Bloggin' Bits

One Thousand Gifts and the Joy Dare

2012-01-09T23:35:00.000-05:00

Gratitude is something my mother ingrained in me at an early age. Even when things are bad, I try my best to remember that for the most part, my glass is not just half full, but overflowing.

I read about a book by Ann Voskamp titled One Thousand Gifts. Described as a celebration of grace and a recognition of the power of gratitude. I can't wait to read it (you can read about it along with the first chapter here on her site).

Ann is also asking her readers to take the Joy Dare. A joy dare to give God all the glory for his graciousness. Each day list three things that you are grateful for or bring you joy. You can journal it, jot on a special note sheet she supplies to print, tweet it, or download the app for your smart phone!!! It's all on the One Thousand Gifts website and A Holy Experience blog. I'm a few days late in beginning, but look forward to doing this. Check it out!!

This might be the year for something like this. With everything we face right now with our servicemen deployed, job losses, a horrible economy, and so much more; finding daily joy, "living fully right where we are", as Ann describes her book.

Other things have pointed me in that direction. I have a friend who began a blog he entitled The Gratitude Project (yes, a man is doing this). A craft blog I read encouraged people to create a large (almost poster size) manifesto for 2012 and print it to keep it in view as a reminder. I am normally an overachiever, but this time I went for the 81/2 x 11 printed manifesto. Listing things like Pray More, Rest More, Worry Less, Walk in Faith, and just the words ~ Integrity, Gratitude and Humility!

So let's a find some joy in the journey as we press on to the goal!

BIG Vintage Pearl Giveaway!

2011-12-22T11:30:00.000-05:00

I love, love, love The Vintage Pearl. They are giving away 5 $100 gift certificates today for last minute Christmas fun! I even sell as an independent contractor for Initial Outfitters, but still purchase from TVP. Check it out here! Hope you and I both win one!!!!!

GREAT Giveway!

2011-11-12T20:44:00.000-05:00

There are blogs I read on a daily basis and one of my favorite is Centsational Girl. She is a creative DIY'er and beautiful decorator. Also been featured in Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Idea magazine this year, and more.

She's got a great giveaway going on at her site from The Vintage Pearl ~ another one of my favorites!

Go HERE and enter to win! If you win, you have to share.

HA HA

Earthquake!

2011-11-09T21:27:00.000-05:00

We had a 2.7 magnitude earthquake today and it was FrEaKy. I work at a college and the epicenter was about 1 mile from us. There was a very loud boom and then a shake. Very short, but shook all of us up! We all thought a car ran into our building. Thankfully there was no damage and no one hurt, just woke us all up. Fun times!

I immediately began singing the old Carole King song. . .
I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down
I feel my heart start to trembling . . .

One of the websites that reports and records earthquakes is actually quite intersting. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/
I've always been told there is constant seismic activity, but this site shows how often and where. Check it out!

Pinterest Challenge Post #2

2011-11-05T22:19:00.001-04:00

This Pinterest challenge has been SO MUCH FUN! I've found things to do later, did some today, and bookmarked all kinds of things. Also been blog-stalking! Needless to say, my house is still a mess, but I am a more creative creature for it!!!!

The sharing/copying is the best part. Found this post's inspiration from Corrie at http://housemadeblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/diy-typography-art.html. Here are links to my versions of some of the things!

ABC art!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M0WGFbKUFy4tOq2s31E-UW1GqDt0hqp4p3oMFX957x0/edit

Last name fun!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xCW5OUndpDgFUHL9d8cwPMIQrwLPR-gYFpHLWj6ryCA/edit

The party is on at Young House Love, Bower Power, Ana White and House of Earnest.

Pinterest Challenge!!

2011-11-03T23:09:00.000-04:00

I always love a challenge and don't know that I will get all of this correct, but here goes ~

There's a party going on, hosted by Young House Love, Bower Power, Ana White and House of Earnest. Challenging us to actually complete something we've fallen for on Pnterest. I found a WONDERFUL tulle wreath on My 3 Monsters blog that she found on Something to Do. I absolutely LOVE the SHARING!

So I decided to do my own version and here it is! Mine is for Halloween, but it has such possibilites. Red and White for Christmas, School colors. I can also picture a sweet light pink or blue with baby items for a nursery.

I used a roll of black tulle and a wire wreath form. Cut my 6 inch wide tulle into approximately 6 to 8 inch lengths and started tying!

View from the back, I tyed tulle on the first two wires, then the second and third, then the third and fourth. Repeating that pattern all the way around.

You can make it as tight as you want. The solid black is hard to see in a picture. I did try mixing some silver tulle in, but it looked too white.

Add a ribbon, flower, picture, be creative and have fun!

Sorry the pictures aren't better, but maybe you can get the idea!

IAMS donating 100 Meals!!!

2011-10-09T21:43:00.005-04:00

When You Show Your Support by Joining the Iams Blogging 4 Bowls Blog Hop Iams will Donate 100 Meals!

I am supporting IAMS Dog Food efforts to provide 100 bowls of food for every blog post!! Just wish I'd seen it earlier to share a little longer!!

Here's all you need to do to show your support for the Iams Home 4 the Holidays Blogging for Bowls Blog Hop:

•Link up your blog name and URL using the Linky Tool ~ and since I don't know how to link the Linky Tool here ~ click HERE and add yourself to Mimi's Linky!!!!

Additional ways to show your support of the Iams Home 4 the Holidays kickoff:

•Grab the code and write a post on your blog to show your added support for the Blogging for Bowls Blog Hop.

•Stop by the blog hop co-hosts,The Tiniest Tiger, Fidose of Reality, Pets News and Views, Pets Weekly, Dogtipper, and Preston Speaks , to say hello.

•Visit other blogs that are supporting the Blogging 4 Bowls Blog Hop. Make new friends and/or reconnect with old friends.

Mary Engelbreit!

2011-10-07T11:57:00.000-04:00

I LOVE Mary Engelbreit's art and fun products. I have collected her books for many years and especially love her illustrated children's books. She has opened a new online shop and a cool contest ~ you could win these three original drawings, framed!

Check it out here:

http://maryengelbreit.com/m/echadwick

Ceiling Art

2011-09-07T23:12:00.000-04:00

Have you heard of it? Ceiling Art, it's in dentist's and doctor's offices to gaze at as you are lying there. WELL ~ we got us some ceiling art on Monday! Lovely, don't you thing?

Pinterest!

2011-09-05T11:15:00.000-04:00

Pinterest and blogs may be the best and worst thing I've ever discovered!!! Got up on this Labor Day and decided to labor little bit. I have a big event at church on Sat. and we leave for the beach on Sunday. I have lots to do. Not to mention my house is a wreck!!!

So I decide to sit down with my coffee and check e-mail first. BIG MISTAKE :) There it is, the This week on Pinterest e-mail. Here I sit on the computer almost 3 hours later and the dogs aren't even fed.

Just found that earning your Ph.D. was not as difficult as some may think. I do VERY WELL with Projects Half Done! Have a great "labor" day :)

2011-09-01T23:51:00.002-04:00

WOW, it's been since Dec. 2010 since I've posted. Think it's time to get back on the wagon??? I use Google Reader to check on blogs and enjoy reading them. I leave comments occasionally and it links back to my blog. I was a little embarassed when I realized it's been so long.

So when I signed in to my blog I began reading. I began this thing in 2007 and it is amazing what I've put on the internet!!!!! I will admit that Facebook, Whirly Words, Words with Friends and over committing myself has interferred with my blogging. Not to mention that I don't have some wild, exciting life to share ~ and I like it that way!!!

So I will try to get back to sharing books I've read, crafts, bible study, and family. We still have two dachshunds that could be the subject of their own blog. Molly the crack dog and Sassy the Princess.

Blesssings,

Altered Tins and Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T16:39:00.000-05:00

Made these for goodies at my family get-together. Filled them with candy and kids $1 puzzle from Walmart! Also gave our daughter a Georgia Bulldogs Red and Black tree. I made the ornaments for that.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

A post with no title

2010-12-22T00:02:00.000-05:00

I have the crud now ~ just before Christmas no less. A touch of bronchitis and sinus infection, fever. Got a shot, antibiotics, nasal steroid, and was told to begin using a Neti Pot. I'd heard of it and have used saline in my nose, but this thing is a trip! Works, but it's weird!!!! Check it out.

I've also lost my voice ~ hubby thought about posting something on Facebook about a peaceful "silent night" ~ but to his credit, rethought that!!

Here's to the crazy few days before Christmas, long lines, traffic, counting packages to make sure everyone gets the same number, last minute stocking stuffers, fretting about the gift that did not arrive in time, that string of lights that went out on the tree, cooking, polishing silver (does anyone do that anymore), deep cleaning the house so everyone can walk through the door and mess it up in less than 3.2 minutes, making sure the cookies are ready for Santa, and the famous last words ~ I planned on getting this done earlier this year!

It's all worth it as long as we remember why we celebrate this season. It is the birthday of our Lord, Jesus Christ. No other gift matters.

Joy in the midst of it all,

Christmas is almost here

2010-12-18T12:32:00.000-05:00

Really, I've not posted since September? That was just a week or so ago, right????? WOW, how this year has flown. It's been a busy, exciting, life changing, and sad one for me in many ways. Always blessed though. As things happen and progress in life, whether good or bad, I always try to hang on to an attitude of gratitude. God is always faithful and takes care of me and my family through all the crazy times. If I don't post again before Christmas, I hope you have a peaceful, loving one.

Joy in the midst of it all,

Convertible!

2010-09-05T23:14:00.000-04:00

I've always wanted a convertible Volkswagen bug. This weekend one of my best friends came to visit from Nashville and drove her new convertible bug! It was a glorious weather weekend and we rode with the top down most all day Sat. FUN!!!

HOPE

2010-08-09T22:11:00.000-04:00

HOPE

Holding on Praying Expectantly.

This is a beautiful post and piece of jewelry from The Vintage Pearl. Check out her other things, but be sure and order one of these!!!!

Voting

2010-07-08T19:51:00.001-04:00

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a women's libber, bra burner, protestor ~ just a women who has a passion for equality in all forms.

Just off the heels of our Independence Day celebrations, let us not forget some of the reasons we are able to have freedoms and rights in our country. We began early voting here in our county for the July 20th primary vote. I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you, especially women, to vote.

August 26th marks the 90th year celebration of women's legal right to vote in the US. The women that fought for our rights went through some AWFUL times. Women were beaten and left for dead, jailed, husbands divorced them, cussed at, etc.

AND

Wars have raged for years, many of those fought to protect our freedoms. Our servicemen and women continue to sacrifice their lives, leave their families, and try to make the world a better place all in the name of protecting the rights and freedoms we enjoy, and many times take for granted.

Materials about the Women's Suffrage Movement are available on the internet, in our library, etc.

http://nwhp.org/

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/aw01e/aw01e.html

are a couple of good sites.

Okay, off my soapbox!

VOTE EARLY ~ VOTE OFTEN!

Random stuff

2010-07-04T21:41:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone has enjoyed their 4th of July as much as we have. We did absolutely NOTHING that was not necessary! We've had a whirlwind few months and chose to just veg this weekend. We'll cookout with the our kids and grandkids tomorrow.

I've spent an inordinate time on my laptop. Catching up on blogs, cleaning out e-mails, etc.

Wanted to share my great-niece's blog with you. She and her husband had a baby boy almost a year ago now. Logan is PRECIOUS. She made a video for her husband on his first Father's Day, then she and her brother and sister made one for their dad (my nephew). Both of these videos are priceless and truly show what kind of family they are. The only down side to it is that we live about 8 hours apart and do not get to see each other often enough ~ this kind of thing just makes me miss them more.

