4 hours ago
In my family we have a classic chocolate fudge recipe. I have no idea where it came from (if I did, I would credit the original recipe here), but it is good stuff! Even though we traditionally have it at Christmas-time, I sometimes cheat and make it in other seasons as well.
A couple months ago I decided to mix it up a bit, and I came up with this new cinnamon orange fudge recipe - it turned out pretty well! It has just the right amount of spice to it - I think it would be especially appropriate for the fall or Christmas season. Even though I'm posting it in January. Just pretend this is a few months ago.
Cinnamon Orange Fudge
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks margarine
2/3 cup evaporated milk
10 oz. bag cinnamon flavored chips
1/2 bag mini marshmallows
1 tsp orange extract
2/3 cups walnuts (optional)
1. Grease a 8x8 baking dish and set aside.
2. Mix together sugar, margarine, and evaporated milk in a saucepan and place over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Bring to a boil - once mixture is boiling, let it boil untouched for 5 minutes.
4. After five minutes, remove from heat and stir. Add cinnamon chips and stir until melted (don't freak out of they don't seem to be mixing in well at first, just keep beating mixture until smooth).
5. Quickly stir in 1/2 bag of mini marshmallows until they are melted and mixture is smooth (this takes some elbow grease - your arm will probably get tired).
6. Add in orange extract and walnuts (if desired).
7. Spread in prepared pan. Mixture should set within 20 minutes. Cut into squares and enjoy!
I'm still getting back into the swing of things when it comes to the blog after a rather crazy December and my big blog changes I've been implementing.
To start off with, would you mind voting in a little poll for me? I'm just trying to get an idea of what you all would like to read about as I get this series going again. These are topics I've thought about covering - I'll write some of these posts sooner if one of them is more interesting to you guys. I'd love to hear anything else you'd like to read about as part of this series too, so feel free to let me know what you think!
To jump-start this series in the New Year, I'm going to cover an update to my other post on blocking your images from search engines.
I've talked before about why I made the decision to attempt to block my blog images from Google, and why I finally decided to put some images on a separate photo blog - in a nutshell, I don't really like pictures of my kids showing up in Google searches. If seeing your child show up when someone searches for "toddler crafts" or "big brother pictures" bothers you too, read on.
I posted previously about one way to tell search engines not to index your images. While that method may still work, and I recommend giving it a go, for some reason after Google changed their algorithm it no longer worked for my blog. I searched high and low for a new method to block images from searches, and I found this helpful information on preventing image indexing.
After implementing this new method in my blog a lot of the images that were showing up again are not now. Some images of the kids still show up in searches but nearly as many as there were, so I think it's working.
Please read my other post for things to consider before you implement this method - if you want to proceed, here you go:
1. Go to your Blogger Dashboard, then go to Template.
2. Select "Edit HTML".
3. Back up your template if you never had before by highlighting all of the text and saving it somewhere! This way if you accidentally mess something up, you can just paste it back in to fix it.
4. Click in the text box, and then press CTRL-F (or Command-F for Mac). A little search bar will pop up.
5. Type <head> in the search box and click enter. The <head> tag in your code will then be highlighted.
6. Right under the <head> tag, type in this line of code <meta content='noimageindex' name='robots'>.
7. You need to close off the tag, so scroll down to the end of the head section in your code and find this bit: </head>. You can also search for it in the search bar if you don't see it.
8. Right before the </head> tag, type this: </meta>. That closes off the tag so it will work.
Click on the image to enlarge.
9. Preview your template, and if everything looks good, click save!
Adding this code to your template will tell all search engine robots not to index your images. However, it does not keep search engines from indexing images from other sites where your posts may show up - so it can still index images from Facebook and Bloglovin. Just make sure the first image in your posts (that show up in Bloglovin) or any images on your blog Facebook page are images that you don't mind them indexing.
(Click on image for more posts in this series.)
Disclaimer: While I don't particularly like the Hunger Games books, I have no moral problems with them, just idealogical. I don't think they are bad books, I just don't think they are necessarily good either. If you like them, I don't have a problem with that, so don't send me e-mails! These are just my thoughts on them, take it or leave it.
Last year I read the first book in the Hunger Games trilogy, and I wrote a post with my thoughts about it here. I had very mixed feelings about it. After reading the first book, I really wasn't sure I wanted to read any more of the books.
