Be Kind To Yourself

Happy Presidents’ Day, all!

Another week full of blessings has passed and I’ve made it here to reflect, be thankful, and set more goals for this coming week.

First and foremost, I am grateful that I didn’t have to walk the dog this weekend because Hubs loves me and because… negative temperatures, y’all! I am NOT built for this shit.

Which brings me to how grateful I am that by this time next year, I’ll think 35 degrees is yesterday’s -11. Six more weeks.

I had two dates this weekend! Friday night lady date to go see 50 Shades and Saturday afternoon brunch with Hubs and one of my very best friends (FYI: Founding Farmers in Tyson’s is just fabulous! Especially their chocolate coconut creme filled Jefferson donut… that was a game changer) .

On a more serious note, I am grateful that in weather like this past week and the potential snow we have in store tonight that I have a roof over my head, heat in my home, and warm clothes when so many don’t.

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A conversation I had this weekend stuck with me and I really need to share.

If others spoke to us and put us down the way we do ourselves, we wouldn’t keep them around us very long.

Think about that. If every time you showed your picture to someone else they made disparaging observations how would that make you feel? If every time you spoke to someone they minimized your thoughts and opinions, would you speak to them anymore? A wonderful, beautiful woman I admire showed me pictures from an important event she attended and in every picture she pointed out her flaws before I even had a chance to look at them and it broke my heart. It also made me realize just how often we all do this!

Whether they are the words we’ve heard from others so often we believe them or whether we feel the need to say it before someone else does so it hurts less, we repeat these negative phrases over and over again. Eventually it doesn’t matter where it came from because we’ve made those awful thoughts our own and it’s a hard process to break. Everyone has self-doubt (even the folks who act like they don’t… promise), but you don’t have to let that hold you back. It’s ok to love you. That’s why this week I’m letting her inspire me in yet another way (as she already inspires me and so many others in many other ways).

This week’s positive affirmation is also a challenge to her and myself. This week there will be no self-deprecation. When I catch myself diminishing my words, thoughts, or physical appearance, I will stop and remember that Today I choose to be kind to myself.

Get out there and be nice to yourself. You deserve it.

… I highly recommend starting with a Jefferson donut.

Salted Caramel Heaven

Little pillows of sweet, sweet deliciousness (alternate post title)

So my friend (and positivity committee member) came by the house yesterday to show me how she makes her famous salted caramels. These things are seriously dangerous, folks, and apparently super easy!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Butter
3 Cups Sugar (2 C white and 1 C brown)
1 Cup Corn Syrup (or maple syrup or honey)
2 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Cup Evaporated Milk
1/2 Tbsp Salt, plus extra for sprinkling over the top
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

Tools:

a candy thermometer is highly recommended, also a rubber spatula for stirring, a plastic spatula or board scraper, a 9×13 baking pan, and wax paper

1. Start melting butter in a large pot (We used my 6 qt stock pot. Use one larger than you need, this gives the caramel plenty of room to bubble without making a mess and keeping arms and hands safe. Hot caramel burns are NO fun). Add all of your ingredients except the vanilla extract. We added the vanilla extract last so it doesn’t have time to cook off and you get full bang for your buck.
2. Stir until your mixture starts to boil, then lower to a medium simmer (on my stove that was 9 then 4). Set your candy thermometer and wait. At this point you don’t want to fuss with it too much. The mixture can break sometimes, so let it do it’s thing and don’t cook it too fast. Don’t let it burn. If it burns, there’s no saving it. If it gets too thick, you can still add more cream to thin it back out. So don’t try and hurry your caramel by cooking it on too high a temperature. Pull mixture just before it reaches the firm ball stage (245-248 degrees). 
3. When the sugar mixture looks like the first picture above, it’s ready to test. To test to see if your sugar mixture is at the firm ball stage, drop a little of the caramel into a glass of ice water. You’ll know it’s ready when it forms a ball that holds its shape, but is still malleable when pressed (This is always a good way to test your sugar mixture or to double check your thermometer if you’re not sure it’s accurate. To check your thermometer’s accuracy, stick it in a pot of plain boiling water for one minute. It should read 212 degrees).
   
4. Pour into a greased 9×13 baking pan (if you prefer, you can also line said pan with wax paper to make turning it out easier… we didn’t think of this until after the fact…) and salt the top of the warm pan of caramel with that extra salt.
5. Wait until cool enough to handle comfortably. I waited about 4 hours before cutting and handling (my friend couldn’t wait that long, so she peeled hers out early… it was MUCH easier after I waited). I used my spatula to gently but firmly separate my caramel from the sides of the pan and cut it into a size that would be easy for me to handle. Cut it into narrow strips, then the size pieces I wanted to wrap as individual candies. My individual pieces were about 1″x1/2″ in size and I ended up with 16 dozen (probably add a dozen to that… counting how many I ate while I cut and wrapped).
6. Enjoy! … but not too many despite how tempting… trust me…
   

   Also, BE CAREFUL! Tasting caramel around dogs can lead to sudden popularity.

So I learned something new and now I have 16 dozen caramels. I already have 4 dozen spoken for, the other 12 are up for grabs! Who wants some?

Cans and Plans

I had every intention of this being the post where I publish my first crochet pattern. I even have a few sketches, the beginnings of patterns, and a couple of pattern studies! See?

Houndstooth pattern study

Chevron pattern study

Neither made sense or was quite what I had in mind… until late this afternoon!! I’ve totally nailed it this time. I swear.

That said, I will finish it in the next couple of days with lots of pictures, so keep your eyes peeled for awesomeness. It’s coming.

https://www.facebook.com/GilbertLiz

This whole experience has really started me thinking about the creative process and how I experience it. Part of me wants to create a lovely finished product that is also functional and easy to reproduce. The other part of me just wants to figure it out. I need to know how it works. I need to see if I can figure it out by myself. I need to take it apart, analyze it, and put it back together. The first part gives me the ideas and the desire to begin. The second part is what keeps my pencil to the paper or picks up a crochet hook and any close skein of yarn without fear of making a mistake.

Inspiration and motivation.

This week I want to dwell in that place. I want to embrace my curiosity… and use it to complete projects.

Last week my affirmation for myself was, “I can do this” and it inspired me all the way through the week. I learned that I am capable of far more than I’ve been giving myself credit for.

This week my positive affirmation will be, “I am driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear.”

Now let’s get out there and live creatively!

… or as Liz Gilbert would say, “Onward!”