Life is Fragile

Today I can't stop thinking about how fragile life is.
As I was visiting with friends after yoga today,
I learned of some sad situations that people
I know are now facing in their lives.
One because of bad lifestyle choices.
One because of bad choices made in desperation.

I've thought of my cousin who lost her husband,
and how I just learned that her son with three children
went through a divorce just a month before that.
This same cousin is also raising three of her other
grandchildren because of her daughter's drug abuse.
Yet, she is a strong woman who stays positive.

Life full of twists and turns that we don't plan on or want.
Dealing with our own or a loved one's infirmities,
drudgery, uncertainty, exhaustion.
There is much sorrow, much pain, much loneliness.
There are lives of quiet desperation.

My heart hurts for those who feel these sorrows
for their own lives or for the lives of
those they love.
My greatest heroes are the people who,
as the song says,
"Walk through the storm with their heads held high."
Who have resiliency.
Who have faith, and hope,
and have found peace and strength
through prayer and an
understanding of the eternal plan.
They deserve a special place in heaven.

The Doorbell Rang

at about noon today.
I opened the door to one of our cute neighbor boys.

Me, "Hi, how are you?"

Boy, "Good. Um, we were wondering if you have like 5 matches we could have. We don't need the box or anything."

Me: "Oh, are you like, um, doing something with your parents?"

Boy: "Well, kind of."

Me: "Oh, well, what are you doing?"

Boy: "Well, we're just going to light this little area (hand in about a 3 inch circle). Just this little tiny circle."

Me: "Hmm, well I would hate something to happen to you. Should I call your mom just to make sure it's Ok?"

Boy: "Oh, Well, maybe we don't really need them."

Me: "That's probably good. I would feel very badly if something happened to you."

Boy "Bye"

Me: "Bye"

Images flashing through my mind as I close the door:

Daily Herald Headline tomorrow:

"Cause of fire in Edgemont area of Provo uncovered.
Boys playing with matches found to be the source.
When questioned, the boys disclosed that
Sister Ashton had provided the matches."

Daily Herald Headline the day after that:

"Woman to be indicted for providing matches to minors."

Exercise

We went to the gym today for the first time in a month. Our personal trainer is moving, and we have just a few sessions left anyway. So today we did a routine on our own. We tried to remember what all the exercises she had written down were. We kind of figured it out, but it definitely makes a difference when someone is there pushing you and showing you how to do it.

But we have to learn to do it on our own
and
make it a habit.

Why is it so against my nature to want to exercise?
I've never gotten that "runner's high" I hear about.
Maybe because I don't run?

At this point in my life
it is more than just about how I look.
Though that is definitely a big motivator.
It's about how I feel. Having energy.
Doing the things I want to
do without having my joints and
my back hurt when I do them.

I want to live to see my grandchildren grow up,
be involved in their lives,
and watch them start families of their own.
But, I want to be as healthy as I can while I'm doing it.

We are told over and over that exercise is very important to our health. The risk of heart disease (which is big in my family), diabetes (which is big in Gary's family), and all the problems that usually come with age, can be be lessened with exercise.

So we need to persevere.

Make exercise a habit.

Make exercise a habit that we love.

Only eat 1 cupcake a day.

Eat our fruits and vegetables

(We are doing better at that. When we went on Nutrisystem last year it really helped us make fruits and veggies a more regular part of our diet)

My new Mantra:

I LOVE EXERCISE

I LOVE EXERCISE

I LOVE EXERCISE

I LOVE HAVING AN ACTIVE LIFESTYLE

I WOULD RATHER BE EXERCISING THAN
CURLED UP READING A BOOK

I WOULD RATHER BE EXERCISING
THAN EATING CUPCAKES
(Ok, that's pushing it a little)

Strawberry Cupcakes

For our family reunion and for baby the shower,
I made some strawberry cupcakes from the
Martha Stewart Cupcake Cookbook.

Here's the recipe:

Martha Stewart's Strawberry Cupcakes
Serves: 34

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 larges whole eggs + 1 egg white
1 cup milk 2 cups (about 20) strawberries, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with paper. Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Add whole eggs and white one at a time (when I double it, I just use 7 eggs) until well incorporated. Combine flours, baking powder, and salt. Add alternately with milk, Beat until well combined. Stir in fresh strawberries by hand. Fill tins 3/4 full. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. (In my oven I only cooked for about 22 min).

