Lessons Learned from a Homemade Christmas

My family has always made a big deal out of holiday feasts. If you haven't noticed we like food. :) Even though we like to eat as healthy and as natural as possible we have always used canned or bagged products for certain recipes. For example the cream of mushroom soup in our green bean casserole has traditionally been Campbell’s.

After I discovered that a wonderful thing like marshmallows could be made at home and the quality was far greater than anything you could purchase at the store, I began to take more advantage of my kitchen. I have been making all sorts of things at home with much less effort then I ever thought possible. This year I decided to make everything from scratch. The only thing I did not do was grow my own ingredients or lay my own eggs ... oh, and I did not toast my own onion toppers for the casserole ... but I'm sure I can learn how to do that for next year.

The meal was AMAZING!! At least I thought it was. There was a bit of a salt issue with the turkey. Steve and Nathan both still like the texture of the Campbell’s mushroom soup better but they agree that the taste of mine was good. I left the turkey up to mom this year. She did such a great job on her smoked Thanksgiving turkey that I wanted to let her repeat it. This time she decided to do a salt brine and then smoke the bird. Having never done this before we had no idea how salty the final product would be. She followed a recipe and we learned that for us cutting the amount of salt in half would’ve been just fine. Lesson Learned. Still tasted good though.

I learned that jellied cranberry sauce turns out perfect even if you add the sugar at the wrong time. I learned that making soup is time consuming but tastes wonderful and frozen mushrooms create a lot of liquid. Dinner rolls are super easy. Did you know that bread stuffing can be made with moist bread and not dried bread crumbs? I didn't know that. I was running out of time for our 6 pm dinner schedule and realized I had forgotten to dry the bread crumbs, following my mother's advice I just added less liquid and it was great! White mashed potatoes are just buttery goodness; I can't really say more than that. Freshly ground nutmeg and cinnamon mixed in mashed sweet potatoes baked with homemade marshmallows on top can be eaten just by themselves as a delicious dessert. I do have to say that my pumpkin pie was not a perfect 10 like the one I made for Thanksgiving however, it would still get a score of about 8. If you love whipped topping you have got to make it yourself at least once in your life. It is so cool! It only takes about 3 minutes and it looks like flawless white puffy clouds ... and the taste ... oh ... you just have to make it yourself to know.

There are two reasons this Christmas dinner was wonderful. One is the fun I had preparing it along with the knowledge and experience I gained while in the kitchen for 6 + hours. And the second is the fact that everything I prepared was Jacob friendly. I made sure that the ingredients I chose to use were all natural and because I made everything myself, there was no need for extra chemicals and preservatives like the ones found in store bought foods.

As my time management skills improve I will begin to incorporate more homemade cooking into our daily lives and not just on holidays.

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as we did!

Cosmic Brownie Points

Have you ever had a person in your life that has the ability to evoke uncontrollable emotions within you? A person whose very existence irritates you? The mere site of that person makes you wish that your heart would stop beating just so you wouldn't have to face hearing them speak again. An accidental thought about that person makes your skin crawl so much that you feel the need to bathe in order to wash away the disgust. A person who no matter how harshly you treat them, or how brutally honest you are with your feelings about them … or, no matter how many times you run screaming bloody murder when you see them approaching … they just won’t go away. They just don’t get it or they just don’t care.

Unfortunately I have people in my life that evoke those types of harsh, extremely powerful emotions. I am doing everything in my power to control and release those feelings in a positive way, but it is painfully hard. At times I think a wonderful release from these people would be to watch them spontaneously vaporize into a pile of ash just like in the old cartoons. They are in the middle of speaking and *poof* all that is left is a grey pile of ash with a set of curious blinking cartoon eyes on top, a janitor with a broom and dust pan walk in from stage left sweep up the pile and then exit stage right. I would then smile and go about my day happily. You might be thinking “that is awful, how can you wish someone to be vaporized?” It is easy, they are irritating and annoying, my life would be a lot less stressful if they weren’t a part of it and I am in a position that I can’t remove them or myself quickly enough … so cartoon style vaporization is a viable option.

