It just wouldn't be Christmas without these...

There's nothing healthy about them. But they have been a family favorite as long as I can remember, and I will make them every December until the day I die.

HELLO DOLLY SQUARES

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup coconut

1 cup pecans, chopped

1 can Eagle brand milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter; combine with graham cracker crumbs and pat down to form crust. Layer chocolate chips, coconut and pecans over crust; pour Eagle brand milk over evenly. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Friday Show & Tell

Lindy Chaffin Start - Decatur, GA

Girls live here!

You reckon? Think pink! I hear it's the new "Red" this Christmas.

*****

Pam Asberry * Dacula, GA

Grand Cayman Island


To heck with the North Pole. If I were Santa, I would move my workshop to the Caribbean.

* * *

Have a great week-end; we'll be back on Monday with our favorite holiday party recipes!

Christmas on a Peppermint Striped Shoestring

Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.
~Oren Arnold

I like the way you think, Oren. But you know what? My friends and family are going to be looking for something wrapped up under the Christmas tree.

And I am on a budget. I mean, seriously. Those days of reckless spending and paying off the Christmas bills around the fourth of July are over. If there isn't cash to pay for it, I'm not buying it. And there is powerful little cash left over after expenses. So what is a gal who loves absolutely everything about Christmas supposed to do?

I recommend handmade gifts. Whether you cook or bake, sew or craft, work with wood or provide useful services, you can come up with something to satisfy just about everyone on your list. If you're feeling short on inspiration, click HERE for some great ideas. I'm gonna try my hand at those chocolate spoons this week!

And if you're short on time, I would like to suggest that you visit Etsy.com and support small local craftsmen. To get started, I invite you to browse my selection of handmade jewelry at The Wishing Box (click HERE). And if you need a few stocking stuffers, please consider buying a handful of beaded bracelets to support Asberry School of Music's efforts to help Beading To Beat Autism raise $300 million to build an autism research and treatment center in Louisville, Kentucky.

Shiny!

Bracelets come packaged in a ziplock baggie containing a color insert describing the project.

The suggested donation is only $3 per bracelet. 6", 6 1/2" 7", and 8" lengths available; we will do our best to honor your color preferences or, better yet, let us choose for you! These make great party favors, stocking stuffers, and holiday gifts for teens and teachers. Checks should be made payable to Beading To Beat Autism; all proceeds will go directly to the organization. Please leave a comment if you would like to place an order and I will get back to you with the details. Thank you in advance for your support!

What are your favorite low cost Christmas gift ideas?

Author: Pam Asberry
Website: http://pamasberry.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/pamasberryfanpage
Twitter: http://twitter.com/pamasberry

Friday Show and Tell

Pam Asberry * Dacula, GA

Florida, here I come!

All my bags are packed; I'm ready to go. As soon as the school bell rings this afternoon, I will pick up my 15 year old son and we will make a beeline for Tampa, Florida where we have a reservation for one night in a hotel. Then tomorrow we will take a shuttle to the cruise port where we will board the Carnival Inspiration for a five-day cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, returning Thanksgiving Day. It won't be a traditional holiday, to be sure, but I am looking forward to a break in my routine, fun in the sun, gourmet meals every night, and doing the electric slide while the steel drum band plays. 

* * * * *

Lindy Chaffin Start * Decatur, GA

Widow-maker...

You don't think about how fragile life is until you pass by something this deadly. Can you imagine walking your dog and having this impale you instead of the ground? I guess that's why they call them widow-makers. 

My Family's Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving 2010
l-r: Casey, Nathan, Eric & SeDonna

This week's blog topic is Thanksgiving recipes made healthy. But I cannot tell a lie.

I don't do Thanksgiving healthy. Every year, I make Thanksgiving dinner the way I always have, fat and calories be damned. Then everyone at my table eats himself or herself into a stupor and enjoys every delicious minute. I know I do. It's just one day out of 365. Geez.

I usually do both ham and turkey with bread dressing like my mom's, cranberry sauce, homemade rolls and pumpkin pie, with green beans and corn as a nod to balance. My brother and his wife usually join my two sons and me for dinner, and each of them has another favorite side dish/dessert to go along. Here the recipes.

* * *

CASEY'S BROCCOLI SALAD
SALAD:
1 bunch broccoli, chopped small
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup red onion, chopped small
DRESSING:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

Combine salad ingredients in a bowl, then stir together dressing ingredients and pour over, stirring to combine. This is good topped with crumbled bacon, but I serve that on the side since Casey is a vegetarian.

