Sloppy Joe? Or Manwich?

This weekend we didn't work (hooray!!) so I cooked, cleaned, washed, and rested. One of the meals I made was Sloppy Joes! I love sloppy joes hower, this seemed to be spiced tomato sauce in a can. No chunks. No lumps. So is this Manwich? What's the difference? Who knows. But it's pretty tasty and I'll be enjoying it in a few minutes. Even if it is chunkless. 

Four days, folks, and we'll be down one more election. Whew. Looking forward to it. Really looking forward to March when both of these are behind us! Hooray! 

Let me tell you about this sweet girl. She is very smart and very sensitive. Since my aunt Linda recently passed, she's been on edge. Very emotional but sweet. She gasped on the way home from church and said, "Aunt Linda is in heaven! She's going to miss Valentine's Day!" Well, today she "wrote" a letter to my grandmother in heaven (mom's mom) that let her know MawMaw was doing fine. So precious. 

We realize she has a unique personality. Maybe it's because her vision is so lacking? I know that sounds totally unrelated-I don't know. But please pray for her. Her eye situation is much more serious than I realized.  

We had our fair share of RAIN and then, we had a little snow and ice. (I swear, we always gotta have ice!). 

I got a serious hair whacking and I like it pretty good. Getting the weight off and the layers let my curls play! The top layer is really straight so chopping it short solved that problem! 

Ok this isn't my dog but seriously- isn't this hilarious!?! I thought so, too!! Hahahahah 

So on a more serious more, a few people I follow on Instagram have really been hitting it out of the park lately. One is a preacher and one just a very faithful lady. 

A few things that stand out: 

God sometimes uses adversity in our lives to help us focus on Him in a new way. 

God overcomes any seemingly impossible situation. His servants aren't always the most qualified. 

When walking through the valley, it's best to not do too much talking. You'll feel different soon  some things need only be spoken to Jesus - Christine Caine.   

Ok I'm off to get ready for work (this is another half finished post I'm wrapping up I the wee hours this morning). Have a great weekend!

Sweating into December

Hello - when did it become normal to have mid-70's weather in December!?! Heaven help it's hot here in SC. No wonder we are all sick. Sheesh.

Are you done Christmas shopping? If you are, please lie to me and tell me you aren't. I have no idea when I'll fit it all in. Tomorrow I'm starting my day at UrgentCare  for the third time, trying to battle this sinus, coughing, ear ache thing. Finished my antibiotics and steroids for the beginnings of pneumonia. But I'm thinking it didn't get the job done. Ugh. With something every night this week, I'm trying to juggle it all and not get sicker :)

I'm very excited for one event this week - the church sew-a-thon to make NICU isolette covers! One lay in the church - very dear family friend- hand sewed a cover and gave it to us on Sunday. It's already at the hospital in use. They were so excited! I have three more that need to get up there, too.  Imagine your baby being in the hospital during the Christmas holidays and someone brings a beautiful cover for your baby for no other reason than your baby is loved. I pray these covers not only help the babies but God uses them to touch the very hearts of their parents.  

See the flap turned over? It covers the ends. The black fabric makes it dark in the isolette and the quilting muffles noise, to help recreate the womb. 

I had to make one funky! 

Wow that is wrinkly!! Flannel doesn't like To stay crisp. 

Anyway, I'm excited to see where it leads. You know I'll keep you posted. 

How are our twins doing? One is home from the hospital and over 6 lbs.!! One is still there and he's over 5 lbs. So thankful for every success. Little miracles. Little fighters!! I can't tell you how excited I am for my brother and sister-in-law. They are going to be such wonderful parents. This is their hopes and dreams coming true. 

One of the floor quilts before I sewed it all together. 

I did gift the floor quilts at the shower on my mom's side. I saw one of them in a picture being used. Hooray! 

Random pics time: Macy and I made cupcakes :) 

And we had a slumber party! 

Me and the boss' dog, Bentley. 

