How To Make A Ziplock Omelet

This was sent to me by a friend and it seems almost too simple to be true or good!!  Trust me, it is both.  I would just add a little bit of butter with the eggs.  It is really amazing what we women can concoct to help us along in our daily busy lives!  I urge you to give this one a try and promise it will be a keeper!!                                                                                                                               (This works great !!! Good for when all your family is together. The best part is that no one has to wait for their special omelet !!!)

Have guests write their name on a quart-size Ziploc freezer bag with permanent marker.
Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into the bag (not more than 2) shake to combine them.
Put out a variety of ingredients such as: cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc.
Each guest adds prepared ingredients of choice to their bag and shake. Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up.

Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes [we did 15 minutes]. You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. For more, make another pot of boiling water.
Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed.
Nice to serve with fresh fruit and coffee cake; everyone gets involved in the process and a great

Now it doesn't get much simpler than that!  And what fun to put what you want into a plastic bag and see a delicious homemade omelet roll out!!   

You know the rest ---- be sweet!!!

I have so many goodies to share with you over the holidays I can barely sleep at night, wondering which to do next.  Do you like desserts, gift presentation, gifts in a jar?  Please let me know as this is your blog as much as mine.  We are in this together and no sense in writing something no one is interested in.  I have some gift tags that can be downloaded, printed and cut out, etc.  What do you say?  Anyone who would like to share an idea or recipe would be welcome to write a post on "Angels".  Love you all!!        Once more, be sweet and SMILE.

Thank You, Helen

"The best and most beautiful things in the world can not be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." - Helen Keller

This is the most intuitive few words I have ever read in a quote.  What wisdom little Helen Keller had, the beauty she felt with her heart has taught us all so much.  I am in awe of such insight!!

Be sweet!!!   I can't see you all out there , but I feel in my heart you will!             Later, Friends.

Some Really Good Information Here!!!

This is soooo right!!
Now everyone remember to always, always tell the truth and above all, be sweet!

Bloggers Make the Best Buddies

Loree, of Stories and Scribbles, has given me an award!!   I am so happy to accept and post to my little ole' bloggie!!  It lifts us up when we are the recipient of an award, just adds a little more zing to the day to know someone thinks we are special enough to deserve an award.  Loree is such a little sweetie and I would encourage every one of you to visit her blog if you haven't done so before.  You will be pleasantly surprised.  It is so colorful, with the header full of beautiful flowers that I wish were in my front yard!!

The rules of the award are as follows:

1. say thank you and give a link to the presenter

2.share 10 honest things about yourself

3.Present the award to 7 other blogs

4.tell them of the award and the rules

Okay, now here are the 7 blogs to pass this award to, although it is hard to just give it to 7 when you would rather give it to 70, but rules are rules!!

1. My Creations and  More

2.The Breathing Post

3.The Rainbow Bank

4.Marie's Cozy Corner

5.New Scribbles From Glynis Smy

6.RandomWAHMThoughts

7.Momma Young @ Home

Now comes the easy part, ten honest things about me, which definitely will not include my shoe size 'cause there is no way I'm gonna' be honest about that!!!

1. I love having my first cup of coffee at dawn on my deck, watching the squirrels gather acorns, preparing for winter, watching the sun rise is awesome and I am thankful then for my sight!!

2. I become very attached to people very easily.

3. I just love giving something I have made to someone.  It makes my insides glow.  I can't see them glow, I just know they do.

4. I don't like to complain.  I sometimes do, but that doesn't have to make me like it!!  I have nothing actually to complain about.  

5. When I think of my grand children and the 4 little great grandchildren, I am filled with something totally beyond description, I feel as if I will just burst with the fullness of whatever it is ...  with love, happiness, pride ... there are no words known to man to describe what I feel, so the best I can do is just say I love them so!  They are my angels, they are my heart. Their lives all came down from mine and I look at them in disbelief ....  they are my treasure!!!!

6. Since my SCA I sometimes wake up in the morning and can't remember what I'm supposed to do.  (that was a hard one ... I really needed to share that but it is so much like complaining)

7. I love kettle corn and make it almost every night. 

8. I am already thinking of goodies to make for Christmas, both edible and crafty, baskets, gifts in a jar, that sort of thing.  I adore the decorated gifts in a jar and have many to share with you.

9.  I still believed when I was in the 7th grade that the doctor brought one of my brothers in an apple box and the other in a suitcase.  When I raised my hand to share this bit of info with my classmates, they all started laughing!  I just laughed too.  I don't remember when I finally figured out they were laughing because I was so dumb!!!  I can't even remember when or how I learned that's not how my brothers got here!

10. I wish I could learn to design scrapbook sets.

There, you have it!!   I was  completely honest about the way I thought my brothers came into the world.  Guess you can tell I led a very sheltered life!  I was a senior in high school at age 16 and lived in the country my entire life.  My mom's relatives were from the mountains of Northwest Arkansas and dad's hailed from the hills of Kentucky ... need I say more?  I used to break ice in a "washpan" to heat on the old wood stove to get ready for school, but, let me tell you, those were the days!!!!  How grateful I am to have had them.

Homemade Happiness 2

It's getting closer every day to the biggie - to Christmas!!! I know it is not quite October, but good grief, now that I have retired and have all this time on my hands I just don't see any sense of driving myself any crazier by waiting till the last minute, to say nothing of all the cashiers and employees in and near every store close to the mall!!

If they have been there a few years, they know me by name and I can hear them sometimes (though they think just because I am old I can't hear good and usually speak to me in unusually loud voices). They will warn newer employees when they see me. I understand clearly every word that is said. "Oh, my God!! There she is again, the one I told you about. I had hoped she would not make it through another Christmas, but she is one tough old bird and it is beginning to look like she will be here long after I'm gone. Don't let her get you so rattled you just throw up your hands and walk out the door. I promise, they are not all like this one! Fact of the matter, I don't believe there are any like this one. Get through this without going to jail and you have it made! If you make her happy, you can do whatever it takes to survive in this business and you will have a great career, possibly in management."

