Good Friday morning!
The weekend is finally here, and you know what that means! Well, actually it means something different for every person out there. No two people have the exact same weekend, do they?
The Gallery Pics are of a new friend we made yesterday... Bella. She's a sweet puppy, but she is NOT our puppy. I felt like a grandparent must feel. I loved on her for a few minutes, and then I gave her back to her Momma. It was very freeing.
I also added a few "soup" pictures. If you haven't tried the Bear Creek Soup Mixes (they are in large packets on the soup aisle), then I highly recommend you grab a couple today for this weekend. Incredibly easy AND delicious... the only two true criteria for soup.
Next week I'll be introducing our Special Guest for February. I have some final clues for you today.
7. She is not tall, but she is not short.
8. Her hair is not gray or red.
9. She is very funny, but I don't think she always means to be.
10. "Things" happen to her... and she just laughs and laughs. ("Things" which would make me cry and cry.)
11. You'll really want to come back Monday and learn more about this extraordinary woman.
Okay. That's it! Those are your clues. Now you'll just have to wait and see if you were right or not.
Weekend Happenings
This is the first weekend in a very long time we have been totally "SPORTS FREE." I'm not sure we know what to do. Who am I kidding? I know exactly what we're going to do! Relax!
Tonight, Mikie and Josh (and friends) are heading to see the new Percy Jackson movie. That movie just screams "Guy Flick," doesn't it? (Austin has been notified of the plan, but we haven't heard from him yet. He may or may not be attending with his Dad and brother... but he will be home, or in general vicinity!)
Roxie and I were discussing our possibilities for a Girls' Night Out since the guys will be gone, and by the time I pick her up at 3:00, she should have something wonderful planned.
Tomorrow, of course, is the Second Mystery Bag Party. So far, so good. I'm almost finished packing the bags, and I've heard from all the attendees. I'll have a lot to report on Monday (pictures included).
A vote will be taken before we part, and if it is favorable, there will be another contest on my 400th post for yet another Mystery Bag Party. (C, R and J... I HOPE we continue having these parties until your names get picked! And you know who you are!)
Saturday night is open right now which is absolutely wonderful. I'll carefully fill it with something good. Maybe Game Night! Since I won at Scrabble last weekend, I'm feeling pretty lucky.
After church on Sunday, we'll be heading to my Mom's for a family lunch with my sister and her family.
Could this weekend (in writing) be more enjoyable? You'll just have to wait until Monday for the Weekend Review.
I have big plans for the blog next week. Along with all the usual (traditions, recipes, parties, dates, etc.) and the Special Guest, I'll also be telling a few stories shared by some friends. I won't tell you the topic for the week yet, but the stories will inspire you. (And I can say this modestly because these aren't my stories.)
Don't forget to check Project 365 Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings for more pictures. I'll be adding them daily.
Also, if you are a Newbie, go to my sidebar and click on Newbie Info to get you started.
Have a simple, yet wonderful, weekend with your family and loved ones. Enjoy the moments God gives you, and watch for opportunities to be kind and giving and compassionate to others. You never know if someone is going through a difficult time. And you never know how a smile or pat on the shoulder or hug could literally make their day. Keep your eyes open for "moments" like those.
Take care, and I'll talk to you Monday.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Antique Store Date
Good Thursday morning!
And a wonderful Thursday morning it is! Not too cold, but just right. The sun is shining, but we have a forecast of some gray stuff coming in this evening. I like it!
The Gallery Pics are simple. The picture frames are the "before" shots of a project Roxie and I are planning for her bedroom. Because I posted the "before" shots, maybe I'll feel obligated to post the "after" shots. (Code for MAYBE I'LL ACTUALLY FINISH THE PROJECT!) The project involves painting some of the frames and shooting nine black and white photos... really good black and white photos. Roxie wants to be an interior designer when she grows up... and I think she's going to drag me along with her.
I also included my last Hillbilly Sign... I promise.
Our Special Guest will be here bright and early Monday morning. I've had some very, very good educated guesses from A Simple Life readers. Let's see if you can think of a few more names using this clue.
7. She once saw Buffy from the show Family Affair in a Christmas parade when she was a little girl. Remember Uncle Bill and Mr. French? She was a proud owner of a Mrs. Beasley doll.
As you might guess, I'm pretty jealous. What a GREAT famous person to have in your "Famous People I've Seen From a Distance" collection. She has all the luck!
Blog Linkage - I have some new blogs for you to visit today. I think you'll enjoy what they have to say.
1. This woman has a great post dated January 26. She also has a visually beautiful blog. Go to www.beckynovacekphotography.com and scroll down until you come to the heading "'b' list of words." She has taken an idea from another blogger/scrapbooker (Ali Edwards) and is trying to choose a "word" for 2010. She lists several along with her explanation of why the word is important to her. I love it.
I thought about it last night, and I think my word for 2010 will be "COMPASSION." What would your word be?
2. You'll notice a new blog under My Blog List called Sherri's Blog. This is Sherri Burgess' new blog. As most of you know, she and her husband, Rick, lost their 2 1/2 year-old son, Bronner, two years ago January 19 in a drowning accident. (She just started blogging this month.) For anyone who has ever lost someone, you need to read Sherri's Blog. As of this morning, there are four posts. I have attended church faithfully my entire life, but I have never heard anyone make Heaven as "real" as Sherri does. It is an uplifting, heartbreaking, thanksgiving and hopeful blog.
3. Okay. Okay. No surprise here. I had a favorite post this week on Nitty.Gritty (under My Blog List), so read Jody's post dated January 27. It is a list of questions. Take a few minutes to answer them honestly (like Jody did). Maybe it's just me, but I like stuff like this.
4. If you have little ones, you may want to go to www.familyfun.com and click on Valentine's Day Cards. They have dozens of fun, fun, fun cards to make. We've made some of these in the past, and we always enjoyed this crafty little holiday.
Antique Store Date
I'm assuming you are busy writing your "I love you because... " notes for your family as I share this date. This is a fun outing to go along with the Valentine's Day project (see Monday's post). You have until February 13 to actually "go" on this date, but plan a specific time NOW.
Find a local antique store in your area. (In the south, there is literally a church, a Chinese restaurant and an antique store on every corner. I'm not kidding. And I enjoy attending, eating and shopping at all three.)
After you find the store, take your shopping buddy (a/k/a date) through the store looking for long necked bottles. You'll need one for each member of your family. They should be inexpensive and fairly easy to find. Take your time, but keep your date focused on the task at hand. (It's easy to get sidetracked in an antique store.)
After you have found and paid for your treasures, it will be time for a snack or dinner. It's up to you and your budget. Take your time. Don't rush. And always, always enjoy this one-on-one time with your son or daughter.
NOTE - Since you are buying the bottles for a Valentine's Day surprise for your date, as well as the other members in your family, do not spoil the secret. Just tell your date you are collecting the bottles for a project you are planning for the house, and you need their help. This is as true as true can be!
Have a good Thursday. Tomorrow we'll have a short post regarding Weekend Happenings in the Faulkner household, as well as a few more clues about our Special Guest. I'll also be talking about next week's Topic of the Week. It's a very good one, and it will involve sharing some wonderful stories from some of my friends.
NOTE - Don't worry. If you are my friend, I will be asking your permission before sharing your story. Working for attorneys for ten years (in the early days) made me very "lawsuit" conscious, if you get my drift!
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
And a wonderful Thursday morning it is! Not too cold, but just right. The sun is shining, but we have a forecast of some gray stuff coming in this evening. I like it!
The Gallery Pics are simple. The picture frames are the "before" shots of a project Roxie and I are planning for her bedroom. Because I posted the "before" shots, maybe I'll feel obligated to post the "after" shots. (Code for MAYBE I'LL ACTUALLY FINISH THE PROJECT!) The project involves painting some of the frames and shooting nine black and white photos... really good black and white photos. Roxie wants to be an interior designer when she grows up... and I think she's going to drag me along with her.
I also included my last Hillbilly Sign... I promise.
Our Special Guest will be here bright and early Monday morning. I've had some very, very good educated guesses from A Simple Life readers. Let's see if you can think of a few more names using this clue.
7. She once saw Buffy from the show Family Affair in a Christmas parade when she was a little girl. Remember Uncle Bill and Mr. French? She was a proud owner of a Mrs. Beasley doll.
As you might guess, I'm pretty jealous. What a GREAT famous person to have in your "Famous People I've Seen From a Distance" collection. She has all the luck!
Blog Linkage - I have some new blogs for you to visit today. I think you'll enjoy what they have to say.
1. This woman has a great post dated January 26. She also has a visually beautiful blog. Go to www.beckynovacekphotography.com and scroll down until you come to the heading "'b' list of words." She has taken an idea from another blogger/scrapbooker (Ali Edwards) and is trying to choose a "word" for 2010. She lists several along with her explanation of why the word is important to her. I love it.
I thought about it last night, and I think my word for 2010 will be "COMPASSION." What would your word be?
2. You'll notice a new blog under My Blog List called Sherri's Blog. This is Sherri Burgess' new blog. As most of you know, she and her husband, Rick, lost their 2 1/2 year-old son, Bronner, two years ago January 19 in a drowning accident. (She just started blogging this month.) For anyone who has ever lost someone, you need to read Sherri's Blog. As of this morning, there are four posts. I have attended church faithfully my entire life, but I have never heard anyone make Heaven as "real" as Sherri does. It is an uplifting, heartbreaking, thanksgiving and hopeful blog.
3. Okay. Okay. No surprise here. I had a favorite post this week on Nitty.Gritty (under My Blog List), so read Jody's post dated January 27. It is a list of questions. Take a few minutes to answer them honestly (like Jody did). Maybe it's just me, but I like stuff like this.
4. If you have little ones, you may want to go to www.familyfun.com and click on Valentine's Day Cards. They have dozens of fun, fun, fun cards to make. We've made some of these in the past, and we always enjoyed this crafty little holiday.
Antique Store Date
I'm assuming you are busy writing your "I love you because... " notes for your family as I share this date. This is a fun outing to go along with the Valentine's Day project (see Monday's post). You have until February 13 to actually "go" on this date, but plan a specific time NOW.
Find a local antique store in your area. (In the south, there is literally a church, a Chinese restaurant and an antique store on every corner. I'm not kidding. And I enjoy attending, eating and shopping at all three.)
After you find the store, take your shopping buddy (a/k/a date) through the store looking for long necked bottles. You'll need one for each member of your family. They should be inexpensive and fairly easy to find. Take your time, but keep your date focused on the task at hand. (It's easy to get sidetracked in an antique store.)
After you have found and paid for your treasures, it will be time for a snack or dinner. It's up to you and your budget. Take your time. Don't rush. And always, always enjoy this one-on-one time with your son or daughter.
NOTE - Since you are buying the bottles for a Valentine's Day surprise for your date, as well as the other members in your family, do not spoil the secret. Just tell your date you are collecting the bottles for a project you are planning for the house, and you need their help. This is as true as true can be!
Have a good Thursday. Tomorrow we'll have a short post regarding Weekend Happenings in the Faulkner household, as well as a few more clues about our Special Guest. I'll also be talking about next week's Topic of the Week. It's a very good one, and it will involve sharing some wonderful stories from some of my friends.
NOTE - Don't worry. If you are my friend, I will be asking your permission before sharing your story. Working for attorneys for ten years (in the early days) made me very "lawsuit" conscious, if you get my drift!
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Devotion Locations
Good Wednesday morning!
The Gallery Pics are just a few more shots of things Mikie and I enjoyed this past weekend. Nothing spectacular (except the views), but definitely enjoyable!
ROXIE UPDATE - Roxie's basketball season ended last night. They had a single elimination county tournament, and Roxie's team lost to their opponent. It was a bittersweet end to a hard season. The sweet part, of course, were the wins... But also, the new friendships she made during these past few months and the old friendships which grew stronger. All in all, I would consider it a successful season.
JOSH UPDATE - While Josh has been driving solo since his birthday in October, we had a little technical difficulty with the car situation in the Faulkner household. Austin drove Mike's red truck to JSU in August. Mike started driving Austin's green truck (which became Josh's green truck in October), but had trouble finding a replacement vehicle for himself. When he finally found what he wanted, Josh's green truck had to go to the shop for a major overhaul to make it through Josh's three remaining years of high school.
All of the above to say... Josh's truck is in working order and he is now a bona fide DAILY driver. A very, very happy DAILY driver.
AUSTIN UPDATE - This semester, Austin is having to adapt to being JUST a student and not a Southerner/student. It has been an adjustment. He's on the Praise Team at the BCM (Baptist Campus Ministries). He's still a sports writer for the school newspaper. He's playing intramural basketball. He's watching 24 faithfully. And He's carrying a pretty big course load this semester. All in all, he's doing well.
Mondays and Wednesdays are his "every minute is full" days, while Tuesdays and Thursdays are busy, but he has breaks in between classes, practices and BCM Bible Study. Fridays are the best because he is FINISHED by 1:30 and he can head home. (I love Fridays. Friday may replace Thursday as my favorite day of the week.)
He still loves Communications and is taking his second Communications class, along with the "regular stuff." We don't know if this is God's plan for his life, but as of today, it has been a very natural "fit." We will all just have to pray and see.
Weekend in Review
POLES! POLES! Ski sticks are called SKI POLES! I thought of that around midnight last night, but I was too lazy to get up and correct yesterday's post. On with the review...
After our ultra-exciting visit to Unclaimed Baggage (and I'm NOT being sarcastic), Mike and I headed back to our cabin. We had planned on going to a restaurant called Canyon Grill about 45 minutes north of our location. But we were worn out from our Unclaimed Baggage adventure. We wanted something closer to home... but not pizza. Something romantic... but not Chinese.
Only a block or so from our cabin was a log building called Wildflower Cafe and Country Store. We drove by on our way back, and I stopped to make sure they served dinner. They did! We decided to dine there at 7:30.
What a lovely surprise. Decorated with anything and everything from bus seats to flattened, colored bottles hanging in the windows... from twinkly lights hung everywhere to different floral tablecloths on each and every table... from paintings created by local artists hanging from every nail to a live guitarist/singer entertaining the guests... It was just the PERFECT dining experience for our special evening out. We both declared it GOOD. VERY, VERY GOOD!
I even tried something different. (I'm crazy that way.) I ordered grilled cabbage.
Now, I will be the first to admit, in the past I sometimes ordered a very healthy something to sit on my plate. You know. To make a good impression for anyone who might happen by. I kind of did this with the grilled cabbage. I don't like cabbage. I've never liked cabbage. I think it smells like... Well, you know what it smells like.
But when the waitress brought our meals to us, I couldn't help but notice this cabbage smelled wonderful. In fact, it almost smelled appetizing. I cut a small bite. Oh, my goodness! It tasted good. It tasted NOT like cabbage!
Mike even tried a bite or two, and he liked it. I couldn't be sure, but it tasted like it had been marinated in Dale's Sauce, which confirmed something I had always thought... Dale's can make anything taste good.
We finished our wonderful meal, and headed up front to pay. We spoke with the singer for a few minutes and the chef was sitting by the cash register chatting with some people, and he told me how to prepare grilled cabbage. I'm going to do it. I've made a mental commitment to try. And when I do, and it tastes as wonderful as it did at the Wildflower Cafe, I will share my recipe with you on a Tuesday. I promise.
The rest of our weekend was spent sitting by the fire, watching movies, playing Scrabble (I WON... and I never win) and just relaxing. Simple, but definitely something we don't get to do a lot of at home.
We had a lovely, lovely anniversary!
Let's see. We need another clue for our Special Guest, don't we? Hmmm. Okay. Here's one.
6. She considers popcorn a "side dish."
There's a really good story about that one. Hopefully, she'll share it next week in her interview. Keep on guessing!
Wednesday Wisdom - Since it is my anniversary week, I decided to shares a few "LOVE" quotes.
"Many marriages would be better if the husband and the wife clearly understood that they are on the same side." Zig Ziglar.
"There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company, than a good marriage." Martin Luther. (I love this one.)
"'Mr. Churchill, if you were my husband, I’d poison your tea!’ And Mr. Churchill responded, 'And if you were my wife, I would drink it!'" Winston Churchill.
Devotion Locations
I'm not sharing a specific devotion today. It's more of a suggestion or idea. We always had our family devotions in the den before bedtime. Occasionally, we would have them at the dinner table after we ate. But the devotions we enjoyed the most (parents and kids) were the ones we had in the tent when we went camping. The devotions we read by lantern light or flashlight with the sound of crickets chirping and fires popping nearby.
So my "suggestion" is to try something different once a month or so. Plan a different place to have your family devotion. Here are some ideas:
1. Pile up on Mom and Dad's bed.
2. Get in the van before bedtime and go out for milkshakes, reading as you go.
3. Sit on the back deck.
4. Climb on your roof and read your devotion high above your neighborhood. (I read about a family doing this. Of course, the kids would need to be older... and VERY, VERY obedient... and you would need the right kind of roof. You know. Not too steep! But I could see where it would be a great place to have a devotion on missions in your very own neighborhood. We think about having to go to foreign countries to share the Gospel, when many of our neighbors may not attend church or know Christ as their personal Savior. Just think about the impact the "devotion on the roof" would have on your kids. They would remember it forever!)
5. Your attic.
6. Your basement.
7. A neighbor's house (inviting your neighbor and their family to join you, of course).
8. A park.
9. A favorite restaurant.
The list can go on and on. Use your imagination, and plan a different location for your family devotion THIS VERY MONTH!
Have a terrific Wednesday. Tomorrow I have a date to go with Monday's Seasonal Tradition, as well as some new Blog Linkage to share. I'll share another clue about our Special Guest, also.
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
The Gallery Pics are just a few more shots of things Mikie and I enjoyed this past weekend. Nothing spectacular (except the views), but definitely enjoyable!
ROXIE UPDATE - Roxie's basketball season ended last night. They had a single elimination county tournament, and Roxie's team lost to their opponent. It was a bittersweet end to a hard season. The sweet part, of course, were the wins... But also, the new friendships she made during these past few months and the old friendships which grew stronger. All in all, I would consider it a successful season.
JOSH UPDATE - While Josh has been driving solo since his birthday in October, we had a little technical difficulty with the car situation in the Faulkner household. Austin drove Mike's red truck to JSU in August. Mike started driving Austin's green truck (which became Josh's green truck in October), but had trouble finding a replacement vehicle for himself. When he finally found what he wanted, Josh's green truck had to go to the shop for a major overhaul to make it through Josh's three remaining years of high school.
All of the above to say... Josh's truck is in working order and he is now a bona fide DAILY driver. A very, very happy DAILY driver.
AUSTIN UPDATE - This semester, Austin is having to adapt to being JUST a student and not a Southerner/student. It has been an adjustment. He's on the Praise Team at the BCM (Baptist Campus Ministries). He's still a sports writer for the school newspaper. He's playing intramural basketball. He's watching 24 faithfully. And He's carrying a pretty big course load this semester. All in all, he's doing well.
Mondays and Wednesdays are his "every minute is full" days, while Tuesdays and Thursdays are busy, but he has breaks in between classes, practices and BCM Bible Study. Fridays are the best because he is FINISHED by 1:30 and he can head home. (I love Fridays. Friday may replace Thursday as my favorite day of the week.)
He still loves Communications and is taking his second Communications class, along with the "regular stuff." We don't know if this is God's plan for his life, but as of today, it has been a very natural "fit." We will all just have to pray and see.
Weekend in Review
POLES! POLES! Ski sticks are called SKI POLES! I thought of that around midnight last night, but I was too lazy to get up and correct yesterday's post. On with the review...
After our ultra-exciting visit to Unclaimed Baggage (and I'm NOT being sarcastic), Mike and I headed back to our cabin. We had planned on going to a restaurant called Canyon Grill about 45 minutes north of our location. But we were worn out from our Unclaimed Baggage adventure. We wanted something closer to home... but not pizza. Something romantic... but not Chinese.
