Weekend Coffee Share....Come Sit with Me

It's another week of Weekend Coffee Share. I always love everyone's posts. Are you like me and try to visit everyone? It doesn't always happen but I try. I have loved getting to know different bloggers and I figure if they take the time to write a post, I'll find the time to visit, even if it's a week later. I truly enjoy what you all share and I often learn so much. 

Check out all the other posts on Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. I'm off to go visit some now. #weekendcoffeeshare.

If we were having coffee we'd probably talk about:

Whether or not I'll make the deadline this week. We'll find out soon enough. 

The weather: When it is cold and dry here in the PNW, it is stunningly beautiful. Frost on the ground, blue skies. I love it. It's looking like we'll have a few dry days and then a series of wet ones. Here in the SW region of the state, snow is unlikely anytime soon, at least not in the lower elevations where I live. 

What we're thinking about: I love this time of year but I know it's not an easy one for many people, maybe because of loss, financial strain, whatever the reason. I often try to look at things from someone else's perspective yet still holding onto my joy and love for the season. Sometimes I find myself doing a little "shape shifting" so as not to make waves, experience conflict or make someone uncomfortable. That doesn't do anyone any good. Instead of shape shifting, maybe I just need to pause (I'm not always good at this) and think about how to respond or engage. Maybe it's simply saying "I'm so sorry this time of year is hard for you". I think of a circumstance where you can have two people who are going through the same loss, but each one handles that loss differently, that financial strain differently, because, they are, after all, different. One is not necessarily a better response than the other. 

What we're thankful for: Thankful for my husbands job that came at the right time and a boss who took a chance on him. My husband has been with his company now since 2014. He was coming off of over 20 years working in the church, not having a formal education other than Bible College. A friend of ours who was working for the company told my husband to apply...long story short, he did and the owner liked what he saw despite no "degree" or experience in the field. He saw past all that into who my husband really is and 1o 1/2 years later he's thriving and loves what he does and has moved up in the company. I am thankful for that owner and his willingness to think outside the box. 

Around the house:  I'm having gals over from work on Monday. There's 4 of us and we try to have "girls night" once in awhile. We joke that whenever one of our husbands goes out of town we'll have a girls night at that house...well, my hubby rarely goes anywhere but this week he has an executive team retreat so I jumped on the opportunity to have them up here...soo, I'll be doing a bit of cleaning the next few days. Not that anything has to be perfect...I really don't care that much about that, but there are just a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up. 

For the love of food: I love cookbooks, I love cooking and finding new recipes, and when I saw that Jo Tracey was hosting a BKD Cookbook Club I thought it would be fun to join in. Also Piglet in Portugal hosts a foodie Friday, that I thought might be fun to join in on. Now to see if I can carve out time to do these two. 

I do have to share...last Saturday my youngest daughter and her friend were making some Tres Leche cinnamon rolls for a friend of theirs who was moving. Well, long story short, they weren't turning out. I wasn't home so couldn't help. Once I got home, I determined we'd try another batch because I didn't think the first set would work...welll, that second batch didn't work as well. So we made a decision about 6ish that I would make the recipe for my cinnamon rolls (I should've thought to suggest this in the first place), but then use the original recipes steps for the tres leche part and and the frosting. Well, phew, they turned out and they were actually pretty good. I think they are ones that need to be eaten same day for them to be the best, but we did have leftovers and they weren't too bad the following day. They almost end up with a bread pudding consistency. 

For the Love of Books: I've been enjoying some cozy mysteries. They are nice light reads, and perfect for this season of being more busy. Our book club seems to have stalled in our choosing a new book and getting together to discuss the last one. Sometimes this frustrates me because if I'm the one in charge for the most recent book I try to stay on top of it, but it seems others just don't get it on the calendars. I decided I was just going to let it be. I can't micro manage everyone. I gave my hubby some ideas for books as gifts, usually non fiction. There is one that I'm drawing a blank on the name, but it's written by a variety of chefs and seemed interesting. 

I'm also trying to decide a reading goal for next year and if I want to do my 12 books from 12 friends again or try doing the 52 book challenge. I might ask your opinions. 

What we're watching or listening to: I have yet to sit and watch any of the Christmas movies I love. Maybe this weekend. Audiobooks and podcasts are on the agenda. I found an interesting one called The Calm Christmas podcast with Beth Kempton. It is really good and interesting. I'm also thinking that a Christmas cooking or baking show would be fun. 

Favorite quote: Actually this quote comes from Jo's book Christmas at Fountains Hall: 

"Don't listen to anyone who makes you doubt yourself. There are always going to be people in your life who want to keep you in the box they've labelled with your name.. They'll tell you they're happy for you, proud of what you're doing. They might even pretend to be supportive, but make no mistake, stepping away from that box alters their world. It's their comments you're hearing telling you you're not good enough and they're wrong."

I just thought that was really good. 

Favorite photo(s):

A few nights I slept in our spare room because the mattress felt better on my back. When I walked out of the room my husband had turned the Christmas tree on and the fireplace as well. It was so cozy!

Random or not so random things:

This past week started our busy season at work. I work for a local small business that has personal mailboxes, does shipping, etc...December is our super busy month for both receiving packages for our box holders and shipping out packages for other people. We usually work extra hours, but we have fun doing it. The customers are almost always great and they often will bring us gift cards, goodies, etc. 

Last Saturday was shop small Saturday. I helped my daughter with her coffee cart. It's always enjoyable to help her. This weekend we did a bazaar Friday night and Saturday. I love helping my daughters. I usually help my oldest more with her coffee cart than I do my youngest with her photography. If she needs help, she has a friend who assists her. 

This week was a cold and wet one. The one we did last weekend was cold but dry! 

When she does special events (In this case, these businesses asked her to have her cart at the shop small Saturday and paid her to be there), she often creates special stickers to go on the cups. For these she used the stores logos. So fun! I love her creativity. She'll also create a special menu especially if it's a wedding or a type of shower. Below are the menus she used the last two weeks. 

My back still isn't 100% and that is frustrating to me, though I feel like last night and this morning, maybe I turned a corner. We'll see.

I've done 103 days of Duolingo. I'm doing Spanish and Italian. I really enjoy it. I know I have a long way to go before I can have a conversation, if I get to that point, but I do feel like I have more of an understanding. I'm doing the free version and if we were chatting I might ask if you use it and if you use the paid version. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin