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I know, I know, this is turning out to be like how I used to write in my diary every so often, "Dear Diary, sorry I haven't written in a while, I promise to......." Then six months later, "Dear Diary, see previous entry...."
Things have been wild around here lately, partly due to some stupid overscheduling on my part. Family comes first, so my number one concern has been hot meals on the table and clean socks and underwear in people's dresser drawers. And towels and toilet paper in the bathrooms.
Another concern for me lately has been a blogging identity crisis, which culminated while reading a post on Middle-Aged Mormon Man last night about special blogging awards. Read it if you dare. Scott has been expressing concern that I am presenting an image of our family that is unrealistic and misleading. We also have had a couple of special lessons in Relief Society (that even spilled over to EQ and HPG!) on perfectionism and depression in women. Plus as I was laying in bed this morning fretting over writing Christmas cards, I kept thinking over the dreaded Christmas newsletters I will start receiving in the mail soon. You know the ones, with the perfect family picture and the perfect list of things the perfect family has done throughout the perfect year they've had. (Not that I'm not happy for my friends and pleased for their accomplishments, I am.)
As I do every year, I contemplated what would happen if people sent out a brutally honest Christmas newsletter. "Mommy gained another ten pounds this year after spending $500 dollars in January on a gym membership and only going once. She's decided to cut back on her chocolate consumption, and will eat only one family sized dairy milk bar a day instead of two. Billy will be starting kindergarten in September, and everyone has their fingers crossed he will be potty trained by then. Jane has brought her marks up considerably this year, and teacher says she may make it to the sixth grade after all. Baby has taken up biting other children now that she has teeth. And Alice has a new piercing and tattoo as you can see from the picture above....."
My point is, I know that one of the dangers of blogging and following other people's blogs is that terrible thing that happens with women. We compare ourselves at our worst to other people at their best. And we only present our best on our blogs. It's like when I sit in RS on Sundays and look at my rough, work worn hands and look down the aisle at the other sisters with their beautiful manicures. Instead of listening to the lesson, I might add. The same thing happens when I view others blogs and see the amazing things people do with their talents. (Another reason I've been avoiding Pinterest, actually.)
This does not mean that I am going to post about indiscretions or show pictures of how bad a certain someone's bedroom really gets, if I could only open the door in the first place. I don't believe in airing dirty laundry, literally and figuratively. I'm just going to try to figure out a way to blog in a realistic manner that is more reflective of what really goes on in the four walls of our house. Wish me luck!
While checking stats on my two blogs, I noticed a lot of people are looking for information on where to put the badges on the new Scouts Canada uniforms. I for one am thrilled with my new red Leaders uniform, I love it! And Josh is so pleased with the comfort of his new grey Cub shirt. Our Akela, Carole Hudson, has a great website for our pack, and you can find all the information about badge placement right there at your fingertips, along with lots of other cool Scouting stuff. Here's the link: Carole's Cub Page. Happy Hunting!
About two years ago while I was at work at the senior's centre, one of the administrators, Cecile, passed on this handy tip for repelling dust from computer screens and televisions. She said that she dusts her screens with dryer sheets, like Bounce, and that the fabric softener actually keeps dust from landing on the screens. Nothing gets dustier faster than those electronic devices, so this is indeed a handy tip. Thanks, Cecile!
Many years ago when our children were very small, I remember hearing the counsel to have a weekly date with my sweetheart, and thinking, 'Right, get a babysitter once a week, that's not going to happen!' We occasionally did get a sitter for a rare night out, but mostly Friday night was a stay at home affair, especially if it was a year when there was a new baby in the family. Nowadays things are different, and Scott and I do go out on a date once a week, but our children are much older now and we have built in babysitters. In fact, our youngest is not far away from being able to babysit other people's children.
While we were not always inclined or able to get a babysitter when our children were younger, we did try and have a date together one night a week. Because our children went to bed very early, we took advantage of that evening time and planned a little activity for ourselves. Whether it was renting a movie and getting a treat, or having a picnic in front of the fireplace, we still tried to make time for ourselves as a couple. I'm afraid I was usually too tired to be very creative, hopefully all the young mothers out there can be more imaginative than I was!
After twenty years of marriage, I am very glad that we have made the time over the years to date each other. It certainly helps in strengthening a marriage, and it's important for children to see that their parents are in love.
A neighbor hood ghost swinging between two trees.
A bunch of trick or treaters waiting to hit the streets and fill their bags with treats.
This year we had a great Halloween, mainly because it was above zero and there was no snow! My two boys and their friends spent the evening collecting candy, and then came back to our place for some hot chocolate. Some even went out for a second go round. Two smart ones looked at their haul and felt they had more than enough to last for a long time, and stayed back to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labors.
