Just A Flip Flop Mom

2011-08-02T14:47:00.002-05:00

Finally.. I have a moment to blog! Summer came with a slow start. I was even wondering if summer was going to come at all for us in New England, but here it is and I'm soaking up every minute that I can.
I, myself, have vacation this week from work and everything else! I spent a lovely weekend in RedHook NY. LOTS of history there and people I love to spend time with. These Photos are just a few moments that I captured while exploring the area.

I finished my summer English Course. I'm pretty positive that I received an A, but I have yet to figure out where to find my grade on line. I'll get there eventually but right now I'm battling with the college and trying to sign up for courses that I need and they are giving me a hard time. I have to admit, I'm frustrated! Why is it so hard to get an education? I know that I'll get what I need in the end, but it sure isn't easy! Have you had any challenges lately? How is your summer going?

2011-05-10T20:25:00.003-05:00

I'm still climbing mountains to reach my goals!!
Oh my Gosh.. I'm embarrassed to admit this.. but I almost forgot how to post on my blog!! I also have another SMALL confession to make... I have an addiction... addiction to EVERYONE Else's blog.. but.. my own. I'm addicted to the decorating/re-doing blogs.. you know.. the ones that are BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL and it looks like their homes are PERFECT at any given moment... yeah.. you know what I'm talking about!!
I realized that I haven't written here since DECEMBER!! boy.. a LOT has gone on since December.. I started a new job.. full -time... same facility.. but more hours.. I FINISHED my LNA class and I am now a LICENSED NURSING ASSISTANT.. however I'm not working as one... and I'm starting up a new class in two weeks... don't laugh... but it's ENGLISH COMP I.. They're going to teach me to be a better writer... so you just wait... my blog ( if I find the time to post..) will be grammatically correct... AND...hopefully "proper" sounding..

A girl can dream.... right?

I haven't taken many pictures.. but with Prom Season coming up... there will be plenty.. and some Seniors I'll be "shooting" as well..

I do miss you all.. I see some of you on facebook... I love that.. facebook can be an amazing blessing.. yet a time sucking TRAP!!! But until I can write again.. I just wanted to say HI.. and that I do miss you.. and I will be peeking in on you more!!

2010-12-13T22:28:00.002-05:00

School is over for a month.. and I'm hoping to have more time to jump on here and READ more of what you all have to say!! I'm spending my free time now .. Reading... Exercising and baking.. exercising because I have to taste test everything I bake...YUM.. These are a couple of pictures I've taken for Christmas Cards this year... I can't believe my daughter is now TWENTY and my son FIFTEEN... the time truly does fly!! I've gone thrifting and have found some really cool Vintage Christmas Decorations for PENNIES.. I'll have to post photos and share.. Have you found anything cool lately?

2010-10-23T15:54:00.002-05:00

I've been blog cruising this morning... ( haven't posted or commented on any of them sorry!!).. I have been looking for Christmas Gifts to make... frugal ones in fact... and I realized that I have neglected my blog.... YET... again....

My life has taken a turn... well... maybe I should say change... since August I've been hosting a foreign exchange student from Ecuador... nothing we planned on for sure... and I have begun the process of going to school to achieve my RN... SLOWLY... like...more slow than a snail... but I took the first step and I'm half way through with psychology with an A!! It's been a lot more work than I anticipated but I'm proud of myself! I am also signed up for the LNA course in the Spring... I'm blessed with my job for paying for my education... and with taking a course at a time it enables me to focus and do well... or at least that's what I'm striving for....

On the side I've been doing photos for people... some seniors and some families.... I'm still doing my thrifting and finding GREAT deals... I'm addicted to clothes right now.. YIKES!! Poor hubby.. he has no room in our bedroom for anything.... I told him.. probably within a year.. I'll be moving from nice duds... to scrubs... but... hey.. time will tell...

Off to dinner at a friends.. wish I could write more... but share with me any frugal Christmas Ideas!! Okay??

2010-09-04T07:21:00.003-05:00

I miss blogging and have so much to share... hopefully within the next week... I can tell you all about my life's NEW adventures.. some dreams are coming true... and God is surely putting things in our laps that I haven't expected!!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!!

My kitty.. who just doesn't want to be bothered on this holiday weekend... can't say as if I blame her!!

2010-07-06T06:23:00.002-05:00

My 4th of July was a lazy one... one I actually planned on... Since working in October I haven't had a long weekend.. or extra days to do what I've really wanted... I'm not complaining at all because I know there are many out there who would jump at taking my job....so I've been working really hard to have perfect attendance and to work hard and especially keep my mouth closed (so many moments of late that I haven't wanted to though... Ü) So hubby and I bummed around and I did some things around the house that needed to be done!! I gave an old swing a new makeover with a bit of spray paint and a little bit of Rit Dye!! (oh.. that's still soaking... oopss)Here's a crazy picture of hubby... UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU...I don't know about you... but I've always wanted to try a "Drunken Chicken"... however I dislike the taste of beer VERY MUCH.. so I decided to use a diet coke instead... if I do it again.. I think I'll try SPRITE... This above picture is the before picture....This is the after picture... the last hour I added up some left over chopped up baked potatoes..In truth.. the chicken was good.. and it was very moist... but I wasn't "gaga gaga" for it... Next time I might try different seasonings for the skin... to be fair there was nothing left of this meal except a few potatoes.... so .. I really shouldn't complain...

This is what I did..
I turned the grill on... the two side that I wasn't going to use ( I have a 4 burner grill) I turned off and put the the chicken right on that heat..don't put it directly on the flamed side. I then washed and rubbed the chicken up and mixed these spices together
1 TBSP Paprika
1 TBSP Garlic Powder
1 TBSP Oregano
1 tsp Coarse Sea Salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Rubbed it all over the chicken and then took out half of the coke from the can and set it in it's holder and plopped the chicken over it.. and then... cooked the chicken for an hour and a half... I know you're suppose to use a meat thermometer and check for doneness at 180 degrees... but I really don't have one.... YIKES!! But I can attest that the chicken was completely cooked and not a pink area in site!!
If you've tried one of these.. with a different recipe.. would you share it ?? or if you do try this.. let me know what you think....

2010-07-04T08:27:00.002-05:00

Happy 4TH of JULY!!
Can you believe in the hundreds of pictures I have in my computer... I have VERY few nice Patriotic Pictures.... kind of makes me sad.. and something I will definitely have to work on!!
I hope you all have a SAFE and FUN day!!

2010-05-31T06:37:00.003-05:00

Summer is just around the corner.... and here in New England on some days it's come a bit sooner!! I'm not complaining but it does make it hard on what outfit to wear that day!!
For the most part my Girl Scout obligations are DONE!! and I have to tell you... this will SURELY be my last year in leading! I think more stuff went on this year than in the past 12 years I did lead... such a mess.. and a headache.... I have been fortunate enough to be able to skip out a few weekends and grab some pictures in our area.. My hubby is so good to me...He's been trying to find different fishing holes and has come across some more covered bridges for me to photograph... along the way I found this tree... I thought it was actually kind of cool.... what a great photo op for little kids!!! It does however sit on someones property... This is probably one of the TALLEST Covered Bridges I've ever seen... It's closed to regular traffic and is used as a bike trail and for 4 wheelers and snowmobiles in the winter time. I have to say when I walked across it ALONE it was kind of creepy.. it was so long and so dark... no windows in this one... I didn't stand to long admiring all the graffiti inside that's for sure!

Happy Memorial Day!! I hope everyone enjoyed a great weekend with family and friends!! and remembered those who have fought and died for our FREEDOM!!

2010-04-11T19:38:00.002-05:00

It's been lonely here... without you.... WAIT.. I mean... ME.. I've neglected my poor blog.. and for that I'm sorry...
The past few months have been a whirl wind to me.. I've added so much on my plate... silly me...
I took over a Daisy Girl Scout Troop... WHY??? I ask myself the same thing.. as 13 years of Girl Scouting wasn't enough....
I'm almost done training in my new job... it's taken SIX MONTHS for me to learn all 4 jobs... and now.. tomorrow the hospital has thrown in another job for all of us women.. This hospital adds on... BUT has decided that it's not hiring any new employee's.. in fact.. layoffs could be in the works...after expanding and spending millions of dollars... they need to cut employees... I don't even want to go into how that will effect patient care... This has been keeping me up at nights...

I also began my journey to nursing school.. YUP.. I did it.. I hit the submit button on the college website... and have now almost completed my first steps of being accepted...I must admit.. I NEED to brush up on my math skills... BADLY... but I received a 101% in the English.. ( if you can believe it... it can't be because I write this blog.. but because I read everyone else's blogs)...

So that's a small update...
I have tons more to share.. but I know you have other blogs to read... Ü
Warm weather is BACK.. that means more stuff to scope out to photograph!! I can't wait!!
What's new with all of you???

2010-02-04T07:17:00.003-05:00

Have you ever Met Miss Clara??( That's what I call her)..She is the SWEETEST lady you will EVER "meet" on the Internet!!!
She is 94 years old and has her own Cook Book out!! Clara's Kitchen...This Cookbook has EVERYTHING that I LOVE... Cooking, Stories, and Photos.... I borrowed mine out of the library.. but believe me.. this is one of those books that I will purchase! Miss Clara shares recipes from her childhood depression... The stories make you laugh, make you hold back a few tears, and really make you appreciate what YOU do have instead of worrying about what you DON'T have. EVERYONE deserves to hear her stories...Some of the recipes.. well.. I know I won't try... and I'm not even sure what Burdock is??? Ha Ha... but there are some in there that I can't wait to try!! I'll have to share my results...!!
I first found her on YouTube while helping my daughter find information on The Depression. She has the American Girl Doll.. Molly and has always been fascinated with the era in which she lived, so much so that Strawberry Banke .. here in NH... did a whole skit on Molly's era and what it would be like to live in that time...The Actors.. the Stories.. were done very WELL!!
The bomb shelters... The Gardens... the Ration Stamps.... collecting scrap metal and children giving up their toys in order for more weapons and ammo to be made... no wonder why toys from that time are Rare.. and most certainly valuable now!!

Here is one of her many.. many videos you can find on youtube... I'm going to warn you.. you better grab something big to drink and perhaps a snack.. because you're going to want to watch them all... In this episode Miss Clara is going to make Breakfast Cookies and Strong Coffee... Cookies.. for breakfast.. MY kind of Breakfast...
You can also be her friend on facebook.... I thought that was so sweet... Here is her link Clara Cannucciari

2010-01-23T08:51:00.002-05:00

I have another quick, easy and oh so YUMMY recipe to share with you... I also took this recipe from the OAMC recipe book by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg. My hubby's cousin and I decided we would take a Saturday and make a couple weeks of menus ahead of time and freeze to help her stretch her budget and save time since she has two little ones at home and works FULL time. I stumbled upon this recipe and thought I would give it a whirl.. I didn't think it would have the robust flavor that it does.. and it's now become one of my hubby's FAVORITE chicken dishes!
Teriyaki Chicken
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 TBSP red wine vinegar
2 tsp Vegetable oil or sesame seed oil
1 small minced garlic clove
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup regular, uncooked rice

Now.. before I go any further.. remember I was telling you we were eating better?? I made a few adjustments... I used a LOW SODIUM soy sauce, I used SPLENDA instead of sugar, and I didn't have any red wine vinegar so I substituted with apple cider vinegar. I also doubled the recipe so I could have a second meal the next day.

To Make:
Mix soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, oil, garlic to make marinade. Freeze Chicken in marinade in a 1 gallon bag. ( Obviously I didn't because we were eating it that night.. I made it first thing in the morning and let it marinade in the fridge all day)Here it is marinating.
When preparing to serve, thaw chicken. Pour chicken and marinade into a baking dish. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Prepare rice according to package directions. Serve Chicken over rice. Makes 4 servings
As you can see below.. I don't bake mine.. I grill mine even when it's -2 degrees outside.. because I LOVE the grilled flavor....

Another hint or *tip* I will tell you.. I bought my chicken breasts on sale so all this chicken cost me $5.00. I then took the thick chicken breast and sliced it in half length wise.. so I made one breast into "two".. which helps on the eating better and stretching your $$ worth. I served this meal with rice and sauteed veggies ( red onion, zucchini and summer squash)
The next day I took the left over chicken, rice and veggies and "fried" them up in a big skillet. I threw in a little bit of butter... the rice and some chicken bouillon and seasoned it up adding a smidge more salt and pepper... I browned it a little and then threw the veggies and cut up chicken into it to warm it up... It tasted FABULOUS and was quick and easy on a busy night for me!!

I didn't map out the TOTAL cost for the entire meal because I tend not to add in the cost of the soy sauce or any ingredient I have purchased to use several times... but with all the fresh ingredients the meal probably cost around $10... which averages out to $5.oo per meal.. and it fed 3 people with still a bit left over!

2010-01-17T14:26:00.003-05:00

It's not easy to cook cheap AND healthy as most of us know.... I'm trying to cut back on my food budget in 2010 and so far I'm not doing great.

Here's my problem.... we don't eat out... so we don't waste money eating at other places... we don't use credit cards for lavish wants vs needs.. ( we learned that a long time ago)... we don't run to new stores... we don't have to have the latest things...BUT where food is concerned I'm addicted to going to the grocery store almost daily! I LOVE fresh veggies, fresh meats, and other items.. I can't help it.. but I'm realizing that it's hurting our budget... BADLY.

Heck.. I got a Pandora bracelet for Christmas.. and I have no beads to go on it.. and I'm not sweating it... not a priority to me and in fact.. I love the plain silver chain if I do say so myself... as I find some of the beads to be... well... not my taste...

But.. back to the topic of food...
My Monday night Library Date nights have enticed me to grab more and more cookbooks for more frugal, happy meals. Now throw in the challenge of me working... gives me less time to whip up the meals it use to take me all day to make sometimes... I'm not complaining and enjoyed those days.. but now I need something quicker.. yet still inexpensive...

I found this recipe in one of the Once-A-Month Cooking Cook books I grabbed at a Yardsale last summer... as you guess from the title it's a FABULOUS recipe to make a head and freeze for later... so if you find you LOVE this recipe.. you can double it up and freeze for a later date!!

