Goodbye Sweet Margaret

I learned yesterday that my friend Margaret went to heaven. I really love her and I am really going to miss her. Big Daddy posted yesterday that they had a special friendship since the day they met (in high school) and they did, but that's the funny thing about Mags: I don't know anyone who knew her who didn't feel like they had a special relationship with her Above and beyond her many gifts,  (and seriously, she was pretty and smart and graceful and kind and talented--it would have been really annoying if she just wasn't so darn nice!) Margaret made people feel special. I've thought about this a lot and I think I know where it comes from, I think she knew how to be completely present.

I will miss that most. I will miss being able to send a text and get back a response that made me feel like I am THE MOST AMAZING PERSON EVER! I will miss the way she lit up and reached out and held on like there was nothing more important than right here, right now in this moment. I am going to honor her by trying to slow down breathe deep and pay attention and in my way, share a little bit of the gift she gave to me. But right now, I have to go find a Kleenex.

Peace, love and kindness to you all.

Freezepocolypse 2013

DFW is frozen solid and we've been house-bound for days. So while we are here, I decided to try out a recipe I've seen all over Pinterest and I've got to tell you it's AMAZING! I found it here and I modified it slightly because I only had 1/2 a bag of Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips. I also used multi-grain saltines. I figured with a dark chocolate half a bag would be plenty. I topped mine with chopped pecans and coconut. This one is super simple and super yummy!

CHRISTMAS CRACK

Ingredients

1. 1 cup of butter
2. 3/4 cup brown sugar
3. 1 sleeve of Saltine Crackers
4. 1 bag of chocolate chips
5. assorted toppings such as pretzels or m&m's

Instructions

1. First preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a sheet cake pan or jelly roll pan with foil that has been well oiled. You need a pan with sides.
3. Lay out the crackers in a single layer in the bottom of the pan. Lay the crackers in the bottom of the pan in a single layer with little to no space between crackers. It will take about one sleeve of saltines.
4. Next put the 1 cup of butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar into a pan on the stove and bring it to a boil. You need to stir it constantly until it is well blended and you can’t see the butter on the top anymore. Once it is blended let it boil for 5 minutes while stirring. Make sure you have the crackers done before this step.
5. When it is ready the toffee will pull away from the edge of the pan easily.
6. Now you need to pour the toffee over the top of the crackers and spread it out.
7. Straighten up any wayward crackers with a fork. Then immediately place this in the oven for 5-6 minutes. After 5 minutes pull it out of the oven and spread the chocolate chips on top carefully, the mixture will be extremely hot.
8. As the chips melt smooth them with a spatula to make an even layer of chocolate.
9. Let this stand until cooled or you can pop it into the freezer to speed up the process.