One Simple Country Girl

The Winner Is. . .

2012-01-29T10:21:00.002-05:00

I want to thank all of y'all who entered my 400 followers giveaway! I can't believe I have surpassed 400 followers! I wish I could give each of you a gift card, but since I am currently unemployed, that ain't gonna happen! LOL! You all inspire me so much with your creativity and for that, I thank you. I'm sorry I wasn't able to get on here yesterday and announce the winner like I had planned. I had a lot going on and just didn't get time to do it. So, without further ado, the winner of the $50 Visa gift card is. . .

Kathy @ Dandelions and Dust Bunnies!!!!

Congrats to Kathy!! If you will get me your mailing info, I'll get your prize out to you as soon as possible.

I have a few small projects I'm working on right now that I hope to share with y'all this week as well as some tweaking I've done on some wall groupings in my living room that I plan to share if the weather will cooperate and allow me to get some decent pictures of. So I hope you will check back in for all that. Have a great Sunday!!

Until next time. . .

400 Followers Means It's Giveaway Time!!

2012-01-23T16:05:00.005-05:00

Woohoo! Y'all rock! 400 followers ~ how awesome is that?? Pretty awesome, if you ask me! In light of this accomplishment, here's what one of you lucky followers is going to win:

A $50 VISA GIFT CARD!!!!!!!!

That's right! A $50 Visa gift card to spend on whatever your heart desires! I have decided to leave this giveaway open until midnight on Friday, January 27, 2012. So if you haven't signed up for it yet, there's still some time to do so. And if you aren't following me yet, sign up and leave me a comment on my giveaway post here letting me know. That's also where you will find all the rules associated with this giveaway. Good luck!

Please note: COMMENTS LEFT ON THIS POST WILL NOT BE COUNTED!!!

I want to thank you all for following along with me these past three years. I know my blog is not the prettiest, fanciest, or most amusing blog out there, but it's who I am and I am honored that y'all think enough of me to want to follow along.

Until next time. . .

Magazine Copy Cat Challenge

2012-01-22T17:38:00.009-05:00

Debbie over at Debbiedoo's Blogging and Blabbing is hosting another one of her fabulous Magazine Copy Cat Challenge linky parties. These are so much fun! The object of the challenge is to find a picture from a magazine or catalog and "copy" it, putting your own personal touch on it. I found this awesome picture from Pottery Barn's online catalog and it's what I'm using as my inspiration:

(source)

And here is my version:

I love how this turned out! And it was so easy to recreate this look for under $10. I purchased all my supplies, which included the plate, bowl, heart dish, red hearts and table runner, from the Dollar Tree. I used a cursive script stamp that I had purchased a while back at Hobby Lobby and just randomly stamped my table runner in various directions. I also used the stamp on some ivory candles that I had. I already had the red placemat and I used a book box to elevate my candles and loving couple Willow Tree figurine, which was a gift to me on our last wedding anniversary from my hubby. I brought in a live ivy plant for texture and a bit more color. I took a scrap piece of linen fabric and folded it like a napkin which I then stamped with my rubber stamper. I have had the skeleton key for a long time, just waiting for a spritz of black spray paint. I made the tag by cutting it out of some card stock, stamping it with the rubber stamper and then handwriting my message on it. I tied it up with a scrap piece of red ribbon. So simple, yet so elegant!

Click here to check out all the other great "copy cats" in this fun party!

In addition, I'm also linking this up with Marty's Tabletop Tuesday. Click on the picture to take you there!

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Until next time. . .

Time for a Giveaway!

2012-01-18T14:18:00.003-05:00

Wow! I logged on this morning to find that I am at 393 followers! How awesome is that?? I think this calls for a celebration, don't you?? So I've decided to host a SURPRISE GIVEAWAY. Once I reach 400 followers, I will draw a winner, but won't reveal what the winner will receive until the day I announce who the winner is.

Here's the rules:

1. You MUST be a follower! (of course!)
2. Leave me a comment on THIS post only telling me you want to be entered. Comments on any other post will not be counted.
3. Post this giveaway on your blog. Then come back here and leave me a separate comment on this post telling me you did this. This will get you a 2nd entry.
4. If someone becomes a new follower and they tell me that you referred them, you will get another entry!

So that's up to three chances to win! This giveaway is open to all followers, no matter where you live. The giveaway will stay open until I reach 400 followers. And I promise you, it's gonna be a good one!!!

Good luck!

Until next time. . .

A Sneak Peek. . .

2012-01-15T12:23:00.006-05:00

. . .at my laundry room! The laundry room makeover has begun! I've already hit a couple of snags, but I am happy to say that progress is being made. I knew I wanted green walls so I went to Lowe's and picked out an Apple green color that was bright and vibrant. My laundry room is very tiny and windowless so my goal was to try and make it a brighter room using paint. I bought one of those little sample jars of paint (love those!) and ran home to slap it on the walls! Well, to my horror, it was more of a fluorescent lime green. Horrible!!! Not at all what I was aiming for. So back to Lowe's to pick out a more toned down green. This time I chose Valspar's Garden Hedge. I. Love. It!!! I am kind of leaning towards a garden theme for this room so it's a bit ironic that my paint color should have a garden themed name, don't you think?

Here's a few pictures of what I've got going on so far. There's still a very long way to go. Hubby is going to install a couple of cabinets for me for some much needed storage. We haven't purchased those yet. He's been working so much overtime at his new job (which is a good thing for the paycheck!) that he hasn't had much spare time to work on his "honey do" list. But I am not on any set schedule to finish this room, so we will get there when we get there.

Paint going on the wall. Yay!!

A peek at the new flooring:

And a couple of decorative elements that may find their way to a new home in here:

So that's what I've been working on this weekend. Have you started any home improvement projects yet this year?

Until next time. . .

My First Little Project of the Year

2012-01-13T14:18:00.006-05:00

I have been busy around here getting started on my laundry room makeover and working on my project for an upcoming copy cat challenge party that Debbie from Debbiedoo's Blogging and Blabbing will be hosting in a few days. In the midst of all this, I have found the time to work on a couple of small projects and I'd like to share one of those with y'all today.

I had these little terra cotta trays in my craft stash and decided to turn them into drink coasters. Here are the supplies that I used:

Terra cotta trays, scrapbook paper, paint, Modge Podge, and rubber bumpers.

All I did was trace the bottom of my trays onto my scrapbook paper and cut the circles out. Then I painted my trays black, modge podged the scrapbook paper to the inside of the trays and added another layer of modge podge to the top of the paper just to seal them in there real good. Then I stuck my rubber bumpers onto the bottom of the trays to protect my furniture. These are self adhesive so no messy glue needed! Then I finished them off with a quick spray of sealer because I wanted to make sure that any sweating glass that sits on them wouldn't cause my scrapbook paper to peel off. And here is the finished product:

And here's a picture showing the bumpers I used on the bottom:

I'm really pleased with how these turned out. They remind me of Mackenzie-Childs style, without the Mackenzie-Childs price, which I love! I'm linking this to some of the fabulous parties listed at the bottom of my blog. Please check them out for some great inspiration!

I bought several sheets of this scrapbook paper and I'm working on another project with the rest of it using this:

Any guesses on what I'm up to???

Until next time. . .

Why Buying a New Sofa May Be The Death of Me. . .

2012-01-07T21:45:00.003-05:00

Hubby and I have been discussing purchasing new living room furniture a bit later this year. Ok, I have been mostly discussing it and he has been grunting and nodding every now and then. I'm taking that as agreement on his part!! :)

So today, we stopped in at a local furniture store to look around and get some ideas of what we would both like to have gracing our living room for the next several years. No surprise, neither of us really agreed on the same sofa! Hhhmmm. . .

Right now, we have a hand me down sleeper sofa which sags terribly even after several attempts by me to "stuff" it with every available quilt and throw I can get my hands on. It is a tan suede kind of material, or at least that is what it is supposed to be. It has been through the wringer and now is sporting such lovely stains that the actual color is not one recognized on any color wheel that I could locate! In addition, we have a beautiful matching (NOT!!) burgundy colored recliner that sports an equally lovely (again, NOT!!) Indian style throw blanket on the seat to cover up the ripped seam located towards the back of the seat. The poor thing is so rickety that most visitors (thankfully, we have few. . .wonder why that is??) tend to steer away from it and choose the stained sofa as the preferred seating. I would show you pictures of these outstanding pieces, but I don't want to make anyone jealous!

Anyway, I digress. So we are shopping the furniture store with the sales lady trailing behind us, offering her unsolicited advice, plopping our behinds down on any sofa that looked like anything remotely pleasing to us, then proceeding to "yay" or "nay" it. Most of my "yays" were hubby's "nays", and vice versa. Sigh. This is going to be much harder than I anticipated.

Here are a few pictures of some that we may be able to compromise on:

We are thinking of a sage color, but I couldn't find pictures of three of these in the sage color, so just use your imagination. Couch #2, which is the only one of these actually in the sage color in these pictures, is the one hubby liked the best. I haven't made up my mind on my favorite yet.

Decisions, decisions!! I hate them! And then you have to decide on coffee tables and end tables.

That's when I ran out of the store screaming!!

Until next time. . .

Project 2012 ~ Improving Me!

2012-01-02T17:17:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I shared my Project 2012 goals for my home. Today, I'm sharing my Project 2012 goals for improving me.

I think we all have things we would change about ourselves. Most everyone makes the weight loss resolution at the start of a new year and more often than not, most of us break it before January is over! While I would like to lose a little weight, I have decided that I am not going to set a specific amount to lose by a certain date. I am going to focus on eating healthier and exercising more this year. This will be a challenge for me because I definitely do not like to exercise and I have a tendency to choose foods that aren't so healthy sometimes. So that is goal number one for 2012.

Recently, I was really inspired by Debbie from Debbiedoos Blogging and Blabbing when I saw a post she did on her new hairdo, complete with highlights. It has been years since I've had my hair professionally highlighted, so I decided to treat myself as an early Christmas present and go for it! Please excuse the mess you see in these pictures. Our yorkie, Sophie, thinks the couch is her territory so I have to keep blankets handy for her to lay on. And hubby had just finished a snack right before these pictures, and he is bad to leave his paper towel and paper plate laying around instead of taking them to the trash where they belong! Men!

What do you think? My hair is naturally a medium/dark brown and I decided to lighten it up a little bit with the highlights. I was very apprehensive while I was having it done, because I had no idea how it was going to turn out. Thankfully, I was extremely pleased with the end result! This did not cost very much money, but it made me feel so good!! So goal number two for improving me in 2012 is to keep up with this and not be afraid to try new things when it comes to my hair!

I desperately need some dental work done but I will admit that I have an insane fear of dentists! This stems from a few really bad experiences I had as a child, and I literally have major panic attacks when I have to go to a dentist. So goal number three for improving me is to face those fears and finally have the beautiful smile I have always wanted.

And finally, goal number four is a simple, but important one to me. I have some nice clothes, but I tend to just wear the same accessories with just about everything. I want to experiment with different styles of earrings, necklaces, scarves, belts, and shoes/boots. I see a lot of great things on line that I think I would love to try that usually aren't what I would choose for myself while shopping. Here's a few examples of some styles that appeal to me. All images were found on Pinterest.

To sum it all up, I guess I am wanting to step out of my comfort zone a little bit in 2012 and try some new things. I am excited about this journey and anxious to see where it takes me! Are there things that you want to improve upon in 2012? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time. . .

Project 2012 ~ My Home

2012-01-01T09:56:00.015-05:00

I was blog browsing earlier this morning and stumbled upon a blogger (sorry, I didn't think to jot down which blog it was so if this is your idea, thanks!) who has decided instead of resolutions for 2012, she would make 2012 her "project" year. I liked that idea, so I'm borrowing it.

I am at a crossroads of sort in my life right now. Scott and I became empty nesters this past year when both of our children graduated high school and flew the coop. His son still lives in the same town we do, but he hardly ever comes around to visit us unless he needs money or something like that. My son moved to Arkansas, which is where my mother and both of my siblings live. He has also signed up to join the Air Force for 6 years and will be leaving for basic training in March. In addition to all this, I quit my job back in August to pursue another job that I thought was going to be bigger and better! Well, that didn't work out. So I found another job. Again, moving on to better things. Um, not! That one didn't work out either. Scott was able to secure a much better paying job that is located much closer to home so now I don't HAVE to work if I choose not to. But I've worked all my life so now I find myself bored and with way too much time to think and worry about things I have no control over.

So, I've decided that I am going to focus on my very own Project 2012. Our home. Here's some of the things I'm going to tackle this year:

1. Get organized!!! I have a hard time with this. On some levels, I do great. For example, when I was working, my desk HAD to be neat or I could not get anything accomplished. Everything had it's place. However, at home, my desk area where I keep our mail, bills, etc. is not so organized. So I'm going to work on that.

2. Redo my laundry room. I am extremely excited about this project! Here's a sneak peek at what it looks like now:

Isn't that awful???? Yes, it is!!! Messy, messy, messy and totally unorganized. Laundry is such a mundane chore so I'm going to make it a bit more fun by transforming this room into a brighter place and creating storage to hide all that junk!

3. Mini makeover on my bathroom. Scott and I live in a small house. It's only a little over 1000 square feet. Three bedrooms, one bath. It's fine for just the two of us, although we are discussing adding an additional bathroom as well as making one of the bedrooms larger. But that is something that will have to come in time. So for now, my goal is to make what we have the best we can. The bathroom is currently decorated in a primitive, country style. And while that is ok, I'm ready for a change. Something a little more contemporary and brighter. (Are you sensing a theme here?)

4. Finish our kitchen makeover (cosmetic) we started last spring. We painted our cabinets and countertops, added hardware to the cabinets, added a faux brick backsplash behind the counters and stove area, and painted the walls in the dining area and kitchen. We also added a chair rail to the dining area and painted some freebie chairs I scored from a friend. Money ran short so we stopped there but my end goal is to put in new flooring, replace some of the appliances, install a new sink and faucet, and add crown moulding. Here's some pics of what we've done so far:

Chairs "before":

Chairs "after":

Faux brick backsplash "before":

Faux brick backsplash "after":

Countertops "before". You can also see in the pic that the cabinets were a dingy off white color when we started:

Countertops "after":

Paint colors and chair rail in dining area:

Our "new" white cabinets complete with hardware:

Scott cut out window pane patterns in the top cabinets above my sink area and installed plexi glass behind the panes. I painted the insides of the cabinets with the terra cotta red color we used in the dining area. We installed glass shelving and lights in both cabinets as well. In this pic, you can also see we carried the tan paint color from the dining area over to the kitchen area:

4. Paying more attention to details in my home. I find my decorating tastes are changing. I used to like more of the country look (not ruffled curtains!), but now I'm finding myself drawn towards a more contemporary look with touches of country. I don't know if that makes any sense or not. I like what I like! I find myself drawn to french country and Tuscan country colors. I'll figure it out someday!

Whew, that's quite a list when I go back and read it all! I think I've got my work cut out for me! I feel like our homes should reflect who we are, and not what others think we should be. So I am not trying to keep up with the Jones', so to speak. My goal is to make our home fit our needs and be a comfy place where everyone feels at home.

So, do you have any goals for 2012 as far as your home is concerned? I'd love to hear what you think!

Until next time. . .

So Long 2011. . .

2011-12-31T17:23:00.003-05:00

. . .And a big hello to 2012! I ain't gonna lie, 2011 just about kicked my butt! There were a lot of things that happened in 2011. Some good. A lot not so good. A lot of changes. But I think that's what life is all about ~ learning to deal with the changes and taking the good with the bad. So, here's hoping that 2012 is a better year in every way for all of us. And I'll leave you with this Swedish proverb that sums up how I'm approaching 2012:

Fear less, hope more. Eat less, chew more. Whine less, breathe more. Talk less, say more. Hate less, love more. And good things will be yours!

Happy New Year!!!

Until next time. . .

The Easiest Cookie Ever and An Awesome Giveaway Win!!

2011-12-27T17:17:00.005-05:00

I have found a recipe for what has to be the easiest cookie ever! If you are a lover of Thin Mints (Girl Scout Cookies), then you will definitely love these. They taste exactly like the original Thin Mints! And the best part - only two ingredients!! Ritz crackers and Andes mints baking chips.

All you do is melt the baking chips and dip the crackers into the chocolate. Then lay them on wax paper until they are cooled. That's it!! They are so good!!

These have become such a favorite at our house. I've made several batches and they sure go fast around here!

In other news, I was the lucky winner of Tammy's Christmas giveaway over at Country Girl at Home. Here's my goodies which arrived before Christmas, allowing me plenty of time to display them.

Thank you so much, Tammy! I have really enjoyed everything you sent me!

Well, I, for one, am glad that Christmas is behind us for another year. This was my first Christmas celebrated without my son, who lives in Arkansas, and I was not looking forward to it at all. But, it turned out to be a good Christmas anyway. Scott took me to the Smoky Mountains for a quick over night trip on the 23rd of December. We had a great time. We went to the Dixie Stampede dinner show. If any of y'all are planning a trip to the Smoky Mountains, we highly recommend this show. It's great! We also enjoyed seeing the towns all lit up for Christmas and the weather was good too. Not too cold and no snow! Yay!

I have some big plans for improving my home in 2012. I cannot wait to get started. I hope to be able to finally finish my kitchen reno that we started this past spring. I am also planning on a bathroom makeover as well as a laundry room makeover. So I will be very busy in the upcoming months, I'm sure. What plans to you have for 2012?

Until next time. . .

Wishing You and Yours. . .

2011-12-24T21:03:00.003-05:00

. . . the Merriest Christmas ever and peace on your corner of the Earth!

Until next time. . .

Another Christmas Giveaway!

2011-12-10T20:09:00.002-05:00

Hurry over to Kristen's Creations to enter to win this awesome Christmas giveaway:

You'd better hurry! A winner will be drawn on Tuesday, December 13!!!

Until next time. . .

My Wish List for Santa. . .

2011-12-10T14:14:00.004-05:00

I hope all my friends here in blogland get their wishes granted this Christmas!!

Until next time. . .

A Christmas Giveaway. . .

2011-12-09T16:29:00.003-05:00

. . .is being offered by Tammy of Country Girl at Home! But hurry, because it ends on Monday, December 12th at 9 p.m. Central time. Oh, and be sure and tell her I sent ya!! Good luck!

This is what Tammy is offering:

Until next time. . .

Decking the Walls, um, I Mean Doors!!

2011-12-08T14:01:00.005-05:00

I decided to attempt a version of this frame wreath project that I found via Pinterest:

I don't plan on putting up a tree this year because I just don't have the energy or Christmas spirit to do it. So, in lieu of that, I have been creating small little vignettes and projects to decorate our home for the holidays.

