Wednesday, November 12, 2014

F is for Fudge, Flylady and Friends - A to Z Meme

Fudge, Flylady and Friends

Mom is taking over the column this week. I do not like fudge, don’t know who Flylady is and my only friends are the ones that haven’t invaded my territory, like Toby the monkey, Sissy and Jakearoo, who are dogs; Spook and Janelle, who are cats, along with my Minnesota cousins, the Galoot, Tasha and Harley (in his pink non-motorized power basket). I think she came up with this column to get back at me for trying to exfoliate her forehead at four in the morning with my tongue. You try to give your people love and that's the
thanks you get!

All right, Mom, your turn!

Now that Lily has handily high-jacked my introduction, you may ask what fudge, FlyLady and friends have to do with each other?

My answer: The holidays!

Fudge:
One of my favorite and easiest recipes for a treat during the holidays—Thanksgiving through St. Valentine’s Day, is fudge made with sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and vanilla. The original recipe is delicious on its own, but variations are only limited by your imagination! You can add chopped nuts, candied cherries, mint flavoring and crushed peppermint, the list goes on . . . While we sometimes think that easy recipes are cheating, there are times when we need to make a tasty treat quickly. This recipe fills that need.

You can find the recipe here.



While it would be hard to make low carb fudge, there is a healthier homemade Paleo dark chocolate made with raw cacao, honey and coconut oil at Delighted Momma's web site. Paleo chocolate has to be refrigerated, but it has a deliciously different taste.

FlyLady:

Marla Cilley, aka the FlyLady, has been an inspiration to me. While I don’t always follow all of her methods, she has helped set me back on the right track several times.

Flylady.net provides emails you can sign up for, which help you develop habits to clean and organize your home, one step at a time. You start by cleaning your kitchen sink! If you’re feeling the stress of upcoming holidays encroaching upon your life, check out some of FlyLady’s strategies for almost painlessly setting goals, getting back on track and preparing for the holidays ahead of time. She not only has a shop, with helpful books and products offered, but some free online resources too, such
as a downloadable holiday planning guide.

Friends:

Thanksgiving was instituted, so that we would take a day to remember how God has provided for us. Christmas is a day when we remember the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, sent to save us from our sins. These are days in which we rejoice and what better way to enjoy these times than with family and friends?


I find it so easy to run and do all the things I think are important at the moment, without purposely planning quality time with friends and family. They often get the exhausted, crabby Kathy, who has pasted a smile on her face after staying up way too late, fueled by caffeine and sugar. I’m praying that I can do things differently this year and plan more time of reflection on what God has done for me. it would also be nice to have time to truly relax with family and friends. How about you? Since we’ll have our homes ready for visitors due to Flylady’s help, and some easy fudge made, perhaps we’ll find time to invite our friends over to enjoy this precious time!

Ideas for fun things to do with friends over the holidays:

Have a Christmas cookie exchange with a few other families.


Have a Thanksgiving/Christmas book exchange. Share some of your old favorites and gain new ones.

Have another family over for coffee and dessert (even store bought dessert).

Even easier—meet friends for pumpkin spice lattes or peppermint mochas at your local mom and pop café.

Babysit each other’s children during Christmas shopping. End the day with cookies and hot chocolate together.

These are just a few ideas. What about you—what do you like to do with family and friends during the holidays? Do you have any ideas for holiday organization? Or easy recipes to recommend? 

We love your comments!




8 comments:

  1. What do we do around the holidays? Try not to kill each other. Kidding. Sorta. I love decorating the house and baking to fill it with delicious aromas like apple cake.

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    1. I do like to bake Christmas cookies, for sure, J'nell. Apple cake sounds yummy!

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  2. I was talking about FlyLady not 3 minutes ago!

    Yes on fudge, always, thank you. :) FlyLady, helped me get the tape in my head to stop having my mother's voice and to have FlyLady's in there instead. And even if my house is not in CHAOS, I leave it as my sanctuary over the holidays if and when possible. I need the serenity to recharge. :) I'll gladly come over to your house though ;) Especially if you've just made fudge.

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    1. FlyLady is great for looking at things differently, isn't she? Her
      website/books are great for taming the perfectionistic monster
      lurking within! :) There's still some fudge left, but if you don't
      get to my house soon, which is in CHAOS at the moment, I
      will have to freeze the rest of it, so I don't eat all of it, D.L.!

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  3. Fudge? I said that a lot when I was staining my deck! Christmas is about the only time of the year both of my sons & their families are together with us. This year is still up in the air, but we're hopeful. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Tom. We are looking
      forward to having one of our kids home this Christmas and I
      am ecstatic about that! It is a special time.

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  4. What is Christmas without baking? My sons' favorite is called Gift of the Magi Bread. I describe it as "not a fruitcake". It has everything in it, nuts, chocolate, coconut, cherries, oranges, dates. (But no candied citrus peel) Yummy.

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    1. That does sound yummy, Lisa! Don't think I've ever heard of it.
      Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment.

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