Show and Tell Saturdays- Cups

Welcome to our second week of Show and Tell Saturdays. My dear friend Lisa from Stop and Smell the Chocolates has picked this weeks theme. It's Show and Tell your favorite tea cup or coffee cup or whatever your favorite cup is. Come tell us about this special cup you have. You may not even drink out of it it's so special. Post about it and come back here and link up with Mr. Linky down below.

I couldn't choose just one cup because out of these 4 cups each one's use is "special".
I'll start with my coffee cup.
This cup holds no real sentimental value. To be honest the only reason I use it is because it's bigger than most cups! LOL! Hey I'm just being honest. Here's a picture of it. I guess I could have taken a picture of the fish on the mug. Oh well! Moving on to cup #2.

This next one is the newest addition to my "cup" collection. Not that I purposely collect cups but I seem to have an over abundance of them. I love tea and just recently started drinking loose tea. So for Christmas my wonderful husband got me this beautiful tea cup with the fitting lid on top. This one is special because my hubby picked it out himself. Isn't it pretty?

This next one is one that I use when I'm using regular tea bags. But first let me give you some history on me really quick. Back in High School, I LOVED Garfield. I read the comics every Sunday. I had Garfield school folders,pencils, figurines, posters, book covers, you name it I had it. So when I found this in a local thrift store, I about fell over. It was perfect.

I love what the back says.
Last but not least on those cold wintery days, (you know the 2 that we have each year here in Florida,) I have my hot cocoa mug. This baby is big and holds a lot of hot cocoa. Enough room so you can float your share of mini marshmallows on top without worry of spillage. Plus it has a great snowman on it and I LOVE snowmen as well. Don't you love it? Also another thrift store find! Don't you just love the thrift store?
So there you have it. All of my (well okay not all) but most of my very "special" cups.
Why not join us today. Go post and come back. We'll wait.
BIG Hugs!

Friday Funnies- Questions to Ponder

Goodness! Another week has gone by so fast. Where is this month going? Anyways it's time to spread some fun. Go post your funny picture, video, story or joke and then come back here and link it directly to your post with the Mr. Linky below.

For my funny today I have some questions for you to ponder. Enjoy!


QUESTIONS TO PONDER :

How important does a person have to be before he is considered assassinated
instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. but it's only a "penny for your
thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good
idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like
every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to
look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked
anyway.

Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp,
which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane ?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why
can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both
dogs!

If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME stuff, why didn't he just
buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what
is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

You just tried singing those two songs above didn't you?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Now it's your turn. Go spread some funny!
Big Hugs!
Don't forget to come back for Show and Tell Saturday tomorrow! The theme is at the top of my blog.

Stop and Smell the Broccoliflowers?

My husband built my 6 year old a green house because he LOVES to plant and grow and eat veggies. We've got some beautiful tomatoes growing and have had some pretty good luck with strawberries, plenty of onions, you know, vegetables. Well the other day he went out back to water his veggies and he came back with this.Very seriously he asks, "Mom, can we still eat this broccoli?" And I in a very serious, slightly sarcastic tone said, "Son, that's no longer broccoli. That's a bouquet of flowers." So my son being as sweet as he is decided that I needed this "bouquet" of flowers on my counter and proceeded to put them in water. Isn't he cute?!! LOL. Actually they are very pretty little yellow flowers and honey bees love them.

What strange thing is on your counter? LOL.. Sounds like a new Meme LOL. I'm just kidding. I'm not starting any more Memes........yet!
Have a most blessed day!
BIG Hugs!

What I Learned this week!

As I was perusing over at my top commentators blog Lisa *wink* I saw that she was participating in this fun little carnival, so as her top commentator *wink* I decided to play along.
Here's what you do.
Just write a post about what you’ve been learning over the past week or so. It can be one sentence. It can be several paragraphs. It can be serious. It can be silly. It can be thoughtful. It can be sweet and sentimental. It can be sarcastic. It can be profound. Those are the "rules". Sounds easy enough.
Let's see what I can reflect on this past week that I've learned. I'm sure as with most of my musings it will be mind blowing or mushy. I only have two extremes.

1. I learned that I clearly don't work my calf muscles enough, since after my last step class at the gym I couldn't move them for about 2 days. (yes, it makes it very hard to walk)(yes I choose to torture myself)
2. I learned that when you add chocolate chips to your coffee they don't melt. They kind of just lump into a gobby mess in the bottom of your cup.
3. I learned to look at the opposite end of the package of spaghetti to see if it is already partially opened, because when you don't and you try to open the other end, you end up with spaghetti all over the place. Makes for a fun start to dinner.
4. I've learned that I really like homemade meatball subs.
5. I've learned that my kids have what I call "suggestive hearing". They can be anywhere in the house and hear you whisper their name if it's in the same sentence as dessert but they can't hear you yell at them from two feet away when you want them to clean up their toys.
6. I've learned that if you watch a dog long enough it is going to do something really really gross!
7. I also learned that no matter what you are going through in your life you can lay it at the Lord's feet and in His strength you will get through it. (You know I had to add some substance to this post or you may never come back!)

