In the Middle of Things

October is officially in the books and it was a beautiful month here on the east coast.   I have always loved the month of October--- football (yes, football is always an answer no matter what the question is) autumn leaves bursting in color weather still warm without all the humidity yet, enough cool days to remind you winter is around the corner pumpkin muffins, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bread....well, you get the point! soups, stews and other warm-you- to- the- bones kind of foods And of course,  Halloween closes out the month. While we have never been a ghosts and goblins and vampires and witches and zombies kind of family,  we do enjoy the festive atmosphere that Halloween presents.  We were lucky to have  neighbors who would spare no expense to make trick or treating fun  for all the children in our subdivision.  These days, we give out candy while volunteering  with our church's Trunk or Treat celebration.  All dressed up and ready for Trunk or Treat

Nearly a year has passed since I sat at my computer to put some thoughts on paper  that have been rattling around in my mind (a blog post is really not paper but my 20th century mind still thinks of it in those terms). Not that I haven't had plenty to write about, I just haven't felt the urge to post anything. Until today. As of today, I will forever have this book  embedded in my mind. As of today, I will look at all human struggles with a different viewpoint. As of today, I will try to see the hand of  the Almighty God in situations where it seems He is nowhere to be found. As of today, I want to surround myself with the kind of people who, despite life's trials and disappointments, still see the glass as half full.  "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand is the book that got me to thinking this way. Google books summarizes it as follows: In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, disc

I love NFL football so the last thing I want to do is spend my Sunday afternoons cooking rather than watching  the games on the  NFL Redzone. I now call them my "Slow Cook Sundays."  One of our favorite Sunday dishes, Taco Soup, is not actually a slow cook recipe but I do let it simmer in the crockpot for a few hours.  My husband got this recipe at a local Weight Watchers meeting many years ago...and I have no idea where or who it came from.  The sheet of paper with the recipe on it  is pretty tattered and covered in food stains.  At one point I thought I had lost the recipe, but after a little digging I was able to locate it. All of this made me realize I needed to have this recipe in a more permanent location.  The original recipe has been changed over the years to suit my family's taste so I will include both versions since they are both very good. Taco Soup (Middleton version)  1 lb ground turkey or ground beef (I have used both and it is  delicious with eith

One thing about turning 50 is you can look back over your life and (hopefully) see how you have grown and matured emotionally and well, psychologically, over the last few decades.  This thought came to me last week when I was watching the Today Show and they were discussing an article that appeared in the Huffington post earlier in the month entitled "23 Things Every Woman Should Stop Doing".  I listened to their discussions and then decided I wanted to read the article in its entirety because I was sure I had done each of these things more than once in my life.  If there was ever a woman who sabotaged herself, whether knowingly or unknowingly, to live up to some type of societal expectations, it was me. To my surprise, I could not honestly say "yep, that was me" to all of  them. In fact, many of them I could not relate to in any way.  But, there were several that  did resonate with me from my past, and a couple that touched a nerve with me even now at my supposedl

I had so many good intentions for writing in my blog this summer, but one week preparing for vacation, two weeks on vacation and another week trying to recover from those two weeks (along with a bit of jet lag added in) and here we are at the end of August, which is basically the end of summer!  Wow, where did it all go?!  Our west coast vacation was wonderful, not only because the weather was perfect-- Yes,  perfect weather every day -- but because we had a great visit with my husband's sister and her family, as well as my dear father-in-law.  Many people I know have a difficult or somewhat strained relationship with their in-laws but this has never been the case for me.  Perhaps distance has made the difference since they are not "in our business" on a daily basis.  But, I really think it has to do with the people themselves.   I have been blessed in so many ways by my Middleton family and have always felt a very close connection to them from the very beginning of our m

The month has sped by...and the half century birthday (now that really makes a girl feel old when I say it that way!) came and went without too much fanfare. Part of the reason the birthday was so low key was because I had some  medical tests done the week before my birthday and the results would not be known until after the July 4th holiday.  It is kind of hard to be in a big time celebratory mood when your mind is firmly settled in the "what if..." mood. But, as I have learned over the course of this 50 year  life, the Lord is never far away  and that he indeed is "my shepherd" carefully watching over me.  And this particular week was no exception. My small group at church has been studying " The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson.  It is a book about prayer...circling your prayers and praying long, praying hard and praying through.  I had recently started reading the book, as a matter of fact. when I had my doctor's appointment where the above ment