I am a believer that we invite things into our lives and we do have a certain level of control. That being said I am fully aware that the people that cause me this grief are in my life because I allow them to be. I will say though that I did not invite them to be who they are. They did that themselves. There are bound to be some cosmic brownie points awarded to me for my effort to calmly deal with this daily torture. I just know in my heart that at some point either in this life or the next I will be rewarded. I have to believe this or I would go insane.

For those of you who are suffering with a similar type of “person” I am truly sorry. I feel your pain and misery. Know that you are not alone. During times that you are forced to deal with your “person” take a moment to think of all the victims like you in the world that are dealing with a far more irritating “person” and be thankful your's isn’t that bad. It might actually help you focus on staying calm and getting through it. Running and screaming in the opposite direction might be effective also, it didn’t work for me but it is worth a shot.

For those of you who do not have a “person” please pray for us!

I am so happy and grateful that I can do dishes.

In order to follow along with my goal of being happy and grateful for the things I have I am going to explain why I am happy and grateful that I can do dishes.

I have the physical ability to stand at the sink and wash dishes. I have a house with a sink and clean hot running water to wash them in. I have detergent that kills germs so I can eat off clean dishes after I hand wash them without getting sick. I have a dishwasher that is leaking and causing water damage to the sub floor which has forced me to find great joy in a job well done as I stand in front of my sink staring at all the beautifully hand washed dishes. I am also happy and grateful that I have multiple people in my home that enjoy using several extra dishes every day, thus multiplying my dish washing joy.

According to my landlord sometime after the new year I will have new reasons to be happy and grateful for a functioning dishwasher. I am happy and grateful that I have that joy to look forward to.

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas!

OK so this is technically the second snow of the season ... but the first one was just flurries so it doesn't count.

At the beginning of each season I think to myself "Oh I love this time of year!" and then by the end of that season I am so thankful the next one has begun.

Well I am thinking that again right now. Oh, I love this time of year! The fresh snow that hasn't been touched and gives everything a flawless coating of white perfection is like looking at a priceless painting. It is so relaxing to snuggle on the sofa under a comfy blanket, sipping hot cocoa starring at the falling snow through a large picture window while the lights of the tree reflect in the glass. After the snow has piled up sufficiently and you’re a wee bit wired from the caffeine in the cocoa, getting all bundled up and making your mark in that once perfectly flawless blanket of white in the yard is just plain fun.

Life is full of struggles for many right now and I hope that everyday those of you who are suffering can find happiness in something. Having joy for even just a fraction of a moment as you count the points of a snowflake that landed on your window is a step in the right direction.

The entire Lewis Family wishes everyone a safe and happy Christmas Season!

Reason #101 Why I love the Winter Holidays – LEFTOVERS

This Thanksgiving we spent with Steve’s family at his parent’s house. It was great to see everyone and watch the kids play. I did make the homemade marshmallows for the candied yams and they were delicious again. My only regret was that I didn’t use more of them. “Tom” the turkey was juicy and perfectly browned. Trina, our niece-in-law (please forgive me if I misspelled your name) made wonderful little spinach stuffing balls. We all over indulged ourselves as tradition dictates that we should. Being one who loves photos I of course documented the meal with my camera as I do every year.

Jacob decided he wanted to work off some of the calories from dinner and jumped on the stationary bike for a while.



It is inevitable that at some point Steve will be in front of a computer with his parents.


My mom stayed home and smoked a turkey using the outdoor grill in a true Kansas City fashion. It turned out awesome. She was proud of herself and we were pleased to return home from Steve’s parents with all of our leftovers and add them to hers.

We are in leftover heaven. In order to preserve the culinary delights that came from this Thanksgiving holiday we have carefully prepared and frozen several stocks and packets of meat for future meals.