One of my dear friends, Jenn at Delightfully.cliche. posted a photo meme and a love post on Friday. I'd done the photo meme a couple of posts back ~ HERE ~ if you want to check it out. She shared some of her favorite blogs and I've been reading them this weekend and added several to my google reader to keep up with their posts. Check her posts out and see her favorite bloggers.

While looking at blogs, I discovered several dedicated to dachshunds. We have two right now and have had two others in the past. They are a pain in the tail, stubborn as everything, high maintenance, and spoiled rotten (born that way, we did not do it, LOL). Vet bills, constant carpet cleaning (did I mention they were stubborn?), dog food to buy, etc. They bark at nothing, are jealous of each other, want to be beside one of us AT ALL TIMES, sleep in out bed, and pretty much run the house.

But we would not take a million dollars for them (actually if you offer. . . ). The current two still surprise us with their personalities and discoveries. My daughter-in-law lovingly named Molly, our 16 month old, "crack dog" because her energy is over the top. Our 4 year old Sassy, (we just inherited her in April), is the most docile dachshund I've ever seen. Polar opposites!

I might mention at this very moment the random fireworks going off in our neighborhood ARE NOT something these two enjoy.

Last but not least, it is the 4th of July and thinking about the men and women that have fought and are still fighting to make this the best country in the world to live in, moves me to tears. Thank you cannot BEGIN to express how much you and your families sacrifice mean to me.

Muffins and Mayhem!!!

2010-06-28T11:17:00.000-04:00

Just finished reading Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher (creator of *DearReader.com) and I highly recommend it. Part memoir, part cookbook, Suzanne shares some of her life experiences and lessons learned in this delightful book. Suzanne speaks to the reader candidly about life and it's ups and downs in a way we can all relate to. With a few tears and lots of laughs, this book is a joy to read! Check out the Muffins and Mayhem website for more information.

*DearReader.com is a site you need to check out. I may have blogged about it before ~ it's great. You can choose different "book clubs" and receive a daily excerpt of the featured book that week. Everyday Suzanne posts something on the e-mail as well. Might be a new recipe, a thought, reader mail, etc. I LOVE getting daily book excerpts and finding out about new authors, etc. Suzanne also has a feature known as AuthorBuzz that introduces you to 4-6 authors not featured on the daily read. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy it. Some weeks I don't look at any of the books, but most times I do. I've discovered authors that have become my favorite to read on AuthorBuzz. One of the best parts of the site though ~ you might be lucky enough to be the winner of a batch of Suzanne's famous Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!!!

It's very simple. Nothing to buy, no requirements to fulfill, no surveys, etc. Just great information. Check it out!

Happy Reading,

WOW

2010-06-23T00:04:00.000-04:00

If you read my last post, I introduced you to an author ~ Denise Hildreth Jones. Just about 15 minutes after I posted about her, I received another authors newsletter on my e-mail. The first entry on her newsletter read. . . "join me tomorrow night at The Book Exchange in Marietta, GA along with Maryann McFadden and Denise Hildreth. . . " Here in the south, we call that a God Thang!!!

I did a quick search to find out where the bookstore was and decided I could get there in about an hour. So after work today I took off for Marietta! Met a dear friend there who loves books as much as I do.

The Book Exchange folks were great hostesses and the authors were delightful. If you live in the Atlanta area I highly recommend you visit The Book Exchange.

I came home with signed copies of the authors newest books, and felt like I made lots of new friends, too.

I told you about Denise Hildreth in my previous post. Her newest book is Hurricanes in Paradise. Nichole Seitz's new book is Saving Cicadas. This is her fourth novel and she does all her own beautiful artwork for the covers. Maryann McFadden's newest is So Happy Together, set in Cape Cod. Her first novel, The Richest Season is set in Pawleys Island, SC. All three authors were informative, honest and a delight to talk with and listen to. Their writing comes from their hearts and is a gift to us. Check them out by clicking on their names and also check out The Book Exchange.

Happy Reading!

Great Blog Find

2010-06-21T12:03:00.000-04:00

There are times when I happen upon a blog through an e-mail or another blog, etc. and try to share. Denise Hildreth Jones is one I found today through dearreader.com (another story). Anyway, I've read some of Denise's book and loved them. She has a new one out that I look forward to reading. I've read . . .

I highly recommend them. Her new book is Hurricanes In Paradise. Just click on the title to read about it.

She is also a bible study teacher in her hometown of Franklin, TN. I will also be checking that out. I spent some time on her blog reading archives and learning what I could about her. I highly recommend her blog and books to you. Here is a post that really spoke to me today, and I hope it does you, too. I hope she forgives me for copying part of it and sharing it with you (I will tell her)!

. . .There is that weaned child place. The place of rest and peace. Where it can sit right beside it’s mother and never have to react in desperation for what it’s mother has. Because it knows that it will have whatever it needs. I’m been sitting in the passage in Psalms for over a week now. Psalms 131:2 ” But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.”

Not always easy is it? Sometimes we’re far more like the flailing child. Desperate. Panicked. Searching. Scared. Life is uncertain. Jobs are scarce. Money is tight. Marriage is hanging by a thread. Children are wreaking havoc on your nerves. Depression tightens like a noose and we flail. We react in panic. As if we will get more if we do. As if the answers will come quicker or sound different.

Yet there is a place of rest for the soul…a quiet confidence in our sustenance provider that removes the need for flailing. That tells us we can rest in the fact that He will supply all of our needs. Not one thing that we have need of will He not supply. Whether it is direction, provision, or simply peace in the fact that things are still unanswered. And in the middle of it all can be an inexpressible joy.. . . originally posted February 8, 2010 on denisehildreth.com.

Please take the time to read her post at in it's entirety HERE and I hope it blesses you like it blessed me!

Oil reaches Okaloosa Islands

2010-06-16T21:55:00.001-04:00

A friend shared this story with me tonight (click on the link below text to read it). The Destin area is beautiful and one of our favorite vacation spots. This is of course one of many tragic stories related to the oil spill.

Lots of prayers need to be sent up. The people that live and work in the affected areas, the business owners in the affected areas, our environment, and as unpolitically correct as it might be ~ BP, too. If they did not repair something or were truly negligent in what happened, then they will have to make amends.

I cannot imagine that they are not affected by the loss of life and environmental damage that has been done.

Oil reaches Okaloosa Islands beaches; assessment teams en route okaloosa, oil, teams - News - TheDestinLog.com

Fun summer giveaway

2010-06-15T13:19:00.000-04:00

Catching Fireflies is hosting a great summer giveaway! Check it out HERE. While you are visiting their site, check out their unique gift selection. And if you happen to win the contest, let me know!!!

Fun Pic Game

2010-06-14T14:58:00.000-04:00

This is a fun game! Go into your "My Pictures" or "Pictures" file. Go to the 8th folder and choose the 8th photo…post it. . . then tell the story.

This is a picture I scanned recently to send to the girl on the right in the pic! It is a picture of my brother, me and my parent's best friend's daughter, Sandy. Bobby and Sandy are the same age and I think I was about 12-18 months in this picture, they were like family and still are. We moved away from Dallas in 1971 when I was only 12 years old and I miss them terribly to this day. I just got to see Sandy in Dallas in March because her mom passed away. Still like family! What a great 8th folder, 8th picture to find!

I love books!

2010-05-26T11:34:00.002-04:00

I love to read and I am TERRIBLY behind in all that I want to read. Stacks of books all over. I read all genres and love some cute, funny chick lit at times. I read a lot of book blogs to get ideas and one I read recently had some . . . interesting. . . and very inviting titles. A friend of mine, Jenn, has read a lot of these and laughed until she cried. I gotta get to reading!!!!!

Jen Lancaster has a few attention grabbing titles:

Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, or, Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office

or you might like. . .

Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me?

Laurie Perry (her blog) has a couple of good ones, too. I've read and love. . .

Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair: The True-Life Misadventures of a 30-Something Who Learned to Knit After He Split

and I have her newest one in my stack to read . . .

Home Is Where the Wine Is: Making the Most of What You've Got One Stitch (and Cocktail!) at a Time

And one I have on a wish list ~ because I heard this as a young woman ~ OOOOOOOO so many times. . .

Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On!: What Southern Mamas Tell Their Daughters that the Rest of Y'all Should Know Too by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson. I will admit that when I heard it from mom years ago, it was more about holding my shoulders up. Now, I need to suck in my stomach (along with other parts of my body)!!!!!!!

Aside from some strong language, these books are REAL life.

Happy Reading! xx oo

2010-05-09T20:57:00.000-04:00

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. I was blessed to spend time with my family yesterday and today.

2010-05-07T10:06:00.000-04:00

Check out this great jewelry giveaway at The Vintage Pearl. Her stuff is gorgeous!

Girlfriends!

2010-05-06T11:14:00.004-04:00

Okay ~ so I have not posted for a while. I am a victim of Facebook, sorry. I've discovered a couple of websites to share. Don't know tons about them yet, but they seem fun!

One is Girlfriend-logy. It's all about celebrating, inspiring, and appreciating our "girlfriendness". Click the picture to check it out and join!

The other is It's Hip to Be Hot ~ Not your Momma's Menopause! If you know me personally or have read this blog at all, you know how I feel about all this girl stuff and HORRIBLE-MONES!!!!!! Amazing. This is a fun site. Click the picture and enjoy!

Nothing can compare to our girlfriends and their support ~ especially at this time and place in my life!!!!! We gotta find things to have fun and be blessed!
love ya'll

ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!!!!

2010-02-17T14:09:00.001-05:00

I love fun things and love giveaways. One of my favorite stores is having a giveaway and if you win from my suggestion I win, too!!! Catching Fireflies: Whimsical goodies that'll brighten your day! They have an online store HERE. Also brick and mortar stores in Berkley and Rochester, Michigan. CLICK HERE for the giveaway!

A Giveaway

2010-01-21T16:44:00.001-05:00

Busy Bee Lifestyle is sponsoring a Valentine Day Card giveaway from MINTED. Check them out for some gorgeous things! Also, while you are visiting Busy Bee, become a follower. You can enter the contest HERE
Good luck!!!

2010-01-04T23:47:00.001-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I've been a slacker on blogging this year and can't promise I will do any better, but I'll try. As I've said before, my resolution for a new year is to NOT make any resolutions, then I'm not disappointed or disappoint anyone else! Always works for me! I am looking at 2010 in a new light ~ with hope for peace, better economic times, a deeper faith and understanding in God, and healthier lifestyles and healthier family members ~ it's been a tough year for some. Hope you have great expectations and grand things planned for 2010.

Joy,

Another Giveaway Peeps!!!

2009-12-04T23:43:00.000-05:00

Big Mama, together with Hershey's, is giving away a $100 VISA gift card. Don't know which is sweeter ~ the Hershey kisses or the thought of winning the gift card right here at Christmas time!!!! Hop on over HERE to Big Mama's giveaway page and enter!!! After you enter, click on the Hershey's link and check out some great recipes. YUM!!!

GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

2009-12-02T21:08:00.002-05:00

WOW ~ what a giveaway. Kelly at fabulous k is having a huge holiday giveaway. Follow the button on the right and enter. This is one of my absolute favorite things about the addiction that is . . . bloggin'!!

2009-11-26T10:00:00.002-05:00

Wishing all a wonderful, peaceful Thanksgiving Day. Hope each and everyone of you have as many beautiful things to be thankful for as I do! Enjoy your day and take the time to give thanks and reflect on everyday blessings.

