Fabulous Food Friday!

Good Friday morning everyone! The weatherman is promising us about 13 inches of snow beginning tonight and going thru tomorrow so I see lots of crafting and family time on the horizon!! In light of the cold winter weather we are anticipating, I thought it would be a nice time to break out the ole crockpot and whip up some good old southern comfort food. Hubby and I ate at Cracker Barrel last weekend while out shopping for flooring and of course, I can't go to Cracker Barrel without shopping!! I purchased my first full size Gooseberry Patch cookbook and since I love to cook using my crockpot, I chose their Super Fast Slow Cooking cookbook.



I'm making this wonderful sounding and very easy recipe this weekend:

Southern Chicken and Dumplings

3 10 3/4 oz. cans cream of chicken soup
1/4 c. onion, diced
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 3/4 c. water
3 12 oz. tubes refrigerated biscuits, quartered

Pour soup into crockpot, add onion and chicken. Pour in enough water to cover chicken. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours, or on high setting for 4 to 6 hours. About 35 to 40 minutes before serving, turn crockpot to high setting. Drop biscuit quarters into crockpot; stir well. Replace lid and cook for 35 minutes more or until dumplings are done. Stir and serve. Serves 6.

Doesn't that sound yummy and so easy?? Hubby is a meat and potatoes kind of guy so I know he will love this! And it helps that chicken and dumplings are one of his favorite meals! Hey, gotta keep him happy so he will keep on working on my "honey do" list! LOL!!

I am feeling better this morning. Thanks to all my blogging friends who left get well comments for me. I appreciate you all!

Well, gotta get off here and get ready for work. I am so thankful that it's Friday! Woohoo! I hope everyone has a great one! Stay safe and warm!!

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

I'm a winner!!

Hi everyone! I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thursday. This will be a short, but sweet, post because I have not felt up to par all day and still am not feeling very good. Not sure what is going on, just feel run down and worn out and fighting a stomach bug of some sort, I believe. The weatherman is predicting up to a foot of snow for us this weekend so maybe I'll be forced to stay home and rest.

I did want to share some good news! I was the lucky winner of Cindy's blogaversary giveaway over at Applestone Cottage! She was offering a cute handmade burlap pillow with an appliqued blue bird on it, a beautiful delicate teacup with matching saucer, a sweet birdie couple figurine, and a bottle of wonderful smelling Coconut Lime Verbena soap from Bath and Body Works! I love everything and am thrilled that I was Cindy's lucky winner! Thank you for a wonderful giveaway Cindy!



Well, that's all I have for now. I'm glad tomorrow is Friday ~ hope everyone has a good one!

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

Whatcha Working On Wednesday

Hi everybody! Hope your Wednesday was good. Mine was busy but o.k. I guess. I am really excited because I have been wanting to make over my tiny bathroom for quite some time and FINALLY hubby and I have started on it!! Yay!!!! So that is what I am working on this Wednesday. Hubby put our new floor down yesterday. I love it!! Here's a couple of before pictures:





And a couple of after pictures:





Hubby does such a great job on laying this tile stuff. I told him I might have to hire him out! LOL!! I bought a wonderfully prim shower curtain a while back and ordered some matching accessories that arrived today (great timing, huh?!) so I will be putting the finishing touches on the bathroom redo this week. I am also attempting to make my first sign that I will be putting in there as well. I hope it turns out o.k. I will post some pics of the finished project as soon as I can.

I didn't make it to my step-sister's baby shower on Sunday. Time just got away from me and I didn't get finished with the baby's afghan. So I'm trying to finish that up as well. And I'm almost done with the scarf I am making for my father-in-law so I will get pics of those items up as soon as I can. I start too many things at one time and then stress myself out trying to finish everything. I need to just do one thing at a time but my problem is my brain works so much faster than my hands!! I'd like to thank Leslie over at My Country Home for hosting the Whatcha Working on Wednesday thread. She does such a great job with this every week. Click here to pop over and check out all the talented ladies who post on this thread.

