We have a new winner!

I'm sorry to be so late in posting- I know that I should have posted on Monday...but that's just how it goes! =}

Jann did not contact me, so I my Dad drew again, and Katherine H is the new winner!

Congratulations, Katherine!   ...please contact me by September 7th! =)

My new friend

My friend (who shall remain nameless), was telling me about feeling a bit envious of her married friends...and after thinking about it she decided that it was because of things they got- like Waffle Makers, etc...

 She told me that she decided that that was silly, she could have a Waffle Maker if she wanted to! She did not need to be married, or wait to be married to get one of her own. I agreed with her. (She got one and is quite happy, I am happy to report!)

This friend of mine (who is younger than I) suggested that I think about doing the same. I told her that I've been the "Hope Chest" route, and while it is fun at the time, I found it to be kind of sad...so I have given away some of my things.  There are many things I decided to start using now because I want to enjoy them, life's too short! 
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I did not really think much more about it, 'til we went to ME's house for dinner....every time I see my "nephew" Charlie's toy Sophie, I think "I want one!...when I have kids I am going to get one!" (I first saw her in the Magic Cabin catalog, YEARS ago).  But this time, my other friend's words came to mind, and I said "I don't have to have children in order to have my own Sophie!"  (I know, there is no guarantee that I will have children)...later on, I was going to chicken out, but Mom encouraged me not to.  I am so glad that I did not! =)  Thanks Mom!

Love at first sight:

My baby!  (read all of Sophie's adventures by clicking on "Sophie" over in the label list on the right ->

Mom got Sophie a big brother!

What should I name Sophie's big bro?
I like:Ted, Andy, Gus, Roger, Walt, Willy, Grant and Reese.

How they make Sophie:
 www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NlBf4hN86KM

Happy Birthday Sophie - 1961:
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NX89E9okv4k

Jane

I got this image from "My Vintage Mending"...

...and I added the quote this morning! =) That was fun!

Our winner is...

...Jann Olson from "Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson"!

 The winning quote is from her Mother:

(I think that this clip-art came from FPTFY)

Congratulations Mrs. Olson! Please contact me by the 27th of August, or I will draw again!

Mrs. Olson and I have at least 2 loves in common: Vintage things (esp. kitchen stuff), and Cherries!  =)    You can find Jann Olson's blog here.

~Thank you Dad, for drawing for me~
(We drew the same way as last time.)

Give us a King?

 This sermon on Samuel by Bob Vincent, was really good.
Especially the first part of this.....www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=219121458165

I had 2 thoughts:

1. Why do "we" think that America can do no wrong & is God's chosen nation, or worse still think that all these judgements that we are experiencing are entirely the "fault" of those non-Christian/heathen people?
I believe that God cares more about (is more grieved by) those who claim to be His, being hypocritical, pointing out the "Logs" in the World's eye, etc...

For the Christian, Gluttony is just as bad as Drunkenness.  Being overweight is NOT taking proper care of the temple of the Lord. (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
Lest you say "I'm thin!", let me add that being unhealthy (I mean not making wise life & food choices/habits) is the same thing.  What Christians do and say matters more to God than what the un-saved world does.    

I know that there are lots of other sins & things, but I have been thinking about all the large pious people in line for unhealthy Chick-Fil-A food, not that long ago....As a Christian Company, are they morally obligated to have higher standards?  I ask you - as a Christian Company, is Chick-Fil-A breaking the 6th commandment "Thou shalt not kill." by serving harmful food? (things like: MSG and High-fructose Corn Syrup)

  Wake Up People!  Judgement starts in the house of God.  See what Proverbs 3:12 says: "For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."

The wicked world is the Church's rod of correction. They are God's "2x4" knocking us over the head...and we (as a country) just get up and go on our merry way. We must pray for a revival if you will, to come to the house of the Lord. Christians need to repent and be saved.

2. Be careful what you ask for. A "King" could be any number of things: a husband, a job, a move, a friend, the weather, money, a house, a car, or even a wife.

...contentment with what you have, and where you are is a good thing, but I am not saying that you should never strive to do better. Unfortunately, contentment is a hard lesson to learn.  I would like to think that some people have an easier time learning this...but the older I get, the less rosy my glasses are...I think that we all struggle in this area of our lives, and that it would be helpful to take off the masks that we are hiding behind and share our burdens more often.

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1 Timothy 6:6 "....contentment is great gain."

"Contentment is Happiness. Both are awesome. :-) ♥"  ~Hillary H.

Remember...

...the Giveaway ends on Monday at noon!  Click here to enter!

(I got this clip from www.freeprettythingsforyou.com)

Dancing in the 1920's

 This is for the men in our lives...

Embedded:
 Ballroom Dancing: For Beginners (1926)



Or click HERE to watch.

Giveaway 2 of 5 Mineral Bath/Foot soak!

See what Emmet has?!

A packet of  Peppermint Mineral Bath/Foot soak for one special person!

Would you like to tickle your toes & nose?
There are 3 ways to enter~ Yes, you can enter up to 3 times!


Please leave a separate comment for each entry:

1. Follow or Subscribe to my blog (or tell me that you did already)
2. Re-post, Share, or Pin this post....leave a link if you  can.
3. Share your current Favorite Quote/Saying/Verse. =)


Please Note:
~If for some reason you can't comment, then e-mail me your entries: put Peppermint Giveaway the subject line and send to: threemckees (at) gmail (dot) com

~ The drawing will close and I will (hopefully) announce the winner (soon after) Giveaway has ended.