Well there you have it. My lessons learned.I hope you are able to "learn" something from my own observations. I'm starting to think I may need to pay more attention to things! LOL. If you would like to join in this fun little carnival head on over to Musings of a Housewife and check it out.

Great BIG Hugs to you all!!

Nominate your favorite blogs!

First of all I don't know if you all have heard of the Internet Cafe Devotions blog. I know some of you have and even contribute but those of you who don't it's a wonderful site that has daily devotions, written by some exceptional ladies. I go to this site almost every morning and I am always blessed by what I read. Well anyway they are doing what's called a Blessed Aroma 2008. It's where you get to nominate your favorite blogs in the categories they give. What a way to spread the love of your favorite blogs that you visit. But hurry they are only taking nominations until the 30th of this month. It will take just a little while to fill out their little survey but when they compile all the blogs, just think about all the new blogs there will be for others to be blessed by. Don't keep them to yourselves go to the Cafe' and share your favorites.

Big Hugs!

Giveaway! Giveaway! Giveaway!

Ahhh! That word just gets the blood pumping doesn't it?

I hadn't participated in the bloggy carnival before but I thought it would be fun.

Here is what my giveaway is. I've got something for everybody.

First off is a handy dandy organizer. This of course is for Mom. I love my organizer. It has everything right there when I need it. Second up is a book for Dad called The Hands on Dad. My husband loved this book. Next we have something for the kidlins'. It's a Good and Evil Coloring book. I will give up to 3 of these away depending on the amount of children. If you only have one child ask for one etc. These are the advantages of owning your own business. You can just grab stuff off the shelf to share with others in such a case as this. We love these things and you will too. Now everyone loves to get a little surprise so I'm going to add just a few little sweet surprises, just because I can. What are they? You'll find out if you win!

I like to make things easy to enter because I know that there are going to be 100's of giveaways this week and you only have so much time. So if you would like to be entered once, just simply leave a comment telling me how much you love me and my blog and how wonderful I am......oh I'm so kidding. Just leave a simple comment. If you want to put forth a little more effort subscribe to my blog for a second entry and then let me know you did. And for just a little more effort you can facebook it, twitter it, blog about it and link back here, yell it from the mountaintops, whatever, just let me know you did and that will give you a 3rd entry.

Please note that this is only open to U.S. residents. Sorry all you out of towners! This is open to bloggers and non-bloggers alike. Just leave me some way to get in touch with you if you win. If I don't hear back within 3 days of contact I will pick a new winner. I am going to pick my winner Saturday the 31st of January and announce the winner on Monday. Did you get all that? Good. Now go dig into some more giveaways at the Bloggy Carnival.

Have fun everyone!!! HUGS!

Show and Tell Saturdays - Antiques

Welcome everyone to the first edition of Show and Tell Saturdays. Here's how it works. Each week will be a different theme for you to take a picture of something within that theme and tell the story behind it or maybe just why you like it. This is your chance to play grown up show and tell. If you are participating in this Meme then link to your post with Mr. Linky below. I will then pick one of you to pick a theme for the next week and will post what that is at the top of my blog the next day and leave it up for a few days.This weeks theme is antiques.

I don't have a lot of antiques because I haven't really inherited anything, being one of 50 or so grand kids and great grand kids and great great grand kids and I haven't been married long enough to have anything that long but I somehow managed to get this piece from my grandmother. I had vaguely remembered it as a child in my grandmother's house in Maine, so I went and asked my Mom about it last night. (Oh the convenience of having them in the backyard. In a cottage that is.) She said that she remembered it always being there in the house and in the middle of it would be a stack of National Geographic Magazines and the side holders would be filled with The Saturday Evening Post. It sat at the end of the couch near the piano and housed a little lamp. My Mom is guessing that this is over 75 years old and I am so tickled to have this piece in my house. It now houses Better Homes and Garden Magazines, my game board, an ugly lamp, old memories and now many new ones. I don't know anything about the maker or brand of furniture that it is, but it is a treasure to me. I love this piece of furniture.
So here is a picture of my Grandmother's magazine holder. I say that like she's going to be coming back for it. LOL. I guess I can start calling it mine now huh? Nah! It'll always be Mamie's. I'm just the new caretaker.

