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

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.

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 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.

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.