Joy,

Public Service Announcement

2009-11-20T23:56:00.000-05:00

Ever wondered how to quickly and effectively clean out that messy junk drawer? I can help.

1. Get ready to go to bed about 11:30 on a friday night after working all week.

2. Accidently knock the large, full glass of ice water you just set on the bedside table into the top drawer you just opened.

3. Quickly remover the drawer, run to the kitchen yelling "oh crap, oh crap, oh crap" (really that's as bad as I got), plug the kitchen sink and dump contents into a big drainer.

4. Wipe drawer clean and dry.

5. Begin replacing the 400 pens and pencils, several bookmarks, and at least a zillion elastic ponytail holders, every button you've ever gotten on a new garment in little tiny plastic baggies, an embarrassing number of reading glasses, and lots more junk I won't bore you with. Dry each one off as you replace it and throw away what's not needed (your hubby helping makes it more fun, just ask him).

6. Smile cause there ain't nothin' else you can do and slide the drawer back into the table. You can also be thinking about what drawer, box, closet, room, etc. that you might want to douse with water tomorrow so it will be cleaned out, too!!!!

Just wanted to be a blessing for all my interweb friends!!! Goodnight all

Pioneer Woman and Bakerella!

2009-11-02T14:16:00.003-05:00

I've mentioned Pioneer Woman on my blog before as one of my favorite sites. She's recently written a cookbook and you can sign up for a chance to win one on another of my favorite sites ~ Bakerella.
http://www.bakerella.com/the-pioneer-woman-knows-her-stuff/

After you've signed up to win the cookbook, take the time to read some of Bakerella stuff. It's great!!!

Don't really know why I am sharing about this, might have less chances to win myself!! hhhhmmmmmmm.

DipTacular 2009

2009-09-12T12:42:00.005-04:00

Because I love to be involved with important things, this specific "tacular" really got my attention because, like BooMama, I LOVE dips of most any kind.

Here is a great one that my daughter-in-law makes at every family gathering. I will warn you ~ it is NOT pretty when you begin putting it together, but it is GRRREEEAAATTTT!!!

Super Easy Black Bean Dip
1 can chili (no beans)
1 can black beans
8 oz. cream cheese
Dump it all in a pan and heat until melted, smooth and warm.

Check out other dips at BooMama's DipTacular

Fun Craft!!

2009-08-25T20:50:00.003-04:00

Cute huh??? This weekend was Institute with the Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs and the Sunday morning brunch theme was denim and pearls. These were the centerpieces! The girl that made them found toddler jeans at the thrift stores and used Plaid Stiffy Stuff, then formed them. Some were bent, some wiggly like toddlers, some just straight like the one in the picture. I think these would make a GREAT baby shower thing ~ using a cloth diaper. The possibilities are endless.

You can get Plaid Stiffy at most craft stores, some Walmart stores, and online. Just one little hint ~ DO NOT google stiffy stuff.

If you do make something fun, share it with me!!!

Have fun, Bitsy

Summer Promise Giveaway!!!!

2009-08-11T19:46:00.002-04:00

"Get a free, abridged MP3 audiobook on August 15! ONE DAY ONLY! Author Robin Jones Gunn is giving away the abridged MP3 of Summer Promise, the first book in the best-selling Christy Miller Series for teens. The audiobook will be available for download from her online shop: http://www.shop.robingunn.com. It will be free from midnight (PDT) on August 14 to midnight (PDT) August 15. Don't forget to download your copy and to tell your friends!

"Also, on August 14 from 5-7 p.m. (PDT), Robin is hosting an online party on her Facebook fan page. She'll be answering questions and "mingling" with all of the party guests. To learn more about the party and to join in, go to Robin's fan page here:

http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#/robinjonesgunn?ref=name."

Here's a brief description of Summer Promise:"Fourteen-year-old Christy Miller has the dream summer ahead of her in sun-kissed California, staying at her aunt and uncle's home. Aunt Marti loves to shop, and those surfers are cute, especially Todd. Christy promised her parents she wouldn't do anything she'd regret later, and some of her beach friends are a little wild. But Todd and his "God-Lover" friends are giving a Christy a new image of all things eternal. Can this summer live up to its promise?"

Unblogging!?!

2009-07-30T21:11:00.002-04:00

I ate lunch with a great friend today and was told that I needed to "step it up a bit" with the blogging, and put up more posts. I explained that apparently my life was so exciting and busy that I did not have time, or that it was boring! So I will try to be better!!!

I do have exciting news ~ I became a Great-Great Aunt this week. My sister is older than I am and had her 2 girls soon after marrying at 18 and I was an aunt at 3 years old. My 2 nieces had three children each. The oldest great niece married a couple of years ago and had a beautiful, bouncing baby boy this week.

The only sad part is that they live about 8 hours away ~ so it will be a while till I get to hold him. Thank goodness for technology, I have lots of pictures.

So Jennifer, thanks for the push, and I promise to post something equally exciting again soon!!! Like, tomorrow is my hubby's birthday!!!!

love ya'll

Quick lunch and dessert

2009-07-19T19:07:00.006-04:00

I made an quick and easy Bruschetta with fresh garden tomatoes for lunch today. Peeled and chopped tomatoes (amount depends on how hungry you are). Drain most of the juice. I mixed it with some Kraft Tuscan House Italian Dressing (cause that's what I had), added a few finely chopped vidalia onions. I let it sit for about 30 minutes in the fridge. Sliced french bread, brushed it with olive oil and toasted it. We ate the tomato mix over the toasted bread with grated mozzarella cheese.

THEN . . .
This was an EASY dessert!!! A lady at work made this the other day for a birthday lunch and I loved it!

Ingredients
12-14 vanilla ice cream sandwiches
1 jar caramel ice cream topping
1 jar hot fudge topping
8 oz. container of Cool Whip
chopped pecans

Cut ice cream sandwiches to fit in casserole dish (I used 9 x 9). Layer as follows:
1/2 ice cream sandwiches, caramel topping, chopped pecans, small layer of cool whip, rest of the ice cream sandwiches, caramel topping and pecans. Cover and store in freezer for 3 hours or so. Remove from freezer and top with remaining cool whip and drizzle with hot fudge. Let sit for about 20 minutes before serving!!!

2009-07-08T19:08:00.004-04:00

THIS IS NOT A JOKE!!!!! Although it is funny, except for the squirrel. Went to lunch today with friends. As we were getting in my friend's car at the college, someone saw this in the grill of her Lexus:

Poor guy apparently crawled into the wheel well and tried to come out the grill. We went on to the restaurant and happened to park right in front of the door. According to the hostess, the car was the entertainment for everyone coming and going. People (especially the men) were bending down and taking pics. Thankfully cameras do not have a smell feature. After an hour in the hot sun. . . WHEW.

When we returned to the college, people were coming from all the buildings to see it. Even the President and Vice President. It obviously does not take much to entertain us these lazy days of summer in the south.

She called the Lexus dealer because the grill was cracked. They did not believe her. Needless to say, she headed straight to the dealership to show them. Can't wait to find out what they said!

A Family Fairy Tale

2009-06-02T22:36:00.010-04:00

Once upon a time there was a man and a woman who decided their kingdom needed a new queen. They looked far and wide until they found the perfect one. They crowned her Miss Delilah Grace, calling her Missy.

The queen led a wonderful life. Pampered by the man and woman, she ruled her castle with a stubborn, yet loving demeanor. The years passed quickly and the queen accepted and began to love the man and woman’s grandsons and friends, as they spoiled her as well.

As the queen began to get a little older and gray around the temples, the man and woman pampered her even more and made sure she was always comfortable. The queens eyes were not the same and she slowed her pace a little, but she still had spunk and brought the man and woman lots of joy.

Around the 11th year of the queen’s reign the man, who must have begun drinking too much of the moat water, suggested to the woman that they present the queen with a princess. After examination of the man’s sanity, and seeing the chosen princess’s face, she agreed. They crowned the princess Good Golly Miss Molly, and called her Molly. The princess looked much like the queen as a child.

The queen, realizing her old and senile people must have lost their minds, felt sorry for them and accepted the new princess, albeit from a distance. The princess loved her queen and wanted to be close to her and love on her all the time. The queen, not being quite as affectionate, “talks” to the princess in a low, deep, growly type of sound. The queen’s people work hard to keep peace in the castle.

About 6 weeks passed and the queen and princess formed a shaky, yet tolerant relationship. The queen just did not understand her younger generation.

The man and woman, seriously examining their decision making abilities, pray that they will all live happily ever after. They ask for your prayers as well (cause they’re really gonna need ‘em)!

The End

A peaceful time in the castle when the man and woman rest!

BOOK FAIR!!!

2009-05-12T18:21:00.014-04:00

I am a sucker for book fairs/sales. A Scholastic Warehouse sale came to town for two days and our education division spent a few $'s and our lunchtime there today. I actually did VERY well. Left spending less than $50, which is a record for me. The ladies told us there was one about 45 minutes south with 5 times the inventory and we almost headed south, but restrained ourselves.
However, when I looked up the website to link above for all of my faithful 5 or so readers, I realized you can enter your zip code and find sales in your area. GUESS WHAT, there is a another warehouse sale about 15 minutes north in Tennessee ~ at my high school Alma mater. I feel a road trip coming on!!!

I will share my few purchases with you. Most of the time I go for kid's books ~ but if you could see the kid's books on my bookshelf, you'd know why I avoided them!!!

For the grandson's (especially the 13 year old who loves trivia, etc) I got How to Hold a Crocodile: Plus Hundreds of Other Practical Tips, Fascinating Facts and Wicked Wisdom. It's a Firefly Book and they do lots of cool stuff.

Joey Green's Fix-It Magic. He was featured on Good Morning America some time ago and is a hoot. Click on his name and it will take you to his website.

For a special little girl's birthday in June, I got a Klutz kit ~ Paper Fashions, Design Your Own Styles! I LOVE Klutz stuff. I am not sure if I like this more than she will. Maybe her mom will let me come play with her!!!!!

Also picked up two little Pocket Posh Puzzle Books from The Puzzle Society ~ Sudoku for my daughter-in-law and word roundup for hubby (his is not purple, it's dark burgundy).

Look for one in your area and share what you bought, too.

Wakeup call

2009-05-07T09:00:00.005-04:00

Wakeup calls come fast and furious the older you get! Last night I was looking in a magazine at a makeover article. The ones where they show the before and after pic! I've always enjoyed seeing those, but not last night. As I looked at some of the before pics, I realized that I kinda look "before"!!! YIKES

Molly

2009-05-02T15:56:00.004-04:00

Who can resist this???

She went for her 9 week shots yesterday and she weighs a whoppin' 3 lbs., 14 oz. Healthy except for a little hernia. Doc said it can be fixed when we "fix" her at about 6 months old.

Sisterchicks!!!

2009-05-02T15:07:00.010-04:00

I LOVE the Sisterchicks books written by Robin Jones Gunn, best selling author and speaker.

Each book features two sisterchicks (friends) who take off on an adventure or a dream vacation or destination. Book number 8 will be available in stores on May 5, 2009!!!! I highly recommend it, along with all the others.

SISTERCHICKS IN WOODEN SHOES ~ "Summer and Noelle, two pen pals since 4th grade, meet for the first time in the land of tulips and windmills. An abnormal mammogram sends Summer on a quest to fulfill her lifelong wish before she begins the same struggle her mother fought against breast cancer. The story of these two Sisterchicks is brimming with hope and cheer and will bring encouragement for any woman who has faced a fearful future."

