Oct 1 Free Stuff Friday

I post Lauren's Hope FREE STUFF FRIDAY on my blog because their medical ID jewelry is really awesome! Hope you sign up and win!!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and Lauren's Hope is proud to promote awareness by featuring at least 1 item that promotes Breast Cancer awareness each Free Stuff Friday this month! (This bracelet is beautiful! My baby sister and mother are breast cancer survivors!)

How Free Stuff Friday Works - Go to:
blog.laurenshope.com   If you’re interested in 1 of the items, subscribe to their blog AND leave a comment on their post telling them which item you would like and why. Then, share the post with your friends on Facebook, your followers on Twitter and your Blog or Website readers. Lauren's Hope will randomly select 3 comment entries and announce the winners by 4:00 PM Friday CST, October 1, 2010.
Questions? email jenna@laurenshope.com
"LIKE" Free Stuff Friday? Please "LIKE" this post on your Facebook Page!

OK State Wildflower

These are some photos I took of the Oklahoma State Wildflower Indian Blanket (Gaillardia puchella). One of the civic groups planted wildflower seeds along the interstate highway right-of-way in Western Oklahoma. Some of the beautiful flowers continue to come up and bloom every year, despite being mowed down over and over again each summer. The Indian Blanket is also sometimes called the Fire Wheel.

When it comes to state flora, one must be careful to differentiate in Oklahoma. The Sooner State is represented, in one way or another, by three official flowers:

Supported by House Bill No. 1649, The indian blanket was adopted as the official state wildflower of Oklahoma on May 7, 1986.

Official floral emblem - Mistletoe


Official state wildflower - Indian Blanket


Official state flower - Hybrid Tea Rose, "Oklahoma"

These photos are not the best example of the Indan Blanket, it is truly a beautiful wild flower.

Lemon Cake

This is my husband's LEMON CAKE, that should have wings because it is just heavenly!

1 box lemon cake mix

4 eggs

1 cup oil

1 small box lemon Jello

1 cup hot water to dissolve the jello

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Dissolve the jello in hot water and then mix all ingredients together with electric mixer.

Once all ingredients are mixed pour into greased and floured bundt pan.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 or 15 minutes. Turn out on plate or platter.

 Frost with your favorite lemon icing or make a drizzle out of powdered sugar and lemon juice.

Does this photo look like the cake has been Touched by an Angel??

My husband took the cake out of the bundt pan before it was cool enough, because I was taking photos of every step of him making the cake. He said it was just like being on the Food Network without the pay! I was making him nervous to say the least. He is too funny.

What are these bugs?

OK...these bugs are bugging me! What the heck are they?

They are crawling on the storm door, so I took this photo from inside the house.

I took this photo from outside, but the reflections got me!

Here is a better photo of the bugs that are bugging me!

It is two bugs hooked together...they must be doing the wild thing?

One bug will walk and "pull" the other bug along.

There are lots of them and from the looks of things there will be more later!

Do you know what kind of bugs these happen to be?

FREE BOOKS SunnyD

These are a couple of out of focus photos of Martina McBride in concert. She rode that moon from above the main the stage out to the middle of the concert crowd. Where the smaller stage came up and she did several songs from there before returning to the main stage. Her concert is awesome! She is promoting free books for classrooms with the help of SunnyD. The deadline is November 30, 2010. The official contest rules follow these photos.

For more information go to http://www.sunnyd.com/

SunnyD® BookSpree Offer & Sweepstakes

Official Rules

ELIGIBILITY: The SunnyD® BookSpree Offer & Sweepstakes (collectively, "Promotion") begins 12:00:01 AM ET on August 2, 2010 and ends 11:59:59 PM ET on November 30, 2010 ("Promotion Period"). Void where prohibited. Employees of Sunny Delight Beverages Co. ("Sponsor"), and its respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising agencies, public relations agencies, prize suppliers, including any vendors providing services in connection with this Promotion (collectively, the “Sponsor Affiliates”), and employees, agents, directors, officers (including members of their immediate family – i.e., spouse, mother, father, in-laws, grandmother, grandfather, brother, sister, children and grandchildren – or same household) of Sponsor or any Sponsor Affiliates are not eligible to participate.

