This portion of This Crazy Trip has been put into place because Matt wanted to move to California to help a friend raise and show her Siberian Huskies and to take care of, as she said, "about 92 Ball Pythons." Matt is our youngest child. He's 22, not a baby and yet, hasn't really been an adult yet, I suppose. Letting him go has been hard and yet, I'm proud of him for deciding what he wants and going for it.
Yesterday, we drove the final 631 miles of our trip, leaving Kassy and the boys in Arizona and driving through southern California and up through the Inland Empire to Winton, near Merced and Fresno. That is where I stepped out of the car and left my man-child in the hands of other people.
I'm filled with sorrow and happiness. I'm filled with pride and despair. I'm looking forward to hearing his adventures and trying to figure out how life will go without having him around all the time.
This was the purpose of our trip and now that its here, I'm very grateful that my sister Linda was here to pick me up. She hugged me and bought me ice cream and got us a hotel room so we didn't have to drive two more hours - plus she had clients to see in the area, so that was good. And now I have four days with family and friends in California before hopping on a train that will start me on my journey home.
Our last travel day was filled with beautiful scenery, massive rain storms (who says it doesn't rain in California? It does this year!!) and recollections of home. Matt got sillier and giddier the closer we got to Winton. We listened to the same songs over and over again on the Alt Rock station on Matt's XM radio. I'm not sure I'll ever get Silvertongue by Young the Giant out of my brain. LOL
But as we drove further north, especially driving through the Tehachapi area, it felt more and more like home to me. I recognized more places that I visited as a child. I felt more relaxed and happy, brushing away the realizations that I was leaving my baby there in a few hours.
So, as we got to Winton and I met Krystal and her family (including the four-legged and slithery ones), I enjoyed talking with them and learning more about them. I felt comfortable with them. I felt like they cared about their animals and were knowledgeable about caring for them and showing the dogs. And then, I found out that they were also Latter-day Saints! How could Matt have kept that from me? It was weird, but as soon as I knew that, I knew more about the kind of people that they are and my heart was eased. Matt got in trouble for not telling me that from all sides. LOL
So, today, even though I'm tearing up a bit now writing about it, I'm happy for him. I like Krystal and Laura, her mom; and her daughter Klarissa and her sister Maleeseea (sorry if I butchered the spelling there.) I hope and pray that this move will be a great one for them and that Matt will find what he needs for his life here.
Letting go of my baby is hard. Watching him step out and grow up is wonderful.
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Recipe Advent Calendar - Day 20 - Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
It's well-past time to start the desserts for this advent calendar, so today in a texting session with my mom and siblings, a funny memory came up about the Hot Fudge Pudding Cake recipe. Sandy asked me if I had the recipe, so I'll start with this one.
When I was a teenager, I would sometimes drive over to see my grandparents in the evening. Grandma would go into the kitchen and whip up one of these cakes, or Bread Pudding or some other dessert for me, just on the spur of the moment. Of course, that meant I needed to stay long enough for it to bake, but that was how she showed that she loved us. Cooking = Love in our family, which is why I'm overweight, I would imagine! But now, I do the same thing for my family and friends - if I cook for you, it just means I love you.
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup Hershey's baking cocoa, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups hot water
Whipped topping or ice cream to serve with it.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together 3/4 cup gran. sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth. Pour batter into an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. (If you're going to cook it in the microwave, which I don't recommend, but it works - use a 1 quart casserole dish.) Stir together remaining 1/2 cup gran. sugar, brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa. Sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top. DO NOT STIR.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the center of the cake part is almost set. Let stand for 15 minutes; spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from the bottom to pour over the top. Garnish with whipped topping or ice cream.
Serves 6 to 8 normal person-sized servings. :)
To cook in the microwave, it will take about 10 to 12 minutes on high. If your microwave doesn't have a turn-table thingy, turn it 1/4 turn half way through. Start checking it at 8 minutes to see if the cake portion is baked. As with any baked good in a microwave, the texture is still spongy and doesn't crisp on top, but it still tastes awesome.
