December 2011 ~ Happy valentines day 2018

Thursday, 29 December 2011

Shoes and Family

December 29, 2011 No comments

Christmas has come and gone.

Family has come and gone and

I miss them already!

I got new shoes to wear with my favorite winter outfits~skirts, sweaters and tights!

New shoes can do a lot of things.
But

they can't make me as happy as my family does.

They are cute and comfy but then ~ so is my family.

Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the World.

~ Marilyn Monroe

Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life.

Love is...

December 23, 2011 A Simple Life, holidays No comments

...a blogging friend that sees a little coffee cup and thinks of someone who mentioned in a blog post that she was hunting for just such a cup.

Love buys that sweet little cup for her friend.

She carefully packages it along with a beautiful Love stocking and cheery Christmas kitchen towel...

...and even pays the extra bucks to send it priority mail so that her blogging friend will get it in time for Christmas!

I will think of you, my sweet friend Elaine, every time I sip my morning coffee from my new cup!

Thank you!!!

Love is also a husband that spends his hard earned vacation time with his bride of thirty years.

We have spent a lot of special time together this holiday season.

We've:

shopped together
attended our church's Christmas program
spent time around our piano singing Christmas songs together
visited Noccalula Falls Park in a nearby county where they have put up thousands of lights ~ beautiful!

And

We have have another date tonight!

We're going to a community college where they are showing free Christmas movies.

Tonight they're showing Elf.

I don't know if the movie is any good, but I know the company will be!

I am so blessed with family and friends!

Coffee Happiness

December 16, 2011 A Simple Life, weight loss No comments

I enjoy coffee.

It makes me happy.

So I have two cups every morning.

Black.

No sugar.

Free embroidery pattern
Wild Olive

I had graduated to drinking two MUGS of coffee each morning, but decided I was going a little overboard.
You can get too much of a good thing!

I got to thinking about coffee drinkers from the 1950's.
Think of the cups June and Ward drunk their morning and evening coffee from.
What about Lucy and Ricky's coffee cups?
They weren't 12 ounce mugs like I was using.
They were tiny.

If June could get her housework done on a tiny cup of coffee (or two) so could I!

So, I set out to find myself the "perfect" coffee cup.
It should be small... dainty even.
It should be dark so I don't feel guilty when I see coffee stains in it that I don't want to scrub out.
It should make me happy when I fill it up every morning with my happy brew.

It wasn't easy finding the cup to meet all my requirements.
I searched for quite awhile and then
Ta-Da!
There it was sitting on a shelf in the thrift store, just waiting for me!
Simple perfection!

I can now enjoy my small, girly cups of coffee each morning guilt-free

because

I now read that coffee...in moderation...is good for me!

It can help me lose weight!

(You can read that article here.)

And

It keeps me happy and fights off depression!

(Read that article here.)

I'm trying to apply the idea of moderation in other areas of my life.

Maybe I should next look at my sweets consumption.

Would this be considered moderate?

uncommon goods

How about you?

How do you like your coffee?

From a mug?

From a dainty little tea cup?

Black?

Sweet and creamy?

P.S. Thanks to everyone for your helpful comments on my last post! I'm still reading and rereading them all and mulling it over. In the meantime I remain

~A Happy Valentine~

Linked to: Show and Tell Friday?
Pink Saturday
Whatever You Want Wednesday

Whimsy and I need your advice

December 06, 2011 No comments

I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog.
Why?
Because I think it may get overlooked because people think it is a blog only about Valentines.

The problem?
I don't know what to call it.
"Experts" say the name should reflect the content of the blog.
That would make mine the: cooking, cleaning, teaching, whining, laughing, sewing, photography, random thoughts blog.

I would love to hear your thoughts.
Have you changed the name of your blog?
How has it worked for you?
Do you have a suggestion for a new name for my blog?
All input is appreciated!

Linked to: Whatever You Want Wednesday

On Sunday I...

December 05, 2011 A Simple Life, cooking, homemaking, Sunday Lunches No comments

...went to church
...came home to a warm, wonderful smelling home

My two good friends ~ Mrs. Crock Pot and Mr. Bread Machine ~ had us a wonderful meal cooked up!

Crock Pot Lasagna?

and Paprika Onion Bread

TasteofHome.com

After sharing the meal with my sweet hubby, two sons, and one son's girlfriend, we cleaned up the kitchen, shared some old family photos with son's girlfriend, and then sweet hubby and I took a leisurely walk on our country road. The weather was beautiful ~ warm and sunny!

Then I worked on my decorations a little more. I can't seem to get them just right, but I'm still puttering with it.

I've been craving some homemade granola so I made up a batch and enjoyed a bowl full of it while it was still warm. Yum!

(Recipe below)

Lastly, I finally got around to something I DO NOT enjoy, making a menu for the week.

I was so happy to get it finished up so that I could make out my grocery list for Monday.

All in all, I think it was a perfect Sunday!

Homemade Granola

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup honey

4 cups oats

1 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup dry milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

?Mix sugar, oil and honey in a saucepan. Heat until sugar is dissolved. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Pour sugar mixture over dry ingredients and mix well. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

Optional ingredients: raisins (add after baking), wheat germ, dried fruit, etc.