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Showing posts from November, 2013

This is something you can be thankful for

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I am sure everyone will be glad to know that my bathroom has been painted and I am done! I did think that I was going to have to go to Home Depot to buy a sample size can of paint to finish. I had to use practically all of the bottom coating of the can because I used the same color as my bedrooms and hall. I was thinking about all the paint my dad poured on the floor and himself while I was painting the hall. Thankfully the lighting isn't that great and you cannot tell how good or bad the coverage is. The new towel racks are up, new shower curtain my aunt found for me hung (I saw hers a few weeks ago and she has the same pink tile), and bath mat I found yesterday on the floor. So much better than the horrid almost neon pink wallpaper.

Black Friday shopping for myself

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As it turns out, I usually buy more for myself on Black Friday than anyone else. I bought some clothes and more owl stuff (while they still had it) at Belk in Waxahachie. Most of it was over 50% off. I did buy a few presents there too. At Target, I found a new bathmat for almost finished bathroom (hopefully tomorrow)! I also bought a picture frame with openings for 12 pictures for the next trip I go on and I need a frame because it was over half off at only $6.  I also bought something for a special little gag gift for Peyton. I'll post a picture when I get it done. Then, we made an unplanned trip to my grandmother's house in Kaufman. She gave me her snowmen Christmas dishes, so now I can serve 16 people. I kid you not. Before any of the grandchildren married and had children, that covered all of us with plates and bowls. On the road, I ordered a watch from Amazon using a gift card for over half my purchase. I have had the same watch for 18 years (I've r

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (Even if I am late on getting this post up!) We had a quiet Thanksgiving this year. It was just my parents, my brother and I. Paige and Peyton were with their mom in Wyoming. Most recent years, they've at least eaten with us. It was too quiet. I missed them. Since there was only the four of us and my mom didn't want leftovers for a week, I was told I could make half the dressing as usual, so that meant only one pan of cornbread and that threw me off. I cut up too much onion and celery for one pan even though I cut back some on that. When I mixed the celery in, it was overwhelming, so put in more white bread in proportion. You could tell. The dressing was not as good as usual. It was white bread and celery. I was extremely disappointed since I LOVE dressing. Brian certainly doesn't want it for Christmas and since Mom was the one that didn't want leftovers, I told Dad I would do take two for Christmas Eve and just he and I would e

It took me long enough

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After much angst, and staying up to 2:30 AM, I finally got my big tree decorated. It may have to stay up year round after as much trouble as I had with it. But I love it! Paige told me last year that I needed to combine the purple and orange trees. I added in teal to those with some cheap additions from Walmart. Most of the tree is cheap decorations from Walmart. If you look really close, you can see how I stretched two strings of purple around the tree. And I do mean stretched to get some from top to bottom. After waking up at 10:00 AM (after getting to sleep at 3), I spent most of the day cooking. I hope the pies taste as good as they look! I am glad all of my trees are up, but I want to decorate the staircase and I hang some other lights. I really don't know why I go through the trouble!

Christmas lights are the bane of my existence

I have been trying to get my Christmas trees up and decorated since Sunday. I have most everything on my two mini trees, but even they aren't finished yet because I can't get down far enough into my divided decoration box to finish them. All this because I can't get the forsaken lights on the big tree. I've had several strings of lights go half out. Then, I've tried replacing bulbs which is way harder than it should be, even if I switch out bases. A working bulb in one string (even if half the string is out) should work in another if you are trying to switch them out. But, no... And a few years ago, I bought purple lights with green wire to go along with clear lights on my big tree. Now one of those strings is bad and I can only find white wire strings of purple now. At the time, they weren't an obscure item. Now they are. So help me, tonight I better get the tree finished... lights or no lights. Christmas lights... the reason suicide rates increase ov

