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Lending a Helping Hand

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One of my favorite thing about my community theatre group, CAST, is the family atmosphere.  My mom, dad, brother, and I all performed in my first show with this awesome group in 1996. Today, my husband and I perform together each year. We are joined by many other families, both on stage and behind the scenes.

Theatre

By spending so much time together (three to four days a week from January through late April, early May), the theatre group becomes a family. By this time of year, we are acting like a close family, with love, friendship, laughter, and yes, even an occasional disagreement.  ;-)

Despite the times when we don’t see eye-to-eye (and really, when can you get almost 100 people together and have them always agree on everything), one thing remains–we are there for one another.  If someone is in need, we are all there, ready to jump in and help in any way we can.

Hand Reaching

This year, we instituted a program that embodies that attitude of help others, both in our organization and in our community.  “Families Helping Families” helps our CAST family help families in the community that have a financial need.  This year, we are helping a local teacher, Heather Oaks, who is battling cancer; and a fellow CAST member, Karen DeLabar, who is recovering from toxic shock syndrome.

We are asking for donation for these two families at each of our shows. The organization will match the donations and split the money raised between the two families.  It is our hope that this program will help to relieve some of the financial stress these families are facing, allowing them to focus on their recovery.

The lovely Boylan Sisters, checking out the Orange Karen Anthology. (Karen is in the middle.)

The lovely Boylan Sisters, checking out the Orange Karen Anthology. (Karen is in the middle.)

In addition to being a fellow CAST member, Karen DeLabar is also a romance writer and a great friend. (Some of you may remember our first steps into blogging, when we teamed up for Have Coffee… Will Write). In addition “Families Helping Families”, a group of talented writers came together to write an anthology, Orange Karen: A Tribute to  Warrior, for Karen’s benefit.  The book, on sale now in both paperback and eBook, features almost forty short stories across a variety of genres. All proceeds from the sale of the anthology will go to Karen’s still-mounting medical bills.

If you are interested in finding out more about Karen or her illness, check out her website. More about the anthology can be found on the Orange Karen site.  The book can be purchased online at Amazon or Createspace.

If you are local to the Lehigh Valley and would like more information about CAST or our shows, please visit our website.  Of course, our production of Annie continues this weekend (April 26-28, 2013), and tickets are still available–feel free to come check it out! :-)

Are you part of an organization that is always ready to step up and help those in need? Do you have any groups or teams you are a part of that feel like they are a part of your family? We would love to hear about them in the comments! :-)

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Chocolaty Goodness

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I had a different planned for today, but I just had to share this recipe I tried yesterday! :-) It was my grandmother’s 81st birthday (Happy Birthday Grandma!), and I was on dessert duty.

I am not a chocolate cake person–I much prefer a yellow or white cake.  But, it wasn’t my birthday, and chocolate cake is my grandmother’s favorite.

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Since I don’t usually make chocolate cake I didn’t have a go-to recipe.  So, I just used the one on the container of Hershey’s Cocoa. After all, I love their brownie recipe, so I figured the cake was worth a try, too.

Let me tell you, I was impressed! I decided on cupcakes, since my grandmother lives in an apartment building.  I figured it would make it easier for her to share the leftovers with her friends (plus, I have always preferred cupcakes).IMG_0014.JPG (2)

They were moist, fluffy, and delicious! I even used their icing recipe, which was great as well.  The cupcakes were a big hit at dinner, and my grandmother said they reminded her of the ones she used to make.  I asked if she still had the recipe, and she said she just used the one on the Hershey’s Cocoa container. Great minds think alike! ;-)

Want the recipe? Check it out on their website.

What is your favorite birthday or special occasion treat? Do you have a great chocolate cake or cupcake recipe? Which do you prefer, cakes or cupcakes? Feel free to share! :-)

I’m off to steal a leftover cupcake! ;-)

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Moving Up and Out!

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Preparation is well under way for our community theatre‘s annual production.  This year, we will be presenting Annie the final two weekends in April.

