Traditional church music

 I know that handbells are not for everyone and that's fine.  But they have been a passion of mine since I was probably 2 years old.  Back in those days at church, this would have been around '76/77, the handbell choir was made up of housewives and stay at home moms so they met during the day on a weekday.  Mom would take me along and sit me in a chair while they rehearsed.  I was completely enthralled with them and they held my attention, that's for sure.  My parents would let me stay in "big church" whenever they played and after they were done, I would get taken to the children's room.  Those were good times and good memories.  

I have had several conversations over the past month with friends about church and music.  Music is extremely important to my worship experience.  And for me, that means traditional music.  I am not a big fan of contemporary Christian music.  If you like it, that's great.  It's simply just not for me.  I want traditional hymns and anthems, organ music, piano music, instrumental and yes....handbells.  One of the reasons I need that kind of worship environment is because music is very spiritual for me.  It is one of the few ways I feel like I can give back to God.  I have a talent for it...although not singing talent but oh well.  And participating in church music is a way for me to express my feelings about the whole thing.

I miss that and will hopefully find it again one day.  In the meantime, I will participate online by watching services and enjoying the music.  That is all. 

Artichoke Dip

 I love a good artichoke dip.  Mom made it several times but I don't know what happened to her recipe.  A resident of mine gave me this recipe earlier this year and I have probably made it 6 times so far.  It's fairly easy to prepare and just so delicious!  Hope you enjoy!

Artichoke Dip

2 cans of artichoke hearts (6-8 count each)*

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded cheddar

Sprinkle of garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350.  Drain and chop the artichoke hearts - can be a rough chop or fine, whatever your preference.  Mix all ingredients together.  Pour into your casserole dish (8x8 square works great or a small round as well).  Bake for 20 minutes.  Serve with crackers or toast rounds.  

Enjoy!

*You will probably have about half a can of artichoke hearts leftover.  They are great on a salad or by themselves as a snack.  

My next step in Gerontology

 I am at a crossroads with my education right now.  I am loving the classes and am very proud of how well I have done.  But admittedly, they go by very quickly and at times I feel like we have to skim over important topics that more time should be devoted to.  That is the nature of the beast however when you are taking online classes that only last 7 weeks.  Still, I do feel like I have learned a lot of the past year and a half.  Most of it has been absorbed and is sitting in the back of my brain ready to be used some day.

My problem is my upcoming capstone project.  In a perfect world, I would do my capstone this coming summer and be done with my courses by the summer's end.  But this is far from a perfect world.  I have to have my capstone in place by the end of April, I think.  Maybe it's March.  I need to go back and look at that.  I have three different kinds of projects I can do:  research, internship or service learning.  I do not want to do research.  It's just not my thing and it involves a lot of red tape with multiple university departments.  Internship would be fun but I would have to take a leave of absence from work for 7 weeks and not exactly sure what I would live on if I did that.  Service learning I could do at work, but it has to be something I'm not already involved in.  That's doable if I can figure it out.

My problem is coming from having the time to find the capstone.  I work full time and then come home and do homework every night.  So far this year, I have not even had time to look at my capstone handbook since I first read it.  There's just too much to do.  And then you add trying to run a household and have some kind of life on top of that work and there's just not been a chance to look.  And I don't want to settle for something less just so that I can have a capstone project in place.  It's too important.

The capstone will be the only time in this degree that I will get real-time, hands-on experience with gerontology.  I don't want to waste this opportunity.  When I was an undergraduate, I settled for my internship experience because I wanted one that worked with elderly people. I enjoyed it but did not learn anything practical.  I spent 2 semesters coaching a  wii bowling league.  That was it.  Fun but not beneficial to my career.  I do not want that to happen this time.  So, if I wait until summer of '25 to do my capstone, I will have a good long time to find exactly what I want.  I know that puts me back a year, but this is too important to me going forward.  I want to be able to apply for jobs with some kind of gerontological skill in place.  I don't get that a lot at work because I am basically a secretary.  That's fine and I love what I do, it's just the facts.  

I am not giving up the idea of doing my capstone this coming summer.  I have just come to the decision that what I want out of this experience is more important that rushing it.  We will see what I can come up with in the next few weeks.  I'll update you.

That is all.  

Christmas is finally put away

 

Well, it has taken me nearly 6 weeks, but Christmas is finally all packed away.  I had not planned on it taking so long, but after getting sick in January right about the same time that school got underway, I just got behind.  Like I have said before, I was not in any hurry.  I had no plans on entertaining or having company during this time, so what not get a little done at a time.

These past two weekends though were the big haul for me.  Once I finally got the toy tree down, everything else seemed to fall into place quite easily.  I will miss the glow of the Christmas tree in the den.  It was not only comforting but also provided really good like for a room that is otherwise fairly dark LOL  Oh well.  Not enough of a reason to keep it up all year.  Though I did consider that!

I did take this opportunity to do an inventory of my Christmas decorations.  It started out as more of an organizing project.  My goal was to put like things in the same container as I listed them all.  That worked until about halfway through the process and then I was like just get it into a box.  But I have made a good start on getting the decorations more organized and can build upon that next year.  However, I did continue my inventory process and now at least I know where everything is in what box.  I didn't list the ornaments because that would have taken me until May.  It's the little things here, people!

So, everything is out in the garage now....organizing that space is also on the list this year LOL  So, until the next holiday season, it will all stayed tucked away for now.  I'm glad it's done and now I can go through other boxes and put some new fun things out!  

That is all. 

One Drawer At A Time

 Last year, I started the process of going through the house one "drawer" at a time.  The purpose of this exercise is to pare down things that I don't use or need and make room for other things that I will use and do need.  While it's not something I do every day, I do try to get several sessions a week in. Of course, with work and school that doesn't happen and if I remember to do it once a week I'm doing pretty good.  But, I must say that I have enjoyed doing this and have actually consolidated things, gotten rid of things, thrown things out, etc.  It's been very beneficial.  And there is nothing like opening a drawer and seeing it organized, knowing exactly what is in there.  That's making things much easier to find.  

When I say drawer, it isn't always drawers which is why I put it in quotations in the first sentence.  Cabinets and surfaces are also included.  I am almost through with the kitchen.  The surfaces still need some work because I'm still dealing with Christmas decor being out, but that's a whole different blog.  This is a fun way for me to do things because I can put on some music and just relax, settle in and get it done.  And by doing one drawer at a time, I am not overwhelmed trying to overhaul an entire room.  I know myself and if I tried to do it that way, nothing would get accomplished.  It really has been fun to see what all is in each drawer and find a better home for it if needed.  I've come across things I'd forgotten I had that I use now.  Like going through the knife drawer, I rediscovered a bread knife and a serrated knife which I have used both a lot since finding them.  

It's a good process for me.  I look forward to seeing how many more "drawers" I get through this month.  I'll keep you posted!

Quote of the week

 

It took a long time but I am not afraid to ask for help when I need it.  And it's an amazing feeling! Life shouldn't be a journey alone and it's nice to have people to depend on when needed. 

Prayer for Guidance and Wisdom in Friendships and Relationships

 I am blessed with many wonderful friends in my life.  And I am lucky to have had some extremely beautiful relationships that I am grateful for.  But as I move forward in life, it's time to expand my circles and be open to new people.  A little guidance never hurts!