Morning Surprise :)

My hubby changed careers two weeks ago and its a major change in our family.  He has been in the car business 30 years, home every night and we've rarely been seperated our whole 24 years of marriage.  The new career requires him to travel 3 weeks out of the month so I'm here holding the fort down alone.  I taught him to text and IM so we could stay in touch throughout the day. LOL He's now blowing up my phone with text ever since, so I'm wondering how smart of me that was! LOL

His travel was delayed and he wasn't able to come home til the end of November. Well.....our anniversary was Wednesday and it's been so crazy, WE BOTH FORGOT IT!!!

At 7:00 this morning, i heard my name called, opened my eyes and there he was standing over the bed smiling.  Him and his partner drove 17 hours straight so he could come back and spend our anniversary together this weekend. :) I'm still in shock!!

He's so tired, he's sound asleep now. LOL What a guy :)

Happy 24th Anniversary To My Hubby, Mike

Feel Like Doing Some Shopping??

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Pumpkin Seeds At 5 a.m.

I was sitting here at 5 a.m., up before the birds and the sun wondering still why I woke up so early and trying to decide what to do with all this quiet. I looked over and had an incredible epithame~our 3 uncarved pumpkins!  I'll carve the pumpkins and surprise the kids with roasted pumpkins seeds when they get up!

Out came the newspaper and carving tools, along with it my cat Chubbers (intriqued by the rustling newspaper) and Ayla, thinking there is food on the table. Thirty minutes later, I had one carved, Chubbers full of pumpkin goo, pumpkin on my p.j.'s and Ayla drapped over my feet. So okaaay, changed my mind about doing all 3 pumpkins, but I did get one done, coffee drank and the seeds are soaking in some salt water. :) I forgot they have to soak all day, but we will be munching on them tonight, yummmmm.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds



Carve a medium size pumpkin
Set the seeds aside and clean off all the pumpkin goo
Put the seeds in a strainer and wash them with cold water really good
In a bowl, place the seeds in salted water and let stand 8 to 12 hours.
Rinse well and lay out on a tin foil lined cookie sheet.
Salt to taste (add ideas: seasoning salt, garlic salt, chili powder etc.)
Roast at 250 degrees until golden brown
Let cool and store

A Major Oooooooops!

ooooooh boy do we ever have a big whoops in our house! My hubby and I went on vacation Sept 8 thu the 17th to Florida.  We left our two grown boys in charge of the house and my dog Ayla.  She just turned a year old on Oct 1st and was finished with her heat before we left, or so I thought.  A pure bred irish setter was hanging around our yard when we were gone, and my oldest, Jorden, couldn't stand Ayla going crazy anymore so he let her out!!!

Well guess who is with puppies right now? My poor Ayla!!! I'm freaking out and have never had a pregnant dog before.  She gets bigger everyday and if our calculations are right, she's due around my birthday.  Aaarggghhhh

Her whole personality has changed, she's jumpy, barky and keeps going off by herself to sleep. :(  And her skin is itchy. She is my buddy and my shadow and I can't believe this happened. I don't want puppies LOL But it looks like i will be having them whether i like it or not.

I hadn't had her spay yet because I was planning on breeding her with my brothers very rare blue lab but not for a year or so.

Anyone have any advice, other than to smack my son upside the head!? LOL

Me and My Ayla :)

Cyber Bullying

I would like to write about a very real problem that is happening with our preteens and teens, it's called Cyber Bullying. For those of you that haven't experienced it yet, it's hurtful, embarassing and harassing on an online public forum, mostly Facebook and MySpace.  These kids are posting embarassing pictures, vulgar arguments, broadcasting lies and calling names.  It's become so bad that there have been suicides commited over some of these cyber bullying instances.

We as parents have got to be the important catalyst in stopping cyber bullying.  We are the ones that buy them their computers and pay the DSL bill for them to use them.  It's up to us to monitor what they are doing on Facebook/MySpace.  It's okay to look over their shoulder.  A good way is to set up a Facebook page yourself, http://www.facebook.com/ then request to be a friend on your teens Facebook, that way whatever they are doing and saying will come across your page on your Facebook page.  I did that and I see everything my daughter is up to and everything that people post on her Facebook.  We have had several bad cyber bullying instances and yes I've gotten involved to stop them.

My friend Shelley at I'm Still Standing After All This Time has been working hard on awareness and speaking out about this problem.  She was invited to speak at Wired Safety Stopcyberbullying Coalition Roundtable at the US Senate.  PLEASE take a moment to go to her blog and read her story on Cyber Bullying, Shelley's Blog.  It's our responsibility as parents to become involved. :)

Love...pass it on

I got up this morning, dragged myself to the kitchen , turned on the coffee pot, let ayla out to potty and turned on fox news. blah blah blah same ol morning routine LOL....Sat down at my laptop, coffee to my left and started reading email listening to all the horrors, tragedies and latest economic downfall on the news. 

I got to thinking what is the point, the world is falling flat on it's face and so many people are suffering.  Mankind is going right down the tubes with all the foreclosures, lost businesses, wars and lack of love and respect for one another.  I literally sighed out loud and sat back in my chair....

When suddenly a commercial came on tv called "Love...Pass It On" and it stopped me literally.  A big sweaty angry hockey player came off the ice and got on the phone with his daughter and started singing eensy weensy spider to her in front of all his hockey buddies. It was so cute and heartwarming. 10 mins later another commercial came on from the same people about a high school homecoming and they had elected a beautiful girl with Down's Syndrome as their homecoming queen. She was brimming with happiness and every one was truly happy and clapping for her. Tears welled up in my eyes and I broke out in goosebumps....

