Thursday, December 31, 2009

Glimpses of My Past

Glimpses Of My Past 2009
I  LOVE

Sharing with you
~
Conversing with you
~
Getting together with you
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Creating with you
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Taking photos with you :)
~
Discovering with you
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Cooking with you
~
Giving to you
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Praying for you
~
Being inspired by you
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Celebrating with you
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Swooning with you ;)
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Walking through your home with you
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Wishing with you
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Learning with you
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Listening to you
~
And holding your hand
~
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May 2008 began my voyage into a world of photographers, then later bloggers, and I have made some awesome friends…all of whom I may never meet face to face or in person. But I have found that actually meeting them is insignificant. There are some wonderful, faithful, true blue, honest people in this new age way of encountering and making new friends. I hope to walk down the road with all of you in 2010.
~
Thank you for letting me share my view of the world with you and
for giving back to me through your heartfelt comments.

Leaving 2009 and stepping into 2010


From my heart and home to yours,
a peaceful Goodnight to you all.

I look forward to 2010 with you!



Wednesday, December 30, 2009

In One Word...

In my last post I sat reflecting on the past year….2009.
I shared with you some of the things that I had learned along life’s journey.
PhotobucketAs 2010 approaches with its unknown endeavors and events I wonder what it holds for me. So with a giant leap of faith I step into its mysterious domain hoping to gain some new experiences along the way. Each day should hold a new one for me….experiences of knowledge, learning, understanding (or not), all kinds of encounters, feelings and undertakings. I want to experience all that life has to offer me and see how I will handle it.  As they say “It's not only what happens that matters, its how you handle it.”
EXPERIENCING LIFE
     So I welcome 2010 as a challenge and opportunity to experience what ever is offered, flung at me, dropped at my feet, and presented by some mere chance of fate. I will try new recipes, new hair styles, new ideas, and new ways of thinking. I will endure and embrace, good or bad; the experience as it unfolds before me. I want to experience with my eyes through my photography, with my creativity, in my mind, with my family, my faith, within my own self and soul, in my comings and goings, with each moment as I stroll through my life in this next year.

Sweet Cream or Sweet Sugar?
Will I be a better person for it? Will I learn from it? Will I gain anything? Only time will tell as it passes day by day, month by month, until the year has once again ended. At that end I know that I will have lived another year, had another birthday, celebrated many occasions, cried, rejoiced, faced obstacles and took many tests…some of which I passed and some I failed. I will have experienced many things. Hopefully I will not look back with any regrets, but look at it through rose colored glasses and have a feeling of accomplishment through many meaningful experiences. Optimistically my 2010 experiences will help build my character.

Imagine...
“Experience” is my word for 2010.

I will encounter each, feel each, face each, muddle through each, savor each, and undergo each. To experience is to live!

Winter's Cold Blooms
Dried Hydrangea
Dani has offered this Word for 2010 Challenge to each of us.
Please join us with picking your word for this upcoming new year. 
My word replaces any and all New Year’s resolutions that
I have not made and will not make.
I will try to focus on this word as it presents
itself throughout this coming year.

“Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.”
~Henry Ford


I look forward to each day with you!
Happy 2010!









charlie brown Pictures, Images and Photos 



Monday, December 28, 2009

The Gift of Learning

We are back home from our Christmas traveling trip. There truly is "no place like home"! Spending the holidays in another state that is not home takes something from you. It’s hard to explain. But most importantly we were with our little family….our daughter and her husband = time well spent. I’m now spending time reflecting…..Reflecting on the past year. 2009 is closing and coming to an end. I have counted my blessings and will continue to do so. I have enjoyed spending time with you all here in bloggerville, getting to know new friends with BIG hearts who open their home and world. Thanks to each and every one of you who faithfully read my thoughts, ideas, and nothingness. An even bigger thanks to those of you who take the time to leave me some heartfelt thoughts as you visit. I love that. I also love the little surprises in the mail! *smiling*
 I have learned a lot over the years. Life is all about learning.  I’ve learned that:

Jesus should be at the top of everything I do.
That the little things matter more.
That patience is earned.
That your time is not always appreciated.
That the people you love can hurt you.
That blogging is fun.
That joy can be found in a small gesture.
That some people have lost Christmas in their hearts.
That I am not perfect and never will be.
That God always hears our prayers.
That giving is a reward in its self.
That everything is NOT understood.
That things don’t always turn out the way you want them to.
That God and the devil are constantly battling for my attention.
That there is good in everyone but sometimes it is so far down inside them  that it’s hard to see it.
And……
That I’m not through learning.

