Random Ramblings

My blog has been neglected once again! Life is just going on and my blog is sitting here in Blogland unattended! Facebook has been biggest downfall as far keeping up with my blog.

I have been painting ornaments for Christmas. This is like therapy for me and Lord knows I need all the therapy I can get these days! Each year I paint ornaments and sell them. I start taking custom orders in September. Every year I come up with a different design or theme.
This year it is snowmen/snow people.

Christmas 2009 Ornaments

Please keep my family in your prayers. We are dealing with my mother who has Alzheimer's. My Dad has his hands full a lot of the time. It seems like in the past 2 weeks she has gone down hill so fast. The doctor is working with a different combination of medications and she is to see a neurologist in 2 weeks. She is having problems with knowing who my father is a lot of the time. It has been so painful for all of us to watch this horrible disease come in and steal away Mom's mind. It's as if it has come like a thief in the night robbing our mother of her memory. She is so sad and afraid most of the time. It's like she is stuck between knowing what is happening and being totally lost. There is no happy middle in her mind right now.

Lesa

Organizing My Stuff

I was off from work last week and decided to organize my craft stuff. I threw away lots of junk and boxed up some stuff to give away.

Jennie "helped" me Monday and Tuesday. She is really into putting things in the trash can. She is also into pulling things out of the trash can too!

My biggest problem has always been how to store my Stampin Up ink pads. I've tossed around the idea of building a shelf for quite awhile. Yesterday, I finally mapped out what I thought about making. I went to Lowe's and started thinking about what I would need. Last night, I started measuring and cutting. I finished it today and sprayed it with a light coat of white paint.

It's not exactly what I had in mind but it will work for now.
It doesn't look professional by any means but that's OK.
It only cost me $23 and a smashed finger.

Next - I have to work on my paper storage.
I may have to build another room on to the house.....

Lesa

Friday's Fave Five

It's for time for Susanne's Friday's Fave Five. I'm running late posting this today - better late than never!

Here are my five for the week:

1. New Magazines - I just started subscribing to my favorite magazine last month. I received two in one day! I just wish that I had not already bought one of them at the store. Guess I'll have to share my extra copy with someone.


2. Spring Colors - I love the colors of spring. I even like the dandelions in the yard.....


3. New Storage Caddy - I found this at Walmart for less than $5. I'm using it to store my brads for cardmaking. It has 25 compartments on the sides and opens at the top for storage inside. I went back and bought two more. Yes - I'll probably fill them all.


4. Painted Plates - I finished painting these plates this week. (Don't look at the carpet that needs to be vacuumed. That's not one of my favorite things!) Now I have to go to Hobby Lobby to get stands to set them on. Oh no - I have to go to Hobby Lobby! Don't forget the 40% off coupon this week!


5. Sleeping Princess - We had supper Wednesday night with Alan, Susan, and Jennie. We had such a good time talking and playing with Jennie. Carly was there also and I took a picture of Jennie and Carly that I will share later. By the time we left, Jennie had dosed off and was sleeping on Susan's shoulder. If she could only stay this little!

Hope you had a great week!
Lesa

Friday's Fave Five

Wow! Where did this week go? It's already Friday again and time for Susanne's Friday's Fave Five. It's been a slow week around my house. I'm still recouping from surgery.

Here's my list for the week:

1. Crystal Light Pomegranate Lemonade - This stuff has to be addicting. I love it! I have started drinking more water and feel so much better with more energy. I've been cutting back on the number of Dr. Pepper's I used to drink. I was up 3 or 4 a day in December. Now I drink one a day and drink lots of Crystal Light. I have lost 16 pounds since Christmas. There is only one problem with drinking more water......


2. Smokehouse Black Pepper - This pepper is so good on black eyed peas, white beans, green beans, or anything that needs a little extra smokey flavor.


3. Sweet Potato Vine - I started this several weeks ago and this week it seemed to just pop out with leaves. My Aunt always has one of these growing in her kitchen.


4. Sister Schubert's Rolls - Oh my! The package says - just warm and serve. It should also say - will add inches to your behind - so go ahead and attach them to your rear end with duct tape! It also states - heat only as many as you need. I don't "need" any of these but I "want" to eat half the package when they come out of the oven.....

