Cookie Swap 2011

I love these crazy women.

 The Schnotlus Cookie Spectacular (TM) started five years ago.  The only fixtures are myself, Kathy (next to my mom) and my mom.  Every year we get a slightly different group of women and a slightly different mix of cookies, but we always have a great time.

 This year, our crafts were alcohol-inked gingerbread man tins to use for gift cards (ask me about how I got the wrong brown clay and melted everyone's original gingerbread men and I'll deny everything!) and layered "Candy Cane" candles in mini martini glasses.  This was the first year in a long time that my godmother, Beth, has been able to join us with her daughter Denise, and it's always so fun to see them.

 I decided this year I would make cake pops.  They took me ALL freaking night and I was an hour late to my own party.  Luckily the "Schn" part of the party was already at home.  I'm not sure they tasted good, but they looked pretty!! I found adorable chinese takeout shaped Christmas boxes with cutouts on the front and packed my cake pops in those with a small piece of floral foam to put the sticks in.

We clean up well :) I love that we have such an age range and such a diverse group of women, but we have a fantastic time!! Ashley (in white) is mom's friend from Mason, Kathy is a friend from the church we attended when we first moved down here, Lauren (in red, front) is Kevin's girlfriend, Gaby is a new friend who's military, Jennifer (behind her) left Public School with me, Beth is my godmother, and Rachel, behind me, is the most amazing Children's Ministry coordinator you'll ever meet!! Our youngest swapper was 20 and our oldest was...well, 39 ;) we'll call it 39.

We have everyone bring a dozen cookies for each person, and let me tell you, we all give the best cookie trays to our neighbors of anyone I know!

An Open Letter to the Mother of my Savior

Dear Mary,

I was raised protestant, so we've never really paid that much attention to you.  Of course, each year when we'd do our nativity play the girls would fight over who got to be Mary, especially if all the angel spots were full and all that was left was shepherds, but that's about it.  We like to focus more on your son.  You were a Jewish mother, I'm sure you don't mind.

However, the Christmas after I had my own son, I felt intensely connected to you.  I was 19 and having a child 5 months after getting married.  You do the math.  I couldn't look up.  My family was disappointed, my friends were judgmental...it was really hard.  I'd imagine even if you knew what was going on, that not everyone around you was particularly understanding.  I read the magnificant over and over and am in awe of your joy- but I wonder if it lasted.  I remember staring at the floor in church one week as they talked about you, the teenage mother of a child not her husband's, and I wondered if you kept looking up.  I wonder how hard it was for you- if you ever outlived the stigma. If when your son was bleeding on the cross there were still a few people snickering "maybe if his mom wasn't so loose..."

I just wonder.

I don't remember the exact day, but I do remember a few years later, after much depression and self-loathing that I finally looked up.  A professor remarked to me "Why Mrs. Kristina, what a beautiful face you have.  I don't think I've seen it these few years! I'm so glad you've decided to see what's in front of you!".

I promptly burst into tears.

Anyway, that's all just to say that every Christmas, I now wonder what it was like for you.  Even with great faith, it must have been hard.  Even as a protestant, I've come to respect how difficult your journey must have been and how much you must have sacrificed so that we could all have the gift of your son.  I hope that you looked up one day, especially in realization of the gift you gave us by being humble.

In appreciation,
Kristina

Santa Concert

I'm not sure who our preschool thinks they're fooling with the massive Santa Concert they do every year.

I think we all know that the big man is associated with Christmas.

But, whatever, they swear up one side and down the other they're "non-sectarian" and "multicultural", which has nothing to do with why we picked the school, but is something I've started to find funny as the school increases in numbers, especially of Indian and Muslim students!

Either way, the concert is always cute, and the kids have fun showing off their skills.

This is actually a remarkably good picture of Grammy and Savannah, both of whom tend to make funny faces in their pictures!! Grammy has exams this week, but took some time off from studying to come and hear the concert.  The funny part was that Savannah promised that she'd sing extra loud, but then her age group did a dance and not a song!!  Too funny!! She was very adorable dancing to music from the Nutcracker, though!

