tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30730547719272157422024-03-19T05:49:31.482-04:00My Random ThoughtsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-78615722101711594732013-05-06T07:38:00.001-04:002013-05-06T07:38:46.901-04:00Really?!?!I was walking through a local store the other day. {Okay, make that a few weeks ago, but it just popped back into my brain.} I was randomly meandering around the store when I discovered something that threw me and just <b>HAD</b> to share the oddity of it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZdn8dMjATlDdpizhGMA04P8yJIBH32hn7i1ghaZ0OrcT3lq6K5fAwyjyyyKQVVzejALVTmW8bBtI22kcX_TO2Ndsmpp1H8REUFPvNNpU3M8G9xznJRtVM2MrVKv0rptgLQxRdNHtUM8/s640/blogger-image--1805658807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZdn8dMjATlDdpizhGMA04P8yJIBH32hn7i1ghaZ0OrcT3lq6K5fAwyjyyyKQVVzejALVTmW8bBtI22kcX_TO2Ndsmpp1H8REUFPvNNpU3M8G9xznJRtVM2MrVKv0rptgLQxRdNHtUM8/s400/blogger-image--1805658807.jpg" width="299" /></a></div>
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A closer shot.......<br />
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Okay, I know that I'm a <strike>lot</strike> bit out of the loop since we've now lived in Europe for 8 years, but really?!?! Since when do we need a "Console French Fry Holder"? Ummmmm don't most American vehicles already <b>have</b> a cup holder? And last time we were actually in America, fries fit into said cup holders. Apparently I'm not the only one that thinks so....it has been marked down. Although, there were only a handful left....unless they only sent a box and only a few fit in a box. Hmmmmm Okay...head hurts from contemplating all of the possibilities.</div>
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And what's your opinion on fry holders? Do you have one? Or think they're a useless piece of hard plastic?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-29629422162370617762013-05-02T17:35:00.000-04:002013-05-02T17:35:32.387-04:00God is So LovingI did quite a few things yesterday...a LOT of running around. It wasn't that hot, boy it was humid. I got waaaay to hot from the high humidity. I sprayed my pony tail with cool water, rubbed the back of my neck with cool water, and rinsed my face off thoroughly with cool water (all wonderful remedies for excess heat). I finished my day with a Bible study at Home Group at our pastor's house. Busy, but no more than a normal "errand day."<br />
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Then today. Woke up with my left foot swollen and the top part red (it still is). It hurt off and on (not too bad until the evening). I was mentally complaining...."really?!?! Why me..Again! It's not fair. *pout" Okay...more whining I guess. The gracious God in Heaven I serve didn't "zap" me or slap me on the back of the head (both I deserve). Nope. He listened.<br />
He reminded me of a previous lesson (give thanks in all things).<br />
He urged me and have me the strength to do dishes (one of my nightly goals I'm trying to turn into a habit).<br />
And the most humbling? This was my devotion that I normally read in the morning, but hadn't until a few minutes ago.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uhqBWDXK4Cq8WhBYZo_GLHltBU93pvzrA6w_oCM4_meIytSNWfQDarVf41sYJ_MDFxIeHQK9QJjOI059__Lbcs1SbFGQ9gvCUkcnvdY7QnIVXy0Ju1OkWeM77KIjYAvRlub1gBB1ix4/s640/blogger-image--1270205119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uhqBWDXK4Cq8WhBYZo_GLHltBU93pvzrA6w_oCM4_meIytSNWfQDarVf41sYJ_MDFxIeHQK9QJjOI059__Lbcs1SbFGQ9gvCUkcnvdY7QnIVXy0Ju1OkWeM77KIjYAvRlub1gBB1ix4/s640/blogger-image--1270205119.jpg" /></a></div>
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God is so amazing and so loving. Even in my whining He loves me.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-83690952335052165702013-04-29T18:38:00.001-04:002013-04-29T18:38:11.761-04:0037 Things for 37 YearsIn honor? of turning 37..... Wait a minute. Ummmm....huh? How did that happen? Where did the last, oh <b>decade</b> go? I <b>just</b> turned 30 right? Nope. Guess not. *sigh<br />
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Where was I? Oh yeah. In honor (still not sure if that's the right word) of turning 37, this post will be in the vein of others I've read. Some are things I've learned in my X years. Me? I learn something new daily, which is something I think we should all strive for. Learn something new. Even if that is something as complex as a new skill or a new word or a random fact. Your mind should continue to expand. And no, not the head expansion from too many compliments. This will be about 37 things I've seen. From the random to the "bucket list."<br />
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Sooooo, here's my list of things for the recent anniversary of my birth.<br />
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1. Many sunrises<br />
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2. Many more sunsets<br />
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3. The Leaning Tower of Pisa<br />
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4. A soft rain shower in the midst of a beautiful, bright sunny day<br />
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5. The Pantheon in Rome<br />
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6. A double rainbow<br />
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7. The canals of Venice, Italy<br />
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8. A lunar eclipse<br />
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9. The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France<br />
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10. A rocket taking off (from about 2 miles away)<br />
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11. The Passion Play at Eureka Springs, Arkansas {Info found <a href="http://www.greatpassionplay.org/" target="_blank">here</a>}<br />
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12. Verona...where there actually was a Capulet family and a Montague family, although there is no record of the "star-crossed lovers" bit per Shakespeare<br />
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13. Rain coming down sideways. Happens in the Acores. We lived on Terceira for 3 years. Reason for the rain? The storms can move so fast that the rain doesn't have time to come down...straight<br />
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14. The Rosetta Stone at the British Museum in London, England<br />
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15. A dust storm in Saudi Arabia<br />
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16. The Louvre in Paris, France<br />
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17. A mountain whose top was covered in snow on a hot day in June (seen from a few miles away)<br />
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18. The Roman Forum<br />
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19. A wave of dust from cars flying down a dirt road<br />
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20. The Trevi Fountain in Rome<br />
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21. The first buds of flowers awakening in spring<br />
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22. Trajan's Column<br />
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23. Strangers of both sexes holding a door open for someone they didn't know<br />
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24. Tower of London<br />
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25. A circus with clowns and performers<br />
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26. Tower Bridge (the London Bridge from the song is actually <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge_(Lake_Havasu_City)" target="_blank">not even in England</a> although there are quite a few bridges in London that cross the Thames River)<br />
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27. A child's smile when they see their parent for the first time in 6 months<br />
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28. Arc de Triomphe<br />
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29. A spouse tear up when their military member gets off the bus after being deployed and in harm's way for months<br />
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30. Notre Dame<br />
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31. A mother and son reunited because of a wedding ceremony<br />
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32. Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida<br />
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33. Too many funerals (and not done by any means....the hardest ones are still to come)<br />
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34. EuroDisney in Paris, France<br />
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35. Leaves turning shades of red, yellow, orange, and brown<br />
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36. Circumstances and lives changed through prayer to Jesus Christ<br />
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37. The smile on my guy's face when we said our vows almost 14 years ago<br />
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<img height="425" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRKdm1Ezr-9SCaxAi7hLN2i3kXozhGPHv8y1RYMoKfxYFGaXZ4qxw" width="640" /><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-64109681504604077212013-04-28T17:11:00.002-04:002013-04-28T17:11:16.727-04:00Menu for the Week...8 days instead of 7We used to meal plan for the week on Friday evening or sometime Saturday for the following Sunday through Saturday. The problem was that Sunday night was either up-in-the-air or we had to get the stuff for it on Sun<b>day</b>. Not working. Sooooo we decided to switch it up to meal planning for Monday through Sunday. I will get the majority of Tuesday (errand day....Monday is DIY for now) and the "weekend" bits on Thursday or Friday. Since we <span style="font-weight: bold;">just</span> decided that mid-week last week, we had to alter things a bit.....<br />
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For the week of 21st through 28th::<br />
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For the week of the 21st through the 28th:::</div>
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Sunday: Frito Pies</div>
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Monday: DIY</div>
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Tuesday: Asparagus with Chicken and Bow Tie Pasta (recipe found in a mag)</div>
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Wednesday: Baked Steak with Mashed Potatoes (hubby's grandma's recipe :-) )<br /></div>
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Thursday: the pantry meal was--Cheesy Chicken Pasta from Velveeta with {boxed}Au Gratin potatoes and sauteed broccoli</div>
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<i>Note: We're trying to stop eating so much boxed and processed foods (other than some of the soups that I won't make from scratch) and the best way is a "Use it use" mentality. Not quite done, but getting there. :-)</i></div>