I was in such a hurry when I made them before,
that I didn't have time for fancy frosting.
I just threw some ingredients together.
The result was very tasty,
but perhaps not as pretty as I would want.
Shown here:

So, today I made some strawberry cupcakes
for two different card making events I have tonight.
This time I tried two different recipes for frosting.

The Strawberry Meringue Butter cream from the Martha Stewart Cookbook looks really pretty and holds it's form. You definitely taste the butter, but, it's not very sweet. Maybe if I added some strawberry flavoring it would be give it more flavor and make it sweeter.

Strawberry Meringue Butter Cream Frosting

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, (8 oz., rinsed, hulled, and coarsely chopped)
4 larges egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, cut into tablespoons room temperature

Directions 1. Combine egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch (about 160 degrees). The mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed with your fingertips. 2. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg-white mixture, starting on low and increasing to high speed until it holds stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until the mixture is fluffy and cooled, about 10 minutes. 3. Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low speed, add butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (If frosting appears to separate after all the butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again, 3 to 5 minutes more.) Beat in vanilla. Beat on lowest speed to eliminate any air bubbles, about 2 minutes. Stir in finely chopped strawberries (or pureed in a food processor) with a rubber spatula until frosting is smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day. Or can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for a month.

The second is a Strawberry Cream Cheese recipe I got from this blogspot http://mybakingaddiction.blogspot.com/2009/07/strawberry-cupcakes-with-sensational.html
I like it better because it is very sweet and delicious, but the frosting just about needs to be refrigerated to keep its form when piped on.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup whole strawberries
1 stick unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, slightly cold
1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
22 ounces of confectioners' sugar (approximately 1.4 pounds)

Method: Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the cream cheese and beat until combined. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air.

Hmm??
It will be interesting to have a taste test tonight
and see what people like the best.
Maybe there is a happy medium out there somewhere.
Something that would keep it's form when piped on
but also tastes sweet and full of strawberries.

Any suggestions?

A Self-Hinder Book

Dianne loaned me this very funny and insightful book.
Here are a few of the section titles:

Don't Do Anything
Worry about Things You can't Control
Complain about Your Blessings
Think About Yourself
Blame Everyone and Everything
Don't set Goals
Hold on to Grudges
Judge Other People's Motives
Be a Breath of Stale Air
Postpone Prayer
Don't Smile, Don't Laugh,
Backbite
Don't Have a Purpose
Be Easily Offended

At the end of the book he says,

"So there you have it.
You've just learned how to be totally miserable.
But there is a risk--you've also learned how not to be."

While his insights are humorous, they are also right on. Each of those chapters brings to mind memories of times I've followed the "advice" of the book.

Perhaps the one I think of the most is "Be Easily Offended." Years ago I heard a quote attributed to Brigham Young that went something like this. "He who takes offense when no offense was meant is a fool. He who takes offense when offense was meant, is usually a fool." So when I find myself dwelling on real or perceived offenses or hurts, I'll often tell myself, "Don't be a fool." Kind of harsh. I would never say it to someone else. But it is harsh enough that it helps me stop dwelling on those negative feelings (which hurt me far more than the person or situation they are directed at).

Then there's the "Complain about your blessings." I've always found it very ironic that the very things I complain about (for example cleaning the house) are a result of the fact that I'm very blessed to have a house. Complain that I have to bring groceries in, put them away, and make dinner-- what's wrong with that picture? I could have to kill a chicken in the yard, cut it up, dig up potatoes from the garden, etc., etc. How about those dirty socks and shoes laying all over the house when the kids were little. How blessed am I to have had little feet to put them on?

Wow, I'm on a roll.
But I better stop.
I have 157 more blog entries that I've
committed to making this year.
I've got to spread my thoughts out.
Tomorrow I'll write about cupcakes.

Does a Cookie Sheet with a Lid fit in it?

That is the very important issue

that I had to resolve yesterday.

It all started when Gary wanted me to go shopping
with him for a washer, dryer and a refrigerator
for his rental units.
When we were shopping we had the bright idea that if
we were buying new appliances, we may as well buy
them for our home and put our older ones in the rental unit.

My only concern was that the refrigerator we were
looking at was possibly not wide enough to hold my
very highly valued cookie sheets (that have lids).

After calling Eileen and having her measure one of
her cookie sheets, I found that the cookie sheet itself would fit.
But, she didn't have any with a lid, and I had to factor that into it.
The salesman asked if we couldn't just buy a smaller cookie sheet.
Are you kidding?
My six cookie sheets with lids are among my prized possessions.
A fridge that they won't slide easily into is out of the question.