Oh, and the funny memory about this? I got this recipe from my sister Linda many, many years ago when microwaves were just starting to be used very often. The recipe stated "line the oven with paper towels." I am fairly certain that Linda lined her normal oven with paper towels when she baked it, not using a microwave. It might have just been that we'd laughed about "what if...", though. We do that a lot. :)
Merry Christmas!
When I was a teenager, I would sometimes drive over to see my grandparents in the evening. Grandma would go into the kitchen and whip up one of these cakes, or Bread Pudding or some other dessert for me, just on the spur of the moment. Of course, that meant I needed to stay long enough for it to bake, but that was how she showed that she loved us. Cooking = Love in our family, which is why I'm overweight, I would imagine! But now, I do the same thing for my family and friends - if I cook for you, it just means I love you.
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup Hershey's baking cocoa, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups hot water
Whipped topping or ice cream to serve with it.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together 3/4 cup gran. sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth. Pour batter into an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. (If you're going to cook it in the microwave, which I don't recommend, but it works - use a 1 quart casserole dish.) Stir together remaining 1/2 cup gran. sugar, brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa. Sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top. DO NOT STIR.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the center of the cake part is almost set. Let stand for 15 minutes; spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from the bottom to pour over the top. Garnish with whipped topping or ice cream.
Serves 6 to 8 normal person-sized servings. :)
To cook in the microwave, it will take about 10 to 12 minutes on high. If your microwave doesn't have a turn-table thingy, turn it 1/4 turn half way through. Start checking it at 8 minutes to see if the cake portion is baked. As with any baked good in a microwave, the texture is still spongy and doesn't crisp on top, but it still tastes awesome.
Oh, and the funny memory about this? I got this recipe from my sister Linda many, many years ago when microwaves were just starting to be used very often. The recipe stated "line the oven with paper towels." I am fairly certain that Linda lined her normal oven with paper towels when she baked it, not using a microwave. It might have just been that we'd laughed about "what if...", though. We do that a lot. :)
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, April 11, 2015
How to "Live Your Bliss"
I'd always heard people say to "Live Your Bliss" and I never quite knew what they meant. However, this past month or so, I think I've been the closest to being that way that I've ever been.
Last week I decided that I can't do this trip right now. There are a number of reasons - teaching Seminary, work picking up, grandkids who've asked me not to go, but mostly it's only 8 weeks after my surgery. I don't recover well from surgery, and my doctors have all prepared me that this one might be a little tougher than normal. Don't doctors normally tell you how you'll fly through and not to worry? Well, I am very grateful for doctors who tell me the truth and they both have warned me that this one will take a while to recover from. If I'm not supposed to drive for 4-6 weeks, I'm a little concerned about driving every day for four months only 8 weeks afterward.
As I prayed about what to do and thought about it, I kept saying, "But I WANT to!" Just like any spoiled child who hates being told "No," I still wanted it my way. But finally, when I had to make a decision about what to do about teaching Seminary next year, I just decided that I'd need to put off the trip for a while. Then every time that I said aloud, "I'm not going on the trip right now," the Spirit just confirmed to me that it was the right decision. My heart got warmer and started pounding harder, which is my affirmation signal that I've done the right thing. I love being able to have that confirmation available to me!
I'm not scared about the surgery, but it has been running through my mind many times that I need to be 'ready.' I feel very strongly that God has told me that everything will be fine, no matter what the outcome happens to be. So, I've been going along with that and feeling comfortable about whatever happens.
