Happy New Year - 2012!

Last year was the best of years and the worst of years... Did Dickens write something like that? Oh, well...that's the kind of year it was! =)

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Some Blessings from 2011:
*The Lord and I are better Friends this year!
*I have experienced great Spiritual growth
*2 personal victories!
*Dad has had work
*Mom and I are closer than ever before, and great friends now, instead of just friends.
*The Animals are healthy
*Plenty of Food & Clothes
~and many more~

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Top 8 posts in 2011:
1.The Summer of No Pants #1
2.Mrs. Schatte's Party~
3.Gaps "Cake" Variation #2
4.Our Weekend in Austin...
5.To give away one's heart or not.
6.Happy 29th Anniversary...
7.A Letter To Girls I know...

8.My Own "Too Much Fun" Dress

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My New Year Resolutions:

1. My Diet
2. Move in (to the best of my ability)
3. Go to Bed on time
4. Get up Earlier
5. Get a Job (make some money)
6. Re-Learn the Piano
7. Get some Courage & Bravery
(that last one sounds like something from The Land of OZ....)

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Our New Year Party:
We exchanged gifts, ate too much,
watched the last of the Firefly episodes, drank bubbly water, I did a sparkler, we listened to Auld Lang Syne (during a group hug/slow dance)!

Dad had 2 emergency calls, so it was a rough, late night.
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This bracelet was my big present from my Parents...

(Heather, over at The Silver Artisan (click here) ,
made it custom- just for me!)

The First day of Winter~

The First Day of Winter is the day I put away the Scarecrows, and put out the Snowmen. I tried to make it a party, but everyone else had better ways to spend the day. Oh, well. So Mom made a pot of tea (we drank it out of penguin mugs) and we did our own thing! =)
This is the playlist that we created for the occasion~ if you had been here, then we would have let you put some in it too! (we had it set on shuffle 'cause it sounds better like that)

I started the night before by making paper snowflakes while we watched a movie, and then I strung some "twinkle lights" in the living room.


Then, today we got out the snowmen...

...this is just some of our little regiment....

...if you want to see the rest in their natural habitat, you can come over sometime before the first of spring! (Beware, the little guys in the top photo though they look harmless, are actually kin to the Wicked Witch of the West's Flying Monkeys...they are known to fly off the handle and hit unsuspecting people simply trying to mind their own business.)

I traced a snowflake cooky cutter onto thin cardboard (I used an old envelope box & lid and on of those calender inserts, and got 12 snowflakes), and cut them out and gave them 1 coat of craft paint. Paint one side, and after you do 12 it's time to turn them over and paint the other side....

...I tried using hot glue, but we did not like how it turned out, and I tried white glitter, and that was no good. White glitter would be fine if you had colored snowflakes, instead of white...

...so I used "Aleene's ORIGINAL Tacky Glue". Did all kids growing up in the 90's use "Tacky Glue", or is that something only our family used?

...sprinkle on the glitter...

...make sure that you have plenty of glitter...the top of the glitter container comes off, so you can easily put the extra back in...

...shake off excess....

...and set them out to dry, hoping that the cat won't touch them! =)

I actually have no memory of doing this kind of crafting when we were little/younger...I think Mom was afraid that we would get the glitter in our eyes...

(My fingers are crossed...so far so good!)

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P.S. Can you think of any other kinds of snow stuff I could make?

A model housekeeper?

I am NOT "nesting" right now, but the past 2 days I have been in a forced nesting mode. And probably tomorrow and Thursday, too. My observation: if you aren't truly nesting, you don't necessarily have the energy to be Super Woman...so the result is I am exhausted, but the house is getting clean! =)

Why am I behaving like this? Do you remember my post: I am sidetracked....(click here)? Well...I will confess it: I am sidetracked again.
(...it's not that our house is filthy, 'cause it's not...it's just that the odd little stuff never happens, and I do not dust if I can help it...)

And I am trying to be a model housekeeper~ again.

And the other reason to clean this week is that I/our family decorates for the seasons, and Thursday is the first day of Winter, and that’s the day I put up the Scarecrows, and put out the Snowmen, and you cannot decorate a not so clean house. It is so much nicer to decorate for Winter, because we get to enjoy our decorations a lot longer than other people do who just decorate for a holiday.