I've gotta run for now and get my giveaway winners packages ready to mail out in the morning. I'd like to thank everyone again for entering my giveaway and for leaving such nice comments about my work. I appreciate you all!

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

And the winners are. . .

O.k., I know I said that I was gonna draw for my winners this evening but my son informed me last night that he has some after school activities this evening so I'm not sure what time I will be getting home tonight. I assigned a number to everyone who entered based on the order of your post and put everyone's number into a bowl and had hubby draw two winners from the approximately 70 qualified entries I received. And the lucky winners are. . .

Pam from Prim in a Small Town is the winner of the afghan package.



Lynn from Country Hearts and Roses is the winner of the heart shaped sign package.



Congratulations ladies! Please e-mail me your mailing information at onesimplecountrygirl@ymail.com and I will get your goodies sent right out to you!

I really appreciate everyone who signed on to enter my giveaway. I wish I could give each of you something. But don't worry ~ I had such fun with this giveaway that another is on the near horizon! So keep checking back here cause you never know what I might do!

Well, gotta run for now and get ready for work. We had some snow overnight and are expecting more today so I need to get out of here early this morning. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

Makeover Monday

Good Monday morning to everyone! I'm up bright and early this morning thanks to a restless hubby who couldn't sleep and a puppy who decided play time was gonna be before 5 a.m. this morning. I hope this is not indicative of how my Monday is going to go!!

I have been wanting an old window frame to hang above my fireplace for quite some time but haven't had much luck in finding the one I want. So hubby decided he would make me one out of some scrap wood he had left over from another project. I painted it black and distressed it with a bit of cream colored paint and some sand paper. Here's a couple of before and after pictures:







I'm not real sure that I like the way I have it decorated. I am considering buying a metal barn star that will fit in the center of the wreath since that is really what I had in mind to start with. Any other suggestions?

We are having so much rain right now! It rained all day yesterday and last night. It's still raining this morning. I may have to take a boat into work! The weatherman says we may be getting another significant snow event on Friday. Four to six inches is what he is saying. Let's hope and pray that changes to zero to one inch by Friday! You know what they say ~ if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change. My luck, it will change for the worse! LOL!

Don't forget that today is the last day to sign up for my giveaway. The drawing will be tomorrow and you have two chances to win. Just be sure and leave your comment on my January 12th post only. Good luck!

Have a safe and dry Monday!

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

It's almost time. . .

. . . to pick two winners!! Tomorrow is the last day to sign up for my giveaway! Two lucky winners will be picked on Tuesday, January 26th. I am in awe at the number of people who have signed up for a chance to win! Y'all do wonders for my self esteem! Here's another peek at what is up for grabs, in case anybody has forgotten:





Hubby and I went shopping yesterday and we had a blast!! We stopped by one of our favorite flea markets but didn't find any treasures. I was bummed. Then we went to Home Depot where we found some flooring tile that looks like hardwood floors and since he is off work this coming week, he is reflooring our bathroom! I am so excited! I bought a primitive shower curtain with matching hooks a while back and have been chomping at the bit to get it put up. But I wanted to wait until we redid the entire bathroom because the floor that is in there right now is definitely not prim or country and just wouldn't look right with my new shower curtain. So that is one of the many jobs I have lined up for him this week! LOL!! Good thing he loves me so much!

We went into PetSmart to just "look around" and $65 later we walked out with a new bed, a sweater, a sundress, a thermal shirt, new collar and leash, and some cute little bows for Miss Sophie! Well, the bows were a no go. She just absolutely hates them and wouldn't even leave one in long enough for me to snap a picture of her. She is a little spit fire! But we love her so much and she makes us laugh so hard!

Today has been a lazy day for me. I tried to clean the house a bit but didn't really make much progress. I did manage to get the laundry done and the bed linens changed. It has rained cats and dogs all day here and it just makes me so sleepy and lazy! Oh well, there's always tomorrow, right??

Well, that's it for now. I've got to get off here and get ready for another wild work week.