I truly believe that a picture can be worth a thousand words so I can't wait to hear about yours.

Big HUGS!

Friday Funnies- Get Your Groove On!

Yeah! It's Friday! It's Friday! Uh huh! Uh Huh! Okay sorry. Doing a little happy dance. I love Fridays, don't you? Well if you want a good laugh to end your week you've come to the right place. I am the host of Friday Funnies and if you have a funny joke, video, story or picture to share with us all, just link up to that post using Mr. Linky down below (hopefully it'll be there). Then come back and enjoy the other funnies from everyone else. Unless of course you're the first one here then all you get is mine and you'll have to come back later LOL.

Let me give you a background on this video. I saw this for the first time when I was suffering from a little postpartum depression from my last child. I have to tell you that this video was one of the things that snapped me out of it. We all know that laughter is good medicine and I watched this video at least twice a day for 2 weeks. My postpartum was very short lived. LOL.
By now most of you have probably seen him but if you haven't it's the funniest 6 mins. you'll ever see. If you remember the tunes back in the 70's and 80's you are going to love this. Disclaimer: Not all the songs are "Christian" based. Oh who am I kidding, NONE of the songs are Christian based so I thougtht I should warn you in advance in case you have no desire to watch it. There! Phew! Glad that's out of the way! Now enjoy! This is my secret way of getting you to stay on my blog for more than 40 seconds LOL.




Happy Friday you all!!!
BIG Hugs!

Ouch!!!

So my gym that I was going to closed down. I was pretty bummed about it as I grew close to some of the gals there, but without missing a beat I'm trying out a new gym. I got a free week this week and went Monday to do the cardio machines, Tuesday I did the Bodypump class, Wednesday I did a Step class and Today I can barely move. I aint goin' no where!! I woke up yesterday really really sore but today I am wondering what muscles I had been working the whole year I was at the other gym, because I'm pretty sure it wasn't the ones that I've recently discovered. Can you say ouch! When did this happen? I don't think I like getting older. When I was in my 20's I could do this sort of thing all day long and my muscles would just laugh at this kind of stuff. Now their screaming! Stop! No! Please, no more! We surrender! It's sad isn't it? Oh well I guess it's true what they say, no pain no gain! The gym I used to go to was 4 miles away. Now get this, this gym is a 1/2 a mile away. Now there are pros and cons to this. One pro is that it will greatly save on gas. One con is that....well.....uh......it's close enough to WALK! So the pressure is on. Do I sadly drive .50 miles or actually walk it? I'm sure I will walk it sometimes when the weather is absolutely perfect. LOL. But this gym is right in the Wal-Mart shopping center so what if I had to get something, you know? I wouldn't want to CARRY it .50 miles. Right? RIGHT?
You can thank my sore muscles for this post today as I could not think of much else. Now go read Laura Lee's blog or Laurie Ann's or Debra's blog or really anyone on my side bar. Most all of them will challenge your thoughts in some way. So if your brain is feeling kind of mushy maybe you should bee-line it to a more stimulating post! I may even have one or two in my archives. Ha! Ha! Okay I admit it, I just enjoy making you all smile.
Maybe I should rename my blog Mushy Musings! LOL.
I love you my dear friends who are so faithful to fuel this fire. So it's kind of your fault. You keep coming back!! Hee! Hee!
BIG Hugs!

Works For Me Wednesday

Yesterday we made very simple, Valentine holders. With February right around the corner I thought this would be a good time to post this. We start celebrating Valentine's, the 1st of February. Each day up until the 14th we write what we love about someone in the family and then place it in their holder. Then on Valentines Day we all read them aloud after dinner.

So here's what you need:
Colored plates ( I chose red and pink and they were only a $1.00 at Wal-Mart)
Yarn
Hole puncher
Foam stickers: Letters and Shapes (and glue sticks if the sticky has come off your foamy things)

The first thing you're going to do is cut a few paper plates in half. Take that half and turn it upside down and line it up with the bottom of your whole plate of choice. We did pink for the girls and red for the boys. Now here is were my muscle man came in. He did the hole punching as it was kind of hard to go through both plates at the same time.Next you're going to thread your yarn (enough to be able to tie in the back) through the holes. Tie in the back so as to have something to hang it with. Now get your foam stickers and go to it. I chose just to use foam stickers as it was easier for the littler ones but you can add lace or ribbon or whatever you want. But this is a nice, simple, easy craft for the kids. Have everyone make their own. My 3 year old just needed a little supervision with the glue stick. But if you had foam stickers that actually stuck then you wouldn't have that problem. Did I mention these foam stickers are like over a 1000 years old? I think maybe they came over on the ark, hence why the stickiness is gone.
Aaaanyways, here is the whole gang working hard on their holders.

