A little babble here and a little babble there.....

I feel like I haven't done an actual post on what's going on here, in a while. So here we go, get ready to hear all about my interesting days, days filled with runny noses, kids bickering, amazing new fall tv lineups, my adventures with birth control and husbands drenched in jet fuel. Doesn't it sound appealing???

It does to me, I live for this, I thrive in this environment, it's called LIVING, it's called family and home and everything that comes with sharing your life with 3 other wonderful individuals who love you to death and can drive you to drink in a matter of seconds LOL

So we're at the end of September and it seems like the beginning of June here in the Phoenix area, Arizona, the heat is not budging, the dryness is sticking around and it's just another day in cactus paradise....and you would think after 1 year of being here I could say "I'm used to it already". Nope, not happening, I still long for the coolness of Fall in Idaho, for the changing of the leaves, for the impending snow flurries that will start hitting around November. I miss it, dearly, but I'm making do here. I'm trying my hardest to like it, I don't care if it's not working, maybe in another year I'll be able to say I'm finally content with it....chances are the minute I do that we'll have orders to another base LOL


My lemon tree seems to be thriving, after loosing so many of it's branches, it's finally full of lemons again and some are turning their beautiful shade of yellow, a few have made it to the ground and have been picked up by little fingers and excitedly brought inside to show mommy.

Thank you all for the prayers and thoughts, after discussing it with the doctor this morning and going back and forth with her saying"I don't think your symptoms are from the pill" when I KNOW they are, and "no matter what other pill I give you they all have estrogen". I've decided to go off all types of birth control right now, I'm not ready to take the chance and continue taking this pill especially when you hear of blood clots and such.....She agreed it would be best to give my body a rest and just use the normal contraceptives if need be LOL I feel that I have to do this for myself, to feel better and stop pumping so much estrogen and progestogen and whatnot into my poor body. Wish me luck ladies, Curt and I feel we've made the best decision for our family.

I've been enjoying all the new seasons of my favorite shows, Desperate Housewives was a shocker for me but I'm REALLY enjoying where they're going with it, same as Brothers and Sisters and Grey's Anatomy. Nothing like the fall season line up.

And that is pretty much what's going on here in Sandra Land...not much but yet I find myself running around like crazy everyday, like now...I'm off to start dinner and then there's homework to oversee, grocery list to draw up for tomorrow, budget to make and bills to prepare for paying.

I hope you all have a wonderful night, I'll see you in the morning.

Tips on Tuesday!

Do you have a tip on cooking, cleaning, homemaking, kids, marriage, travel or anything that you would love to share? Feel free to join in!

♥♥Here's a handy tip to keep casseroles from bubbling over...just slide a toothpick between the casserole dish and the lid. The steam escapes and the oven stays clean!♥♥

♥♥Fill an old copper boiler with water and float apple candles inside for a beautiful fall decoration. The candles are easy to make....just hollow out an apple and tuck a votive inside.♥♥

♥♥For nostalgic lanterns that glow like fireflies, use milk glass jelly jars. Wrap a piece of 14-gauge wire securely around the neck of each jar and then bring the ends up and twist together to make a loop♥♥

Little Prayer please!

I'm having some issues with the birth control pill I was put on, I've been on it for a little over two weeks and I'm feeling cramps in my right leg and arm and hot flashes and just downright not feeling well.

I'm getting in contact with the doctor tomorrow to switch pills but until then I'm completely stopping this one and not taking another, Curt actually told me "NO MORE".

So please say a little prayer for me that I'm able to start feeling better and that getting off this pill does help the symptoms....with things like this there is always the thought of blood clots and all that serious stuff. I'm a worry wart, what can I say? But in the meantime it's all in the Lord's hands and I know that He will walk me through this little bumpy patch.

God Bless,

The Simple Woman's Daybook!

Hi everyone, come on in and see what's in my daybook!

If you want to join in, just got visit Peggy over at The Simple Woman, read the guidelines here and then add your name to Mr Linky. There are so many other participants sharing their day, I'm sure you'll enjoy looking through them :)

FOR TODAY

Outside my Window...
my hummingbird friend is watching the going ons in the kitchen. Landscape people are mowing yards and Jets are already flying over head.

I am thinking...
that I need a nap after I drop the kids at school. I got NO sleep last night, Nicholas was up all night with a congested nose and even though I put him in bed with me thinking it would calm him down, it didn't, he kicked and was restless ALL.NIGHT.LONG.

From the learning rooms...
I watched a documentary on the Amish, it was very interesting and I really enjoyed it. We also learnt about the Chiselhurst Caves.

I am thankful for...
everything in my life, my husband, my children, my parents and siblings and grandparents and nieces and nephews and pets and house and just everything around me.

From the kitchen...
For breakfast it will be cinnamon rolls, for lunch I'll probably just have a Grilled Cheese and Tomato sandwich and dinner is Yummy Beef Bake.

I am wearing...
still in my silk robe and slippers

I am reading...
A really funny book by Mary Kay Andrews called "Itty Bitty Lies".

I am hoping...
to get all my floors mopped today.

I am creating...
christmas projects, an organized home and a cookbook for myself.

I am hearing...
the mowers outside and the birds at the feeder, the occasional jet zooming loudly overhead and making my pictures on the wall shake.

Around the house...
Clean up after a weekend, the usual.....laundry to be washed, living room to be tidied up etc.

One of my favorite things...
while the kids are at school and hubby is at work....to sit quietly on the couch and read a book with a nice hot cup of tea and some cookies.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
Grocery Shopping on Wednesday, going out to a chinese restaurant sometime this week (depending on hubby's hours at work), probably taking a drive up north this weekend to see the changing leaves.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Fresh homemade bread that I just pulled out of the oven....yum!

It's time to refill the cookie jar.........

It's that time of the week again, time to pull out the flour, sugar and eggs and make another batch of cookies for the cookie jar.

This weekend I used an old portuguese recipe for Biscoitos (cookies), they are good on their own but I prefer to turn them into little sandwiches using strawberry jam.

PORTUGUESE COOKIES (BISCOITOS)

Creative Love!

The goal of the game - List 10 things you love that begin with the letter you are assigned.

The sweet Annie assigned me the letter C, so let's see what I come up with. If you want to play along just leave me a comment and I'll assign you a letter.


1. Curt (my husband)
2. Coffee
3. Cinnamon
4. Crockpot
5. Cooking
6. Chocolate
7. Cookbooks
8. Coke (diet)
9. Candlelight
10. Camping

Weird and Wonderful Travels!

I love traveling and exploring new areas, whether they are beautiful or frightening, just around the corner or across the globe. But let's face it, unless you're a millionaire there's no way you have enough cash to go everywhere you want to, so I travel from home, it doesn't stop me from exploring and enjoying the weird and wonderful locations that exist in this beautiful planet of ours.

Today I'm going to the Chislehurst Caves in the UK. Come with me, I've even packed some snacks for us.

CHISLEHURST CAVES

Chislehurst Caves are a labyrinth of dark mysterious passageways which have been hewn by hand from the chalk, deep beneath Chislehurst. There are over 20 miles of caverns and passageways, dug over a period of 8000 years. The vast complex of caves are a maze of ancient mines originally carved out in the search for flint and chalk. They are divided into three main sections, Saxon, Druid and Roman. Each section was later connected by digging joining passages.

The last time the mines were known to have been worked was around the 1830's when the Saxon section was used by a flintmaker and limeburner.

During the 1914 World War the mines became part of Woolwich Arsenal, used as an ammunitions depot. A narrow gauge railway was installed to aid the transport through the passages.

The war and the constant bombings over London turned the caves into a massive air raid shelter within easy reach from London and its main suburbs.

Image credit: Warren Williams

The Chapel in the caves - credit: medwaylines

A WWII church - credit: medwaylines

The hospital during the WWII

History of Hauntings

The caves have long had a reputation for being haunted. There is even a 'haunted pool'. There used to be a 'challenge' with a reward for anyone who could spend the night there alone.

I wouldn't even spend an hour there alone, nevermind a night LOL
But apparently there are so many stories about paranormal activity and ghosts and weird stuff going on. The caves are 22 miles long and it would take you about 10 1/2 hours to get through them all.

I can't even imagine being down there, as interesting and fascinating as they seem....my poor claustrophobia would have a field day LOL

Haunted Chamber - It may look like an enlarged puddle to you, but this was where a woman murdered in the caves supposedly rises through a mist from the floor of the puddle, sorry, 'pool'.

And if that wasn't spooky enough, the chamber is supposedly unique amongst the 22 miles of passageway because it has no echo.

While watching Most Haunted last night, they actually went to the caves and the historian told all these stories of people getting lost in the caves, of a man literally dying of fear and found naked near the door, of there being 7 sacrificial altars six of which were used for animals and one for humans....a hunchback man that haunts the caves and all these other interesting but I doubt true facts. LOL

Let's face it, whether true or not I think that it would be interesting to take a trip to Chislehurst, if not just for the caves but the town itself.

Image credit: Telegraph UK

Image credit: Lisa Haffey

Image credit: beerintheevening

*sigh* I do wish I lived closer.

Fave Five for Friday!

It's my first time playing along with the sweet Susanne. You can check out the guidelines and details of this feature here.

So here's my favorite five things for this past week:

1. Homemade shortbread that I somehow botched and in order to try and save, I ended up adding a spoon of strawberry jam to each little round cookie. Turns out, I should REALLY mess up more often, they were delish. LOL

2. My favorite shows starting again on tv, love the fall season tv lineup.

3. My new hummingbird friend that watches me through the kitchen window.

4. Talking to family on the phone, all the way in South Africa, it's one of those things we can't do often so it's always a treat :)

5. The Civil War cookbook that Jasmine brought home from the library, I'm loving looking through not only the recipes but the history.