Well, I do have to do my rushing around at the last minute, digging through stacks of stuff, opening boxes, laying dresses removed from hangers across a rack, that sort . It is so much easier and quicker and I am in such a hurry for I have waited till the last few days. It's so Christmasy (is that a word?).

I have been known to leave a perfectly neat store in shambles in way less than an hour!! It is the only way to look is all I can say. I do feel a bit guilty that store personnel must stay late after closing to have the business presentable for the next day's customers. Not too guilty though, 'cause it sure doesn't keep me from a good night's sleep after I have separated my purchases into piles to keep as presents and piles to return because it didn't seem somehow to be what I had wanted after all. Oh well, a trip back the next day will keep me young and give the employees job security.
This will be repeated till the last store closes on Christmas Eve and you would think they'd be glad to see me as I buy and return till the very last minute, begging them to stay open just a little longer while I try to decide on the necklace I tried on and cannot get unclasped now or the cute sweater I have hung somewhere and am unable to talk one , not even one of them to help me find it!! They will only unclasp the necklace, scoot me out the door, lock it quickly behind me, yelling Merry Christmas the whole time.

How in the heck can I have a merry Christmas now? I haven't even decided who to give what for I am not really completely sure what presents I have even bought!!!

Just now the last part of September and I have time to begin to think about and plan Christmas.

Everyone knows when you retire, you are broke, so I will get to give presents of the very best kind ... gifts from the heart, handmade and homemade with love in every speck! Not a cute sweater lost on some rack in a store or a necklace I have to practically strangle myself to remove, but a gift made with my own hands, mind and heart, a treasure for them to keep and that is the best kind of gift after all. 

Ain't retirement grand!!??!
Most importantly, never forget to be sweet and always be good!

Kind of, Sort of, Close Your Eyes And You Won't Know The Difference

Almost Payday

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup marshmallow creme

1/2 lb white chocolate coating, melted                                                  

Melted caramels, for dipping

Chopped peanuts

Mix together peanut butter, marshmallow creme and melted white chocolate coating.  

Roll into sort of log shapes or into balls, if it is easier.  Freeze.  It is absolutely necessary

to freeze these before dipping in the caramel, otherwise they will melt and mix with the

caramel.

Dip each frozen log or ball in melted caramel and roll into chopped peanuts.  

These truly are so easy to make and so tasty.  True, we have the sugar, but none of the other ingredients in a purchased candy bar, most of which I can't even pronounce, let alone describe!! Who in the heck wants to eat something we can't pronounce??!  

I hope you will give these a try and let me know how they turn out.  Wouldn't this be a nice kitchen gift, each piece wrapped separately, in delicate, pastel tissue paper, bagged in quart or gallon size bags and tied with a pretty ribbon  with a handmade tag attached?

 

Oh, gosh!  I'm getting nuts now and wanting to put this in a mixing bowl with measuring cup and a mixing spoon with a bow tied to the handle.  We are limited by only our imagination. Homemade is always better.        Be sweet and be good!!!  

  

 

Great Grandson, Christian James Wilcox (and walking on streets of gold)

Isn't he a little doll?  His big sister, Anna, at the ripe old age of 3 is just like a little mama hen with him!  He is just too sweet and look at those muscles!!  His name wasn't chosen right away, for the new parents could not come up with a name that was good enough for him!  Now, is that cute, or what!!  I think he always needs to know this.  He just has to grow up knowing he was so precious to his mommy and daddy that there didn't seem a name good enough for this little boy to called.  Finally, they did settle on Christian and that does seem to fit him perfectly.  Christian Wilcox ... see, it has quite a ring to it!!!  I don't see how it is possible to have so much love in your heart for someone so little and tiny.  I love him soooooo much!!!

I have to tell you this about Anna.  First off, you never know what will come out of that little mouth when she opens it.  She is so funny.  The funniest thing is, she doesn't even try to be funny.   She is serious as she can be, turning her little head to one side, with both hands on her hips, she can keep you laughing all day long.  The other day Kristi asked her to please clean her room, to which she replied, "Mommy, my room is already clean."  Mom suggested she take a look at it, so off she went to give her room an "Anna inspection".  She stood in the middle of her room, put both hands on those little hips, turned that head to one side and said, "Sometimes I disgust myself!".  

I tell you, it is this sort of thing that keeps me going!!!  It makes not just my day, but my week, my month, even, I guess, my years.  About 8 years ago, the docs suspected I would not last much longer, maybe a couple of years at most.  I said, "Well, we'll just see about that!!"  I had recently become a great grandmother to Abigail, my very first great grandchild and I knew I had to stay to play dolls with her and have tea parties and love her.  I told them a couple of years later that I was going to be around to see her get  married.  They asked how hold she was and I said, "Two."  Well, the good doctor slapped me on the knee and said, "I'll give you this --- you are a trooper!!!"  I rarely speak of this and perhaps never will again but I had a sudden cardiac death on New Year's Day, 2008.   I was shocked back to life when I had no pulse, no heart beat and no blood pressure.  It happened twice.  Again, they gave my kids not much hope, but as usual, I have not aggravated them enough, so I am not ready to go just yet!!  I don't remember anything except one morning I was putting on my clothes and the next week I began to wake up in the Coronary Care Unit.  I didn't know it then, only that I was in the hospital for something and for the life of me didn't know why.  Well, anyway, now I had to have a pacemaker this time.  I had primacor treatments twice a week for half a day at a time for 3 years.  I have also been on oxygen since 2002.  I have numerous heart problems (it would be too simple to only have one), I have congestive heart failure, an enlarged heart and other stuff I can never remember or pronounce.  I also have COPD, degenerative disc disease and a host of other health conditions.  It is simpler never to discuss them, so now that I have, I won't again.  That is boring old stuff when we all know it is so much better to laugh and be happy.  Oh, I don't always make it, but I will always be caught trying.  I have lost my home, my savings, my car, everything I had due to the catastrophic illnesses.  My treatments alone were almost $70,000 a year, besides all the labs, doctors, hospitals and I won't even go there!!  The important thing is I don't even care, because I am rich with things money cannot buy and consider myself to be so very lucky.  I think we can choose how we feel inside.  I have riches that no amount of money can buy!!!  You can't put a price on the love of a child, you can't put a price on a gift made just for you by the loving hands of your very own daughter, you can't put a price on a hug from a grandson when he wakes up, saying, "Grandma gets the first hug."