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I started today with a shower, and curled (& sprayed) my hair. =)
What did I wear? Red rhinestone (Brighton) earrings that Elizabeth gave me for my birthday last year, black Students for Liberty t-shirt, Route 66 blue jeans, old white leather tennies, and my dear old pink twill apron (with the white rick~rack).
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Thank you Mom for cooking dinner and Mom & Dad for cleaning up the kitchen after dinner for me! =)

(..I for sure was not doing any sewing today, but this diligent little lady just looked like she ought to be in this post!)

Click here to listen to: ''Barking at the Moon''

Carrot Bread

I used my Great Aunt Julie's recipe for Zucchini Bread, and I just used Organic Carrots (from Costco) instead of the zucchini, that is not in season right now anyway. (And I used fresh duck eggs...yes, our babies are laying now!)

I wonder if the leavening quantity was right, because I think that you could taste it. hmm....

Our squash did badly this summer (too hot & dry, I guess...), but they did however do well this fall...but all the same, I did NOT have enough squash this year, and I miss it already....

...you can see some carrots, but Dad and I both thought that there were not enough. I think I will increase the amount next time.
I'll admit it- I did taste it...it was good. It would have been really good with a ton of butter or maybe some cream cheese!

(Half a loaf for Dad, and 1 & 1/2 loaves for Mrs. Bee and Family! ...I wonder how they will like it?)

Good news:

1. Last night the Sheriff of Van Zandt county walked up, and took my hand and said:
"Well, ain't you cuter than a speckled pup!"

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2. Benjamin is in town for a short weekend! =)
And
3. Benji brought me Irish​ Claddagh Ring for my New Year's present~
I have wanted one for so long, thank you so much - I love it!!!!!

Friendship & Love & Loyalty
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Anyway, it was nice to hear that I am "cuter than a speckled pup"! =)

The book of Isaiah...

...Isaiah 40:28-31 to be exact.
I am reading my way through the book of Psalms right now, but I was tired Sunday night, and instead of reading there, I thought that I would just let my Bible fall open, and I would read what I found. (that is something I have only done a few times in my life)

I started reading at the top of the page (v.22), and I was encouraged to find verses 28-31 at the bottom, though at the time I did not notice what I was reading, in order to go back again some time.

~Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. ~He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
~Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
~But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

And even though I was so tired, for some reason I left a marker there....

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....last night (the following night) was rough, and in picking up my Bible, it naturally opened to the marker, and I re-read these verses. And I found them to be an extra blessing to me.

The Providence of God is amazing.

And I am continually surprised, and reminded that HE knows all- how I am feeling, what I need, and when I need it, and how to give it to me!

Winter Cottage

This is the perfect book to read when the seasons are changing, or when you are cold...if you have never read it, you probably should.

It's set during the Great Depression, and has some Mystery, Indians, Gangsters, Runaways, Snow, Pancakes, Friends & Family....

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Another note:
I can now say that I have seen "The Karate Kid" (1984). It was good, but very painful...the whole time I was thinking things like: Poor guy! Ouch! Get him-ouch! ...etc.... =)

Busy afternoon~

Have you ever made Scots Baps? This was my first try, they are supposed to be ovals.
Oh, well- at least I got my thumb print in each. (They SMELL SO GOOD!!!) http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-scottish-bap.htm
(my cookbook said that the Brits call them 'morning rolls'. So if the characters in the book you are reading are eating morning rolls, you now know what exactly they were eating!)

Look at the guy on the right~ he was not there when I put them in the oven,
but when I pulled the pan out...there he was smiling at me! =)

We bought this large winter squash from our friend, Rick Donaldson.
(He sells his home-grown organic produce at the Rockwall Farmers Market.)

I sliced it, and cut the peel off. (the pigs got that)

I then roasted some with oil, salt & pepper, at 4oo.

The rest of it I put in the dehydrator, some raw and some just oil roasted- just to see what we liked better. I imagine that either one would be good in a recipe, but the roasted would make a really tasty snack. (...bet you can't eat just one!)

And that brings us to dinner:
Rehoboth Ranch Smoked Pork Sausage (click here), Organic Costco Broccoli,
Rick's squash, and my Scots Baps!

This photo is proof that Aunt Bess ate some squash. And she said that she liked it!
(she's NOT a squash eater)

Christ strengthens me~

May I be helpful, not a hindrance. A joy, not a jerk. Pleasant, not pouty. Docile, not defiant. A blessing, not a burden. Cheerful, not complaining. May I be thoughtful, instead of thoughtless. Sweet, not sour. Generous, not grudging. Diligent, not a delinquent. A Winner, not a whiner. May I be Content, not a crab. A Giggler, not a grumper.

Thank you LORD, I know that I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me!
Philippians 4:13