Content!

Image credit: photobucket.com

It's one of those quiet days, the morning started out pretty hectic, if you have school aged children then I need to say no further, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's harder to get them out the door on time than it is to give birth, for me at least....by the time they're both ready to leave and in the car, I am quite certain I could have popped out one or two babies. No kidding! LOL

But that was then, this is now and here I sit at the computer, my front door is open and I'm listening to the wind rustling outside and the cars driving by once in a while, some military clad airman on his way to or from work......and the pugs who seem to think that this whole neighborhood is THEIR turf, anything that moves or breathes gets barked at. They've yelled at the wind a couple times and I think it's the funniest thing....want to see my view from the computer desk:

I've been wanting to catch up on my reading but honestly haven't had a chance, first I was sick and now with Curt working these weird hours, it means that everything falls on me. Usually at night he will help Jasmine with her homework while I fix dinner and do the dishes etc....then he helps me overlook the kids showers and reading and bedtime routines.

From 3:30pm until 11pm I am going non stop, it's just continuous crazy hectic couple of hours until I can sleep.

I know you're all sitting there wondering why I am telling you these things, you probably don't care about it LOL But it's for my family's sake, they're the ones that do want to hear about the nitty gritty, the mundane details, what the kids are doing or what I'm doing....it's a way to keep us all connected and closer over the thousands of miles that separate us.

So anyway, as I was saying....the kids get out of school at 3:45pm and by the time we get home it's 4:15pm, right away, they ask for a snack, poor things are hungry since they had their lunch at 11am, I mean that's along time for little kids to go without eating......heck that's a long time for ME to go without food LOL

After the snacks and juices are handed out, they sit down and relax for a bit, Nicholas usually playing the Wii and Jasmine on her computer playing a game or on the phone with her best friend from Idaho. I'm already going through backpacks, sifting through the hundreds of papers they send home, honestly WHY so much paper???? UGH. I sort it all into piles, what we keep, homework and trash.

After that is done, it's usually around 4:45pm and that's when I start dinner so that we can eat around 5:30pm. Which reminds me, what time is dinner at your house? Back home in South Africa we were always running around and working, so dinner was around 7 or 8pm....which now would NEVER work for us, hubby gets home from work around 4:30pm and is usually already starving LOL

Once dinner is done, the kids again go off and play together for a little while I do the dishes and clean the kitchen....then it's bath time, everyone takes their showers and puts on pj's, settles into mommy's bed and we do homework. Nicholas doesn't have any so he's content sitting there cuddled up watching cartoons or playing with the pugs while I help Jasmine with hers. This poor child has SO much homework each night and soon they'll be expected to do book reports on top of it too....she has math, spelling, 30 minutes of reading and then social studies or anything else she didn't have time to finish in class. It's a LOT and by the time she goes to bed she's beat, heck I'M beat and I'm not even doing it.

Bedtime for the kids is 9pm and only after they're asleep do I then go around the house one last time picking up toys, turning off video games and computers, putting away any last load of laundry I have left, setting the breakfast table for the morning, getting their backpacks ready, signing homework agendas and any other notes I have to for school and removing from the freezer whatever I need for the next day's meals. I put it in the refrigerator to thaw out overnight.

Image credit: photobucket.com

I'm beat, I'm honestly exhausted by the time my head hits the pillow, so reading is out of the question, as it is I watch all my new shows in between division, multiplication, pronouns and suffixes. Yes my life is THAT exciting, but yet each morning I wake up invigorated, restored and with a smile on my face because no matter how hard I thought I had it the day before, when I look at the smiling faces of my children and get a hug from my hubby telling me he loves me and appreciates everything I do.....THAT is all the reward I need. THAT is true contentment.

So here's my question....what is contentment for you?


Two Years Ago: The Things That Nourish Us
One Year Ago: LOVE Fall Season

Slow Cooking Thursday!

All my slow cooking recipes are now online and starting today, I will add all the recipes shared weekly to my online del.icio.us site too. So if you're wanting to find ALL the slow cooked recipes that have been shared since the first SLOW COOKING THURSDAY, here is the link for you.

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

As always, share your slow cooking recipes but if you REALLY REALLY don't have one and still want to participate, then you can share any kind of recipe.

Parmesan Chicken and Rice

10-3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 oz. pkg. onion soup mix
1 c. long cooking rice, uncooked
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 T. butter, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese to taste

Mix together soup, milk, soup mix and rice in a medium bowl; set aside. Arrange chicken breasts in a lightly greased slow cooker; place one tablespoon butter on top of each chicken breast.

Pour soup mixture over chicken; sprinkle with salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours, or on high setting for 4 to 6 hours. Serves 4 to 6.

How well do your children know you?

I've always been under the impression that my kids had a general idea of what I enjoyed but didn't really pay much attention. Not because they didn't care, but because they're kids, they're busy playing and enjoying their childhood, too busy to notice certain things.

I was wrong....boy was I wrong. Apparently my children know me better than I would ever have thought possible.

Just a few weeks ago we were talking about Christmas and Nicholas announced very excitedly that he knew exactly what he wanted to get mommy. I asked him what it was and he kept insisting he couldn't tell me, it was a secret but he just KNEW that I would love it.
After a few hours he turned to me and said "ok mommy you know what I want to get you?"....now keep in mind this is a 5 year old boy, a BOY, a little man who loves spiderman and video games and playing ball and wrestling with daddy, so when he said "A sewing machine because yours is old and you need a nice one"......I was in shock.

Well now, he really does know me well. Of course Jasmine surprised me too because yesterday she came home from school with a really heavy backpack and when I asked if she had brought home a piece of the school building, I don't know some bricks or one of the cafeteria tables or something....anything that would explain the heaviness of that thing LOL
She reached in with a big smile on her face and said "We had library today and I got a book for you", and she hands me this:

Oh do I love this child. A book AND a cookbook at that? Not only with great recipes but wonderful photos and stories.




I can't wait to sit down with this treasure and delve into the civil war and it's history.

Thank you for all the well wishes, the cold is still lingering around but it's slowly going away and that's a good thing.

In the meantime I'm taking it easy and trying not to overdo it, which as a mother it's not an easy thing, there's always something to clean, to cook, to wash isn't there?

Have you all been watching Dancing with the Stars? I'm a huge fan of the show and I've enjoyed the first 2 nights, we have some good dancers and the usual not so great.....the kids and I also watched Opportunity Knocks and liked it, we actually played along but using our own lives as example and it was fun seeing who knew what :)

There's just so much on TV nowadays, so many of my favorites are returning this week and I couldn't be happier, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters....love it love it love it.

Well I'm about to go do the dinner dishes and clean up the kitchen, then we have homework to get through, baths and reading and all the other fun nightly routines. If you're wondering what we had for dinner, it was Smothered Chicken and OH was it good. YUM!

Don't forget Slow Cooking Thursday tomorrow, gather those great recipes to share especially now that the weather is cooling down.

God Bless,

Playing catch up.....

Boy it's been a weird couple of days. The cold knocked me off my feet, literally, I found myself in bed or walking around the house hunched over because my body hurt so much. Thankfully the brunt of it came during the weekend where I had a wonderful husband confine me to bed and take over.

For me, it was sheer frustration, listening from my bedroom as the kids and daddy laughed, ate take out and played together....for them it was great, it was a change from the normal routine, a change from homemade food and NO cookies for breakfast. It feels good to break the rules once in a while, it's called *living*.

So this morning I'm almost back to normal, I can still feel that my body is slowly catching up, my chest feels heavy and I have a cough and a pretty banged up nose from all the nose blowing I did the past few days. I'm quite the sight I tell you LOL

I went into my bloglines a few minutes ago and wanted to run away, seems you've all been very busy posters and I don't know how I'll catch up with everyone, part of me wants to just hit "Mark all Read" but then another part of me, the wussy one, says it's not right, not fair, and imagine all the cool blog posts I've missed while sick. So I'm going through the list, slowly, methodically and hopefully get to stop by everyone.

One of the posts that caught my eye was this one from Aiken House and Gardens. Uhhhh YEAH I'm a huge Anne of Green Gables fan, along with Kelli and Sarah and some others I'm sure. Just go look at this post. It's amazing enough that Carolyn lives in Prince Edward Island but yesterday she took a trip to Cavendish, oh come on, if you know Anne of Green Gables you KNOW what that means.

Yesterday I started noticing that I had ONE specific hummingbird perched on one of the Honeysuckle branches near the feeder. He flew in and out but for the most part, just sat there and I couldn't understand why, so I went online and did a little bit of research and found out not only the species but why he was doing this. Turns out that he is a male and has claimed the feeder as his own, he's marking his territory and chasing away any other birds, bees, butterflies etc that may come near it. LOL
He's also become very used to seeing me near the kitchen window and just sits there facing me, watching my every move and posing for photos, I mean, what more could I ask for?

I also realized the feeder was empty and didn't want to wait to go back to Walmart when I could make my own. And no it's not rocket science and you don't need any weird ingredients, it's just sugar and water.

Hummingbird Nectar

4 cups water
1 cup superfine sugar
3-5 drops red food coloring (optional)

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Allow sugar to dissolve and remove from heat. Let the nectar cool and then pour into your feeder. Store remaining nectar in the refrigerator.

I refilled the feeder and had 3 hummingbirds come charging, amongst those I ended up with a huge bird trying to eat out of there, it was the funniest thing ever.