Now, I sure got carried away for some reason, but you know ....    be sweet!!!   

A Great Kitchen Gift

This is a great gift from the heart from one who loves to cook! Any mom or grandma would be pleased as punch to receive a gift of this sort. It is one that you have spent time and thought on. There are also so many ways to vary a kitchen gift -- add a new mixing bowl, a pan for the cobbler, mixing spoons, cups , napkins, a few flowers, spice bottles, flavorings, the list is endless. You can print out this page or type up your own instructions and recipe on cardstock and cut the size of a recipe card, punch a hole in the card and tie to basket handle or whatever else you can come up with. I would love to hear some of your suggestions or pictures of what you have done. I will make a recipe card to download or a tag to personalize if you would like. Just let me know.



CRANBERRY PEACH COBBLER MIX IN A BASKET

Give this mix in a decorated basket along with canned pie filling, cranberry sauce and make a recipe card for the easy baking instructions.

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
2 cans peach pie filling
2 cans whole berry cranberry sauce

Place cake mix, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg in large mixing bowl and mix well, cutting in butter with fork or pastry blender. Stir in pecans if you like to include them.

Divide cobbler mix in half and place in 2 resealable plastic bags. Store in refrigerator till ready to assemble gift. This will make about 5 cups, (2 1/2 cups mix in each bags).

In each of 2 pretty or decorated baskets, place 1 bag cobbler mix, 1 can peach pie filling, 1 can cranberry sauce and the following instructions:

Cranberry Peach Cobbler:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine pie filling and cranberry sauce, and place into a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
Sprinkle cobbler mix over fruit mixture. Bake 45 minutes or until browned.

Serve warm with ice cream.


Now be a crafty cook and make up a gift in a basket for another crafty cook!! I promise you will love giving it and the recipient will love receiving it. It's a win-win gift. Makes us feel good to give something we've taken the time to put together for another and they feel special to be on the receiving end of such a thoughtful gift.

Be sweet and get those ideas in here so we can share with each other!! Later.

Pictures of The Heart

In nothing are we as rich as in our memories; they are pictures painted by our hearts, and nothing can erase them.
-- Flavia


Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right.
Henry Ford


Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
Ralph Waldo Emerson


It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly.
-- Mabel Newcombe


A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be a different place because I was important in the life of a child.


Love from a baby. It is not a slight thing when those so fresh from God love us. Dickens


Babies are always more trouble than you thought ... and more wonderful than you ever dreamed. Charles Osgood


If you want to be Rich,
Just count all the things
you have that money cannot buy.


A truly rich man is one whose children run
into his arms when his hands are empty.


"Seek the wisdom of the ages, but look at the world through the eyes of a child." Ron Wild

"Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory." Betty Smith


The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground. " unknown


"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. "
Jack Kerouac



"Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow!" Norman Vincent Peale


"Inspiration does not come from the quote itself, but rather the person behind it." Russ Myers


"Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible. " Cadet Maxim


"Leap and the net will appear. " Zen saying


"A diamond is merely a lump of coal that did well under pressure." unknown


"Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best. " Henry Van Dyke

Some of us Have All The Luck

Just got out of the hospital today and I am so far behind it looks like I'm ahead!!  I expect to be going full speed in a short time.  I love and appreciate all of you so much for bearing with me and hanging in there, despite my absence.  You know, He sure never promised us a rose garden.  (I love saying that, but I believe this is the first time I have ever written it.  Somehow it seems more real and easier by far to recall if something is written instead of merely spoken.)  

Not only have angels been in my garden, they have looked after me very well, no matter where I seem to be.  Great news to share ...... I am going to have 2 (not just 1, but 2) more great grandchildren.  We know one is a boy and not sure about the other one yet.  We'll take whatever we get and be pleased as punch with it.  I am so excited, I can hardly wait.  Little babies are absolutely the most precious, innocent little beings in the entire universe! They just ooze sweetness and softness. 

Kristi and Heath will be blessed with a little baby boy soon.  Brittany and Nathan have a while to wait on their little blessing, as she has just learned the good news.  You know I will have constant updates for I am just too, too grateful that I have been allowed the pleasure of playing with a great grandchild.  Some of us have all the luck!!  What can I say?  (except be sweet and be good ...) 

Have a Lovely Holiday

Be sweet and always be good!!

A Look At Laughter

We all need a good laugh once in a while - well not once in a while actually, but most of the time. Laughter is so good for so many things. We feel better and those around us feel better. We certainly look better when we have a smile on our face. You know, when we think happy thoughts, we become happy.
Now that just so happens to be true!!
Just try thinking about something very sad that happened in your life and before long you feel sad, so sad that often tears begin to fall. When we make a conscious effort to change our thoughts to the positive, the good things in our lives, the things we are thankful for , ice cream on a hot day, a field of yellow sunflowers, the way our grandma never talked baby talk to us .... you just can't keep that good feeling, that joy we were meant to feel at bay and soon we are humming a song, going happily about our day, making others happy along the way. Life is good!
Anyway here are a couple of little husband and wife thingies that I hope brings a smile to your face, as it did to mine. Anyway, these are too funny not to pass on!


A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word.
An earlier discussion had led to an argument and
neither of them wanted to concede their position.
As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs,
the husband asked sarcastically, 'Relatives of yours?'
'Yep,' the wife replied, 'in-laws.'

A man and his wife were having some problems at home
and were giving each other the silent treatment.
Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him
at 5:0 0 AM for an early morning business flight.
Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper,
'Please wake me at 5:00 AM.' He left it where he knew she would find it.
The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him,
when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed.
The paper said, 'It is 5:00 AM. Wake up.'
Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

Are you smiling? I sure hope so. Later. Be sweet!!!!

Golden Heart

This is the Golden Heart Award, given to my by my friend, Kim, who received the award and passed it on to other blogs she liked.  I am humbled at being a recipient of this award.

Kim has recently changed the look of her blog, stuff could always be worse, and it has a new very pretty background.  I love reading about what she fondly calls her "hillbilly family", for my family fits right in.  We are about as country as you can get.

My mom and all her family came from the hills and mountains and did everything the old way. My great grandmother was an Indian, with that jet black hair and high cheekbones passed down to my mom, who, in her seventies still raised a garden big enough to feed the state's National Guard!  She still dried apples, picked blackberries and made jam ..... she did it by choice, not out of necessity.  I have had many a dress made from flour sacks.  I still remember Mom's disappointment when she only needed one more sack to have enough material to sew a dress for me but by the time she needed flour again, not a single sack remained with the pretty blue flowers!  On the long ride home I can remember her saying it was a shame to use that pretty material for pillow slips, and what a perfect dress it would have made.

I still have a tiny dress that she made for Debye, my first daughter.  Both of my girls wore that dress.  I love to just hold it close to me and imagine my mama's sweet little hands sewing the buttons on.  

Kim, thanks again for the award.  I am honored.  I will pass it on to five others, but I wish I could  pass it to a hundred others.  If your blog is not one, please remember, your award sits in my heart!

Balsam Ponds by Design

The Retirement Chronicles

Make or Break

frugal southern mom

Learning to be Crafty

These are all wonderful blogs you should pay a visit to.  I am sure you will enjoy them as much as I do.

I have not sent Anjanette (Momma Young) any new pictures to put in my slide show in a long time, so I better get busy on that.   I have also got to check with Sara on The Breathing Post, see how new little baby Cole is doing!! 

Be sweet everyone.  Big hugs!!!!

 

 

Tummy Tickling Recipe

Deep-fried Snickers bar

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

Snickers bar

Chill or freeze the candy bars. Combine egg, milk and vegetable oil in a cup. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well with a wire whisk. Cover and chill for a few minutes while the oil heats.

Remove batter from the refrigerator and adjust the consistency if necessary. Heat about 4 cups of oil or shortening to 375 degrees F. Dip the chilled candy bar in the batter and gently place into the oil. Cook only until the outside is golden. Remove and drain on brown paper. Allow to cool for a minute as the inside can easily burn your mouth.


You know, I was surprised!! These are very good. I had seen them made on some Food Network show or The Travel Channel (can't remember which), then I ran across this recipe and had to give it a try. Boy, is it ever gooey and good.
All you mommies should make the kiddos a deep fried Snickers and watch their little eyes light up. That alone is well worth the mess in the kitchen, being a mom and making memories.
Be sweet!

Life, and it's Wonders

Hi Sweeties!! I have been so lazy, not writing in my blog (or should I say Momma's blog and Kaye's blog?). Actually, I have been sick. You know, He never promised us a rose garden. Got to take the bad along with the good. Lord knows, there is so much more good than bad. Life is grand!!

I have done so much thinking in the past few weeks my brain hurts!! That's about all I felt like doing, but I knew better days were ahead. It is nice now that the rain has stopped, flowers blooming, bees buzzing, even the growling of an old lawn mower is a welcome sound for soon the smell of newly cut grass arrives ever so softly on the quiet breeze.

Today I had to be outside in the fresh air, taking in everything I have missed lately. My little squirrels were still scampering up the old oak tree, hiding in its leafy branches. Not too long ago, they could not hide in that tree. Winter weather had stripped the poor branches bare. It was fun to watch them gathering the acorns that had dropped on the ground and hurrying with them to wherever it was they hid them to feed on during the cold, icy months. They run on the rails of the deck and, sometimes, if I am very quiet and still, they saunter slowly along as if they owned the place! These are the times I love, these are the times I am so grateful for. These are the times when it is beyond my comprehension that there are those who do not believe God exists!!

Be sweet!

The Jewel Inside

Many, many words have been written and spoken about this ...... never judge a book by its cover ....... but we all need a little reminder once in a while to look beyond the outward appearance, make no judgement with our eyes; look further and see with our hearts till the gem inside shines through.

My daughter sent me a story about a man who found a canvas bag in a cave by a beach. The cave was filled with clay balls. Just plain, round clay balls. So the man began to toss them into the ocean. He continued till he dropped one and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!
The man became very exited as he broke open one after the other to find they all contained a similar treasure.

He had thousands of dollars worth of precious jewels in the few clay balls he had left. He had thrown away lots and lots of them with their hidden jewels into the ocean!! Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands but had thrown it away, not realizing what was inside the plain little clay balls.

Take care, Friends and be sweet!!

A War Story

This was sent by my daughter, Debye, and my daughter in law, Carol.  Don't remember who sent it to who first, but one of them sent it to me and I feel the picture alone speaks to us , but once you read the story behind it, you realize how powerful the message really is.  This is a  story that should be shared with as many as possible.  I will share it with you and feel free to pass it on. 
 
 
This needs to make headline news ..... not some of the other junk that makes the news these days! Like the Rosie O'Donell war of words ... celeb weddings ... who's not wearing undies ... etc.

                                              An Iowa Boy

John Gebhardt works at the Cargill plant in Eddyville, Iowa.
  
