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Month: December 2022

IF YOU COULD CREATE A PERFECT DAY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

In most of our lives, we are conditioned to do what is laid out for us. If we work, we normally do basically the same for at least 5 -6 days. We develop routines, what time we wake up, what are our preparation regiments to get ready for work, what we eat or don’t eat prior to leaving. If you wrote down your routine for a week, you would find very little variance as we are mostly creatures of habit. In this blog message, I am going to take your mind out of this routine as it is beyond any of our control but how life determines what and when we do certain tasks. Let’s go down the creative and imaginative path for a detour.

Perfect Day for My Daughter and Her Dad. Outdoors and on Horseback.

First, let’s take work out of the equation so today is a free from work day. What would you do with your time? I made a list of questions to start the creative juices flowing:

  • What are things/hobbies/tasks you love to do? Try making a list of those items for us to review later in the blog.
    • I will start the thought process as I love to bake and cook. I love to write both poetry and books (I actually wrote three novels which I am proud that I didn’t quit and all of my author friends appreciate the effort behind this undertaking). I love to decorate and make florals. I love family and family gatherings and even though the pandemic has placed a dampening on those times, I am ready for this to resume soon. I love some travel but I am not a Traveling Mac for sure so this is a back step priority if you know what I mean.

Second, let’s actually delete things/events we don’t like to do:

  • I don’t like organizing but I love organized cabinets, closets, and drawers. I don’t enjoy lectures, some concerts, or outdoor activities. I don’t like to shop and/or browse. I never have; I probably never will. Yard sales don’t appeal to me at all. The next one will probably surprise you but I don’t like reading books. Ouch, as an author, this sounds ironic. For you to understand my unwillingness to sit and be still long enough to read a lengthy book, it has to be fast action, lots of twists and turns, mystery I feel I can solve quickly, and I have to have a page turner so that I finish it in a flash. That’s me, so what are your dislikes? I ask you to list your likes as well as your dislikes for a reason.

Third, let’s compare what you like and dislike as these lists will define your personality and from here we can move in our imaginary world for a day. If you have listed outdoor activities primarily as what you love, you may want to consider your perfect day doing one or more of outdoor trips, activities, and/or hobbies. If you love traveling, lots of people do, you may on your perfect day plan a trip and include the destination to provide this type of entertainment pleasure. If you love to shop, design a day around shopping and if you are a connoisseur of good restaurants, plan to eat at one of your favorites as an enhancement to your shopping experience.

I think you are moving into the creative realm, imagining what makes you happy and what you would avoid if you had the opportunity to choose. By opening your mind to the perfect day, you can tolerate the routine days much better by planning good activities and keeping your mind in a positive light. Even though you may not be able to actually have a perfect day, you will benefit from going through the mental exercise of planning the perfect day. Dream and the dream may come true. Plan and save for that perfect day as that becomes a precedent of organizing your thoughts, your budget, and your attitude. I wanted to give you some food for thought. Self help and building positive goals and seeing dreams come to reality are the best tools available.

Now for the deeper thought: It is great to dream and I am a realistic dreamer. I see Yes and I don’t see a lot of No’s. What I trust in is a strong faith in My Maker and Creator as God placed the creative side in me but He also placed the ability to realize the work and effort to make those dreams become a reality. Let’s Get Creative and Use those God Given Talents to Live Life; Love Life; and Live Life to the Fullest by Creating a Loving Environment.

(C) Copyright 2012 – 2022 Arline Miller of Sipping Cups of Inspiration and Reinvention Queen with all rights and privileges reserved. Third party material is sourced, if known, to the original location and author for credit reference.

IT’S THE UNWRAPPED PRESENTS THAT BRING THE MOST JOY

Unwrapped Christmas Gifts


Yes, I had gifts so prettily wrapped and I loved them all.
A lot of thought went into them for my joy to befall.
Throughout the celebration of Christ’s birth
The love was obviously shared in its true worth.
What came to me some presents weren’t tied up with a bow.
Gifts of love come in all kinds of ways that love can glow.
It’s those best wishes, kind acts, giggles through the phone from those who are alone.
The thank you for what you do, the smiles and laughter from your children that send love to your bone.
It’s the gentle stranger opening the door to a old lady, the patience shown for others and more.
Think back over the holidays and you will begin to think like me.
Sometimes the love of Jesus gifts are not under the tree.
They are unexpected acts of unselfish love that others may see.
The gifts we do for no reason but amplify the reason for the season.
Give of yourself and love like Jesus without any personal reason.

