Craft shows

     

                                                  I love going to craft shows. Once upon a time I even participated in them. It was such fun setting up, selling, and seeing all the people. The money wasn't bad either. Except when it was, which is why I stopped doing them. Well, the craft show bug has bitten me again. It's obviously too late this year to start that's for sure. Maybe I can come up with something fun to make and fun fun to sell again. Lighted bottles, that's what I used to make and sell. In case you were wondering. For a little while more recently I made faux cupcakes, which was the reason I started this blog in the first place. I haven't made any for some time now. Maybe I could try those again. I personally think the lighted bottle "craze" is done, which is too bad because those were really fun to make. Anyhow, now I am completely off track. This started as a post about craft shows in general. I went to really nice one yesterday. People are so talented. Most of the time I would share pictures of our outings but, as a former craft show seller with respect for other crafters, no pictures were taken. So you have to trust me when I say this was the best craft show I have been to so far this year! It was at our local fair grounds. It is in a big building indoors where they hold it. So much to  look at. I was very impressed. That's not where the bug bit me though. I have been wanting to do shows for a little while now. Hmmm. Time to get my thinking cap on! Have you been to any craft shows yet? Were they good? Not all of them are. We went to one with so many of the same things. Booth after booth of pretty much the same items just in different colors, styles, etc. Or the one that had so many "company" products. Those are not crafts if you ask me. I know, you didn't. Just my opinion. Get out to some local craft shows you won't be sorry.  It is still fun to go even if they are not the best. Especially if you go with fun special people! Have a sweet day!

Friday's Finds #3

                                                                  



                                                  This weeks post is a bit different because I decided that I would just keep this find pretty much the way I found it. I mean it's pretty cute already. I will probably put a new candle or rather a candle in it seeing that there isn't one in there yet. I think I will use it on my faux mantle. I haven't figured out exactly what I'm going to do with the mantle for Christmas yet, so that will be another post for another day. I paid $2.00 for it at the thrift store. I had thought about adding an electric light to it, but decided  not too. I will have to show you later how it looks with whatever I do to the mantle.



                                                                 

 

 

 

 

                                                    Pretty cute, huh?  Still has the original tag on it. So that's it. Have you found anything good lately? Keep looking you will! Have an amazingly sweet weekend. I have plans to visit some craft shows. I can't wait. 

Happy Halloween!

                                                      Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Did I mention we saw Spongebob?

                         

                                            Okay it's not really Spongebob.  But it is a sponge, by the sea. So you can forgive our confusion. I guess you had to be there. It was pretty funny. That's just our family humor I guess. We laughed about it for quite some time. Don't judge, we had fun! Have a sweet day!

Vacation photos!

                              We got home Saturday from our fun filled vacation week. This year we went to Virginia Beach.  We spent 5 days at the beach and then stopped over night in Washington D.C. on the way home. I have been to both places before but, I'm not sure if it counts if you're not old enough to remember being there. We had the best time! We all love the beach, so going was a blast and to go to D.C. was amazing. I think this may have been the best trip ever. Virginia Beach is beautiful. We went to a few other places while we were there. Let's see. The beach, obviously.  We went to downtown Norfolk to see a huge ship. We drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, both ways. We went to First Landing, were the first settlers landed. It was hard to believe we were standing in the same spot. I love stuff like that. We spent a whole lot of quality family time together, I love that best of all! Our visit to Washington DC was amazing as well. The buildings, memorials, and monuments are so much bigger than I realized. The day we went was the same day someone vandalized the Lincoln Memorial with paint. I will never understand what possesses some people and their actions. Thank goodness it is fixable. So without further delay here are some pictures. No groaning now. I won't bore you. Now remember this is just a sample of our pictures. I lost track of how many we actually took.



