Owl Love to Stamp

Putting Mothers Everywhere Out of Business…

2009-04-20T21:21:00.005-04:00

I think each time I make this apple dumpling recipe; I cause a rift in someone’s family. Of course, I can’t take all the credit—I got the recipe from Pioneer Woman. EVERYONE asks me for the recipe, and everyone whose mother has an apple dumpling recipe admits (rather shamefully) that they like this recipe better! Plus, it’s really easy, and it has a super secret ingredient. Well, not all that secret, I guess, since you’ll get to see what it is in the recipe below. It’s more of a surprise.

When I make these, I don’t even have time to get out the camera to take a picture! So, I borrowed one from PW. I hope she doesn't mind. :)

Pioneer Woman’s Apple Dumplings

Ingredients:

2 granny smith apples

2 cans refrigerated crescent roll dough

2 sticks butter

1 cup sugar

12 oz. can Mountain Dew

cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350, and grease a 9x13 pan.

2. Peel and core apples, cut each apple into 8 wedges.

3. Open the packages of crescent roll dough, and separate into triangles.

4. Wrap one wedge of apple in each triangle of dough, and line them up in the baking dish.

5. Melt the two sticks of butter in a small saucepan. When the butter is all the way melted, add the sugar and just barely stir it. Pour the butter and sugar mixture over the dumplings in the pan.

6. Pour the can of Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan.

7. Sprinkle with cinnamon to your taste. I used quite a bit!

8. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the dough on top is golden brown.

9. Serve dumplings with some of the sauce from the pan and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

10. Enjoy!!!

Yes, the secret to this recipe is Mountain Dew. It sounds strange, I know. People that hate Mountain Dew can’t taste it in this recipe, so don’t let that stop you from trying it. The one exception to this is my husband (and Mountain Dew hater), who after seeing me add it to the pan, tries the apple dumplings and says they’re “just ok.” He claims—no, insists—that he likes the other recipe I made better. Which other recipe? Oh…it’s the same one; he just didn’t see me add the Mountain Dew last time. He swears it’s a different recipe, but unless I was cooking in my sleep at some point, this is the only kind of apple dumpling I’ve ever made. And they’re really, really delicious.

By the way, I don’t think I’ve made one Pioneer Woman recipe yet that I haven’t liked. So, if you go check it out, you’ll find some good stuff. These sandwiches are to die for! The cheesy scrambled eggs were a big hit with my husband and my mother-in-law. The cookies with Reese’s Cups were a big hit at my Uppercase Living party. The next thing I’m going to make are the jalapeno thingies, only I’m going to do them on the grill like Jason and Annemarie! By the way, never make these--you'll get hooked on them. They're like crack...

On a totally different subject, I am loving our new grill! It came to us because of the lovely refund we received from the Indiana Department of Revenue, and it’s been used every day since Tracy put it together. Tonight, though, it got a break, since we went out for a quick dinner before our small group. We went to the new Mexican restaurant in Northwood (between Penn Station and the post office); I think it's called Casa Grande. It was dee-lish! We'll definitely be going back there soon.

Happy Easter!!!

2009-04-12T20:34:00.008-04:00

Happy Easter! This is for the one person that reads my blog...right Amy?

Here is a picture of an Easter card I made. Actually, I made a few of them and gave them out to people when they came to our house or we went to their house yesterday and today. I just love the little bunnies! It's a little hard to see in the picture, but the tails are fluffy. :)

Yesterday, Tracy and I had a really great dinner at my parents' house. My mom fixed salmon with roasted potatoes and asparagus. It was nice to see everyone...my sister was in town, too! Here's a picture of the dessert, which was called "Raspberry Charlotte." Everything was fantastic!

Today, Tracy and I were planning on relaxing at home for the day after church. Instead, we got invited to spend the afternoon with a couple from church at her house for the family Easter dinner. It was a nice surprise, and we had tons of fun!

There was lots of yummy food, and then we had an Easter egg hunt. Everyone there, no matter how old, got involved in the hunt! What was so special about it? Well, we had the standard candy-filled plastic eggs, but the fun part was the Mexican Easter eggs. I had never heard of this before, but it's a Mexican tradition. You blow the insides out of an egg and then fill it with confetti. It's good luck to find one and break it over someone's head. So...we were running all over the place looking for the "special" eggs and then attacking each other!

Needless to say, we were all covered in sparkly confetti by the end of the hunt. It was everywhere--in our hair, inside our clothes, the yard, and the house! We had so much fun, and the best part of it all is that we made some new friends!

I'm going to try really hard to keep my blog more up to date. Really! I've just been so busy lately that it's been hard to find time to sit down at the computer and post new entries. So that's all for now...more is coming soon.

It's Thursday Again!

2009-02-12T20:20:00.001-05:00

Random...

2009-02-05T11:42:00.001-05:00

They used what?!?!

2009-01-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you've seen magazine articles or emails that tell you how to use ordinary household items for something entirely different. This video takes that concept to a whole new level...

Garlic bread anyone?

Random....

2009-01-29T21:12:00.002-05:00

It's Thursday again!

2009-01-15T19:44:00.002-05:00

Yes...that is Katie on the gator!!!

Uppercase Living!

2009-01-08T21:15:00.004-05:00

In a previous post, I mentioned Uppercase Living and how much I liked it. Well, now I'm going to be selling it! I finally got my starter kit, so I'm getting ready. I need to order a few things for my display, and then I'll have an open house. I'm so excited!

In case you haven't heard of Uppercase Living, they make decorative lettering and embellishments that you can use to decorate your home. The expressions can be used on any type of flat surface: walls, glass, metal, wood, etc. Expressions come in all different colors and sizes. They can be removed, and they don't damage painted surfaces.

If you would like to see what Uppercase Living is all about, click here to visit my website.

Stay tuned for more pictures and ideas. If you want to place an order or have an open house (you'll get free stuff!) leave me a comment or send me an email.

Rrrrrandom!

2009-01-08T21:09:00.005-05:00

Ok, maybe not so random. I owe a few Random Thursday pictures, so here's a recap from newest to oldest. I'm apologizing in advance for my horrible photography skills.

Yikes, what did I just do?

New dining room table!

Christmas Dinner: Roast Beast

It will be here sooner than you think...

2008-12-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas will be here in less than a week!

Are you ready???

I finished my shopping last night, and everything I have so far is wrapped. We're still waiting on some packages to come in the mail, so hopefully they'll be here soon.

Soon I will post some pictures of gifts and cards that I made, but not just yet. I don't want to spoil the surprise for the lucky recipients that read my blog...

What are your plans for Christmas this year? Christmas Eve, we'll be heading out to my parents' house for dinner. Christmas Day we're having my family over. I'm really looking forward to it.

Random!

2008-12-18T21:26:00.002-05:00

Please vote for me!!!

2008-12-09T11:23:00.003-05:00

Yay!!! I am a finalist in Tip Junkie's Christmas card contest! You can see the card I made in this post, and you can vote for me here. The voting buttons are on the left, and mine is number 6, the blue and silver card.

If all three people that read this blog vote for my card, I might have a chance to win a really cool prize. Please vote! The contest ends on Monday, December 15th.

By the way...Christmas will be here in 16 days!

Random Thursday

2008-12-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

This isn't so random because this is where I wish I could be today.
I would settle for any warm climate, really. I'm not too picky...

Christmas Card

2008-12-03T20:41:00.006-05:00

This is what my Christmas cards look like this year.