I mean really??? LOL

Curt is working a weird shift this week, he goes in at 1pm and doesn't get home until 11pm or so....it's one of those annoying night flying shifts. It's not really swings or mids or days, it's just whatever and it's frustrating because the kids don't see him at all. He's asleep when they leave for school and they're asleep when he gets home from work, so there's some crankiness going around and some "I miss daddy". It's just another of the sacrifices that come with being a military family.

My coffee is calling me, so I guess I should get off here and start my day. I have laundry to put away and some paperwork to file and I need to get my ground turkey out of the freezer for tonight's Turkey Burgers.

As soon as I can get all this done, then I can maybe sit back down on the computer and try to answer my emails, reinstall MSN messenger, visit some blogs and watch my new episode of Paranormal State that I missed last night.

Have a great day everyone!

Tips on Tuesday!

Do you have a tip on cooking, cleaning, homemaking, kids, marriage, travel or anything that you would love to share? Feel free to join in!

I LOVE squash but I used to hate buying it just because it's kind of hard to cut into for cooking. Well, that was until I ran across this tip in one of my cookbooks.

♥♥Hard-shelled fall squash can be difficult to cut for cooking. Do it the easy way, in the microwave. Cook the whole squash on high setting for 5 minutes, pierce with a knife tip to check for tenderness and cook a few more minutes as needed. Cool, cut in half and scoop out seeds....simple!♥♥

Freezing meals is a great idea but how many times do you end up looking for a casserole dish only to realize it's holding that lasagna in the freezer?

♥♥Here's a great tip....line the dish with aluminum foil, bake a casserole, wrap and freeze....lift out the frozen casserole and return the dish to the cupboard. To serve, slip the casserole back in to the same dish and bake.♥♥

Having Taco Salad for dinner and want to set up an array of toppings?

♥♥Fill a muffin tin with fixings like sliced black olives, chopped green onion and diced avocado....everyone can top their own taco salad to their liking. I've done the same thing but using toppings for Tacos....shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped tomatoes etc.

The Simple Woman's Daybook!

Hi everyone, come on in and see what's in my daybook!

If you want to join in, just got visit Peggy over at The Simple Woman, read the guidelines here and then add your name to Mr Linky. There are so many other participants sharing their day, I'm sure you'll enjoy looking through them :)

FOR TODAY

Outside my Window...
my backyard covered with pigeons, not sure what they're doing but they're HUGE.

I am thinking...
that I'm glad I am able to move around today, after spending the weekend in bed with a fever and a really bad cold, it feels great to get up without feeling like you were hit by a truck

From the learning rooms...
I've been reading a lot of books on the Amish, it's just fascinating to me to learn about their lifestyle and their beliefs.

I am thankful for...
the fact that the worst part of the cold hit me on friday and through the weekend while I had hubby at home.

From the kitchen...
For breakfast it was just cereal and lunch will be Pizzeria Pot Pie leftovers. Dinner will be Crockpot Garlic Swiss Steak.

I am wearing...
Khaki shorts, purple top and slippers

I am reading...
Nothing right now, just finished The Shopkeeper's Daughter and The Quiltmaker's Daughter, both were very good.

I am hoping...
to get a little nap in today, just because I feel able to move around doesn't mean I should overdo it.

I am creating...
a clean tidy home after the weekend of being sick. It's amazing how much of a mess a husband and two kids can make when unattended LOL

I am hearing...
the pugs snoring....hubby frustrated with his computer, apparently some spyware got on there and he's having a hard time getting rid of it.

Around the house...
Laundry to be ironed and put away, floors to be swept, living room to be tidied

One of my favorite things...
cuddling in my warm bed and watching a good show on the tv.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
Absolutely NOTHING this week, just whatever

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

5 minute chocolate mug cake....so good.

Do you have 5 minutes???

Because if you do and you have some basic ingredients and coffee mug laying around, you can make yourself some chocolate cake.

Don't believe me? Go check out my food blog.

5 minute Chocolate Mug Cake

A day spent in bed....

It's early here and I've just managed to pull myself out of bed. This cold has completely taken me by surprise, not to say that I don't get my share of summer colds or winter or pretty much anytime during the year actually, but this is one that really really got to me.

Yesterday I spent the day in bed and I don't mean, just relaxing or reading....I was running such a high fever that it felt like I had a run in with a semi truck. My body hurt something awful and I felt no energy to do anything at all around the house. Thank you Lord that it was saturday and not a week day because I don't know how I would have gotten through it.

It started rearing it's ugly head on Friday around noon and by the time I went to pick up the kids from school they could tell that something was wrong. I remember driving back home in a sweat, body aching, nose congested and just yucky. That was it, thankfully Curt was already home from work because I went to bed and didn't get up until this morning. My family survived on take out and lots of snacking while I lay with the tv on trying to pay attention to the shows but not even caring what was on......at one point I remember Curt walking in and asking me why I was watching cop shows LOL

Anyway, seems that the cold moved from my head down to my chest, so I'm coughing, I have a hoarse whiskey voice and I'm still congested, but thankfully the fever is gone.

So here I am, I got up early, cleaned the kitchen and did the dishes, cleaned the living room, rearranged all the couch pillows and picked up all the toys, got rid of empty cups and soda cans and I fixed some Cinnamon Rolls, and not the ones in the tin either, homemade ones. Now I have a load of laundry started and I am sitting here on the computer with a hot cup of coffee and my gooey rolls. Life is good.

I'm not going to overdo it though, it's too easy when you're feeling a little better, to just jump in with both feet and then end up worse than when you started.

After the laundry is switched to the dryer, I plan on changing out of my pj's and then laying on the couch and maybe watch some tv, or read. Lunch will be grilled cheese sandwiches and dinner is Pizzeria Pot Pie. Sometime during the afternoon the kids asked me to make them some 5 minute chocolate cake and since it's so easy and they can make their own, I'll probably do that. What you never tried it?? It's SO good and super easy because it's baked in a coffee mug in the microwave, YEAH that's right. Very dangerous recipe and not because of the radiation of the microwave but because now you have access to this goodness at any time of the day. Tsk Tsk Tsk

Sounds like the laundry is ready to be switched so I better get on that, I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.

God Bless

Five Senses Saturday!

::Hear::

- the birds outside on the feeder
- cartoons Nicholas is watching on tv
- my own sniffling as I deal with yet another cold
- the new episode of Most Haunted on my computer
- the dogs moving around in the bedroom

::See::

- the little puddle of antifreeze that my car is leaking again
- construction all over the base
- a very old couple shoppping at the commissary and still so in love
- deep blue skies
- the bruise on my right shoulder where I walked into my car mirror

::touch::



- the bottle of vicks that is helping me breathe
- the pages on the book I'm reading
- the soft kleenex on my nose
- the cut on my finger
- the soft skin on my children's faces

::taste::

- the wonderful Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf
- the lollipop my kids gave me
- creamy white chili
- buttered toast
- cold medicine I'm taking

::smell::

- not much right now, I'm congested
- wet grass after I've turned off the sprinkler
- clean laundry hanging on the line
- my favorite perfume
- the food court at the BX

Tempting you again......

I just updated the food blog with dinner and dessert from last night and my lunch from today. Enjoy!

CROCKPOT CHICKEN CACCIATORE

COOKIE CARAMEL PUDDING

TUNA AND BEAN SALAD

Show and Tell Friday!

The wonderful Kelli over at "There's no place like home" has started this friday feature, here's what she had to say:

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!" Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, a new antique find, an old love letter. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

My husband and I are avid sky watchers and we absolutely LOVE astrophotography. We're not great at it, but we have managed to catch some really good shots.

Saturn and you can see the rings on the left side

Jupiter and it's moons

Moon

Sun spot I caught on camera

Night sky

There is nothing like taking the telescopes out on a clear night and watching the sky for hours....we just love it and it's a great family hobby, the kids each have their own little telescope and they enjoy looking for the planets and stars.

I Am From....

When I first started blogging I had come across this meme, it's sort of a meme but not really. And I vividly remember reading some of the entries and thinking WOW, they're amazing. I've always wanted to do it and completely forgot about it until today, for some reason as I lay in bed with my two little sick ones, it came rushing back and I knew I had to blog about it.

I would love to see yours too, so if you're one of my blog readers and want to join in, just let me know in the comments so I can come read yours.

The exercise is based on a poem by George Ella Lyons called Where I'm From. Fred's post includes a guide to help those who might need it, which of course would be me.

My grandmother's hands....I LOVE this photo

I AM FROM.....

I am from aprons and greatgrandmothers cooking in the kitchen, from tea with milk in the morning and wholesome homemade food for dinner.

I am from a seaside town, from fresh seafood and big family gatherings. From the smell of the ocean and the sound of the seagulls, from the narrow roads and the sound of kids playing outside until after sunset, from cashew nuts and warm afternoons on white sandy beaches.

I am from palm trees, from dense scrub-brush and impressive palm groves, from waves washing onto the beach and tourists sun tanning.

I am from big family dinners, talking and singing, from a loving family, from Ema and Eduardo and Odete and Julio, from Jacinta and Antonio. I am from skillful hands, and loving hearts. From talented singers and painters.

I am from Christian family loving people, from dinner tables set for twenty, from beer bottles and wine, from talking too loud and laughing too much. From survivors of the Independence War in Mozambique, from fighters and courageous souls. From Portuguese, Brazilian and French.

I am from "wear a coat or you'll get sick" and from "don't go swimming right after you eat, wait at least 3 hours".

I am from Mozambique and from Portugal, from big plates of prawns and curry, from steaks and fries and from sweet rice pudding.