20 PROOFS/20 BOOKS (“OFFER”): The Offer is open to schools, including any grades between Pre-K through 7th grade, in the United States. Each proof submitted must be for SunnyD® branded bottles and include the applicable UPC code (“Proofs”). Excludes Proofs for 6.75, 8.0, 11.3, 12.0 oz SunnyD® bottles/cans. To qualify, in one (1) envelope, the teacher of an eligible class must mail 20 Proofs with a fully completed official entry form ("Offer Entry Form") to the address listed on the Offer Entry Form. All submissions must comply with any terms set forth on the Offer Entry Form available at www.sunnyd.com and on the wrapper of select issues of Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine. The Offer is limited to one (1) submission per class. Participants will not be provided the opportunity to select books – all decisions regarding books delivered to participating classes will be made by Sponsor. Allow 6-8 weeks after the end of the Promotion Period for delivery.

SWEEPSTAKES: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE CHANCES OF WINNING. The Sweepstakes is open to schools in the United States and for classes Pre-K through 7th grade. To participate, during the Promotion Period, an eligible school must submit Proofs to Sponsor as directed in and together with a fully completed official entry form ("Sweepstakes Entry Form"). In lieu of Proofs, schools may participate in the Sweepstakes via submission 3" x 5"cards/slips of paper, each including the hand written word "Proof" ("Written Slips"). Limit 20 Proofs or Written Slips, or any combination of the two, per Sweepstakes Entry Form and envelope mailed. Excludes Proofs for 6.75, 8.0, 11.3, 12.0 oz SunnyD® bottles/cans. Submissions may be made by any employee of a school and must comply with the terms set forth on the Sweepstakes Entry Form available at www.sunnyd.com and on the wrapper of select issues of Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine. Submissions made under the Offer will be counted for purposes of the Sweepstakes, and Offer participants will automatically be entered in the Sweepstakes. No mechanically reproduced Proofs or Written Slips will be accepted. Illegible and incomplete submissions, and submissions that do not specifically comply with the rules set forth herein, are void. Sponsor and Sponsor Affiliates are not responsible for lost, late, mutilated, postage due, misdirected entries or entries not received regardless of cause. Entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned.

Prizes: The following prizes, in the quantities noted and having the listed approximate retail value ("ARV"), will be awarded on or about February 16, 2011. The total ARV of all prizes is $15,000.

1. Grand Prize (5): The five (5) schools that submit the most Proofs/Written Slips will each receive approximately $2,000 worth of books (ARV: $2,000).

2. First Prize (5): The next five (5) schools will reach receive approximately $1,000 worth of books (ARV: $1,000).

Limit one prize per school. Odds of winning will depend upon the number of schools participating and submissions received. Prizes are awarded "AS IS." Participants will not be provided the opportunity to select books – all decisions regarding books delivered to winning schools will be made by Sponsor. Allow 4-6 weeks after the announcement of winners or Sponsor’s receipt of any required documentation, whichever is later, for delivery. Neither Sponsor nor Sponsor Affiliates make any warranty or guarantee, either express or implied (including, without limitation, quality, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose) in connection with this Promotion or any prize. Prize details and availability are subject to change, in which case a prize of equal value may be substituted at Sponsor's sole discretion. Prizes consist only of the items listed, are non-transferable, with no cash redemption or substitution except at Sponsor's sole discretion. Federal, state, or local taxes on prizes, if any, and any other costs, fees or expenses not listed above are the sole responsibility of each winning school.

Notification: Winner(s) will be notified by available phone number or mail/email address, as determined solely by Sponsor. To claim any prize, Sponsor may require winner(s) to complete, sign, and return Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability Release/Publicity Release forms, and other applicable documents, postmarked within ten (10) days of the date on the notification. If a potential winner cannot be contacted, fails to timely claim the prize, is disqualified, fails to timely execute and return any required forms, or if the prize notification is returned as undeliverable, an alternate winner will be selected from other potential winners. If by reason or printing or other error, more prizes are claimed than the number of prizes set forth in these Official Rules, a random drawing will be held to award the advertised number of prizes in the relevant category. Under no circumstances will more than the advertised number of prizes be awarded. In the event of a tie, Sponsor reserves the right to determine a winner via random drawing or award the tied schools a proportionate share of the prize.

