Quote of the Week

- C.S. Lewis

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

Blessings,
Lisa

Sorry for the lack of posts lately!

I apologize for the lack of posts lately--I have been busy with my DH and other family events. Tom is having such a rough time.  He has been going down with his seizures lately.  He fell in the hallway night before last, hit his head on the slate tile floor and hurt his arm.  I am so worried that he will fall and get seriously hurt.
   I babysat my 5 year old neice and my 2 year old Grand baby. That was an experience let me tell you!  I wish I had a dollar for every "Aunt Wisa" I heard for the 23 hours my neice was with me. I would be rich I tell you!  We crafted while she was here.  I have to post pics and instructions on how to make grubby Christmas Tags. We had so much fun and my neice was such a big help--she is quite talented for a five year old!
  Hope everyone has a great day and better weather than we are having in NKY!
Good weather for ducks--Wish it would stop raining!
Stay warm and dry!
Blessings,
Lisa

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was wonderful--too much food as usual.  I think I gained 10 lbs. in 4 days.  Oh well. I need to get back to watching my carbs! Take care and have a great week!
Blessings,
Lisa

Quote of the Week

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.
                                                                                 --unknown

Kitchen Aid Mixer Giveaway

Head on over to I am baker blog to register for the mixer giveaway!
http://iambaker.net/kitchenaid-mixer-giveaway

Good Luck!
Blessings,
Lisa

My "New" Folk Art Cake Plate--revisited

I love Phaltzgraff's Folk Art patterned dishes. I have been trying to find a cake plate/stand in that pattern but haven't had any luck so I decided to make one!  I had an extra sugar bowl without a lid so I used that and one of my dinner plates.

I used E8000 Glue on the bottom of the sugar bowl and glued it to the bottom side of the plate.

Just let dry and viola.....

My "New" Folk Art Cake Plate/stand!

Of course it can be used as a table centerpiece also!

You can use glass plates and vases to make your "new" cake plates as well! What about a saucer and a candlestick for individual desserts?
Have fun and use your imagination!  I would love to see pics of any you make!

Blessings,
Lisa

Candy Cane Ornie Tutorial

 While in Wisconsin, I had a lot of time on my hands. My DH sleeps til 11 am or later and I get up at 5am with or without an alarm. So I found the nearest Wal-mart and purchased a few supplies to craft with in my spare time!

As you can see, I purchased small scissors, needles, thread, 1/2 yard muslin, 1/4 yard red fabric, and polyfill. I just drew a fat candy cane  on my folded muslin and cut it out.



Here are the 2 layers of muslin ready to be hand sewed together.

Below, I have 1/3 of the cane seam started. Leave the bottom edge open so you can stuff it later.

When you have completed sewing, clip the inner curved edge and outer curved edge being careful not to cut into your stitches.

Turn the cane and stuff with poly fill.  You can stuff it pretty tight or loose--your choice.  I stuffed mine pretty firmly. Then make a snip on the red fabric and tear off strips to wrap around the canes.

I inserted the red strip into the bottom when I whipped it close. You can just sew it on the bottom after closing the opening. Your choice. Remember, neatness is not that big of a deal--this is a primitive ornie!  Wrap the red strip around the cane and tuck in at the top. You can tack the strip down if you like.

And here you have it--a cute little ornie candy cane. I had planned on grubbying the canes when I got home but I think I like them bright and cheerful. Just paint with strong coffee and cinnamon if you want to make them look grubby. Then bake  to dry in a low temp oven.

Aren't these darling?  They will look so cute sitting in a red basket for the Christmas season!

Hope you had a crafty weekend as well!

Blessings,

Lisa

<a border="0" href="http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHS5K186IDwFguYkhIZ65cxfHdytCzIFtZySdEkLFURiIdDKa582yXxm4RqPlNIeGAriNWNBtqcEKohvCR39VU3ZVoVwvYsFR50e77n6kPUQ7TK5pnDs_u8fLGfz_rs3geuZXtiwOKy681/s800/takealookbutton.png" /></a>

On the Road!