Macy and a swing of cousins at the family Christmas get together this weekend. Crazy hot weather.

My stray kittens that hang out on my porch. And I feed them. Which I'm not sure If that allows them to be called strays anymore?

Macy and me after Thanksgiving. :) I hate the black circles, wow! But I've been sick a while.

We have seen blessings, y'all. The baby boys- what a huge blessing!! Katie has seen some pretty big challenges but she said she feels The Lord carrying her through it. Mom is down with a bad knee but the wheels are moving quicker than anticipated. MRI was Friday and we get results Wednesday. My job has been very understanding of days off for myself and to help the family juggle appointments. My classes (trainings) that I've been teaching are getting great feedback. So thankful! Lots of good. 

Ok I've totally rambled on about nothing and everything. I'm hoping you are doing well, that your heart is in the right place to welcome Christmas (I'm still working in this), and you know the love of God, greater than anything we can comprehend. 

Thanks for listening :)  Off to bed - night! 

Countdown to Thanksgiving

It's Monday morning, crazy early. Another sleepless morning so another blog post!

Life is rocking along. I think we've had so many things happen we are pre-programmed to expect the worst. But seriously, we are doing ok! So thankful. 

Speaking of thankful, I started back listing things I was thankful for each day because I needed to focus on the blessings instead of the bad. I've done pretty good. Here are a few: 

Clay met Katie and I at the hospital so we could visit with the boys. I'm crazy about them. And they are continuing to grow - Liam is over 4 pounds and Kellan is over 3! Please keep them in your prayers. 

Macy's glasses are working! She had an eye exam and her vision is improving. So thankful - so so so thankful!! 

The beautiful fall around here. I have really enjoyed the colors and crisp air. Most of the leaves are gone so when you do find a tree with brilliant colors it's a treat. 

I've taken several days off from work to play with Macy, work on the house, sew, shop for fabric, etc. It was very needed. 

Mom made isolette covers for the twins and the need for more was very apparent. The ladies at church have really taken to this project and want to have folks meet at the church and sew up several to donate to the NICU! I'm so excited! And I have finished my first one. 

The backing is dark to block light. I used prequilted fabric to avoid using batting but the quilting helps muffle noise. The outside is cute to brighten up mommy and daddy's visit :)  I pray God blesses this project and makes it successful. It will greatly impact families in the NICU. 

As I'm flipping through my journal, I'm reading back over the verses I wrote down :

James 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 

Psalm 30:12 That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. Oh Lord my God; I will give thanks to You forever. 

Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 

Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to The Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. 

Good stuff. 

Ok photo time. 

My siblings and I at the hospitail visiting the boys. My brother - the new Daddy!

Macy and I made cookies! She surprised me with how well she did in the kitchen. So much fun!

AH made the basketball team! Number 33 - we are ready to cheer her on!  Go girl, get out there and hustle!

Macy and the Salvation Army Red Kettle. The volunteer let her ring the bell afterwards. Gotta teach them young about giving back!

In case I don't post again until after Thanksgiving- y'all have a great holiday and truly take time to give thanks!  <3

Wandered away

Katie did great in surgery - thank you for your prayers. This one was much better than the last one over the summer except the migraine that had her so sick from 10 am - 1 pm before they gave her anything. We are so hopeful things will calm down for them!

Yesterday was my brother-in-law's 40th birthday. He hit it five months before me so I've been giving him a hard time :) here is the cake I made - kinda like an oversized shortcake. It was pretty good. 

A leftover Easter pic of my cousin's son and Macy. Love his expression. He isn't totally sold on hugging his cousin, is he? 

My devotional this morning was about how we sometimes feel God has left us and we think, "God!  Where are you!!" The example they used was of a small child in Walmart. They kept telling him to stay with them and yet something would catch his attention and keeping up with his parents was the last thought on his mind. Finally, the father got out of sight I the son and watched as, once his curiosity over the latest distraction was satisfied, the son realized he was alone. And he freaked, of course. The father reappeared and emphasized again, you must stay with us in the store. Etc etc. 