Rehearsals started in early January, and the show is coming together nicely.  But, the biggest differences will come in the next week. This week is one of the most exciting of the year for us–Move week.

We start each year with rehearsals on the floor of a local elementary school gym.  This is a great practice area, because it is roughly the same size as our stage, and it is available for rehearsals well before the stage is ready for us.

Theatre

As rehearsals go on, we get more and more of our set pieces, but it is still difficult to envision the final product–it still looks like a gym floor!

Then comes move week.  On Tuesday night, we moved all of the set pieces, props, backdrops, costume racks, and more to the high school where we perform.  Between Wednesday and Saturday, we have people working on putting the final touches on the set every day from 9am – 9pm.

And then come the fun part… our first rehearsal.  I absolutely love to watch the faces of everyone (especially the kids) as they come in and see the sets for the first time.  The look on everyone’s face as they walk onto the stage for the first time.  Suddenly, the director’s vision come to life before our eyes.

I’ll be honest, the first few rehearsals on the stage are rough–there are a lot of changes that need to be made once all of the set pieces are there.  Before long, everything falls into place.

I find I go through a similar process with my writing.  I am about 3/4 of the way to my target word count on the first book in a new series.  I was working my way through, but felt like something was missing.

The other night, I woke up at 3:18 am, and it was suddenly all clear.  I knew what was missing! I could see it!

Out of the roughest storms...

Out of the roughest storms…

In the days since, I have been hard at work adjusting the current story to this new twist.  Much like those first few rough rehearsals on the stage, the tweaks will pay off in the long run. I look forward to having a story I can be proud of, and know that each rough patch will just making it stronger in the long run.

...come the prettiest pictures.

…come the prettiest pictures.

Do you find that something beautiful usually comes from the roughest times? What are some examples in your life?

For more information on our production of Annie (or to order tickets), check out our website! :-)

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Pure Pecan Heaven

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Over the past few months, I have become quite the Pinterest addict.  I have found recipes galore, fun household tips, clothing ideas, inspirational quotes, and the list goes on and on!

I wrote a post a few months ago about some of the pins I had tried at home. Today, I want to share a recipe that I tried a few weeks ago for a large group that everyone loved. (I have been baking since I was a teenager, and my mom said it was the best thing I have ever made.  And she is a big fan of my baking.)  ;-)

I will warn you that this is not, by any means, a calorie conscious recipe! Here is what you will need:

For crust:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

For topping:

1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 cups chopped pecans

 

The crust, fresh out of the oven. To be honest, I think that alone may be heavenly!

The amazing pecan topping, ready to be poured over the crust. I can attest to the fact that this part is yummy alone! ;-)

In the oven, almost done!! :-) (Yes, there are two of them there.  I told you it was a big crowd!)

OK, I have to admit, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product–but it looked almost as good as it tasted! For the full recipe and more pics, head over to Just a Taste, an awesome food blog! While you are there, be sure to check out some more of Kelly Senyei’s awesome recipes.

 Do you have a favorite website or blog for recipes? Have you tried Pinterest yet? Have you found any irresistible tips? Or do you have any of your own you would like to share? I’d love to know!

You can follow me on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/smnonnemacher/. :-)

Favorites of Fall

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I have mentioned a few times in the past few weeks that, while the beach may be my favorite place to be, fall is my favorite time of year.  It is this season that I am thankful to live in such a great area of the country.

Taken by C. P. Lesley (from WANA Commons)

We live in eastern PA, just south of the Pocono Mountains. This time of year, the sights of fall are all around–mums are in full bloom, pumpkins abound, and the trees are a vibrant mix of reds, yellows and oranges.  Beautiful.

Of course, the beauty of the season is only one of the terrific aspects of fall. I love to cook and bake, and the foods of fall are some of my favorites–apple and pumpkin recipes, soups, stews and chilis, and comfort food galore!

Pumpkin Bread, Tomato Bisque, and Oatmeal Cookies. Yum!