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Friday: Grill Night. This one was Cheeseburgers. We got one of the packages from the store, added hamburger seasoning and cheese from the deli. Put on wheat buns with Miracle Whip Hamburger Sauce (it's orange)....can't stand Miracle Whip, but LOVE this sauce. :-P and Orida (sp?) Crispers baked in the oven</div>
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Saturday: Pizza. We did a Relay for Life earlier that day. It was a long day and pop in a pizza was perfect for a nasty, rainy, thunderstormy night.</div>
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Sunday: A new (to us) restaurant. We're currently in Europe, moving back to America soon, so we're working our way through restaurants we've heard of or seen or been told about before we have to leave. We're hoping to do a new one every week if we can.</div>
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What was your dinners like this week?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-10296442077647187162013-04-27T16:24:00.002-04:002013-04-27T16:24:27.086-04:00The Weaver<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTEfAUfdyWt0ljUUQMYrYgWs2HtYBMS8CpQqBc--aIdQ05r8kbCtw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.123rf.com/photo_15136212_close-up-view-of-hand-loom-weaver-s-hands-at-work.html"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://www.123rf.com/photo_15136212_close-up-view-of-hand-loom-weaver-s-hands-at-work.html</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">My life is just a weaving</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">Between my Lord and me.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">I cannot choose the colors</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">He weaves so skillfully.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">Sometimes He weaveth sorrow</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">And I in foolish pride</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">Forget He sees the upper</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">And I the underside.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">Not ‘til the loom is silent</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">And the shuttles cease to fly</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">Will God unroll the canvas</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">And explain the reasons why-</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">The dark threads are as needful,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">In The Weaver’s skillful hands</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">As the threads of gold and silver</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">In the pattern He has planned.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">--</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">by B.M. Franklin (1882-1965)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-2217479950325581212013-04-26T19:52:00.001-04:002013-04-26T19:52:54.111-04:00The Bible StandsThis is a hymn by Harald Lillonas:::<br />
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The Bible stands like a rock undaunted<br />
'mid the raging storms of time;<br />
It's pages burn with he truth eternal,<br />
And they glow with a light sublime.<br />
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The Bible stands like a mountain tow'ring <br />
far above the works of men;<br />
It's truth by none ever was refuted,<br />
And destroy it they never can.<br />
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The Bible stands and it will forever,<br />
when the world has passed away;<br />
By inspiration it has been given,<br />
All it's precepts I will obey. <br />
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The Bible stands ev'ry test we give it,<br />
for its author is divine;<br />
By grace alone I expect to live it,<br />
And to prove it and make it mine.<br />
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The Bible stands tho' the hills may tumble,<br />
it will firmly stand when the earth shall crumble;<br />
I will plant my feet on its firm foundation,<br />
For the Bible stands. <br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-58345439420353029532013-04-22T06:56:00.001-04:002013-04-22T06:56:04.900-04:00Meal Plans? Why We Won't Go BackAbout a year ago, I had started reading in blogs where the writer(s) would mention about making a weekly meal plan. Some went so far as to make a monthly one. I thought that they were....well, odd. How on earth can I plan a <b>week's</b> worth of meals when hubby can't decide from day to day what he wants. I started thinking about it though. <i>Okay, the Lord kept nudging me.</i><br />
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Sooooo I tried it. It worked. For about 3 weeks. Then hubby went on a 4-month long business trip. I tried to keep it going for just me. I did. I could <b>not</b> do it for just lil' ole me. I did make casseroles and eat on them for a few days. But the weekly thing? Nope. Not after the first two weeks. Didn't happen.<br />
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Hubby returned; holidays came and went; the new year arrived. I was nudged again to start them back. So I brought the idea to hubby again. He remembered us doing the plans last year and liked the idea of not having to decide and shopping on an almost daily basis. Sooooo we started again. It has worked so far....for the most part. We have a large board on our freezer that is half cork and half white board. The right half of the white board is our meal plan with the dates on top. We try to meal plan on Friday or Saturday for the following Sunday through Saturday.<br />
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I've just been thinking that that has not <u>really</u> been working. Why? We figure out through Saturday. Sunday is church. Then we try to figure out <u>on. the. day.</u> what to do for that night. <u style="font-weight: bold;">BAD</u> idea. Well, live and learn. Hmmmmm....Time to change for this coming week.<br />
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Anywho. What was I.....? Oh yeah. We currently plan for the week on Friday or Saturday when we're scheduled to be home (Friday is grilling night :-) ). We plan the following week's menu and I'll do the shopping on Tuesday. It was Monday, but can't buy <strike>cold stuff</strike> perishables when you're not going to be going home (to a fridge) for 3-4 hours because of a Bible class. Sooooo that leaves Tuesday for now.<br />
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Our plan is that we have certain things we prefer on different days. Sunday is usually up in the air or something easy like nachos or breakfast. Monday I'm gone, so hubby's on his own for that day (it's our DIY night). Tuesday is an Easy Day (it's errand day for me). Wednesday or Thursday is New Recipe Night (I have TONS of recipes pinned on <a href="http://pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>. We also have a recipe binder, about a dozen recipe books (we got rid of over half of our books), and a stack of loose recipes. Oh! We also have a drawer that was once a part of the old card catalog (bought at a bazaar about 2-3 years ago) that holds index card size recipes. So we have plenty of inspiration. The other night is either a pantry meal or something I've done before that we like. Friday is Grilling Night. Saturday is New Restaurant Night. We have <u style="font-weight: bold;">tons</u> of restaurants around the area we haven't tried and we're running out of time, so this is our way to remedy that. {More info: We're moving from where we are now back to America somewhere (hubby's work will tell us next month sometime) in either September or October}<br />
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Here's our Meal Plan for last week (April 14-20th)::::<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-Wh58mgcPuh4J7yNjkJ4fVvyF59YLAOiUjo-DPQdPw88aMVpV6zlw58mkoco_YcAUyWtuuozr5xq7BWIsxDPZVDrEbAkWnLKx6kybFMl9d5iPehIyLEJ2VeBlhqYIxus6dTuiGGiv1c/s640/blogger-image-1886772050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-Wh58mgcPuh4J7yNjkJ4fVvyF59YLAOiUjo-DPQdPw88aMVpV6zlw58mkoco_YcAUyWtuuozr5xq7BWIsxDPZVDrEbAkWnLKx6kybFMl9d5iPehIyLEJ2VeBlhqYIxus6dTuiGGiv1c/s400/blogger-image-1886772050.jpg" width="298" /></a><br />
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Sunday: Steak 'n Eggs (I had a steak leftover from the night before that we finished cooking all of the way through (it was half raw) and used it as a side for eggs and toast)<br />
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Monday: DIY<br />
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Tuesday: Loaded Taters (quick, easy, and toppings made to your own specs)<br />
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Wednesday: Chicken Marsala over white Rice (found on <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-marsala/" target="_blank">Allrecipes.com</a>)<br />
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Thursday: Leftovers (change from what we were planning b/c of the excess in the fridge)<br />
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Friday: Chicken Fried Rice (fried rice with chicken grilled by hubby, broccoli, and mushrooms)<br />
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Saturday: Friend's BBQ<br />
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Tips:<br />
--I take a picture of the menu each week, so that if we're stumped we can look back at previous weeks and get an idea.<br />
--We write the menu in dry erase because well, life happens. We'll plan a week and then mid-week we have someone's going away that we choose to go to or a friend's BBQ they decided (or announced) at the last minute.<br />
--I <b>never</b> take a picture of the week's menu until <u>after</u> the week is over.<br />
--Having Pinterest and Allrecipes makes it a bit easier to keep the menu from the same-ole-cookbook that we have to flip through<br />
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I love the meal plan idea. We're rarely undecided on what to make because we've already figured it out. PLUS it's a whole lot cheaper buying food twice a week (we get the "weekend" stuff on Thursday so it won't go bad) as opposed to every.single.day. like before. And saving money is always a good thing :-)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-55166029284515009182013-04-20T18:26:00.000-04:002013-04-20T18:26:01.169-04:00Five Random FactsI have been trying to catch up on a new {to me} <a href="http://biblicalhomemaking.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>. In the post I just read, she talked about five random facts about herself. I thought I'd do the same :-)<div>
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1. My favorite drink has changed over the years. Growing up it was Mt. Dew until I was about 24-ish. Then I got hooked on Diet Mt. Dew for the next 3-4 years. Then Diet Coke. That lasted until about 1 1/2 years ago when I learned about the dangers of <a href="http://aspartame.mercola.com/" target="_blank">fake sugar</a>. Now it's a toss up between Coca-Cola and water.</div>