From the men who went to war during the independence and fought with all their hearts, from the greatgrandmother and grandmother who bought me little toy pots and pans to practice cooking, from grandfather Julio who loved life and loved to laugh, from grandfather Antonio who was a brilliant guitar player and accompanied one of Portugal's famous Fado singers.

I am from old photographs kept in boxes in the closet, from photo albums stained from age barely holding together the memories of years gone by, from crocheted pot holders created by loving hands and big family trips by car.

Babbling Post!

You know those days where you sit in front of the computer and you have so much to say but yet you can't come up with a title for it? Then you read some blogs and they have all these fancy shmancy titles and you wonder where they get the creativity from and want some for yourself but don't even have the energy to try and figure that out? Today I just couldn't care less......because I'm exhausted, I'm *trying to keep my eyes open* tired.

It's been 3 nights since I've had decent sleep. Nicholas needs a new mattress on his bed, the springs are all messed up and it's very uncomfortable and stiff, so he's been sleeping in with me and Curt, which believe me I'm not against the co-sleeping thing but when you have a Queen size bed and two adults PLUS a 5 year old, things get squishy. We're getting him a new mattress on Saturday but until then we either squash together or play musical beds all night long, every available bed in the house has seen me or Curt or the kids.....Nicholas has also been getting sick for the past 3 days, he started sniffling and getting restless and that's always a sign for me, I know that within a day or two he will be running a high fever, congested and just not feeling well, which brings us to today. Both kids home sick from school with fevers, sore throats, headaches and congested noses.

It's the joy of school age children right? There's some sort of summer cold going around the school and it seems they're all taking turns passing it to each other and staying home, I just hope it ends soon.

So I'm tired, I'm beyond that actually, I'm at the point where I am bordering on delirious, I just want to cry and beg for my kids to put me to bed and tuck me in LOL

But moving on....it's thursday which means crockpot day and right now I have a Chicken Cacciatore cooking for tonight, I'll have the recipe up on the food blog later. In the meantime if you go over there you'll see Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf, Crockpot French Dip, Creamy White Chili and all sorts of other drool worthy recipes.

I don't plan on doing much today, hopefully I can round up the kids for a nap after lunch. They stopped taking them around 2 years old unless they're sick and even then it's quite a struggle to get them to lay down. I don't get it, when I'm sick I just want to lay down and be left alone, kids bounce and jump around with fevers and downright yucky feelings.

Thank you all for the comments on my grocery post, it was so interesting reading all you had to say and seeing how you do your groceries and the shortcuts you take etc. As for the green bags and forgetting to take them to the store, I've done that before, but now as soon as I am done unloading the groceries, I fold them neatly and take them back into the car, when grocery day comes around again, I actually write on my grocery list *TAKE GREEN BAGS* in capital letters and make sure to put them on the passenger seat with my purse, that way I never forget them.

And yes, it's a little weird walking into the store with a stack of green bags but I don't care, I love them.

*************************************

This was our sunset last night, I had just stepped out back to turn off the water sprinkler when the colors in the sky caught my attention. It's just beautiful!

Well I would love to stay and chat but

1. I can't stay awake
2. I need more coffee to try and stay awake
3. I need more coffee just because
4. I have sick kids
5. I have sick kids
6. Well, I really do have sick kids.....

If you're a mother you know why that list makes sense LOL

Have a wonderful day everyone, I'll see you all back tomorrow, hopefully fully rested.

Slow Cooking Thursday!

All my slow cooking recipes are now online and starting today, I will add all the recipes shared weekly to my online del.icio.us site too. So if you're wanting to find ALL the slow cooked recipes that have been shared since the first SLOW COOKING THURSDAY, here is the link for you.

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

As always, share your slow cooking recipes but if you REALLY REALLY don't have one and still want to participate, then you can share any kind of recipe.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
1 cup "real" mayonnaise
1 cup hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and beat for 2 minutes with an electric mixer. Pour into greased and floured bake pan and cover. Bake in a covered slow cooker on high for 2 1/2-3 1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Nothing says comfort food like.....

CHEESE STUFFED MEATLOAF

Yum! That was dinner tonight, just a simple twist on the normal meatloaf, this one has Swiss, Colby and Monterey Jack inside and it's so so good.

WWWAT! Beginnings and Endings

It's time for another Wordless Wednesday With A Twist and this time we're looking at the beginning and ending of things. This is a tough one for me, but let me see what I can conjure up.

If you want to join in or see the other participants, just click on the banner above.

Beginning....

Ending......

Beginning.....

Ending.....

Beginning....

Ending.....

Beginning.....

Ending.....minus the dog obviously, we didn't make her LOL

Let's talk Groceries!

The one thing that we ALL have to do and can't live without but if you're anything like me, it gets frustrating to see the prices going up while you try to continue feeding your family without going bankrupt. Ok, maybe not that bad, but close right?

So I am curious as to how you deal with the increasing price of food. Do you continue having the same budget as you had one or two years ago? Do you shop every week, every day or every month? Do you change your eating habits to accommodate the prices, like let's say you start eating more chicken, or less meat or more veggies or more pork or what?

I know I'm nosey and I'm asking too many questions but a girl's gotta know right?

Did you also make the switch to the Green Bags like I have? I know it can be a little weird walking into the store with a gazillion little green bags under your arm but I like mine LOL

You all know that we're military so we get paid twice a month and that is when I go to the commissary and do the grocery shopping. Back in Idaho, I tried doing it at Walmart, I did find that some items were cheaper, like their shredded cheese that we could get 2 packages for $3 dollars...etc. But in the long run, the commissary really has been the cheapest for us.

I shop every two weeks and for a family of four I spend between $250 and $300 every two weeks, so between $500 and $600 a month, that includes food, toiletries and paper products etc....snacks for the kids lunches etc. So that's for everything. I've pretty much kept the same budget for the past 5 years or so, but I do find myself spending more time in the store looking through the aisles and grabbing what is cheaper.

So hit me with it ladies, how do you do your shopping? Are there certain brands that you refuse to give up on even if they are more expensive? Do you also look for the cheapest, do you buy in bulk, do you buy what's on sale and then work your menus around that?

Let's talk groceries and hey if you could tell me how much you're spending for the size of your family that would be great, but if you don't feel comfortable that's fine too. I told you I'm nosey, but I'm really only asking because I'm trying to keep my head above water with the rising prices and not wanting to cut back on things like....I don't know......FOOD???

Tips on Tuesday!

So I've decided to come up with a new little feature here on my blog. As a mother and a wife, there's certain tips and shortcuts on homemaking, decorating, car repair and whatnot, that I've learned throughout my life. Some from personal experience, some from my husband, some from the wonderful women in my family and others from friends and even the internet.

Tuesdays are the one day during the week that I don't really have a feature going on, nothing that I participate in. So I'm starting this one for myself and every Tuesday I will post a tip for you.

If you want to join in, you can and I would love it too, you can post a tip about anything, cooking, cleaning, homemaking, kids, marriage, travel....whatever you wish.

I'll put up Mr Linky, feel free to add your name and if you don't wish to play along that's fine too, you can just enjoy the tips :)


Here's some Fall Tips for your home:

Newly picked gourds will stay colorful much longer if they're washed in a mild (10%) bleach solution and air dried.

Use a linoleum craft knife to carve swirling designs in pumpkins.
Since only the outer surface is carved, there's no need to hollow out the pumpkins...so easy!

Pack away summer linens with sachets so they'll be fragrant when unpacked in the spring.
Place a spoonful of dried lavender on a pinked square of pretty fabric, gather into a bundle and tie with a satin bow. So Sweet!

Mmmmmm Chili!

We just finished dinner and what a HUGE hit it was....it was so good. How does some Creamy White Chili sound????

Run on over to Full Bellies, Happy Kids for the recipe.

CREAMY WHITE CHILI

The Simple Woman's Daybook!

Hi everyone, come on in and see what's in my daybook!

If you want to join in, just got visit Peggy over at The Simple Woman, read the guidelines here and then add your name to Mr Linky. There are so many other participants sharing their day, I'm sure you'll enjoy looking through them :)

FOR TODAY

Outside my Window...
deep blue cloudless skies, birds chirping and my sprinklers watering the back and front yards.

I am thinking...
that I need to have some coffee real soon, then finish off the grocery list.

From the learning rooms...
We learnt a LOT about castles, why they were built, how they were used, what castle life was like...the kids and I had a lot of fun looking through library books and then online for some more research.

I am thankful for...
everything around me, I've been a little down in the dumps lately but I'm snapping out of it and realizing that I have a lot to be thankful for and there is no need to waste precious time moping around.

From the kitchen...
For breakfast I'm having cinnamon coffee and some toast, the kids will have cereal and juice...lunch will be something quick, probably a sandwich since I'll be out running errands and grocery shopping....dinner is Creamy White Chilli.

I am wearing...
still in my satin robe, pink and red flowers, and my slippers.

I am reading...
The Brides of Lancaster County

I am hoping...
to get to the gas station, my poor Durango is almost out of gas and I need to make it there before I head out to do groceries. I really really dislike having to gas up the car, not just because of the prices but I don't know.....just really don't like it. Have I said I don't like it yet? LOL

I am creating...
a happy home for my family, curtains for the living room and some christmas projects.

I am hearing...
the landscaping people mowing the yards, an F-16 jet flying overhead and another doing an engine run off in the distance....my pictures on the wall are shaking.

Around the house...
it's pretty quiet right now, Nicholas is the only one up and he's having breakfast while playing a game on the Wii. Jasmine is still asleep and the lazy pugs are cuddled in with her.