5. Lamentations 3:21-22 - “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
These verses have been stuck in my head and heart all week. Isn't it great to have something new every morning? This is a good reason to get out of bed some mornings!
Lesa

Friday's Fave Five

Since it is the first day of Spring, I'm going to show you five of my favorite things about Spring and what Spring looks like around our house. If you want to join in the Friday's Fave Five fun, be sure and visit Susanne.

1. This is the grass that we sowed 2 weeks ago.
It's coming up!

2. I love these little grape hyacinths that grow wild all over our yard.

3. This is what I call double buttercups.

4. This is Callie. She came to us this past fall. She was wild, skinny, and had part of her ear and fur missing. Of course I fed her.... She is now very tame. She has now "filled out" and is waiting for her little family to arrive.
We hope it is a little family......

5. Birds are everywhere in our yard.
Don't worry - the cat is too chubby to climb the tree to catch a bird!

Happy 1st Day of Spring!
Lesa

Friday's Fave Five

I'm going to try this again this week. If you want to participate go over to Susanne's.
You tell 5 favorite things that have happened to you or you are thankful for this week.

1. My Husband who made Rotel Soup tonight since I'm under the weather. My throat is very sore and the soup felt so good going down! I posted this recipe last weekend. My husband has been so good to me. He has had to have the patience of a saint the past few days! I'm not a good patient...

2. God's healing hand and the wonderful care I received at Baptist Hospital yesterday. I had same day surgery on my neck. Everyone was so kind and gentle. They are truly amazing people.

3. Friends that keep me in their prayers. My friends at work and my blogging friends have been so supportive with thoughts and prayers. I feel so blessed to have these prayers surrounding me when I need them.

4. My family - My sister and brother-in-law fixed a great supper Wednesday night before I had surgery on Thursday. My mom and dad brought me a new pair of PJ's and a housecoat today. I could have cried but it would have hurt too much!

5. Pain medication - need I say more.....

Hope you all had a great week. I look forward to next week when I'm sure most of the soreness will be gone and I will feel more like myself again. Right now - I know I don't feel or look like Miss America!

Lesa

Have I Been Under A Rock?

I saw an interesting display at our local Tractor Supply Store this weekend. You know how it is – you wander around the store with a glazed look in your eyes looking at odd things while your husband looks at stuff he doesn’t need either.

This is what I found.

Have I been under a rock? I didn’t know about this stuff.

There is a guy that I work with that has been under the weather for a few weeks. I think I may get him some. It surely can’t hurt. It looks like it may take care of whatever bothers you, where ever it bothers you.

Who knows? I may even try some myself…..

Makes me wonder what my husband looks at while I’m in Hobby Lobby.

I bet it’s not anything like this….

Lesa

Friday's Fave Five

I thought I would try this today. I got the idea from Suzanne.

You tell 5 favorite things that have happened to you this week.

1. Sloppy Joes – We had Sloppy Joes and Tator Tots for lunch this week at school. This is one of my favorite school lunches. My mom never fixed anything like this when we were growing up. We had “country food” – beans, taters, and cornbread!
2. Robyn Carr books – I just finished the latest book in her “Virgin River” series. This is the 5^th book – I can’t wait for the next one to come out on April 1.
3. Easy Rotel Soup – I made this for supper Tuesday night. I’ll post the recipe this weekend. It’s quick and yummy!
4. Hobby Lobby 40% off Coupon – I’m going to Hobby Lobby this afternoon to use this weeks online coupon. I’m excited! Not that I really “need” anything…
5. Buttercups – Our buttercups are blooming in the yard. I love Spring!

Lesa

New Leadership in Our Nation

“When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.”

"My Hope is Built on Nothing Less"
by Edward Mote, 1797-1874

I thought of this song today as the new president took his oath of office and said the words, “So help me God”.

To be found in Him and standing on solid rock is all we can hope for when all is said and done.

I may not support everything our new president stands for but when a man takes an oath and says “So help me God”, I don’t want to be the one standing on sinking sand and trying to support him. We all need to have our feet firmly grounded on what this nation was built on so many years ago.

Faith.

Hope.

Trust in God.

Unity.

The least we can do is stand on the Solid Rock and pray that God will help him.

Lesa

The Rumble of Random Thoughts

I took this picture on the way home yesterday from a wonderful visit with my cousin. I loved the fall colors that are just starting to show and the way that road seemed to jump up and turn.
Yes - I stopped in the middle of the road.....