Super easy to make.. here.. I just browned up some ground beef with garlic... while preparing the base of the soup here...
Now.. to share the recipe... This literally took about 40 minutes to make and throw together... NOW.. if you're going to FREEZE this recipe... DO NOT make the Ravioli's until the day you want to serve it... You can also make this a meatless dish and serve with plain cheese ravioli's..I didn't have any tomato paste so I cut the water in half. I did double this recipe so we could have left overs for another day this week

RAVIOLI SOUP
1 pound ground beef
1/ 4 cup soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon onion salt
2 teaspoons minced garlic cloves (2 cloves)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 28-ounce can Italian-style crushed tomatoes in puree
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 14 1/2 can beef broth
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 12-ounce package plain ravioli without sauce
salt
Parmesan cheese for serving

Cook the ground beef in a large pot until browned, about 15 minutes. Drain the fat. Combine remaining ingredients except frozen ravioli and additional Parmesan cheese. Bring soup to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Thaw and cook ravioli according to package directions until just tender. Drain ravioli; add to soup. Salt to taste and serve with Parmesan cheese.Here is the final outcome... I'm even practicing putting my names up on my pictures ( I've been noticing some family members are snagging pictures that I take off my facebook sadly...)
I have to cut this blog post short.. as my daughter is headed back to college... it was nice having her home for a month.. and now I feel like I have to get use to her not being here all over again... :(

2010-01-12T17:59:00.003-05:00

It's COLD here... not ARCTIC cold... but cold enough that while I'm typing this short blog post my hands are FREEZING! I know there are a million other places on this earth that are cold tonight.... but I just had the need to whine about it! Not that it will do me any good and not that I ache anytime soon to live in a warmer climate.... that's just not me... but I figured as a New Englander... I'm allowed to whine about it once a year... so this is my official once a year whine...
This is our snowman.... with all the snow we received the Christmas week.. the kids went out and brought a little life to the yard!!
Now... this is left over Christmas junk... ummm I mean... candy.. mmm... I've been having Candy withdrawls.. I packed ALL of this up and brought it into work... we spent so much $$ on Christmas Candy only to turn around and give it away.. seriously.. what were we thinking?? I'll be honest.. I've cheated a few times.. the past two days.. terrible... but I have to get back on track for the sake of everyone here at home.. I have to be an example... right?? Sorry this post will be short.. I'm headed out to run a Daisy Troop.. so I have to take over where someone gave up... and guess what I'm grabbing... Girl Scout Cookie Order forms.... Heaven help me!! I'm not buying ONE box... NOT ONE!!!See... even my pooch thinks it's cold... she was begging for me to bring her back inside! I mean.. how could you argue with this face... Ü
Here's the next book I've dived into.. I'll be honest.. Karen Kingsbury isn't one of those artist that I have to run to the store for...infact I tend to push her books to the side.. but when I read the description of this book I KNEW I had to read it....
Here's the description:

Brad Cutler, twenty-eight, is a rising star at his New York ad agency, about to marry the girl of his dreams. Anyone would agree he has it all … a great career, a beautiful and loving fiancée, and a fairy tale life ahead of him—when memories of a high school girlfriend begin to torment him. Lost innocence and one very difficult choice flood his conscience, and he is no longer sure what the future will bring except for this: He must find his old love and make amends. Haunted by the past and confused about the future, he turns to God seeking forgiveness and redemption.

It's a sensitive subject.. and it's nice to see a mans perspective on this subject ( you'll have to check it out more to see the topic.. )
I'll let you know what I think when I'm done.. but so far.. so good!

2010-01-03T00:13:00.002-05:00

Back in November... right before Thanksgiving I decided to make a Bread Machine Recipe that I had been holding on to...literally for years! I was a skeptic.... The Recipe.... Homemade Dog Treats. Now... I've seen people make these and sell them... the hard flat bones that look all the same to me...I thought that was how these would turn out... but I was WRONG... WAY WRONG... These looked so good that I had to WARN everyone in the home... that they are NOT people cookies... well technically you could eat them... but I'm sure they wouldn't taste as good to us as they did my dog.... The VERDICT.. she LOVED them!
I just love this little tin stand that they are setting on too.. another great find at the Salvation Army....And.. for the recipe...

BREAD MACHINE DOG BISCUITS

3/4 cup beef stock
1 egg
3 tablespoons bacon grease
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons yeast

Place ingredients in bread pan according to manufacturers directions and
press "Dough" cycle. When machine beeps, remove dough to lightly
floured countertop and with a rolling pin, roll dough out to 1/4"
thickness. Using a dog bone cookie cutter (or any small seasonal cookie
cutters), cut out dog biscuits and place on a lightly greased cookie
sheet or one sprinkled with cornmeal. Re-roll scraps and repeat till
all dough is used up. Place in a warm location and let rise 30 minutes.
Bake at 325 for 30 minutes until brown and no longer soft. Place on a
rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

The weather has been FRIGHTFUL here for the past couple of days... the snow is falling at a light rate... but every time I peek outside... it just gets higher and higher.... so if you are were it's snowing... keep warm... or go out and build an amazing snowman... Ü

2010-01-01T18:10:00.002-05:00

I love the New Year... I promise myself NO New Year Resolutions.. I've just never been that kind of girl. Probably a good thing I'm not a Catholic Girl either... because Lent would be out the window for me....
Instead I focus on dreams, desires, and where the Lord wants to take me... sometimes I battle with HIM because *I* have better ideas of what I WANT from life..... He has other plans almost always... Ü
This year... I would like to focus on my photography.. and learn more of my camera and to take better photos. ... I think I've gotten MUCH better... but there's always room for improvement!
I would like to put more effort into my dreams of becoming a nurse....I know what to do... I just need to stop believing I'm going to fail before I start!
This year I would like to become healthier.. and lose another 10lbs.... I want to be the example for my family to follow!
There's three... anymore and I think I would be setting myself up for failure.....
I however would like to blog more...I am missing it.. and I'm missing all of you that read! For that I thank you!!

I'm adding just a couple photos to share... ( to me ... I have to have a picture for each post!)....
Here are a picture of my crazy kiddos.. the day we went out looking for our Christmas Tree.

Here is the Tree Farm in Vermont....slim pickings this year.. but we found the BEST ONE!!
And a quick photo of my neighbor... she facebooked me for three weeks to ask me if I would "hurry" and take her photo for Christmas.... So during the busy week before... I took a bunch for her.... I actually liked this photo of her.... it captured her personality well!
I hope you all had an AMAZING CHRISTmas.... and a HAPPY New YEAR!!!

2009-11-29T07:44:00.004-05:00

I have a moment to post something.. before I scoot out the door and do another Senior ( last minute) portraits for someone!
How was your Thanksgiving?.. ours was uneventful. Since working I was very tired and glad that I didn't have to cook much... Black Friday came and went... but yesterday... I took all the fall decorations down and put up the Christmas ones! It's kind of getting me into the spirit of Christmas... something I think I was lacking last year!

Cruising through my Christmas CD's yesterday I forgot that this song existed! I absolutely love it.. it's not your traditional jingle bells... but there is a line on there that stands out to me... "Baby Jesus, do you know you’ll die for all our sins?
Don’t be afraid, for in 3 days, you will rise again." It's simple yet speaks a lot!

I am so unprepared gift wise for the holidays.. I'm finding this year that my children are so much more harder to buy for and they are NOT providing lists either! It's been a guessing game. What are you buying your kiddos?? and what ages are they?

I'm off to do a little bloggy reading... something I've been neglecting for a long time.. but it's quiet here... and it's that time of the year where I like to spend my Sundays... early in the morning... snuggled up and reading what others are doing for the holidays and the new year!!!

2009-11-12T21:24:00.001-05:00

I promise.. I'm going to post... VERY soon... I have so much to share.. but I started a new job a month ago.. and I'm trying to get adjusted to it!! I'm still baking.. still reading.. and still snapping photos and can't wait to share them with you again!!! I miss all of you... I find that I come to the computer.. open up a couple sites and then get bored... even though there is so much out there... So I need to spend more time with YOU and read more about YOU as well!!

I'm THANKFUL for all of YOU!!

2009-09-26T12:41:00.002-05:00

I'm in LOVE... it's TRUE love... I'm in love with Bakerella .... A couple weeks ago she posted a recipe for Mini Chocolate Chip Maple Muffins.... OH.. these are HEAVEN!! They did NOT even last an hour.... Click on her blog to get the recipe and TRY them yourself...I had a friend who used regular pancake mix... although that sounds pretty good... I'm not so sure that it could beat the original recipe she shared... With Fall REALLY coming in quickly.. these make a nice morning breakfast with REAL maple syrup....
Again with Fall HERE... that means more books are to be read...I'm a library girl... LOVE the Library.. you know you're an addict when the bag full of books you've just taken out of the library and thrown in the passengers seat set the passengers seatbelt light to trigger on...

However... once a week I've been stopping in at an amazing thrift store.. and I grab a few books that I think I would like to read.. for only .75cents each.... I can't pass that up.. I have a hard.. VERY HARD time paying $10 plus for a book that I'll read once and pass along...so this thrift store is an answer to my prayers... along with the library...
Here are a few of my books waiting to be read....
These are the ones that have been sitting downstairs... I have another pile upstairs.. I can't WAIT to read the new Yada Yada book!!!!! I've read quite a few this summer and I apologize for not sharing what I've read.... I will try and be better with that...

So.. since I've been unemployed.. and my house has been picked up... and I've been job hunting in between... I've noticed my dog has been sad lately...Poor girl... BUT.. you wouldn't believe WHAT I caught her doing....
She has been writing letters to my daughter in college and POSTING them to her FACEBOOK!!
Check it out...CRAZY DOG!!
Not a long post today.. my house is full of boys.. once again... so I think I'm going to sit in the sun we have and read... read.. and read some more!!

2009-09-21T15:52:00.005-05:00

My daughter came home this weekend.. it started off really GOOD!! and ended VERY SADLY.... ( more to come on that)...

We decided that we would go and try to grab a few last of the year yardsales... you just NEVER know what a college student could find to use in their dorm room!!! We hit a few and didn't find much... but we hit one that was way off the road path.. and deep in the woods... to my surprise it had a bunch of JUNK!!! That is UNTIL I walked a bit more and found cookbooks!! OLD Cookbooks... Some of them were just TO 70's for me... I'm sorry.. the 70's were NOT a time that recipes seemed to be appealing to me... or maybe... maybe.. it's the outfits they are wearing in the books???? hmmm you decide....

Anyway.. I found two little cookbooks.. ADORABLE OLD cookbooks...
The one on the left is from an old Bread Company... or maybe there are still in existence? If they are I haven't seen them in my neck of the woods....I'm not sure of the year this came out.. but I bet you it was roughly late 40's early 50's....
Here's the back of the mini cookbook....Oh.. the days when the bread delivery man came to your house..... That must have been HEAVEN for many women!!! Although.. I have to say.. my hubby makes a GREAT delivery man on many products.. so I can't complain!!
Hey.. how about one of them recipes from the old Bread cookbook.. perhaps a good Kidney Loaf.. nothing like a good old fashioned Kidney to replace your burger in your meatloaf!!! I know for a FACT that I will NOT be trying this recipe anytime soon!!! But those little cartoon gals look like they are having a BALL mix that stuff up together!!
Here is a peek inside the Glenwood cookbook!! again.. I LOVE the graphics... and this recipe here stood out ....
Gingerbread!!! MMMMM.. I wasn't too keen on a whole loaf... I knew that muffins/cupcakes would get eaten quicker... AND... what goes best with a cupcake?????? FROSTING!! I added frosting to mine!!!

Not bad for a 1933 publication eh??? I believe this little goody was a book that came with your brand spanking NEW Glenwood Range ( stove as we call it here in NH)....
Hey.. even that scarecrow was eying those cupcakes...... Can't say as I blame him!!!
Another Oldie but goody... My son is going to take German next Semester.. and what's better than a book with pictures??? and conversation???
Will he use it?? Perhaps not.. but for the price ( FREE) I couldn't pass it up.. they were going to recycle what they didn't sell.. recycle... that means.. tear it up.. it would no longer exist.. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? These little books are beauties to me!!!!
These are my other treasures.... see the prices on them... DIDN'T pay that.. they were all free.. free.. free.. to some.. these may look like junk.. to to a crazy girl who loves to bake..these were a treasure... and I couldn't pass up the photography book... always learning new things... I actually can't wait til my pictures come out CRISP and Breath taking... some day... ahhh a girl can dream... but for now... I'll leave the perfection dept for the baking!!

2009-09-20T09:47:00.007-05:00

Fall... it's around the corner... and here in NH it has been FREEZING!! as the weather forecast said "Growing Season is OVER"... and waking up this morning.. I feel that it really is!

One of my favorite bloggers ( okay.. you really are ALL my favorites.. Ü) is Susanne at Living to the the Story. She has been doing a fabulous thing each week with photography.. you all KNOW I love photography and actually have been dipping my nose in many books , blogs, and web-sites lately to learn more. I can't THANK the professionals ENOUGH for sharing their secrets with those of us who haven't the first CLUE what photography is all about. After "shooting" pictures for 10 plus years... I still feel as if I'm an infant in the photography world. I know that amateur photographers can really annoy the professionals... so again.. I can't say THANK YOU enough! So here is what Susanne has been up to at Photo Hunters. Many of you might already be involved and if you are.. PLEASE let me know and I will check yours out!

This week we are to post a picture of something upside down. I don't know about your, but normally upside down things really don't appeal to me to be photographed. So... I decided to dig through my photo's thinking.. THERE IS NO WAY I would find one... but.. surprising even myself.. I DID!! and here is the photo!! This was taken almost three years ago... This is when our beautiful foreign exchange student from Spain got to experience Christmas in America for the first time!! She absolutely loved it!

Do you have one to share? If so.. again.. send me a link and I would love to see it!

The past couple of days I've really have laid it on my heart to step back a bit from facebook. As much as I LOVE my friends and family.. sometimes your feelings can get hurt if you mull over things to long concerning facebook. For the past two to three weeks I've really WANTED to put some MEAN things up on my facebook... and I've been biting my "fingers" not to write it. To make a long story short... it's hard to watch some family members boast about themselves... and how they love God.. and how they are sharing their lives for the love of Christ... and so on... on the most part I would be proud of my friends and family whom do this... but it's hard for me to lay it at the feet of Jesus.. and let HIM deal with my feelings... it's hard for me to see family members spread the love of God to others.. when they can't acknowledge their niece and nephew... a graduation has gone by for my daughter.. and not a congratulations was muttered.. my son turned 14 and not even a Happy Birthday was muttered.... BUT... in the same breath.. they make sure you KNOW that their children have made achievements.....

Long story short.. I've just wanted to post "It's painful to me to see some see my children as OBLIGATIONS and not who they really are"... but then again.. that would be a lie too.. because they haven't felt obligated to praise their own niece of nephew....