My card was inspired by a card I saw quite a while ago, and I just love the blue color. Unfortunately, this is a Stampin' Up color that has since retired. The silver paper was left over from last year's Christmas cards, so that worked out really well. I love the snowflakes! (Just to clarify, I really like them on the card, not on the gournd outside!!!)

Our card club does a Christmas card exchange each year. We make 25 cards, and then we get to take home one card that each person made, including our own. If we have extra cards, they get mailed to soldiers overseas, so that they can send them back to their families. I love seeing what different things people do. Everyone is so creative!

I need to make a few more of these to send out besides what I made for the exchange, and I'm also going to send some that I got as part of the exchange. I'm off to find my address book...

Yes...I'm Still Alive!

2008-12-03T19:44:00.004-05:00

I have been really neglecting my blog for the last few weeks. It seems like I've been busy during the week (doing what, I'm not exactly sure), and on the weekends I want to spend time with Tracy. So, I'm going to try to post more often. I guess it's not just my blog, either. Today I went into my email and deleted 4 pages of old emails from one account and 5 from the other. If I just deleted the ones I didn't need each day, it would be sooo much easier.

One thing I have not been neglecting is myself. I have lost 10 pounds in the last month, even after Thanksgiving. Yay!

Anyway, Thanksgiving was fantastic! We spent the day with Tracy's family, and we had a great time. The food was delicious! It was great not have to worry about all the cooking. Thanks Jen! Katie got to spend time with her cousin and other family that she doesn't see very often. And, she had THREE pieces of pumpkin pie. Hey, it's a vegetable, right?!?! Pumpkin pie is one of her favorite foods in the whole world, so I just didn't say anything.

This is Katie, Grams (Tracy's grandma), and Donna, my mother-in law, getting Thanksgiving dinner.

Dessert, anyone? I picked pumpkin cheesecake. Yum!

On Black Friday, I was out shopping for twelve hours. I could have skipped the first couple of hours and slept in, but that's ok. I don't think I planned quite as well as normal, so I didn't get everything I wanted. I still got quite a bit of Christmas shopping done, though. Later in the day, I took Katie to the mall, and we met Shanna (sister-in-law) and her daughter Kendall (niece) and Jen (Tracy's cousin's wife) and her daughter Rachel. Those ladies really know how to shop, let me tell you! In the evening, we went back to Ron & Jen's house for Thanksgiving leftovers and Wii!

Katie with her cousin Kendall

Rachel and Kendall with the Wii

We didn't get the tree up last weekend, so that is our project for this Saturday. I will post pictures after it's all done. I love how our house looks at Christmas!

I was featured....

2008-11-28T18:08:00.000-05:00

...on The Giveaway's "I Am Grateful For" post. Check it out here!

Random!

2008-11-20T21:46:00.001-05:00

Random Thursday

2008-11-13T12:15:00.002-05:00

Tip Junkie is at it again!

2008-11-11T20:16:00.009-05:00

I just love Tip Junkie! Laurie has gotten together a HUGE list of stores where you can buy items handmade by women & fellow bloggers. It's called the 2008 Holiday Mom-Preneur Shop-a-thon. I probably won't have enough time to make as many gifts as I'd like, so I'm going to check out some of these shops for gift ideas.

Also, if that wasn't good enough, Laurie is hosting "12 Days of Junkie," where she is hosting giveaways for 12 days. There are 2 chances to win each day. You know how I feel about those giveaways...head on over and check it out!

New Design!

2008-11-02T22:43:00.002-05:00

I found this new layout design that I love!

As far as the header, I think it looks a little silly with the giant owl (even though I think it's adorable), but if I take the owl down, people might not understand the meaning of the blog...

I'll be updating the font colors so they go better with the new template, too.

What do you think?

Winners!

2008-11-02T15:52:00.005-05:00

I'm sure you're all waiting anxiously to see if you won either of my giveaways! I used random.org to pick the winners, and I went through and carefully counted, getting rid of duplicate and/or deleted entries.

For the first giveaway, the random number generator gave me # 43, so...
The winner of the Vera Bradley slippers is Andrea from Christmas in March!

Andrea said...
I majored in Geography in college. Most people find that interesting although some of my classes sure weren't ;-)

For the second giveaway, the random number generator gave me #47, so...
The winner of the stamp/scrapbook supplies is Deborah from Read. Rave. Review!

Deborah said...
Quilt, knit, crochet, scrapbook, sew, anything I can do with my hands. Grandma always said, "Busy hands are happy hands!"

Be sure to visit both of their blogs! I think that's the best part of the Bloggy Giveaways carnival--checking out new blogs and "meeting" new people.

Congratulations, ladies! I will be emailing both of you to get your mailing info. If I do not hear from the winners within 72 hours, I will draw new winners.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by! I hope you'll come back and visit!

Random Thursday

2008-10-30T07:13:00.003-04:00

Katie likes to squish up Tracy's face. He actually lets her do it!

One more thing I noticed about this picture is that my house looks SO much better now! New paint makes a big difference.

Do You Ever Have Printer Problems?

2008-10-29T17:02:00.000-04:00

This could be the reason...

One of my cats, Whisper, is obsessed with the printer, but I've never seen him do anything quite like that. He comes running when it starts up, and then he sits there and watches it work. Too funny!

Another Giveaway!

2008-10-28T18:46:00.006-04:00

I'm having so much fun with the Bloggy Giveaways madness, I thought I'd host another giveaway myself. Here's what's up for grabs:

Alphabet Stickers
Bubble Stickers
Multicolored Fibers
Sticky Rhinestones
Alphabet Stamp Set
Punch-Out Tags (pkg has 8 sheets of tags)
Purple Flowers
Purple Gelly Roll Stardust Pen (it's sparkly!)

This stuff would be great for scrapbooking or making cards. I love all kinds of papercrafts--it's almost like therapy for me, especially when I get together with the ladies from church. (Hi Amy, Becca, and Cathy!!!)

At our last get together, I decided to try something different. A couple of months ago, I got a book at a garage sale about tea bag folding. You may not be familiar with that technique, but it uses small squares of paper, which are folded and put together in a geometric design. Originally, tea bags were used to make the designs, so that's where the name came from. There are tons of websites where you can download and print the tea bag tiles. If you're interested in trying this or finding out more, click here. I was fortunate enough to get a whole bag of papers along with the book. I made 2 cards. I used the same layout for the cards, but the folding technique was different for each one.

Ok, now on to the giveaway. Please, before you leave a comment, read the rules. I have to disqualify a lot of entries from my previous giveaway because people aren't leaving an email address. Good luck, everyone!

Rules:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what kind of crafting you do.

2. Leave your email address so that I can contact you if you win! To keep from getting overloaded with spam, format your email like this: username(at)internetprovider(dot)com. I promise I won't email you unless you're the winner. If you don't leave an email address, you will be disqualified.

3. This giveaway is limited to participants in the United States and Canada only.

4. Duplicate entries will be deleted.

5. All entries must be received by noon eastern time on Saturday, November 1st. A randomly picked winner will be announced on Sunday, November 2nd.

There are now over 1000 links on Bloggy Giveaways! I'm off to enter a few...

Giveaway - Vera Bradley Slippers

2008-10-27T21:50:00.001-04:00

Welcome to my very first giveaway! You could be the winner of a brand new pair of Vera Bradley Mod Floral Blue Slippers, Size M (7-8). They come in a matching zippered pouch.