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

Fabulous Food Friday

Hi everyone! It's finally Friday ~ woohoo! Bring on the weekend cause I'm ready for it! For today's Fabulous Food Friday, I'm sharing a super simple delicious recipe for chicken that I call Crockpot Mexican Chicken.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 large jar chunky salsa
Spanish rice
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
sour cream

Place chicken in crockpot. Pour entire jar of salsa over chicken. Cook on low for about 7 hours. Serve over spanish rice. Top with cheese and sour cream.

My family loves this! Now I will tell ya, the salsa will liquefy quite a bit. I use a slotted spoon to scoop out my chicken and the veggies from the salsa and just leave the liquid behind. The salsa will flavor the chicken nicely and the chicken is so tender you can cut it with a fork. There are never any leftovers when I make this!

Well, I've got to run for now and finish getting ready for work. Hope everyone has a fabulous Friday!

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

My winnings and an update on my giveaway!

Hello everyone! I was one of the very fortunate winners of Sandy's giveaway over at The Olde Country Cupboard. My house is going to smell so good for a long time!! There is the best smelling bottle of room spray, along with two bars of primitive soap, and many packets of wax tarts. There was also the cutest little crafting journal and all this was packaged in the sweetest basket! When I opened the box, the smell was soooo nice!! I am so thrilled with everything I won. Thank you so much Sandy! Here's a pic of all my goodies:



I said that if I got to 100 followers, I would add a second prize package to my giveaway. My giveaway ends on Tuesday, January 26th and as of today, I am up to 117 followers! How awesome is that??!! I am so honored and humbled that so many have signed up to have a chance to win. Now you have two chances to win! For the second prize package, I am offering a trio of smaller heart bowl fillers, a wooden heart shaped sign, a box of Candleberry Tarts in Wild Blackberries scent, and a set of ten note cards with envelopes that come in their own little pouch. Here's a pic:



I do want to remind everyone that you have to leave your comment on my January 12th post ONLY!! I have had a few that have commented on other posts asking to be entered and I don't want anyone to miss out on their chance to win. So please double check and make sure that you have left a comment asking to be entered under the correct post! If you haven't, please do so!

I am so glad that tomorrow is Friday! It's been a long, busy week! Our computer system is undergoing some maintenance tomorrow at work and I thought I might get to take the day off since we won't be allowed to log on to our computers all day tomorrow, but unfortunately, a lot of my job duties don't require me to use our in house computer system, so it's off to work for me in the morning! Oh well, at least it's Friday. Hubby and I are going to go floor shopping on Saturday. We are replacing the tiles in our laundry room and bathroom and eventually we will do the kitchen too. We aren't real sure yet what we will be getting but we are leaning towards something with a wood look to it. I am excited! We will also be getting Miss Sophie some new chew toys since she thinks my fingers and toes are her chew toys right now! LOL! She is also going to get a new bed and probably some cute little bows and a sweater or two as well. Can you tell that she is already getting spoiled??!!

Well, I've got dirty dishes calling my name so I guess I'd better hop to them. I hope everybody has a great Friday tomorrow!

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

Whatcha Working on Wednesday

It's Wednesday ~ hump day!! Woohoo! The weekend is in sight! I have a couple of projects going on right now, but nothing is finished! Story of my life! My step-sister had a beautiful baby girl last week and her baby shower is this Sunday. I am making her a crocheted baby blanket which I have started but I'm not sure that I like it. It is a varigated yarn called Baby Print and has mint green, pink, yellow and white colors in it. I am doing it in the same pattern as the afghan I am giving away and for the ribbon trim I thought about pink. I also have some baby pink yarn that I could trim out in a white ribbon. Here's some pics. Which one do you like the best?




I can finish this in about two days so y'all help me out and tell me which one I should make for her.

I am also going to attempt to make my fist stenciled sign! Hubby got me this wonderful piece of wood from his work and he has sanded it smooth for me. Now I just have to decide what I want to put on it! I want it to go in my bathroom that I am getting ready to redo in a more primitive style. Any suggestions on what saying to put on it?