Okay.. there is my little facebook rant.. you may pass over it and continue on.. I NEEDED to write it out somewhere.. I felt this was the safest place for me... Ü

What have I been up to lately? Well...
1) I'm unemployed and have been trying to find a job in hopes that we can keep paying our mortgage.. it hasn't been easy.. but God has been good for the past 6 weeks...
2) I've had more time to read...
3) more time to bake...
4) more time to think.. <---- That gets me in trouble.. Ü And I've taken a few more random photo's here and there...
Do you remember the movie Jumanji??? If you've never seen it.. you have to.. I think it's a really cute movie... Several years ago I was working in Keene NH and during that time the production of Jumanji came to town to shoot some scenes. The then crew.. painted this sign on one of the old factory buildings to go along with the movies.. if you remember.. young Alan's dad owned and ran The Parrish Shoe factory ( actually factory shots were done in Maine)... The sign is still displayed today in Keene NH.
And just a couple random photo's of my pre-fall walk in the park last week...

I just bought this album.. I know it isn't NEW.. but I've been LOVING the songs on here.. and jamming to them doing housework.. I pity my poor neighbors who've had to hear the same songs over and over... along with my angelic....( ha ha ha) voice!

2009-08-22T07:55:00.004-05:00

The summer is almost over.. and I can't believe it!
This summer has been different for me .. for many different reasons.

I had no fresh air child :(
I worked this whole summer
It rained a little over half the summer
I had no desire to can anything
I even neglected my house cleaning duties .. not like me...
but this summer I've learned a lot...

That the time you have with you children goes by fast... and that sometimes a messy home IS a good thing.. because the time you have spent cleaning and fussing means... it's less time you've spent with your growing children...

Next week I face bringing my oldest to college... I don't know how easy it's going to be to drop her off and leave her there.... actually the word easy doesn't even come to mind....

And then my youngest.... the day after I drop him off in front of highschool.. where I know the next four years are going to fly by faster than the last 4 years.... I Have to BRACE myself....both my kids will be grown by the time I'm 40.... I'm not ready for this... but life isn't going to wait for me to be ready...

In the mean time.. again.. I've done LOTS and LOTS of photographing this summer of different things in the area in which I live.. so I thought I would share a few with you...

Random Farm in Woodstock Vermont... BEAUTIFUL VT area!!!

Found this on the side of the road... I HAD to take a picture.. how sweet is this!!??

This is a Quaker Meeting House built in 1802.. this is nestled in the back woods of Unity New Hampshire... the door was opened when I went there so I snuck inside and took pictures as well...

Another Covered Bridge.. I probably captured about 20 this summer... This one is in Taftsville Vermont...

And the birth of a new baby in the family.. just last week...

I know that the summer has flown by.. but I am anticipating the fall.. I love that time of year where the colors POP out for such a small time... I've been blessed to have been asked to do two Senior Photo "shoots" for year books and I've been contemplating doing FREE photo's for seniors who can't afford the expensive photo's that the area offers... don't get me wrong.. I know and understand why photographers charge what they do.. but I live in an area that there are many people who just can't afford them... so I would like to see these kids have at least one or two good pictures of their last year in highschool.

2009-07-29T15:12:00.007-05:00

So I've still been hanging out at Facebook.. I love that place.. BUT I've also have spent quite a bit of time this summer between rain showers taking LOTS and LOTS of pictures.. I first wanted to hit Covered Bridges in NH.. and along the way.. I noticed MORE and MORE history... So that led to more and more car rides and "adventures"...

So.. I thought I would share a few pictures with you... and what I've been up to so far this summer...
I met up with a dear friend for the first time in 15 years... THANKS to facebook!!! We decided to hit Boston and visit the Tall Ships... they come in every 10 years.. and I couldn't pass up this opportunity to meet up with her and take a TON of photographs!!

While in Boston.. they had the MOST AMAZING HUGE Market... We took the T into Boston so we could only grab a few things... otherwise.. I think we would have loaded up on fruits and veggies...

Radishes from the Market...

Along the way to seeking out Covered Bridges we found a few other gems like I said...this being one of them...

This is a Glacial Pothole.. the sign said it's been used for many many years especially for the Native Americans.. I've lived in this area now for 16 years and never knew this existed until we stumbled upon it.. look at old barns to photograph as well...

This is one of the old barns that we found.. I love the sign because it says it all!!!

This is an old Mill Called Blow Me Down Mill... I've searched on the history of it.. and just not sure exactly WHAT the Mill was used for.... but it's beautiful and deserved to be photographed at different angles...

I sure hope NONE ever tried going out that side door.. ha ha!! that's quite the drop.. but then again.. I'm sure there was some sort of different structure there in the past...

This is the Windsor VT/Cornish NH covered bridge.. this bridge joins the two states together over the Connecticut River.. This is the worlds longest two car wide bridge in the world and the longest bridge in the Northern Hemisphere.. and when you ride across it with your windows down .. you can still smell the wood... as if it were built yesterday...

This is the Birth Place of VT.. Windsor.. This is the Constitution House.. The first constitution to prohibit slavery and to establish universal manhood suffrage.

Windsor also had a Prison at one time... this is photo of an old prison cell that now is exposed to the outside world that is storing this kind of machinery in it.. what it is??? I don't know.. but the color and shapes caught my eye....

An Old Barn.. again in Windsor.. it reminds me of some sort of fairy tale story... especially with the strange door in the upper left hand corner.... this barn could tell a lot of stories I believe!!

Broken down saw horse.... with a nest!!! it's amazing how the nest blends into the color of the old wood...

This was seriously.. a drive by "click" shooting... I loved the three silo's and I happened to roll down the window and snap.. and kept driving..... I gave them a black and white effect due to the blurriness of the tree's I caught in the photo...

My other time consumer... BASEBALL!!! Our last game is Wednesday.. the Championship Game... The little men have done AMAZING this year.. they are 12-2..

How is your summer going so far? And great pictures or stories to tell.. tell me about them so I can peek and read them on your blog!!

2009-07-06T10:33:00.002-05:00

About a month ago we brought our son to a Pediatric Endocrinologist for some special testing due to his weight. Long story short our entire family has taken on the path to eating right and exercising even more. I'm very proud of my hubby and son for doing just that! They have lost a great amount of weight just this past month! And my son has added 500 calories to burn.. if not more.. to his exercise program. With in this first month people have already complimented him!

So I'm trying to be creative in our menu's.. trying to buy very LITTLE boxed items... and more fresh produce or frozen veggies... it's been hard.. my coupon days are pretty much over when it comes to food... BUT.. I'm okay with that.. if I have to sacrifice more for my food budget now.. than medical bills later... I'll be okay knowing that my family is maintaining a healthy life style.

I won't lie.. it hasn't been super easy.. but manageable enough that the three of us have become a great support system.. and it hasn't bothered me that I've lost 12lbs myself!! Ü

So.. here is a dish I made last night that was OUTSTANDING! And I thought I would share!

Triple Cheese-Spinach Manicotti

3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup finely shredded fresh parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and chopped --I omitted
3/4 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves,minced
1 ( 15-ounce) container fat-free ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained,and squeezed dry
1 large egg
12 manicotti shells, cooked without salt or fat
cooking spray
1 ( 26-ounce ) jar fire-roasted tomato and garlic pasta sauce ( such as Classico)-- I used what I had on hand

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well, and set aside
3. Spoon cheese mixture evenly into cooked manicotti, and arrange in a 13-X9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour pasta sauce over stuffed manicotti; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts.
Yields 6 servings WW points 8 points/serving.. however I kept out the pine nuts and if you check all the points for your items.. I believe you'll find that the point value is less... A green salad would compliment this dish!

Hope everyone had an AMAZING 4th of JULY!! Happy Birthday U.S. of A!

2009-07-03T06:09:00.005-05:00

I've been addicted to facebook!
Seriously!
But I sit here and wonder why? I mean.. I post little snippets daily and maybe one or two people respond... which is fine.. I understand.. but what am I really accomplishing? Am I liking the fact that I can be nosey in other peoples worlds? or am I looking for ways to find fault and annoyance in people?
I'm learning my time might just be more productive reading blogs and writing in my own!

So what have I been up to ... so much... still wondering when my tomorrow's became yesterdays... and how every days usually seems the same until one day out of the blue it doesn't!

So this past month...
My son graduated from 8th grade is going to be a freshman!
He joined BabeRuth Baseball
He's losing weight.. and doing a GREAT job at it..
My daughter Graduated highschool
Got scholarships that we didn't expect
is taking a trip solo for the first time
and is working hard
We also had a visit from my friends daughter... and I got to do some of her senior pics.. I was really excited to help out

Here are a bunch of pictures with her friends BEFORE graduation!!

Here she is with the Valedictorian.. they have been great friends since 3rd grade!

And here she is with the Salutatorian.. they have been friends since 1st grade and still going strong!

SHE GRADUATED!!!

After the graduation..and three hours of sitting!!!

It was a good night... we had some family here and around 10pm all the grads get together for one last night and celebrate...

Later on in the weeks.. we decided to go strawberry picking.. due to the TONS of amounts of rain that we are getting it was HARD to find ripe berries..

But we did find some amazing asparagus!!!

and because my time is running short already this morning.. I'll throw in a few pictures I did for my friends daughter... where they live there are no mountains or views like NH.. so she asked me to help her out.. and of course I said "sure"...

I tried to encourage her to wear other outfits... but she was dead set with these...

2009-05-18T21:22:00.004-05:00

It's that time of year again.. PROM!!
This is my daughter this year.. her Senior year.. her last prom ever.... along with her boyfriend.. whom she went to the prom with last year!
This years theme was the 50's... hopelessly devoted... to me.. it seemed like a Grease theme more than anything...

She decided to kick it up a notch this year and go as "Barbie"..

This photo was touched up by my awesome photoshop friend Wendy... the first picture looked like a construction Cone sat on my daughters arm!!

ahhh a Kiss

this is what we call.. "Sassy Barbie" and "Laid back Ken"

This is... "in the box" Pose...

Them being goofy and moving around and making faces..

And a few pictures before "Ken" showed up..

I just can't believe that graduation is right around the corner... and college is sitting right there....
I look in the mirror and wonder if I look the age of a senior in highschool soon to be college student.... and I just wonder.... how many times I blinked while she grew up into a young woman.... This year has just flown by... much faster than I thought.... I'm trying to savor every moment....

2009-05-10T10:54:00.008-05:00

A list I found this morning when I woke up... I thought it was too cute!

Psalm 139:13
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.

I became a mother two months after my 18 birthday. When most of my friends were going off to college and obtaining a degree for their future..I held my future in my arms.. I fed my future.. I bathed my future... I listened to my future cry... laugh... even sing... I even sang to my future...

The past 18 years plus.. I've had kids grace through my doorway... and even with Mother's Day yesterday.. I still had three boys here playing that were not "mine"...and that is ok.... because in a few years... those kiddos will have families of their own... and the house full of children will be gone.

For now.. I will continue to measure each child who walks through the door... for some reason.. all kids love to be measured to see who they are taller than.. or whose graced the doorway before them...

Someday when we sell our home... these two doorway moldings will have to come with us... I want to re-do my kitchen this summer.. but these have to stay.. until we move!!!

And just for some giggles.. these are the many children who have graced our doorway in the past 10 plus years.. here at this home....

I think sometimes my husband struggles with the fact that his older brother is now considered a part-time missionary and travels to Ecuador. He feels that his family has put him up on a pedestal and call him the "better" Christian... in truth there is NO GOOD Christian.... claiming to be a Christian means you recognize that you have faults... failure's... and you sin...
What my husband has to remember and I remind him ever so gently.. that we ARE missionary's.. we just don't have to leave our doorsteps and fly half way around the world.. to share God's love, mercy and grace... all we have to do is live by example...we don't have to ask for money.. and we don't have to post our goals on church bulletins or mail our pamphlets... We do this DAILY.. just not one week out of the year....

Even though these children didn't grow under our hearts... God has surely found many opportunities to have them grow in our hearts.. some of these children that have walked through my door have some sad stories to tell...but I'm hoping that each time they have or will walk through the door.. they can lay that sadness at the door and play and be a kid.. and enjoy a few hours of fun and laughter.. and most importantly... a loving home.

2009-05-03T16:13:00.002-05:00

I have to keep looking up.. and hopefully I will catch my opportunity when God says it's the right time.

I realize that I haven't blogged for almost a MONTH... and today as I was cruising web-sites and other blogs.. I realized that I've been missing a lot of the blogs that I normally read... really missing them... !!
As most of you know I really try to keep my blog positive... but this past month I haven't felt that way at all.. it seems like one thing after another my heart has fallen into a deep black hole...
I set my eyes on a goal 6 months ago that I thought the Lord really really wanted me to follow... I got excited.. and not once did I ever DOUBT that I wouldn't make it... Until a couple weeks ago my reality was shattered and I didn't accomplish what I thought the Lord wanted me to do.. so I spent some time in anger and sadness and wondering WHY??? Yeah.. I was a plain brat.. and wallowing in my own self pity... I still hurt.. but I'm taking my time and slowly picking myself back up and wiping my pride off of my hurt....

Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

I take this little bit of scripture and daily remind myself... that if you want to make God laugh.. tell Him YOUR plans.. and that's exactly what I did. Part of me truly thought they were HIS.. and they just might be.. but I was rushing something solely based on MY timing. I have NO doubt that God wants me to become something different.. but I KNOW in my heart and mind that I was rushing it because society was telling ME that I wasn't good enough at where I am today. My heart was PROUD.. but not in the PROUD that the Lord calls good.. but almost evil. It's taken a VERY VERY HARD FALL for me to realize this.. it doesn't mean my heart won't become prideful again.. but I will NOT take this kind of situation for granted again...
I acted like I was "owed" this opportunity... and I just might be... BUT.. I will get that opportunity when the Lord opens that door.. and hopefully.. prayerfully .. this time I will KNOW that it's the right time...

So this past month.. I acted like a spoiled brat... and I didn't want to come here and display that to you all.. YES.. I wanted people to feel BAD for me... but then again.. I was deathly sick of hearing... "I'll pray".. "God will let you know".. you see I KNOW all of this...but I wanted more.. and still do... BUT... now I have to sit quietly and wait...

I am happy to say that during this time I got a lot of reading done!! YAY!! And did a small amount of photography.. this being one of the Lily I bought at Easter time!

Hopefully I will come here more and post.. and to read more... I enjoy blogs..and because of my "tantrum".. I neglected myself in reading them...
Today is my 300th post... I hope to continue adding more!! and keeping it positive!!

2009-04-04T14:06:00.002-05:00

I again have been slacking in the Blog Life... and I'm sorry...