I thought this would be a great item to give away, since I live in the same city as the Vera Bradley headquarters.

I might throw in an extra goody or two along with the slippers. That part will be a surprise!

Rules:
1. Leave a comment on this post telling me something interesting about yourself.
2. Leave your email address so that I can contact you if you win!
To keep from getting overloaded with spam, format your email like this: username(at)internetprovider(dot)com. I promise I won't email you unless you're the winner. If you don't leave an email address, you will be disqualified.
3. This giveaway is limited to participants in the United States and Canada only.
4. Duplicate entries will be deleted.
5. All entries must be received by noon eastern time on Saturday, November 1st. A randomly picked winner will be announced on Sunday, November 2nd.

Take a look around my blog, too. You might see something here you're interested in. There's a little bit of everything: stamping/scrapbooking projects, book reviews, recipes, etc. Enjoy, and good luck! Check back again in the next day or two, and I might be giving something else away...

Check out Bloggy Giveaways for links to hundreds of giveaways!!!

It's that time again....

2008-10-27T18:45:00.000-04:00

The Bloggy Giveaways Carnival is going on all week!

Random Thursday

2008-10-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hoochie Hound

2008-10-20T18:00:00.002-04:00

This was all Tracy's idea (including the title). I came home to this on Friday night, after we had dinner with his mom and grandma.

We've never really put any clothes on her before, but she didn't seem to mind too much. It looks like she's smiling!

I guess now I have a trendy dog. She's got the layered look going and a little denim skirt. My favorite part is that you can see her tail wagging underneath.

Isn't she the cutest?

I've been tagged!

2008-10-19T19:54:00.004-04:00

I just got tagged by my friend Robin from Bead Nest Designs. I've seen lots of these things on different blogs, but I've never gotten tagged before. How fun!

The rules...
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by including links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

Now, here are 7 things about me...

1. I love to read. This might not be terribly surprising to people who know me or anyone who has visited my blog. I like all different kinds of books, fiction and non-fiction. I've been known to curl up on the couch and read through cookbooks just like I would read a novel. I'm also a fan of audiobooks, which I download from the local library.

2. I recently found out I have high blood pressure. This runs in my family, so it's somewhat to be expected, but it was a bit of a shock to be put on medicine for this at age 30. Yikes! This means that I have to cut back on caffeine, and probably some other dietary changes. Fortunately, all the other tests the doctor did came back normal.

3. I'm a paper addict. I have tons of paper in my crafting area, but every time I go to a craft store I have to buy a few sheets of something new. Today I went to a stamp convention and I bought some pretty iridescent paper--six sheets, each a different color.

4. I'm left handed. This was always a problem when I was younger, because there was only one pair of lefty scissors in the basket at school, and they never worked. Now I'm married to a lefty, and pretty much all of the scissors in our house are left-handed. So just make a note. If you come over to my house and you might need to cut something, bring your own scissors!

5. I hate vampire movies, and anything that's super gory. Tracy loves them, so he either watches them in the basement or on the computer, or he waits until I'm gone. When we go to the video store, we usually get three movies: one for us to watch together, one for him, and one for me.

6. I'm a cat person. And a dog person. For years, I was only around cats. My parents had cats, and I had cats when I started out on my own. I wasn't really much of a dog person at all. When I met Tracy, he had the sweetest dog, and I was hooked. After Shadow died, we didn't really think we would get another dog, but then I found Maggie. And she's all mine. She's snoozing next to me on the couch as I type.

7. I collect owls. I collect them with such a passion that I have a whole room devoted to it! The collection started with my grandmother. When she went to a nursing home, I took her collection of owls home with me, and it just went from there. Now I have owls from all over the world. Some I bought myself, and lots were gifts. I have so many, I've lost count!

So there you have it. Seven random and/or weird things about me.

Here's who I tagged...I hope they play along too! Go check out their blogs. Even if they decide not to participate, that's ok. These are blogs I love to read, and you might enjoy them too!

(1) Root Beer Love
(2) Girls Write Out
(3) Pensieve
(4) StampOwl's Studio
(5) Make and Takes
(6) CrockStar Wannabe
(7) Inkspirations

Katie's Birthday & Spa Party

2008-10-19T19:35:00.002-04:00

Katie is 13 now! That's just crazy. 2 weeks ago was her birthday, and since it was one of those big deal birthdays, she got to have a sleepover party. She wanted a spa theme. She's not into a lot of girly things, but she loves pedicures. What's not to love about pedicures? She came up with a lot of the party ideas herself. I was impressed!

We made some cool invitations a couple of weeks ago...sorry, I don't have a picture of that. (Actually, there are a lot of things I didn't get pictures of, but oh well.) Katie found spa pictures online, I typed something up, and we went to Office Depot and had them printed on some shimmery paper.

I made up goody bags for each of the girls. Most of the stuff came from the dollar store! I didn't spend a lot, and I think they were all impressed with what they got to take home. Here's what I put together.

Large Cosmetic Bag:
Lavender & Vanilla Sugar Scrub

Green Tea Bath Bomb

Bath Poof

Lip Gloss Charm (I attached that to the zipper)

Small Cosmetic Bag:

Pedicure Set (file, orange stick, clippers, toe separators, etc)

Mini Nail Polish

I used a terry cloth headband to hold the 2 bags together.

By the way, all of that stuff was less than $7 per girl. Gotta love Dollar Tree!

For dinner, everyone got to make their own pizza. That was a big hit! I made the crust and the sauce myself, and let them put on their own toppings: sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, and cheese. While the pizzas were baking, the girls played a game.

After dinner, they got in the hot tub for a while. After the hot tub, the girls changed into their pj's so they could be comfy for their spa treatments. Then, Katie opened her gifts and we had dessert. She requested peanut butter pie instead of cake!

At this point, Tracy made a beeline for the basement, which was his "man cave" for the evening.

The girls sat down and started watching "Titanic" on TV, so I went out to the kitchen and got them some drinks. I made a slushy mixture out of frozen lemonade concentrate, frozen orange juice concentrate, and pineapple juice. I scooped some of the slush into a margarita glass for each of them, then poured lemon-lime soda over it. They thought it was great that they got to have 'margaritas.'

We made 2 spa treatments for the girls to try, a chocolate facial and a strawberry exfoliating scrub. I got the recipes from Spa Index. Here's a picture of them with the chocolate facial mask on. This makes up for all the pictures I didn't take through the night. It's priceless!

While they were watching the movie, we started on pedicures. I got these tubs from the dollar store, too. I added some pineapple & coconut bath salts to each tub, and they soaked for a while. Afterwards, they put on some pineapple & coconut body butter and then put their socks on to keep the moisture in. By this time, it was pretty late and I was getting tired!

After the spa treatments, they all went upstairs to put on makeup and play truth or dare. Katie found these truth questions and dare ideas, and then I made up some others. This was all totally her idea. We cut them apart into strips, and put all the truth questions in one cup and the dares in another. When each girl's turn came, they picked a truth or a dare from the cup and did whatever it said.

In the morning, we had donuts with milk and juice for breakfast. By the time everyone got up and had breakfast, it was already time for them to go home!

I didn't go into a ton of detail on a lot of the party stuff, so if you want more info on something, just let me know! I'd be happy to share my ideas and recipes.

Also, here's a party planning tip: plan out your party activities, but you don't have to follow it exactly! As long as the girls were having fun, I wasn't going to push them to do start doing another activity. So they didn't get their nails painted, oh well. Less mess to clean up, I guess! What matters is that Katie and her friends had fun.