Only a block or so from our cabin was a log building called Wildflower Cafe and Country Store. We drove by on our way back, and I stopped to make sure they served dinner. They did! We decided to dine there at 7:30.
What a lovely surprise. Decorated with anything and everything from bus seats to flattened, colored bottles hanging in the windows... from twinkly lights hung everywhere to different floral tablecloths on each and every table... from paintings created by local artists hanging from every nail to a live guitarist/singer entertaining the guests... It was just the PERFECT dining experience for our special evening out. We both declared it GOOD. VERY, VERY GOOD!
I even tried something different. (I'm crazy that way.) I ordered grilled cabbage.
Now, I will be the first to admit, in the past I sometimes ordered a very healthy something to sit on my plate. You know. To make a good impression for anyone who might happen by. I kind of did this with the grilled cabbage. I don't like cabbage. I've never liked cabbage. I think it smells like... Well, you know what it smells like.
But when the waitress brought our meals to us, I couldn't help but notice this cabbage smelled wonderful. In fact, it almost smelled appetizing. I cut a small bite. Oh, my goodness! It tasted good. It tasted NOT like cabbage!
Mike even tried a bite or two, and he liked it. I couldn't be sure, but it tasted like it had been marinated in Dale's Sauce, which confirmed something I had always thought... Dale's can make anything taste good.
We finished our wonderful meal, and headed up front to pay. We spoke with the singer for a few minutes and the chef was sitting by the cash register chatting with some people, and he told me how to prepare grilled cabbage. I'm going to do it. I've made a mental commitment to try. And when I do, and it tastes as wonderful as it did at the Wildflower Cafe, I will share my recipe with you on a Tuesday. I promise.
The rest of our weekend was spent sitting by the fire, watching movies, playing Scrabble (I WON... and I never win) and just relaxing. Simple, but definitely something we don't get to do a lot of at home.
We had a lovely, lovely anniversary!
Let's see. We need another clue for our Special Guest, don't we? Hmmm. Okay. Here's one.
6. She considers popcorn a "side dish."
There's a really good story about that one. Hopefully, she'll share it next week in her interview. Keep on guessing!
Wednesday Wisdom - Since it is my anniversary week, I decided to shares a few "LOVE" quotes.
"Many marriages would be better if the husband and the wife clearly understood that they are on the same side." Zig Ziglar.
"There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company, than a good marriage." Martin Luther. (I love this one.)
"'Mr. Churchill, if you were my husband, I’d poison your tea!’ And Mr. Churchill responded, 'And if you were my wife, I would drink it!'" Winston Churchill.
Devotion Locations
I'm not sharing a specific devotion today. It's more of a suggestion or idea. We always had our family devotions in the den before bedtime. Occasionally, we would have them at the dinner table after we ate. But the devotions we enjoyed the most (parents and kids) were the ones we had in the tent when we went camping. The devotions we read by lantern light or flashlight with the sound of crickets chirping and fires popping nearby.
So my "suggestion" is to try something different once a month or so. Plan a different place to have your family devotion. Here are some ideas:
1. Pile up on Mom and Dad's bed.
2. Get in the van before bedtime and go out for milkshakes, reading as you go.
3. Sit on the back deck.
4. Climb on your roof and read your devotion high above your neighborhood. (I read about a family doing this. Of course, the kids would need to be older... and VERY, VERY obedient... and you would need the right kind of roof. You know. Not too steep! But I could see where it would be a great place to have a devotion on missions in your very own neighborhood. We think about having to go to foreign countries to share the Gospel, when many of our neighbors may not attend church or know Christ as their personal Savior. Just think about the impact the "devotion on the roof" would have on your kids. They would remember it forever!)
5. Your attic.
6. Your basement.
7. A neighbor's house (inviting your neighbor and their family to join you, of course).
8. A park.
9. A favorite restaurant.
The list can go on and on. Use your imagination, and plan a different location for your family devotion THIS VERY MONTH!
Have a terrific Wednesday. Tomorrow I have a date to go with Monday's Seasonal Tradition, as well as some new Blog Linkage to share. I'll share another clue about our Special Guest, also.
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Chicken Parmigiana
Good Tuesday morning!
The Gallery is full of our anniversary weekend pictures. As you can tell from the photos, the hiking, spelunking, horseback riding, etc. did not take place. We were EXTREMELY lazy, and since the weather was cold, gray, windy and rainy (my favorite kind of weather), it really just screamed, "STAY BY THE FIRE! STAY BY THE FIRE!" Which we cheerfully did!
NOTE - Our second Mystery Bag Party will depart this Saturday at 11:30 for a few hours of fun and fellowship. If all goes well, I'll be having another contest on my 400th post (which is only 75 posts away) for yet another Mystery Bag Party. I'll make sure there are testimonials from past attendees so you can make a decision about entering when the time comes. I'm looking forward to it, Girls (Dana, Patti, LeAnna, Tonya, Angie and Jonella). We're going to have a ball!
Only a few more days until the Special Guest will be revealed... and we're still having a little technical difficulty (I think). It's okay. Do not panic. We have plenty of time. And until we have everything on this end smoothed out, I'll give you two more clues:
4. She is a bit of a songbird and has a pleasant, if not above-average, singing voice.
5. I don't know if I've ever left her presence, whether during a short conversation or a lengthy one, in which scripture wasn't quoted. God and His Word naturally and easily comes from her lips. It is truly amazing.
Okay. I'm going to need a few guesses today. Put those thinking caps on and start shooting out some names.
Weekend Review
Mike and I have had our share of "not so good" anniversary celebrations. I've chronicled those already. However, Anniversary Number 22 will go down in history as one of our best anniversaries ever.
I had never been to Mentone before. It's only two hours from our house which is a plus, and Mikie had been there for a work retreat several years ago and loved it. It is part of Lookout Mountain and the views are just lovely.
Our cabin had not one, but two, fireplaces, a gorgeous deck, and open windows to all the views.
We stopped in Fort Payne on our way up to the cabin to rent some movies, and since it was time to eat, we ate at a Chinese restaurant beside the Movie Gallery. We like Chinese food and we love buffets, so when we walked in to the Friday night all-you-can-eat buffet with over 30 items to choose from, we were pretty ecstatic. (Remember. We are old and tired and we have three teenagers... It just doesn't take much to make us happy at this point in our lives.)
Friday night consisted of exploring the cabin, watching a movie by the fire... and wishing we had taken a to-go box from the Chinese restaurant.
Saturday was a gray day. We had only one thing on the agenda. I'll give you two words... Unclaimed Baggage! That's right. We were only 20 or 25 minutes from Unclaimed Baggage. I had never been before, but I had always heard about this great store in Scottsboro that takes lost and unclaimed baggage from airports and sells it at staggeringly low prices. I'll give you three more words... Oh, My Word! It was wonderful.
I bought Josh a championship Steelers T-Shirt which had never been worn (probably because they bought it right after they attended the championship game) for $4. He was thrilled. I also bought a couple more shirts for the guys. Brand new!
We stuck to our guns and only bought items we "needed." However, here are some of the items I would have bought just because of the prices and the fact I was standing in Unclaimed Baggage:
1 pair of skis
1 parka
1 pair of ski poles
1 pair of ski sticks (What is the proper name for the "ski sticks?")
By the way, I've only skied once and I may or may not ever ski again, but these things were cheap!
1 wedding dress
I'm also not planning on getting married again, but there were 20 or so wedding dresses to choose from... and they were cheap!
1 Coach purse
1 pair Coach shoes
1 black leather jacket
2 evening gowns
5 children's books
1 watch
1 Mineral Glo Eyeshadow
It was good Mikie was there. I don't know if I would have been able to control myself otherwise. I'm going back. Everything in the building was seasonal, so there were no summer clothes, etc. I'm planning a return trip in the spring or early summer to see what those poor flying people have lost since then.
Needless to say, it was a good day.
I'll finish up the weekend review tomorrow. There's not a great deal more to share, but share I must! I'll also add a few more pics from the weekend tomorrow.
Chicken Parmigiana
Okay. I promised a Martha Stewart recipe, and this one looks doable... and delicious! It is taken from Martha Stewart Living, February 2010.
You will need:
12 Triscuits
1/3 cup parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes (no salt added), with juice
1/2 medium onion (coarsely chopped)
2 teaspoons garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large egg whites
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Crush crackers, parsley, oregano and 1 teaspoon salt until finely ground. Season with pepper and transfer to a plate.
2. Blend tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth.
3. Coat a 9" x 13" baking dish with oil. Lightly whisk egg whites and transfer to a shallow dish. Dip each chicken breast half in whites to fully coat; let excess drip off.
4. Dredge chicken in crumb mixture, lightly pressing to coat both sides.
5. Transfer chicken to prepared baking dish, and flip once to coat in oil. Bake until crisp, about 10 minutes.
6. Pour tomato sauce over chicken, allowing some sauce underneath each piece. Top with cheeses, and bake until bubbling and top is lightly browned.
Yum. The February issue of the magazine has many, many more doable recipes. This would make a great dish for a dinner party.
Also, in the Real Simple magazines I looked through this weekend, I found the simple, "quick" version of this recipe, and I'll share it with you, also.
You will need:
6 to 8 breaded chicken patties (Southern Meats carries these)
1 jar of Ragu (with meat)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat oven to 400. Cook chicken patties as per instructions on package.
2. Remove from the oven. Pour 2/3 jar of Ragu sauce over chicken (just enough to cover).
3. Sprinkle oregano over sauce.
4. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over sauce.
5. Place in oven for another 20 to 25 minutes.
We had this simple version last night, and while I know it doesn't compare to Martha's version, if time is an issue, it makes a very quick, filling, delicious dinner.
Note - I would definitely prepare Martha's for a "company" event.
Stay warm today. Winter came back to Alabama. I told you it would! Tomorrow I have a party to share, Wednesday Wisdom and a few more clues about our Special Guest. Until then, have a fantastic Tuesday!
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
The Gallery is full of our anniversary weekend pictures. As you can tell from the photos, the hiking, spelunking, horseback riding, etc. did not take place. We were EXTREMELY lazy, and since the weather was cold, gray, windy and rainy (my favorite kind of weather), it really just screamed, "STAY BY THE FIRE! STAY BY THE FIRE!" Which we cheerfully did!
NOTE - Our second Mystery Bag Party will depart this Saturday at 11:30 for a few hours of fun and fellowship. If all goes well, I'll be having another contest on my 400th post (which is only 75 posts away) for yet another Mystery Bag Party. I'll make sure there are testimonials from past attendees so you can make a decision about entering when the time comes. I'm looking forward to it, Girls (Dana, Patti, LeAnna, Tonya, Angie and Jonella). We're going to have a ball!
Only a few more days until the Special Guest will be revealed... and we're still having a little technical difficulty (I think). It's okay. Do not panic. We have plenty of time. And until we have everything on this end smoothed out, I'll give you two more clues:
4. She is a bit of a songbird and has a pleasant, if not above-average, singing voice.
5. I don't know if I've ever left her presence, whether during a short conversation or a lengthy one, in which scripture wasn't quoted. God and His Word naturally and easily comes from her lips. It is truly amazing.
Okay. I'm going to need a few guesses today. Put those thinking caps on and start shooting out some names.
Weekend Review
Mike and I have had our share of "not so good" anniversary celebrations. I've chronicled those already. However, Anniversary Number 22 will go down in history as one of our best anniversaries ever.
I had never been to Mentone before. It's only two hours from our house which is a plus, and Mikie had been there for a work retreat several years ago and loved it. It is part of Lookout Mountain and the views are just lovely.
Our cabin had not one, but two, fireplaces, a gorgeous deck, and open windows to all the views.
We stopped in Fort Payne on our way up to the cabin to rent some movies, and since it was time to eat, we ate at a Chinese restaurant beside the Movie Gallery. We like Chinese food and we love buffets, so when we walked in to the Friday night all-you-can-eat buffet with over 30 items to choose from, we were pretty ecstatic. (Remember. We are old and tired and we have three teenagers... It just doesn't take much to make us happy at this point in our lives.)
Friday night consisted of exploring the cabin, watching a movie by the fire... and wishing we had taken a to-go box from the Chinese restaurant.
Saturday was a gray day. We had only one thing on the agenda. I'll give you two words... Unclaimed Baggage! That's right. We were only 20 or 25 minutes from Unclaimed Baggage. I had never been before, but I had always heard about this great store in Scottsboro that takes lost and unclaimed baggage from airports and sells it at staggeringly low prices. I'll give you three more words... Oh, My Word! It was wonderful.
I bought Josh a championship Steelers T-Shirt which had never been worn (probably because they bought it right after they attended the championship game) for $4. He was thrilled. I also bought a couple more shirts for the guys. Brand new!
We stuck to our guns and only bought items we "needed." However, here are some of the items I would have bought just because of the prices and the fact I was standing in Unclaimed Baggage:
1 pair of skis
1 parka
1 pair of ski poles
1 pair of ski sticks (What is the proper name for the "ski sticks?")
By the way, I've only skied once and I may or may not ever ski again, but these things were cheap!
1 wedding dress
I'm also not planning on getting married again, but there were 20 or so wedding dresses to choose from... and they were cheap!
1 Coach purse
1 pair Coach shoes
1 black leather jacket
2 evening gowns
5 children's books
1 watch
1 Mineral Glo Eyeshadow
It was good Mikie was there. I don't know if I would have been able to control myself otherwise. I'm going back. Everything in the building was seasonal, so there were no summer clothes, etc. I'm planning a return trip in the spring or early summer to see what those poor flying people have lost since then.
Needless to say, it was a good day.
I'll finish up the weekend review tomorrow. There's not a great deal more to share, but share I must! I'll also add a few more pics from the weekend tomorrow.
Chicken Parmigiana
Okay. I promised a Martha Stewart recipe, and this one looks doable... and delicious! It is taken from Martha Stewart Living, February 2010.
You will need:
12 Triscuits
1/3 cup parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes (no salt added), with juice
1/2 medium onion (coarsely chopped)
2 teaspoons garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large egg whites
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Crush crackers, parsley, oregano and 1 teaspoon salt until finely ground. Season with pepper and transfer to a plate.
2. Blend tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth.
3. Coat a 9" x 13" baking dish with oil. Lightly whisk egg whites and transfer to a shallow dish. Dip each chicken breast half in whites to fully coat; let excess drip off.
4. Dredge chicken in crumb mixture, lightly pressing to coat both sides.
5. Transfer chicken to prepared baking dish, and flip once to coat in oil. Bake until crisp, about 10 minutes.
6. Pour tomato sauce over chicken, allowing some sauce underneath each piece. Top with cheeses, and bake until bubbling and top is lightly browned.
Yum. The February issue of the magazine has many, many more doable recipes. This would make a great dish for a dinner party.
Also, in the Real Simple magazines I looked through this weekend, I found the simple, "quick" version of this recipe, and I'll share it with you, also.
You will need:
6 to 8 breaded chicken patties (Southern Meats carries these)
1 jar of Ragu (with meat)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat oven to 400. Cook chicken patties as per instructions on package.
2. Remove from the oven. Pour 2/3 jar of Ragu sauce over chicken (just enough to cover).
3. Sprinkle oregano over sauce.
4. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over sauce.
5. Place in oven for another 20 to 25 minutes.
We had this simple version last night, and while I know it doesn't compare to Martha's version, if time is an issue, it makes a very quick, filling, delicious dinner.
Note - I would definitely prepare Martha's for a "company" event.
Stay warm today. Winter came back to Alabama. I told you it would! Tomorrow I have a party to share, Wednesday Wisdom and a few more clues about our Special Guest. Until then, have a fantastic Tuesday!
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Monday, January 25, 2010
Love in a Bottle
Good Monday morning!
The Showcase Pic is of me and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson... in the Hollywood Wax Museum... in Gatlinburg. (Am I the only one who thinks that's funny?) Look at my face. It's the same exact face I would have if I was standing beside the REAL Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Sad. Very, very sad.
The Gallery Pics include the last of the Top Twenty Mountain Pictures (from Austin's camera), another Hillbilly Sign and one picture from our anniversary trip this past weekend. (The remaining anniversary pictures will appear tomorrow. I didn't want to overwhelm you with 98 pictures on a Monday. That would be too, too much.)
Believe it or not, we are just one week away from unveiling yet another Special Guest. On Monday, February 1, our February Special Guest will make her appearance. Clues will appear each day this week, so see if you can guess our newest member to this little club. Here are a few to get you started.
1. She has more children than I do. I'm not saying how many more she has, but when I stopped at three kiddos, she kept going.
2. She has answered all of her questions in a timely manner. However, she is having difficulty sending them to me via e-mail, Facebook, etc. While I would be hitting panic mode, she considers this just part of being "her," and has no doubt I will receive the answers momentarily. (In reality, I think this, too. No worries.)
3. She is hip and cool and a fashionista. (Pretty much my polar opposite... and yet I love and admire her and her many gifts and talents.)
Any names coming to mind? Let me know.
Monday Mayhem
Today's section will be short since I do not want to talk about this past weekend until I finish talking about the pictures from last week. There must be order!
The only thing I've left out of our Mountain Trip narrative is the dinner my group served Sunday night... before the Hole in the Wall Gang went downstairs and did their damage.
Roxie, Katie, Zac and I decided to prepare a 50s-themed dinner. The menu consisted of Cheeseburger Sliders, Chili Cheese Fries and Ice Cream Sundaes.
I had brought several Elvis movies to watch AFTER dinner, but the kids quickly nixed that idea. They had brought G. I. Joe, Transformers, etc. Let's face it. Elvis is good, but the car chases and his karate moves do not compare to the blow 'em up action of today's flicks. And this generation does not understand the need to break out in song during awkward, romantic or action-packed moments in a movie. They just don't get it! (And I must admit... As I've grown a little older and little wiser, it doesn't make a great deal of sense to me either.)
I had to be flexible, so we popped Girls, Girls, Girls (a classic) in the DVD during dinner. It had almost as many songs the first 30 minutes as an Elvis CD. In between song and dance numbers, I regaled my family with fun Elvis facts. Well, until one of them audibly groaned and said, "Isn't this guy dead?"
"Why, yes. Yes he is." And I took that opportunity to tell the group exactly where I was when I heard Elvis had died.
Let it be known, this is when the boys made a run for the Game Room and minutes later Austin went through the sheet rock. I hate to admit it, but I may have been partially responsible for the hole. I'm NOT paying for damages, but I may have contributed to their delinquency. I'm just saying.
Next year's theme... Barry Manilow and the Copacabana! He's still alive and crooning, and I have almost as many fun facts about him as Elvis. I can hardly wait!
Love in a Bottle
It pains me to do this, but I have switched Monday's Party/Event section to Wednesday. Thus, moving Wednesday's Seasonal Traditions section to Monday. The only reason I am doing so is to give you enough time to prepare for this tradition. It needs to begin Monday, February 1, and I want you to be able to put some thought into the preparation.
This tradition also goes with Thursday's Date.
You will need to find pretty sheets of paper and rubber bands. For each member of your family, you will need to prepare 14 individual sheets of paper with the words "I love you because..." written on them. Take your time and make the 14 reasons you love your son(s), daughter(s), husband, etc. personal and unique. "I love you because you took out the trash last week without being reminded." "I love you because you always tell me you enjoyed what I fixed for dinner." The list goes on and on and on.
Once you have finished 14 Reasons, roll them into a little scroll and use the rubber band to secure them.
Drop the 14 Reasons for your husband, son(s) OR daughter(s) into a long-necked glass bottle. (Make sure the scrolls are rolled tightly enough to slip in and out of the bottle neck easily without getting stuck.)
After you have finished a bottle, on February 1 hide it in a place only that specific person will find it. (For example, on February 1 Roxie will open her make-up bag and find her bottle on top of her make-up.)
An instruction card should be attached to the bottle. The person is only allowed ONE scroll per day, and the last scroll will be read Valentine's Day. It doesn't matter if the person opens the scroll in the morning or at night before bed. It is up to them.
With four other people in my family, I have to come up with 56 love messages. That's why I wanted to give you plenty of time to work on this. That's a lot of messages, and you will want to put some thought into writing them.