I've had a few things on my mind lately.. and bottom line is.. I've been pouting about a few things.
For the past six months I've been excited about a Journey I BELIEVED I would go on.. and take... I've been planning life around what I thought would be the perfect plan.. MY plan... always thinking that it was HIS plan as well.. I mean I planned the last six months on an 18 year wait.
This week I've come to face the fact that the past six months of planning has become useless.
I feel defeated
I feel embarrassed
I feel hopeless at some points
I know that MY God has NOT forsaken me... but.... I still wonder what HE has planned for me.
I don't know which direction to even go
I don't like having control of things..
It makes me MAD...

This is the human side of me coming out... I hate failure.. HATE IT! Even though some would say it's not failure.. it's just another turn in my "journey"... I have to wait to recognize this.

So there's my babble for the day..
What can I bring to this blog that is joyous?? Let me dig through my pictures to find something!

I took photos of the insert of what I believe were BHG magazine. I "won" a wicker set from freecycle last summer.. but towards the end of summer .. so I didn't do anything with them.. now that summer is approaching I can take them out of storage.. scrub them up and paint them.. and I found a couple pictures to "copy" and give me ideas...

I'm NOT an orange fan.. but I like the idea of the room and I do like the style of the cushions.. My MIL doesn't know it yet.. but she's going to be sewing with me for cushions for the wicker set!

I have an enclosed porch.. sometimes I like that.. and other times I like pictures like these..I wish the sun was out all the time.. and we could just sit out here drinking lemonade and reading books...

And here's another picture that I love.. my kids when they were around 6 and 1... They are still this close and this happy even though they are 18 and 13... I hope it continues on... for the rest of their lives!!
So what are some things that are making you happy lately?

2009-03-22T10:46:00.005-05:00

Once Upon a Time there was a young mom who lived in a city who wanted to venture out to another city....
She went out with her debit card and check book.. and hit the thrift stores.. so everyone called her The FrugalFlipFlop Mom...

One day her husband asked her if he could go up into another city and buy an XBOX 360 for him and the son.. The FrugalFlipFlop Mom.. was thinking this is NOT so frugal but agreed anyway under the condition that she gets to hit the thrift stores.

Her husband thought this was a good idea..So they packed the kids in the car and went on a little trip. And she put on her flipflops for the first time in a long time...( yeah.. it's quite noticeable that she needs a pedicure.. but let's not embarrass her anymore in this story)

Once they were at The FrugalFlipFlop Mom's destination she reminded her hubby "Don't dawdle to long and don't spend unnecessary money.. and don't talk to strangers who want you to spend more money"..

"Don't worry hunny, I'll be careful" was the words that came out of her hubby's mouth...

But when The FrugalFlipFlop Mom walked into the Thrift stores she believed all bets were off to her...
My.. what wonderful items are here....
So she went out in search of great treasures..

SUDDENLY treasures came popping from everywhere... and her daughter breaks her train of thought and says "What are you looking for in here"...
The FrugaFlipFlopl Mom Replied "I'm on my way to a journey of finding treasures what ever jumps out at me"
She realized she only have a little bit of time so she excused herself and went straight to treasure hunting...

Other Patrons had no chance in getting items of greats like The Frugal FlipFlop Mom.. she gave them no time and gobbled up all the good deals...
The Frugal FlipFlop Mom gave out a sigh of excitement.. when she found these two pyrex bowls for half off...
"my what a wonderful deal I found".. she said..

She couldn't help but take a good close up look at one of the bowls she grabbed...

A few minutes later The Frugal FlipFlop Mom spied a doll from her childhood.. or.. was it a fake..?

Ahh is it true.. is it really you?
"Oh how lovely to see you... you're coming with me"...
Upon inspection she could scarcely remember if it was the true doll from her childhood...
"Let's see what happens when I flip you around"..

"Why Grandmother what a lovely face you have.. it's still in great condition"...

"Ahh what lovely eyes you have... "...

"What lovely ears you have"....

"ahhh ummm.. what lovely.. teeth you have??? ok.. well maybe they could use some work"?
The Frugal FlipFlop Mom was about to leave her and run to the other side of the thrift store.. but her lovely daughter came in and rescued her and the doll.. She encouraged her to bring it home and fix it up a bit...
She said "Frugal FlipFlop Mom haven't you learned an important lesson.. never leave something behind that you truly love and leave behind what you think you can do without"...

Her daughter was so right... The Frugal FlipFlop Mom was so excited that her daughter taught her an important lesson that day... "Those with the most coolest thrift store finds WINS"....

The End...

P.S. I.. umm I mean SHE bought these amazing milk white "dishes" for Easter decorations and she can't wait to use them and decorate with them...

2009-03-15T08:03:00.004-05:00

I was ALMOST in a panic... I didn't think I would be able to post pictures today with Blogger... in fact using my Mozilla Firefox.. I can't.. so I had to log on IE.. So I'm going to have to play with Mozilla and try to figure out if someone downloaded something they weren't suppose to... Any ideas what it could be?

Meanwhile... I was looking at bloggers home page and realized my Florida pictures are still there... I said to myself... that's BAD! My trip was two months ago.. and I've seriously have neglected my blog...

Last Monday.. looking out my window... this is what you could see...

Do you see those Azaleas SCREAMING to come out...???

And this is my poor poor Nellie girl.. waiting for the snow to melt so she can go outside and chase her ball around.. and eat her sticks... right now.. bouncing the tennis ball off our dinning room wall isn't cutting it for her!! So Mr. Sun.. can you just shine down a bit more on us... It's been a long winter.. and I'd love to see the crocuses pop up this year!!

Ever get a strange craving?? Well I did.. I know this is NOT new.. or inventive.. but I'm sure it's something that not everyone makes on a daily basis... Ü

I was craving grilled chicken, cheddar cheese and apples all on a toasted sandwich.. so that's what I made.....I wish I had caramelized onions to throw in there as well...

Here's what I did...

I grilled my chicken.. and then placed it on the sandwich.. I already cut my chicken breast in half to double the breast amount for meals... but if you don't.. you could cut it in half length wise and make it fit the entire piece of bread...

Then I layered it with a cored apple.. see where I went off to the side with the corer.. oopsss.. still tasted fine to me...

then I topped it with a few pieces of cheddar cheese.. hey.. I figure if I'm going to "fry" this up in the pan.. what will the extra cheese hurt??? Then I grilled it like a "grilled cheese"..

And Voila... here is my final sandwich...I think it tasted pretty good.. and gave a hint of summer flavor.. nice and light and easy on those hot lazy days...

2009-03-08T08:36:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it.. We are the 50th state.. the FINAL state....The "Live Free or Die" state....

To pass a mandatory seatbelt law... I mean seriously.. why did it take so long?

CONCORD, N.H.—The New Hampshire House has voted in favor of a bill to make the Granite State the last U.S. jurisdiction to require all drivers and passengers to wear seat belts.

Under current law, only minors have to buckle up. The bill calls for a primary law, meaning police can pull over motorists solely for not wearing seat belts. Twenty-five states have primary laws, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

New Hampshire would receive $3.7 million in federal grants if it passes a primary law. The bill applies to all vehicles except large school buses, cars made before 1968 and vehicles making frequent stops for business purposes. Violators would face a $50 fine for the first offense and a $100 fine for each additional offense.

Can you believe people want to change our "motto" because they feel that wearing our sit belts takes away our "rights".. pffff.. I'm more ticked off that I can't burn wood in my own yard in a confined stove.. seat belts are a habit for me... but roasting marshmallow's over coal is stinky compared to burning wood... now that is a CRIME!!

2009-02-27T21:18:00.002-05:00

I'm SAD!!

I'm sad.. because I haven't made enough time lately for blogging
I'm sad.. because I noticed I lost some followers.. sigh...
I'm sad.. because SPRING just doesn't seem any closer
I'm sad.. because I feel like eating the world.. one brownie at a time..
I'm sad.. because I've become addicted to facebook and if I spent less time there.. it would be more time here
I'm sad.. because I haven't read more blogs that I have been reading....
I'm sad.. because I WANT more energy...
I'm sad.. because I make lists and don't complete them...
I'm sad.. because my kitchen floor is dirty and I don't care at the moment...
I'm sad.. because I haven't had much to say... because I'm in that rut in the home....
I'm sad.. because... well.. I'm sad!!

Hopefully tomorrow the sunshine.. will shine... and I'll be glad!!

2009-02-23T21:23:00.001-05:00

1 thing 2 do 3 words 4 you

I'm so loving this song right now!!!!! had to share it with you!

2009-02-21T10:15:00.002-05:00

I got this award from my dear friend Wendy over at WeSnLaNi....

It's taken me awhile to actually post this.. Here's what I have to do...

* A) First list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!
* B) Pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

Ok.. so here goes nothing....

1)Everyday I have woken up and have thought that it's one more day closer to me starting my LNA course and I can't wait! This will be one step closer to nursing school.

2)I have to paint my dining room. I have stripped the wallpaper a few weeks ago.. bought the paint but still have NOT painted it..

3) I love to take pictures... but right now I'm at a loss of what to take pictures of.. It could be the weather?

4) I have random piggybanks stashed around my house.. and I have a BAD habit of tucking $ away and forgetting where I put it.. I found $20 cleaning out my medicine cabinet.

5)I signed up for facebook even though I said I NEVER would..

6)I can't tell you the last time I scrapbooked.. and that's sad for someone who has all this "stuff".

7)My house is a MESS.. yes.. a complete MESS and I haven't cared about it in the last week or so.. which is completely ODD for me.. because I stress over mess!!

I pass this award onto 7 other bloggers....

Tammy over at Mommasong
Glitzen over at saddlepotatoes
Kerry over at Curly Girl
Mere over at The Babblings of Mere
Sandy over at Jesus and Dark Chocolate

Sorry for my lack of posting.. I've been working more.. and when I get home I just want to crash.. so I'm TRYING to read blogs.. I really am.. so forgive me if I've been slacking... it doesn't me I don't love you.. or you're losing my interest.. cause you're not!!!

2009-02-12T16:56:00.004-05:00

My last post.. I promise.. of Florida... Ü
On my last day in Florida.. I had a choice of what I really wanted to do... of course.. I LOVE Disney.. and really wanted to go to one park... but for financial reasons we couldn't head that way.. and I was ok with that... so we did what I call "Poor Man's Disney"... We went to Downtown Disney... I love shops and all the trinkets and things so I was totally satisfied with this journey...

But on the way.. I did a driveby "shooting".. of the Gates to Disney World...

Funny how when we address Disney.. we never call it Walt Disney World.. or Walt Disney Land...
I just realized that this sign uses Walt's name on it.. and this is the third time I've been there!

We made our first stop at non other than McDonald's.. we got the "kids" happy meals so that they weren't starving through our visit!!

This is Joey.. she's in love with the hamburgler ... LOL LOL.. she took my camera and took random pictures of tourists... I'm surprised they didn't demand for her to get rid of those pictures.. she even took Julio's picture.. our server.. he didn't smile.. I don't think he was impressed.. LOL LOL.. sorry Julio...

There was a new exhibit for us.. called the T-Rex.. This dinosaur.. was life size... It actually scared me.. it does the whole "roar".. thing and moves... and it was LOUD!! I couldn't stay in there long.. and this was a place to eat.. and they had a Build a "Rex" shop inside!!

Here's Kat and I goofing around... she seriously looks like a little kid.. I think this is the BEST picture of her in all my pics.. I chose to be squished by Mr. Potato Head!! LOL LOL!

I love this sign.. and I LOVE how BLUE the sky was that day.. something I haven't seen in NH for a LONG time!! it was warm.. and heavenly!! This is the place three years ago that I had my first batch of Spinach and Artichoke Dip... that's when I went on a mission to make one as good as theirs.. and I found it!! ( yes.. I know I have to share!!)

I had to throw in this picture.. it has the Disney sign.. along with the house of blues!!

One of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE characters...
My daughter and I use to walk around the house singing ALL Aladdin and Little Mermaid Songs.. this was one of our favorites!!!

Then we headed down to the Disney Boardwalk.. NICE NICE place to stay!!!
I had to make the stop to ESPN sportsbar and buy hubby a little something.. He LOVES their glasses.. and mugs.. so that's what we picked up.. and then decided to eat our dinner there!! GREAT food.. and we had the BEST waiter.. ( wish I had taken his picture).. he chatted up with us.. was SUPER great.. the best WAITSTAFF I have ever encountered in my life... so if you go to the ESPN sports bar.. ask for DREW!! He has a crazy southern drawl too... I loved it!!

Here's one of the sights from the boardwalk.. EPCOT!! I remember being young.. and hearing about other kids going to see this.. and I use to be green with ENVY!!!
The first time we went.. my son was in the third grade... and at the time. his teacher told him to do a report on all the things he had learned while he was there.. so we purposely did the educational stuff.. took tons of pictures.. etc..
When we got home we got a posterboard.. shared some pictures and wrote about the things we ( he) had learned...... He brought it in to school and the teacher refused to look at it.. or let him display it to class for a grade.. she said all it would do is "TEASE" other kids... I was FURIOUS with her... we did what she asked.. and then she told us we were being "snooty" and "showoffs"... that was NOT our intent at all... from there you could guess our teacher/parent relationship with sour... But don't get me started on the whole.. " we don't want to hurt feelings in school thing"... Disappointment will happen to all of us...

This was my flight back home.. see the LONG BLACK line.. that's the Hudson River... our Pilot kindly told us as we were flying over it... LOL LOL~~
Over all my trip was 4 days and it was fun and relaxing!! and I hope to do it again next winter.. ( can't go to FL in the summer .. it's WAY TO HOT!).. I already miss my friend :( and her daughters.. it's sad that they are so far away.. but.. I understand why....

My next post.. I'm talking about failure.. I failed at something lately.. and YES... I'm going to share about it...

If you're my facebook friend.. all my disney pictures are up.. if you're not my friend and want to be... send me an e-mail and I'll send you my name!!

2009-02-08T09:14:00.003-05:00

I hope I'm not boring you with more Florida Pictures..
I just have to share..
On my third day there.. we decided to go do something I had never seen before...
Watch the Manatee!
We went to Blue Springs National Park ( I believe that's the name)..We had to get up really early as all the Manatee come into the spring where it's a constant 72 degrees before the Ocean Waters warm up for the day.. This day there were 201 in sight!

This is Britt again.. as you can tell.. she's an actress.. she was standing in front of some informative board.. I never did get to read it... LOL LOL

Crazy me.. I had to take more pictures of the landscape.. I mean seriously we just don't have this stuff in NH.. and everything was pretty GREEN vs the WHITE and BROWN you see here.. Apparently the springs water was extremely low as it's suppose to go up to the roots of some of these trees that you see.

