For the Mothers Out There

             I haven't wrote on here in a while, things have been hectic and when my brain goes on overload I tend to lose my inspiration for a little while. But, I found something that needs to be said, something that is too important to me not to be said................

 Mothers everywhere this is for you..........................

          From the moment most women learn that they are carrying a new life, the worries begin. How am I going to do this? Will I be a good mother? Can I give my child a happy life?
All these questions are legitimate, because we can only hope right? Well this will continue for the rest of our life's, because a mother's work is never done. We can constantly berate our own parenting skills because of our child's tears. We will make mistakes, but only because that fantasized handbook we all wanted never does appear. Although, the mistakes are made naturally for lack of better knowledge at the time we will still condemn ourselves to that dreaded name, "Bad Mother."
          When we must be strong and teach our children right from wrong (wow I rhymed), the kids or anyone else for that matter will never know we are normally sitting behind a door somewhere crying our eyes out wondering if we have done the right thing. Sometimes we have to take a break and we will feel useless as parents for this need. They're my children why should I need a break? We shed many tears in the name of parenthood. We call ourselves names. We say all these things to ourselves, but we forget that those tears, these worries, and the fear, are what prove we are good mothers. We forget that the number one thing in being a good mother means that you care.
           And this is where we get twisted. Sometimes, we must say no. No is a word that can be horrible to tell your own offspring, in the face of their tears and their words. We must say this sometimes, though, for their protection, their safety, their health, their maturity, and even their future feelings. The term, "I've been there," is often thought of when we save their feelings. We are the ones who must help our children to grow and learn to survive on their own. At times, we have to be the bad one, the mean one, the unfair one, just so we can save our children from themselves. Then in the end we shut the door, cry, call ourselves horrible mothers, and wonder why we can't always make our children happy.
           This is what should tell us we are good mothers, though. We care and we cry. We forget that there are mothers out there who don't do these things. That could care less if their child cries. That allow all just to make them not cry, those who don't protect them. Those who can't stand up against the pain of being told by our children that they hate us for saying no. We are good mothers because we bear the burden of our child's tears. Their tears become our tears. In the end, we do what's best for our kids. It hurts, but we bear the pain for our children just as we did when we brought them into this world.
          I will leave this with a story I found and though it makes reference to God I think we can all take something from this story. We are good mothers, even when we think we are not. I can't say that what I am writing will make any of us change our minds, but I hope it can sometimes remind us of why we feel the way we do and that in the end we are good mothers. We are just doing are best.

~ Tears of a Woman ~
 

"Mom Why are you crying?"
"Why are you crying?" he asked his mom.
"Because I'm a woman" she told him.
"I don't understand," he said.
His mom just hugged him and said, "and you never
will"..........

Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does
mother seem to cry for no reason?"

"All women cry for no reason," was all
his dad could say........

The little boy grew up and became a man,
still wondering why women cry...

Finally he put in a call to GOD; when GOD got on the
phone the man said, "GOD, why do women cry so
easily?"

GOD said.......
When I made women she had to be special. I made her
shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the
world; yet, gentle enough to give comfort....

I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and
the rejection that many times comes from her
children......

I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going
when everyone else gives up and take care of her
family through sickness and fatigue without
complaining......

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under
any and all circumstances, even when her child has
hurt them very badly...

This same sensitivity helps her to make a child's
boo-boo feel better and shares in their teenagers

anxieties and fears.......

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his
faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his
heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never
hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and
her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.

I gave her a tear to shed, It's hers exclusively
use whenever it is needed. It's her only
weakness....It's a tear for mankind.......
~Author Unknown~ 

Delay

I'm not having a lot of time for posts right now, as I'm preparing for Mabon. I will get back to posting after the holiday. Thank you. Have a Blessed Mabon Everyone!:)

Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 (15 ounce) can solid-pack pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 to 1 cup pecans     

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg in a large bowl. 
   *~(Add chopped pecans to mixture, don't forget to save some for top. If some don't care for nuts you can either leave out or just top with pecan halfs on top for easy removal)~*
   
   
   
3. Add pumpkin, ½ cup of water. Stir until just mixed. 

   

   (I only used the pecans for topping since my daughter doesn't care for them much.)