It's a tough, but heartwarming story ... with a picture of John Gebhardt in Iraq.
John Gebhardt's wife, Mindy, said that this little girl's entire family was executed. The insurgents intended to execute the little girl also, and shot her in the head ... but they failed to kill her. She was cared for in John's hospital and is healing up, but continues to cry and moan. The nurses said John is the only one who seems to calm her down, so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both slept in that chair. The girl is coming along with her healing. He is a real Star of the war, and represents what America is trying to do. 
 
This, my friends, is worth sharing. Go for it!! You'll never see things like this in the news. Please keep this going.  The American public needs to see pictures like this and needs to realize that what we're doing over there is making a difference. Even if it is just one little girl at a time.. 
 
James Gates
U. S. Navy

Momma's Been Busy (and I don't mean me)

Can you believe it!?  When I looked at my little blog this morning,  I could hardly believe my eyes.  Momma at Momma Young's @ Home has been helping me fix my blog  and I finally said to her  "you do it because I don't know how or even where to begin if I did know!"  Thank goodness I did!!  I struggled and struggled to get thingies on there and plodded along, wondering how in the heck those girls did this or how they did that.  For days I tried to put buttons or badges on, but I swear sometimes I could and most of the time I could not!  Poor little Kaye at Random WAHM Thoughts tried and tried to tell me how to add a button to my page, even going so far as to make a tutorial for me to follow.  I finally did it one time, paying close attention to her tutorial.  Notice, I said ONE time.  Next time ..... impossible!!  You may can teach an old dog new tricks, just not too many at one time.  I am so thankful for the kind hearted souls who take precious time from their own busy schedule to care.  It actually does take, not just thought, but time, to care.....especially enough to take action.  Momma Young is planning even more surprises for Angels.  I believe she is going to make a slide show with some pictures of mine.

  I feel sort of silly, calling her Momma, since she is about 1/3 my age, but, in this case, she is the teacher and I am her good little student!!  

I should have just let my kids think "Oh, my mom is so smart.  Just look what she has done."  I admit I kind of wanted to, but just can't take credit for it, when my sweet little friend did it for me.  

Be sweet, now.

How To Make Flavored Vinegars

Flavored vinegars are so good and make a wonderful gift when they are put into a pretty or odd shaped bottle.  Attach a home made gift tag with jute or  an earthy fiber, maybe a recipe and voila!  Another handmade gift, so very simple and so heartfelt.  I had to share this with you when I found this article on Wiki How.  If you come up with other combinations, let me know and we will share it with everyone.


Do you ever stroll down the specialty foods aisle and eye the pretty bottles of vinegar filled with sprigs of herbs but you never buy them because they are so expensive? Well your instincts are good. They are too expensive. However, you can create the same thing personalized for your particular tastes for a fraction of the cost. Here's how.

Steps

1. Open your food processor and fill the cup 3/4 the way full with your choice of fresh herbs.
   
2. Pour in about a cup of vinegar.
   
3. Close the food processor and turn it on high for about 30 seconds. Add more herbs and another 2 cups of vinegar. Pulse for another minute or two.
   
4. Line a sieve or tea strainer with a coffee filter and slowly pour the herb and vinegar mixture through the coffee filter and into a bowl. Carefully press the herbs against the filter to press all of the vinegar out of the herbs.
   
5. Re-line the sieve with another coffee filter and pour the vinegar in the bowl through once more to catch any loose herbs.
   
6. Store in a clean jar with a tight fitting lid.
   
7. Add whole herbs and spices of your choice. The longer your vinegar sits the stronger it gets.
   
8. If you begin to run low on vinegar, add a little wine and let it sit for a week uncovered.
   

Tips

• Some Herb Combinations to Try
  
• basil, oregano, onion, garlic
  
• sage, dill, coriander
  
• sun dried tomatoes, basil, onion, garlic
  
• lemon rind, dill, fennel
  
• rosemary, thyme, garlic
  
• pine nut, basil, onion, garlic
  
• garlic, onion, hot peppers
  

Warnings

• Use good vinegar - The better the vinegar the better the finished product.
  
• Experiment - there are all sorts of vinegars - rice, cider, red and white wines, and even champagne vinegars.
  
• Use fresh herbs when possible because they will produce the strongest, best taste.
  
• If you have never use an herb before and have allergies, consult your physician to make sure that you can use it without a reaction.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Make Ginger Garlic Paste
  
• How to Make Mayonnaise
  
• How to Make Simple and Fresh Strawberry Jam
  
• How to Make Sweet Onion Marmalade
  

Article provided by wikiHow 
.

Odds and Ends

I love the button Kaye of Random WAHM Thoughts and WAHMaholic made for me!  It is so pretty.  I have got it on my sidebar, but, for some reason, I can't get it straight!  She is such a sweetheart that she made a header for me to match the button.  I tried and tried tonight to grab her button but I can't get all the code underneath all copied.  When I paste it on, it isn't all there! Bless her heart, she is probably sick of me!!  I don't know enough about what I am doing and I make some pretty big mistakes.  I say if your going to make a mistake, you might as well make a big one, right?

Anyway, be sure to check out WAHMaholic, Kaye's new site.  It is a good one.  She really tickles me with that sense of humor.

Also, drop by Sara's blog, The Breathing Post, and see the pictures of the new baby!  He's cute as a button.

If anyone has an idea what I could be doing wrong to not get all the code copied on a button, will you let me know?  You can leave it in a comment or email me and I will dance at your next wedding!!  I know Kaye will help me.  How embarrassing if I have to get her to put her own button on my site because I couldn't!!  Oh, well.

I almost forgot, but I saw Michelle Duggar and her three oldest girls at the grocery store the other day.  She is the one who has the "Eighteen Kids and Counting" program on TLC.  She and her husband and all the kids have been on Good Morning America and others, as well.  They are absolutely amazing parents.  That is a lot of kids to take care of, feed and keep up with, but they use "the buddy system", where one of the older children looks out for one of the younger ones. They have a loving home and a very organized home, with everyone working together as a team. All eighteen children have a name that begins with the letter "J".