My cousin reminded me yesterday that I have not posted anything new on here in awhile. I feel like such a slacker! I have been so busy and stressed with work that I come home and collapse just about every afternoon! It seems like work has been consuming every spare moment of my life lately. I'm so ready for things to slow down at work! Fall break starts October 13 and I can't wait!

I've been busy today just enjoying being at home. I made a large pot of beef & vegetable soup and put most of it in the freezer. I froze enough for about 4 meals. It will taste great on those cool evenings when I don't feel like cooking supper. All I will have to do is warm up the soup and maybe fix some cornbread to go with it when I get home. Grilled cheese or pimento cheese sandwiches would be good with it too.

I also made M&M Cookies tonight. I used a sugar cookie recipe and added 2 cups of Halloween M&Ms. I didn't chill the dough like the recipe suggested. I just rolled them into golf ball sized balls and pressed them down with my fingers. I made about 3 dozen and I'm sure they will not last long around here! Here is a picture (click on it to make it bigger) of the recipe card and a few of the cookies:

My big project for today was making a rack to put on my kitchen door. A friend of mine from work showed me this picture in a Penney's catalog this past week and my first thought was - I can make one of those!
My husband gave me a jigsaw and cordless drill for Christmas a few years ago. I have made simple little shelves and racks since then. This afternoon we went to Lowes and I bought some pieces of wood, hooks, and spray paint for my project. I didn't want it as long as the one the picture. I'm going to hang it up tomorrow afternoon in my kitchen. I had to touch up a few places on the wood tonight with the paint where a bug got on it while it was still wet. I can't wait to hang up my old aprons and dish cloths on it! The best part is I spent about $10 to make this rack!


I hope this week goes by fast. I have a big box of pine cones waiting for me to play with next week. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with them but I'm sure an idea will come to me soon. If you have any pine cone suggestions, please let me know!
I thinking of some kind of Christmas decorations......

Have a great week!
Lesa

Which is easier?

Going to someone new to get your hair cut or going to a new gynecologist? They both rank right up there together in my book!

I have had the same person cut my hair since 1974. When I was in the 8th grade, my hair was so long it would get caught in the bottom of the bus seat. I talked Mom into letting me get my hair cut at a “real beauty shop”. Up until that time, Mom would cut my hair on the porch with scissors. I don’t know how many pictures were taken of me with crooked bangs!

At the beauty shop, Linda cut and permed my hair like Gloria on “All in the Family” and I loved it! She had been a part of my life since then. She has always known exactly what I wanted my hair to like when I just moved my hand over my head and tried to describe what I wanted. She would be the first one to tell me when I wouldn’t like my hair cut a certain way and she was always right when I didn’t listen. She would also tell me when I needed to cover the gray "highlights", pluck my eyebrows or trim that one “wild hair” that decided to grow on my chin! The was a trust there that was established 34 years ago when she cut off what seemed like three feet of hair and gave me my first curly perm. She had been with me though high school, marriage, the birth of a baby, divorce, remarriage, and many deaths of loved ones. I could tell her anything and know that it would go no further. Not that we would ever gossip – no – never! When Linda retired last December with fingers that were bent with painful arthritis, I felt like I had lost one of my best friends.

Since I haven’t had my hair cut since a week before Christmas, I have come up with many ways of coping with my hair while it was “growing out”. I have more headbands, clips, and “scrunchies” than any woman should ever have. Someone at work asked me if I was staging my own personal rebellion for Linda retiring. Well – maybe I was.

So today was the day.

I asked several people at work who cut their hair. I finally made a call to a highly recommended stylist on Monday and got an appointment for this morning. I decided that I would get a good all over trim and go back later for more if I liked her. When I first came in, I tried to make small talk with her since we had a few friends in common. I can usually carry on a conversation with a brick wall but not this girl. She acted like I was a big inconvenience and a waste of her time. She kept up a full conversation with the other stylist as if I was not even sitting in her chair. She even stopped and walked over to whisper something to the other stylist. After she trimmed the back and the top of my hair, she said, “I hope that is enough.” She handed me the brush so I could brush it and see. I told her I thought it was fine (just to get out) and asked if she could dry it so I could go back to work. She had drenched my head and blouse with water from a squirt bottle. After she fried and pulled out half my hair drying it, (I swear - it was smoking!) I didn’t have enough nerve to ask her to curl and style it! Looking like a porcupine caught in a weed eater, I paid her and went home to fix my hair! It does look better but I will not go back to her. Now I’m on the hunt again for someone else to cut my hair.