This idea came from Better Homes & Gardens, February 2010.
Have a blessed Monday. I hope your day is filled with good memories and moments. Tomorrow's recipe is a main dish from Martha Stewart. (Yes. I know that's scary, but it is doable. I promise.)
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
The Showcase Pic is of me and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson... in the Hollywood Wax Museum... in Gatlinburg. (Am I the only one who thinks that's funny?) Look at my face. It's the same exact face I would have if I was standing beside the REAL Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Sad. Very, very sad.
The Gallery Pics include the last of the Top Twenty Mountain Pictures (from Austin's camera), another Hillbilly Sign and one picture from our anniversary trip this past weekend. (The remaining anniversary pictures will appear tomorrow. I didn't want to overwhelm you with 98 pictures on a Monday. That would be too, too much.)
Believe it or not, we are just one week away from unveiling yet another Special Guest. On Monday, February 1, our February Special Guest will make her appearance. Clues will appear each day this week, so see if you can guess our newest member to this little club. Here are a few to get you started.
1. She has more children than I do. I'm not saying how many more she has, but when I stopped at three kiddos, she kept going.
2. She has answered all of her questions in a timely manner. However, she is having difficulty sending them to me via e-mail, Facebook, etc. While I would be hitting panic mode, she considers this just part of being "her," and has no doubt I will receive the answers momentarily. (In reality, I think this, too. No worries.)
3. She is hip and cool and a fashionista. (Pretty much my polar opposite... and yet I love and admire her and her many gifts and talents.)
Any names coming to mind? Let me know.
Monday Mayhem
Today's section will be short since I do not want to talk about this past weekend until I finish talking about the pictures from last week. There must be order!
The only thing I've left out of our Mountain Trip narrative is the dinner my group served Sunday night... before the Hole in the Wall Gang went downstairs and did their damage.
Roxie, Katie, Zac and I decided to prepare a 50s-themed dinner. The menu consisted of Cheeseburger Sliders, Chili Cheese Fries and Ice Cream Sundaes.
I had brought several Elvis movies to watch AFTER dinner, but the kids quickly nixed that idea. They had brought G. I. Joe, Transformers, etc. Let's face it. Elvis is good, but the car chases and his karate moves do not compare to the blow 'em up action of today's flicks. And this generation does not understand the need to break out in song during awkward, romantic or action-packed moments in a movie. They just don't get it! (And I must admit... As I've grown a little older and little wiser, it doesn't make a great deal of sense to me either.)
I had to be flexible, so we popped Girls, Girls, Girls (a classic) in the DVD during dinner. It had almost as many songs the first 30 minutes as an Elvis CD. In between song and dance numbers, I regaled my family with fun Elvis facts. Well, until one of them audibly groaned and said, "Isn't this guy dead?"
"Why, yes. Yes he is." And I took that opportunity to tell the group exactly where I was when I heard Elvis had died.
Let it be known, this is when the boys made a run for the Game Room and minutes later Austin went through the sheet rock. I hate to admit it, but I may have been partially responsible for the hole. I'm NOT paying for damages, but I may have contributed to their delinquency. I'm just saying.
Next year's theme... Barry Manilow and the Copacabana! He's still alive and crooning, and I have almost as many fun facts about him as Elvis. I can hardly wait!
Love in a Bottle
It pains me to do this, but I have switched Monday's Party/Event section to Wednesday. Thus, moving Wednesday's Seasonal Traditions section to Monday. The only reason I am doing so is to give you enough time to prepare for this tradition. It needs to begin Monday, February 1, and I want you to be able to put some thought into the preparation.
This tradition also goes with Thursday's Date.
You will need to find pretty sheets of paper and rubber bands. For each member of your family, you will need to prepare 14 individual sheets of paper with the words "I love you because..." written on them. Take your time and make the 14 reasons you love your son(s), daughter(s), husband, etc. personal and unique. "I love you because you took out the trash last week without being reminded." "I love you because you always tell me you enjoyed what I fixed for dinner." The list goes on and on and on.
Once you have finished 14 Reasons, roll them into a little scroll and use the rubber band to secure them.
Drop the 14 Reasons for your husband, son(s) OR daughter(s) into a long-necked glass bottle. (Make sure the scrolls are rolled tightly enough to slip in and out of the bottle neck easily without getting stuck.)
After you have finished a bottle, on February 1 hide it in a place only that specific person will find it. (For example, on February 1 Roxie will open her make-up bag and find her bottle on top of her make-up.)
An instruction card should be attached to the bottle. The person is only allowed ONE scroll per day, and the last scroll will be read Valentine's Day. It doesn't matter if the person opens the scroll in the morning or at night before bed. It is up to them.
With four other people in my family, I have to come up with 56 love messages. That's why I wanted to give you plenty of time to work on this. That's a lot of messages, and you will want to put some thought into writing them.
This idea came from Better Homes & Gardens, February 2010.
Have a blessed Monday. I hope your day is filled with good memories and moments. Tomorrow's recipe is a main dish from Martha Stewart. (Yes. I know that's scary, but it is doable. I promise.)
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Friday, January 22, 2010
Weekend Happenings
Good Friday morning!
The Gallery Pics include yet another Hillbilly Sign, one mountain picture to hold you until Monday (when I will conclude my Top Twenty favorite mountain pictures with my visit with Austin to the Hollywood Wax Museum... in Gatlinburg) and a picture of Mikie and me 22 years ago on our wedding day.
That's right. We'll be taking a little anniversary trip this weekend to Mentone to celebrate 22 years of wedded bliss.
Because of our little getaway, there will be NO picture of the day posted on Project 365 today or tomorrow. I'll post all three pictures (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) Sunday evening after we return. Other than that little interruption, A Simple Life will continue on schedule. I'll be back, bright and early, Monday morning! I know you are relieved.
SEMI-FUNNY WRESTLING STORY
When Austin was about four or five and Josh was around one or two, we went to Wal-Mart. (Roxie hadn't arrived on the scene yet.) Josh was sitting in the buggy seat, and Austin was walking beside me as I pushed and steered the buggy.
I spotted another mother and a little boy about the same age as Austin coming toward us. I didn't think anything about it and continued to shop. As we were passing the boy and his mother, I sensed movement and I turned in time to see Austin and the other little boy rolling all over each other on the floor.
They didn't appear to be upset or angry or hurt. The other mother and I bent down and started trying to untangle the guys. I kept my hand on Josh's foot in the buggy, because he was trying his best to come out of the buggy seat to join his brother on the floor, so I was a little more hindered than the other woman who had both hands working to separate the kids.
By the time we had retrieved our respective sons, I was literally sitting on the floor of Wal-Mart with my legs and one arm around Austin and one hand still holding Josh's foot to keep him in his seat. Being the mother of two small boys, I'll be honest and say I didn't look that great to begin with, but now with my hair all over the place, missing one shoe and flop sweat beginning to show through my blouse, let's just say I had seen better days!
Breathlessly, I asked the other mother, "Do I know you?"
"I've never seen you in my life!" she answered.
"Austin, do you know this boy?" I asked, trying to somehow make sense of what had just happened.
"No, ma'am," he answered, grinning.
And then the other little boy answered the question we were trying so hard to figure out. "We just felt like wrestling!"
And that in a nutshell is how the male brain works. They just "feel like eating everything in the house." They just "feel like watching four football games back to back." They just "feel like wrestling." As a mother of boys, once you figure out the basic workings of the male mind, you'll sleep better at night... because you're not always wondering what's wrong with your kid, you see.
For new boy moms everywhere, I hope this helps!
Weekend Happenings
Another short and sweet review of what we HOPE will be going on this weekend. Mikie and I HOPE to leave for our weekend anniversary trip to Mentone today. I'll tell you all about that next week. It may or may not involve horseback riding, white water rafting, spelunking, repelling and or mining for gold. You just never know.
The kids will be playing basketball, practicing basketball, attending birthday parties, shooting family and friends with air soft rifles, going on dates, attending church, etc., etc. I'm hoping I don't have to add "going bottom-first through walls" to that list.
Have a lovely January weekend. Make great memories. Try a new tradition. As a family plan on eating together, playing together, praying together and worshipping together some time in the next two days.
Check back next week for LOTS of new ideas, pictures and much, much more.
Take care, and I'll talk to you on Monday.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
The Gallery Pics include yet another Hillbilly Sign, one mountain picture to hold you until Monday (when I will conclude my Top Twenty favorite mountain pictures with my visit with Austin to the Hollywood Wax Museum... in Gatlinburg) and a picture of Mikie and me 22 years ago on our wedding day.
That's right. We'll be taking a little anniversary trip this weekend to Mentone to celebrate 22 years of wedded bliss.
Because of our little getaway, there will be NO picture of the day posted on Project 365 today or tomorrow. I'll post all three pictures (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) Sunday evening after we return. Other than that little interruption, A Simple Life will continue on schedule. I'll be back, bright and early, Monday morning! I know you are relieved.
SEMI-FUNNY WRESTLING STORY
When Austin was about four or five and Josh was around one or two, we went to Wal-Mart. (Roxie hadn't arrived on the scene yet.) Josh was sitting in the buggy seat, and Austin was walking beside me as I pushed and steered the buggy.
I spotted another mother and a little boy about the same age as Austin coming toward us. I didn't think anything about it and continued to shop. As we were passing the boy and his mother, I sensed movement and I turned in time to see Austin and the other little boy rolling all over each other on the floor.
They didn't appear to be upset or angry or hurt. The other mother and I bent down and started trying to untangle the guys. I kept my hand on Josh's foot in the buggy, because he was trying his best to come out of the buggy seat to join his brother on the floor, so I was a little more hindered than the other woman who had both hands working to separate the kids.
By the time we had retrieved our respective sons, I was literally sitting on the floor of Wal-Mart with my legs and one arm around Austin and one hand still holding Josh's foot to keep him in his seat. Being the mother of two small boys, I'll be honest and say I didn't look that great to begin with, but now with my hair all over the place, missing one shoe and flop sweat beginning to show through my blouse, let's just say I had seen better days!
Breathlessly, I asked the other mother, "Do I know you?"
"I've never seen you in my life!" she answered.
"Austin, do you know this boy?" I asked, trying to somehow make sense of what had just happened.
"No, ma'am," he answered, grinning.
And then the other little boy answered the question we were trying so hard to figure out. "We just felt like wrestling!"
And that in a nutshell is how the male brain works. They just "feel like eating everything in the house." They just "feel like watching four football games back to back." They just "feel like wrestling." As a mother of boys, once you figure out the basic workings of the male mind, you'll sleep better at night... because you're not always wondering what's wrong with your kid, you see.
For new boy moms everywhere, I hope this helps!
Weekend Happenings
Another short and sweet review of what we HOPE will be going on this weekend. Mikie and I HOPE to leave for our weekend anniversary trip to Mentone today. I'll tell you all about that next week. It may or may not involve horseback riding, white water rafting, spelunking, repelling and or mining for gold. You just never know.
The kids will be playing basketball, practicing basketball, attending birthday parties, shooting family and friends with air soft rifles, going on dates, attending church, etc., etc. I'm hoping I don't have to add "going bottom-first through walls" to that list.
Have a lovely January weekend. Make great memories. Try a new tradition. As a family plan on eating together, playing together, praying together and worshipping together some time in the next two days.
Check back next week for LOTS of new ideas, pictures and much, much more.
Take care, and I'll talk to you on Monday.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Ronald McDonald House Date
Good Thursday morning!
You'll be glad to know I've condensed the Top 20 Mountain Pictures down to 15. Truth be told, I have to wait for Austin to come home to retrieve the last five photos I need to completely tell the story. (Code for YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT MOUNTAIN PICTURES NEXT WEEK, TOO. SORRY!)
We have a lot to talk about today, so let's get busy!
Monday Mayhem on Thursday - This mountain tale is not a tall tale... but it is a short one.
After dinner Sunday night, the six cousins went downstairs to the Game Room. There was a ping pong table, air hockey, a pool table and a TV in the large basement room. It was nice. We couldn't hear them. It was quiet. And then...
"Uh... Uncle Tommy? Could you come downstairs for a minute?" The request was coming from Josh.
"Sure. I'll be down in a minute." Uncle Tommy replied. A few seconds passed.
"Dad. We need you downstairs for a minute, please." Roxie was standing at the door.
It didn't take a genius to figure out something was broken, and the kids being sent upstairs did NOT break "it." Also, being parents extraordinaire, we knew they were asking the adults least likely to "lose it" to come assess the damage.
Stand aside, Sherlock Holmes. It gets better. We also deduced since two Faulkner children had come upstairs first, BUT had asked for a Martin parent, the kid who had broken something was not a Martin. Brad, Katie and Zac were in the clear. Since two Faulkner kids had come up and asked for a Martin parent AND a Faulkner parent (both males), we figured out Austin was the "Dead Man Walking" in this particular instance.
It also stood to reason the damage was significant enough none of the women present were deemed able to "handle" the situation.
"It's the TV," Grandmother said flatly. "They've broken the TV."
"They may have sat on the ping pong table. It could be the ping pong table."
"No. It's bigger than the ping pong table." And so the discussion continued.
Mike and Tommy reappeared shaking their heads. "Well, what is it?" we all asked.
"Austin and Josh were wrestling, and Austin was on Josh's back. Josh backed him into the wall to knock him off and Austin sort of went through the sheet rock," one of the guys explained.
Great! Two Faulkners involved.
"I told them NOT to wrestle in the house," Grandmother said.
"Boys wrestle. Men even wrestle. They know they are not supposed to do it in the house or church or a store or a restaurant, but they do. I've been dealing with this for almost 19 years!" I replied.
The women went downstairs to see the hole, and honestly, I was totally surprised at how large it was... TOTALLY!
The rental people were not in the least bit surprised when Grandmother told them, "There's been some damage. There's a large hole in the sheet rock in the Game Room."
In fact, the woman never looked up. "That's what happens when boys get together." We didn't even mention the word "boys." She just knew. I felt an instant connection. If we hadn't damaged her rental house, perhaps we could have one day been kindred spirits.
I'll leave you with just a little poem/song/saying...
Bottom in the wall.
Bottom in the wall.
Looking like a fool with your bottom in the wall.
And that's all I have to say about the matter.
NOTE: Austin and Josh are waiting on the estimate and hoping, hoping, hoping it isn't a $200 or more job!
Blog Linkage - I don't have a lot for you to read today... mainly because I haven't been able to read as much this week. But check out the following two links if you have a chance.
1. Please go immediately to the January 20 post on www.thebigmamablog.com. She has two links to some sites which feature new books which look very interesting. She also talks about two recipes she has tried from The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook. Read and learn!
2. I'll remind you one more time. Go to http://blog.al.com/bargain-mom EVERY week. These are just a few things she has listed today:
Birmingham International Modelers Show February 6. See model airplanes and autos plus much more. (This would be a great date for a father/son if they are interested in models or want to start working on models together.)
Build & Grow Clinic at Lowe's this Saturday. Build a Tic Tac Toe Game. (This is yet another fun date for a parent and child.)
Tennessee Aquarium College Days in February. There will be 50% off admission for college students, faculty and their families. (Excuse me! This is a HUGE deal and a great family day trip.)
This is only a small portion of all the things posted on this website. Enjoy!
Ronald McDonald House Date
My friend, Tonya Brown, shared with me last night something her family is doing together, and with her permission, I'd like to share this great family date with you today.
The Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham has home-cooked meals brought in every night by volunteers. Tonya and her family called Chris Ellis at 212-7257 and she scheduled an evening for them to bring a meal to the House.
She told them the meal needed to feed around 30 people, and they were free to stay to visit, serve and clean up, or they could drop off the meal. Whatever is prepared, must be brought in disposable containers.
I have called Ms. Ellis and as soon as she returns my call, I will update with more details.
This would be an EXCELLENT family date, and I'm planning on booking a time in June when the Faulkner Five can participate together in such a wonderful charity.
Thank you, Tonya, for the great idea!
Have a grand Thursday. Tomorrow I'll share our Weekend Happenings with you. As always, feel free to share any of your great ideas, traditions, dates, etc. any time. I'm always interested in new ideas!
(For example, my friend, Jennifer, was vacationing in the mountains this past weekend with her family. They spent part of their time tubing at Ober Gatlinburg. I LOVE that idea. I've already started an envelope to save for that particular activity for next year's trip. They also went to the indoor water park in the mountains a couple of years ago, and they enjoyed it very much. Both of these are great ideas for families with young kids AND teenagers!)
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
You'll be glad to know I've condensed the Top 20 Mountain Pictures down to 15. Truth be told, I have to wait for Austin to come home to retrieve the last five photos I need to completely tell the story. (Code for YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT MOUNTAIN PICTURES NEXT WEEK, TOO. SORRY!)
We have a lot to talk about today, so let's get busy!
Monday Mayhem on Thursday - This mountain tale is not a tall tale... but it is a short one.
After dinner Sunday night, the six cousins went downstairs to the Game Room. There was a ping pong table, air hockey, a pool table and a TV in the large basement room. It was nice. We couldn't hear them. It was quiet. And then...
"Uh... Uncle Tommy? Could you come downstairs for a minute?" The request was coming from Josh.
"Sure. I'll be down in a minute." Uncle Tommy replied. A few seconds passed.
"Dad. We need you downstairs for a minute, please." Roxie was standing at the door.
It didn't take a genius to figure out something was broken, and the kids being sent upstairs did NOT break "it." Also, being parents extraordinaire, we knew they were asking the adults least likely to "lose it" to come assess the damage.
Stand aside, Sherlock Holmes. It gets better. We also deduced since two Faulkner children had come upstairs first, BUT had asked for a Martin parent, the kid who had broken something was not a Martin. Brad, Katie and Zac were in the clear. Since two Faulkner kids had come up and asked for a Martin parent AND a Faulkner parent (both males), we figured out Austin was the "Dead Man Walking" in this particular instance.
It also stood to reason the damage was significant enough none of the women present were deemed able to "handle" the situation.
"It's the TV," Grandmother said flatly. "They've broken the TV."
"They may have sat on the ping pong table. It could be the ping pong table."
"No. It's bigger than the ping pong table." And so the discussion continued.
Mike and Tommy reappeared shaking their heads. "Well, what is it?" we all asked.
"Austin and Josh were wrestling, and Austin was on Josh's back. Josh backed him into the wall to knock him off and Austin sort of went through the sheet rock," one of the guys explained.
Great! Two Faulkners involved.
"I told them NOT to wrestle in the house," Grandmother said.
"Boys wrestle. Men even wrestle. They know they are not supposed to do it in the house or church or a store or a restaurant, but they do. I've been dealing with this for almost 19 years!" I replied.
The women went downstairs to see the hole, and honestly, I was totally surprised at how large it was... TOTALLY!
The rental people were not in the least bit surprised when Grandmother told them, "There's been some damage. There's a large hole in the sheet rock in the Game Room."
In fact, the woman never looked up. "That's what happens when boys get together." We didn't even mention the word "boys." She just knew. I felt an instant connection. If we hadn't damaged her rental house, perhaps we could have one day been kindred spirits.
I'll leave you with just a little poem/song/saying...
Bottom in the wall.
Bottom in the wall.
Looking like a fool with your bottom in the wall.
And that's all I have to say about the matter.
NOTE: Austin and Josh are waiting on the estimate and hoping, hoping, hoping it isn't a $200 or more job!
Blog Linkage - I don't have a lot for you to read today... mainly because I haven't been able to read as much this week. But check out the following two links if you have a chance.
1. Please go immediately to the January 20 post on www.thebigmamablog.com. She has two links to some sites which feature new books which look very interesting. She also talks about two recipes she has tried from The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook. Read and learn!
2. I'll remind you one more time. Go to http://blog.al.com/bargain-mom EVERY week. These are just a few things she has listed today:
Birmingham International Modelers Show February 6. See model airplanes and autos plus much more. (This would be a great date for a father/son if they are interested in models or want to start working on models together.)