* * *

NATHAN'S CHEESY POTATOES
1 bag frozen hash browns
1/2 stick butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Arrange hash browns in a greased 13 X 9 inch baking pan. Combine remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir over low heat until melted. Pour over hash browns. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.

* * *

SEDONNA'S SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
3 cups mashed, cooked sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flaked coconut
1/ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup margarine, melted
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, milk, 1/3 cup margarine, vanilla and eggs; set aside. Thoroughly combine coconut, brown sugar, flour, 1/3 cup margarine and pecans in another bowl. Spoon 1/2 sweet potato mixture into a lightly greased 8-inch square pan; sprinkle with half the coconut-pecan topping. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

* * *

ERIC'S CHOCOLATE CHIP PECAN PIE
3 large eggs

1 1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup pecans, halves or pieces

Beat eggs slightly with fork. Stir in syrup, sugar and vanilla until blended. Add chocolate pieces and pecans. Mix well. Pour into unbaked pie shell (I use Pillsbury!) and bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

And there you have it: instructions for a feast fit for royalty. Regardless of which way you go - healthy or not so much - I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Author: Pam Asberry
Website: http://pamasberry.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/pamasberryfanpage
Twitter: http://twitter.com/pamasberry

Friday Show and Tell

Pam Asberry * Dacula, GA

The view from my bedroom window.

 I'm going to miss those leaves when they're gone.

* * * * *

Lindy Chaffin Start * Decatur, GA

My neighbor's treasured Japanese Maple

It's funny how Pam and I think alike most Fridays. Every year this tree puts on a brilliant display of crimson and gold. It's my signal for the fall of my life to begin. Time for rest and rejuvenation, not only for Mother Nature, but for me as well. I'll miss the leaves, but when the first snow falls, I'll have a much better view of the field below. Happy Fall Y'all!

Pretty Awesome New Stuff – Bad and Good

My friend, Pam Asberry is all too inspiring and her post on Monday about awesome new things she has tried brought me to shameful tears. You see, this year hasn’t been about trying new things for me; it has been more about shedding the old:

• Cleaning out closets
• Hosting a yard sale
• Taking a break from everything I aspire to be to search for a job
• Letting go of a relationship I thought was forever

And what awesome new thing did I get? A little piece of paper, signed by a judge, that states I am once again…single.

But wait! I don’t want to weigh you down with a bunch of poor, pitiful me sob story stuff. If you’ve read anything I’ve ever written you know that’s not at all what I’m about. Let’s take another look at the bullet points above:

• Yes, I cleaned out my closets. I discovered half of my clothes were either too small or too big so guess what I did. I bought new ones. One of my favorite new outfits I found at Macy’s. Hot, right?

• Okay, so what. I hosted a yard sale. Big deal! I made enough money to re-do my little girl’s room. It’s very pretty and purple now. She no longer resides in a guest room disguised as a kid’s room. She now has her very own space complete with a newly painted night stand and stars and “jewels” on the walls.

Red's New Room

• Yeah, yeah. This is where it gets hard. I took a break from everything I aspire to be to look for a job. Listen, it only sounds bad. My passions (writing, cooking, painting) got put on the back burner one more time in my life but in their place I got to take classes on InDesign and Illustrator and learned some cool new tricks of a new awesome trade. I’ve been doing freelance graphic design ever since. So there is still the ginormous void of an actual job but I know its coming. Living in faith, I know, like I know, like I know. So, now is the time for me to reconnect with my passions while I still have some free time and let God take care of the rest.

• Letting go of that relationship was probably the most devastating, but in the process I connected with old friends and new, especially the girls, like Karen, Zoe, Pam, Megan, Marjorie and a list of others who must forgive me as I only have so much space in one blog post, BUT you know who you are and you know I love each of you so much it hurts.  And lest we not forget the boys like Mark, Bryan and Michael who have been like little beacons of hope for me that good, honest men do still exist.

You see, my pretty awesome new things are the things I had been lacking all along. The gumption to get rid of the old and start looking for the new. The knowledge that space is very personal. The ability to learn and grow. And, the courage to admit when something just wasn’t working.  

Yes, in 2011, I shed the old but look at all the awesome new things, and people, I discovered in the process.

Life in Penned Perspective by Lindy Chaffin Start

www.unstoppablestart.com

Seven New Favorite Things

I gave myself an unusual birthday present this year.

I started a new blog back in August, on my fifty-second birthday. Inspired by Julie Powell of Julie and Julia and Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project, I vowed to try something new every day for a year and blog about it. Over the course of the eighty-four days that have passed since then, I have had some wonderful experiences that I undoubtedly wouldn't have had if not for my resolution. I have experimented with new recipes, visited unfamiliar places, even learned a thing or two. Some have become a part of my daily life. Since my budget is tight, most are low-cost or no-cost. Here are a few of my favorites.