Last I have a money saving pre wash spray, simple to make and cheap, cheap, cheap!!

 Pre-Wash Spray 

1/2 C. Household ammonia
1/4 C. Baking soda
1/2 C. White vinegar
1/2 gal. Water 

After mixing this solution, put part of it in a smaller spray bottle to keep handy by the washing machine when doing laundry. Spray liberally onto clothes where needed

Later.  Be sweet.

 

Everyday Chocolate Recipes Free to Download

These are just a few of my favorite chocolate desserts recipes that are easy to prepare with mostly simple ingredients.

Don't you just love chocolate?   Peanut butter is another favorite of mine.  I know fruit desserts are much more healthy, but the ooey gooey buttery calorie filled treats taste so good and remind me of my southern upbringing.  When my mom, grandmas and aunts made their way to the kitchen, pots and pans began to rattle and you could soon hear wooden spoons scraping the sides of enamelware bowls.  You already knew when they finally emerged , wiping the flour from their hands on the frilly little aprons they wore, desserts that were almost sinful waited patiently to be devoured!!

When you were so full you knew without a doubt that one more bite would cause you to explode, one of them would be sure to say, "Are you sure you've had enough?  Here, have some more!"

Download the little ebook here.

Oh, Lord, I better go for a walk.  I think I have put on 10 pounds writing this post. 

Be sweet and be good!

You ...In a Blog

Well, I was tagged with the 8 Tag by Momma Young's at Home so that is one I've already completed.... Now, Anish of Actuate Life has awarded me the Worth Following Award. This is the second of those I have received, so I would like to pass this award on to every one of my bloggin' buddies and every follower.

Gosh, so many are "worth following" that It would be impossible to choose just a few to award this to. Anish is a very dear friend and I gave this award to him, bless his sweet little heart....he turned around and gave it back to me!! The same is true of Momma Young. I tagged her with the 8 Tag and before she was notified, she made a comment on a post that she had tagged me!

Every blog I read has a bit of the owner hidden within each post. You can catch little glimpses of personality traits and inward feelings begin to emerge until soon you feel a kinship of sorts. There is a common thread holding us together. It is somehow easier for most of us to write our true feelings than it is to express those feelings aloud.
We laugh with those who laugh, try to cheer those who cry, encourage the discouraged and give hope to the hopeless. Faces spread across the globe, people miles apart, united in a protective community, with each member supporting the other.

Be sweet, Bloggin' Buddies!!!

Tagged Twice with the 8 Tag

That Sara has tagged me again!! Sara's blog is The Breathing Post and I. along with who knows how many others, am anxiously awaiting the birth of her first baby.

I also got this tag from The Great Retired One, who writes a hilarious blog, The Retirement Chronicles.  

This is called The 8 Tag, so here goes:

The 8 Tag

8 Things I'm looking forward to:

1. Seeing my great grand daughters.
2. Welcoming my new great grand child, due in a few months.
3. Visiting my son and daughter in law who live in the opposite corner of the state.
4. Hearing my brothers' voices when they call.
5. Pink blossoms on the little flowers at the foot of my big oak tree.
6. Getting scrapbooks completed for my children and grandchildren.
7. Standing in my oldest son's garden and eating a ripe tomato right off the vine.
8. Getting new pictures of my three littlest angels.

8 Things I did Yesterday.

1. Took a nap.
2. Made homemade ranch dressing.
3. Read a craft magazine.
4. Aggravated Pepper, my sweet little doggie.
5. Missed my family who do not live close enough to see and touch.
6. Wished I were not such a procrastinator.
7. Decided life is too short to worry about procrastinating.
8. Aggravated Pepper some more (just kidding...actually played with him).

8 Things I Wish I Could do.

1. Mow the yard.
2. Go to Northeast Arkansas, then South Louisiana then Kentucky then home.
3. Rest one week and head out to North Dakota.
4. Have the will power to eat right, exercise more and lose weight.
5. Stand on a street corner and give out hundred dollar bills the week before Christmas.
6. Sing and not be afraid for people to hear me.
7. Be twenty and know what I know now.
8. Make a difference.

8 Shows I Watch

1. The Mentalist
2. Diners, Drive Inns and Dives
3. 20/20
4. Dateline
5. Larry King
6. The View
7. 48 Hours
8. 60 Minutes

8 People I Tag

1. Pehpot of Make or Break

2. Kaye of Random WAHM Thoughts

3. Glynis of Scribbles

4. Momma of Momma Young's at Home

5. Melissa of Real Parenting For Real Kids

6. Jlo of [zany life = crazy faith]

7.Julia of Everyday Mom Ideas

8.Pattye of Two Greyhound Town

Don't feel pressured to participate and most of all,     be sweet!!

Happy Easter Friends

Be sweet!

The Pills For Our Ills

My daughter in law found this poem in a local senior citizen's newsletter and brought it to me.  No author was given....not even a name for the poem, so I don't have a clue where it originated.  I knew immediately it was something I had to share!  You know, I just can't keep a good or funny thing to myself.  I will probably wake up in the night, think of the blue pill, sit upright and begin to laugh hysterically.  I only hope my poor daughter doesn't call the men in the little white coats!

 

A row of bottles on my shelf

caused me to analyze myself.

One yellow pill I have to pop

goes to my heart so it won't stop.

A little white one that I take

Goes to my hands so they won't shake.

The blue ones that I use a lot

tell me I'm happy when I'm not.

The purple pill goes to my brain

and tells me that I have no pain.

The pink ones tell me not to wheeze

or cough or choke or even sneeze.

The red ones,smallest of them all,

go to my blood so I won't fall.

The orange pills, so big and bright,

prevent my leg cramps in the night.

