Recipe Friday--Amaretto Punch

This punch is so yummy. Also, you make it ahead, freeze it, and use what you need. Every time I've served it, I've needed it all. I once took it as my offering to a house of bereavement. It was much more popular that the baked hams and chocolate cakes.

The whole recipe only has two cups of Amaretto, so it is not very potent. I always put a decanter of vodka by the punch bowl so people can do what they have to do.

Amaretto Punch

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 quart sugar
• 1 (46 ounce) can unsweetened pineapple juice
• 1 (12 ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed and undiluted
• 1 (6 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed and undiluted
• 2 quarts water
• 2 cups Amaretto
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1 tablespoon almond extract

Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and boiling water. Cool and put in quart containers or plastic freezer bags Freeze. Take out as needed and let stand at room temperature until slushy.

Bubble, Bubble

Cheryl's blog Tuesday got  me to thinking about the size of my personal bubble.  I like a lot of space around me unless I know you pretty well and even then I don't want you behind me. 

Most people who I know like some space around them.  Oh sure, we all know those "close talkers" who invade your space as they converse with you but most of us understand that standing at least a few feet from someone is really the best way to communicate without making anyone nervous. 

Of course, the "polite" defination of personal space varies from culture to culture.  Generally speaking cultures who have very dense populations tend to expect less space while those cultures with more space to spread out have the expection of larger personal space..

As writer this personal proxmity is something that needs to be considered.  We have all heard that you must get your hero and heroine on the page together as soon as possible and keep them in proximity to each other but what does that look like? Sure I like my large personal bubble but how does that change if I am attracted to you?  How soon would one character feel comfortable "letting" another in his or her space?  What would that look like?  How would that affect your story?

Finding the Positive

Last week, I wrote about changes. There are so many changes going on in my life. Many of them are introspective, a lot of them are physical.

Change helps us deal with the world around us. If we do not change, adjust, we will not survive. It's typically called evolution, but we all know what it is... change. We can fight it. We can deny it. But it will always come.

How we look at the world around us is the most important thing there is. A good attitude gets us through the hardest trials, the loneliest nights, the horrors we might face. A positive attitude helps us live long, healthy lives.

'Positive' thinking is key here.

How do we change our outlook from glass half-empty to glass half-full? By surrounding ourselves with positive things, positive people, positive media, etc...

I've been growing to love Twitter. I've made lots of friends, especially ones I've met through the New Voices 2011 contest. These wonderful new friends are spread across the world in Scotland, England, Mississippi and Maryland. We each have a common goal, finding readers for our stories. Twitter has allowed us to correspond, no matter what time of day it is. Twitter helped me reach out and set a deadline with a Twitter buddy for entering the New Voices 2011 contest.

Chatting via Twitter, I have learned, helps build better lives day by day. My outlook has certainly improved. I'm sure that's a byproduct of my time on Twitter and the rejuvenating affects of life after surgery.

There is nothing like getting a boost to your self-esteem when you are full of doubt. Friends uplift. Friends don't break down. And the changes that are being made on a daily basis on Facebook and Twitter keep society on a constantly changing learning curve. This immediate information, confirmation, affirmation, helps us with the social changes going on around us and helps us network through the problems going on in our daily lives. It can also help boost our ambitions as in the 1Hr1K drills that go on frequently on Twitter.

Let's face it. People 100 years ago didn't have access to the information we have now at a click of our fingertips. We are a global race. And via that global sphere, we can seek out and gain encouragement in the zaniest and far-out places.

Online media can absorb a lot of your time. But if you channel into the right resources, you will find it can also be a boon to your life.

Here's a few of the great things I channel into every day via Twitter.

PhilosophersSay

With regard to excellence, it is not enough to know, but we must try to have and use it. - Aristotle

We only know of one duty, and that is to love. ~Albert Camus

He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger. ~Confucius


2thank

Give your thoughts a chance and let them create ideas and visions that deserve to live.

An optimistic attitude is half of success.

We can use the web or any online access to encourage and uplift. We can choose to change for the better by helping those around us achieve their goals. What goes around, comes around. Pour yourself a glass half-full and watch it begin to overflow. Participate in something today that will truly enrich your life.

I'm happy with the changes I'm making in my life. I'm writing in a new genre I never thought I'd write. I've entered a contest. I'm going to a great fall conference this weekend. There are many things to take delight in and I'm truly grateful for the positive things in my life. They may not seem like they are always there, but if I look for them, they materialize in the zaniest places.

The key is I look!

What are ways you like to gain confidence and encouragement via an ever-changing web media?

I'm SOOOOO Tired!

I am so tired. Tired to the bone of dealing with things (aren’t we all?). Sometimes I wish I could be a bright, cheerful person but it’s just not in my DNA. And other people will not allow me that luxury. Sometimes I wish I could look for the best in people and things, but alas, I am not an optimist. And, usually people or things do not disappoint me because they meet my pessimistic view by acting or being as I thought they would be. Geez, it’s hard being right all the time…

The reason I am in such a mood is because I am doing renovations on the house. That started this. I am so tired of sitting and waiting on workmen who have to eat breakfast at nine in the morning before they start their workday (thereby delaying mine). I am tired of my house being in a total mess. I am tired of trying to clean when it’s pointless. I am tired of hearing “Uh oh” and hurrying to see what else they have broken.

This tiredness has set me to thinking of other things of which I am tired. Here is a pseudo-Jean list of things that I am tired of dealing with:

People who won’t take responsibility for their actions and blame others.