My kitchen, which is still a major work in progress, is decorated in a black, white, and red color scheme so I decided to take the above picture and recreate it in colors that would compliment my kitchen decor. I hung it on the inside of my back door which separates my kitchen area from my dining area. Here's my version:

This was so easy to do! I already had everything I needed on hand except for the black and white gingham ribbon which I found at Wal Mart for less than two dollars. All I did was take an old picture frame that had no glass, spray paint it with some red paint and attached some small ornaments to the frame with ribbon and hot glue. I used epsom salt to give the ornaments some texture.

I am pleased with how this turned out! Just the right touch of Christmas for my kitchen! I'm joining some of my favorite linky parties listed at the bottom of my blog. Please be sure to check them out. There's always tons of inspiration to be found!

Until next time. . .

Look What I Won!!

2011-12-07T11:13:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, I entered a wonderful giveaway offered by my friend Patti over at Pandora's Box. I was thrilled when I found I was her lucky winner! I got my prize in the mail on Saturday and here she is:

A rice sack pillow that Patti made! Isn't it gorgeous?? Patti's sewing skills are just amazing! I am really enjoying my new pillow and I think it looks great on my sad, worn out couch with my other pillows:

Thank you so much, Patti! I am loving my new pillow!!

In other news, the weatherman is calling for 2-4 inches of snow for us here in Virginia tonight. I am thankful that I don't have to get out and drive in that mess! Why is this, you ask? Well, I am currently unemployed, AGAIN!! The job at the lawyer's office was just not my cup of tea. I felt like a fish out of water there and I knew pretty quickly that it wasn't going to work out. On a good note, Scott was hired by a company much closer to our home which offered him a lot more money so we will be o.k. financially until I can find something else. I tell ya, this year has just been a mess for us and I will be so glad to put it behind us and start fresh in 2012. Now you know part of the reason why I don't have very much Christmas spirit this year. But, I have been trying to do a few small things around the house to make the season bright and I hope to share one of those projects with you tomorrow.

Until next time. . .

French Onion Soup

2011-12-06T11:27:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, while grocery shopping, I stumbled upon a product in the soup aisle that I had never seen before. Bagged dry soup mixes from Cugino's. They had a few different varieties and since they were only about $3 each, I grabbed a couple to try. I chose the Baked Burgundy French Onion and Chicken Enchilada mixes. I made the French Onion one over the weekend.

The directions were simple. All I needed to do was add one large sliced onion and seven cups of water. Combine these ingredients along with the soup mix and cook on medium heat for about 25 minutes. It smelled soooo good!

After cooking, the package directions suggested to ladle the soup into soup crocks, top with some crunchy croutons or crusty french bread chunks, top with some cheese, then broil in the oven until the cheese is melted. I did this and then sprinkled some paprika on top. I didn't have any crusty french bread on hand, so I used some garlic Texas Toast croutons and I used provolone cheese since that was what I had on hand.

Here's what it looked like straight out of the oven:

This soup was so good! It was quick and easy to prepare. And it made a good sized pot which Scott and I were able to make two meals out of. The croutons soak up all the good flavors of the soup and the cheese just finishes it off. This is a product I will definitely buy again. With winter time upon us, I am a big fan of soups and stews and this one is a great one for busy weekday dinners when you crave something warm and yummy! I haven't tried the chicken enchilada one yet, but I'm betting that it will be just as yummy. The directions for that one call for water, cooked chicken and tomato sauce.

I received no compensation from this company for this review. They don't even know that I exist! These are only my opinions and when I find a product that I like that fits into my busy schedule, I'm all for sharing it with y'all. I'd love to know if any of y'all have tried this product and what you thought of it if you have.

Until next time. . .

Holiday Copycat Challenge!

2011-12-05T16:29:00.006-05:00

Hey guys! Debbie over at Debbiedoo's Blogging and Blabbing is hosting another one of her fantastic copycat challenges. This one is a holiday themed challenge. Now, I know I said in my last post that I don't have much Christmas spirit this year, and while that is still true, I just love these copycat challenges and I wanted to play too.

I found this image in the December 2011 edition of Woman's Day magazine and used it as my inspiration:

The only things I had to purchase for this project were two spools of red ribbon at Wal Mart for $1.97 each and a foam wreath form I got at JoAnn's for $4.99. Which would have been cheaper had I remembered to bring my 40% off coupon but I forgot it so I paid full price. Oh, well. All I did to create the wreath was to cut my ribbon into 6 inch strips and then tied a knot in the middle of each strip. Then I hot glued them to the front of my wreath. Easy peasy. I did change my copycat up a little bit in that I used a pre-lit garland I had in my Christmas stash to which I added some of that awesome mesh ribbon that is all the rage right now. Then I had two little nutcracker figurines I picked up at the Dollar Tree a while back and I used them in my hurricane vases (also created from Dollar Tree items). I added epsom salt to the vases so it looks like my nutcrackers are standing in snow. Then I placed some Dollar Tree ornaments on a glass pedestal like they did in the inspiration photo and I also randomly placed them along my garland. I will warn you, it's been cloudy and yucky outside all day here today so these pics are not the greatest and don't really show how great my copycat turned out. Plus, I just plain suck at taking pictures, so please, don't judge me too harshly!

A close up of my wreath:

My ornaments on their glass stand:

And the whole thing:

I wish I could have gotten a good photo up close that shows everything better. I really need a new camera. But we work with what we've got, right? The garland was lit when I took these pictures but it doesn't really show that well.

Debbie hosts these copycat parties once a month now, I believe, and they are so much fun! It's a great opportunity to use your imagination and see what you can do without spending much money. Please click on this button to visit Debbie's party and get ready to be inspired by all the awesome copycat talent out there in blogland:

Until next time. . .

Somebody's Ready for Christmas!

2011-12-04T22:40:00.003-05:00

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. What can I say? Life has just gotten in the way this past month.

Unfortunately, there hasn't been a whole lot of Christmas cheer here at our house this year. I'm not even putting up a tree. What's the use? No one visits us and Scott and I don't buy gifts for each other for Christmas. Our boys are grown and out in the world and all they want is cold hard cash. So I haven't even had to do any shopping. Our families are so spread out all over the country, we don't even bother to exchange gifts with them either. I'm sorry if this sounds sad and depressing. That is certainly not my intention. Just wanted to explain why we do things like we do. I have done a little bit of decorating here and there around the house, but nothing really blog worthy. I did find Sophie a cute little Christmas shirt at Target and dressed her up a little bit:

Her little shirt says "SANTAS LITTLE YELPER". How cute is that?? I think that counts as decorating for Christmas, don't you?

I do plan on doing a little bit more decorating this week and if I get anything accomplished, I'll share it with you. Also, after the holidays, I plan on starting my laundry room makeover and I'll have a sneak peek of some of that for you later this week.

Until next time. . .

A Tile Transformed

2011-11-13T11:30:00.007-05:00

Here's a quick, easy and inexpensive project that would make a wonderful Christmas (or anytime) gift. Go to Lowes, Home Depot, or any home improvement store and buy some ceramic tiles. I chose the 6 x 6 size for this project. They come in several different textures and colors. I chose the Rialto White. It's really more of an off white color and this particular tile has a lot of texture which I love. I can't remember the exact cost of these tiles, but I believe there were around eighty cents each. Definitely less than a dollar!!

Next, I gathered together the rest of my supplies. I used scrapbooking stickers. I found some really nice scripture verses which have a clear back ground. Perfect for this project. I also used some black swirly stickers with a touch of silver "bling" to accent my verses. Then I found some old jewelry charms, some black ribbon for trim, and I also used some black felt to cover the back of my tile. You don't have to use the felt, but I feel it gives the piece a more professional, finished look.

Now comes the fun part! Using your imagination, place your stickers how you want them on your tile, then using ribbon and a hot glue gun, attach your charms. To finish off your piece, glue some black ribbon all around the edge of your tile and glue a piece of black felt, cut to fit, on the back. That's it!! A beautiful, elegant piece of art for mere pennies!! Although I chose to go with a religious theme for most of my pieces, the possiblitlies are endless. And with the wide range of scrapbook stickers available, you can make yours look however you want them to. I also purchased a nice scroll look easel at Wal Mart for around four dollars to display mine on. So for less than ten dollars, you have the perfect Christmas gift that didn't break the bank! Gotta love that! Here's a few of my finished pieces:

I'll be sharing this idea with some of the linky parties listed at the bottom of my blog. Please be sure to visit these wonderful blogs to get endless inspiration!

Until next time. . .

Things Are Looking Better!

2011-11-05T11:30:00.002-04:00

A quick update to my last post. First, I want to thank each one of you who commented on my last post. Your words, prayers, and well wishes mean so much more to me than I could ever express. Y'all are the greatest!

Since my last post, I have secured a job! Yay, me!!! I am now employed as a legal assistant for a small firm in my home town. It is only about a ten minute drive from my home and I am making more money on the hour than I did at my last job! So far, I am really liking it, although I am a bit overwhelmed as it is so much to learn and everything is very new to me since I've never worked in the legal field before! But I can and will learn it and I think I am going to like working there very much.

Scott and I went to Duke for his consultation with the surgeon regarding the CT scan he had done here that showed some suspicious spots on his brain. We drove four hours to sit in the doctor's office for five minutes! Ggggrrr!!! The surgeon was very nice, although he talked so fast and because he is from South Africa, he had quite an accent and it was very hard to understand some of what he was saying! He said the scan did show something although he said it was not definitive enough for a diagnosis. So he wants Scott to come back to Duke for some follow up testing. His office is supposed to be contacting us to set this up, but Monday will be two weeks since the initial appointment and we still haven't heard anything from them. On a good note, Scott has not had a single migraine since the Monday we went to Duke! Praise God for that!! I think it was mostly stress related, with me being unemployed and our finances dwindling, his truck being broken down, and just general life issues. Thank you all again for your prayers for him ~ obviously, they have been working!!!

The truck is still broken down but we are working on getting the stuff needed to get it fixed. Many moons ago, Scott worked as a mechanic for a local trucking company, so we are blessed that he can usually fix stuff on our vehicles when they break. Right now, I am having to get up at 4 a.m. to drive him an hour to work, then drive an hour back home and get ready so I can be at my job at 8 a.m. and then when I get off work at 5 p.m., I drive the hour back to his work to get him if he isn't lucky enough to be able to catch a ride with someone from work who is traveling thru our area. Whew! It's been rough, but we do what we have to do, right??!! The good news on this front, Scott got called for an interview with a company that is located close to home, about a five minute drive from our house, and word has it, they really liked him and he will probably get a call back for a second interview. We are really excited about this because it's also more money than he is making now. So God is really moving in our lives right now, and I am so thankful!!! We still have a ways to go to get outta the woods, but we are getting there!!

I just want to say thank you again to all my wonderful friends here in blogland. Who knew that people you may never get a chance to meet in "real life" could become such close and wonderful friends. I love you all and appreciate all your prayers. Please keep them coming!!

Until next time. . .

Taking a break -- REALLY need your prayers!

2011-10-25T12:28:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to post a quick note to the two or three people who actually read my blog to let you know that I will be taking a blog break for a while. As some of you know, Scott has been experiencing extremely bad migraines for a while now and a CT scan he had done a couple of weeks ago is showing some suspicious spots on his brain. We traveled down to Duke University Medical Center yesterday to see a neurosurgeon. This is a four hour drive one way for us and yesterday was just a consultation at which we were told he is going to have to undergo further testing to determine what is going on. Which means, of course, more long trips to Duke in our future. This is going to be extremely difficult for us due to our financial situation at the moment. I have not worked since August and ours is definitely a two income household just to make ends meet. I am desperately trying to find a job, but so far have had no luck as jobs in my field are few and far between in our small town and surrounding area. We are really struggling to keep our faith during this trying time. Of course I want my husband to be healthy and we will do whatever we have to do to make sure he gets whatever treatment he needs. Thankfully, we do have good health insurance thru his employer. The main issue is that he doesn't have any vacation time left this year or sick leave so that means for every trip to Duke, he has to take a day off without pay, which really hurts us. But it could be worse.

I am really scared, friends. I am not strong. I cry. A lot. I'm not sure I'm ready for this journey that we are being forced to take. But I don't have a choice. I love him so much and I will be there for him. No matter what. He needs me and I need him more. We will face this together, which means a lot of shared pain. But it could be worse.

As if this isn't enough to deal with, we are down to one vehicle due to the fact that his old truck broke down on us last week (fuel pump went out) and we just can't justify spending the money to fix it right now. I guess the saying "when it rains, it pours" really fits us right now! We are thankful to have one vehicle that is in good working condition, it just requires some juggling of schedules to have to get up at 4 a.m. to take him to work if I need the car. But it could be worse.

Anyways, I just wanted to let y'all know a little bit about what is going on here. There are some other issues we have that I won't get into on here. I just wanted to ask that y'all remember us in your thoughts and prayers as we trudge along on this unknown journey. Scott is my world and I don't know what I would do without him.

Until next time. . .

Just Me ~ From A to Z!

2011-10-18T12:12:00.003-04:00

Hello all! Just plugging along here in Virginia, wishing Mother Nature would make up her mind! Our weather has been crazy this past week. One day it feels like summer, the next it's raining and cold! Enough already!

Several of my friends in blogland have been doing a "Getting to know me A to Z" kind of post. It's been interesting and funny learning about them and I thought I'd jump on the band wagon and share a little bit about me with y'all so here goes:

A ~ Age: 44 (yes, I'm old!)

B ~ Bed: Queen size and it still ain't big enough for me, the hubby and Sophie who insists on sleeping right smack dab in the middle of the bed. Really cuts down on snuggle time for me and the hubs! ;) She HATES for her Daddy to hug and kiss on her Mommy. Can we say jealous??!!

C ~ Chore you hate: Washing dishes!!! I don't currently have a dishwasher so everything has to be washed by hand. This was my main chore growing up and I hated it then and I hate it now. Really hoping Santa brings me a dishwasher for Christmas this year - we will see!

D ~ Dogs: Yes, our little Sophie. She's a Yorkie who just turned 2 years old last week. (Although, don't tell her she's a dog, she thinks she's a DIVA!!)

E ~ Essential start to your day: Coffee, coffee, coffee!!! 'Nuff said!

F ~ Favorite color: RED!!! Hubby hates it but I love it and would have red in every room of the house if he would go for it.

G ~ Gold or Silver: I'm a silver wearing gal! But white gold works too!

H ~ Height: I say 5'7" cause that's what they always told me when they measured us in school but seems like every time I go to the doctor and get my height measured they say 5'5". ???

I ~ Instruments you play: Um, does the radio count???

J ~ Job title: Well, as I'm currently unemployed (really hoping that changes real soon!) does Domestic Goddess count????!!!!

K ~ Kids: One son, Brandon, who is 18 years old and getting ready to leave for the Air Force. Proud and scared at the same time pretty much sums up my feelings on this one!

L ~ Live in: Virginia, born and raised!

M ~ Make of car you drive: 2006 Chevy HHR. Purple. The "gangsta mobile". Not my choice. Hubby saw it, fell in love with it, it came home with us. One day I will choose the car "I" want and hubs can have his precious HHR. For now, it's got four wheels and it runs. Good enough.

N ~ Nicknames: I don't really have any. I have an Aunt who calls me Lynn cause it's my middle name and a friend who calls me "D" (not really sure why) but other than that, I got nothing.

O ~ Overnight hospital stays: Several while I was preggo with my son due to blood pressure issues, two nights when I had my hysterectomy, and two nights when I had my gastric bypass. Other than that, I'm healthy as a horse!

P ~ Pet Peeves: Rude people. Especially drivers who insist on going 10 miles slower than the posted speed limit while driving in the "fast" lane. Drives me insane! Pun intended. :)

Q ~ Quote from a movie: "I love ya more than my luggage." From Steel Magnolias. I've seen this movie a billion times and I cry. Every. Single. Time.

R ~ Right or Left handed: I'm right handed. Although I can sign my name with my left hand and it is readable. If you're a first grader!

S ~ Siblings: I am the oldest of 3 and the only girl. My brothers and I are very close in age (2 years between each of us) and even though we live far away from each other, we still have a close relationship with one another. I am very thankful for that.

T ~ TV shows: I'm a reality tv show junkie. Amazing Race and Survivor are my two favs with Big Brother being a close third. Sad, I know. . .

U ~ Underwear: I'm really racy in this area - give me good ole cotton briefs any day! The bigger, the better! Ah, comfy!!!

V ~ Vegetable you hate: Beets. Ugh!!! Barf!! Gross!!

W ~ What makes you run late: Nothing! I absolutely hate to be late and get extremely irritated if I am late. (refer back to the pet peeve list!)

X ~ X-Rays: The only one I can remember is when I was in high school and had been having terrible tummy aches. They made me drink some chalky junk and then x-rayed my stomach. I barfed. And had to do it all again.

Y ~ Yummy food you make: Well, according to the hubs, everything I make is yummy! Do I have him trained well, or what??? I used to hate to cook, but about five years ago, I really started to get into it and I love to try new recipes. I'm not a very talented baker, but I'm gonna blame that on my ancient oven that never cooks anything right!!!

Z ~ Zodiac sign: I'm a Taurus. Yep, a bull in a china shop!!

So, there ya go! A bunch of stuff you probably never wanted to know about me! This was kind of fun and I hope y'all will join in and give it a whirl too!

I have been working on a few small projects this week. I am redoing a lamp shade on a small lamp I've had in my kitchen for a while. It's not turning out exactly like I had hoped, but I'm not giving up! I am also getting ready to start a total laundry room redo. I have a small laundry room and I will be trying to make it a more work friendly space. I can't wait to show y'all how that turns out. I'm trying to redo it for under $50 so we will see how that goes. I'm going to be reusing a lot of things I already have on hand here at the house. It's going to be a challenge!

Until next time. . .

A Visit to the Punkin' Patch!

2011-10-10T10:00:00.013-04:00

Last week was such a horrible week for us here at the "B" household. I won't go into all the gory details, but suffice it to say that between hubby's health issues, my job hunting issues, financial issues, and just plain ole pain in the butt life in general issues, it ain't been a bed of roses around here!!! I've been so stressed out that I actually had a MAJOR meltdown on Friday. Thank God it didn't last but about an hour or so before I got myself back under control (somewhat), but I hate feeling like I have no control over anything in my life and by Friday afternoon, I'd had about all I could take!! So, hubby decided we both needed a stress free, worry free, fun filled day and on Saturday, that's what we had. We took off to an orchard located about an hour's drive from our house and we had a ball!! The weather was perfect and we just let ourselves be carefree! Here's some pictures of our adventures:

A covered wagon filled with hay started our journey to the corn maze and pumpkin patch. Fun, fun, fun!

