{ Friday Favorites - #5 }

If you have something special you would like to show, if you have a trinket which has a special meaning for you or maybe something you have just found and own or would like to have. It could be anything, a trinket, a book, a new cookware set, a necklace, a photograph, a project you're working on or finished....anything that you love and would like to show us all.

Take a photo, or two, or three...post it on your blog and come back and link up using Mr Linky.

Please only include links directly to your post and only those pertaining to Friday Favorites. Anything not related WILL be removed.

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Today's treasure is very near and dear to my heart, for many reasons.
When we lived in Idaho there was a store we absolutely loved visiting and shopping it, it was called Quilted Bear and the minute we stepped through those doors it was like being transported to a big warehouse of crafts, wood crafts, needle crafts, the scent of candles, rows and rows of scrapbook materials and bits and bobbles here and there.

On one of our visits, I came across this tiny little shelves with personalized mugs, any name you could think of and I knew I had to grab one.

I got one for each of our names in the family.

Now if you're one of my friends or have been reading my blog for a while, you will probably be wondering why the names Jennifer and Alexandra are on there too.

Those two little mugs are for the two babies I miscarried, it was the names we had picked out for them and it means the world to me to be able to have these tiny little mugs, as a daily reminder, not that I need one.

Miscarriage is something you never forget, it's something you never quite get over, it just gets easier to deal with as time goes by, it doesn't erase the pain, it doesn't take away the grief, but it does help you move on  with each day.

So as you can see, they may be tiny, but these little mugs and the little shelf hold a very special place in my heart, they are one of the things I would grab if I had to run out the door.

Kindle Fire and boy is it HOT *snort*

So dorky, but I couldn't resist.

I'm going to show you and tell you all about my new Kindle Fire, but before I do let me explain why I got one because you know I don't just make it a habit of spending money for no reason.

Remember my husband bought me a Kindle Touch about a month ago, it was the first week of January and I fell in love with it, I took it with me everywhere, I read it constantly, I just loved it THAT much and thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread.

Here it is.......

Isn't it pretty? Oh I love it.

And then last week Wednesday, I was in the middle of reading a book when suddenly, blink blink blink, Kindle start graphic, blink some more and then KINDLE NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED!

WHAT?!?!?!? Why? I didn't drop it, I didn't bump it, if anything I was more careful with this Kindle than I am with myself, I bump into stuff all the time but that Kindle had it's own little imaginary bubble around it. So why was this happening?

I got in touch with Amazon Customer Service and was told that this Kindle is defective and needs to be replaced, but here's the kicker, it's bad enough that it's but a month old, but I would have to take it back to the Walmart my husband bought it at and get it replaced there. THAT is not going to happen, first because Walmart only has a 15 day return policy on items like these and second because we didn't have the receipt anymore or the original box.

Unbelievable! So here I sat with a non working Kindle, I honestly wanted to cry, I can't believe how fast I fell in love with it. What to do???

Well I'm trying to get Amazon to help me out somehow, this is their product and if I remember correctly it comes with a 1 year Warranty for defects etc.

But seeing how sad I was and how much I loved my Kindle, my hubby decided to surprise me with a new one, but instead of the same Kindle Touch he just went for the one with the bells and whistles and got me the Kindle Fire.

OH.MY.WORD!

Here, let me show you.......my good ol' blog on the Kindle, so pretty isn't it?

Right after I charged it up, I registered it through Amazon and was surprised to see that I have a full month free Amazon Prime trial.  Ooohhhh :)

I spent quite a bit of time just staring at it and trying to figure out where to go first, what to try first, what to touch, it's much like a new toy that you want to play with really bad but are so worried that you'll accidentally break it?  LOL

One of the cool things about is it the fact that it looks like an Ipod, even the way it is set up.  First thing I did was check out the Apps I could get, so many free ones to choose from and really inexpensive ones to purchase as well.  My first download however was this game for my Nicholas, he's been talking about it for a few days, it's called Where's my Water?

Collect as many ducks as you can in the game and Disney, with the help of Disney's Friends for Change and the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, will make a donation to Conservation International.