Well, Yesterday was an extremely long day. My DD#2 wanted to audition for the Phantom Regiment Drum Corp  color guard. So after investigating bus trips and flights to Beloit Wisconsin, I decided to drive her. Let me tell you it was a long trip!  We left our house at 4am, made it to Indy by 6:30, then south of Gary IN by 8:30. we stopped there because Cracker Barrel was calling our names. After about an hour and a half, we continued on. The Chicago loop was bumper to bumper most of the way through. Kaitlyn programmed the GPS to not take us on toll roads so we got a very extensive tour of Illinois and Wisconsin! After ourn scenic trip through the southern part of Wisconsin, we finally arrived in Beloit at 1pm Beloit(2pm our time).  We checked into our motel and tried to take a nap before Kait had to be at the auditions at 5. That was a no go--the 3 cans of Diet Dew said no thank you to that!  So we went shopping at Wal-mart since we couldn't sleep. I did bring several books to read but Tom sleeps til about noon everyday, so I bought a few craft items to work on while I am waiting for Grumpy(or maybe sleepy would be more appropriate!) to awake.
  I am thinking muslin candy cane ornies would be simple to hand sew.  I also picked up some beads and earring wires.  I think I'll try my hand at  a few pairs of earrings. I found a cheap 3 in 1 tool for jewelry making.  I spent about $20 on craft supplies but at least I'll be able to keep the boredom at bay and I'll have some cute new ornies and earrings to boot! I'll post pics of all when I get home.
 
Blessings,
Lisa

PS  Wisconsin is a very friendly place--everyone has been so nice and I love how they roll their o's!!

Rosemary Roasted Veggies

  

This is one of my herb recipes--Reprint from June!

My family loves vegetables roasted in the oven.  Here is a family favorite--Hope you like it as well as we do! This is a must at Thanksgiving.

Rosemary Roasted Root Veggies

3 medium onions cleaned and quartered
1 lb. Carrots(short cut are easiest)
3 lbs. Potatoes cut into cubes with or without peels--your choice!
1 lb. Sweet potatoes cut into cubes with or without peels
1/4 cup Olive oil
1 TBL Dried Rosemary
Kosher salt to taste--optional

Clean and prepare veggies. Spray large pan with oil spray. Place veggies on pan and drizzle olive oil over.  Toss veggies to coat.  Sprinkle Rosemary over veggies and add Kosher salt to taste.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes or until tender.  Cover if you want your veggies softer and not so browned.
Enjoy!
ps--if you are a celery and mushroom fan you can include these as well--just increase the olive oil, salt and Rosemary a bit.

Blessings,
Lisa

Pumpkin Puree

In an earlier post I told you all about my list of accomplishments last Sunday.  Well, here are a few pics of making my puree:

My 3 pumpkins on my well used pan!

                                                Stabbing the pumpkins several times each!

Going into my well used oven!

     After baking too long(I forgot the time) but they still came out ok!

Let the pumpkins cool off and then slice them in 1/2 and carefully scoop out the seeds and the stringy part. 

Baking time should only be 1 1/2 hours. Mine baked closer to 2 but the pumpkin seperated from the skin so easily this way.  I was able to just use a tablespoon for this. When you get it all out of the shell, puree it in a food processor or do what I did since I do not own one--mash with a fork.

And here you have it.......pure pumpkin puree.  Looks so pretty and easy peasy!  I'll never buy canned pumpkin again.

Blessings,
Lisa

Shared with

Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

This casserole is a must at Thanksgiving and Christmas at my house. While I am not a fan of cooked broccoli, my Hubby and children love it...go figure! You can make it up a day ahead and refrigerate until you are ready to finish cooking it so it is a very nice make ahead side dish! Here is the recipe:

Make Ahead Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

 2   pkgs. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Velveeta cheese, diced
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
3/4 c. melted butter
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Cook broccoli as directed on package. Crush crackers and mix with 3/4 cup melted butter . Place 1/3 of the crumbs in bottom of casserole dish; cover with 1/2 of the diced cheese, followed by 1/2 of the broccoli and 1/3 of the crumbs. Add another layer of broccoli and diced cheese.  Place spoonfuls of soup evenly over the broccoli and cheese.  Add shredded cheese; top with buttered cracker crumbs. Cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.  Let come to room temp. before baking.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbling in the middle. Use a 1 1/2 or 2 quart size casserole. You can take foil off the last 10 minutes to let it brown.