A field full of pumpkins, as far as the eye could see!

With lots of different pumpkins in all shapes, sizes, and colors!

We got lost in a corn maze. This was so much fun and the first time either of us had been in a corn maze. I've already been scouring the area we live in to find more of these. So much fun!!

Hubby took a pic of me inside the corn maze to show just how tall the corn stalks were.

There were lots of things to do here at the orchard, including a pumpkin chunker, apple chunker (for the kids, sooo cute!), a pick your own indian corn section which I just loved, lots of goodies to eat and drink like fried pumpkin pies and some delicious apple cider. It was so much fun!!

On the way home, we drove on some back roads to enjoy the leaves and the beautiful fall day. We stopped off at an overlook on top of East River Mountain. Awesome views!!

And finally, a picture of us ~ stress free and worry free. . .well, at least for a day!

Until next time. . .

Easy Peasy Apple Spice Cake

2011-10-05T17:55:00.005-04:00

Today I'm sharing what has to be the easiest cake recipe I've ever tried. It has two ingredients. Yes, I said two ingredients! And it tastes great, too!

Here's what you need:

1 box spice cake mix (any brand)
1 can apple pie filling

Mix cake mix and apple pie filling together until well blended. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

That's it!! Easy peasy and so delicious. This would also be good with some warmed caramel topping on it or served with a dollop of whipped cream or even both. Served this way would definitely not be waist line friendly but so worth it! I enjoyed a piece of it today with a cup of pumpkin spice flavored coffee. YUMMY!!!!

Until next time. . .

A Weekend of Firsts

2011-10-02T19:54:00.004-04:00

This weekend was a weekend of firsts! Scott and I did our first craft show. And I'm pleased to say, it went much better than I anticipated. We paid $5 to rent our table and after deducting our expenses (table fee, lunch, and amount of money we took to make change with), we came home with $148 in our pocket! Now, I know that doesn't sound like a windfall, but considering it was a very small craft fair and the weather was nasty out, I think that was pretty darn good!! Here's a pic of our table. Being a novice at this, I didn't even think about taking a cloth to put on the table and my displays weren't the best, but it got the job done.

It's funny because a lot of the stuff I was sure would fly out the door, didn't hardly sell at all and the stuff I was iffy about went like hotcakes! We did end up bringing more home than I wanted to, but that's fine because I can use some of the stuff as Christmas gifts and I plan on taking some of it to my former coworkers because they've asked me to bring some stuff to them. We also donated some items to the lady who set up at a table across from us. She sells stuff to raise money for the Cancer Society's Relay for Life and she was thrilled that we gave her some of our "treasures" (her words, not mine!).

Another first was the weather! On Saturday morning this is what we woke up to:

Can you see it??? Yep, it's SNOW!!! On October 1st!! Somebody must've made Mother Nature mad!! As far back as I can remember, we've never had snow this early in the year. I sure hope this is not indicative of the winter we are going to have this year. Oh well, not much we can do about it, I suppose, except to grin and bear it. Ugh!! Thank goodness it didn't hang around very long and didn't stick to anything for longer than a few minutes. But it stayed cold most of the day with the high temps barely reaching the mid 40's. Bbbbrrrr!!!

Scott has been suffering with horrible migraines for the past couple of months. He's always had a history of them since he was a teenager and had a brain aneurysm that he had to have surgically repaired at age 14. We went for a CT scan last week and will hopefully have some answers by Tuesday. Please keep him in your prayers. I hate to see him suffering with these awful things.

I also would appreciate prayers for me. I haven't shared this with too many people, but I have been unemployed for the past month or so. I left my old job because I hadn't had a raise in over three years, no benefits, and the 70 miles driving each day to and from work was killing us with gas prices so high. I thought I had a better opportunity with another company located much closer to our home, but after working there for about two weeks, I realized I had made a mistake in leaving the other job, bad pay and all! The job was nothing like it was advertised to be and I was so miserable and would just break down in tears each morning before work. Scott knew I was miserable and I think he was afraid I was having a nervous breakdown, so we talked it over and decided it would be best for me to quit there and look for something else. I was extremely hesitant to do that because we need both incomes just to survive, but Scott said my health and sanity are more important than a paycheck. Besides, with what we are saving in gas and him getting to work some overtime, it's almost made up my salary. So anyway, I have my first job interview on Tuesday and I'm praying that God will lead me in the direction He wants me to go.

Whew, I surely didn't mean for this to be so long winded! If you are still with me, thanks for listening to me rant!! Until next time. . .

Touches of Fall

2011-09-27T18:16:00.004-04:00

I'm really enjoying these cooler temps we've been having here in Virginia the past few days. Makes it really feel like fall! I've been noticing all the fall decor on display here in blogland and have discovered some really cute and easy ideas to incorporate in my fall decor. I usually don't do a whole lot of fall decorating but this year I've gotten on the band wagon and since I'm currently unemployed, I have more time to piddle with stuff. I saw this cute idea for scrap wood pumpkins over at Dandelions and Dust Bunnies and just had to give it a try! I had Scott cut me some different sized wood pieces out of some scrap 2 x 4's and 2 x 3's that he had in the basement, painted them orange with hints of brown, added a rounded "stem", and dressed them up with some bits of raffia and ribbon and berry stems I had lying around. I really like how they turned out:

The best part of this project is that it didn't cost me a dime since I had all the supplies, including the paint, on hand. Gotta love projects like that! The picture doesn't show all the wonderful detail that the brown paint adds because when I took this picture, it was overcast and I had to use the flash. Plus, my camera isn't the best in the world, but we have to make do with what we've got, right?

Scott and I are going to be vendors at a small craft show this Saturday in a neighboring community. I've made several sets of these scrap wood pumpkins to sell. I've also been busy making tile coasters, tile plaques, post it note holders, birdhouses, pumpkin yard signs, and a few other pieces to take to the sale. Wish us luck!!

I am linking this post to some of the fabulous parties over on my sidebar. Please be sure to check them out for some great inspiration!

Until next time. . .

Happy Fall Y'all!!!

2011-09-23T10:36:00.002-04:00

Can y'all believe it's the first day of fall?? Already?? Seems like the summer just flew by. And before we know it, old man winter will be rearing his ugly head! Ugh! Winter is my least favorite season. I guess because I hate snow! Yes, I said it. I hate driving in it, I hate being cold, I hate the shorter days, well, there just ain't much about winter I like at all! But I do love fall. The cooler, but not cold, temps, the beautiful colors of the leaves, apple cider, pumpkins, hay rides, and corn mazes. So much fun! Scott and I are planning a day trip to a farm about an hour from our home to do all that fun stuff. I can't wait! What fun and exciting plans do you have for fall? Whatever your plans, enjoy each day to the fullest. Because before we know it, winter will be here. Ugh, again!

Until next time. . .

Family History

2011-09-18T17:55:00.005-04:00

Do you ever wonder sometimes where you came from? I mean, who your ancestors were? Some of you may be lucky enough to already know the answers to these questions. I've never really thought much about genealogy and have certainly never done any research to find out who my relatives are. Yeah, I'm just lazy like that, I guess!

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to find out a little bit about my family history. I have a great aunt who lives in Danville, Virginia. I have only met this lovely lady once before and that was over ten years ago. She recently contacted my mother and wanted us to come visit with her again. She didn't know that my Mom is now living in Arkansas and wouldn't be able to drive up to see her. So she contacted my uncle (Mom's brother) who lives in the same town as I do and asked him if he would drive up to see her. He was excited to do so and he called me and asked if Scott and I would like to go too! I jumped at the chance! So we all took off early yesterday morning and drove the three plus hours to visit Aunt Kat at her home.

Aunt Kat is a genius at genealogy! She has tons of information on our family tree and I spent a good portion of our visit yesterday just pouring through books of old family photos and records. She gave me this picture of my great, great grandparents on my mother's maternal side of the family. I believe it was taken in the 1920's or early 1930's.

She also gave me this wonderful picture of my beautiful mother. Mom is about 13 years old in this picture. I am amazed at how much she and I look alike! Everyone is always telling me that we favor one another, but I didn't realize how much until I saw some of these pictures!

She also had a picture of my great, great, great, great grandfather taken sometime in the 1800's! Unfortunately, she only has one copy of that photograph right now so I didn't get to bring one home with me. But it was awesome to see it! She is in the process of getting everything transferred to discs so that all the family members that want a copy can get one.

I was so glad that I thought to take my camera with me. I just had to have a pic made with this wonderful lady. She turned 79 years old this year.

We had such a nice visit yesterday and I cannot wait to go back!

Until next time. . .

I'm a copy cat!

2011-09-13T14:17:00.010-04:00

I'm joining in with Debbie over at DebbieDoo's Blogging and Blabbing for her second copy cat challenge. I participated in her first challenge and it was so much fun! There are some really talented copy cats out there in blogland!!

For my copy, I chose an image from the September 2011 issue of Country Sampler:

I'm copying the centerpiece on the coffee table. It's kind of hard to see the details in the above picture so here's a closer view:

And here's my version:

Everything I used in my copy cat version came from the Dollar Tree. I purchased a plastic serving tray that I spray painted black, three plain white coffee mugs, three bags of candy corn, two different fall leaf stems that I tore apart, and a package of pumpkin scented tealight candles. I already had the lace doily I used to ground my display and I used a black paint pen that I had in my stash to write my letters on the mugs. I placed it on my Grandma's sewing machine in front of my fall topiary. I think it looks perfect there! And the best part of this little vignette is that it only took me about 10 minutes (not counting drying time for the spray paint) to put this together! Simple and quick ~ ya just can't get any better than that!

So, what do y'all think? Am I a good copy cat or what?? Please be sure to click here to check out Debbie's blog to visit all the other great copy cats there. I love these parties! They are so much fun and it's a great way to use your imagination to create your own little vignette or display.

I'm also linking up with some of the fabulous blog parties listed on my sidebar as well as at Savvy Southern Style and over at Grits and Glamour's Keep It Simple party. Please be sure to check them out!

Until next time. . .

September 11

2011-09-11T10:15:00.002-04:00

September 11, 2001 ~ Ten years and a million tears later. . .never forget.

Until next time. . .

Cracker Candy

2011-09-02T14:04:00.003-04:00

I found a super simple, super yummy candy recipe the other day and thought I'd share it with y'all. It's called Cracker Candy.

Cracker Candy

1 sleeve saltine crackers
2 sticks butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 12 oz pkg semi sweet chocolate chips
chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place entire sleeve of saltines in a single layer, salted sides up. You do not have to spray the foil with non-stick spray. Over medium heat, begin to melt butter. When butter is almost completely melted, add brown sugar and stir only once to blend. Bring mixture to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes. DO NOT STIR ANY DURING THE 3 MINUTES!! Remove from heat and pour over crackers. This is your toffee. Use a spatula or butter knife to evenly spread the toffee over the crackers to ensure all crackers are coated. Bake for 6 minutes. Carefully remove from oven. It will be extremely bubbly! Once the bubbles subside, sprinkle all the chocolate chips over the crackers. Place back in the oven for about a minute or until the chocolate is almost totally melted. It should look glossy. Remove from oven and using spatula or butter knife, evenly spread chocolate over the crackers making sure all are as evenly coated as possible. If you are using nuts or any other topping, add it now. Lightly press down into the melted chocolate. Allow to cool to room temperature completely. If necessary, you can put it in the refrigerator to finish cooling, but only do this after it's reached room temperature, otherwise, the chocolate will seperate from your toffee mixture. Break into pieces and enjoy!!

Here's a picture of the candy from a side view, showing the cracker, toffee, and chocolate layers.

This is so good! And fattening! But hey, we only live once, right?? I made some today to take to a tail gating party Scott and I are attending tonight for our local high school football game. It would also be great to make for the holidays, using crushed peppermints on top of the chocolate.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!

Until next time. . .

It's been a while. . .

2011-09-01T08:59:00.011-04:00

. . .since I've checked in here! Wow, time seems to just fly these days! So much has happened since we last spoke. Scott had a routine check up at the doctor's office last week and we found out he is anemic. So more supplements to try to prevent it from getting even worse. He has some other health issues that I won't go into that he has been managing since his early teens so this is just one more thing to deal with. I quit my old job, started a new job, quit that job, and am now actively looking for another one! My son has decided to join the Air Force. I have so many mixed feelings about this! I know that this is the best decision he could make for his life right now, but it just hurts my heart! I tell ya, some days I just feel like I am losing my mind. Y'all ever feel that way or is it just me????

In the midst of all these life changes, Scott decided that we needed a quick overnight getaway. Bless his heart, if he didn't keep me on the straight and narrow, I truly don't know where I'd be! We drove down to the Smoky Mountain area and spent the night in Pigeon Forge, TN. This area is only about a three hour drive from where we live so we try to go as often as possible. We just love it there. They have recently opened a new attraction called "The Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show". It was a hoot! We laughed so hard and the food was really good, too. I highly recommend it if you are ever in that area and looking for some good, clean family fun. Here's a few pics from there:

The front of the building:

They had this clothesline up with giant sized pieces of clothing on them. Hey, how'd my underwear get up there!!!

Oh no! They found Scott's "draws" too!!!

Then there was the barnyard:

Full of pigs:

And chickens:

This chicken's name is "Tina Turner". Can you guess why??

They had wooden signs like this stuck in the ground all over the place:

This was such a fun trip! We will definitely be doing it again in the near future. I love going to the Smokies during the fall season. The entire Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area goes all out with the fall decorations. If we get to go down during September/October, I'll definitely be taking some pics of all the awesome decorations to share with y'all.

I haven't done any crafting at all lately. I've just not been motivated to get my creative juices flowing. I have a lot of ideas floating around in my brain, just no energy to follow through on them. I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things soon. I plan on starting my fall decorating here in the house today. We'll see how that goes!

Finally, here's a self portrait of Scott and I that we took in Gatlinburg over the weekend. I love this man so much. He literally saves me every day!

Until next time. . .

We Are All The Same

2011-08-12T19:12:00.003-04:00

As I read other's blogs, where sometimes very personal feelings and thoughts are shared openly, I have come to the realization that, as women, we are all the same.

We laugh. We cry. We take care of our families. We love. We work hard. We share. We hurt. We fall. We pick ourselves up. We go on.

Sometimes I feel like I am alone with the way I feel and the thoughts I have. Then I log on and start reading blogs and I quickly realize that there are others who are going through or have been through the very same thing that I am currently going through. Or even worse things, things that I am amazed they are surviving. I draw strength from their courage and I marvel at their tenacity to persevere when life is tough.

Today, my son flew from the nest. My heart is breaking. My heart is rejoicing. I have prepared myself for this moment from the very moment of his birth. I knew that my job as his mother would be to prepare him to face the world on his own. But I am still not ready. He's not ready. Or at least, I don't think he is. I know he will make mistakes. He may not always make the best choices. But I have to let him go and I have to let him try new things and sometimes fail. I have to let him grow up.

But I don't have to like it.

Today, my baby boy moved halfway across the country from me. My heart is breaking. My heart is rejoicing. Fly, my baby bird. Spread your glorious wings, for the sky is the limit. I'll cover you with prayers every single day. I'll cheer for you when you succeed and I'll cry with you when you fail. You are my heart and you are my soul. I love you deeply. Which is why this is so hard.

Life's about changing. Nothing ever stays the same. So I will change with it and I will rejoice in it.

And I will learn to like it. . . someday.

Until next time. . .

It's a Roo Party!!

2011-08-08T18:05:00.011-04:00

Shelia over at Note Songs is hosting The Heart of the Home - Rooster and Chicks Party over at her blog and I just had to join in on all the fun! Join me for a tour of my kitchen and meet all my "feathered" friends!

We'll start in the dining area where we meet Mr. Rusty Roo. He sits atop a vintage wood and iron shelf, where he's busy protecting our herb themed stacking boxes:

Next, we'll meet up with Henry and Harry Roo. They are brothers who like to hang out on one of the dining area's walls. They rest upon some chicken wire framed in a poster frame. They are really happy here!

Harry's a bit shy but Henry loves to strut his stuff and is always ready for a close up shot!!

Moving on over across the dining area, we find this little grouping of roos. Larry, Curly, and Moe help us keep up with our keys and other important stuff while Daddy Roo always keeps us moving along right on time!

Over in the kitchen area, we find Noodles sitting atop the stove. He loves his tri colored pasta!!

Moving on over, we find Whitey standing guard over some yummy apples:

Sometimes Whitey likes to roost in the kitchen cabinets, too!

And we always have to remember to count our blessings, as this sweet little lady and her baby chicks remind us to do:

Redd Roo helps us keep things nice and tidy as he resides on top of the paper towels:

And last, but certainly not least, we have King Roo. He's the master of the nest and the newest member of our chicken family:

I hope you enjoyed meeting all the members of my feathered family as much as they've enjoyed meeting you! Please be sure to click on the link above to visit Shelia's wonderful blog and meet some more great feathered friends!

Until next time. . .

Cha, cha, cha, changes. . .

2011-08-06T18:21:00.008-04:00

Wow! I can't believe it's been over a month since I've updated this blog. This has been a really busy summer for me and a lot of things have changed since my last post.

When we last "spoke", hubby and I were comtemplating a move to North Carolina due to a job opportunity my hubby was persuing. Well, that didn't work out like we had hoped, so we decided to just stay put for a while. In the meantime, I discovered an open position in a company that sounded tailor made for me at an insurance company located just ten minutes from where we are currently living. My current job is located thirty-five minutes away. So I sent in my resume on Tuesday, they called me on Wednesday, I interveiwed over two hours on Thursday, went back for a second interview on Friday which lasted for over an hour, and was offered the job at the end of that interview! More pay and better benefits. Plus I'll be saving a fortune in gas costs! Win, win!!! Yesterday was my last day at my current job and my friends and co-workers sent me off in style with some gourmet cupcakes and a $100 gift card to Hobby Lobby!!

My son has decided that he wants to move to Arkansas where my Mom and brothers live. This is a bittersweet thing for me. I hate to see him go but I know that he is making the right decision because there are many more job opportunities out there for him than there are here in our small town. Plus, knowing that my Mom and brothers will be looking out for his well being makes this an easier transition for me. I will miss him terribly but I know that he has to grow up sometime. So my Mom and my youngest brother came in this week and will be moving him back with him when they leave at the end of next week. My new employer has graciously allowed me to take this week off to spend some time with them before they leave. I will start my new job on August 15th. How nice was that of them?

