Healthy Competition

My friend, Angie, has started this awesome little contest. It offers motivation to stick to your healthy goals for 2012.  I have decided to join in the fun, and I think you should too!  This contest is for everyone, regardless of location or fitness level.  Your goals are personal - healthy eating, regular exercise, weight loss, good habits - it's up to you.

2012 Commit to it Competition

Angie has really designed this program well.  It is based on a simple points system. Points are earned for sticking to your goals, and making healthy choices.  She has created a simple spreadsheet for tracking your daily progress, and started a FaceBook group to provide conversation and motivation among the group.  So far there are 30 people on board!  There are CASH prizes for extra motivation if you choose to pay a small entry fee ($10).  

Come on over, and join the fun!

Christmas Tradition

I was first introduced to the Christmas Stollen when I married into the Minks family in December 1988.  I had no idea what it was, except that it was yummy.  My mother-in-law made them every year for Christmas morning breakfast.  When we moved out of state, Carl asked me to recreate the tradition for our family.  There was no official recipe to follow, so I started experimenting.

My recipe evolved over the years, and standardized sometime in the last decade. The cream cheese filling recipe is of my own creation.  I just kept trying things until it was the right taste and texture.

It is possible to use pre-made frozen bread dough, but it doesn't taste quite the same.  This sweet dough is just right.  This recipe makes enough for 2 large pastries (the size of a cookie sheet).  You can also use this dough to make cinnamon rolls.

If you look up Stollen on Wikipedia, it tells a totally different story.  Honestly, it sounds kinda disgusting - pretty much fruit cake covered in melted butter and rolled in sugar.  I'm not sure why this delicious pastry we make has the same name as the German fruit cake thing, but I sure know which version I would rather eat.

Stollen Recipe:

Delicious White Sweet Bread Dough

6-7 c. flour 1/2 c. sugar 2 tsp. salt 2 pkg. yeast 1 c. water 1 c. milk 1/2 c. butter 1 egg Heat milk and water and butter in a pan until very warm, approximately 120- 130 degrees. In a large bowl, add 2 cups flour and sugar, salt and yeast; blend very well. Add warm liquid and egg to the flour mixture and beat with a beater; slowly add rest of flour and knead in. Let rise about 1 hour in a warm place until dough is doubled in size. Punch down and let rise 1/2 hour. Shape dough according to your needs. Ex: bread, buns, Parkerhouse rolls, spinach pies, pizza, etc.

Filling:

2 packages of cream cheese

1-2 tsp. lemon extract

1/4/ cup of milk (maybe even less)

2 eggs

1 cup of powdered sugar

Melt the cream cheese with the lemon extract, milk, and eggs in a sauce pan on medium heat, mixing the entire time with an electric mixer.  When smooth add powdered sugar.  Mix and cook until mixture thickens. I use an electric mixer in the sauce pan on the stove.

Pie filling flavor of your choice - Cherry, Lemon, Blueberry, Apple, etc.

After rising, roll out 1/2 of dough into a rectangular shape, the thinner the better.  Spread the filling mixture down the center.  Add pie filling to top of filling.  Cut sides of dough into strips and braid across the top.   Sprinkle the top with nuts, brown sugar, or chocolate chips, etc.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. 

Debit or Credit - Fast or Free?

I almost always use the self checkout at Wal-Mart.  I don't know why exactly I think I can do that job faster and more efficiently than the people who wear the blue vests, but I do.  I'm thinking it is the shorter lines that lure me in.  I really am very impatient, especially with the whole shopping thing.  I am just not into shopping for shopping's sake.  I want to get in, get my stuff, and get the heck out!

So, anyway, I have been using the self checkout almost exclusively for years.  I totally know the drill.  How to push on the surface under the bags when you purchase an item that weighs almost nothing, to tell the computer that you have "placed it in the bag", etc.  I am not new to the whole dealio.

The other day I had like 2 things, and I was in a hurry.  I am standing there patiently, or not so patiently, waiting my turn.  The guy in front of me is buying a giant bag of rice, and the machine is giving him trouble with his card.  I'm thinking how sad it is that the guy is out of cash and can't afford to buy his bag of rice.  He does it a couple of times, still won't go through, and then the Grandma with a name tag walks over to help. Now I'm thinking, "What the heck is she gonna do to help?  I should switch lines".  But switching lines is usually a tactical error of the gravest sort. As soon as you switch lines, you are doomed. You might never get to checkout.