Next month I have to find a new gynecologist so I can get my hormones refilled. I hope I have better luck. I just hope I don’t come out of the doctor’s office with fried hair looking like a wild porcupine! That would be just my luck. I’ll keep you posted!

Lesa

Faith

“Prayer is the key to heaven,
But faith unlocks the door.
Words are so easily spoken;
Prayer without faith is like a boat without an oar.”

How faith when you speak to the Master.
That's all He asks you for;
Prayer is the key to heaven,
But faith unlocks the door. ”
Written by: Samuel T. Scott & Robert L. Sande
Copyright 1955 Duchess Music Corp.

I’ve been singing this song in my mind all day. I can’t imagine what I would do without faith. How would I begin each day? What do people do that don’t have faith? Where do they find their strength to face each day?

Today was one those days that I relied on my faith a lot. It is so hard to go back to work after being off for three days. I had training this afternoon on the new state computer system – yuck! There was also a little bit of “drama” with some of the people attending the class. I can’t stand drama. This was not the place or time to be acting silly! I’ve got to admit that I actually learned a lot today. Now maybe I will not be so lost that I embarrass myself when the new system starts! I hope the rest of my week is better than today – I’m sure it will be!

I took this picture several months ago when I took the pictures for this post.

Hope you have great rest of the week – I know I will – no matter what!

Lesa

Simple Sunday Sampler

When I went out to water my spider plant on my front porch yesterday, I found this little nest of 5 eggs. Later on the day, I saw a little wren fly into the spider plant. I can't wait for the tiny little eggs to hatch! I would never dream of disturbing her nest. My spider may just have to be a little dry for awhile!
UPDATE: Monday Morning: I didn't notice that there are actually 6 eggs in the picture. This morning I checked and she now has 7 eggs! She has been one busy mother bird!


I finally finished the cards sets for my friend that is getting married. The shower is next Saturday so I will need to get stamps this week to include with the cards.

OK – I’ll admit it. I’m a sentimental fool…

This morning I fixed breakfast and when I was ready to pour the gravy out of the skillet, I asked my husband to get out the gravy bowl. I started thinking about this bowl. This bowl is probably one of my most prized kitchen possessions. The bowl is not a fancy bowl by any means. We have used this bowl hundreds of times since we got married almost twenty years ago. It is a bowl that my mother didn’t want any more. It originally went with a mixer that had long ago died and Mom had thrown away. It was an old Sunbeam black and white mixer from the 50’s. This bowl is the perfect size for gravy for two or three people. If this bowl could talk, it would tell of all the discussions that we have had over gravy for the last 20 years. Now that I think about it – I don’t think I have ever put anything else in this bowl. This week I may live dangerously and put something else in this bowl! Maybe some baby limas or green peas….

It’s back to work for me tomorrow. I was off all last week and I’m actually looking forward to going back! I know I’m odd. I’ll enjoy tomorrow and then I’ll be ready for more days off!

Lesa

Tuesday Thoughts

This is a picture that I took last year at this time of the wild roses that are growing in the fence along our driveway. They are in full bloom now but I haven’t seen any Japanese beetles yet. I didn’t notice that the beetles had a visitor until I brought the picture up on my computer. I entered this picture in the local fair last year and won a 2nd place ribbon.

One of my goals this week is to finish some note cards for a friend of mine that is getting married in July. I’m making her 3 different sets (ten in each set) of cards and including stamps as a shower gift. I finished one set today and started on another set tonight. I’ll try to post pictures tomorrow of the cards.

I’ve made a little progress on my list of things to do around the house this week. I’m just mainly enjoying being at home and not worrying about work. The phone rang several times today and I didn’t even want to answer it! Thank goodness for caller ID so I can see who it was before I answer! Yes – I do answer if it is someone I know (family)!

I cooked supper last night – an event at my house! I bought some frozen breaded catfish filets at Wal-Mart and fried them in the deep fryer. They were really good! I also fixed white beans, hush puppies, potato salad, cucumbers & onions in vinegar, and broiled some zucchini in the oven. We had enough for leftovers tonight. Tomorrow night we are celebrating my cousin’s birthday at Cracker Barrel. I probably will not cook again until Thursday.

Hope you all have great Wednesday!

Lesa