Day 60 in the Year of Our Lord 2012

As I mentioned yesterday, since we are going to WV tomorrow morning, Tim and I did our regular thrifting today.  I found several yards of material in a mauve/dusty pink pattern.  Very pretty!  I'm hoping I might have enough to make a matching outfit for all of the granddaughters!  Something for summer time, perhaps!  We will see!  Also found a few other goodies, but nothing worth mentioning here!

However, I received a special goodie that was waiting for us at the back door when we got back from our thrifting.  I was pleasantly surprised!  The sweet lady that sent this to me is one of the designers at Digitals that I became friends with several years ago now.  She asked me, and a few other gals from the Digitals team, what flavor of cake we liked and she listed a few.  Mine was the German Chocolate.  I asked her what she had up her sleeve.  She said she could not tell me.  Well, today I found out.  For, the pictures are of the package that we found at the back door.

In the box is a delicious (we know because we sampled it tonight after church!) coffee cake type of cake with the pecans, a Mardi Gra book, some Mardi Gra beads and a pack of coffee.  Did I mention that my friend lives in Louisiana?  :D

Here's a close up of the book, beads and coffee.

Here's a close up of the very colorful coffee cake ring!  It is HUGE!  We will definitely be taking it with us to share with the family this weekend!  Perfect timing on receiving it!  If it had come tomorrow, it would have sat outside for 3 days!  Thank you, LORD!  Your timing is always on time!  AND, thank you, Sharon, for your thoughtfulness!  BIG cyber hugs to you, sweet lady!

Not sure if I will be posting while gone or not.  If not, have a great weekend!

Day 59 in the Year of Our Lord 2012

Before I stop to read my book this evening, I wanted to catch you up on the days events, which will take all of about 2 minutes!  :D

Went to bed after reading until 1:30.  Woke up at 8, but laid there until almost 9 a.m.  Took my shower, dried my hair (which takes FOREVER since it is longer) and sat down to read my Bible while my PC was booting up.  That, too, takes some time since I have soooooooooooo much stuff on it!  Just something else I need to declutter!  :D

And, speaking of decluttering, I haven't done any!  :D  I have, however, been finding all kinds of SQUARE picture frames at the thrift stores!  I stopped in one today to look for shelf liner, but, OF COURSE when I'm looking for some I cannot find it anywhere!  But, I did find another nice square frame!  I have several now!  Now I need to get some pages printed so I can frame them and hang them!

Since we are not going to be around on Thursday, we are planning to make the thrift store runs around here tomorrow.

I can't wait to see Liz and Jessica this weekend as I have not seen them since Christmas!  It will be fun to see how much the babies have grown, too!  You can bet I'll have some pictures after this weekend!  :D

If when you ask for something
God seems to hesitate,
Never be discouraged -
He is asking you to wait!
~Helen S. Rice

Until tomorrow.......

Day 58 in the Year of Our Lord 2012

Well, my dearly beloved peeps!  I have nothing to report today!  I began my new book, Mama's Way, last night but was in bed by 11:30!  So, I was up by 8:00! 

I read my Bible, cleaned up the kitchen, changed the church sign, cleaned up my e-mail and before I knew it, it was noon!  I did some more computer work and the next thing I knew, Tim was wondering when we were eating supper!  Did I mention it was only 3:00! 

We are eating left overs this week since we will be in WV from Thursday - Saturday.  He decided to wait for awhile and by 3:45 he was back to eat!  He heated up the vegetable soup and stirred my appetite!  So I stopped to eat, too! 

Since then I've been working on an old kit.  I reworked the papers by adding more texture to them and got rid of a couple of them.  Got rid of basically all of the elements except about 3 and have been creating new ones.  But, I'm calling it quits for the night and will get dressed in my jammies and do some reading.  I'm yawning, so I probably won't get much reading done!

Until tomorrow......