The goal of Conservation International is to protect and restore ecosystems and provide freshwater benefits to help more than 500 million people and 126,000 species. For more information about Conservation International, click here.

By helping Swampy connect water to his shower, you can help connect water to animals in real life.

He is determined to help as much as he can, he is so cute :)

Since we're both under the weather, he has been spending lots of time relaxing on my bed, he just reads his books or watches TV, or last night, he asked if he could play the game for a bit.  Problem was I had to wrestle my Kindle Fire from him afterwards LOL   Both kids have now decided they would love one of their own for their birthday's coming up in April....hmmmmm we'll see :)

But back to the Kindle Fire and all it has, or all that I've found so far cause it has a lot of things.

I love how good the quality of the videos are.

Here is the Home page on the Kindle, it shows in big all the items I've read or played or messed with recently.

Of course I love that the books are all in color whereas the Kindle Touch everything was black and white and didn't have a lit up screen either, I couldn't read at night unless I had the light on.

Under the documents tab are some of the PDF books that I have on the Kindle, plus any documents I may have either transferred from the computer through the USB port or sent to my Kindle email account.

Here is the Apps page....did you notice that the Fire comes with QuickOffice....YES!

Also included is the Audible App.....audio books, yes please :)

One of the best things for me right now????  I can make my grocery list in Word and then email it to my Kindle....my grocery list ON my Kindle.  *sigh*   Now of course there is no way for me to check off the items as I grab them, but I don't care about that, I just love that I can have it on my Kindle, and with that comes the possibility of list making or anything else I may want that is Word specific.

BTW though, the Fire does have Notepad and Color Notes Apps for free that you can download :)

Netflix....I love this Fire so much.  I know some have mentioned how it doesn't have much storage and that watching videos can drain that fast etc, but I will tell you right now that the reason I have this Kindle is primarily for reading, that's it, I just look at all these other things as an added bonus.

Will I watch videos on Netflix, of course, but it won't be a daily thing when I can do the same on my laptop on a bigger screen.  I DO think all these add ons will come in handy when we are traveling or away from home :)

Connections Academy on the Fire.  Oh Lordy, it just gets better and better, my kids are able to log in and actually do their lessons on it :)

And Study Island, many schools use Study Island, we do as well, and again it works great :)

So, what do I think of the Kindle Fire???

I think I am in love.  I couldn't have asked for a better little gadget, as much as I loved my Touch this one really does put it to shame.

Only thing I've noticed so far that I don't like too much is that the battery life is nowhere near as long as the Touch, but I can do with that, just have to charge it more than I did the other, small price to pay for such a great little gadget. :)

{ Cooking Thursday }

Morning everyone :)  Hope you're all having a great week so far.

Here is today's Cooking Thursday.

If you want to use the picture, just click here for the original.

Cream Cheese Danish


2 tube of Crescent seamless dough sheet
1 box (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons flour
Strawberry Jam
1/2 cup powdered sugar
milk (just add enough to make the consistency you like)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Open up the tubes of crescent dough and lay them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I can usually fit both on one sheet to bake but when I’m first getting them assembled, I do one on the sheet and another on a different sheet of parchment paper on the counter.

In a bowl mix the cream cheese, the sugar, the vanilla extract and the flour. Then take about 3/4 of the filling and spoon onto the middle of the dough. Spread nicely, but keep it all in the middle.

Take the remaining cream cheese filling and do the same with the other sheet of dough. This one won’t have too much because we’re adding fruit or jam

Grab whatever fruit you want to use, I would recommend the Lucky Leaf Pie Fillings which are really good. But this time I am using Strawberry Jam. Spoon some onto the cream cheese and spread it over.

Then take a knife and make slit, about a half inch wide at a slant, all the way up the sides, then all you’re going to do is take them and cross them over each other, kind of braiding.

Fit both the Danish into the cookie sheet. I just grab the second one by the parchment paper and place it on the cookie sheet next to the other, you can cut the excess paper off.

Bake them for about 20 to 30 minutes until the dough is done and nice and brown. Remove from oven and let it cook completely.