The example to show us when we feel like God isn't right here with us, it isn't because He has left us, but because we have strayed from His side. Something has caught our attention and distracted us from the path. It's so easy to do, isn't it? To wander off, then look around and wonder what happened. But the whole time, God is there, waiting for us to come back to Him. 

I thought it was such a simple but powerful message. Decided to share. :)

Since I have a meeting about two hours from here today, I should get moving. Y'all have a great weekend and again, thank you for your prayers for my sister an for me. :) 

I made a new play friend!

Happy Sunday! I'm not ready to start a new week but here it is, ready or not! I want to share a new scrapbook with you - I haven't scrapped in a while but this was great fun. It will go to a teen girl that bought all this stuff and never did anything with it. She sent it to me because she knew I scrapped. So I turned it into a book for her and will send it back to her. :)

It was a lot of fun to put this together for her. I was home sick with the stomach bug, which I give to my brother, too, (aren't I nice!?) and knocked this out.

My weekend was a rough one. My heart took a few whacks - ok smacked me sideways - and I'm still pretty sad. God has a reason for everything and hopefully it's lessons learned on all sides. 

But then I also had a wonderful time watching Macy on the mall playground making friends. She walks up to a girl, gives her an awkward hug and says, "I love you!"  And they played chase and slide and hop and just had a great time. As she's running by me and mom she yells, "Look y'all! I made a new play friend!!" There were actually two girls - sisters - and when they left Macy cried that her sisters had gone. Hahaha I had to explain they weren't HER sisters :) Too funny! 

Check out the cake I made for my brother and sister in law. White chocolate pound cake. I didn't really get to taste it (stomach bug) but hopefully her coworkers enjoyed the leftovers.

Ok I'm ready to pack this weekend up and put it away. It's bedtime for me. I'm zonked. Sweet dreams friends. :)

Marching Forward

How the heck did we end up in March already?  Heaven help, the time is zipping by and I feel like I'm getting left behind in a daze.

One thing that has me out of it - my health is having weird issues again.  Tummy and chest, scary stuff when you say chest issues.  I'm still trying to pay off the crazy bills from June so I really don't want to go somewhere and have more bills pile up.  I'm trying to stay calm and convince myself it's all tummy related like I was told it was so quit worrying that my chest hurts, too. *sigh* Do you pray? And if so, can you say a prayer for me? Thanks.

I also have an acquaintance - the wife of an old boyfriend (99% of the time I end on good terms, so no hard feelings) - she has some serious health issues with major surgery coming up at the end of the month.  March 23 to be exact.  I told her I believed in God and was sending up prayers for her, her family (they have three kids) and the doctors.  It's really serious stuff, so if you wouldn't mind saying a prayer for them, too, that would be great.  I appreciate it greatly.

I'm so excited - I introduced one of my online friends to one of my real life friend's online store and she loved it! I mean, I love her stuff, but it was so cool to connect someone else to it, too.  You are welcome to visit - she was interested in calligraphy and it just so happens my friend sells calligraphy teaching kits! I know, how perfect!  www.leenmachine.com Go ahead and click it - you know you want to. :)

Have you heard about these people who role play online by stealing other people's photos of their babies and children and such? They make entire role play lives around these photos of kids they don't know.  Seriously, go to twitter or instagram and look for #rpbaby.  Completely terrifies me of having pics of the sweet nieces online.  I'm sure someone thinks that's harmless, but I think it's horrible. Thoughts on this anyone? Because I'm half tempted to just take down the blog and keep my private instagram and private facebook.

On a much happier note, I'm heading to my brother and sister-in-laws for supper tonight and I'm taking Vulture Dip.  Sounds totally gross but it's yummy.  My brother is bonkers for it.  Just so happens I found the exact recipe I use online - here it is.  The blog is called "Food from the Forest" but she has the recipe there if you'd like to try it.  Think spinach, cheese, tomatoes, picante sauce... it's good, trust me.  I'll probably pass on it to play it safe, but I'm glad to bring him something he loves.