The beach

Cape Henry Lighthouse (new)



The beach



The beach



The beach



First Landing



Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (off the side)

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (inside)



The USS Wisconsin



My Boy



The Capitol Building

The Washington Monument (being repaired)



Lincoln Memorial ( with some paint still on it)



House where Lincoln died (duh)

King Neptune on the beach

All you need

                                          We had so much fun! It was an awesome trip! I must thank my hubby and my Boy. I love them so much. It's always nice to spend time together as a family. It really makes you appreciate things more when you can do it together. I hope you enjoyed my "little" picture presentation. Thanks for stopping by. Have you taken a trip this summer? Or are you going to? Well if you do, have fun and be safe. ENJOY!

Look up in the sky.......

                                  

                                          In the summer we see this a lot around here. I still get excited every time it flies over our house! Like a kid, I run outside to get a glimpse of this amazing thing. Well, it's amazing to me anyways. It flew over our house twice yesterday. I love when it flies over at night too, with it's messages blaring in the darkness. It just makes me smile!

It is summer!

                                        Did I just realize this?  No. Just stating a fact. A fact I am very happy to say is true. I get to spend so much more time with ny family in the summer. No schedules, no homework, not too many hurries, and family. I love summer. Kids grow up so fast. Time flies. I am thankful for all of the time I have with my family. I love them all  so very much! My posting will not be as scheduled the next couple of months. I will be spending as much time with the family as possible. I will still be posting,  just not on a schedule. I will try to post often, as often as I can. I hope you understand. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Day 1

                                                 Well day 1 is finished for our yard sale. I think maybe the heat may have kept some shoppers away. It was about 91 degrees today. I am hoping for a better (cooler) day Saturday. I am not complaining, we had a good share of people, just not as many as we have had in the past. As usual the Boy made a slight bit more than we did. I guess I just need to keep in mind that anything that sells won't make it's way back into the house! We are planning to go back at it Saturday. How we do Saturday will determine if we will try on Sunday. We don't usually carry over to Sunday though. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

No more pencils

          No more books... You know how the rest goes! So excited today is the Boy's last day of school! That means no alarms, no homework, no schedules, and  fun! Yippee! I can't wait! I just might be more excited than he is....OK that last part is not true. He's very excited. SO. AM. I. I'm not one of those Moms who dreads the last day of school, nope, no siree. I absolutely love having him here so we can spend time together! So let's get this show on the road already. But I don't want the summer to go too fast! Have a sweet day!

A faux fireplace redo

                         I don't have a real fireplace in my house, so I have to make do with the faux surround. I got it for a steal a few years ago $15.00 brand new. Here's what it usually looks like.

               I decorate it for Christmas, but this is what it looks like most of the time. Pretty boring. I decided it needed a little something. Here's what it looks like after I tweaked it a little. The top stayed the same. I have to keep it somewhat clear so we can see through the "window" into and out of the kitchen. I completed a few more projects this week ( yay me) and now that they are done I added them to the mix.

                  I am really pleased with how it turned out. In the next few posts I will share how I made the window, the family banner, and the letter. It may not seem that different, but the lights glow at night and it looks pretty. What do you think? Better? I believe so. Have a wonderful day!

Yard sales.......soon!

                                          I can't wait for yard sale season to start. I love going to them and we love having them. Every year we have one at the beginning of the summer. The Boy goes through all his stuff and decides what he wants to sell, too. We started this several years ago. The deal we make is that he keeps the money he gets from selling his stuff, after all it is his stuff . He usually has something in mind he wants to use the money for. In the past he has made enough for an Ipod touch, 1/2 of a laptop, and last year he used that money and Birthday money to get a pretty good desktop computer. He usually makes the most money. We have fun and we make some money. The cake plate above is one of my favorite yard sale purchases. For $5.00, not bad. Found it at the first yard sale of the season we went to two years ago Our last name starts with W, so how could I pass it up? Not to mention I have a cake plate obsession. I have a few. This is the only one that gets used though. I am looking forward to spring. I don't think we will be having spring temperatures just yet though. SOON! Have a great day.

 I see a slight resemblance don't you?  Oh just say yes. It will make me very happy! I think we are about the same age in the pictures. I have to say everybody always says he looks just like his Dad. So just this once just for a minute when you look sideways and squint, we look alike. See. Okay, thank you. Now your day and mine can continue. Have a good one! Spring break for the Boy starts here on Monday. I hope the weather warms up a bit. we would like to do some hikes maybe. I think it might be a busy week for us. Fun busy though. I can't wait for a homework free week for him! He needs one right about now. Sleeping in and no alarms sounds like heaven. Not sure what my posting schedule will look like next week. We will see how it goes. Have a wonderful weekend.

