I've Missed You

Well, I guess by now you might have noticed that I have taken a self-imposed blog break. I'm in quite the dilemma in that I have so much to say but for a short season other things have become a priority. My poor husband - he'll be so tired of hearing me talk that I'm sure he'll be begging me to start blogging again very soon. Like last night I just started going on and on about Steven Tyler and how much I am enjoying him, his shirts and his wit on American Idol this season. I rambled on about that for give or take ten minutes while he listened patiently. Secretly, I suspect that he was wishing I would just blog and be done with it. But seriously, sometimes life just comes at you fast and it's all you can do to keep your head above water. I haven't stopped blogging, in fact I'm keeping an entire list of things I plan to blog about when I get back to it. And I've got some good stuff for you, I promise. But for now, please bear with me. And just so you'll be prepared - things will be sparse around here until sometime in mid-April. Lots must be done and miles must be traveled before then. Thanks so much for your patience. And much love to those of you who have called and texted me just to make sure I hadn't passed on. Y'all are the best! I'll be back soon! I promise.

Food Friday - St. Patrick's Day Edition

Greetings, friends and neighbors! It's Friday - anyone else excited about that besides me? It's been a good week and I'm ready for a good weekend!

I'm a little distracted writing this post right now because I can't take my eyes off the television. As I type, I'm watching video footage of the tsunami hitting Japan as a result of an earthquake. This is incredible. They are predicting that the residual effects may hit Hawaii and the coast of California today. Prayers are with the people of Japan, Hawaii and California. Whew.

Next Thursday is St. Patrick's Day. So I've a two! recipes for your celebration. We don't celebrate this holiday in a big way at our house but I always take the opportunity to cook up some good food in honor of our Irish friends across the pond.

First, I've got the very traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage for you and then the second recipe, well, actually this is not necessarily Irish but it's green and it's minty and it's chocolate - so it works for me!

Corned Beef and Cabbage
What you need:
3 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet
10 small red potatoes
5 carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces
1 large head cabbage, cut into small wedges
What you do:
1. Rinse the corned beef under running water.
2. Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Add the spice packet that came with the corned beef. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer approximately 50 minutes per pound or until tender.
3. Add whole potatoes and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes.
4. Remove meat and let rest 15 minutes. Then slice meat across the grain.
5. Place vegetables in a bowl and add as much broth (cooking liquid reserved in the Dutch oven or large pot) as you want.
6. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Mint Dessert
What you need:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) plus 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon mint extract
4 drops green food color
1 cup Hershey’s Chocolate Chips or Hershey’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
What You Do:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Place 1 cup (2 sticks) butter in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at medium (50%) 2 minutes or until melted. Stir in granulated sugar and vanilla. Add eggs; beat well. Add cocoa, flour and baking powder; beat until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.
4. Prepare Mint Cream Center by combining powdered sugar, 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, water, mint extract and food color. Beat until smooth. Spread evenly on brownies. Cover; refrigerate until cold.
5. Prepare Chocolate Glaze by placing remaining 6 tablespoons butter and chocolate chips in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at medium (50%) 1 minute or until mixture is smooth when stirred. Cool slightly; pour over chilled dessert. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
24 servings.

Have a great weekend!!

Five Variations on Random

1. In case you have been living in obscurity somewhere, I need to let you know that Chickfila has a new milkshake. Here is how our family handled the news:

E to Me Text: Mom! Chickfila has a new Banana Pudding Milkshake coming out on Monday! Yay! WooHoo! Can’t wait!
Me to E Text: Oh. My. Goodness!!! That’s awesome! Let’s go – what are y’all doing Monday night for dinner?
E to Me Text: We’ll meet you there!
Me to E Text: You call your inlaws and I’ll call G and let’s all go together to try it!
E to Me Text: Will do! It’s a date!

Me to D Text: D – next Monday night. Put it on your calendar now – going to Chickfila for a milkshake.
D to Me Text: Got it! Any particular reason?
Me to D Text: Banana Pudding Milkshake.
D to Me Text: Enough said.


And sure enough, that Monday night, the Wileys and Williams converged on the Chickfila to try a brand new cup of this deliciousness. If you even think you might like ice cream or a banana or a nilla wafer, you have got to try this. Our family has always had a soft spot in our stomachs for the Mayfield Banana Pudding Ice Cream so we were pretty confident that this would pass our standards. And oh yes, it did. It actually exceeded our very high milkshake standards. Well done, Chickfila, well done.