It sure is a good thing that the crisp fall temps lend themselves to bigger clothing! Jeans and sweaters and scarves galore! Oh, and don’t forget the best shoe of all–BOOTS! I may live in flip-flops from April through September, but I can’t explain how much I love pulling my boots out of storage every fall.  Of course, after six months in flip-flops, I have to learn how to walk in heals again, but it is so worth it!

I lived in Florida for a few years in my early twenties, and I loved it–an hour to the Atlantic, and hour to the Gulf.  Still, the one thing I missed more than anything (other than my awesome family) was the change of seasons.  As much as I say (especially during the dreaded winter months) that I would move back in an instant, I am not sure I could give up the beauty of fall again.  Which should make my mom happy. ;-)

 What about you? What is your favorite season? What are some of your favorite things about it?

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Football and Food

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About 8 years ago, my boss at the time gave everyone in the department a local cookbook as part of our Christmas gift.  When we asked him what was his favorite recipe, he directed us to a recipe his wife submitted for white chicken chili.

I made it the following Sunday. At the time, we had NFL Sunday ticket, and Sundays revolved around football and comfort food.  :-) Since then, the White Chicken Chili has become an opening weekend tradition.

Because it is light, and pretty easy to make, I tend to make it a lot throughout the year.  It is even good on a cooler summer day.  I have taken it to many potlucks over the years, and I can honestly say that it is the recipe I get the most requests for.  :-)

I have changed it up a bit over the years, adding some ingredients and taking others away.  This is my take on the original recipe:

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

5-6 cups Great Northern Beans

2-4 cups Chicken Broth

1 12-ounce Beer (I prefer a Lager)

2 cloves Garlic

1 medium chopped Onion

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 (4 oz.) can chopped green Chiles

1 Pablano Chili, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon ground Cumin (or more to taste)

2 teaspoons dried Oregano

4 cups of cooked Chicken, cubed or shredded (I like shredded rotisserie chicken)

Hot Sauce, salt, and pepper to taste

Reducing the beer

  • Add the onion and olive oil to a large pot and sauté over medium high heat until soft and translucent.  And the garlic and Pablano pepper and cook until tender and the onion just starts to brown.
  • Add the chicken, Chilies, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper to the pot and stir.
  • Add the beer and increase the heat slightly.  Boil until the beer is reduced down and almost all liquid is gone.
  • Add the beans, hot sauce, and broth.  Bring to a boil, then drop the temperature and simmer for about an hour until thickened. (I usually need 3-4 cups of broth for this method.)
  • Alternatively, once the beer cooks down, the mixture

    All thickened up! :-)

    can be added to a crockpot before adding the remaining ingredients. Cook on low for two to four hours, although it will keep longer if necessary.  (I usually only need to add 2-3 cups of broth to the crock pot unless I am cooking it all day).

  • Serve with cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

As a fun alternative, a smaller serving of the chili is a great side to go with quesadillas.  A great alternative to grilled cheese and soup! :-)

Do you have a go-to fall food? A great Chili recipe? What is your most requested recipe? Who is your favorite football team (college or NFL)? Please share! :-)

Music and Mood

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I am not a big fan of silence.  Those that know me well can attest to that–if it is too quiet, I will start chattering about anything and everything (consider yourself warned).  I don’t even sleep in silence–I fall asleep every night to the sounds of Friends on TV.  :-)

The same is true for my writing.  I need to have some sort of background noise, whether it is the television that hangs over my desk or some type of music.  While I can usually tune out the TV, music does one better…it invokes emotion.

Now, I have to admit–I can’t listen to that great new song I just found while I attempt to write.  I can only listen to something tried and true–something I know so well, that it won’t distract me, even if I decide to sing along.  Jimmy Buffett classics fall into this category.  Same with Billy Joel.

When that fails, I turn to classical music–no words, no distractions. :-)

I am a bit of a playlist addict, making happy playlists, and sad playlists; angry playlists, and playful playlists.  I do this with regular music and classical, although I rarely mix the two.  Then, when I am writing a happy scene, I grab a happy playlist; a sad scene gets a sad playlist.  I read years ago that it makes the transition between scenes and chapters a lot easier, although I always wondered how much of an impact it really has.