One of my favorite things...
Looking through my refrigerator and cupboards right after I've finished putting away groceries, there's nothing like that seeing your house full of food.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
A run to the post office to mail off the books for the giveaway and a package for Jasmine's best friend's birthday, tomorrow or wednesday a quick trip to the library.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

The cookie jar filled with Molasses Oat Cookies that I baked this weekend

Weekend Talk!

Is it just me or do the weekends seem to fly by? I don't get time to sit back with the family and have fun because before you know it, it's Sunday afternoon and you realize you didn't really get everything done. There's still a bunch of curtains on the kitchen table waiting to be sewed, there's still pockets for the advent calendar waiting in the sewing box, there's yet another two loads of laundry overfilling the hamper and this and that.

I used to get frustrated and try to finish as much as I could before Monday rolled around, but you know it's not worth me overdoing it for nothing, when everyone is off to school and work in the morning then I can concentrate on that.

Tomorrow is pay day for us military folks which means errands, grocery shopping, visiting the gas station which I just loathe lately. No matter what ludicrous amount of money you spend on the gas you never really have enough and half the time you drive around with the gas light on. Or is that just me?

Yesterday we took Nicholas's Brown Bear around and snapped some photos for his class project, he was so excited.




Back home we couldn't help but chuckle at the girls in their little outfits. They LOVE wearing clothes and we usually don't make them wear anything but once in a while we put it on and they get all happy LOL


Lola is Little Miss Attitude and Bella was Ruff Rocker LOL


It's been pretty quiet here today, Curt took Nicholas to the park a while ago and left Jasmine with me. We like taking the kids out individually for some one on one time with us, this way they don't feel like one is getting more attention than the other. While they were gone I got the kitchen clean, the dishes done and the living room curtains washed....I'm busy sewing some new ones now but I'm not sure I'll have them finished today.

I'm not feeling all too well. Without the IUD, the doctor has put me back on the birth control pills and they're making me a little nauseous and giving me a headache, so I'm a little grouchy today. I did manage to get my menu plan for the next two weeks done and posted so I guess I've done something productive today LOL

Dinner tonight is a Potato and Onion Soup and some Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, dessert will be some Ice Cream Sandwiches made with the Molasses Oat Cookies that I baked yesterday. Yum!

Starting tomorrow I'll be doing a week of Color, every day will be a different color and I'll post photos of items around the house or outside that match the color. If anyone wants to join in they're more than welcome :) Right now I'll leave you with the Sunday Linkies, just a few more of my favorite blogs.


♥ A Storybook Life ♥ Great tips for decorating the home and garden

♥ Aiken House and Gardens ♥ - A blog set in Prince Edward Island, need I say more? You'll be amazed at the beautiful photos the blog author posts, it makes me think of Anne of Green Gables :)

♥ Little Cotton Rabbits ♥ Julie is a wonderful knitter and always has something great going on, go on over and take a look.

♥ Pretty Gingham ♥ - Tanja is from Finland and her blog is full of beautiful photos

Precious Girls Club Winners!

Thank you all so much for entering the contest, it was fun seeing old faces and new bloggy friends stopping by.

I used Random.org to get the winners.

The three copies of "A Little Bit of Faith" including each a scratch off card for a FREE premium "Rainbow Membership" trial on PreciousGirlsClub.com are going to:



#7 Karla at Rambling Roads
#36 Melanie at Build Wisely
#53 Tammy at Country Girl at Home

Congratulations ladies, please email me at bourlandcs at msn dot com with your addresses so I can get these out as soon as possible.

Time to fill the cookie jar......

I've just finished all my baking, it's something I do every Saturday or Sunday, I refill the cookie jar.

I used to just buy the store bought cookies and though there's nothing wrong with that, I felt that my family deserved home baked cookies and it also gave me a chance to try out different recipes.

So here's today's cookie

MOLASSES OAT COOKIES

Five Senses Saturday!

::Hear::

- the loud wind outside from the Dust Storm
- the Wii's Mario Party 8 in the background
- sound of the ocean at the doctor's appointment
- coverage of Hurricane Ike on the TV
- my coffee brewing

::See::

- the hummingbirds enjoying the feeder
- Jasmine so excited to show us her teacher and classroom
- Nicholas so happy to be Star of the Week
- the dark cloud of dust sweeping over us
- my lemon tree producing big lemons again

::touch::


- wet laundry being moved to the dryer
- the mop as it sweeps across the floor
- the soft comforter as I get into bed
- lavender body lotion slathered on my body
- my cold mug as it awaits the first cup of coffee

::taste::

- the yumminess of Milk Tartlets
- the first sip of Diet Coke on a really hot day
- mushroom steak burgers with garlic potatoes
- cinnamon toast for breakfast
- the bitter pain medication after the doctor's visit

::smell::

- that horrible smell at the hospital
- pumpkin spice coffee
- the snuggle dryer sheets in with the clothes
- clean pugs after their bath
- onions and garlic frying with the steaks

So ready for Autumn....

A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer's wave goodbye
-*~ Unknown~*-

The weather here has cooled down a LOT and that is amazing considering we're still in the 90's, but just this drop in the temperature makes me think of fall and I welcome it with open arms.

We've had storms in the area for the past week, some of them never materialize, they just cover the sky in big fluffy dark clouds and throw out some thunder and lightning but not a drop of water comes down. Nevertheless it makes for some stunning photography, and this is using a pretty cheap digital camera, I don't have any of those big expensive fancy shmancy ones.

Right before the big Dust Storm we had last night, the sky went from beautiful deep blue to dark grey, almost black.

This one just takes my breath away, I don't even have words to describe it, it's just beautiful. It's weird though because after I opened it in my graphics program, Curt walked by and said "Huh, that looks like a face" and sure enough if you look in the middle of the big cloud right towards the bottom you can see a profile. Creepy!

Curt just finished a week long class of training for "Engine Run". It's something he's done plenty times before but since being on this base he's had to pretty much relearn everything, they do things completely different here, it's very frustrating for a man who's been in for 17 years.

Anyway, today was the last day and they had to go in and run the jet, which means, go into the cockpit like the pilots and turn the jet on and leave it running for 15 minutes while they go through all these emergency procedures and then take the jet to afterburner etc. It's pretty neat to see, so do you want to witness a jet running????? I mean for some of us this is the closest we'll ever come to being near one LOL


Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

I'm just so fascinated by the job my husband does and so darn proud of him :)

Above is a photo of the afterburner.

I can't tell you how glad I am that the weekend is finally here, we don't have many plans other than a fun day out tomorrow for a project that Nicholas is working on.

Every week the teacher sends home Brown Bear, this cute little brown stuffed toy, along with a journal and the "Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you see?" book. They have to take photos of the bear doing fun activities with them and then return it on Monday, they're also the Star of the Week which means everyday they have something assigned.

Monday - Nicholas will return the Journal and also an About Me page to share with the class, including photos of him and the family.

Tuesday - Show and Tell, he can take in anything he wants to show

Wednesday - Parent Letter...Curt and I have to write a letter to the class telling them how special Nicholas is to us. We have to send the letter in a sealed envelope and then the teacher will read it to everyone. How neat is that?

Thursday - Favorite book

Friday - Fun Friday, he can take in anything he wants to share.

I can't begin to tell you how excited he is, when we picked him up from school today he ran towards us with Brown Bear in his hands and yelled out "I'm star of the week, I get to bring brown bear home". The smile on his face was just the cutest thing ever.

One thing I've learned this past week is that both kids are doing very well in school, both are excellent students and extremely well behaved, according to the teachers. It warms my heart and it makes me realize that I must be doing something right, all the questions and doubts that sometimes plague a parent's mind are completely removed when you hear something like that.

I'm sure by now you've also noticed my template change, I thought it time to make more Fall looking, but I had to keep the cottages, they always make me smile.

Being that it's friday it means a quiet night at home, the kids like taking their baths, getting into their pj's and then hanging out with daddy, either playing games on the computer or the Wii or watching movies. This usually means that I get to crawl into bed early after my hot bath, read a book or watch a movie....which is exactly what I'm doing tonight:

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
The Importance of Being Earnest
Lady Jane

and I also have my "Brides of Lancaster County" to read. So I'm off, but before I go here's a recipe to tempt Autumn into arriving a little earlier instead of making us wait another 10 days. :)

"Pumpkin Pie Squares"

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine

FILLING:
2 cans (15 oz. each) pumpkin
2 cans (12 oz. each) evaporated milk
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

TOPPINGS:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

Combine the first four ingredients until crumbly; press into a greased 13"x9" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, beat filling ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth; pour over crust. Bake for 45 minutes. Combine brown sugar, pecans, and butter; sprinkle over top. Bake 15-20 minutes longer or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool. Cut into squares. Store in refrigerator.

Show and Tell Friday!

The wonderful Kelli over at "There's no place like home" has started this friday feature, here's what she had to say:

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!" Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, a new antique find, an old love letter. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Have you ever been in a dust storm??? I had never in my life been through any until we moved to Arizona. A few months ago on the way back home from shopping we drove through one, it wasn't too bad but still amazing to see.

Yesterday just as we were getting ready to head to the kids school for the Meet the Teacher, a huge dust storm blew through the base. The winds were up to 56 mph and it was hard to see walk through it, you have to keep your eyes closed because that dust really does hurt. It was so bad that it made the news.

Here's the pics I snapped.

And we even made the news:



The kids thought it was awesome but when you're driving it's pretty scary when you can't see 2 feet in front of you. Just another one of nature's amazing things.

Sadly there are still hundreds of people without power from this dust storm.

Remembering 9/11!

'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL'

You say you will never forget where you were when

you heard the news On September 11, 2001.

Neither will I.

♥♥♥♥

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room

with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I

held his fingers steady as he dialled. I gave him the

peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it

is OK...I am ready to go.'