That's all I have today for Whatcha Working on Wednesday. Thanks to Leslie at My Country Home for hosting this every week. Be sure to pop over to Leslie's blog and check out all the talented ladies who post for this. I need to get my butt in gear and get some other things I have started finished. I have some other projects in mind that I want to start but I'm trying not to put too many irons in the fire at one time! Too bad my hands can't go as fast as my brain does!

We are enjoying having little Sophie so much!! She was a little pistol last night. I had her growling and barking at me and she was shaking the fire out of her stuffed bone chew toy that is bigger than she is!! She has been sleeping really good all night until hubby gets up for work. Then it's play time!! But she does settle right back down after he leaves so it's all good! Look at this sweet little face ~ how could you not love her?



Well, gotta get off here for now and go to work. I'm running late this morning! Have a great Wednesday!

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

Our newest family member ~ It's a Girl!!!

Hi everybody! I had a great day yesterday even though the work day went on forever!! A lady I work with was given a Yorkie puppy about a month ago and I fell in love with her (the puppy, not the coworker!!)!! I told the lady if she ever wanted to get rid of the puppy to check with me first. I have yearned for a Yorkie for a long time but couldn't justify paying the high dollars everyone was asking for. Well, yesterday my coworker came into my office and asked me if I was still wanting one and of course I answered yes. She has small children (and older children as well) and she told me that she just has too much on her plate right now and was looking to simplify her life and needed to give the puppy away! Hello!!! Guess who came home with me after work yesterday???!!! Her name is Sophie and she is the cutest little thing I have ever seen! My family loves her already and she has been really good for us so far. The only "problem" we have had so far is that she thinks 3:30 a.m. is play time!! But that's what time hubby gets up for work so I think that had a lot to do with it.
Here's our Sophie:





She has already brought a lot of joy to us and I see much more fun and laughter in our future with her around!

Well, gotta run for now and get ready for work. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

Makeover Monday and Giveaway News!

Happy Monday to everyone!! Woohoo!! Y'all did it ~ 102 followers when I signed on this morning so that means a second prize package will be awarded to one lucky follower!! I really appreciate everyone who has signed up to follow me and more than that, I am so very thankful and humbled by all your wonderful comments and compliments. Y'all are the best!

Now for Monday's Makeover. I have just a couple little things to show you today. I redid another shelf I had in my kitchen. It was a cutesy red shelf with the dreaded heart cutout!! Do you see a theme here?? LOL! I had hubby cut the heart part out of the shelf and he put in a small eye hook so that I could hang something from the center. I just painted black over the red and distressed it. I like it much better now. Here it is before:


Here it is after:




I also found this little "home" sign at the Dollar Tree and bought a package of wooden spoons from Walmart for less than a dollar and primmed them up a bit. I like the way these turned out as well.
Here they are before:


And here they are after:



And here's one final picture of everything all decorated:


Well, I'm off of here for now. Gotta finish up getting ready for work. I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

WOW ~ y'all amaze me!!

I am just floored by the response to my giveaway! Y'all are making my head swell with all the nice compliments on my afghan and hearts! Thank you so much ~ you have no idea what these nice words mean to me. When I started my giveaway, I only had 30 something followers. When I logged on here this morning, I now have 95 followers! That is amazing to me! Now I realize that in order to win, one of the rules was that you have to be a follower and I know that some people only follow to see if they win and then you never hear from them again. And that's o.k. because the way I see it, if you sign on to follow just in hopes of winning and then you never check back again, you don't know what you may be missing out on! Because my next giveaway may be a "quiet" one and only my true followers will know!

Anyway, I have decided that if I reach 100 followers, I will give away two prizes! No, I don't have another afghan finished to put in the second prize package, but it will have some heart bowl fillers and some other good stuff as well. So if you know anybody that hasn't signed up, get'em over here! That way you will have two chances to win something.

Well, that's about all I have for now. My washing machine is broken (again!) so hubby is in there trying to fix that for me so I can get my laundry finished up. We slept in this morning so I fixed breakfast for brunch and I've got to get in there and get that mess cleaned up. Later we are going to run out to Lowe's and check on some prices for some home improvement projects we hope to get started on soon! All in all, just a lazy Sunday on the books for us and that's just the way I like it!