Ok, let me go get ready to head for their house.  I'll post cute pics again soon - once I figure out how to easily watermark them before posting. :) Happy Hump Day!

A Squeaky Clean Nap

Just woke up in the tub. Accidentally turned my relaxing bath into a nap! Not unusual, I often wake myself up with the sounds of my snoring echoing of the walls :)

I attempted soup tonight- it's cold, everyone is sick and it just felt right. I gotta say, it's ok. Not exciting but yummy in my tummy! With my incredibly crumbly cornbread. ;)

Last night didn't work out quite as well. I was so excited for the barbecue beef I'd tossed in the crock pot before leaving for work. Called mom, texted the b-i-l and had it arranged to feed everyone some BBQ beef. I walked in the house after work- smelled delicious! ... Until I discovered a meat paper/pad in the crock pot with the meat! I'd cooked it nine hours with my BBQ! Didn't trust it to be safe so it was all dumped and we had take out BBQ instead. :) Daddy to the rescue! Thanks Pop! 

Have you seen my stray kitten, Noelle, lately?  Isn't she beautiful? Tonight I was talking to the neighbor at the mailboxes and who came up grousing for her supper?! Sure enough, she came after me and got me moving so she could have her kibble. Cracked me up! What a clever kitten! 

Serious focus on crumbling crackers into soup she didn't eat. 

No new pics of the sweet nieces. They've had the crud for a while now and haven't felt like pictures. Baby sweet niece is in the terrible twos and wow, it can be impressive. But then she'll throw me a dozen kisses as I leave for work in the morning. Or say things like, "I like PawPaw a bunch."  Adorable! 

Since my bedtime is 10:00pm and it's pushing 11, I better get moving to bed. Night friends, and sweet dreams! 

Hello Sunshines!

SO BLESSED.  Ya'll, my family is so very blessed.  I looked back at the past few months and where we are today and I'm so THANKFUL it seems we are all on the upswing. Katie's surgery is healing nicely, I'm feeling better thanks to medicine, Mom is doing better and Dad received a good report from his scan for his bladder cancer.  SO SO SO Thankful. Thank you, Lord!

In my job, we work super hard and crazy late hours for a time, then we have down time and we all try to take off to get the OT off the books. Then it starts all over again (which, for me will be September - mid November). Thankfully, I had all this OT so I've barely touched my sick leave. Since the DR appts are tapering off, I took off a few days to just play with my 2-yr-old niece, Macy. Such a joy! I feel like I miss out on so much of her growing up when I'm working the long hours so I really appreciate the time I get with her.

This week we visited with my bestie, Donna, at her work. Surprised her! (maybe not the best decision, oops!). We played on the playground and enjoyed lunch at Cracker Barrel. She loved it all, loved the people, the playing.

As we were leaving Donna's work, we were on the second floor walking down the stairs and Macy yells, "Hello People!!" She is a social child!

I loved her shadow with her pigtail.  We are horrible at fixing her curly baby-fine hair and are usually baffled about what to do with it.  Her babysitter started pigtails, so this was my attempt to copy it.  I love it!

This was a BIG KID slide, she was higher than 6 ft in the air. And she did NOT want to go down that slide. But after a while she warmed up and decided she loved it, as long as she could hold mine and MawMaw's hands. Did I mention it was a spiral slide so the hand holding thing could only go so far... hahaha.  I enjoyed SO MUCH seeing her expand her comfort zone and be brave. Little by little she would conquer more things on the playground.

My mom finally broke down and got a smart phone - an Iphone - and is learning how to take photos and send text messages.  One day Katie and I were out playing and Mom sent this picture to her.  How sweet is this?! Hmmm... Dad might just find this in a picture frame for Christmas. Daddy can get this girl to sleep better than anyone.