A few nights after the holiday my mother took my made-from-scratch bread stuffing and combined some of her smoked turkey for our dinner that night. She added a few more spices and some stock to liven things up a bit. It was fantastic and super simple because it was from leftovers.


I think that one of my new years resolutions this year will be to prepare more holiday style meals during non holiday times. There are 365 days in each year, why should we only eat well for 30 or so of them.

I hope everyone had a Great Thanksgiving!! I’m excited to start preparing for Christmas!!

Ping Pong ... I can play Ping Pong!

Oh the joys of a new ping pong table, or should I say table tennis table. It took only an hour or so to set up but the hours we have and will spend enjoying it are to numerous to count. We have already shared our new toy with friends and plan to do so again very soon.

I had no idea that Steve knew so much about this misunderstood sport of ping pong. He really is a font of knowledge. Even after 11 years of marriage I still learn things about him.

Jacob and I have both had our first formal lessons from our resident p-pong master and I have to say we are both gifted. :) HAHAHA

Below are images of the "The P-Pong Master" and "Little P-Pong".

I would recommend to anyone that has ever thought about getting a ping-pong table ... stop thinking about it and go get one!

We are planning a tournament night soon ... so get your game face on!!

I Am So Happy and Grateful Now That ...

A lot of you know that about 3 years ago I watched the DVD "The Secret". I have been able to maintain a very good grasp of its teachings and implement them into my everyday existence. However, just as so many others I suffer from a few not so rare conditions that I call NegativeFamilyMemberitis, ToxicFrienditis and BumsThatEmptyYourWallet Syndrom. The BTEYW Syndrome can be a combined with either of the other two conditions. These are all non-fatal conditions but they create a very unhealthy unhappy life for the victim that leaves them untreated.


In today's world it is so easy for these conditions to attack someone you know and then by association you become the victim. Physically, financially and emotional being drained by those around you can quickly turn your positive outlook and your positive efforts to very negative and bleak.


In an effort to remind myself that the only things I can change are myself and how I allow these conditions to affect my life I re watched "The Secret" this afternoon. In the DVD one of the fellows suggests writing a list of all the things that make us happy and that we are grateful for. Hence the title of the blog. For those of you who have not seen "The Secret" some of the things on this list may not be accurate right in this moment, but will be happening in the near future. That is the whole point of positive thinking and visualization ... to feel as if certain things are already true and to actually believe they are. So here is my list so far.


I Am So Happy and Grateful Now That ...

-Steve and I have a combined income of $200,000.00 gross per year.
-We have our dream home, huge comerical grade stainless steel kitchen, in-home theater with stadium style personal lounger setting for 15 adults and oversized beanbag seating for unlimited kids, enough rooms for all of our extended family and friends to visit at anytime, and a master bedroom suite would that would make even the most elite spa wish it were as nice.
-My mother owns her own home.
-My brother is responsible for himself
-I am 165lbs and a size 10-12.
-I have thick hair.
-Steve gets to play golf more then 3 times a week and is preparing for PGA Q-School.
-Steve wears a 34x30 pant
-I have my own craft room that is totally customized.
-Steve and I both have new cars
(those things will happen)

-I get to stay home and raise my child
-All of our bills are paid and we can still go out to eat if we wanted to
-I have a husband who lets me dream big and believes I will achieve every one of them
-My son is happy and healthy
-Jacob has grandparents that love and adore him
-We are able to afford any activities that Jacob wants to be involved in ... such as gymnastics and karate
-I am being a patient teacher for Jacob while we homeschool each other.
-I have friends who are brilliant that I can learn from.
-We are going on a family vacation to Disney World in less then 6 months.
-I own a successful business that keeps growing.
-I learned how to make amazing marshmallows at home.
-I have a fast internet connection.
-I am in a healthy happy relationship
-We have Heavenly Parents who have a plan for us


I'm sure I could go into more detail on all of these things and many more but I will spare you the time to read all that.