PUBLICITY & MARKETING: Acceptance of any award under this Promotion constitutes permission to the Sponsor to use each winning school's name, logo, emblem and/or other identifying reference for purposes of advertising and trade, in any medium, without further compensation or notice, unless prohibited by law.

NO LIABILITY: Sponsor and Sponsor Affiliates are not responsible for and each individual, class, and/or school participating in connection with the Offer or Sweepstakes (collectively, "Participant") releases each from: (a) any typographical or other error in the printing, the offering or the announcement of any prize or in the administration of the promotion, whether caused by computer, technical or human error; and (b) any other failures of any kind (whether caused by computer, technical, or human error) which may either limit the Participant’s ability to submit Proofs or Written Slips, access any entry form, claim a prize or otherwise participate in this Promotion, or Sponsor’s ability to notify potential winners or execute this Promotion in the manner intended. Further, by entering, entrant agrees (except where prohibited by state law) to release and hold harmless Sponsor and Sponsor Affiliates, and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, shareholders, agents, and employees from any and all claims, injuries, damages, or losses to the person or property and/or liabilities of any nature that in any way arise from participation in the Promotion or acceptance or use of a prize and/or offer reward.

OTHER TERMS: Decisions of Sponsor on all matters related to the Promotion are final. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or modify the Promotion for any reason, including but not limited to, if fraud, misconduct or technical failures destroy the integrity of the Promotion, or if a computer virus, bug, or other technical problem corrupts the administration, security, or proper administration of the Promotion as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify or prohibit the participation of an individual if fraud or tampering is suspected, or if the individual fails to comply with any requirement of participation or with any provision in these Official Rules. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE OR UNDERMINE THE OPERATION OF THIS PROMOTION IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL & CIVIL LAWS. SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO DISQUALIFY AND/OR SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY INDIVIDUAL MAKING ANY SUCH ATTEMPTS TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

WINNER LIST: To obtain a list of winners of the Sweepstakes (available after February 1, 2011), send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (residents of Vermont may omit return postage) to: Sunny Delight Beverages Co., Attn: SunnyD® BookSpree Sweeps, 4747 Lake Forest Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242. Requests must be received by May 6, 2011.

SPONSOR: Sunny Delight Beverages Co., 4747 Lake Forest Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242.



Free Stuff Friday 9/24

Lauren's Hope medical ID jewelry is having another FREE STUFF FRIDAY! Hurry and follow the instructions to get your name in the drawing for these beautiful pieces. Click on this link:
http://blog.laurenshope.com/medical-id-jewelry-blog/bid/43209/

How it Works: If you’re interested in 1 of the 3 give away items, subscribe to their blog AND leave a comment on their post telling them which item you would like and why. Then, share their post with your friends on Facebook, your followers on Twitter and your Blog or Website readers. They will randomly select 3 comment entries and announce the winners by 4:00 PM Friday CST, September 24, 2010.

New Storm Door

For a couple years now we have needed a new storm door on our house. It was one of those things that we kept putting off. The problem was we could no longer raise the window on the bottom of the old door because the screen had been worn out. If we raised it our indoor cats could get out. When the old door handle fell off a few dozen times, we reattached it and finally gave up using a wire with a keyring attached to open the door. But the major problem was it no longer stayed shut! The slightest bit of wind would bang it back against the outside wall. OK enough already! We ventured down to the hardware store and picked out a new door.

This is the new storm door being unpacked.

Getting the cardboard off the new door was easy. Reading and understanding the instructions, not so much. I feel sure there are less instructions for launching a space ship at NASA. Bless his heart our wonderful friend Tim was in charge of installation. My husband told him this was his first multi-tasking project. Tim looked at him very puzzled. My husband told him he was being the carpenter and the marriage counselor. Now Tim was really very puzzled. My husband told him marriage counselors saved marriages, and so by Tim installing the door it would save our marriage! Plus, he would not have to be calling 911 because we killed each other trying to do it ourselves. Tim thought that was funny, but he had no idea how really true it would have been.

Husband and Tim putting up the door. First Tim had to remove the old door and part of the wooden frame around the door to make the new door fit. Before it was installed he had to shave more off the old door frame. I told him this was the only thing we have in our house that has been installed properly. This house is older than I am and everything has shifted...mmm...same thing has happened to me! Must be something about 50's models?