2. Beauty and Sleeping Secrets.
Okay, so when us girls went down to the Beloved Retreat a few weekends ago, we not only had tons of fun but we learned a few beauty secrets along the way. One of which I have included into my nighttime beauty routine. They suggested a natural and inexpensive solution to dark circles and wrinkles around the eyes is a mixture of Vitamin E oil and olive oil. So I proceeded to go to the Target and get some Vitamin E oil to mix with the olive oil I already had. So now, every night before I go to bed, I dab a little of the oils around my eyes. I even rubbed it on D’s face the other night. After which, I told him “Now don’t let your oily face touch the pillow case.” Then I quickly realized how absurd that statement really was and told him to just sleep normal. Well, I think I ruined it for him because according to him, he didn’t sleep worth a flip that night. But, truth be told, he doesn’t sleep worth a flip any night, which leads me to why we are drinking pure cherry juice every day. According to recent studies, if you suffer from insomnia it has been “proven” that drinking two glasses of pure cherry juice a day will cause you to sleep better. Something about the melatonin content of the juice and how good it is for you. Bottom line, it’s got lots of good stuff in it and we’re drinking because we want to be healthy and sleep.
So I’m sure the next time you see us, you won’t recognize us what with being so well rested and wrinkle free and all.

3. I’m having a personal book struggle right now because I am in the midst of four, count em four, different books. And for a girl who likes to complete the tasks she starts, it’s about to drive me crazy.
Here are the four: equally good; equally different:
George Bush’s “Decision Points”
Lysa TerKeurst’s “Made to Crave”
Steve Furtick’s “Sun Stand Still” and
David Platt’s “Radical”
See what I mean? These are some heavy hitters! Nothing light, girlie or fluffy about these works. I start one and then I hear about how good the other one is and I start that one and . . . I’m on a hamster book wheel and can’t get off. But I do recommend every one of these books. At this point in the reading, “Sun Stand Still” is my favorite.

4. Update on my children’s trip to Italy: We are communicating via email. You can argue lots of negative about the internet, but believe me, I want to hug my laptop every time I see an email from them. We’ve even seen pictures. For E’s birthday, they took a personal Vespa tour of Rome and loved it! They will be going to Florence next and then onto Venice.

5. This morning I sat in a gorgeous church at a beautiful funeral. I realize that may sound strange but it was one of the most amazing tributes I’ve ever heard to a much loved, admired and respected woman. She was truly a woman of God and her family testified to that in a very touching way. My heart was tendered not only by this service but by the fact that my son, dressed so handsomely in a suit and tie sat beside me, was there to support his friend and her family. He had been in this woman’s presence many times and was also touched by her sweet and loving manner. It was a great reminder of the legacy we leave to the ones we love.

So I’ll leave you there but I’ll encourage you with this: Live your life for an audience of One and leave a legacy of His love.

She's 25 Today!

My first born is 25 years old today! A quarter of a century old! She was born at exactly 2:00 p.m. which is just like her to born precisely on the hour. It's just easier if you keep things in nice round numbers that way.

This girl stole my heart from the very beginning and has never let it go. She is joy, a pleasure and a treasure.

Today she is half way around the world on a trip of a lifetime! But I hold her close in my heart - today and always!

My Thoughts about Audrey

You know after I posted yesterday about our Breakfast at Tiffany's party and my love for Audrey Hepburn, I felt like I needed to share a few more thoughts. Because that's what I do . . . I over-share.

My love for Audrey Hepburn began years ago as a young girl when I was caught by her sheer beauty. My love for fashion began to bloom in high school and I soon decided to double major in Marketing and Fashion Merchandising in college. Not sure I've ever shared this before here but honestly, my heart was much more rooted in the Textile/Fashion/Design department than in the Business department. But at that point in time it seemed the common sense thing to do was to get that Business Degree because after all, it was a lot more practical I suppose. I spent hours and hours as a college student in what was called at that time the Home Economics Department. I loved it there. I loved walking into the building and being confronted with the rich mixture of fabric and food smells (the Culinary Arts majors fell under the same degree umbrella). Weird maybe, but it was my comfort zone. I loved the professors there (most of them were women). I felt at home there. And now as I look back on my life, it makes perfect sense that I did.

