Thursday, February 19, 2009

Update on my mom...

I thought I would update you all on my mom. She is doing very well and feeling better each day. There were no compilations and she should be home in a week or so.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Wow, its been a long weekend. Sorry I have not been on here in a while. We had some bad news come our way last week. Thursday night my mother had a heart attack. We have a long line of bad hearts in our family, so it was not a big surprise. She is doing ok, but she does have to have surgery. So any who, I won't be on here a lot in the next week or so. Here is a link to the heart association....I think we hear so much about so many other causes that we forget about our hearts. I know I am going to go have some serious check ups. My mother did not have the typical heart attack that you see on TV. She had more of indigestion and breathing problems. Most people would not have even known they were having a heart attack. They said she has had problems for several years and we didn't even know it. I think we all associate heart trouble with old people or people who have a lot other health issues...at least that is how I thought. Well, here is a link to the American Heart Association...check it out and get your self checked out.
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000

Thursday, February 12, 2009

More Valentine Stuff...


Isn't this the cutest...I got this at Walmart for $7.00 the other day. I thought that was a great deal. I love these things. I like to change out the stuff inside for the seasons.















This is a card I made for my good friend Megan. She makes all her cards...even all her Christmas cards...I thought I would make a couple for friends and family. I get the rest at the dollar store. I can't bring myself to pay $4.00 for a card.

This is stuff I am putting in my teenagers mail boxes. I got the mail boxes at Target in the dollar spot. I have them on my mantel in the living room. I have seen these everywhere in blog land, so I didn't take a picture. Anyway, every day this week I have put a little treat in them. My little guys get stuff too...not as much candy. Here are a few things I have done.
This is a Stride gum pack. I just wrapped two pieces of paper around it and then a piece of twine. The round thing is a tag found in the office supply section with a paper heart glued on it.














This is a card I made into a pocket and glued ribbon onto it. The heart is something I had in a drawer...it is a scrapbook thing.















Envelope...with candy in it and a stamp on it.















I like dress stuff up, but I don't like to spend a lot of money. I think doing little things that you put time and love into are more important than paying a lot of money for something.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Valentine Treats...XOXO!!















Here are the Valentines treat bags that I made for all the girls at work. These are red lunch sacks from Target...$1.96... that I just folded over and taped shut. I added some black and white polka dot ribbon and a little rhinestone. I wanted them to look like little purses. I filled these with candy.

These are some little Valentine buckets for my nephews. The buckets I found at Wal-mart for .75cents and also the clear cello bags. I got the red polka dot ribbon and love bug stamp for a dollar each at Michaels.


Craft of the week!

I was feeling crafty today and I had told myself that I was going to do at least one craft a week . Well, here it is. I had needed something to put my mail into. This what it looked like before I started. It was cute, but not the colors I'm using. Anyway, I had bought some Mod Podge a few days ago and decided I would try it out. All I did was trace around the outside of the the box and the glue it on...this was super easy. I then added some pre-made flowers that I had picked up at the dollar tree. I also added some rick rack ribbon and letters that spelled out MAIL. I decided I'm going to look for more junk around my house to cover or make into something other that what it was supposed to be used for.
This is how it turned out.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Stocking your gift closet.

Today I went to Target...and you know I love Target...anyway I had to buy milk. Well, I always have to walk through all the clearance sections to see if I need anything. Today I found all the Christmas PJ's had been marked down to $4.98. I always buy my kids new ones for Christmas every year and pay full price. So, I decided to go ahead and pick up a pair to put in my gift closet. I will be doing this all year. I did not buy a head last year and I ended up paying full price for a lot of stuff. I guess my whole point to this is that, if you have the room for it, stockpile it. It makes Christmas so much easier. Here are a few things to look for:
PJ's
Picture frames
Candles...not seasonal
baskets
throws
scarves
pins
jewelry
pretty journals, notebooks, stationary
scrapbooks
photo album's

Here are a few things not to stock:
food
cds...people change their mind so much when it comes to music.
dvds...It may have been seen by the time you gift it.
Anything with an expiation date

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Thank You Notes


One art form that seems to have fallen by the wayside for many people is that of the handwritten thank-you note. A thank-you note is an elegant way to show appreciation to someone who has given you a gift or assisted you in some fashion.
With our world becoming so technologically advanced, we are beginning to see a trend where postal mail is slowly fading away. We are relying on e-mail, instant messaging, Facebook, My space and the like
to keep in contact with our friends, family and business associates. One thing that still remains and holds value is the old-fashioned thank-you note.
It is just plain good manners to thank someone personally, in writing, for a gift or good deed that has been bestowed upon you. Thank-you notes are authentic, personal, and show the recipient that you truly appreciate their act of kindness.The cycle of gift-giving is not considered complete until a thank-you note has been given. The process of writing one does not require to much, just set down with a pen and paper and write thank you for the gift, service, hospitality or whatever. Just do it...it will be appreciated.

