Getting in the Holiday Spirit Already?

I hate it when stores start setting their holiday merchandise out months before the holday happens..you know what I mean- They put Valentine's day stuff out right after Christmas, Christmas stuff start showing up in September of all things....Mother's day cards show up in early April...it's ridiculous really.

We all know why they do it, they want to push the consumer to start getting ideas in their head that the holday will be upon them soon and so they'd better get their stuff now before the pickins are slim-but when things are that far off, it is hard for me to get in the mood for certain holidays.

Therefore I don't know why but when I sat down to create today, I found myself snipping and sewing and gluing...and this is what I ended up with...




No Christmas music was playing in the background, the weather here in Illinois is close to 80 degrees, and Christmas was not in my thinking! I have no idea sometimes when I sit down what I will be making, but that is part of the fun I guess.

Anyway, I have decided to dub my creation "Mary Christmas"....and hopefully she will not be the last in my designs for the upcoming holidays!

Flowers and Stuff

Way back when my husband and I bought our first home, I wanted to do something to the outside to "spruce" things up. And having come from a home life where my mom didn't mess with flowers too much, I had little experience to go on.

So, wreckless person that I was,(ok, maybe I STILL am at times...) I just winged it and planted a whole bed full... and I was hooked! 3 houses later I am still that way-It could be the artist in me, I don't know...but I have to have a multitude of color in the front and sides of our house or I feel bereft.



My flowers seem to attract all kinds of interesting things- grasshoppers, (and here in Illinois you will find THOUSANDS of them! I was scared this one was going to hop up at me, but I bravely took his picture...)



hummingbirds....(I have seen big fights over the feeder here)



...butterflies of all kinds... and toads. My son will pick the toads up and hold them, (Ewww!)



But while I think toads are kind of cute, don't put one on me unless you want to hear a middle aged lady scream at an ear piercing decibel that may cause you to lose your hearing...I don't think the toads are there in my flowers for the flowers themselves- but the banquet of insects that are there in huge numbers.
(Which is one reason I am reluctant to do my weeding as I should...)

Well, flower planting is just one more way for me to use my artistic side- the blending and choosing of colors is therepeutic for me- one of many ways to appreciate the simple beauty in this world!

I Refuse to Teach Anyone to Drive

I mean it, no ifs, ands, or buts! I decided this after taking my oldest teen out on one of her first driving lessons not too ago....

I bet I sucked in my breath and screeched at least 10 times...and that was just while backing out of the driveway...

We went around the block and it seemed we were going to hit every mailbox in that neighborhood, and this was no small neighborhood. I tried not to cry out..really I did- but I kept envisioning all the irate neighbors we would have after we knocked down all the mailboxes like a set of bowling pins!

I know I had my eyes closed most the time and hadn't prayed quite that long (or fervently) in some while. When we finally pulled up back home, I knew that was something I would never do again...and three more teens later, I have kept my vow. My husband, brave soul (and mighty laid back) that he is, is the official learn to drive coach in our house. I resigned after that one trip around the block

I think all this has taught me a new appreciation for the Driver's Ed teacher. Who in their right mind would want to take a group of young teens out on a road and try to teach them not to swerve over the lane lines, stop turning and looking back at the people in the back seat, and brake without sending passengers through the windshield, not to mention parallel parking between two Mercedes Benz without taking off the fenders? ( I can't even do that!)

I think I will be able to survive the teen driving years, as long as I sleep through them.....

Ok, ok, I will share it already!!

My jumbo chocolate chip cookie recipe that is...
I am a baker in addition to a number of other hats that I wear around my house.
This cookie recipe is one I found and developed slightly because I am always in search of that "perfect" recipe. Lots of recipes are good, but some are really really good- and this is one of them!

2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 whole egg plus one egg yolk
3/4 cup real butter, melted
1 11 0z bag chocolate chips

*******************************
Preheat oven to 325.

Mix melted butter with eggs, sugars, and vanilla- blend well
Add dry ingredients and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened
Fold in gently the chocolate chips
Drop by 1/4 cupfuls on ungreased cookies sheets placing about 2 inches apart
Bake 17-20 minutes, depending on your oven
Let cool, then remove to an airtight container.
These are big cookies, and the batter will look somewhat messy, but not to worry!
If you follow the directions, it should turn out like this.....

If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix it!

My husband tells me that all the time...do you think after 21 years of wedded bliss I would listen to him- but no, I don't.

For example, whenever I find a recipe that everyone likes, has loved for years, and I see a new way of doing it, one that sounds even better, I go off and try it. And it 9 times out of 10 is a flop. Then I tell myself, that's it! I will NEVER change the way I do it again...this recipe is in the family treasure vault for eternity -never to be changed...but still...I am a sucker for trying something to see if it could possibly be better than the tried and true way. (It's one of my weaknesses!)

My husband complains all the time that some day I will be wanting to exchange him because I like trying new things...well, he is safe in that department. It took me too long to get him to where he is now. Starting over would be a monumental challenge of gigantic proportions. Besides, I tell him he is one thing I don't want to change. (Ok, maybe I do have a secret list in my head but don't tell him that...)

Susan's Cinderella Story

Once there lived a young girl in Scotland. She lived a very simple life, and grew up facing many obstacles. Throughout her life, the girl harbored a secret dream that some day she would sing for the whole world, and for years she kept the dream inside of her. One day her chance came- and despite many who gave her a hard time , she kept going…. and sing before the world she did! And the world is glad she is sharing her beautiful voice, and will hopefully do so for years to come!

This special character is in tribute to Susan Boyle’s strong will to keep going even though many gave her a hard time for doing so. I created her in a black sequin dress, wine velvet cloak with fur trim, and a small silver crown upon her new stylish hair do. She stands a petite four and a half inches tall and is a perfect gift for the Susan Boyle fan- or as a little self reminder about what good things can happen when you keep trying!

Sometimes You're the Statue...

Have you ever heard, " Some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue"?

I guess I never thought about it, but yes, there are days that life is like that.
For some reason, those days seem to last all day, not just minutes!

Take last Wednesday. I got up, decided I would get grocery shopping done early for once. Went out to the van , and it wouldn't start. The battery was dead. Pooh! I decided to drive our other car to save waiting on charging the battery.

Drove off and look at dashboard and realize the gage says "empty". Stopped at gas station, filled it with some gas, drove off and realize that the speedometer isn't working, and in spite of filling with gas, gage still says empty.

I kept driving anyway and tried to guess for 20 miles how fast I was going by how many cornstalks I drove past within 10 seconds. (Not a great method, but I tried!)

Got groceries, came back put them away. Went to work on some things and noticed a lovely fragrance of soap in the air. "How nice, the house smells so fresh and clean, " I thought. Went to laundry room and found out a 2 gallon bottle of laundry detergent has fallen of the vibrating washing machine and the broken cap let the detergent spill out and cover the entire floor of that room...not fun to clean!

Finally, I went to the fridge and reached in to pick up a jar of Miracle Whip, one of my teens had not closed the lid and , yes- you guessed it, the lid came off and the contents of the jar hit the floor, all over my feet and clothes, and a large portion of the kitchen floor.

Well, I have to say, over all, I handled myself well...no crying, throwing of fits, or running away to Bermuda...I really did see the humor in it so I figured things would surely be better the next day- and they were.

So try to remember to keep things in perspective when you can, and laugh when those days happen. You only have a few thousand of them to go!