I just needed to put myself back on the right line of thinking again. I can not change how the people or the world around me act no matter how hard I try, but I can change me. That means a lot more than just my mental or physical body. When a family member won't go away ... I can change where I live (and not tell them). If that same family member or another keeps asking for money...Thinking in a positive helpful way knowing I can only affect change in myself. I can't make them stop asking ... I can change how much money I make so I can continue to help them. If a friend is causing undue stress or has a negative influence on my decision making ability ...I can change who I associate with. And finally I can change how I respond to others actions and the events of the world around me. The more I can find the positive in every situation and truly believe that I am deserving of achieving my dreams I will find myself surrounded with the people and things that make me most happy. Every thing else will disappear. No more non-fatal conditions.

I am so happy and grateful now that I have taking the time to start my list. :)

Going Without

It is day five without Pepsi or soda of any kind.

Day one was fine. No major reactions.
Day two was hard. I was a little cranky.
Day three almost killed me. I had a headache from the time I woke up until I went to bed and it lingered into Day four.
Day four was a little better, at least I was alive and I could function in the world.
Day five ... today ... so far so good. I am awake, alive and I seem to feel okay.

I have multiple reasons for wanting to cut soda out of my diet, but the main inspiration came during our recent family trip to Steve's Parents house. Steve's mother is like me and enjoys documenting everything with her camera. Which is why the camera was available while we were at Steve's sisters house visiting. After Steve's mom and I both had taken some pictures and played with the camera a bit Steve wanted a turn, I guess. He felt the need to take a few pictures of me sitting on the couch petting the dog.

Being a photographer I know that looking good in a photo is all about posture. When I take portraits I can make a large person look thin and a thin person look heavy ... so a photo is not always the best representation of that person. Anyway, after we got back to Steve's parents house and we were uploading the pictures I saw the images of me. OH MY who is that lump on the couch. I almost threw up on the computer. I wanted to delete the images but I was foolish and asked permission first. Steve's mother replied "Oh no, that's who you are right now." I know she meant it as ... "we love you the way you are" ... and "you can't hide yourself". However, that is not who I am ... well at least I don't feel like the colorless blob of smiling mass taking up the left THIRD (yeah I said it, 1/3 ) of the couch. I feel like it is just the fat suit that the real me walks around in.

I tend to be behind the camera so there are not a lot of candid photos of me ... which I prefer. I did not know that picture was being taken so I did not do anything to change my posture to a more flattering position. Well, HELLO REALITY CHECK! This is going to happen. People are going to be taking random photos of me. Just as I do the same to them. So if I don't want to look like a bad remake of "The Blob" then I need to lose the fat suit. And Steve's mother was right ... in a way ... this is who the world sees me as right now. No one can see the thin athletic super active me because I'm hidden.

I attempted a weight lose program about a year ago and did great the first month. After that I just trailed off and eventually stopped trying. I get bored easily with programs. I thought that the very large amount of money I had spent on the program would be enough of a motivator. I was wrong. I'm still not sure what is going to be strong enough to motivate me to make my weight lose goals a reality but I can't stop trying.

I am going to make small changes and be patient. Soda is my first fat habit to break. I have done it several times but I have always fallen off the wagon. I am going to sound cheesy here but I know I can do this. It sucks but I can do it. I will add other changes on a daily basis. For example using a little restraint when it comes to portion sizes. I have a bad habit of overindulgence. I am also going to increase my activity level. Sitting in front of the computer working all the time does not create positive physical results for my rear or mid section. My typing skills are improving and I can click a mouse at lighting speed! Woo Hoo :)

This is not going to happen overnight. I will still look the same tomorrow and probably next week and the week after. But in 6 months there will be a change and then in 12 months an even more dramatic change. So by next year when random un-posed pictures are taken of me and I look ridiculous at least I will be thin and ridiculous. I can handle that.