My children





I have hesitated to put pictures of my children on the Internet, but I decided I would share a few. These are my four lovely children and I love them dearly. This picture was from Christmas of this year.












This is my son playing the guitar...he has played since he was seven.











Ramblings of a broken hearted mother...

My son, the cellist.
My son is a sophomore in high school this year. Today, he had to turn in his choice of classes for next fall. We sat down last night and started to plot and plan which things he needed to take. There are certain things that he must take to graduate and others that he always takes every year. One of those being orchestra. He has played the cello in orchestra since the 5Th grade. He is a very talented musician and has excelled in his class. He is in an upper level class now and we were hoping that he would be in the symphonic orchestra by his senior year. Well, to my dismay he decided he no longer wants to play the cello and feels his time is better spent elsewhere. I do understand his argument, he is taking many advanced math, science and engineering classes and needs to focus on them. He dreams of being an engineer and music is a hobby for him, but it still breaks my heart that he would put so much into it all of these years and not finish. I guess I'm trying to figure out if I should make him stay in it or let him drop it. Does anyone have any suggestions.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Virus on my computer.

I have a not posted in a while, I have gotten a virus on my computer. I still can't upload pictures, so I thought I would at least write something. I have been amazed at how talented so many of you ladies are. I thought I had a few great ideas, but I have spent hours looking at the amazing creative things so many of you put out there....thanks for inspiring me.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Wednesday night special....Breakfast for dinner!!


Wednesday nights are always a little crazy around my house. I babysit my two nephews ages 8 and 10. Add my four and thats a lot of mouths to feed. It has been difficult to find a dinner that all the kids like. Well, I hit the jackpot tonight. I had breakfast for dinner. Biscuits, sausage gravy, bacon,and eggs. They all thought it was great. I didn't even get a picture of the bacon and sausage due to the little ones eating it all before we even sat down. Since it was such a hit, I am going to cook some kind of "breakfast for dinner" at least twice a month.
Suasage gravy

One 12-ounce tube bulk pork sausage
# 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
# 2 cups milk
# Freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the sausage, break it up with a wooden spoon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes. Make patties out of the other half. Cook until brown on both sides and no pink in the center.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a bowl, leaving the rendered fat in the skillet. Whisk the flour into the fat and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. While whisking, pour the milk into the skillet and bring the gravy to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Stir in the sausage and season with pepper. Split the biscuits in half and divide them among plates. Top each biscuit with some of the gravy and serve immediately. I used store bought biscuits, but they are easy to make if you have the time.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Craft of the week!




Can I tell you how much I love to craft. It doesn't matter what kind of craft, I love to do it alI. The problem is I don't take the time to do it. So, my solution is to do a craft a week so that I get a little me time in. I always feel better and am more relaxed after I have been crafting. I plan to make sets of four to give to my two best girlfrieds for their bithdays. I am going to use photos in theirs instead of the letters though. The possibilities are endless of things you can seal up in these. Other ideas would be anything you collect...stamps. postcards, pressed flowers, fabric.

Monogram or Photo Coasters

What you need:
Glass candle holded...bought from Pier1 for $2.50. These work perfectly, they are flat on both sides and have a empty center where the candle sits.
Peel and stick felt...$1.00 from any craft store.
Scrapbook paper....14cents...Michaels
Scrap cardboard...lid off of card bord box
Scapbook letters...$2.00 for 26 letters...Archivers

How you make it:
This is what it looks like at first, minus the price tags.














I found this tea cup was the exact size of the inside of the candel holder. I cut a circle of pretty paper to go on the inside....this is what I will glue my letter to. I also cut out two circles of cardboard to help fill the extra space. Something I didn't do, but thought of it later was put a piece of ribbon on the inside to cover the edges of the cardboard.














This is the peel and stick felt...I just traced the outside of the candle holder and cut it on the
inside of the circle so that it would not show. This felt comes in all kinds of colors.




























These are the letters that I used, but you can use anything. I only made one for me to put on my bed side table. I will use photo for my friends gifts.















This is the back side after I put the felt on. I could have done this neater, but I was in a hurry.














This is the finished project.
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