Now, thankfully, it's over. It only took me 2 weeks to recover!

Random Thursday

2008-10-16T09:11:00.003-04:00

Dining Room

2008-10-12T15:42:00.004-04:00

Since everyone asked about it at scrapbooking, here's a picture of my dining room. I still need to paint the ceiling and do some touch-up work, I love the color. It makes the dining room seem so much warmer! I think I might put up some cafe curtains, too.

Sarah is sleeping on the footstool, and Tracy is sleeping on the couch. I didn't figure he'd want to be in the picture.

Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce

2008-10-10T18:00:00.004-04:00

A couple of months ago, I got an email from a company asking if I would review their product on my blog. Country Bob’s sent me 2 bottles of their All Purpose Sauce, and a couple of recipe pamphlets.

I love that Country Bob’s is a Christian company! In fact, that was one of the first things I noticed when I visited their website: http://www.countrybobs.com/. Al, the person that contacted me has been really nice, and I can tell that they really love the product and want to get the word out about it. Hopefully, more than one person will read this post and give it a try!
I’ve used the sauce a few times now, and I really love the flavor of it. It's a little sweeter than steak sauce, and has more of a kick than ketchup. They have lots of recipes and ideas on their website here. According to the site, the All Purpose Sauce can be used for grilling, marinating, and cooking. You can add it to soups, stews, and baked beans, or put it on steak, chicken, fish, hamburgers, and fries.

One night, we got some frozen cocktail shrimp from the store, so I decided to try the cocktail sauce recipe. If you buy cocktail sauce from the store, you’re missing out on not making your own. It just takes a few ingredients and it all goes together in less than 5 minutes. Basically, the only difference between my cocktail sauce recipe and Country Bob’s is that it used the All Purpose Sauce instead of ketchup or chili sauce. Let me tell you, it was absolutely the best cocktail sauce I’ve ever had! Tracy agreed.

This week, I made meatloaf with Country Bob’s recipe. To be honest, it wasn’t my favorite meatloaf recipe. After the meatloaf was baked, it had a mushier texture than what I like. I did, however, really like the flavoring that the All Purpose Sauce added to the meatloaf. Next time, I’d go back to my regular meatloaf recipe and use the All Purpose Sauce instead of the ketchup or BBQ sauce.

I also tried dipping some fries in All Purpose Sauce , and that was good too. I want to marinate some steaks in it next, because I think that would be fantastic.
Country Bob’s also makes Spicy All Purpose Sauce, Barbeque Sauce, and Seasoning Salt. You can use their retail locator to find out where to buy it in your area, or you can buy the products straight from their online store. In my area, their products are available at Kroger and Wal-Mart.

I went to Kroger and Wal-Mart to see what they had. I did find the All Purpose Sauce, but they didn’t carry any of the other products. I was a bit disappointed, because I would have also liked to try the spicy sauce and the seasoning salt.

Between the 2 stores, the price varied quite a bit! At Wal-Mart the price was $2.24 for a bottle. At Kroger it was $3.88 for the exact same bottle. Ouch! I’d buy it again at the Wal-Mart price for sure. I guess that’s why I do the majority of my grocery shopping there…

I did find a way that all of you can get a FREE bottle of Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce. Just go here and they’ll send you a coupon. Enjoy!

Random Thursday

2008-10-09T12:36:00.002-04:00

Book Club - The Shack

2008-10-09T12:04:00.014-04:00

On October 5, our church book club met to discuss The Shack, by William P. Young. We had a really good turn out this time, so that was awesome! I hope we have that many people again next month. Anyway, this is what the front cover looks like. Just looking at that, I thought it was intriguing.

The description on the back cover made me want to read it even more. Here's what the back says:

Mackenzie Allen Phillips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been

abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have

been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in

the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great

Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God,

inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry

afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he

finds there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant

The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in

a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets

will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him.

You'll want everyone you know to read this book!

I’ve seen on other blogs that people think The Shack is very controversial, and that it’s heresy, and so forth. Come on people, it’s FICTION! It’s not scripture, and it wasn’t intended to be. It’s just one person’s story.

I really enjoyed reading the book and then talking about it, because there was a lot to digest. Our group discussion brought up some points that I hadn’t thought about. For me, reading The Shack was a moving experience. It was one of those books that really sucked me in, and I wanted to read the whole thing without stopping! The book had a great message, and it definitely portrayed a different way of thinking than what I am used to. I think that reading the book helped me in my spiritual journey, and it made me look at my relationship with God from a different angle. I would highly recommend it to anyone, especially someone that is struggling in their faith. Again, it is fiction, not scripture, but it paints a picture that people can relate to.

I don’t want to give anything away, so that’s why I haven’t gotten into a whole lot of detail. Let me just say that it didn't turn out like I originally thought it would. If you’re curious, go get a copy! Then read it, and let me know what you think. Even if it doesn't affect you spiritually, I'm sure you'll think it's a good story. You can also check out the website at www.theshackbook.com

Random Thursday

2008-10-02T21:04:00.006-04:00

I'm going to try Annemarie's Random Thursday idea. Hope she doesn't mind! Here's my picture for this week, which is one of my all-time favorites.

Breast Cancer Card

2008-10-02T20:50:00.004-04:00

Here's a card I made for my friend Gale, who is a breast cancer survivor. It's going in a gift bag full of pink goodies that a few of us have gotten together to give her.

The inside of the card says, "Your Breast Friends" and has everyone's name inside. It's a bit hard to see, but on the ribbon in the circle, I put pink rhinestones, so it's sparkly.

I'm planning to participate in Making Strides Against Breast Cancer on Saturday, as long as I'm feeling up to it. (I'm still trying to get over my sinus infection.) Anyway, our team's name is "Breast Friends." By the way, I am a total slacker and I have NO donations so far, so if you're feeling generous and want to help with breast cancer research, you can click on the link to my team's name and help me out!

Another Day in North Carolina

2008-09-27T20:55:00.005-04:00

The weather was much better today. It started out cloudy, but at least it wasn't raining. The sun even came out after lunch! Mom and I had another busy day. We started off by driving to Black Mountain. They had streets full of little shops, and they sold all kinds of great things--pottery, jewelry, crafts, antiques, and pretty much anything else you could think of. I think our favorite shop was Seven Sisters.

We had lunch at Veranda. It was really good. I had a half of a club sandwich, and Hungarian mushroom soup. I liked the soup so much I want to find a recipe and make some at home.

After we had our fill of shopping, we drove back to Asheville. On the way back, we had to stop and take some more mountain pictures. I don't think the pictures are as pretty as the real thing, but I guess you just have to take my word for it.

In Asheville, we headed downtown. That was the last place we really wanted to check out on our last day. First, we went to the Double Decker Coffee Company, which was a coffee house inside a double decker bus. How cool is that!

Then we went to Appalachian Craft Center to check out more locally made items. Last, we drove to the Grove Arcade, which is a historic building full of restaurants and shops. The parking garage was free, thanks to that lovely gas shortage.

For dinner, we ate at Tupelo Honey Cafe.

I didn't realize I like pimento cheese that much, but I sure loved the pimento cheese dip we ordered. It was like a flavorful, but less spicy version of queso dip. My nutty fried chicken with mashed sweet potatoes was delicious, too.

Our trip to Asheville has been fantastic. We had lots of fun exploring, found great places to eat, and enjoyed the spectacular mountain views. I can't wait to come back!