1. Godiva Dark Chocolate.

2. Pillsbury Mocha Fudge Brownies.

3. Once Upon A Time.

4. 100 Push-Ups/200 Sit-Ups.

5. Pumpkin Spice K-Cups.

6. PaperBack Swap.

7. Pinterest.

Click on the pink links to find out more. Then I hope you will go back and visit my blog Between Birthdays often!

What are one of your favorite new things?

Author: Pam Asberry
Website: http://pamasberry.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/pamasberryfanpage
Twitter: http://twitter.com/pamasberry

The Classics Do It For Me

Make me giggle to no end, that is. Like this one...

Lucille Ball is an all time favorite of mine, well her and my mother and my aunt when they get started laughing at something and just can't stop.

Cheers to the girls today!

Bet You Can't Watch This Without Laughing

Me? I have to laugh to keep from crying.

Enjoy!

Author: Pam Asberry
Website: http://pamasberry.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/pamasberryfanpage
Twitter: http://twitter.com/pamasberry

Halloween Show and Tell...

Lindy Chaffin Start - Decatur, GA

Red as Jesse from Toy Story - 2010

The always fabulous Headless Horseman (here he looks ghostly)

Screamer!

There are some terrific pumpkin carvers out there, but Screamer was by far my favorite jack-o-lantern last year. Something about him "screamed" CREATIVE!!!

Happy Halloween, Y'all!

* * * * *

Pam Asberry * Dacula, GA

Nathan, October, 2005

I know it's a cliche, but they really do grow up too fast.
I am 5" 2", so when this picture was taken, I towered over my little guy.
My, what a difference six years makes!
My advice? Treasure every chaotic moment with your precious little trick-or-treaters this year.
Your big ones, too.

Ghosts of Halloweens Past and Writers LiPP Costume Contest!

Of course I was a big fan of Halloween when I was growing up. What kid in her right mind wouldn't love an excuse to put on a crazy costume and go door-to-door begging candy from the neighbors? My brothers I used to come home with our pillowcases stuffed full of treats. But whereas all their good stuff (that is, the chocolate) was gone within days, I rationed my treats out and make them last nearly until Christmas. I've always been good that way. So why is it that there's always more month than money?

But I digress. I don't have any pictures of myself in costume back in the day, but my all-time favorite was Casper the Friendly Ghost. I remember sweating behind the mask, but I dug that shiny white robe.

By the time I got to high school, I determined I was too old to go trick-or-treating (my, how things have changed!) and I don't remember Halloween being fun again until I had kids of my own. I used to stay up until the wee hours sewing costumes for them

Josh and Casey

doing seasonal crafts with them

Nathan

and taking them to pumpkin patches and corn mazes.

Nathan and Casey

 I firmly believe that these activities helped them grow in wisdom.

Nathan

 Even Karma gets in on the action sometimes.

Batdog

And now for the moment you have been waiting for.

Yep, it's really me. October, 2006.

Now, it's YOUR turn! Please send a picture of yourself dressed in your Halloween finest for a chance to be featured on Friday Show & Tell AND win fabulous prizes, including an exclusive Writers Li.P.P. t-shirt. Send your entry to writerslipp@gmail.com. May the best costume win!

Author: Pam Asberry
Website: http://pamasberry.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/pamasberryfanpage
Twitter: http://twitter.com/pamasberry

Friday Show and Tell

Pam Asberry * Dacula, GA

Do you ever feel this way?

The coffee mug says it all.

*****

Lindy Chaffin Start * Decatur, GA

Emerge Unstoppable!

After ten months of struggling through the pain of divorce, I still did...
EMERGE UNSTOPPABLE in 2011!

Where Do You Draw The Line?

In Lindy Chaffin Start's blog post Monday, she detailed conversations that decisively ended relationships. I was impressed. Me? I seem more like our reader Denise, who commented:

Oh, you are so not alone. I always see the good and write the bad off to just a bad moment. I will forgive just about anything.


Here are some examples from the past.

Me: "I am thinking about going to University of Colorado and getting my Ph.D."
Serious Boyfriend: "Go for it. But I can't promise I will be waiting around for you when you are finished."
Stunned silence. Eventually, I give up my dream of getting a Ph.D. and marry the guy.


Me: "So what's this big secret you want to tell me?"
Friend: "I am having an affair with John Doe."
Stunned silence. John Doe is married and all of our mutual friends know it. I don't approve, but I keep her secret, lying for her when friends ask about their relationship. 


