We CAN Stop

At the risk of giving a certain young lady more unnecessary publicity, as a mom it's hard not to comment on her recent escapades and wonder what happened to a girl who seemed to have a promising career as a singer.  (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, Google the word "twerking".)  I think much of the answer can be found in the lyrics of her song:

It's our party we can do what we want

It's our party we can say what we want 

It's our party we can love who we want 

We can kiss who we want

There are no boundaries - no restrictions - no respect.  Maybe I sound like a nagging mother, but she sounds like a petulant child in her own version of "Home Alone." She seems bent on rejecting anything remotely related to restraint:

This is our house 

This is our rules 

And we can't stop

And we won't stop 

We run things, things don't run we 

We don't take nothing from nobody.

I really don't care if she is determined to throw her life and her body around like they are things, but  I don't want my kids to think this is acceptable, mature or smart.

Last night I sat down with my 10 and 12 year old and confirmed they had not seen the video.  However, my daughter did find a still photograph on Instagram and my son saw the video for the song.  I reminded them that their bodies and lives are not things that they own and can do with what they want.  They were created in the image and likeness of God and a temple of the Holy Spirit.  

I held up a pencil.  I explained that a pencil is a thing you can own - you can do whatever you want with it.  You can snap the lead, stick it in an ant hill, break it in half, throw it in the trash.  I then asked them if their bodies were pencils.  If so, you can do what you want, say what you want, love who you want, kiss who you want.  It doesn't matter, your body and your life are things you own.  Problem is, bodies aren't pencils or things to be owned or thrown about.

I think my kids got the message.  I wish Ms. Cyrus would too.

cindy

Hot and Cold

I'm still wearing my fashion-statement boot and sporting crutches.  If you don't know what this is all about, you can read the whole story here.  My ankle is taking longer to heal than either I or my doctor anticipated.  

In addition to physical therapy, which hasn't started yet, he asked me to do "hot and cold." This is a form of medieval torture.

It starts with two buckets of water, one hot and one cold.  I mean REALLY hot and ICE cold.  Pretend you are water boarding your foot and plunge it first into the hot water.

Keep it in there for 3 minutes as you watch it turn a beautiful shade of hot pink.  Then the real fun begins.  Plunge your foot into the bucket of ice water.

This is an entirely new level of pain.  Cramping, to be more precise.  Kent was timing my 3 minute intervals and I asked if it was almost over 30 seconds in.  Yes, it was time for mind over matter, except I did mind and it definitely mattered.

Finally, the torture ended after one minute.  Wait, no, it continued for 3 more CYCLES of 30 second intervals in each bucket.  Yikes!

Seriously, I have to admit that it does get the blood flowing through my foot.  I think that promotes healing (at least that's what the doctor said).  If it means I can get out of the boot sooner, I'm all for that.

Next form of torture - physical therapy manipulation.  Stay tuned.

cindy

Try It Tuesday - Rainbow Popcorn

Try it Tuesday is my opportunity to try a recipe or project, especially one I found on Pinterest.  This is one Mackenzie found on YouTube.  She was looking for "Bibble" which I still don't think we have ever found.  We did find Rainbow Popcorn.  If you like carmel corn, this is similar.

You need 2-4 cups of plain popcorn (no butter or seasonings) for each color (depending on how much color you want).  We used about 4 cups per color.  You can also add nuts (or other add-ins after the baking is complete).  You also need Jello, Caro syrup, granulated or brown sugar and butter.

Grease or spray non-stick spray into the bottom of a shallow dish, preferably a glass dish.  You can also line a pan with parchment paper, which will definitely be my preference next time.  Spread the popcorn in the pan and set aside.

Place 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of corn syrup.  Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Add 1/4 cup granulated or brown sugar and half of a 3 oz package of Jello, your choice of flavor (color).  Stir until caramelized, being careful not to burn.  Remove from heat and immediately drizzle over popcorn.  (Don't be slow, this stuff clumps very fast.)  You can toss it a little to coat as much as you can.

Bake in the oven at 250 degrees for 12-15 minutes, stirring a couple of times during baking.  Pour onto wax paper, spread out and let it cool.

The Jello flavors make it really fruity.  I liked combining the flavors - it was like Skittles.  You can store it in Ziploc bags and it will last about a week.

I think the first time you try a recipe it's a good idea to keep some notes about what you would do differently:
1.  I would use less popcorn for each color so you get more coated.
2.  Substitute brown sugar for granulated sugar
3.  Use parchment paper to line the pan for baking.  You can then move the parchment paper around to stir the popcorn during baking.
4.  Important clean up tip - pour boiling water to rinse/clean pans and spoons.  You will never be able to scrub this stuff from the bottom of your pans, but pouring boiling water into the pans will work very nicely.

Enjoy!

cindy