Byebye Year of the Blog...hello ???

A new year is upon us....and the year of the blog has come to an end. What, you ask, does this mean for the future of this blog? Great question!

Cheers to a great year in the blogosphere...thanks for following along with me through the many Trapp happenings.


I will leave you with promised cookie treat (recipe of the month) from my Great Aunt Esther. You can't go wrong when you bring in the new year with a great batch of cookies!

Aunt Esther’s brown sugar cookies

Cream together:

*2 Cups brown sugar

*2 eggs

*3/4 cup shortening or margarine

*add 1 cup of milk

Add dry ingredients previously mixed

*4 cups of flour

*3 teaspoons baking powder

*2 teaspoons baking soda

*1 teaspoon vanilla

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes

Let cool and ice with your favorite icing---use food coloring to make it a colorful cookie.

p.s. Happy Anniversary to Danny & Gretchen!

Tuscumbia or Bust

It is soon time to bid farewell to the Trapps in tiny town, Tuscumbia... and I must say that the holiday happiness and fun with family illuminated the Trapp's home this Christmas.

Christ's birth has been celebrated.
Praises to our King have been sung.
Fellowship, family, and friends have not been forgotten.

Much Scrabble has been played.
Many movies have been watched.
Homemade oatmeal creme pies abound.

Annie's visions of pink purses and lip gloss came true...
Santa did not disappoint.
Chrissy got her braces tightened.
Carolina won the Bingo jackpot.

...all is right with the world.








From cold to colder, we begin our trek to Breck.

So long darling dachshunds,



Hello King Snowflake Cavalier.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MR. SPIVY AND CAROLINA!!!

20/20

Holy Cow....best weekend in weeks! Today is the 20th...so get ready for 20 reasons why this glorious weekend will be forever filed in the Trapp treasured weekend box (aka: Year of the Blog Vault)

1. Fried Chicken and Mashed 'Taters From my Favorite Neighbor. Who needs KFC when you have Henrietta's Fried Chicken? Thats right my friends...be jealous of the hot, crispy, homemade goodness from the sweet white-haired wonder next door. SO good that when she brought it over this morning (still hot from the fryin') we decided to be late to church so that we could enjoy a priceless moment of hovering over the steaming plate, eating fried chicken with our fingers early in the mornin'...mmm mmm good.
2. Sunny Days: After my skin nearly had an allergic reaction from this foreign burst of bright often referred to as the sun...the sun & I got cozy & I nearly got burnt today!
3. Making New Friends: Finally getting to know some people near where we live beyond just a smile and a passing glance. Sometimes I wonder what life would really be like if I completely and willingly followed Jesus's greatest commands to love the Lord my God with all of my heart and love my neighbor as myself. What a remarkable and profound call He has given us!
4. Baking Monster Cookies: Who was with me in this pursuit? Non other than my favorite baking buddies: John Trapp and good Ol' Paula Dean. Check it out, y'all
5. A Visit from Santa Hritz: So fun to have a snippet of a day with a fun friend...with a bonus of being showered with presents from that good ol' Kevin!
6. Disc Golf & Running: An afternoon outing with John to new favorite spot proved to be just what the doctor ordered.
7. Blockbuster Movie Marathon: On the List: Knocked Up, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Gran Torino.
8. Dinner Date at Escalantes: John actually held a conversation AND ate queso at the same time...a difficult feat for the novice multi-tasker : )

9. Taylor Swift Christmas album for Carolina: A need I say more?


10. Christ The King at Christmas Time!: Worshiping Our King in Church and then listening to my hubby teach his heart out to his students in Sunday School is a joy and a privilege each week.
11. FAMILY FEUD on the Wii!!!! Fast Money domination by Johnty & Coose.
12. Starbucks: visits with NO textbooks and computers..I almost didn't know what to do with myself.
13. Organizing the Entire House:...3 trips to the container store later, my massive makeover project continues...
14. Oatmeal: so hot and steamy that it fogs my glasses. It's a Maple Brown Sugar miracle.
15. Sleeping in...NO alarm clock, baby...& as much as I miss running with Paigie Paige, I don't miss the 5:30 am wake up call.
16. Survivor Finale!!!: Get ready for next season...All Stars show: Villians vs. Heroes.
17. Picnic: Blanket + Food + John + Chrissy = Our most delightful Sunday afternoon.
18. Westlake to State: Although there was no 'W' for the 'W', always proud of those Chapparels
19. Anticipation of a favorite friend coming into town tomorrow!!! Guess who!?!
20. Christmas on Glourie Drive: A spontaneously supreme Christmas extravaganza gift exchange with my very best friend in the whole wide world!!