Me: "What just happened?"
New Boyfriend: "You're just not as slim and slender as I originally thought."
Stunned silence. I am 5' 2"; at the time, I weighed 105 pounds. My confidence is shattered, but we talk it through and I end up in a four-year relationship with the guy.


Denise went on to say:

I do have a line or two and am drawing more. There's just so much a girl can put up with, right?

I like to think my learning curve is also improving. I am learning to speak up for myself. I divorced the husband. I broke ties with the friend. I ended the four-year relationship. And here are some examples from more recent history.

Me (on a third date): "So tell me more about your situation with your ex."
New Boyfriend: "Well, she isn't exactly my ex. We aren't exactly separated. And she doesn't exactly know I am seeing other people."
Great balls of fire! I don't date married men! Please take me home!


Me: "That's a great idea. I would love to spend Valentine's Day in the mountains with you."
Boyfriend of Six Months: "I'm going to have to cancel our weekend reservation. My mom is expecting me at her house for Sunday night dinner."
I hope your mom will also keep you warm at night! Bye-bye!


I don't know why it's taken me a lifetime to figure this all out. But the good news is that am no longer willing to spend five minutes with a man who diminishes me in anyway or puts me at the bottom of his priority list. Nor am I willing to keep dirty secrets for a friend or put up with any kind of abuse from anyone--whether it's directed at me, at a minority group, or anyone else. At this stage of the game, it's about being true to myself and treating others the way I want to be treated.

If that isn't true love, I don't know what is.


Where do YOU draw the line?

Author: Pam Asberry
Website: http://pamasberry.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/pamasberryfanpage
Twitter: http://twitter.com/pamasberry

The Exorcism Factor: Things I Heard and Swore I Would Never Repeat

"See ya!"

5 FINGERS© Nithi Chungyam | Dreamstime.com

It’s funny how we perceive others.  When it's someone we care about it's hard to see that they may be flawed to the point that we need to cut ties. This post means a great deal to me because I am essentially outing people I have known without revealing their identities. For these purposes, let’s call it an exorcism. This is my way of writing the note and lighting it on fire so that I can finally let these folks go. All of these people I have known well, shared intimate conversations with, and completely disconnected from once these statements were uttered. You ready?

Me: “So, why the name change?” 

Friend: “There’s a warrant out for my arrest.”
Me: “For?”
Friend: “My ex is after me for back child support.”
Refrain from slapping. See ya!

Me: “Girl, you look great! How did you lose so much weight?”
Friend: “Well, did I ever tell you that cocaine is my drug of choice.”
Head tilt. Huh? See ya!

Me: “I really appreciate your help this weekend. Is there anything I can do to repay you?”
Friend: “Didn’t you tell me once that the doc had given you Xanex for your panic attacks?”
Me: “Yeah. Why?”
Friend: “I’ll buy them from you.”
Are you kidding me? See ya!

Me: “You said that you wanted to have your children raised in church. What happened?”

Friend: “I just said that to try to get in your pants.”
Whole host of expletives resound in brain.  See ya!

Sadly, I am naïve enough not to pick up on the warning signs like most. Believing in people is what I do. Seeing the good, refusing to admit the bad until it smacks me across the face – WHACK! Gratefully, I am well aware of when to call a friendship quits.

What about you? Is there something you’ve heard from a friend that has ended a relationship? Something you swore you would never repeat?

Pam is up next. Until Friday Show and Tell I bid you a good week.

Friday Show and Tell

Lindy - Decatur, GA

The neighbor's mailbox-eating tree...

9-1-1 Operator: "9-1-1. What's your emergency?"

Neighbor: "OMG! Send and ambulance!"

9-1-1 Operator: "Sir, what happened?"

Neighbor: "My tree ate my mailbox!"

* click *

* * * * *

Pam - Dacula, GA

I dream of living someplace warm enough to wear tank tops, flippy skirts and flip-flops year round,
because as soon as the temperature dips below 60 degrees, I reach for my fuzzy socks.
This is probably as close as I'm going to get to flip-flops for a while.

Fall Recipes: Black Bean Soup

My blog sister Lindy believes that perfection can be found in pork tenderloin. That may be true for you carnivores out there but, as far as I'm concerned, perfection can be found in a simple pot of homemade soup, like this recipe for black bean soup, adapted from my 1981 edition of Laurel's Kitchen. Yes, I have been dabbling with vegetarianism for a long, long time.

BLACK BEAN SOUP

1 1/2 cups black beans
1 1/2 quarts water
2 heaping tablespoons VegeBase
(or substitute 1 1/2 quarts vegetable broth for the water and VegeBase)
2 tablespoons oil
1 carrot
1 onion
1 potato
2 stalks celery
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Pinch garlic powder

Wash the beans, place them in a pot along with the water and VegeBase (or vegetable broth) and 1 tablespoon oil. Cover tightly, bring to a boil, and simmer for 2 1/2 hours or so, until the beans are very tender.