Here is the finished project. I'm going to use those little plastic holders that you can remove easily, to hang these up. Just simply slip your valentine into the holder and read on Valentine's Day. Cute huh?
To see what everyone else is up to go check out Rocks In My Dryer.

Have a great day!
HUGS!

Blog Tour!

How many of us hop on someones blog, read the post really quick, post a quick comment and move on to the next blog without even exploring any of the blogs you visit? I know I'm guilty of doing that. But lately I've been trying to take a little time (when allowed) and visit some blogs. I've found great links and resources to a lot of useful things so far on so many blogs. I love it when they have a friends list with the posts listed as I've met some great gals through that. I love to visit those who follow this blog ( though I don't always leave a comment). This blog world can be a great tool and a sense of community. I am trying to go for quality here not quantity as I want to get to know you better. Some of you ( and you know who you are) bless my socks off and I probably leave a comment on your blog every day. We have a "relationship" of sorts and I love that. I recently put out a post for a prayer request. You all blew me away with your kind words and responses. I love that you are out there and actually care. That's the kind of blog relationships I'm looking for.
By the way Aunt Doris isn't doing very well. Please keep her in your prayers. She's been sent home, and my Uncle is refusing Hospice. She's only eating pudding and has been dry heaving lately. Her salvation still stands in the balance so I ask you to continue praying for her.

Now the reason I am doing this post is to give you (if you would like) a little tour of my blog.
Let's start with the header. I love changing it for the different holidays and seasons, so you will probably see that change often. Next let's go to the right side. At the top you will see a search feature. If you ever want to know if I've touched on a subject just put in a search word and find out. You can also narrow your search by looking at my labels on the left as I try to sort things pretty good. Continue down on the right and I will usually have fun things that are coming up as I stumble upon them. This is a benefit for you because a lot of times they are giveaways. I keep this up to date and remove those things that have expired. Below that are resources for you that I myself either use or are a part of. I don't put anything on my blog that I don't believe in in some way. I've put my buttons for my meme's on there as well as others that I participate in.
At the end of the right side you'll see my face book and twitter updates. I don't spend a lot of time on those but will post what I'm doing in real time on there every once and awhile. Feel free to join me in that. I know you'll want to know when I'm drinking my coffee or shampooing the dog lol. I also decided to post all the wonderful blog awards that you have given me in one post and link to it as your blessings were far outweighing my blog space lol. You gals rock!
At the bottom of my blog I have my bookshelf. I have either read, am reading or reading again, these books listed. Feel free to check them out and see if there's something you'd like. I'm always on the lookout for another good book.
Are you still with me? Good! I didn't plan on this being so long. Sorry. I've already had my coffee thus the influx of wording this morning. Ha! Ha!
Coming up the left side is my favorite. This is where I get to proudly display my friends and blogs that I love to read. I recently lost some of you on here and if you don't see yourself on there and either wish to be or knew you were at one time but now aren't please tell me because a whole list of you disappeared. Thank you blogger!
Above that are my archives and then my labels to make searching easier. Oh and let's not forget my cooking blog which I haven't posted in 6 days it seems. I'm usually better about that. Last but not least my mood. LOL. This will vary from time to time and will give you an idea of how I'm feeling at that moment.
Phew! Did you stick it out with me? If you did then write the word, DUH, in the comments below! LOL. That way I know you read the whole thing! LOL. I'm so kidding! You don't have to. I trust you! Hee! Hee!
I will keep you up to date on any interesting changes to the blog that might be beneficial to you and I would love to have a blog tour at your blog as well. Let me know if you do one.

BIG HUGS!

What do tree stumps, plastic bags and cardboard boxes have in common?

Well first off they're all free! And for some reason the toys of choice in our family. Thus proving that toys don't have to come from a store OR be expensive. Now I've known for years that a child will have more fun with the wrapper that a present came in then the present itself, but this brings it to a whole new level. I've realized I can officially clean out their closet of all the unnecessary toys and clutter, hand them 3 or 4 Publix grocery bags and let them go. Of course there are safety rules with any "toy".

Safety Rule # 1 : Don't place bag over your head and inhale
Rule #2: Don't place bag over your brother's head and tell HIM to inhale.
Rule # 3: Do not jump off any high objects and use bag as parachute.

