Friendship- Acts of Love- Are YOU Up For a Challenge?

James Taylor sang it best in one of my favorite all time songs,

"When you're down and troubled and you need a helping hand and nothing, whoa, nothing is going right. Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there to brighten up even your darkest nights.

You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call and I'll be there, you've got a friend."

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately on what it means to be a friend and quite frankly, what it means to have a friend. 

I know this is something I have blogged about before, but I think as we get older our circle of "friends" draws closer together and we have fewer people we keep in our inner circle, whether that is due to growing a part, moving away, and just random neglect.  You read that right... neglect. 

I decided that I had to take ownership of neglecting some friends I have, people in my life who have always been there by my side and always will be there.  I have grown to take them for granted.  I have been so worried and wrapped up in my own drama and family that I haven't really paid attention to what they are going through.

How many times have you been on the phone with a friend, or sitting in the kitchen with them or out for a cup of coffee and you are both jovially talking but you are REALLY NOT listening to what they are saying? You are listening somewhat, but you are also getting ready to get in what you want to say. WHY? Because our time with our friends is cut short because we have somewhere else to be, or we don't want to miss the episode of Big Brother that is on TV in 45 minutes...  We have filled our lives with so much extra CRAPOLA (note: this is stuff, not family or friends, KWIM?)... that we forget to honor those sacred relationships we have with others.  Whether it is your spouse, significant other, child, friend... all of these PEOPLE are irreplaceable.  The extra CRAPOLA is replaceable.

The cost of friendship and maintaining it is nothing.  You don't have to pay money to entertain your friend, you should be able to just sit with them and be.  Be the person you were born to be, created to be... Not be someone who is responsible for entertainment, or only there when they need help financially, or wait... when they need you.  And then I realize...

I have been this person...

This person who relies on friends when I need them, when I want some entertainment or need financial assistance... I have been the user friend and I am quite ashamed of myself.  I have not done this to EVERYONE but to some friends I have and I need to make amends with myself and them for doing this... I am on a mission.  A mission of free will friendship. See, I have decided that I am no longer going to be a sideline friend to those who mean the world to me. I am going to be an in the moment friend. 

Now, I have also been the in the moment friend as well, but I am going to practice it more.  I have great role models to pattern myself after. Micah who always has encouragement for me, and wise words... My dear friend Kai who took me to a precious spot a few days after I lost my baby so we could sit there and morn in silence together... she too had lost before and it was such an amazing sacrifice of her special spot and her time that I just cannot thank her enough for bringing me there and helping me heal.  Monty for welcoming me back into your life with open arms and for being there for me, introducing me to Kai and being a great friend.  My dear friend Alana, who sends me notes in the mail encouraging me to stay strong and to have faith, and basically reminds me that I will be healthy when all this stuff is done, and she reminds me constantly of my faith and helps me seek a balance.  The girls on the board, gosh... we formed our relationship back in 2007 when we all had losses and you have grown to be part of my inner circle.  Some of the greatest friends I have out of one of the saddest events of our lives. You encourage me daily. To my sisters for just being there and understanding how hard this time is for me, while they both are going through the most joy of their lives... and just listening to me. My mama. Wow, without her I don't know what I would do.  She, my sister, and my brother in law just got in a car and drove to Cedar Rapids when I was admitted into the hospital to just be here for support for my family and I and just to be here.  My husband... I am so blessed to have such an amazing partner, I get a lot of my "friendship" knowledge from him.  He shows me what it means to be consistent.  What it means to have unconditional love, and what it means to give freely of one's time.  He truly is an amazing man, one that would up and drive over five states to help someone I love move, just because he has the time,the vehicle to do it, and because he loves her as much as I do.  He just lights up my world on so many levels it is just plain hard to put into words.  My children are dear friends.  They know when I need to laugh and they do silly things.  They do random acts of kindness that I don't expect just because they can (Alex and Serina, thank you for the balloon, card, and my stuffed monkey when I was in the hospital. You are amazing women). There are so many more people to list....

So, I have decided (as of yesterday) to do random acts of friendship... just different things to show those that make a difference in my life how important they are, with no strings attached.  Just random acts of love.

Random Acts of Love:

1) Randomly post a love note on their facebook page (this one I have already done and it felt great)-- do you think we could make this go viral? I am going to do this to 10+ friends today... I challenge you to do the same... Let's see if we can get our own version of "feel good pay it forward" going!

2) Send a little card in the mail to someone just so they know you are thinking about them (this one I have done as well, and if you are in need of ANY cards, I have a table full, come on ovah and take some)

3) Send an Ecard

4) Text message them with a great thing about them.  I am going to do it right now--- mission completed!