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I do not make New Years Resolutions. I never have and I never will. Why? I don’t like disappointment. I know all year long that I need to eat healthier, drink more water than I do now, and exercise. ~Note I did not say exercise more!~ I know these things. Making a silly resolution will just set me up for more disappointment; I know me better than anyone and do not need to disillusion my own self. So I will take each day as it is given *not promised* to me; I will do the best I can and I will live with whatever is handed to me on that day. I pray that this coming year will bring more enjoyment, more delight, more wonder, and more pure happiness. *Bliss~

With each hardship that I encounter I hope to overcome it as a better person; having learned in the process. I will live with less of the unnecessary things and focus on the more important areas in my life. Most importantly I will forgive and put the past in the past where it should stay. I will just live each day to the best and pray that when I am gone that it all was not in vain….and hope that maybe I made a difference to someone or that I left something…a legacy perhaps, a contribution, the gift of adoration…

Speaking of gifts; here are some I received this Christmas:

*The touch of a child…the chance to hold her head in my lap while she slept quietly listening to the purring on her chest.


*The joy of a BIG kid receiving a Red Ryder BB Gun (A Christmas Story). Yes, I reminded him that he could shoot his eye out!
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*A sense of peacefulness. 


*The taste of sweetness….all things good and plentiful.



*The gift of Jesus’ love for me~totally unconditional.


 
I hope all your gifts were equally as good as mine and that this
New Year will bring you more than you deserve.

"If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy,
not only we, but everyone will profit from it.
This is the most basic kind of peace work."
~Thich Nhat Hanh





My life is the sum of all my choices.

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Monday, December 21, 2009

Sugar Cookies and Trivia

How well do you know Christmas? This is an interesting fun trivia challenge about Christmas. See how many you can get right. The answers are at the end of this post, just after the pictures of my sugar cookies that will make you want to go bake some. Have fun!


1. What item was used for Frosty the Snowman’s nose?
a. button
b. coal
c. coin
d. corncob


2. What company is credited with being the first to see Santa Claus in an ad?
a. Quaker Oats
b. Wheaties
c. Cracker Jack
d. Coca-Cola




3. In 1979, the National Christmas Tree in Washington, DC was unlit except for one ornament. Why?
a. oil embargo/energy crisis
b. American hostages in Iran
c. terrorism threats
d. a squirrel damaged the wiring

4. What animals are specified in the New Testament as being present at the birth of Jesus?
a. oxen and lambs
b. cows and oxen
c. sheep and camels
d. none



5. The poinsettia, a plant long associated with Christmas, is native to what country?
a. Mexico
b. Portugal
c. Canada
d. Israel



6. In what movie is Santa Claus put on trial to determine if he’s insane-and the US Postal Service saves the day?
a. Scrooge
b. Miracle on 34th Street
c. Babes in Toyland
d. The Nightmare Before Christmas

7. What did Mary do to show her approval of the Little Drummer Boy’s playing?
a. smiled at him
b. kept time
c. nodded
d. asked him to play again


8. What Christmas character was created for a department store advertising campaign?
a. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
b. Saint Nicholas
c. The Grinch
d. Nester the Long-Earred Christmas Donkey

9. In what activity are the characters involved at the beginning of a Charlie Brown Christmas?
a. Sledding
b. Snowball fight
c. ice skating
d. caroling

10. What are the names of the policeman and the cab driver in It’s a Wonderful Life?
a. Bert and Ernie
b. Felix and Oscar
c. George and Gino
d. Frankie and Johnny


11. What first lady wrote a Christmas story about a little girl named Marta for a magazine?
a. Bess Truman
b. Eleanor Roosevelt
c. Barbara Bush
d. Rosalynn Carter


12. In the Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol, what is the name of the first ghost to visit Ebenezer Scrooge?
a. The Ghost of Christmas Past
b. Beetlejuice
c. Jacob Marley
d. Bob Marley


Christmas cookie baking......it's a must this time of year....
it's also fun and oh so yummy!