~ I will get an unbiased neighbor to do the drawing for me. =)

~ I'll announce the winner on my blog and you must contact me by the 27th of August, or I will draw again!

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This giveaway is part of my 300th post celebration!

Eggs~

~for Dinner!

(I forgot to say: ....cook while stirring until you think it's done!)

I'm kind of enjoying playing around with the "collage" thing in our photo program! =)

Joshua and Anna McKee

 I am now a Sister-in-law. I'm not sure how much it will change my life, but it is something new that I've never been before, so that's exciting! 

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I got to go with Joshua to pick out and order the ring...

We made Pop-Corn that night...

The ring came in just in time...

 

Joshua Proposed, and Anna said yes...but they did not tell us at the time...

...but we would have had to have been stupid to not know...

 ...we had to wait 2 days before Joshua told us, and he told us that we could NOT tell anyone.

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Then we all said goodbye, and on April 17th he was off to Italy...

Then they married by proxy on July 5th, 2012...and we still could not tell anyone that they were engaged, let alone married...but anyone with eyes could see by this photo that was promptly posted, that Anna's ring is telling on them!  (I confess, I can't stand seemingly needless secrecy, so I ended up telling the Postmistress and one other trusted friend.)

 Anna seems to be a sweet girl, and her parents are really nice!  

I now have a little sister. Welcome to the family, Anna! =)

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Yet, somehow it makes me sad...I feel like Kathleen Kelly (You've Got Mail"), "my store is closing...and I feel like my mother has died all over again..."  I know that I did not lose Joshua to Anna. I lost Joshua to Cleburne, TX in  October, 2005. Or maybe before.

"...Goodnight dear void."

Popsicles

 

Do you remember our Frozen Berry-Melon Pops (recipe here)?

We always use:

 Watermelon and Raspberries, and never any Lemon Juice.

But this time I used:

 1 1/4 lb Watermelon 

3/4C. frozen Blueberries

 only 3T. fresh Lemon Juice

1/8t. Stevia

2T or 2 squeezes of Honey

and up to 2T. Xylitol (or Sugar)

  

They are really good....we take them out of the pop maker, and wrap them individually in plastic wrap.

(Happiness is having 15-20 pops all ready for eating in the freezer!)

~Happy Eating!

Adrienne 

~~~~~~~~~~I linked up to 33 shades of green (here)~~~~~~~~~~

 

   The Popsicle Story:

 In 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson left a mixture of powdered soda, water, and a stirring stick in a cup on his porch. It was a cold night, and Epperson awoke the next morning to find a frozen pop. He called it the “Epsicle.” 

It was a hit with his friends at school, and later with his own kids. They constantly called for “Pop’s ‘sicle.” So in 1923, Epperson changed the name and applied for a patent. A couple of years later, Epperson sold the rights to the brand name Popsicle^® to the Joe Lowe Company in New York. The rest is history!

I was thinking about...

...Angus.
Last night Mom and I where talking, and I was telling her about a commercial that I saw at G-ma Hale's that had a cute, smart terrier dog in it. And when I told her that he had the same kind of bowl that Angus had, I began crying.

I told her I was sorry, and that I should be over him by now....and Mom reminded me that Angus meant a lot to me, that we were very close- esp. after the boys left.  And she told me that a person will never be "over" someone special that is gone now (dead or away).
Mom told me that to help me deal with my lonely heart, I should write a down a memory, or jot a note to a friend, or just call someone.

Angus was good for naps:

He pretty much liked or loved all our music:

He loved tomatoes, and on this occasion he started picking them himself:

And Angus liked to lick the beaters, esp. butter beaters:

 I don't think that another dog could fill his spot in my life...but, maybe in 10 or 20 years...

I made some Fudge...

...it's kind of like Mom's found HERE (it's very good)....

...but mine is for Gatherers:

Remarkable Fudge

(measurements are approx, but very close)

In a medium sauce pan, melt/cook (med-low heat) stir as much as possible.
(I just used a silicone spatula)

5 oz Almond Butter
5 oz Carob Molasses*
1 T. Butter (but I guess you could use ghee)
1/2 C. organic Cocoa Powder (sifted)

 It will get nice and thick & rubbery!

Then stir in:
1/4-3/8 toasted sliced Almonds (or whatever Nuts or Fruit you are allowed)


 Remove from heat, spread out on something that you can put in the freezer to harden/cool.
I spread it on a Plastic Wrap lined cutting mat.
Pat it into a nice easy-to-cut-into-equal-sized-portions, rectangle.

When you cut it, use a big knife, and cut into 24 bites. (Because 1t. cocoa is what is allowed per day.  You could cut it into 48, and eat 2 a day, instead of just 1.)

Store in a single layer in the freezer.

~Happy eating!

Adrienne

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*we got our jar of Carob Molasses a long time ago, at a little ethnic market "Andre Food" (that sold THE BEST Fresh Baklava, the next best would have to be ANDY's in the Greenville Mall), in Dallas.  We are wondering if it's still there on Coit and Spring Valley, or was it Campbell?  You can buy it on Amazon, in a 3 pack- would you like to buy a jar from us?
(click the pic. to read the label)

embedded:
Bare Necessities Sing Along (song):