Marvelous Marshmallows

Jacob and I made Marshmallows. I believe that this is one of the coolest things I have done so far in my life. Jake has only been alive four+ years so I can safely say it is top on his list of cool things as well.

Here is a link to the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html

I love the Food Network. Alton Brown hosts a show called "Good Eats" which takes a very scientific approach to cooking. Jacob really enjoys watching it with me. Recently the show devoted to marshmallows aired. We recorded the show with our DVR so we could refer back to it as we attempted to make the little white fluffy wonders.

We watched the episode again just before we left for the grocery store. We were missing a few ingredients. Jacob was so excited that he held the recipe we had printed off the Internet and was reading off all the items that we needed over and over. He helped me fill the cart and then put them all on the check out belt. He told everyone that would listen all about our plans to make homemade marshmallows.

After we arrived home we placed all of our ingredients on the counter so we could take an inventory and make sure we had all the right tools.

This recipe assumes that you have an electric stand mixer. I'm sure it can be done with a hand mixer it just means more work for the person doing the cooking. By the way it is very much worth the effort.

Once we had everything we needed we began the process. The sugar and corn syrup have to be cooked on the stove until they reach a specific temperature. I was taught by my mother and grandmother the old ball method. Which meant that you would check what stage the syrup was at by seeing how it reacted when a small amount was dropped into cold water. This was the first time I have actually used a candy thermometer and I did not stir the syrup while it was cooking. Not stirring was very hard. But I was trying to be a good student of Alton's and follow his instructions exactly.

My obedience paid off. After the syrup reached 240 degrees and was untouched by me. I placed it very carefully into the mixer with the gelatin. The mixer then took over. With the whisk attachment and turned all the way to the highest setting it ran for 15 minutes all by it's self.

The next step is very time sensitive. The instant the mixer stops spinning the marshmallow starts to setup ... or harden. You have to get the mixture out of the bowl and into the pan super fast. And it is very sticky.

Jake had a great time taste testing the marshmallow goo before it was set up. The four hours we had to wait before we could cut them into marshmallow size pieces was almost too much to bear.

Well we followed instructions very well and the marshmallows turned out perfectly. I mean PERFECT. I have never had a better tasting marshmallow in all my life. I will never purchase them from a store again.

Here is a shot of the finished product. Yes they are a little green. Jake wanted green marshmallows so we added a little bit of food coloring to them. Obviously not enough for a deep green ... but a nice light sage. He ate them anyway.

I had to roast one ... of course. I am very thankful I have a gas stove! :)

I can't wait for Thanksgiving! I am excited to put my homemade marshmallows over my candied yams!! YUMMY :)

I won't use the green ones.

Over the Weekend

This weekend we visited Steve's parents. Jacob loves spending time with his Grandma and Grandpa. It is visible in their expressions as well that they also love spending time with him. We played board games and ran around the house. For breakfast one morning Grandma made an L shaped pancake for Jake per his request.

We took a car ride on Saturday to go visit Steve's 2 sister's who live only about an hour away from his parents. Jacob loves visiting with family but he is only four ... so his favorite memory of visiting with his aunts and cousins were of the dogs he got to play with and the "nice little girl", her nickname is Addy (I think I spelt that right). She is one of Jacob's 2nd cousins.

As grandparents should Jacob's devoted almost all of their attention to him all weekend so on Sunday when it was time to head home Jacob of course did not want to go. In the car on the way home you would here from the back sit "I love Grandma and Grandpa you know." Steve or I would take turns and reply "Yeah we know, we love them too."

Sunday night when we were resting on the couch Jacob turned and said to Steve and I "Grandma gets really happy when I give her hugs ... big hugs ... she's silly, I love her." Then he giggled and went back to playing with his transformers. It is funny how random thoughts just come out of children. I love it when he does that. It makes me very happy to know that he has such wonderful and happy things running around inside his head.