Oh! and I made one more awesome supper last night and wanted to share the recipes with you, but I think I left them at home.  So YUMMY and from a diabetic cook book! with a few tweaks.

Cottage Cheese Baked Potatoes
4 large baking potatoes, baked for an hour in the oven.  Cut them in half and scoop out, leaving a small amount of potato and the peel (make boats, basically).  Put the boats back in the oven to crisp up (I forgot this part). Take 2 cups of cottage cheese, 2 tbps. of onion powder, some garlic powder, salt and pepper and whip it up but good. Put back into the boats and reheat them in the oven so that everything is warm and toasty.  I put Parmesan in the mix but will not do that again because I don't think you need to - just sprinkle some on top.  Everyone really liked these.

I also made Deviled Eggs (which I don't eat but they are pretty easy to make).  Baked onion rings. and some baked brie with honey, pecans and apples to dip. MAN it was tasty.

Ok, so I've rambled enough I think.  :)  Talk to ya'll again soon!

A Little More Kitten

Look what Katie found!
I want one with my name!!

Welcome Back! Hope your weekend was fabulous. I've been burning up my comp time and taking days off from work, so I'm all confused as to what day it is... today is my Monday.

So what happened over the weekend? Well, a lot of shopping. Mom is finally feeling a bit better (she's battling the shingles) so we went shopping after work on Friday. And again on Saturday. I'm so glad she's feeling better. She said this is the worst pain she's felt in her life. 60+ folks, get your shingles shot! :)

Sunday, we missed church AGAIN. I'm really missing church, the learning and the people. We have all been so sick and haven't made it in a while, but next week I'M GOING. Anyway, we missed this week for a family reunion.

I totally ripped this pic off from All Recipes,
but click here for the yummiest recipe.

I made squash casserole and hummingbird cake. I have the BEST recipe for squash casserole - everyone L.O.V.E.S. it. I do add garlic and Perfect Pinch to mine. And the hummingbird cake was very moist and tasty, too! Here is the recipe for it - the only change I make is to sub half the oil for applesauce.  While I'm on the subject of food, let me recommend the All Recipes app for your phone. I'll whip out my phone in the grocery store and make sure I'm getting all the ingredients I need while I'm there.  Love it.

Being cute and adorable is a tough job, so Macy was knocked out on the way home from the family reunion.  She wanted to play with the big kids so bad but they weren't interested.  But she really did have fun and ate so good! I told AH (Sweet Niece #1) we had a family reunion on Sunday and she really perked up.  "Food!" she said! Ha!!! Definitely plenty of food at a Southern Family Reunion.

Have I mentioned here that I have FIVE (1,2,3,4,5!!!) cousins who are expecting right now? I'm spending my nights sewing felt friends as part of my gift.  I'm searching for books to match the animals. Won't that be cute? I found a farm book this weekend to go with all the farm animals.

The last thing I'll bore you with - one of our election workers and I ran into each other at Walgreens (when I was buying my purple reading glasses <3!!) and I wanted this kitty cat Post-It note dispenser.  However, I would not pay $10 for it.  She's one of these guru couponers and she got it for me for $2.50!! SERIOUSLY?! YAYAYAYAY! So happy! I'm gluing a little pink bow to one ear so she'll be a cousin to Hello Kitty (which I adore, yeah, I know I'm old but I still love HK). This cat makes me so very very happy. How could you not just feel warm and fuzzy with this kitten sitting on your desk?

Ok, I'm off to concentrate and be focused.  My lunch break is over for the day.  Have a great week!

Friday's Letters - 7-11-2014

Get this poster here! Love it!

It's been forever since I did a Friday's Letters, so here goes!

Dear Paulene- I LOVED your photos from your Alaska trip.  This and Ireland are definitely on my bucket list.  And it is helping convince me to get healthier so I can meander about the footpaths and hike the glaciers without keeling over dead from the exercise.