After hours and hours and hours...OMG so many little parts the door is hung! YEAH! It has a pretty gold handle and a gold kickplate at the bottom. Now I must say this gold looks a little out of place on this old house. (Next project is going to be scrape off old house paint and put on new house paint. Or it might be a new mail box or a zillion other projects we need to have done on this old house.) You can't see in this photo, but Lizzie Tu is sitting there looking out the new front door. She thinks we installed it for her convenience. She loves sitting there looking out and watching cars pass on the street.

This is my favorite part of the new storm door...why are they called storm doors? (We had screen doors when I was young and I understood that. It was just a frame with screen wire on it that made a door.) If you look close at the bottom of the photo you will see a white latch on the door. If you move the latch it unlocks the top window in the door. Then you reach up and pull the window down and a screen magically appears out of the top of the door frame. Love it! This new storm door has a dead bolt lock with keys too. This winter we will be able to leave the wood front door open and let the sunshine in the all glass storm door. The cats are going to love it as much as I will.

Thanks to Tim we finally have a new storm door installed. The actual next project is a new set of door knobs and locks on the wood door. We picked those up at the hardware store when we went to get the storm door. Just a little thing here and there and we might catch up on all the needed repairs. LOL

Dump Cake

My husband loves to cook and is a wonderful cook. He will find difficult recipes and enjoys the challenge. On the other hand, I look for quick and easy things to make. This DUMP CAKE is one of my favorite desserts. One time I entered the recipe in a local grocery store contest, using their brands of products, and won this neat television!

DUMP CAKE

1 large can crushed pinapple

1 can cherry pie filling

1 (2-layer size) yellow cake mix

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

2 sticks of margarine

Grease a 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan. Dump undrained crushed pineapple into pan and spread all over the bottom of the pan. Dump cherry pie filling and spread evenly over the top of the pineapple. Sprinkle dry cake mix on top evenly. Cut sticks of butter into 1/4 inch pats (squares) and place on top of dry cake mix. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour.

My husband likes to use chocolate cake mix in place of the yellow cake mix. He calls it the "Black Forrest" version because it is cherries and chocolate. He also makes a "Spice Cake" version using spice cake mix and apple pie filling. My daughter likes to take out the cherry pie filling and put in blueberry pie filling. Just be aware that the yellow cake mix and blueberry filling gives the finished product a "green color", BUT it is really really good.

Try your version of the DUMP CAKE. Tell us about your choice of pie filling and cake mix.

Frame It

My daughter might be right??? I do love to watch those decorating shows on television. So I might be addicted to them. One of the "tips" I liked was about hanging photographs. Instead of having them all over the place make a cluster of photos. Several of the shows said to measure out where you wanted to hang the photos and make it like a long rectangle. It is suppose to create a gallery look.

Well I had several very big frames, when my girls moved to new places I decided to hang some photographs for them. In this first photo I discarded the old cracked glass and backing of the two frames. Spray painted the frames gold. I hung them far enough apart to put two photographs and a small shelf between the frames. Then I took photographs she already had framed (8 x 10 photographs) and hung them inside the empty frames. It helped the mis-matched frames her photos were in to have a more "matched" appearance.

In this next photo I used three of the big empty frames and spray painted them black. My Aunt Sharon says you can make anything look good with black spray paint. This daughter had different sizes of photographs she wanted to use. As you can see there are also horizontal and vertical photos used inside these big frames. This was a large wall and these frames worked really well. When you love family photographs, like our family does, using this framing project makes it easier to display them.

Corn Meal Mush

Sometimes I think of all the good things we ate when we were young. The one thing that came to mind was my Mama Gen's (my grandmother) CORN MEAL MUSH. Mama Gen was one of the world's best cooks. She owned a little diner in Wichita, Kansas when I was very young. I can still see the old counter. Spaced along the top were glass display cases containing individual pieces of her pie, stacked up inside on their very own stage. When my Mom and Dad bought a cafe (in my Dad's childhood hometown in Arkansas) my Mama Gen moved with us to help Mom in the kitchen. Later Mama Gen was a pastry cook in a hotel. She could bake pies, cakes, cinnamon rolls,  hot rolls and all kinds of mouth watering delights. So why in the world would I be thinking about her corn meal mush?