Lists

                        Are you a list maker?  I used to be. I had to. It was the only way I could remember to do everything that needed to be done.  Somewhere along the way I stopped doing it. I don't remember why... I didn't make a list!  Now I am trying to get back into the habit of making lists again, but I'm afraid I might take the list thing too far. You know, crazy lists and lists of my lists?  Don't laugh, it happened before. So imagine how excited I was when I found this book at the library the other day. It has good lists in it. Not the regular list like, don't forget milk, pick up the Boy after school, or remember to turn off the light when you leave the room ( is this an issue for you as well?). Really good life lists. Like this one.

                 20 Power Thoughts

1. Curiosity leads to creativity.
2. Trust your positive instincts.
3. When it's dark, look for the stars.
4. Faith is always stronger than failure.
5. Build a dream and the dream builds you.
6. Obstacles are opportunities in disguise.
7. When the going gets tough- laugh.
8. Don't miss the best things in life.
9. Itemize your assets.
10. Fix the problem, not the blame.
11. Share the credit.
12. Never make an irreversible decision in down time.
13. Treasure time like gold.
14. Never judge reality by your limited experiences.
15. You will never win if you never begin.
16. Success without conflict is unrealistic.
17. Make sure your dreams are big enough for God to fit in.
18. Never let a problem become an excuse.
19. When it looks like you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: You haven't!
20. Always look at what you have left. Never look at what you have lost.

Robert H. Schuller
From  Power Thoughts

This list is on page 48 of an aprox. 150 page book. I love books like this. Right there, so simple yet thought provoking too.  Another one I like.

Four Ways to Grow Old Gracefully:

1. Fear less, Hope more.
2. Eat less, chew more.
3. Talk less, say more.
4. Hate less, Love more.

From a "Dear Abby" newspaper column.

Have a really special day! Do something nice for someone. Do something you have been putting off. Do something that challenges you. Maybe something that is outside of your comfort zone. Do it with joy.

 

 

 

 

Old photos and family history

My Grandmother at 16

My great great Grandparents



Some family history research.

                                                We spent the afternoon going through a bin of our pictures. Some of them turned out to be older than others. Yesterday I found the family research I started several years ago. I think it might be time to take another look through the family history information I have collected. Things in that department hit a few snags. I hit a dead end rather quickly and put it away for awhile. Since then the Internet has opened up more options for these kinds of searches. At least I would hope it has anyway. It is the information super highway right?  Maybe it will be easier now. These are pictures of people on my maternal side. My Mom has done quite a bit with her side. It is really fun when you can put faces with names. I decided to do my paternal side. It was interesting to find people and learn things about my family. I'm not even sure how to begin again. Does anyone know of any free research sites I could visit to get started? I think this could be a great project for my son to work on too. He had a family tree project at school last year and we had fun working on it together. I hope we can continue. Please let me know if you can point me in the right direction. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!
                                              

Homemade Beef Jerky

 

 

 

                                         A local chain supermarket had a pretty good meat sale this past week. We got a few kinds for pretty decent prices. Including English Roasts. They were pretty well priced at $2.99 per pound. We bought a few. We decided to make some homemade beef jerky. It turned out yummy! Now, you can make beef jerky from almost any cut, but we chose this cut for the obvious reason, sale price!

                                         We have made beef jerky before. We have had a dehydrator for quite some time. We really should try making dried fruit sometime. I think that might be another post for another day though. I am quite happy with how it turned out. Start with slicing your roast about 1/4 in. thick. I would recommend slightly freezing the meat first, makes it easier to slice. Then marinate for about 10 minutes or however long you prefer. Lay it on the racks of the dehydrator and start it up. Ours was in the dehydrator for about 14 hours. Drying time varies per dehydrator model. You could probably do it in the oven on a low temp. setting. You could do an Internet search for that.