I know, I know, my weekend was an explosion of fun and you now cannot contain yourself from calling me and talking to me about all of the details. However, you must know something... I currently have Ringback (not to be confused with Ringworm). One can acquire "ringback" when they spend too long looking up potential ring tones on their cell phone and accidentally press some button that magically transplants a song into the ringing feature of your phone. Thus, when someone calls my phone, the caller now hears a sweet song and serenade from Ms. Patty Griffin herself. (Truly a musical treat for all to enjoy.) If by chance you phone me and do not have the immense pleasure of hearing Patty perform, its because out of embarrassment, I have turned my phone off in hopes of resolving the problem promptly. Until then, I'm Gonna Let Him Fly.

Treats for you!

Well, I can't give you cookies through the blog, but I can give you a few laughs! Or rather, my husband and his silly students can provide you hilarious, humor-filled videos from the student ministry video gallery! Another fantastic year at Christ the King has come and almost gone, and I hope you enjoy watching what John has been up to!

We had the white elephant Christmas party for the high-schoolers at our house the other day...I will have to post some more pictures of the highlights! Until then, allow the little gem below to brighten your day. Speaking of brightened days...this is Houston's first full day of sunshine since I can't remember when. AMAZING!

Cookies!

I hope you are getting ready to enjoy some yummy cookies this holiday season. I've heard people say that they wish there were more English words to distinguish the word 'love'. I would like to propose that there should be more words to identify 'cookie'. Allow me to explain....

The dictionary defines cookie as:

cook·ie also cook·y (kk)

n. pl. cook·ies

1. A small, usually flat and crisp cake made from sweetened dough.

2. Slang A person, usually of a specified kind: a lawyer who was a tough cookie.

3. Computer Science A collection of information, usually including a username and the current date and time, stored on the local computer of a person using the World Wide Web, used chiefly by websites to identify users who have previously registered or visited the site.

This post is about "a small, usually flat and crisp cake made from sweetened dough", not slang or computer science. My point is that not all cookies should be called cookies. Unfortunately, I had to learn this the hard way. I must confess that I have been led astray and deceived by a cookie monster impostor. Its called: The Luna Cookie. I saw the word cookie on the package and before I knew it, I was disillusioned by dreams of dough and hopes of a healthy cookie . They told me it was a cookie...so I bought the cookie...and I bought it again, and again. Ok my friends, its time to admit that I got a little loony with the Luna Cookie. Can you even believe that this was my definition of "cookie" all semester? I would pack in my sack lunches and dinners for school:



Ok, it looks pretty good, right? It even tastes pretty good....Luna is great. But seriously, it is not a cookie. This picture also makes it look deceivingly large. I found this picture that someone took of a Luna cookie next to their blackberry...here is the actual size.






I'm sorry, but Berry Pomegranate is NOT a cookie flavor. Why I would pay $1.50 for an average granola bar disguised in a shiny cookie package, I'm not sure...but I'm thankful for my week in "cookie therapy" to dispel the cookie lies I've been buying into for too long. So, what have I been up to since my break started? That's right....


Baking REAL cookies!!! Mom even came into town so that we could bake together.


Stay tuned for the recipe of the month. You better believe its gonna be a "small, usually flat and crisp cake made from sweetened dough"!

The Girl Effect

Anyone want to stop paying attention to Tiger and start paying attention to a girl?

Who's with me?

Lions and bunnies and blizzards...oh my!

The last 48 hours = me calculating 75 freshmen general psych. student's exam grades and final averages, cramming & taking 4 exams, and drinking way too many lattes.

The last 48 minutes = hot shower + Survivor + snuggling up under a blanket on the couch + a Dairy Queen blizzard

Isn't it amazing how mere minutes can repair and refresh the wear and tear of some of the most long-lasting days? Just when I thought I was getting delusional, calmness & clarity have come back into my life! Seriously though, you know how they say sometimes doctors fear they are going to die or have some freakish disease? I'm pretty sure counselors must sometimes feel like they are going crazy. Example: This morning on my study break run, I stumbled upon what I was convinced (momentarily) was a real lioness. I do now understand that no Nala could successfully kick it curbside on Glourie Drive, but in the moment, I was not so easily convinced. I knew it was no dog (even though our neighbors LOVE to "walk" their dogs without leashes. I'm sorry, but you are not actually walking you dog if you don't have a leash on it...you are just aimlessly following it around your neighborhood watching it poop in your neighbor's yard and hoping it won't get hit by a car)... and I knew it was no Santa's reindeer. I've always wanted to know what I would do if I saw something as crazy as a lion in a residential area for real...I'm thinking the whole "fight or flight" theory should actually be fight or flight or freeze... because I decide to stop dead in my tracks & inspect the creature from a distance until I was sure it was indeed, stuffed....and not the kind of stuffed that a lion would be if it ate a happy little jogger. Why was there a stuffed lion sitting on the curb of my neighbor's house? I'm not sure, but I did take a picture to document that I am not crazy (although now I'm probably crazy for taking a picture of my neighbor's stuffed lion), and I definitely saw my neighbor come out of her house in her pajamas moments later to pet the lion's tail. What?!?!