Finally the guy finds a card that works, and he leaves to feed an army with his rice.   He didn't bag it, it wouldn't fit, so Grandma had to authorize that deviation before he could go ...  There are somethings that you just shouldn't take through the self checkout, giant bags of rice, or giant bags of anything for that matter, are one of them.

Ok, I'm up.  Finally, my turn.  This is going to be quick, I'm a pro.  No giant bags, untagged items,  overweight, underweight, or otherwise troublesome items in my cart.  Ok, go ... all rang up, ready to pay, slide the same Hawaiian Miles debit card I always do, select "credit" so I can rack up those frequent flyer miles.  Please enter your PIN - I don't want to enter my PIN, I want to use it as a credit.  Transaction declined.  WHAT??????  I just deposited a fat wad of cash into that account.  What do you mean, transaction declined???  CANCEL ...  Let's try this again ...

So, after a couple failed attempts, and finally stopping to read the text on the blurry little screen, I figure out what is going on.  Wal-Mart no longer allows you to use your debit card as a credit card in the self checkout line.  Apparently this is for my own protection, so if someone steals my card they can't make purchases.  I supposed I get it - in the self checkout it isn't practical to show your photo idea for a credit card purchase.  If they had a person checking all the ID's it wouldn't really be a self checkout any more would it? 

After Wal-Mart I pulled into the nearest gas station to fill up my tank. Guess what??  SAME THING!!!  I now have to use my card as a debit, with the pin and WITHOUT earning any miles, OR go in, stand in that dang line, talk to the cashier, have her run my card, look at my ID, and sign the paper. I really prefer to slide my card, fill it up, and drive away without any time wasted standing in line.

Credit card theft is a bad thing.  I am fortunate not to have experienced it first had.  The companies are just trying to protect us from all that.,I get it, but it still annoys me. I've been using this method of payment, in just this way for years without a hitch.  Now I am forced to reevaluate my strategy.  Is it more important to earn those free miles, or to get through the line faster?   I don't know yet, I'm going to have to think about this one.

Sugar Cookies

When I eat these cookies it is like I am a child again, sitting in my Grandma's house waiting for Santa to arrive.  They are light and fluffy and in my opinion, don't need the icing to be good.  Heck, I don't even think they really need to be baked!

This recipe makes a TON of cookies!  Depending on the size of your cookie cutters, usually around 100.  Just enough to share with all your friends and neighbors (and make your back hurt from all the leaning over).  

I think they are the best.  Enjoy!

Sugar Cookies (Grandma Teusink's Recipe)

1 cup margarine or butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups of flour

cream butter and sugar together - add eggs one at a time and mix well - add sour cream and vanilla -

combine dry ingredients and blend them in

chill dough for 1 hour or overnight

roll dough 1/4 inch thick and cut out

bake at 350 for 8 minutes until underside is golden brown

Icing:
wilton cookie icing

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs milk (start with a small amount and work up to the consistency you like for decorating.)
2 tsp light corn syrup

stir then add corn syrup

Thoughts

It's impossible to embrace the future while holding on to the past.

Things might not be going according to your plans, but they are going according to God's plan.

Sometimes when God saves us from an unseen danger, all we feel is upset and confused that things have changed.  We have no idea what pitfall we have been rescued from.  When life takes a dramatic twist, be grateful for the rescue, even if you don't understand.

You don't have to be failing at something before you can choose a different path.

You can choose to do something different without condemning what you are doing now.

Disconnected

I love technology. I am a gadget geek.  I used to have a crackberry, and I loved it.  I have had an iphone for a few years, and I have loved them all.   Between my laptop and my phone, I am pretty much always connected, and always reachable.  I think this desire for constant communication stems from my long-term self employment, but maybe it goes deeper than that.  I want to get an order, or take a call from a client without delay.  I don't want to miss a thing.

Before the days of smart phones, the first thing I did when I walked in the door was check my email.  I was an early adopter of gmail,  because I could check my email from any computer, I didn't have to be at my desk to see what was going on.  As soon as you could get email on a phone - I did.  I used to wish for a way to send short messages without making a voice call via my cell phone.  I was dreaming of texting before texting was.

Going back a little further, to the 80's, when I was a kid, I had my own phone.  It was my phone, with my own number. It was plugged into the wall, with a VERY looooooong cord.  I had call waiting, and that was the coolest thing ever!  I was connected!!  I was reachable.  In the early 90's I was a receptionist for a small company, and I used to day dream about inventing caller id.  If only I could have known the identity of the caller on the other end BEFORE I answered the phone, my job would have been so much easier!