Chop the onion and saute in the remaining oil until soft. Chop the celery, including the leaves; dice the potato and carrot; add celery, potato and carrot to onion and cook over medium heat for several minutes, stirring all the while.

Add the vegetables to the beans, along with the seasonings, in the last hour of their cooking. Bring the soup to a boil and lower the heat to simmer until the beans and vegetables are done.

Makes about 9 cups. Great served in a bowl topped with hot sauce and a dollop of sour cream and a side of cornbread, or leftover on a bed of rice and topped with salsa and grated cheddar cheese.

Click the links below for some of my other favorite fall recipes. Enjoy!

Spicy Pumpkin Muffins
Snickerdoodles
Apple Streusel Pie
German Chocolate Pie

Author: Pam Asberry
Website: http://pamasberry.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/pamasberryfanpage
Twitter: http://twitter.com/pamasberry

Friday Show & Tell

Pam Asberry * Dacula, GA

This little guy shows up outside my kitchen window every single night.

I know he is looking for bugs but I like to think he is just peeking in to say hi.

Regardless, I admire his steadfastness and tenacity.

* * * * *

Lindy Chaffin Start * Decatur, GA

Emerging.

A new perspective on time management

After spending the summer eating frogs, being a total slave to a stack of arduous to-do lists, I am trying a new approach, which seems to be working for the always brilliant Danielle LaPorte. I recommend that you click HERE and read every word of this recent blog post of hers. Here is my favorite part.

Time management systems are tricky beasts. They may help us be more productive, but not necessarily less stressed, or more fulfilled, or more in touch with our true nature. We may look freer with our priorities all tidy, but too often, time remains the master and we get "given" time for obeying the system.


I'd rather be fulfilled than obedient. And it turns out that when I'm fulfilled, I'm...fulfilled--whether I'm productive or not. And that gives me plenty of energy to be more focused on what matters most, which makes me truly productive.


My way isn't working. My daily to-do list is physically impossible to achieve, so I wake up every morning stressed and anxious, knowing that I am going to fail before I even get started. Is this any way to go through life? Obviously, the answer is no.


I love Danielle's suggestions for putting time management in its place. I already "batch and chunk," so that one is a no-brainer. I am super excited about trying some of the others. Like NOT keeping a detailed  to-do list. Asking myself every morning what it is I really feel like doing. And, arguably most important for me, focusing on the one or two vocational pursuits that really excite me.


Here is my breaking news: I am finally ready to admit that I cannot do it all: teach piano lessons to 40 students each week--a full-time job--while simultaneously building both a handcrafted jewelry business and a writing career AND taking care of my family. Something has got to give. And over a tear-filled breakfast a couple of weeks ago, my friend Denise helped me realize what that needs to be.

Her question went something like this: "If you designed a piece of jewelry that became so popular that making jewelry could be your sole means of support--if it went viral and you could no longer meet the demand for it by yourself and you got to run a factory to manufacture it--would you be happy doing nothing but that?"

I didn't even hesitate. The answer was easy. "No."

Music and writing are my passions. I enjoy making jewelry and hoped that my Etsy store would provide me with some extra income during this slump in the economy and buy me time to hone my skills as a writer, but the truth is that every penny I earn selling jewelry goes right back into supplies to make more jewelry. And sales haven't been great the past few weeks. I expect that will change as the holidays approach, so it makes sense to stay in business through the first of the year, but after that I plan to liquidate my remaining stock. I still enjoy making jewelry; I will probably keep my store open with a handful of select signature and seasonal items, and do special orders upon request. But I will keep my focus where it needs to be. On my personal development as a musician. On teaching my students every week. On honing my skills as a writer, both of fiction and nonfiction.

The relief I have felt as a result of this decision tells me that it is a step in the right direction. Wish me luck.

Are you a slave to your to-do list? Are you fully engaged in the one or two pursuits that bring you sheer delight? Would you be happy doing nothing but what you are doing for the rest of your life? If you don't like your answers to these questions, what are you going to do about it?

Author: Pam Asberry
Website: http://pamasberry.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/pamasberryfanpage
Twitter: http://twitter.com/pamasberry

Friday Show & Tell

Pam Asberry

Dacula, GA

Karen White and Eloisa James
at The Chocolate Bar in Decatur, Georgia

Thursday I got to hear two amazing romance writers talk about their journeys and their friendship.

If you haven't read their work, go straight to your nearest local book store and treat yourself.