes would arise.   

Let us never take one single day that we've been given for granted. Let us NEVER forget September 11th!

Donut Justification

I went in for a drink.  That was the plan.  Just a drink.

I had my snack & lunch packed.  Swim bag ready for break.  I even tossed in a protein shake for good measure.

Wow, I really had it together this morning.  Then....................

I decided I needed a nice, cold, icy drink in a styrofoam cup.  So I turned right at the light and pulled into Hucks.

I passed by the Chex Mix and Corn Nuts and tossed my head back with smug confidence, "Sorry, you will not be bought by this girl."

I hestitated at the Little Debbie display, but then convinced myself, "That crap just ends up leaving a film of grease in your mouth."

but then, oh then...

THE KRISPY KREME RACK    Oh those marketing people, they are just too good at their job!!

I tried so hard to resist.  I really, truly tried.

But then it happened:  

From where I do not know, but a tiny spotlight shined right over the top of this little cup of Chocolate Donut Holes.  And, (I think I was the only person that heard it) a chorus of angelic voices in harmony began to sing.  Not a hymn exactly, but more like the opening Ahhhhh's from "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid.

It took about 29 seconds for me to rack up enough justification to make that little cup of sweetness mine:

1. It's Move-In weekend for the university I work for and our office is located in a DORM for the love of Pete!
2. Yesterday I ate my lunch at 4p.m. and it was peanut butter on a rice cake.
3. I'm killing 2 birds with 1 stone.  [chocolate & donut]
4. Donut holes are little, almost laughable little.
5. I don't have to eat them all at once.
6. They would be just about the easist thing ever to eat while on the computer.
7. I'll swim an extra lap for every donut hole I consume.  Heck, I'll probably end up losing weight because of this.
8. What goes better with coffee than, you guessed it, donuts!
9. With the right combination of caffeine and chocolate, anything is possible.
10. Donut holes are great for sharing.  Ok, I'm not going to try and use that one, it would just be a bold-face lie.

So what happened you might wonder.  If you bothered to read this entire post of nonsense.  

I bought the donus holes.  I ate the donut holes (1/2 of them).  And by half, I don't mean half of each one, but half of the total number.  I'm a literal person, sorry.

They were delicious, sweet, sugary, and perhaps were the only reason that I have made it this far along in my morning.

Have a blessed day!  ;)

When you were 45.......

Yey, it's my birthday!!  :)  I made myself a promise that I would never become a "Debbie Downer"  {sorry all Debbie's out there} and that I would always be grateful for seeing another birthday.

Of course its made me think, why wouldn't it?  Only I'm not a typical thinker, so I want to share with you where my thoughts have led me on this birthday.

What if I could sit down with some of the women in my family that I never knew when they were 45 and have a cup of coffee (or tea)?  What would I tell them?  What would I ask them?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My paternal grandmother Emma Bryn Clark, who was 45 years old in 1950.

 "Grandma Clark, you were so brave to leave the Dakota's to come to Indiana and be a farm wife.  How did you leave your Bryn family behind and come and join the Clark family of whom the only one you knew was your new husband Frank?  What was it like being a newly wed and having your mother-in-law live with you? Would you believe that in 2 years you'll be pregnant with your tenth child?!"  (an awesome gal that I call Aunt Sarah) "You are so calm, thoughtful, and never say a negative word about anyone.  I need to strive to be more like that!"

My maternal great-grandmother Bertha Magdalena Vash, who was 45 years old in 1945.

"Great Grandma, what a strong woman you were!  You immigrated to the United States in 1913 and made your way west to Knox County to the coal mines.  In 1945 you had a beautiful, healthy 2 year old granddaughter, but you also had a 3 year old severely handicapped son.  You even had your daughter and granddaughter back on the farm living with you while your son-in-law was in Europe in the war.  I picture you kneading a bowl of bread while speaking Hungarian to little Stevie and wonder if I could have been as patient."   

My maternal grandmother Irene Pearl Goyer Taryayni who was 45 years old in 1966.

"Grandma Mother, how proud you must be to have a daughter who has graduated college as a teacher!  I know you helped work hard to be able to send her to ISU.  You must be busy planning her wedding.  I've already seen the pictures and I can see just how happy that day was for you.  Grandma, I don't think I'm quite as bossy as you, but I do think it's from you that I get my gumption to dig my heels in when necessary."

I've got a lot to live up to, including my beautiful mom who I did know when she was 45.  Trust me, she put up with more then she deserved from me.  But because she knows Jesus, I know forgiveness and grace.  

I will be celebrating all weekend and why not?  ;)

Happy Mothers Day

I can celebrate today for 3 reasons.  Katy, Evan, and our baby in Heaven.