(Why do I have tears in my eyes right now? I have no idea. Maybe I'm just nostalgic about my college days and all the opportunities that were open to me back then. Maybe it's because I'm remembering my precious daddy staying up with me every night while I studied. I would come home on weekends to study because we all know that it's pretty difficult to stay on campus and get anything done. My daddy never went to bed before I did if I were up studying or working on a project. Or maybe I'm crying because I'm hormonal. Or maybe I'm all three.)

Anyway, while working on my Fashion Merchandising degree, I began to research and follow Audrey and her classic style. To this classic/timeless/traditional-fashion type girl, Audrey was perfection. The first time I studied her fashion choices in the Tiffany's movie, I was awestruck. I loved it. I wanted to copy it. I wanted to look like her. But apparently I was born in the wrong era because this was the late 70s and we all know what the fashion looked like in the 70s. And it just didn't align with Audrey's classic 60's style at that time. But I didn't care and everything I created I would run through the filter of "is this something Audrey would wear?" And if the answer was yes, I would submit those designs. Apparently, it wasn't a bad idea. I had pretty good success with it.

After I graduated and even though I didn't work in the fashion industry, I still continued to follow Audrey. But now what appealed to me even beyond her beauty and style, was how she used her influence and resources to help others. She traveled all over the world helping children in the poorest of nations. A lot of her work was through UNICEF who appointed her their Goodwill Ambassador. Particularly close to her heart were the issues of immunizations for children and the purification of drinking water in countries such as Ethiopia, Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador and Somalia. Something you may not know is that in 1992 President George H.W. Bush presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work with UNICEF. She passed away the following year at the age of 63.

So this woman was an inspiration to me on several levels. I want to share one of my absolute favorite quotes and so appropriately for me, it came from Audrey.

I believe in pink.

I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner.

I believe in kissing; kissing a lot.

I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong.

I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls.

I believe that tomorrow is another day and

I believe in miracles.

A Breakfast at Tiffany's Birthday!

I adore Breakfast at Tiffany's, the movie. I adore Tiffany's for that matter. I adore Audrey Hepburn. I adore the color of Tiffany blue. I adore my Birthday Group friends. And I adore celebrating birthdays, especially those that come in big round numbers, with a big hoop-la.

It just so happened that the movie was celebrating 50 years and so was our girlfriend so I thought why not just tie those two together with a

Breakfast at Tiffany's Style Birthday Celebration!!

I had cute little invitations printed up and sent out to all the ladies. And when planning this little soiree, it occurred to me that the birthday girl's momma might like to join in the fun and let's just say she sure enough did. We just love this sweet lady and having her celebrate with us was a special treat!

Here they are having a special toast!

On the invitation I asked my friends to dress in their very best Audrey attire. And guess what? They ROCKED it!! These girls were amazingly gorgeous!! We just kept saying we needed to go somewhere all dolled up - like Starbucks or through the drive thru at the Dairy Queen!

Since it was a Breakfast at Tiffany's celebration, the decor and menu were easy to create. Tiffany's bags (very convenient that we got Tiffany's necklaces last week at the Beloved Retreat), "diamonds" scattered on the table and our napkins folded and tied with a bow like a Tiffany's box just added to the fun.

The menu included mini-sausage biscuits; fruit; spinach and mushroom quiche; and orange, strawberry and blueberry scones. And to drink - faux mimosas! I like to call them faux-mosas!

So here we all are! Let me just say - I don't think Audrey had a thing on us!

Food Friday - It's the Cat's Meow!

Let's just say that this recipe is the cat's meow. And because I love to store worthless information in my brain that takes the place of more worthwhile information, I just had to look up the saying "the cat's meow." The phrase "cat's meow" means it's just too good for words. (per Wikipedia which we all know has the correct answer for every question in the universe). Apparently, it originated in the 1920's with other cat-related sayings such as "cat's pajamas" and "cool cat." Aren't you glad you came by today?

So since this recipe is truly too good for words, I'll just leave it with you.

Peach Pound Cake

What you need:

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh or frozen peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 10 inch tube pan and coat with white sugar.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Reserve 1/4 cup of flour for later, and sift together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Use the reserved flour to coat the chopped peaches, then fold the floured peaches into the batter. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

The 25th Birthday Celebration!