After the concert we made sure to snap a picture of Savannah and her best preschool buddies.  It was complete chaos in the fellowship hall, there were millions of people and cookies everywhere, so if the girls look a little overwhelmed, that's why!! These three are such fun to watch together!!

Kids Craft Tutorial- Hot Cocoa Gift Bags

Mmmm Hot Cocoa.  Did you know that there's a National Hot Cocoa Day? AND it's today!?!? That's right, December 13th is the day to celebrate Hot Cocoa.  (If you missed it, no worries, I hear January 31st is National Hot Chocolate Day....sooo, just hang in there)

Today we made a fun hot cocoa mix that you can give away on your cookie platter or to a friend or teacher assistant.  It would be cute with a gift card attached for a coach or Sunday School teacher, too!  A lot of my "kid" crafts are ones that I've done before that I just make a little simpler for my kiddos (or, in this case, our homeschool friends) to do.

You'll need:
     *A large can of hot cocoa mix (or make your own- we love Alton Brown's although for my crew I sub a pinch of cinnamon for the pinch of cayenne)
     *Candy Canes.  We like to use our broken ones this way.  If it falls off the tree but is still wrapped, it can be repurposed!!
     *White or Dark chocolate chips- the mini chips work especially well.
     *Marshmallows, we like the holiday shapes!
     *12x12 cardstock
     *adhesive (double sided sticky tape and/or glue stick) and/or a stapler
     *Embellishments (paper, stickers, stamps, ribbons)
     *Tie-top bags, plain or seasonal will work just fine!

Step One, Crush:

Crushing things is very fun.  We find that candy pieces tend to be very sharp and break our ziplock bags, so use two to prevent spills.  Don't make the pieces too small, or you won't be able to see them in your bag!

Step Two, Fill:

Start with a 1/4 cup scoop of hot chocolate mix (or more if that's what your recipe calls for) to make one mug of cocoa.  Then layer on chocolate chips, peppermint pieces, and marshmallows.  Yum :)  Secure your bag well.

Step Three, Cut:

You'll need a long piece of cardstock. All of mine were 12x6, but you can use what you have.  Fold at about 1/2 inch from the top and then set your folded edge over the other cut end.  Stand it up on the table to figure out your center folds, which will need to allow for about a 1-1.5 inch "bottom".  Once you do the first one, unfold it to use as a template if your other papers are the same size.

Voila.  She is the beautiful.

Step Whatever We're on, I'm sick of scrolling up- Insert chocolate:

Yup.  Put it inside the now-folded paper.  We stapled, but you don't have to.  On ours, the staple will be covered by ribbon.  You can either put the flap under or over.  Side note- if you're not doing this with kids, and actually have some time, I would make them look like THIS instead of like the ones we did today :)

Step the Next- Seal and Decorate:

Note: I find it helpful to have several pre-cut shapes (like squares) so that kids don't get frustrated.  

Surprise inside! Guess what's inside!! (Gingerbread Marshmallows is a way cooler prize than you get in Cracker Jacks now, anyway!) 

Look! It's a mini one! It's cute, too!

Fun and quick, you could also fill these up with any home-made treat from Russian Tea Mix (but for heaven's sake, put some red-hot candies in!) to peanut brittle.  It makes a simple homemade gift that much more special because you took the time to dress it up!!

Happy Crafting :)  

Soul Mates?

For those of you amused by my vampire interaction, I bring you true stories from Trader Joe's.
Me: (Looking at Nut Butters)
Older Gentleman with cane in his cart: "Well, are you gonna tell me I'm in your way?"
Me: Nope- you're not in my way yet. When I find what I'm looking for and you're in my way I'll just shove ya over (wink)
OG: Hah! Most people get all flustered and say "you're not in my way!!" and then blush!
Me: Do you need me to patronize you? You look too tough for that.
OG: I like you. If I were younger, I'd chase you down.
(From my cart there arose such a clatter from my 2 youngest beating each other)
Me: Is it quiet at your house? I'll walk slowly so you can catch me.
OG: Ha! Yes, and I get a social security check every month.
Me: Sold.
OG: Good. Now get walking slowly, you're blocking the jelly.