That's One Big House!

2008-09-26T19:56:00.007-04:00

My mom and I had a great drive to Asheville yesterday. The weather was nice and the sun was shining. Today, not so much. It was cloudy and drizzling all day, and it was a little bit chilly. That didn't stop us from spending the whole day at the Biltmore, though.

It only took a few minutes to get there from our hotel, and we stopped and got our audio tour tickets on the way in. There are lots of winding tree-lined roads around the estate. It's beautiful! I wish I could have gotten some pictures of that part, but there was no place to stop. So anyway, we parked our cars and got on the shuttle to go see the house.

We came around the last curve and this is what we saw:

It's huge! I had seen pictures before, but the real thing is just amazing. Here's what we saw when we were standing in front of the house, looking out towards the grounds:

Even though it was rainy, the mountains were still gorgeous. Here is a view from the terrace:

It took us a good three hours just to see the house. I was really glad that we got the audio, because it gave a lot of information that we wouldn't have heard if we had just walked through on our own.

After we got done at the house, we decided it was time for lunch. We ate at the Stable Cafe, which is right off the main house.

After lunch, we looked around at the shops for a little while, and then went back to our car to drive around the rest of the estate. We wanted to check out the gardens, but it was just too rainy. We'll save that for next time. Here's a picture of the gardens and the conservatory that I took when we drove through:

Then, we went to the winery. We took a self-guided tour of the winery, and then we tasted some wine. Yum! We bought a few bottles of wine, and then we decided that we were too exhausted to see anything else! By then, it was almost 4 in the afternoon. This is the building that houses the winery:

We also managed to find a gas station that was actually selling gas, and there wasn't a big long line down the street. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check this out.

What a day! I'd definitely do it again, though.

Biltmore House - By the numbers:

9,973,638: Pounds of Indiana limestone
1,000,000+: Visitors per year
175,000: Square feet of floors
70,000: Gallons of water to fill the basement swimming pool
48,000: Grapevines planted in the vineyards
30,000: Q-tips used in restoration
8,000: Acres of land that make up the estate
1895: Year George Vanderbilt moved in
1700+: Employees
250: Rooms
102: Steps on the Grand Staircase
65: Fireplaces
43: Bathrooms
35: Bedrooms

Painting Project

2008-09-23T21:00:00.003-04:00

Thursday morning I'm leaving for Asheville, NC with my mom. We're going to see the Biltmore. It's something my mom has wanted to do for a long time, and I know we'll have fun! Usually when I'm gone, Tracy has some kind of project planned, and this time is no exception. This weekend, he will be painting the dining room. Here's what it looks like now.

We went to Lowe's last weekend and picked out the paint color. Amazingly, we both liked the exact same color. It's called Mocha Syrup. Hopefully I'll like it when it's on the wall, too. It's a little darker than what I had originally planned, but it really matches the placemats and dishes we got for our wedding. I can't wait to see what it looks like when I get home!

I'll share pictures of the trip when I have time!

Whoa, what's all this?

2008-09-20T16:00:00.001-04:00

Anyone know what this picture is?

From Drab to Fab...

2008-09-17T21:52:00.009-04:00

OK, that's kind of a dorky title, I know. But it's amazing how one little thing can make such a big difference. A couple of weeks ago on my finger post, I mentioned that I went to an Uppercase Living party. Today, the product I ordered magically appeared on my front porch. I ordered something to go in my bedroom. Here's what the wall looked like when I got home from work today:

I have been looking for something to go in this space for a long time. A picture, some kind of flower arrangement, a wall hanging, anything! And now I've got something. This is what I ordered:

It didn't take me very long to put this up at all. I just followed the instructions, and I measured...twice. And this is the after picture:

The designs come in all different colors, and I was amazed at how well this matched the trim and accents in my room! I had a really hard time picking out one thing because I liked half of what was in the catalog.

I think I need to have my own party, because I want to order more. I want to get something for my living room, and maybe the dining room, too!

Journey with Heart & Cheap Trick

2008-09-17T21:52:00.004-04:00

It seems like I never have enough time to post, so here's another post that's a week late. Ugh.

Last Wednesday night, Tracy and I drove down to see Journey, Heart, and Cheap Trick in concert. We had a really good time! This was my anniversary gift to Tracy, so we had been waiting a long time for this.

We met Annemarie and Jason there, and I don't know how it happened, but we got there at exactly the same time. I turned around to go back to the car for my cell phone, and they were standing right there! Mike got some free tickets, so he and Chantel were there, too.

Cheap Trick didn't play for long, but they were pretty good. This is the best picture I got all night, because it wasn't dark yet.

Heart was next. They were fantastic! I could have listened to them all night. I couldn't get any pictures of them because of the lighting. And possibly because I need some photography lessons!

Last was Journey. Their new singer is amazing! Here is a bad picture from when Journey was playing--you can't see the band at all, just the ocean of people!

My only complaint was the people around us. They were awful. They were so drunk, they were literally falling over each other. Seriously, just stay home next time. And keep the wacky tobacky at home with you too...

Finger Food, or How I Spent Labor Day

2008-09-04T17:28:00.007-04:00

I know this is a little late to be discussing how I spent Labor Day, but I've been really busy! My weekend started out great. I went to Amy's house to scrapbook on Friday, took Katie shopping on Saturday.

On Sunday, I went to church, had a great lunch at my parents' house, and went to an Uppercase Living Party. Sunday evening, Tracy's cousin invited us to a bonfire in Hoagland, and we had a great time there, too!

Then Monday came around. We slept in, which was wonderful! I can't remember the last time I stayed in bed until 10:30. Then, I had to go to the grocery store. I picked up all the things I needed to make a salad for our Bible Study Labor Day party.

WARNING!!! Stop here if reading about blood bothers you. Just skip down to the recipe!

I started getting the salad ready when I got home, and then when I was slicing the cucumber, I sliced my pinky finger, too! Somehow I've managed to use the vegetable slicer for years with no problem, but then my finger got in the way. Somehow, with blood pouring out of my finger, I was able to use my other hand to finish the salad. My finger was still bleeding when it was time to leave, so I slapped another gauze pad on there and we went to the party. Everyone said the salad was great, so I posted the recipe below.

Two hours later, when we left the party, I was still bleeding. Sara said I should probably get it checked out, but first we had to go home, because Katie's mom was coming to pick her up at 6. After Katie left, we drove to the doctor's office. They usually have an after hours clinic, but I wasn't sure how that worked on holidays. They closed at 3, so we tried RediMed. They had just closed at 6, so we went to the emergency room.

Everyone at Parkview North was great! They got me all bandaged up. Bill had to come and visit me, even though we told him he didn't have to. I think he just wanted to give me a hard time, because he and Tracy were exchanging lots of bad jokes. I got a tetanus shot, since my last one was probably in 1994. They told me it would be best to keep my bandaged finger above my heart for as long as possible for the first 24 hours, and they told me to be sure and get my blood pressure checked on Tuesday because it was SUPER high. It was 199/136 the first time they took it, and 190/131 the second time. My temperature was also high, so I'm just chalking that up to trauma from watching myself bleed for 4 hours!

On Tuesday, still holding my finger up in the air (thank goodness it wasn't a different finger, if you know what I mean), I ventured to the fire station to get my blood pressure checked. It was a little better, 150/84. What I want to know, is why do they pick the fire station for blood pressure testing?!?! For men, this is probably fine. For women, being around firefighters...probably isn't going to keep the blood pressure low. That's how I'm justifying it, anyway.