In the early 80's we had an Apple IIe at my Dad's house and TI (as in Texas Instruments) at my Mom's house.  I took programming in high school and learned how to write programs in DOS.  I was so excited when I wrote a program that would do my Algebra homework for me!  Computers are awesome!   When I started at that receptionist job in the early 90's we used WordPerfect for DOS.  It was sort of like HTML, you had to know codes for everything just to create a document.  After a year or so I convinced the boss to buy us all new Apple computers, and laser printer.  We had hit the big time!  Man, that was fun!  I took some classes on how to use desk top publishing and spreadsheet software.  We used a mouse!  Watching the 70 year old nun in my class figure out how to double click is still one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed.

We have had internet access in our home since before Quincie was born.  That was back in the early days, before most businesses had email, and weren't even sure what it was good for.  Who did I email then?  I can't remember.  But it was COOL!
 
I used ICQ, and all the other IM platforms.  Skype was an exciting discovery, and I had to invite all my friends so I had someone to Skype with.  I am a first, or early responder in the technology communications arena.  I guess what I am trying to explain is how I arrived at this point of complete connection to my iphone and laptop.

My iphone is an extension of me.  It is my personal, offsite storage device, my external hard drive.  It is my connection to my work, my friends, my family, my community.  It is my watch, alarm clock, book shelf, radio, calendar, calculator, GPS, scriptures, address book, weather report, camera and notebook.  That is all in addition to the standard communication tasks of phone, email and text.

Last Thursday as I was wrapping up an off-site work meeting, I accidentally left my iphone in a public restroom. When I discovered it was missing, after less than 5 minutes, I ran back and it was GONE!  \(BTW, that is the first time I have sprinted in ages.)  The restroom was empty, and my phone was no where to be seen.  PANIC - RED ALERT  It was a crisis moment so I reached for my best problem solver and source of all information - my phone - but it was GONE - the source of my panic!  I was paralyzed. How do I solve a problem without my phone?  I can't call for help.  I needed to get online to use the FIND MY PHONE ap.  I  needed to contact AT&T to cancel my service before who ever found it started calling Australia or something.  I needed my PHONE, but I had NO PHONE!  Can you get a sense of my panic? 

All that panic happened in a flash while I stood there staring at the spot where I had last seen my phone, in it's brand new, shiny blue case.  Then my brain kicked in, and dug deep.  I rushed to the business office and asked if anyone had turned in a lost phone. Of course not.  I asked the receptionist to make an announcement over the PA.  I called Carl and had him start tracking it with FIND MY PHONE and to all call AT& T.  I went back to the bathroom and searched high and low, all the stalls, trash cans, all of it.  I prayed and begged for it to be returned.  A brilliant, but friendly, employee asked me if had called my service provider - "WITH WHAT????" I asked. - Genius....

Eventually I had to face the fact that it was gone.  I had to leave for a busy evening ahead, and I would have to wait until the next day to resolve my phone problems.

I had to face the busy, social evening ahead without my phone - no texts, no photos, not status updates.  I wanted to go home, get online and start tracking down a replacement asap. What I really wanted was to just go to an Apple store, or AT&T and buy a new one, on the spot.  There were time sensitive commitments that evening, and no time for any of that.  I would have to survive.

I did indeed survive.  I even think I learned a thing or two from the experience.  The drive home in rush hour traffic was hard.  I kept imagining what I would do if I were really late and couldn't call anyone to tell them.  Or, what if I had car trouble and I couldn't call for help?  What if I missed Ryker's performance?  What if I couldn't find Quincie once we got on campus?  What if I couldn't find my friends when we got to the movies and I had to sit by strangers while they were saving me seats in a different theater?  What if a client called for a home inspection and I missed the call?  What if there was a family emergency and I didn't get the call?  What if my friends sent me a text and I never saw it and then when I didn't respond they were mad at me?  or if they needed help and they thought I didn't care?  AGGGHHHHHH - all the crazy what if thinking HAD to stop!! 

