Stress Relief

Okay, so I know we have all had bad days at work right? Well lately I seem to be having more and more bad days…..

I was sitting at work the other day and thought you are getting stressed out way easy. I am typically such a “happy go lucky” person why am I getting so bent out of shape?

Then I thought back to when I learned to meditate and the first thing they teach you is to breathe.  Well after I had breathed for like five minutes I admit I did fell better, but I still needed more.

Okay I am at work I am breathing, so what more can I do?

Then my second thought hit me out of nowhere……”Ally McBeal”  Well then all the sudden the dancing baby appeared in my head!

I went out to YouTube and there made my thoughts a reality… I couldn’t help but close the door to my office turn up the speakers on the PC and just start dancing with him!!  I might of looked like a nut, but who cares I felt better and the day was looking up!!

Whatever beat your dancing baby dances too make sure you turn up the speakers and cut loose. I did and let me tell you what a stress relief!! WOOOOOHOOOOO

Well everyone have a great afternoon and keep those baby’s dancing!  BTW if you would like to see the baby I dance with he is under the “Fun Links” on the right side of my page.

Family Traditions

Well today on Easter Morning although I know that the afternoon holds fun with friends, what to do on a morning by yourself?

I think honoring family traditions in some fashion and molding them into your current life is the best way to go.

My family liked to get up and go out to a breakfast buffet prior to church. I hadn’t realized until today that this is something I haven’t done in years because of course things change and you find yourself separated from your family. Then I decided I have got to eat breakfast and why sit home and eat a bowl of cereal or cook for one when I can go out by myself.

True this isn’t the “traditional” family breakfast I have been accustomed to in the past, but I am honoring the family by going out to breakfast, thinking of the many good times with them from the past and curing my hunger. Not only am I honoring the “family tradition” I am starting my own tradition to carry out going forward. I think that is the funny thing about traditions who said they can’t be changed over time?

Change is the one constant thing in our lives so traditions have to change too!

As I sat this morning drinking my coffee, reading a book I thought fondly of my grandmother and how happy she would be that I am making my own traditions.

To everyone…. please enjoy the day and make a tradition!

Easter Ham

Please bare with me. This is my first blog of any kind.
I was at work the other day and one of my fellow employees asked me “How do you bake a ham?” My reply “Really?” I guess growing up in a home where your mother ALWAYS cooked dinner and had it on the table I have taken for granted that some people don’t have that background and therefore don’t know how to cook everything. I am sure that every family had their traditions for the holidays and one of my best memories was of Easter Sunday’s Ham. This is a very simple way to cook a ham over night, but it makes it have an awesome flavor. I hope anyone who reads this blog and decides to try it please let me know what you think!

Mother’s Ham

Get a whole ham and cover with foil in big roasting pan. Make sure the ham is at least 14 lbs if you are going to cook it overnight. If you are cooking overnight then it can be put in about 9:00pm on 275 degrees. Once it has cooked all night take it out of the over and turn the oven up to 325 degrees. Mix a cup and a half of brown sugar and a can of crushed pineapple with the juice together. (use hot water to dissolve the sugar) Cut slits in your ham and pour the mixture all over the ham basting the entire ham. Cover and put back in the oven for about an hour.

When you wake up Easter morning your house will smell wonderful! Enjoy…..

Family and the Holidays

I can remember back to when I was little and that holidays and birthdays always seemed to be special making sure that everyone in the family was there and involved.

It seems like today that life just keeps moving by faster and faster everyday.  Of course this means the holidays and birthdays are going by faster as well.  Recently I have noticed that the holidays and birthdays are going unnoticed as well as passing quickly.

When I started thinking about the time and things I was missing it made me sad, so I decided that this past Thanksgiving/Christmas season that I was going to change a few things.

Since I couldn’t be with my family at Thanksgiving I did dinner with friends.  We made an all day event of it starting at 10 am and went until probably 10 pm that night.  There was tons of food, wine, good company and conversation.  I do need to add one side note to this wonderful day though.  As some of you may know I also blog in the recipe category, so please don’t hold this against me.

When it was time to prepare the turkey on Thanksgiving Day a friend that was helping me cook had purchased a cage to insert into the bird to hold the stuffing.  I had never used a cage until this time because my mother did hers the old fashion way and just put the stuffing in the bird.  Well my friend and I attempt to stuff this bird with the cage but it doesn’t seem to want to fit.  One of us tried holding the bird while shoving the cage in and then we tried standing the bird up on end and shoving the cage down into it.  Neither of our efforts seemed to make any progress.   We then decided to try once again with one holding the bird and the other stuffing the cage into the cavity.  Well by this point I was holding and my friend was shoving and I tell you if there had been someone watching through a window they would called the “turkey abuse” hot-line.  Well I then got the brainstorm to read the box from the cage and it said “for turkey’s 20 lbs and larger” and so I asked “how big is this bird?”  My friends reply “14 lbs.”  As you can see we were riping this poor turkey a “new one.”

Moving onto Christmas which was rather uneventful with my family after the “friends” Thanksgiving.  We had a great time at Christmas spending the day together, exchanging gifts, telling stories, eating great food and watching movies.

Fast forward a few months and here I am at yet another dreaded Birthday, but I decided to think back on my vow at the holidays to make things better and mean more that just a passing day.

This year I have taken up bowling as one of my pastimes and it just so happened that we bowled the night of my birthday, so here I find myself again with my friends on a special day.  I think it was the best birthday I have had in years.  We drank, dressed festive (my b’day is St. Patty’s Day), had cake and I bowled my best game!

Well now here we are at Easter.  For me I remember Easter very fondly with the family and my mother cooking and putting out an elaborate spread.  I don’t think a holiday ever went by that she didn’t put out a ton of food!  However, again I find myself not being able to be with my family on this holiday, but my neighbor called on Thursday and said “let’s have a friend’s Easter” and I thought here we go again, but at least this time we will only be baking a ham.

I guess this entry into my blog is to anyone and everyone that finds themselves alone and away from their families on this or any holiday, birthday or just any day.  Make all the time you have fun and special.

You may not be near your family, have family left, but remember you always have your friends.  One of the things my grandmother told me was “friends are family we choose.”  I think over the last 6 months this is something I have come to realize.  My friends are my family and they have made my life special.

Happy Easter Everyone!