The Holiday Snowman

At the beginning of December, we got our first snow here in No Man's Land. It wasn't huge, but enough to make a snowman so outside we went. It was a great time. The snow was gently coming down while we played and it was perfect for building snowmen and making snowballs.

After a short snowball war between The Husband and I, we completed a short snowman with The Wee One's help. The Husband collected snow to make the body and The Wee One and I patted fresh snow to cover the dirty spots.

As she and I were working, she kept calling it "Pumpkin Christmas Tree." I told her this was a snowman and she replied, "No Pumpkin Christmas Tree." I gave up and we decided to just name our little creation Pumpkin. My little one is not big on giving hugs to people other than Mommy and Daddy, but apparently Pumpkin Christmas Tree (full name) won her over.

A recipe for disaster

I have so enjoyed this Christmas season. I got the vast majority of my shopping done the first week of December and have had time to enjoy things like decorating the house, wrapping presents, listening to wonderful Christmas music and holiday movies, and of course, baking. I have gone through about 4 bags of flour this year, and still have a few things I would love to bake if I get the time.

So, given that this by far isn't my first baking episode, I was amazed at my blunder last night.

We had been in Amarillo all day and didn't get home until about 10 last night. After a chat with The Sister on the phone, I finally got to work on my breads around 10:45. I was happy, listening to movies play in the background, enjoying the glow of the Christmas lights from the tree and windows. I guess my mind was just in other places.

Usually, I pull everything out for a recipe and have it all on the counter before I begin. For some reason, I didn't do that this time. I was doubling my banana nut bread recipe and had my 4 cups of sugar, 4 1/2 cups of flour, 2 bags of nuts, and 8 bananas all mixed up, waiting for the rest of the ingredients, when I discovered I didn't have enough eggs.

You have got to be kidding me. I never do this stuff. I plan and I prepare. I don't start a huge batch of yumminess without checking to see if I have eggs.

So, with my head down, I quietly went to The Husband and said, "I'm a huge dork. I have a mini-emergency and need assistance." (Yes, those exact words.) I asked if he would get me some eggs. It being past 11 at this point, I didn't want to call on a neighbor and I was pretty sure the two convenience stores in town would be closed. This meant a 20 minute drive to Wal-Mart and a 20 minute drive back.

I offered to go, but he said he would make the run. What a great guy. He didn't mock me - much. He just put his coat on and headed out to the store. Needless to say, the bread finally got in the oven and after a batch of zucchini bread, some granola, and 25 tied off candy canes with messages, I went to bed - at 4 this morning.

Enjoy the yummies everyone...I'm out!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

This will be one of those "ranting" posts, so for those who don't care for that (as some of you have shared with me), you may want to skip it.

I got on Facebook today and saw a post from a college friend stating that she heard our alma mater's seasonal party this year was being called a "Holiday Party" instead of a "Christmas Party". She didn't like this so she emailed the university president to voice her opinion.

While I respect her passion and her commitment to speak out, I disagree with her on this point. I am a strong Christian and I celebrate Christmas with Christ as my focus. I am even seriously considering talking to The Husband about limiting the number of gifts we give each other in our family so that we can focus more on Christ and less on the material aspects. I would really like to be able to give more money and time to those in need during this season and I believe that Christ would prefer that as well.

Off point a little...so while I celebrate CHRISTmas, I know that this world, and specifically this nation, has many people who are not Christians and that the holiday season is not limited to just Christians. There are a number of religious holidays that take place during this season, as well as those people who do "Christmas" without the belief in Christ. I won't get into the deep historical aspects here, but it should be recognized that most of the Christian holidays we celebrate were placed on pagan dates, and Christmas in particular is estimated to be about 2 months off the real birth date of Jesus.

My main point is that a public institution like my alma mater should celebrate a Holiday Party. While most of the people who work there are probably Christians, it is not right to assume that all are and that they all should celebrate Christmas. To me, it actually comes off as being quite arrogant to expect everyone to accept my beliefs and celebrate my traditions. While I want people to follow Christ because I believe He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, I know that God gives us a choice and that some people have not chosen Christ. Honestly, I pray that they do, but until then, I do not have any cause to force them to celebrate my holiday.

Many argue that because our nation was founded on Christian beliefs, we should celebrate Christmas. I disagree. One, our nation was not completely founded on Christian beliefs. Two, our nation gives us the same freedom that God does in letting us chose our religion. While I may not agree with other's beliefs, I can give them the respect in letting them celebrate their traditions, just as I want the respect to celebrate mine.

So, all that being said, I too sent an email to the president to let him know that not all WTAMU alumni feel that the change in name was a bad thing. Hope I didn't start anything. : )