I have managed to accomplish a few crafts during this past month. Seems like a lot of my friends are having babies, grandbabies and even great-grandbabies coming into the world in the next few months so I've been busy crocheting baby afghans, making beaded baby name spoons and these really cute customized travel sized diaper wipe cases:

I covered the top with a small piece of batting, then hot glued a cute fabric over the top and bottom of the case. I covered the ends with a pretty grosgain ribbon to give it a finished look. I made flower petals out of some of the left over ribbon and glued a coordinating button on for the center of the flower. I made this one is for my niece. These are so quick and easy to make up. The entire thing took me maybe half an hour to put together. And they are inexpensive to make as well!

I also made a terra cotta fish bowl treat jar for a co-worker for her cat's treats. I used scrapbook letters to spell out her cat's name and the paw prints are also scrapbook stickers. She loved it! I gave it to her as a birthday present. She is the type of person who has everything and is so hard to buy for. This made the perfect gift for her!

I liked the way hers turned out so much, I decided to make one for my Sophie's treats, too!

I'm linking these crafts up to some of my favorite linky parties shown on my sidebar. Please be sure to visit these parties to check out all the creative ideas this week.

Well, that's about it for me for now. I will try to do better about updating this thing, I promise!

Until next time. . .

Happy 4th of July!!

2011-07-04T17:25:00.006-04:00

I hope all my blogging friends are having a great 4th of July. Both hubby and I had today off, making it a three day weekend for us. And boy, have we been busy all three days!! We took a day trip on Saturday to Mt. Airy, NC where we spent a fun filled morning shopping, eating, and learning about all things related to Andy Griffith. For those who don't know, Mt. Airy is the town that the fictional town of Mayberry was fashioned after on The Andy Griffith Show. This is a quaint little town with lots of unique shops, including Floyd's Barber Shop, Opie's Candy Store, and Snappy's Lunch Counter, where we ate one of their world famous pork chop sandwiches. Otis, the town drunk, even made an appearance at Snappy's while we were there! We went with two of my sisters-in-law and one of my brothers-in-law. After lunch, hubby and I bid the rest of our small group good-bye and we traveled on down to the Greensboro area where we visited a nice farmer's market where hubby bought me the most beautiful clematis!

Then we drove on into High Point and Thomasville looking for homes. Yep, that's right!! I said homes. There is a very good possibility that we will be moving to NC in the near future. We are waiting to hear about a potential job opportunity for the hubby before we know for sure. I have lived in that area previously and am very excited about this new venture. I'll keep you posted.

Yesterday was filled with household chores and grocery shopping since I didn't get a chance to get that stuff done on Saturday. Then, last night was our town's annual 4th of July party. We enjoyed an outdoor concert by a marvelous Motown band, some good food and an awesome fireworks display.

Today, hubby treated me to a trip to Hobby Lobby. I say "treat" because the nearest store to us is about an hour away. So I don't get to go very often. He bought me this handsome guy:

Isn't he just gorgeous??? I have him just sitting on my kitchen counter for now, but I am going to put him in a wonderful vignette on top of my fridge soon. I also got some rub on vinyl quotes that I am going to do a little project with as well. I'll definitely share that with you when I get it completed.

So now we are home just relaxing and preparing to go back to work tomorrow. Oh well, I guess all good things must end sometime, right?? I hope everyone has enjoyed a safe and happy 4th of July! God bless America and more importantly, America, bless God!!!

Until next time. . .

Magazine Copy Cat Challenge

2011-06-30T20:06:00.010-04:00

I recently started following this awesome blog, Debbiedoo's Blogging and Blabbing, and let me just tell ya, this gal is a hoot!!! She has a beautiful home and some awesome ideas! If you've never paid her a visit, you need to. She is hosting a party right now called Magazine Copy Cat Challenge. The challenge is to take a photo of a vignette or a project of some sort pictured in a magazine and then recreate it in your home. This idea really appealed to me so I decided to give it a shot. I have a habit of saving favorite magazines for forever, and my inspiration came from my July 2009 copy of Country Living. Here is my magazine inspiration photo:

I love the hydrangeas and the lemons add just the right punch of color. Here's my version:

I used a green pitcher with pink hydrangeas and I also added a little doily to my tray. I love how this turned out!

I had so much fun with this project, that I decided to do another one. This is a nod to the upcoming 4th of July holiday. I used a photo from the same July 2009 Country Living magazine. Here's my inspiration photo from the magazine:

And here's my version:

Yep, this is the same arrangement as you see in my header photo. Love the contrast of the colors in the flags with the colors in the sunflowers. So pretty!

Thank you, Debbie, for hosting this awesome party! Please click on her blog name above to check out all the wonderful "copy cats" in this challenge. This was fun!

Until next time. . .

Funny Church Signs

2011-06-16T20:01:00.004-04:00

I found these funny church signs while web surfing the other night and I thought I'd share them with y'all. Enjoy!

And my personal favorite:

Until next time. . .

A Sneak Peek at the Kitchen Cabinets

2011-06-11T20:21:00.005-04:00

Hello all! I know I promised last week to post pics of my "completed to this point" kitchen, but I've been so busy with life things, I just haven't had time. There's been a lot happening around here, but that's a post for another day! So here is a sneak peek of how my upper cabinets look along with my "no sew" window treatments I made up on the spur of the moment that I shared with you in a previous post. This picture was taken before we put the hardware on the cabinets. We chose round black knobs with a rope like detail on them. I am very pleased with how things are looking so far. I'd love to know what you think!

And one showing the knobs:

Until next time. . .

Graduation

2011-06-05T16:09:00.006-04:00

My awesome son graduated from high school on Friday night. They had a wonderful graduation ceremony held outside on their high school's football field. The weather was perfect! I can't believe my baby boy is now a high school graduate. Does this mean I'm now officially old????

My Mom and brothers drove in from Arkansas for the big event:

My baby boy. Well, not a baby anymore. He's taller than his Momma! Where did the time go???

We hosted a small family cookout for him here at the house on Saturday. I was so busy preparing food and drinks that I didn't get a chance to take any pictures! He received a lot of monetary gifts, which he loved!! Everyone had a great time. Now he just has to figure out what direction to take his life in next. There are just so many choices! I hope he makes the right ones. My mother and brothers left to go back home this morning. I've mostly been resting all day. I forgot how worn out having a house full of family for three nights can be! It's been a bittersweet weekend, that's for sure. But life is all about changes, so even though this door and chapter is closed in my son's life now, a new one is opening for us all. And we will walk through it confidently and with hearts full of hope that the future holds only great things for us.

Until next time. . .

My No Sew Window Treatments

2011-05-30T21:33:00.003-04:00

The kitchen nightmare redo is done ~ FINALLY!!! Well, as done as it's gonna get before Brandon graduates from high school this weekend! We still have the floor to do and appliances to replace and/or redo, but we were able to get everything done that we wanted to before my family comes in from Arkansas for the graduation. I haven't gotten everything all cleaned up and staged yet, so no pics to share right now. I promise I will get to them sometime this week (I hope!).

I looked and looked for window treatments for the two windows in the kithen, but couldn't find exactly what I wanted ready made. So I went to JoAnn's and bought two yards of fabric and pinned and folded and fussed with them till I got what I wanted. Here's how they turned out:

I really wanted to do a faux roman shade treatment that I saw on another blog a while back, but I didn't have time this weekend to figure it all out, so this is gonna have to do for now! I really like how they turned out.

I am so happy to have most of this kitchen done! It has been a trip, for sure! Seems like everything we attempted took twice the amount of money and three times the amount of time I figured it would take. But I am thrilled with how everything has turned out. There were some compromises along the way and I had to change my game plan a couple of times, but it all worked out in the end. We aren't professionals by a long shot, but we did good for some so so DIY'ers!

Until next time. . .

A Memorial Day Vignette!

2011-05-28T08:15:00.012-04:00

I decided last weekend to change up my accessories in the living room. I wanted something with a patriotic theme that I could leave up until after Labor Day. This is what I came up with:

The old Singer sewing machine belonged to my grandmother on my mother's side. Sadly, it sat in storage for many years and the innards are all rusted and don't function anymore, but I had the finish restored on the outside a few years ago. I love it and will treasure it always since it is the only thing I have that belonged to my grandmother who is no longer with us in body, but whose spirit will always be in our hearts.

A red tin barn star that I repainted. It was an ugly yellowy brown color when I bought it. And some blue and white plates for the wall. Red, white, and blue!!!

Some USA stacking boxes I won in a giveaway last year topped with a white pitcher filled with sunflowers and little American flags.

And to round it all out, old timey photos we had taken on a weekend trip to Gatlinburg, TN a few years back. We had a ball doing these! Hubby made the frames for these out of some old boards he found.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend! A special thanks to all our men and women and their families who serve our great country in the military. Nothing would be possible without all their sacrifices!

I'm linking up with Marty over at A Stroll Thru Life for her Tabletop Tuesday.

Until next time. . .

Faux Iron Wall Art For Less Than $1

2011-05-23T21:00:00.009-04:00

I love iron wall art. But it can be kind of pricey. Hobby Lobby has a great selection and their prices are usually pretty reasonable, especially if they have it on sale for fifty percent off! The only problem with that is, the nearest HL to me is about an hour's drive. So I can't just "run by" and pick up a piece whenever I want to. I've seen the wonderful creations out there in blog land where some talented folks have made their own iron look wall art out of toilet paper rolls and it inspired me to give it a try. Only I decided I wanted a piece of wall art that was longer than I could get from a toilet paper or paper towel roll. So I bought a piece of poster board and got to work! I used a yard stick to draw some lines the width I wanted then I just cut them out, leaving me with long strips of paper. I used a pencil to curl my paper edges to the shape I wanted. I cut some of my strips down to get the sizes I wanted. Sorry, but I didn't take any pics of the actual process. I wasn't sure it was going to work so I was just basically playing with it. I used my trusty hot glue gun to glue my paper together. When I was finished, it was a bit flimsy so I found an old thin dowel I had in my craft stash and cut it down to size, then hot glued it to the bottom of my piece. Then I added a couple more smaller pieces of paper to it to finish it off. Once I was satisfied with my "art", I spray painted it with some black paint and then finished it with a light coat of spray sealer. Here's my finished piece:

Pretty good for a first try, don't you think? This was easy and fun and I'll definitely make more!

I'm linking up with Linda's Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays over at Coastal Charm, with Kim's Wow Us Wednesday over at Savvy Southern Style, with Kate's Flaunt it Fridays over at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, with Kindra's Terrific Under Ten Tuesday, and with Christina's 20 Below Thursdays over at Christina's Adventures.
Oh, and here too:

Until next time. . .

Brownies ~ Quick and Easy!

2011-05-21T12:10:00.003-04:00

We are having a "potluck" lunch at work next week with an all American theme to kick off the long Memorial Day weekend. We will be having grilled hotdogs with all the fixins! I signed up to bring a dessert. So I thought, what's a more American dessert than brownies?? I have a tried and true simple, but oh so delicious, recipe for brownies and I thought I'd share it with y'all.

Quick and Easy Brownies

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 9 pan. Mix oil, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Beat in eggs. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir in egg mixture and mix till well blended. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

You can add your favorite nut to this recipe also, but since I'm taking it to a public function, I don't want to chance anyone being allergic to nuts so I left them out. When I make these at home, I leave the nuts out most of the time as well, since my boys don't really care for them. These brownies are so moist and tasty! And they are easily transportable so that makes them perfect for my potluck work lunch or for a picnic by the lake. You could also easily dress these babies up with some icing and sprinkles to match your occasion's theme. But I'm leaving mine plain for this lunch. Simple, but delicious! Enjoy!

Until next time. . .

New Counter Tops -- Well, Almost!!

2011-05-17T20:22:00.010-04:00

We worked really hard on the kitchen this past weekend. Both Scott and I took the day off work Friday so we had three days to work on it. We got quite a bit done, but we still have a long way to go! One thing we did get completed was the counter tops. I would have loved to put new granite counter tops in, but when you have champagne dreams and only a beer budget, that ain't gonna happen! So we found this amazing product at Lowes:

Counter top paint made specifically for laminate counter tops! How awesome is that??? Let me just say, this is the coolest stuff I've ever seen! I had seen a few other people use it and post about it on their blogs in the past, so I did some research on it and thought I'd give it a try. We paid around $22 for this container and they tinted it for us in the store. There are about seven or eight different colors you can chose from and we chose black. Scott was a bit skeptical about it but I convinced him that we should give it a try. If it was a bust, it surely wouldn't be the first $22 we'd ever wasted! Now I will say this, it stank to high heaven!!! I mean bad, bad, bad!! We painted one portion of the counter on Thursday evening and the smell just about ran us out of the house. I would highly recommend that if you use this, take it outside! I am very impatient and didn't want to wait until day light to try it. I learned my lesson! Also, it takes three days for the paint to cure so you can't set anything on the counters during that time. It dried pretty quickly and you just roll it on with a foam paint roller. Easy peasy!

Here's the counter top before:

And here's the same counter after:

And a closer view:

And finally, almost new counter tops, all decorated and looking mighty pretty:

We also finished up the back splash and got most of the upper cabinets painted. I'll share those later this week with y'all.

I'm linking up to Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday this week.

Until next time. . .

Prom 2011

2011-05-15T08:25:00.009-04:00

Where does the time go? Seems like yesterday my little boy struggled for 34 hours to make his appearance in this big world and now he's a handsome 18 year old senior in high school, getting ready to graduate in a few short weeks. It just doesn't seem possible. But it is. And last night, he enjoyed his senior prom. We had terrible weather, rain and wind and chilly temps for most of the day. But that didn't stop him and his friends from having a great time!

Their theme this year was "Victorian Masquerade". This photo is a picture of the entrance to the high school. The prom is always held in the gymnasium at the high school and has been ever since they started having a prom.

This is Brandon and his date, Morgan. He and several of his friends went together as a group and they all paired up for the pictures. One of the parents held a dinner for the group at their home. He said it was mostly Asian food, which he knows nothing about, but he said it was really good!

And a photo of part of the group of friends. They all arrived in separate cars so it was hard to get everyone together at once for pictures.

"Man in Black"

Brandon and his best buds, Chris and TJ:

They had a great time and made some wonderful memories!

I have been so busy this week trying to get most of the kitchen finished before graduation, which is on June 3rd. Not only is Brandon graduating, but my stepson Scotty is graduating as well. So we are planning a family cook out on June 4th for the boys to celebrate. Needless to say, we are busting our tails trying to get as much of this kitchen reno done as possible. I gave up on painting my cabinets red. I just could not get them to take the paint color. So I went with white, and while it's not what I originally wanted, I am pleased with how they are turning out. I also ended up changing my design on the cabinets as well. You will just have to wait and see what I'm talking about there. We painted our counter tops black and I love them! I can't wait to show them to y'all. But all that will have to wait for another post.

I've had almost no time at all for crafting. I have worked on a few things which I will share later this week.

Until next time. . .

When God Made Mothers

2011-05-07T09:02:00.004-04:00

By the time the Lord made mothers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An Angel appeared and said “Why are you spending so much time on this one”? And the Lord answered and said, “Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic; have 200 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands.”

The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. “Six pairs of hands! No Way!” said the Angel.

The Lord replied, “Oh, it’s not the hands that are the problem. It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!”

“And that’s just on the standard model?” The Angel asked.

The Lord nodded in agreement, “Yes, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head, are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word.”

The Angel tried to stop the Lord. “This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish.”

“But I can’t!” the Lord protested, “I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower.”

The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, “But you have made her so soft, Lord.”

“Yes, she is soft”, the Lord agreed, “But I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish.”

“Will she be able to think?”, asked the inquisitive Angel.

The Lord smiled and replied, “Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate.”

The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman’s cheek. “Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one.”

“That’s not a leak.” The Lord objected. “That is a tear.”

“What’s the tear for? the Angel asked.

The Lord said, “The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride.”

The Angel was impressed. “You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything! Truly, You do all things well."

The Lord smiled sadly and replied, "I didn't put that tear there."

Happy Mother’s Day!

Until next time. . .

My Favorite Chicken Salad Recipe & A Kitchen Update

2011-05-01T14:43:00.012-04:00

I love chicken salad! And I've tried several different kinds before. Some were good, others not so much. I've had a basic chicken salad recipe that I've used in the past that was o.k. but now I've discovered this one that's just awesome!

Rotisserie Chicken Salad

1 prepared rotisserie chicken (I use only the white meat)
Mayonnaise
Seedless white grapes
Sliced almonds
Salt and pepper to taste

Shred chicken and place in bowl. Add mayonnaise. I just eyeball it. Some people like a little mayo, some like a lot so this is just your preference. Cut grapes into desired sized pieces. I usually cut mine in half. Add desired amount of sliced almonds. Add salt and pepper. Mix all together and serve.

This is sooo yummy! And if there are other items you enjoy, like dried cranberries, apples, chopped celery, or whatever, you can easily add these to this simple recipe too. I like the convenience of the chicken being already prepared and ready to go. I buy mine from the deli section of the grocery store. They usually have several flavors to choose from. My favorites are the original and the garlic flavored varieties. This chicken salad is good by itself and awesome served on a buttery croissant. Yummo!!!

I'm linking this recipe up over at Mommy's Kitchen for her Potluck Sunday party this week. Please stop by her wonderful blog to check out all the great recipes there.

Our kitchen redo is coming along. Slowly. Seems like we take one step forward and two steps back. I have been fighting with my cabinet paint color forever and finally figured out that I am going to have to prime them first in order to get the true paint color to adhere. I was so hoping I could skip this step, but alas, I am going to have to bite the bullet and do it. Oh well, it will be worth it in the end to have the beautiful color on them that I've been wanting. We have finished the painting of the walls and next weekend we hope to get the back splash installed and the cabinets painted. We will see!

I found some plain red plates at Wal Mart a while back for only $1.00 each! I was so excited. They are fairly big and heavy. I bought two of them.

My brother-in-law owns and operates a printing and graphic design shop so he graciously cut me out a couple of black roosters from some scrap vinyl he couldn't use. I adhered them to my plain ole red plates and decided to use them as wall art.

I had purchased a wrought iron wall art piece from Hobby Lobby a while back for around $7.00. They had them half off so I was super excited about that! I decided to hang it above my sink area and I flanked it with my plates. I'm pleased with the way it turned out and you can see in the picture the new wall color we used above the cabinet area. I think it will look really good when the cabinets are finally their final red color.

I'm linking up to Met Monday over at Between Naps on the Porch and to Terrific Under Ten over at At Home With K this week. Be sure to visit these great blogs to see all the great makeovers and tutorials shared this week.

