Stocking Up

It was a very busy weekend around our house. I spent the majority of the day baking on Saturday (since it was so HOT outside). I have been wanting to try some new recipes...and I did just that!

On my list was whole wheat pita pockets, a new beef enchilada recipe (Pioneer Woman's recipe), pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, a new banana bread recipe (my mom's recipe is still our favorite), chocolate butterfinger pie, a meatloaf, and spinach and rice casserole.

I froze some of the muffins, bread, and pita pockets and the meatloaf and spinach casserole are in the freezer for a meal this week.

I enjoyed the day so much...I just kept hinting to hubby how much I would love to be doing it EVERY day! Oh Fiddle...perhaps one day that will happen.

Yesterday, we spent the day outside. Hubby's company played softball together. They played two games and it was a great day to be out...not a lot of humidity! I definitely got a tan too...can't beat that!

Today, it's back to work...thank goodness it is a short week! The great thing is that after Thursday I am off from work for 11 days! WOO HOO! I am so excited! We are going to see my family on the 4th and then head out to Idaho on 6th! So ready for vacation!

I hope to get some of the recipes I tried posted on the recipe blog tonight....make it a great day!

Strawberry Pie

Tonight I got home from work and decided that I needed to do something with the huge thing of strawberries I bought at the store for $2.00! I found a strawberry pie recipe online and decided

to give it a shot. I can remember my Granny K making strawberry pies in the summer time....and oh how I miss the taste of them.

I must say...as you can see from the picture...it turned out pretty YUMMY! Added a bit of coolwhip and I was in heaven. Going to take some to work tomorrow to share with some of my coworkers.

If you want the recipe....check my recipe blog out..it's posted there. I also tried a new recipe out of my new Paula Deen cookbook that my sissie gave me...it tasted just as good as the dishes I use to order in Jersey! I have posted that recipe too.

Storms have arrived here this evening....and we are hanging out watching a movie. I love a good thunderstorm. Bella and I sat out on our front porch until hubby got home to watch the clouds come in. A good summer day indeed.

Might just have to have another piece of pie...so good!

Bathroom Project

This weekend my goal was to work on decorating our master bathroom. I begged and begged for hubby to get done painting right away as I wanted to decorate...and then I have been procrastinating for a few months as I couldn't decide what kind of color scheme and decor I wanted to use.

I finally decided....and went and got the stuff this weekend....check out our master bath....and it is so clean too!

Here is looking in from our bedroom...

A new picture...

A clock that we can see from the shower.....as I tend to take pretty long showers...

The towels and rugs in zebra stripe are what I saw first and then tried to figure out what colors to go along with it...when I saw the Dream sign at Hobby Lobby...I finally began piecing it all together.

On both corners of our tub are candle holders that we used in our wedding...

The water closet....

And a view from the opposite side.

I still have a few more items I am wanting to add....but for now...we are in good shape....next up...the bedroom.

Happy Monday!

To my Dad

Happy Father's Day Dad! I know we have already spoken on the phone....but wanted to write it on my blog too!

Dad, thank you for being the spiritual leader of our family, loving us all unconditionally. and being an example of a Godly Man. I love you Dad!

Lazy Saturday

Last night we had a guest at our house. Hubby's good friend "tall one"...I'll call him that cause he is ...yep you guessed it...Really Tall. He was Hubby's shop foreman in Jersey. He flew in for his brother's wedding and came by our house to visit. Hubby and him had a great time catching up with the latest news.

Today I am not sure what all we have planned. I am going to head out here in a bit to do some shopping and then I think Hubs and I are headed out to find some stones/rocks....more on that later.

Nothing like a lazy Saturday. Enjoy your Saturday!

Weekend wrapup

This weekend we had a great time with family.

Friday night my cousin, Rach and her hubby, SB came and spent the evening with us. SB was in town for the Scottish Highland Games. He is one of the professionals that travels all over to compete. Hubby and I had a great time catching up with them both. Rach is 6 months older than I and we grew up together, were in the same class from kindergarten to 12th grade, celebrated every birthday, holiday, and just about anything you can think of. Even though we don't see each other as much anymore, I still enjoy spending time with them when we get a chance. We stayed up until almost 12:30 Saturday morning chatting. Thanks for coming to stay...come back anytime!! We promise to make it up your way sometime soon too!