4. Spoon batter into oil-sprayed muffin cups, filling to just below tops. Top with pecans.
   
    
5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until tops of muffins bounce back when pressed lightly. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and cool on a rack. Store cooled muffins in an airtight container.

6. Enjoy with some coffee!!!!
***Posted for The Pagan Mom Blog- it's not the Pumpkin Pecan Bread, that will come closer to Mabon but here's a quick treat:)***

                                                                                                                                             

Danny's Fried Chicken

Danny's Fried Chicken

Ingredients -
2 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon basil
4 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 tablespoon onion power
8 chicken pieces
2 beaten eggs
Oil

Directions: 

1. Heat oil in pan.

2. Pat chicken with paper towel to remove most of the grease/juice. 

3. Mix all the spices and flour in a large plastic bag.

4. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg.

5. Place them in the flour mixture bag and shake, completely cover.

6. Place the chicken pieces in pan, one at a time with tongs careful not to splash hot oil. 

(Don't overcrowd your pan, very Important)

 

7. Fry the chicken for 10 minutes on each side, until it is golden brown and cooked through.

Drain on racks for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!!

 

Tips on Frying Chicken:

•  If you want to make fried chicken, you can get good results using a fryer, broiler, capon, young chicken, and roaster or game hen.
• Soaking the chicken overnight in brine or buttermilk makes the meat more tender and juicy.
• Slice whole chicken breasts in half for more even cooking. They also cook faster like this.
• Adding celery sticks to the frying oil enhances the color and flavor of the fried chicken.
• Dry any wet utensils before they touch the hot cooking oil to avoid the hot fat spattering.
• Use tongs instead of a fork to turn the chicken. A fork might pierce the skin and the chicken will lose juices.
• If you like your chicken fried, try peanut oil. It gives the chicken a great flavor.
• Drain fried chicken on a brown paper bag or metal rack. Draining it on paper towels might make it lose crispiness. In addition, covering it will make it lose all crispiness.

Quick Chicken Casserole

Quick Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:
1 box (regular size) Velveeta Mac 'N' Cheese
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 a Onion (chopped) --optional
1/2 - 1 cup Sliced Mushrooms (1 small can, drained) --optional
1 cup Chopped Bacon
2 Chicken Breast (cubed)
Handful of Shredded Cheese (Mozzarella colors real good in oven & tastes good)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cook noodles as directed by box.

3. Fry Chicken Breast and Bacon together in pan.

4. When chicken and bacon are fully cooked, add Onion and Mushrooms to pan.

5. When it all looks as pretty as you want it to, mix in Noodles and cheese sauce packet.

6. Pour in Cream of Chicken Soup, mix well and pour in a casserole dish.

7. Top with Shredded Cheese and put in oven for 10 mins.

8. Take out and enjoy! :)

***You can also top the casserole with french fried onions, gives it some crunch:)***

As soon I get to go  back to the grocery store I am so, so, so going to try this recipe. I just found it and I had to share.

Coffee Fudge Recipe
1/2 pint full cream milk
1/2 cup caster/superfine sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons strong black coffee

1. Put the milk and sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
2. Add the butter.
3. Stir continuously over a low heat, allowing all butter and sugar to melt and slowly bring to the boil.
4. Allow to boil gently for about 15 minutes, stirring several times.
5. Drop a little of the fudge into a saucer of cold water, when it forms a soft ball, it's ready.
6. Add the coffee.
7. Leave it to cool for a few minutes then use a wooden spoon and beat until the fudge becomes thick and creamy.
8. Pour into a greased tin.
9. Mark into squares.