In Search of A Better December

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Given the official launch into the holiday season this week, I offer  interview with Steven Estes,  Author of A Better December The shopping, the family get-togethers, the office Christmas party, the decorating, the memories of loved ones who are no longer with us . . . What should be the happiest time of the year often becomes a stressful, anxiety-ridden, and emotional season for many who are seeking perfection and trying to meet unrealistic expectations. But December doesn’t have get the better of us. In A Better December: Proverbs to Brighten Christmas (New Growth Press/October 2013/ISBN 978-1-936768-67-7 /$12.99) , pastor and author Steven Estes offers gems of Solomon’s proverbial wisdom to help readers find the joy and celebration we all desire for the Christmas season. Even though Solomon lived long before Christ, and three thousand years prior to our modern observance of Christmas, his wisdom is timeless and remarkably applicable to those who long to find themselves

A take on Thanksgiving

As best I sort of could, I tried to relate our lesson on giving in 2 Corinthians 8-9 to Thanksgiving. So, we also sang a song with the word "thanksgiving" in it. This whole video is an example of how the morning went. As I post this video, it started playing and I tried to pause immediately. A certain someone I know very well has her tongue sticking out. I hope it isn't the preview still shot, but if it is, well, it is. 

Significant progress on two of the "never ending projects"

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I declare this the weekend for progress! Look what I finally finished last night. Or this morning. Ok, it was the wee hours of the morning after the night before having to deconstruct a piece of another project to get enough teal yarn to finish the border. And I am in the home stretch of the bathroom project too! This is before the texturing I did today (with my handy assistant, Dad). And after... All that's left now is paint. Paint I can handle! My next weekend project - I have high hopes for after my Sunday nap - is to make this look like Christmas. Wish me luck!

Quilts of Love KINDLE FIRE HDX Giveaway & “Christmas Bee” Facebook Party 12/10!

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In honor of their new Quilts of Love releases, The Christmas Quilt and Aloha Rose ,   authors Vannetta Chapman and Lisa Carter are gearing up to ring in the Christmas season with a Kindle Fire HDX giveaway and  a "Christmas Bee" Facebook Party on December 10th with fellow Quilts of Love author  Lynette Sowell ! One winner will receive: A Kindle Fire HDX The Christmas Quilt  by Vannetta Chapman Aloha Rose by Lisa Carter Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 30th. Winner will be announced at the "Christmas Bee" Facebook Party on December 10th . Connect with the authors from the Quilts of Love series, Vannetta Chapman, Lisa Carter, and Lynette Sowell, for an evening of book chat, quilt trivia, Christmas traditions and gifts, PLUS get an exclusive look at January's Quilts of Love book! So grab your copies of The Christmas Quilt and Aloha Rose  and join Vannetta, Lisa, and Lynette on

Catie’s Secret Kindle Fire Kid Pack Giveaway from Laura Nonemaker

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Catie’s Secret  is the second book in Laura Allen Nonemaker ’s children’s series, God’s Secret Garden Adventures .  Laura is celebrating Catie's Secret  with a Kindle Fire Kid Pack giveaway!   One winner will receive: A Kindle Fire Butterfly Pavilion Hatching Kit Butterfly Pattern Carryall Bag Butterfly Suncatcher Kit Benny's Angel T-Shirt (small) Catie's Secret and Benny's Angel  with free E-Live audio downloads by Laura Nonemaker Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 23rd. Winner will be announced November 25th at Laura's blog . Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by Laura's blog on the 25th to see if you won. {MORE ABOUT  CATIE’S SECRET } Catie Caterpillar looks different from any bug Herbie and Bella have ever seen. When Herbie makes fun of Catie, Mayor Benny shows him why he should not judge anyone by how they look. In the end, Catie

Pin It & Win It! Stones for Bread KitchenAid Mixer Giveaway from Christa Parrish!

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Christa Parrish  is celebrating her   fourth novel, Stones for Bread ,  with a KitchenAid Mixer giveaway. Easy steps to enter: 1. Follow Christa Parrish and TNZ Fiction on Pinterest. 2. Then Pin  the Stones for Bread book cover (below), the contest graphic (above), or both, and link to this post (using this URL: #StonesforBread KitchenAid Mixer Contest #ChristaParrish http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/stones-for-bread-by-christa-parrish ). 3. Then fill out THIS SHORT FORM to let us know. (There are also some additional ways to earn extra entries, as well as an option for non-Pinterest users. It's true—people like that do exist!) Questions? Email info @ litfusegroup dot com. Winner will be announced on 12/9 on Christa's Facebook Page . {MORE ABOUT  STONES FOR BREAD } A solitary artisan. A legacy of bread-baking. And one secret that could collapse her entire identity. Liesl McNamara’s life can be described in one word: bread.  From her earl