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2. By the time I finish my bachelor's degree, I will have had three different declared majors (Computer Science, Business, and Accounting). I decided on Accounting with a Business Minor.</div>
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3. It's taken me 19 years (with one class left) to get my first bachelor's degree. I did a semester at Winthrop University, decided I was tired of school, and took....13 years off.</div>
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4. For my bachelor's, it has taken three schools in order to complete it. Winthrop University, Community College of the Air Force, and now University of Maryland University College (mainly on-line if overseas like I am at the moment).</div>
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<img height="89" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRzXfC04eQYmPp7H1M8xJSkvel89lN0aX8Dx12gx594hrVT1hcO" width="320" /></div>
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5. I was in the military (Air Force) for 4 years, which is where I met my husband. :-) It was his first base and my second. </div>
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What are 5 random facts about you?</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-66623972017245528652013-04-16T16:41:00.000-04:002013-04-16T16:41:22.722-04:00Spring Here? MaybeThe calendar <b>says</b> it's been spring for a while. Right? Well, apparently the country where we live hasn't caught up to that. According to the locals that have lived here for years, this year has been the coldest spring in decades. Nice. It's also one of the oddest. One day it's nice and warm (as in <b>maybe</b> short sleeves, but a wind breaker), but the next it's chilly and you're grabbing sweatshirts. It is the typical spring weather in some ways: lots of rain followed by sunshine.<br />
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Either way, winter is past (no snow in our futures this or past season). That means time to put up the winter coats. I'm the type of person that doesn't like hanging something in a wardrobe (no closets here) that has been worn for weeks and will sit enclosed for months at a time. Ewwww. So, I've slowly been washing the coats that I can (the cloth-type ones) in preparation for their warm, toasty months of hibernation. Not all of them are done, but the most are. I just washed and dried three that I will be donating to aid those less fortunate. You'd think our coat/jacket <strike>closet</strike> wardrobe was empty, but not even close. Oh well! Looks like more purging for me. It <u style="font-weight: bold;">is</u> spring after all. :-)</div>
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Oh, you want proof of Spring? Okay :-)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JwpjiMJmnD6o4KXlFFWfgBUWdurrsB6z1rKmDmAxNBJ_EbBqOh2wtE9ySJ8c95scS3FotMfMFeNhHmpB8PQ8wan3EJO7rO8yOy9pJg1M67SV0s3DuVVsaU3ripRj9JMxJ48Se3dF2bk/s640/blogger-image-955836417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JwpjiMJmnD6o4KXlFFWfgBUWdurrsB6z1rKmDmAxNBJ_EbBqOh2wtE9ySJ8c95scS3FotMfMFeNhHmpB8PQ8wan3EJO7rO8yOy9pJg1M67SV0s3DuVVsaU3ripRj9JMxJ48Se3dF2bk/s640/blogger-image-955836417.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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These are flowers I brought home from the local outdoor, once-a-week market</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-78630642821984378392013-04-15T04:34:00.002-04:002013-04-15T04:34:33.026-04:00I'm a Brownie Kinda Girl<br />
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-1917369407644029017" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; position: relative; width: 770px;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.65em;">Just found this on a blog today. It's cute and fun.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.65em;"><br /><br />If all of the eight desserts listed below were sitting in front of you,<br />which would you choose (sorry, you can only pick one)! Trust me...this is<br />very accurate Pick your dessert, and then look to see what psychiatrists<br />think about you.<br /><br />REMEMBER - No Cheating. Make your choice before you check the meaning.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.65em;">Here are your choices:</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.65em;"><br /><br />1. Angel Food Cake<br /><br />2. Brownies<br /><br />3. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1219124816_2">Lemon Meringue Pie</span><br /><br />4. Vanilla Cake With Chocolate Icing<br /><br />5. Strawberry Short Cake<br /><br />6. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1219124816_3" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: pointer;">Chocolate Cake</span> With Chocolate Icing<br /><br />7. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1219124816_4">Ice Cream</span><br /><br />8. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1219124816_5" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: pointer;">Carrot Cake</span><br /><br />No, you can't change your mind once you scroll down, so think carefully<br />about what your choice will be.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />OK - Now that you've made your choice, this is what the<br /><br />researchers say about you... SCROLL DOWN---No Cheating<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />1. ANGEL FOOD CAKE -- Sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy<br />items. A little nutty at times. Sometimes you need an <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1219124816_6" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: pointer;">ice cream cone</span> at<br />the end of the day Others perceive you as being childlike and immature at<br />times.<br /><br />2. BROWNIES -- You are adventurous, love new ideas, and are a champion of<br />underdogs and a slayer of dragons. When tempers flare up you whip out your<br />saber. You are always the oddball with a unique <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1219124816_7">sense of humor</span> and<br />direction. You tend to be very loyal.<br /><br />3. LEMON MERINGUE -- Smooth & articulate with your hands, you are<br />an excellent caregiver and a good teacher. But don't try to walk and chew<br />gum at the same time. A bit of a diva at times, you set your own style<br />because you do your own thing. You shine when it comes to helping others<br />and have many friends.<br /><br />4. VANILLA CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING -- Fun-loving, sassy, humorous, not<br />very grounded in life; very indecisive and lacking motivation. Everyone<br />enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Others should be<br />cautious in making you mad. However, you are a friend for life.<br /><br />5. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1219124816_8">STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE</span> -- Romantic, warm, loving. You care about other<br />people, can be counted on in a pinch and expect the same in return.<br />Intuitively keen. You can be very emotional at times but a true person in<br />every way. You like to do things for yourself and help others learn about<br />themselves.<br /><br />6. CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING -- Always ready to give and<br />receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious, and passionate. You can<br />appear to have a cold exterior but<br />are warm on the inside. Not afraid to take chances. Will not settle for<br />anything average in life. Love to laugh.<br /><br />7. ICE CREAM -- You like sports, whether it is baseball, football,<br />basketball, or soccer. If you could, you would like to participate, but<br />you enjoy watching sports. You don't like to give up the remote control.<br />You tend to be self-centered and high maintenance.<br /><br />8. CARROT CAKE -- You are a very fun loving person, who likes to laugh.<br />You are fun to be with. People like to hang out with you. You are a very<br />warm hearted person and a little quirky at times. You have many loyal<br />friends. You were meant to lead and teach others. A wonderful role model.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-58346550894976076972013-04-12T02:58:00.003-04:002013-04-12T02:58:49.949-04:00Search Engines<span style="font-family: inherit;">Everyone who is on-line has used a search engine at one time or another. And everyone has their favorites. My sister uses one called <a href="http://www.dogpile.com/" target="_blank">Dogpile</a>. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most folks I know use Google. </span><br />
<img alt="Google" height="68" src="https://www.google.com/images/srpr/logo4w.png" width="200" /><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Google has become so popular that instead of saying "I'm going to search the internet for that info", it's "I'm going to Google that info." Yep, Google has become a noun and a verb. That topic is for another post.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The reason for this one is yet another <a href="http://biblicalhomemaking.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blog</a> I found. She created two search engines using <a href="http://www.google.com/cse/" target="_blank">this page</a> to do so. The first one is <a href="http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=008985675134631281470%3A8jacwn2aywm" target="_blank">Christian Homemaking/Womanhood Search Engine</a>. That one she created "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.40625px;">with results from [her] favorite websites such as Biblical Womanhood, Tammy's Recipes, Keeping the Home, The Sparrow's Nest and many others."</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.40625px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.40625px;">The other one is <a href="http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=008985675134631281470%3Acj0kq7umbdm" target="_blank">Frugal Search Engine</a>. This one "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.40625px;">searches [her] favorite deal websites and frugal blogs." </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.40625px;">And how many of us don't want to save money? Yeah, I have a feeling I'll be using this one a bit.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.40625px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.40625px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, now you have two (three?) search engines in case Google is not exactly what you're hoping for. :-)</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-14622941802760103382013-03-30T10:43:00.001-04:002013-03-30T10:43:36.725-04:00Peace Out from Protein Bar Willow<br />
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I found this on a new blog I've working my way through and thought I'd share.</div>
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<strong style="line-height: inherit;">1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME:</strong> (first pet & current car):</div>
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Gumdrop Fiat</div>
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<strong style="line-height: inherit;">2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME:</strong> (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie):</div>