However, I did go see the second movie in December, because I still wanted to find out what happens between Katniss and Peeta! This was the only part of the story that really interested me, and I wanted to know if/how they ended up together.
After seeing the movie I decided to go ahead and just read the other two books in the series to get it over with. The second two books did not really change my mind about anything I said in my first post, but I have a few more thoughts that I just need to get off my chest.
First, what about Peeta and Katniss? Like I said, this was pretty much the only part of the plot I did enjoy, and I did feel like the way it ended with them was good, all plot elements considered. I read a review that said the resolution of things between Peeta and Katniss wasn't very satisfying, and I have to disagree with that. I think Collins wraps up their story nicely, which I am very glad of, because if that hadn't ended well I feel like the whole series would have been a complete waste of time to me.
However, taking the love story out of it, the rest of the story was disturbing to me at best. These are a few reasons why.
First of all, I have to say that while I know Collins says the books were meant as a cautionary tale about out of control government/media, I still didn't get that from the books themselves. People can add meaning to the story in that way if they want to, but in the actual content of the books that point was poorly made, in my opinion. The out of control government and media were necessary plot elements, but no "cautionary" point was clearly stated.
I found this very disappointing, because I know Collins does indeed know how to insert a point in the text when she wants to. She did it twice - once with an inner monologue about how the people that came before Panem must not have cared much about the planet or people who would come after, and once about how something is seriously wrong with a society that sacrifices it's children to settle it's differences. The first point is rather political. The second is obvious, and while I'm glad she said it, it made me wonder why we're spending three whole books on such a society in the first place.
Graphically described violence is prevalent in these books, and the "games" seem to be glamorized - maybe not intentionally by Collins but by the fact that everyone plays to the cameras throughout the books without ever questioning it. It is a parade of horrors, and Collins describes every bit of violence in detail while the characters in the book stand by with a video camera.
I also couldn't help but note the lack of anyone to really look to as a good example in this series. Haymitch is a drunk. Gale is vengeful. Coin is corrupt. Plutarch only cares about the games. Minor characters who might have been good examples are killed off. Katniss is completely self-absorbed through most of the story, with only glimmers of heroism here and there. While this might be understandable considering all the trauma she has endured, it is not very inspiring. The only one who possibly could have been a good example of selflessness throughout the series would be Peeta, but I don't think Collins focused on him nearly enough to make him stand out as a role model.
This is one series where (so far) the movies are far better than the books, in my opinion. In the movies, you can still keep an illusion of heroism and interpret the motives behind people's actions how you want. In the books, you know all the selfish details of Katniss's thoughts. The reasons why characters choose to do certain things are explained. It isn't pretty.
I will give the author one thing - I think she very thoroughly (and probably accurately) represented post-traumatic stress disorder.
The book ends with an intimate encounter between Katniss and Peeta, and while (thankfully!) not described at all, it is not preceded by marriage either. I don't appreciate that in a book that is meant for teenagers.
When I'm not sure what I think about a book or movie, I usually find myself referring back to Philippians 4:8 and going through the list of things we are supposed to be thinking about. Is this book noble? Is it true, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy? I think the answer to that here is a no, as a whole. While someone may be able to argue that certain moments in the book fit with these themes (Katniss taking her sister's place, etc.), those moments are brief. As a whole, Panem is filled with cutthroat, selfish people who will do anything to reach their goals.
If I had to pick one word for the books, I would choose the word "hopeless".
It is an interesting story, and I can appreciate the imaginativeness of it. As I said in the past, I have no problem with stories written purely for entertainment purposes. Not everything has to have a clear takeaway point.
But the hopelessness was disturbing to me.
Even the ending didn't resolve the overall depression, and the only glimmers of hope that were given to us were in two final points in the last chapters. First, that life must go on despite our losses. And second, that you can fight the hopelessness by remembering the acts of goodness that people do. That second point is ironic considering there are precious few examples in these books of anyone doing acts of goodness without ulterior motives, either personal or political.
The bottom line is that when you create a world without God or eternity, where the lines between good and evil are blurred and survival is key, this is what you get. You get Panem. And it is hopeless without Him.
I'm not saying I don't think these books should be read at all. I am saying that I don't think they should necessarily be read by someone who does not already have a firmly established worldview, which I think rules out a large part of the target audience - younger teenagers. Kids that age need hope. And they won't find it in the Hunger Games.