Build & Grow Clinic at Lowe's this Saturday. Build a Tic Tac Toe Game. (This is yet another fun date for a parent and child.)
Tennessee Aquarium College Days in February. There will be 50% off admission for college students, faculty and their families. (Excuse me! This is a HUGE deal and a great family day trip.)
This is only a small portion of all the things posted on this website. Enjoy!
Ronald McDonald House Date
My friend, Tonya Brown, shared with me last night something her family is doing together, and with her permission, I'd like to share this great family date with you today.
The Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham has home-cooked meals brought in every night by volunteers. Tonya and her family called Chris Ellis at 212-7257 and she scheduled an evening for them to bring a meal to the House.
She told them the meal needed to feed around 30 people, and they were free to stay to visit, serve and clean up, or they could drop off the meal. Whatever is prepared, must be brought in disposable containers.
I have called Ms. Ellis and as soon as she returns my call, I will update with more details.
This would be an EXCELLENT family date, and I'm planning on booking a time in June when the Faulkner Five can participate together in such a wonderful charity.
Thank you, Tonya, for the great idea!
Have a grand Thursday. Tomorrow I'll share our Weekend Happenings with you. As always, feel free to share any of your great ideas, traditions, dates, etc. any time. I'm always interested in new ideas!
(For example, my friend, Jennifer, was vacationing in the mountains this past weekend with her family. They spent part of their time tubing at Ober Gatlinburg. I LOVE that idea. I've already started an envelope to save for that particular activity for next year's trip. They also went to the indoor water park in the mountains a couple of years ago, and they enjoyed it very much. Both of these are great ideas for families with young kids AND teenagers!)
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Teenage Cooking Night
Good Wednesday morning!
The Gallery contains FIVE more mountain pictures, as well as another Hillbilly Sign. (I have to admit, Hillbilly signs have become ONE of my new favorite things.)
Monday Mayhem on Wednesday
Now where did we leave off yesterday? Oh, yes. We had to leave Gatlinburg to prepare for Katie's 16th birthday party!
Every year, one of Bev's kids celebrates their birthday in the mountains. If we go Martin Luther King's Day weekend, the trip falls on Katie's birthday. If we go President's Day Weekend, the trip falls on Zac's birthday. Once we went during Spring Break... and the trip fell on Brad's birthday. My kids have never had a birthday in the mountains, and they are very, very bitter. I'd like to say they get this from their dad, but I'm afraid if you've read the blog for over two minutes, you know the "bitterness" gene comes from The Enchanting Belinda.
Which brings up a very good question. Can you be enchanting AND bitter at the same time? Another topic for another day, I'm afraid.
Katie's party will be discussed in a little more detail under today's tradition, Teenage Cooking Night, but I would like to say Bev made it very special. The cake, the colors, the gifts, etc. were all meant to make a 16 year-old girl happy. And that's where I came in.
We've discussed this many, many times on the blog. I'm a "young child" person in the midst of a sea of teenagers. I try hard, but sometimes I still fall back into the kindergarten "this will be fun" mode. And that's what happened on this particular night.
Katie received a beautiful coat from her parents, along with a softball bag and a few hair things. From her brothers, she received all the accessories needed for her new I-Pod touch she bought with her Christmas money. From her Grandmother, she received a really, really beautiful (yet young and hip) necklace. And from her Aunt Belinda and family she received her I-Pod Gift Card (especially requested).
I didn't like giving her an I-Pod Gift Card. I wanted to give her something special. Something extraordinary. Something that screamed, "Aunt Belinda gives the BEST Sweet 16 birthday gifts EVER." But she wanted an I-Pod Gift Card, and I caved.
But wait! Could I possibly give her this gift, but make it FUN to find? Yes. Yes, I could.
I purchased eight light blue and lime green gift bags (her colors for the evening), and hid them all over the house. Each bag had a little clue as to where the next bag was hidden. When she found the eighth bag, it would tell her where her cutely wrapped gift card could be found. Now doesn't that sound fun to you? Doesn't it?
Since we were in a three-story house, I made sure Bag No. 1 was upstairs, Bag No. 2 was in the basement, Bag No. 3 was on the middle floor, and so on and so on and so on. I didn't take into account her dad, Tommy, would be following her on the hunt up and down, down and up, etc., etc. finding all the bags videoing the entire process.
By the end of the search, Katie and Tommy were both sweating and Tommy declared the 16th Birthday Video to be similar to The Blair Witch Project movie... because it was jerky and there was a lot of heavy breathing, you see. NOTE: Our family never actually saw The Blair Witch Project movie. Just the commercials. (Remind me to tell you how I feel about horror movies some time. Yet another post for another day.)
In other words, I was responsible for ruining a really sweet, pretty birthday video. The last thing I heard over Tommy's wheezing was, "Gee, Aunt Belinda. We're not eight years-old anymore." That was from my 11 year-old nephew, Zac, who will be expecting a nice gift next month. He may have blown it, and I am now thinking of burying whatever I buy him six feed under. We'll see how he likes digging for his gift!
I know what you're thinking. Is this it? Do we have to listen to the rest of the summary of the Mountain Trip? Can't we just move on?
I have two more days, and then you'll be done. Again, I've labeled the section, so if it's too, too much, please feel free to skip ahead. Chances are, I'll never find out!
Wednesday Wisdom - You would think Hillbilly signs would hold this spot today, but I found a couple of quotes about the mountains I wanted to share, too. There's a lot of "wisdom" on A Simple Life this week.
"Only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain." Richard M. Nixon. I feel President Nixon probably knew exactly what he was talking about when he said this.
"It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out; it's the grain of sand in your shoe." Robert W. Service. I'm not sure if this is deep and thought-provoking, or if this guy just needed to stop the hike and bang his sneakers on a rock to remove "the grain of sand." You be the judge.
Teenage Cooking Night
This is a transition tradition we began when the kids started hitting the teenage years. If you have an annual trip you take with family or friends, try this for a fun (and interesting) tradition.
A few years ago, the women in the family (me, Bev and Grandmother) decided we wanted to do more than spend valuable mountain time cooking and cleaning up the three nights we were on our family trip. Grandmother came up with the idea of having theme dinners two of the nights. Bev and three of the kids would be totally in charge of one night's meal, and the other three kids would help me on the second night's meal. So far, it has worked out very, very well.
This year, Bev's theme was, of course, Katie's birthday party. She set one place setting and let one of the older guys copy and set the rest of the table. Josh made the gravy and the corn. Brad set the table and made the mashed potatoes. Austin helped with the other dishes, fixing the ice, etc. I DID NOTHING!
The next night, we had a 50s night theme. Katie and Roxie were in charge of making the hamburger sliders. Zac set the table, fixed the ice and helped with the chili cheese fries. Roxie and Katie sliced apples, and when everyone sat down for dinner, the three kids served the food wearing Krispy Kreme hats and acting as waiters and waitresses.
In the background, we popped an Elvis movie in the DVD player (Girls, Girls, Girls), so we had the appropriate background music. I also bought a bag full of 50s-type candy and put it in a bowl in the center of the table. Most of the kids hadn't heard of all the kinds of "antique" candy, so they had fun sampling the different varieties.
Hot fudge ice cream sundaes were the dessert for the evening. Easy breezy. And fun.
SEMI-FUNNY TEENAGE COOKING NIGHT STORY - A couple of years ago, my group fixed a Fiesta night with the fun paper plates and napkins. We had taco salad. For our game/activity after dinner, we played Uno. (Get it? Uno? It's a Spanish word.) I thought I was brilliant... until the next evening's meal.
Bev planned an all-American meal... meat and vegetables and red, white and blue plates, napkins and tablecloths, etc. And for our all-American game/activity she brought out the age-old American favorite... Origami! That's right. Japanese paper folding. It was so bizarre, it actually worked. Anyway, I thought it was hilarious.
If an annual trip is already one of your family traditions, try the cooking nights. It's fun and it gets everyone involved... even teenage guys!
Have a lovely Wednesday. Rain is coming to Alabama along with a 64 degree day. Not a good combination for our state. We are ever watching for tornadoes, and warm winter days with rainstorms arriving have to be carefully monitored. I hope wherever you are, you and yours are having wonderful weather. Tomorrow, I have Blog Linkage AND a fun date, so please check back. More mountain pictures and Hillbilly signs will be placed in the Gallery as well.
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
The Gallery contains FIVE more mountain pictures, as well as another Hillbilly Sign. (I have to admit, Hillbilly signs have become ONE of my new favorite things.)
Monday Mayhem on Wednesday
Now where did we leave off yesterday? Oh, yes. We had to leave Gatlinburg to prepare for Katie's 16th birthday party!
Every year, one of Bev's kids celebrates their birthday in the mountains. If we go Martin Luther King's Day weekend, the trip falls on Katie's birthday. If we go President's Day Weekend, the trip falls on Zac's birthday. Once we went during Spring Break... and the trip fell on Brad's birthday. My kids have never had a birthday in the mountains, and they are very, very bitter. I'd like to say they get this from their dad, but I'm afraid if you've read the blog for over two minutes, you know the "bitterness" gene comes from The Enchanting Belinda.
Which brings up a very good question. Can you be enchanting AND bitter at the same time? Another topic for another day, I'm afraid.
Katie's party will be discussed in a little more detail under today's tradition, Teenage Cooking Night, but I would like to say Bev made it very special. The cake, the colors, the gifts, etc. were all meant to make a 16 year-old girl happy. And that's where I came in.
We've discussed this many, many times on the blog. I'm a "young child" person in the midst of a sea of teenagers. I try hard, but sometimes I still fall back into the kindergarten "this will be fun" mode. And that's what happened on this particular night.
Katie received a beautiful coat from her parents, along with a softball bag and a few hair things. From her brothers, she received all the accessories needed for her new I-Pod touch she bought with her Christmas money. From her Grandmother, she received a really, really beautiful (yet young and hip) necklace. And from her Aunt Belinda and family she received her I-Pod Gift Card (especially requested).
I didn't like giving her an I-Pod Gift Card. I wanted to give her something special. Something extraordinary. Something that screamed, "Aunt Belinda gives the BEST Sweet 16 birthday gifts EVER." But she wanted an I-Pod Gift Card, and I caved.
But wait! Could I possibly give her this gift, but make it FUN to find? Yes. Yes, I could.
I purchased eight light blue and lime green gift bags (her colors for the evening), and hid them all over the house. Each bag had a little clue as to where the next bag was hidden. When she found the eighth bag, it would tell her where her cutely wrapped gift card could be found. Now doesn't that sound fun to you? Doesn't it?
Since we were in a three-story house, I made sure Bag No. 1 was upstairs, Bag No. 2 was in the basement, Bag No. 3 was on the middle floor, and so on and so on and so on. I didn't take into account her dad, Tommy, would be following her on the hunt up and down, down and up, etc., etc. finding all the bags videoing the entire process.
By the end of the search, Katie and Tommy were both sweating and Tommy declared the 16th Birthday Video to be similar to The Blair Witch Project movie... because it was jerky and there was a lot of heavy breathing, you see. NOTE: Our family never actually saw The Blair Witch Project movie. Just the commercials. (Remind me to tell you how I feel about horror movies some time. Yet another post for another day.)
In other words, I was responsible for ruining a really sweet, pretty birthday video. The last thing I heard over Tommy's wheezing was, "Gee, Aunt Belinda. We're not eight years-old anymore." That was from my 11 year-old nephew, Zac, who will be expecting a nice gift next month. He may have blown it, and I am now thinking of burying whatever I buy him six feed under. We'll see how he likes digging for his gift!
I know what you're thinking. Is this it? Do we have to listen to the rest of the summary of the Mountain Trip? Can't we just move on?
I have two more days, and then you'll be done. Again, I've labeled the section, so if it's too, too much, please feel free to skip ahead. Chances are, I'll never find out!
Wednesday Wisdom - You would think Hillbilly signs would hold this spot today, but I found a couple of quotes about the mountains I wanted to share, too. There's a lot of "wisdom" on A Simple Life this week.
"Only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain." Richard M. Nixon. I feel President Nixon probably knew exactly what he was talking about when he said this.
"It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out; it's the grain of sand in your shoe." Robert W. Service. I'm not sure if this is deep and thought-provoking, or if this guy just needed to stop the hike and bang his sneakers on a rock to remove "the grain of sand." You be the judge.
Teenage Cooking Night
This is a transition tradition we began when the kids started hitting the teenage years. If you have an annual trip you take with family or friends, try this for a fun (and interesting) tradition.
A few years ago, the women in the family (me, Bev and Grandmother) decided we wanted to do more than spend valuable mountain time cooking and cleaning up the three nights we were on our family trip. Grandmother came up with the idea of having theme dinners two of the nights. Bev and three of the kids would be totally in charge of one night's meal, and the other three kids would help me on the second night's meal. So far, it has worked out very, very well.
This year, Bev's theme was, of course, Katie's birthday party. She set one place setting and let one of the older guys copy and set the rest of the table. Josh made the gravy and the corn. Brad set the table and made the mashed potatoes. Austin helped with the other dishes, fixing the ice, etc. I DID NOTHING!
The next night, we had a 50s night theme. Katie and Roxie were in charge of making the hamburger sliders. Zac set the table, fixed the ice and helped with the chili cheese fries. Roxie and Katie sliced apples, and when everyone sat down for dinner, the three kids served the food wearing Krispy Kreme hats and acting as waiters and waitresses.
In the background, we popped an Elvis movie in the DVD player (Girls, Girls, Girls), so we had the appropriate background music. I also bought a bag full of 50s-type candy and put it in a bowl in the center of the table. Most of the kids hadn't heard of all the kinds of "antique" candy, so they had fun sampling the different varieties.
Hot fudge ice cream sundaes were the dessert for the evening. Easy breezy. And fun.
SEMI-FUNNY TEENAGE COOKING NIGHT STORY - A couple of years ago, my group fixed a Fiesta night with the fun paper plates and napkins. We had taco salad. For our game/activity after dinner, we played Uno. (Get it? Uno? It's a Spanish word.) I thought I was brilliant... until the next evening's meal.
Bev planned an all-American meal... meat and vegetables and red, white and blue plates, napkins and tablecloths, etc. And for our all-American game/activity she brought out the age-old American favorite... Origami! That's right. Japanese paper folding. It was so bizarre, it actually worked. Anyway, I thought it was hilarious.
If an annual trip is already one of your family traditions, try the cooking nights. It's fun and it gets everyone involved... even teenage guys!
Have a lovely Wednesday. Rain is coming to Alabama along with a 64 degree day. Not a good combination for our state. We are ever watching for tornadoes, and warm winter days with rainstorms arriving have to be carefully monitored. I hope wherever you are, you and yours are having wonderful weather. Tomorrow, I have Blog Linkage AND a fun date, so please check back. More mountain pictures and Hillbilly signs will be placed in the Gallery as well.
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Slow-Cooker Pork Chops and Field Peas
Good Tuesday morning!
The Showcase Pic for this week is of Roxie in the mountains... getting all dolled up! (Doesn't she realize it's vacation? Make-up is optional... but obviously not for a 13 year-old.)
This week, the Gallery will feature five mountain pictures a day, PLUS a photo of one Hillbilly Sign each and every day. (The Hillbilly Sign theme will probably go into next week. I have a lot of them.)
Monday Mayhem on Tuesday
As I told you Friday, we went on our 12th Annual Mountain Trip with my family this past weekend. Monday Mayhem will last through Friday and will take you step-by-step through the details of every moment of our trip. WAIT! Don't go. I'm kidding. We'll have a quick overview, and then move on... I promise.
We stay in the mountains two full days once a year. On one of those days, we do "something." We have gone to Cade's Cove, Dixie Stampede, Black Bear Jamboree, the Aquarium, etc. This year we spent our "mountain activity" day in Gatlinburg walking up and down the main drag. We did this once several years ago when the kids were very young, so we decided to try it again since Roxie and Zac were so young the first time they didn't remember!
The three oldest boys went on their way. Tommy and Zac broke off for "male bonding and male shopping." Mikie and Roxie headed off in one direction while Katie, Bev, Mom and I wandered in and out of shops in search of the perfect purse for Katie. We met at The Pancake Pantry at 1:30 for lunch (with no lines). Mike and I LOVE The Pancake Pantry, but we haven't eaten there in 19 years. That's a long time. A lot can happen to one of your favorite restaurants in 19 years. It can really go downhill. But it did not disappoint, and everyone enjoyed their lunch before we headed out for the second part of our day... THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET.
On the other side of the street, the groups changed a little. Josh and Brad needed Mikie or Tommy to help them buy the machine guns they wanted. You have to have an adult with you when you purchase the weapons. (You know the ones. With the soft BBs. I think they're called "air soft," but I'll come back and correct this later if I'm wrong.)
Roxie, Katie, Josh and Zac wanted to ride the sky-lift. Mom wanted to sit down. Austin and I wanted to do something that just screamed "MOUNTAIN ACTIVITY" DAY! We wanted to visit the Hollywood Wax Museum. Everyone split up once more.
Austin and I had a ball in the wax museum. The whole place was set up for picture ops. Austin used his camera to take dozens of pictures because I gave Roxie my camera for the sky-lift ride. I'm not going to say much about our time there because he's bringing his camera home this weekend, and I'm going to post the Hollywood Wax Museum pictures next Monday. Because they're so good, you see.
Also, I'll just drop one little name for you... Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as The Scorpion King! That's right. I have pictures of ME with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson... in wax. No surprises for next week's Showcase Pic.
Everyone had a great time and we headed back to our little cabin in the woods. We had a birthday to celebrate. Our Katie turned Sweet 16!
I lied, you know. This is going to take all week, but I'll try to make it as painless as possible. And it will be labeled, so you can totally skip it if you can't take it any longer. As always, I'm only thinking of you... the reader. I'm a giver, I tell you.
Now, for that recipe of Bear Stew I talked about last week. You know that wasn't true either, right?
Slow-Cooker Pork Chops and Field Peas
If you don't already have the February issue of Southern Living, you need to run to Wal-Mart and pick it up today. I'm serious. It is full of great recipes. I'm putting this one in the crock pot tomorrow morning because I KNOW it will be a wonderful meal tomorrow night before church.
You will need:
1 (16-ounce) package frozen field peas with snaps, thawed
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
6 (1" thick) bone-in pork chops
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large sweet onion (sliced)
1 can condensed chicken broth
1. Place peas in a lightly greased crock pot.
2. Combine mustard and next 2 ingredients. Sprinkle flour over pork chops. Dredge pork in flour.
3. Cook pork in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes on each side or just until browned. Transfer pork to crock pot. Reserve drippings in skillet.
4. Saute' onion in hot drippings over medium-high heat 6 to 7 minutes or until tender.
5. Add chicken broth and cook 2 minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet. Spoon onion mixture over pork in crock pot.
6. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
This is my favorite kind of meal. A vegetable is already cooked in with the meat. All I have to do tomorrow is add one more veggie, something sweet, tea and we're good to go. My pork chops are thawing as we speak!
Again, this issue is FULL of great ideas AND recipes... and the majority of recipes aren't difficult. It's also a very pretty issue, too. Those items alone cover my criteria for a magazine purchase... pretty cover, great ideas and lots of doable recipes. Oh, and Kate Gosselin has to be on the cover... with her new extensions. Did you see those? That's a topic for another day, I'm afraid.
Have an unbelievably wonderful Tuesday. It's a four-day school week, so I know the kids are happy. (I'm pretty pumped up about it myself!) We're back on schedule this week, so tomorrow we'll have Wednesday Wisdom and a Seasonal Tradition for the cold days ahead.
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting (and Slightly Sad To Be Home) Belinda
The Showcase Pic for this week is of Roxie in the mountains... getting all dolled up! (Doesn't she realize it's vacation? Make-up is optional... but obviously not for a 13 year-old.)
This week, the Gallery will feature five mountain pictures a day, PLUS a photo of one Hillbilly Sign each and every day. (The Hillbilly Sign theme will probably go into next week. I have a lot of them.)