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Sweet Cream Peanut Butter</div>
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<strong style="line-height: inherit;">3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME:</strong> (favorite color, favorite animal):</div>
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Blue Dog</div>
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<strong style="line-height: inherit;">4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">(middle name, city where you were born):</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, Verdana, Arial, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Marie Trenton</div>
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<strong style="line-height: inherit;">5. SUPERHERO NAME:</strong> (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink):</div>
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The Blue Coke</div>
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<strong style="line-height: inherit;">6. NASCAR NAME:</strong> (the first names of your grandfathers):</div>
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Romee Bufford</div>
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<strong style="line-height: inherit;">7. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">(mother’s & father’s middle names ):</span></div>
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Marie Hoyt</div>
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<strong style="line-height: inherit;">8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME:</strong> (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter):</div>
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Simon Singapore (don't remember teacher, so picked one I did)</div>
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<strong style="line-height: inherit;">9. SPY NAME:</strong> (your favorite season/holiday, flower):</div>
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Spring Daffodil</div>
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<strong style="line-height: inherit;">10. CARTOON NAME:</strong> (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”):</div>
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Strawberry Shirty</div>
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<strong style="line-height: inherit;">11. HIPPY NAME:</strong> (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree):</div>
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Protein Bar Willow</div>
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<strong style="line-height: inherit;">12. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME:</strong> (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”):</div>
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The Reading Breeze Tour</div>
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<br /></div>
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Odd, but fun. What are yours?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-52970474334748933692013-03-28T17:28:00.001-04:002013-03-28T17:28:10.368-04:00Made That PinIn the last post, I talked about <a href="http://pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>. If you're on the bandwagon, you're probably like most and have pinned and pinned and pinned and....well, you get the idea. Ummmm....oh yeah! You've probably pinned a lot of stuff, but that's it. I know I've pinned tons of stuff all over the net and it....well, it's pretty looking and organized, but that's mainly it.<br />
<br />
Months back, one of the blogs I read instituted a Pinterest Challenge. The first such challenge can be found <a href="http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/07/another-unsuccessful-attempt-to-keep-it-cool/" target="_blank">here</a>. I found it interesting, but hadn't personally discovered pinterest (I was stubborn). I had refused, got curious, and then fell myself. I'm not on the site as much as some of my friends, but I do tend to pin a lot given that I downloaded that cool little "Pin It" button for my toolbar. Anywho.....I too pinned and pinned, but never really did anything.<br />
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Then, a few months ago hubby & I decided to do a meal plan each week. We got tired of eating junk or grabbing take-away because we couldn't decide what to have. Our meal plan solves that. One thing that we instituted after a couple weeks was a Try-a-New-Recipe night. The night itself varies, but given the stack of recipes we own and the thousands (millions?) on-line, we figured we would try a new dish and see how it went. We've learned that some are definite keepers while others are....well, the gravy is a keeper, but not the meat.<br />
<br />
I found three new blogs that I'm still working my way from the beginning through. One day I came across a recipe that looked soooooo yummy. Soooo I did what any respecting follower would do and pinned it for future reference (lol right?). Guess what? I actually made it. And it. was. yummy!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
Here's the <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/497014508847023298/" target="_blank">pin</a>. The blog I got it from (<a href="http://goodlifeblog.org/" target="_blank">Goodlifeblog</a>) is great too :-)<br />
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<br />
So, how did it come out? I'll let you judge from the pictures.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPwC9XUZVW0moJAaripKD_6fbrDTKjwsJ9OpajZzKA41IakdpW_40gK8JUQJBwa5M0czqb59kDueBEdqqSmOmYW8lhQHpFWR7O7llVvTF4bWDA6cjDKf3PMBvun6ET68YeX6ChPIN2ak/s640/blogger-image--1017870036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPwC9XUZVW0moJAaripKD_6fbrDTKjwsJ9OpajZzKA41IakdpW_40gK8JUQJBwa5M0czqb59kDueBEdqqSmOmYW8lhQHpFWR7O7llVvTF4bWDA6cjDKf3PMBvun6ET68YeX6ChPIN2ak/s640/blogger-image--1017870036.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhmxmF-MkwkZ8wlWNV4A3_Y2BtGXW4k6fgmPi3eoEDnDLASgr_E1YzeeOtUhZVj3N2TlJThjEWryJ5a9fCNDQAd2SktOn4SRC2OI7qpOLPi3sHgnsc99TMu-SPsOUcv_2Sgr5OTLLfCM/s640/blogger-image-278602371.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhmxmF-MkwkZ8wlWNV4A3_Y2BtGXW4k6fgmPi3eoEDnDLASgr_E1YzeeOtUhZVj3N2TlJThjEWryJ5a9fCNDQAd2SktOn4SRC2OI7qpOLPi3sHgnsc99TMu-SPsOUcv_2Sgr5OTLLfCM/s640/blogger-image-278602371.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjC11ylrjZ34QvS55YLWH8VgYHzbmgDAuCO06B4RDDUiHqo7H9ZTQgkz2c_yaKh6ilj77aCQbPMYAI0fyYRPqZaFhkaNl4YClSgTTJdbpb0hbWg3HrewJyd1Vg1nJ6jIK8gDprBgAcyPA/s640/blogger-image--1777567884.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjC11ylrjZ34QvS55YLWH8VgYHzbmgDAuCO06B4RDDUiHqo7H9ZTQgkz2c_yaKh6ilj77aCQbPMYAI0fyYRPqZaFhkaNl4YClSgTTJdbpb0hbWg3HrewJyd1Vg1nJ6jIK8gDprBgAcyPA/s640/blogger-image--1777567884.jpg" /></a></div>
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There's enough left in the pot for hubby's lunch tomorrow. I call that a winner :-)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-14111606948322483062013-03-28T17:04:00.002-04:002013-03-28T17:04:38.410-04:00Pinned?A lot of folks that I know (mainly women) found and fell head-over-heals for a little site called <a href="http://pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pintrest</a>. For those that don't know what the obsession is (there are those out there), here's a Gen-version of what it is (that's my version....Gen being me :-) ).....<br />
<br />
Old-school version is a cork board surrounded by a wooden frame. Thumb tacks or push pins were used to attach those ripped-out-of-magazines-pictures of clothes/food/hairstyles/rooms that we just <b>had</b> to have.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="226" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQyzXWmDWFwxrm5YVZLqOKQnYzWU0DhuscsdpslF4G5NgOGSa0h" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2006_Pinboard.jpg</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then, crafty ladies attacked these ugly boards in order to make them prettier....or to "go with" the room they were to be in. And then came the fabric stapled ones wrapped in ribbon. You could still use pins, but most wouldn't since that would mar the fabric.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="212" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQBZ2d0SKrb6YGz7CrIlB6e9SjkETzu-RrCt6wbortFpRjy-O6a" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://www.myfirstroom.com.au/decorating-items/Pin-Boards-and-Notice-Boards/178/</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Fast forward to the digital age where <i>everyone's</i> on-line. Both of those are still around to be sold and used (and redecorated to your taste). However, what about when you find something on some random website and just <i style="font-weight: bold;">love </i>or <i style="font-weight: bold;">have-to-have-it!!!</i>? Fortunately, Firefox and Google Chrome (along with IE?) have a "favorites" or a "bookmark" to keep those. That was/is all well and good, but what happens if (oh no!) your computer crashes? Then what? ALL of those favorites/bookmarks are stuck on a hard drive that isn't going to cough up that precious data (trust me! I lost lots of pics that way *sob!).<br />
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Soooooo along came a nifty-digital age idea...Pinterest. It is a digital pinboard where <b>everything</b> is digital. The boards are digital, the "pins" are digital, and the users are all on-line. The pins on Pinterest are the web pages that you want to keep (similar to bookmarking) showing an image on that particular page. The sight is free and you can make as many boards as you want (from what I've found so far). So if there's recipes you want to try eventually or a room you want to redo and get ideas for, you can make boards for it and pin to your heart's content. Oh! A nice little trick I found was a Search bar. If you want to look for DIY totes, just type it in and Pinterest will show all of the pins from users that have anything remotely to do with DIY or totes or both.<br />
Tip: I've tried and Pinterest won't "pin" a page unless there's a picture to go along with it....even if that pic is just the cover photo and has nothing to do with the mouth-watering recipe you found.<br />
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My goal for this post was actually going to be a "I pinned it and did it", but after the explanation above, I'll save that for the next post.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Disclaimer: This is a post of my own. I was not asked to or paid by anyone including pinterest for writing it.</i></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-11901658101394034922013-03-22T15:59:00.000-04:002013-03-22T15:59:14.063-04:00FoursFound this list on another blog and thought I'd share my thoughts :-)<br />
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4 Jobs You've Had in Your Life:<br />1. Babysitter (didn't most girls?)<br />
2. Waitress<br />
3. Cashier<br />
4. Bookkeeper<br />
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4 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:<br />This one is hard because I rarely watch them more than once....I know how they end.<br />
1. Twister (no clue why, but if I'm watching TV (rarely these days) and it's on, I will watch it from wherever it is to the end).<br />