Mama Gen would make a big batch corn meal mush for our breakfast. We ate it warm with milk and sugar. What ever we did not eat she would pour in a loaf pan and stick it in the refrigerator. I think this is where I learn to not waste food and to use the leftovers. Then for supper that night she would slice that chilled corn meal mush and fry it to go with what ever we were having. It's funny because as I remember it went with everything. Young people today have no idea what they are missing. I'm pretty sure she never measured anything, but for those of us who need to measure this is the recipe:

CORN MEAL MUSH

1 cup white corn meal

1 cup cold water

3 cups boiling water

1 teaspoon salt

In a large saucepan, bring 3 cups water and salt to a boil.

In a small bowl, mix corn meal with cold water.

Gradually stir corn meal mixture into salted boiling water.

Cook at least 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Cover and continue cooking on low heat 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve hot with milk and sugar. (I like a little bit of butter stirred in mine.)

Pour left over mush into loaf pan. (Spray the pan so it will not stick) 

Refrigerate 2 or 3 hours or until firm.

Remove from pan and cut into 1/4 inch slices.

Lightly flour and pan-fry in a small amount of hot oil until golden brown on both sides.

Serve hot.

If you want more of a sweet kind of fried mush serve with syrup or honey.

Next time you look around the kitchen and can't think of something to fix you can try corn meal mush.

Free Stuff Friday 9/17

Friday Free Stuff Promotion! Here's how it works...

1. Go to http://blog.laurenshope.com/

2. If you are not currently a member of their blog, sign up. It's a great place to get special deals and offers so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

3. Post a comment on the blog telling them what item you'd like to win!

4. At 4:00 pm CST on Friday September 17, 2010 they will randomly pick a winner of the item.

It's that simple!

Paula Deen

Paula Deen is my hero! She is an outstanding example of how a single mom with two boys can start with a small home-based business and end up the Queen of the Food Network! I have a few of her cookbooks and really love her magazine. My favorite is Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics. The Gooey Butter Cake recipe she serves at the Lady and Sons Restaurant in Savannah and Paula Deen's Buffet in Tunica, Mississippi are in this cookbook.

When I found out that Paula Deen was opening a new place in Tunica, Mississippi and that she would be there I wanted to go! She is so funny she could do stand up comedy, if she ever decided to give up cooking. This appearance included Paula Deen, her husband Michael Groover (who we found out is 9 years younger than Paula...you go girl), Michael's brother (who is a priest) and Paula's brother Bubba. Oh, it was not what we expected at all. We thought it would be Paula cooking and it was Paula telling stories. She had the whole crowd laughing and clapping. At the end of the show she served everyone her Gooey Butter Cake.

Paula Deen on stage in Tunica.

Bubba, Michael, Paula and the Priest

My sister-in-law and her baby brother (my husband) at the front of Paula Deen's buffet. The front of the buffet and store looks like Paula's house in Savannah, Georgia.

This was a trip worth the drive across four states to see Paula Deen. Of course, if not for our daughter who did the driving I probably would not be making this statement. Finally the airlines have started flights from several locations to Tunica....that is how I will go next time!

Weinermobile

Cross off "SEE WEINERMOBILE" on my bucket list! Yes, I was excited about seeing the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile! Those who know me already are aware that it does not take much to entertain me, and I can get excited about most anything. Now the song is stuck in my head...I wish I was an Oscar Mayer weiner... I have to tell you the Weinermobile was pretty cool and of course my two favorite colors orange and yellow! It is 27 feet long and seats six. I figured this was my only chance to take my very own photos of the Weinermobile and I could not wait to share them with you. I took both sides and the back and front.

Melissa thought we were crazy, but she got her photo with the Weinermobile.

Husband giving it the once over.

The front. Notice the big hot dogs on the dash.

The back of the Weinermobile.

Funny tag. Drivers are called hotdoggers. Note husband's reflection in bottom left of photo.

Husband is all smiles to get to pose by the Weinermobile.