I Need to Go Back to School

One of my friends on facebook mentioned that she is "forced to "celebrate" Christmas" with her (converted) husbands still-Christian family. Jokingly, I suggested it's a mitzvah to celebrate the birth of a child. In the next few lines (as facebook conversations are wont to do) she managed to inspire me to write a paper.

Yes, Virginia, there are people that are that dorky.

Here's the final comment: Depends...is it still a mitzvah if one knows that millions will be cheerfully slaughtered in the name of that one single birth? Somehow I don't think "he who saves one life saves the world entire" applies here...




So we need tit-for-tat life justification? Done.  
___________


Several of my favorite authors from undergrad spend volumes discussing the capacity of religion to become or veer towards evil.  Kimball and Armstrong were two of my favorites.  From "Terror in the Mind of God" to "When Religion Turns Evil" in classes from "Religious Fundamentalism in the 21st Century" to "Militant Islam", I've spent my fair share of hours contemplating the disconnect between a loving God and wretched people created in his image.  


But I still think that all religion gets a bad wrap.  Christianity in particular is suffering from want of some positive PR in our country, which I think has something to do with currently being "top dog" in terms of numbers.  It wasn't so long ago, compared to other faiths, that Christians were being fed to lions.  


However, tabling the topic of Christianity's place in American society, let us consider, how many people Christianity (since this is the religion in question) has killed.  Using data from the University of Hawaii , let's set the number killed by the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the burning of witches at 300,000, rounding up for error.  None of these deaths are justifiable, however, I submit 1 John 4:20- "If anyone makes the statement "I love God" yet hates his brother, he is a liar", to say that these events should never have happened.  However, since we use the claim that if we profess our positive actions to be done in the name of Christ, they are like Christ doing them, by the same logic, if we profess our negative actions to be done in the name of Christ, people will interpret them the same way.  This is definitely one area where I'm sure Muslims and Christians feel a great deal of comraderie as Muslims try to make the world see a religion of peace in the face of images of planes crashing into buildings and Christians try to show a faith of love in the face of abortion clinic bombings.  


Moving from the 300,000 people killed by the three largest instances of Christian atrocity, we could also include the 1,000,000 slaves in the United States between the colonial period to the civil war as those who were negatively impacted by Christianity.  While these slaves can't be added to the number killed in the name of Christ, they certainly suffered by a systematic oppression that frequently attempted to use scripture to justify agony and mistreatment.  These people were not specifically killed in the name of religion, however, as was the case during the crusades.


Some people would include the Holocaust as part of Christianity's violence.  However, Nazism bastardized the Christian church, putting state officials in positions of power and jailing clergy that didn't follow the party line.  Further, Hitler's alignment with Japan and study of the core of the Nazi party following the fall of the regime point to the fact that Nazism was, in its purest form, a pure-land cult, much like violent Shintoism and did not hold to Christian doctrine or even seek to pretend it did (quoting also from Professor Hebbar's Notes, Eastern Religions, 2007 GMU). While the actions of many churches in not doing more to stop the genocide taking place in Germany are abhorrent and an abomination in comparison to Christ's teachings, the violence perpetrated by the Nazi's was not a Christian movement.  I recommend reading Hitler's Willing Executioners for more on the concept that German antisemitism was, by the time of the Holocaust, a secularized notion.  


Next, we have the abortion clinic bombings and attacks.  These have killed seven abortionists.  Adding in any additional incidental murders claimed to be in the name of faith, from the 74 killed in Waco, Texas to attacks on Mormon settlers, to a crazy neighbor stabbing someone they claim to be apostate, the number of people killed directly by Christianity is far from "millions" as claimed by my friend.  


