Every school year, the Nielson household chooses a family theme, like Be prepared or Listen and obey. I like this. So for 2010 I chose a personal theme. A mind-quieting mantra.

To me, "carry on" has two meanings - marching forward no matter what, and having a mischievous good time.

(Rob feels the need to point out that the stress I expressed over getting that print framed without a single piece of lint or cat hair under the glass was not at all in the spirit of the motto.)

This year for Christmas we gave everyone homemade marshmallows. They were easier than I thought they'd be to make, and super fun. Seriously, if you have kids you should make this right away. The way Rob's eyes widened as the marshmallow fluff tripled in size in the mixer...I can only imagine his excitement if he'd been 5 years old.

There are lots of recipes online, and this one does a good job borrowing the best wisdom from many of them. My version is below.

2 1/2 packets of gelatin (about 2.5 tbsp)
1 cup water
1 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
peppermint extract (or vanilla for plain marshmallows)
red food coloring or gel icing (optional)
corn starch and powdered sugar, combined into a mixture of equal parts
cooking spray

You also should have on hand a stand mixer with whisk attachment, wax paper, and a candy thermometer. You can use a 9x13 pan, or a smaller one for thicker marshmallows.

1. Put 1/2 cup water in stand mixer bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top.  Let sit while you do the next steps.

2. In a saucepan, add 1/2 cup water, corn syrup, sugar and salt.  Over low heat, stir until sugar dissolves.

3. Turn heat to high and let boil until candy thermometer reaches about 250 degrees. Use a fairly large pan because the sugar mixture bubbles up a lot as it’s cooking.

4. While that’s cooking, prepare the pan.  Line the bottom and sides with wax paper, then brush on a generous amount of oil and coat with corn starch/powdered sugar mixture.

5. Once sugar mixture on stove has reached 250, carefully pour into mixing bowl with gelatin and water in it while mixer is on medium speed.  Whisk until sugar mixture is completely incorporated.  

6. Turn mixer to high speed.  Mixture will start to get light and fluffy and will expand a lot.  It starts to look like marshmallow creme.  It’ll get about 3 times more voluminous.  Keep mixing until it doesn’t get any puffier (between 5-10 minutes). Right at the end, add a little peppermint extract. Use your judgment on amount as a little goes a long way.

7. Pour into prepared pan. Squeeze red food coloring/gel icing on top over top and swirl with a knife. Smooth top with oiled spatula, if necessary.

8. Let sit overnight.

9. The next day, lift entire marshmallow block out of the pan, and flip it onto an oiled surface dusted with corn starch/powdered sugar mixture. Peel off wax paper and cut into squares with powdered scissors. Dust each marshmallow in corn starch/powdered sugar mixture.

Makes 2-3 dozen. Store in an airtight container.

(I got the candy boxes and decorative wax paper at Williams-Sonoma. They made for a classy gift package, but I couldn't order the boxes without a monogram and so our marshmallows were a bit more pretentious than intended.)

So it's January and I'm finally emerging from my cocoon. At least for a little while. I've got some posts already written, and some to write - books I've read, recipes, thoughts on the new year. I just haven't felt much like sharing lately, and I've been busy enough that some things have needed to slide. Many evenings I don't even turn on the computer, which may sound crazy but has been kind of nice. Although I do miss my online friends, if not the time spent keeping up.

This month so far has been a bit of a mixed bag for me. Just like January a few years ago, I lost my ability to sleep for awhile there and am just starting to build it back. And just like last time, I'm learning some lessons in the process, lessons I'd much prefer to learn during the daytime but apparently some things are only taught at 3:00 am. For example, I learned that counting blessings works better than counting sheep. Also, I was reminded that having my husband's arms around me not only sets my heart aflutter but is often the only thing that can calm my pounding heart.

And smack dab in the midst of that low moment, a high point. It was announced that a grant proposal I wrote for work has been awarded. This was a huge deal - it's for nearly a million dollars, and I spent pretty much all fall working on this. The stress was overwhelming and success was not at all guaranteed, so I feel very grateful, and gratified. I think it's okay to say that I'm damn proud of myself.

I've also been remodeling our living room, tearing off the wallpaper, patching holes, and painting. There's symbolism there, just like in cleaning out the fridge. There's a moment when you stand in the center of the room and take it all in, and that's the only way to know what needs to be done. I'd gotten so used to the peeling patch of wallpaper by the door (thanks, Simon) that I almost didn't see it anymore. For me, entering a new year also calls for a moment of stillness, a taking stock of things. And then I can take action to improve the space around me. And at every level, I think life comes down to that. Improving the space around us, bettering whatever it is that we touch.