I usually make 2 batches. My daughter always wants to take the leftovers home!

If you decide to try this, I hope this helps make your Thanksgiving easier  and less stressful!

Blessings,

Lisa

Quote of the Day

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.

                                                           ~Edward Sandford Martin

Sunday Accomplishments

I accomplished pretty much yesterday.  Tom was not feeling very well so we just stayed home--he was in bed most of the day. My family all sat down to a big breakfast yesterday morning.  That hasn't happened in months--everyone is so busy.  I enjoyed it tremendously.
   Laura at Heavenly Homemaker blogged about how to bake small pie pumpkins and how to get pumpkin puree made from them. I did this and it was so easy peasy--pics to come later. I have a large container of beautiful pureed pumpkin just waiting for Thanksgiving preparations.
 Jelly making is on my goal list. So I made 2 batches of jelly--one batch lemon kool-aid and one grape batch. For some reason there were tons of air bubbles in the lemon so it looks cloudy.  Anyone know how/why this would happen?  I did skim the foam off of the top. The grape turned out great though!
  Every towel in my house was dirty, so I washed 3 loads of towels and then did my work clothes along with Toms clothes. I think I ran up and down the steps 40 times all day. MY poor knees! I'll pay for that today!
 Little by little, I am getting rid of clutter in my living room, dining room and kitchen. You probably wouldn't notice, but it is getting better-I can tell!! lol
  By some of your standards this wasn't much to accomplish, but for me it was a lot!
  I hope you all had a productive weekend!

Blessings,
Lisa

Christmas--Less is More!

This year I am determined not to spend more for Christmas than we can afford.

That's right--I am not going to go overboard and try to keep up with the Jones'. (Not your family Cousin!)  I want the real meaning of Christmas to prevail- A joyous time spent with the ones we love and remembering the reason for the season.  I have been going crazy planning all of the cookies and all of the little sweet goodies I'd wanted to make to well....impress my family with. I admit it--I love to hear my family groan with delight while eating one of my tasty creations! But, I am not going to push it this year.  I will be much happier if I am more relaxed and rested, which means my family will be Happier as well. It(our mood) seems to trickle down doesn't it!

  I have scaled back the gift giving this year also.  I usually get my children several nice gifts, but this year I plan on getting my kids one thing they need and can use.
I cut back on the gifts for my Hubby as well. He is ok with it as long as his gift has something to do with the Colts--he gave up on the Bengals several years ago!
Soap and my bath products, homemade jelly and handmade cards  will be given away as gifts this year.  I do have most of my gifts ready--just 3 more to go and I have to take the kids with me to pick out their ceiling fan, coat, and shoes. They are grown so it's not such a big deal for them. They will have goodies in their stockings--yes I still fill the stockings!  It's something I want to hold onto--they are still my babies and always will be.
  When my kids were little, I would fill their stockings with some practical items.  Bubble bath was a luxury for them--usually just used dish soap. I would put chapstick in for the boys and lip gloss for the girls. I used to get fruit in my stocking, so I did that with my kids as well. Jessical loved pears and they were usually too expensive to buy many so she would get pears. Jonathan liked the little mini banannas, so he got them. Michael liked apples and carmel dip. Kailyn got kiwis.  If I got a sample of something they could use--it went in the stocking as well. 
   I still do that--yeah,  I know I'm cheap. I use coupons to get bath products they can use now. I've had a bunch of stuff hidden that I picked up at a great sale back in the summer.
   Don't get me wrong, we never went crazy when the kids were little. The had a rule at Christmas--3 gifts were good enough for Jesus so 3 gift are good enough for you! They were fine with it--who could deserve more than Jesus--not them!
So they asked for one bigger gift and two smaller things. It worked for my family, why couldn't it work for yours?
  So I am cutting back on gifts, planning less candy and cookies,( I'm diabetic so that is good!), and generally going to try to scale back everything in order to have an easy, simple, joyous Christmas with my family.
  I hope you can give yourself permission to cut back and relax.  It can be true--Less is More!!