<img height="320" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSVz23tOChH0IpzzbObFWizvEwsIO9rAODmC20EUN8GU02b_c1pSQ" width="216" /><br />2. Most of the Christmas movies<br />
3. Some of the Disney movies<br />
4. Most of the 80s movies<br />
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4 Things You Want to Do:<br />
1. Re-learn how to sew so I can buy cheap clothes and alter them to fit me<br />
2. Walk a 5K<br />
3. Finish a Master's degree (almost done with my bachelor's)<br />
4. Get us completely out of debt<br />
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4 Songs You Could Listen to Again and Again:<br />Can't narrow this down to just four, so here's all I listen to:<br />My iPod (which is nothing but Gospel and Christian music)<br />
<a href="http://www.klove.com/" target="_blank">K-Love</a> :-)<br />
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4 Website You Visit Daily:<br />
1. Hotmail<br />
2. Facebook<br />
3. Google Reader<br />
4. Random blogs that I can't finish reading in reader<br />
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4 Clothing Items You Could Not Live Without:<br />
1. Trainers<br />
2. Comfy pants (what hubby & I call the PJ pants you can get in a mix of designs and colors)<br />
3. T-Shirts<br />
4. Reebok shorts in the warmer months<br />
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4 Places You Want to Go:<br />1. Greece<br />
2. Japan<br />
3. Grand Canyon<br />
4. Follow the <i>old</i> Route 66 from end to end<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="229" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRVxFb5qZfDb7vQ-IG0ioPCJba_0t352xwetCh_UPEJD1DmA6le8w" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://route66chamberofcommerce.homestead.com/NATIONALLINKSpage.html</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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What are your Fours?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-59176003364032556922013-01-30T09:36:00.003-05:002013-02-01T11:15:15.398-05:00Canvas Art Class ProjectAbout a month or so ago, I signed up for a class through a local Arts & Crafts Center. The class was on how to make Vintage Canvas Art. This past Monday the class finally happened.<br />
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This post is rather picture heavy. :-)<br />
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This is our instructor with all of the papers we got to choose from.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuNgiz-8iXXBX-P9OBeB0T4UFabxszfEmfviRUBQoxaI8bTUWXKXSi6bHs-_iCROZhw5IU0uTVYwYVbLwhorK4lCxtcIBNyjn7OEPqRiZ-cgwdJeOB456v4e1Cy0SDhOY-qdFmUQrnL7o/s640/blogger-image-960684868.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuNgiz-8iXXBX-P9OBeB0T4UFabxszfEmfviRUBQoxaI8bTUWXKXSi6bHs-_iCROZhw5IU0uTVYwYVbLwhorK4lCxtcIBNyjn7OEPqRiZ-cgwdJeOB456v4e1Cy0SDhOY-qdFmUQrnL7o/s400/blogger-image-960684868.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
The hardest part was picking <b>just</b> seven. I found 12. Yeah....<br />
So, I narrowed it down. The papers on the left were going to be: the top 3 were going to be embellishments; the bottom one was to be the middle. We had to find the 7; place them; and then fold them down around the canvas using Popsicle sticks (or as I called them Tongue Depressors)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4C_t9KUyKQCNY-UknE9X_bgHUZ6Ti7XeslYyISNwZWlvJQUv8qzPvlloUoG-D0v4ndtMnNcqCR3oCpoqPzG1sepOrUbEeKj1PlCyV4yCh5pYduc0BeSh_6uw1YDKzQlPEVgzRkyHZ32k/s640/blogger-image-2138575158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4C_t9KUyKQCNY-UknE9X_bgHUZ6Ti7XeslYyISNwZWlvJQUv8qzPvlloUoG-D0v4ndtMnNcqCR3oCpoqPzG1sepOrUbEeKj1PlCyV4yCh5pYduc0BeSh_6uw1YDKzQlPEVgzRkyHZ32k/s400/blogger-image-2138575158.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As you can probably tell, it changed. Out went the clocks and in came the one on the bottom right. Why? My theme was vintage travel. Clocks fit okay, but not as well as the replacement one. Also, the "baggage" one got top right instead. This is the placement of all of them (minus the middle one) <b>after</b> they were folded down.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNygMO10zome2W8KAZQwsu885VrrtwN3QbxTy3eQqOhBn_o7MmQsxy9Sr_fIc3dK4q9gwPd2FVclPwQ31dVceqhkmcC88DxdkHnL3PiEPkVcYsVyobBpYdb6XCdKvaQOU381vtfow74tw/s640/blogger-image-1443319431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNygMO10zome2W8KAZQwsu885VrrtwN3QbxTy3eQqOhBn_o7MmQsxy9Sr_fIc3dK4q9gwPd2FVclPwQ31dVceqhkmcC88DxdkHnL3PiEPkVcYsVyobBpYdb6XCdKvaQOU381vtfow74tw/s640/blogger-image-1443319431.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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Once we had it placed how we wanted it, then came the gluing. We glued (using Modge Podge) from the bottom one going up in layers. The "map" was first; then the top left one. The middle right had to be placed, then I used a pencil mark to mark on the canvas where it was to stop.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-R7hDinnRmbENrbzKhGHyVfisET84a6-Up6KMxm_0OPssA8D4WvXtGhgGEmkvZv0RPWk4ScStNWLUMqy5Hq3w69gKVWX5NF53WbXIYcNssd_yXguOBksy8D88DiBqSrdPCHNnDOhUGQA/s640/blogger-image-1817562681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-R7hDinnRmbENrbzKhGHyVfisET84a6-Up6KMxm_0OPssA8D4WvXtGhgGEmkvZv0RPWk4ScStNWLUMqy5Hq3w69gKVWX5NF53WbXIYcNssd_yXguOBksy8D88DiBqSrdPCHNnDOhUGQA/s1600/blogger-image-1817562681.jpg" /></a></div>
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All glued minus the top one.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPZz43SwG40J-p8qw6yeR1ymopwu8T1u1xcnG_9Fhei8pGYCbrjsUVw9g0oRNxCmQziYzCNYW-aLgknXGjilXvNibNQvo9CRc5IO4cCH3JJQP6qylCcyClxnJzH43mFZvuv5wE9k80kfs/s640/blogger-image--1622301565.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPZz43SwG40J-p8qw6yeR1ymopwu8T1u1xcnG_9Fhei8pGYCbrjsUVw9g0oRNxCmQziYzCNYW-aLgknXGjilXvNibNQvo9CRc5IO4cCH3JJQP6qylCcyClxnJzH43mFZvuv5wE9k80kfs/s1600/blogger-image--1622301565.jpg" /></a></div>
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I missed a picture. Sorry.</div>
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The middle one ("stamps" from around the world) glued on next.</div>
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While the whole thing dried (I glued down the corners which left glue on other bits as well), we chose embellishments. Those embellishments are the balloon (top left); camera (middle left); "Cherish the Moments" (under the camera); and the olden bicycle (bottom right). We used more Mod Podge to glue them down.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_W_76bQR-szfiTqMg46V9p8kqiM2KAr3js3W9IRFAH3wsVxxvd_HHIZssgiH8t5D0IQn1iXDPaNudpwzuWM7cHTU961ykXlMKm1pZlrNurn2qo3433p4nQOruU0P1VV6MsByZOp6RNSg/s640/blogger-image-66572375.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_W_76bQR-szfiTqMg46V9p8kqiM2KAr3js3W9IRFAH3wsVxxvd_HHIZssgiH8t5D0IQn1iXDPaNudpwzuWM7cHTU961ykXlMKm1pZlrNurn2qo3433p4nQOruU0P1VV6MsByZOp6RNSg/s640/blogger-image-66572375.jpg" /></a></div>
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Then came the antiquing. Since the instructor didn't have any Antique Mod Podge, I used Distress Ink in Walnut Stain to brown the white bits to "age" the art.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KrOtdZiJbZMwKSMXYYB7A45Pvs2Yk9er-bG5ZgFD5ZguiDMWg1veLPYPSEohfBofuXVBdaNCXxGKzN9WyMlq7zaAQr8rxWiKlhG8vJYZVjPjbm2TXjvCYGS8q0Ook5y8awPB506pPjQ/s640/blogger-image-980432660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KrOtdZiJbZMwKSMXYYB7A45Pvs2Yk9er-bG5ZgFD5ZguiDMWg1veLPYPSEohfBofuXVBdaNCXxGKzN9WyMlq7zaAQr8rxWiKlhG8vJYZVjPjbm2TXjvCYGS8q0Ook5y8awPB506pPjQ/s640/blogger-image-980432660.jpg" /></a></div>
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Better, no? If you can't tell the difference, compare the picture above the bike on this picture and the one above the ink. Also, if you look closely, I added something "extra" to the Telegram. Can you guess what?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmn6Twh2AWEwb5CfSMWvr_gY2aZHBN8zA7jrILzkF-WdzmPL5KE6DRKxZ7WKKNp2AJxP2yqBry4C1iYKzNJDyDreAxXgcQNUK2AvFOl6oE7nK_zrEb81riwZMXNhJ7JokfzIoV_x-G_CI/s640/blogger-image--890391274.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmn6Twh2AWEwb5CfSMWvr_gY2aZHBN8zA7jrILzkF-WdzmPL5KE6DRKxZ7WKKNp2AJxP2yqBry4C1iYKzNJDyDreAxXgcQNUK2AvFOl6oE7nK_zrEb81riwZMXNhJ7JokfzIoV_x-G_CI/s640/blogger-image--890391274.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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After the ink dried a bit, we sealed it with a sealer. This time it was Satin finish Mod Podge. I chose that one since I didn't want it shiny...it <b>is</b> <i>vintage</i> after all right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4kI7E3De5WgxuIHsXapAKDFTdFIRyXyoHD7no5gfUqUo1prnDcQT03943_JPvAC2OK1lLp_ipmt0yhhVbQKhynnA6Zt9TB70NIEPd01qsVmq1FtGXn7cSFKaeV6MgLwa5RCrC7L8e2s/s640/blogger-image-1810906223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4kI7E3De5WgxuIHsXapAKDFTdFIRyXyoHD7no5gfUqUo1prnDcQT03943_JPvAC2OK1lLp_ipmt0yhhVbQKhynnA6Zt9TB70NIEPd01qsVmq1FtGXn7cSFKaeV6MgLwa5RCrC7L8e2s/s640/blogger-image-1810906223.jpg" /></a></div>
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This is the canvas just a few minutes ago....after 1 1/2 days of drying. I love it! I just gotta find a spot to put it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZueMix26DhjoIxFhbzuaMoCh9Fv7QMHr8A7LCHDkont_RkqpUavoDhAn5VsY_qw0tvfRtTZAUs_I4knhWIfap9TvEpiCLQXYB2-Mo5Ew4VE5IXMHUzh7C0EkBk1oLS5Qp30nr2jBhJ2w/s640/blogger-image-243505374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZueMix26DhjoIxFhbzuaMoCh9Fv7QMHr8A7LCHDkont_RkqpUavoDhAn5VsY_qw0tvfRtTZAUs_I4knhWIfap9TvEpiCLQXYB2-Mo5Ew4VE5IXMHUzh7C0EkBk1oLS5Qp30nr2jBhJ2w/s640/blogger-image-243505374.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Now that the class is over and I've learned how to do this, I have a feeling I'll be doing more of these. They're the perfect "scrapbook page"-type art to show off special occasions or unforgettable events.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.fivedaysfiveways.com/2013/02/feature-friday-free-for-all-52.html" target="_blank">Linked Up</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-61651155170454006192013-01-24T15:33:00.000-05:002013-01-24T15:33:12.087-05:00My Brush with 112--Part IWhile my injury story started on a Saturday morning, the reason why I was where I was happened about a month prior.<br />
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Every year, a Bible conference is held at Interlaken in Switzerland. It's not cheap, but from everyone who has went has said that it is worth it. It's a yearly event that occurs not long after July 4th. Hubby was on a 6-month business trip and our pastor's wife convinced me to go. I found a great deal on a room and a friend, that was already going, wanted to tag along with me and pay half the gas. Yeah! Reservation made, room booked, bags packed, a house/dog sitter booked, dog food bags made up, and lists made. Everything was going perfect except for <strong>one</strong> <em>little</em> detail:<br />
