Oh my word, she was such a little cutie pie! You do realize that I begin my blogs with, when one of the girls was little, just so I can show you pictures of them when they were little right? Just checking!
Anyway, when Miss Emma Bean was in preschool she brought home instructions for making edible peanut butter playdough.
I was not thrilled with the idea of making a dough that the girls were supposed to play with and then eat. Yuck! The girls thought it sounded great and really wanted to try it though.
I finally gave in. We made the peanut butter playdough. It was a combination of peanut butter, honey and powdered sugar.
I need not have worried. No one spent much time playing with the dough! It was so yummy! We pretty much went right to the eating of the dough.
I never made it again!
Oh boy it had a lot of sugar in it. Not a good everyday treat!
However, I never got rid of the instructions for making the peanut butter playdough. Thank goodness!
A few years later my good friend Amy shared some of the peanut butter balls her Mother-in-law makes with me.
Me and Amy
They were incredible!
I had never had a peanut butter ball before! I don't know how that was possible, but I had never.
I begged Amy for the recipe.
The first time I made them I discovered, already in the process of making them of course, that I didn't have all of the ingredients. I seem to run into this problem a lot. You'd think I would learn to check that I have everything I need. Not so much. But I did have all of the ingredients for the peanut butter playdough! Good thing I still had that recipe!
That's right, I substituted the edible peanut butter playdough recipe for Amy's Mother-in-law's peanut butter ball recipe! That's how I've made my peanut butter balls ever since!
And they are so good!
I had intended to share the recipe with you before Christmas, but with all that was going on, I forgot. And the fact that I intended to share made me think I had shared. I had to look back through my blog posts to see whether or not I had blogged the recipe. I have mild anxiety that I will blog about something I've already blogged about and you will think I've lost my marbles! Then with all my anxiety about whether or not I had blogged about the peanut butter ball recipe or not, I had a dream that my cupboards were full of peanut butter balls! Ugh!
Now that I've shared that, you may have good reason to think I've lost my marbles!
That's okay. The peanut butter ball recipe is still good!
In a large bowl mix together 3 cups powdered sugar, 2 cups creamy peanut butter, 3/4 cups honey, and 3 cups Rice Krispies.
Once ingredients are combined, roll into 1 inch balls and place on a jellyroll pan.
Chill for 3 hours.
In double boiler, melt together 6 ounces chocolate chips, 8 ounces Hershey's chocolate bar, and 3 tablespoons of paraffin.
I will admit that I thought adding paraffin to my chocolate was strange. I have made my peanut butter balls with and without the paraffin. Both ways were fine!
Dip peanut butter rolls into chocolate to coat. Set dipped peanut butter balls on a waxed paper lined jellyroll pan.
Once all of the peanut butter balls are coated with chocolate, place in refrigerator until cool. Once cool, store peanut butter balls in an airtight container in the fridge.
YUM YUM YUM!!! They're are so good!
This recipe makes about 80 peanut butter balls. I suggest you share them! That's my disclaimer. I can't be held responsible if you eat them all yourself!
I shared with you on January 6th, in my blog post More Goal Than Resolution, that I intend to become a bread baker in 2012. I also mentioned that learning to bake bread is one of two goals I have for this year.
The second goal is all about promises!
When the girls were little, they often wanted their Dad, the Husband, and me to make promises to them.
They wanted us to promise it would always be okay to play dress up.
Absolutely! An easy promise.
They wanted us to promise that we would always love them.
With our whole hearts! That promise had been made before they were born.
Promises like these were easy to make. Others, not so much!
The girls wanted the Husband and I to promise we would never die and leave them.
Wow! That was a promise we so wanted to make. It was also a promise we knew we could not make. We knew we could not promise the girls the number of our days. It simply is not fully in our control.
Frankly, there were times we couldn't even promise them what the afternoon would hold.
Sometimes we would be out running errands on the weekend and the girls would ask if they could play with the neighbors when we got home. We learned very quickly that it was a mistake to yes because if when we got home, playing with friends didn't work out, they would be upset and say, "But you said we could! You promised." There was no amount of explaining that could resolve for them that we had said they could do what they were not getting to do!
Promises can be a very tricky thing! There is so much in life that we cannot control, that promises can be broken even though we do not intend to break them. We need to be very careful when we make a promise, and there are some promises we simply cannot make.
Everyone of us wants to be able to count on a promise!
Everyone of us wants someone who will make promises to us and keep them!
This Christmas, before anyone opened any other gift, my parents had each of us choose a small scroll of paper tied with ribbon from a basket. On each scroll of paper was written a promise. They weren't promises from my parents. They were far better, which my parents knew. They were promises from God. Promises found in the Bible.
In turn we read out loud the promises.
Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears off all faces.
Psalm 103:17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
The promises on those little scrolls of paper, promises that came directly from God's word, were precious reminders that God who loves us, the Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, is the only one we can count on with certainty to make promises and keep them.
God's promises are hope!
God's promises are comfort!