These commercials completely changed my entire doom and gloom outlook this morning.  There is hope afterall for mankind...okay I know they were just commercials, but they really made an impact and I'm ready to face another day head on.

Love....pass it on today :)

My First Blog Award!

I was so excited yesterday when I checked my blog and saw that I'd been given an award! My first blog award! Yay!! Thank you so much Nikki from The Chocolate Mousse, you made my day. :)

Here are the rules:

1) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.

2) Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

3) Share "10 Honest Things" about myself.

So here goes.....10 Honest Things About Me:
 
~I twirl my hair when I get nervous
~I can't sleep with the closet door open
~I buy all my clothes at Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle
~I was a cheerleader in high school
~I have chickens and they all have names and come when I call them
~I'm an ordained reverend
~I'm a fish aquarium nerd, I have 5 tanks!
~My bestfriend is a guy
~I love horror movies and my favorite one is Halloween
~I spend way too much time online, but don't we all! LOL
 

I'm passing this award on the following wonderful blogs:

 

Audrey's Giveaway Blog

Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom

Theta Mom

Shabby Bags

KJ Designs~Karisma

Two Little Monkeys Plus Hubby

Mrs. BlogAlot

 

Please take a minute and visit these blogs, it's well worth your time, they are awesome :)

Homemade Calendula Salve

Autumn is the time to harvest our bounty from all the fun we had gardening. :)  One of my favorite harvests is my calendula (marigolds), the scent alone is so strong and the flowerheads are so brightly colored and full.  Each year I make enough calendula salve to last us through the year and I'd like to share it with you. Callendula has an amazing ability to heal such as booboos, abrasions, cuts and burns.




Calendula Salve:

Pick about 4 cups of clean full flowerheads mid morning after the dew has dried.  Make sure they are nice and dry, or the moisture will cause your salve to spoil.

In a large jar, put in the dry flowerheads and cover them with olive oil and about 1/4 cup of vodka (as a natural preservative).  Put the lid on tight and set in a sunny windowsill or outside for 2-4 weeks.  Every day shake the jar for a full minute.  The liquid will turn a beautiful golden color as the calendula properties are drawn out and infused with the oil..

After a few weeks, open the lid and strain the liquid through cheesecloth or a coffee filter into double boiler.  Bring the liquid to a low simmer over med low heat and add 2T beeswax. Stir until melted together.  Let cool slightly and then pour into small sterilized pots or into jars.

Keep refrigerated (it will last up to a year if you do) and use everytime you need to help heal a cut or booboo. :)

RaggaMuffins and Apple Pie

I've spent the morning making candles for an order, she is giving my Warm Apple Pie RaggaMuffins Candles to her client for Christmas. My whole house smells like i've been baking apple pie...the kids have gotten up one by one hoping I was actually baking an apple pie. LOL

So being the "good mom" that I am LOL, we are going to the apple orchard this afternoon to get apples to make a homemade apple pie.  And like any baked goods I make, toiling and sweating away in the hot kitchen so it looks perfect, making a huge mess and getting flour in my hair, they will jump on the pie like termites on a piece of wood and the whole pie will be gone in 10 minutes.

Oh well, it'll be fun anyway.  Wish me luck! :)

Here is one of my RaggaMuffin Candles. If you'd like to check them out, here is the link to my website. :)

http://www.homespunheartssoap.com/

Hubby Comes Through lol

Just when he's pushed me over the edge.....

Added more gray hairs (which i dye to cover btw),

Irritated me by telling me I'm beautiful when I know I look like a puffalump,

Went golfing AGAIN,

Gives me sympathy when i hit my thumb with the hammer, cuz he can't hammer a straight nail,

Compliments me on how nice the house looks when I've been on the puter all day,

And sends me screaming when he left his shoes by the door for the 100th time and the dog chews them.

He comes home with a dozen red roses and makes it all okay. :)

To quote my friends blog this morning, "aaaaaaah middle aged love" lol

Simmering Cinnamon

Another rain/snow mix day...cold and gloomy.  I'm almost getting used to these days we've had so many of them. LOL  It's especially fun letting Ayla out to potty and bathing her each time she comes in muddy, wet and smelling to high heaven!

I've decided to make the best of it tho.  I have cinnamon stix, nutmeg and allspice simmering on the stove, it smells sooooo warm and homey.  I have a couple of my big cinnamon bun candles lit on the fireplace mantel and a fire going.  Good day to cuddle up and watch a scary movie. :)

Flying Turkeys!!

Good Morning!
I had to go out early and take my son to work.  Another cold damp morning but at least the snow we got has melted. Yay!!! I had Ayla with me (my lab) and when we pulled in the driveway she started going nuts! I looked toward the back and there had to have been 30 wild turkeys in my backyard right by the deck.  She lept out of the car and ran for them.  Have you ever seen turkeys fly?! Scared the crap out of me lol  They all took flight (looked like 30 bowling balls flying in the air) and landed in the trees above me.  It's was the craziest site!! Gooble Gooble Gooble lol

We've had fires in the fireplace for 4 days now and it's just not doin it anymore...i broke down and turned on the heat this morning...arrrghhhh $600 a month bills here we come!

Warm Banana Bread Recipe

This is the time of year where there is a chill in the air and nothing tastes better than warm banana bread with melted butter fresh from the oven.

INGREDIENTS


2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Live, Laugh, Love to Shop!!!

Come and join us at Live, Laugh, Love to Shop!! I'm the Network Coordinator at LLLS and we have a blast~over 400 active members now. There are ongoing contests, drawings, parties and lots of ways to promote your business. We also have the most talented people gathered in one spot I've ever seen. If you love to shop, like we all do lol, this is the place.  The co~owners (Karren and Marla) are amazing and work hard to keep the community active and fun. :)





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