Sweet Summertime

     In case I haven't mentioned it on here (I don't think I have) and in case I haven't mentioned it to you personally (I probably have, though, I mention it to a lot of people), know this: I make breakfast/lunch twice a week for my family of 8.  See, my mom and I did a trade off: I make breakfast instead of cleaning the chicken coop.  I really think I got the better end of the deal.  But, I can't simply throw cereal, milk, and bowls on the table.  8 people go through cereal really really fast.  I have to actually make breakfast.
     Mom started this serious breakfast-making when we were in South Africa, needing to eat at 6 AM so we could be out the door at 6:20.  Breakfast is varied, filling, and delicious: cobbler, clafouti (klah-FOO-ti), chocolate cake, baked french toast, hash, banana bread, etc.  Desserts work really well for breakfast - just cut the sugar, and it gets pretty healthy.  And all of these (or almost all) can be mixed up, spread into her stoneware Pampered Chef 9x13 pan the night before, and ready to go in the morning. But even with this vast variety, you can get a little bored.  Oh the tedium of plenty.
     Through the long, cold, dark winter days, when I wake up before the sun and am out the door soon after, I don't have time to make fun breakfasts.  Breakfasts where you have to think it through and then spend time doing it?  No, I must be content making it the night before and setting the oven to start at oh-dark-thirty.  Also, that fresh fruit, straight from our garden or a local farmer, which adds color, flavor, and zing to any breakfast dish, is seriously lacking in the middle of the winter.
     So, now summer's starting (they're calling for a high of 90°F today!) and I get to have fun!  Apricots, peaches, berrrrriiiiieeeessss (yum), bananas, apples... all readily available to me.  I wanted some kiwi, too, but it turned out I ate the last one a few days ago.  Oh well.  So blossomed this gorgeously scrumptious breakfast.  I should also note that the original recipe (which I won't even reference because I don't think I ever followed it) called for a sugar cookie base, but that's not such a great idea with 7 kids.  Um, hyper anyone?  The biscuit base worked just as well.  And I still got up at 6 AM to start breakfast, but it wasn't dark.  So I was happy.  MMMMMmmmmmmm...







Summer Breakfast Pizza
serves 8-10
oven 450°F

Ingredients:

Biscuits:
3 c whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c butter
1 c milk

Cream Cheese Spread:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
2 tsp orange zest

Topping:
1-2 cups of fruit.  I used strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apricots, apples, and bananas.  The blueberries were frozen, so I thawed them first, but everything else was fresh.

Directions:

1. In a food processor, stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt.  Cut in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add milk all at once.  Mix just until dough clings together. 
2. Lightly flour a pizza pan and pat dough out onto the pan.  The dough will be sticky; add more flour as needed, and then lick your fingers. 
3. Bake in a 450°F oven for 10-12 minutes or till golden.  
4. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, orange juice, powdered sugar, and orange zest until well blended.  Set aside. 
5. Prepare fruit topping.  Thaw anything (like blueberries) that's frozen.  Slice larger pieces of fruit (like apples, apricots, strawberries) so they will lie flat on the biscuit.  Set aside.
6. When you pull the biscuit out of the oven, spread the cream cheese over the top while the biscuit is still warm. This way, the cream cheese will melt and spread more easily.  Spread as far out to the edges as you can.  You may have some cream cheese leftover, but it will be good on toast 
or snack. 
7. Create a beautiful fruit arrangement on top and serve to your family.  Be prepared to watch it disappear in an eighth of the time it took you to prepare it, but be sure to help with that disappearing act. 

Credit where credit is due:
Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 1990s edition
Orange Nut Bread & Cream Cheese Spread, Taste of Home, Karen Sue Garback-Pristera