We had a really nice Easter last weekend. Easter Sunday was also our second wedding anniversary. Then the Monday after Easter was my birthday. I celebrated the 23rd anniversary of my 21st birthday! So we basically celebrated all weekend. Now we are getting ready for high school graduation for both of our sons. Whew, if we make it through this, it'll really be a miracle! We are blessed with two wonderful kids although they do try our patience from time to time. But we wouldn't have it any other way. God has been so good to us and we are truly thankful!

Until next time. . .

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T12:20:00.001-04:00

Until next time. . .

Playing with Tassels

2011-04-17T18:18:00.006-04:00

I've seen some beautiful handmade tassels out here in blogland and I've been inspired to try to make a few of my own. Let me just say, I. Am. Addicted!!!

These things are so much fun to make! The possibilities are endless as to what you can do. Here's two I've made so far:

I purchased a package of two wooden finials from Lowe's for less than $3 and had hubby screw an eye hook in the top of each one. Then I spray painted one blue and the other one black to match my ribbon that I used on these tassels. Hubby uses a type of tape at his job that comes on a two inch cardboard spool. He brought me home a gallon sized freezer bag full of these things and they make the perfect base for my tassels. I just hot glued my finial onto the cardboard spool and then just filled it in with the loops and strands of ribbon. So simple and so fun! I have purchased a couple more of the finials and I've also found a cute little fairy that I'm going to turn into a tassel as well.

I can't believe that Easter is only a week away! I had so many projects in mind that I intended to make, but just haven't gotten a chance to really work on them much this week. I'm hoping to get at least a few of them done before Easter actually gets here!

Until next time. . .

Happy birthday to my "baby" boy!

2011-04-13T07:20:00.004-04:00

On April 13, 1993, I gave birth to an 8 pound, 4 ounce, 21 inch long baby boy. From the first moment I laid eyes on him, he amazed me, awed me, and owned my heart. Today, he is an 18 year old handsome young man who still amazes me, awes me, and owns my heart every single day.

I asked him last week what kind of cake he would like for his birthday and without any hesitation he said, "A boobie cake!" I rolled my eyes and thought "oh, Lord, help me!" but a boobie cake is what he got! It turned out really cute and it tasted good too!

While the past 18 years have been tough at times, I wouldn't change one single minute of it. I've made some mistakes but this precious child loves me in spite of that. He's never known his father but I feel like he's turned out just fine. He has a beautiful smile and a loving spirit. He's awesome and I am so blessed that God chose me to be his Mom! Happy birthday, my beautiful "baby" boy!

Until next time. . .

Tulips

2011-04-12T22:41:00.005-04:00

My tulips are just gorgeous this year! Come see for yourself. . .

Where flowers bloom so does hope. - Lady Bird Johnson

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a flower with the other. - Chinese Proverb

He is happiest who hath power to gather wisdom from a flower. - Mary Howitt

Be a blessing to someone today!!
Until next time. . .

Kitchen Makeover Update - The Paint War

2011-04-11T19:54:00.005-04:00

As most of you know, hubby and I have started a minor cosmetic makeover on our kitchen. Over the past couple of weekends, we have gotten some things accomplished, but not as much as I had hoped for by this point. We have managed to get the walls all painted and I've started on the makeover for my kitchen chairs and table. We had intended on having the cabinets painted by now, but alas, that has not happened! I had decided to paint the cabinets the same reddish terra cotta color as the bottom half of my dining area wall. So off to Lowes I went with paint chip in hand. I used a satin finish on the walls and love how rich and nice the color came out. For the cabinets, I decided to go with a semi-gloss finish to better protect them from normal wear and tear. Well, that ain't gonna happen! I handed the paint guy the color chip and told him I wanted a gallon in semi-gloss. So he went to get the paint, came back and started mixing. When he finished, he dabbed a little on the lid and all looked good. I was super excited to get home and get busy!

Once home, hubby took off one of the drawer fronts, sanded it, and I started painting. I noticed when I opened the paint, it looked rather pink. Sort of salmony color. But I trudged on thinking that surely it would dry darker. It. Did. Not.

I tried a couple more coats just to make sure, but still ended up with a dark pink, salmony color. Not what I wanted at all. So back to Lowes we went with the gallon of paint in hand. I asked them to add more red to it and they did for free. Back home we went and I tried it on another drawer front. This time the result was an even darker salmony pink. Still. Not. Happy. So back to Lowes we went. This time without the gallon of paint. We decided to just buy a sample container in a darker red and see how we liked that. We reasoned that it would be easier to redo the wall section if we found another red we liked that looked good on the cabinets. So this time I picked a red that had a burgundy tint to it. Got home with it, painted another drawer front and ended up with a pink toned burgundy/red color!!!! AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!! At this point, I'd had enough with the red paint so we decided to walk away from it for a while. I think the problem with the original gallon we bought for the cabinets is that the paint guy tinted a yellow based paint with it and they did not do that with the gallon of satin we purchased to paint the walls with. So after much deliberating, hubby and I have decided to purchase another gallon of the satin in the Apple Peel red and maybe polyurethane the cabinets. If this doesn't work, y'all may have to send in the guys in the white coats!!!

I did get some painting done this weekend. You may recall, a while back a friend was giving away four ladder back dining chairs and I snatched them up. They were showing some signs of wear and tear, but I knew I could work some magic on them. So with some black paint and a little time, I transformed this:

into this:

Much better, don't you think? I am very pleased with how these chairs turned out and can't wait to get the table painted black and get the dining area put back together. If you look at the before picture, you can see the new paint colors on the wall. The red on the bottom is the color my cabinets will be. I hope! I cannot wait to get rid of the ugly floor! Ugh! I hate this floor. It never looks clean, I don't care how much you scrub on it. It will be one of the next things we do so stay tuned for that!

If these cabinets don't kill me first!!!

I'm linking up with Kim at Savvy Southern Style for her Wow Us Wednesday party. Go check it out!

Until next time. . .

Cranberry Chicken

2011-04-08T19:34:00.004-04:00

I discovered this wonderful recipe on line a while back and finally got around to making it this week. It's called Cranberry Chicken and it is awesome! The hubby and kid both liked it and neither of them are huge chicken fans. The best part: there's only three ingredients (not including the chicken) and prep time is quick and simple!

Cranberry Chicken

4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 8 oz. bottle of French salad dressing
1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Place chicken in a casserole dish in a single layer. In a seperate bowl, combine cranberry sauce, salad dressing and soup mix. Mix well. Pour over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.

This is so good! No one in my family really cares much for cranberry sauce or French salad dressing so we were a bit skeptical about this recipe. But I had to try it, just for the simplicity of it if for nothing else! IT. IS. DELICIOUS!!!! Hubby says this has be at least a once a month dinner from now on. I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and a simple garden salad. Yummy!

I'm linking up here this week:

Until next time. . .

Having a ball!!!!

2011-04-05T18:32:00.018-04:00

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while since my last post. The hubs and I worked all last week and thru the weekend on our kitchen redo. We did manage to finish all the wall painting and we tried to get started on painting the cabinets, but the color we bought, which was Apple Peel in a semi-gloss finish, turned out to be more of a salmony pink color. Definitely not what I wanted!!! We used the same color on the lower half of the dining area, in a satin finish, and we love it! But I guess maybe because of the different finishes of the paint and the cabinets being a different texture than the walls, it just ain't cuttin' it. So we are going to use this paint as a primer/base coat and go with another paint color a couple of shades darker than what we used on the walls. I'm hoping that will do the trick.

I have managed to get a little bit of crafting done in between all this remodeling mess. I made some twine balls and I love them! I've seen this on several different blogs and decided to give it a try. I forgot to take some "before" pictures but basically all I did was blow up some cheap balloons to the sizes I wanted my balls then I mixed some regular old white school glue with some water, cut some twine in the lengths I wanted, dunked it into the glue mixture and wrapped the balloons with it. I let them dry overnight and then popped the balloon and pulled it out of the ball. Here's what I ended up with:

This was a fun and inexpensive project, albeit very messy!! I love the way they turned out. The little white figurine thingy you see in the picture came from the Dollar Tree. It was a dark brownish color but I slapped some vanilla craft paint on it, letting a little bit of the original color come thru.

I also made some rope balls. I found this package of three decorative balls on clearance at Wal Mart for $3.

I was going to use the twine you see in the picture to wrap them with, but once I got started, I didn't like the way it looked, so I opted to go with some heavier rope. I already had the rope left over from a Christmas ornament project I did this past year. All I did was take some hot glue and glue the rope all the way around the balls. Quick and easy! Here's the finished project:

I also made a book bundle (Pottery Barn knock off) that I've seen several people do here in blogland. I already had the books so all I did was tear off the covers and tie them together with some twine. I decided that I wanted to jazz them up a little bit so I added a key on a piece of ribbon and took a key stamp and a "love" stamp and stamped all over them and, voila, cheap and instant art!

I decided to set Mr. White Roo on top of them for a little added interest:

A while back, I was the lucky winner of some beautiful blue and white candlesticks from Marty over at A Stroll Thru Life . I decided to use them along with some of my new creations to brighten up my fireplace mantle a little bit. I'm very pleased with the way they look on my fireplace. Thank you so much Marty!!!

Sorry for the poor picture quality. I took these shots early in the morning so the lighting wasn't all that great. Here's a pic showing the entire fireplace mantle vignette:

Hubby made me the window frame out of some scrap wood he had laying around. I painted it black then went over it again with some white paint. The blue plates were a Ross find as was the cute little white pitcher. I added some Dollar Tree flowers to it for a springy feel. The cream plate hanging above the window frame is from Wal Mart.

I'm linking up with these great parties this week:

I'm working on a few more Easter related crafts. Hopefully, I'll actually finish them before Easter arrives. If this kitchen remodel doesn't kill me first!!

Until next time. . .

Wooden Easter Blocks

2011-03-24T23:19:00.006-04:00

Hubby had some scrap wood laying around that I found last week in the basement so I asked him if I could have it. I wanted to come up with a little sign or something for Easter. He had one good sized piece of wood and some smaller pieces of a 2 x 4 left over from another project. I have been seeing some cute things out in blog land and was inspired! I drew out a bunny shape and had him cut that out of the larger piece of wood. Then he sanded down the blocks and the bunny for me. I gathered my supplies and got to work:

I decided to go with some bright pink and green paint that I already had in my paint stash for my blocks. And I used a vanilla color for my bunny. I took a piece of floral wire and cut it down for the bunny's whiskers. I dredged it through some black paint and let it dry. I painted the blocks with a base color of the vanilla and topped that with the pink and green colors. Then I took a white paint marker and free handed the words "happy" and "Easter" on them. Once they were dry, I used sandpaper to distress them a little bit so that some of the vanilla color showed through.

For my bunny, I left her vanilla. Then I took some blush from my make up bag and using my finger, gave her some pink cheeks and highlighted her ears with it. I glued on her whiskers, painted her a cute heart shaped nose and added some eyes with my paint markers. I took some black paint on a sponge brush and dry brushed the edges to highlight her a little bit. I finished her off by tying a purple ribbon bow around one of her ears.

I love how this turned out! I am going to send this set to my Mom who lives in Arkansas. She loves stuff like this and is always asking me to make her things! I hope she likes it!

I'm linking up to these parties this week:

Until next time. . .

Handmade Birthday Presents

2011-03-20T19:07:00.019-04:00

I have a co-worker who will be celebrating her birthday early next week. So I set out to find her a gift that would be cute and useful. Her personality is a lot like mine so I knew that if I found something I liked, she would probably like it too. I am on a limited budget so I had to find something cheap! Well, turns out, eveything I liked was too pricey for my budget. So I decided to make her something. I have been seeing a lot of beautiful picture frames adorned with ribbons and embellishments on several different blogs and I thought I'd take some inspiration from them and see what I could come up with. I bought a $3 plain jane wooden 5 X 7 photo frame, scrapbook paper, some pretty coordinated ribbons, and a butterfly embellishment that I found in the jewelry department at Wal Mart and got to work.

I started by spray painting my frame white. Once dry, I lightly sanded around the edges for a distressed look. Then I took my ribbons and just played around with different bows and placements on my frame. Once I had them suitably arranged, I used a couple dabs of hot glue to adhere them to my frame. I then glued my butterfly embellishment onto the center of my top bow. Then I cut out a piece of matching scrapbook paper to fit my frame. I freehanded an abstract "T" from a coordinating scrapbook paper piece since that is the birthday girl's first initial. I glued the initial to the larger piece of paper and inserted this into my frame. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!

Here's the breakdown of the cost to create this beautiful frame:

5 x 7 frame from Wal Mart ~ $3.00
Butterfly embellishment from Wal Mart ~ $1.00 (I bought a pack of 4 for $4.00 but only used one)
2 sheets of scrapbook paper ~ $ .44 (I only used 1/2 of the sheet of blue and a tiny scrap piece of the patterned paper. Each sheet cost $.44 but I used less than one sheet on this project)
2 spools of ribbon ~ $2.00 (each spool cost right at $2 but I only used about 3/4 of one spool total so I'm going with $2 for the cost of ribbon)
1 pre-tied ribbon bow ~ $1.50 (I bought a pack of 2 which was $2.97. You could save even more if you tied your own bow, and while I would normally do this, I wanted to save some time so I splurged on this one!)
Total cost to create a personalized frame ~ $7.94

So for around $8.00, I have a nice, personalized gift for my friend. But, I wasn't finished yet! I wasn't sure if the picture frame would turn out the way I had envisioned, so as a back up plan, I purchased some tiles from Lowe's to make a set of coasters. Since I was on a crafting high from my awesome picture frame, I decided to make her a set of coasters to match her new frame.

I'm sure most of you have seen these around blog land so this is not a new craft. I took my sheet of scrapbook paper that I fashioned the "T" for my picture frame out of, and traced around one of tiles four times. I then cut out the squares, trimming them so that they fit a little smaller than the actual size of the tile. I did this because I wanted the edges of the tiles to show. Then I used Mod Podge and applied a thin coat to the tile, placed my cut out scrapbook paper and smoothed out any bubbles. Once dry, I applied another coat of the Mod Podge on top of the scrapbook paper to help seal it. I then sprayed a coat of sealer on them for a little extra protections from any sweating glass that may be set on them.

Once everything was dry, I attached self adhesive round cork pieces to the bottom as "feet" to protect the furniture.

Then I took some of the ribbon left over from the frame, and tied the tiles into a nice little bundle. All ready for gift giving!

Here's the cost breakdown for the coasters:

4 ceramic tiles from Lowe's ~ $1.40 (they were $ .35 each)
1 piece of scrapbook paper ~ $ .44 (I didn't use the entire sheet but am counting it as if I did)
1 piece of ribbon ~ $1.00 (I used less than 1/2 of the remaining spool left over from the frame)
Cork "feet" pkg of 36 from Dollar Tree ~ $ .75 (the price of the pack was $1.00 but I still have about 1/4 of the package left to use on other projects)
Mod Podge ~ free (I already had this)
Total cost for a set of 4 tile coasters ~ $3.63

So for a grand total of $11.57, I have a nice birthday gift for a crazy, silly, wonderful friend! I hope she likes it!

I'm linking up to these parties this week:

Until next time. . .

Springtime

2011-03-20T15:14:00.002-04:00

And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Sensitive Plant"

Happy first day of Spring!

Until next time. . .

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!!!

2011-03-16T23:14:00.006-04:00

Wishing you and yours a blessed St. Paddy's Day!

Until next time. . .

My Newest Roo!!!

2011-03-14T19:54:00.017-04:00

I was out doing a little retail therapy this weekend and popped into Cato's to look for a new blouse. They have an awesome home decor section and I happened upon this lovely rooster.

He really likes to strut his stuff! And when I picked him up and saw the price, I knew he was going home with me! Less than $5! Woohoo, can't beat that!

I have been on the lookout for a white roo but haven't found one I really like in a price range I'm comfy with. So, I decided to spray paint Mr $5 Roo white. He turned out great!

Isn't he just gorgeous???!!! For now, he's hanging out on my kitchen counter with my $1.50 charger I scored at Wally World back in January, along with some ivy and some nice, juicy red apples. This probably won't be his final home, but for now he's happy here and that makes me a happy girl!

I'm linking up with these fabulous parties this week. Click on them to check out all the great decorating ideas!

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Until next time. . .

Cloches, cloches, and more cloches!!

2011-03-10T20:33:00.011-05:00

Hi everyone! Today I am joining in with Marty over at A Stroll Thru Life for her annual Spring Cloche Party! Now, when I first started blogging, I had never even heard of a cloche. But I was quickly schooled! How amazing that you can showcase things under a glass dome and have it look so pretty and elegant! So, I started my search for the perfect cloche to display all kinds of pretties. I looked and I looked and I looked some more, but just couldn't seem to find any of these pretty glass domes here in my small country town. So I did what any clever, crafty simple country girl would do. I made my own!!! We have a nice store near where I work called Southern Pottery and they sell a little bit of everything. They have a lot of fabulous fake florals, wooden signs, some primitive decor, garden accessories, candles, baskets, well, you get the idea. I was in there browsing one day and came across these rather plain looking glass domes. Eh, not so great to look at but for only ninety-nine cents each, I grabbed a few. Then I crossed the road where there happened to be a Dollar Tree and purchased a couple of glass candlesticks and a couple of glass candle plates. Then it was a quick stop at Wally World for a crystal looking cabinet knob and I was heading home as quickly as possible to create my very own cloche! I simply glued the glass candlestick to the glass candle plate with some E6000 glue and then used some more glue to attach my crystal cabinet knob to the top of my rather plain looking glass dome. Voila, instant cloche!!!!

This one is in my kitchen holding some cute little green apples. Mr. Roo looks like he's ready for a snack!

They are sharing the top of my microwave with my cute little white pitcher I found at Ross over the weekend.

While at the Dollar Tree, I picked up Miss Bunny and of course, she just had to have her turn under the cloche. I decided to display her in the center of my spring Easter egg wreath.

She really likes spring flowers, so I also paired her with some simple, pretty blooms as well:

Then I remembered the sweet little tea cup and saucer I won last year from my blogging friend Cindy over at Applestone Cottage and before I knew it, there it was, taking it's turn under the cloche with some pretty spring flowers inside.

I wanted to do something different with my other cloche creation, so I decided to spray paint the bottom piece (candlestick and candle plate) black and I painted a wooden knob with some black craft paint and glued it to the top. Perfect for my Willow Tree "Friendship" figurine that was a birthday gift last year from a very dear friend. She's holding her very own bouquet of pretty spring flowers!

Cloches are so much fun! I have tons of other ideas on what to put under my cloches and am excited to join Marty's fun party! Click here to check out all the wonderful creations submitted for this great party.

Until next time. . .

Busy, busy, busy!!