I'm having a strange moment here where I sometimes realize how much my life has changed. I'm super exciting about going to a grocery store and cooking. I think I can look at it two different ways, one being, I've become very multi-talented or, two, that I'm getting duller by the second. But, who really knows. I'm just going to focus on eating yummy fudge........
Have a good night:)

Day 1 of My Witchy Challenge-What’s your witchy background?

Good Morning!!!
For the first day of my challenge I'm supposed to tell you how I blossomed into my beliefs. Well this is how it went:
I believe it was in 1997 and I was in seventh grade. I lived with my dad and even though my grandmother was very religious, we only attended church a few times with her. I had a hard time accepting everything that was told to me there because I would witness so many hypocritical actions from the people trying to tell me to do right. My family is baptist but it just never felt like it fit with me.
Now, I kind of feel bad saying this because some of them paint a really bad light on pagan and wiccan beliefs, but it was the release of the movie "The Craft" and the show "Charmed" that brought the curiosity of witchcraft to me. Let me just stop there and try to redeem myself a little bit........
I didn't actually believe that (or even want to) make a girl go bald, that I would have demons chasing me after I came "out," or that some crazy b*tches were going to come flying in my window terrorizing me in my sleep. No, I was more curious that it was a real religion. I didn't really know at that age with how sheltered I had been that there were other choices. I just thought what you were born into you believed, because your family believed. Those were real books in those movies, though. So, I made a trip down to my local library.
What I found was that it was still real, it wasn't just a bunch of fantasy crap or part of history that had been distinguished. I had found something that explained all my questions and I finally had some answers. There was still a lot of fantasy I found in some books, but they became the authors I avoided. But, I was still young and since I live in the bible belt there was a lot of controversy at school. A group of girls that seemed to take enjoyment out of hurting others seemed to have some big rivalry against my friends and me. You know the sort, hateful, uppity, attention starved little girls, with that look that says your nothing but dirt beneath my feet. I had seen this one fake cry all the time but, of course, no one took that into consideration. I wasn't even at school that day, but the whole group of girls went to the counselor boo-hooing their little hearts out saying that me and my friends put death spells and hexes on them. Sounds a little familiar, doesn't it. Even though I was home on this day I was put on the stake to to burn, which I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else but standing by my friends. We were told that any book on witchcraft was banned from school, doesn't matter that we got some of the books from the school library, but if we were found with another one on campus we would be expelled. It didn't matter when they even read the books and found the number one rule, "Harm None." Everyone just believed witchcraft was meant to harm and control. I wish I could do some of the things I was accused of. I still wouldn't do anything bad, but maybe my kitchen would be clean and possibly some of those girls would burp the alphabet every time they tried to lie. Ah, if only, that would have been hilarious.:)
The newspapers soon got involved and then the news channels, I was probably the fist accused witch on television to be wearing a pink and blue tye-dyed shirt. Maybe I helped change the perceptions that we all wear black and have warts on our noses. Samantha would have been proud. Here's the links if you want to see some of the stupidity some people spout.
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?article_id=16056
http://www.rickross.com/reference/wicca/wicca41.html
http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Audio.details/ID/617/Occult.htm
But, even with all that I didn't give up. I found that somethings I'd believe and others I wouldn't. I started out focused on wicca, then moved to pagan, because I wanted to focus more on nature. In the end, I believe all religions came from one source, but were just misinterpreted and skewed to fit what people wanted to believe. So, I like to take something from everything. My main beliefs lay rooted in paganism where I feel at home and natural. This is what I came from. Not always the funnest story to tell, but at least I can say I stood up for what I believed in and faced the flames. I came out alive though and now plan to teach my child about all religions, so that she can have the knowledge to make a decision for herself. I want her to be proud of her choices and have her parents stand beside her when one day someone tells her she is wrong. It is my hope.

I hope everyone has a good day. I think I'm going to be baking today. If I find any good ideas I'll be sure to post.