Lately, I have been planning my NaNoWriMo novel for next month.  For this, I have been playing a variety of classical music in the background–everything I have, all moods lumped into one.  It has worked well, and I am a whole lot further along than I planned to be at this point.  :-)

Still, through all of this, I have been craving Christmas music.  I mentioned on Tuesday that, in my opinion, it is never too early to plan for Christmas.  I am well into this year’s shopping already.  Still, I do try to wait until November 1 to break out the Christmas music (my favorite NaNo music).

Usually, a week or so before, I start itching for holiday music–my favorite part of the season.  For some reason, this year, I have been tempted to turn it on for weeks already (although I am still resisting). I couldn’t figure out why.

Earlier this week, it hit me.  I was looking through iTunes, and realized that one of the two  Nutcracker Suite CDs I have (which I always associate with Christmas) is classified as Classical in iTunes rather than Holiday, which means I have been listening to it for weeks.

And craving Christmas music for weeks.

Hmmm… maybe the whole idea of music setting the mood really does work! ;-)

What about you? Do you listen to music while you work? Do you ever use music to set a particular mood? What is your favorite Background music? Favorite Christmas carol? I’d love to know!! :-)

What a Difference a Year Makes!

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In spring, my house was turned into a construction area for a few weeks as we knocked down one wall (or half of one, anyway), and built another.  At the time, I promised a before and after blog post to some friends–a post that never happened.

This weekend, as I was looking through old pictures, I came across a folder from a blog post I did last year showing some of our fall decorations. I was amazed at the difference that a two or three weekend project could make!

Since I slacked off on the pictures earlier in the year, and I can’t seem to find the original post from last year (I think it got lost in the midst of all of the changes I have made on this site over the past year), I decided to share some pics of our fall decorations from the past two years.  Same decorations, same angles (for the most part), although some of  the furniture is different.  :-)

Last year’s view from the kitchen…

This year’s view from the same spot. What a difference that half wall made!

An up-close look at the now-missing wall

This year, from the same spot, looking into the living room. (The wall behind the table is the new wall. It used to be a foyer…now it’s a walk in closet!)

Even my office got in on the fall decorations this year, with a pumpkin on the desk, and some witches on the wall. :-)

What about you? Have you ever done a cheep, seemingly small project, only too look back at pictures as see a huge change? Are you a fan of decorating for different seasons and holidays? Do you have any fun decorating tips? Please share below! :-)

Personally, I should be prepping for NaNoWriMo, but thinking of November makes my think of Christmas (I know, wrong holiday for November).  I think I’ll go try to figure out where to put my tree this year! ;-)

What, too early? Never! ;-)

Let’s Talk Pie!

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We headed to a picnic this weekend, armed with pasta salad and two fresh-baked cherry pies (minus one slice, which was eaten early–for strictly quality control purposes, of course). Now, Hubby was a bit bummed when the cherry pies were requested.  He insisted that “it isn’t pie season yet.”

It isn’t pie season? Really? I didn’t know there was a time of year when pie wasn’t an acceptable desert!

We went to the picnic and all had a good time picking on Hubby until our hostess’s sister open the refrigerator door, looked at me, and asked if I made the pie.

And then Hubby got a partner in crime–she, too, felt it wasn’t pie season yet.

I think of pies, and I think of the fresh (or, in this case frozen) fruit, fresh ingredients, and year-round yumminess.  I have actually always thought of cherry as more of a summer pie, best when cherries are readily available.  Now, apple and pumpkin?  I think of them more as fall pies, because that is when apples and pumpkins are freshest. (Although I did make a pumpkin pie a few weeks ago.)

They held that pie–any pie–meant fall, and they weren’t ready for fall yet.  Of course, that didn’t stop them from enjoying some of that yummy pie!