Day 57 in the Year of Our Lord 2012

For those of you who are interested in the new boy kit items I just made but you were unable to look at the other day, here is the link to all 7 product items:  Thaddeus Cooper.  Thanks for looking!  I thought everything turned out really cute!  :D

So, I started reading my book last night and totally forgot to post on here!  Sorry about that!  But, you didn't really miss anything as we didn't do much yesterday.  We were going to visit the man who thought they were going to cut his leg off (remember that from earlier in the year?), but he woke up sick yesterday and just went back to bed.  He ached all over.....sounds like the flu to me!  Please say a prayer for him when the LORD brings him to mind.  The leg they put a stint into so he wouldn't loose it is giving him more trouble and just doesn't want to heal properly.  He still is not allowed on it and it is depressing him that he cannot get up and about but has to have that foot "floating" all the time.  His name is Gary.

Besides going to Walmart to pick up a few things (he wanted BLT's for supper) and then going to visit a lady who had toe surgery, we really didn't do anything yesterday.

Well, I finished reading my book, Papa's Daughter, this afternoon.  It was not quite as good as Papa's Wife, but I still enjoyed it.  Next, I will be reading, Mama's Way by the same author, Thyra Ferre' Bjorn.  As soon as I finish this post, that is what I intend to start reading.  Here's a picture of the cover of Papa's Daughter that I just finished reading.

And, here is a page I did today of our little Miss Abigail.  I saw this picture on Liz's facebook page and just had to "steal" it because I had the perfect kit to match her little dress!  Hey!  A grandmother's gotta do what a grandmother's gotta do!  :D

Until tomorrow............

Day 55 in the Year of Our Lord 2012

Today's weather was warm, as it has been most of the winter!  But the exception today was the addition of tornado warnings and watches.....which is the one thing I dislike about Spring!  We had blustery breezes today, a sure sign that the ominous weather was capable of the dreaded T word!  We did get some rain later in the day, but I was able to capture the daffodils pretty well while the sun was still brightly shining.  Actually, the way the wind was making them dance, I'm surprised I got as clear a shot as I did!  Don't you just love their bright, sunny-yellow dispositions?!  :D

I took a picture of the tulip that is in bloom in the front of the parsonage.  It had already suffered wind damage, however, but has the same sunny-yellow color!

I caught a glimpse of my shadow as the wind whipped my hair all over my head!

The clouds were being blown pretty quickly across the sky, too!

This was supper.  It doesn't look very appetizing, I must admit.  But it was quite tasty.  I'll share the recipe below for this healthy sloppy joe mixture.....not that I expect SOME of you will ever try it!  :D

Sloppy joe on whole wheat buns with seasoned sweet potato fries!  YUM!

I finally installed the PhotoShop that Michael bought for me.  Today I have been searching for tutorials on line.  I know most of the basics from having PhotoShop Elements.  But the set up is quite different and I will spend lots of time looking for things for awhile!  But, the results and improvements in my designing will be so worth it.......I've been told!

OK, here's the recipe and then I'm signing off.......until tomorrow!

Buffalo Joes
Serves 4
"A spill of meaty, saucy goodness makes these sandwiches extra satisfying, but lean red meat, navy beans and an array of vegetables means they are actually good for you!"

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb lean ground bison or beef (I used 1 lb. ground turkey)
2 cloves garlic, sliced (I used 1 tsp. pre-chopped in a jar from Aldi)
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
3 cups baby spinach
1 cup BPA-free canned unsalted navy beans, drained and rinsed (I used a can of Bush's beans)
1 cup jarred or boxed diced tomatoes (I used canned)
2 tsp. grainy mustard (I have no idea what grainy mustard is.....I just used regular mustard)
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. pure maple syrup
1/4 cup chopped green onion
4 whole-wheat hamburger buns, toasted (I did not toast ours)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Heat a large saute' pan with a tight-fitting lid on medium-high.  Gradually add bison a bit at a time and cook, stirring frequently and breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 2 minutes.

Add garlic, carrot and spinach to pan and stir until spinach wilts, about 1 minute.  Stir in beans, tomatoes, mustard, vinegar and maple syrup.  Cover pan, reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but still moist and saucy, 8-10 minutes.  Add green onions and stir to combine.  (I cooked onion and green peppers in my meat).

Nutrients per serving (1 bun and 1/2 cup bison mixture):
Calories: 268, Total Fat:  4 g, Sat. Fat: 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g, Carbs:  40 g, Fiber: 10 g, Sugars: 8 g, Protein: 21 g, Sodium:  292 mg, Cholesterol:  35 mg

Nutritional Bonus:  Thanks to the spinach in this recipe, one sandwich offers more than 100% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin K, a nutrient that helps your body distribute bone-building calcium and improves the time it takes for blood to clot.