Enter Anita Higman’s A Marriage in Middlebury Double Kindle Fire Giveaway

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Anita Higman is celebrating the release of her latest book, A Marriage in Middlebury , with a double Kindle Fire giveaway (one for you and one to give away!) and a "Tea for Two" Facebook Author Chat Party on December 12th. One winner will receive: A Kindle Fire for you AND a friend A Marriage in Middlebury  by Anita Higman (one to keep and one to give away!) Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on December 12th. Winner will be announced at the "Tea for Two" Facebook Author Chat Party on December 12th . Invite your friends and connect with Anita for an evening of book chat, prizes, and an exclusive look at Anita's next book! So grab your copy of A Marriage in Middlebury  and join Anita on the evening of December 12th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!) Don't miss a moment of the fun;  RSVP today  by c

It would bore you if you knew

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In case any of you were curious as to what I have done on my birthday, it would bore you terribly if you knew. Yesterday, my parents took me and the girls out to Chili's with our Sunday lunch friends. Peyton, of course, told them it was my birthday. As annoyed as I was at her, I gave her my ice cream. My parents gave me my gift early, an owl cookie jar I picked out and told my mom to buy and hold on to until my birthday. That happens most years at birthday or Christmas. I did take the day off because who wants to deal with all things Monday when it's your birthday? My day started off with... oh wait, I was up until 2 AM this morning working on my mom's Christmas present. I wasn't working on it until then, but until about 1 or so. I finally got all the hexagons together! I got to sleep about 2. At 7:59, my home phone rang with my mom calling. "Happy birthday! Am I the first one to call?" "Thank you. Yes." "You aren't working

When you have to reference Duck Dynasty to get a point across

I have been trying to have the kids sing a DIFFERENT song EVERY week. I forgot we had already done "Sanctuary" this quarter. It's Peyton's favorite song, and I just gave in and went with it since I usually tell her we can't sing it. They were singing like they were depressed or exhausted, so I told them to add some pep. Add in some "happy, happy, happy." To which a child asks, "do you watch Duck Dynasty ?" I think that question comes up every single week. And the consensus of the class is yes. After they sang it through with my additional instruction (that worked, by the way), I told them "now, we're cooking with peanut oil!" Some got that. Some didn't. My co-workers who have not joined the bandwagon may one day be out of the loop on many references made. They are missing out!

The never ending projects

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The good news is that I didn't procrastinate any longer with the wallpaper project. It is now officially all off except what is underneath the the light fixture itself, so there is a little wallpaper poking out from it. After I finished, I went and bought the texture to go on the walls. I'm not exactly sure when I will get that part done. But, I have it all ready to get started. The bad news is that this crochet project for my mom's present is NOT ANYWHERE near as big as I had originally planned for it to be. However, it is big enough to be a royal pain in the rear to keep rotating as I am piecing all the hexagons together. The coloring is off by using my phone camera, so I need to get some better pictures, possibly in another room. I almost have all the hexagons stitched together, but I don't think it's going to get king size bed sized (my original goal). This is a queen bed here. I'm just plain tired of making hexagons for one thing. I don't li

Lisa T. Bergren brings readers to the last stop on the Grand Tour

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An interview with Lisa T. Bergren, Author of Glittering Promises     Each of us must set upon a spiritual journey to find out who we really are. For Cora Kensington, the greatest discovery about herself occurred during an epic Grand Tour across Europe. In Glittering Promises (David C Cook/October 1, 2013/ISBN 978-1434764287/ $14.99) , the final installment of the Grand Tour Series by Lisa T. Bergren, Cora comes to terms with the Father who will never fail her while wrestling with increased demands on her life and heart. Throughout the series, readers have joined Cora and her travel companions not only on a Grand Tour of the major sites of Europe, but on an adventure of forgiveness, spiritual awareness and self-discovery. Cora’s quest to find her place within her new family parallels her realization that her true identity rests not with her earthly family, but with her Heavenly Father. “The Grand Tour is not only Cora’s journey toward understanding true identity in Christ,