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and the milk. You can add a little dash of vanilla extract or even maple, and then drizzle over the cooled danish. Enjoy


If you don’t want to wait until completely cool, go ahead and drizzle the icing on it now, it will get a nice shiny glaze

{ Yarn Along }

I love Wednesdays, not only because they mean the middle of the week for me and closer to the weekend, but because it means Yarn Along and I can share with you what I've made or what I'm currently working on.

Don't forget to head over to Ginny's blog to join in or to see what she's working on :)

So before I show you what I'm working on now, let me give you a little Ta-Dah moment with my Daisy Square Pillow.  It turned out amazing, I'm SO happy with it :)

*sigh* it was so simple to make and I can't get over how adorable it looks, it just makes me so happy when I look at it :)

So there you have it, all finished and placed next to my other crochet pillow, the Blooming Flower :)

But now onto today's Yarn Along.

Following in Lucy's footsteps, I am crocheting a cover for an empty tissue box which is going to be turned into a holder for my Basil pot. :) I have a couple other boxes around that I'm going to do the same for with different color combinations and they will all be placed on my windowsill with my herbs.

As for what I'm currently reading, after my Kindle went Kapoot the other day :(  and while I wait to get a new one, I'm enjoying looking through some of my older books, like this one called A Garden Supper Tonight.

 I think what I love the most about this book is that it's divided into months and Seasons.  Most of the recipes shared have been printed as they were found or either passed down from generation to generation, so you'll see a lot of pinch of this, and a handful of that.  I LOVE it, it's how I learned how to cook, there was no measuring just eyeballing :)

So that's what I'm reading and that is what I'm crocheting :)

{ Period Drama List }

Over the years I can say that I have watched hundreds of Period Drama series and movies and I thought that it would be a good idea to have a running list of what I've watched or am watching, just to see all the great shows :)

Titles in Red are the ones that I have not watched yet or am currently watching.  As I finish, I will edit.....also as I find new ones to watch or remember other ones, I'll add to the list.

Titles in Blue are upcoming series or movies, as always I will let you know when they premiere and if there is a way to watch I will give you the links.

You can easily find this list up on the linkbar anytime you visit :)

#

1066 The Battle for Middle Earth

A
The Age of Innocence
Amadeus
Amazing Grace
Amistad
Anne of Green Gables
Aristocrats
A Little Princess
Angel
A house divided
Adam and Bede
Anne of Avonlea
Atonement
Anna Karenina (2012)

B
The Barchester Chronicles
Becoming Jane
Berkeley Square
Bertie and Elizabeth
Bright Star
Buccaneers
Bramwell (currently watching)

Birdsong (currently watching)

Basil


C
Christy
Cranford

Call the Midwife (currently watching)

Casualty 1900's
Catherine Cookson "The Moth"
Catherine Cookson "Fifteen Streets"
Catherine Cookson "The Glass Virgin"
Catherine Cookson "Tilly Trotter"

Camille

Creation


D
Daniel Deronda
Downton Abbey
Dr Quinn Medicine Woman
Dombey and Son
Dolley Madison (haven't finished watching)


E
Elizabeth
Elizabeth "The Golden Age"
Emma (all versions)
Ever After

F
Falling for a Dancer
Finding Neverland

Forsyte Saga

Foyle's War

Far from the Madding Crowd


G
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Golden Bowl
Gone with the Wind
Gosford Park
Glorious 39
Great Expectations 2011


H
He knew he was right
Howards End


I

Iron Jawed Angels

J
Jane Eyre (all versions)
John Adams
Julian Fellowes Titanic (2012)
J. Edgar (in theatres now)

K

L
Ladies in Lavender
Lark Rise to Candleford
Little Dorrit
Little Women
Lost in Austen
Love Comes Softly (all the movies)
Love in a cold climate
Love on the Land
Lillie
Little House on the Prairie
Little Men
Lorna Doone


M
Madame Bovary
Mansfield Park (all versions)
Marie Antoinette
Middle March
Miss Austen Regrets
Mrs Brown
Meek's Cutoff
Miss Potter
Moll Flanders
Mozart's Sister (playing in select theatres)