2011-03-07T21:51:00.007-05:00

Hello all! Sorry I've been MIA over the past couple of weeks. Life has just been so busy. We've either been on the go, working, sleeping, working, eating, working, playing taxi to a teenager with his first job, working. . . well, you get the idea! I've had almost zero time for crafting which makes me sad. But, the good news is, we've been able to get some things done around the house that we've been wanting to do. We've painted our hallway. It went from blah white to a beigey (yeah, that's a new word!) grayish color. Here's a pic, although you can't really tell much about it. The hallway is narrow and not well lit so it's hard to get a pic of the true color.

I was kind of worried about the color because we bought this paint from Lowe's in the "opps" bin for $5 due to it being mistinted. So I don't know the actual name of the color, but I really like how it turned out.

We also got started on our kitchen. Yay! I went to Lowe's website and they were offering a free sample of any color they carry, so of course I had to order the Apple Peel red color I had picked out for my kitchen. I love it! We painted the lower portion of the dining area with this color and then we put up a chair rail. It looks sorta orangey in this picture, but it's really not. It's more of a country red color. I think we will do at least one more coat. This pic is with two coats and it's not as even as I would like it to be. A friend of mine ordered a free sample of the tan color (Summer Tan) for me so that is what color you see above the chair rail. I'm not sure if I'm really satisfied with it or not. I think I will like it once we get more of it on the wall. I hope so anyway!!

I was so excited when I got my free sample in the mail, that I just started painting before I realized that I hadn't taken a "before" picture. Oh well, just imagine a plain white (boring) wall and you'll get the idea!

My crocus and daffodils are starting to bloom. A sure sign that spring is on it's way!! Well, at least I thought it was, until I woke up yesterday morning to SNOW!!! We ended up with about six inches before it stopped. The good news is that a lot of it melted away today since the temps were in the upper 40's for most of the day.

Aren't these just the sweetest little flowers? They make me smile!

Finally, we did get a little bit of thrift shopping done over the weekend. I found a few treasures that I will share with y'all later this week. And I have to show you the awesome candlesticks I won in Marty's giveaway over at A Stroll Thru Life. They are gorgeous!

I have started a couple of small craft projects, but can't seem to find the time to finish anything! I hope to be able to do that this week as well.

I'm linking up here this week:

Until next time. . .

A Neat Baby Shower Gift Idea!

2011-02-20T09:05:00.015-05:00

I needed a quick, inexpensive gift for a baby shower recently, so I did what any "wait till the last minute" blogger would do. I scoured blogland for ideas for something quick and inexpensive, but absolutely too cute for words. And boy, did I get more ideas than I bargained for! But one in particular really spoke to me. It was a post about all different kinds of wreaths you can make using baby themed items. Now, I have made dozens of diaper cakes and I really enjoy doing them, but this time I wanted something a bit different. So I decided to try making one of these awesome wreaths. Since I make the diaper cakes frequently, I have a stash of baby items always on hand. I decided to raid my stash and see what I could come up with. I had an abundance of bath related items, so that became the theme for my wreath. I started with an old wreath form that half of the stuff had fallen off of and I knew I wasn't gonna be using it in it's original form, so I removed all the other stuff off of it and gave it a quick coat of white spray paint.

Then I gathered up some greenery and some flowers, all my baby bath items, some ribbon and my trusty glue gun.

Then I got to work. All I did was tie my baby items onto the wreath with some pretty pink ribbon. I did use a spot of glue on the heavier items to make sure they would stay in place. Then I filled in any gaps with the greenery and flowers. Lastly, I glued a length of the wider ribbon to the top part of my wreath and tied a shoe lace bow out of more of the same ribbon and glued it on. The entire project took me about an hour to put together and since I already had all the supplies on hand, it was essentially free! I didn't have to run out on a Saturday morning frantically searching for a gift. That's always a good thing. Plus, this is a gift that is different from all the usual baby shower gifts and one that Mom and the new baby will remember and get a lot of use out of. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

You can click here to get more detailed instructions on how to put one of these cute wreaths together and to see all the other sweet wreaths this blogger has made. The ideas and possibilities for these wreaths are endless. I'm imagining one made for a new bride-to-be using kitchen gadgets or a bathroom themed one as a housewarming gift.

I'm linking up to these great parties this week. Please be sure to pop over and check out all the great ideas!

Until next time. . .

Stacking Boxes

2011-02-17T07:08:00.006-05:00

I've been wanting to try my hand at painting some stacking boxes to go in my "new" kitchen (which I hope to get started transforming real soon!). So the last time I went to Hobby Lobby, I picked up two different sized plain boxes. I paid around $6 total for both boxes. I figured if I messed them up, I wouldn't be out too much money.

I decided to go bold and paint them red and black. I'm shooting for a French country sort of theme in my kitchen and my colors are going to be red and tan with touches of creamy white and black. I am also incorporating some roosters (of course!) and I love coffee so I will be using those two elements to help me decorate. I drew my rooster freehand and used stencils for the stars and the word COFFEE. Everything else was done freehand. I then distressed the boxes some for a worn look. I really like the way they turned out. Pretty decent for a first attempt, don't ya think??

I am thinking I will probably use these in a vignette on top of my fridge, but that is subject to change! I get so much inspiration from all you talented folks out there in blogland, so if anyone has any ideas on ways to display these boxes, let me know. I am working on a cute little display for an empty corner on my counter top right now. I found an awesome plate at Wal Mart of all places and I got it for $1.50 on clearance! I'm gonna pair it with a rooster and an apothecary jar filled with green apples. I'll show it to y'all when I get it just right.

I'm linking up to these fabulous parties. Please pop over and check them out!

Well, that's it for me today. I'm heading out the door for work. Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday! I hope everyone has a fantastic day and don't forget to count your blessings!

Till next time. . .

Wordless Wednesday. . .

2011-02-16T07:15:00.003-05:00

Until next time. . .

Ready for Spring!

2011-02-15T19:07:00.010-05:00

I don't know about y'all, but I am so ready for spring to get here! I am not a big fan of winter, snow, or cold weather in general. With that thought in mind, I was browsing through a catalog I received in the mail that features lots of spring time items. I'm not sure how I ended up getting this catalog, as I've never ordered anything from them due to their rather high prices. They have some really nice things, just not in my budget right now! This little piece really caught my eye:

It is a set of 2 pictures featuring yellowed sheet music backgrounds with little bird's nests in the center. So cute! But at $39.99 plus shipping and handling for the pair, it's a bit pricey for me. So I set out to create a much more affordable version and here's what I came up with:

Please forgive the poor quality of the pictures. I really need a new camera! And, these photos were taken at night, so the lighting is not the greatest. I tried one with the flash on, and it was horrible. So this is the best I can do right now.

Anyways, my version only cost me around $5.00 to make! I bought an 8 X 10 plain wooden certificate frame from the Dollar Tree. I had the spray paint and the ribbon on hand from a previous project so that was free. I copied some sheet music I had on hand on some yellowed card stock. I already had this on hand as well. I found a set of two little bird's nests at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 and I purchased a package of mixed colored plastic bird's eggs at the same place for less than $2.

It was an easy project. I spray painted the frame and sanded it lightly to give it a somewhat worn look. Then I glued the sheet music to the cardboard backing that came with the frame. I cut a length of my ribbon and hot glued it to the front and back of the top of my frame. Then I glued three of my little eggs in the nest and hot glued the nest to the center of my sheet music. I then tied a bow out of another piece of ribbon and hot glued it to the top of my frame. That's it! I'm pleased with how this turned out and may make a smaller one so that I will have a set like the ones in the catalog.

I'm linking up with these great parties this week. Click on the image to go check out all the great things people are working on!

Until next time. . .

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T19:10:00.001-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Kiss someone you love today!

Until next time. . .

Who is the Winner & What Do They Win????

2011-02-09T19:56:00.007-05:00

I've left y'all in suspense long enough! It's time to show you what the lucky winner of my "Heart and Soul" giveaway is going to get! Remember, I told y'all that there would be something wooden, something soft, something stretchy and possibly even some chicken soup in addition to the big ole chocolate kiss?? Well, here's what the giveaway is:

~ a 7 ounce milk chocolate Hershey's kiss
~ a set of 3 wooden shelf blocks that say faith, hope, and love (handmade by me!)
~ a small "simplify" pillow (also handmade by me!)
~ a ribbon and button bookmark (this is the stretchy thing since it's made from a stretchy hair scrunchy! I made this as well!)
~ a set of four tile coasters (again, handmade by me!)
~ "A Taste of Chicken Soup to Inspire a Woman's Soul" book. (this is the chicken soup part of the giveaway ~~ clever, huh??!!!)

Now, for the part you've all been waiting for ~~ the winner!!!! I had 37 entries for this giveaway so I asked my hubby to pick a number from 1 to 37. Keep in mind that he has no imagination and he looked at me and said "37". Hhhhmmm. . . Well, o.k., that's what I get for expecting him to really take his time and think about this for a few minutes. I mean, really, this is a big deal and he just blurts out "37" without missing a beat!!! Men, can't live with 'em and it's against the law to shoot them! LOL! So that means that my winner is. . .

KAREN from KAREN'S KORNER!!!!!

Congrats to Karen! Send me your addy and I will get your goodies right out to ya! Thank you to all who entered this giveaway. I kind of liked it being a surprise, although I have to admit that I do tend to get more entries when I tell ya what I'm giving away. Oh well, variety is the spice of life, I suppose!

We are expecting a couple more inches of snow tonight so I am anxious about my daily commute tomorrow. If it gets too bad, hubby will take a vacation day and drive me to work. I kinda like that idea!! I hope wherever you are, that you are safe and warm!

Until next time. . .

I Won a Giveaway!!

2011-02-07T19:00:00.008-05:00

I was the lucky winner of Carmen's recent giveaway over at Waxed Out Creative Life. My goodies arrived today and even before I got the box all the way opened, I could smell the yummyness!!!

Just look at all those wonderful goodies! Carmen made me a cute little chocolate stuffed primitive bunny! It has a tag around it's neck that says "Hoppy Easter"! He looks good enough to eat! Love it! She also sent me a nice little book entitled "Hanging Out the Wash". This is filled with stories regarding ways to find precious moments in every day. Slow down and take a breath!! Exactly what I need to do! Also included with the book was a cute card stock bookmark with "Take Time to Enjoy the Simple Things in Life". But what made the package smell so yummy was some of Carmen's homemade soap in apple cider and molasses scent and the most yummy smelling tarts I've ever smelled in ginger peach scent. Oh my, they are heavenly!! Carmen also enclosed a nice greeting card with a lovely note written inside. Thank you so much for everything, Carmen! I love it all and it made my day when I opened my mailbox and saw it there!

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I wanted to share a couple of things I threw together this weekend. The first thing is a decoration. I bought a couple of those craft glass blocks at Hobby Lobby back before Christmas with the intent on doing something spectacular with it. Well, it sat in my "craft" room (spare bedroom) collecting dust. I went to the Dollar Tree last weekend and picked up a sheet of those Valentine window clings for my office window at work. I had a couple left over and so I decided to stick one on my craft block just to see how it looked. I liked it!! I had purchased a light to go inside of my block, so I put that in and tied me a bow out of some ribbon I had left over from Christmas and this is what I ended up with:

I am also planning on doing this with some St. Paddy's Day window clings and a green bow on top. Quick and simple, just the way I like it! It looks really cute in my office window at work and I got a lot of compliments on it today.

The next thing I did is gonna be for my son for Valentine's Day. He's 17 years old and thinks he's too old and big for Valentines. But he still likes candy every now and then so I decided to make him a candy ice cream sundae. I bought an ice cream sundae dish from Wal Mart along with a bag of Snicker's bite sized candy bars. I filled the sundae dish up with red hots, cut a 4 inch styrofoam ball in half and hot glued it to the top of the sundae dish. I then pinned on my candy bar bites until I had my ball covered. I tucked a few pieces of white tulle around to fill in any empty spots the candy didn't cover to mimic whipped topping. I also put a piece of tulle on top and stuck a cherry sucker down thru the top to mimic a cherry. Then I cut a flexible drinking straw in half at an angle and stuck it into the top. This picture doesn't do it justice, it's so cute in person!!

I think it would be cute to do one with chocolate covered raisins and cover the top with Hershey bars to simulate a chocolate milkshake! The possibilities are endless with this. I think I'll probably make my hubby one too. He loves chocolate almost as much as I do!

I'm linking up to these wonderful parties. Click on this image to go check out all the wonderful crafts, recipes and how-to's people are sharing!

Well, that's it for me today. I've got to get busy finishing up some items for my giveaway that ends Wednesday. If you haven't entered, hurry up and do so!!!

Until next time. . .

A Super Easy Any Holiday Craft

2011-02-04T19:34:00.005-05:00

I have seen these cute little candy dishes all over blogland, so I decided to try my hand at making one. It was so easy, I've made three more!! Here's how I did it:

Supplies:
~ terra cotta pot
~ terra cotta pot tray
~ glass "fish bowl" dish (I got mine at the Dollar Tree)
~ wooden knob
~ craft paint in your choice of color
~ E6000 or gorilla glue
~ ribbon

Paint your pot, tray, and wooden knob. I chose white so that I could just change out my ribbon embellishment for different holidays or seasons. You can use whatever color you want. And you don't have to leave it just one color. Polka dots would be cute. Or stripes. Or stencils. Just use your imagination.

Once the paint is dry (I painted two coats, waiting about 10 minutes after I painted the first coat to do the second coat), turn the terra cotta tray over so that the bottom is now the top. Glue the wooden knob onto the center of the tray. This makes your lid for your bowl. Turn your terra cotta pot upside down and glue the glass bowl to the pot using E6000 or gorilla glue. I wouldn't recommend hot glue for this due to the weight of the pot and bowl. It would be a mess of broken glass and terra cotta if you picked up the glass and it came loose from the pot!!! Let this dry for at least 24 hours.

Now just fill it with your favorite candy, set your lid on top, tie on a sweet little bow, and voila, you have a cute bubble gum machine shaped candy dish. These make cute little birthday gifts for friends or co-workers as well.

Until next time. . .

Time for a giveaway!!!

2011-02-03T07:04:00.003-05:00

Wow!! I have only been blogging since December of 2009 so I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I logged on this morning to see I'm at 326 followers!!! I believe that calls for a giveaway!!! I'm gonna call this one the "Heart & Soul" giveaway.

Now, I'm still putting this giveaway together, so you are only going to get a sneak peek of what is going to be offered. Here it is:

I am a true chocoholic so of course with Valentine's Day right around the corner, I have to include some chocolate in this giveaway! The rest of the goodies will have to remain a surprise! I will say, there will be something wood, something soft, something stretchy, and maybe even some chicken soup included in this giveaway! Have I piqued your interest yet???

Here's the rules:

~ This is for followers of my blog only. You guys are the reason for this giveaway so if you don't follow me, you can't play! If you aren't already a follower, sign up as I love new followers and welcome any and all. Leave me a comment on this post ONLY to let me know that you want to be entered. Comments on other posts won't be counted.

~ You don't have to post this on your sidebar or blog about it, but if you do, let me know and I will give you 2 extra entries. If you don't have a blog, please leave me an e-mail addy where I can contact you if you are the winner.

~ This is open only to my followers in the USA and Canada. Postage costs are just way too high for other countries. I'm sorry. :(

~ I will draw the winner for this giveaway on Wednesday, February 9th.

So, there ya go! Easy peasy! I've never done a surprise giveaway, so I hope y'all like what I am "cooking" up for you! I have enjoyed blogging and getting to know so many wonderful new friends since I began this journey. I hope to be able to continue doing this for a long, long time. I have learned so much from all you wonderfully talented folks! Your creativity never ceases to amaze me! Thank you for your loyalty to my ramblings, crafts, recipes, and gripping! I love and cherish you all!

Until next time. . .

Chalkboard Rooster

2011-02-01T07:16:00.007-05:00

I finally got to finish my chalkboard rooster I showed y'all a while back. The weather here in Virginia has been horrendous these past few weeks and because of that, I haven't been able to get outside and get anything sanded or painted. We finally caught a small break in the weather this past weekend so I took advantage of it! I'm itching to get started on my ladder back chairs. I was gonna paint them black, but have decided to try a black stain instead. I'm hoping it will give me the look I want. I've already bought the stain, just waiting for a nice, sunny day with warmer temps to get it done!

Here's a before pic of my rooster. I looked at a picture in a magazine of a rooster that I liked, then drew it freehand on a piece of typing paper. Hubby traced it onto a piece of wood and cut it out for me. We drilled a small hole in the bottom and attached a wooden dowel which we then attached to another piece of wood for the base.

And here he is all painted up! I just love the way he turned out and can't wait to display him in my "new" kitchen when I get it finished. Lord, my life is such a work in process ~ always something to finish!!!

Now, let's eat!!

I'm linking up to these wonderful parties:

Until next time. . .

My Valentine Mantel

2011-01-30T22:04:00.010-05:00

I usually don't decorate my fireplace mantel for any holiday except Christmas, but I got a wild hair today and decided to fix it up a bit for Valentine's Day.

I have seen all over blog land where people are taking vases and glass candlesticks from the Dollar Tree and gluing them together to create some pretty amazing vases. So I decided to give it a try myself. I love how they turned out! I decided they would be perfect for my Valentine's Day mantel with some red hots and creamy white candles nestled in them. I decided a pretty little bow in red with cream polka dots would be perfect. I collect the Willow Tree figurines and for our first wedding anniversary last year, hubby bought me the "Promise" figurine. Which has to take center stage, of course. I love it! I then threaded some of the remaining red and white polka dotted ribbon thru a couple of ivy candle rings I had and tucked a few pine cones in as well. I then sprinkled some more of the red hots throughout the arrangement and this is what I ended up with:

I also decided to make a red and white rag wreath to hang above the fireplace on my old window frame:

And finally, here's one of everything:

Simple, but pretty. Just perfect for one simple country girl!

I'm linking up to these great parties this week:

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Until next time. . .

Homemade Bagels

2011-01-27T19:18:00.004-05:00

Whew! Has this been a long week or what??? I feel like I've lived through about three weeks this week, it's been that long!!! Oh well, at least tomorrow is Friday and that means two days off from work! Finally!! Now if only I could get all this snow to go away, everything would be just fine!

A while back, I found a recipe on-line for homemade New York style bagels. I've never in my life tried to make bagels of any kind, but this recipe looked pretty simple and had a ton of favorable reviews so I thought, what the heck, and gave it a try. OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!! These are some of the best bagels I have ever eaten! Everybody in the family loved them, including the picky 17 year old who usually turns his nose up at anything homemade. He'll regret that one day, I'm sure!!!

I took a picture of the finished product. Now, don't laugh. My shaping technique really needs some work but I think for a first try, they turned out pretty good!