Copied from Clean Eating Magazine, March 2012.

Day 54 in the Year of Our Lord 2012

Today has been a good day.  Being Tim's day off, we did the usual thrift stores.  We found a few bargains, one of them being a new outfit for me!  I NEVER do clothing shopping while I'm with Tim!  BUT, today at our Mega Thrift, I was walking back to the corner of the store that has all the yarn, material and craft items when this outfit hanging on the end of the Plus sized rack caught my attention out of the corner of my eye.  I checked it over, tried on the jacket, which was snug because I had on a blouse plus a sweater.  I hung it back up, checked out the skirt that was with it and decided I really wanted to try on the jacket without my blouse and sweater.  About that time, Tim is walking towards me.  I said, "What do you think of this?"  He said, "Beautiful!"  So I asked him if he minded if I tried on the top because it was too snug on over my clothes.  He agreed, so he had a seat outside the fitting room and I hurriedly stripped and slipped the jacket on, which is made to wear without a blouse, and stepped out for him to see.  He told me he thought I should get it.  I noticed the skirt that was hanging with it did not actually belong with it, but it was beautiful with the jacket.  Turned out the skirt was half off, so I paid $7 for the outfit!  The top had a yellow tag and the skirt had a blue tag.  When I finally turned the computer on this evening, I had an email from Mega Thrift telling me EVERYTHING with ....... are you ready ....... BLUE and YELLOW tags would be 75% OFF tomorrow and Saturday!!!!!  Doesn't it figure, LOL!  That means instead of paying $7, I would have paid a total of $2.25 ....... IF it would have even still been there!  So, I'm figuring that the LORD brought it to my attention, anyway, and that I still got a great deal!  :D  Here's a picture of it.  I know the skirt looks black, but it is a beautiful shade of purple!  The trim on the jacket is black, however, so a black skirt would look great with the jacket, too!  And a pair of black pants, too!  I DID get a bargain!  :D

After going to the thrift stores, we ate lunch at Subway.  Then we went to a discount furniture store near here to look for a cabinet for the kitchen to fill in the space that was left when we replaced the old stove.  I was thinking pricing from the 80's of $35.....WRONG!!!  $230 for a 9" cabinet!!!  You've got to be kidding me!  Tim made the comment that now I knew why it cost thousands of dollars to redo your kitchen!  YIKES!  (SIDE NOTE.....Jessica, I hope you are saving TONS of $$ for your remodel job!  I'm just sayin'!)  Needless to say, we left the discount store and headed for home!  Discount my foot!

We took our treasures home and decided to go to the Habitat for Humanity in High Point to see if we could find a cabinet.  Not only did we find one for $40.......we got it for $20!!  But we still had a problem because we couldn't get it in the car.  So we called one of the church members to see if we could borrow his truck.  We came back to get it, went back to the store and got the cabinet, brought it home then took the truck back.  After we got home, we ate our supper and then started on the cabinet work.

Here's what the space looked like before the "new-to-us" cabinet.......

 And here is what the space looks like now!  Perfect fit!  The man who loaned us the truck called to tell Tim that he knew someone who might have the counter top to go on it and that he would be bringing by some samples for us to look at!  WOOHOO!  I guess he will be by tomorrow sometime!

So, like I said, it was a good day!

And, by the way, I posted some links to my new kit that resulted in an error of "product not found" from yesterday...........sorry about that!  I was informed that I was not to have activated the kit yet, so it was turned off this morning.  It will officially be in the store on Saturday, so I'll post it then for you to see.

Until tomorrow............hopefully!

Day 53 in the Year of Our Lord 2012

I know!  I know!  I've been away tooooooooo long!  I've just been sooooooo busy this week and last week working on a special digital scrapbooking project that I just didn't have the strength to get on here!  I haven't even had the mojo to post on my designer blog.......and THAT is bad!  But, then again, I didn't have anything to put over there since I've been working my REAR END off on this other project.  The project has the name of my last grandchild associated with it.....Thaddeus Cooper!  Here's a page I did with the kit.

