jennifer, Author at Hopeful Homemaker

Stuck.

November 16, 2010 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

I want to live purposefully. Simply. Reverently. Thoughtfully. Happily. Quietly. Beautifully.

I need to do laundry. Clean the kitchen. Clean toilets. Change another diaper. Pick up 1,000 things off the floor. Plan dinner. Plan everything. Get it all done, and do it again. (And again, and again, and again….)

At this moment, the two worlds seem awfully far apart and impossible to reconcile. I feel stuck.

Are the desires of my heart and the needs of my family mutually exclusive? Please understand, being a wife and mother is the fulfillment of my life’s dream. But there is this part of me that craves more ; correction: less. My heart whispers that it must be possible, but my days testify that I am nowhere near the merging of the two.

I’m sure the answers are close by if I can peel back enough layers of stuff, commitments, wants and waste. That process takes time. Usually I feel up for the battle, but tonight I feel like I can’t see enough progress to stay motivated.

The answer? Keep going. Try to open my heart. Look at the sky and not at the mud. It’s no fun feeling stuck.

What do you do when you’re stuck?

Hopeful Homemaker

Can Someone Please Tell Me…

November 15, 2010 jennifer Entertaining, Musings on Life and Beauty

how I get myself into things like this?

HH

3 comments party ideas

No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

November 15, 2010 jennifer All Things Pumpkin, Desserts

This dessert is a hybrid of three different recipes. Gratefully, it came together as I hoped it would. It’s a no-bake cheesecake with gingersnap crust, cheesecake layer, and pumpkin layer. It looks pretty and tastes rich and delicious.

If you don’t want to bake at all, pick up a graham cracker crust from the store. I think it would also taste good, but I prefer the way the dark brown crust looks with the pumpkin color, and the gingersnap taste adds the perfect touch.

Here we go.

For the crust you’ll need:

1.5 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs 3 Tb. sugar 1 tsp. ground ginger 6 Tb. melted butter In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs, sugar and ginger. Add melted butter and stir to combine. Press into 9 inch pie pan and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Next comes the cheesecake layer. You will need:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 Tb. lemon juice 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk 3/4 cup cool whip In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk and mix until combined. Fold in cool whip. Spread over cooled gingersnap crust.

Last comes the pumpkin layer which is basically an adaptation of this pumpkin dip recipe .

Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin 1 (5 oz) package instant vanilla pudding 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ginger 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1/4 tsp. allspice 1/3 cup raw sugar 8 oz. cool whip Mix together pumpkin and pudding. Add spices. Fold in cool whip and then stir in raw sugar. Spread over cheesecake layer. Refrigerate 2 hours. Slice and serve.

YUM. It’s fun to experiment. We loved the way the layers look together, and the combination of flavors in each bite.

Hope you love it!
Hopeful Homemaker