God's promises are for all who believe!
So this is my second goal for 2012; to seek out God's promises in scripture, to write them on my heart, to hold on to them, for they will sustain me!
The other day Miss Sofi Bug suggested we put together a 1,000 piece puzzle.
It's been a really long time since we last put a puzzle together.
I jumped on the idea eagerly thinking that working on a puzzle together would create a perfect opportunity for 1,000 little conversations, that would of course lead to 1,000 giggles and laughs, and certainly 1,000 precious memories of bonding with our teenager. It's just plain painful to say that word...teenager...I shudder!
The first evening we pulled out the puzzle, Miss Sofi Bug, the Husband, and I sat around a little card table, working together to find all of the edge pieces. It was delightful.
Miss Emma Bean was busy. She wasn't there to help. That was okay. A 1,000 piece puzzle? There would be plenty of time for her to join in the fun! Yay!
Or not so much!
Miss Sofi Bug lost interest in the puzzle after that first evening.
Miss Emma Bean never acquired an interest in working on the puzzle.
The Husband only helped that first night because he was being a good sport.
They all ditched me!
It would be fine except, I can't stop!
Instead of 1,000 little conversations with my family, I hear 1,000 puzzle pieces calling my name, telling me to keep working!
Instead of 1,000 giggles and laughs, I have 1,000 reasons not to go to bed at a sensible hour!
Instead of precious memories of bonding with my family, I see only visions of a finished puzzle!
I now have 1,000 reason why laundry isn't getting done and the house isn't getting cleaned!
Now I remember why it's been so long since we've worked on a puzzle! UGH!
There are two things that I have determined I want to do this year though. Two goals that I have set.
One of the goals, actually I should call it a deep desire, or maybe even a longing. I long to learn the art of bread making!
I have tried to make bread in the past.
It has not turned out well!
Before I go any further, I'm just going to say that anyone who is gluten intolerant, or is a strict carb counter, may want to skip this blog post. I won't be offended, but I am going to talk about bread. Bread, bread and more bread. I'm just sayin'!
Like I said, I've tried making bread in the past. It has not turned out well.
I am not an Iron Chef mind you, but cooking I can do. I can follow a recipe, have a meal turn out well and feel satisfied with my efforts.
Delish!
I'm also no pastry chef, but I can follow a recipe, have it turn out well and again feel satisfied with my efforts!
Yum!!
But the wonderful art of bread making eludes me. My bread never turns out quite the way I think it should. It's density is off. The flavor is never quite what I hope for. It makes me want to cry a little. Because I love fresh baked bread!
I love a crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside French baguette, with chocolate mousse!
I love a soft and airy Italian loaf with a wonderful olive oil for dipping.
I love a big ol' loaf of rye bread, like my friend makes, that melts in the mouth.
I LOVE BREAD!!!
Eh hem.
My hope is to learn the art of bread making this year!
I began with English Muffin bread. I have a friend who made a loaf of English Muffin bread for me once and it was very good. I decided to give it a try because my friend said it was easy to make.
I thought it was a good idea to start with easy! Plus I had tried to make this bread right after my friend made it for me and it actually turned out well. I thought starting with a success would be a good idea. A little encouragement to keep trying!
Start by greasing two 8x4x2 inch loaf pans and lightly sprinkle with cornmeal to coat pans.
Combine 3 cups of flour, 2 packages of yeast, and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a saucepan heat, while stirring, 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt until warm. (120˚ F)
Add warm milk mixture to flour mixture stirring with a wooden spoon.
Stir in 3 more cups of flour. Divide dough in half. Place dough in pans. Sprinkle tops of bread dough with cornmeal.
Cover bread and let rise to about double in size. About 45 minutes.
I placed my loaves in the oven with the light on for warmth. Yep, that's my dirty oven. Sorry!
Once dough has risen, (Oh that looks nice!)
bake at 400˚ for 25 minutes.
Remove bread from pans immediately and cool on a wire rack.
Lookin' good!
Slice, toast, (you'll want to toast English Muffin bread!) and top with yummy jam or jelly. Or honey!
Woohoo, success! I'm off to a good start!
The bread is excellent. The Family likes it, always a good sign, now I just have to get over the urge to quit while I'm ahead and have learned to make one kind of bread well!
Once upon a time, Friday, December 9th, a beautiful young maiden opened her freezer to take a quick inventory of items she may need to purchase from the market.
The charming young maiden was shocked and dismayed to discover that the items in the freezer were no longer frozen. Ice cream had turned to melted slop! Frozen bread dough had thawed and was begging to rise! Chicken was completely thawed and ready to be roasted!
The lovely young maiden's countenance fell. Her refrigerator was no longer working. It needed to be replaced!
The young maiden, with a heart full of gratitude that it was cold outside, removed all of the items from her fridge that were still good and stored them in her winter chilled garage. Yay for a cold garage!!
The delightfully witty young maiden then purchased a new refrigerator, gladly paying the extra delivery fee to have the new fridge delivered with haste! Sunday, December 11th.