Such an array of brilliant pills

that help to cure all kinds of ills,

but what I'd really like to know

is what tells each one where to go!!

____________________________________________________________________

Now is that not funny?  I believe I have more stashed here and there, some I've written myself back in the day.  I think I will begin to drag them out now and then 'cause there's nothing better for your health and well being than a really good laugh, it sort of reminds us that it is usually the simplest things in life that bring about the biggest blessings.        You be sweet, now!!

Where To Find The Best Easter Cake Recipe

I have found the most wonderful easy Easter cake recipe with complete instructions on Insightful Nana's  blog.  She has photos of all the ingredients and step by step directions plus a picture of the finished cake, which is so much like Easter with jelly beans decorating the top.  There is even a video of her making the cake!  I am going to get jelly beans tomorrow because I am going to make that cake.  It will be the perfect dessert after the holiday dinner or for afternoon snacking after all the eggs are found and the little ones are worn out from a day of searching to see who could fill his basket first.  She also has a really great caramel popcorn recipe.  Be sure to check it out.  What a fun site, even a newsletter and free printables.  

 Be sweet and good!

Easy Bread Recipe (or rolls and cinnamon rolls)

No Knead Batter Bread                                           

6 1/2 C flour

2 pkg. instant yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp)

3 T sugar

3/4 tsp salt

3 C warm water

2 T melted butter

Put 3 1/2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt into large bowl.  Mix all together and add warm water and melted butter to dry mixture.  Blend together till moistened and beat well to incorporate air into batter.  Gradually add remaining flour a little at a time until you have a stiff batter.  It may not take the full amount depending on weather, etc.   Cover and let rise in warm place until double.  This takes about half an hour.  Stir the batter down and spread in greased loaf pans.  Be sure to grease around the rim of loaf pans as well.  Cover and allow to rise till batter reaches the top of the pans. Also about half an hour.  Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.  I hesitate to give a baking time as ovens vary so much.  Just watch it the first time, then you will know.  Mine takes about 20 minutes.   Brush tops with butter as soon as you remove loaves from oven, then carefully remove from the pans.  If you do not have a wire rack to cool them on, put them on 2 or 3 layers of paper towels.   You need a good bread knife to slice with and it is better to wait till completely cool before slicing. 

If you would rather make rolls, just add enough flour to make not just a stiff batter, but one you can form and shape.  They are pretty when you put 3 little balls in each well of a muffin tin.  They are good just made into rolls and plopped in a cake pan till it is full!!  I had rather make rolls than loaves, don't know why....just a preference.

You can also make cinnamon rolls with half of the dough you made for rolls.   Just foll out dough into a rectangle, brush with melted butter and sprinkle generously with sugar and cinnamon.  Roll into a log, like for a jelly roll and cut equal slices of the log, place cut side down on baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees till brown.  Glaze with a powdered sugar glaze or mix a little white corn syrup with canned frosting, whatever your little ole' heart desires!

Oh, I almost forgot.   If you are using self rising flour, be sure you omit the salt!!!   You do not have to use plain flour, even though most yeast recipes say plain.  You can use self rising, but just do not add salt.  I almost always use self rising for everything.  It is just easier not to add the salt and baking powder.  Besides the baking powder in self rising will only help your bread or whatever to rise.

Be sweet!

Lordie, This Must Be Heaven

I have been baking bread every day for some time now.  I love the fresh bread and the lovely aroma hanging in the air.  When I come in my door it is the first thing to greet me.  

I have lately tried my hand at sourdough bread.  I have a starter going now and have baked with it a few times.  The texture is quite different as well as the flavor.  Nevertheless it is delicious.  I have all kinds of goodies planned to bake soon.  One night Brandon, one of my grandsons, and I stayed up most of the night doing the once a month cooking thing.  We had a blast and he has helped me plan what we will bake next.

Now that I am back into the bread making, I am going to try homemade hot pockets, chocolate rolls, cinnamon rolls (which I made often when my children were home) and all sorts of good things to eat!  Now that I am retired and with much more time on my hands than I've had in a while, I am ready to do some experimenting.  So what if I do put on a few pounds....grandmas are supposed to be fat!

 I have a front deck that stretches from one side of my house to the other and a tall oak that didn't suffer too much damage from the ice storm.  I am looking forward to warm weather, sitting out in the shade with a tall, ice cold glass of lemonade, a homemade pepperoni pizza hot pocket, my laptop and a grandchild and lordie, I will swear I have already died and this must be Heaven!!!   Be sweet and be good.

Freebie Craft Magazine Download

 This is the newest issue of Scrapbook and Cards Today.  It is free to download and has great instructions.  There are cards, a mini book , photo tips and others.  If you like making anything, give this a try.  If you have never done any papercrafting, this might inspire you.  It is a great craft and handmade cards are treasures.  You need very few supplies for card making and a handful of cards with matching envelopes tied with a ribbon make a lovely and much appreciated gift.  

You will find the download link on this page.  Happy crafting!     Be sweet. 

My Award From The Little Mama (Sara)

That sweet Sara, soon to be Mommy, at The Breathing Post has given me an award, the Worth Following Award.  How cool is that!?  Sara says Va Bookworm at Confessions of a Bookworm created this award and wants to see how far it will go.  We should check out Bookworm's blog.

This award is given to blogs that you would highly recommend to other readers and the rules are as follows:

Give this award to three of your favorite blogs.  Choose ones you make a point of reading as often as possible!

When you nominate them you have to write a short description of the blog (just a few sentences) and why you nominated that blog.

Link to each of your choices as well as the blog that nominated you.  Spread the love!

The hardest part is just choosing three, but here goes.

The first award winner is New Scribbles From Glynis Smy.  This is an exceptional blog with an exceptional author.  Glynis has encouraged me from day one!  She is one busy lady who writes very well on many subjects.  Great style of writing along with a great sense of humor makes this blog recommended reading for anyone. 