Written by Arline Lott Miller with hopes that your Christmas was filled with love of Christ with thanks for His Eternal Gift to Us. 2022

This Christmas time, instead of the usual huge family gathering with the big Christmas dinner and as many of the family members who can come, was different and we still have our upcoming time with one of the sons and his family in the next couple of days. We split time between the oldest son and his family with a BBQ sandwich some fixings and a big spread of desserts. It was so much fun but different that the usual gathering.

Then, Saturday Missy, my daughter came over for the weekend and we had a huge time in the kitchen as I told her I would be her Sous Chef so Saturday was our Mexican Cuisine theme with Missy’s homemade enchiladas, both cheese and chicken cheese filled and the enchilada sauce she made from scratch, Street Corn which I made, Missy’s famous guacamole and fresh mango and pomegranate salsa, and we made black beans and rice too.

I may have duplicated some slides as my mouth was drooling but onto Christmas day dinner. We bypassed the traditional dinner and went Surf and Turf with Greg grilling his famous ribeye steak that melts like butter, Missy pan seared Scallops with assistance from her Sous Chef in prep, Grandma’s cheesy green chilies bread (not really our Grandma but we would gladly adopt her), my pan sautéd green beans, Missy’s homemade Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and desserts Missy’s Blueberry Delight so if you think we missed traditional, no way.

After all the food, entertainment, gift exchanging, cleanup, yes that was part of it and then it was over. Our loved ones who had dropped in, visited and left, the poem you see at the beginning inspired me. I remembered all of the unwrapped gifts of love that were showered. They are too many small gestures of love given and received. Love for Jesus was shown in large quantities, understanding that we have to be flexible as life isn’t always about just us, and compassion for those who could use some love at this time. I will cherish this different kind of Christmas and this poem. I hope all of you had a great Christmas and we wish you a Wonderful New Year.

As a side note and a preface to a future blog post, my husband had a big surprise that is deserving of its own post as I feel a life lesson and it has inspired me to write it separately, but I will post it soon as it is a heartwarming story. Stay tuned my reader friends.

(C) Copyright 2012-2022 Arline Miller of Sipping Cups of Inspiration and Reinvention Queen with all rights and privileges reserved. Third party Material is sourced, if known, to original location/author for credit references.

SIPPING CUPS OF INSPIRATION NEEDS YOUR HELP/DONATION

First, have you enjoyed the blog this year and want to see more of it in 2023? If so, please go to the Donation Page at the top menu bar. Whatever amount you can donate to keep the blog going since it takes funds to pay for the expenses, not revenue. I will have to pay publishing costs and I need the readers to pitch in instead of me having to charge for subscriptions.

Christmas is the time for giving and I hate to ask and I had hoped clicks on the ads would suffice to take care of the publishing costs. If you can’t, I understand but at the same time I would hope you would understand if I can’t continue paying all of the expenses to give others inspiration.

Have a Happy New Year with a Merry Christmas to All!

Thanks, from my heart and your wallet, Arline Miller of Sipping Cups of Inspiration.

WHAT’S UP WITH GUACAMOLE AND LIFE?

Most of my followers/readers have become acquainted with how my daughter and I love cooking together. Mind you, we are very different styles of chefs with me being more traditional and very in tune with remaking and recreating dishes from the original ones. Missy, on the other hand, has a tendency due to her independent nature to go a little rogue. She may look at a recipe and say to herself, I think I will do this or that, or change the entire recipe to satisfy her individual taste. Both of us love to cook and we love to brainstorm about how we each like this or that and that brings me to the focus of this blog. The title WHAT’S UP WITH GUACAMOLE AND LIFE has to bring questions as to the meaning of this message.

While Missy and I were discussing our upcoming Christmas get together which will be different from previous years of traditional feasts of every Southern dish and most of our families being present, we brainstormed about many future posts but while discussing the idea of Mexican food being a possibility for this meal, the topic of Guacamole came up.

There was a time in my life that I had a personal preference of aversion to the soft consistency of the avocado. Even though I learned the healthy benefits from the green soft ingredient, I shied away from it. It was only after my daughter who used to live in both Colorado and California and thrived on adding avocados in many dishes, made her Guacamole Dip for me and my husband. My response was “this is amazing” with the fresh cilantro and all of the ingredients and seasonings. I was hooked on this green stuff and have asked many times for her to make some.

She said something important while we discussed adding Guacamole to our upcoming menu. She and one of her dear friends, Teresa were discussing food and Missy remarked that as many times as she made this dish, she could not remember two times that it tasted exactly the same. Granted, Missy shoots from the hip, when she is making the same dish. Barring this fact, she told me while she was repeating what she and Teresa were talking about, she said the topic words about Guacamole “It all depends on each ingredient and how they can variate at any given time.” You will see how we think these ingredients can apply to our lives and people/friends/family and the effect the variations can have and what we can do to end up with a successful Life Dip courtesy of the Guacamole effect.