Going from the north-eastern part of Italy where we live to Interlaken meant one of two ways....1) Go <i>through</i> the mountain via a 5 (or 10..don't remember now) mile tunnel OR 2) go <i>over</i> the mountain where you could glance out your passenger window and see straight drops. Oh goody! Sounds like something that would make me either hurl or pass out. Since I hated both ideas, but the thought of plunging to my death (slowly) off a steep mountain was worse, I chose through the looooooong tunnel. Dear Adele (above said pastor's wife) asked to ride along when we got to that point. Yea, a God-fearing lady who has been to the conference for at least the past 9 years chooses the tunnel over the over-pass if she has the option...."Although the tunnel's not ideal." Ummmm....WHAT?!?!<br />
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The closer to the day, the more nervous I got. I was so nervous (butterflies and all) the night before that I barely slept...not a good thing given that I was about to embark on a 9 to 10-hour drive....part of the way through a looooong tunnel. Oh! And Interlaken is snug in a mountain valley, so more mountain driving. {See why I was a <em>tad </em>nervous?}<br />
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I woke up the morning of July 9th, 2011 with a tummy-full of butterflies and a pit of dread in my gut. I prayed starting almost from the moment I opened my eyes. I got up at 4:30am. I took a shower and finished the last bit of prep. I had packed a suitcase for staying in a dorm-type room....I had enough clothes and toiletries for the week along with dish washing stuff and a few things to keep me entertained during downtimes. I had packed the Jeep the night before and had parked it downstairs in the attached garage (originally built as a ground-floor house with its' own entrance, but work stopped when the son changed his mind....the vehicles are normally parked underneath the bedroom/half-bath/office) so that it was safe as well as enclosed for the last few items. I shut the dogs behind the hallway door that led to the bedrooms and grabbed the first of 2 loads I had left to take. In my arms were: my handbag (that had my phone and a bottle of water for the drive), pillow (I take it with me when I travel as a sense of home), and a bag of recycling that needed to go (as a last prep for the dog/housesitters).<br />
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This first pic is looking down the stairs from our "livable floor."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTO_Ay2Qu2UzMG5gqm8QfimI3HiOz68mD-63RDl3uNEoZHJHxo4ht-yfNppEuxbGn1C8TCRtAxKn85cG0jGPPjRQjFHHvxeiHuJmhCmAPszPynEiBVTh2b1DVelNX4XZILCT1i9RKS4qs/s1600/Door+to+ground+floor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTO_Ay2Qu2UzMG5gqm8QfimI3HiOz68mD-63RDl3uNEoZHJHxo4ht-yfNppEuxbGn1C8TCRtAxKn85cG0jGPPjRQjFHHvxeiHuJmhCmAPszPynEiBVTh2b1DVelNX4XZILCT1i9RKS4qs/s1600/Door+to+ground+floor.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
This pic shows the height of the stairs. Taken from the ground floor looking towards the back. Around the corner is where we can park our vehicles out of the elements.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsQsq-yj19aNWP6o11QmqCun3asODFyMWKb2HGVsu088boy_QvMRArD8ZtjKVnV34UDegobUXIOSbHipdBo_6scVylwUzuQGA4ChDKMOwqSDD9CZRBTreLY89-q6_X9Vni1TWY5FITZ0/s1600/Door+to+right+is+to+wine+cellar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsQsq-yj19aNWP6o11QmqCun3asODFyMWKb2HGVsu088boy_QvMRArD8ZtjKVnV34UDegobUXIOSbHipdBo_6scVylwUzuQGA4ChDKMOwqSDD9CZRBTreLY89-q6_X9Vni1TWY5FITZ0/s1600/Door+to+right+is+to+wine+cellar.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
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Now that you know what I was carrying, visualize that......<br />
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Arms full.<br />
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Italian steps (higher than American ones).<br />
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A bottom step that has an extra inch-ish because it doesn't <strong>quite</strong> touch the concrete floor.<br />
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Oh! And slippy sandals. The type that when you take a wrong step, your feet tend to slide in them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNZLdsBgqY4CyW9EsTqWlCoxreYz4YfiYFiBC74ufdc_RyOUgmPHkXJqmyBNn3tNngTrFUVhtfWTVokXwP6HyPVsCIhiS3Efw_xRt-5btavaZsoXWZHOQshFvzbKvRtiAJq_BqWaNYSk/s1600/DSCN6076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNZLdsBgqY4CyW9EsTqWlCoxreYz4YfiYFiBC74ufdc_RyOUgmPHkXJqmyBNn3tNngTrFUVhtfWTVokXwP6HyPVsCIhiS3Efw_xRt-5btavaZsoXWZHOQshFvzbKvRtiAJq_BqWaNYSk/s1600/DSCN6076.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
This is not the offending shoe. That one was tossed by a dear friend of mine. Hopefully with Oomph! lol<br />
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Now that you know the background, the stage is set for what happened next.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-58847656644534205122013-01-14T08:19:00.000-05:002013-01-14T08:19:47.927-05:00Resolutions for 2012 and 2013At the end of <a href="http://myslapdashreflections.blogspot.it/2013/01/december-2012.html" target="_blank">Summary for December 2012</a>, I mentioned New Year's and how the house got a bit emptier. For the <a href="http://myslapdashreflections.blogspot.it/2013/01/new-years-eve.html" target="_blank">New Years Eve</a> post, I talked about what we did and a few Italian traditions. I still didn't talk about the rest.....emptiness.<br />
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Resolutions. They are great....in theory. A lot of times in practice, not so much.<br />
<img height="320" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSROYio0fOpu1W8P2ZuFlUrfcGRNsNgS1Z2CDNGm6AGhPgGpbDAGg" width="315" /><br />
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Most of the times those "resolutions" end by the time the Super Bowl kicks off. To change that habit in myself, I altered the name to "Goals" for 2012. I'll post just how I wrote them back on January 1, 2012. They were:<br />
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1. Toss at least 1 item per day of excess.<br />
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2. De-Clutter!!! & Purge!<br />
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3. Have a cleaner, emptier (of junk), & more organized house.<br />
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4. Be a healthier & skinnier me.<br />
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So......how did I do? Let's see....<br />
1. This got....er,.....altered. About half way through January, I found a post somewhere on Facebook that mentioned they did (in 2010 or 2011)....hard to remember <b>how</b> they explained it, but suffice it to say that I did the same with 2012. My new goal was to get rid of<b> </b><u style="font-weight: bold;">SIX</u> items each day January through June and then <u style="font-weight: bold;">FIVE</u> items each day July through December. The total result (the hard to explain part above) was 2, 012 items gotten rid of in the year of 2012. Cool, huh? And............<br />I succeeded!!! Now, not all of the items are...er, hand-held. Some of those items were electronic. Electronic clutter is still clutter. I was keeping "CDs" on iTunes that I NEVER listened to. Why? Gone! Those must-keep-these-efiles-to-read-<i>sometime</i>-in-the-future? Gone! However, the majority of the items were physical. Toss, donate, sell, shred.....gone. Because I did it over the course of a year, it's hard to tell "yes, it's emptier". But looking at some earlier house pics.....totally can tell. Some though are easy to notice, like the furniture we sold.<br />
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2. Obviously did rather well on this one. Is the house completely de-cluttered? Not a chance. At first, finding things to get rid of was really easy....that easy type of clutter always is. You know? The ripped/stained/holey clothes that you should have tossed <b>ages</b> ago. The read-it-one-day stuff you <b>know</b> you're never going to get around to....5 years after you kept it. As time went on, it got a little harder. Fortunately it was something I <b>wanted</b> to do as opposed to something I was <b>forced</b> to do. The more sentimental stuff does get harder....especially for us women. Women tend to be more sentimental/emotional/etc. about items that men are. Not all, just for the most part. Hubby? Rarely sentimental. Me? I can find sentiment in things from paper to fabric from metal to digital. Fortunately I had some "prep work" behind me. A switch had been flipped (literally I think) after reading a book then a blog. Something about it just....clicked. The author is Brooks Palmer. His approach was like the flip of a switch. Want the book? Found <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clutter-Busting-Letting-Whats-Holding/dp/1577316592" target="_blank">here to buy</a>. The blog found <a href="http://brooks-palmer.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">here to read</a>.<br />
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3. Cleaner? Well, depends on the day. It is emptier thanks to De-Cluttering Fest 2012.<br />
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4. Half and half. Skinnier? No. Healthier? Yes. In July, I was bitten by....who-knows-what-kind-of-bug and had an allergic reaction. Me and a guy are the <u style="font-weight: bold;">two</u> people on the whole base that had been seen. TWO. Period. Oy! Allergic reactions to three medicines later, I was better, but still trying to figure out why the reaction wasn't gone. Fast forward to August. My base doc had sent me for test upon test upon test to rule out all of the "biggies." One of the things he had me do was get a bone scan. In an upcoming post, I'll tell why the worry, but long story short: nasty break in left leg; surgery to install 2 plates and 16 screws; 1 1/2 years later. Did the infection enter into the bone and/or metal? Only the bone scan would tell. Have you ever had one? No? Well, they inject a radioactive dye into your arm (yeah, radioactive....as in.....glowy bits) to travel throughout your body to take pics (for lack of a better word) to see the inside of the bones.<br />
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After going through that, I got to thinking about chemicals. OK.....I had already been thinking it since I had been reading on blog after blog about going greener. And a friend mentioned getting back to the basics (including natural stuff...not a nudist stuff). Soooo the foundation was laid when I had this day-spent-at-the-Pordenone-Hospital. Over the next few months, I changed a LOT about the products I use. The items swapped out:<br />
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Dish Soap (no machine dishwasher....only me)<br />
Shampoo (realized my hair does better without conditioner...go figure)<br />
Face Astringent (have you read some of those labels?! Perfume?!?!?! No wonder we break out. Geesh!)<br />
Shower Gel<br />
Clothes Soap<br />
Dryer Stuff (use woolen dryer balls....cheaper and healthier)<br />
Toothpaste<br />
Deodorant<br />
Napkins and Paper Towels (both now linen....haven't bought paper versions in about a year!!!)<br />
Cleaning Supplies<br />
Canned Dog Food (for Belle....Natural or for Seniors {she is 13 after all})<br />