On Saturday, we went to watch SB participate in the games....here are a few snapshots from his events...

At the festival they have pretty much anything and everything to eat. Hubby kept his eyes on the turkey leg....it just looked too good to resist.

My sis and her family also joined us to cheer on SB. Little "I" enjoyed himself too....as you can see below.

By the end of the afternoon though...he was all tuckered out.

I felt the same way....Saturday night we crashed at home....all that fresh air made our allergies crazy and we were both exhausted from staying up so late the night before. Wouldn't have traded it for anything though. A great time it was indeed!

Weekend finds and projects

It's Sunday evening and I have finally slowed down...well....a little! I have had such a great weekend with family and doing some shopping and working on some projects. I took the week off from blogging and it was good for me. I spent time working on some things around the house and trying to relax a little during the evenings.

So...let me share what all I have been working on and what I spent some birthday money on.

I finally sewed together the pillow covers for our front room.....it sure does change the look of our sofa and settee!

I also FINALLY found what I have been looking for to set at the little loft area in our front entry way....what do you think?? Even hubby likes it!

I also picked up a picture frame on sale and cut out some of the photos from my I Love Lucy calendar and hung it above my zebra board in the laundry room.

And....I found some plates for the craft room....oh...hubby hung the shelves too!

My favorite of it all is the clock I bought.....I have been looking for the right one for months....and finally found it.

And the last item is the rooster stand I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby. Isn't it cute?? :)

That's all for now...I will update more on my weekend tomorrow.

Big 33

Yes...you guessed it.

Today is my 33rd birthday!

I arrived at work this morning with a White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks...in hand... to a decorated cube...it's so cute and so me...that I just had to share. If you can't tell...it's a recipe card....I took a picture of the card closer up below....my fellow team members created it...and I love it!

More in store for this afternoon...not sure what yet...but I know what theme they are using!! My coworker Cindy is the best...she is the creator behind it all!

Not sure if I will get another chance to blog today.......thinking I will take the day off from the blog world......I mean...it is my birthday. heehee!

Talk to you all tomorrow!

And we have a winner!

Congratulations to Carol! She has won the thermal tote!! I have found your email Carol, so I will be in touch later today to get your address and will get it mailed out to you right away!

I apologize to you all for taking so long to post the winner. A big thanks to those of you who participated!

Last night, my immediate family gathered together for dinner to celebrate three birthdays and an anniversary! It was great fun to get together with everyone. I had my camera with me and totally forgot to get a snapshot of us all. I will have to do that next time. I believe all 9 of us enjoyed ourselves!

My sister gave me two cookbooks for my birthday and I am anxious to look at one of them today. She knows me well...as I was planning on using my birthday money to buy a couple....and what is even better is that she had picked out my two favorite chefs Paula Deen and Rachael Ray! Thanks for reading my mind Kid!

The best part is that I received a card that sings the song "We are Family"...and as soon as I opened it...Little "I" wanted to hold it and dance to it...so stinkin cute!

I also want to send out a big CONGRATULATIONS to my cousin Rob and his wife C. C gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Calla Elizabeth yesterday evening! We have all been anxiously awaiting her arrival. The best part was we didn't know if it was going to be a boy or a girl...my guess was a girl....she is beautiful! I can't wait to meet her!

Also, our Grandpa has ended up back in the hospital as he passed out again a few days ago. He is being scoped this morning to try and figure out where he is losing blood. I will keep you posted as I know more.

Make it a great day!

Giveaway Reminder

Remember that you can still enter to win a FREE Thermal Tote today until 8:00 pm CST!!!

Just click on the left-hand side of my blog and it will take you directly to where you need to go to enter.

It's a great tote....I absolutely love mine! Good luck!

Happy Birthday to my Hubby!

Today has been a very relaxing day for my Hubby. It's his 34th birthday! We both slept in this morning, I made homemade biscuits and gravy for breakfast, he took a morning nap, I went for a walk with Bella, came home made some lunch, he took another nap, I washed my car, ran to Sonic and the store, gave Bella a bath, and finished all our laundry. We just finished eating some brats for dinner and having yummy blackberry pie (that I mdae today) for dessert.