Onto other interesting things...I'm starting to feel less absurd for my last post to Annie's Organic Snack Mix Bunnies...did anyone notice that my anonymous letter got a rather prompt reply from Annie & the bunnies, cheesy puns & all? What do ya know...they have a new organic bunny mix out! Ha! But I, being done with nibbling dinners from a cracker box in the middle of class, might be putting the bunnies on the shelf for a little bit...because I am am officially halfway through grad school! (Just far enough in to feel like I can't get out...and far enough from being finished to feel like its never gonna end.) But have no fear, there is NO room for complaining because I just finished this insane semester and I have a whole MONTH off. I will now make it my mission to tend to my husband and house that have been sufficiently neglected as of late.

May your weekend be filled with blizzards, snuggling, and creepy stuffed lions.

Dear Annie's Organic Snack Mix Bunnies,

Thank you for hopping into my life during a time of need. Finals have been difficult, and your "delicious and complementary flavors--cheddar, buttery rich, and pretzel--brought together in one colorful box" have certainly been a rabbit sized habit as of late. I hope that others have also been able to "try them in one bite, or unite them in a mouthful". Even though I had to miss the CTK Women's Christmas dinner and yummy feast to take another 8:00-10:00 exam tonight, you stuck with me...never escaping my trusty Tupperware until you were ready to hide out in my burrows of brackets. You are, as Annie O claims you to be, "simply irresistible", and if you could just allow me to munch my way through one more day of studying, it would help me to do cheddar...err... I mean better, on my last 2 exams. As you can see, my cheesy humor has taken a turn for the worse, so thank you for always crackering up no matter what.

Sincerely,
The only girl who would write a letter to a box of bunny-shaped crackers instead of studying

Oh puhhhleeeaasseee

Houston Snow.................... Reading Snow
(on left)...............................(on right)

Big brother just had to go & show me up.
Fine! I don't even like the cold weather anyway..
so there.

Well that was a first!

Not only was yesterday the first time Joe Deegan had ever been in the presence of a raspberry (not to be confused with a hollowed out strawberry), it was also Houston's first snow of the season! (and by first, I mean last). Crazy, but true...Houston managed to squeak ahead of Pennsylvania by a day and be the first to have snow on the ground! Have no fear--- the weather nerd brother of mine reporting from Reading called bright & early to give his latest and get the full report : ). Yesterday was also my first day with no class...not because of the snow, but because I am done with class!...although I can't get too excited because finals, like the mafia, are still in my midst. (pardon my youth group game reference)

So, lots of firsts this weekend!...Along with those listed above, it was our first time to have a Houston party canceled because of winter weather, our first time to have Sara & David Lewis for dinner, my first time to go to an ornament decorating party today, and John and Joe Cavanaugh's first disc golf tournament to WIN FIRST this year! How about that?!

Speaking of firsts, remember your first visit to Santa? Probably not...but if you asked my dear niece, Annie, you could probably get her to recall her first, second, and THIRD visits to Santa(s) so far this year!! And for all of you aunts and uncles out there, don't hate me because I happen to have the cutest niece on the planet.


This is a picture of Annie and her new best friend, Santa #3. (who may or may not be John's old neighbor who used to help John polish his rock collection).

I hope you have enjoyed your first week of December!

Oh the things that amuse me....

Today in the car on the way to school, I heard a ticking noise. I spent the first minute believing that the turn-signal fairy was trying to mess with my mind by creating a mysterious blinker malfunction, but I soon realized that it was a buzzer to the Scattegories game that was in my trunk that was indeed ticking like a time bomb. I thought "Oh how funny" until the buzzer went off with its "buzz" and then promptly resumed its ticking. Yes, I did indeed drive 25 minutes in rush hour traffic with a game board ticker ticking in my trunk.