Monday Mayhem on Tuesday
As I told you Friday, we went on our 12th Annual Mountain Trip with my family this past weekend. Monday Mayhem will last through Friday and will take you step-by-step through the details of every moment of our trip. WAIT! Don't go. I'm kidding. We'll have a quick overview, and then move on... I promise.
We stay in the mountains two full days once a year. On one of those days, we do "something." We have gone to Cade's Cove, Dixie Stampede, Black Bear Jamboree, the Aquarium, etc. This year we spent our "mountain activity" day in Gatlinburg walking up and down the main drag. We did this once several years ago when the kids were very young, so we decided to try it again since Roxie and Zac were so young the first time they didn't remember!
The three oldest boys went on their way. Tommy and Zac broke off for "male bonding and male shopping." Mikie and Roxie headed off in one direction while Katie, Bev, Mom and I wandered in and out of shops in search of the perfect purse for Katie. We met at The Pancake Pantry at 1:30 for lunch (with no lines). Mike and I LOVE The Pancake Pantry, but we haven't eaten there in 19 years. That's a long time. A lot can happen to one of your favorite restaurants in 19 years. It can really go downhill. But it did not disappoint, and everyone enjoyed their lunch before we headed out for the second part of our day... THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET.
On the other side of the street, the groups changed a little. Josh and Brad needed Mikie or Tommy to help them buy the machine guns they wanted. You have to have an adult with you when you purchase the weapons. (You know the ones. With the soft BBs. I think they're called "air soft," but I'll come back and correct this later if I'm wrong.)
Roxie, Katie, Josh and Zac wanted to ride the sky-lift. Mom wanted to sit down. Austin and I wanted to do something that just screamed "MOUNTAIN ACTIVITY" DAY! We wanted to visit the Hollywood Wax Museum. Everyone split up once more.
Austin and I had a ball in the wax museum. The whole place was set up for picture ops. Austin used his camera to take dozens of pictures because I gave Roxie my camera for the sky-lift ride. I'm not going to say much about our time there because he's bringing his camera home this weekend, and I'm going to post the Hollywood Wax Museum pictures next Monday. Because they're so good, you see.
Also, I'll just drop one little name for you... Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as The Scorpion King! That's right. I have pictures of ME with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson... in wax. No surprises for next week's Showcase Pic.
Everyone had a great time and we headed back to our little cabin in the woods. We had a birthday to celebrate. Our Katie turned Sweet 16!
I lied, you know. This is going to take all week, but I'll try to make it as painless as possible. And it will be labeled, so you can totally skip it if you can't take it any longer. As always, I'm only thinking of you... the reader. I'm a giver, I tell you.
Now, for that recipe of Bear Stew I talked about last week. You know that wasn't true either, right?
Slow-Cooker Pork Chops and Field Peas
If you don't already have the February issue of Southern Living, you need to run to Wal-Mart and pick it up today. I'm serious. It is full of great recipes. I'm putting this one in the crock pot tomorrow morning because I KNOW it will be a wonderful meal tomorrow night before church.
You will need:
1 (16-ounce) package frozen field peas with snaps, thawed
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
6 (1" thick) bone-in pork chops
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large sweet onion (sliced)
1 can condensed chicken broth
1. Place peas in a lightly greased crock pot.
2. Combine mustard and next 2 ingredients. Sprinkle flour over pork chops. Dredge pork in flour.
3. Cook pork in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes on each side or just until browned. Transfer pork to crock pot. Reserve drippings in skillet.
4. Saute' onion in hot drippings over medium-high heat 6 to 7 minutes or until tender.
5. Add chicken broth and cook 2 minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet. Spoon onion mixture over pork in crock pot.
6. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
This is my favorite kind of meal. A vegetable is already cooked in with the meat. All I have to do tomorrow is add one more veggie, something sweet, tea and we're good to go. My pork chops are thawing as we speak!
Again, this issue is FULL of great ideas AND recipes... and the majority of recipes aren't difficult. It's also a very pretty issue, too. Those items alone cover my criteria for a magazine purchase... pretty cover, great ideas and lots of doable recipes. Oh, and Kate Gosselin has to be on the cover... with her new extensions. Did you see those? That's a topic for another day, I'm afraid.
Have an unbelievably wonderful Tuesday. It's a four-day school week, so I know the kids are happy. (I'm pretty pumped up about it myself!) We're back on schedule this week, so tomorrow we'll have Wednesday Wisdom and a Seasonal Tradition for the cold days ahead.
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting (and Slightly Sad To Be Home) Belinda
Friday, January 15, 2010
Weekend Happenings
Good Friday morning!
The Showcase Pics are from last night's basketball game against McAdory. We were victorious... and it shows in the girls' faces. Losing gracefully may build character, but winning sure is fun.
I've also added a little photo of the playbill from 101 Dalmatians. Austin came home from JSU to take Melia to see the play. He said they both enjoyed it very much. However, on TV it shows real dogs jumping into the arms of children in the audience. Guess what? Didn't happen! Other than not getting to pet a real Dalmatian, they had a really good time.
SEMI-FUNNY STORY ABOUT A DALMATIAN - When Austin was about seven years-old, Josh was four and Roxie was a baby in the crib, we put them all to bed one night. Mike came downstairs and opened the back door to take out the trash. As the door opened, a HUGE dog came inside. I'm not an expert on dog breeds, but it only took a second to realize it was a Dalmatian... fully grown.
It was quite the shock for me and Mike as this beast of a dog walked into our house like it owned the place. We didn't really know what to do, and let's face it... With every child born in a family, a parent's natural reaction time (which was once quite fast) doesn't speed up. It slows down significantly.
The dog looked us up and down, and made it's way to the stairs. Mike and I were still staring at each other open-mouthed when we heard Austin yelling at the top of his lungs, "THERE... IS... AN... ANIMAL... IN... OUR... ROOM! IT... IS... EATING... US!" That's when we finally sprang into parental action.
We met Mr. Dalmatian on the way down the stairs as we were running to the boys' room. He was most definitely traumatized by our boys' reaction to his obvious attempt at affection. (Code for HE WASN'T EATING THEM. HE WAS LICKING THEM... IN THE FACE... WHILE THEY WERE SLEEPING.) I have to say, that would be a horrible way to wake up.
After checking on the boys and making sure nothing vital was missing from their faces and/or bodies, we went in search of the dog. He was sitting by the back door. Once the shock wore off, it wasn't hard to tell he was a sweet, well-mannered dog. Just very lost.
The boys made their way to the foot of the stairs to see what had attacked them in their sleep, and immediately started the, "Oh, can we keep him?" scenario. Seconds earlier, they had wanted us to shoot the beast dead, but all had been forgiven.
Although we had never noticed a Dalmatian in our neighborhood before, we made a few calls until we found the owners a few streets over. They owned not one, but two, of these beautiful animals, and they were thrilled to be reunited with their pet.
And I was thrilled to once again be "pet-less." At the time, two boys and a baby girl were plenty for me and Mikie to raise. We would add a beagle to our mix four years down the road, but not that night.
NOTE - I know you think I'm spelling Dalmatian incorrectly, but it really is t-i-a-n and not t-i-o-n. I always check because I think it should be t-i-o-n, too.
Since I'm not posting Saturday or Sunday at all, today's post is full of reminders, rules and regulations. Read and follow the instructions closely. A test will follow.
REMINDER #1 - Although there will be no pictures posted Saturday and Sunday, I will still be taking Saturday and Sunday pictures. Project 365 will have THREE new pictures posted by 5:00 p.m. Monday afternoon.
REMINDER #2 - There will NOT be a Party or Event or Devotion posted Monday, January 18 on A Simple Life. There will NOT be a new post at all on A Simple Life Monday, January 18. However, this would be a good time to "catch up" on your reading if you're a Newbie or you haven't read all 318 prior posts. (I'm assuming you do not have a life of your own, and this is how you want to spend your long weekend. I may be wrong.)
REMINDER #3 - Tuesday's post will be up and running as always with a recipe and a recap of the weekend. Things will be back to normal for a while.
Now, we'll get into the Rules and Regulations. These are a little repetitive for the seasoned readers of A Simple Life, so feel free to skip ahead.
RULE AND REGULATION #1 - If you are a Newbie, click on Newbie Info on my sidebar under Labels. This will help you get started.
RULE AND REGULATION #2 - I don't have another Rule or Regulation. See? I'm not as bossy as a lot of people may think.
Weekend Happenings
We're going to the mountains. We go every year around this time (Martin Luther King Day Weekend OR President's Day Weekend) with my sister and her family and Grandmother. We all stay in a big cabin in the valley outside Pigeon Forge, and we make wonderful memories.
We're planning on spending Saturday in Gatlinburg, shopping and seeing the sights before heading back to the cabin for Katie's 16th birthday party that evening.
Sunday is supposed to be rainy, but that will NOT dampen our spirits. The guys will head to The Knifeworks (a tradition), and the women-folk will go in search of the perfect fudge (also, a tradition). We'll meet back at the cabin for a 50s "theme" dinner. Hamburgers, chili cheese fries and hot fudge sundaes are on the menu with Elvis music playing in the background. We'll then retire to the den for a game of Twister and the obligatory Hula Hoop Contest. We'll end the evening watching an Elvis movie. Classic.
In between all of these activities, we'll be hot-tubbing, taking pictures, playing football, taking pictures, sitting by the fire, taking a few more pictures and just "being." We love the mountains, and we're all looking forward to trip number 12!
I hope you and yours have a great long weekend filled with wonderful moments and memories. We'll be busy next week on A Simple Life, so check back in if you get a chance.
Take care, and I'll talk to you Tuesday.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting and Mountain-Bound Belinda
The Showcase Pics are from last night's basketball game against McAdory. We were victorious... and it shows in the girls' faces. Losing gracefully may build character, but winning sure is fun.
I've also added a little photo of the playbill from 101 Dalmatians. Austin came home from JSU to take Melia to see the play. He said they both enjoyed it very much. However, on TV it shows real dogs jumping into the arms of children in the audience. Guess what? Didn't happen! Other than not getting to pet a real Dalmatian, they had a really good time.
SEMI-FUNNY STORY ABOUT A DALMATIAN - When Austin was about seven years-old, Josh was four and Roxie was a baby in the crib, we put them all to bed one night. Mike came downstairs and opened the back door to take out the trash. As the door opened, a HUGE dog came inside. I'm not an expert on dog breeds, but it only took a second to realize it was a Dalmatian... fully grown.
It was quite the shock for me and Mike as this beast of a dog walked into our house like it owned the place. We didn't really know what to do, and let's face it... With every child born in a family, a parent's natural reaction time (which was once quite fast) doesn't speed up. It slows down significantly.
The dog looked us up and down, and made it's way to the stairs. Mike and I were still staring at each other open-mouthed when we heard Austin yelling at the top of his lungs, "THERE... IS... AN... ANIMAL... IN... OUR... ROOM! IT... IS... EATING... US!" That's when we finally sprang into parental action.
We met Mr. Dalmatian on the way down the stairs as we were running to the boys' room. He was most definitely traumatized by our boys' reaction to his obvious attempt at affection. (Code for HE WASN'T EATING THEM. HE WAS LICKING THEM... IN THE FACE... WHILE THEY WERE SLEEPING.) I have to say, that would be a horrible way to wake up.
After checking on the boys and making sure nothing vital was missing from their faces and/or bodies, we went in search of the dog. He was sitting by the back door. Once the shock wore off, it wasn't hard to tell he was a sweet, well-mannered dog. Just very lost.
The boys made their way to the foot of the stairs to see what had attacked them in their sleep, and immediately started the, "Oh, can we keep him?" scenario. Seconds earlier, they had wanted us to shoot the beast dead, but all had been forgiven.
Although we had never noticed a Dalmatian in our neighborhood before, we made a few calls until we found the owners a few streets over. They owned not one, but two, of these beautiful animals, and they were thrilled to be reunited with their pet.
And I was thrilled to once again be "pet-less." At the time, two boys and a baby girl were plenty for me and Mikie to raise. We would add a beagle to our mix four years down the road, but not that night.
NOTE - I know you think I'm spelling Dalmatian incorrectly, but it really is t-i-a-n and not t-i-o-n. I always check because I think it should be t-i-o-n, too.
Since I'm not posting Saturday or Sunday at all, today's post is full of reminders, rules and regulations. Read and follow the instructions closely. A test will follow.
REMINDER #1 - Although there will be no pictures posted Saturday and Sunday, I will still be taking Saturday and Sunday pictures. Project 365 will have THREE new pictures posted by 5:00 p.m. Monday afternoon.
REMINDER #2 - There will NOT be a Party or Event or Devotion posted Monday, January 18 on A Simple Life. There will NOT be a new post at all on A Simple Life Monday, January 18. However, this would be a good time to "catch up" on your reading if you're a Newbie or you haven't read all 318 prior posts. (I'm assuming you do not have a life of your own, and this is how you want to spend your long weekend. I may be wrong.)
REMINDER #3 - Tuesday's post will be up and running as always with a recipe and a recap of the weekend. Things will be back to normal for a while.
Now, we'll get into the Rules and Regulations. These are a little repetitive for the seasoned readers of A Simple Life, so feel free to skip ahead.
RULE AND REGULATION #1 - If you are a Newbie, click on Newbie Info on my sidebar under Labels. This will help you get started.
RULE AND REGULATION #2 - I don't have another Rule or Regulation. See? I'm not as bossy as a lot of people may think.
Weekend Happenings
We're going to the mountains. We go every year around this time (Martin Luther King Day Weekend OR President's Day Weekend) with my sister and her family and Grandmother. We all stay in a big cabin in the valley outside Pigeon Forge, and we make wonderful memories.
We're planning on spending Saturday in Gatlinburg, shopping and seeing the sights before heading back to the cabin for Katie's 16th birthday party that evening.
Sunday is supposed to be rainy, but that will NOT dampen our spirits. The guys will head to The Knifeworks (a tradition), and the women-folk will go in search of the perfect fudge (also, a tradition). We'll meet back at the cabin for a 50s "theme" dinner. Hamburgers, chili cheese fries and hot fudge sundaes are on the menu with Elvis music playing in the background. We'll then retire to the den for a game of Twister and the obligatory Hula Hoop Contest. We'll end the evening watching an Elvis movie. Classic.
In between all of these activities, we'll be hot-tubbing, taking pictures, playing football, taking pictures, sitting by the fire, taking a few more pictures and just "being." We love the mountains, and we're all looking forward to trip number 12!
I hope you and yours have a great long weekend filled with wonderful moments and memories. We'll be busy next week on A Simple Life, so check back in if you get a chance.
Take care, and I'll talk to you Tuesday.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting and Mountain-Bound Belinda
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Starving Artist Sale Date
Good Thursday morning!
The Gallery Pics today are of Roxie. I said I would add some people photos, and I did! And the shirt is hot pink and lime green. You can't beat that... especially when everything in Mom's closet is black, brown, weird green, and did I mention black? Yes, the color is definitely in Roxie's closet.
UPDATE - I'm sure many of you didn't sleep last night wondering about my test. Let me ease your mind. In typical "Enchanting Belinda" style, they scheduled the wrong kind of stress test for me. The doctor's office scheduled an "easy" stress test. That is not what I need. I need the most difficult stress test on the market. The one with dye AND treadmill AND running across the room to the ultrasound machine in less than ten seconds (because they have only 30 seconds to one minute to get an accurate reading or you have to do it all again) AND it really, really hurts a lot. That's the kind of stress test I was supposed to have... but no. I have to reschedule and wait a little longer. Mistakes happen. It's not the end of the world. Yada. Yada. Yada.
This story will be filed under "Continued Until a Later Date."
ANNOUNCEMENT - I'll remind you of this tomorrow, but this weekend I will NOT be posting a picture in Project 365 Saturday or Sunday. I'll be in the mountains without Internet for a few days, so normal posting will resume late Monday afternoon. Translation... I will post Saturday, Sunday AND Monday's picture of the day after 5:00 p.m. Monday. I will NOT post on A Simple Life until Tuesday morning, and we'll start off the week with a recipe! A mountain recipe, perhaps. Possum or bobcat or bear stew. Hmmm.
I'll be here tomorrow though, so don't forget to check in before the big three-day weekend.
My friend, Melaney, sent me a list of humorous tidbits about growing old"er" yesterday. Just for fun, I thought I'd share a few with you today. They were pretty good.
1. Reporter interviewing a 104 year-old woman: "And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?" the reporter asked.
She simply replied, "No peer pressure."
2. My memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
3. It's scary when you start making the same noises as your coffee maker.
4. And last, but not least... You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing!
Blog Linkage - I have some interesting things for you to read today.
1. Go to www.coalcreekfarm.com and read the January 7 post entitled "What If I?" It is a very interesting way to look at making New Year's resolutions and goals. It will make you ask yourself the question, "What if I... ?" It makes you think. I like to read something that makes me think. Not every day, mind you... but occasionally.
2. Stay on this website a few more minutes and read the January 10 post called "Did I Teach Them That?" It is a very humorous, very accurate list of what kids actually do learn day after day in our homes. (A little too accurate, if you ask me.)
3. I wanted to give the moms with small kids more Winter Boredom Busters. Go to www.essortment.com for several good ideas.
4. Please click on Confessions of a Pioneer Woman under My Blog List. She is giving away two $500 donations to your favorite charity to help the earthquake victims in Haiti. Read today's post to get the details, and enter this wonderful contest.
Starving Artist Sale Date
Mikie planned this date by himself... which was so nice. If you are like me, you have heard the Starving Artist Sale advertised on the radio and TV for years and years... but have never gone. This was a great date.
It was held in very nice hotel on 280 from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. last Sunday afternoon. Although I have never attended, it is obviously something people look forward to because it was very crowded. As we walked through the lobby, we saw person after person walking past us carrying one, two or more canvases.
It took about an hour or so to go through all the paintings. Most of the paintings were landscapes (mountain, Mediterranean, beach, etc.), but there were other types of art as well. There were four different sizes to choose from. Mikie chose two mountain scenes for his office and they were only $34 apiece.
Now here's the kicker! You have them framed there, too. And the frames and very pretty and very inexpensive. There isn't a huge selection, but there are several colors and styles to choose from. Mike and I chose two frames, and we were in and out in a little less than two hours.
It was so much fun. We felt so "artsy," and we are NOT "artsy" folk. I'll post on A Simple Life the next time I hear the advertisement for the Starving Artist Sale to remind you about this date.
After we left the Starving Artist Sale, Mike said he had one more surprise. That's right. Yogurt Mountain! I cannot say enough good things about this little jewel located in a strip mall off 280. Big bowls. Plenty of yogurt flavor choices. Dozens of topping choices. Did I mention the MARSHMALLOW CREME at the end of the topping bar?
And once you have created your Yogurt Mountain masterpiece, you simply step over to the register and the scale and weigh. (Weigh the yogurt... not yourself!)
The only downside might be the cost. I had a very small amount of yogurt and Mikie's bowl was not full. It cost $7.15 for the two of us which means it would have been around $20 for the Faulkner Five to eat there. I saw kids with heaping bowls of yogurt and toppings... double the amount in Mikie's bowl. (The bowls are all the same size. Brilliant marketing!)
That being said, if you plan on taking the family, make sure you plan on spending a little more money on dessert than you may ordinarily spend. We're planning a family movie date in March or April at The Summit and ending at Yogurt Mountain!
I highly recommend BOTH of these activities for dates... one-on-one dates or family dates. It was fun, different and a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon with the hubby.
Have a productive Thursday. I say that because I have so much to do, and so little time. (I am no different from anyone else. I know. I know.) I'll be going over Weekend Happenings tomorrow, and I may have a few more things to share. You just never know, do you?
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
The Gallery Pics today are of Roxie. I said I would add some people photos, and I did! And the shirt is hot pink and lime green. You can't beat that... especially when everything in Mom's closet is black, brown, weird green, and did I mention black? Yes, the color is definitely in Roxie's closet.