Now it's Thursday and I'm pretty good at doing things while keeping my finger out of the way. I'm getting better at typing without it, too. I can even change the bandages and all that fun stuff, and it really doesn't hurt much.

Hopefully it will heal up without getting infected, and I will be good as new. Now here's the recipe. I dare you to make it without thinking about this story! Note: No fingers (or finger parts) were actually in the salad!

"Finger Food" Salad

Serves: a crowd

Ingredients:
1 head leaf lettuce, washed and torn into bite size pieces
1 head romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite size pieces
1 med. cucumber, sliced
1/2 med. onion, sliced 1/2 med. green pepper, sliced
1 container grape tomatoes
1 can black olives, drained
1 pkg Kraft cheese crumbles (I used the Colby/Cheddar/Monterey Jack)
Kraft Tuscan House Italian Dressing, to taste.

Directions: Layer ingredients in a bowl. Just before serving, add dressing and toss everything together. Enjoy!

Pop Up Flower Card & Mini Booklet -- Video Tutorials!

2008-08-26T21:24:00.010-04:00

We get a lot of really great ideas at card club each month! On Sunday, we did two projects. I was even able to find video tutorials, so you can make your own!

Project #1
The first thing we made was a pop up flower card. Since I'm not great at photographing cards anyway, there's no way I could get a decent picture of the inside. I was really excited when I checked my email today and found the link to this video:

Isn't that neat? You make seven of those flowers and stick them together, and that's it! For our cards, we stamped the flower centers instead of using a marker, and the outside was a piece of colored cardstock that we embellished with a sticker and a stamped butterfly image.

Project #2
We also made a little 8 page booklet with pockets. We used a 12x12 sheet of double sided paper, and another small piece of matching paper for the cover. This would be great for lots of things -- little gifts, storing gift cards or business cards, a photo holder to carry around in your purse, or maybe even to keep track of receipts while you're traveling. Anyway, here's the video for this one:

I saw several different ideas while I was looking around for the video for this, and you don't necessarily have to put the little cover on the outside. Some people punched holes and used ribbon, and others used one of those bind-it-all machines (something I don't have) to make their booklets. We put a long piece of ribbon on the inside to tie the book closed.

I hope you like these as much as I do--give them a try!

Miracle Grow

2008-08-20T20:01:00.005-04:00

No, that's not a typo up there, because I'm not talking about the fertilizer. I'm talking about this really pretty purple flowered plant that is growing near our garage.

It just sprouted up next to the trash bin, right up through the crack in the concrete. As far as I know, I've never planted a flower like this in my yard, so a little bird must have dropped a seed in there.

The funny thing is that Tracy hasn't added any fertilizer to it, and yet it looks prettier than any of our other plants. It definitely dresses up that trash bin!

Here I am!

2008-08-19T21:29:00.002-04:00

EASY & DELICIOUS: Peanut Butter Pie

2008-08-19T21:09:00.004-04:00

It was my turn to take the treat to our Bible Study on Monday, and I had no idea what I wanted to make. I did know that I wasn't excited about turning on the oven. I looked around on Allrecipes.com, and found a recipe for no-bake peanut butter pie. I read the reviews and changed it up a little, and it turned out great! Here's a picture:

Everyone thought I bought it at the store, which I'm pretty sure was a compliment. Then, when they found out I actually made it, they all asked for the recipe! This recipe makes 2 pies, which is fine because you can just store the extra one in the freezer until you need it. Unfortunately, I don't have any left, so I guess I'll have just have to make it again! Here's the recipe, with my tweaks.

Easy No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie

8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used light)
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
2 prepared 9 inch Oreo pie crusts
2 16 oz containers whipped topping, thawed (I used light)
8 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped

Mix cream cheese and confectioner's sugar. Add peanut butter and milk and stir until smooth. Fold in 1 container of whipped topping. Divide the mixture into the two pie crusts, and put the pies in the freezer to set for at least 15 minutes. Then, top the pies with the remaining container of whipped topping and sprinkle with the chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Cover the pies and freeze them until you're ready to serve.

Random things...

2008-08-18T21:57:00.003-04:00

My new car...
I got over my indecisiveness last Thursday, and I picked the Hyundai Tuscon. I've been really busy, but I will get some pictures of the real thing soon. It looks just like this. I definitely don't regret my decision--I really love it! In fact, the only thing I don't like about it is that I have to make payments, which isn't something I can get around easily. It will be fun to drive on the trip to North Carolina next month.

My giveaway winnings...
I've been getting little presents in the mail ever since Chilihead's Bloggy Giveaways carnival. I'm just waiting on a couple more things, and then I'm going to do an entire post on the things I won and the wonderful people who sent them to me. It will have links and pictures and all of that fun stuff. I think the best part of all this was finding new blogs to visit, although I do really enjoy getting things via snail mail. You might not hear from me for a while after this post because I got a whole box of computer games today. Fun!

Back to school...
By the end of the week, pretty much everyone in the area will be back to school. Katie starts 7th grade on Wednesday! I was reading the paper online the other day and I thought this was a funny little article about the way things are now compared to what they used to be: School Supplies - Then vs. Now.

Bible Study...
This Beth Moore study I'm working on is really intense, but I just know it's going to be worth all the hard work. I seriously think I've learned more about the Bible in the last 2 weeks than I have in the last 10 years! It's amazing. Here is a verse from one of this week's lessons that really spoke to me:

"I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O Lord,
make me dwell in safety."
-Psalm 4:8 (NIV)

I'm trying to think of a way to put this in my bedroom where I'll see it every night. I tend to wake up in the middle of the night with my mind running full speed, and this verse is so comforting. And with that, I'm off to bed. Good night!

I guess I'm getting a car...

2008-08-12T22:32:00.005-04:00

I wasn't planning on doing this until October, but that's life, right? Today Tracy's truck decided it didn't want to go anymore. It's possible that there's some minor issue that could be easily fixed, but we're both tired of having one not-so-reliable vehicle all the time. So, this evening (after we had the truck towed) we went car shopping. I found two that I liked:

Option 1: 2007 Pontiac G6

Option 2: 2006 Hyundai Tucson

The G6 is pretty much loaded--moonroof, power everything...you get the idea. Stuff I've never had in a car before! Our salesman was nice enough to let me take this one home overnight to give it a try.

The Tucson is the type of vehicle I was originally looking for, a smaller SUV. With this, we'd still have a little bit of hauling capacity to make up for not having a truck. It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but it is great to drive! I like sitting up higher--but that probably has something to do with me being so short. Maybe tomorrow night I can bring this one home. Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask!

Problem is, I really like both of them, but I can only choose 1. Help!

Church Picnic

2008-08-11T22:37:00.007-04:00

Sunday was another beautiful day! I got back from Michigan just in time to go to our church picnic. The picnic was at Metea Park, where Tracy and I got married. The food was delicious, and everyone had a great time. Here are a few of the pictures I took:

Katie spent almost the whole time down by the pond.

Katie and Chris are holding the frogs they caught.

Future baseball player!

Kids on the playground.

Tracy and Greg are playing Hillbilly Golf.

The big volleyball game.

Just hanging around, which was my favorite part!

What a great weekend!