This is the first year since I have met him that I did not buy him a gift or even a card. I know...can you believe it! If you know me...I love giving gifts! It was so hard...but it is what he wanted. One of the discussions we had this week was how different we are about holidays and birthdays. I was raised in family that celebrates big...he on the other hand is not. It is hard for him to accept gifts or do any celebrating. So....I LISTENED (something I am working on...heehee!) to my husband and gave him exactly what he wanted. He did mention that he would like to go to Lowe's tomorrow and get a couple of tools...so that looks like what we will be doing.

Even though I know he doesn't read my blog....I Love you Babe! Happy Birthday!!

Show you where I live....the office/craft room

So today is show you my office day.....however when I was working on this post this morning I realized I don't have pictures of my desk or scrapbook station...so these will have to do... ENJOY!!

To the left you can just barely see the desk that we have with our computer and printer on top of it...

The chalkboard that hubby helped me make!

I have lots of storage...

This is much fuller now than in the picture, as I have a ton of material for sewing!!

Above my closet door...

Got this valance at Target..I just love it!

Made this art myself!!

Thanks for stopping by to check out the office/craft room!!

Thermal Tote Giveaway

Contest is CLOSED

Let's have some Friday fun!!

I have decided to giveaway to one lucky reader one of my Thirty-One Thermal Totes in the black floral. These are one of the most popular items that we sell and I use mine all the time!!

Check it out...I love the pattern!



You can use these for : camping, fishing, vacations, lunches, boating, school events and more!!
It features and thermal insulation, zipper closure, and 3" handles.

Three ways to earn entries:

1) Go to our Thirty-One Website and take a look at one of our catalogs (there are three!!) and tell me about another item you like by leaving a comment and link below.

2) Blog about this giveaway and leave a post that you did and where.

3)You can also subscribe to my blog / be a follower / or tweet with me /for additional entries!

Be sure to leave your contact info if you do not have a profile, so I can contact you in the event that you are the winner!

The winner will be chosen using Random.org on Monday, June 8th at 8pm CST.

Auntie D's ABC's

So I saw this idea on another blog and decided to use it for my post today....liven things up a bit.

A - Age: 32... ….for less than a week
B - Bed size: King
C - Chore you hate: emptying the dishwasher
D - Dog's name: Bella…we also call her BB
E - Essential start your day item: coffee with cream and a bit of sugar
F - Favorite color: Red…I would use it all over my house if I could.
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 5'1"
I - Instruments you play: I played the clarinet and the piano
J - Job title: Billing Associate II CVD Division, Wife, Mommy to my dog Bella, Friend, Sister, Daughter, Auntie D
K - Kid(s): stepson Y
L - Living arrangements: In the good ole Midwest with my hubby and our dog Bella in our house
M - Mom's name: Alice
N - Nicknames: Nayna is what my nephew calls me…I have also been called Deek, DK, Doc, Ms. K, Dee and I am sure there are more.
O - Overnight hospital stay: I don't know that I have ever spent the entire night in the hospital.
P - Pet Peeve: When my hubby leaves his clothes everywhere on the floor, dirty dishes in the sink
Q - Quote from a movie: From the Kingdom of Heaven "Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath"
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: 1 younger brother, J and 1 younger sister, K
T - Time you wake up: between 4:00 and 4:30 am
Underwear: Goodness yes!!
V - Vegetable you dislike: I love almost all veggies!! I do not like cauliflower
W - Ways/Reasons you run late: Oversleeping, forgetting things
X - X-rays you've had: teeth, stomach
Y - Yummy food you make: I love baking…hubby says it is all good. My favorite is enchiladas and Christmas cookies! His favorite is my red velvet cake.
Z - Zoo animals you like: Tigers, Polar Bears and Monkeys

Rejuvenated

I first want to say thanks for letting me unload on y’all yesterday. Oh my goodness…it sure did feel good…and to those of you who left me special notes and prayers….THANK YOU. You have no idea how much each of them meant to me….and how many times I shed some tears yesterday when I received them all.

I will be responding to each of you personally….but for now….a BIG THANK YOU is all I can say!