So what do I do to try and occupy myself? Phone a friend! (lucky John)...as I was dialing, I quickly remembered that my freaking phone is doing that thing again where nobody can hear me but I can hear them. (and NO, its not on mute). Nothing like having a conversation where I'm screaming "I love you" into the phone knowing John can't hear me...or board game bomb coming from the back seat.

Alas, I reverted to blaring the Chipmunks singing Christmas Carols and sipping water from my sippy cup. Thank you, Eddie Bauer, for tricking me into buying what I thought was a cutey pink water bottle, and what I am now convinced is a sippy cup for giant babies.




At least its BPA free and has a freezable ice core! (Not to be confused as a freakishly large straw).

Onto other headlines of the day....

Man's Missing Wallet Found In Glourie Drive Garbage Can.

In a residential area just north of the loop, a man named John Trapp retrieved his very own billfold wallet from the trash can by the fence of his home. When asked what Trapp felt about his retrieval he remarked, "relief". Trapp refers to his wallet, keys, and phone as the "trinity of his belongings". He and his supportive wife, Christine, frequently review the list together before John leaves the house to make sure he is not lacking a key component. This morning, as they ventured out to chop down their one-of-a-kind Christmas tree from the piney paradise of Houston's very own Garden Center, John was perplexed as to where his wallet could be. After moments of panic poured through the Trapp's living room, John calmly retraced his steps, and recalled that he had accidentally dropped his Ipod in the outside trash can the previous night. He decided to do some rummaging one more time. When Trapp opened the lid to see if he had pitched more than the just the pod, he found his wallet between a banana peel and a mysterious ball of crumpled Starbucks straws. When asked where John will go from here, he replied "You know, I've just gotta try and go on living my life. At first I didn't want anyone to know that my wallet spent the night in the trashcan, or to judge me for keeping the same wallet after I rescued it, but I think its important that my story be told". December is here, the economy is hurting, and we can only hope that more people's wallets will be restored. Many lessons can be learned from this one man's journey to the garbage can and back again, but let this be a message of hope. As you prepare to get rid of old items, unused belongings, and lighten your load before the holidays, think twice before you throw it out- remember that one man's trash is another man's treasure!

A Blog Sized Thank You!!!

I could not delay a thank-you, and I could not pass up the opportunity to share with you the greatest gift....

Dear Danny and Gretchen,

Arriving home at 9:34 pm ready to get out of the pouring rain and be done with class made me happy. When I looked at the front porch, I was even happier....and then when we opened up the gigantic package that was sitting on the front porch, I was the very happiest!!!! AMAZING!!! You two are so talented, creative, thoughtful, and fun!! Thank you for the most wonderful Christmas present...it will surely bless our home, add joy to our relationships & ministry, and encourage our competitive "gamer's" spirit :).

And for all of you blog readers...check out the amazing cornhole bean bag toss set that Gretch & Danny MADE for us!!!


Love you D & G!!!
---Johnty & Coose

Keep It In Your Car

There are certain staples that seem necessary to keep in my car at all times:

• spare tire
• umbrella for a rainy day
  
• Garmin so I don't drive aimlessly around Houston
  
• chap stick
• sun glasses
• rubber-bands for my braces
• an extra sweater
  
• a bazillion empty water bottles & starbucks straw wrappers
  (just kidding on that one...empty water bottles and starbucks remains are neither essential nor necessary, but unfortunately my reality)

Anyway, I realized that my car, is of course, a reflection of my life that is, sadly so, all about me. I have added a new thing to my list of what I should keep in your car...hopefully this one will help more than just me and my chapped lips. So for those of you who love lists, here is a LIST to add to your list of what you should keep in your car!!!

It may require you doing some research, and I need to do more of mine, but basically I had a conversation at a gas station last week with a woman in need of some help. I really wanted to help her... I felt at that time she needed some help that I could not give her myself, so I wanted to give her some numbers of places to call that she didn't know about. Then I realized, I had NO idea what numbers she should call in Houston. Embarrassingly so, I have been living in this city for nearly a year and a half and I could not point her in the right direction. I remembered 2-1-1 and 4-1-1 and after much delay, mustered up a couple helpful numbers for her...but I left feeling like I had some work cut out for me. I remembered that when I lived in Nashville their were little cards that existed that had helpful numbers on them (homeless shelters, police stations, pet shelters, etc)...so I'm out to find something like that for Houston---perhaps create one?!

Anyway, this is the best I have found so far.... Important Numbers
There are some I would add, like domestic violence shelters and other hot-line numbers, but that's a start.

SO, my encouragement to you today, is to find numbers of important resources in your area, print them off, and keep them in your console. You never know when you will run into someone who needs to be pointed in the right direction.