I took a few deep breaths and calmed down.  It was only a phone.  It was only a thing.  It could be replaced.  My data was safe on my laptop and in the cloud. (Never mind that I had broken the space key on it earlier that day and now have to plug in a USB keyboard to use it.).  Calm Wendy, calm.  You can go a day or two without constant communication.    I made it home, and had an enjoyable evening.  No one was lost, no car trouble, no scheduling issues, not a single problem.  I was a little worried that I wouldn't wake up on time the next morning.  I don't have a clock near my bed, and only use my phone for an alarm.  I slept like a baby for those few hours, and Quincie woke me up right on time.

I had a long, quiet contemplative drive the next day.  The car radio doesn't get a good signal for a long stretch of that drive and I had to sit there in the silence with myself.  It was therapeutic.  I recommend a large dose of silence and self reflection on occasion.  It's good for the soul.

Thanks to good friends, I am back online and reconnected with my universe, but something has permanently shifted for me.  I think it was time for me to learn a thing or two about the need to disconnect on occassion and let my world go silent.  It's ok, and even good, to let all those external cares and concerns go unanswered and go within.  It's important to let the outside world stay outside, and just tend to the people in my presence.  I can go to sleep without playing a round of Words with Friends.  I can wake up to a human voice rather than a buzzing alarm.  I can drive and not worry about my arrival time  I can miss a call and let someone else be the responsible party.  I can be temporarily disconnected and my world will not fall apart.

'Tis the Season

Late last night I was at the grocery store.  I like shopping late, it's easier to find a parking spot and the store is less crowded. It's so much easier for me to get in and get out.  So, anyway, as I'm walking through the store I notice they still have a big display of clearance Halloween candy and stuff.  They really over bought this year.  I guess Halloween on a Monday night just doesn't pull the trick or treaters like a weekend.  Why is that candy now undesirable?  It's still M&M's in there, only the packaging is dated. I would have bought more, but I think I've already done my part at more than 10 bags.  My freezer is stocked!

Right next to the Halloween junk pile, is one of many Christmas displays.  The store pretty much looks like Christmas threw up all over it.  There are displays of everything from Christmas soda to Christmas Kleenex.  (BTW - I strongly suspect those Kleenex are left overs from last year that they dusted off and drug out of the back.)  They even have a good 1/3 of the parking lot already blocked off and set up for the once live, now dead, Christmas trees that must be on the way.  It looks like their arrival is eminent.   I'm a big fan of Christmas, but really???

What happened to Thanksgiving?  It's next week, right?  Or did I miss it somehow? If I did, that would really stink, because Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday.

I didn't see many Thanksgiving themed products.  I guess a holiday that is based on gratitude, doesn't inspire a lot of paraphernalia.  Halloween is all about candy, and getting as much of it as you can from someone else, even strangers.  It's fun, lighthearted looting.  Christmas has become a holiday about stuff.  The acquisition of stuff, the giving of stuff.  It's really all about the stuff.   But Thanksgiving stands in the middle, virtually stuff free. 

You can say Thanksgiving is about the turkey and the football, and that might be true.  Even if that is so, you sit around a table with family and friends to eat that turkey.  You cheer on your favorite team with all your buddies.  There isn't a mad grab for sugary treats.  We have a civilized piece of pie, on a plate.  There isn't any pressure to buy all your family, friends, co-workers, clients, and acquaintances you might happen to bump into, a Thanksgiving present. 

There are Thanksgiving themed table decorations,  wreaths for the door to welcome guests, candles to make the house smell like you are baking, even if you bought your pies at Costco,, and that's about it in the "stuff" department.  The rest of the celebration is all about delicious food, and a group of loved ones to share it with,. 

While Thanksgiving may be under represented in the retail arena, I'm grateful that it has not lost it's heart and soul.  It doesn't matter what religion you practice, all can express gratitude together.  There is no controversy about a day of gratitude, and goodwill.  Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the great abundance that we enjoy, the love of our families and friends.  I for one, love Thanksgiving, and can't wait for next week.  My house will be full of happy people, my table full of God's bounty, and my heart full of gratitude for my wonderful life.