I have to add that I did sneak that early slice with a pumpkin spice latte, which is much more of a sign of fall than cherry pie! :-)

If I just made you hungry, check out my recipe (adapted from this recipe on the Food Network):

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of tart cherries (fresh, frozen, or canned)
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/8 tablespoon almond extract
  • A single Pie Crust (I usually use Pillsbury, but fresh works too) :-)
  • 1/2 cup Flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons butter

 Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Place cherries in medium saucepan and place over medium heat and cover.
  • The cherries will give off a lot of juice, which will take a few minutes.
  • Remove  cherries from heat.
  • Mix the sugar and cornstarch together, and stir the mixture into the hot cherries.
  •  Add the almond extract and return the mixture to the stove.
  • Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently.
  • Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. (If the cooled filling is too thick, add a little water, too thin, add a little more cornstarch.)
  • Roll the crust into a 9-inch pie plate.
  • Pour cooled cherry mixture into the crust.
  • Mix flour, brown sugar, and butter in a food processor or mixer until crumbly.
  • Spread crumb topping over cherry topping.
  • Bake for about 50 minutes until the crust and topping are golden brown.
  • Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

So, what do you think–can pie be a year-round treat, or does it make you think fall?

Speaking of fall, what are some of your favorite fall treats?

The First Signs of Fall

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It is only August, but I am already seeing some early signs of fall, my favorite season of the year.  The evenings are getting cooler, the leaves are starting to fall, the kids are, for the most part, back in school.  College football starts this weekend, and the NFL a week later.

Major League Baseball is starting to talk playoffs, with only a month left in the regular season.  Those of us that are Triple-A baseball fans know that the regular season ends in just a matter of days.

It still remains to be seen if my favorite minor-league team will make the playoffs–they are in a tight race for the wildcard spot. Either way, the last game of our 18-game season ticket package is tomorrow evening.

Gong in to the season, we were ecstatic about the great seats we were able to get this year.  We have field-level seats, on the aisle, directly behind home plate. The view is awesome!! :-)

Unfortunately, we couldn’t foresee the two ladies (also season ticket holders) behind us, who complained about us the entire game, every game, loudly, until we would get so annoyed that we got up and left our seats.  Apparently, my 6’3″ husband is “uncourteous” for sitting in front of these much shorter ladies, even though he slides down as far as he can in his seat so his knees are pressed against the seat in front of him.

Because of how uncomfortable this is for hubby (and the fact that he is afraid I am going to tell them off one day), we end up walking around throughout the game most days.  We have gotten some great pictures from around the stadium.

About two weeks ago, we decided to ignore the people behind us.  We paid for our seats, and we were using them! :-)

We got to our section, and immediately realized that our usually usher wasn’t there, with a late-teen girl there in his place.  We looked down the aisle, and saw that there were two ladies, likely in their mid-fifties, in our seats.  The young usher nicely asked them to move, but didn’t ask for their tickets.

The two ladies in our seats moved down two the two empty seats next to ours.  We didn’t think much of it, just figured that they wanted to sit closer to the aisle.  We laughed and said no when the people behind us told us we needed to be sitting further in so we didn’t block their view, and watched the start of the game.

Half an inning into the game, the people who were supposed to be sitting in the seats next to ours showed up.  The people who had been in our seats moved again, this time to seats a few rows in front of us.

A few minutes later, they were forced to move again.  Each time they had to move, they would laugh, looking back at the usher, almost daring her to come ask for their tickets.  By the end of the fourth inning, they had been forced to move seven times!

Seven!

We got a kick out of it.  Shockingly, the people behind us did not.  Eventually, they found seats that they were able to stay in the rest of the game.  Several others even came and joined them.  We could see them describing their game of musical chairs, and the rest of the group got a good laugh.

We were amused by how much fun they were having, just going from seat to seat.  We knew, had the usual usher been there, they would have missed out on most of their fun.  More than anything, we were amused by the fact that they gave the ladies behind us something else to complain about–it was like they forgot hubby was even there! :-)

Oh, I almost forgot–our team won, too.  All in all, not a bad night! ;-)

Have you gone to any baseball games this summer? Do you have any fun (or not-so-fun) people-watching stories? Are you looking forward to the change of season, or are you clinging to the last remaining days of summer?