So, we came home and got one of my
prized cookie sheets (with lid) and took it to the store.
Well it fit, just barely.
But in all our measuring, we discovered that the freezer
was a few inches wider than our current one,
which made us measure the total width of the fridge,
which made us measure the height of the fridge,
which made us realize that the whole thing could be too
wide and too tall for the space in our kitchen.

We came home again and measured the
space for the fridge in our kitchen.
The new fridge would be 1/2 inch too wide
and 2 inches too tall.
I guess there is a reason the paper tape measures
they have lying around Sears say this:
So, my obsession with making sure my
cookie sheets (with lids)
could fit in the fridge, saved us a lot of grief later on.
After all that measuring, we came to the conclusion that
we would just buy a less expensive fridge for the rental unit
and keep our refrigerator that fits in our kitchen.
The one that, most importantly,
holds my cookie sheets (with lids) perfectly.
But, all was not lost.
I still got a new washer and dryer out of the deal.
I'm tired just thinking about it, though.
That means I'll have to paint the laundry room
and make it look decent for a new washer and dryer.

Well, we're off to pick up Natalie from the airport now.
She's been at Comic Con.
If you don't know what that is,
just ask Natalie.
She can give you a very detailed rundown.
She's as passionate about it as I
am about cookie sheets (with lids).

Does a Cookie Sheet with a Lid fit in it?

It's been a long day.
It started early with Gary and me playing tennis.
Wait a minute, that was yesterday.
Today we went on a walk.
No, yesterday we went on a walk.
(I remember now because it was Pioneer Day
and they were having the 5K race festivities at
Timpview when we were out walking)
So, it was today that we played tennis.

I told you it had been a long day.

I'll write about
"Does a Cookie Sheet with a lid fit in it?" tomorrow.

You know you're an Ashton if . . . (Part 6)

You like to bake (and make messes)
with Grandma.

You know you're an Ashton if . . . (Part 5)

You like to flip pancakes with Grandpa!

Small Things

We attended the funeral of my cousin's husband today.

He was just our age but had diabetes badly enough that
he had amputations on his legs.
On top of that he had MS,
so the last few years of his life he was
not able to get out much.
It was a very nice funeral and I learned things
about him I had never known.

I think I've written this before,
but funerals always remind me of how
it is the small things that we are remembered by.
The every day things.
The way people feel when they are around us.
I remember reading a quote that went something like this:
To the world you are someone,
but to someone you may be the world."

I've been the recipient of several "small" things
the last few days that mean a lot to me.

Thank you, Cheryl,
for this cookbook left on my doorstop.

I haven't seen Cheryl for years,
but she's seen my obsession with cupcakes on this blog.
When she saw this at a garage sale, she bought it for me.
How nice is that?
When I make cupcakes from this beautiful book,
you'll be the first recipient!

On the day before the shower my friend, Eileen,
asked me if I was making a nursing cover for Stephanie.
I told her I wanted to, but hadn't started.
She told me to bring fabric and she would cut it out.
She ended up having cuter fabric than I did
so she said she would use that.
Then when I called to see what notions I needed,
she confessed that she had already made it and just
needed the boning to finish it.
Now that is going the extra mile!

Here it is modeled on my still unnamed friend.

and modeled by Stephanie.

"The small things, really aren't small."

Cute as a Cupcake

Tonight we had a family baby shower for my niece,

Stephanie, and her husband, Bryce.

We had the theme of,

you guessed it,

Sweet as a Cupcake.
We're sure little Andie will be just that.

I know I swore I wouldn't do cake balls again,

but since Lynn was here to help me,
we gave it another shot.
Now we've both sworn we'll never make them again.
But they are so cute,
I guess I could be convinced.
Jean put together a very yummy
potato bar with salad and bread sticks.
And then the most important part,
the family

And the finale:
the "Peacock" with Cake Balls

You know you're an Ashton if . . . (Part 4)

you've

sat through,

watched,

coached,

cheered,

played,

or just hung out at ball fields.

I think Misty and Tiffany had excellent training

for the ball watching skills they are now using.
They practically lived under the bleachers
during the years Gary was coaching baseball
at Provo High.
Natalie didn't have quite as many experiences,
as Gary had quit coaching by the
time she was old enough.