Here is documented proof of this transpiring. They would get the bag full of air throw it up in the air, let go and then punch it on the way down. Yes this went on for a very long time. In the picture below I believe the bag had had enough and was inflicting some sort of pain on my son. When they get bored with the bags send them out back to play with the tree stump. This piece of tree was destined to be part of the yard trash and end up in a heap somewhere, but no. Oh no! It is no longer a tree stump, it has been magically transformed into a cow waiting to be roped and from what a heard the other day, milked by my 6 year old. Yes, milked! He actually rolled up paper and taped them to the underside of the "cow" and started milking. Alas, I do not have a picture of that. We need to get this boy out on a few 100 acres somewhere. As with any toy, once again there are rules.

Rule #1: Don't rope your brother instead of the cow and say you missed.
Rule # 2 Don't tie your brother to a tree and say the cow did it.
Rule # 3: When "cow tipping" don't use your head. Use your shoulder and lean into it.
Here is the cow in question.

Who's gonna win this tug of war?
Oh Yeah! Victory is sweet. Poor cow!
Now when they are tired of thus said toy, move them on to the cardboard box. Yes cardboard boxes are transformed into just about anything. A castle, a fort, a jail, a clubhouse, an inexpensive travel method for just your children (oh I'm so kidding, put the phone down!). Yes the only limit here is your imagination. Just give them some markers and crayons and watch the transformation begin. And again we as parents need to set the rules in place so as no one gets hurt.

Safety Rule #1: Don't try to ship your brothers to China.
Rule #2 When cutting windows in, let Dad use the really sharp knife.
Rule # 3: Remember to always have an escape plan in case of fire. So what strange and wonderful free things do your kids choose to play with rather than the expensive store bought junk? LOL.
Have a most excellent day! HUGS!

Coming Up! Grab your calendar!

Well I've got some fun things coming up and just wanted to let you in on it so you can spread the word if you feel so inclined.
First I've decided to run with my Show and Tell Meme idea. You all inspired me to go for it so here are the stats on that. I am going to start it next Saturday and the first "theme" is going to be antiques. Post about a special antique of yours or even someone elses that has a special story behind it. Since this is brand new I'll be giving a little reminder near the end of the week, but be thinking about what you would like to post. Then I will pick someone who joined in the meme to pick the next theme and let you know by the following Monday what that will be. Sound like fun?


The next thing is for all you homeschoolers or for those thinking about homeschooling. I am going to host a week long Charlotte Mason style homeschooling week. This is to spread the word about the Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling. Some homeschool parents have never heard about this approach to homeschooling and I thought it would be fun to share something different about this method each day. Here is a run down of what you can expect.

Day 1- We will tell about why we chose to use this method and why it works for us.
Day 2- We will give you a glimpse inside a Charlotte Mason Homeschooling day. Give an outline of a "typical" homeschool day.
Day 3 We will share all our favorite Charlotte Mason links,websites and resources.
Day 4 -Books. Charlotte Mason is all about books. We will give a list of our tried and true, real living books.
Day 5- This can be question and answer time. If during the week you post a question this will be the day to come back to get the answer. Please feel free to ask anything you like about this.

My goal is to encourage and be encouraged. Everyone has different styles and techniques. I'm sure we will all learn something new and exciting. The date for this is tentatively the week of February 2-6. So there is plenty of time to spread the word. Feel free to grab the little picture at the beginning of this post and link back to this page to put on your side bar. I will have a Mr. Linky up so you will be able to link to your posts each day.

The next thing is the upcoming bloggy giveaways. I am participating in that this time around and it starts a week from this coming Monday so be on the lookout for that.

Okay my friends. That's it for now. Feel free to grab these pictures and put them on your side bars and link back to this post. Minus the giveaway one( that has its own site to link too). I appreciate you helping me spread the word.

Great BIG Hugs!

Friday Funnies

Happy Friday everyone! Thanks for stopping by for this edition of Friday Funnies. Do you have a funny to share? It could be a picture, a joke, a video or a funny story. Just link directly to your post using Mr. Linky down below. Let's end the week with a well needed laugh. I know I could use one.

What I have chosen today is an old commercial that someone had shown us a long time ago but for some reason it came to the forefront of my mind recently and thus it became my funny for today. I hope you get a good laugh out of it!!!



Now go back and watch it again. This time look at the guys face in the back seat and watch his left hand as he is trying to get the window down for a bit of fresh air, but they are electric windows. This will bring a whole new element of funny and probably make you laugh even more!! The more you watch it the more things you catch in it that are funny.


Happy Friday!
HUGS!

Urgent Prayer Request!