Here is how we know that each ingredient can be different:

  • Avocado can differ in ripeness and texture. No two avocados are exact copies of each other, similar to each of us and our personalities with distinctive flavors and textures. Maybe some of the stiffer ones can use some softening by mixing more (giving more attention to loosen them for a smoother mixture). If they are too soft or already too ripened (experienced or like we say more baggage) we may have to lighten up on the amount of added mayo or additional stress.
  • Cilantro can be stronger or milder at the time of acquisition. It can be a good flavor enhancer or overpower the entire dish. Isn’t this the same with people? Some people are more timid or even bullish. The secret is to smell or sample a little of the cilantro (don’t jump too fast in a relationship but test the relationship to know how much involvement you want to have)and decide how much to place in the guacamole. You can always add more but if you add too much in the beginning, it is hard to adjust later. In other words, in life, take it slow and know how much is enough or too much.
  • Lemon and Lime as both make the best guacamole but one question to ask…Why do we need both? Why wouldn’t either one alone be enough? This one is interesting to me as this comparison is very applicable in life. If we have friends who could be twins, who like the same activities/faith/philosophies, we don’t have that mixture component. Actually the lemon/lime are enhancers of the other ingredient and makes the better flavor. One without the other might be acceptable but together they complete that unique combination. In life, we should welcome the variety and partnership of different interactions.
  • Onions….how could onions play a part in life the same way they add the strong but sometimes sweet flavor in Guacamole? Life needs some spark or excitement. Bland lives as well as bland food can get boring. This brings me back to Missy’s words about how she can used the same ingredients and the finished guacamole, even though quite tasty, can be slightly different in flavor due to an onion being sweeter or stronger, and it even being smaller or larger in size can have an effect. People are different, relationships can be better or worse due to outside factors which we may or may not have control. Unless an onion is super sweet, it is hard to eat raw onions and that is life’s need for us to be able to adapt when something is not the same. ADJUST, ADAPT, OR AVOID!
  • Seasonings are important, more or less, some or none, and taste to see how it blends and what and how much needs to be changed/enhanced to make it delicious. In life, relationships and friendships should be considered to see if we have added the proper seasonings or is it time to change some of the habits or attitudes to make the relationship as attractive and desirable as before. Keep it fresh so that your seasonings of life stay tangy and appealing as you remember the first time you met.
  • Mayo, I purposely left it to the end for a good reason. This is the most important step in making fantastic guacamole. Too much of a good thing or if you want to look at it in a different light, a bad indulgence can spoil all of your prep, all of your selection of the freshest and best ingredients. Too little of a needed ingredient can make for dry and dull and a less desirable dish or as we have referred to the comparison of life. Life and relationships, friend or romantic, work or family oriented, and faith is a recipe and whether you follow all of the instructions, you have to use good judgment in applying the ingredients (people) to maximize the satisfaction of blending all that you do to give you a happy life. Consider the prep, making sure you buy ingredients that blend with your tastes as well as though who will be dining with you, take pride in the process, and give it your undivided attention. Bon Appetit!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fkeviniscooking.com%2Fsimple-guacamole-recipe%2F&psig=AOvVaw0uSLOPYuSiBB5vP1WiP5Sg&ust=1671470760730000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA4QtaYDahcKEwjQh9X314P8AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQBw

Here is my daughter Missy Haas at my last book signing. The best ingredient God gave me in the form of the sweetest and talented daughter and my friend.

(C) Copyright 2012 – 2022 Arline Miller of Sipping Cups of Inspiration and Reinvention Queen with all rights and privileges reserved. Third party material/photos are sourced if known for credit references.

WHY OR WHY NOT, FRUITCAKE?

This year and for several years, it seems the world has become fruitier than a fruitcake, with so many changes in our lives I thought I would buy a small fruitcake and I know what most of you are thinking….Why even buy fruitcake? I thought about this possible reaction. I happen to be one who loves fruitcake and I try to be flexible in all the topsy-turvy world, still holding to my personal value and being true to myself. Whether you love or hate fruitcake, try to see humor in all the nutty, fruit filled days in 2023. It’s coming soon to your neighborhood.

NOTE FROM ARLINE: Merry Christmas to All and I decided to bake an Orange Slice Cake instead of the fruit cake to hope 2021 will be a better year. I wish you and your family a safe and prosperous New Year as well.