I made some of them topped with cheese and garlic salt. I also left a few of them plain. I ate mine with some veggie cream cheese. Yummy!!!! I highly recommend this recipe to anyone who loves a good bagel. I am anxious to make these again. Maybe some blueberry or cinnamon raisin ones next time would be good. Click here to get the recipe. When the site comes up, just type in homemade bagel recipe in the search box and it will take you to the link.

I'd like to thank all of you who commented on my last post. It's not a post that I am proud of. But it is what it is. I always struggle with my emotional well being during the winter months. I have talked with my health care provider and we have decided to hold off on the anti-depressants for now. Actually, it was my choice. I am just too scared of all the side effects and I want to try focusing on all the good things I've got going on in my life and see if I can make some changes in some of the things that I do have control over to change. We will see how it goes. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers over the last week. I've really felt them all and appreciate them more than I can say.

I haven't been very creative this past week. I've actually gotten started on a few projects, but just haven't been able to finish anything up. Hopefully, I will have some time this weekend to get some of them done so I can share them with y'all.

Until next time. . .

Being satisfied

2011-01-22T15:19:00.003-05:00

~ Happy is he who learns to bear what he cannot change. ~
~ Johann Friedrich Von Schiller

This has been quite the week for me. I have been dealing with some stressful issues in my life that have reared their ugly heads lately. This has got me to thinking about a lot of things in my life.

I am never satisfied. Sounds harsh, doesn't it? It seems like no matter where I am in life, I can never stay satisfied. Whether it be my job, my home, finances, weight issues, relationship issues, or whatever, I am always feeling as though something is lacking or these things aren't "good" enough. Friends say "just have faith". Easy to say, hard to do sometimes. I do believe in God but cannot honestly say that I have a personal relationship with Him. Oh, I've tried. But I've failed. Over and over again. I pray. Often. But I don't feel it does any good. Really.

Others say that I am lucky. I have a home, a job, a healthy family that loves me (most of the time, anyway!). And all this is true. I am very fortunate and I know that. But still, something is lacking. Why am I never satisfied???

I don't like this feeling. I don't like not being satisfied. I feel guilty. I feel overwhelmed. I feel depressed. I feel unworthy. I feel sad.

Does anyone else feel this way? If so, what do you do to fix it?

Until next time. . .

My "New" Kitchen Colors

2011-01-13T10:40:00.011-05:00

Sorry I didn't get this posted the other day as promised. My computer has been acting ugly, well actually, I don't believe it's the computer. I think our wireless router is about to bite the dust. We are looking into getting a new one, but finances are kind of tight right now so we are just making do until we can afford to get one. Which means that my Internet access is somewhat limited. And with three of us in the house usually all on different computers at the same time, it makes for a really slow connection which means I can't post or blog read like I would normally do. I have not been a happy camper!

Anywho, on to my kitchen. We have picked out the colors we will be using for our "new" kitchen. Here they are:

The paint colors are Summer Tan and Apple Peel from Valspar's Signature line. I love the color combination. Our plans are to paint the lower wall of our dining area with the Apple Peel and the upper area along with the kitchen walls the Summer Tan. We are planning on purchasing a faux brick panel from Lowe's to use as the backsplash around the cabinets and behind the stove. We will be painting it an off white color. The cabinets are going to be painted with the Apple Peel color. Hubby was not too keen on that idea, but I convinced him it would look great! We are using black hardware for the cabinets as well. I have found an awesome product to use on my counter tops. It's a painting treatment made specifically for laminate counters. I am super excited about this because I cannot afford to replace my counters and this product can be tinted in like sixteen different colors and costs less than $20! Woohoo! I am leaning towards a black color but haven't made a final decision on that yet. We will also be updating the floors. I would love to have a laminate wood floor or the real deal hardwood but that is also way out of our budget. So for now, we are going to settle for a vinyl flooring that looks like wood. We've found one we like at Lowe's and based on the size of our kitchen/dining room, we figure it will cost roughly around $250 to put it in our kitchen. Hubby will be doing all the installation so that will save a lot of money. I will be getting a new stove since mine came over on the ark and is on it's last leg and a dishwasher, something I haven't had since we bought this house two years ago. We have decided to keep our old fridge since it is still in good working condition but we will be giving it a coat of black paint, again found at Lowe's, specifically for appliances.

I got the inspiration for my "new" kitchen from Grits and Glamour. Barb Garrett is the author of this awesome blog and this lady has a gorgeous house! And I just fell in love with her kitchen. Here's a peek of it where she was featured in the December issue of Country Woman magazine.

I have the same kind of soffets above my cabinet and have been contemplating putting up moulding on mine like she did. Mine are not as high as hers, though, so not sure if we will be doing that or not.

So, that's a basic rough plan of my "new" kitchen. It may take me forever and a day to get it done since my budget is severely limited and I have to just do what I can a little at a time. Hubby and I have made it our New Year's resolution to get as much out of debt as possible this year, so we are working hard to pay off some old debts and extra hard to not create any new ones. We are living credit card free now and have vowed to pay for everything with cash for this remodel. That way we can enjoy the finished result guilt free!

I told y'all about my chalkboard rooster I saw on a blog a while back. I found the blog again that I first saw this on. It's here at Gail's Decorative Touch. I love this and thought I'd try my hand at making one of my own. So I found a picture of a rooster that I liked and drew it free hand on a piece of paper. Cut that out and had hubby trace it on a piece of wood and cut it out for me. He assembled it on a dowel and a piece of decorative trim we picked up at Lowe's. Here's a pic of it in it's current state.

Isn't he gorgeous?? I still have to sand him around the edges and I bought a can of chalkboard spray paint that I will use on him if this crazy snowy weather will ever stop long enough for me to get him outside to work on!! I can't wait to show y'all the finished product!

Well, that's gonna do it for me today. I had to take a vacation day from work due to all the snow we are having. I can't wait for Spring!

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time. . .

Pay it forward. . .

2011-01-09T17:39:00.015-05:00

I recently accepted a challenge that was posted by a friend on Facebook called Pay It Forward 2011. The challenge was that the first five people who responded to her post would receive something handmade by her in 2011. The catch? Each responder had to post the challenge as their status and agree to send their first five commenters a handmade item in 2011. Since I love to craft and create, this was right up my alley.

I decided to make my recipients a post it note holder. Here it is:

Cute and functional! I made several of these and gave them to coworkers as Christmas gifts. They all loved them. I mean, after all, who doesn't use post it notes? And here's how I did it:

The supplies I used:

~ an acrylic picture frame. I got mine at Wal Mart for $1 each. I chose the 6 X 4 inch size but the 5 X 3 size would work as well to make a smaller note holder.
~ pretty scrapbook paper or cardstock
~ assorted ribbon
~ scrapbook embellishments and stickers
~ post it notes
~ glue. I used my hot glue gun but Modge Podge would work just as well.

Step 1:
Chose your paper to go into your frame. I use the paper insert that comes with the frame as my pattern to cut my paper out. The paper I used for this one is only printed on one side so I cut two pieces and put them in the frame back to back.

If your paper has words printed on it like mine does in this example, make sure when you put your paper in the frame, that the words are right side up! The "stand" on your frame will be at the top. This makes the frame like an easel so that when you write on the post it notes, the slant of the frame is correct. Your frame should look like this at this point:

And a view from the side:

Step 2:
Add your ribbon. I usually put a coordinating colored ribbon across the top of my stand and hot glue it in the back:

Step 3:
Now comes the fun part ~ decorating your frame! Decide where you want your post its to be placed. You can put them in the middle of the frame or on either side. I chose the middle for this one because I am keeping it simple with the embellishments due to the fact that I used paper with words on it. I didn't want it to be too "busy". I put some glue on the back of my post it notes just for some added security. You could always just peel off the paper backing and press them onto your frame if you wish. Then just embellish to your heart's content. I used one simple ribbon rose bud on this one, and voila, a cute, finished post it note frame, all ready to be used!

These are so much fun to make and so, so simple! This one took me all of five minutes to make. They are so cute sitting on a desk or by the phone. And the decoration possibilities are endless! There are so many neat 3D stickers and embellishments available at craft stores. Here's some pics of a few more I've made:

I hope my Pay it Forward 2011 recipients like them! How nice to be able to get something in the mail besides bills! It would totally make my day!

I'm linking up with these fabulous parties this week:

Click on the boxes to go check out all the great crafts and recipes everyone is sharing!

We have decided on the paint colors for our "new" kitchen! I am so excited and can't wait to get started! I'll share those along with the inspiration for my "new" kitchen with y'all tomorrow!

Until next time. . .

Baby it's cold outside!

2011-01-08T10:55:00.004-05:00

A big thank you to everyone who commented on my last post. I don't usually share that much personal info online, but once I started typing, I just couldn't seem to stop the flow! I am in awe that I am such an inspiration to y'all. I don't feel deserving of such inspiration, but I'm glad to know that I am not the only one out there who struggles with emotions and with eating habits. Maybe we can all inspire one another!

I woke up to about six inches of freshly fallen snow this morning and it's still snowing! Ugh! I am not a fan of winter weather at all and this year is shaping up to be just as bad as last winter as far as snow fall and cold temps are concerned. They are forecasting about four more inches for today with high temps only reaching the low 20's. Bbbbrrr!!! So, I decided to break out the brand new red crockpot I got as a Christmas gift and make a pot of Taco Soup. Yummo!!

Taco Soup

2 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 or 2 cans pinto beans (I use two)
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can stewed tomatoes, mexican style
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 pkg taco seasoning mix (I use mild but this is just my preference)
1 pkg dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
2 1/2 cups water

Brown ground beef. Add onion and saute until onions are tender. Drain. Put in crockpot and add all other ingredients. Stir. Cook on low for about two hours.

This is so good and so easy! I usually serve it with chili cheese flavored corn chips, sour cream, and shredded cheese (monterey jack and cheddar blend is really good). To make it a bit more low calorie and diet friendly, you can omit the sour cream or use low fat, use low fat cheese or none at all, and omit the corn chips. It's really good either way and just the thing to warm you up on a cold, snowy day!

I am doing a pay it forward thing on Facebook to start 2011. I am sending five people a handmade craft and asking them to send a craft or handmade goodie to five more people. I will share the simple craft I am making with y'all tomorrow.

Stay warm and enjoy your Saturday, where ever you are!

Until next time. . .

Old Habits Die Hard. . .

2011-01-05T19:15:00.005-05:00

When I was born, I weighed 8 pounds and 8 ounces. So I was a pretty good sized baby. But as I grew, my weight evened out and I became a normal sized kid. We lived out in the country, about a mile off the main road where the bus would let us off after school every day. The only way home was to walk. And of course, there were no video games, no cable t.v., and no computers so we entertained ourselves by playing outside. Besides my mom and dad, there were three of us kids and my mom didn't work until my youngest brother started school. And then she only worked part time because my dad didn't really want her to work to start with. So money was not plentiful and we didn't get a lot of junk food to eat. We ate what was fixed and put on our plates, or we ate nothing at all.

So weight issues never plagued me. Ever. Until I got married for the first time at the age of twenty-one. I guess I felt like I didn't need to worry so much about watching my figure, I mean after all, I had snagged my man so I wasn't on the lookout for another one! And then my marriage fell apart and I was alone again. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't like what I saw. So I dieted and lost about 25 pounds. I was looking good again and I felt good too!

Then along came husband number two. The father of my son. He swept me off my feet with his good looks and charming personality. I got pregnant right about the time we were married. I was shocked! Because hubby #1 and I had tried unsuccessfully for over two years to conceive. So I thought I couldn't have a baby. Wrong! During my sixth month of pregnancy, hubby #2 decided he didn't want to be tied down in a marriage with a baby (he already had three kids before we met). So he left. I was devastated to say the least. So I ate. And ate. And ate. I gained about thirty pounds during my pregnancy. Not too bad, but not too good either. After my son was born, I lost maybe twenty pounds. I was a smoker before I got pregnant but I quit when I found out I was pregnant. Well, when my life didn't magically go back to being perfect after the baby was born and my hubby didn't come running back to me and our beautiful baby boy, I started smoking again. Bad, I know. But I did. And I lost thirty more pounds.

We moved to North Carolina when my son was almost two years old. This was in late 1994. I bought my first house in 2000 and vowed not to smoke in it because it was brand new and I didn't want it to smell like smoke or for the white walls to be all yellowed and all. So I quit smoking. Easy peasy. And it really was easy. My mom always said that I could do anything I set my mind to and I guess she was right. Quitting smoking was easy for me. But then I needed something to replace it. So I started eating. And eating. And eating. (Are you sensing a pattern here yet??).

By 2007, I weighed 309 pounds. Yep. On a 5 foot 7 inch frame. I was miserable. I hated myself and everybody in the world too. So I decided to do something about my weight. I opted for gastric bypass surgery. So in July 2007, I had the RNY procedure. That's where they section off your stomach to make a smaller "pouch" out of your upper stomach and attach your esophagus and your colon to the pouch. The remnant stomach is still inside you, it just doesn't function anymore.

Anyways, I lost weight. A lot! And fast. I went from 309 pounds in July 2007 down to 164 pounds in April 2009. Here's some pics:

July 2007 at 309 pounds:

April 2009 at 164 pounds:

Now, some people say that I took the "easy" way out. And I guess you could say that. If you consider having your guts surgically rearranged, having to pay $3,300 out of pocket to have that done (my part after the insurance paid their part), being willing to possibly give up eating some of your favorite foods for the rest of your life, having to take vitamin supplements everyday for the rest of your life (this is a malabsorbtion surgery so your body doesn't absorb all the nutrients it needs just from food), and risking major complications from the surgery itself not to mention possible complications like low blood sugar, etc. later down the road as taking the "easy" way out. I will admit, it was super easy to lose the weight. It literally fell off me. And I haven't had any complications. I'm very lucky. Until now. I have gained back 25 pounds and more will follow if I don't get myself back on track and do what I know I am supposed to do. This surgery is not a magic wand. After about eighteen months, the weight loss stops. And if you don't follow the rules, the weight will come back. Old habits die hard. . .

Which brings me to the point of this post (finally!). I am putting all this out there so that I can be held accountable for my actions. I am responsible for what goes into my mouth. Only me. And I am going to do that. I am not going to let all that I've gone thru during the past three and a half years be for naught. I deserve better. And only I can do that for myself. And I will. Because I am worth it!

Until next time. . .

Goodies in the Mail and Free Chairs!!

2011-01-03T18:33:00.005-05:00

Good Monday evening everyone! My day started out horrible but got oh, so much better!! Mondays are always hectic for me at work and today was no exception. But hubby called me around 2 p.m. to tell me that I had a package from Canada waiting on me when I got home! Well, I instantly knew who that was from! My good friend, Holli, from over at Where The Rooster Crows!!! She had told me a week or so ago that she had sent me out a little something and to be watching for it. Look at what she sent to me:

I am a member over at the Prim Pals forum and have met some really awesome ladies over there. We have a weekly chat night every Wednesday and those gals are hilarious! We talk about everything from crafting to our kids to our hubbys. It's a great stress reliever and I never leave there without laughing and feeling carefree, at least for a little while. Holli made me this awesome stitchery of four of us girls from over there. Isn't it great?? I love it! She also sent me the softest fuzziest pair of slipper socks. I love these! And a cute little card too! Thank you so much Holli! You are the best!

On Saturday, one of my Facebook buddies posted that she and her husband are decluttering and reorganizing their home as one of their New Year's resolutions. She had listed a bunch of stuff that she wanted to get rid of and on that list was a set of four ladder back chairs. I asked her how much she wanted for them and she said they were mine free for the taking as long as I would come and get them. I jumped on that! She lives about an hour or so from me so hubby and I made that our Sunday drive yesterday! Here's a couple of pics of the chairs: (Please ignore my messy kitchen ~ I was too excited about the chairs to straighten up my countertops before I took the pictures!)

And here's a close up of one of the chairs:

I love them! I am gonna paint them black and I think they will go perfect in my new french country kitchen! The funny thing is that I had found some farmhouse style chairs that I was gonna purchase for the dining area and everytime I would have the money to get them, the store would be out of them or something would come up and I would have to use the money for something else. I guess I wasn't meant to buy any chairs! I can't wait to makeover these!

Hubby is working on a wooden rooster project for me that I am really excited about too. I saw one on a blog somewhere that someone had made into a chalkboard. I'm sorry I can't remember where I saw it, so if anyone reading this knows what I'm talking about, please let me know so that I can give you credit for inspiring me! I drew out my rooster freehand and hubby cut it out of a piece of wood for me today. Then he attached a dowel to a base for me and then drilled a hole in the rooster to insert the dowel. I am gonna spray paint the entire thing with chalkboard paint and I'll have a cute rooster accent to go in my kitchen! I can't wait to show it to you when it's done.

I also made another trip to Hobby Lobby this weekend and picked up a couple of stacking boxes that I am going to attempt to paint on. We'll see how that goes! My painting skills aren't the best but the boxes weren't that much so if I mess them up, I'm not out a lot. I've got a lot of projects going on to share with y'all!

Well, that's it for now. Gotta run and do some never ending laundry.

Until next time. . .

A Simple, Inexpensive Valentine Treat!

2011-01-02T20:59:00.008-05:00

I know we just finished up with Christmas, but Valentine's Day is gonna be here before we know it. If you are looking for a quick, inexpensive Valentine treat, I've got just the thing for you! Chocolate covered strawberry flavored marshmallows! Yummo!

Here's what you need to get started:

A bag of large sized strawberry flavored marshmallows and a package of chocolate flavored CandiQuik. All I did was melt the chocolate according to the directions on the package. I used the microwave method. Lay a piece of waxed paper out to set the dipped marshmallows on. Dip each marshmallow into the chocolate. I went about a quarter of the way to almost half way up the marshmallows. Set on wax paper to harden. Using a spoon, I drizzled more chocolate on top of each marshmallow. You could make little heart designs, polka dots, little x's and o's or whatever you want on top. Just use your imagination! Here's how mine turned out:

Don't they look yummy??!!

After the chocolate hardens, box them up in whatever cute containers you have. I just used plain cellophane bags I had left over from Christmas and I tied them up with a pretty pink ribbon and now they are ready for gift giving!

This was easy and fun to do and would be a great project for the kids to help with too. I found this idea here at Greenbean's Crafterole. This gal has got some awesome ideas so check her out when you get a chance!

I've really enjoyed my three day weekend. Too bad it just goes by way too fast! And I won't get another one until May! How sad is that??!! But on the bright side, my annual two weeks of vacation went into effect on January 1st, so if things get too intense at work, I can always take a vacation day! Hey, gotta look at the bright side of things, ya know?

Well, that's it for me for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Until next time. . .

