Have Oven Will Bake for Love

Neighbor gifts...clearly there are people on both sides of the fence here. And while it is one more thing to do in a very busy time of year, I'm weighing in on the pro side because, for me, it's about recognizing and loving the people who make up my daily community. Those people whose lives intersect mine on a daily basis mean a lot to me, and while I can't afford to buy them all a gift that monetarily reflects their value to me, I can cook. And it's not really the thing anyway; it's just saying, "I am grateful for you. You mean a lot to me, and I am thinking of you specifically at this time of year." Although, I had to draw the line at the cement donuts. Those I could not bring myself to give despite the kind thoughts that would accompany them.

I like getting the neighbor gifts, too. It just feels so...well...neighborly. I like having my doorbell ring and wishing each other a Merry Christmas. Frankly they could hand me a brick, and I would still delight in their kindness, but I have to admit that I really look forward to Melissa's cookies, the Miner's Martinelli, and Becky's bread. And if I have a vote, I would use it to encourage Shilo to make the "Stupid Popcorn" again next year. It's yummy.

So, for my beloved friends and neighbors, today I baked. Like this:



(The messy counter behind me is an idication of serious work at hand. Please ignore it.)

And like this:



And ended up with something like this:



Which I hope is understood as an expression of a very full and happy heart. Merry Christmas!

Donut Update

It was horrible! It took a huge portion of the day; I was tripling a new recipe that was supposed to be a Krispy Kreme copycat, which it certainly WASN'T! I was so disappointed in them I threw all the ones my kids didn't eat away. That means I'm making batches of cookies today. Another day in the kitchen...arghhh!

It's Time to Make the Donuts

I'd love to write an inventive, meaningful, or even funny post today, but I can not because, instead, I have decided to make doughnuts for our neighbors and friends.

I'm not sure why, but I've been wanting to make doughnuts for some time now. Admittedly it's an odd compulsion, but it's there nonetheless. However, when I made my list this morning of everyone I wanted to give a little something to, it occurred to me that I may have bitten off more than I can chew. That is the curse of the optimistic, isn't it?

I'll let you know how it goes.

Christmas Bells Aren't the Only Things that Jingle

Folks, the wheels have come off the wagon again. Last night Mr. Wicke and I attended a fun and festive Christmas party with many other couples from our church. We've lived here for three years now, but you know, it takes about that long to get to know people and let them get to know you. Last night was going great. I mingled, had some great conversations, visited with a couple of girls that I don't know that well, and didn't say anything too embarrassing. Overall, I was handling myself pretty well.

And then the games started.

This is always a dangerous area for me. I love games, and I'm competitive, and I don't have a self-edit button, and that combination doesn't always work in my favor, if you know what I mean.

The game in question goes like this: The group is divided into two teams. Someone picks a word out of a hat and you have to come up with a song containing that word and be able to sing at least 6 words. The teams go back and forth until one team can not think of a song in the allotted time.

Now, I'm a singer and known to be somewhat musical, so comments were flying like, "Well, we've got Laurel on our team," and "Okay, as long as Laurel can be our singer," and I'm saying, "You guys I'm really bad at this game." And I really am. I can sing, but I'm terrible at retrieving ANY information when there is a time limit, let alone lyrics mid-song. My brain literally quits functioning. But they didn't believe me.

We did okay on the first two words which were Santa and bells, and I even pulled through with "this is Santa's big scene." Our team was ahead 2-0, and I began to feel pretty good. The next word was jingle. We gave them the old "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way..." They retorted with "Jingle bell, jingle bell jingle bell rock..." Back and forth it went. At some point we even pulled out the big guns with "I've got a little change in my pocket going jing-aling-aling..." But they proved a tough oppenent here, and when they quickly returned, we drew a blank.

Jeff Lee began the obnoxious count-down, "10, 9, 8, 7..."

And somewhere in the dusty files of my brain I recalled something with a jinle-ling...if I could only...something from around 1983...what was it?

"5,4,3,2..."

"I've got it! Wait!" And I began to sing, loudly, "My jingle-ling, my jingle-ling, I want you...to..play...with..." And as the dust was being blown off that old file, I began to realize that something was not right...

Unfortunately so did a lot of other guests, mostly men who also attended Jr. High apparently. "It's not jingle-ling. It's dingle-ling."

In .01 seconds the pages of that old neglected folder were suddenly clear and readable to my mind's eye, and I had total recall:

When I was an itty bitty boy,
My grandmother gave me a cute little toy.
Silver bells hanging on a string
She told me it was my ding-a-ling-aling

My ding-a-ling, my ding-a-ling
I want you to play with my ding-a-ling.
My ding-a-ling, my ding-a-ling
I want you to play with my ding-a-ling.

I can now recall other verses, but I will spare you the sordid details.

"Laurel, that's a dirty song!"

I couldn't respond because I was hunched over in uncontrollable fits of laughter accompanied by deep blushing.

That was pretty much the end of the game for me. Oh, we stumbled along, but I never did recover my confidence. Once again I had fallen victim to my own exuberence. So much for my good impression.

Oh, well, there's always next year.

Mission Accomplished!

Well, he did it! Yesterday around 4:30, his committee chair called and said, "I just wanted to formally introduce you to Dr. Wicke." And then I started to cry. I've been doing that a lot lately. I think I may have a problem. But it was just such a relief.

Thanks for all of your well wishes. Now I'm going to go snuggle Mr. Wicke who arrived home tired but pleased. We have some catching up to do.

Is There a Doctor in the House?

Tomorrow is a big day in Mr. Wicke's life. After almost a decade he is defending his Ph.D. thesis. I pray for resounding success. And before he heads into a room to face a panel of would-be critics/peers, this is what I would like to say:

Dear Mr. Wicke,

There are not enough nouns, or any other part of speech, to express how proud I am of you. I could not have walked the long road you have persistently plodded these last many years. Literally one foot in front of the other every day. Who has that kind of persistence? You utterly amaze me with your work ethic and loyalty to your goals, and all the while you have financially supported this family, allowing me to stay home with our children without complaint. I know that earning a Ph.D. is not a part-time pursuit, yet somehow you have maintained a full-time career and been a spectacular father and husband besides. That is not only impressive but inspiring.

What I would have you know is that I see you. I understand your sacrifice. You would never complain, you are a man after all, but I know, at least to some degree, the difficulty and work that you have endured. When I think of the qualities that make a man a true success, you possess them all. I see you, darling.

And I love you.

Break a leg tomorrow.
Laurel

p.s. After you come home, and after this 345 page paper is finally turned in and there are no more rewrites late into the night, and after we have a huge blow-out party...well, you know there is a honey-do list coming, right? xoxo

Advent Update

We have fallen behind in our adventing activities, or oh-so-many-reasons. Reasons that I will explain in another post. Suffice it to say that Christmas is a full-time job!

But, back to the adventing. As most of you know, my goal was to do an activity a day. While that hasn't happened exactly, I have to say that I am loving the whole thing. It gives us something to shoot for, to help us remember and enjoy the little things about the holiday that sometimes get overlooked in the mad rush of just getting the to do list done.

Yesterday we bought candy-canes and ate them by the Christmas tree. The t.v. was off and Christmas music was playing, and we just enjoyed each other, laughing and talking for those few minutes before the kids' bedtime, and I found myself feeling so grateful for the important things that are so right in my life: The gift of my family and the joy we share together. And isn't that what Christmas is about? So I give adventing activities a big thumbs up! Yes, it is one more thing, but for me, it is the right thing for the season. Thanks to the many of you who gave me that nudge to go for it.

I'll be thinking of you tomorrow as we make our Christmas angels.