UPDATE - I'm sure many of you didn't sleep last night wondering about my test. Let me ease your mind. In typical "Enchanting Belinda" style, they scheduled the wrong kind of stress test for me. The doctor's office scheduled an "easy" stress test. That is not what I need. I need the most difficult stress test on the market. The one with dye AND treadmill AND running across the room to the ultrasound machine in less than ten seconds (because they have only 30 seconds to one minute to get an accurate reading or you have to do it all again) AND it really, really hurts a lot. That's the kind of stress test I was supposed to have... but no. I have to reschedule and wait a little longer. Mistakes happen. It's not the end of the world. Yada. Yada. Yada.
This story will be filed under "Continued Until a Later Date."
ANNOUNCEMENT - I'll remind you of this tomorrow, but this weekend I will NOT be posting a picture in Project 365 Saturday or Sunday. I'll be in the mountains without Internet for a few days, so normal posting will resume late Monday afternoon. Translation... I will post Saturday, Sunday AND Monday's picture of the day after 5:00 p.m. Monday. I will NOT post on A Simple Life until Tuesday morning, and we'll start off the week with a recipe! A mountain recipe, perhaps. Possum or bobcat or bear stew. Hmmm.
I'll be here tomorrow though, so don't forget to check in before the big three-day weekend.
My friend, Melaney, sent me a list of humorous tidbits about growing old"er" yesterday. Just for fun, I thought I'd share a few with you today. They were pretty good.
1. Reporter interviewing a 104 year-old woman: "And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?" the reporter asked.
She simply replied, "No peer pressure."
2. My memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
3. It's scary when you start making the same noises as your coffee maker.
4. And last, but not least... You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing!
Blog Linkage - I have some interesting things for you to read today.
1. Go to www.coalcreekfarm.com and read the January 7 post entitled "What If I?" It is a very interesting way to look at making New Year's resolutions and goals. It will make you ask yourself the question, "What if I... ?" It makes you think. I like to read something that makes me think. Not every day, mind you... but occasionally.
2. Stay on this website a few more minutes and read the January 10 post called "Did I Teach Them That?" It is a very humorous, very accurate list of what kids actually do learn day after day in our homes. (A little too accurate, if you ask me.)
3. I wanted to give the moms with small kids more Winter Boredom Busters. Go to www.essortment.com for several good ideas.
4. Please click on Confessions of a Pioneer Woman under My Blog List. She is giving away two $500 donations to your favorite charity to help the earthquake victims in Haiti. Read today's post to get the details, and enter this wonderful contest.
Starving Artist Sale Date
Mikie planned this date by himself... which was so nice. If you are like me, you have heard the Starving Artist Sale advertised on the radio and TV for years and years... but have never gone. This was a great date.
It was held in very nice hotel on 280 from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. last Sunday afternoon. Although I have never attended, it is obviously something people look forward to because it was very crowded. As we walked through the lobby, we saw person after person walking past us carrying one, two or more canvases.
It took about an hour or so to go through all the paintings. Most of the paintings were landscapes (mountain, Mediterranean, beach, etc.), but there were other types of art as well. There were four different sizes to choose from. Mikie chose two mountain scenes for his office and they were only $34 apiece.
Now here's the kicker! You have them framed there, too. And the frames and very pretty and very inexpensive. There isn't a huge selection, but there are several colors and styles to choose from. Mike and I chose two frames, and we were in and out in a little less than two hours.
It was so much fun. We felt so "artsy," and we are NOT "artsy" folk. I'll post on A Simple Life the next time I hear the advertisement for the Starving Artist Sale to remind you about this date.
After we left the Starving Artist Sale, Mike said he had one more surprise. That's right. Yogurt Mountain! I cannot say enough good things about this little jewel located in a strip mall off 280. Big bowls. Plenty of yogurt flavor choices. Dozens of topping choices. Did I mention the MARSHMALLOW CREME at the end of the topping bar?
And once you have created your Yogurt Mountain masterpiece, you simply step over to the register and the scale and weigh. (Weigh the yogurt... not yourself!)
The only downside might be the cost. I had a very small amount of yogurt and Mikie's bowl was not full. It cost $7.15 for the two of us which means it would have been around $20 for the Faulkner Five to eat there. I saw kids with heaping bowls of yogurt and toppings... double the amount in Mikie's bowl. (The bowls are all the same size. Brilliant marketing!)
That being said, if you plan on taking the family, make sure you plan on spending a little more money on dessert than you may ordinarily spend. We're planning a family movie date in March or April at The Summit and ending at Yogurt Mountain!
I highly recommend BOTH of these activities for dates... one-on-one dates or family dates. It was fun, different and a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon with the hubby.
Have a productive Thursday. I say that because I have so much to do, and so little time. (I am no different from anyone else. I know. I know.) I'll be going over Weekend Happenings tomorrow, and I may have a few more things to share. You just never know, do you?
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Winter Boredom Busters
Good Wednesday morning!
The Gallery Pic needs a little explaining. During my periodontist visit yesterday morning, I was told I wasn't going to be dismissed for two more weeks. TWO MORE WEEKS before I can go to Stage Three. The little tool shown above looks very "dental" until you add the necessary element... a broken toothpick. That's right. A broken toothpick. And get this... They want you to put the broken toothpick in your mouth and move it back and forth around the crown and surgical area. And you hope your husband or your 16 year-old son do not decide to sneak up behind you and say, Boo!" because it would all be over then! It's very high-tech, isn't it? Two more weeks.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - PANIC ATTACKS - It's "doctor week" around here... for me. Today I go in for bi-yearly stress test because I have a tiny tear in one of my valves I've probably had since birth. You may think this would cause me great stress and worry, but to the contrary. When you suffer from panic attacks which copy heart attack symptoms, you actually look forward to stress tests. I know. It's nuts, but so are panic attacks.
Even though I've decided to write a little about these attacks today in my quest to de-mystify all things labeled "mental illness" or "mental disorder," panic attacks are different. The more you think, talk or write about these attacks, the worse they become. It opens a door most people would like to keep closed.
"Why open the door if it is going to make everything worse?" you ask. Good question. My particular door was open anyway because of the test, so it was a good time to talk about the attacks which have been very prevalent the last two or so weeks.
Again, I want to mention this particular illness in case someone else may be having these attacks, and may be embarrassed or ashamed. And I want people to know there isn't anything to be ashamed of because it isn't anything your body or mind can control. As I've said before about Josh's OCD, it's a chronic illness like any other (asthma, diabetes, etc.) which needs treatment and sometimes medication. I doubt people who have never experienced a panic attack (which can have many different symptoms) can truly understand, but they most certainly can be compassionate, listen if you need to talk, read information about the attacks, etc. Not talking about it and/or pretending it's not a big deal is not helpful AT ALL.
In my particular case, attending my kids' sporting events has an added bonus. There will always be a defibrillator, medical personnel and an ambulance located at the end of the football field. It's the next best thing to being in an Emergency Room.
Also, over a year ago when my grandmother had knee surgery, I was more than willing to take a night shift to sit with her. She had a rough night, and apologized the next morning. It was an unnecessary apology. Having nurses come in every half hour or so to check on her (us), doctors down the hall, monitors in the very room I was staying in... I was very content.
Unlike what many people may think, panic attacks do not always occur in high stress situations. In most cases, they begin during your most relaxed time of the day. It totally catches you off guard. They also occur in locations where you may be your most comfortable such as church, Wal-Mart, home, etc. There is not a lot of rhyme or reason when it comes to panic attacks.
I know I've mentioned it in an earlier post, but I think about it quite often. Several years ago, I overheard a woman who was experiencing extreme grief and depression ask another woman, "Is it okay for a Christian to be depressed?" I'll never forget the woman's answer.
"It's okay to be depressed. It is not okay to STAY depressed. You need to keep praying." Her answer was not unkind. It was just very uninformed.
This woman would not have answered the question in the same way if it had been about diabetes. "It's okay to have diabetes. It's just not okay to have diabetes over a long period of time. You need to keep praying."
I agree we need to pray for healing. I do. But if God decides to answer the request with a "no" or "not now," it is my responsibility to prayerfully seek good doctors, prayerfully consider medications and prayerfully take care of my illness and body.
I am much better than I was December 16, 2006 when I had my first attack. I am much better than I was the year 2007 when I had four tests, each one more extensive than the last, and four Emergency Room visits. But it isn't over yet.
My attacks are accompanied with chest pains, racing heart, sweat, nausea, numbness, extreme weakness and a higher blood pressure reading. If you have panic attacks, your symptoms may be totally different. It is a very personalized illness.
And my panic attacks were triggered by Josh's illness. I suffered my first attack almost a year to the day of his total breakdown with OCD. That also made no sense to me. We had learned so much. We were getting the help he needed. He was starting to show some small improvements. In other words, we were moving forward. According to my doctors, this is not uncommon. Moms do what they have to do when they have a sick child as long as they have to do it. When things started settling into a routine, my panic attacks began.
The ONLY reason I share this with anyone reading today is to try to diminish the stigma. Believe it or not, I used to be a pretty private person. But it's time to talk. It's time to admit we do not have perfect lives, perfect families or perfect bodies.
But we are supposed to encourage each other, pray for each other, lift each other up, and NOT avoid the ugly or uncomfortable or sad situations other people face every day. Because believe it or not, if you live long enough, you will find yourself in an ugly or uncomfortable or sad situation... and you will want someone to reach out to you.
"You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry." Psalm 10:17. On the sidebar of my Bible next to this verse, it says the following:
"Jesus paints a vivid portrait of how much the poor, needy, afflicted and oppressed are valued by a compassionate God... and how his children are to represent Him on earth in the way they support and defend victimized and lonely people. Unfortunately, we do not always come through for those in need. Our Father has a very tender heart toward those who suffer and cry out to Him." In striving to be more Christ-like, shouldn't we do the same?
Be the person who reaches out to someone in need today. Yes, it takes time. Yes, there is a good chance it will be unpleasant. Yes, it may make you sad for a time. Sorry. We were never promised a perfect, painless life.
Let's make that call or visit TODAY!
Wednesday Wisdom - I have two today. Both of them refer to winter, but one is serious and sweet and the other a little humorous.
"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home." Edith Sitwell.
"Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat." Author Unknown.
Winter Boredom Busters
I looked around for some new winter ideas for moms with small kids, and I found a couple of good websites from moms in the know. These ideas are from a website called www.bostonmamas.com.
Play Flour. Sprinkle flour onto a cookie sheet (or use a rimmed baking sheet or large plastic tray to cut down on mess) and let your kids draw or race match box cars in it. When the kids are done, sweep up the flour and put it in a sealable container labeled “Play Flour.” Reuse as necessary. The possibilities are endless and different textured materials (such as cornmeal, oats, etc.) will offer fun fodder for sensory exploration. (I love the term "fun fodder," don't you?)
Wash the Dishes. If you don’t own a dishwasher, your kids may not find this as exciting as mine do. Fill the sink with water and bubbles, give them a washcloth and some plastic stuff to wash, and let them go to town. Give your kids straws to make bubbles with water and dish soap. Remind them not to drink from the sink! (Austin used to wash Josh's bottles for me huge amounts of time. He loved it. When he tired of dishes, we would let the soapy water out, refill the sinks with clean, warm water and a little blue food coloring to make lakes and oceans. He would play with his animals and dinosaurs until his hands were pruny!)
Simulate Summer. Have your kids hop in the bath and break out the summer pool toys. Let them wear a bathing suit to simulate summer (or you could multi-task and give them a bath while they play with beach toys).
Make Indoor Snow People. Buy marshmallows, cake decorating gel tubes, and other little candies. Have your kids use toothpicks to assemble snow people, then decorate using the gel. You can also use the gel to stick on sprinkles or other nonpareils. Toothpicks make good arms and rope licorice makes a great scarf. Display for the day, and eat for dessert later. Or, don’t tell your kids they’re for eating at all, and display until stale.
Make Pomanders. Take Mandarin or Clementine oranges that are getting slightly hard, and stud with whole cloves. Use a toothpick or fork to make starter holes, otherwise the cloves will be hard for little fingers to push. Make patterns, or just randomly insert cloves all over the orange. Display a whole bowl as a centerpiece or place a few here and there to fill your house with a lovely scent.
Of course, I had to go to a Disney website for just one idea.
Make It a Family Night. Turn family night into a movie-themed event night! Depending on the theme you pick (Animal Night, Diva Night, Magic Night, Pirate Night, Princess Night, Super-Hero Night), choose a movie and dinner and/or snacks which go with the theme.
Animal Night - Planet Earth OR Fox and the Hound. Add animal crackers to munch on with popcorn.
Pirate Night - Pirates of the Caribbean OR VeggieTales - Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. For dinner, add jerky to the menu.
The ideas are limitless... and fun!
I'll have another blog listed tomorrow under Blog Linkage with even more Boredom Busters, so check back for easy, fun ideas.
Have a fun Wednesday. I'm pretty sure my Wednesday will improve as the day progresses. (How's that for a "glass half-full" attitude?) Tomorrow I will have two or three things for you to read under Blog Linkage, and I'll tell you about a fun date Mikie and I had Sunday afternoon (in GREAT length and detail). I bet you can't wait, can you?
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
The Gallery Pic needs a little explaining. During my periodontist visit yesterday morning, I was told I wasn't going to be dismissed for two more weeks. TWO MORE WEEKS before I can go to Stage Three. The little tool shown above looks very "dental" until you add the necessary element... a broken toothpick. That's right. A broken toothpick. And get this... They want you to put the broken toothpick in your mouth and move it back and forth around the crown and surgical area. And you hope your husband or your 16 year-old son do not decide to sneak up behind you and say, Boo!" because it would all be over then! It's very high-tech, isn't it? Two more weeks.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - PANIC ATTACKS - It's "doctor week" around here... for me. Today I go in for bi-yearly stress test because I have a tiny tear in one of my valves I've probably had since birth. You may think this would cause me great stress and worry, but to the contrary. When you suffer from panic attacks which copy heart attack symptoms, you actually look forward to stress tests. I know. It's nuts, but so are panic attacks.
Even though I've decided to write a little about these attacks today in my quest to de-mystify all things labeled "mental illness" or "mental disorder," panic attacks are different. The more you think, talk or write about these attacks, the worse they become. It opens a door most people would like to keep closed.
"Why open the door if it is going to make everything worse?" you ask. Good question. My particular door was open anyway because of the test, so it was a good time to talk about the attacks which have been very prevalent the last two or so weeks.
Again, I want to mention this particular illness in case someone else may be having these attacks, and may be embarrassed or ashamed. And I want people to know there isn't anything to be ashamed of because it isn't anything your body or mind can control. As I've said before about Josh's OCD, it's a chronic illness like any other (asthma, diabetes, etc.) which needs treatment and sometimes medication. I doubt people who have never experienced a panic attack (which can have many different symptoms) can truly understand, but they most certainly can be compassionate, listen if you need to talk, read information about the attacks, etc. Not talking about it and/or pretending it's not a big deal is not helpful AT ALL.
In my particular case, attending my kids' sporting events has an added bonus. There will always be a defibrillator, medical personnel and an ambulance located at the end of the football field. It's the next best thing to being in an Emergency Room.
Also, over a year ago when my grandmother had knee surgery, I was more than willing to take a night shift to sit with her. She had a rough night, and apologized the next morning. It was an unnecessary apology. Having nurses come in every half hour or so to check on her (us), doctors down the hall, monitors in the very room I was staying in... I was very content.
Unlike what many people may think, panic attacks do not always occur in high stress situations. In most cases, they begin during your most relaxed time of the day. It totally catches you off guard. They also occur in locations where you may be your most comfortable such as church, Wal-Mart, home, etc. There is not a lot of rhyme or reason when it comes to panic attacks.
I know I've mentioned it in an earlier post, but I think about it quite often. Several years ago, I overheard a woman who was experiencing extreme grief and depression ask another woman, "Is it okay for a Christian to be depressed?" I'll never forget the woman's answer.
"It's okay to be depressed. It is not okay to STAY depressed. You need to keep praying." Her answer was not unkind. It was just very uninformed.
This woman would not have answered the question in the same way if it had been about diabetes. "It's okay to have diabetes. It's just not okay to have diabetes over a long period of time. You need to keep praying."
I agree we need to pray for healing. I do. But if God decides to answer the request with a "no" or "not now," it is my responsibility to prayerfully seek good doctors, prayerfully consider medications and prayerfully take care of my illness and body.
I am much better than I was December 16, 2006 when I had my first attack. I am much better than I was the year 2007 when I had four tests, each one more extensive than the last, and four Emergency Room visits. But it isn't over yet.
My attacks are accompanied with chest pains, racing heart, sweat, nausea, numbness, extreme weakness and a higher blood pressure reading. If you have panic attacks, your symptoms may be totally different. It is a very personalized illness.
And my panic attacks were triggered by Josh's illness. I suffered my first attack almost a year to the day of his total breakdown with OCD. That also made no sense to me. We had learned so much. We were getting the help he needed. He was starting to show some small improvements. In other words, we were moving forward. According to my doctors, this is not uncommon. Moms do what they have to do when they have a sick child as long as they have to do it. When things started settling into a routine, my panic attacks began.
The ONLY reason I share this with anyone reading today is to try to diminish the stigma. Believe it or not, I used to be a pretty private person. But it's time to talk. It's time to admit we do not have perfect lives, perfect families or perfect bodies.
But we are supposed to encourage each other, pray for each other, lift each other up, and NOT avoid the ugly or uncomfortable or sad situations other people face every day. Because believe it or not, if you live long enough, you will find yourself in an ugly or uncomfortable or sad situation... and you will want someone to reach out to you.
"You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry." Psalm 10:17. On the sidebar of my Bible next to this verse, it says the following:
"Jesus paints a vivid portrait of how much the poor, needy, afflicted and oppressed are valued by a compassionate God... and how his children are to represent Him on earth in the way they support and defend victimized and lonely people. Unfortunately, we do not always come through for those in need. Our Father has a very tender heart toward those who suffer and cry out to Him." In striving to be more Christ-like, shouldn't we do the same?
Be the person who reaches out to someone in need today. Yes, it takes time. Yes, there is a good chance it will be unpleasant. Yes, it may make you sad for a time. Sorry. We were never promised a perfect, painless life.
Let's make that call or visit TODAY!
Wednesday Wisdom - I have two today. Both of them refer to winter, but one is serious and sweet and the other a little humorous.
"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home." Edith Sitwell.
"Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat." Author Unknown.
Winter Boredom Busters
I looked around for some new winter ideas for moms with small kids, and I found a couple of good websites from moms in the know. These ideas are from a website called www.bostonmamas.com.
Play Flour. Sprinkle flour onto a cookie sheet (or use a rimmed baking sheet or large plastic tray to cut down on mess) and let your kids draw or race match box cars in it. When the kids are done, sweep up the flour and put it in a sealable container labeled “Play Flour.” Reuse as necessary. The possibilities are endless and different textured materials (such as cornmeal, oats, etc.) will offer fun fodder for sensory exploration. (I love the term "fun fodder," don't you?)
Wash the Dishes. If you don’t own a dishwasher, your kids may not find this as exciting as mine do. Fill the sink with water and bubbles, give them a washcloth and some plastic stuff to wash, and let them go to town. Give your kids straws to make bubbles with water and dish soap. Remind them not to drink from the sink! (Austin used to wash Josh's bottles for me huge amounts of time. He loved it. When he tired of dishes, we would let the soapy water out, refill the sinks with clean, warm water and a little blue food coloring to make lakes and oceans. He would play with his animals and dinosaurs until his hands were pruny!)
Simulate Summer. Have your kids hop in the bath and break out the summer pool toys. Let them wear a bathing suit to simulate summer (or you could multi-task and give them a bath while they play with beach toys).
Make Indoor Snow People. Buy marshmallows, cake decorating gel tubes, and other little candies. Have your kids use toothpicks to assemble snow people, then decorate using the gel. You can also use the gel to stick on sprinkles or other nonpareils. Toothpicks make good arms and rope licorice makes a great scarf. Display for the day, and eat for dessert later. Or, don’t tell your kids they’re for eating at all, and display until stale.