I watched a video from Cooking with Brenda Gantt who showed us how to make this cake. For the recipe go to Cooking with Brenda Gantt on Facebook. Be sure to follow her as she is a talented cook and great spirit.

FRUITCAKE SEEMS TO FIT THIS YEAR with all of the craziness going on in our country and our world. It seems the entire human race has become fruity and early this morning this inspiration came to me. It may seem satirical but I am known to be a little brassy and sassy and even a little fruity so let’s bite right into this subject.

When we were little, the Christmas Fruit Cake was a great treat for us so I have never understood the adversity to the fruit. We would have to wait after Momma baked her fruitcake, packed it with sliced apples, and wrapped it in cloth (later became foil). It seemed like the longest days before that luscious smell in the oven to actually getting a piece. We all stood round when she finally cut into it for her approval of her baking skills. She would say, “This is a good one or “We need to let it mellow longer” which was not the news we wanted to hear. Even if she was going to let it sit as she called the time we were waiting, she would give us a sample. Keep these words in mind as I move through this thought process. I will refer to this time again.

Momma’s Fruitcake

1 lb. Candied Pineapple                                    1 cup Self-Rising Flour

1 lb. Candied Cherries                                       1 cup Plain Flour

6 cups Pecans                                                       1 t. each vanilla & lemon extract

1 cup sugar                                                            1 cup chopped dates               

1/2 lb. margarine melted (butter for me)    1 cup golden raisins

5 large eggs

1 can Angel Flake Coconut

Chop fruit and nuts in large container. Pour coconut, sugar, flavoring, and beaten eggs over fruit. Add melted butter and mix. Add flours over mixture and mix until wet. Bake in lined pan (Momma used wax paper but modern times have other options) at 275 degrees for 2 1/2 hours. 

Note: No mention of the apple slices placed on top of cake and wrapped. To be kept unopened for several days until it becomes moist.

History of the Fruitcake

A traditional Easter Simnel cake

The earliest recipe from ancient Rome lists pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash. In the Middle Ages, honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added.[citation needed]

Fruitcakes soon proliferated all over Europe. Recipes varied greatly in different countries throughout the ages, depending on the available ingredients as well as (in some instances) church regulations forbidding the use of butter, regarding the observance of fast. Pope Innocent VIII (1432–1492) finally granted the use of butter, in a written permission known as the ‘Butter Letter’ or Butterbrief in 1490, giving permission to Saxony to use milk and butter in the Stollenfruitcakes.[2]

Starting in the 16th century, sugar from the American Colonies (and the discovery that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits) created an excess of candied fruit, thus making fruitcakes more affordable and popular.[3]

Here is what I perceive has been going on in our lives and how fruity we have become.

  • We want things in life to be “sweet” even if it goes against any healthy reasoning or moral values, manners, or traditions and we are asking people to accept anything that has that “sugary” feeling.
  • We see videos over and over on the cat-dog, pig-dog, cats-horses, etc and we want to believe that all animals accept all animals can live in harmony and on the surface, it seems so beautiful but nature is nature and we have to stop and consider the safety of each species. It is not a given that all creatures get along and we have to consider the rule of nature and take precautions to prevent injury to either one.
  • Some people just don’t like fruitcake. I personally love it but have to eat a small piece now for health reasons but I have seen so many people go “Ugh! How do you eat fruitcake? I can’t stand it.”

For all of you who want more of Fruitcake Trivia, I found an interesting article that is too lengthy for me to add in this blog. Here is the link to the article

15 Fun Facts About Fruitcake

Click on the link above to take you to the article for your reading pleasure.

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This brings me to my focus of this message.

No matter how much you blend, chop, mix, and/or bake, some people are never going to like fruitcake and that my friends is society in a fruitcake. You can preach, beg, threaten, or try to convince people and if they don’t like it, they don’t like it. We need to stop saying we believe in inclusion and acceptance and then tell the others they can’t say this or they can’t say that. That is not acceptance……that is bullying! We all have preferences and some like fruitcake and others prefer pound cake or pie or neither. My point is that even though I personally like fruitcake, I can understand others not liking it. I can see their side and accept that side. I don’t however, feel I have a right to push fruitcake on them. I personally don’t like raspberries very much so I would prefer someone understanding my dislike. I wouldn’t have a problem with others eating raspberries and I think this is the true meaning of inclusion and acceptance. In our society, we could benefit from agreeing to disagreeing but never demanding that the other one has to say “I love fruitcake” when they don’t. Get my drift?