Blessings,
Lisa
 

Quote of the Week

No one has ever become poor by giving.
                                      --Anne Frank


I think this is appropriate for this time of the year!
Blessings,
Lisa

Thanksgiving Menu

This year my Mother and I sat down and planned out our Thanksgiving Menu. We usually have basically the same meal every year give or take a side dish or two!

So here is our menu and who is doing what!

Turkey and Turkey breast--Mom and Me
Mom's cornbread stuffing-Mom
Make ahead mashed potatoes-Me
Baked sweet potatoes--SIL
Green beans-Canned this past summer-Me
Corn on the cob-frozen this past summer-Me
Broccolli and Cheese casserole-Me
Gravy-Mom
Roasted root veggies with Rosemary--Me
My son's favorite -Apple sausage stuffing-Jonathan
Baked cheesey cauliflower-Mom
Jello-Me
Cranberry Sauce-Ocean spray
Fresh baked bread-Me
Pumpkin bread-Me
Pumpkin Pie-Me
Pecan Pie-Me
Apple Pie-Sara Lee
Carrot Cake-Mom
Warm apple cider--Me

We usually have about 14 people at my house for dinner--All immediate family!
Tom and I have 4 children and My DD#1 is married and has one child. My brother is married with 2 children and Mine and Tom's Mothers are both coming.

   I always plan the menu early and start shopping for all needed foodstuffs early in November. We figure who is bringing/making what and post a copy of all on the refrigerator(aka The Command Center).  I gather the recipes together so I won't have trouble finding them when needed.
   I am contemplating my table centerpiece. I really do not want to spend any money for it so I was thinking candles in mason jars with jute string tied around the top all lined up in a row on a runner.  I think I will put brown sugar in the bottom of the jars to hold the votive candles I got at the Yankee outlet Store(pumpkin spice scent).  I have a pretty little ceramic pumpkin that would look cute sitting in the middle of 4 jars with silk fall leaves scattered on the table around the jars and pumpkin.  Here are the pics that inspired me:

What do you think? Do you think it will look ok? Do you have your centerpieces planned out?  Are you buying flowers or being frugal!

I'll be sure to post pics of my centerpiece on Thanksgiving Day!

Have fun planning!

Blessings,

Lisa

The Oak Ridge Boys still have it going on!!

This past Saturday, my Mom, Mil, me and my Hubby went to Bear Creek Farm Resort for a package deal that included a buffet dinner, Oak Ridge boys concert, overnight lodging, and a buffet Breakfast. I cannot really decide on which was better--the food or the Oaks! Both were WONDERFUL! I love the Oak Ridge Boys. I got to see them in concert many years ago and they are still just as good now!
Blessings,
Lisa

And the Winner Is......

Carol J. Alexander!!!!!  That's right.  Carol is the winner of  soap, bath teas, and spa bags from Herb and Botanicals! Carol, I will e-mail you for your mailing address!  Thanks to those who entered and thank you for following my humble blog!
Blessings,
Lisa

It's Minnie!

This is my Grandbaby Jordyn before Trick or Treating!

Grandchildren really are God's reward!

Blessings,

Lisa

Random Acts of Kindness

As I chose my Quote to post yesterday, I started to think about charitable acts or the lack of charitable acts in my life.  Sometimes life happens and I become wrapped up in my own little or big troubles. Do I go out of my way for others? Could I do better.  Of course I could!  So I am planning little acts of kindness for others to accomplish each day. Think about it.  Couldn't we all do a little something for someone?  Couldn't we all smile and say Hi to a stranger? Couldn't we hold the door for someone who has their hands full? Give a compliment to a coworker or even a child? Wouldn't the world be a better place if we thought of others more and did just one random act of kindness more than normal?
  In addition to the little random acts of kindness,  champion a cause.  I love to quilt and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the hospital where I work accepts quilts for the preemies and sick babies.  I am going to start making preemie quilts for the NICU babies.  Just think how much the babies will enjoy being cuddled in a pretty little quilt!  What causes do you champion or would you want to work for?
Blessings,
Lisa

Quote of the Day

Every charitable act is a stepping stone toward heaven.

                          - Henry Ward Beecher