In my quiet time this morning I felt the Lord urging me to get as many people praying for my Aunt Doris as possible. She is in the hospital and is overtaken with cancer. They are basically just making her "comfortable". This is my Dad's brothers wife. She and her husband are not believers. In fact they have wanted nothing to do with Christ for all of their 70 some odd years. As Christians we know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. But an unbeliever doesn't have that hope. I have to pray that like the guy on the cross next to Jesus who simply believed and in the end was ushered into eternity with Jesus, that the same can happen for my Aunt. I really don't want to think of her spending eternity in torment.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

So I am asking all you prayer warriors to pray right where you are right now.Please pray for her eyes to be opened and for the Lord to send somebody to her that can lead her in that prayer. Because she doesn't have much time left.

Also my cousin just lost his grandson to cancer 2 days ago. He was only 14 and had suffered so badly for so many years. He did however, go to be with the Lord, so we can rejoice in that. But he has left behind one sad Mother, who had watched him suffer for so long and he was her only child, so she could use your prayers of comfort as well.
I appreciate this so much!!!
Big HUGS!!

Works For Me Wednesday

Happy Wednesday everyone. For this weeks Works for Me Wednesday I have something that my husband made me about 3 Christmas' ago. I can't say that he developed it but he did "make" it. It's a really cool cookbook holder. I love to cook! But, alas, I'm a messy cook. Just the other day my husband looked up at the ceiling and was wondering how in the world I got spaghetti sauce up there, but we won't get into that right now, will we? No you want to see what's working for me today don't you? So here we go.
Here is the lovely cookbook holder doing its job! I like this because it holds the book up so you can read it better. It actually has 3 adjustable levels of slant so you can have it for what best suits you. Plus I don't end up getting "shrapnel' all over it this way!
This is the side view to show you how you can adjust it.
And when not in use it hangs neatly against the wall. You can't beat that for a space saver.
I did manage to find a few neat cookbook holders that you might be interested in. Just click here, here and here to check them out.
To check out what's working for other people go to visit Rock in My Dryer.

Be sure to come back this Friday for Friday Funnies. Guaranteed a good laugh.
Hugs.

Who needs another Meme?

I'm guessing, I do!
Does anybody know if there is a legal way to add another day of the week on to ours? We'll call it Memeday!
There is probably already something like this out there and if so, can somebody tell me where?
I would love a "Show and Tell" Meme. But with "themes". Like one week let it be something like, show and tell about your favorite cup you drink out of, or something like, show and tell about your absolute favorite recipe of all time. You know fun stuff. We could take turns picking the themes. It would be a cool chance for everyone participating to see the similar shows with completely different tells of each thing. Who thinks that sounds like fun? Would you do it? Is it worth my time putting it together? Am I asking to many questions? Would you help get the word out if I did? Am I bothering you? Do you feel like you wasted 10 seconds of your life reading this? Are you ever coming back? Do you remember what this post was even about now? Are you wondering how you ever stumbled across my blog in the first place? Have I sucked you into my little world of madness? Does your brain feel mushy?
I love you gals! Let me know what you think and what day would be best if you did want to do it! Not FRIDAYS of course. *wink* *wink*
HUGS!

Enough of those serious posts!

Phew! I don't know about you but my brain cells are exhausted from all the seriousness that was coming out of this blog last week with my Eating Healthy & Losing Weight Series.

I think I need to give them a rest. So with that said. I've been TAGGED!
This is a pretty cool tag. I like tags. You always end up learning something new about someone. Except for this one, LOL. I don't think you will be learning anything mind blowing about me today! I'll save that for the "Mind Blowing Week" series next week. Oh I am so kidding!

Anyway, here are the rules for this particular tag.
If you've been tagged then this is how you play:

1. Go to your 4th folder on your computer where you store photos.
2. Select your 4th picture (no exceptions).
3. Post the picture with an explanation and a link back to your tagger.

4. Tag 4 people to do the same.
I was tagged by my friend Brenda at The Tie that Binds Us.
So without further ado, here is my 4th picture from my 4th folder.As you can see on the date stamp this was taken back in 2006.
Here my husband is trying to pass lawn mowing responsibilities onto our 1 year old. Minus not being able to touch the ground, I think he did a pretty good job. It's kind of funny because in this particular picture you can't see any grass! So I guess he did REALLY good! LOL.

When I got this tag I knew immediately the 4 people I was going to tag. These people LOVE taking pictures. So I'm tagging.
Lisa @ My New Thing to Do. This lady is phenomenal with the camera!
Lisa @ Stop and Smell the Chocolates. Always taking pictures of food.
Debra @ Clothed with Scarlet. She can't take enough pictures of her men!
Donna @ Cottage Days and Journeys. She has the best pictures from her travels.


Have a most excellent day my friends!
BIG HUGS!