Make Pomanders. Take Mandarin or Clementine oranges that are getting slightly hard, and stud with whole cloves. Use a toothpick or fork to make starter holes, otherwise the cloves will be hard for little fingers to push. Make patterns, or just randomly insert cloves all over the orange. Display a whole bowl as a centerpiece or place a few here and there to fill your house with a lovely scent.
Of course, I had to go to a Disney website for just one idea.
Make It a Family Night. Turn family night into a movie-themed event night! Depending on the theme you pick (Animal Night, Diva Night, Magic Night, Pirate Night, Princess Night, Super-Hero Night), choose a movie and dinner and/or snacks which go with the theme.
Animal Night - Planet Earth OR Fox and the Hound. Add animal crackers to munch on with popcorn.
Pirate Night - Pirates of the Caribbean OR VeggieTales - Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. For dinner, add jerky to the menu.
The ideas are limitless... and fun!
I'll have another blog listed tomorrow under Blog Linkage with even more Boredom Busters, so check back for easy, fun ideas.
Have a fun Wednesday. I'm pretty sure my Wednesday will improve as the day progresses. (How's that for a "glass half-full" attitude?) Tomorrow I will have two or three things for you to read under Blog Linkage, and I'll tell you about a fun date Mikie and I had Sunday afternoon (in GREAT length and detail). I bet you can't wait, can you?
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Deviled Eggs and Buttermilk Pie
Good Tuesday morning!
Today's Gallery Pic is just a little Buttermilk Pie. Growing up I had never heard of Buttermilk Pie. When we started attending First Baptist Gardendale, our pastor at the time, Brother Steve, mentioned the pie... fairly often. I must admit it didn't sound very good to me. Then the ladies of our church made a little cookbook, and there in all it's EASY glory was the recipe for a Buttermilk Pie (shared by Brother Steve's wife, Donna). I tried it because it looked so easy. I am still making them today because they are SO GOOD! Brother Steve was right about many, many things during his time as pastor of our wonderful church, but he was dead on when it came to this pie.
So in honor of Brother Steve and Donna, I've included Donna's Buttermilk Pie recipe in today's section.
NOTE: Brother Steve is also the reason I went to Nikki's for the first time and Pastor Kevin is the reason Mike and I go to Dave's in Vestavia. And just so you know... I DO take sermon notes. I definitely have learned about more than just restaurants and recipes in the many years we've attended the church. I want to make myself clear on that point. (I'm going to have to use a verse somewhere in the post today to prove it to you, I think.)
My mind is still a little here and there this week, so do not be surprised by a little randomness sneaking into the posts the next few days. Oh, here's one now.
RANDOMNESS #1 - Today I will be attending my last visit to the periodontist who performed my "bone scraping of the jaw" surgery SIX weeks ago. If he dismisses me, I will then move on to the next Stage... having the temporary crown removed, having "things" done where the surgery took place (that I don't even want to think about) before finally acquiring a permanent crown. I am not happy about Stage Three. This could quite possibly be due to the fact Stage One and Stage Two were so utterly unpleasant. And both dentist and periodontist say I have more of these type happenings to look forward to as I get older.
I'm thinking Tom Hanks had the right idea in Castaway when he used an ice skating blade and a rock and just knocked the sucker right out of his head. Don't hold me to it, but it is something I'm prayerfully considering.
Personally, as people age (and remember, I'm only 48 which means I have a lot more aging left to do), I think the "gravity" factor, the "growing new things you don't need" factor, the "bone density and other new and exciting tests" factor and the "fact your teeth can just fall out of your head while eating a soft Arby's roast beef sandwich" factor are very ANNOYING!
And the only compensation I see in the future is $.10 coffee at McDonald's when I turn 55 in seven years. Excuse me... I don't drink coffee!! How about a $.10 Big Mac? Or a $.10 Yogurt Mountain. Or what about $.10 shoes at the Shoe Department with a $.05 matching purse. Some time in the next seven years, I'm going to get a petition going to work on some of these small injustices.
Okay. I said I had a Thought for the Day, and I do. Obviously, I have a lot of thoughts today... or rantings.
Thought for the Day - Focus
Our extended family goes to the mountains each year. We usually go the long weekend in January or the long weekend in February. If we go in January, it always falls on my niece's birthday, and we have her celebration in the mountains. If we go in February, my nephew, Zac, celebrates his birthday in the big cabin in the woods.
One year when we were there in February, my sister had planned a G.I. Joe party for Zac. We had the G.I. Joe plates, napkins and other paraphernalia. I was in charge of games.
There is a large age differences in our kids. At this particular time, we had two teenagers, two almost-teenagers and Roxie and Zac. It's hard to come up with games which everyone will play with zest and zeal, but I knew I had a winner.
I bought over a hundred of the tiny soldiers from The Dollar Tree, and the night before the party, I went through the entire cabin hiding them anywhere and everywhere. The majority of the army men were dark green, but there were a handful which were tan.
The game was simple. For every army man found, the child had to run to Grandmother. She had a huge bag of quarters and ten crisp $1 bills. A green army man was worth $.25 and a tan army man was worth $1. You had to run to her when you found ONE army man. You couldn't find 20 and then cash them in all at one time. Mike and Tommy (the Dads) even got in on the action hoping to recoup gas money!
It was a fun game.
However, as Zac was opening his gifts before the game began, Josh (who was sitting beside me) mumbled, "There's an army man sticking out behind that picture over the television."
"Hush. Watch Zac open his gifts."
"There's another one in the flower arrangement on the table beside Grandmother," he whispered.
"Look straight ahead," I hissed.
"It's a game, isn't it? What do we win?" he whispered, while his eyes darted over the room.
"Close your eyes right now, or you're not going to get to play... and believe me, you're going to want to play."
"We get money for the most soldiers, don't we? How many have you hidden? I've already spotted six." I was furious. He was going to ruin my game!
"If you don't close your eyes right this minute, you're going to be disqualified... and I mean it." I must have sounded pretty convincing because he closed his eyes with a big grin on his face.
Thank goodness there were over 94 soldiers left to find. When the rules were explained and we yelled, "GO," Josh quickly made $1.50 within the first 30 seconds of the game (and more money as he went to the other rooms), but the big winner of the day was Zac with over $8. However, you had to give Josh credit. He had his eye on the prize.
On to Example #2. When the cousins were little, my Mom would hide a little green pickle ornament in her Christmas tree. There is a story to the pickle ornament which I'll probably share with you next December, but all six of the grandchildren would surround her tree at the appointed time, and when she told them to begin they were to search for the tiny, dark green pickle.
I am not kidding when I say Austin found the pickle within SECONDS every year. He was so good at finding the pickle it made me sad to think it wasn't an Olympic event... because he would have won GOLD every time!
He had his eyes on the prize.
What prize are my eyes searching for today? Am I looking for earthly rewards? Am I looking for recognition, compliments, possessions, really good painkillers... (the dentist, remember)? When I ask myself that question, most of the time I would have to honestly answer I'm not focused on the real prize. The prize that matters most.
"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14.
That's it. That's the "one" thing I'm supposed to be focused on every single day. Not riches or glory here on earth... but "straining toward" the prize God has for me.
And that, my friends, reminds me of a song I've mentioned before on A Simple Life. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace."
I need that focus desperately every single day. And when my family is going through the house like a tornado getting ready for school, and I'm attending school and church functions, and making to-do lists, and going to Wal-Mart, and doing laundry and taking the kids to doctor's appointments, and anything and everything else that falls into the "Every Single Day Category," I need to STOP! I need to FOCUS! I need to KEEP MY EYES ON THE PRIZE! Because at the end of every single day we've been given on this earth... that is the only thing that truly matters.
Just a thought!
And since we've been talking about Heaven, let's make some "Deviled" Eggs, shall we?
Deviled Eggs
Everyone has a Deviled Egg recipe, and while this one is based on tasting as you go along, you can experiment and make it your own.
You will need:
1 dozen eggs
Mayo
Dill pickles
Salt
Pepper
Paprika (optional)
1. Boil the eggs the night before. (I like to boil them for ten minutes after the water starts bubbling.)
2. Drain the water, and let them cool for 30 or 45 minutes before putting them in the refrigerator overnight.
3. The next morning, put the eggs on the counter for 15 to 30 minutes before peeling them. Peel the eggs. Half the eggs with a sharp knife and pop the yolk into a medium bowl.
4. When you have all the yolks in a bowl, add a large tablespoon of mayo, a splash of dill pickle juice and start chopping dill pickle chips into small pieces. Add seven or eight chopped pickles.
5. Using a fork, start mashing and mixing the egg mixture. If the mixture doesn't look smooth, add more mayo (one teaspoon at a time) and a little more dill pickle juice). Mix until smooth (adding mayo and pickle juice in small increments until you get the desired consistency).
6. Take a small taste of the egg mixture. Salt and pepper until you have the right "flavor." Fill your egg yolks.
7. Sprinkle lightly with paprika before serving. (This is more for looks, than taste.)
Everyone's Deviled Eggs are different. I'm a dill pickle person, thus the dill. I know people who use a little mustard in their recipes. I know people who use sweet pickles and pimentos in their recipes. This is just something you need to play with until you find YOUR Deviled Egg recipe.
Buttermilk Pie
You will need:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon flour
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 stick butter (melted)
1 unbaked 10-inch pie crust
1. Mix all the ingredients together.
2. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
3. After 15 minutes, cover the rim of the pie with foil to keep from burning.
NOTE: I always fill the pie shell 3/4 full, so my pie is never finished in 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, I cover the entire pie with a piece of foil and let it continue to bake for 15 to 25 more minutes. I check every 10 minutes using a knife in the center of the pie. When it comes out clean, the pie is ready.
4. Let the pie cool. It will be slightly runny (even when the knife comes out clean), but when you refrigerate the pie overnight, it will set.
This is a delicious pie. Very, very sweet and very, very pretty!
Have a lovely Tuesday. Tomorrow I have Wednesday Wisdom, another Winter Seasonal Tradition and maybe more Randomness and another Thought for the Day. I'll have to wait and see.
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Today's Gallery Pic is just a little Buttermilk Pie. Growing up I had never heard of Buttermilk Pie. When we started attending First Baptist Gardendale, our pastor at the time, Brother Steve, mentioned the pie... fairly often. I must admit it didn't sound very good to me. Then the ladies of our church made a little cookbook, and there in all it's EASY glory was the recipe for a Buttermilk Pie (shared by Brother Steve's wife, Donna). I tried it because it looked so easy. I am still making them today because they are SO GOOD! Brother Steve was right about many, many things during his time as pastor of our wonderful church, but he was dead on when it came to this pie.
So in honor of Brother Steve and Donna, I've included Donna's Buttermilk Pie recipe in today's section.
NOTE: Brother Steve is also the reason I went to Nikki's for the first time and Pastor Kevin is the reason Mike and I go to Dave's in Vestavia. And just so you know... I DO take sermon notes. I definitely have learned about more than just restaurants and recipes in the many years we've attended the church. I want to make myself clear on that point. (I'm going to have to use a verse somewhere in the post today to prove it to you, I think.)
My mind is still a little here and there this week, so do not be surprised by a little randomness sneaking into the posts the next few days. Oh, here's one now.
RANDOMNESS #1 - Today I will be attending my last visit to the periodontist who performed my "bone scraping of the jaw" surgery SIX weeks ago. If he dismisses me, I will then move on to the next Stage... having the temporary crown removed, having "things" done where the surgery took place (that I don't even want to think about) before finally acquiring a permanent crown. I am not happy about Stage Three. This could quite possibly be due to the fact Stage One and Stage Two were so utterly unpleasant. And both dentist and periodontist say I have more of these type happenings to look forward to as I get older.
I'm thinking Tom Hanks had the right idea in Castaway when he used an ice skating blade and a rock and just knocked the sucker right out of his head. Don't hold me to it, but it is something I'm prayerfully considering.
Personally, as people age (and remember, I'm only 48 which means I have a lot more aging left to do), I think the "gravity" factor, the "growing new things you don't need" factor, the "bone density and other new and exciting tests" factor and the "fact your teeth can just fall out of your head while eating a soft Arby's roast beef sandwich" factor are very ANNOYING!
And the only compensation I see in the future is $.10 coffee at McDonald's when I turn 55 in seven years. Excuse me... I don't drink coffee!! How about a $.10 Big Mac? Or a $.10 Yogurt Mountain. Or what about $.10 shoes at the Shoe Department with a $.05 matching purse. Some time in the next seven years, I'm going to get a petition going to work on some of these small injustices.
Okay. I said I had a Thought for the Day, and I do. Obviously, I have a lot of thoughts today... or rantings.
Thought for the Day - Focus
Our extended family goes to the mountains each year. We usually go the long weekend in January or the long weekend in February. If we go in January, it always falls on my niece's birthday, and we have her celebration in the mountains. If we go in February, my nephew, Zac, celebrates his birthday in the big cabin in the woods.
One year when we were there in February, my sister had planned a G.I. Joe party for Zac. We had the G.I. Joe plates, napkins and other paraphernalia. I was in charge of games.
There is a large age differences in our kids. At this particular time, we had two teenagers, two almost-teenagers and Roxie and Zac. It's hard to come up with games which everyone will play with zest and zeal, but I knew I had a winner.
I bought over a hundred of the tiny soldiers from The Dollar Tree, and the night before the party, I went through the entire cabin hiding them anywhere and everywhere. The majority of the army men were dark green, but there were a handful which were tan.
The game was simple. For every army man found, the child had to run to Grandmother. She had a huge bag of quarters and ten crisp $1 bills. A green army man was worth $.25 and a tan army man was worth $1. You had to run to her when you found ONE army man. You couldn't find 20 and then cash them in all at one time. Mike and Tommy (the Dads) even got in on the action hoping to recoup gas money!
It was a fun game.
However, as Zac was opening his gifts before the game began, Josh (who was sitting beside me) mumbled, "There's an army man sticking out behind that picture over the television."
"Hush. Watch Zac open his gifts."
"There's another one in the flower arrangement on the table beside Grandmother," he whispered.
"Look straight ahead," I hissed.
"It's a game, isn't it? What do we win?" he whispered, while his eyes darted over the room.
"Close your eyes right now, or you're not going to get to play... and believe me, you're going to want to play."
"We get money for the most soldiers, don't we? How many have you hidden? I've already spotted six." I was furious. He was going to ruin my game!
"If you don't close your eyes right this minute, you're going to be disqualified... and I mean it." I must have sounded pretty convincing because he closed his eyes with a big grin on his face.
Thank goodness there were over 94 soldiers left to find. When the rules were explained and we yelled, "GO," Josh quickly made $1.50 within the first 30 seconds of the game (and more money as he went to the other rooms), but the big winner of the day was Zac with over $8. However, you had to give Josh credit. He had his eye on the prize.
On to Example #2. When the cousins were little, my Mom would hide a little green pickle ornament in her Christmas tree. There is a story to the pickle ornament which I'll probably share with you next December, but all six of the grandchildren would surround her tree at the appointed time, and when she told them to begin they were to search for the tiny, dark green pickle.
I am not kidding when I say Austin found the pickle within SECONDS every year. He was so good at finding the pickle it made me sad to think it wasn't an Olympic event... because he would have won GOLD every time!
He had his eyes on the prize.
What prize are my eyes searching for today? Am I looking for earthly rewards? Am I looking for recognition, compliments, possessions, really good painkillers... (the dentist, remember)? When I ask myself that question, most of the time I would have to honestly answer I'm not focused on the real prize. The prize that matters most.
"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14.
That's it. That's the "one" thing I'm supposed to be focused on every single day. Not riches or glory here on earth... but "straining toward" the prize God has for me.
And that, my friends, reminds me of a song I've mentioned before on A Simple Life. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace."
I need that focus desperately every single day. And when my family is going through the house like a tornado getting ready for school, and I'm attending school and church functions, and making to-do lists, and going to Wal-Mart, and doing laundry and taking the kids to doctor's appointments, and anything and everything else that falls into the "Every Single Day Category," I need to STOP! I need to FOCUS! I need to KEEP MY EYES ON THE PRIZE! Because at the end of every single day we've been given on this earth... that is the only thing that truly matters.
Just a thought!
And since we've been talking about Heaven, let's make some "Deviled" Eggs, shall we?
Deviled Eggs
Everyone has a Deviled Egg recipe, and while this one is based on tasting as you go along, you can experiment and make it your own.
You will need:
1 dozen eggs
Mayo
Dill pickles
Salt
Pepper
Paprika (optional)
1. Boil the eggs the night before. (I like to boil them for ten minutes after the water starts bubbling.)
2. Drain the water, and let them cool for 30 or 45 minutes before putting them in the refrigerator overnight.
3. The next morning, put the eggs on the counter for 15 to 30 minutes before peeling them. Peel the eggs. Half the eggs with a sharp knife and pop the yolk into a medium bowl.
4. When you have all the yolks in a bowl, add a large tablespoon of mayo, a splash of dill pickle juice and start chopping dill pickle chips into small pieces. Add seven or eight chopped pickles.
5. Using a fork, start mashing and mixing the egg mixture. If the mixture doesn't look smooth, add more mayo (one teaspoon at a time) and a little more dill pickle juice). Mix until smooth (adding mayo and pickle juice in small increments until you get the desired consistency).
6. Take a small taste of the egg mixture. Salt and pepper until you have the right "flavor." Fill your egg yolks.
7. Sprinkle lightly with paprika before serving. (This is more for looks, than taste.)
Everyone's Deviled Eggs are different. I'm a dill pickle person, thus the dill. I know people who use a little mustard in their recipes. I know people who use sweet pickles and pimentos in their recipes. This is just something you need to play with until you find YOUR Deviled Egg recipe.
Buttermilk Pie
You will need:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon flour
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 stick butter (melted)
1 unbaked 10-inch pie crust
1. Mix all the ingredients together.
2. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
3. After 15 minutes, cover the rim of the pie with foil to keep from burning.
NOTE: I always fill the pie shell 3/4 full, so my pie is never finished in 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, I cover the entire pie with a piece of foil and let it continue to bake for 15 to 25 more minutes. I check every 10 minutes using a knife in the center of the pie. When it comes out clean, the pie is ready.
4. Let the pie cool. It will be slightly runny (even when the knife comes out clean), but when you refrigerate the pie overnight, it will set.
This is a delicious pie. Very, very sweet and very, very pretty!
Have a lovely Tuesday. Tomorrow I have Wednesday Wisdom, another Winter Seasonal Tradition and maybe more Randomness and another Thought for the Day. I'll have to wait and see.
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Scripture Gardens Devotion
Good Monday morning!
The Showcase Pic is of Austin with a very special gift... and invitation. Since it is Melia's Senior Prom this year, she did the asking and he did the accepting. It was a very cute way to extend the invitation. I liked it very much! Oh! And so did Austin.
The Gallery Pics are from my new MOST favorite place in the whole wide world... Yogurt Mountain. It's an amazing place. I'm not going to talk about it today because I'm saving details for Thursday's date post. (I'm probably the last person in the State of Alabama who has NOT been to Yogurt Mountain, but humor me.) I'm thinking of all kinds of entrepreneurial opportunities because of our visit there... Cheesecake Mountain, Rib Mountain (for Austin and friends), Pound Cake Mountain. The ideas are limitless! More on Thursday.
NOTE: The Focus on the Family review for the movie Tooth Fairy starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will not be out until January 21 or 22, but I found out Julie Andrews is also in the movie. I LOVE Julie Andrews. I don't necessarily support her like I do former WWF superstars, but I do consider it a plus she is in the movie, too. Stay tuned!
Monday Mayhem - This was quite possibly the most boring weekend ever had by the Faulkner Five (except for Sunday afternoon... which I will talk about Thursday).
Roxie had a basketball game Friday night (which they won). Austin and Melia came to the game and then went out to eat and watched a movie with her family. Josh had a friend over. A very easy Friday night.