As I promised to return to the period of “curing” time for Momma’s fruitcake and it contains a wonderful lesson in life. Thank you Mom! Here is my interpretation: Mom’s cake would have been good when she took it out of the oven. As children, we would have gobbled it up immediately but Momma was wise and knew it needed that quiet time, that curing time, that sweetening time. Waiting while it matured in flavor, we were impatient and wanted what we wanted right then but the lesson we were taught was the following:

“Anything worth having or accomplishing is worth the time that it takes to happen in the right way. Success cannot be impulsively demanded but has to have the mellowing and adding that extra ingredient to complete perfection.”  (these are my words but could have been delivered by Mom during our waiting time).

I leave you with this final thought: Life is not just a pound cake, fruitcake, cookies or even pie. Life is a continual meal and has to be prepared on a daily basis.

LIVE LIFE, LOVE LIFE, AND LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST by adding ingredients and mixing it up with some fun ingredients.

(C) Copyright 2012-2022 Arline Miller with all rights and privileges reserved. Third party material is sourced to original location if known for credit reference.

DOES THE GRINCH TRAIN CATS?

TODAY THE WORDS are DOES THE GRINCH TRAIN CATS? With all of the busy time of the season starting to fasten its pace on all of us who celebrate Christmas, I find it a great escape to think of something light and comical to relieve some stress. On Facebook someone posted a video of cats attacking Christmas trees and all sorts of things and it was hilarious. It reminded me of my daughter’s cat Winston, or Winnie as we “affectionately” called this black furry creature who was too smart for his own good. Winnie lived a long life through no help from him; he seemed to be a self destructive as he was destructive. 

I thought I would share a little thought for all of you who read the story of  How The Grinch stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. We remember how he loved to interrupt the normal routine…..Well, Winston loved the same thing and this leads me to my thought….I think The Grinch trained Winnie as well as other cats. They pounce, they sneak, they prowl, they take things, and they love to aggravate.

Yep, I think I may be on to something. Cats must be trained to be on high alert; trained to follow lights or objects; trained to confuse the “enemy” by acting all innocent while planning their next attack; trained to walk on their hind legs to get into a better offensive position; and for sure, they are trained to take out any dog who fails to obey them and be at their beck and call.

When my daughter was on college breaks, she loved to go to concerts with her friends therefore leaving her Mother at the mercy of Sir Winston, the cat. We got along fine for most of the time as I bribe pretty fair with the treats and Winnie was more than happy to push the treat can off the coffee table at the appropriate time (like an alarm clock) when he felt he needed a treat. I obliged to keep peace. We had to have a meeting of the cat and human mind when he thought he could liven up the peacefulness by jumping on my kitchen counter…..And then it began……apparently Winnie had been trained in aerobatics and the chase was on! The Grinch failed to warn Winnie of the water pistol known to stop him in his tracks!!! 

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I am sure the Grinch taught Winnie to seek revenge and one day I came in and couldn’t find that cat of mystery anywhere in my apartment. I sought him everywhere calling out his name and even stooping to shaking the treat can which could bring him from the far corners of the world but not this day. This day was the day Winnie decided to make my heart race from the thought he had escaped and what would I tell my daughter, Missy, if I couldn’t find him. I passed the Christmas tree numerous times, double digit visits right by it and heard nothing. I picked up my car keys after seeing the card the pest control guy had left…..Oh no, the panic was setting in. I was panicking and then I spotted two eyes on a high branch of my Christmas tree and there behind those eyes was that black cat hiding on that branch and I think he was laughing! He had been there all of the time taking out his revenge on me. His training had paid off; he had stolen my Christmas spirit as I was thinking acts of revenge myself and then I stopped……then I prayed…..and I think Winnie prayed with me for safety from my glowing eyes.

Now for the deeper thought…..Sometimes in life, it can be very serious, worrisome, scary, terrifying at times. Those are the times to stop and pray for help. It is not a shame to recognize our weaknesses and times we need to ask for help. We need to pray for thanks as I am sure, trained or not, both Winnie and I prayed that day for thanks of survival for both of us. Be lighthearted in life; we are just human and we can laugh at ourselves when necessary. Winston left us after using up all his nine lives and borrowing a couple of lives from other cats for sure, but he gave us good times too. One day I will write a book on Winston, the cat the Grinch trained. 

The Author’s thought for Cat Lovers Everywhere. It takes a special person to love a cat. For all of my friends who are the ambassadors for the feline fur balls, I love everyone’s else’s cat but I must be a dog lover since I don’t own any but I have to say I enjoyed the good times with Winston.

(C) Copyright 2012-2022 of Arline Miller’s writings and photos for Sipping Cups of Inspiration and Reinvention Queen. All other rights and permissions are reserved courtesy of HowThe Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. Youtube video with original rights preserved.

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