More Cat Tails

Under the bed, in a box, in a sack, in a suitcase, in the closet, behind the furniture, wedged in book shelves, with a page from the newspaper, on top of a shelf in the garage, are only a few places our cats love to hide. They can make a game that lasts several hours with a plastic or paper sack. One cat gets inside the sack and the other cat runs and pounces on top of the sack. They both try to get in the same sack, which can either end up in a battle of hiss and slaps or curled up together. Some times all we see are the cat tails!

Every time we get the suitcase out the cats get in the suitcase while we are trying to pack. They have learned that we are leaving and most surely want to go! It makes us feel guilty when we leave them, but I am pretty sure that is their goal when they climb in the suitcase.

Lizzie Tu has learned that she can get on the back of the love seat and do two things. The first favorite thing she does is sits there very quietly and reaches out and slaps the person who comes through the door that is next to the love seat. The new thing she has learned from that vantage point is that she can turn off the living room lights with the switch. She has also learned to get up on the bed and stand on her hind legs and turn off the bedroom light with the switch. One of her favorite hiding spots is under the computer table while I am at the computer. She is always into something.

Top left is Buttercup Renea in a plastic sack. Middle is Buttercup Renea in the suitcase with our black beauty Lizzie Miranda on the lid of the suitcase. Bottom right is Buttercup Renea in a Christmas box. Buttercup Renea is the cat who could jump up and grab the ceiling fan light pull and turn the light on in the middle of the night!

Our Callie Ann loves us, but no one else. She runs and hides under the bed and stays there anytime anyone comes in our house. Here she is inside a paper bag. She was way in the back of the bag and I wanted a photo, so I stuck Barney in there to hold up the sack opening. Callie Ann likes to play fetch...Dennis tosses a toy mouse and she runs and get it and then takes it back to him. Guess it was her start as a barn cat?

These are three photos of Booksey Rose playing with a page out of the newspaper. Booksey Rose could play for hours with a newspaper page. She would run and slide on it much like a slip-n-slide or she would manage to get it to fold in half, then slip under the middle of it and hide. She would make me laugh just watching her have fun. It amused me so much because she always hated it when I was trying to read the newspaper. She would reach up and slap the paper or get between me and the paper. Had it not been for this beautiful alley cat, turned queen, I would have missed out on a lifetime of enjoyment. Cats are funny and have such wonderful personalities. When we see a cat tail sticking out from under something we can bet that cat is trying to hide!

Sick Saturday

How much money can you spend on a Saturday and not have fun doing it? Just try going to Convenience Care Clinic and the hospital...lots of money spent and not much fun! My poor baby called on Friday night and she was really sick. I told her to drive out here and I would take her to the Convenience Care Clinic on Saturday morning.

When she arrived she was running a fever and had the chills. Neither are good signs. She was also having a very difficult time breathing. When we got up Saturday morning I had to run a couple quick errands, and then I took her to the Convenience Care Clinic. We sat and waited in the lobby for about an hour.

Of course, there were people there I had not seen in a long time, so I was able to visit with them. During this wait time there were some really sick folks arriving and spreading their germs all around the room. One lady had to be helped in the door and was heaving in a plastic bag....OK so I have a fairly strong stomach, but that about got to me! They finally took her to the back and then sent her to the hospital where she belonged.

After we got back to the treatment room they tested my daughter's oxygen levels and other vital signs. The doctor could hear something going on in her lungs so he ordered blood tests and sent us to the hospital for chest x-rays. We were to return to the Convenience Care Clinic as soon as we finished with the x-ray at the hospital, so they could give her a breathing treatment.

The "BABY" getting her breathing treatment.

After she finished the breathing treatment the doctor came back and told us that she had a very contagious pneumonia. OH GREAT...I was not thrilled...I have been with this child in my house, in my car, and in this small treatment room. Not to mention we were both exposed to all the things all those other people had, that were in the waiting room with us, and she was spreading her germs right back at them! Plus all her students were in the classroom with her all day on Friday.

The doctor gave her four medications to take to try to get over this nasty illness. Bless her heart, I knew she was sick when she stayed with her Mom and Pop all weekend. She just did not feel like driving the seventy miles back home. At any rate by the time we went to the clinic, hospital and pharmacy for the medicines it ended up being a four hour ordeal. It did make me feel better that she was at our house and we could take care of her. No matter how old she gets she is still our baby!