More Green AND Spanish Moss.. I love that stuff!!

Those two birds sat there the WHOLE time we were there.. there was so many people.. but it didn't seem to bother them one bit.. I have no idea what kind of bird they are.. but they were kind of funny to watch..

Ok.. one more Spanish Moss.. this tree was AMAZINGLY HUGE!!

Here is a Manatee.. this is probably one of the best pictures I got.. this one swam really close to where we were standing.. Sadly I didn't see ONE really come up out of the water like I had hoped for....

For the most part though they stayed in packs and every now and again you would see their little fins come up out of the water... or the tip of their nose for air...

More... there are actually babies in this one... ahhhhh...

My friends beautiful daughters...

And again.. neither one of them are camera shy.. AT.ALL!

So we sat in this big hollowed out tree trunk.. and we were taking pictures...doing goofy faces and what not... and on this shot... someone ( girl in the pink) came up behind the tree and "I seeeeeeeeee youuuuuuuuuuu".. we just laughed.. but I was kind of like.. "huh"??? Then she booked it.. we had to laugh cause it was probably something we would have done!!! ha ha!!

2009-02-05T12:23:00.002-05:00

Second night in Florida!!
My second night I was dreadfully tired! So we decided to lay low and grab a few people and play the BEST game EVER!!

I LOVE this game... if you have never played it.. you seriously NEED to adopt friends.. family members .. ANYONE and grab this game and PLAY.. It's hysterical.. I haven't laughed so hard like this in awhile. I played with some CRAZY cast of characters as well... !!
But FIRST...

Before we could play any game... we had to make Spinach and Artichoke Dip!! MY WAY!! and YES it's better than Applebee's hands down!! They all said so...

This is Joelle.. Kathleen and I.. YES!! I... I am the wierdo with the "orange" looking hair in this photo.. I don't even remember what we were doing.. other than being silly!!!

This is Harley again.. WAITING for food to be dropped!! This dog was EVERYWHERE you turned!!

Here are the Players.. Britt.. Joey.. their cousin Mikey.. and Kat....( she is taking pics while I'm taking pics. LOL LOL.. but she's an amazing photographer... )...

Joey got a point!!

Britt.. having way to much fun with my camera... STILL!!! She is a riot though!! She can make anyone laugh at a drop of a hat!!

And here's Kat.. I'm telling you.. this game is FUN!!! super fun!!!

Ok.. so the night was winding down... I think I ate to much.. and was ready for some sleep.... But I would do it again in a heartbeat!!

This youtube clip is hilarious!!! I have no idea who these people are.. but this is exactly the way were were!!!! It's so hard to keep a straight face on some of these answers!!

2009-02-02T17:28:00.005-05:00

I have a confession... I've been home for a week.. and have been LAZY about blogging my mini trip.. I took an OBNOXIOUS amount of pictures so this might have to be a 2 or 3 parter... I did have an AMAZING time.. it went by so fast.. and secretly.. I didn't miss home... well.. ok.. maybe by Monday I was waiting to get home!
I visited FLORIDA.. I've been there three times now in my life.. and have enjoyed every trip I've taken! I visited my friend Kat whom I've talked about in the past. She did not have ANY idea that I was coming to visit her.. so with the help of her daughters.. she took time off of work.. and thought she was doing an array of different things with them.. but in truth.. it was free time for us!

Her husband, herself and I went out for Breakfast on Friday Morning... They took me to a Bob Evans .. well this New England girl had never heard of this place ( and remember.. I don't eat out a lot)...

This is Kat .. showing me Bob Evan's Famous Biscuit and Gravy... I couldn't eat any of this since the gravy had pork in it.. so I took her word for it.. but had to take a picture.. she was so proud!!

This was the scene coming out of Bob Evans.. hmm which way to go?? There really was no wrong way was there?

We ended stopping at one of her husband's friend's house.. while we were waiting for the men to stop gabbing ( I swear men can gab more than women).. we walked his property and found pretty flowers ( do you know what this flower is??? if so can you tell me).. I took TONS of pictures of the flowers and mother-in-laws tongue...

And the Spanish Moss.. This stuff is strange and amazing!! I'd only seen this stuff sold in bags at craft stores... to see it in real life.. it's quite amazing!! Well.. at least it was to me.. Ü

Later in the day we went to "DeLand"... This is a really cute and quaint kind of town...

We Drove up to the Athens Theatre... This is BEAUTIFUL!! and newly restored! Because Kat's daughter is theatrical ( can you see her on the left standing at the corner?) We got to tour the inside....

I was impressed with the inside.. I really love the balcony boxes BUT.. it really didn't compare to the Opera House we have here in my own town! It's probably half the size which REALLY surprised me for being in Florida.. Where there is so much action... But it is still beautiful none the less..

I was waiting for the Muppet's to jump up and start laughing.. Yeah.. You know the ones I'm talking about...
.
Statler and Waldorf!!! But.. to me.. they are "Marley and Marley".. you know.. from my favorite movie... The Muppet Christmas Carol...

And for those of you that are to young.. here's a mini clip...
( Gosh.. I always bounce around when I write my blog!!)

This is my friends Daughters future "Room"... you know.. here's a serious question though.. ?? How does a blind person KNOW to touch the sign on the wall that they can't see???

As we were walking the down town of DeLand.. we stopped at a few Thrift Stores.. this was one room inside one of the stores.. I FELL in LOVE with this room... If you look close in the top right hand corner.. they had a metal picnic basket with utensils inside.. for $7.00 I thought it was a steal.. but I left it there.. along with that BEAUTIFUL Hoosier Cabinet... sighhhhhhhhh... and all those little trinkets.. some were old.. some were new... but once I walked in you could hear Kat and her daughter giggle and said "We lost her"...

This is their new edition to their family.. Harley the Pit Bull... BUT don't let the name fool you .. this dog is a LOVER! a HUGE baby.. I could NOT believe how friendly and mild mannered this dog was... I know .. some of you are saying.. "That dog will turn on anyone in a heartbeat".. but in truth.. ANY dog will turn on a heartbeat... and this is coming from a gal her had her face bitten almost off when I was 4 by a family pet...!! It's truly amazing how I have NO fear of dogs what so ever!! NONE!

That should be enough for today.. I will add a few more pics and stories in the next few days... I have AMAZING pictures to share.. of things I've never seen in my life!!! So stay tuned!!

2009-01-21T22:33:00.001-05:00

I'm going where my toes won't get cold
I'm going where I can wear my flip-flops for at least 4 days
I'm going where my living room won't be full of 13-14 year old boys
I'm going where the sun will shine down on my face
I'm going, but I won't be gone for long....

And I'm going ...ALONE!
I'm loving it!

2009-01-19T08:14:00.004-05:00

I normally don't do this a lot.. but I found this blog.. actually I read about it and went over to peek...

It is the CUTEST... and not only is it cute and frugal.. she is giving the coolest REUSABLE sacks away from hotSACKS. I don't know about you.. but I'm getting tired of all the plastic bags that I save up and cram in my pantry... these would be an adorable addition to that cause...
I absolutely ADORE these bags...
So RUN over to JANE4girls$800annualbudget .. and put your name in to win!!!

2009-01-17T19:08:00.001-05:00

You know...
I read many many blogs... and try to comment on them all....
Today..
I felt that I had to share this blog I read... all the time...
It took me a few reads to realize that the talent behind this blog was from a HighSchooler!
Her wisdom and encouragement is above and beyond...

So.. if you have nothing to do.. do me a favor.. and go visit my awesome Blog Friend Mere....

The Babblings of Mere and leave her a comment!! I thought I would do this RAOK for today.. for her...

2009-01-16T18:09:00.004-05:00

It's Seriously To Cold to Blog....

I can deal with mounds and mounds of snow.. but the FREEZING WEATHER.. that bugs me.. that holds me in my home.. and drives me INSANE!! This morning.. at 8:30 am on my way to work.. my car read MINUS 13 degrees.. and the wind was blowing.. so what was the real temp? I don't even WANT to know...

Thought I would share some lovely pictures of New England...
This is my poor neighbor across the street.. I took this picture out my front window... she's all snowed in...

And these are just some random pictures I took trying out my lens on my camera.. I tend to ignore one of my lenses.. so I pulled it out and played with it..

With it being so cold.. I ran to my local library to grab a few books out.. I think everyone else in town had the same idea because the "new book" shelves were pretty bare. I did however find the latest book in the Elm Creek Quilters Series. I was kind of disappointed when I picked up the book and noted that it was "small" in size...

The story was VAGUE.. and a quick read.. I'm talking an HOURS read.. the story is "enveloped" in between a series of recipes. Now don't get me wrong.. I LOVE recipes.. you all know that.. but there was truly NO "meat" to this story. If you have read ANY of the books in this series you would understand my disappointment. Jennifer Chiaverini is an EXCELLENT author with amazing talents to dig up history and intertwine them with today's characters. This book gave no such talent. At one point.. I almost said "forget it" and was going to return it.. but I gave in and finished it... I don't feel that her story of the Elm Creek Quilters ends here.. so I will be looking forward to another book in the series in the future.

Now this book... I LOVED it.. it's a new spin off series of the "Yada Yada" Novels
This book is a bit more serious than the other books in the previous series.. but it WILL suck you in right away.. and you will bond with the character right off...
Here is what the author says about the book

Gabrielle Fairbanks has nearly lost touch with the carefree, spirited young woman she was when she married her husband sixteen years ago. But when the couple moves to Chicago to accommodate Philip’s ambition, Gabby longs for the chance to find real purpose in her own life.

A chance encounter with a homeless woman suddenly opens a door she never expected. The women of Manna House Women’s Shelter need a Program Director—and she has the right credentials. Gabby’s in her element, feeling God’s call on her life at last, even though Philip doesn’t like the changes he sees in her. But she never anticipated his ultimatum: quit your job at the shelter or risk divorce and losing custody of our sons.
In this moment, Gabby’s entire foundation shifts. She must find refuge, as in the song they sing at Sunday worship: “Where do I go when there’s no one else to turn to . . . I go to the Rock I know that’s able, I go to the Rock.”

At the end of this book I was so ANGRY.. ANGRY at one of the characters.. and a bit upset with the Author for leaving it where it ended.. and then realizing the next book doesn't come out until September.... When will I learn to read a series AFTER all the books have come out.. Ü

2009-01-11T08:36:00.004-05:00

I'm ADDICTED.. and I can't help it... I never in my life thought I would love a video game... NEVER... but this isn't your ordinary video game I guess....
My son bought...

I have never laughed so much.. I have never ignored so many things in my life to rock out to this!! Ok.. I'll admit it.. back in the 80's/90's I had my fair share of Rock Out Days.. YES.. I was one of those girls who used a can of aqua net a week.. ( sorry.. wasn't aware of the ozone back then like I am now.. or should I truly say I didn't care back then?). I saw so many bands in concert... and even went to a Motley Crue concert severely sick with Mononucleosis .. I landed in the hospital two days later... I had lost 30lbs that summer running the roads.. hanging out with friends.. working... and waiting to see the next hair band. You secretly want to know who my favorite band was??????? GUESS!!! That is if you remember the hair bands!! LOL LOL!!
Would I shock you if I told you my basement has Albums ( yes those record things) with "original" album covers to some bands back then.
A girl friend and I use to run to the record stores ( remember those) and grab the album the day it came out because we KNEW that the covers would soon be "banned" from the public.. thanks to Tipper Gore ( we weren't fans of hers back in the day)... But now being a mother.. I can understand WHY she went that route...
So now in my basement I have album covers that wouldn't SHOCK the public now.. like they would have 20 years ago...

That went a direction I didn't plan... so back to the Rock Band.. NONE of the boys that come and play want to sing... sooooooooooo GUESS who gets to sing... YUP.. you're "talking" to her!! I got to say... I usually kick the other members butt's with the final score.. my highest... 99% on Expert.. Thank You Bon Jovi for the endless nights and days running around singing your songs.. when others thought it would get me NO WHERE.. boy were they WRONG!!! It got me to be the TOP PERFORMER on ROCK BAND!!!!!! WOO HOO!!! LOL LOL LOL...
And something I realized... I guess I NEVER really knew all the TRUE words to Hungry Like the Wolf... ooopsss Sorry Duran Duran...

NOW!! What I would like to see.. is some Contemporary Christian Rock Band Groups!! Hey.. a Girl Can dream... right?

2009-01-04T19:48:00.005-05:00

King Arthur has to be one of my favorite places about living in New England. Once you walk through their open doors ... it's like you're stepping in to a whole new world... even if you don't bake/cook something will draw you in.. if it's not the fresh baked goods.. it could be the huge cookie cutters or even the gigantic chocolate chips that you're dreaming about biting into!

When their catalog comes to me.. I paw through it to try and bake something from their recipes inside of their catalog. I'll be honest.. NOT all the recipes draw me in.. but there is always one that catches my eye.

Golden Focaccia was one of them. I see these breads in the grocery store ALL the time.. and dream of eating one... once I catch a look at the price I usually end up putting it back and declining the offer. After making one of these breads this weekend ( yes weekend)... I realized that maybe those prices aren't so obnoxious after all.

I do want to make mention that I think the instructions for this recipe were some what poorly written... someone like myself who bakes/cooks all the time had me scratching my head at one part... and as I sat there and wondered.. I went with my instincts on what to do. *** I added my own pictures to show you what I did a bit different.

I left this overnight... those black "specks" are actually air bubbles

Starter

* 1/2 cup cool water
* 1/16 teaspoon instant or active dry yeast
* 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose

I threw the dough in the bread machine so I could walk away and do other things... The recipe tells you that you can do this.. HOWEVER.. it doesn't tell you if the first rise in the machine is "actually" your first rise of a two hour period.. So I made it so...

This is me poking it to have it deflate for the second rise...

This is the dough in a lightly greased bowl.. I let rise one more hour....
Dough

* 2 teaspoons instant yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
* 1/2 cup lukewarm water*
* all of the starter (above)
* 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
* 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
* 2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* *Use 1 tablespoon less in summer (or in a humid environment), 1 tablespoon more in winter (or in a dry climate).

Topping

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
* 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt

Here.. I rolled it out and had to let it rise YET.. again...for about 2 more hours....

After the 2 or so hours.. I had to "dimple" the bread... I wasn't impressed with the "crusty" appearance of the dough... but in the end... it really didn't matter.....
Directions

1) To make the starter: Mix the water and 1/16 teaspoon yeast, then add the flour, stirring till the flour is incorporated. The starter will be paste-like; it won't form a ball.

2) Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 14 hours; the starter will be bubbly. If you make this in the late afternoon, it'll be ready to go by the next morning.

3) To make the dough: If you're using active dry yeast, dissolve it with a pinch of sugar in 2 tablespoons of the lukewarm water. Let the yeast and water sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, until the mixture has bubbled and expanded. If you're using instant yeast, you can skip this step.

4) Combine the dissolved yeast (or instant yeast) with the remaining dough ingredients, and mix and knead—by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle—to make a soft, smooth dough. If you're kneading in a stand mixer, it should take about 7 minutes at second speed.

5) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 1 hour.

6) Gently deflate it, and allow it to rise for another hour; it should have doubled in bulk from its original volume.

7) Lightly grease an 18" x 13" baking sheet with a rim (or two 9" x 13" pans) with non-stick vegetable oil spray. Drizzle olive oil atop the spray; the spray keeps the bread from sticking, while the olive oil gives the bottom crust great crunch and flavor.

8) If you're using the baking sheet, gently pull and shape the dough into a rough rectangle, and pat it into the pan. As soon as it begins to fight you and shrink back, stop patting. If you're using two 9" x 13" pans, divide the dough in half, shape each half into a rough rectangle, and pat one piece into each pan. When the pieces start to shrink back, stop patting. Wait 15 minutes; pat the dough farther towards the edges of the pan(s). Repeat once more, if necessary, till the dough is close to covering the bottom of the pan(s).

9) Cover the pan, and allow the dough to rise till it's very puffy, almost billowy. This will take about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

10) Gently dimple the dough at irregular intervals with your fingers, pressing down firmly, but not abruptly; you don't want to deflate it too much.

11) Spritz heavily with warm water, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil (or enough to collect a bit in the dimples), then sprinkle with rosemary (or the herb of your choice), black pepper, and a bit of coarse salt, to taste.

12) Bake the focaccia for about 10 minutes. Reverse the pan(s) in the oven (top pan on the bottom, bottom pan on the top), and bake until the focaccia is light golden brown, about another 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven, and immediately turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.

Here was my final result....

My final thought.. this is definitely a bread that needs to be dipped in a flavored oil ( As king arthur recommends)... or it will be a NICE compliment to a green salad! I took it out of the oven about 30 minutes ago and before I sat to blog... half of it was already gone....with thumbs up!!
So if you have a whole weekend to dedicate to make this flat bread... go ahead and give it a whirl...

2009-01-02T19:41:00.005-05:00

Happy New YEAR!!!!
I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL 2009
I know I'm looking forward to forgetting about 2008 and moving forward!

This past Christmas I made a soup for my in-laws. They have become.. vegetarians.. or should I say they are trying to change the way they eat. I wanted to make them something that they could eat and NOT worry about eating. I cruised on-line and found a FABULOUS soup!!

My intent is to always try and photograph what I cook and share it here.. but I NEVER remember to do it... but the night before Christmas.. I remembered.. so I'm going to share some pics with you.. it's NOT step by step.. well.. cause I did FORGET to take some pictures in between... so I will share what I have...

Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Soup with Caramelized Vidalia Onions from THIS site.

1 lg. butternut squash (about 3 lbs.)
1 head of garlic
2 lg. vidalia onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 C. of vegetable broth
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dry, rubbed sage
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
salt, to taste

Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Cut butternut squash in half. Remove stringy insides and seeds. Discard.

3. Place squash halves in a roasting pan, skin-side-down. Roast 20 minutes.

4. With a sharp knife, cut off the top of the head of garlic, leaving cloves barely exposed. Drizzle with olive oil and place garlic in pan with squash.

5. Roast squash and garlic together about 20 minutes more, until squash is very tender.

6. While squash is cooking, caramelize onions. Combine onions and 1-2 tbsp. olive oil in a hot skillet.

7. Sprinkle with sage, salt, and pepper. Saute until brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally.

8. Remove squash and garlic from the oven and allow to cool about 15 minutes before handling. Scrape out squash flesh and squeeze out garlic cloves.

9. Bring vegetable broth to a simmer in a large pot. Add squash, garlic, and 3/4 of the caramelized onions.

10. Simmer 5 minutes, then blend with an immersion blender. (Alternately, you can blend squash, onions, and garlic together with a food processor before adding to vegetable broth.)

11. Add basil and more salt and pepper to taste.

12. Simmer 15-20 minutes. Top each bowl with remaining caramelised onions.

In the recipe it calls for you to bake the squash for about 40 minutes.. I'll be honest.. it took me a little over an hour to get it soft... and I still felt it could have been cooked awhile longer... But this is the squash and the garlic cooked together... I had all I could do not to take a bite of this!!

In the mean time I had to caramelize my onions... so I took some butter and a chunk of brown sugar and melted it together... ( great measurements there.. huh?)

then added my onions and cooked them on medium until they turned a nice golden brown...

I could eat these alone with a spoon and be in heaven!!!

The final result... mmmmmmm it was nice and thick and WARM.. I served it up with my Sunflower seed bread! I have to say it really ended up being a hit!

This is what I'm reading now... I've had this book for about 2 or 3 years ..I bought it and at first didn't seem interested in it.. so back on my shelf it went... Now I'm REALLY enjoying it!! and actually can't wait to read the others that go along with it!!

2008-12-23T16:20:00.001-05:00

Wishing you the Merriest, Happiest Christmas From our Home to Yours!!

The Meaning of the
Candy Cane

The fascinating story behind the candy cane ...
The birth, ministry, and death of
Jesus Christ are signified through
the elements of the candy cane ~

JESUS CHRIST is ....
our Good Shepherd (staff shape) ~ 1 Pt. 5:4
our Rock (hard candy) ~ 1 Cor. 10:4
our Sinless Savior (white) ~ 2 Cor. 5:21
our Sacrifical Lamb (red) ~ Eph. 1:7

The STRIPES symbolize pain inflicted upon
Jesus before his death on the cross and a bold
stripe to represent the blood he shed for
mankind. The three stripes can also represent
the power and presence of the Trinity
(the Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

The smell and taste of PEPPERMINT relate
to the herb hyssop. Psalm 51:7 states,
"Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean,
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

The candy cane is meant to be shared --
broken into pieces for all to share. That
reminds us of Jesus' words, "This is my body
which is broken for you" (1 Cor. 11:24).
What a sweet way to share the Gospel !

And you just thought it was good candy :-)

2008-12-19T21:51:00.000-05:00

Just CAUSE!!! LOVING the NEW CD!!

2008-12-11T20:02:00.005-05:00

GREETINGS!!
Forgive me for not writing more.. with my new job venture I haven't made the time to blog.. I spend my nights cleaning the house so when I leave the next morning.. my heart won't sink.. if there is a sink full of dishes or laundry hanging around!

Thought I would share our Christmas tree that we cut down..

This was our FIRST choice for our tree... it was HUGE.. but we had all decided this was the ONE... until hubby bent down to cut it down.. and proclaimed that it wasn't happening because it had TWO bases.. NOT ONE.. so it was two trees grown together...
So we went with this one.. we trimmed up the bottom a bit so it doesn't look shabby...
TIMBER!!!!

It pays to have a BIG and STRONG husband.. he carried that tree and that was baled up!!
Now it's up and decorated.. and I'll share a picture of it later... I'm still playing with my new camera and want to get a GREAT night time picture...

On a sad note.. my dear sweet daughter got this letter...

I can NOT take the credit in writing it.. I got it off the twopeas message board.. I giggled the whole time preparing it.. BUT... get this.. Went to the post office and the lady would NOT.. absolutely REFUSED to let me buy ONE Christmas Stamp.. I could buy a book BUT NOT ONE stamp.. how ridiculous is that????? I did NOT buy the book.. you want to do something stupid like that.. I'm not buying it..

There is a fabulous blog out there.. that gave me this idea... Capture the Moment...they make great gift "packages" for $$

How are all your holiday preparations coming along????

2008-12-03T18:36:00.004-05:00

This past Monday I had a day off... to do what I wanted... I had planned on cleaning the WHOLE house... and decorating it .. AFTER it was completely cleaned... I GOT sidetracked... as usual...I ran over to VT to run to a store.. and then I told hubby we were headed to the thrift store there... he wasn't impressed.. BUT OK.. about it..

I can't even BEGIN to tell you the SWEET treasures I found there... VINTAGE sweet TREASURES... I know some will look at these and say "she's crazy.. this is junk.. I threw this stuff away YEARS ago"....

I was TICKLED.. ELATED.. and I couldn't wait to get home and take pictures of it all to share here... sadly.. it's taken me 2 days to get the energy to share...

I found this tablecloth.. I am NOT a rose fan.. but I could not pass this up for .50cents...

This was probably my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FIND!! a Cloth vintage Christmas Table Cloth.. My heart stopped.. then my feet stopped... I GASPED and touched it.. and quickly threw it into my arms.. and had such a GRIN on my face.. if I walked out with nothing else from there.. I would have been OK!

But it didn't stop there...

I found these...

Too CUTE for words..

I will definitely be using these on my holiday table!

And how AWESOME would I look wearing one of these?

I'm fond of the red trimmed one!

Do you remember these decorations??? The thick cardboard with only ONE side that was decorated... Well.. I found at least 30 different decorations... I started to weed out the ones I didn't want.. and then really decided I WANTED them all.. and for .10cents EACH.. it was a BARGAIN!!

This one has to be my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE.. I love that Santa truly looks Jolly and Happy.. and not trying to sell you a coke to help out the Coca~Cola company!! These were before his Coke Days... I won't begrudge him though.. I will only drink a coke out of a GLASS bottle.. because soda doesn't taste the same in a plastic bottle...

My array of decorations...

Another TRUE jolly Santa

This one "cracks" me up... probably my second favorite!!

Here's a "sneak peek" of my Christmas Tree... Can you SMELL it... I sure can.. all through my home!!!! it's heavenly!!!!!!

....

2008-11-23T20:14:00.004-05:00

The Day has finally come.. A day I wished many times to happen.. and now a day I want to push back as long as I can... My daughter has turned 18. My hopes and dreams for her have exceeded my expecatations... She is driven.. She is strong and she knows what she wants.. my biggest wish for her now... is that her dreams .. don't stay dreams... but become reality....

Yes.. your eyes are NOT deceiving you.. this is a picture of ME.. 17 years ago...I was just 19 myself... with my daughter who just turned 1.. and barely walking...

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light and the
world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me gives me
strength when I am weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand
around my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart
has had enough
It's giving more when you feel like giving up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future
A reflection of who I am and what will be
Though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone I hope you see how happy
she made me
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes
Sung by Martina McBride

2008-11-22T12:54:00.003-05:00

Eleven years ago I made bird feeders for Christmas Gifts. I just used a clay pot and it's base and glued them together like shown in the picture.. of course before I glued the two pieces together I put the rope through and secured it with a knot. I made about 5 feeders and left them to sit... for 11 years!! Not very frugal of me I would say..

While cleaning out my basement.. I decided to grab one and bring it upstairs.. I was not going to waste these. WHO doesn't love a snowman? I painted the initial pot white.. and then blue.. when that dried.. I painted the snowman on along with the "flakes" and "dots"...

From there I added the face and let the whole thing dry overnight.. The next day I applied an antique medium.. and wiped away until I got the effect that I wanted...

I then added a gingham ribbon with artificial greens with a pinecone...

I then added a bit of bird seed.. and voila.. your feeder is ready..

You can give it a clear spray.. but I didn't have any laying around.. when I make more.. I will add the spray to give it a protective coating!

I just finished reading this book and I have to tell you that I absolutely LOVED it.. I was sucked into the story starting at page one. Because I can't write a great review like others.. here's one I took from the web...

Book One in the REFINER'S FIRE series, tells the story of a timid southern girl who finds her voice as she begins to tell the truth about the atrocities around her. A short stay in the North confirms her abolitionist feelings, but when she returns to the South she finds herself torn between her home, a beloved suitor who doesn't share her feelings, and the principles she knows are true. Standing for right may mean standing alone. Does she have the courage?

I can't wait to read two and three..

2008-11-21T21:39:00.001-05:00

I soooooooooooooo NEED one of these .. Anyone game in sending me a Christmas Gift... ???? Could you knit in an MP3 player while you're at it...?????

2008-11-15T10:23:00.005-05:00

I didn't mention in the past few weeks that I had been working on my IN-Loves 40th wedding anniversary party... Luckily I had my wonderful sister in law to help with everything.. or should I say.. I actually helped her.. We were on a limited budget.. but all and all.. we did a great job I think!!
Part of what she wanted to do was make them up a scrapbook.. yes.. me being a scrapbooker.. I wasn't so sure if I "felt" like doing it.. UGH.. I know.. I know.. I need so many pictures to scrap.. that I just haven't been in the "mood"..
So.. I put it off...
And put it off...
And............ PUT IT OFF...
Til finally the day before the party came!! YIKES!! I had to do the cover page.. the guest list page.. and our page.. and I had to prod my son to do a page.. and remind my daughter to get on hers...Well.. I finished it the MORNING OF!
I thought I would share those with you today!!

I'm NOT good at photographing layouts.. so forgive me for the lack of a good photo...
Here's the front page...

The invitation we sent to everyone...

One of my two pages that I did..

I made a CD of Love Songs for them that I placed inside this pattern from a McDonald's fry holder.. and I wrote them a little something on the side..

40 years ago.....

Them today..

This is the wedding party.. the best man and maid of honor were hubby's' dads brother and sister...

And here they are today...

And just for fun.. I HAD to share this picture of hubby's uncle.. I would have LOVED to have known what was being said.. instead I snapped the effects...

My in-loves really aren't a big part of our lives.. ( their choice really).. Their church family comes first.. in everything they do..which, again is their choice...
However they DID raise an obnoxious little boy.. ( love my hubby) to a wonderful, loving, amazing husband... He has blessed me in so many ways.. through the good and the bad... My in-loves were a good example of what a great marriage is.. and I'm so proud and glad that my husband paid attention to them! I just hope we are setting the same example for our children!

2008-11-12T17:52:00.003-05:00

This past weekend was my buddy's birthday.. little man "T".. however.. upon showing you his gift I made for him I realized that his name is on the box.. so his name will be no secret..
Ty as I said before is slightly autistic.. and I've just recently learned that autistic children LOVE boxes... it was really no surprise to me because all summer long he BEGGED for a box to put his baseball cards in.. just like my sons...

Well with finances being tough.. I was wondering WHAT I would be making for TY.. cause there was no other alternative..
My handsome nephew came over a couple weekends ago and hands me this box...

