LuLu's Petals: January 2011

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas! I am going to write myself an ecard and date it for december of 2011 to remind myself of how I was feeling THIS Christmas. What are we all doing?? We are making ourselves needlessly crazy, overworked and certainly Broke! I feel like I already have REALLy cut back on the materialism of Christmas over the years but we need to stop even the little bit of silly spending and needless shopping and craziness that we are doing. A few days after Christmas I was in Kohls department store, NOT returning thankfully, but checking if my sons favorite jeans were finally in stock. The amount of Miserable looking people that I saw waiting on the ridiculously long return line, feeling overheated in their winter coats and boggled down with bags of Unwanted gifts made my heart drop! I thought of the gift givers who were in the Same long line feeling the same stress BEFORE Christmas while buying these items. All that time, effort, money....What is it all for?

Jesus?? I don't think he would care for this! Love? Thoughtfulness?? I stopped and thought about the gifts I received this year and years past that were my absolute favorites...

A few days before Christmas, my middle son was telling his sweet girlfriend about HOW delicious my traditional 'ballie' cookies are and how much she will love them. I overheard him explaining how it's become a tradition to eat these as we open our gifts Christmas morning. I felt so bad to inform him that this year with HOW crazy work and getting ready for Christmas was, I wasn't going to get the time to make them! He looked so upset! Meanwhile, this was all said, only a few minutes after they were racking their brains to think of WhAT to get my husband and I for Christmas. I kept saying ..'Don't spend money! we don't need anything".... So then it dawned on me.. I said..

do you both want to get me the absolute BEST gift?? Make the ballie cookies!!! I'll give you the recipe! ( and I'll give it to you at the end of this rant) So his girlfriend said... Oh, we can do that and then i can buy you a beautiful dish or tin to put them in!!! I said..

Honey, I have too many freaking dishes too many freaking tins!! JUST MAKE THE COOKIES!!!

Well.. they did!! and they were more beautiful than mine (which I usually rush through!) and they were delicious and allowed us our tradition!

The same thing happened with my eldest son,

Like last year, on Christmas eve day, he spent 3 hours in his apartment making two huge trays of his DELICIOUS eggplant parm. for our company. Afterwards, as he put his wrapped gifts under our tree he said... Mom, I didn't know what to get you this year, and picked something stupid. I said.. Sweetheart... you didn't need to get anything.. you just gave me the greatest gift in the world! Your Eggplant!!! Your talent!!! and I truly mean it! These WERE my best two gifts!

I know this is far from a NEW concept, most of us do a little of this. But, Compared to what we usually do at Christmas, wouldn't it just be a walk in the park and SO meaningful if we ONLY give gifts of ourselves next year? cooking, baking, knitting, painting, babysitting, crafts... whatever your talent or ability. Give of yourself. No wrapping necessary! Make it last all year, with notes like... I owe you a day of babysitting each month in 2011! From my husband, I'd like a note that says... 'I gift you an hour foot rub each week!" what do you think??

No return lines to torture your loved ones with! What better way to show them how much they mean to you? I would love to hear from those of you who HAVE already adopted this tradition!

enlighten us with any ideas you have! Happy Healthy 2011 blog buddies! xox

sunday scribblings

Lucy's BALLIE COOKIES

INGRED:

1 CUP SUGAR

2 ½ TSP VANILLA

6 EGGS

½ LB. BUTTER ( MELTED AND COOLED)

6 TSP. BAKING POWDER

4 ½ CUPS OF FLOUR

IN LARGE BOWL MELT BUTTER AND COOL, THEN ADD EGGS, VANILLA AND BEAT WELL ( BY HAND) ADD SUGAR BEAT AGAIN

THEN SLOWLY ADD FLOUR AND BAKING POWDER.. MIX WELL.