Free Stuff Friday!

 Just click on this:     Free Stuff Friday      it will take you to the web site for Lauren's Hope.

How it Works: If you’re interested in 1 of the three free items, subscribe to Lauren's Hope blog AND leave a comment on Lauren's Hope post telling them which item you would like and why. Then, share their post with your friends on Facebook, your followers on Twitter and your Blog or Website readers. They will randomly select 3 comment entries and announce the winners by 4:00 PM Friday CST, September 10, 2010.

I have ordered jewelry from this site for my Type 1 Juvenile Diabetic granddaughter and it is really great quality stuff!

Band Uniform Quilt

My daughter was in the school band for seven years, so she had the opportunity to wear the Junior High school band uniform and the High School band uniform many times. Some time after she had graduated college, the school decided to get rid of the old uniforms and purchase new ones. I went to the school and proudly brought home her old uniforms! She thought I had lost my mind. "What are you going to do with those?"

The uniforms hung quietly in the garage for a few years, until one day I had an AAAAHA moment! I got my little cardboard square quilt block pattern out and went to whacking away at those uniforms! I will show her what I am going to do with these things!!! I made squares out of every usable inch of those band uniforms. I also included fabric scraps left from Christmas vests I had made for the girls one year, Valentine vest scraps, I cut up an old shirt my stepdad wore to her fourth birthday party and the balance of the quilt scraps were from her old clothes. Recycle! Oh this quilt had lots and lots of memories stitched together, with all my love in every stitch!

This king size quilt turned out quite bright and she was very happy with the finished product. She has long since stopped asking me what I plan to do with something. I don't know if it is because she does not care or fearful of the answer.

Mixed Marriage?

Below is a fine example of a "MIXED MARRIAGE"!!!

OKLAHOMA SOONERS

and

ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

My favorite Oklahoma Sooner fan and I were both excited when we opened our mail box today. A small unexpected package was in there from our friend Pat in Arkansas. First thing I did was to open the package and squealed just like a pig under a gate! The Sooner fan said, "what is it"...I could not wait to show him...that it was a Razorback! We both went straight out to the van, which happens to be Oklahoma Sooner Red and Arkansas Razorback Red, and affixed our new Razorback. I feel sure that anyone driving behind us will be confused!

My Collection

Do you collect something? When I was a small child, and moved from Kansas to Arkansas, my sister and I had a rock collection under our bed. When our parents discovered the heavy metal dishpan full of rocks they nearly died laughing! Well, how were we to know that Arkansas NEVER ran out of rocks...we had lived in Kansas where rocks were rare!

My sister collects Hummel figurines and has an amazing collection. Some of them she even purchased in Germany. I never see a Hummel with out thinking of my sister. She has her Hummel collection in a beautiful lighted display cabinet, to really show how awesome they are and protect them. 

I don't know exactly how I started my collection of Nativity scenes, but I have several in my collection. One of my co-workers bought me a CAT Nativity scene one year for my birthday and I just love it. It makes me smile every time I look at it! I only like the small Nativity scenes and especially the inexpensive ones that are all one piece. I have two shelves in the bookcase full of Nativity scenes that I leave out all year. They are made out of a variety of things like wood, glass, ceramic, etc. These are only a few of the ones in my collection:

Who knew there were so many styles of Nativity scenes. What do you collect? 

Brick Craft

If you want to recycle an old brick you can turn it into a cute little bird house. All you need is the brick, a piece of thick cardboard that you have pulled the paper off one side to expose the wavy middle to make the roof, a few tiny little birds, some decorative Spanish moss and a hot glue gun. So easy even a child can make this cute little craft with adult supervison.

Cook's New Stove

HUSBAND'S COMMAND CENTER

Oven Controls

Bake

Broil

Self Clean

Oven Light

Time Controls

Kitchen Timer

Cooking Time
Start Time
Clock

Our old stove died. It had been a good and faithful servant for twenty years. My husband just wore it out. Yes, I said my husband because he is a wonderful cook and the one who does the majority of the cooking at our house. For those of you who can't get your husband to "help" in the kitchen I'm sorry. My husband would prefer I stay out of the way while he is cooking, which is perfectly ok with me.