♥♥♥♥

I was with his wife when he called as she fed

breakfast to their children. I held her up as she

tried to understand his words and as she realized

he wasn't coming home that night.

♥♥♥♥

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a

woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been

knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said.

'Of course I will show you the way home - only

believe in Me now.'

♥♥♥♥

I was at the base of the building with the Priest

ministering to the injured and devastated souls.

I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He

heard my voice and answered.

♥♥♥♥

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat,

with every prayer. I was with the crew as they

were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the

believers there, comforting and assuring them that their

faith has saved them.

♥♥♥♥

I was in Texas , Virginia , California, Michigan , Afghanistan .

I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.

Did you sense Me?

♥♥♥♥

I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew

every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me

for the first time on the 86th floor.

♥♥♥♥

Some sought Me with their last breath.

Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the

smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... this way... take

my hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.

But, I was there.

♥♥♥♥

I did not place you in the Tower that day. You

may not know why, but I do. However, if you were

there in that explosive moment in time, would you have

reached for Me?

♥♥♥♥

Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey

for you. But someday your journey will end. And I

will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may

be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are

'ready to go.'

♥♥♥♥

I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

God

♥♥♥♥

I love my God.

He is my fountain of Life and My Savior.

He Keeps me going day and night.

Without Him, I am no-one.

But with Him, I can do everything.

God is my strength.'

Slow Cooking Thursday!

All my slow cooking recipes are now online and starting today, I will add all the recipes shared weekly to my online del.icio.us site too. So if you're wanting to find ALL the slow cooked recipes that have been shared since the first SLOW COOKING THURSDAY, here is the link for you.

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

As always, share your slow cooking recipes but if you REALLY REALLY don't have one and still want to participate, then you can share any kind of recipe.

Open Faced Pizza Joes

1 1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 medium onion -- chopped
1 green bell pepper -- chopped
4 1/2 ounces sliced mushrooms -- drained
6 ounces tomato paste
15 ounces pizza sauce
9 1/2 ounces frozen herb or cheese Texas Toast
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

In large skillet, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Drain. In 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker, combine cooked sausage, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and tomato paste; mix well. Top with pizza sauce. Cover; cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours. About 10 minutes before serving, heat toast as directed on package. Stir sausage mixture. Spoon about 3/4 cup sausage mixture onto each warm toast slice. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons cheese.

If desired, place the assembled pizzas under a broiler for a few minutes to melt and lightly brown the cheese.

Happy Birthday Dylan!

Today is my nephew's birthday, he is turning 10. Dylan is such a sweetheart and really well behaved too, I remember when we were in South Africa back in May, many times everyone would be running around but he would be sitting quietly with his playstation, not a peep out of him. :)

He loves sports and fast cars and typical boy things. It was so much fun getting to know him better, I only wish that we could be there today to celebrate with him, but we'll definitely be thinking about him.

So Dylan, we wish you a very Happy Birthday and hope you have many many more. We love you!

*****************************************

I just got back from my appointment and it was not fun. The doctor was wonderful, I couldn't have asked for a better one myself, she was very sweet and understanding and very professional. I did go ahead and get my IUD removed which was painful but then when it came time to get it replaced that's when everything went wrong.

For some reason it just was not working and I was cramping really badly, next thing I know I feel my top clinging to my body and my heart racing, I was literally sweating buckets. At this point she asked me if I was ok and if I wanted her to stop and I think I may have yelled out YES. I'm not sure because she apologized for the pain, stopped the procedure and asked me to sit up and that's when it happened.

I almost fainted! I think I scared the doctor but boy I've never felt that sick. Walking out of that clinic and driving home was unbearable, the cramping is intense and the lightheaded feeling is just too much. I actually broke down and cried on the way home, you know when you're feeling absolutely horrible and you just want to have someone take care of you? It's like you revert back to childhood and you miss having your parent take you by the hand and say "it's ok, I'm here". I did have the Lord with me because I tell you now, I have no clue how I was able to drive.

So now here I sit, there will be no more IUD's for me, as much as I liked mine I'm back to the pill. You know I'm not a person that likes change but I adapt pretty easily and years ago I used to fight the change, I tried really hard to make sure things stayed the same....as time went by I realized that it's easier to just accept it and go with it. So my choice was to continue with an IUD, but for some reason it wasn't meant to happen, and I'm fine with it. :)

Last night around 5pm we were getting ready to head to the school for the Meet The Teacher night when I noticed that there was a storm moving in. The photo I got of it was just unbelievable, you can see the blue sky on the left and this wall of dark clouds on the right. I called Curt to take a look and he was just amazed.

It's absolutely breathtaking isn't it?

Here's some more pics of the storm moving in and of course the F-16's are still out doing their flights. Gotta admire these pilots they are trained to fly through anything.

Everytime I look at the sky I'm amazed at God's work. This photo below is like a painting, there's the big white fluffy clouds and then there's that grey one in the middle, it's like it was added on afterwards.

I was so thrilled to see that so many of you enjoy the Laura Ingalls Wilder books too, they are such a joy to read and I've learned a lot from them. I finished the Journey one and I started "Brides of Lancaster County" which I'm loving.

I'm not against love scenes in books at all, I mean I'm a huge romance genre fan and some can get quite smutty, enough to make you blush LOL But there's something about reading a wholesome good love story....a christian romance, one that concentrates on the Lord and the love between a woman and a man, the love that consists of communication and understanding, of unconditional loving and respect and having God in the relationship...the kind of book that doesn't make the whole story about the physical aspect.

I think I'll be reading more Wanda E. Brunstetter.

So last night we went to the Open House and met the teachers, it was fun to walk around the new school and get to see their music and art classes and Jasmine's classroom. We found it funny that one of the girls in her class has a little sister who happens to be in Nicholas's kindergarten class and when she saw him yesterday she came running to him calling out "Nicholas" and gave him the biggest hug. He didn't quite know what to do with himself, he was happy but embarassed and it didn't help that Curt asked him afterwards if that was his girlfriend to which he quickly replied "No, I'm too little for that" LOL

Well I'm heading back to the hospital to pick up my prescription, the pain has subsided a bit, thank the Lord.

I hope you're all having have a wonderful day, don't forget the Slow Cooking Thursday tomorrow!

The Simple Things!

The Farmhouse at Rocky Ridge.
--Photo from the collection of the Hoover Library (RWL #197)
I'm completely immersed in the Laura Ingalls Wilder "On the Way Home" book. For those of you not familiar with it, it's the diary from the trip they made from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri in 1894.

Her words have me captivated, the way she describes the towns they drive through, the streams and creeks they cross and the fields and farmland around them. The journey they endured was a long and treacherous one, imagine a 650 mile trek in a wagon with all your belongings, having to stop along the way to trade for food and sometimes struggling to find clean water to drink.

They went through places like:

Beatrice, Nebraska

Topeka, Kansas

Fort Scott, Kansas

And came across people like these:

I have enjoyed reading the book, it's like I'm being transported back in time and going through this with them.

I think nowadays we all take things for granted, I for one am guilty of that. I know that if I get thirsty I just have to turn on the tap and get clean cold water, if I'm hungry the refrigerator or the kitchen cupboards with take care of that for me. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy these commodities but in a way we have become unaffected by how easy it is for us.

If you're interested in more Laura goodness, check out Discover Laura.

And here's a recipe for you too:

Johnny Cakes

From On the Banks of Plum Creek

Supplies:

* 1 cup corn meal
* 1 teaspoon raw sugar
* 1 tbsp. salt
* ½ cup water
* 1 lb. of bacon

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, mix the corn meal with the salt and sugar.
2. Add water and mix until you get a nice paste. Form the paste into patties and set aside.
3. Fry bacon. Remove bacon and fry the cakes in the bacon grease until golden brown.
4. Wrap the patties in brown paper and then again in brown wax paper.

It's been a quiet day for me, Curt is off at work and the kids are in school, the bedrooms are clean, the beds are made, the laundry is done and I've just taken a Banana Bread out of the oven.

Tomorrow I have a doctors appointment ON BASE. I'm so thrilled I can't tell you. After all this running around they've had me doing with referrals to off base doctors, they finally got openings for me at the Women's Clinic and being seen by one of the doctors. Turns out that I went for that annual pap two weeks ago and then they called me last week and said I have to redo it because there weren't enough cells. Are you kidding me????????

Anyway, I'm going in the morning to get that redone and take care of the IUD thing. I'm tired of running around, it feels like I've been going full speed lately and haven't had time for anything so I'm glad to get this out of the way.

The rest of the day is going to be devoted to mopping and sweeping, cleaning the bathrooms, putting the last of the laundry away and then tonight we have Jasmine's Open House Meet the Teacher night.

Dinner is in the crockpot, Slow Cooker Snappy Meatball Heroes and let me tell you, they smell DIVINE. I don't know if I can wait until dinner, I'm having a hard time functioning with that yummy scent wafting all over the house.

Finally I need to thank you all for the awards you give me, I've been placing them on my sidebar to display what great friends I have. Just this morning the beautiful Lavinia at The Birdbath Chronicles gave me another one and get this, she thinks I look like Monica Belluci.....Oh I love you Lavinia. That is such a wonderful compliment, I only wish I thought it myself but hey I'll take whatever I can LOL

And so I must be on my way, I have some phone calls to make in order to get ready for the appointment tomorrow and I also need to deal with a naughty pug who thinks that I can't tell she's been up to no good....you go ahead and look at this photo and then tell me what you think LOL

The Simple Woman's Daybook!

Hi everyone, come on in and see what's in my daybook!