New cell phones (that says it all – I hate learning electronic things).

Waiting in line at Wal-Mart when there are only two lines open but they have all those registers.

Standing in crowds shielding my face from other TALLER people’s elbows (those sharp pointed things hurt when they hit you in the eye).

Trying to explain something to a man (that too is self-explanatory).

Dodging people on the sidewalk who are talking on their cell phones and not watching where they are going.

Standing in line at the grocery store and the old lady behind you is bumping you with her cart (I really get the urge sometimes to shove back).

Standing next to someone who coughs and then explains he/she has been sick all weekend (thanks, now I am going to be sick ALL week).

Buying something new and it doesn’t work right out of the box (necessitating taking the dang thing back and doing this all over again).

Family who thinks you are at their constant beck and call (okay, so sometimes I can get them back).

Having idiots pull out in front of you in their cars when you are ten feet away (sometimes I want to hit the accelerator).

Politically correct people (self-explanatory).

People who only listen to their own opinions.

People who take delight in irritating me (I am easily irritated).

People with no manners.

People who think they are entitled (only God knows where they got that idea).

I could probably go on but I want to hear what you are tired of. Add to my list and tell me what’s been irritating you lately.

In The Box

Over the weekend, The Guy and I washed the porch and porch furniture. It was imperative to do it early Saturday morning because we were having people over for the 2:30 kickoff and I wanted to go get some pumpkins before then.

So, I did what made sense to me. When I got up, I dressed in the around-the-house pants I'd worn the day before and put a bra on under the Jimmy Buffet t-shirt I'd slept in. I would shower and dress after the porch washing.

Not The Guy. He came down for breakfast showered and dressed in his game day shirt.

"You do remember we are washing the porch, don't you?" I asked.

"Yep," he said. "So?"

So, indeed. I shouldn't have been surprised. He can't get out of the box. It was morning so, he had showered. It was game day and somewhat cool, so he had donned his clean Crimson Tide long sleeved t-shirt. (If it had been hot, he would have worn his short sleeved shirt; later he'll put an Alabama sweat over the t-shirt.) Why, you ask. Because that's what he does. People who can't get out of the box consider it more important to do what they always do than to do what makes sense. I don't get it.

He's got a whole set of stuff in the box: half a teaspoon of sugar on the cheerios, a cup of coffee about midday Saturday, and birthday presents are never opened early. I could go on, but you get.

I might add, he did not get wet or dirty during the porch washing. I did.

How about you? How do you feel about life in the box? In or out?

Recipe Friday--Hot Chessy Black-Eyed Pea Dip

Once upon a time Oldest Friend and I were active members of the Junior League of Morgan County. (We are now sustaining members and sit on the Community Advisory Board. Junior League is like Hotel California. You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.)

Anyway, it was decreed that a cookbook would be made. We lay on the floor of my living room painting the baseboards and discussed whether or not we really wanted to take on cookbook making. Maybe it was the paint fumes. I don't know. But what could we do? Mrs. Classy was president, and she needed us. Oldest Friend ended up chair of the whole shebang and I ended up recipe chair. It was a long ride, but I have to say I learned more organizational and managerial skills from that experience than from any other in my life. I learned that I was glad to have made a cookbook and I'll never make another one.

I also learned about this black-eyed pea dip. It was Oldest Friend's recipe and it's now a standard in our community. You can't go to a party without seeing it. I'm going to give the recipe like God and Oldest Friend intended but I have to add this little tidbit, else those who know me well will say, "She's lying. She would not eat that." And I wouldn't except for one little substitution that I make. I cannot abide sour cream so I leave it out and double the mayo. It works out fine. But if you like sour cream--and apart from me, who doesn't?--make it by the recipe.

Hot Cheesy Black-Eyed Pea Dip

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 151/2 ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 14 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Pkg. Dry Ranch dressing mix
• 4 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
• 
  

1. Sauté onion in butter.
2. Mix all ingredients
3. Bake 20 minutes in 350 degree oven.

• Serve with Corn Chips.

Give A Little

I was thinking yesterday about how many people enrich my life.  Of course, this led to wondering if I do anything that makes life better for others.  The obvious answer here is that, as an elementary school teacher, I enrich the lives of some children.  I even had a child tell me a few weeks ago that I was a "Precious Light from Heaven." 

This was very sweet but also sort of  made me wonder about the teachers in her previous experience because I run a pretty tough classroom this time of year.  But hey, I will take the love where I find it. 

I also thought about the professional organizations that I am in with other writers.  I have had the wonderful opportunity this past year to give back to the Romance Writers of America by serving on a national committee and helping shape the future leaders of our organization.  I have gotten to work along side of some great folks who have taught me a lot. I have been an officer in my local writers' group, Heart of Dixie, and have been able to be a part of many fun tasks such as planning programs and re-working the chapter by-laws and the policies and procedures manual.  I think we have worked to help our chapter grow and adapt to whatever changes the future holds. 

I thought about the volunteer work that I do at my church and in my community.  I pitch in to help with youth events, children's events, and tutor in the community.

I think this sort of thing makes our world a better place. But was I really helping others or  just selfishly trying to make sure that my world is as nice as I can make it?  And that is when I realized that at each  place where that I give a little of myself that there are always many other people whose gift is enriching my life!

I think that giving back to our world is an important element of being happy and content.  Do you agree?  If so, how do you give back to the people or groups in your life?