We don't get a lot of trick or treaters at our house, people seem to go to the newer subdivisions. The houses are closer together and make for faster candy collection, I guess. I still like to carve pumpkins with the children and put up some not so scary decorations. We even play a little Halloween music for the ones that do come to our door.
I know there's always a big debate about Halloween. In our ward the discussion often centres on whether or not to hold a trunk or treat party. (Let me 'splain. No, there is no time. Let me sum up.) Basically a church party held in the chapel parking lot on activity night. Kids dress up in their costumes, adults decorate the trunk of their car, and then hand out candy to the kids as they make the loop of the parking lot. Traditionally this is held on years when Halloween falls on a Sunday, like last year. This year it was decided to hold it again, which meant two rounds of trick or treating for all the children in our ward. I participated with my family, especially since my two teenagers were helping to plan some indoor activities for the younger children. However, I have reservations. Mainly, if we have two trick or treat events a Halloween, then the kids will feel gypped on a year when it falls on Sunday. Also, nobody needs that much candy. And finally, two big batches of Halloween candy are not cheap, and ward events should never make it financially stressful on families that might be struggling. So there, I have weighed in on the issue of the Annual Trunk or Treat.
My next problem with Halloween is this: Halloween seems to have crossed the line from slightly spooky to genuinely disturbing. I went into a local store called the Spirit of Halloween, and I was not impressed with the display of zombie babies, squishy baby heads, corpses and other really gross things. I think that Halloween was for kids when I was a little girl, and seems to have ventured into the adult zone in later years. Plus, the costumes for women and girls are really demeaning. There was a line of costumes for girls 4-8 in another store marketed as Little Divas, and they were very suggestive. Not to mention what is available for teenagers and grown women. My daughter had a really hard time finding an appropriate costume, and ended up going as a rag doll. She was very cute, and covered up. Not to mention the fact that we live in Northern Canada, so why would you wear a costume that is appropriate for Miami Beach.
That`s it. That`s all I have to say on Halloween. It`s gone from a night where you carved a pumpkin and raided your mother`s closet for a costume, to a major commercial enterprise that seems to rival Christmas for outdoor decorations, while pushing the boundaries of good taste. ( Plus I miss the days when you`d get homemade fudge, caramel apples and popcorn balls.)
My mother used to make this special lunch box treat when I was a little girl. Whenever I'd open my orange Scooby-Doo lunch box and see this little treasure inside I'd give a big 'Woohoo!'. My sister used them as a serious barter item, and traded her way to some store bought treats that we'd never see otherwise. I've noticed that whoopie pies seem to be having some sort of comeback lately, so I thought I'd dig out this oldy but goody.
Whoopie PIes
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream butter and sugar, add egg and mix well. Add milk and vanilla and mix well. Combine remaining dry ingredients, add. Drop from tablespoon on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees F for 9 minutes. Cool and frost.
My mum used to just frost the top. You can take two whoopie pies and sandwich them together with frosting, which would be yummy as well. These are very dark chocolate, and can be a little dry. If your batter seems too dry add a little more milk. Don't overbake them! If your oven is hot bake at a slightly lower temperature. Enjoy!
A very sad event happened this Saturday afternoon. After a busy week, Hurricane Jen was flying through the house cleaning everything I could get my hands on. After vacuuming the upstairs, I dragged my faithful old vacuum cleaner to take care of the back step and stairs. I plugged in the vacuum cleaner, and nothing happened. Wiggling the cord caused occasional bursts of engine activity, but after quite a while I came to the conclusion that there was no hope, it had finally bit the dust. Just so you know, it's several years old, getting very temperamental, and yes, duct tape is involved. In other words, there is no shame for this machine finally giving up the ghost. Which meant date night involved shopping for a replacement. Sigh.
This led me to reflect on how cheap I really am. Actually, I prefer the word frugal. Did you know that you can re-use vacuum cleaner bags? My friend Laurel told me about this many years ago. All you have to do is take the vacuum cleaner bag out, have a garbage bag of some sort nearby, and be prepared to sneeze. Place the bag inside the garbage bag, and start shaking and grabbing and pulling all the blech out of the bag. It's dusty, it's nasty, and I hate doing it, but it works. Soon you will have an empty bag, ready to be re-used. There are limitations to how often you can re-use a vacuum cleaner bag. They will eventually start to tear or come apart. Then it's time to break out a new bag. There, true confessions is now over. My name is Jen, and I re-use vacuum cleaner bags......