If you want to join in, just got visit Peggy over at The Simple Woman, read the guidelines here and then add your name to Mr Linky. There are so many other participants sharing their day, I'm sure you'll enjoy looking through them :)

FOR TODAY

Outside my Window...
is a beautiful September morning, there are a few clouds scattered across the sky and a significant drop in the heat, it feels SO good.

I am thinking...
how much I cherish the few hours a day I have to myself, to do devotionals, to read, to clean or to sew. It's a blessing but I do miss my children and count down the minutes until I pick them up from school.

From the learning rooms...
I don't have homeschooling children, so I thought that maybe I will just use this part to talk about anything that I'm learning for myself. Lately my interest has been on Castles and I'm devouring any books that contain history and photos of these beauties. The kids are enjoying them too, so I guess you could say we're all learning together.

I am thankful for...
cooler temperatures and the wonderful rain we've been getting

From the kitchen...
breakfast was french toast...lunch will be leftover burgers that I froze for a quick meal....dinner is Heavenly Hot Ham Buns with homemade fries.

I am wearing...
khaki shorts, green halter top, black flip flops. My hair is up in a pony tail.

I am reading...
Castles of Scotland
Laura Ingalls Wilder - On the Way Home
The Brides of Lancaster County

I am hoping...
to finish off some more tote bags and maybe another pocket or two for my advent calendar.

I am creating...
a happy home, a decluttered environment, a book of recipes and some christmas projects.

I am hearing...
the coffee pot brewing, the dryer finishing off my last load of laundry

Around the house...
it is chaotic as my children get ready for school, there's laughter, there's tons of questions about the location of shoes and favorite shirts.

One of my favorite things...
is to crawl into bed after the kids are asleep and either read my book or watch some tv with my beautiful pug Lola at my side

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
both kids have their Open House Meet the Teacher nights, one on Tuesday and one on Friday

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...


Hummingbird that loves the feeder right outside my kitchen window.

Feels Like Fall!

Come on in everyone, the sky is cloudy and there's a little nip to the air and that says a lot when you live here in Arizona. Feels good though!

I have some hot cinnamon coffee for us and some fresh out of the oven English Scones....ahhhh.

We had a quiet day yesterday, just ran a few errands but by 11 am we were back home for the day which allowed me to make a run to the library for some new books. I'm a visual person, a lot of the things that I love in life have to do with the way I see things, the appeal of it etc. When I pick books I tend to go for the ones that have an eye catching cover and I know that's not fair because there are some amazing ones with simpler covers, but what can I do, my eyes usually dictate what to get.

The Castles of Scotland: Past and Present

Castles of England, Scotland & Wales

America's Amish Country - This one was so much fun to look through, what gorgeous photos it had.

Now for some pictures, I haven't posted any recent ones of the kids and I'm sure the family is dying to see.

I can't believe she's 9 years old, she just looks so big to me. It's like you blink and they're grown up *sigh*

Is this not the cutest skirt ever?

I don't know what he did but his expression cracks me up LOL

View from my kitchen window....I love washing dishes and watching the hummingbirds at the feeder

As a matter of fact while I was standing there with the camera, my little friend came by, isn't he/she beautiful?

Basket on my kitchen table, I've started adding some Fall touches here and there, I'm so ready for pumpkin pie and light jackets during the evening.

I actually picked these up at the dollar store, how cute is this pumpkin?

And another one from the dollar store

I love scarecrows, I have two guarding the entrance to my house

My front door, what do you know? More scarecrows LOL

Now let me tell you about this great link I found. You can change your wallpaper for the computer everyday but it's not just ordinary wallpaper, this one has a Daily Thought on it.

How pretty are those? And that's just an example of the gorgeous wallpapers they have, all you have to do is go to the link, pick the size wallpaper you want to use on your computer, right click and "Set as Desktop Background". That's it! While you're there, you may want to take a look around because Real Simple has so much great info for us, from printable shopping lists, to recipes, pantry makeover and so much more.

My sunday is going to be spent doing laundry and ironing and I'm also going to be baking some Savory Cheese and Scallion Scones, they are to die for and I think they'll go great with our dinner of Lemon and Oregano Pork Chops. I'll have the recipe for the scones up on the food blog later :)

I'll leave you now with some Sunday Linkies, some of my favorite blogs and sites from the last week.


♥ A Year From Oak Cottage - What can I say about Marie other than I absolutely love her and the blog? The past week my family has been enjoying recipes from her site and boy are they good. But Marie is not just about recipes, this amazing lady lives in an English Cottage and she shares such beautiful photos along with touching posts about family and friends. You should go over and take a look, I'm sure you'll be there for a while browsing her archives.

♥ White O'Morn Cottage - Another wonderful lady living in a cottage but this one is set in beautiful Ireland. Imagine that?

♥ The Old Painted Cottage - I just love this blog, from it's pink and white theme to the beautiful photos shared by the author.

♥ Honey Hill Farm - Absolutely adore this blog, don't even know what else to tell you other than you should go look and stay a while, I'm sure you'll find something to make you smile.

♥ Eyes of Wonder - Oh how I love this blog, I wish she would update more but she's one busy lady and such a loving Christian woman. The photos she shares and her words just inspire me.

♥ Daisy Cottage - Just another beautiful blog to look through, pretty photos and great recipes.

Five Senses Saturday!

I haven't done my Five Senses Saturday in a LONG time, I mean a really long time, and I honestly don't know why because it's such a great way to end off the week and kinda go back and remember everything I did the past few days.

If anyone wants to play along, just let me know in my comments so I can come see yours!

::Hear::

- the quietness around me with both kids in school
- the landscaping people mowing lawns
- the loud roar of the jets as they do engine runs
- the phone ringing, some telemarketer leaving a message
- the radio playing in the background while I bake

::See::

- the beautiful sunsets
- the happiness on Nicholas face everytime he sees me after school
- another branch from the lemon tree broken
- Jasmine looking like a little lady, she's growing so fast
- the pugs laying on the couch napping

::touch::


- the feel of the felt as I make the advent calendar
- the prick of the lemon tree branches
- arms of my husband around me
- the soft dough beneath my fingers as I make bread
- the soapy water as I wash dishes

::taste::

- The flaky goodness as I bite into a Coconut Pastry
- the velvety texture of the Amarula
- one of the best burgers ever, Easy Cheesy Topped Burgers
- my favorite chocolate, Nestle Treasures
- grilled cheese sandwiches made with homemade bread

::smell::

- the scent of the earth as the rain comes down
- cinnamon coffee brewing in the morning
- my lavender linen water on the bed linens
- my kids after a bath, love the smell of clean babies
- the lemons from the lemon tree out back

Quiet Friday Night!

It's been a quiet day, having this muscle pain doesn't allow me to do much, so I've been taking it easy.

I've had hot tea, I've nibbled on Coconut Pastries and I've worked on my Advent Calendar.

Now the dinner dishes are done, the candles are lit and my book is waiting on the bed. I'm off to relax but I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs, it takes me back to my childhood and floods my mind with wonderful memories.

Moonlight Shadow - Mike Oldfield

Show and Tell Friday!

The wonderful Kelli over at "There's no place like home" has started this friday feature, here's what she had to say:

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!" Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, a new antique find, an old love letter. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

If you've been reading my blog for a while, then you remember that back in May of this year, I went home to South Africa. Home to my family after being away for 10 years. It was wonderful and I brought back so many great memories, but I also brought back some typical African souvenirs for my home.

I thought I would share some with you today.

These glasses were given to us by my brother Miguel and my sister in law Hayley. They are the big five and I just LOVE them!

The big giraffe wooden spoon and fork were given to us by Hayley's mom, Auntie Val. Aren't they just the cutest things? She also gave us some amazing placemats, I'll show you pictures of those another time, I forgot to snap the photos.

We picked up this Giraffe at a local flea market. Seriously, if you love african stuff, you would go absolutely nuts in one of those flea markets.

Couldn't come back without an african drum could we? Curt actually brought back some smaller ones to give as gifts to his Chief at work.

This giraffe painting is waiting to go up on my wall.

The ostrich egg in front, I brought with me when I moved to the States 10 years ago, it not only survived the air trip but it's survived two kids and some military moves LOL

One of the things you'll find a lot of back home, are the vendors selling these oil canvas paintings.

My dad and stepmom got us this one while we were at the coast, they were actually selling these at the hotel we stayed in.

I just need to get some wood framing so that I can hang it up on the wall.

This is one of my favorite pieces from the whole African collection we have. My brother Paul and my sister in law Lilian got us this one, at the same hotel and same vendor as the one above.

Just to give you an idea of how big it is, Jasmine is holding it up from behind and it's completely covering her LOL

It's just gorgeous, I can not wait to get it up on the wall.

So there you have it, just a few of my African Pieces that make me feel closer to home.

Corned Beef or Burgers???

I just posted two recipes over at Full Bellies, Happy Kids. They're both from Marie and both got rave reviews from the family.

Go on over and check them out if you wish to make them yourself.

CORNED BEEF HASH

EASY CHEESY TOPPED BURGERS

Oh pain in the neck!

I've mentioned my annoying neck before haven't I? Well seems that I can't really do certain things without the impending muscle pain, so last week I overdid it.

The kids were at school and I was all into cleaning and rearranging and I completely redid the living room, and not it wasn't a case of adding a decorative pillow or changing curtains...Noooooo, Sandra had to do the whole shebang. I moved everything around which included but not limited to pushing a big sectional couch, a computer armoire, 2 computer desks, a big huge tv etc etc.

If that wasn't enough, then I went outside the next day and proceeded to get rid of all the old lemon tree branches that have been falling down. Listen people, these branches are heavy and they prick too. So I pulled them all the way from one side of the yard across to the other side and then hauled them over the fence and into Curt's big truck.