5) If you know they are busy and could use some help (but won't ask) make them dinner or send over a snack or a treat)

6) Help out. Mow their yard if they can't, help them clean if they can't or if they are just too busy to do it

7) Visit.  Make time to have time and have enough time to fully share

8) Invite over for dinner or just to hang out. Time is something we cannot get back---- OH maybe have a traveling dinner party? I love this idea --- where you travel to each other's house for a different course... or even, what about a themed dinner party? Or maybe even do your own murder mystery party (Phillip and I used to do these with our friends in college when he lived in the house connected to the church... good times, good times... some scary times, but all good)

9) Go on a friend date (Kai, you better be ready for pottery date night! LOL)

10) Leave a note on their car, or door... just with a random statement regarding what they mean to you


There are a lot more things we can do - this is just a starting point!  NOW... who is with me?

 It just takes one.  One person. One minute. One gift.

Are you up for this friendship challenge?

Have a blessed day.



A card I received in the mail, randomly from a dear friend.  This card inspired my blog today...

Recipe Time: Lemon Butter Chicken

Again, another recipe!  I honestly had such an amazing time going through this old cookbook I acquired from my grandma I just had to make several recipes after I tweaked and modernized them.

This again, was a hit last night with the Wenndt family and we will make it again.  With the left over chicken, I am going to make some tasty chicken salad for lunch!

Lemon Butter Chicken

 

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (cleaned)

1/2 cup of melted butter (or margarine if you dare, lol)

2 lemons

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Large sized roaster bag (Reynolds makes a great one)

1 tablespoon of flour

 

 

Directions:

1) preheat over to 350

2) take one lemon, cut in half and rub 1/2 lemon over chicken (set the other 1/2 lemon inside the chicken)

3) combine the juice of one lemon along with melted butter, garlic powder, sea salt and pepper

4) add 1 tablespoon of flour to inside roaster bag and shake around to coat the bag

5) add chicken to roaster bag and pour lemon butter mix over chicken

6) seal up roaster bag

7) bake for 1 to 1.5 hours until internal degree of chicken is 180

(I checked the chicken every 30 minutes and with pot holders swished ---love that technical cooking term? LOL- around the lemon butter sauce to re-coat the chicken)

 

 

It turned out so tender and juicy the meat just fell off the bone.  YUMMY!!!

 



Recipe Time: Souffle Potatoes

I have had a lot of fun this week taking some older recipes I found in a cookbook I acquired from my grandma.  This one is a definite remake at the Wenndt house.  Easy, cheesy, and carblicious. Who could ask for anything more?

Now, with my new found need to be a bit healthier, I did use reduced fat shredded cheese, skim milk and butter to make the potato base (I am a firm believer that real butter is much better for a person versus margarine, and if you don't agree... please feel free to use margarine and then let me know you did that so I can send you the article on HOW and WHY margarine was created. LOL)

 

Souffle Potatoes Ala Wenndt

Ingredients:

2 2/3 cups prepared instant potatoes (I used hungry jack)
1 can of French fried onions
1 egg beaten
garlic, sea salt, pepper to taste (if you haven't noticed by now, we always add some garlic and sea salt to just about any recipe)
1/2 cup of shredded cheese

Directions:

Blend together everything except for the cheese and put it into a baking dish (I used a bread loaf pan), and top with shredded cheese.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees (just until cheese is melted and bubbly on top)

The French fried onions provided a great flavor addition and texture to potatoes and they really were a hit!  This easy alternative to smashed potatoes will be used a lot at this house!

MURDER, MURDER I TELL YOU!

Did I get your attention?

Well, I have to tell you about an amazing evening out we had as a family (sans Maddy, since she was too young).

Last Friday was Phillip's 40th birthday and he had to work late, so the kids and I did some researching to find out WHAT we could do to make his birthday unique and fun.  Then, there it was. A deal on HERE'S THE DEAL (http://www.heresthedealia.com/engine/Splash.aspx?contestid=23713&amp&amp&amp,+daily+deal,+kcrg,+thegazette,+cedar+rapids,+iowa+city&amp) -- two for one to a murder mystery dinner theater event at Bloomsbury Farms.  TWO FOR ONE? I think so!