2008-08-11T22:13:00.004-04:00

This was the view from Sandhill Crane Vineyards on Saturday. It was a beautiful day, and not nearly as hot as a normal August day! It was great to just relax all day. We tasted wine, had spa treatments, ate a wonderful lunch, and totally enjoyed ourselves. My mom and I have done this every year, and we like it better each time. This time I decided to get a massage, and it was wonderful! My mom got a manicure and pedicure. Here's a picture of Mom just hanging out...

One thing I found a bit perplexing was this:

A drumming circle turned into an aerobics class. Who comes up with that stuff?!?! I just couldn't resist sharing this.

Anyway, Saturday night we had dinner at Schuler's and then went back to the hotel and slept very well. Wine and sunshine will do that to you!

I heart books!

2008-08-06T19:00:00.000-04:00

I've loved to read for as long as I can remember. I can read through a cookbook just as easily as a good novel. When I'm going on vacation, I run to the library and check out piles of books so I can find out more about my destination. (Ask Tracy, it's the truth!) Now I spend almost as much time reading blogs as I do reading books!

One thing that's fairly new to me is Christian fiction. For a little less than a year, I've been going to my church's monthly book club. I used to think I wouldn't like Christian books for some reason, but actually I've really enjoyed them for the most part! We're even lucky enough to have a Christian fiction author as a member of our church. Every time I pick up one of Denise's books, I read the whole thing cover to cover. Why on earth did I think I wouldn't like Christian novels as much as the other ones?!?! Anyway, yesterday I took a trip to Anchor Room at lunch and got some new books to read on my upcoming weekend trip:

1. The Moon in the Mango Tree

Set in Siam and Europe during the 1920s, the glittering decade of change, The Moon In The Mango Tree is based upon the true story of Barbara Bond, a beautiful young ex-patriot and opera singer from Philadelphia who is forced to choose between her fierce desire for independence-a desire to create something of her own to give purpose and meaning to her life-and a deep abiding love for her faithful missionary husband whose work seems to create a gap between them. But when you choose between two things you love, must one be lost forever?

2. Orchid House

Julia Morrison's inherited plantation in the Philippines requires that she leave her fast-paced American life, if only for a while. With proceeds of the sale, Julia means to create the new life she desperately wants. But as she spends time in the hacienda of her ancestors, she experiences the beauty of the land and the deep love of people who share in the upkeep and heritage of this enchanting house.

3. The Will of Wisteria

When wealthy Edward Wilcott dies, his children have to "earn" their inheritance. Attorney Elizabeth must work pro bono for a year; plastic surgeon Jeffrey must find a less superficial practice; Mary Catherine has to stay in one place and teach; and Will is to build homes for the poor. Will they defy Wilcott's wishes---or end up rich?

I'll write more about these after I read them! Also, the books didn't have discussion questions at the end, but I did find them on Christianbook.com. That's also where I got all of the pictures and book descriptions (no, I didn't make them up myself).

What book(s) are you reading right now? Anyone out there?

Scrapbooking Night

2008-08-05T21:22:00.007-04:00

Once again, at scrapbooking night, I did NO scrapbooking! I was more in the mood to make some cards, so that's what I did.

First, I made these two little cards. They're about 3"x3" and I used some shimmery red cardstock, black textured paper and some Stampin Up rub-ons that I've had for a while. I can't believe I've had these rub-ons all this time and I've never used them! I think these cards could be used as gift tags, or just little love notes.

I made this card at card club a week and a half ago, but I scanned it along with everything else I've done recently. We got to use Outline stamps. There were several different stamps to choose from, and it was really interesting to see how each person in the group came up with something totally different. I used my glitter gel pens to color the layers, and then cut them out and attached them to the card.

Then, the card opens up to look like this! I did make a little boo boo--I didn't realize how big the stamp was going to be on the card, so I didn't stamp the word "Hello" in the right place. The stem was a stamp too, and I just colored over it with my glitter pen to make it green. Go to Outlines Rubber Stamps to check out their other products. They have great stuff!

Ok, back to my (non)scrapbooking night. I was inspired by the Outlines card to make this one. I just used Stampin Up punch out flowers and rub-ons, kraft paper, and white ink. I just love the way the white rub-ons show up on kraft paper! I wish you could see the card in person, because this picture doesn't do it justice. The flower is orange and sky blue, and then I used white ink around the edges of the orange layers (thanks Cathy!).

I made this card for Abbie, a 16-year-old girl that has Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It's part of Geri's August Good Deed. I'm sending the card and a couple of other goodies to Geri, and Geri will ship a whole package of surprises to Abbie. (Hopefully Abbie doesn't read this blog!) Here's what this card looks like, all opened up.

Next up is a thank you card. I love to make thank you cards, because that's something you can always use. The card didn't actually turn out how I planned, because I didn't fold the blue cardstock the right way. Instead of wasting a perfectly good piece of paper, I just cut off the fold and made two cards like this. The white square in the middle opens up, and that's where I'll write a (short) message. I cut the flower with a Cricut out of the patterned paper.

This is the last card. I went back to the white Stampin Up rub-ons and kraft paper. I also used some green punch-out flowers and the striped paper was from my stash. It's simple, but I think it turned out pretty cute!

P.S. If I send you one of these cards and you already saw it on here, just act surprised, ok?!?!

Never say never...

2008-08-05T21:15:00.003-04:00

I guess I can't really say anything about never winning (which I did in a previous post), because now I've won 5 different things from blog giveaways. I've gotten one thing in the mail already, a necklace, and I aboslutely love it! I'm going to do a whole post on what I won and which blog it was from, but I'll do that after everything gets to my house.

I had so much fun entering all the giveaways, I'm thinking about doing my own giveaway sometime soon. Any suggestions?

2 New Bible Studies

2008-07-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

I'm getting ready to start two new Bible Studies. I'm not sure which one I'm more excited about, because they're both going to be good for me in different ways.

Tonight, our Monday night Connection Group is starting Taking Care of Business: Finding God at Work by Andy Stanley. From what I understand, this study teaches you how to deal with people at work, how to balance work and family life, and boldly living out your Christian faith. Who doesn't need help with all those things?

Then, starting in August, a group of women are going to work through A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place by Beth Moore. I've never done a Beth Moore study before, but everyone always talks about how great her studies are. One thing I need to work really hard on is keeping up with the daily studies on my own.

Finally, a Vacation!

2008-07-27T11:00:00.001-04:00

It's official, I've been at my job for one year! It also means (drum roll please) that I have more vacation time!!! The sad thing is that I've already planned to use all five days. Here's what I'm doing:

Long weekend #1
July 28 - Taking Katie to Swissland Cheese for a tour. Tracy took some days off to spend time with her during her summer stay at our house, so I thought it would be fun for me to take time off to do something, too. I had never heard of Swissland Cheese before until I went to the Barr Street Market last week. Katie LOVES cheese, so I'm sure she'll get a kick out of seeing it made.
July 29 - Going to the Shipshewana Flea Market with Tammy and 2 of her other friends. I already went with Tracy on the 4th, but the girls only trip should be fun too!

Long weekend #2
August 8 - My mom and I are driving up to Michigan. Saturday we are going to Sandhill Crane Vineyards for their Pampering Day for Women. We've gone to this every year since the event started, and I think we travel farther than anyone to get there. This will be our third time, and we always have a blast.

Long weekend #3
September 25-26 - My mom has always wanted to go to Asheville, NC and see The Biltmore. I thought it would be fun to take a road trip with her, and what better time than this fall? There are some other reasons relating to her big birthday this year, but I don't think she would appreciate everyone knowing how old she is.

