I Like My House to Smell Like......

The winner of the latest poll was spices. Cinnamon is my favorite. My daughter likes the fall spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and pumpkin (which I know is not really a spice but still smells nice!). I personally like the fruit smells with blueberry, black cherry, apricot, and vanilla lime being my favorites. I like lighting my candles in the evening and making my house smell nice while I sit and relax in my chair.

Will You Marry Me?

The Next Leap Year is 2008
Leap Year has been the traditional time that women can propose marriage. In many of today's cultures, it is okay for a woman to propose marriage to a man. Society doesn't look down on such women. However, that hasn't always been the case. When the rules of courtship were stricter, women were only allowed to pop the question on one day every four years. That day was February 29th.

St. Bridget's Complaint
It is believed this tradition was started in 5th century Ireland when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for so long for a man to propose. According to legend, St. Patrick said the yearning females could propose on this one day in February during the leap year.

February 29th in English Law
According to English law, February 29th was ignored and had no legal status. Folks assumed that traditions would also have no status on that day. It was also reasoned that since the leap year day existed to fix a problem in the calendar, it could also be used to fix an old and unjust custom that only let men propose marriage. The first documentation of this practice dates back to 1288, when Scotland passed a law that allowed women to propose marriage to the man of their choice in that year. They also made it law that any man who declined a proposal in a leap year must pay a fine. The fine could range from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves.
(Excerpt taken from http://marriage.about.com/cs/holidays/a/leapyear.htm)

All you single girls out there....this is your year!! Tradition has it that once every four years, it is your turn to ask the love of your life to marry you. So if he hasn't ask you yet, this is your chance. Go for it!! For all of you girls out there who have already married the love of your life, wouldn't it be fun to ask him again on the 29th? Make it a romantic evening, get down on one knee, and ask that handsome man to marry you all over again. Hopefully, he'll say, "Yes!"

Happy Birthday to Fannie Farmer

Fannie Merritt Farmer (March 23, 1857 - January 15, 1915) was an American culinary expert whose Boston Cooking-School Cook Book became a widely used culinary text.
Farmer was born in Boston, MA to Mary Watson Merritt and John Franklin Farmer. Although she was the oldest of four daughters, born in a family that highly valued education and that expected young Fannie to go to college, she suffered a paralytic stroke at the age of 16 while attending Medford High School. Fannie could not continue her formal academic education; for several years, she was unable to walk and remained in her parents' care at home.
At the age of 30, Farmer, now walking (but with a substantial limp that never left her), enrolled in the Boston Cooking School at the suggestion of Mrs. Charles Shaw. Farmer trained at the school until 1889 during the height of the domestic science movement, learning what were then considered the most critical elements of the science, including nutrition and diet for the well, convalescent cookery, techniques of cleaning and sanitation, chemical analysis of food, techniques of cooking and baking, and household management. Farmer was considered one of the school's top students. In 1891, she took the position of school principal.

Fannie published her most well-known work, The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, in 1896. The book under Farmer's direction eventually contained 1,849 recipes, from milk toast to Zigaras à la Russe. Farmer also included essays on housekeeping, cleaning, canning and drying fruits and vegetables, and nutritional information. The book was so popular in America, so thorough, and so comprehensive that housewives would refer to later editions simply as the "Fannie Farmer cookbook," and it was still available in print over 100 years later.
Farmer provided scientific explanations of the chemical processes that occur in food during cooking, and also helped to standardize the system of measurements used in cooking in the USA. Before the Cookbook's publication, other American recipes frequently called for amounts such as "a piece of butter the size of an egg" or "a teacup of milk." Farmer's systematic discussion of measurement — "A cupful is measured level ... A tablespoonful is measured level. A teaspoonful is measured level." — led to her being named "the mother of level measurements."

Farmer left the Boston Cooking School in 1902 and created Mrs. Farmer's School of Cookery. She began by teaching gentlewomen and housewives the rudiments of plain and fancy cooking, but her interests eventually led her to develop a complete work of diet and nutrition for the ill, titled Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent. Farmer was invited to lecture at Harvard Medical School and began teaching convalescent diet and nutrition to doctors and nurses. She felt so strongly about the significance of proper food for the sick that she believed she would be remembered chiefly by her work in that field, as opposed to her work in household and fancy cookery. Farmer understood perhaps better than anyone else at the time the value of appearance, taste, and presentation of sickroom food to ill and wasted people with poor appetites; she ranked these qualities over cost and nutritional value in importance.
Farmer continued to lecture, write, and invent recipes until 10 days before her death. To many chefs and good home cooks in America, her name remains synonymous today with precision, organization, and good food.

Fannie Farmer died in 1915, aged 57, and was interred in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA.