I feel so rejuvenated today…even have a bit of spunk in my walk! HA! No…not everything magically turned for the better today…but I see that there is hope again and there is a smile on my face today and a glow that I can’t describe. Part of it has to do with my hubby coming home and sitting down at the bar for dinner and we didn’t leave it the rest of the evening….we just talked. I understand more of what he wants…he understands more of what I want….God is truly working….it is just not in my time (like I would like)…it is in his.

So…let’s talk about a couple of other things that are going on.

First…let me share a tip that my friend Griffin shared with me last week. Have you ever heard of Pandora Radio? It is an online radio for blackberries. It is so amazing…you just enter a song title or an artist and it randomly plays songs that are similar all day long! I have been loving it at work. We do not have access on internet at work to any radio stations…and listening to the same old cds all the time can get old…so this has totally been fun to try! I believe the site is www.pandora.com. Check it out…see what you think!

Also…I am trying to give up my beloved Diet Coke….yep…sure am! I am not getting nearly as much water as I like…and have bought several different flavors of Crystal Light packets to add to my water to help me drink more. I have joined Kelly from Kelly’s Korner in the Water Challenge…I am just starting today…but will be tracking how much I drink a day. If you want to check it out to see what it is all about..here is the link. http://deliciouschange.glam.com/

I promise…no more posts like yesterday….we are on to bigger and better topics!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Note from Grandma - Murphy’s Law by Muriel Larson

It was one of those weeks when I wished Murphy’s Law had a neck so I could wring it. You know, that horrible, inexorable force that hits all of us at times: If something can go wrong, it sure will.

It started when I got 12 rejections in the mail on Monday. As a freelance writer, I began to suspect then it might be a bad week. Am I losing my touch? I fretted. Is my career going down the drain?

A back tooth started aching. Oh no, I thought, don’t tell me I have to visit the dentist again! (Along with 5 million other people, it’s like pulling teeth to get me to go to the dentist.)

Then my mother called to tell me she had made an appointment with her doctor for the next morning and needed me to take her there. “Mom,” I exclaimed, “you know I do my writing in the morning. And I’m working on a big project!”

“Well,” said Mom sweetly, “that’s when the secretary told me to come- and I didn’t want to put her to any trouble!” (Good old considerate Mom!)

On Wednesday morning my daughter’s school called. Lori had been in an accident. “Is she all right?” I gasped. “Well, she’s all right,” answered the secretary, “but I can’t say the same for your car.”

A neighbor drove me to the school, where I checked out my car. Rammed in the right front side, it looked like a 3-dimensional model from a Salvador Dali painting. When I started the car, something clattered. And I couldn’t budge the gear shift.

“What am I going to do without a car, Lord?” I wondered. A teacher was looking it over. “The fan is out of whack,” he said. “A fan from a junkyard could take care of that.” The gear wouldn’t shift because the frame had been knocked off its base. The handy teacher put the gear in manually as I kept my foot on the brake. We took it to a transmission repair place, where the owner got the frame back in place – and charged me only $5! That afternoon I was able to drive my weird-looking vehicle to pick Lori up from school. How I thanked god I was not only able to drive the car, but I wasn’t having to go to the hospital to visit Lori!

On Friday- you guessed it! – the kitchen sink broke – a pipe sprang a leak and was watering everything under the sink. Dismay hit me, but then I prayed, and I examined the situation. I borrowed a big wrench from a neighbor; I tightened the flange – and the leak stopped!

As I look back on the week, I realized how much my habit of taking everything to the Lord helped me. I could have been a nervous wreck; but when each of these trials came, I took it to the Lord and He gave me His peace that passes all understanding.

At the end of the week I received 3 checks for articles, my tooth had stopped aching on Wednesday, I got Mom to the doctor’s and still finished writing my project. My car, although an interesting conversation piece, still worked. And with the Lord’s guidance, I had stopped the leak.

Here’s the Scripture that helps me get through a “Murphy’s Law” week: “Rejoice in the Lord always…Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phillippians 4:4-7)

Not perfect.

This life of mine is not perfect…warning…this posting is not going to be a happy post…nor is it a post where I am wanting sympathy or pity…it is simply a post where I need to unload and get something’s off my chest. If I offend you….I apologize….but as I was speaking with my sister last night I realized this is MY blog and I can choose to write about whatever I wish….so if you choose to not read any further…that is just fine with me. She also told me about a statistic that they were given at the marriage retreat that they went to that women who hold their thoughts in end up causing damage to their heart….so here I am…ready to let it all out.