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

Fabulous Food Friday!

Hi all! Hope everyone is having a great Friday. Near where my hubby works is a food pantry where they help those that don't have money to buy groceries. They received two tractor trailer loads of bananas this week and there was so many bananas they knew they wouldn't be able to use them all before they went bad! So they came to my hubby's plant with a truck load of them for the employees to take home. Needless to say, we are now overrun with bananas! So guess what I'm making this weekend ~ yep, banana bread!! LOL!! I have a wonderful recipe for Banana Apple Bread that my family just loves. Thought I'd share it with you today.




Banana Apple Bread

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped apples
1/2 cup mashed banana
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans in a bowl. Combine eggs, vegetable oil, apple, banana and vanilla in a bowl, mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix well. Pour into a nonstick 5 X 9 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until the loaf tests done. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

I am so glad it's Friday!! It's been a rough week at work for me this week and I am ready for a break! I don't have much on the agenda for this weekend. Just the usual house cleaning, laundry, hoping to finish up some craft projects I've got in the works, and that's about it. Oh yea, and making this delicious banana bread! LOL!

Well, that's about all I have for now. I hope everyone has a great Friday. Stay safe and be sure to be thankful for and take joy in the little things. Sometimes that's all we can do.

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

Thursday's Tip of the Day

Good morning all! Temps here in my neck of the woods are supposed to be pushing 50 degrees today! Woohoo! Heat wave! LOL!

Thursday's tip of the day has to do with removing fingernail polish. If you have ever used cotton balls to do this, you know what a mess that makes! It leaves fuzz all over your fingers and is just a pain to deal with! I have the perfect solution. Instead of cotton, try using a piece of pantyhose. I wear dress pants a lot for work so I have an endless supply of knee highs. These are perfect for removing fingernail polish with absolutely no mess! You could also cut up a pair of full hose that has a run in them and use pieces of that. All you do is pour a small amount of polish remover onto your hose and rub on your nails. Easy peasy!




Well, that's it for today. I'm gonna enjoy this mild weather today after all the yucky snow and ice and freezing cold temps we've endured since December! I hope you all have a great day!

Until next time. . .

Hugs,

Whatcha Working on Wednesday

I hope everyone had a great Wednesday! Mine was o.k., busy day at work, then I had to stop by the grocery store, got home and put away the groceries, fixed a quick supper (sausage and eggs per hubby's request!) and needless to say, I am feeling a bit worn down this evening! But that is not unusual for me at midweek. Thank goodness there's only two more work days to go before the weekend! Woohoo!

Now for the Whatcha Working on Wednesday stuff. As always, I'd like to thank Leslie at My Country Home for hosting this every week. There are a lot of talented ladies who post links so be sure to jump over there and check them all out! As most of you know, I have been working on the stuff for my giveaway for most of last week and the first part of this week. If you haven't already signed up for my giveaway, what are you waiting for??? LOL!! Here's a pic of what I have to offer:



In addition to those things, I also made a trio of smaller heart bowl fillers out of some of the red and white ticking I had left over. I put some buttons and rusty jingle bells on these. I am contemplating adding a rusty safety pin and a round hang tag as well. What do you think?



And finally, hubby asked me to crochet a scarf for his Dad. My father-in-law turned 80 years old this year and is not in the best health. With all this cold weather we have been having, he's been a virtual shut in. He does have to get out to go to doctor's appointments and things like that and he is not supposed to breathe in a lot of the cold air per doctor's orders. I crocheted him an afghan for Christmas and he absolutely loved it so hubby thought it'd be a wonderful idea to crochet him his own special scarf. I ageed and off to work I went. I just got it started last night after work so I don't have a lot of progress to show you. Hubby requested that I make it wider than the average scarf so Dad can cover his mouth and nose and still keep it wrapped around his neck as well. Here's a pic of what I have so far and I will post another one when I get it finished:



Well, friends, that's about it for me. This girl is tuckered out and ready for bed and it's not even 7:30 p.m. yet! How sad is that????

Until next time. . .