So, now you have an idea of what colors are in the kit.  It is definitely a BOY kit!  Not all of the elements shown are in the kit, itself.  The store has started doing this CAKE (Create A Kit Event) thing.  The designers are given several color palettes to vote on which they like the best.  Then we all make stuff according to how the palette inspires us.  This definitely had to be a boys kit with the brown and blues in it.  We are limited to 5 packets each, however I got carried away with this one and ended up with 6 element packs and 2 paper packs!  So, I combined the papers and the basic type elements together into a kit.  The others are sold separately.  I made a sports theme, big boy toys theme, little boy toys theme, tools and a packet of boys.  I'm not trying to sell them to you, but take a look by clicking on the links to see how cute it all turned out!  (In my humble opinion, of course!  :))

OK, so I'm not going to bore you with all the details of the last week and a half since coming back from Michael, Jessica and Kara's (mainly because I can't remember most of it, anyway!  :D  So, let's start with today.

Unseasonably warm weather, again!  I did some grocery shopping and art supply stuff for Bible Club (and myself, lol).  During supper, the rain clouds rolled in.  It only sprinkled a bit until just a few minutes ago when it started raining buckets!

I posted a picture of the outfit I finished for Abigail that I started what seems at least a month ago.  But knowing not all of you "do" facebook, I wanted to post the front and back of the project here.  I added the flower on the front, which turned out cute, even though I had my doubts while I was fixing it!  The hat is reversible.  Can't wait to see her in it!  That will be next weekend as she models it for us since we will be at her house for her big brother's soccer game.  I'll be sure and take pictures!  :D

Front view

 Back view

 Right after supper, I went to the church to make my copies for Bible Club tonight and noticed the Daffodils beginning to bloom.  They progressed nicely today as Tim said there was no yellow showing this morning.  Then I walked to the front of the parsonage to see if any of the spring flowers were in bloom.  ALMOST!!!

The daffodils at church

 A tulip in the front of the parsonage

 Hyacinths in front of the parsonage.  I absolutely LOVE the fragrance these give off!

 My update on the decluttering............NOTHING to share!  Been too busy to think about it!  :D
OK, that's it for today!  Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow!  Maybe I'll find some super bargains at the thrift stores to share!  :D

Day 37 in the Year of Our Lord 2012

I've worked myself into a headache somehow tonight.  A sinus headache, actually, so I really didn't work myself into it!  Why would you ever do something as silly as that?!  I have enough of them without working them up, lol!  I refer to them as my thorn in the flesh.  If the apostle Paul was plagued with a thorn in the flesh, why should I feel I don't deserve one, too?!  I certainly don't claim to be the servant that Paul was!  But the headaches are just a minor thing compared to some of the fleshly thorns other are plagued with.  Tim sent me a link to a Youtube video of an amazing young man who was born blind.  But the gift God gave to him in the place of his sight is amazing!  No complaints from him, either.  He reminds me of Fanny Crosby.  Please watch it here:  Patrick

I did another layout today after I saw some pictures on Liz's blog that she had taken of Abigail.  I've got a free Blog train mini kit that I decided to use to make the page.  If you are interested in downloading the freebie, it is HERE.  Isn't she just a precious treasure?  If you want to see the other pictures (Gram Schneider) you can find them HERE.

Well, I took some tylenol PMs before I start typing this and my headache is going away, so I think I will do some more sewing before retiring for the night.

Today's clutter is an old travel bag that I replaced with a hanging one.

Until tomorrow...............

Day 36 in the Year of Our Lord 2012

Please pray for the family of the 99 year old church member, Bro. Wheeles, who went home to be with the LORD in the wee hours of the morning.  Bro. Wheeles was saved under the ministry of Bro. Parks, the former pastor, who turns 90 tomorrow!  If he is able, Bro. Parks will preach the funeral.  He is in pretty bad health himself.

I pray all of you had a good day in the LORD's house today.  Tim preached a fine sermon this morning.  Last week's was really good, too!  Click on the church website link above and listen to them when you get a chance.

After I signed off the computer last night, I started reading the Chicken Soup for the Soul - Celebrating Mothers and Daughters that Jessica gave me for Christmas, while I'm waiting on my other books to arrive.  I'm not a big fan of the books, but some of the stories are touching and I can relate to lots of them.  I will begin chapter 2 tonight.