I had the opportunity recently to review Praying For Boys by Brooke McGlothlin. Brooke writes over at the MOB Society - I feel like I've come across that site before in my blog travels, and after reading this book I'm definitely going to have to make it one of my regular reads.
This book is divided into twenty-one sections, each with a different subject to pray for your children - including the fruits of the Spirit, different elements of good character, as well as things like a soft heart and salvation. Brooke gives an illustration or thought about each attribute, but my favorite thing is the ten prayers that are included in each chapter - these short prayers are based on Scripture verses. I really like that. I like the idea of praying directly from God's word for my kids.
I loved this book. Praying is something I struggle with. Finding the time, figuring out what exactly I want to pray about. This book is a practical guide to praying for your children. It is written from the perspective of praying for boys, but I feel like everything in it can also be adapted to praying for girls as well.
I kind of powered through this book so I could write this review in a timely matter, but my plan is to go back now and re-read each chapter - maybe one a day, maybe one a week - and focus my prayers on each topic for a certain time period. I think this is a great tool to use if you want to get in better habit of praying more intentionally and meaningfully for your children.
I also liked that at the back of the book she includes chapters on how to use the book as a guide for a prayer challenge in a group setting! I'm mulling over the idea of starting one myself.
I'd highly recommend this book - specifically for moms of boys, but I think girl moms would find it helpful too!
Note: I received this book for free from Bethany House publishers in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
Attitudes matter.
I keep starting and re-starting this post, because I'm not exactly sure how to say what I want to say here. I've written before about the problem with venting and about being careful not to spout off careless words. But this week I was reminded again of how much I stink at controlling my tongue. And my attitudes - because the venting, careless words ultimately come from my poor attitudes.
What I hadn't thought about before was how much my bad attitudes can wear off onto those around me. And it's becoming painfully obvious as I think over the last few weeks.
This has mostly taken the form of me over-explaining my woes to those I love, to the point where they start to get irritated for me. Although sweet in a way, it's not good that I'm recruiting others in my life to carry my self-imposed burdens.
Most of the things I'm frustrated about or disappointed with are indeed frustrating or disappointing things. But does that mean I have to display my frustration for all to see and to pour my burden onto someone else to the point where they start to adopt my attitudes about the whole situation?
Something happened this past week that made it all the more obvious to me that my bad attitudes don't just affect me. They affect those around me, especially those within my own household.
The truth is, complaining about certain situations can make it more difficult for those close to you to remain at peace with the circumstances. In my case, though they try to encourage me, I just won't be encouraged, and my complaining eventually changes their attitudes as well.
It's a power I never consciously realized I had - to affect the attitudes of those in my family in a negative way through my own attitudes. I haven't been handling that power responsibly.
It's a fine line to walk - the difference between bearing one another's burdens in marriage and unnecessarily burdening one another with our complaints. We really aren't supposed to be complaining anyway (Philippians 2:14). Even to our spouses.
I think it would be much better to discuss situations with my spouse, take it to the Lord together in prayer, then let it go.
It's the letting go part that is hard. Instead I continue to sit there even after supposedly handing it over to the Lord - griping about things I can't change. That's not helping anyone - not me, not my family. I need to give it to Him and then stop complaining. Just stop.
Goodness knows the psalmists did quite a bit of venting to God when they were scared or frustrated or lost. But one thing I noticed as I was reading through some of the "complaining" psalms - once they poured out their hearts to God, they remembered God's power. They remembered His faithfulness. They let Him be the one to bear their burdens.
He needs to be the One I go to first - I need to give Him my burdens from the start instead of letting the default be dumping things on my family (and then maybe remembering to pray about it).
If I'm feeling irritated or overwhelmed about something, a little private "venting" time to God would be okay I think.
Because I can't change God's attitude, but He can change mine. And that's what I need help with in the first place.
When we were getting ready for Christmas, I really wanted to have some sort of popcorn treat for Christmas morning. An idea had been floating around in my head for a while, and I decided to give it a try. I basically took a couple different jello popcorn recipes, smooshed them together, changed and added a couple ingredients, and this is what I came up with! White chocolate caramel corn.
I have a disclaimer - this popcorn is less white chocolate and more caramel. Even though I used white chocolate pudding mix, I felt like we couldn't taste the white chocolate much - it ended up tasting more caramel-y to me. If you are looking for something more chocolate-y, see the variation at the end of this recipe!