My Thank Offering

This is the Hebrew symbol for "thanks". In the Old Testament, people brought their "thank offerings" to the Lord. People gave these gifts to God not out of compulsion but as a joyful response to the grace of God. As I was sitting in church this past Sunday, sitting in front of me was my daughter and son-in-law. We were visiting their church. They are helping to start a new Nazarene Church in Sugarcreek, OH. It was a special Sunday for their church. They were to invite their family and friends for church and a dinner afterwards. As I sat in church, my mind wandered to earlier that morning when my daughter and I were fixing the food for the dinner that was to follow. My thoughts were brought back to the service as I saw the offering plate passed and watched my son-in-law put his offering in the plate. I turned my head and noticed that my daughter's father-in-law was running the sound system. He and his wife had also recently decided to help with the starting of the church. I listened after church as my daughter discussed with the pastor's wife about being involved in the children's ministry with our puppets. I watched as she and her new husband signed the sheet to attend a Sunday evening bible study. Later back at their home, I listened as my son-in-law spoke of other people that they could ask to come and visit their church. As a mother, I have prayed all of my daughter's life that she would find the right man to be a christian partner with her and help her raise her children to love and serve the Lord. A thank offering......hmmmm. In a world full of bad relationships, dysfunctional families, and young people turning away from religion........hmmmm......a thank offering. Yes, I need to give a thank offering....what was that.....a gift to God not out of compulsion but as a JOYFUL response to the GRACE OF GOD. I have already been thinking about my thank offering I will be bringing into the house of the Lord. Do you have something to be thankful for? Have you experienced the grace of God in your life? What will be your "thank offering"?

God Bless the Women of America

We will be celebrating President's Day this coming Monday. This day is set aside to honor two of our most renown Presidents....President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln. Both men were great leaders and mentors for our country in its early years. Both served during a time of war. Abraham Lincoln gave a speech whereby he acknowledged the contribution of women during the Civil War. Below is an excerpt.

"I have never studied the art of paying compliments to women; but I must say that if all that has been said by orators and poets since the creation of the world in praise of women were applied to the women of America, it would not do them justice for their conduct during this war. I will close by saying, God bless the women of America!" The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII, "Remarks at Closing of Sanitary Fair, Washington D.C." (March 18, 1864), p. 254.

We have women today serving our country to provide the women of Iraq the opportunities afforded to women of democracy. Many of these women have made immense sacrifices in order to fight for the truths that they believe in. These are the truths as expressed in our Declaration of Independence,... "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." There are also women here at home who have made the sacrifice of their sons and daughters in the service of our country. To all the women who have given beyond what was required of them, I join Abraham Lincoln in saying, "God bless the women of America!"

Some Thoughts on Womanhood

And the winner is........Chocolate!!

This week is February 14th - Valentine's Day. Traditionally, it is the day that the men in our lives tell us how much they love us and we tell them how much we love them too. Some women will receive expensive gifts such as diamonds, trips, designer items, etc. Some women will receive less expensive gifts such as roses, candy, or their favorite indulgence. Some women will receive a card with a meaningful verse. Some women will not receive a Valentine's Day gift because their loved one is no longer here. Whatever your gift this Valentine's Day, be thankful for the blessings your Heavenly Father has placed in your life. The blessing of those who love you however they express it. For those of you whose loved one is no longer here, remember your Heavenly Father has given you the ultimate Valentine's Day gift.....the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus. You will see your loved one again some day because of this gift.....the ultimate gift!! Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. Enjoy the chocolate!!

Super Bowl Sunday

Well girls.......

It's Super Bowl Sunday. Our guys are picking out their favorite spots in the livingroom and settling in for the long haul. They will be eating all of the wrong foods, rooting for teams that they don't normally root for, and falling asleep during halftime. They will wake up at the end of the game and haul themselves off to bed. They will go to work tomorrow, and they'll discuss with the other guys the winner and the loser and talk as if they had watched the whole thing. It's a guy thing girls!! Our role will be to make the food, clean up the mess, and smile when their mouths drop open and the snoring begins as they sit in their recliners.

My daughter passed on a good recipe for a hot buffalo chicken dip that will be the hit of your evening. Enjoy!!

HOT BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

4 cans of cooked chicken

2 8-0z. pkgs. cream cheese

2 oz. hot sauce (more or less to your liking)

1 c. ranch dressing

1 pkg. shredded cheese of your choice

Combine chicken & hot sauce in a large bowl. Melt cream cheese & ranch dressing together. Mix chicken and cream cheese mixture together and put in a baking dish. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Thanks Lyndsay!!

Welcome

Welcome to what I hope is going to be a fun adventure and interesting reading. I want to laugh, cry, sigh, ponder, and wonder about all the things that make us God's wonderful creation that he called, "Woman!" Below is a poll I am taking to kind of direct me to what I can add to my blog. Please feel free to participate.

Lyndsay & Ben's Wedding

Our daughter, Lyndsay, was married to Benjamin Paisley in a beautiful Christmas wedding on December 15, 2007. What a blessing God brought into our lives when he brought Ben and his wonderful family. Ben & Lyndsay were married in Lyndsay's favorite place in the world....Amish Country.....at Lyndsay's favorite time of the year.....Christmas......and the reception was held at their favorite restaurant......The Dutch Valley Restaurant in Sugarcreek. Before the wedding, Lyndsay said how perfect the day would be if it would just snow. She got her wish!! 20 minutes before she was to get married......it began to snow huge big snowflakes!! God even cares about the little things......his wedding gift to Ben and Lyndsay.......big, white, fluffy snowflakes!!

Lyndsay and Ben are residing in a home they bought in Strasburg, OH. Lyndsay is student teaching 5th grade math and 7th grade science at Strasburg Middle School. She will graduate this May from Kent State University with a Bachelor's degree in Middle Childhood Education in Math and Science. Ben is a nuclear medicine technologist at Aultman Hospital in Canton, OH. They are also a part of starting the new Church of the Nazarene in Sugarcreek, OH.