Speaking of books, my decluttering item for today is a box of bookplates that I have had for Y.E.A.R.S.!!!  I would say their size is 3"w x 4"h.  They are yours if you want them!

The temperature was very cool today.....felt like snow was moving in!  It was a cold rain and lasted off and on all day.

I thought I would share with you a couple of scrapbook pages I have worked on recently.  I have shared them with the girls on facebook, but I know there are others that read this blog that will enjoy seeing them.  I need to find a picture of Hannah and one of Michael that I can do a page of!  Think I'll go to facebook and see what I can round up!

That's all for me until tomorrow...........

Day 35 in the Year of Our Lord 2012

I missed posting last night as I had a mission to accomplish for my Digitals store!  By the time I remembered, I had a horrendous headache and called it quits and went to bed!  I did finish the book, The Devil in Pew #7. 

Today, thinking I would be able to pick up another Thyra Ferre Bjorn book from the library, I did a search for Papa's Daughter.  To my surprise, none of her books were to be found.  So, I ordered the following books from Amazon by her:

1. Then There Grew a Generation
2. Papa's Daughter
3. The Golden Acre
4. This is My Life
5. Dear Papa
6. Mama's Way

I can't wait to get them!  The shipping cost twice as much as what the books cost! 

So, considering my goal this year was to read 12 books, I am 1/4th of the way to my goal!  And it's only February!

My decluttering for yesterday and today will be to take Papa's Wife and The Devil in Pew #7 to church and pass them to someone else to read.......unless I hear from some of you.

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

Until tomorrow...................

Day 33 in the Year of Our Lord 2012

Today's thrifting was a bit different than our normal routine, which was nice!  We traveled quite far compared to our usual trek of about a 5 mile radius.  We ventured out to Thomasville, then to Lexington and then to Mocksville before heading home.  It was a bit chilly when we left as it had been raining some this morning.  But as we were getting into the car, the sun began to shine!  By our second stop, I had to take my sweater off.  We enjoyed lunch at KFC.  We each got a 4-wing meal.  The wings are big enough that half of the meal is good for lunch and the other half was enjoyed for supper!  I like it when I don't have to cook!  :D  Tim ate some vegetable soup instead but he will eat the rest of his tomorrow probably.

I didn't get any pictures today and I didn't do any decluttering.  I took the day off.  I did some more sewing and computing and reading.  I am more than half way through the book, "The Devil in Pew # Seven."  It is a true story with most of the story happening right here in NC.  I don't remember the city, however.  It is about a pastor's family who suffered much persecution from a man who attended the church (the devil in pew #7, which was the back pew).  I don't believe he was a member.  I don't want to reveal too much in case some of you might want me to pass the book along to you for reading.  It is hard to put down!  So, I'm going to close for now and do some more reading.  Until tomorrow..........

Here's what the book looks like.  It is on sale at Christian Book Distributors dot com if you are interested in buying.  Just click on the picture and it will take you to the book to buy.  You can probably find it used at Amazon, too, which I think is where we got our copy, actually.

Day 32 in the Year of Our Lord 2012

The weather was rainy off and on today, so the temps didn't get quite as warm as was predicted earlier in the week (60's vs. 70's).  But still much warmer than the normal for this time of the year.  And, sure enough, I saw clumps of green at the church where the flowers are coming up already!   I'm thinking the close up is of daffodils.

Today's decluttering items is a "Silly Slammer Design #21 Admin Assistant" that my good friend, Susie, got for each of the girls one year for Christmas when I worked at the power plant in WV.  They are hilarious.  As the name suggests, you slam these down on the desk to hear them say one of 3 possibilities:  "You're Welcome" in a sing-song way, "You want it when?"  and last, but not least "HAHAHA!  That's a good one!"

The funniest one, however, was the one Susie gave to Richard, our Supervisor.  It was the head of a bald guy with a scowling face and he said, "I need it NOOOOOOOWWWWW!" and "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!" and "YOU'RE FIRED!!"  When we went into his office, we picked it up and threw it down on his desk!  He would just grin!  Once in a while, when he would give us an order someone would throw their girl down and it was just too funny at the comeback!

So, while I definitely DON'T miss the job, we did have some fun!  But, I have no reason to keep this little gem any longer, so off to the thrift she goes for someone else to enjoy!


Until tomorrow.................