Saturday everyone slept late which was much needed after our rigorous first week back at school after the long Christmas holidays. Or as I like to call it, the "two-days-back, one-day-off-for-Winter-Weather-Event-2010, and one-partial-day-back First Week Back at School." It was exhausting, I tell you. The rest of Saturday was spent watching football games, eating meals, etc., etc. I think the guys worked out. We did squeeze in a few games of Scrabble Slam and Scattergories before we headed off to bed, but in a very boring nutshell, that was our Saturday.
Sunday after church Roxie went shopping with a friend, and Mikie planned a little date which was a lot of fun, and then we returned home for another quiet evening. I tried to watch Chuck with Austin, but I don't really get the show. Is it supposed to be funny? Is it supposed to be serious like 24? Is he a robot? Is he likable or just very annoying? I do not know the answers to any of these questions. Needless to say, I will not be adding it to my repertoire of 2010 shows.
I hope you and yours had a slightly more exciting weekend than we did, although no one was heard complaining in our house Friday, Saturday OR Sunday.
Tomorrow I have a Thought for the Day which may or may not last through Wednesday. It depends on how "wordy" I become.
Scripture Gardens Devotion
Look in your produce section of the grocery store for a sweet potato that has already started to sprout, even if the sprouts are no longer fresh. You'll need a glass jar and several wooden toothpicks, plus potting mix and a terra-cotta flower pot. (Let the kids paint the pots!)
Pierce the middle of the sweet potato with two toothpicks, one on each side, and suspend it over the jar. Fill the jar almost to the top with lukewarm water and set it on a bright windowsill. Make sure to point the root end of the potato face down. It will take seven to 14 days to sprout. Within a week or two your sweet potato will turn into a growing machine, churning out masses of ivy-like foliage at a prodigious rate.
When growth is about 6" to 8", it is time to transplant to a more permanent container. Fill the flowerpot about a third of the way up with potting soil, then place the potato on top of the soil and fill in around it. If at all possible, cover the potato completely with mix to discourage rotting. Water often enough to keep the mix lightly moist.
After you have transplanted your beautiful vine, take the opportunity for an after-dinner devotion. Place the vine in the middle of the table for a centerpiece. Use the verse, "I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me, and I in Him, he bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5.
This was adapted form FamilyFun Magazine, February, 1999.
I like this devotion because it's a craft (the painting of the pot), a learning activity (the mini-garden) AND a devotion. Also, the kids will memorize this verse quickly and easily with the visual aid. It's a "threefer."
Have a fantastic Monday while you try desperately to stay warm. I will do the same. Tomorrow I have a simple, yet necessary recipe for your collection. Later in the week, I'm hoping to try The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti. That's the "plan." If I do, I'll let you know how it turns out.
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
The Showcase Pic is of Austin with a very special gift... and invitation. Since it is Melia's Senior Prom this year, she did the asking and he did the accepting. It was a very cute way to extend the invitation. I liked it very much! Oh! And so did Austin.
The Gallery Pics are from my new MOST favorite place in the whole wide world... Yogurt Mountain. It's an amazing place. I'm not going to talk about it today because I'm saving details for Thursday's date post. (I'm probably the last person in the State of Alabama who has NOT been to Yogurt Mountain, but humor me.) I'm thinking of all kinds of entrepreneurial opportunities because of our visit there... Cheesecake Mountain, Rib Mountain (for Austin and friends), Pound Cake Mountain. The ideas are limitless! More on Thursday.
NOTE: The Focus on the Family review for the movie Tooth Fairy starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will not be out until January 21 or 22, but I found out Julie Andrews is also in the movie. I LOVE Julie Andrews. I don't necessarily support her like I do former WWF superstars, but I do consider it a plus she is in the movie, too. Stay tuned!
Monday Mayhem - This was quite possibly the most boring weekend ever had by the Faulkner Five (except for Sunday afternoon... which I will talk about Thursday).
Roxie had a basketball game Friday night (which they won). Austin and Melia came to the game and then went out to eat and watched a movie with her family. Josh had a friend over. A very easy Friday night.
Saturday everyone slept late which was much needed after our rigorous first week back at school after the long Christmas holidays. Or as I like to call it, the "two-days-back, one-day-off-for-Winter-Weather-Event-2010, and one-partial-day-back First Week Back at School." It was exhausting, I tell you. The rest of Saturday was spent watching football games, eating meals, etc., etc. I think the guys worked out. We did squeeze in a few games of Scrabble Slam and Scattergories before we headed off to bed, but in a very boring nutshell, that was our Saturday.
Sunday after church Roxie went shopping with a friend, and Mikie planned a little date which was a lot of fun, and then we returned home for another quiet evening. I tried to watch Chuck with Austin, but I don't really get the show. Is it supposed to be funny? Is it supposed to be serious like 24? Is he a robot? Is he likable or just very annoying? I do not know the answers to any of these questions. Needless to say, I will not be adding it to my repertoire of 2010 shows.
I hope you and yours had a slightly more exciting weekend than we did, although no one was heard complaining in our house Friday, Saturday OR Sunday.
Tomorrow I have a Thought for the Day which may or may not last through Wednesday. It depends on how "wordy" I become.
Scripture Gardens Devotion
Look in your produce section of the grocery store for a sweet potato that has already started to sprout, even if the sprouts are no longer fresh. You'll need a glass jar and several wooden toothpicks, plus potting mix and a terra-cotta flower pot. (Let the kids paint the pots!)
Pierce the middle of the sweet potato with two toothpicks, one on each side, and suspend it over the jar. Fill the jar almost to the top with lukewarm water and set it on a bright windowsill. Make sure to point the root end of the potato face down. It will take seven to 14 days to sprout. Within a week or two your sweet potato will turn into a growing machine, churning out masses of ivy-like foliage at a prodigious rate.
When growth is about 6" to 8", it is time to transplant to a more permanent container. Fill the flowerpot about a third of the way up with potting soil, then place the potato on top of the soil and fill in around it. If at all possible, cover the potato completely with mix to discourage rotting. Water often enough to keep the mix lightly moist.
After you have transplanted your beautiful vine, take the opportunity for an after-dinner devotion. Place the vine in the middle of the table for a centerpiece. Use the verse, "I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me, and I in Him, he bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5.
This was adapted form FamilyFun Magazine, February, 1999.
I like this devotion because it's a craft (the painting of the pot), a learning activity (the mini-garden) AND a devotion. Also, the kids will memorize this verse quickly and easily with the visual aid. It's a "threefer."
Have a fantastic Monday while you try desperately to stay warm. I will do the same. Tomorrow I have a simple, yet necessary recipe for your collection. Later in the week, I'm hoping to try The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti. That's the "plan." If I do, I'll let you know how it turns out.
Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Weekend Happenings
Good Friday morning!
The Gallery Pic is of our street at 4:16 p.m. yesterday afternoon. It is exactly the same as 24 hours earlier. It was supposed to be a photo of a winter wonderland. It was supposed to be a photo of snowmen lining the street. It was supposed to be a photo of happy children riding down the icy, snowy hills on upside-down garbage can lids. (For my northern friends... that's the reality. Upside-down garbage can lids instead of sleds. Sad, isn't it?) But instead, it is a picture of a snowless wasteland.
I may sound sad. I may even sound bitter. In reality, I am both. However, I am not surprised.
Because I was scrapbooking an event which happened in August of 2008 today, I have decided to share a story with you. It is not a pertinent story. It is not a story which will teach a life lesson. In fact, I may have already shared the story with you in an earlier post. If that is the case, I apologize in advance.
In August of 2008, Mike was nominated for CFO of the Year for a non-profit organization. He was nominated along with three other CFOs for this particular honor. There were articles written about him and published in business publications. There were congratulation notes written to him by influential men and women. It was a pretty big deal.
The day of the award ceremony was beautiful. Bright, sunny and, of course, extremely hot. Mike went to work, and I was to meet him downtown at the ceremony. I decided to wear my weird green-colored dress. I'm the only one who can wear this particular color dress. If you saw it on the rack, you would walk away trying to hold back your gag reflex, but on me it works. (I'm not just saying that either. I've had people come up to me and tell me how surprised they were someone could actually wear that particular color.)
I gave myself plenty of time to get ready. As I was getting out of the shower, I heard a large bang and the power suddenly went out (Code for A TRANSFORMER WENT OUT). Okay. What to do? What to do? Soaking wet and no way to fix my hair and make-up in August.
I called my friend, Cam, who lives several neighborhoods away. She still had power and graciously agreed to let me dry my hair and put on my make-up at her house. Breathe. Breathe. I still had plenty of time. No need to panic.
I drove to her house, yelled at her son "Don't look at me!" as I ran through the front door and locked myself in the bathroom to begin the beautifying process.
I left looking presentable in the hair and make-up department. Now I just had to get dressed.
I arrived home. It was starting to get a little sticky inside the house, but that was okay. I would make up for it with massive AC in the big gold van on the way downtown.
I had worn my weird green dress the Sunday before, and although it wasn't the least bit dirty, I decided to freshen it up a little with a squirt of Febreeze and a tumble in the dryer. I'm not really sure what I was thinking, but I used half a bottle of Febreeze on the dress before I tossed it into the dryer... which wasn't working... BECAUSE THE POWER WAS OUT!
Okay. Okay. The dress wasn't wrinkled, but it was now soaking wet and smelled STRONGLY of Febreeze... which isn't an offensive smell, but definitely not what you're going for when attending a gala event.
By this time, I was sweating like a linebacker (Code for A GARGANTUAN AMOUNT OF WATER). My other dress choice was a pretty blue dress with a sheer overlay... but it needed to be steamed just a bit, AND THE POWER WAS OUT!
I decided to go with the green. I would turn the AC on high, but keep the passenger side windows open to circulate the air and possibly dry my very damp dress. I had now run out of time, and what was supposed to be a leisurely and unhurried "getting dressed" event turned into an "if I don't hit every green light between here and downtown, I'm going to be late" event. More breathing ensued.
The plan to dry the dress on the way to the ceremony didn't work. If you've ever been in Alabama in August, you know what the word humidity means. If you have never been in Alabama in August, I suggest you wait until October or November. It's truly beautiful and comfortable those two months.
I arrived before Mikie. Upon entering the lobby of the building where the event was going to take place, I immediately scoped out the bathroom. I went into the nearest stall and did a smelling test. I reeked of Febreeze. It wasn't my imagination. I wasn't being over-dramatic. I smelled like the Febreeze poster child.
Back in the lobby, Mikie and company had still not arrived. Again, being an Alabamian, I have learned a few tricks about surviving August in my lifetime. I needed a working air conditioning vent. I found one, but it involved moving a chair. I moved the chair. It also involved not standing directly over said vent because of what the air would do to the dress. (Think Marilyn Monroe standing over the street vent in the white dress.) I moved the chair again, strategically placing it half on and half off the vent and then I perched on the arm of said chair. It wasn't really an "arm perching" type of chair, but I was way beyond caring at this point.
It was at this time I received a call from home. Josh just called to tell me the power had come back on about five minutes after I left the house. Bless him.
Then the fun began. Mike and his work associates arrived, as did 200 or more other people. It became very crowded. I made a point of saying, "Do you smell something? Not unpleasant. Just different. Febreeze, perhaps?" every three to four minutes. A few times I put my finger up to my nose and pointed with my other hand at a woman in front of me. Anything to get the attention off of me and my very weird green dress... and the smell.
As it turned out, no one mentioned my odor. Mike was too nervous, and I wasn't going to admit to it willingly. After we sat down to eat, I could feel myself starting to get dryer and dryer. Things were looking up. Now if Mikie could just win this award, things would be really, really good.
His category was announced. He was up against stiff competition. He leaned over and whispered, "The Girl Scout CFO is going to win. Everyone loves the Girl Scouts."
"It's the Thin Mints," I whispered back. "Someone who sells cookies for a living really shouldn't be allowed to compete."
And Mikie was right. The Girl Scout CFO won. It was disappointing, to say the least. But as so many of our celebrity friends say year after year, it really was an honor just to be nominated.
For a week of Randomness, I guess this is the most random of all. Next week, we'll have some structure. I promise!
Weekend Happenings
This weekend is totally and completely up in the air. Have I ever said that on the blog before? I don't think so.
Friday, weather permitting, Austin will come home. Also, weather permitting, Roxie will have a basketball game Friday evening.
Saturday we have no plans. Sunday we have no plans (other than church). It's going to be lovely. It's also going to be necessary because the next few weekends in January are going to be very, very, very busy.
Who knows. I may scrapbook some more and find another story to tell!
Have a lovely weekend. This past week has been a little odd, to say the least. Next week, I'll continue sharing winter ideas and hearty recipes. There will be new pictures and old stories. It will be a busy week on A Simple Life.
Take care, and I'll talk to you Monday.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
The Gallery Pic is of our street at 4:16 p.m. yesterday afternoon. It is exactly the same as 24 hours earlier. It was supposed to be a photo of a winter wonderland. It was supposed to be a photo of snowmen lining the street. It was supposed to be a photo of happy children riding down the icy, snowy hills on upside-down garbage can lids. (For my northern friends... that's the reality. Upside-down garbage can lids instead of sleds. Sad, isn't it?) But instead, it is a picture of a snowless wasteland.
I may sound sad. I may even sound bitter. In reality, I am both. However, I am not surprised.
Because I was scrapbooking an event which happened in August of 2008 today, I have decided to share a story with you. It is not a pertinent story. It is not a story which will teach a life lesson. In fact, I may have already shared the story with you in an earlier post. If that is the case, I apologize in advance.
In August of 2008, Mike was nominated for CFO of the Year for a non-profit organization. He was nominated along with three other CFOs for this particular honor. There were articles written about him and published in business publications. There were congratulation notes written to him by influential men and women. It was a pretty big deal.
The day of the award ceremony was beautiful. Bright, sunny and, of course, extremely hot. Mike went to work, and I was to meet him downtown at the ceremony. I decided to wear my weird green-colored dress. I'm the only one who can wear this particular color dress. If you saw it on the rack, you would walk away trying to hold back your gag reflex, but on me it works. (I'm not just saying that either. I've had people come up to me and tell me how surprised they were someone could actually wear that particular color.)
I gave myself plenty of time to get ready. As I was getting out of the shower, I heard a large bang and the power suddenly went out (Code for A TRANSFORMER WENT OUT). Okay. What to do? What to do? Soaking wet and no way to fix my hair and make-up in August.
I called my friend, Cam, who lives several neighborhoods away. She still had power and graciously agreed to let me dry my hair and put on my make-up at her house. Breathe. Breathe. I still had plenty of time. No need to panic.
I drove to her house, yelled at her son "Don't look at me!" as I ran through the front door and locked myself in the bathroom to begin the beautifying process.
I left looking presentable in the hair and make-up department. Now I just had to get dressed.
I arrived home. It was starting to get a little sticky inside the house, but that was okay. I would make up for it with massive AC in the big gold van on the way downtown.
I had worn my weird green dress the Sunday before, and although it wasn't the least bit dirty, I decided to freshen it up a little with a squirt of Febreeze and a tumble in the dryer. I'm not really sure what I was thinking, but I used half a bottle of Febreeze on the dress before I tossed it into the dryer... which wasn't working... BECAUSE THE POWER WAS OUT!
Okay. Okay. The dress wasn't wrinkled, but it was now soaking wet and smelled STRONGLY of Febreeze... which isn't an offensive smell, but definitely not what you're going for when attending a gala event.
By this time, I was sweating like a linebacker (Code for A GARGANTUAN AMOUNT OF WATER). My other dress choice was a pretty blue dress with a sheer overlay... but it needed to be steamed just a bit, AND THE POWER WAS OUT!
I decided to go with the green. I would turn the AC on high, but keep the passenger side windows open to circulate the air and possibly dry my very damp dress. I had now run out of time, and what was supposed to be a leisurely and unhurried "getting dressed" event turned into an "if I don't hit every green light between here and downtown, I'm going to be late" event. More breathing ensued.
The plan to dry the dress on the way to the ceremony didn't work. If you've ever been in Alabama in August, you know what the word humidity means. If you have never been in Alabama in August, I suggest you wait until October or November. It's truly beautiful and comfortable those two months.
I arrived before Mikie. Upon entering the lobby of the building where the event was going to take place, I immediately scoped out the bathroom. I went into the nearest stall and did a smelling test. I reeked of Febreeze. It wasn't my imagination. I wasn't being over-dramatic. I smelled like the Febreeze poster child.
Back in the lobby, Mikie and company had still not arrived. Again, being an Alabamian, I have learned a few tricks about surviving August in my lifetime. I needed a working air conditioning vent. I found one, but it involved moving a chair. I moved the chair. It also involved not standing directly over said vent because of what the air would do to the dress. (Think Marilyn Monroe standing over the street vent in the white dress.) I moved the chair again, strategically placing it half on and half off the vent and then I perched on the arm of said chair. It wasn't really an "arm perching" type of chair, but I was way beyond caring at this point.
It was at this time I received a call from home. Josh just called to tell me the power had come back on about five minutes after I left the house. Bless him.
Then the fun began. Mike and his work associates arrived, as did 200 or more other people. It became very crowded. I made a point of saying, "Do you smell something? Not unpleasant. Just different. Febreeze, perhaps?" every three to four minutes. A few times I put my finger up to my nose and pointed with my other hand at a woman in front of me. Anything to get the attention off of me and my very weird green dress... and the smell.
As it turned out, no one mentioned my odor. Mike was too nervous, and I wasn't going to admit to it willingly. After we sat down to eat, I could feel myself starting to get dryer and dryer. Things were looking up. Now if Mikie could just win this award, things would be really, really good.
His category was announced. He was up against stiff competition. He leaned over and whispered, "The Girl Scout CFO is going to win. Everyone loves the Girl Scouts."
"It's the Thin Mints," I whispered back. "Someone who sells cookies for a living really shouldn't be allowed to compete."
And Mikie was right. The Girl Scout CFO won. It was disappointing, to say the least. But as so many of our celebrity friends say year after year, it really was an honor just to be nominated.
For a week of Randomness, I guess this is the most random of all. Next week, we'll have some structure. I promise!
Weekend Happenings
This weekend is totally and completely up in the air. Have I ever said that on the blog before? I don't think so.
Friday, weather permitting, Austin will come home. Also, weather permitting, Roxie will have a basketball game Friday evening.
Saturday we have no plans. Sunday we have no plans (other than church). It's going to be lovely. It's also going to be necessary because the next few weekends in January are going to be very, very, very busy.
Who knows. I may scrapbook some more and find another story to tell!
Have a lovely weekend. This past week has been a little odd, to say the least. Next week, I'll continue sharing winter ideas and hearty recipes. There will be new pictures and old stories. It will be a busy week on A Simple Life.
Take care, and I'll talk to you Monday.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
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Friday...
Finally, some new basketball action shots.
The JV team had two 40-minute games Friday, so I thought I would just go ahead and start filming now!
And here's the obligatory Bryant Tuggle pic. He's a HUGE supporter of our baskeball team. Always has been... always will be. Well, until he gets his own driver's license!
Saturday...
We spent the day with the cousins Saturday. Monica, Amy, Roxie and I shopped at Brookwood, ate at Yolo's and went to the movies (Pirates 4). It was a great day, but the best part was our celebrity sighting...
That's right! Will Ferrell! (Please feel free to use your imagination. I know we did!)
Sunday...
Mikie's 50th Family Birthday Celebration! Everyone knows 50 year-old men LOVE the Green Lantern...and their wives really like Ryan Reynolds! (How cool would it be to have your picture on a birthday party plate package? Another goal, perhaps?)
What do you give a 50 year-old guys for his birthday? Cards... filled with money, Ricky Skaggs' concert tickets, a True Grit DVD and a Red Devil's Food Cake with Divinity Icing (from his Mom). It was a very good day!
Lovely Melia gave him the True Grit DVD. (I LOVE that movie!)
And it wouldn't be a birthday without a hug from Roxie!