The Different Snapping Points

     I really like colors. And certain designs.  And for things to flow a certain way.  And I've realized that whenever I get an idea for a piece of clothing or a pair of earrings or some other accessory,  the designers who get paid all the money haven't yet been inspired to create my idea. Come, now, that's your job! No, I'm kidding,  they have lots of other ideas, but this lack of my ideas being produced has led me to learn to sketch and sew and bead. I've done my own dresses and I bead quite regularly (also brought on by my inability to wear any metal but gold), I just haven't figured ot the shoe bit yet. I'll get there... maybe. I'm not aiming to be a fashion designer at all, I don't get inspirations that regularly,  I just know how to create and fulfill my dreamed up items.  
Anyway, one of my more recent projects, since I started driving, was to create a key chain for my keys. I knew I needed something long, something that would stand out, but I didn't feel like spending money. So... I created it. A bunch of colorful, textured, unique accent beads, all strung onto a wire and attached to my key chain. Pretty!
It didn't last very long before that wire snapped and all the beads tumbled into the cracks and crevices of my car. Okay. I can solve this. Three wires! After all, three cords cannot be broken, right? That lasted about twice as long. Two of the wires snapped, and I set the beads aside for a couple weeks until I could have time to repair it. 
This time, I've used a single wire and a single piece of string. Alright, I've not been using it for as long as the other two took to break yet but I have my hopes up. It got me thinking... when it's three wires, those wires will all snap under the same circumstances. Bend the whole thing too hard, and it all breaks. String,  on the other hand, breaks when it is continuously rubbed.  So if the wire is combined with the string, they'll be stronger together both because they are two and because they are different. 
Same thing works with people. Put two people who work the same way and put them both in a difficult situation, they'll both break at the same time. But put two differently-minded people together, and they can support each other through the different snapping points. That's why we need friends and family who aren't the same as us. 
Anyway, I'll let you know if my key chain breaks. 

How to Make a Basic Pair of Earrings

     I had to write a process analysis speech for my English class, and I realized it would be a nice how-to post on here.  So, while, it's not a reflection, here it is!  Besides, I can, um, reflect on the beauty of glass.  And my creative side from God.  And.... the slippery character of beads?  Maybe that last one is a stretch.  

     The ability to work with wire, beads, and some basic tools has many advantages.  It enables one to create unique statement jewelry, reuse old jewelry, and fix any broken pieces.  To create a basic pair of earrings, first gather the needed tools: assorted beads, ear wires, head pins, chain nose pliers, round nose pliers, and wire cutters.  Ear wires are the bent wires which hang in one’s ears; head pins are a stretch of wire which have a flat part at the bottom to stop beads from sliding off.  Local craft stores should carry all of these tools.  One will also want to make sure to have patience with minuscule components, an eye for beauty, and a clutter-free, well-lit workspace.

     First, the design and style of the earrings-to-be must be decided upon.  Select the desired beads and lay them out on the work surface in the order they will be strung.  Since there are two earrings in a pair, lay out two sets of beads, same or different.  Carefully string the beads in the decided order onto the headpins, using one headpin per set.  Beads slide off as easily as they slide on, so be attentive to their desire to undo one’s hard work.  

     One set at a time, use the chain nose pliers to bend both headpins to a 90° angle just above the beads.  Now that the bend will stop the beads from sliding, lay one incomplete earring aside and focus on the other until its completion.  Using the wire cutters, cut the excess wire off of the headpin about one centimeter away from the beads.  The round nose pliers should now be used to create a loop at the end of the headpin.  This loop will be used to connect the headpin to the ear wire.  Clasp the very end of the trimmed part of the headpin between the two parts of the pliers.  The pliers should be perpendicular to the wire.  Holding the wire tightly, roll the pliers so a loop is almost completely created, leaving a small space on which to string the ear wire.  This is where patience comes in - shaping wire takes practice.  

     Now it is time to attach the ear wire to the beaded headpin.  Slide the ready-made loop at the bottom of the ear wire onto the loop which was created on the headpin.  Again using the chain nose pliers, gently close the loop on the headpin so there is no room for the ear wire to slide off.  One must be careful not to change ear wires and beaded headpins too often because the loops will break over time if they are bent too often.  

     The first earring is now complete.  Repeat the wire-bending-attachment process with the second earring.  Finally, the one of a kind earrings must be worn with pride because no one else has the same pair of earrings!  

or something.