In our town there was not a lot of choice and we did not want to drive to the city. We prefer to buy local whenever possible. Like the MADE IN OKLAHOMA shopping we try to do at the grocery store. We found a GE gas range that he liked and that is what we purchased. You think GE stands for General Electric?

For me GE stands for GREAT EATS!

Sealed Gas Burners! Yeah! No more drips and spills getting under the burners and down in the stove top. Does not have four individual little wells to catch the drips. Only one big "drip pan" covers the entire surface of the stove top.

Heavy duty two piece burner grate! Not four individual grates that sometimes slip. The actual burners are different sizes too. There is the big one for "Power Boil" for larger pots. The small one for "Precise Simmer." Two regular size ones for regular type cooking.

This new stove is not nearly as fancy as some, but it has lots of features we did not have on the old stove. The old stove had five knobs, four burners and an oven. No push button controls, no oven light, nothing but the basics. The timed oven cooking on the new stove is something we probably will never use, but it is nice that we can if we want. The self-cleaning oven OMG....awesome!  Wait...why was I saying WE when I should say HE. I am ready for him to get it broke in this weekend.

Sea Shell Crafts

One summer we were lucky enough to get to go to Flordia for a week. My brother and his family went in one van, and my Mom, Daughter, Granddaughter and I went in another van. We drove for what seemed like forever from Springdale, Arkansas to Flordia. We had already driven four and a half hours to Arkansas from Oklahoma. My Mom is a certified oil painting instructor, and was going for a week of painting classes. The rest of us were lucky enough to go just for the fun!

We did the usual tourist stuff by driving down to Orlando to go to Disney World. It was hot and the lines were extremely long and it was way too expensive for my budget. I did not think it was the most wonderful place on earth. We also toured the country side going to light houses and museums. We went swimming in the ocean and picked up lots of shells. All in all it was a trip I will never forget.

Once before I had gone to Flordia and picked up shells, while Mom was in classes. Instead of bringing the usual gifts back from Flordia to give my friends, I brought back some of Flordia! I made everyone a little jar with Flordia sand and shells or "Flordia Real Estate." I am not so sure it was smart to have all those shells and sand in my suitcase to fly back. Thank goodness it was before the extra charge for extra weight! I also took a very large jar and filled it with shells for me to keep. The photo below is one of the gift jars:

On the family trip my Granddaughter took the sea shells she had picked up and made a wonderful memory photo frame. She hot glued the sea shells on to a photo frame and then put photos of her trip in the frame. She sorted and sorted her shells trying to decide which ones she wanted to use. For a little girl I think she did a super job and was very careful with the hot glue!

I have seen other craft projects using sea shells, such as covering a small box to use for keepsakes, jewelry made from sea shells, magnets made to look like animals, shells placed inside a hollow glass lamp base, shells incased in resin to make table tops and lots and lots of other creations.

Do you have a sea shell craft idea to share?

Red Hot Cinnamon Candy

I love this RED HOT CINNAMON CANDY! It always reminds me of Christmas. When the girls were in junior high school one of their friends brought the recipe over and they made the candy. For the past few years my neighbor Pat (not the Pat in Arkansas) has made the most awesome gift basket filled with homemade treasurers for us at Christmas. The cinnamon candy was one of the items in Pat's basket. This past year she had trouble finding the oil of cinnamon.....not cinnamon flavor.....it must be oil of cinnamon, so heads up if you plan to try this you will need to find the oil of cinnamon first.  It is soooo worth the time to make it!

RED HOT CINNAMON CANDY

2 cups sugar

1 cup white corn syrup

1 cup waqter

1 teaspoon oil of cinnamon

1 teaspoon red food coloring

Boil the first 3 ingredients to 300 degrees or to a hard-crack stage.

Stir in oil of cinnamon and red food coloring.

Pour on to a buttered pan or dish and cut or break into small pieces.

Store in airtight container.

(Note: Make sure it is not humid outside when you make this.)

I will gladly test your RED HOT CINNAMON CANDY for you when you get it made. You know quality control:) LOL

As long as it is in a airtight container it mails well too. Makes a great addition to a package you are sending for Christmas. If it does get a little stuck together all you have to do is tap it and it falls back into pieces. This is really good stuff.