Changes they are a comin'. . .

2010-12-31T19:11:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! This past year has really flown by. My wish for all of my blogging friends is that in 2011 all your troubles be as short lived as your New Year's resolutions!!

2011 will bring many changes for me. Hubby and I plan on starting a kitchen renovation that may very well take us into 2012!! We are not doing any structural changes, just cosmetic ones mostly, but we are on a very tight budget and will have to do things a little at a time as money allows. I am very excited to get started and very excited to see the finished product as well. We are going for a french country sort of look in a tan, cream and red color scheme with black accents. I am really into roosters right now so I will be incorporating some of those in my redo as well. I've found lots of inspiration and ideas among my blogging friends and can't wait to share this journey with y'all! I find that my decorating tastes are changing somewhat and I am embracing it and just going for it! I really like the country look wih an emphasis on some primitive touches. I'm finding myself not drawn to the rustic primitive look as much as I thought I was last year. I am now discovering that I like a more simplified, country, cozy look. I don't know if that makes any sense or not! I just feel like your home should be a reflection of what makes you happy, not what is "in" right now. So with that in mind, I am just going to go for it and we will see what happens.

I hope to become more involved in blogging in 2011 as well. Sometimes I don't feel as talented as some of you wonderful crafters out there and I get down on myself so I don't share a lot of the things I create. In 2011, that will change. I figure I am blogging for myself anyways, so if no one else likes what I share, it really shouldn't matter, right???

I also plan to share more recipes as I really enjoy reading a lot of cooking blogs and getting some really great ideas for new dishes to try out. I have found a newly discovered love of cooking during the past couple of years and I want to expand on that.

Well, that's it for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful evening and a marvelous New Year!

Until next time. . .

Merry CHRISTmas!!

2010-12-25T14:30:00.004-05:00

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.

Until next time. . .

Made for Monday ~ Dishtowel Angels

2010-12-12T18:32:00.014-05:00

My hubby and I were dining at Cracker Barrel a couple of weekends ago, and if you've ever been to one of their restaurants, you know they have an awesome country store attached to the restaurant. We always have to have a look around after we finish our wonderful meal and that day was no exception! I came across an angel made from a pot holder, a dish towel and a dish cloth that I just fell in love with. But at almost $18 for it, I had to pass it up. Too pricey for my budget! But hubby saw the wheels turning in my pea sized brain, and before I could speak, he says, "You could make that!" Does this man know me, or what?? LOL!! So on the way home, we made a stop by the Dollar Tree and I came home with $3 worth of supplies and I set to work. Here's my version of a Dishtowel Angel:

This literally took me all of five minutes to put together! I love it! Here's a how to so that you can make some yourself!

Supplies: one dish towel, one dish cloth, one potholder, some coordinating colored ribbon, embellishment of your choice.

Fist, take your potholder and fold it accordion style. Tie it in the middle with some ribbon.

Then cut a longer piece of ribbon and thread it under the ribbon you tied your potholder together with. This will be used to attach the potholder (angel's wings) to the angel's body.

Next, fold your towel accordion style and your dish cloth accordion style. It should look like this:

Next, take your towel and fold it in half length wise. The rounded part will be your angel's head and the bottom part, which will flare out when we are done, will be her skirt. Take your dish cloth and fold it over the rounded part of your towel as shown below:

Then take your potholder and position it behind the rounded part of your towel/cloth leaving enough of the rounded part to look like a head. Tie the potholder to the towel/cloth using the ribbon you threaded through the potholder. Trim excess ribbon as needed. It should look something like this:

Next, take smaller pieces of ribbon and tie off each "arm" of the dish cloth and also tie off the towel near the bottom. Flare out the skirt area below where your tie. Finish your angel by adding a bell, flower, or whatever to the tie around her neck. Here's my finished angel:

And a couple more I made. I found little flower buds in the ribbon aisle at Wal Mart which I just glued onto the ribbon around her neck. I also used a rusty bell on a couple of them for a more primitive look. I just tied these to the ribbon with some thread. I love these and what cute and inexpensive last minute Christmas gifts these would make for neighbors or co workers! To use them, all you have to do is untie the bows! Voila ~ a dish towel, dish cloth, and a pot holder! The color possibilities are endless! So, don't spend $18 on them at Cracker Barrel, just make them yourself!

I am linking up with these parties. Be sure to check out all the great ideas out there!

Until next time. . .

And the winners are. . .

2010-12-12T10:32:00.002-05:00

Good Sunday morning! I have reached over 300 followers! Yay! You guys are awesome! So I am awarding two prizes in my giveaway! The first winner will receive the $25 Hobby Lobby gift card and the second winner will receive a $15 Hobby Lobby gift card. I had 45 qualified entries for this giveaway and I used random.org to draw the winners.

So, my winners are:

First place goes to #24 which is ***Leslie Lemke***!!

Second place goes to #19 which is ***Gwendolyn Kay***!!

Congrats ladies and if you will send me your mailing addresses via e-mail, I will get your gift cards right out to you!

Thank you to all who entered. I appreciate each of you and wish I could give you all something. I plan to do another giveaway right after the first of the year, so if you didn't win this one, stay tuned!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Until next time. . .

I Won a Giveaway and Almost 300 Followers!

2010-12-10T22:06:00.008-05:00

Happy Friday everyone! Boy, has it been a long week for me! This time of year just seems to get me down sometimes. Not really sure why. My life is great. I have a wonderful husband, an awesome son, a nice warm home and a job, that although gets on my last nerve sometimes, is a job none the less and one I'm grateful to have when there are so many among us who don't have one. So why do I seem to get the blues so bad??? Does anyone else feel this way?

I logged on to blogger this morning to "catch up" on some of my favorite blogs and discovered that I am the lucky winner of the Christmas stitchery pillow on the By Your Hands blog! Click here to visit this wonderful blog. That did a lot to help with the blues right now, let me tell ya! Here's a pic of my wonderful pillow:

Isn't it gorgeous?? I cannot wait to get it!

I also discovered that I am now at 299 followers! How awesome is that??!! I never thought when I started blogging that anybody would be interested in my crafts, recipes, or just general rambling so I am honored and awed that almost 300 of you are! In light of this accomplishment, if I reach 300 followers before the end of my giveaway (which is on Sunday), I will add a second winner! So stayed tuned for that cause I ain't telling what the second winner will get just yet.

The hubby and I had a little "date" night tonight. My son had a Christmas dance at school this evening so we took advantage of the opportunity to spend some quality time together. We had a nice dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant then went to a small drive thru Christmas light display set up at a local park. I took some pics but haven't gotten them down loaded to my computer yet. I'll share them as soon as I do. Tomorrow, he and I are taking off on a day trip to the Great Smoky Mountains to finish up our Christmas shopping. It's about a two and a half hour drive from where we live. I am really looking forward to getting away for a day with my sweetie. We are staying until dark so that we can see all the fabulous Christmas lights down there. I'll be sure to pack my camera and take lots of pictures to share with y'all.

Well, that's about it for now. I've got a great last minute Christmas gift craft to share with y'all that's great for a neighbor, coworker, or anyone that you need to whip up a quick gift for. It's so cute and it only takes about five minutes to make! My kind of craft! So be watching for that coming up in the next couple of days.

I almost forgot something. My Mom is having a total knee replacement done on Monday and I would like to ask those of you who pray, to please remember her in your prayers. She lives in Arkansas and it's killing me that I cannot be there with her for this. She is a bad diabetic and has some other health problems and I am worried out of my mind about her. My brother lives with her and he will be there to help take care of her but I wish I lived closer so that I could be there too. This is part of the reason for my blues this week I think. I just want this to be behind us. She will be in the hospital for about five days if she does well and then will have some rehab to do after that. So any and all prayers on her behalf are greatly appreceiated!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Until next time. . .

It's Giveaway Time!!

2010-12-05T09:58:00.005-05:00

Good Sunday morning! I was looking thru some of my older posts earlier and realized that December 3rd was my one year blogaversary!! Wow! I knew I was getting close to the one year mark, but didn't realize that it had already passed. I have really enjoyed this past year of blogging. I've "met" some truly awesome people and have learned so much about crafting and life in general! I hope and plan to continue blogging for many years to come.

I love the store Hobby Lobby. We don't have one in the town where I currently live. We did have one in the previous town I lived in and I really loved going there and getting lots of wonderful creative ideas. You know the old saying, you don't know what you have until it's gone? Well, that's my feelings on Hobby Lobby! I didn't appreciate having the store in my back yard until I moved! I was talking about missing it the other day and my hubby asked me if I had checked on line to see where the nearest store was located. Talk about a "duh" moment! So I jumped on line and lo and behold, there is a store located about an hour from us! I was so excited. So yesterday morning, we got up bright and early and headed out. It was heaven!!! We spent about two hours in that store just looking at everything! I came out of there almost a hundred dollars poorer! Hubby said it was probably a good thing that it is an hour away from us! But rest assured, I will be going back quite frequently. Only he doesn't know that yet!

While there, I was thinking of what I could buy or make for my giveaway. I was wanting to do a Christmas giveaway but then when I realized my one year blogaversary had just passed, I thought it would be better to do a giveaway for that. So I guess it's kind of a two in one givewaway. I couldn't decide what to buy or make, so as we were checking out, I saw the gift cards and a light bulb moment came to me! Why not just give a gift card?? That way the lucky winner could chose what they want! So that is what I am offering. A $25 gift card to Hobby Lobby!

Here are the rules:

1. You MUST be a follower of my blog. New followers are always welcome!

2. This giveaway is open to everyone, no matter what corner of this big ole Earth you call home. After all, it doesn't require a lot of postage to mail a gift card! All you have to do is comment on this post ONLY that you would like to be entered. Comments left on other posts will not be counted.

3. If you have a blog and list this on your side bar, I will give you an extra entry. You must let me know in your comment on this post if you do this step. And I will be checking to see if it is listed on your side bar before I give you a second entry. I feel like that is only fair to the ones who actually do take the time to list it on their blogs. If you don't have a blog, you can still enter, but you must leave me an e-mail addy so that I can contact you if you are the winner.

4. I will use random.org to draw a winner on Sunday, December 12, 2010. That way the winner will be able to get their gift card in time to use for Christmas if they wish!

That's it! Pretty simple, huh? Good luck to everyone!

It started snowing here yesterday afternoon, and we awoke to about 10 inches this morning! Hubby is out on his tractor "playing" in the snow! He's so cute! Just like a little kid. I'm staying warm and cozy in my fuzzy p.j.'s, doing some laundry, working on some crafts and baking some Christmas cookies later on today.

Until next time. . .

Hot Apple Crisp

2010-11-30T19:27:00.004-05:00

I was craving something sweet the other night (what else is new??!!) and didn't have anything made or ready to eat in the house. So I decided to scour the cabinets to see if I could find something to tame the beast otherwise known as my insatiable sweet tooth! The only thing I had on hand even remotely sweet was a can of apple pie filling. So I grabbed a favorite old church cookbook (aren't those the best??) and got to looking! Here's what I found:

Apple Crisp

1 can apple pie filling
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 egg
cinnamon
1 stick margarine

Grease 9 X 9 baking dish. Mix sugar, flour, and egg to resemble crumbled texture. Pour pie filling into dish and sprinkle with cinnamon. Crumble sugar, flour, and egg mixture over the top. Dot the top with the margarine. Bake at 400 degrees until brown (about 30 minutes or so).

Here it is, fresh from the oven:

Well, needless to say, I just couldn't wait for it to cool. So I scooped me some out and got ready to chow down!

The only bad thing about this apple crisp was the fact that I didn't have any vanilla bean ice cream to top it off with. Next time I will definitely be getting some of that! But it must of been o.k. even without the ice cream, because my 17 year old came back for seconds and he usually doesn't eat sweet treats! Hubby enjoyed it too, but he said next time he would rather have peach. That sounds good to me too!

I have been blog browsing a lot lately and I am so impressed and amazed at how beautifully decorated every one's homes are for Christmas! Sometimes I think I'm silly for posting some of the things that I create when I look at all the wonderful things everyone else creates. Now I know it's not a contest or anything like that and hubby loves the way I decorate our home, but I sometimes think I shouldn't even bother, that I have no talent compared to so many of you. Does anyone else ever think things like that or is it just me??

Well, I've got to get off here. I have a million things to do around the house this evening and some crafting I need to finish up for a swap I'm participating in over on the Prim Pals Forum. You know, when you work full time outside the home, there's never enough hours in the day to get the things you want and need to do, done. Add that to the fact that my Vitamin D levels are currently in the toilet, and you can imagine why I have absolutely no energy these days! Oh well, I guess I'll just keep plugging along! I hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday tomorrow!

Until next time. . .

My Christmas trees

2010-11-29T19:27:00.009-05:00

Yep, I said trees. As in plural. But, I only really have one Christmas tree. The other is a small primitive paper tree I made this weekend. I'll show you some pics of both of them.

Here's my small prim paper tree:

Isn't that cute??? I purchased a small cone shaped styrofoam base and used some brown packaging paper and a few pieces of cream colored paper that I cut into strips to make my "branches". I rolled them around a pencil to make them curl up on the ends. I then glued them on randomly all over my styrofoam base and then added some rusty bells and a rusty star on top as my decorations. A perfect tiny "tree" for my kitchen counter! Easy peasy! And the possiblities for this one are endless! Imagine tiny candy canes made from pipe cleaners or some teeny tiny salt dough ornies would be cute as well for decorations. Ooo, maybe some tiny little homespun bows. O.k., I'll stop now! But you get the idea!!

Now, here's my "real" Christmas tree. I am not extremely pleased with how it turned out. I think I should have added a few more strands of lights. I made the lights blink instead of burn solid and I couldn't get a good picture with the lights on because of this. I made about ninety percent of my ornaments this year. I made some dried orange slices and I really like how they turned out. When they are backlit by the blinking lights, they almost look like stained glass! I will definitely be making more of these next year!

I also did some cinnamon salt dough ornies. I did trees, gingerbread men, and stars. These turned out pretty good as well!

I had some plain jane red ball ornaments that I must have bought at an after Christmas sale in years past, because when I "discovered" them in my storage closet, I had no idea where they came from! I figured what the heck, and decided to cover them with strips of homespun fabric. They turned out pretty good, I must say! Looks almost like a rag ball, don't ya think??

I love a draped garland on a tree but couldn't find anything to buy that I liked. So I again used homespun fabric that I cut down into stips and hot glued the strips together to make a "chain" garland. I am tickled with it! Here's a pic that shows a little bit of it:

Finally, here's a picture of the entire tree. I tried to get one with it lit, but every one I took turned out blurry. So ya just have to see it not lit. I have a bow as a topper in this picture but have since changed it out for a wire angel that I bought at Big Lots. She was a glittery gold but a little bit of burgundy spray paint fixed her right up. I don't have a picture of her but will try to get one downloaded soon. I like her, but I really wanted a prim star topper so I can't say that I am one hundred percent satisified. I used two yards of a burgundy check homespun as my tree skirt. Just gathered it up around the base of the tree, and voila, instant tree skirt! Hey, don't laugh, it's supposed to be simple and primitive!!

Well, that's it for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful week! I'm off to make cookies since I've got a killer sweet tooth right now and nothing in the house to satisfy it!!

Until next time. . .

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-25T10:21:00.002-05:00

May your turkey be moist,
And your gravy lump free.
May your troubles be gone,
And your heart be happy!!

Until next time. . .

Homemade Christmas Ornies

2010-11-17T21:48:00.011-05:00

Happy Wednesday!! I am super excited because my Mom and brothers will be here tomorrow to celebrate an early Thanksgiving with us! They will be staying until Sunday. In anticipation of their arrival, I put my Christmas tree up this past Sunday. I usually don't put it up until the weekend after Thanksgiving but wanted it up for their visit. With the economy the way it is and money being tight this year, I made about 90% of the ornaments on my tree this year. I'm gonna share a few of them with y'all today. Please be gentle with me, this is the first time I've attempted homemade ornies!

The first one is my take on a homespun primitive candy cane. I purchased these candy canes from the Dollar Tree. They came six to a package.

Cute, but not very prim. So I decided to take some of the left over homespun strips that I used on my wreath I showed y'all on Monday and tie them onto the candy cane. I hot glued a strip to each end so that none of them would fall off. Then I took scissors and gave them a hair cut. I cut off all the excess fabric which left it looking like a fuzzy candy cane.

Ah, so much better don't ya think?

I also made some cinnamon stick Christmas trees. I took a cinnamon stick that was about six inches long and cut three graduated sizes of homespun strips (are you sensing a theme here??). I pleated each strip like an accordion and secured with a bit of brown floral wire. Then I hot glued these onto the cinnamon stick. I covered the wire with a rusty jingle bell. Then I hot glued a rusty star to the top. Voila, a perfectly prim Christmas tree ornie!

I also made a love knot ornie out of rope, some pip berries, a rusty star and a strip of homespun (of course!). They turned out really cute!

I also made some cinnamon salt dough ornies. I dipped some of them into wax and some I left plain. I think I like the plain ones better. To me they just look more prim. A first for me this year was dried orange slices. I love how these look on the tree, especially when they are back lit by the twinkling Christmas lights! I will post some pics of my tree later in the week so y'all can see how these ornies turned out.

I'm linking up to these parties this week:

Well, gotta run for now. I've got pumpkin rolls to make and laundry to fold. Hope y'all have a great day and thanks for checking in with me today!

Until next time. . .

Lemon Snowflake Cookies

2010-11-16T17:12:00.003-05:00

Here's a quick and yummy recipe for cookies that would be a great alternative to the traditional cookies many make for Christmas cookie exchanges. I like this recipe because it only has four ingredients! Now, I will warn ya, it's VERY messy! But that just adds to the "yumminess" of this simple cookie.

Lemon Snowflake Cookies

1 box lemon cake mix (pudding in the mix kind works best)
1 egg
1 8 oz. tub Cool Whip
Powdered sugar

Combine cake mix, egg and Cool Whip in bowl. Beat with mixer until well blended. Dough will be VERY sticky. Put powdered sugar in smaller separate bowl. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonful into powdered sugar. Roll to cover. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes. Do not flatten dough! The balls will flatten as they bake, leaving a "snowflake" design of powdered sugar on top of the cookies. Yield: 5 to 6 dozen cookies if ya make 'em small!

These are sooooo good!!! I'm not a big lemon fan, but even I like these. They are soft and chewy and the powdered sugar provides just the right amount of sweetness. They are delicious. I'm sure you could substitute any flavor of cake mix and they would be just as good. I can picture these used at baby showers or wedding showers as well. The possibilities are endless!

Well, that's gonna do it for me today. I hope everyone has a great day!

Until next time. . .