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Along with the above, I've also swapped out linen or glass or wood or metal for a lot of plastic items around the house.<br />
Am I where I want to be? No. I have gotten rid of a lot of chemicals and my body is still trying to adjust to the lack of. I started breaking out on my forehead. First time since....teens? A friend whose into natural remedies for ailments said it's my body's way of helping me. One way to get rid of toxins is through the skin (largest organ after all) and that removal can cause an overabundance of oil. There for a while I could cover a tissue twice (or more?) a day in oil from my forehead. It's slowed down recently. Good thing.<br />
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For 2013, my goals are:<br />
1. Get rid of 1 item (or group) per day<br />
2. Be healthier and skinnier<br />
3. Finish Bachelor's Degree<br />
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What about you? How did you do? What are your goals for this year?<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: Nothing I've mentioned have I been paid to promote...I just approve of the products on my own.</span></i><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-46944616773454310102013-01-10T09:11:00.002-05:002013-01-10T09:11:46.097-05:00What's Not to Like?I know this post should have be the end of the year post, but I'm putting that off until later.<br />
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I read a post from one of the blogs on my list and thought it sounded like an interesting topic. She was talking about foods that others love, but she just can't stand for one reason or another. Sooooo here's my turn at it. :-)<br />
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Five foods that I just cannot eat.<br />
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1. Cooked Carrots and/or Onions.<br />
<img height="310" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSzpTRW5Z1UqQS5pKj5SBp5pC-o967GGcB2_tnMlSaA1ZL1gBbyLA" width="320" /><br />
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Can't do it. For me, it's mainly a texture thing. Carrots should crunch. Onions, well, I can eat them cooked on a pizza or on a burger/wrap. When onions are in a sauce, can't do it. When it's chew, chew, <i>crunch</i> my stomach turns. *shudder<br />
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2. Cute Animals<br />
<img height="214" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQV3LUsz7Yb41YLTdFPoXI7IQ6g1CEA5pIROTluNZ1a9sNtjVMH" width="320" /><br />
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I can't eat a piece of meat knowing that this cute, innocent little animal is behind it. Cows? Ugly. Baby cows (calfs)? Adorable. Sheep? Cute. Deer? Cute and I think of Bambi. Chicken? Ugly and mean.<br />
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3. Seafood<br />
<img height="239" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSOOfQOLsbuO8FrzcopZ0z_S0d90u29PKeJDeBRXudf1hr134uDIg" width="320" /><br />
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A lot of folks, including hubby, would look at the above picture and drool. Me? Not so much. First off, it doesn't help that I'm allergic to the smell as well as the taste of fish...and pretty much the rest too. Fortunately for seafood-loving-hubby I have a strong stomach. He can order/eat his seafood and I eat my chicken or salad. I accidently got a tuna and mayo sandwich (it wasn't labeled and I don't understand a lot of Italian). About half-way through my stomach reminded me of why I don't eat seafood. Period. I kept it down, but just barely. I felt ill for a good hour after. Oh well. such is life.<br />
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4. Iced Coffee<br />
<img src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR_WOOIQSv3VJVTgKJlNv18tCIqyo0CB2CHRiT0jZeuR7TdydmmDg" /><br />
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On this one, I did try. I love coffee. Italian espresso is my favorite. Some is strong enough to give a nice little jolt to a caffeine-addict like me. So, when a friend handed me her iced coffee to try, I thought Why not? I had to force my throat to swallow. Nope. Coffee has to be hot apparently. When things are outside their norm, apparently my taste buds reject them. Oh well, guess I'll have to drink it the Italian way: Hot and straight.<br />
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5. Mushrooms<br />
<img height="212" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQlnmUX4R1LXFKqpb_dKpqrVtL6jpuGCwO31agSqxw9Mwy8YUT8uQ" width="320" /><br />
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This one is a mix of three reasons. One, there's no real taste to them....they take on the flavor of whatever you're mixing them with. Two, the texture thing...yeah, no. And the biggie: I know how they're grown. Just like hotdogs and bologna, I can't do it. Knowledge is power, but can also remind you how that item came to be. I won't go into it, but.....No. All I think of when I see a 'shroom isn't the trip the 60s teens took but how they're grown. Hotdogs and flattened hotdogs (or bologna).....same thing. Once I know how it's grown or made, the willingness to eat it goes plunging out the window.<br />
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What about you? What are your "EWWWW" foods?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-89372581959529458762013-01-09T11:31:00.003-05:002013-01-09T13:37:15.212-05:00New Year's EveAt the end of the last post I mentioned this post. When I started typing it, I realized that it was going to be a long one if I crammed both together, so it'll be two posts instead of 1. Since New Year's Eve comes before the 1st of January, that's up first. :-)<br />
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If you've followed along, you've gathered somewhere along the way that we currently live in Italy. Italians are rather <strike>obsessed</strike> fond of fireworks. As is <b>seriously fond of</b>. They tend to go off for random reasons along with holiday ones. If a favored football (that's soccer to Americans) team won a sought after game, fireworks are shot off. Sometimes hubby and I wonder if they even know. ;-) The typical times are from New Year's Eve pretty much through the night before Epiphany. Epiphany is the 6th of January. The night before is La Befana. I'll get to that when I get caught up with these posts.<br />
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Anywho......<br />
Setting off lots of fireworks is a beloved tradition. Last year....er, for the end of 2011, fireworks were set off constantly over the course of 30 minutes....from the stroke of Midnight on. Yeah, they love 'em. This past year, they.......<br />
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Wait.....I'm getting ahead of myself. Back up a few hours.<br />
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On Sunday (the 30th of December), after church a bunch of us went out for lunch. After it was over, a few of us stayed a bit longer and chatted. Ms. Adele (our lovely pastor's wife...a second mama/my Italian mom) has her birthday on December 31st. One thing she loves is seafood. Well, long story shorter hubby and I made plans to meet up with them around 11 on the 31st to go on a day trip. We did. It was: Pastor Sam, Adele, their grown son, their grandson, hubby, and I. We met and followed them (they knew how to get there, we didn't) to Caorle and then onto Jesolo....both in Italy. Caorle is on the water....the Adriatic and is highly favored by Pastor and Adele for their seafood.<br />
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I guess if you want good, fresh seafood, it's better if you go to the sea as opposed to it coming to you. Their son, their grandson, & I ordered other stuff (they got pizza, I got a steak-type dish and salad). The rest got plates of seafood. After a yummy lunch, we walked around the town<br />
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and then along the beach for a bit.<br />
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It was beautiful and not as cold as I thought it would be given that it was on the water. They too have a leaning tower, but obviously not as famous as another one.<br />
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We didn't stay too much longer because we wanted to go to Jesolo.<br />
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They have a sand nativity scene set up that was only running for a few more days. We all wanted to go, so off we went.<br />
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These aren't all the pics or all of the sand sculptures. It was housed in a HUGE tent. There is a group of artists that take mounds of sand and transform it into works of art.<br />
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We stopped by a restaurant on the way home to get take away. We chose to take it home and spend the evening alone together. While waiting for our food, we looked up Italian traditions. Interesting. Some are food related, others are....superstitious at best.<br />
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One of those is fireworks. Now, back to the beginning where I left off. As stated earlier, at the end of 2011 fireworks were set off constantly over the course of 30 minutes....from the stroke of Midnight on. Yeah, they love 'em. This past year, they didn't let them off continuously as before. But, by the time we heard the last firework go off, it had been well over an hour. Yep, a bit past 1 AM. The best part is that where our house is, we can stand on our outside landing and see fireworks on three sides...the house is blocking the fourth side. The best picture would have been to our left. You can see the church steeple and they were shooting off fireworks that hit just to the left of it. Apparently about a week earlier (maybe for a test run), they were shooting off fireworks and hubby stated they were hitting just over and around the steeple. Either way...a beautiful sight. Ringing in the New Year with my little family of me, hubby, and our dog Belle was perfect for us.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-88978359588953438852013-01-04T14:24:00.002-05:002013-01-04T14:24:47.167-05:00December 2012Since I'm <i>almost</i> caught up, I will do a summary post for December.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://www.cultofandroid.com/18905/google-returns-december-to-the-nexus-4-and-nexus-10-in-update-4-2-1/</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As I mentioned in an earlier post, hubby came home from the Middle East just before Thanksgiving. I was still working on a class for college. He had been home about a week when he had the desire/need to return to America in order to see his grandma. To take some the load off his widow mom raising 3 young girls, his grandma offered to raise him. His mom (probably frustrated and stressed) agreed. His grandpa had passed back in 2000. His grandma was fine for a while, but her kids decided to see if she would live with them on a rotating basis. After his grandma had a minor fall, she agreed. Also around that time, she realized she was getting Alzheimer like her mother. Being alone could potentially be dangerous. Recently, it was mentioned by her kids that it is getting to be more and more difficult on the family to "handle her" and it might be a good idea to look into assisted living...or something similar. The kids are in their 60s and up and grandma.....well, her short-term memory (and recognition at times) isn't what it used to be...and it's not going to get better. They figure it's better to look into a place while there's time as opposed to an urgent decision later. Well, hubby felt the need to go see her while she was still in a regular-type setting. I had tons of school to do (still 2 weeks behind at that point and 2 1/2 weeks left of school....OY!), so I stayed home.<br />