So we were able to get 6 tickets for the price of 3 (love the websites out there that offer deals, like groupon, sweet jack, here's the deal, etc--- my friend Monty has the whole list he shared with me and I have them somewhere saved on my computer but where...hum...), but where was I (did I mention that my ADHD brain is fully loaded and overloaded today)... We didn't tell Phillip right away what we were doing, but we did on Saturday.  Phillip, Serina, Alex, Kennith, Dennis (Phillip's dad), and I headed out for our adventure!

The ride out to Atkins was pretty quick and the farm was Ah-mazing!  Pulling into the parking lot we could just see that they had all kinds of awesome activities (http://bloomsburyfarm.com/)- and it has been added to our list to visit again later in the fall. 

Before the show, they served appetizers and you could order a beverage (wine, beer, soda for a price) while tea and lemonade were free with your ticket.  With the murder mystery group that was there--- one character came out and started mingling with the entire group of people, handing us each a character to play. WHAT? We are a part of the production? This is RIGHT up my alley. We had to walk around and collect information from other detectives, which was a great way to get the group comfortable for the main event and get everyone to interact.

While Phillip and I age some appetizers (delicious FYI, the bruschetta was amazing) the kids went on a hay rack ride after walking a bit through the corn maze. 

The show started, characters were introduced, laughter immediately ensued.  Then we had a salad and then again more acting.  Then the actors took a break while dinner was served.  Some of the bestest fried chicken, smashed potatoes and gravy I have ever had and the portions were HUGE!  Then another act of the murder mystery followed by a strawberry shortcake dessert. 

Then finally, FINALLY we found out who dun it.... Lot's of laughs and group involvement. Everyone of us enjoyed the event and it is a definitely must do again.  Well worth the cost.

I think our next adventure will be in October for breakfast with the pumpkin princess. Maddy will LOVE it! (October 27th) and possibly a few other events before then.  Like Monsters and Merlot (um this is where zombies serve an elegant dinner out in the corn (you get there by hay rack ride).... this sounds like a great date night for Phillip and I, it is RIGHT up our alley!

Just an amazing time, and if you haven't been out to Bloomsbury Farms, you HAVE TA go out and visit (fall festival is in September and October). From start to stop it was just an amazing adventure for the Wenndts.  To top it all off the staff at Bloomsbury is top notch!

Guess Who Had Homework Already?!?!

Now, I know it is only the first week of school... really it is the just the THIRD day and the first day was only a half day, but all of the kids have had homework except for Kennith.

ALL of the kids.

With Serina and Alex I assume they will have home work, they are in high school for cry eye... Alex had a lot of small projects to do, an "all about me" project for LA, and Spanish.

But when Maddy brought her "homework" folder home and an assignment in it, I about fell over. I am serious. My little 3 yr old pre-schooler had her first homework assignment tonight... And she had to work on it with her family. 

She was so proud to sit down and do it.  We printed off pictures, and cut out pictures in magazines and she colored her background.  Her assignment was:

And this is how it turned out:






All in all it was a fun project but I am so torn.  I know we put her in pre-school early because she will start kindergarten young (her birthday is in the middle of July), and we want her to have a head start, but this is just bitter sweet.  She is growing up.  She is my baby, and she isn't supposed to grow up that fast... But, she worked hard on her project (and so did mommy) and she is proud of the work she did. 

Note to self: take time to enjoy your kids.  They grow up so fast. One minute you are swaddling them and rocking them to sleep as a baby, the next time they are doing their first homework at THREE (again I am floored), then they are playing with their friends in the neighborhood and having fun, and then they are in high school getting prepared to go to their first football game of the year and planning on what to wear and who they are going to hang with at the game.  Soon, they will all be grown up and out of the house...

*DEEP SIGH* from this mama.  Gosh, I love these kids.  I want time to slow down just a moment so I can savor every moment and collect it in my box of memories. 

I Found a Stick- A Walking One

On Sunday I took my youngest two kids (Kennith and Madelynn) along with my niece to the park for a fun day.  We went out to Morgan Creek (here in Cedar Rapids, outside of town a bit) and brought our lunch, bubbles, and a Frisbee.  My plan- play for as long as we can before the day is over.

What a great time. Now, what I noticed- most parents and adults were sitting on the benches and talking with each other as their children played.  So, after I set down our picnic goods down on the table, I went to play with the kids.  I freely admit, I tend to watch my kids play and relax and watch them play hard and exhaust their little bodies while I flip through a book.  But on this trip, I played with them.  I had just about as much fun as they did going down the slides, and swinging on the swing set.

After about an hour, we stopped to have lunch and they gobbled up their gourmet sandwiches (err, peanut butter and jelly- thank you very much, lol). Then they went to play some more and I sat and finished my lunch and flipped through an old school cook book. 