They are the reasons I can claim this day as one to celebrate.  And I still stand in amazement that God chose me to be their mom.  What was He thinking?  ;)  
But I believe that God knows our entire life story, beginning to end, and that He chose me to be their mom.

I want to honor all the mom's out there, especially mine, because God chose her for me.

There have been so many moments where I've caught myself thinking, "I can't believe I'm their mom."
Here are just a few.

When the doctor held them up so I could see them for the first time in the O.R.

When Evan wanted to take his teacher a rose on the last day of Kindergarten.

When Katy and her friend helped carry Evan to the car to go to the E.R. for a nail in his foot.

When they were both so super-excited waiting for their first cousin to be born (Mara).

When Evan cracked the bat and made a grand slam at the Bicknell ball field.

When Katy walked across the stage at her high school and her college graduation.

When Evan had the lead in a drama at the Ablaze youth retreat weekend.

When they both made the Chrysalis Flights at Camp Illiana.

When Evan wanted a chair so he could reach my Grandma at the funeral home one more time.

When Katy told me she would wanted to go to Kenya, Africa with her church on a mission trip.

Yes, I could go on and on and on.  I am so proud of them!
And that's why I love Mothers Day, because He chose me to be their mom!!

Happy Mother's Day!

In Real Life

As Forrest Gump so poetically said once, "It Happens."

What happened?  I messed up.  Yes, I know you're shocked (just kidding), but I now have a permanent stain on my Mom record.

Last night was the Spring Spectacular 2014 Choral program, and I forgot my camera!!!!!!!
I could live w/o another pic of Show Choir, but I can't get back the amazing performance of Evan and his cousin Elysa.  He accompanied their duet on the piano.  Oh to be able to Play & Sing!!  And I didn't record any of it.  :(

But to digress just a bit.  I have also done the following:

• Slept on a futon bed with him until he was 3 because he had to hold my thumb while he slept
• Cleaned up volumes of puke
• Not made a big deal of him wanting to eat only marshmallows and Popsicles for a season
• Rubbed his back as he cried over: a fish that died, a hermit crab that died, a horse that died....
• Woke him up COUNTLESS numbers of times so that he wouldn't miss the bus, be late for a ballgame, miss out on a ride to {wherever}, wouldn't be late for school, etc
• Endangered my own life when I climbed hundreds of stairs to ride roller-coasters with him at Mt. Olympus in Wisconsin Dells
• Washed load after load after load of really putrid soccer gear, ick!
• Sat in the sun, wind, rain, and even snow at countless ballgames
• Dog-paddled in the deep in to catch him jumping off the diving board before he learned how to swim well enough on his own

And I'm sure I could keep going...but you get the idea because if you're a mom, you've done it too.

Still, I messed up last night and forgot the camera for the choir show.

For that I am sorry and I hope that one day (even if it's 20 years from now) he will forgive me.

On the other side of that, for once, instead of looking at life through a video recording....I just looked at life.

And even though I had messed up, just watching and listening in real life, well....it was pretty sweet.

Encouraged

I have been investing my time, money, and nerves into a project this week:  Prom Flowers!

Yes, I'm too cheap to fork over hard-earned cash for something that appears in a picture, gets flung on a table, and, if it's lucky, gets perched in a car dashboard for a while.

So I head out on my lunch break to JoAnn Fabrics for a little "something more" to arrange in a corsage and boutineer.  

When I walked through the door and step my foot inside, it happens once again.  I.believe.I.am.crafty!

But here's the reality, I'm really not very crafty at all.  I worry too much about angles, and matching, and being even.  I can barely run a sewing machine.  I burn my hands EVERYTIME I use a glue gun!  If I don't have a picture of what it's supposed to finally look like, I can't wrap my mind around it.

But when I walk around in the store and see the friendly associates in their crisp aprons cutting fabric, and I smell all the crafty smells.  When I see the kits hanging on display that promise, "Simple" & "Easy", I get so excited and start believing that maybe in fact I am A CRAFTER!

What the Holy Spirit spoke to me was this:  "Am I spending my time with people who are an encouragement to my faith?  Am I spending time with those who stoke my excitement to learn more about who I am through Jesus? Am I setting my foot in places where I am encouraged to stretch myself in the gifts that God has given me?"

42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper[i]), and to prayer.Acts 2:42

Gotta love those believers in the early Acts church.  I have to believe that along with learning, fellowship, meals and prayer they also encouraged one another.

Don't waste precious time with people who tear you down.  Chose to be with those who will lift you up, so that in turn, you can lift up others.
Hmmm, maybe I could make some sort of crafty wall hanging with that saying on it.....or not.

:D
Susan