My goal is to take pictures of all these things, but I need to be better about remembering my camera!

More Giveaways!!!

2008-07-26T16:13:00.011-04:00

I found some sites dedicated to blog giveaways that I thought I would share.

The idea of the giveaways is to get the word out about handmade items, new products and various other goodies.

Sometimes you can just leave a comment to win, and other times you have to go to the website and ~~drool over~~ pick your favorite item before you post a comment. A few contests will have ways for you to enter multiple times - by posting about the giveaway on your blog or adding a button or widget to your blog.

I've never won a blog giveaway, but I love looking around at different websites, especially things that are handmade. I've found some great gift ideas from these giveaways, too! I can just feel my bank account shrinking...

Now, go win some stuff! And if you're nice, you'll share it with me.

Don't Rain on My Parade...

2008-07-25T22:26:00.011-04:00

We had an unusual thing happening in our back yard, and it started about a month ago. I wish I had some pictures of what we started with, but just imagine a very plain 17 foot flat-bed trailer. A blank canvas, just waiting to be turned into this masterpiece:

Our church men's group, under the direction of my very patient husband, Tracy, worked on this every Saturday for a month! They worked really hard, and I was impressed with their creativity. The decorations were created and attached by our church scrapbooking group. I think it turned out great.

John made the cake topper out of styrofoam and painted it. How cool is that! The cake decorations are tissue paper flowers.

also really glad I got Tracy that air compressor last Christmas, because it was used for every part of this project.

Tracy used our wedding runner to cover the seats. Sometimes I wonder why on earth he would save something like that and then it turns out to be exactly right for something else. I guess Maggie liked it too, because she hopped right up there just before I took the picture.

We finished decorating everything the night before the parade. Fortunately, we covered the entire thing with a boatload of plastic sheeting. Unfortunately, while everyone was waiting to ride in the parade, it started POURING. This was shortly after Tracy hopped on the motorcycle with Katie so that he could drop her off to ride in the parade. I saw a few pictures from the parade and I think the float held up pretty well--I think they just took off some streamers. Everyone was totally soaked, but they had a great time.

Note to self: No more float building! It's hard work! And it makes Tracy grumpy!

Thank You Note and Christmas in July!

2008-07-25T21:42:00.010-04:00

I made these last weekend at my church's scrapbooking night. Not scrapbooking really, but I just wanted to make some cards. First, I made two thank-you notes. I used one of my Sizzix dies to cut the bookplate. The stamp is from the SU set Short and Sweet, and the paper is Confetti and Daisies by Creating Keepsakes. The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby. I used my edge distresser to make the layers stand out a little more.

Then, I did something really scary! I made some Christmas cards. Yes, I know it's only July, but Christmas will be here before we know it. I found this fantastic Cream & Green Holly Printed Paper by Die Cuts With a View at Jo-Ann, and I bought every sheet they had left because I loved it so much.

I had a holly stamp by Alias Smith & Rowe that was similar to the paper, so I stamped and embossed it in gold and colored it with my Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze pens to give it a little texture. I outlined the diamond with my gold Zig pen.

The gold stickers in the corners were from my stash.

The message inside is by Hero Arts, and it's embossed in gold, too.

I started using my scanner for these pictures and it's working a LOT better. I updated the pictures below, too.

Hope you enjoy these! Maybe I'll have time this weekend to work on some new creations, but no more Christmas cards for a while.

Lemon Bars!

2008-07-09T19:41:00.006-04:00

No, I haven't forgotten about my blog! I've been busy trying to win something on Tip Junkie's 20 Day Giveaway. I'm really getting some good gift ideas. If I don't win, at least I'll have a long list of places to do my Christmas shopping!

Oh, and I've also been working on our church's float for the Three Rivers Festival Parade. I'll post those pictures in a couple of days. The parade is on Saturday, and we just have a few days to finish up the details. The parade theme this year is "Happy 40th Birthday" because it's the 40th year for the festival. Our float is a piece of cake...and no, that's not meant to be a pun!

In the meantime, I'm posting a recipe I made for Bible Study this week. I found it on Allrecipes. I'm posting the recipe the way I made it, and they were yummy. I wasn't feeling well when I made them, so I got this picture from Allrecipes, too.

Lemon Square Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (the original recipe said to sift the flour, but I skipped that part)
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 cup butter, melted
4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons, and it was tart--just the way I like)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups of flour and the confectioner's sugar. Blend in the melted butter. (Note: Apparently I wasn't paying attention, and I used softened butter instead. It worked out fine, because I made the dough in my KitchenAid mixer.) Press dough evenly into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden.

In a large bowl (I used the KitchenAid again), beat eggs until light. Stir white sugar and remaining 1/4 cup flour into the eggs, making sure there are no lumps. Finally, stir in the lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust and return pan to the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the lemon filling is set.

Cool completely (seriously, you have to wait!) before cutting into bars. Sprinkle with additional confectioner's sugar, if desired. Makes 24 bars.

Check Out Tip Junkie's 20 Day Giveaway!!!

2008-06-23T22:56:00.001-04:00

Crockpot Recipe - Salsa Chicken

2008-06-23T22:33:00.006-04:00

I found this recipe at Lauren's Kitchen, and I decided to give it a try. We're always rushing on Monday evenings, so it's nice to have something ready to eat when I get home from work. I especially love that the recipe calls for FROZEN chicken breasts. How much easier can it be? My husband said we need to have chips with it next time, because it needed a little crunch. I guess that means he liked it!

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen
1 envelope of taco seasoning
1 cup fresh salsa
1 can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream

Place chicken in crockpot. Sprinkle taco seasoning over the chicken. In a bowl, combine the salsa and the soup, pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Just before serving, stir in the sour cream. Serve with rice or tortillas.

I didn't have any fresh salsa in the fridge, so I just used what I had in a jar in the fridge. I think fresh would've made it better, so I'll make sure I make some up to use when I want to have this again. I used cream of mushroom soup, because we like mushrooms at our house, and I used reduced fat sour cream. I served it over steamed white rice, and I added corn and black beans to the rice because I thought it sounded good. I sprinkled some shredded colby jack over the top and added a spoonful of sour cream. Yum!

Bringing Flower Punches to Life

2008-06-23T21:54:00.013-04:00

I belong to a card club called Stamp 'N Nutz. We meet once a month, and each month there is a demonstration where we learn a new technique. Yesterday we learned what to do with flower punches to make them more exciting. Instead of just putting flat embellishments on the page, we did a couple of tricks to make them look 3D and layered them for a really neat effect. And, we got enough punched flowers to bring them home and play around some more, so that's what I did. Here are the finished cards...

I just love this idea! Now I need to get some flower punches...I only have a few small ones right now. I think out of everything I made, my favorite was the tag with the flower 'topiaries.' The leaves and the flower pots are punches too. I'll have to find out where to get some, because I'm not sure what brand they are.

I guess I need to work on my picture taking ability, too. Just bear with me until I find a spot with good lighting. I think part of the problem was that the paper has a shimmer to it, so my camera wasn't quite sure what to focus on. (it sounds like a good excuse, doesn't it?!?!)

First Post!

2008-06-22T22:48:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to start my blog for a while, but I couldn't figure out what on earth I would post. So...you might see some craft projects (old and new), recipes, book and movie reviews, and whatever else is going on with me. I made some really cool cards with punched flowers at card club today so I'm going to share those first. It's getting pretty late, so you'll have to wait for the pictures until next time!