Then I noticed something very sweet… each child started playing with another child who was on their own.  They each made a buddy. I was so proud watching them play with the different kids, and then they all played together… lots of laughter from the playground at the park.  It really melted my heart to see all of the kids playing a game together and no one was left out.

 I remember when I was younger and I would go to the park with my parents, I would play by myself and well… it kinda sucked, but I didn’t realized that it sucked back then. It just did. I honestly didn’t like going to the playground when I was a child.  I didn’t really like playing by myself.

But on Sunday? On Sunday it was fun.  They were having so much fun when I looked up that I decided to play tag with them.  After about 15 minutes, I had to stop and take a little break, and I noticed something happen.  A dad, just one, started to play with them.  And his son’s eyes just lit up.  It was pretty amazing to watch this happen.  As soon as the dad started playing his little five year old son got so excited that his eyes were glazed over with joy- and I think the dad had just about as much, or even more fun than his son. And here is the thing, I don’t think that father will ever know the impact of that ONE event and what it will have on his son’s life.  All our kids really want from us? Our time.  100% of our attention.

At the end of our trip, we decided to take a little hike.  Mya lead the way, followed by Kennith, Madelynn, and then myself.  I picked up the rear (hey, don’t laugh there…. Lol she picked up the rear, hahahaha… kinda like in “Finding Nemo” when the little kid fishy says, “He touched the butt” and you laughed harder than your kids… admit it)… where was I, oh we went for a hike. 

As we start on our path, Maddy starts looking for something in the grass and she was so serious about it. I asked her what she was doing, and she said… “Mama, I am looking for a stick.” I said, “well honey, there are sticks everywhere.” And she said, “But I need a stick, a walking one.”

She wanted a stick to use to walk, so we found one and she used it the whole way.  On our adventure we picked up sticks, walnuts that were half open that looked like silly noses, a strange small piece of wood, and flowers (dandelions).  What seems silly to me (collecting all this stuff) was so fun for them.  They laughed and each carried their treasures. 

What I carry from my afternoon at Morgan Creek? The memories of the day with the kids…  They are my treasures.

So a challenge--- the next time you go to the park, pool, Playstation or anywhere your kids will play and you tend to sit back and watch… stop and play with them. REALLY play.  Forget your bills, the dirty laundry, the dinner you have to cook, and floors you have to mop… forget that you have to work the next day and for an hour take time to remember what it is like to be eight.  To be eight and have the world to explore one walnut at a time.

Recipe Time- "Puttin' on the Ritz" Chicken Bake

While the kids and I were at the park the other day, they played a bit and I went through some old school cookbooks I had acquired from my grandmother.  A few recipes looked absolutely delightful but they really needed some updating.  The recipes were from the mid-1970s and so I took some time to “tweak” them and modernize them.

Last night was the first night I “experimented” on my poor family with some new and improved recipes from 1972.

“Puttin’ on the RITZ” Chicken Bake

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts cut in half

2 sleeves of Ritz crackers (I would suggest honey wheat or garlic---- we used honey wheat)

2 eggs

Pepper to taste

Salt to taste (I use sea salt)

Garlic powder to taste

2 tablespoons of Jonesy’z old time seasoning (can be found in the Cedar Rapids farmers market or online at www.jonesyz.com) or really any BBQ seasoning found in your local grocery store

2 tablespoons of original Magic Sauce (can be found locally at Hy-Vee or online at www.magic-sauce.com)

Directions:

1)      Pound out and tenderize chicken breasts, sprinkle tablespoon of Jonesy’z old time seasoning, pepper, garlic and 1 tablespoon of Magic Sauce over chicken and let marinade for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

2)      Preheat oven to 350

3)      Beat two eggs in a shallow dish with the remaining tablespoon of Jonesy’z

4)      Finely crush Ritz crackers and add into a second shallow dish

5)      Dip each piece of chicken in egg mixture then dredge in cracker crumbs and place in a greased baking dish

6)      Drizzle last tablespoon of Magic Sauce over top of chicken and bake for 1 hour

This ended up being a favorite with EVERYONE! Even my picky meat eaters ate this chicken!  It was tender and seasoned to a nice light perfection.  We had some BBQ sauce out as well to dunk chicken in if it needed any extra sauce but the BBQ sauce wasn’t even used!  The chicken was so tender that you could cut it with a fork!!!  NO KNIFE NEEDED!  This tasty chicken dish has been added to the Wenndt family “MUST MAKE AGAIN” recipe box!