Here's the mess I was left with....


I love my old vintage cookie cutters........


~Fresh out of the oven~

and now the frosting.....what a sticky mess!!

But it dried hard and looked really good!


Christmas Cookies
Christmas Sugar
I was rather pleased at how they turned out :)

I also baked some Oatmeal raisin cookies too, with walnuts!
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Tomorrow is our travel day....we are off to Louisiana to spend the week
with Holly and Richard for Christmas.  All this baking is going with us. 
Please pray that we have a safe trip.
Hopefully I will visit with you later in the week.
Here's wishing you and yours a very
Merry and Delightful Christmas!

"Gather 'round the Christmas tree,
Hold hands with those you love.
Join hearts in celebration
Of our gift from God above."
~TJ Mills








Answers:
1. a. Button
2. d. Coca-Cola
3. b. American hostages in Iran
4. d. none
5. a. Mexico
6. b. Miracle on 34th Street
7. c. nodded
8. a. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
9. c. Ice skating
10. a. Bert and Ernie
11. b. Eleanor Roosevelt
12. c. Jacob Marley

Christmas Blessings :)

Friday, December 18, 2009

Sharing an Idea and some Christmas cheer...

For you Cricut users out there....here's an idea for sharing your homemade goodies in jars with a personal touch.  I made round labels for the tops of my jars.  The label gives the name of what is in the jar along with a Christmas wish and the date.
I'm sharing my homemade strawberry jam, my homemade apple butter, and nuts & berries.  I also made some Cinnamon Honey Butter too.


Here's how simple it is.......

I used the circle shape from the Plantin Schoolbook Font Cartridge


I measured the inside top of the flat lid~a wide mouth measures 2 1/2 inches across.
 I gathered some pretty and festive scrapbook papers and started cutting.

I cut out lots of circles.......
and more circles.........


I wrote on the circle cut-out with my Sharpies *love sharpies*!
Then I glued them down with a little of Martha's glitter glue....it is the right
thickness without being too wet.  Just make sure you go all the
way to the edges of the circle with the glue. I used my finger to smooth it out!
Add some ribbons to brighten the jar up and presto! 
You have a beautiful personal touched label on your goodies.


Now for those who want to know what is in the Nuts and Berries jar.......
Some things that are right yummy and good for you.  After I baked my pumpkin from October I saved and roasted the pumpkin seeds with a little EVOO and some Kosher salt.....added to these were roasted walnuts, sea salted almonds, golden raisins and Craisins...sweetened cranberries.  The mixture is divine!
Just the right amount of sweet and salty all in one.

Here try some!
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Yesterday I went shopping.....blah....yuck!
I did manage to find my happy place.....An antique mall.
Land of Cotton Antique Mall in Dothan, AL. My kind of place. 
Here's what I found:


Pixie Elves!  From Japan.....is anything made in Japan anymore?
Aren't they just cute.  I've added these to my collection!



These are the cutest vintage cut-outs.  Printed on both sides,
one side dull and one side shiney.  They are 14" BIG!
HO HO HO
I also found an antique Campbell's Soup Christmas Tin.
PS~There's a thrift store right next door to this mall... YaY!
 Pink Christmas
I also found this vintage PINK ornament.
*swooning over the lovely pink*
Pink Snow

~Merry Christmas~

Enjoy your Holiday Crafting and Thrifting!




Remember this: 
"Giving in it's purest form is expecting nothing in return."
Quote from the movie "Secret Santa"