Choices

 There are certain seasons of life that require more decision making and change than others. Graduating from high school, going to college or not, getting married, moving, starting a business, are all times of intense decision making.  The bulk of the years just roll along in between those pivot points, working through the details created from those big decisions.When life doesn't seem to go as planned it is easy to look for someone, or something to blame - your parents, your spouse, your boss, your kids, the bad drivers on the road, the economy, the politicians, etc.  The list of bad guys is infinite, if that is what you are looking for. Blaming shoves the responsibility for the negative outcome off your shoulders and on to someone else, most of the time anyone will do. Just get that blame off of me!  The priority is to find a target to shoot back at, to express all your frustration and rage, and remove it from your own soul.  It doesn't really work though.  The blaming, the ranting, it doesn't alleviate the pain, it increases it.
For example, you have a crappy day at work.  The boss is a jerk, he makes you do stupid tasks, and stay late.  Your bad day is all his fault, you had no choice in the matter, you had to do what he said, he's the boss.  You feel totally justified in your anger and grumpiness.  On the way home you are an impatient driver - honking, yelling, maybe throwing a few hand gestures.  While driving, you call a co-worker and rehash the whole scenario, complete with all the things you wanted to tell the boss, if only you could!   At home you are greeted by noisy children, and a disinterested spouse.  You try to tell them about your bad day, but they can't hear you because they are telling you about all their drama.  Dinner is your least favorite meal, you would NEVER choose that, and it's cold, because you worked late.  Stupid boss, crazy family, yucky dinner - life just sucks! 
It's really easy, so easy, to think like that.  It's the normal reaction.  Don't beat yourself up for thinking like that - everyone does.

But everyone is wrong.

You ALWAYS have a choice.  There are so many more opportunities to choose than we think.
In the bad day scenario above, let's work backward and list all the choices along the way:

1. You don't have to retell that story.  When we retell a story, a part of us experiences it over again.  Each new person who hears that sad tale also experiences a bit of the suffering.  How many times do you want to have that bad day?  I think once should be enough.  Do you really want to share that with your loved ones?  It was bad enough the first time, there is no reason to multiply the pain.
2. It is your choice to be miserable.  Just because you have to work late, does not mean you have to be grumpy about it.  It is not required to respond to anger with anger.  You can always choose your reaction to any situation.  Bad news, angry people, less than ideal physical situations, maybe out of your control, but your reaction to them is not. Your mind is your own.  Stop, and choose a different way.  Don't give in to the negative all around you.  Focus on what is going well, how this is a means to a good end, the weekend plans you are looking forward to, whatever.  Just don't succumb to the misery.
3. You decided to work there.  You could have said no to that job offer.  You could have quit as soon as it became less than ideal.  You could have stayed home in bed this morning and avoid it all.  Of course there are consequences to any of these choices, but they are available to you.  Even if it is a family business, and you feel like you have no choice in the matter, you do.  If you quit, your family might be angry, or disappointed, but you could quit. Life would go on.  They would find a way to survive without you. There is ALWAYS an alternative.  If you look at all the options and decide that where you are is the best, then be grateful for it, realize it is your choice, and be happy with it. If it's not, then move on!
4. You selected your own spouse.  Your marriage was not arranged.  In fact, you didn't even have to get married if you didn't want to. Those out of control kids, yep, you chose them too.  You might have felt pressured into those decisions, and went down the road of least resistance, but you did choose.  No one put a gun to your head and said, "Marry this person and have 6 kids. NOW!"  That was you, you decided to bring these people into your life.  If it's really bad, why are you still there?  If you made a mistake, undo it.  I'm not suggesting it is easy, or simple, or even ideal, to break up a marriage or a family.  But, if it is really as bad as all that, do something to change it.  If you can't change it, then get out.  You are not stuck.  You always have a choice.  The consequences of those choices might not be pretty, but are they better than what you are complaining about now?  In any case, stop blaming your spouse for your unhappiness.  You chose them, just as much as they chose you.  Take responsibility for your own happiness. 
5. You made ALL the choices that led you to this point.  Once upon a time you decided to do your homework or not, to go to college, or not.  You chose your major.  You selected your friends, your first job, your hobbies, the books you read, or didn't read.  You took all the baby steps that lead you to this point.  Unless you live in a communist country, your future was of your own choosing.   No one assigned you a career path, you picked it, even if you picked it by default.  No one assigned you a circle of friends.  You picked them yourself.  No one dropped you in to a family, you created it.  You might not have given these matters the careful attention you should have, but in the words of the band, Rush, "When you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." Choices, your life is made up of YOUR choices.

Each and every day is brimming full of choices that mostly go unnoticed.  Many times we react to life by following patterns of behavior that were established long ago.  Some of them even generations ago.  What worked then may not serve you now.  Becoming more aware of the daily choices that are before you opens the door to meaningful change.  Taking personal responsibility for these choices releases frustration, and brings peace.