Read about Robin Jones Gunn and the other Sisterchick novels at the following sites. There is also a great devotional ~ Take Flight!

http://www.robingunn.com/index.html
http://www.sisterchicks.com/home.aspx

sign up for her newsletter here:
http://www.robingunn.com/html/newsletter.html

Robin Jones Gunn modeling wooden shoes

My women's ministry group at church participated in a book review for the publisher, Multnomah Publishing Group, for the second sisterchick book, Sisterchicks Do The Hula. We received copies of the book, stickers, decals, feathers, bookmarks, participant questionnaires, and a lot more goodies.

Check it out ~ Happy Reading

Easter Puppy!

2009-04-12T17:02:00.005-04:00

Old people cannot make rational decisions and cannot be trusted when left alone!!!!!!!! Look what the Easter Bunny brought us!!!!!! I arrived home from a spring break trip about 11:45 last night and walked in the door to find this!!!!! It's another dachshund (we have a 10 year old one now). We'd discussed getting this, but just could not justify another expense ~ but how anyone resist here??? Hubs picked her up on Wed. of last week. She is adorable. The 10 year old does not like her but tolerates her ~ I think she thinks it's a rat!!!!! Our 10 year also looks just like the puppy's mother and we think the puppy wants to nurse!!!

Introducing Molly!!

And another thing!!!!!

2009-04-01T21:48:00.006-04:00

SWIMSUIT SHOPPING!!! This must be the most depressing event of the season. I don't have a pool, or belong to a country club, or go swimming all that much (even though I LOVE it). But I needed a new bathing suit to take to Florida.

If you read my previous post, you might understand that this is not good timing for trying on bathing suits. There are LOTS to choose from, all styles, prices, colors, etc. There are suits with little skirts to "hide" things! Well, on me it says, "Look, I got a big ole butt and cottage cheese thighs and I'm trying to cover it up". There are tankini's with skirts and tops and the skirts do the same as stated above! Then there are shorts and tops. The shorts are hip hugger, which causes a bad case of muffin top and the top is short and pops up over the muffin!!! I AM NOT KIDDING HERE!!! Then there are the ones that have the tag hanging on them that says ~ lose 10 lbs. instantly. GUESS WHAT ~ that ten lbs. that the spandex squeezes in has to go somewhere. Can you say large curd cottage cheese. hahahahahahahahahahaha

Aren't muu muus or caftans back in style?

And speaking of yesterday's post, look at the tissues I found today!!!!

Getting Old!

2009-03-30T10:16:00.004-04:00

I've decided that when I enter the gates of Heaven, the first thing I plan on doing is meeting Jesus face to face and thanking him for all he did for me.

Then, I will hug my mom, dad, my Godmother, grandparents, and all the other people who've gone before me!

BUT THEN ~ I'm going to have a conversation with God about menopause! Good Lord, what in the world is all this about???????

Whatever place I'm in right now, pre-menopause, mid-menopause, final stages of menopause is just RIDICULOUS!!! I can go from euphoria to depression in a matter of minutes. My face and skin are doing things they did not do as a teenager. I am ginormous and can't seem to lose weight.

I have decided that having to eat my words is probably as much to blame as Panera bread, hubby's cakes, and stuff. All those years of saying "Oh, I will never do that. . . never get that way. . . mom's crazy, that won't happen." HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ~ My thighs and the backs of my legs look like cottage cheese. By the way, NEVER, and I mean NEVER, look at yourself naked from behind!!! SCARY.

I can smile, talk to people, and carry on somewhat nice conversations, all the while thinking I could just slap the snot out of them. WHERE is that coming from???? I have a VERY short fuse, and get frustrated with myself and others easily. I've referred to hormones as HORRIBLEMONES for years now!

Thankfully, it is only a season and I can make fun of myself, right???? Show the grace, and southern gentility I was taught from my mother? Yea, you go right ahead and believe that!!!

But I do plan on riding this wave with as much fun as I can muster!!! Thought I would share this e-mail I sent to my office co-workers this morning:

I thought I might need to let some of you know that I will be out of the office next week April 6-10. Pray for me, as I am going to Florida with my best friend from Nashville and FIVE 18 year old senior high school girls!!!!! They're hormonal, I'm hormonal ~ should be a fun time!!!! Watch for the Girls Gone Wild version

of "Grandmas at the Beach" coming soon. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I keep teasing my friend's daughter that she will have to compete against me in the wet t-shirt contest and she will lose because they will have to aim the camera lower to see mine and then won't be able to see hers!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ain't life grand?????

BLING GIVEAWAY!!!

2009-03-17T22:47:00.004-04:00

One of the best things about blogging is finding wonderfully creative people out there!

Pixisette Jewelry is one of them. Another great jewelry artist, Erin at Vintage Pearl is having a giveaway for Pixisette for these!!! Just visit Vintage Pearl and sign up for the giveaway.

After you enter the contest, check out Vintage Pearls handstamped jewelry at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5135533.

A girl can NEVER have too many purties!!!!!!

BAD TV

2009-03-14T21:32:00.007-04:00

We have Direct TV and 5 gazillion channels and they all stink! That's not Direct TV's fault of course, just TV in general. So this evening, believe it or not, hubby and I have watched a marathon of (I REALLY hate to admit this) Bridezilla! Yes, that's right ~ YIKES!!!! Most of the time with our mouths hanging open and we are laughing!!!!

THEN ~ Not to be topped, a show came on in the middle of the the marathon. Surprise Wedding! Talk about sitting with our mouths hanging open! Five women tell their boyfriends that they've won a free trip to Vegas for a supposed makeover. They actually spend the week shopping for rings and wedding dresses. Their boyfriends get to join them at the end of the week to see the "makeover". As you can figure out by the title of the show, they men come out to find their girlfriends in wedding gowns. SURPRISE ~ It's your wedding!!!! The guys get to go off stage and think about their decision. They even get a 30 second lifeline telephone call (the show was produced by the people who did Who Wants to be a Millionaire?).

All the men came out and agreed to the marriage! Can you imagine if they didn't? It would be the Bachelor Debacle all over again ~ right on National TV!!!! And walla, a Chaplain appears and marries them instantly. AMAZING is all I can say.

But really, I can't say a lot. We sat here and watched the entire two hours, watched 5 couples get married without a long engagement or stressful wedding preparations, and it was all free!!! Two couples even won a honeymoon to Hawaii. So who are the stupid ones?????

Oh but don't worry ~ romance isn't dead in our house. Hubby and I are coming up on our 23rd anniversary. Hubby just suggested that on our 25th wedding anniversary, we renew our vowels.

A E I O U ya'll!!!

The Debacle formally known as The Bachelor!

2009-03-04T22:14:00.003-05:00

I have to admit, I watched it, even after I SWORE I would not. I've only watched one entire season ~ and that was the first one aired. Monday night a friend called and told me that the final rose ceremony was going to be the best ever and an unbelievable twist with the AFTR hour.

So we watched it together somewhat, by calling each other about every 10 minutes and saying things like, "this is sooo stupid", "I can't believe I am watching this", "Jason is a turd" (although we really like what Melissa called him better!!!), "what is ABC thinking", etc.
But did we turn the TV off??? NOOOOOOOOO, of course not.

Then last night I sat right here and watched another hour of crap about it!!!! hahahahahahahaha.

There hasn't been this much hoopla in the news since Obama was elected!!!! I don't even want to think about what that says about us. YIKES!!!!!!

Anticipation. . .

2009-02-26T17:39:00.002-05:00

I HAZ IT!!!
Can you tell I've been looking at LOL dogs and cats? At least 12 years ago, my father-in-law planted a dilapidated, pitiful Camellia bush in the yard between our house and theirs. He just hated to dispose of it, so he stuck it in the ground and never did a thing to it. Now, it is a beautiful shaped 10 foot bush that blooms every year! I see it every morning outside my bathroom window. It is beautiful in full bloom, so I will share pics of that when it happens. Occasionally, we get a freeze that messes it up, but rarely!!!!!

Ring around the head!!!!!

2009-02-25T12:26:00.007-05:00

Yesterday I went to get my hair colored ~ painted as I sometimes say. I've been going to the same lady for sometime and she puts the same color on everytime. I am boring, I admit. My hair is gray, began graying when I was 16 years old. A friend and I were looking at my "bad" roots this weekend and joked that I'd moved from salt and pepper to LOTS of salt!!!!!!!

My hairdresser was out of my color yesterday and mixed two colors for me. Well, apparently, my hair grabbed the "warm" one and I am now donning red roots. An inch or so of red on blondish brown DOES NOT look good, especially when I often pull my hair back!

I've attached a pic, even drew a line for you, but it does not do my ring around the head justice. Suffice it to say, I have an appointment this afternoon to fix this!!!!!!

On another note, WHAT IS UP with the pithy, ugly looking forehead. I cropped the pic to show just the hairline and also because a picture looking down on a face is scary. My next trip will be to get a facial! GEEZ, getting old is H*$^#%*LL.

FUNNY NAME GAME TAG

2009-02-10T22:19:00.002-05:00

NAME GAME
Share
1.YOUR REAL NAME:
Since I don't use my name on this blog, I had to cheat a little, but trust I used the correct letters. Hilarious!!!!

2.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME:(mother and fathers middle names)
Joyce Lynn

3.NASCAR NAME:(first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)
Pitt Charles (is that not a great NASCAR name, his name really was Pitt!)

4.STAR WARS NAME:(the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)Chama

5.DETECTIVE NAME:(favorite color, favorite animal)
Pink Dog

6.SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, town where you were born)
Elizabeth Ft. Worth

7.SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning)
The Chartreuse Diet

8.FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
Mack

9.STREET NAME:(fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
Heath Chocolate Chip

10. PORN NAME: (1st pet's name, street you grew up on)
Kelsey Lathrop

11.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of last name plus izzle)Chaizzle

12. YOUR IRAQI.. NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, first two letters of your middle name, last two letters of your first name then last three letters of your last name):
Aaelryick

13.YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets)
Black Missy

14. STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav candy)
Chanel M&M

NO MORE CATS PLEASE!!!

2009-02-05T15:41:00.007-05:00

As you read on the previous post ~ we had a guest (uninvited by the way) the last couple of days. I called for cats to help with the situation because our dog seems to be too old or snoring too loud to help! Turns out old and snoring wasn't the only problem ~ she had been acting a little unusual and we found out she had a tapeworm or tapeworms or whatever ~ I did not need to know more than that. Can you say YUCK!!!!!!!

We do have another guest (invited) that stays some nights during the week because she lives about 45 minutes to an hour from work and stays in town from time to time with us. Last night, she came in from working out at the local gym to pick up some clothes she'd left at the house and then head to her house. We urged her to stay because she was so tired and it was freezing! She would not stay, had to wash clothes, etc.

A few minutes after she left, as I was reading a magazine, I looked hubby and said, "You know, I can't blame Jenn for not wanting to stay. Within two minutes of her walking in the door, we shared with her that we had a mouse in the house and the dog had worms, I really did not want to stay here either"!

I am happy to report that the little critter has been captured and the dog has been to the vet and is fine now. So I feel much better about the house now. However, hubby did add at the end of our conversation this morning after discovering the catch, that he would set another one, just in case the little critter had family members. WHAT?????

Anybody need some company, I'm on the way! Can I bring Jenn?

Calling all cats!