At first.. I'm thinking.. WHAT?? am I going to do with this??

Then it hit me.. a lightbulb went off.. BAM.. it's going to be Tylers Birthday Present..
I knew EXACTLY what I was going to do with it..
I had baseball cards.. spraypaint and glue.. I was going to spice this box up!!
I did have to run to homedepot and get a few bits of hardware.. but the cost was STILL minimal ..

Ty is a BIG TIME RED SOX fan... and being a "New Englandah".. it's super easy to get stuff for them.. BUT.. it can be pricey.. Hubby and I headed down to Olympia just to "peek".. I'm so glad we did because they were selling clearance stuff!! I got two pennants, 2 composition notebooks and a magnet for $2.09. I couldn't believe it!! I was so happy. I cut one of the pennants up for more design inside and outside of the box..

And in the box sits an official ticket to Fenway Park.. for this past July.. my daughter went to a game and gave up her ticket for Tyler.. GUESS what the FIRST thing all the kids did.. They tried getting the ticket out of the box.. I had to "gently" explain".. this ticket has been redeemed.. and is there for show...

These are the other little treasures I put in the box..
I think he liked the box.. however he also got a Nintedo DS.. and well.. that trumped the box.. lollol..oh well..He did say that his box is full of stuff.. so that's a plus..

So.. for under $10.. I didn't think this was a bad gift..

2008-11-10T15:07:00.007-05:00

GREETINGS!!! Guess whose BACK!!!

ME!! I am super excited to have my desktop back!!
I do have a laptop.. but I have to tell you.. I LOVE my desktop better.. not sure why.. but I do..

My poor computer had a WICKED BAD ( for us New Englanda's) spyware on it.. It portrayed itself as a spyware update 2009.. it was NOT! and unfortunately through this process.. someone was able to get my Debit Card # and tried buying some prescription plan in my account.. NOT COOL!Fortunately I have a WONDERFUL credit union... and the money is back in the bank..

So for the past couple weeks.. I have been..

1) Thinking about how my daughter is turning 18 and hating it.. why does 18 sound so finalized?

2) Sweating the small stuff.. when I shouldn't be

3) Wondering where God is in a lot of situations right now

4) Looked into Nursing School and HATED the idea that I have to become and LNA first.. ( not knocking LNA's.. don't get me wrong.. ).. but having spent 15 years in the medical field.. I'm ticked that I have to waste time on stuff that I'll probably fly through..

5) Had a super clean house.. LOL LOL..

In truth.. it hasn't been that bad....

The neighbor across the street is in her 70's and she has a flattop driveway.. something we don't have.. so she lets the kids keep their basketball hoop in her yard.. and allows the kids to play in her yard as long as they are respectful... and most of them are!! So hubby and I decided that it was time for the neighbor kids to give back.. so two weekends ago.. we went to her house and made/willingly had the kids rake up her yard..so of course.. I HAD to take pictures.. and had to share them with you!!

This is my buddy T.. T is slightly autistic and some days when he comes to visit.. I feel like pulling my hair out.. BUT.. deep down inside.. he TRULY is a SWEET kid..He always comes in and comes up to me and kisses my arm and says "How's my buddy doing today"... to sweet!

This is T's brother K.. he is the TINIEST kid... but he surely can hold his own with the other boys!

Here's K again with the neighbor around the corner... Z.. Z has a brother N who has spent almost a month at Dartmouth Hospital fighting an Autoimmune disease.. I was told the name but can't remember it..The boys are twins.. so Z was feeling lonely and lost without his brother.. so we asked him to come on over and rake..

I would call this INTERMISSION...

Here's K again with my hubby.. we were getting him to stamp down the leaves so we could shove more into the bags.. we were trying to be frugal and NOT have to go buy more.. and it WORKED!!

And just to please my buddy T.. I took pictures of the "treasures" he found..

And because I haven't done this in awhile.. I wanted to share what I've read...
Quick Easy Read.. and LOVED it!! Although Debbie isn't a Christian Author ( cause we all know that I'm snobs to Author's.. Ü) She writes pleasantly.. and I enjoy her sense of humor.. and love her characters.. while searching for this book picture.. I found that she too has a blog.. ( ok.. who DOESN'T have one now adays).. she seems super SWEET.. so check her out.. DEBBIE MACOMBER.
Currently I am reading this.. My thoughts?? Well.. it's set in the early 1800's, which I love due to history.. and it is set in a Shaker Village in Kentucky. However I'm finding the story to be DRY.. I'm NOT grabbing it to read it to find out what happens next.. but grabbing it to read more of the history on the Shakers. About 5 years ago I was lucky to be able to take my Girl Scout Troop to a Shaker Village in Canterbury NH. It is jammed pack full of history and if you're like me.. I LOVE to TOUCH history..
The Shaker Village in Enfield NH is right around the corner for us.. so naturally I had to go there too.. If you ever get a chance to visit a Shaker village.. DO SO! They are not like the Amish or the Mennonite even... To my knowledge the religion is long gone.. but it's preserved for us to still learn about what they believed in.

It's so good to be BACK!!

2008-11-04T08:52:00.002-05:00

I got my computer back from my BIL...BUT.. it's worse than when I first left it..WAHHH

The spyware is gone... but my computer now sits because my Outlook Express is gone.. so no e-mail.. and all my favorites are strangely favorites from a time before when I had another virus.. it's almost like it's a system restore.. and everything I had is lost... but all my old is found?????

I'm still frustrated...So it's going to a real computer shop...

On a SIDE NOTE...
GET OUT and VOTE!!!

No matter what anyone says.. your vote counts!

Missing you all!! I have pictures to share...

2008-10-30T19:31:00.003-05:00

I haven't been blogging.. I haven't been able to read many blogs...

Ask me why.....

You really want to know WHY???

Cause THIS lives in my computer right now..

This computer I'm on is slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... so I get frustrated sitting here for to long... so when my other computer comes back.. I will be back up and running to blog.. all my really cool pictures are in my computer too.. sniff sniff...

So I promise to be back.. and up and reading when I get a chance..

The POSITIVENESS in all this... My house is CLEANER.. and I'm de-cluttering again...

2008-10-27T19:41:00.003-05:00

BUSY! A WORD THAT I DON'T WANT IN MY VOCABULARY!

I'll admit it.. I haven't blogged in a week because of many things that have been going on.. and things I've been trying to get ready for.. but I REFUSE to use the word BUSY!
The word to me means.. "I don't have time for you".. or I find it to be a "big" Excuse to not notice the little things in life... Being to busy means you miss some of the most special, precious moments, with family AND friends...you may miss a moment when someone NEEDS you the most.. a moment that you may never get back.
I think I'm one of those rare people in today's society that says "hey.. you pick the time and day when we get together.. I'll make sure that day is open to you".. yeah.. I really say that.. UNLESS there is a family obligation.. but you won't get off the phone or away from me until our time is set.
How many times have you heard.. "Oh, I'll have to get back to you".. or "Oh.. gosh my days are filled up.. sorry"... ?
Maybe I'm to detail oriented and have to discover and acknowledge all that is around me..?

Of course this doesn't mean I think everyone should be coach potatoes and do nothing... I think to many people ask the question "How are you"? to REALLY NOT wait for their answer.. or hear what they are saying.. or could really care less how they REALLY are doing...

With all the activities of the week ( I'll blog later).. I still took the time to slow down and capture some more of our Fall before it blew away in the rainy wind...

Canadian Geese...My retriever was going NUTS!!

Random Maple leaves

Cat and 9 tails

these things... I have to pick them off my dog after ever walk... I call them pricker balls.. lol lol

Mums.. just a fall favorite..

2008-10-21T18:16:00.003-05:00

6 Things That Make Me Happy

I was tagged by the beautiful MERE.. to write down 6 things that make me happy!!
So here it goes...

1) To those that read my blog AND leave me a comment.. that makes me HAPPY! and I appreciate it.

2) Fall and the cool air.. that makes me HAPPY!

3) Seeing my kids faces each and every morning... that makes me HAPPY!

4)A clean and organized home... that makes me HAPPY!

5) An unexpected phone call from a friend whose just calling to say 'hello'.. that makes me HAPPY!

6) the little conversation I had with my son today...
Me:.. hey bud.. guess what?
Bud:.. what?
Me:.. I probably have to go to work full-time
Bud: Why?
Me:.. cause dad's pay was cut and I have to help out with bills and stuff
Bud:.. Great.. whose going to keep the house clean? Whose going to cook my meals? Mom.. nothing is going to be able to replace you...

Ha Ha Ha... that makes me HAPPY! to know I'm irreplaceable! So when my home becomes a pigsty.... and I complain.. please remind me of this conversation!!

2008-10-18T07:50:00.003-05:00

Sing A Song On Saturday

It seems just about every Saturday Morning I get up.. and listen to music.. since its a day that I don't normally have to rush around. This morning I was reflecting back on the week.. thinking it was better than last week.. but STILL a hard week...All week long I'm thinking of our troubles and each time I'm thinking or praying about our situation.. the phrase "Lay it at the feet of Jesus" has popped in my head...

Cause seriously.. there is nothing I can do to fix this problem TODAY! I have to wait and be patient..and leave it to our God...

Some may read this and say "Wait.. you're a Christian.. nothing is suppose to be going wrong.. why isn't YOUR 'God' fixing this... "... I hear this a lot.. Well.. it couldn't be more opposite from the truth.. Being a Christian has made me MORE aware that life isn't going to be handed to me on a silver platter.. and I'm DEFINITELY not going to get my own way. ( doesn't mean I still don't act like a brat from time to time)..

Joshua 1:5 says .. "I will never leave you nor forsake you"

Isaiah 46:4 says..." Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you;I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

So no matter what trial God promises me that it may not be easy.. I might not like the outcome... but he is NEVER going to be away from my side.. Now.. for myself..I have to take the time to place all this at his feet.. and let him help me carry all this sadness..weariness.. and defeat...

This song is a great reminder...What are you worried about? Is anything making you sad lately?

2008-10-15T06:59:00.003-05:00

BITTERSWEET

This past week and a half has been one of those weeks where I have felt just BLAH.. ( why I haven't blogged anything). If anything could go wrong.. it did.. if I could find the negative in anything.. I did... As I read a few blogs I realized that other's were feeling the same way as me.. but other's had more of a "right" to feel like they did.. then I... So I asked God to ship shape me back into reality and stop sulking about things that I couldn't fix...

This happened to be a little devotion I got in my in box this past week.. and it really spoke to me .. because last week.. I really felt like giving up everything.. Was it worth doing what I was doing anymore... I was trying to budget my bills and expenses.. and here I was sitting listening to people brag about how they were getting breast enhancements.. or how someone was getting something new... but yet these are the same people that told me a couple months ago.. they were struggling to pay their mortgage...
God told me.. it was none of my business.. and He's right..
When has he ever let me go hungry? homeless? or Cold? He reminded me that I don't live OF this world.. I live FOR HIM...But I'm human and He knows that .. and I got sucked into the "beauty" of materialism... it's easy to do.. but it's easier to jump back out of it when you know you have a Loving God who takes care of your NEEDS and your WANTS...

1 Corinthians 15:58
So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. (NLT)

Meditation
You may feel, "It's not worth it!" today. God knows your efforts and struggles. Don't lose heart! Everything you do for the Lord is worth it. When was the last time you felt like giving up?

My heart has been heavy too.. listening to my daughter speak about college.. I think about the cost.. I think about the traveling.. but most of all I think about the loneliness that will begin in the late summer.. when she starts packing her stuff away and moving on to achieve her dreams and goals.. something that I have always WISHED for BOTH of my children.. but now.. when those moments are staring you in the face.. it's scary... to know when I'm 40 years old.. my kids will be off and doing their own thing.. makes me wonder what am I going to do for the rest of my life...

Yesterday I was faced with a reminder that this school year is already moving along fast...My daughter had her LAST EVER.. Home GAME in field hockey.. All the parents were acknowledge.. and we had our picture taken with our children.. ( don't get excited.. I don't have that picture...tee hee).. but I have a few of my daughter to share... I miss the Barbie Doll Days, The Little Mermaid, The Charlie Brown Specials and the Wizard of Oz Nights... They went by to fast....

Here she is to the right... cheering on the opposite team.. each girl gave the other seniors on the team flowers...

Waiting for the ball..

Defending the net from a corner shot ( I guess these are good for teams if they get the chance to do)So she's standing right in there next to the goalie..
And the team running our way.. They won 4-3.. The game went into overtime.. and they got the next goal with in minutes...
I've watched these girls grow up.. listened to them bicker and fight.. gain friends.. lose friends.. and through it all.. I wouldn't change a thing.. ( well maybe wish for one more year... Ü)

2008-10-05T21:34:00.002-05:00

This weekend... this is exactly what we did.. we replaced almost ALL of our old windows.. for the exception of the kitchen ( because I want to knock a wall down and lose a door) and the big .. big window in my computer room because it has the original stain glass on top.. and I'm not going to part with it..
It's about 60 degrees in my home and I have yet to turn the heat on.. My "good buddies".. ( dripping with sarcasm) at my oil company are coming tomorrow to clean out my furnace.. oh how I WISH my BIL lived closer.. that's what he does for a living... but.. oh well.. So after it's cleaned and OK'd.. I suppose I'll click that stupid little red switch back on.. UGH!

On a happier note.. cooler air brings changing colors!! and even though the economy is poor.. I've still seen MANY and I mean MANY out of staters driving around NH &VT!! I did it myself.. so I thought I would share just a few pics with you..

This one is in Cornish NH.. it's a nice little town.. some people around where I live would say it's a "rich" little town.. perhaps it is.. but some take it to seriously about being the "best" town to live in... It's quaint.. but I still beg to differ...I LOVE.. LOVE the farm house and all the buildings surrounding it!!

Here is a barn still on the same property .. just closer to the road.. I was actually surprised to see someone has started fixing it up!!

As I turned to the left a little this was another view.. forgive the "cloudiness" of the pictures.. it was rainy and cold.. but as I was driving home from work.. I KNEW I had to stop...

And this is the top of a church that I got through the trees...

Ok.. here's where I went "CRAZY".. this is Newport NH.. the town my SIL and BIL live in.. again.. another rainy dreary day.. but I took this picture as I was driving by...

And this is a picture WHILE I was DRIVING..shhh don't tell anyone...

This is a picture of my actual town on a back road... I love this area.. probably my favorite area of my town..