Guest post: Teresa - Be Different

Differences

     Ummm. Hi. Sara's asked me to write on something, because she couldn't find anything to write on.  I've never really done this before, (maybe once?) so I'm not sure how it will turn out. Much different than the way Sara and Malea would post, but I'll give it a go anyway. 
     So, something I, and most likely all of us, am trying to do is to fit in. To not stand out. To not be different. Sometimes we hold back from doing our best, or make a decision that maybe wasn't the best choice, or hurt someone else so you're not seen with them, all because we don't want to be labeled a freak or unpopular. The Weirdo. 
     But what if God wants us to be different? You can see it all through out the Bible. The first reference I found was in Genesis 6. Noah.  He was different. He was righteous. And probably not very popular about it. I mean, he built an ARK in his back yard. Can you imagine? He would be the definite winner of "Laughingstock of the neighborhood." And he worked on it for 120 years! But his reward was great. He was saved from the flood that killed all the other people and animals. He made a covenant with God. Would you rather be laughed at and live, or not do anything and die?

     Or what about the Israelites? God called them out to be a set apart people. He enabled them to defeat nations 2-3 times lager then themselves. He gave their enemies into their hands. He preformed miracles for them. He did stuff that made other nations tremble in fear and wonder who these people were. He made sure that they were noted as different. 
     But if Jesus wasn't the odd guy out, nobody was! While everyone else was cowering behind the pharisees, he confronted them to their face and told them how very wrong they were.  Everyone hated the Gentiles, and he said that they, too, were allowed to believe in God. He cared for people not worth caring for, cripples, lepers, blind men. He did miracles. He raised the dead. He could explain the bible better than the teachers could. He had people calling him Lord.  The worst thing he did was he claimed to be the Son of God! 'GASP!' That really sent the 'righteous' people recoiling. Yep! Jesus claims the title of Different!  God wants us to be like Jesus. He wants us to follow Jesus's example. 
Look at the following verses. They both say something about being different. 
              Romans 12:2a
                   Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
             1 Corinthians 3:3
                    You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?

      Romans 12:2 is clear. We need to stop following the patterns of this world. 1 Corinthians 3:3 hints that we should stop acting like mere men, not called to do anything to change the world men who can't be called disciples of Jesus. 1 John tells us not to worry if we are different like this.
             1 John 2:17
                   The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

     The world will not be remembered. The people who laughed at you or called you names will die and they will be forgotten. But if you have changed the world, loved Jesus, been different, you will live forever.  Also, if you look back at people who have dared to be different, see how they are remembered. We learn about them, who they were and what they did. And we don't remember the people who mocked them. For instance, David Livingstone, or Martin Luther.  
     David Livingstone discovered Africa. But people tried to stop him from going, saying he would get killed by the savages, or the diseases that ran rampage. He took a chance and went anyways. Now, we have Africa to remember him by, and nobody knows off the top of their head who told David Livingstone not to be different. 
     Martin Luther started the protestant movement. The Roman Catholic church were the dissuaders in this case. Martin Luther was put under house arrest, but he still managed to create a new church and the archbishop who is responsible for house arresting Martin Luther- Well, I don't know his name. I've never read it.  And if you know of Sara's love for books, I'm the same way. And I have been given some strange looks (My mom calls them 'third eye' looks) when I say I can read a book or two in a day, no problem. 
      So go out there and change the world. And if people give you third eye stare because you are making a difference, just hold you head high, smile, and wave. Be who you are. Don't hold back anything. 

MAN UP

Ever hear this term?  It’s so often exchanged between boys, telling their friends, or themselves, or from father to son that the person being spoken to ought to ‘man up’.  I was browsing the newspaper today looking for something to do a current event report for school on and I came across a letter to the editor that was written as follows:

BOEHNER: Man up? Just shut up
Re:  “Boehner needs to man up” (letter, 1-10).
    My hackles raise whenever I hear the stupid phrase, “Man up.”  What does it mean, other than something disparaging to women?  Or is it possible for females to “man up”?  We never hear “woman up.” Is “man up” strictly a male, testosterone, warrior, hero thing, allowed only to the “superior” gender?  You know, the gender that has done such a fine job wrecking this planet.
    Yes, behind the phrase is not too subtle belittlement of the little lady -- the poor, weak, feminine, emotional, discombobulated, easily flustered, and wholly cowardly female 51 percent of the world.  It’s a spit in the face of the strength and bravery of females since time immemorial.      We need not even think of Boudicca, Joan of Arc, Catherine, Elizabeth, or Theresa, but rather consider our own mothers whose grit, determination, and pain tolerance in passing us through the birth canal shamed many a tottering husband swooning out at the sight, or thought, of it.  
    [Here, the author, present some political views which are not relevant to this topic]    To those who suggest that someone “man up”, I say shut up.  There is nothing inherently strong or tough about men.  Better to be specific in whom to emulate.  How about “Alexander Up” or “Joan Up”? Now, that, at least, makes sense.
Gig Harborhttp://blog.thenewstribune.com/letters/2011/01/10/man-up-just-shut-up/

