Cinnamon Rolls? Check!

I had never really made cinnamon rolls. I know. . .hard to believe.

I made some this afternoon. I scrounged the internet for a recipe. Mind you, I have a recipe from my husband's grandmother. The only problem with her recipe is that it's more like a shopping list, rather than an actual recipe. I probably need to play around with it until I can make the recipe work for me.

Case in point: ingredients listed as "lump of crisco" doesn't tell me a whole lot. The only measured ingredient is the "2 cups of warm milk." Other that that, it's salt, sugar, yeast, flour (to make a dough) and cinnamon & sugar.

Yeah. . . I'll have to work on that one.

But, the ones I made turned out pretty good. I took a recipe that traditionally makes 12. . . and used the computer to convert it to make 16 rolls. (What can I say? I wanted to have some leftovers) They (allrecipes.com) didn't provide an icing recipe. . . .that was easy. Some of the commenters on the recipe said that there wasn't enough filling. So, I increased it by 30%. (I didn't need to)

They rose. They baked up beautifully. They were really, really good. I'll definitely make them again -- and they only took an hour and a half to make and bake.

Other than that, I also baked whole wheat bread today. I've gotten to the point where I can make it without the recipe. That's success to me. . . and definitely a sign that I've made this bread repeatedly for the last seven years (or so).

Our small group came over this afternoon and we watched the NASCAR race. It was a good race--lots of caution flags. My boy made it to #2. He led for about 60 laps. That was kinda fun. Caroline got into the spirit of the race, for the most part, and cheered at all the right times. That's always fun.

What does this week hold?

That's kind of hard to say. Mark is most likely going to be traveling to N. New York later on this week or next. His grandmother is not doing well. She's lived an amazing life --and has passed down a delicious legacy of great cooking and baking. I have been fortunate to receive some of her cooking pans and dishes. In fact, my cinnamon rolls were made in one of her pans tonight.

She's been in a nursing home for a number of years. She's lived a great life. She's been a friend to many. She's been a devoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. (I think she always loved the fact that E is named for her late husband) But, she's getting tired. So, we're looking at what could be a very interesting week before it's all over with. As you can imagine, I'll keep you posted. Thanks for prayers.

Last week was tough, and I just realized that I was supposed to write about it. I'm sorry. I almost forgot.

On Friday morning, I hopped over to Facebook, to do my daily "pop in" to see what was going on. One of my friends mentioned that he was saying goodbye to someone with a fairly common name. So, my initial thought was, "this can't be my college friend; it must be someone else."

I was wrong. It was my friend, Mike. Suddenly, he was gone.

Then I read more status updates. . .he took his own life. And at that point, I was shell-shocked. Three days later, I still have no idea why he did this. He was always so outgoing, friendly, happy, and fun. At some point, the laughter died out. . . and he made a decision that is beyond my understanding.

At one point on Friday, my status said something about the "curse" of Facebook -- just getting reconnected with friends, only to lose them to death.

I guess that status update kinda threw a few of my other friends for a loop -- because suddenly everyone was writing and posting to make sure I was okay, and to find out what happened. I explained . . . and changed my status.

I'm still torn by the "burden" of keeping up with people on Facebook. It's such a blessing to be back in touch with them, but as you reinvest yourself in their lives, you take on their burdens, laugh when they laugh--and definitely weep when they weep.

I'm not leaving Facebook....you would have to drag me away, kicking and screaming. But, with each new or renewed friendship, I am seeing and experiencing a new level of emotional accountability that I hadn't anticipated when I first joined.

It's worth it. Really, it is.

And with that, I'm signing off. Those cinnamon rolls have sent me to a new level of exhausted!

Happy Monday....we're celebrating in a different way tomorrow. Caroline has no school. (Really, don't get me started!) So, after spending some time with Kathy and Baby James tomorrow, we'll have an afternoon at home.

What? Yes, I am smiling. Thanks for asking.
And do we what? Have snow? No, again, thanks for asking.