2009-02-04T19:15:00.002-05:00

We are not a cat family, but apparently we need one. The dog is old it seems and does not protect like she used to in the way of chasing things away. Tuesday morning about 2am I heard (over the soft sound of my CPAP machine) something rootin' round (that's Southern for looking through to find. . . ) in the little box that sits on hubs shelf beside the bed. I listened a minute, and heard nothing more, so I assumed hubs found what he needed.

Just a few moments later I heard something moving across his shoes at the end of the bed. I immediately thought it was the dog, she gets up at night and walks around. I quickly realized that the dog was sleeping soundly on the floor just beside my bed, and snoring. I woke hubs and he looked around (just to appease me). He saw nothing and decided that my CPAP must be making some sort of noise.

This morning he shared that the noise from my machine had begun rootin' again!!!! Precious huh, some sweet little critters came to visit, felt our home was warm and inviting. Again, the dog slept right through it.

So now there are a few traps set throughout the house. I DO HOPE that hubs realizes that if I hear one of the traps trip, especially if I'm lying in my bed, I might just run outside ~ cold or not! Look for me on your doorstep sometime later tonight!!!!!!

Wanna Win a Printer????

2009-02-03T23:02:00.003-05:00

I do ~ and I entered to win this one over at http://www.mayhewreview.com/?p=87 Check it out!!!!

2009-01-31T11:18:00.005-05:00

Have you had a day like this lately???? Glad this week is over and it's the weekend.

Great Strides for Nathan

2009-01-27T23:04:00.002-05:00

My friend Jenn lost a great friend just a few weeks ago to Cystic Fybrosis. He lived longer than most with this horrible disease. From what Jenn shared about Nathan, I believe God had a lot for him to do on this earth ~ and that he did. I did not know Nathan, but feel like I did through Jenn.

One description of Nathan from her, "He was a best friend, a landlord, a GuitarHero buddy, an outdoorsman, and an occasional PDR. His door was always open... even as he was administering his meds. He was objective advice, good jokes, words of truth, and a ray of God's love in all of our lives. He was a groomsman, friend from high school, a fraternity brother, a co-worker, and the consummate event organizer (trust me when I say I have BIG shoes to fill!)." From all the comments about Nathan, it seems he did more in his lifetime, even in his worst days, than most of us much older.

I've added a button on my blog that will take you right to the site for the Team Nathan 5K run to raise money and eradicate this horrible disease! Click and join in the race by running, walking, or pledging. Won't you join us?

You can read Jenn's message about this at http://www.delightfullycliche.com/2009/01/nathan-cf-great-strides.html

Tallulah Falls School

2009-01-25T21:19:00.010-05:00

I have not taken the time this week to post pics from my trip to Tallulah Falls last weekend. We had a wonderful, restful time and fellowship with great friends. The pictures don't do justice to the snow we woke up to on Sunday morning. HUGE flakes!!! Nothing much better than spending a peaceful morning, watching snowfall, drinking coffee and sitting in front of a warm fire with friends. Fortunately (since we had to drive home) or unfortunately (because we did not get snowed in and have to stay) the snow did not last long or cause any unsafe driving conditions.

The Saturday night dinner at Tallulah Falls School was also a big treat. Part of the bell choir played for us. Some of the students were away playing basketball at a neighboring school.

I strongly urge you to visit the area.

A Meme

2009-01-19T21:08:00.005-05:00

Jenn tagged me with this and I've answered her exact list. I am sure I could come up with places/things I've been/done, and more than likely thinks I'd liked to do. But this is enough for now I would imagine!!!

1. Started your own blog -- yes, 1
2. Slept under the stars - yes!
3. Played in a band - no
4. Visited Hawaii - no
5. Watched a meteor shower - yes!!!
6. Given more than you can afford to charity - yes!!
7. Been to Disneyland/world - yes, and going for the 2nd time in June
8. Climbed a mountain - maybe a little one!!!
9. Held a praying mantis - yes, yuck
10. Sang a solo - yes, yuck again!!!
11. Bungee jumped -no
12. Visited Paris - no
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - yes!
15. Adopted a child - yes, actually!!
16. Had food poisoning - yes
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty - no
18. Grown your own vegetables - yes
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France - no
20. Slept on an overnight train - no, but would love to!
21. Had a pillow fight - yes, several
22. Hitch hiked - yes, as much as I hate to admit it. Long time ago though
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - I won't answer in case the boss reads this! LOL
24. Built a snow fort - snow man maybe???
25. Held a lamb - yes
26. Gone skinny dipping - oh yeah!!!!
27. Run a Marathon - no
28. Ridden in a gondola - no
29. Seen a total eclipse - yes
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - yes, several of both
31. Hit a home run - in high school
32. Been on a cruise - no
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person- yes!
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors - no
35. Seen an Amish community - yes
36. Taught yourself a new language - if pig Latin counts!!! LOL
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - yes
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person- no
39. Gone rock climbing - no
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David - no
41. Sung karaoke - yes, yuck again
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt - no
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant - yes
44. Visited Africa - no
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight - yes
46. Been transported in an ambulance - yes :(
47. Had your portrait painted - yes
48. Gone deep sea fishing - no
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person - no
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris - no
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - yes
52. Kissed in the rain - yes!!! :)
53. Played in the mud - yes 5
54. Gone to a drive-in theater - yes
55. Been in a movie - no (was in a taping of a comedy DVD for a Christian artist)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China? - no
57. Started a business - yes
58. Taken a martial arts class - only once, that's all it took to tell me it WAS NOT my thing
59. Visited Russia - no
60. Served at a soup kitchen - yes
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - yes
62. Gone whale watching - no
63. Gotten flowers for no reason - yes!!!! :)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - yes, often
65. Gone sky diving - no
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp - no
67. Bounced a check - aaahhhh, yes :(
68. Flown in a helicopter - yes
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - yes
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial - yes
71. Eaten Caviar - yes, YUCK
72. Pieced a quilt - helped with one
73. Stood in Times Square - no (but the one who tagged me is going to take me there)
74. Toured the Everglades - no
75. Been fired from a job - yes
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in Arlington - only on video when TFS students did it
77. Broken a bone - yes
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - yes
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person - no
80. Published a book - no
81. Visited the Vatican - no
82. Bought a brand new car - yes
83. Walked in Jerusalem - no
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - yes
85. Read the entire Bible - yes
86. Visited the White House - yes
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - no
88. Had chickenpox - yes ~ gotta a scar on my forehead to prove it!
89. Saved someone’s life - no
90. Sat on a jury - yes :(
91. Met someone famous - yes
92. Joined a book club - yes
93. Lost a loved one - yes
94. Had a baby - no
95. Seen the Alamo in person - yes
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake - no
97. Been involved in a lawsuit - yes
98. Owned a cell phone - yes
99. Been stung by a bee - yes

WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

2009-01-18T22:28:00.005-05:00

Actually Wii. As you can see from the pics below, my grandsons are deprived of fun things. Since tomorrow is a school holiday and I'm off, too, they came to spend the night tonight and spend the day with us tomorrow. The youngest got a Wii for Christmas and brought it with him. What you see pictured is what they brought for one night and one day!!!! I thought I might be a little busy ~ but instead I am going to have to go to our Chiropractor and our Orthopedic surgeon. I bowled, golfed, and played baseball on the Wii. I am doing well to type this post ~ WHEW is all I have to say!!

Also pictured are the iPODS they got for Christmas and birthday. When you combine, 2 and 1/2 sets of grandparents, an aunt, two uncles, parents, an October b'day, Christmas, and a January b'day, this time of year is a BLAST!!! I will be back online after my surgery!!!

OKAY, OKAY

2009-01-16T09:18:00.008-05:00

I was left a message yesterday that if I did not update my blog that a certain "anonymous" person was going to get someone of greater power to step in. I could lie and tell you that I have just been so busy and overrun with such excitement in my life that I did not have time ~ but since there is a threat of that greater power coming after me already, I better tell the truth. There is nothing that exciting to tell and I have been lazy since the holidays!!!!!

Actually there are some fun things going on! Today, our youngest grandson turns 7 years old. That is just too much to take. He began rec. dept. basketball last night and it is a blast watching them. He is going to have a Nana and Papa day with us on Monday since I will be out of town this weekend and will miss his party.

I am going to one of my favorite places today ~ Tallulah Falls, GA. I am an active member of the Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs and we own and operate a private boarding school, Tallulah Falls School. GaFWC recently built a lodge up there and that is where we will stay. The school is 100 years old this year and there are several celebrations going on. This weekend is to honor current and past State and District Presidents. I am a past District President and serve on the Tallulah Falls School Board of Trustees so I head up there this afternoon. I can't wait to see everyone!

I did get hit on in Walmart yesterday. I realize as I type those words that they don't even need an explanation, because ALL sorts of stuff begins to go through the mind at this point! I was looking at Wii stuff for my grandson's birthday when a man, maybe in his 30's, with almost all his teeth, and a big grin on his face, came around a corner and almost ran into me. He apologized, stopped and looked at me, then said, "You have really pretty hair." I said thank you and kept on looking at Wii things, he kept on looking at me, which was needless to say, a little creepy. He walked away a minute or two later and did not say anything else to me. Weird!!!

I did buy myself a new toy!!! I have decided that I am not a scrapbooker/crafter, but just someone who collects scrapbooking, crafting, paper making, stamping, etc. products and stores them in a back bedroom, calling it a craft room! I would post a picture of this so called craft room, but would be WAY TOO embarrassed. If I ever get myself together and decide to finally clean the thing up, I might take before and after pics ~ but don't hold your breath out that interpeeps!!!

My new toy is a SLICE by Making Memories. It is a small, lightweight die cutter. I said I was not going to purchase anymore stuff until I cleaned up the room and began working on things again ~ but QVC (yes, I hate to admit it), a special offer and exclusive designs at 12:45 am was way too hard to pass up!!! It does some fun things and here are just a few! Obviously, the SLICE did not make the magnet ~ it' just a bonus for you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2009-01-01T12:00:00.003-05:00

Here we go again ~ another year gone and a fresh new one to look forward to. It's been a tough year, so I look forward to 2009! Did anyone do anything fun last night? Hubby and I stayed home, ate a wonderful steak dinner and watched GA Tech get pounded. It was a nice, quiet evening! Today we will have family over to eat New Year's Day dinner. The southern tradition is to eat black eyed peas and greens. Problem is, no one likes them in my family except me, so cream potatoes and green beans will have to do today!!!!! Simple, edible and makes the little ones happy.

I've made no resolutions this year either. Lose weight, get more exercise, eat right, get organized, spend less, save more, etc. have been used to death! Last year, I said that my resolution was not to make a resolution, that way I would not be disappointed!!!!!

So I hope everyone is looking forward to this new year with new opportunities to spend time with and love on your family, make a difference in someones life, and letting go of all the old hurts, disappointments, bitterness, and failures.

I begin a new bible study next week, Beth Moore's Esther, and I will strive to grow in God's word and pray for my family, friends, church, work, our country, and others liked I've never prayed before. We all could use it, don't you think????

Love and New Year wishes to all of you!

Odds and Ends

2008-12-24T23:08:00.007-05:00

I have to give credit to friends blogs, e-mails, and word of mouth for these tidbits, but they are worth your time!!!