                                         Here's the marinade recipe we use. We also add some extra spices sometimes, like pepper or steak seasonings. Just sprinkle those on after you place them on the trays of the dehydrator. You can see the steak seasoning above.

Beef Jerky Marinade

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. pepper

You can tweak this mixture to your own taste. Marinate beef for about 10 minutes or longer if you wish. Of course discard any remaining marinade after use. Place beef slices on dehydrator racks and follow any directions for your dehydrator.

                                Let me know if you try it! I think you will be happy you did. Do you have any suggestions for fruit that does well with dehydrating? Would love to hear! ENJOY!
                                                          

Words

     While I was walking through our house the other day I noticed we have a LOT of  "word art". I also noticed we have all white walls, but that's an entirely different story. I'm not afraid of color, just afraid of the wrong color. Anywho, as I was saying, there are a lot ( more than I realized) of framed and unframed words in my home. Apparently I have a "thing"  for words that I didn't even realize until that day. Who knew?  Not me I guess. Oh well, at least their not velvet paintings. Not that there's anything wrong with that. So browse my gallery, take your time I will wait. What do you think?  Is this a "problem" of mine or am I just expressive? I am going with expressive. Do you notice things like this in your home? Things you didn't notice, until you take a good look around.




 

The Dining Room

The Dining Room again.



Above the Basement door across from side entry.

                                                                   Kitchen going into Family Room.

Family Room.

                                                                                        Family Room again.


In the Boy's room
 

                                                                    Even our school pictures.

Kitchen (love my cupcakes).


                                                                            Family Room again.

Bedroom.

YUMMY!

Have you tried making any of these yet?  Coffee mug cakes. Oh. my. goodness. They are really good and easy to make. I found my recipe here. There are many to choose from.  I tried coffee cake in a cup ( more than a few times ) and we really like the peanut butter mug cake. They all look really yummy. I'm thinkin' maybe the bread pudding in a mug next. I will post when I make that one. So many to choose from. If you try or maybe I should say when you try making one, be sure to let them cool enough after microwaving they get pretty warm. Here's the recipe:


Coffee Mug Cake

In the mug mix:

1 T melted butter
2 T sugar
1/2  an egg (save the other half someone will want another one!)
2 T sour cream
a few drops vanilla
1/4 C flour
1/8 t baking powder

Topping  (mix in separate bowl then add to top of mug)

1 T butter
2 T flour
1 T brown sugar
1 t cinnamon

Microwave for about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Remember to allow the cake to cool after microwaving before eating, especially if little ones are eating them. The mug and contents are hot. They are very good and only take a few minutes to prepare.

Try one and let me know how you like it! We really like them. Easy enough for some kids (or me) to make themselves. And they are homemade, none of the "mystery" ingredients in there. Which one or ones did you make?

                                      

Images from my morning walk

    I take a morning walk several times a week. This morning I was having a hard time getting motivated. I decided that to help myself I would take some pictures along the way to keep me going. It worked and I managed to finish my regular route. So I am going to share my pictures with you. Picture #1 is a Dairy Queen that isn't too far from my house. The sign actually says it is 7:57 and 23 degrees. For some reason I couldn't quite get the picture right.  Pic.#2 shows that the frost hasn't melted off the grass yet. #3 is a sparkly gate. The sun just hit the frost right and it sparkled. The picture doesn't do it justice. #4. If you live around here or have lived here this one needs no explanation. #5 A fender bender had recently taken place, I hope no one was hurt. The police and rescue squad were still there. #6 Another familiar sight in this city. Look closely in the distance by the tree is a tall "tower" like structure. Once upon a time it was going to be a rotating restaurant, didn't go quite as planned. Famous around here. I won't tell you the colorful names it has been called.
#7 is the sight I see everyday when I return home from my walk. My Daffie girl waiting patiently for her Mommy to come home. When I get inside she meets me at the door! So there you have it, a few pictures from around my city. I enjoy my morning walk, but there are times (when it's cold or raining) that I have to force myself to go. I always feel better after I'm done. Have a sweet day!