As I've prayed and thought about life in this past month, I realized that there were certain things that I wanted to do and to eat(!) before surgery, just in case it was the last time. I'm a planner, what can I say? So, here are some of the things that I got to do that were on my list of things that I really wanted to do:
Last week I decided that I can't do this trip right now. There are a number of reasons - teaching Seminary, work picking up, grandkids who've asked me not to go, but mostly it's only 8 weeks after my surgery. I don't recover well from surgery, and my doctors have all prepared me that this one might be a little tougher than normal. Don't doctors normally tell you how you'll fly through and not to worry? Well, I am very grateful for doctors who tell me the truth and they both have warned me that this one will take a while to recover from. If I'm not supposed to drive for 4-6 weeks, I'm a little concerned about driving every day for four months only 8 weeks afterward.
As I prayed about what to do and thought about it, I kept saying, "But I WANT to!" Just like any spoiled child who hates being told "No," I still wanted it my way. But finally, when I had to make a decision about what to do about teaching Seminary next year, I just decided that I'd need to put off the trip for a while. Then every time that I said aloud, "I'm not going on the trip right now," the Spirit just confirmed to me that it was the right decision. My heart got warmer and started pounding harder, which is my affirmation signal that I've done the right thing. I love being able to have that confirmation available to me!
I'm not scared about the surgery, but it has been running through my mind many times that I need to be 'ready.' I feel very strongly that God has told me that everything will be fine, no matter what the outcome happens to be. So, I've been going along with that and feeling comfortable about whatever happens.
As I've prayed and thought about life in this past month, I realized that there were certain things that I wanted to do and to eat(!) before surgery, just in case it was the last time. I'm a planner, what can I say? So, here are some of the things that I got to do that were on my list of things that I really wanted to do:
- I went to my grandson Tommy's school play and got to see him recite his portion of the play perfectly and to sing some really cute songs about bugs.
- I got to spend time on Easter with all of my family - all four sons, three daughters-in-law, and four of the five grandkids. I'd spoken with Finn the week before, so I've been able to send love to all of them.
- I had some really good conversations with all three daughters-in-law, my mom and my siblings.
- Bob held my hand and put his arm around me at the movies and when we went to the Temple, without my initiating it! (You have no idea what a big deal this is!)
- We've prepared good food many times, had the missionaries over for dinner and got to visit friends for other meals.
- We went to a wedding, visited the temple, went window shopping, all fun things.
- I helped two first time home-buyers buy their first homes which is really wonderful. I also was able to help a seller through a really tough time when a pipe burst in their house while we were under contract.
- I attended some awesome classes and got excited about working on my business to become even better.
- I've been able to teach my terrific Seminary students each day and as an added extra blessing, over the past couple of weeks, I've had the privilege of hearing almost every student pray for me in opening or closing prayer. That's an amazing gift.
- I had a complaint on my business and a friend's baby died in a choking accident, so I felt some difficult feelings, too. But I think life is about feeling all of the emotions, not just happy ones.
- I enjoyed the wonder of Spring finally coming; daffodils, tulips and crocus pushing through the ground, blossoms popping out on the trees, lambs and little calves in the fields around our home.
- I got to be a speaker in a Relief Society meeting. (That's the women's group in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
- I got to sing in the Frederick Stake Choir for the Easter program and enjoyed learning three more portions of Handel's Messiah.
- I was able to serve others in many ways.
- I received some wonderful compliments from friends, one that especially affirmed one of my core beliefs about the type of person I want to be.
- I got to be a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, a Visiting Teacher, a Seminary Teacher, a speaker, someone who helps someone in need. All things that I love doing.
- I got to walk a labyrinth.
- I ate felafel, lobster, a good steak, aebelskiver, See's candy caramels and many more things that I love.
- I got to go to the movies a couple of times - once with Bob, once with Tommy.
- Tom and Nick and I played board games together and laughed together a lot.
- I got to play with Maddison's hair for a little while until she went to play again. Plus I got to see her without her two front teeth.
- I was creative and felt really good about finishing three quilt tops and I'm nearly finished with two others.
- I was able to watch all four sessions of General Conference for our Church and feel spiritually fed.
- I've listened to good music, read a couple of books, done a bunch of crossword and other puzzles.