The young maiden was giddy when the delivery truck arrived!
Though grateful for a cold garage to store her food, the maiden did not relish running out in the cold to get her food.
The glad hearted young maiden was so pleased to restock her new refrigerator, but was a bit bothered that her new fridge had a scuff in it's finish. The young maiden was even more bothered by the very loud rattling noise the new refrigerator made. It sounded like a diesel truck!!
The positive young maiden wedged a piece of styrofoam into place to make the new fridge be quiet, and called the store asking for a new, new fridge to replace the diesel fridge!
A new delivery date was set! Wednesday December 14th!
On the day of the planned delivery the happy young maiden emptied the diesel fridge in anticipation of the new, new fridge only to receive a call from the delivery company saying the delivery would be delayed.
The chipper young maiden asked what time would the delivery be made. The delivery company said, "Friday?"
The less than chipper young maiden said, "Friday does not work! How about next Monday?"
The maiden returned all of the food back to the diesel fridge. The young maiden was a bit crabby about this turn of events.
On the day of the rescheduled delivery, Monday, December 19th, the trying to remain positive in attitude young maiden emptied the diesel fridge in preparation of the installation of the new, new fridge!
The young maiden was once again excited and hopeful when the delivery truck arrived.
The young maidens hopes were dashed when the delivery man proclaimed, "Oh, $#!&!!" When he discovered that the front of the new, new fridge was significantly damaged!!
The very frustrated, crabby and ticked young maiden wanted to scream as she refilled the diesel fridge with food yet again!
Due to the quickly approaching Christmas weekend the very upset young maiden postponed another new, new fridge delivery date until life was less hectic. January 4th.
With dread and complete lack of confidence in getting an undamaged, successfully delivered next new, new fridge, the young maiden once again emptied diesel fridge of food on Wednesday, January 4th in preparation for, she knew not what!
The ready to be disappointed again young maiden looked over the next new, new fridge before it entered the house. It was slightly scuffed, but not too bad. The young maiden gave permission for the fridge to be installed in the house.
The young maiden was thrilled when the next new, new fridge was plugged in and did not sound like diesel fridge.
The happy young maiden wanted to dance and sing when she realized next new, new fridge was a keeper and she would not have to empty and fill diesel fridge again!
The young maiden filled next new, new fridge with food and her heart was full of joy!
The young maiden is happy to report that the store that sold her the fridge gave her an extra 10% discount for all of her troubles and they gave the young maiden her delivery fee back!
The blissful young maiden is going to try to ignore the fact that once next new, new fridge was installed, the delivery man told her that the reason she had trouble with diesel fridge being so loud was because the first delivery man did not balance the diesel fridge properly and that if he had she probably could have avoided all this trouble.
Yep, the young maiden is just going to pretend he never said that!
And the new, new fridge chilled happily ever after! We hope!
We were informed on December 23rd that Papa Wayne, my Father-in-law, would likely not be with us much longer.
Though we tried to keep our calls to a minimum the next few days (we wanted to call every hour) because the Husband and I knew that as difficult as is was for us here, far away in Minnesota, it was far more difficult for the Husband's Mom and sisters who were in South Dakota, sitting at Papa's bedside, loving and caring for him during his last hours, we hoped when we called there might be good news of improvement in Papa's health and we wanted them to know that we were praying for them and we needed them to tell Papa once again and again that we loved him. He knew that of course, but we can never tell a person too often that they are loved!
We received word Monday, December 26th that Papa Wayne passed away.
The Family packed up and headed for South Dakota.
We spent time with the Husband's family going through old photo albums and telling stories about Papa Wayne, remembering how much he liked to laugh and make others laugh as well.
The Husband and I, weird as it may sound, wanted to just sit in Papa Wayne's large walk-in closet. It's where Papa liked to work. Where he liked to paint and draw. Papa Wayne was an amazing artist! The closet smelled like him. It was a very comforting place to be!
I was able to get a very nice photo of the Husband with his Mom and sisters before the funeral service. However, it is the photo of them that I took when the Mother-in-law's brother got all of them laughing that I love the most!
The funeral service was beautiful. My Father-in-law and Mother-in-law had chosen wonderful scripture passages for the service that brought great comfort, reminding us all that Papa Wayne is with our Lord and he is well and rejoicing and praising God!
The Husband's Sister shared stories about Papa Wayne that brought smiles and tears.
And then the honor guard approached the front of the chapel. Their faces somber. Their shoes tapping.
The honor guard folded the American flag with great precision and care. I don't know what it is...the honor guard's presence watching over the grieving...their remaining strong so that those who mourn feel safe to show weakness...the finality carried in the tune of the music, but the playing of Taps pierced our souls and allowed grief and tears to flow freely.
We ended our day with glasses raised in a toast to our beloved Papa Wayne, filled with his beverage of choice...Scotch.
Our hearts ache with missing Papa! Our hearts are full of wonderful memories of Papa! One day we will be with Papa again!