And NOW.. the moment you have been WAITING for.. a Picture of "ME".. well.. not exactly "ME".. but "Mii"... LOL LOL LOL... My kids laughed so hard.. because they told me that my character indeed looks just like "ME".. Notice how she looks cute from the neck up.. um I seriously have a round face.. and freckles.. and blonde hair with pigtails.. lots of times.. when I started Wii fit.. my character was so cute and slim.. and then I stepped on the scale.. and she Plumped me right up.. THANK YOU FOR THAT... the Makers of NINTENDO.. yeah.. YOU!! I know you can hear me!!! I love the gentle reminder when I step on the scale and it says "THAT'S OBESE"... real CUTE!!... NOT!! However.. I think everyone whose used our wii fit has been told they are OBESE or they have room for Improvement... My goal.. to change the shape of "Mii" and "Me".... ( sorry for the bad pic... got to learn how to take pictures of the TV!!)

2008-10-01T20:18:00.003-05:00

THANK YOU everyone for your wonderful comments on my daughters pictures!! I'm a picture Junky.. I am one of those people you could invite over and show me boxes and boxes of pictures.. and I would be interested.. I'm a nerd!! LOL LOL..

I think we are going to go with the second picture.. but a different shot of it.. so the sign isn't in the picture.. because she's on the yearbook committee she can take her time.. ( cheater.. lol lol) I'll let you know what the final one looks like...

But for now.. during the photo shoot.. I took this picture.. I LOVE it.. the color of this flower.. is the flowers TRUE color.. which amazed me for the Fall Season.. I LOVE them!!

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.... Isaiah 40:8

Stay tuned for tomorrow... I'm going to share a picture of "me" with you all!! get ready!! You're going to LOVE IT!!

2008-09-30T18:27:00.006-05:00

I'm a procrastinator.. I'll admit it.. and well... on top of being that .. I hate.. hate spending a lot of $$ on pictures.. I'm sorry.. I know some do it for a living...and I'm not here to debate the cost factors in it all... I just hate paying that amount of money. YES! I love my children dearly... and have more picture of them than dollars in my savings....but I have NEVER paid large amounts of money for their picture... Maybe I'm saving all that up for their wedding days!!

So.. it was coming down to the wire.. my daughter's senior picture NEEDS to be in by October 1st.. We did pictures yesterday... YESTERDAY!! So I did about 150 pictures.. so we could find the RIGHT one for the yearbook!!
So I'm going to share with you some of the pics I took.. they have not been photoshopped or touched up... I'm still battling with the program!!

I have to admit.. the above picture.. looks a LOT like me when I was her age!!

Those are only a few that I have resized.. we had about 1 hour to cram those 150 photo's before field hockey practice... and here it is.. 8pm and we STILL don't know which photo is hitting the yearbook.. and she's on the committee...she takes after her mother.. if she likes it or not!!

2008-09-26T10:27:00.002-05:00

It's raining here in my neck of the woods... Some reason I planned on it raining this weekend.. not today.. I had plans to hang out a bunch of clothes to flap in the breeze to dry... When it rains though.. my motivation drops down a few notches.. and all I want to do is sit and read...Since I can't do that at the moment I thought I would share a "sunny" picture of my plum tree..

Let me tell you about my plum tree...

In truth there really isn't MUCH to tell other than many people are at "ahh" over it. I guess it's not one of those trees that many people plant in their yard. Hubby and I did it because the tree was on clearance and it looked sad... I really didn't think it would do much of anything. We have EXTREMELY POOR soil on our property and we thought that perhaps the plum tree might have needed a "mate" in order to reproduce. Apparently.. it does not... The older generation in my neighborhood LOVE this tree... I can't tell you how many knocks I get on my door asking if they can have some... and they get sad when I tell them they have to wait til the 3rd week of September... We eat them straight.. It's something I don't can because to hubby and I they taste the best fresh... they really melt in your mouth..

Now that it's the end of September my tree is almost bare.. it's been picked by us, the neighbors and the squirrels..But it's truly pretty for as long as it lasts... I have felt blessed with the abundance of food that I have harvested this year with such a bad economy and the rising of food prices.. I'm also very willing to share with my neighbors.. last week.. I packed up a bag of pears, plums, and chicken eggs for the elderly... most of them are on a fixed income...with no raise in sight.. and if they do get a raise.. medicaid cost goes up for them.. so they still don't get extra $$.

"The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield it's harvest." Psalm 85:12

I'm really trying to put my faith in God and our economy right now. It's frustrating.. but I'm TRYING to find things that I'm still thankful for through it. I try not to speak of the negative in my life to much... and I'm trying NOT to see it as negative.. but a blessing still... my husband's job cut him back to three days a week.. which.. still wasn't bad.. because the days are longer .. so he still gets his 40 hours. However.. after 17 years of being an "incentive" worker.. my husband and all are being cut down to an "hourly" rate. We are losing $6.00/hour. And then his company has told them that they are going to do a "marketing study" to see what the surrounding areas make and pay their employee's .. so their rate can be cut.. yet again... funny how they're not lowering our medical insurance costs though.... The Blessing?? He still has a job. They let go men with more seniority with the company that what he has. They based it on how many times you called out, how many times you were late.. and so on... good thing my hubby is a loyal employee..being faithful did pay off.. at least for now.

So.. back to the sunshine in life....

I got this craft from a fellow blogger..Covered in Crafts... These are your basic marble tiles...4x4 in size. I bought mine at Home Depot since that's the only store around here... I used a Chunky style stamp. I found this to work BEST when designing these. The thin stamps did give as much definition. So the stamp I used was from Stampin UP! along with the STAZ ON ink... STAZ on ink is the best ink to use.. because if you want to seal the "coaster" the ink will NOT run.

This is what the finished project looks like.. I'm country of course.. so I used burgundy gingham to wrap the 4 coasters together...

I also took felt and glued it on the backside so the surface you place the coasters on doesn't scratch...

And these are a sample of what they look like. I plan on giving these to a friend for her birthday this week... along with other little goodies.. I've been DYING to go see her and give them to her... since she's been working so hard all summer... I haven't been able to see her much!!

2008-09-23T16:54:00.003-05:00

I have a bit to say.... But I WANT to finish my book.. Ü
So I thought I would share a music video that I'm LOVING right now...
I love the flow of it.. and you have to listen to it all to "hear" that flow....

I PROMISE you.. in the middle of the song.. you'll be tapping something... it's quite catchy...
Ok.. now.. off to read.. Ü

2008-09-21T19:42:00.003-05:00

I truly LOVE where I Live... I can't imagine me living anywhere else...If I didn't get to watch the leaves turn colors or look out and see the Green Mountains of Vt.. for what seems forever and ever... well... I would be DEVASTATED ..All though the apple orchard we went to today.. this tree stuck out from the rest.. it was mainly the only tree in our area that changed to such vibrant colors..
Each year we usually grab a group of random kids... and shove them into our two cars and head over to the border lines of VT...Each Year we go to an Orchard Called WellWood. It's the same place where we went out and blueberry picked! Same little town in VT we grab our Christmas Tree as well!

We walked around a bit to check out the varieties of apples.. and the size.. size is a big issue for me.. because when I can them.. I don't want to peel 80 vs 40 to fill the jars... at first we had a REALLY hard time finding good size ones... It seemed maybe we were a bit "late" in the season to get the good size ones... UNTIL.. I found a tree that was hidden on the end of the trail... we picked TWO bushels just from one tree!

That's a pretty good sized apple!!

The year would not be complete unless a few kids were in a tree to pick the apples...
And of course we had to bring "FAKE JAKE" with us.. He didn't make one PEEP.. and we got quite a few strange looks.. as if there was something wrong with use because we were carrying around a plastic "baby".... ahhh ohh well.
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The Whole Motley Crew..

Their pumpkins are AMAZING!! However.. the cost of them.. is something I can't swallow.. this one pumpkin was $20

You can see the size of it here with my son... it wasn't $20 "cute" to me!! But... as we all know the cost of everything is through the roof...
If you look even closer at my son's leg you can see where I "think" there was a spider bite!!

Tomorrow however... Good Morning America is going to be at Wellwood Orchards around 2pm.. Hubby and I were thinking of going back just to "peek" and see what they would be doing there... more than likely it will be CROWDED.. and I'm so NOT a crowd kind of gal..But I'll let you know!

As for now... I have 2 bushels of apples to can up and use through out the year...Can't wait!

2008-09-20T05:21:00.005-05:00

My 13 Year Old Son has made me a GRANDMOTHER!!

Scary huh? I mean seriously what is this world coming to?
There I was this morning.. at 4am.. I had suddenly awoke because I had had a bad dream...
As I lay there pondering what I dreamt about.. and making sure my dog still had her fur ( yeah.. it was that strange) I heard the baby cry. I FORGOT about the BABY.. "Jake" scared me.

Want to meet "Jake"....?? I know you do... Here he is..

Yeah.. Ok.. so "Jake" in a sense is FAKE.... FAKE JAKE... but let me assure you "Jake" cries like a real baby... I mean.. SCREAMS like a REAL baby....
This is my sons Health Project... He is kind of neat... He's battery operated and is neatly wired to know what you are doing for him.. you SHAKE THE FAKE JAKE.. and He'll KNOW... You feed the FAKE JAKE.. he knows... He even knows when you burp him, rock him, and change his diaper... and.. let me tell you FAKE JAKE is NOT an automatic fix... just as soon as you think he's fully fed.. he cries to be changed.. just as you change him.. set him down to continue what you are doing... he cries.. he wants to be burped.. after the burp is out... he's content.. until 3 minutes later he wants to be rocked.. and it's no 2 minute rock... his last rock was 20 minutes long.. his last feeding 15 minutes long... FAKE JAKE acts PRETTY REAL to ME...
After his 9 pm feeding last night.. he did GREAT.. he slept til 5 am.. til he needed a diaper change.. want to see TWO BOYS fly out of bed ( ones a sleepover)... just put a FAKE JAKE in their room.. oh it was tooooo funny watching 13 year olds scramble for a diaper and a bottle...

The Purpose of "FAKE JAKE".. to make sure JAKE doesn't become real to "early" in life...It gives the awareness of the needs of someone else.. and not just your own.. it's suppose to make kids think twice about having sex... will a FAKE JAKE accomplish that?? In my opinion.. I don't think so... Will my constant talking with my son and daughter... about sex.. about being married ( yeah I'm old fashioned... and something I didn't do..).. about consequences for their actions help???? I hope so.. But.. if life were to take a different turn for what I WANT for my children... I have also talked about support.. and never turning my back on them as my parents had on me..

Each and EVERY child is a GIFT.. at 16, 17, 18 and older sometimes it's hard to see it that way... I know.. I had been there at 18... and now that I'm 36... I wished away some of those moments with a many "I can't wait's".... My wish for my kids... that they have kids when they are READY.. and can enjoy and delight in EACH and EVERY STEP.... and to know.. that GRANDMA is taking them to Disney World... WOO HOO!!

Besides being a grandmother this weekend.. I hope to apple pick.. and can some.. I picked some pears off my in-loves tree this past week and canned some... OH MY.. my fingers turned Burgundy.. and hurt .. and I felt it was a TON of work for 10 jars... but.. when the pears get riper I think I'll attempt to make more....

PS.. don't forget to be a "FOLLOWER" of my blog... Click over on the left
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2008-09-18T19:39:00.002-05:00

An Award.. and a Gruesome Story....

An Award!! By my loving blogging friend MERE!! Thank you MERE!!

Here it is...

To translate the gift from Portuguese to English, it means:"This blog invests and believes, the proximity"[meaning, that blogging makes us 'close' -being close through proxy] How awesome is that??"They all are charmed with the blogs, where in the majority of its aims are to show the marvels and to do friendship; there are persons who are not interested when we give them a prize, and then they help to cut these bows; do we want that they are cut, or that they propagate?" Then let's try to give more attention to them! So with this prize we must deliver it to 8 bloggers that in turn must make the same thing and put this text:

Ok... I'm lazy.. so.. anyone who reads my blog and responds to this post.. gets to snag this AWARD... because if you read and respond.. YOU'RE AWESOME so you deserve it!! ( But try to follow the rules after.. lol lol )

This next feature will not be combined with photos for the following reasons ... it was gross.. and it was actually kind of creepy.. and shocking... as a mom I had to think fast...

Just a back story.. my son came home from his friends house feeling sick.. fortunately he had an appt with an AMAZING chiropractor here in town.. so he went in and got adjusted and missed school on Monday...
Tuesday he goes back to school feeling better... phew..
Wed back to the AMAZING chiropractor.. ( I'm telling you if you've never gone.. run.. I LOVE it)

Wed Night...

Son.. "Mom.. come here I have to show you something"...
Me.."What"?
Son.. "Check this out... Today in school "R" in class looked at my leg and said eww.. what is that?.. I told him I didn't know.. but he wanted me to pop it"... ( told you this would be gross)..
Me.. I look at his leg.. hmmm.. "Um yeah.. that's pretty gross".. but secretly I'm thinking this could be "cool".. Yeah.. I should be a nurse... So I look at it.. and say "Hold on"..
I run upstairs to grab the peroxide, Q-tips and Bactroban ( RX for his molluscum)... I run back downstairs.. wash my hands and go back to the boy...

Son.."Mom.. are you going to squeeze it"?
Me.. "yeah.. a little".. inside I'm thinking "yeah"!!!

So he props his leg up on my leg.. and I look close.. really close with a flashlight...Hmmm... really hmmmm....

Me.. "Um bud.. I don't want to scare you or anything.. but I think this is a spider bite" ( HE HATES SPIDERS!!) He does NOT freak out.. I'm amazed!!!

So I press firmly on this spot.. now.. let me tell you .. the head is BLACK.. with a RED swollen area around it ( no.. not a tick bite at all.. it wasn't a bullseye).. so I continue to clean it.. push on it.. and stuff just oozes out..
It's starting to hurt him.. so I tell him.. "Push it out yourself for your own comfort level".. and he does.. it's gross.. cool gross to me.. so I clean it up really good.. and look even CLOSER.. yeah.. it's GOT to be a bite.. two perfect size holes????

So I got to wipe it some more... then give it one last push.. and the STRANGEST thing happens.. out comes this LONG.. and I mean a good 4 inches of something that looks like a brown pine needle but only flatter and a bit fatter???????? WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT??? Any body have a clue??? Cause I sure don't..

I gave it one last clean up .. put the ointment on it and covered it with a HUGE bandaid.. it's a couple days now and it looks MUCH better.. but now it has this "hole" in it.. the swelling is really down.. and no pain....

My son took it like a champ.. and was excited to head to school the next day to tell "R".. that his mom popped his bump and stuff oozed out.. LOL LOL.. Only Boys...

2008-09-14T03:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday!!