Why?!?!?! Why do I subject myself to these things when I know I'll suffer later?

So for the past 3 days I had a pain in my back, on my right side shoulder blade area, and my wonderful husband massaged it for me and I massaged it myself, I kinda contorted my arm and fingers to try and bring some relief and then last night it happened.....the pain from my back subsided but then it moved up to my neck, right at the top of my spine. It moved there and pitched a tent. Dagnabit!!!

I spent all night tossing and turning and woke up this morning which such pain that it makes it hard to turn my head to the right or the left, as a matter of fact it's all so tensed up and sore that it's making my head feel like it weighs a ton. UGH!

I can look down and put my chin to my chest, I can lay my head on my shoulders on both sides but if I try to turn it or look up then WOO WEE.

So I've used some tiger balm and a heat pad and now here I sit, all miserable and smelling like an Olympic Athlete minus the Gold Medals. Pretty sad!

I've made the beds, I've done the dishes and that's it, I'm not moving another finger, not while I feel like this, maybe tomorrow it will start feeling better and I'll ease into doing things.....but for now....lesson learned, do NOT rearrange a room on your own or haul branches around. You will pay for it later, boy will you pay for it.

Slow Cooking Thursday!

All my slow cooking recipes are now online and starting today, I will add all the recipes shared weekly to my online del.icio.us site too. So if you're wanting to find ALL the slow cooked recipes that have been shared since the first SLOW COOKING THURSDAY, here is the link for you.

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

As always, share your slow cooking recipes but if you REALLY REALLY don't have one and still want to participate, then you can share any kind of recipe.

Photo courtesy: youneverrecipes

Beer-braised Chicken

4 chicken breast halves
1 can beer - (12 oz)
1/2 bottle chili sauce
4 potatoes -- peeled, and cut into 2" pieces
2 celery stalks -- sliced
4 carrots -- peeled, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup flour -- mixed with a little
cold water to make a smooth paste
Fresh parsley sprigs for garnish -- (optional)

Combine all ingredients except flour mixture in slow cooker. Cover and cook for 7 to 9 hours on LOW.

Add flour and water paste to the sauce during the last 30 to 45 minutes. Continue cooking, covered until thickened.

Arrange vegetables and meat on large platter. Serve sauce separately. Garnish with parsley.

Photo courtesy: ibakeandcook

Mostaccioli

1 pound Italian sausage
1 large onion
1 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 box mostaccioli - (16 oz)
1 pound hamburger
1 can tomato sauce - (12 oz)
1 1/4 cup water
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil

Brown sausage and hamburger and drain off grease. Combine all ingredients, except pasta, in a slow cooker. Cook for 6 hours on LOW heat. Cook pasta in boiling water until tender. Drain and add to sauce.

Pledge of Allegiance 5 Year Old Style!

After speaking to Nicholas today about his day at school, he was very excited because it was his turn to hold the flag while they recited the Pledge of Allegiance.


Me - Oh that is so cool, did you like holding the flag?

Nicholas - YES, it was so nice, it was a big flag and you know what?

Me - What?

Nicholas - The other kids had to say the words and I didn't cause I was holding the flag.

Me - What words honey?

Nicholas - The words of the flag.

Me - You mean the Pledge of Allegiance?

Nicholas - Yes, you know the one.....I pledge allegiance to the nervous flag.

*******************************

Oh the joy of a 5 year old in the house, there's never a dull moment!

Precious Girls Club Giveaway!

Precious Moments has recently created a new book series called the Precious Girls Club. The books are written for girls between the ages of 4-10.

Three lucky winners will receive a copy of "A Little Bit of Faith" by Cindy Kenney. With each book you will also receive a scratch-off card for a FREE premium "Rainbow Membership" trial on PreciousGirlsClub.com.

I received this great offer from MomSelect and the minute I opened the package, I handed Jasmine her book. Jasmine is 9 years old and in the past year has become an avid reader....within two hours she had read the entire book and told me how much she enjoyed it and couldn't wait to tell her friends about it....she also begged me to get the next books in the series.

This is such a cute book and the website is equally adorable, I checked it out with Jasmine and she loved it too. You can see it for yourself at Precious Girls Club....it is an on line town based off the book series which teaches character based virtues like: loving, caring, kindness, responsibility, and helpfulness.

The books are based on the life of Katie and her guardian angel Faith. In the first book Katie Benett moves to a new town where she is finding it very difficult to make new friends and keep her guardian angel a secret.

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment with your name and an email address so that I can contact you and that’s it!

The 3 winners will be selected by random drawing on September 15th.

You have GOT to go make these!

I just filled myself on these amazing coconut pastries that bring back so many wonderful childhood memories.

I got the recipe from a lady friend of ours that we knew back home, she used to make these to sell, and the first time we tasted them I was just 11 or 12 years old and pretty much begged for the recipe.

Over the years I had lost the recipe and I had asked my stepmom on the phone a couple of times about it but she also couldn't remember where it was. When I was back in South Africa in May, I went through all the cookbooks and written recipes and finally found it, I was thrilled.

It's been 10 years since I've had these and oh my gosh, I know I'll be making them all the time.

You just HAVE to go make these for your family tonight, I know you'll come back and thank me afterwards LOL

COCONUT PASTRIES

A little of this and a little of that.....

I had all these thoughts on what to post about this morning and then I sat at the computer and they just disappeared....I hate when that happens because then I'm left with nothing to blog about and I'm sure you don't want to hear about my weekend, there was nothing exciting about it.

I did manage to start the advent calendar and finish off one pocket, I did divert from the original project by allsorts, so instead of the red button and the red floss, I went with the red buttons but green floss. I like it, makes it really Christmasy for me.

A couple of you asked me about the Vanilla Honey Candles, I have to tell you, the reason I bought these at Walmart is because of the containers, I mean how adorable are these, and just think of how I'll be able to reuse them once the candles are gone?

But I gotta tell you, Vanilla Honey, OH.MY.GOODNESS. Even Curt walked into the kitchen on Saturday night and said "man what is that smell, it's so good". He couldn't believe it was the candles and actually told me to go back and buy more. Well you certainly don't have to tell me twice LOL

So if you're looking for these candles, check out your local Walmart Supercenter, I'm sure you'll find them there and they have tons of delicious scents, but I'm sticking with these, besides I want a couple more containers for my kitchen :)

One of my favorite things is to climb into bed at night, after the kids are asleep, and either read or watch some tv. But I'm never alone, because this precious little pug is always right there, she crawls up my side and right up to my thigh and then lays there, with that cute little squishy face.

And if I happen to have a little snack with me, she is right there willing to help me eat it. It's just the cutest thing listening to her smack those lips LOL

Oh to be a pet in this house is such an awful thing isn't it? I can't tell you just how loved the pugs are, they are a part of the family and one of our kids, they do naughty things and cute things and just keep us smiling day in and day out. Bella, above, is the pug we rescued back in Idaho and I'm so glad we did.

Kids are back at school this morning and I'm just looking around wondering what in the world happened to the house. Have you noticed that when you have these long weekends, with everyone home, that it looks like the house imploded on itself? I mean, there's toys and cans of pop, there's books and blankets and Wii games and all sorts of crumbs and leftover snacks and whatnot. It's quite a scary sight first thing in the morning, good thing is that with the kids not home I can have everything back to normal in no time at all AND watch it stay that way for at least a couple of hours.

That's exactly what I plan on doing right now. So you'll have to excuse me, I have a house begging for cleaning and a cookie jar asking for freshly baked cookies....I'm thinking some gingersnaps would go perfectly in there, maybe a way to make Fall arrive sooner.

Dinner tonight is Corned Beef and hash, it was supposed to be last night's dinner but I am still dealing with that summer cold and felt quite awful yesterday, so Curt ended up getting tacos for everyone.

Hope you're all having a wonderful Tuesday, and please remember to keep praying for everyone in the path of the Hurricane Gustav.

Yearbook Yourself!

So this is the point where I embarass myself, you should know me by now I have no problem sharing on my blog LOL
I even did Curt's photos and actually had tears running down my face from laughing so hard at the photos....if you want to try go on and check out Yearbook Yourself.

Get ready to laugh!

1992 - The year I graduated and I assure you I did NOT look like this (hahaha)

1994 - Don't I just look so purty, acting all thinkative LOL

1996 - hahahahaha

1998 - Year I got married and again, I promise I looked nothing like this LOL

2000 - I just don't know what to say, it's not too bad but still LOL

The Simple Woman's Daybook - Sept. 1

Hi everyone, come on in and see what's in my daybook!

If you want to join in, just got visit Peggy over at The Simple Woman, read the guidelines here and then add your name to Mr Linky. There are so many other participants sharing their day, I'm sure you'll enjoy looking through them :)

FOR TODAY

Outside my Window...cloudy skies and wind

I am thinking...that I can't believe my computer gave me the blue screen of death again, I'm sick and tired of fixing it.

I am thankful for...the fact that even though the computer messed up, I am blessed to HAVE a computer of my own.

From the kitchen...for breakfast we had bacon, maple sausages, biscuits and gravy. For dinner it's Corned Beef Hash

I am wearing... blue lounger dress

I am reading...Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning

I am hoping...that I get more of my Advent Calendar pockets done today

I am hearing... The dishwasher buzzing in the background, Curtis typing on the computer, the kids cleaning their rooms

Around the house... the scent of Vanilla Honey candles, pugs laying on the couches napping, laundry waiting to be put away

One of my favorite things...sleeping to the sound of rain

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... Meet the Teacher nights for Jasmine and Nicholas

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...