- I got a manicure and pedicure!
- I've worked, I've played, I've loved others and felt much love from others to me. I've read and studied, learned new things, met new people and been entertained. I've felt happy and sad and grieved with others. I've felt proud and disappointed. I've felt gratitude and felt blessed over and over again.
So now, as I go to have surgery on Tuesday, I don't plan on dying (and my doctors all think everything should be fine), but I feel at peace with whatever happens. I've done so many things that I've wanted to do. I'm a little sad about not taking the trip starting in June, but I know it will happen eventually. Just not right now.
I bought a book at Barnes and Noble the other day called "The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die" by John Izzo, Ph.D. The secrets he includes in the chapter headings are:
- Be True to Yourself
- Leave No Regrets
- Become Love
- Live the Moment
- Give More Than You Take
I haven't read the book yet, but I think I've done pretty well on all five of those topics. I have no regrets and I have been blessed to feel completely overwhelmed with love - both FROM friends and family and FOR them, too.
I do hope that I will be able to come and visit all of you soon. God bless you.
Much love.
Judi
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Creating a Schedule
I am feeling so loved right now!
I have found that there's not much that will make me feel more loved than asking if I can spend the night at someone's house and getting all of the responses that I've read! It's truly humbling and amazing.
From Facebook on Jan 23rd:
"Do you want to know the most amazing thing about planning #ThisCrazyTrip ? People are so good! Even if I can't spend the night at their house, they are bending over backward to help me have a great trip. I've had offers of money, showers, food, explorations in the area and today, two people said, "Well, we won't be home, but stay at our house anyway!" One of these people has never met me in person. I'm overwhelmed by the kindness of my friends. smile emoticon Thank you."
Since I started sending out the letter, three days ago, I have had three offers to spend the night even if the homeowners won't be there. I've been offered showers, a gym trip, a whale-watching trip, a day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a night out in Branson to see a show, homemade meals including famous fried chicken and a Brazilian dinner. I've been offered money, sponsorship, gift cards and other help.
When I've asked for one night, I've had friends say, "Just one night? You can stay longer if you want!" When I mentioned that I was planning to camp out in Yellowstone even though I was a little wary of the bears, my sister Sandy even suggested "I'm completely just throwing this out there (aka don't count on it) but are you allowed to stay in a hotel "if" the guest pays for it? For instance, I've never been to Yellowstone so I might want to visit around... hmmm, maybe July 18th. If I happened to fun in to you there and I happened to have a pre-paid hotel, could you stay with me without jeopardizing the success of your crazy trip?"
(My answer, in case you're wondering, was "Sure! I'd stay in hotels the whole way if someone would pay for them!") LOL
Honestly, there's not much that warms my heart more than a response from someone that says, "We would LOVE to have you stay with us for whatever you need."
Sniff. My heart is full. :)
Since I started sending out the letter, three days ago, I have had three offers to spend the night even if the homeowners won't be there. I've been offered showers, a gym trip, a whale-watching trip, a day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a night out in Branson to see a show, homemade meals including famous fried chicken and a Brazilian dinner. I've been offered money, sponsorship, gift cards and other help.
When I've asked for one night, I've had friends say, "Just one night? You can stay longer if you want!" When I mentioned that I was planning to camp out in Yellowstone even though I was a little wary of the bears, my sister Sandy even suggested "I'm completely just throwing this out there (aka don't count on it) but are you allowed to stay in a hotel "if" the guest pays for it? For instance, I've never been to Yellowstone so I might want to visit around... hmmm, maybe July 18th. If I happened to fun in to you there and I happened to have a pre-paid hotel, could you stay with me without jeopardizing the success of your crazy trip?"
(My answer, in case you're wondering, was "Sure! I'd stay in hotels the whole way if someone would pay for them!") LOL
Honestly, there's not much that warms my heart more than a response from someone that says, "We would LOVE to have you stay with us for whatever you need."
Sniff. My heart is full. :)
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