N
Nicholas Nickelby
North & South
Northanger Abbey


O
Our Mutual Friend
Onegin

P
Plain Jane
Persuasion (all versions)
Pride and Prejudice (all versions)
Princess Bride

Q

R
Railway Children
Random Passage
Road to Avonlea
Return to Cranford
Remains of the Day
Restless (2012)

S
Scarlet Pimpernel
Sarah Plain and Tall
Sense and Sensibility (all versions)
Shakespeare in Love
Sommersby
South Solitary
Seasons of the heart
Summer in February (coming later this year)

T
The Lost Prince
The Mission
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Patriot
The Secret Garden
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Tess of the D' Urbervilles
Tristan and Isolde
Tuck Everlasting
The Duchess of Duke Street
Tess
The Blue and the Gray
The Governess
The Mill on the Floss
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The Return of the Native
The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton
The Cazalets
The Old Curiosity Shop
The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher
The Crimson Petal and the White
The Abduction Club
The Eagle
The Hour
The Pillars of the Earth
The Duchess
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2012)
The Great Gatsby (2012)

U
Under the Greenwood Tree
Upstairs Downstairs

V
Victoria and Albert

W
Wind at my back (just started season 1)
Wives and Daughters
War Horse
Wuthering Heights 2011)

War of the Roses (adapted from The Cousin's War by Phillipa Gregory, coming 2013)

Whittington Manor (2012)

X

Y
Young Victoria
Young Herriot
Young Catherine

Because I am dying for Spring

I think it's my favorite season of the year and I can't wait for it to start, matter of fact here in Arizona I already have a lot of flowers coming in, makes me so happy :)

So, new template for Spring!   Hope it makes some of you smile because I know that there are a lot of you out there still suffering with crazy amounts of snow. :)

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 2012 #5 }

I am moving super slow today, I have whatever my dear husband had and it's really knocking me on my behind, feels like I have a knife stuck in my throat and my sinus is killing me too.  BLECH!


Anyway, here is today's HHM :)

If you want to save and use the new button, just click here.

The weather:::

45 degrees and sunny.  Last week he had highs of 75 and it got quite warm around here.


On my reading pile::: 
The Little Housekeeping book for the little girl
Haven't been able to finish it or read anything else since my Kindle is broken :(  It's not even a month old and it came up with the Needs Repair Error, after talking to Amazon I was told that it's defective and needs to be replaced.....sooooo, hubby says forget it, come pay day he will just buy me the Kindle Fire.  Yay!

On my TV:::

Call the Midwife Episode 3
Birdsong Episode 2
Also have Anonymous to watch :)

On the menu for this week:::

 I only have two days planned as I'm working on the Menu/Grocery List for the next two weeks.  Wednesday is grocery shopping day so I'll have a full Menu for you next Happy Homemaker Monday :)


Monday -  Spaghetti 
Tuesday - Crockpot Steak Soft Tacos
Wednesday -
Thursday -
Friday -
Saturday -
Sunday -

On my to do list:::

Sewing today
Finishing up my Crochet pillow
Grocery Shopping on Wednesday
Lola has another appointment on Thursday to see how she's doing

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::

Finishing up my Daisy Square pillow, decided to make a felt back for it.
Some more sewing today, not sure what yet.

In Homeschooling:::

Jasmine is doing a research report on Fast Food and the progress it's made, whether it's been good or bad.  In Science she'll be studying food particle sizes and if those affect the rate at which they are digested :)
Nicholas is still working on fractions in Math and simplified fractions....and for Social Studies we'll be learning about the first English settlement in the United States.

Looking around the house:::

My coffee machine is noisily working behind me.  My door to the back yard is open for the dogs to go out and I hear birds chirping and some kids talking on their way to school.  I have my sewing machine on the kitchen table waiting for me to work on today and I also have a pile of dishes in the sink waiting to be washed.

From the camera:::

I love this shelf in my kitchen :)

Something fun to share:::

You all know how much I love Period Dramas right?  Well there is a Tumblr account online that is devoted to posting high quality pictures of Period films etc.  I could just sit there and look through it all day :)

On my prayer list:::

My sweet friend Jen's mom.
My family 

Bible verse, Devotional::: 

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

Psalm 150:6