Eating Healthy & Losing Weight- Using Herbs

God gave us herbs. There is no doubt about their healing power on the human body. I've been studying "natural" alternatives for quite a few years now. I don't think my family has had to take an antibiotic in many years. I'm not saying that to brag but to encourage you to educate yourself on the uses of some very common herbs. Today I am just going to touch on some helpful herbs for weight loss but I will also be giving you links to some very helpful books on herbs and how to use them.
I think the most popular herb talked about is Green Tea. Green Tea gives your metabolism a boost. I always have this on hand.
Dandelion is great for flushing toxins out of the liver. I have this tea on my shelf as well.
Cayenne. I've been known to put a 1/ 2 tsp. of cayenne in water and drink it because it is a great fat burner. Not for the faint of heart lol.
Since I am by far an expert on the matter I do have some websites to share with you on this subject. I encourage you to check them out.
Just click here, here and here to check those out.

I have personally bought loose herbs from More Than Alive and have been very satisfied with them. Another great herb website is the Bulk Herb Store. Both of these sites have wonderful information on each herb and what it's good for. I highly recommend checking them out if you are serious about learning about herbs.
Here are two great herb books. The How to Herb book and Herbal Antibiotics
I found the Herbal Antibiotics on Amazon so if you click it you will be able to take a peek inside.

That wraps up our week of Eating Healthy and Losing Weight!
I hope you have enjoyed this week and if you have any questions on any of the posts I would be more than happy to answer your questions.
Hugs to you all!

Friday Funnies

Happy Friday everyone! Anyone have some funnies to share today? Well if you do you've come to the right place. Link up your funny right here using the Mr. Linky down below. Make sure you link us directly to your funny post. Let's spread some laughter today!

Since the fact that my life alone seems to crack you people up I just thought I'd share yet another weird thing that happened the other day. Most of you remember this unique item I found in my freezer last month! Well after intense interrogation my daughter fessed up to having done it. Why you ask? All I can say is that she's 15 and has way to much time on her hands. The fact that I took a picture of it at 5 in the morning means I obviously have too much time on my hands as well.
So that brings me to the other day. I went in the freezer to grab my bag of coffee beans and found this.

Does stuff like this happen to anyone else? Ha! Ha! After more intense interrogation we have yet to figure how in the world this happened. I have gathered my own theory and will share that with you. I believe I have little tiny elves in my freezer who like to wreak havoc on my sanity by doing these crazy little things so that only I find them. Why can't they just stick to making shoes, cookies and toys. Leave me alone I say!

So welcome to my world. Kick off your shoes and stay awhile. You're life might seem a whole lot more normal when you leave! LOL!
Hugs!

Eating Healthy & Losing Weight- Exercise!

The "E" word. No one likes to say it and if the truth be told we really don't "like" to do it! But it is so necessary to a healthy body that we need to take a baby step in that direction.

Now I know some of you live where it makes it hard to walk outside or get to a gym because of weather, BUT you're not off the hook. There are so many things you can do right at home. The Cooking Light website has a great section on firming and toning your body. The site is very easy to navigate and I've taken the liberty of providing that link for you so you don't have the excuse that you can't "find" it lol. So click here to check that out. I personally go to a gym. The one I found is only $20.00 a month and has awesome equipment, cardio machines and classes. Plus it's an all woman's gym. I find that I "need" to leave the house or I will get distracted from my goal. BUT if I had no choice I would find a way to do it, so again NO excuses! Just start with 30 mins. a day. Don't try to over do it as you will give up before you start. Muscle training is VERY important as muscle burns fat. Try to start by doing some weight training twice a week and then work up to 3 times a week, every other day. It's good to give your muscles a break in between workouts. Dumbbells are very inexpensive. Start small with maybe 3 lb. weights and before you know it you'll be working up to 5 and 8lbers. Slow and steady is what we are doing here. Cardio should be done at least 30mins. everyday. Cardio is maintaining a certain heart rate for a prolonged length of time. For those of you stuck indoors this can be challenging. Unless you have a treadmill or stationary bike this can be hard. But here are a few things you could try, jump roping, jumping jacks (personally after 3 kids I'd have to wear a depends to do that! LOL. Who's with me?), walking in place, an exercise video. Remember this is only till you can get outside again and breath in the fresh air and scenery that will keep you motivated. You can do this. Aim for just 30 mins. a day and then build up to 45 and then an hour a day! If any of you have any other great tips let me know!
I usually go to the gym 5 times a week. I do cardio every day and weights Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I have worked up to a whole hour on weights day but still only do about 50 mins on cardio days. Remember work at your own pace. But do something.
If you've missed the last 3 posts you can find them here, here and here. Is everyone drinking their water? Saturday I'm going to be posting about teas that are beneficial to weight loss and health. I hope you all are enjoying this little segment and are finding something that you can implement into your lifestyle!
Hugs to you all!