(From Butterbean) This might be the SWEETEST stories I've read lately.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373

(From Butterbean) The Archway Bakery in Ashland, OH closed this fall and 300 workers lost their jobs. Lance (cracker co) bought Archway. They immediately gave 60 people their jobs back, seniority & benefits...and hope to give the rest theirs as well. In addition, the company gave all 300 employees $1500 gift cards! I wrote them an email and said that although we haven't bought Lance before, we will now b/c of their actions. What a cool way to share the Christmas spirit!!!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/23/cookie.factory.reopens/index.html

Hubby saw a story about this church and we found this site about it. BEAUTIFUL!
http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Rothenburg/Tour/JacobsChurchInterior01.html

My grandsons introduced this YouTube video today and we've laughed over and over!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOiF_qdQLI

From my friend Jenn at Delightfully Cliche. She introduced me to this group ~ Straight No Chaser. It's an a cappella group and they are GREAT. Check them out at http://www.sncmusic.com/. I downloaded their new Christmas CD, Holiday Spirits, and have listened to it quite a bit.

Last but not least from my sister ~

And the stockings were hung . . . .

2008-12-20T12:31:00.005-05:00

I finished the stockings last night and am actually pleased, I hope the kids and grandkids like them!

Now I'll being wrapping packages and get some more Christmas spirit going! Our poor doggie got sick last night (all over the house actually, and I won't share the details since I love ya'll). Apparently dogs decide they need to "hide" the results of their sickness and she'd rubbed her nose on the carpet (and in other things) so much that the top of her nose was red raw. Suffice it to say, hubby would rather have taken the dog to the vet than stay and clean up. She is now in the doggie hospital with an IV and will have to stay until at least Monday. Yippee, a vet bill ~ Merry Christmas to us!!!!!!

Happy Ho-Ho to Ya'll

It's the Tour of Homes!

2008-12-15T10:23:00.018-05:00

Boo Mama is hosting another Tour of Homes! Here are a few pics from this years decorations. Not much change from last year. I did include some pics of stockings I've made. They are made from felt and have not been "attached" to the stocking or sewn yet. They are just pics of the cutouts! Enjoy and visit more homes here! Click on any picture to enlarge it.

UPDATE ~ Stockings are completed now and hanging from the mantle. Check them out here!

The mantle looks rather sparse and boring, any suggestions in the pic, but it's beside the tree and there is a book case full of stuff to the left of it. The other pic is my kitchen window!!

Stocking layouts! They will have a little more top detail, etc.

Merry Ho Ho

My blog wrote to me!!!!

2008-12-13T00:36:00.003-05:00

I received an e-mail from my blog today. This is what it said ~

Dear Bitsy,
You may not remember me. I am your blog. Maybe you'd like to visit me again before Christmas. Of course, if your goal is to blog twice a month, you have 20 days left. I know you're busy, but you're wasting my super cute background. Step away from the Christmas cookies and log on.
Love,
Your blog

It's nice to know I was missed, so I answered it back:

Dear Blog,

I am really sorry I've ignored you this month. Obviously I lead a very boring, mundane life and have nothing to tell the world wide webbers. I will try to correct that ASAP!!!!! Thanks for your concern and love. Forever yours!

I WON!!!!

2008-12-13T00:12:00.005-05:00

I got an AWARD! Or may be a wake up call!!! I am sitting here beside my pretty tree with only the computer and the tree lights. Jenn at Delightfully Cliche tagged me with this and reminded me that I LOVE Christmas. The award (and the fact that it's really peaceful sitting here) made me realize that I CANNOT freak out and get all "oh my, what am I going to do, it's 12 days until Christmas" moody. But do any of you out there realize that it's

12 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS????

Just thought I'd ask.

In accordance with the award, I must do the following: (The Rules are simple!) You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award. The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas.You must link back to the person who gave you the award. You must list 5 things that you love about Christmas. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space! Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 45; it's up to you. But, you must pass it on to at least one person in order to keep the Christmas cheer going!

Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment on their blog.
Okay... so the things I love about Christmas:

I love. . .

Celebrating the Christ child's birth

Giving presents (especially to grand kids)

Cookies!!!!!

Santas

Christmas music

Church celebrations (Angel Breakfast, Babies 1st Christmas, Special music presentations)

Celebrating with family and watching the little ones (actually they are getting WAY too big) play.

Surprising people with fun/special gifts

Decorations

A week off from work!!!!!!!

Now, I will link back to Jenn and tag friends Amy, Kathy, Patty, and anyone else who wants to play along!!!

Merry Ho-Ho :)

Hahahahahahahahahahaha

2008-12-01T19:24:00.006-05:00

I work with a precious lady that is ADDICTED to Rice Krispies treats! I found this and decided I would make it for her.

Now before I reveal the results let me say: 1. I am normally a very crafty person. 2. I got up at 5:00 am this morning, after a holiday weekend to drive 3 hours to Macon for a meeting at 9:00. 3. I left Macon at 3:00 pm and hit Atlanta traffic. 4. I got home, ate dinner and decided (surely in a stupor) to make this to take to my friend in the morning. All I can say now is ~ This is the house that love built!!!

It's Here!!!!

2008-11-29T22:59:00.002-05:00

Has the Christmas season snuck up on you ~ or is it just me??? Didn't we just take all the decorations down and put them away? OH, and that Christmas fund . . . . where did that go? Needless to say, all my best laid plans of having the holiday season under control this year have gone terribly awry.

Did anyone brave shopping yesterday? I went late in the afternoon with a friend and her dear mom that was here from out of town ~ not to shop really, but to spend time with them! Her mom was looking for a jacket for her grandson and it was at Kohls. We walked in and the line was wrapped all the way around the store!!! About a 45 minute wait. No biggie, we weren't in a hurry and so we took turns standing in the line while the other two shopped. Ran in to a good friend who had an appointment and we offered to get her stuff, too (talk about owing us one!!!)

When standing in a line that long, at least in my neck of the woods, you become buddies with those around you who are also the only other poor, pitiful souls on the planet that are ~~dumb enough to~~ sacrificing their valuable time standing in a line to buy gifts for our loved ones.

The early bird specials ended at 1pm, but since the line was so long they extended it to 3pm. At exactly 3pm we were 2nd in line to the register. One of the managers got on the store speaker system to announce that very thing. The sweet, friendly, soft spoken women in front of us with her daughter apparently found that announcement to be disturbing. With hands on hips she marched up to the manager that made the announcement and told him, under no uncertain terms, and not so soft spoken, that she would be getting the early bird prices. I thought the next announcement might be "clean up on aisle nine, we've just had a good ole fashioned throw down". After a "conversation" between the two, the score was customer 1, manager 0!

Thankfully, the jacket and other things we'd gathered were not early bird pricing, so we were safe ~ unlike the gentleman behind us with the early bird priced vacuum. I have a feeling there was another "conversation".

And people say we are forgetting the reason for celebrating Christmas, getting too commercialized, I just don't know where they get that, do you?

Turkey Quiz!

2008-11-22T23:36:00.006-05:00

I'll never reveal my score on this ~ but if you do well and want to brag in a comment, feel free! Try it:

http://home.aristotle.net/Thanksgiving/trivia.asp

Gobble Gobble

Tag!!! You're it!

2008-11-13T22:12:00.003-05:00

My friend, and blog mentor, Jenn posted her 800th post today and is celebrating with a meme!

I'm sharing my answers here and you can see her answers here!!! I would love to know yours!!!!

Disclaimer: these answers are not necessarily in order of preference!!!!

8 Things I love:
God
Family
My church
my friends
Popsicles
school supplies
M & M's
bible study

8 Things that give me the Heebie-Jeebies
dirty feet/toes
belly buttons
sour food/garbage smell
snakes
flying insects (especially june bugs)
coconut
scratchy clothes/sheets
sushi

8 places I've been to:
Dallas, TX
Austin, TX
Port Antonio, Jamaica
Albuquerque, NM
Nashville, TN
Columbus, Ohio
Washington, DC
Disney World

8 random facts:
I've gained way too much weight
I am a "never seem to say no" volunteer
I am obsessive about my e-mail (deleting, organizing, reading, answering, etc.)
I have enough scrap book, paper craft, stamping, crafty things to open a store
I love to read and listen to books on tape
Because I let my hair grow out too much, I realized this week that I am TOTALLY GRAY (took of that right quick!!!!!!)
There are tons of orange Popsicles in my freezer because I only like the cherry and grape ones in the package
After 22 years of marriage, hubs and I are still in love, actually like each other, and have a blast!

8 favorite TV shows:
Ugly Betty
Big Bang Theory
Two and a half men
Andy Griffith
Grey's Anatomy (until recently, they've gone too far)
Brothers and Sisters (they are pushing the envelope, too)
Lots of stuff on Discovery channels
Law and Order

Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamont

2008-11-02T21:46:00.006-05:00

Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamont was a great book! She is honest, humble, and shares her journey of faith with a candor that most would not. Writing openly about her life of self destructive behaviors makes her real to me because most of us do not have the courage to HONESTLY share with the world what we've done and how we've gotten where we are today. Her faith is real and she knows, like we all have to remind ourselves, that our faith is a journey. We cannot accept Christ and live happily ever after, but we can accept Christ, grow in our faith, learn from our mistakes, and keep blundering through life with an assurance that He will forgive, love, and accept us unconditionally.

Ms. Lamont quoted a friend 's response when she asked him what it meant to be saved. I hope she will forgive my plagiarism here, but this quote is worth sharing. He answered, "I guess it's like discovering you're on the shelf of a pawnshop, dusty and forgotten and maybe not worth very much. But Jesus comes in and tells the pawnbroker, 'I'll take her place on the shelf. Let her go outside again.'"

This will be a book I will read again, slower next time, savoring it a little more.

Check out more book reviews here on Callapidder Days in the Fall Reading Challenge.
Happy Reading!

Part 3 of the New Do!!!!!

2008-10-30T21:29:00.007-04:00

We began with new floors, then new counter tops. Of course the paint and wallpaper did not look good with the new stuff, so new paint and curtains and chair cushions! All is well, right????

Of course not. Where I sit in my den, I can see the kitchen and dining room. Shouldn't they match? I don't have a before pic of the dining room, but it was a light taupe with a wallpaper border that complimented the old kitchen border, with dark green valances. Now it's painted the same toasted wheat as the kitchen and my creative daughter-in-law and I made a curtain last night with the same fabric as the kitchen!!!! She's good and I love it.

The pics don't do it justice, you can click on them to enlarge. Now for covering the chair cushions and getting some stuff on the walls. Hummmmmmmm, does the den coordinate now?

6 year old football playoffs

2008-10-25T21:00:00.009-04:00

Our 6 year old grandson played in a recreation department tournament today after playing in the first playoff game Monday night. Although they did not win, they got to play at a local high school stadium complete with announcers, working scoreboard and lots of ~~screamin' mama's, daddy's, grandparents, aunts, uncles~~ dedicated football fans. As he hugged me after the game today he said he was tired of this stuff and ready for basketball!!! He is a hoot. He was one of the captains today, #6!

If You Can't Lose It, Decorate It!

2008-10-23T19:22:00.007-04:00

Anita Renfroe is one of my favorite ~ if not my very favorite Christian comedians. She is SO REAL!!!!! I was fortunate enough to attend a taping in Atlanta of her Purse-onality DVD. There is a book entitled The Purse Driven Life that is also a hoot! I saw this book, If You Can't Lose It Decorate It: And other hip alternatives to dealing with reality, in the store and could not wait to read it. I have to admit, book covers attract me and this one did for sure!!! FUN!!!

I highly recommend this book. She talks about all the realities we face everyday. Helps us see the humor in it all and gives us a biblical, Godly way to handle this ride we call "life".

You might remember her Momsense song that was e-mailed all over the place. It is a classic. Check it out on You Tube here. Anita's website is http://www.anitarenfroe.com/index.htm

Check out more book reviews here on Callapidder Days in the Fall into Reading Challenge!