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While hubby was gone for just under two weeks, I was able to get caught up....submitted the last assignment the last day of class. I could only have done that with an understanding teacher. Thanks to him! I got my class done, hubby got to visit lots of his family...Win, Win for both of us. He got home a week before Christmas and I was able to just "go with the flow" since I had nothing pressing.<br />
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On Christmas Eve, our church has an annual Candlelight Service. For an hour or so, the congregation sings Christmas songs. If anyone wants to sing a solo, they're more than welcome. We end the service with the candle part. Pastor lights his candle, then lights the candle of the person at the end of each row. The end person lights the one next to them and so on. Once all of the candles are lit, someone turns the lights off and we sing the verses of Silent Night. After the service is over, we go downstairs for a potluck Dessert Social. After the service, hubby & I went to grab take away since I didn't eat anything and chocolate just doesn't cut it for dinner.<br />
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We went to Pastor's house for Christmas dinner. There ended up being 16 total (including 3 kids) for dinner. We ended up chatting for about an hour or so after dinner while the guys....er.....<strike>slept off the food</strike> rested their eyes. We left not long after and opened our gifts to each other.<br />
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Christmas week was back to work for hubby and a regular week for me. New Year's? That's for another post...along with how the house got emptier <strike>this</strike> last year.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-41393999876807976952013-01-03T15:36:00.002-05:002013-01-03T15:36:47.723-05:00Thankfulness Day 30Nov. 30<br />
This day was spent at two get-togethers. The first one was a welcome back bbq at one of hubby's co-workers. All of the folks were deployed together along with their significant others. Met a few new folks and got a recipe for yummy mac 'n cheese.<br />
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The second one is a (normally) monthly women's get-together called LIFT. LIFT is Ladies In Fellowship Together. We try to get together one Friday each month. Every month has a different theme and any lady can volunteer to host one. This one was hosted by three of the Italian ladies that go to the church. They each made (and showed us how) a dish. We all got to try the three dishes and took home the recipes. Afterwards a few of us went to a local cafe for a hot chocolate or a tea before heading home on a chilly, rainy night.<br />
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What I'm thankful for happened next. I had just gotten home when a friend's hubby called to tell me she had been in a minor accident. The reason he had called me was we had loaned them our car to drive the last couple of weeks before they moved. My friend was driving that car when the accident occurred. Fortunately no one was hurt. The car got damaged and needs to be fixed, but cars are replaceable. Friends? Not so much.<br />
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I am thankful for the Lord's protection over family and friends.<br />
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This isn't the first time I've been thankful for this. Years ago, months before I got married, my sister called me at work to let me know my mom had been in a car accident. The car was totaled, but she was fine. The steering column had locked up while she was driving down a hill. The car went between more trees than one would believe possible. It only stopped (although she kept pumping the brake....nothing) when it slammed into the back of a parked truck. The owner worked night shift, so had been asleep when it occurred. She walked away with hair full of glass and a sort shoulder muscle from trying to make the wheel turn even though it had locked up. The reason why the car stopping was a <u style="font-weight: bold;">good</u> thing was that if it had kept going, there was a lake further on that is used as the drinking water for the town. Months later I saw the car while visiting. It was bad enough that even though I was standing beside my mom (who was still uninjured), I burst into tears realizing how the Lord had protected her.<br />
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Knowing His hand is over loved ones even when I don't specifically ask is a thankful indeed....and a perfect one to end a Thankful Month of November. :-)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-2986617091915882342013-01-03T10:52:00.001-05:002013-01-03T10:52:06.052-05:00Thankfulness Day 29Nov. 29<br />
I am thankful for prayers.<br />
Growing up, I listened to country music and hair bands. It was the 80s after all. One of the biggies in country music was Garth Brooks. His song Unanswered Prayers says a lot.<br />
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I remember <b>begging</b> God for one thing or another....whether it would be a specific guy or a certain job/school. Sometimes He answered them with a Yes. Other times He would answer them with a No. I didn't get it. Didn't understand it growing up. Didn't understand it after I graduated from High School and into the Air Force. Didn't understand it through most of my 4-year military stint. Until one day I did.<br />
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My husband and I had been married a few years and I "happened" to hear this song one day. I got it. God didn't give me everything I <u style="font-weight: bold;">wanted</u>, but He did give me everything I <u style="font-weight: bold;">needed</u>. It took me many years to understand that just because His answer is No doesn't mean He doesn't love me (or you). It means that He knows best. He knows better than you or I do about what is best for us. I have looked up a few of those "please God" guys and what they're up to now. Most of the time I've said a resounding Thank You!!!! to the Lord for <b>not</b> giving me a Yes all of those years ago.<br />
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This isn't just about when He says No, but it's also thankful for the Yeses. There are times that I've prayed about something that has been answered with a Yes. I've prayed for safety for friends and family. I've prayed for patience (Oy! Be careful what you ask for....you might get it). I've prayed for understanding in a situation. I've prayed for taking care of me while going/doing different things. What I've found mind-twisting is that He doesn't always answer how <b>we</b> think it should work. One is my accident (another blog post). I thought one way....He answered another. The result was more and a deeper understanding than could have ever have happened otherwise.<br />
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Regardless of whether I get a Yes or a No, I know for a fact that Jeremiah 29:11 is correct:<br /><i>"For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-76818122569127154892013-01-03T08:15:00.002-05:002013-01-03T08:15:50.880-05:00Thankfulness Day 28<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Nov. 28<br />
This day I am thankful for blogs.<br />
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A few years ago I had never heard of blogs. Although I created one not toooo long ago, the idea of one....well, it didn't really click. Fast forward to about a year ago. I didn't like the state of the house and cleaning was going waaaay too slow for me. So, I did what any person would do: I did a Google search. I found my first blog. Having started to read it, I came across a comment that it's hard to clean around junk, it's better for it to be organized. So, I found more blogs about organizing. By this time I was hooked on 2 or 3 different blogs. I came across one site (I think it was Fly Lady) that made the comment about how you can't organize junk....you have to just get rid of it. Hmmmmm So that led to (if you're following closely you'll know)....de-cluttering blogs.<br />
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If you look on the left side you'll notice that I have went from <b>zero</b> known blogs to a list that I keep up with on a whenever-they-decide-to-post basis. One thing is that the blogs on that list are ones that I've read from beginning to whichever-post-they're-on. I hate reading a story from the middle...it's better to start at the beginning so you get an idea of what's going on and who the characters are. I am thankful to blogs and to the writers that post them....they have helped in more ways than just one. My house is also emptier for them. How? Well, that's for another post. ;-)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04995439201162122722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073054771927215742.post-35259530148953268522013-01-03T06:12:00.004-05:002013-01-03T06:12:54.860-05:00Thankfulness Day 27Nov. 27<br />
The day this was supposed to be posted was a Tuesday. Tuesday nights our church has Prayer 'n Bible Study. That fact brings up this day's thankful: I am thankful for Freedom of Religion.<br />
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Many years ago, "pilgrims" came over from Europe because of the desire to worship the Lord without persecution--<a href="http://myslapdashreflections.blogspot.it/2013/01/thankfulness-day-22_1.html" target="_blank">Thankfulness Day 22</a>. One would think that all of these years later, things would have changed. America is "supposed" to be more tolerant. Truth? Only towards certain things and people. In other parts of the world, if you aren't that countries religion, it is believed that you follow a cult. In some countries, Christians are persecuted just as in Biblical times. Followers are thrown in jail, killed, or tortured. Bibles are burned and families are ripped apart. I too thought that those stories were a thing of the past. Sadly, there are many Christians and missionaries that tell a different story....a story that makes you thankful that you're not there and to pray for those that are. Here in Italy, if one is not catholic, their church is considered a cult. Period. I am thankful that we still have the freedom of religion; the freedom to worship the Lord God in public and not have to hide in someone's basement; the freedom to carry a Bible with you if you choose to do so; to pray over your meal sitting in a cafe or restaurant; to witness to others about His love and His grace and His salvation.<br />
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