White Chocolate Caramel Corn
8 cups popped popcorn, plain
3 tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 stick margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
3.3 oz. package white chocolate pudding mix
Nutmeg (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit). Line a baking pan with tin foil and grease with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Put margarine and corn syrup in saucepan over medium heat.
3. Once butter has melted, stir in brown sugar and pudding mix. Continue to heat, stirring constantly.
4. Once mixture has reached soft ball stage (if you put a little of the mixture into cold water you will be able to form a soft ball with your fingers - you can also tell when it's getting close to this point when the boiling mixute looks like it is pulling away from the sides of the pan), remove from heat and pour over popcorn. Mix well.
5. Spread popcorn into prepared baking pan.
6. Bake popcorn at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and stir popcorn. If desired, sprinkle nutmeg into popcorn. Let cool and break apart if necessary. Serve immediately or store in plastic bag.
Variation: If you want this to be more white-chocolate-y, I think one way to accomplish that would be to let the popcorn cool, then melt some white chocolate chips and mix them in with the popcorn, lightly coating it with chocolate! I haven't tried it personally (yet), but I think it would be a pretty yummy addition!
Enjoy!
For Gwen's party I decided last minute that I wanted to make some punch. When I say last minute, I mean the morning of the party.
I went on a hunt for a good, simple punch recipe, but I didn't like any of the ones I found. Most of them were too complicated (like requiring freezing some of the ingredients beforehand, which I didn't have time for), or they wouldn't go well in my drink dispenser because of sherbet or ice cream that had to be added to it, or the ingredients would just be expensive. I wanted something fairly inexpensive, something that I could prepare in five minutes, and something that wouldn't clog my drink dispenser.
So I invented my own recipe!
I wasn't sure if it was going to be good or not, but it actually turned out pretty well - several people at the party told me they liked it! So I thought I'd post my recipe here.
Easy Birthday Punch
1 can of pineapple juice concentrate
1 packet of strawberry-flavored Kool-aid
2 liter bottle of ginger ale
1. Prepare pineapple juice according to directions.
2. Mix kook-aid in with the pineapple juice.
3. Add the ginger ale to the juice mixture. Serve cold.
That's it! The good thing about this punch is that if you have to add ice to it, it's just strong enough that it will still taste good even after the ice waters it down a bit.
When I added the ginger ale it fizzed up really nicely and made it look more party-like, but my ingredients weren't cold. I had to add the ice, which also took down the fizz a bit. If you want it too look more foamy, just start with cold ingredients and mix it right before serving!
Last weekend was Gwen's first birthday party! As I've mentioned previously, I went back and forth on themes for a while. Having a birthday right after Christmas makes it a little tricky to me - I wanted it to be wintery and fit in with the season, but without being Christmas-y.
I finally settled on a "These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things" theme!
For those of you who are not familiar with the song, it's from The Sound Of Music, and you can read the lyrics here.
For those of you who are not familiar with the song, it's from The Sound Of Music, and you can read the lyrics here.
I tried to incorporate as many of the things from the song into her party as I could! We had:
-Brown paper packages tied up with string.
-Whiskers On Kittens, Bright Copper Kettles, and Warm Woolen Mittens candles, from Yankee Candle (which I already happened to have).
-Snowflakes "that stay on my nose and eyelashes" (actually they just hung from our chandelier and her birthday banner). I made the mosaic snowflakes with Wyatt several weeks ago.
-Sleigh bells, which I strung along with the balloons and spread onto the table for decorations.
-Schnitzel with noodles (otherwise known around here as Chicken Noodle Soup - I was just trying to think of something with noodles in it).
-Crisp Apple Strudel muffins (which I thought were going to be a disaster when the first batch flopped - thank goodness for the mason jars to make them look pretty! I just baked them straight in the jars).
-The weather even played along and we had a "silver white winter" that will eventually melt into spring!
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Overall it was a really fun and easy theme to do, and I'm really happy with the way everything turned out!
If you have any questions about any specific elements, let me know. Aside from Gwen's birthday banner, I made the rest of the decorations, invitations, etc.
We had a really nice time, and Gwen especially enjoyed her birthday cupcake! It was nice to be able to celebrate our sweet girl with our closest family and friends!
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Punch recipe here.
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Punch recipe here.
To see cake and present pictures, head on over to my photo blog.
(If you aren't a follower of my private photo blog you'll have to request an invitation here first.)
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