6 Year Old Football

2008-10-20T15:52:00.003-04:00

Can I just tell you inter web peeps how precious 6 year old football is? Our grandson plays and he is S.E.R.I.O.U.S. about it. Saturday morning was an early game and we've finally got a nip in the air here in North Georgia. The wind was a little much and we were all complaining ~ except for him!!!!

I will also admit that I am a little bias, but he is really good. Born athlete you might say. When you see the kids lined up in a row with their pads bigger than them and see their little stick legs, our grandson's are far from sticks. He is stocky and all muscle.

Like all the other kids on the 6 year old teams (and I'm sure most high school, college and pro teams) when they do something good, they immediately look for some affirmation from the sidelines. When he played last year at 5 years old, he looked for his mom and grandparents (his Daddy helps coach). We sent thumbs up, clapped, high fives if he came to the sidelines ~ it was great.

This year however, he has apparently put aside supportive family for the other bystanders and the CHEERLEADERS (also 6 years old)!!! When he made a touchdown on Sat. he walked along the sidelines and looked at everyone as they congratulated him, and as he walked past us and we did the thumbs-up, high five action ~ we got a slight nod of the head!! He is cool, suave and debonair these days.

He has played at least 423 games (okay, maybe I exaggerate a little) but he's played A LOT of games for a 6 year old. Tonight begins PLAYOFFS!!!! PLAYOFFS people ~ at 7:30 pm. BATH TIME, right. If they win tonight, they play again tomorrow night at 7:30! Then if they win that, it's the big time at a local high school stadium for an afternoon game on Saturday.

His older brother (who is also a good football player) played 7th grade football this year and they had 5 games! FIVE, that's all ~ AMAZING!!!

It Can't Happen Here

2008-10-17T19:50:00.003-04:00

How many times have you thought something couldn't happen in your town, your family, at your job. Well it can ~ and it did today in our town. Apparently a disgruntled gentleman decided to get his revenge of sorts with a suicide mission at a local law firm. This law firm is just across the street from an elementary school and my husband' office is on the opposite corner, and the local post office is just in front of the law firm. My husband went to his office just after the incident and thought there must have been a bad wreck and had to go around the block to get to his office ~ he soon realized it was not a wreck, and soon after, they evacuated his office building.

The gentlemen came to the firm with a bomb and tried to drive into the building. He could not drive into it and ended up out of his car and throwing the explosive into a window. One of the attorneys was badly burned and taken to a burn unit in Georgia. Two clients were injured and one is still in the local hospital. One of the assistants in the office was injured, treated and released.

It is a scary thing here in our little town and makes us realize that anything can happen anywhere. I will pray for the members of the law firm, their families, and especially for the family of the gentlemen that set the bomb and died. I am sure that they would appreciate any of your prayers lifted up for them, too. You can read about it here.

Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons

2008-10-12T21:55:00.003-04:00

I am really at a loss about Anne Rivers Siddons newest book, Off Season. I LOVE Anne Rivers Siddons books and this one began that way. As is her usual style, the characters were well developed and locations were described so the reader could feel they were there. But . . .

Without leaving a spoiler for anyone planning on reading this, I must say the ending was horrible. This book began with a sweet, potentially great storyline, but the horrible discovery at the end flopped. The abruptness of it and the weirdness just shot it out of the water. I feel like Ms. Siddons handed it to someone and said, “Here, you finish this”, or the publisher called her and told her she had 5 minutes to finish it, period. OH, and the cat, PLEASE!!!!!!

Check out more book reviews at Fall Into Reading 2008 over at Callapidder Days!

I look forward to others opinions about this book. Happy Reading!!

Travis Cottrell

2008-10-08T20:20:00.004-04:00

I cannot say enough about Travis Cottrell's new Christmas CD. I just downloaded it from iTunes and I'm sitting here listening to it with tears running down my cheeks and cold chills all over. If you are not familiar with Travis, check him out here! I was introduced to Travis the first time at a Beth Moore event. His voice is incredible and his faith and love for God come through in every word he sings.

Melanie at Big Mama is giving away autographed copies of the CD ~ check it out and enter. If you don't win it ~ or too impatient (like me) to find out ~ go to iTunes and download it today. While you're at it, Found is also a good CD!

Book Review ~ When Did I Stop Being Barbie. . .

2008-10-06T22:18:00.003-04:00

When Did I Stop Being Barbie and Become Mrs. Potato Head?: Learning to Embrace the Woman You've Become by Mary Pierce was a great book! Mary shares real life struggles with, well, ahem ~ getting older! Mary Pierce makes getting older fun and gives healthy, Godly advice about accepting the woman we've become. Her honesty with her own personal struggles and experiences made me laugh and cry! Lots of great lessons!!!

Since I'm right around the corner from 50, I felt like I was reading my own story. I encourage any woman, especially those dealing with raging "horriblemones", to read Mary's book.

Check out more book reviews at Fall Into Reading 2008 over at Callapidder Days!

Happy Reading ~

Hangin' out with kids!

2008-10-03T20:26:00.003-04:00

I'm going to begin hanging out with my friends girls and my grandson's all the time. Someone told me one time if I ever felt down and out to read my e-bay feedback!!! LOL

But today was the perfect day of comments from loved ones. First, my friends four year old looked sweetly at me and said, "Bitsy, you are perfect." (I only wish you could have heard it in her sweet 4 year old voice)

Then I picked up my 6 year old grandson from after school care this afternoon. He was in the back seat and asked if I would scratch and rub his legs when we got home. I said sure! It was quiet for a few minutes, then he said, "Nana, I just love you sooooo much." Be still my heart!!

And to top it all off, my 12 year old grandson (he'll be 13 next week, UGH) hugged me bye when they all left to go home and said, "Love ya Nana, you are awesome."

So you see why I'm gonna hang out with them from now on??????? What a GREAT day!

Fall into Reading List 2008

2008-09-22T21:05:00.032-04:00

I'm partcipating in Callapidder Days Fall Into Reading Challenge 2008. I've had a hard time choosing books this time for some reason ~ but good or bad, here it is. Obviously the list is subject to change, on a whim!!!

So Brave, Young and Handsome by Leif Enger. I loved his first book, Peace Like a River and have heard this is also great. My book club might read this one, too. A rhapsodic novel about a father raising his three children in 1960s Minnesota is a breathtaking celebration of family, faith, and America's pioneering spirit.

Cross Country by James Patterson (release date: Nov. 17th). Another Alex Cross novel! I'm not always a huge fan of Patterson, but I enjoy the Cross series. When the home of Alex Cross's oldest friend, Ellie Cox, is turned into the worst murder scene Alex has ever seen, the destruction leads him to believe that he's chasing a horrible new breed of killer.

Where Do I Go: Yada Yada House of Hope by Neta Jackson (release date Dec. 9th). The Yada Yada Prayer group series was great, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons. For as long as she can remember, they were Cam and Lilly--happily married, totally in love with each other, parents of a beautiful family, and partners in life. Then, after decades of marriage, it ended as every great love story does...in loss.

Living Simply: Choosing Less in a World of More by Joanne Heim Whew! You can multitask like a pro—you prove it every day. But while you’re used to being pulled in multiple directions, that doesn’t mean you like it. You yearn for something more…not on your to-do list, but in the heart of daily living. Now Living Simply shows you how to make this ideal life your real life today!

Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamont. A friend told me about this, so I thought I'd give it a try. Anne Lamott shares the stories of her spiritual awakening and transformation. Her memoir is frank and sparkling as she spins out her stories in a kaleidoscope of images and poetry.

The Shack by William P. Young. This book has been heralded and hated, so we will see!

If You Can't Lose It, Decorate It: And Other Hip Alternatives to Dealing With Reality by Anita Renfroe. Anita is a great christian writer and comedian. This book just sounded too good!

When Did I Stop Being Barbie and Become Mrs. Potato Head?: Learning to Embrace the Woman You've Become by Mary Pierce

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swenson Mysteries)
by Joanne Fluke. I've really enjoyed Diane Mott Davidson culinary mystery series and all the recipes ~ then heard about this one, so I thought I would check them out! No one cooks up a delectable, suspense-filled mystery quite like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke’s dessert-baking, red-haired heroine whose gingersnaps are as tart as her comebacks, and whose penchant for solving crimes one delicious clue at a time has made her a bestselling favorite.

Go to Callapidder Days and check out the Mr. Linky for other blogger's book lists! At some point, there will be another Mr. Linky on the site for book reviews as bloggers share what they've read.

One of my passions

2008-09-19T20:34:00.014-04:00

As an active member of the Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs and serving in both district and state positions, I am mostly proud of the fact that we own and operate a private college prep boarding school called Tallulah Falls School. Mary Ann Lipscomb, a Georgia clubwoman, started the school in 1909 to provide an education for the children in the mountains. The school became known as The Light in the Mountains.

There are boarding students and day students at the school. We also have several international students as part of the student body. The reputation, location, and teacher/student ratio of TFS is most appealing. Check us out!!!

We are in the midst of celebrating the schools 100th year!!! As a board member of the school I am privledged to be an integral part of the celebration events scheduled throughout the year.

One of the events was this week. We had a board meeting and several committee meetings. Dinner with students and lots of fun.

The most exciting part was the ribbon cutting ceremony for our new Lodge ~ The Lodge at Tallulah Falls. The lodge is BEAUTIFUL!!!! It is a great place for a family gathering, a small wedding, a church retreat. Check out the lodge and go spend a weekend in the beautiful mountains of Northeast Georgia.

Lobby at the Lodge

King Room

Ribbon Cutting

My fellow clubwoman and traveling buddies had a great time stopping at some of the beautiful shops between TFS and home. One I have to tell you about was a hoot! It was called Goats on the Roof ~ cause there are goats on the roof. It has a country school, crafts and lots of fun ways to feed the goats.

Waiting for chow!!!

Just in time for Halloween

2008-09-10T21:03:00.009-04:00

I walked out on my porch this afternoon and walked into this web. It was so big and strong, stretched between both posts, that as I quickly backed off of it, it just sprung right back never breaking. The spider was at the top, so I did not see it.

I waited till dark to try and take a picture. The lights on the porch brought the june bugs flying, and one was in the web. I will take a pic tomorrow with dew on it in the am if it's still there (that's if I remember of course)! I don't like spiders, but their webs are AMAZING!!!

Wish he'd stick around and be my halloween decoration!!!!!

(click on pic for better view)

Laboring on Labor Day

2008-09-01T21:45:00.013-04:00

Usually hubby and I just veg on holidays if we don't do something with family. Not this weekend. We did eat with our kids and grandsons on Sunday after church but did NOT veg today. I got up very early and headed to buy fabric to make kitchen curtains and cover the chairs. The kitchen has been a work in progress for a while and there are only a couple of things that need to be done now!!! YIPEE!!!!!!!! First new floors, then new countertops, then new paint, and now new curtains and chair covers! Here are some before and after pics!

Old

New

New

I know that I need to clean the window! Camera flashes give everything away. Also, the walls are a great taupe color, Toasted Wheat ~ not pink like they look in these pics!

The most amazing things about all this home improvement is that I can out with only a slight scratch on my finger. I am a VERY messy crafter, painter, cook, etc. and usually end up with some type of injury. I purchased an electric stapler to recover my chairs (which was the BEST purchase I made all weekend)! I will only tell you that you have to be VERY careful when you release the safety on the stapler trigger. I shot two staples across the kitchen. One hit the dryer in the laundry room and fell on the dog and I never recovered the other one ~ but the dog is unscathed!

The first crop!