I was thinking about not posting any of this…because I know so many people are going through so much harder trials in their lives than mine…but that is just it…we all are struggling with issues in our lives…and these are mine.

Maybe some of you will relate to parts of what I am going through…and maybe some will not…and I am ok with both….but you see….LIFE IS NOT PERFECT….I AM NOT PERFECT…and I see so many people out there going on and pretending that it is….and I am about to be real with y’all.

June is starting off to not be a very pleasant month for me. I am frustrated, tired, emotional, confused, feeling lost and trying to hold it all together. I am feeling like God is a million miles away and I am begging for him to draw me close to him…and I just can’t seem to feel or sense his presence.

Have you ever had one of those days…weeks…months…where it just seems like you are just moving along and merely just existing??….well…that has been me lately. The church that I have been attending is wonderful…great pastors…staff….members….but I am just not feeling like I am being fed by God’s word as deeply as I would like and I feel that I need a place where I can get involved in a women’s group that will pray with me…and be a support group to me through this crazy life of mine. There are so many great women groups out there…but so many of them are made for moms….and that isn’t me…in fact sometimes it is very difficult to be around…more brutal honesty…I have a husband who doesn’t want to have a child with me. (you might ask….why…he has given every excuse in the book…I have prayed about it..and over the topic…but am exhausted from asking God to change his mind). I know so many women out there who are trying to get pregnant and wanting a family of their own…and my thoughts and prayers are with them…but when your hubby doesn’t want to raise a family with you is an indescribable feeling of hurt. I love my hubby so much and wouldn’t trade my life with him…but there are days where it just sinks to the bottom of my stomach and stings.

And the older I get…the more I realize that having a child of my own…really might not happen. You see…that is why it was so important for me to move back home to live closer to my sister….if I am not going to have a child of my own…then I want a close relationship with my nephew….and ever time I hear him call me “NAYNA”…my heart jumps with joy and my eyes fill with tears because he wants me. I love that little guy so much.

And so I am on the hunt for a new church. This is a difficult decision for me, as some of you may know; my hubby will not attend church with me…and is a very sticky topic with the two of us…which makes this decision to search for a new church home even more difficult. It is not easy doing it alone…but then I look back at how many cities I have lived in and how many times I have hunted on my own before…so I know with God’s strength…I can do it again.

I am also struggling with my job…I have no desire to work where I am…my desire is to be at home…and be a homemaker…and I am praying that God will motivate me and take away this desire of mine…as I have a hubby who isn’t happy with his job and I am not sure he is very happy with life at all…and I am trying to remain positive and be encouraging and supportive..but there are times that I want to scream at the top of my lungs . I told y’all…I am just being honest…I often feel like all things are my fault..no matter what they are…and I try to make everything okay…when in reality..the only one who can do that is God.

I know…you all wanted to know how the expo went….it went ok…nothing to write home about…most people haven’t heard of Thirty-One…so we passed out a lot of catalogs…but this is another issue I am wrestling with right now…having a full time job and a part time job is absolutely exhausting.

This morning began with me crying….oh don’t you love days where your emotions are out of control?! Good grief!! I was a mess….I ran upstairs and grabbed my makeup bag…and ran into my craft room…grabbed my Grandma box…and searched for two letters from her….and I brought them with me to work today.. I can not tell you how thankful I am that my Grandma wrote to me. Words of encouragement she always gave me….even when life seemed overwhelming.

One of the items I picked up was an article she had sent to me called Murphy’s Law and she had attached a note. I had just gotten off the phone with her and she and my Grandpa had read this story and thought of me. She knew that I needed to read it...and this morning...I needed to read it again. I will post it separately.

So there you have it…what has been going on with me. If you could lift up my hubby and I in your prayers I would appreciate it…we are having a hard week….I know…tomorrow will be better…if you need prayer..I will be happy to pray for you too..I know we all could use it.

Thanks for listening...no responses are needed...just needed to unload.

As my Grandma always closed her letter...I will close my post with this.

May God's heavenly angels surround you all the time wherever you are.