The second award winner is Actuate Life.  This young man is a great motivator and believes we all are capable of great things!  When I read what he has written I, too, believe we can accomplish our goals and more.  I am inspired by his writing and it becomes easy to acquire that positive attitude with his can-do approach to life. 

The third award winner is a blog I have only begun reading recently, tender graces, but I love the style and the posts are so interesting.  I feel a kinship with the author of this blog for some reason.  The posts make you feel as if you are sharing the experience and you feel right at home here.

There are so many more blogs I love, visit, read and enjoy.  It is a shame I can't list them all, but you all know I love you and value the friendships we have created.  You are all special!!

You know, guys, I have received other awards in the last month....please do not think I have disregarded them!!  I would never in a million years do that!!  I value and treasure each and every one, they are so, so special to me just to know that you think I should have an award for anything blows me away!!  I have lost a post passing them on to others, my links and everything.  I have been sick, so have sort of let things slide.  

I guess I better design an award for all of you!!  Be sweet and good!!!!

Stick Figure With a Lopsided Head

For those of us who love scrapbooking our family photos, heritage photos or just the art of scrapbooking because it is such a beautiful craft (somehow such a simple word as craft does not do justice to scrapbooking, but it's what I could come up with at this moment) the internet is an absolute virtual playground!!  What fun spending time at those sites we grow to love and, in fact, grow to depend upon, for not all of us are so fortunate or talented enough to design our own papers, frames and embellishments and somehow that special photo that begs for a fresh new idea has to wait until VOILA!  There it is!!  We have found exactly what we were looking for.  We knew it would one day appear out of nowhere, catching us by surprise, as had happened so often in the past.  I love Cen's Loft.  Not only is she a wonderful designer, she is a wonderful person as well.  You can feel it in her writing.  I ran across Penni quite by accident and was immediately hooked!  Her site is GallimaufryUK.  Her designs are breathtaking, as are her team's.  One of the girls on Penni's site has designed a printable box template  from the latest scrapbook kit.  I have already download it, along with the kit and can hardly wait to begin!  I believe I have called printables the "no fail" craft, because all you do is download it, print it, fold or whatever it calls for and, like magic, a precious little handmade will appear before your very eyes.  You have to try it if this is something you haven't done before.  Computer crafting is a big thing now.

We've come a long way, Baby!  I would love to design,  I guess I even long to design.  I  am sort of artsy and crafty and make everything, but am unable to design, so I am grateful beyond measure for the lovely people out there who are brimming with talent and gracious enough  to share with those of us, like me, who can't even draw a stick figure without a lopsided head.            Be sweet and  good.  Later!!   (I've got to go fold the box I downloaded.) 

Just click on the sites in above post to go there. 

Cream Cheese or Fairy Food

Don't you just love the yummy taste of anything made with cream cheese?! It adds such wonderful flavor to so many foods. It is smooth and creamy, perfect for desserts and dips. I think cream cheese feels right at home in any fridge, patiently waiting beside the eggs and butter
for a grandma or mom to grab it out for some fantastic dessert, knowing it won't be long till the most favored thing in the house will be whatever delightful goodie the grandma or mom can magically change it into!! Be sweet and good!

Cheesecake Coffee Cake

3 cups Bisquick
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 - 8oz. softened Philly cream cheese
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup strawberry or raspberry preserves

In a bowl, combine Bisquick, 1/4 cup white sugar, melted butter and milk. Beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Sprinkle some extra Bisquick on your counter, and then dump the dough on the counter. Knead the dough 30 times with your hands. Pat the dough evenly in the bottom and sides of an ungreased round cake pan (9" x 1.5"). Prepare the cheese filling: in a mixer, combine 1/2 cup white sugar, eggs, cream cheese, vanilla and beat all ingredients until smooth. Pour the cheese filling over the dough. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until edge is golden brown and cheese filling is set. Remove from oven and cool 20 minutes. Spread preserves over the top. Keep leftover cake refrigerated.
_____________________________________________________________________



Oreo Cookie Cheesecake

Crust: 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1/3 cup melted butter; 1 tbsp. cinnamon
Batter: 4 - 8oz. packages Philly cream cheese; 2 tbsp. flour; 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cup chopped Oreo cookies; 1 1/4 cups white sugar; 2 extra large eggs; 2 egg yolks; 1 tbsp. vanilla
Topping: 2 cups sour cream; 1/4 cup white sugar; 1 tbsp. vanilla; extra crushed Oreo cookies to sprinkle on the top

Using a spoon and a bowl, combine the crust ingredients above and line the bottom and sides of a 10-inch spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. To make the filling mix the cream cheese, sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla and heavy whipping cream together in a mixer. Fold the chopped Oreos into the filling. Remove crust from oven and pour cream cheese mixture into the baked crust. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees and bake for 50 minutes more. Remove then refrigerate. Garnish with crushed Oreo cookies.

_____________________________________________________________________


Blueberry Cheese Pie

1 Keebler ready-made graham cracker crust
1 - 21oz. can blueberry pie filling (or any other berry pie filling)
8oz. softened Philly cream cheese
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
8oz. Cool Whip (optional)

In the mixer, add cream cheese and sugar--beat together, then add eggs and beat well. Pour this mixture into the graham cracker crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Spread pie filling on top and garnish with Cool Whip if you choose. Chill overnight before serving. Keep refrigerated.

Art of Living

Hi Guys.  I have been playing today.  I was going to post some recipes for you to try that I think are just almost too good to eat but, instead, I made this today and had to share it with you.  It is a copy of an old book page, a vintage angel picture and a scrapbook flower embellishment.  I do love making artsy things and I'm going to make some pages for my grand daughters and frame them.  I will surely get to the recipes tomorrow, (you know I always say "never do today what you can put off till tomorrow!"   Be sweet now.