I do not wish to turn this into a "who's religion is worse", so I am going to resist the temptation to point out numbers of people killed by Muslims, Jews, cult leaders, etc.  People have, in the name of Christ, killed others in acts of senseless and unbiblical violence.  


It's not okay.


However:
     * In 2009-2010 alone, Feed My Starving Children helped Jesus pack 97 million meals for starving children, whether or not they're Christians. That's 3 meals a day for some 88,000 people. While there distributing food, they also buy out local artisans to begin sustainability in the communities they serve.
      * In 2011, Samaratin's Purse paid for 360 medical personnel to come to Africa, paid for 25 life-saving cardiac surgeries, and taught 40,000 people how to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, which will help every sexual partner those 40,000 have in their lifetime.
      * The United Methodist Church's Committee on Relief (UMCOR) sent $3,800,000 to Japan following the tsunami that helped with various relief efforts including emergency shelter, food, and safe drinking water.
      * This church feeds 200 people once a month.  And I don't even like their pastor. This church just fed 300 children for an entire year in 4 days of work.  


What are we at? Definitely over a million.  And that's 5 Christian organizations in one year's time each.  


Christianity killed, and occasionally still does.  I will not make excuses or say that "those people weren't real Christians" because if they claim Christ, then it is my responsibility as a fellow believer to rebuke them in wrong beliefs, and obviously there have been cases where we have failed in this endeavor.  Miserably.  However, I can assure you that while Christianity has to claim these people, Christ does not, and I fully believe that he mourned each of those occurrences as a tragedy in the same way God mourned the failures of the Israelites in the Torah.  However, more than it fails, and it fails daily, even if it is in ways "smaller" to the world than murder, Christianity also succeeds in being what Christ called it to be- hands and feet in a hurting world.  Feeding the hungry, healing the sick, loving the orphaned, and more.  If you're looking to point a finger of blame and say "Those murderers claimed Christ, so those are his murders", then you must also point a finger and say "Those who helped the world this year claimed Christ, so those are his successes."


Judaism kills.  Islam kills.  Hinduism kills.  Religion kills. But it also heals and saves, espeically one that has called us, more than anything, to love because that is the nature of our God. 


I John 4:8 
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

These Are the Eyes of a Killer, Bella

Oh, wait, that's sparklepire skin.

I am seriously going to start a service where I let people pay me to follow me around on any given day.  At the jewelry store I work at occasionally, they have an expression- "Who turned the sign on?"- referring to the "Crazies Welcome" sign we were all sure was out on the porch that day.

I Haz Dat Sign.

It's apparently tattooed on my forehead.

Today, I had the occasion to run to the grocery store.  This is always dangerous for me since I seem to attract people with my invisible sign.  This particular store doesn't have, as far as I know, a goth club or D&D society that meet in the storage room, but that had no bearing on what was about to transpire.

Goth dude: "Excuse me, do you know about your eyes?"
Me: "Umm, they're blue...and they work decently with contacts or glasses?"
GD: "Huh.  The dark outer ring and washed out inner color indicates you're one of us."
Me: "How about that."
GD: "Do you know which us I mean?"
Me: (Looking for an exit, but cornered by a large woman taking way too long looking at the ranch dressing"
GD: "You are a vampire."
Me: (Contemplating wild laughter, but deciding that most of GD's jewelry would work as a weapon) "Huh, I've never known"
GD: "Your eyes are a dead giveaway.  You're also very pale and I bet your hands and feet are unusually cold.  Do you...you know, crave?"
Me: "Oh, like people? No, actually I verge on vegetarian."
GD: "You poor thing.  You must be very sick.  You should have a steak."
Me: "I will take that under advisement"
GD: (Dramatic turn and exit)


So there you have it, people.  These are the eyes of a Killer.

I wonder if I can get a spot on Breaking Dawn Part II.  I'm willing to glitter up. In the mean time, y'all apparently shouldn't mess with me.  I need a steak.