Steve has built a laptop table out of scrap wood we had around the house. We do not own a belt sander yet so we took the table to his parents to finish it with some of their tools. It is a great table and is custom fitted for us. We are going to stain the wood and then put a varnish over the whole thing. I'm sure we could have gone to the store and purchased some fancy factory made laptop tray that would have worked just fine ... but I like this one better. Steve made it and had a good time during the project and it was free because we recycled scraps from other projects.

I was able to find a pair of jeans I like and generally do nothing during the weekend. I like that ... doing nothing that is. :)

We had a good weekend!

Ok This Is IT!

I recently created a great blog site with Shutterfly. It was fun and looked great, however there was one huge problem. No one could leave comments unless they were a member of shutterfly.

I believe that I have the correct settings to allow anyone to leave comments on this blog. Which I hope will not come back to haunt me later.

I am working to add photos and a link to an online album embeded in my business website for viewing slideshows of our images. My goal is to have that completed by tomorrow ... who knows if that will actually happen, but it is good to have goals!

Please enjoy our blog!! I promise I won't switch again any time soon! :)

What time is it? (Michelle)

It is 4:??am and I am still awake. My schedule is seriously jacked up ... again. In just a few hours Steve will wake up and head to work. Shortly after that Jacob will wake up and demand that I perform my motherly duties of feeding and caring for him ... regardless of how little sleep I have had.
So this is how my day will go. I will be awakened by a very cute and hungry four year old. He will most likely get out of bed go potty then come stand by my side of the bed and stare at me for a minute or two. Then he will climb into the bed and sit on my stomach or side depending upon how I'm laying there. At that time he will put his face right next to mine and say "Mother wake up I'm hungry and I need to watch cartoons." Those who know me are aware that none of the climbing or sitting on me actually woke me up. It is not until he actually speaks to me that I wake up. Notice in the quotes the word Mother. For some reason Jake has started calling me mother. He thinks its funny and I don't really mind ... it just sounds kinda weird sometimes.

After I drag myself out of bed I will feed my child and put myself on the sofa for a nap. Jake will take his seat either on my hip or on my legs as I snooze for about an hour and he watches Noggin. I will force myself to actually stand up and get back to work having only had about three hours of decent sleep and one hour of being used as a breakfast table and cartoon lounger.

I don't try to do this to myself I have just gotten into a really bad sleeping pattern. And I'm sure the Pepsi I drank after dinner didn't help much. My body is confused about what time it is and where it should be ... which at night is in bed.

Well hopefully I can get this worked out ... If not maybe I should get a night job ... I'm up anyway :)

Fresh From the Garden

My very good friend, Anaise, was generous and shared some of her garden harvest with us last week. The beautiful and perfectly shaped tomatoes and green pepper came from her own backyard garden. The beans, lettuce and radishes came from an organic coop that she is a member of.

Another very good friend of mine, Missey, was over for dinner that night. She handwashed the lettuce, snapped the beans and trimmed the radishes. The whole time she was raving about the color, shape and smell of each item.
When dinner was served our conversation was focused on how wonderful this salad was. I had prepared a very nice creamy potato soup to accompany the salad, however the salad took center stage.
This meal was a very delicious reminder of why I love to eat organic home grown foods. The flavors, smells and visual effects are just wonderful. Foods grown in your own garden ... or a friends ... have so much more flavor then anything you can buy in the store. That is my opinion anyway.
Jacob loved the "Green", that is what we call green peppers, and he ate a whole one by himself. He tried the radishes and said they where to spicy. He was tolerant of the beans and ate about four of them. He ignored the lettuce and tomatoes. I guess he just wasn't in the mood for those that night.
Steve enjoyed the salad as well and agreed with me when I mentioned that even the lettuce and a unique flavor and how much it added to the whole dish compared to Iceburg varities.
Thank you to Anaise for sharing these great foods with us. Thank you to Missey for taking the time to properly care for and prepare the foods. And I thank myself for eating them :)!