2008-08-21T19:11:00.004-04:00

Our grandson was so excited tonight because his Papa told him that we needed to pick the first pumpkin because it had been orange for about 2 weeks and had not grown anymore and was afraid it might rot lying on the ground.

So he took off down the yard, picked it, then took it straight to his GiGi!

It's such a small, simple thing ~ but means the world to Gigi and Reade is a proud farmer!

Random Prattle

2008-08-13T22:46:00.005-04:00

Did anyone see the interview of Cris Collinsworth with Bob Costas last night (Wednesday)? Collinsworth was sharing with Costas about his interview with Jason Lezak. Lezak was the last swimmer of the four man US team that won the Men's 400 meter relay photo finish rave. First, Cris asked Lezak if his inspiration came from the desire to help Michael Phelps achieve his gold medal goals. With finesse and grace, Lezak answered that he did not do it for Phelps, but for the team. Come on Collinsworth, give Lezak his due!

THEN, Collinsworth stated to Costas that he "swum" his best that night. Now please don't get me wrong here ~ I am by NO MEANS an expert, and swum is in the dictionary, but not always an accepted past tense for swim. Usually swam is used.

When I asked hubby and our friend who was staying with us tonight if swum was the correct word to use, here is the answer I received. "Sure swum is a word, you know, you better run fast cause here come a swum of bees," hubby said (you have to say that line with an accent like Jeff Foxworthy or someone to make it as funny as it seemed at 11:00 pm tonight).

The friend staying with us shared on her blog about how tired we were/are and how it contributed to her big faux pas in her presentation today at work ~ ". . . on the opposite ends of the speculum". Obviously meaning spectrum!!!!! Reminded us the other night that I told her I was going to talk to my doctor about a hysterectory! Could that be the name of the textbook for a hysterectomy????

We are also tired because I FINALLY painted the first coat of paint on our kitchen walls tonight and she stayed to help!!! I cannot thank her enough!!! It looks great and I will post some before and after pics in a few days. Still needs a second coat and then I gotta clean up the mess.

I warned you in the title this post was prattle ~ but all these things were hilarious to us in our current state of busy days at work, coming home to a DIY (which no longer means do it yourself, but Dumb Idiot You) project, and staying up late AGAIN!!!!!!

Goodnight peeps ~ tomorrow at work could be interesting!

Do It Yourself

2008-08-10T20:07:00.004-04:00

I'm not sure who came up with the Home Depot / Lowes home improvement, we can help, yada, yada, yada do it yourself concept, but if they were close to me right now, they would soon find out I DO NOT agree!!!!! Whatever happened to the "call the professional" concept??????

As mentioned in precious posts we put new counter tops and flooring in our kitchen. It is beautiful and I love the new stuff. But as most people know, the more things you do, the more things you find need to be done. The wall colors and wallpaper did not compliment the new floor and counter tops, so I had some great plans.

To tell you all I've done to the walls in my kitchen would take a much longer post than I want to do, but believe me when I tell you, it has been an experience and a lesson in patience to say the least.

Next time ~ we're callin' the pro!!!!!!!!!!

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-08-03T22:21:00.006-04:00

Our grandson and his GG's pumpkin patch is gone WILD!!! We have two maturing pumpkins on the vine and some small possible ones! One is turning orange and the other is still green. The vine, as you can see in the pictures, is growing like a weed.

Our grandson looks at the pumpkin and exclaims, "Whoo-hoo, can't wait for punkin' pie"! We all think this is a hoot because he's NEVER had pumpkin pie!!!

Bloggy Giveaway Carnival

2008-07-28T22:48:00.008-04:00

Thanks to everyone that played! I enjoyed hearing about your summers. Some hard times, but mostly people stayed home because of gas prices. And EVERYONE shared that they were HOT, HOT, HOT!!!!!!!

And the winner is . . . .

Congrats Susan in Vegas at http://clarkandsuz.blogspot.com/

I will e-mail you for a physical address!!!!

The giveaway is over! As soon as Blogger gets our spam issues cleared up, I will post a winner using Random Generator!!! Good Luck!

It's Bloggy giveaway time and I'm giving away a new Thirty-One bag (and maybe some surprises inside)! Click on the picture for a better view. Just leave me a comment and let me know how your summer is going. I will choose a winner on Friday. Good Luck!

Mama Mia ~ The Movie

2008-07-21T23:43:00.003-04:00

Have you seen it? Huh, huh, have you seen it? OH MY WORD it is GREAT. I went with five friends tonight and we had a blast. We laughed, cried and sang ~ along with the full row of women behind us. I would have stayed and paid for the next showing and immediately watched it again, but I do have to work tomorrow.

As one of the first musical numbers ended, no less than 10 people turned around and out loud said ~ "hey rewind that part" ~ like there is some guy up there running a projector. Not only do we have all kinds of class here in Georgia, we are obviously old since we thought about rewinding!!!! Of course me being the one with the sweet, quiet demeanor did not say a thing! NOT!!!!!!!!!!!

Came home and immediately downloaded the soundtrack from iTunes. I'm playing it now as hubby looks at me a little funny. It's 11:45 pm here ~ I gotta go to bed!

Did I tell you Mama Mia is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

You better bet your Money, Money, Money I'll be going again this weekend if not before!!

Love ya'll

Well "Bless My Heart"

2008-07-17T13:46:00.003-04:00

I have a GREAT story to share about a professor here where I work. We really love her, even though she is from Michigan. We are true southern woman and bless her heart, she can't help where her parents reared her now can she??? She has however, done her best to accept our charming southern ways!

In her culture class this summer, she talked about the difference in not only religious cultures, but geographical cultures as well. Explaining to the students that it amazed her that in her first few years of teaching here that on her evaluations she was considered to be rude or mean when she graded papers. She explained to her students that where she came from you did not beat around the bush, you just told it like it is. But she further explained that she had recently learned that if you say "Bless your Heart" after saying something negative, it made it okay. So from now on when she marked papers with comments such as "no depth" or "needs more explanation", etc. she would follow the comment up with "bless your heart" and their feelings would not be hurt.

Of course, this was much funnier coming from her since she gets out 2 words for my 1 word every time ~ 'cause I have a Texas drawl to go along with my GA hick accent.

I was very quick to explain to her that "Bless your heart" could be used both in a true caring manner or just plain snidely ~ depending on the situation!!! So all you sweet southern interwebs, I have a couple of questions for you. I remember reading that if you say, "Bless your heart you worked so hard today" -vs- "You worked so hard today, bless your heart" ~ that it means two different things. Is this true and which means what? Or is it just in the tone of voice?

Also, if you have a good "bless your heart" story, share it!!!

Bless your hearts all of you and I mean that most sincerely!

No Birds ~ but we got a Punkin!!!!!

2008-07-11T21:15:00.009-04:00

Sad news, the baby birds did hatch ~ but from the looks of things, a predator got to them. There are only 2 babies left out of 5 and they did not make it. Then there are a bunch of adult bird feathers on our porch. So we've decided that either a cat or a larger bird got into it.

But we have a pumpkin growing on the vine!!!! We fertilized the vine and thankfully have had lots of rain here. Hubby was able to get the vine to go behind a holly bush, hopefully keeping it from growing out in to the yard too much. Needless to say, G.G. and our grandson are elated that we have a pumpkin on the vine, and it's only July!!!

I am sad about the birds, but the half dead fern is horrid looking hanging on my porch and it STINKS!!!!! Birds are NOT clean.

Have a great weekend!!!

It's the Clampett House!

2008-07-02T20:58:00.002-04:00

We are beginning to look like the Beverly Hillbillies around here. First the dead fern hanging on the porch with the bird's nest, to the pumpkin patch.

But it's a sweet, sweet story. My mother-in-law lives next door to us and my grandsons call her G.G. (great-grandmother). Needless to say, the grandsons are the light of her life. Our youngest grandson, who is 6 years old has a special relationship with her. He brought her a pumpkin last October from the pumpkin farm. G.G. put it on her little porch in the front and was so proud.

As the pumpkin rotted, the seeds fell to the ground. We realized sometime last week that a pumpkin vine has sprouted. Now, I am no gardener, but I do know that pumpkin vines SPREAD like wildflowers. G.G. is so excited and has threatened my hubby's life if he cuts it back or mows over it. She cannot wait until fall when she gets to share pumpkins with the boys. She even wants my daughter-in-law to write a story with our grandson about it!

So you see, we will look like the Clampett's for the grand kids!!!!! I will keep you posted on the growth of the pumpkin vine and the birth of the baby birds!

Summer Eatin'

2008-06-26T22:36:00.002-04:00

Big Mama is hosting a "what in the world can we cook in the summer that does not require lots of prep or cooking in the heat besides hot dogs ideafest!" Well, she might not be calling it exactly that, but that's the gist of it! My favorite thing in the summer is a quick, easy pasta salad, a great salsa with fresh tomatoes and an easy dessert ~ just to name a few. Don't know if Caroline or P will eat this ~ but there's always more hot dogs!!!

Two of my favorites pasta salads are:

Shrimp Pasta Salad:
1-2 bags baby shrimp (frozen, put in colander and run cold water over to thaw)
sm. box tri-color rotini or bowtie pasta
cheddar cheese cubes (the new Kraft crumbles are great)
salt and pepper to taste
add a few scallions if you like them
toss all together with enough mayonnaise to coat
Serve with a loaf of french bread

Easy Pasta Salad:
28 oz. cheese tortellini (fresh)
2 sm. jars artichoke hearts
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1 sm. can sliced black olives
one bottle Girards Light Caesar Dressing
Mix together and let sit a while to marinate if possible

The easiest pasta salad is just picking out what you like. Pick your pasta (tri-color, bowtie, penne, etc) and toss in whatever you and your family like. (Broccoli, artichokes (canned), grilled chicken, cucumbers, carrots, black olives, onion, spinach, bell pepper, mandarin oranges, almonds) The best dressing I've found is Kraft Creamy Italian or Girards Light Ceasar. Simple, cold and stores well.

Monterrey Jack Salsa (watch out, it's addictive)
1 can green chilies (chopped)
1 can black olives (chopped)
4 green onions (chopped)
*1 pkg. shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
1-2 tomatoes (chopped) more if desired
½ cup Italian Salad dressing
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (more or less to taste)
juice from one fresh lemon and lime
Blend all ingredients and serve with tortilla chips. *Better with Monterrey Jack/Colby shredded cheese). If serving just a little at a time, add cheese as served.

Orange Fluff Dessert (or side salad)
1 small carton creamed cottage cheese
1 large carton cool whip
1 large can pineapple chunks - drained
1 can mandarin oranges
1 small package orange jello - dry
Mix all ingredients in order listed and chill. This can be put in a graham cracker crust for a pie of sorts. And I promise the cottage cheese does not make it gross.

New Life!

2008-06-24T20:47:00.004-04:00

I have an ugly dying fern hanging on my porch because of this ~

I work very hard every year to keep the birds out of my ferns because once they build a nest, the fern ends up being a mess and dies. And before you attack me about not loving nature, our house is surrounded by trees and woods, so there are plenty of places for birds to start their little families.

However, I would never destroy one that got past me and built a nest. I love watching the progression. I never touch it of course and get on a step stool to look at the nest. I leave it hanging so the neighbor's cat won't get it!

By the way, if you want an easy way, foolproof way to keep birds out of your plants, especially ferns ~ here's my handy-dandy sure fire way. Put hair in the fern. Except for this year obviously, I go to my hairdressers and get a little sack of hair, then put it down in the ferns. Works every time!!!

I will post a pic of the babies once they are born!