Last Wednesday night was the big birthday celebration at the Wiley house - in honor of our girl's 25th! The grandparents came over and I cooked a big Mexican fiesta; she opened presents; blew out her candles and we all ate a piece of cake and before it was all over a fun time was had by all!

Here is our traditional birthday picture. When anyone in our family has a birthday it seems at some point in the evening, we all have to line up in front of the fireplace. I guess that would be my idea.

Yes, I am the shortest in this picture and I had on heels except my heels were just not as tall as E's. I think hers were about 4" which gave her the definite height advantage.


My Birthday Girl! It occurs to me that I am not possibly old enough to be this child's mother!

You gotta admit this cake is pretty cute!

Happy Birthday, baby girl!

What I Love of About March 2011

I told you I would be coming at you fast and furious with posts. And it is March 1st already - honestly, can you believe it?

March is bringing some really big things! I'm so excited!
1. Tomorrow afternoon at 5:00, my girl and her hubby will leave for two weeks of fabulous fun in Italy. They are spending time on the coast at Amalfi (take a minute and google the Amalfi coast - it will take your breath away it's so gorgeous); then to Rome, Florence and finally Venice. I am so excited for them. It is going to be an amazing trip. If you would be so kind, please whisper a prayer for their safe travel. I would be most appreciative. These kinds of things make this momma just a little nervous.

2. While they are gone, our girl will celebrate her 25th birthday on the 7th! I just looked and they will be in Rome for her birthday. Wow - what a great place to celebrate your day, precious one! I will miss you like crazy on your special day! Happy Birthday to You, sweet girl - you are the most amazing daughter in the world!

3. On the 13th, I will travel down to Atlanta for a very special bridal shower for a very special young lady. One of my "sisters'" sons has found the girl of his dreams at the ripe ole age of 35 and is getting married in April (for the first time). It took him awhile to find her but we are sure glad he did. We are beyond thrilled for them!

4. Then . . . on March 14th . . . this is big BIG news and excitement . . . our Bible study group is going to have lunch with Georgia's First Lady, Sandra Deal at the Governor's Mansion. There is kind of a long story of how this all came about but we really have my dear friend's sweet husband to thank for making this possible. So thank you Dr. F - I am most appreciative!! It's not everyday we lunch at the Mansion so as you can probably guess, we all are just abuzz as to what to wear . . and what to say . . . and what to take! I mean how often does this happen? Lunching with the First Lady and all. More on this to come . . .

5. The Gainesville Care Center Annual Banquet is Thursday, March 17th. This is the major fundraiser for the organization and it's really going to great this year. My favorite part of the banquet is when past clients give their testimonies of their experiences. These are so powerful and God is glorified!
The speaker this year is Kelly Wright, co-anchor of Fox News Network's, "Fox and Friends Weekend." He has a powerful testimony of his mother's rape by a pastor when she was a teenager. Even though Kelly's mother was offered an illegal abortion, she chose to have her baby - Kelly.
The Banquet is at First Baptist Church's Banquet Hall at 6:45 p.m. on the 17th.
Tickets are $30.
Please join us!

6. Just for record, I am keeping up with the Siesta Scripture Memory Team on Beth Moore's blog. Today we begin memorizing our 5th verse! Now, let me just say from the get-go that this is a God thing if there ever was one. Basically, memory - I don't have a good one. I have never, ever been able to memorize anything. But because of God sweet provision, I have memorized FOUR verses!

7. March = Spring is on the Way!

I think I'll just end with 7. Seems like a good place to stop.

Oh, by the way, did you watch the Oscars? Since I had only seen two (Toy Story 3 and True Grit) of the nine movies nominated, I just didn't feel qualified to watch or maybe interested is another way to put it.
However since some might say I'm in it just for the fashion, we watched the Red Carpet arrivals and then changed the channel to watch "The Blind Side." Which was seemingly appropriate because we had just watched Sandra Bullock come down the red carpet in that stunningly beautiful red dress. Was she just not gorgeous? Who were your other fashion favorites? Mine were Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, and Reese Witherspoon. Oh and Jennifer Hudson. Maybe I just liked Jennifer's gown because it was orange, or "tangerine" as the commentators said. I'm pretty sure I have a crush on the color orange right now. Hmm . . . I have an orange crush. Which makes me wonder how long has it been since I've had an actual Orange Crush? Doesn't that sound good over some crushed ice?

Oh, okay. I'm done.