The silence that demanded attention.

The silence that demanded attention. Silence has a way of calling your name. Not gently— That missed call, the text that never comes. The way you check your emails, your DM's, your messages- only to find nothing waiting for you. but with the sharp pull of a missed call, a message that never appears, the ritual checking of inboxes that stay hollow and unchanged. The silence that isn't the voice you need. The laughter that isn't echoing back. The hug that doesn't arrive It is the absence of the voice you ache for, the laughter that should fill the corners, the arms that should be around you but aren't. The barren room with a single soul occupying it. It is the room holding only one heartbeat, echoing with everything unsaid. That's the silence that demands attention. This is the silence that demands attention— the kind that doesn't whisper, it weighs.

Happy Thanksgiving (a day late)

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours. I smiled so much yesterday because families were reunited or spouses came home unexpectedly. My stylist even announced she was pregnant with a miracle baby. Please pray for her and her spouse :)

My heart hurt for those who are without their families. Without homes. 

Of course our military overseas.. and the families left behind....

I am grateful.

My prayers are with those who's spouse never comes home. My prayers are those who have lost a child. Holidays are always a hard time for me I try to keep stress down to bare minimums which is one reason we decided to brave Cracker Barrel yesterday. 

My favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

A cookie with a funny name from Europe,


My mom made these twice a year it can be very labor intensive. My grandfather was from Norway so it was a tradition

You will need to buy a Krumkake iron

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dgarden&field-keywords=Krumkake+Iron



Krumkake Recipe

http://scandinavianfood.about.com/od/cookierecipes/r/krumkake.htm

Difficulty: 2 (1=easiest :: hardest=5)

Serves/Makes: 4



Ingredients:

3 large sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup milk, cream, evaporated milk or coffeemate

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup butter

1 cup pecans - chopped


Directions:

Combine first 7 ingredients and pour into greased casserole.

Mix brown sugar, flour, butter and pecans until crumbly and sprinkle on top.

Bake 30 - 40 minutes at 350degrees F.

Level:BeginnerPrep Time:20 MinutesNutrition Info

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside.





2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.





3. Bake 8 to 9 minutes. (Do not overbake; cookies will be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling.) Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4-1/2 dozen cookies.



PAN RECIPE: Spread batter in greased 15-1/2x10-1/2x1-inch jelly-roll pan. Bake at 350°F 20 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack; cut into bars. About 4 dozen bars.



ICE CREAM SANDWICHES: Prepare CHEWY CHOCOLATE COOKIES as directed; cool. Press small scoop of vanilla ice cream between flat sides of cookies. Wrap and freeze.



HIGH ALTITUDE DIRECTIONS:

-- Increase flour to 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons.

-- Decrease baking soda to 3/4 teaspoon.

-- Decrease sugar to 1-2/3 cups.

-- Add 2 teaspoons water with flour mixture.

-- Bake at 350°F, 7 to 8 minutes. Yield increases to about 6 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

3 ripe bananas

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

How to add more moist-ness to your Banana Bread

http://www.moist-banana-bread-recipes.com/2008/09/how-to-add-more-moist-ness-to-your-banana-bread/

ZUCCHINI BREAD

'

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups white sugar

2 cups grated zucchini

2 teaspoons spiced rum

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F ( 165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done. .

Thoughts of a Dysfunctional Veterans Wife

We saw this on a patch once and we joked whether it meant I was dysfunctional or was he the dysfunctional one. I decided to leave it up to the reader of the patch.

Watching my husband march a few weeks back in the Veterans Day Parade I got a little emotional. Emotional for the pride that I have. I am so so proud of him and Alex too. Both of them are so brave and don't even realize it. Emotional over the times I had to say goodbye as he went to Iraq. Alex going to Afghanistan. Feelings and emotions that an Army Wife can't explain to anyone else. Feelings and emotions she should HAVE to feel. At hte same time I am glad I did. I am thankful for what my love for him has taught me surviving and thriving during his deployment. I learned the true meaning of inner and emotional strength. I learned survival and tough love like no one could ever teach me only I could teach myself.

I had a fabulous time at New Moon with my dear friend and old neighbor Danielle. There was a preview for a movie coming out called Dear John. Again seeing a Soldier deploying and doing what he was taught to do brought me to tears. Duty, Honor, Country... Words I still don't grasp, But I know they are everything to Rick. Sacrafice. If I were to ask you what have you sacraficed this month? Does your answer seem so petty compared to a soldier who says my life for your freedom. I can betcha that alot of Soldiers can say they sacraficed hearing their child's first cries, first words or first steps. I betcha a lot marriages that would have lasted decades broke apart due to a Soldiers Duty. Do we even want to pretend to understand how it feels for them to not comfort us wives and our children during one of the hardest trials of our lives?

I think back on my short time as an Army Wife. I look at Army Wives who've stuck by their husbands through decades of service, 4 or more deployments, countless times where they didn't come home to tuck in their children. Countless times the wives kept watch over their child who is sick in the hospital... alone. Although compared to me I have never had to PCS and move to a different city except this once. I never had to drive days just to get to him. I never gave birth without him by my side. Those are the true Army Wives. The true Military Wives. While the average person complains that her husband can't come home for dinner, or he didn't take out the garbage, or remembered their birthday... at least he was there. I am selfish too... my husband had CQ Duty twice this week and I complained (not too much I knew I had to suck it up, but it sucked none the less) at least my husband came home from his deployment, he came home from Korea the two years before that. He comes home to me every night that he's not pulling duty for the Army. At least he comes home. So many families won't ever have a Holiday with their loved one again. I just missed one Thanksgiving, One Christmas, One birthday... just one. So I try to remember how selfish I am and calm down and just suck it up. I miss him much but he will always come home to me and that should be enough. Shouldn't it?

If you really think about it. The emotions over come you. They do with me and I lived it.

Be Thankful that your husband comes home most nights. If he's gone working be thankful he has a job and is willing to support your family. He works hard and he is always thinking its just not enough. Be thankful this Thanksgiving your husband is there to watch football with his buddies LOUDLY. Some wives would give anything for that sound. Be Thankful you have a wonderful family some of us Military Wives haven't seen our families in years.

Please be sure to remember what you should be Thankful for our freedom to celebrate Thanksgiving a soldier gave us that right. Be thankful for the chaos of Black Friday and be gracious to each other. Pray for our troops serving over seas and their families who are worried about them.