Works For Me Wednesday- Trash to Treasure

Trash to treasure. Who doesn't like taking something that would otherwise end up in the trash somewhere and making something useful out of it.
Well this is no different but this "trash" comes with a little story. (Don't worry I'll make it short and sweet!)
On our trip back to Maine 3 years ago we were able to visit my grandparents old house. I had such great memories in this house and hadn't been back since I was 15. It had been sold to the town and had been vacant for a few years. But on our visit a man had bought it and was remodeling it. By the time we got there it had been gutted but a few key elements remained and I was blessed as a bumble bee to see it. On speaking to him he says he had saved a bunch of odds and ends and was wondering if we would like some. I was so excited. He gave us some old door knobs and 4 or 5 of the windows that came out of the house and a bunch of other stuff. I'm leaving a lot out but for your time sake I'm jumping to the point. For Christmas my husband surprised me with this. He took 4 of the doorknobs from the house and hooks from my grandfathers workshop and made me this purse, keys, sunglass hanging station. He added come wonderful pictures of the house and one of his favorites of me on the swing set and a pic. of my grandmother Mamie when she was in her early 20's. Isn't it the greatest?If you click on the picture you can probably see the pictures better and you'll be able to see the beautiful house in which these came out of. Oh how I loved this special gift! We will be doing a picture collage with the old windows next. So get your thinking caps on and make some treasures of your own.
To see what's working for everyone else go check out Works For Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer.
Hugs to you all!

Eating Healthy & Losing Weight- Supplements

I'm not sure I know one person that doesn't take a supplement of some kind or another. Unless you grow your own veggies and eat 80% of them raw you are losing a lot of the nutrients and enzymes that come naturally in them. So we are forced to "buy" these minerals and nutrients to help maintain a healthy body. Since we are taking baby steps I thought I would talk to you about digestive supplements. Our digestive system is one of the most important things in keeping us healthy. Our body needs to be able to absorb the helpful nutrients and minerals and then get rid of the waste. If your body doesn't get the enzymes it needs or if it doesn't have the sufficient "good" bacteria it needs to break down the food and pass the food you will have a build up of toxins in your body which in turn can lead to you getting sick and often. Does a cold linger for weeks? Do you get sick more than you would like? (Okay, I realize no one "wants" to get sick.) Then you probably have a toxic build up. The things in the picture above are relatively inexpensive and have helped me a bunch. No I'm not getting any profits from promoting these. You can buy whatever kind you want. The first one on the left is called Enzyme Digestive the second is Yeast Assassin and the Third is Tummy Tune Up. I buy my supplements at More Than Alive. I have their link on my right side bar if you feel so inclined to check them out. You can read all about these supplements and how they help you vs. me trying to explain them all to you. Let's take baby steps into getting your digestive system where it should be!
Hugs!

Happy 40th My Most Excellent Husband!

Well I was almost done writing this post on my most excellent husband when my computer crashed and I lost it all! So I'm going to try again.
Today day is the day of my most wonderful husbands birth. For if he had not been born I wouldn't have spent the last 13 years as the happiest wife on earth or have 3 awesome kids and I for sure wouldn't be writing this post!
He is truly an excellent husband and father. He has a passion for the word of God and it shows in who he is. He is selfless and giving. Hardworking and talented. He uses his gifts to bless others all the time. He would truly give you the shirt off his back. Which I wouldn't mind, because I like looking at it. His back not his shirt! LOL. You didn't think this post was going to be all serious did you?
Anyway, I threw him a surprise birthday last night. We had a great time and his friends showed him great love.

Here is a picture of the birthday boy at his party. Don't you just love dimples?


Here is a picture of his STORE bought cake. Yes I said store bought. I didn't make one because I would have then had to figure out a way to explain to my younger children why Mommy was making a cake and then taking it away. I was afraid something would be said to Daddy, therefor I opted for the store bought cake. BUT! I didn't eat any! Ha! I'm saving my calories for........


THIS! My Peanut Butter Pie. Oh yes! This is what my husband chose for his birthday "cake" and I am not going to argue. You can find this recipe on my cooking blog but I don't recommend making it if trying to lose weight because you will not be able to eat just one piece. It is soooooo good!

I had to throw in a picture of us together and since I didn't get one at his party this one will have to do. This is us getting ready to go to his company Christmas party. I love my man!!!
So on this day Jan. 6, 2009 I celebrate the birth of my wonderful husband!
Happy Birthday my Precious!