A couple of weeks ago, Malea and I brought up the topic of embracing femininity. The lady who wrote this appears to be fairly touchy on the subject of women vs. men.  In the original letter “Congress:Boehner needs to ‘man up’”, the author was not poking fun at women, he or she (I am unsure, as the name is bisexual) was merely using a phrase that has become common in nowadays society as a way of saying that the person needs to be stronger.  

It’s so hard to remember, sometimes, that not everything is biased or sexist.  Likewise, it is easy to fly off the handle and get fired up about something that doesn’t really matter.  The author of the original article probably wasn’t even thinking about the use of the term ‘man up’!  We need to be fully aware of the tone of the voice, if we’re going to take offense, and even then, consider whether or not it’s something worth taking offense over.

The term ‘man up’ is defined by Wiktionary as:

Etymology

man + up, with influence from own up, buck up. Used frequently in military circles.

Verb

to man up (third-person singular simple present mans up, present participle manning up, simple past and past participle manned up)

1. (idiomatic) to "be a man about it"; to do the things a good man is traditionally expected to do, such as: taking responsibility for the consequences of one's actions; displaying bravery or toughness in the face of adversity; providing for one's family, etc.

This definition was probably instigated years ago, when men were stronger than women physically, and often emotionally, and  the term just caught on. It most likely was not even originally used to express ‘stop being such a woman’ but more like ‘stop being such a child’.  Or ‘take control of a situation rather than letting the situation take over you’.  To ‘stop whining’, or some such degrading expression of frustration.

In conclusion, we need to be careful of what we take offense to, and, if it is worth taking offense to, how we will react to that offense.  Blowing up and writing angry articles will not prove strength, especially when the original article was hardly referring to the topic of women vs. men.

Women are totally different creatures then men, and to re-emphasize the point we made last week, while we are equal, we are different, and that’s just how God wants it to be.  Thus, we should not fight this difference or get angered when we think someone is addressing women as unequals.

Embracing Femininity.

One thing that really bothers me is that women can be, and often are, confused about their place in the world. You don’t know what I mean? Well, let me explain; I’m going to give you a brief little history lesson here. This problem probably all started a long time ago, way back in the Bible times, in both the New and Old Testament, and even sometimes nowadays.  Anyway, for as long as the world can remember, men were often thought of as superior to women. For a long time, in many cultures and in some cultures today, a woman was expected to obey a man without question, without complaint - kind of like a child or a servant.

Most women did not like this, I think, they wanted to be treated like a man (For lack of a better way to describe it). In America, they wanted the right to vote; why should their sons and husbands be allowed to but not them? When all women in the United  States were finally given this right, they didn’t stop there. They wanted to be independent and free, like a man. I’m not saying this is a bad thing at all - I’m actually very glad these lovely ladies decided to take the steps they did. But I think during this time, the culture started changing in the U.S. It was and still is very easy to change from wanting to be treated equally by a man to wanting to be treated the same as men.

During the fight to be treated equally, a lot of women made the mistake of forgetting how valuable women are. By now, in your teenage years, I’m guessing it’s pretty obvious to you that there are physical differences between men and women, so I don’t have to tell you that.  I don’t know about you but I believe that God made women unique in our own way.  Somewhere along the line, this was forgotten. We need to remember that we were made different but equal. And thus, we shouldn’t desire to be treated like men. We’re still equal, but we should never forget who God made us to be.

But this by no means gives us a license to take it to the other extreme by flaunting our physical differences. I for one, would rather be feminine than sexy.  Beautiful, not hot. I hope you desire to make that choice, too.