Dear Raynore, Brooke, Patricia, & Sherry - ya'll have been so good about checking up on me and my family through this medical drama.  THANK YOU and thanks so very much for your prayers. I have felt such an outpouring of love and concern and it's just humbling.

Dear Big Brother, Happy Birthday! I am so thankful for your happiness, thankful you are my brother and that you brought Angela into our family.  Your sense of humor is wacky but so much fun! Hope your 43 bday is the best!

Dear crafty people - I've added new posts to Pressed Clovers, both on Facebook and on the blog. And on Pintrest! I'm trying to get back into the habit of posting. :)  (Here is my creations page on Pintrest)

Dear shingles, feel free to wrap up and go away so mom can get some relief from your horrible pain. I'm taking her to the dr in the morning, hopefully he'll have some suggestions for getting this over with quickly.

Ya'll have a GREAT weekend and I'll see you back here soon. :)  :)

Goodness gracious

I'm still alive and kicking. Swamped at work and posting online is at the bottom of the list. But this morning, before I go back in, I thought I'd catch up a little.

I left off at May 7. This was on my way home, the net keeps most golf balls out of the road. It was just something about the sunset and net. :)

May 8 - do you see how tall this little girl is getting??? Nothing is safe, she can stretch and snag about anything. 

May 11 - Happy Mother's Day!!! I enjoy making new cakes for holidays and such so I tried a German Chocolate Pound Cake for my mom for Mother's Day lunch. It wasn't bad!

May 11 - My lovely Mother, sweet niece and Sister. Taken at church on Mother's Day. The two best Mama's I know!

May 13 - she was so happy about her apple!  Mom painted the cute chairs for her and sweet niece loves them. 

May 18 - Macy decided to let PawPaw wear her Cinderella sunglasses. They didn't quite fit his noggin! 

May 19 - someone dumped all her toys out to use the bucket at a hat. She was still in her hat when I left that morning. Do you see the one crazy curl in the front?? 

May 23 - Riding with Aunt Beth and MawMaw to see PawPaw's new shop. She definitely looks older than almost two to me. 

Well, that's a pretty good start to catching up. I hate all my pics are of Sweet Niece, but lately it's been all work and little play. Things will slow down in July ;) thanks for visiting and enjoying the pictures! 

A Quarter is Good, Right?

I kept up with the photo a day for almost a quarter of the year, which I thought was pretty good. I'm backing off a pic a day simply bc I was taking boring random pics just to have one and they didn't always have meaning. Maybe I'll get seven pics in a week with meaning but I'll not get disappointed if it doesn't happen.

My work life is really busy right now. They'll be no slowing down for another six to nine weeks. Another reason I'm not on top of the picture taking game :) 

But here is the week I missed - and I'll try to post this week's pics tomorrow. Ed: I did try to publish this about a week ago and just realized it failed. Sorry! Trying again!

Last Wednesday we took Sweet Niece #2 to the Children's Museum to play. It's a very small museum and we ended up in a special story time event, which she was not interested in. But we still had a good time. 

Also, prep time for Easter. This is my Crockpot Mac & Cheese recipe, written in my Susan Branch recipe keeper. 

Friday, more prep for Easter. Carrot raisin salad - diabetic friendly!  

Saturday I went through Clover and got stopped at the light. Snapped this quick pic of the mural of the train. Clover had train tracks  running through the town center at one point. It was named for the Clover patch that formed around the water tower.  Or something along those lines. 

Easter Sunday had three of us sick, Macy's daddy, Macy and me. I kept Macy that morning after finishing my cake!! No cute Easter dress pics, I'm afraid. But we did get out and hunt eggs that afternoon.  The two sisters are so sweet together. Both are such a blessing to our family. 

Last Monday - someone just enjoys making a mess ... 

But she cleans up cute. :)

Headed to Mamaw's house! Bye!!

So there was Easter week. I may go back and do a post on more egg hunt pics but for now, it's time to get ready for work. Y'all have a great week!!