Giveaway on my other blog....

Hello all.... sorry I haven't updated in such a long time.  Life has been a little hectic but the things I'm dealing with and experiencing just don't feel appropriate for putting on here.  I'm afraid the wrong person would read something and take it the wrong way.  So instead I've been 'blogging' to the Lord much more.  Although I've always done that, it's become more frequent which isn't such a bad thing! ;) 

Anyway if you click the button to the right called "Percolating Projects" you'll be taken to my other blog where Tanya and I are hosting our VERY FIRST giveaway.  Let me just tell you I'm SO JEALOUS we can't win this thing cause it is so cute.  Head over and enter as many times as you can!!!!

Alphabet Pillow Giveawy- REALLY CUTE!

Wanna win a pillow????? ME TOO!!!!! Click here....

Grosgrain: Pillow Factory Alphabet Down Filled Pillow GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Shoe Giveaway....

The UH-MAE-ZING Recessionista is giving away a FREE PAIR OF SHOES!!!!  What?!?!?!  Heck yes I'm all for that!

Head over to enter- and feast your eyes on what I want in the meantime!

Isn't it beautiful?  I'll take 2 please- a right and a left. Hehehe!

Consolation prize if you don't win... they are having a full 3 days of 30% off!!!!  These ladies are the epitomy of amazingness.  Sale starts Tuesday Jan 26th so get to shopping!

Haiti Relief

So I know TONS of people are blogging about ways to support Haiti, but I wanted to share with you a family that we know PERSONALLY!  The Bundy's are living in Haiti and have for a long time.  They are committed to the Lord and have followed His leading to be a part of the Haitian culture.  If you are looking for a SAFE charity to donate to, the Bundy's mission would be a great one.  Comment or e-mail if you have any questions we can help with.  Pray and do as the Lord leads you.

Cake Wrecks

Do you need a good GREAT laugh?  How about a great laugh for several HOURS?????  Yep.  Thought so...  I did last night and found a website that hit the spot!  My husband left for work at around 10:00 and I jumped on Cake Wrecks for a 'FEW' minutes.  At 1:15 I was still laughing my head off when my eyes caught a glimpse of the time.  Woops!  Knowing I had to be up early for work since we had snow I scurried off to bed and LITERALLY laughed myself to sleep thinking of all these terrible cakes.

Here are a few favorites so you can understand my temporary insanity last night....

How would you feel if THIS showed up to your baby shower?????

Apparently "Christmas" is overdone- welcome the new holiday "ChristAmUs"

Poor Nemo must have had a REALLY big dinner

Last but DEFINITELY not least.... the beloved Santa Claus

Who apparently had too much cheese and now needs some ExLax baked into his cookies

So enjoy Cake Wrecks it is FANTASMIC!!!!!

Troughs and Peaks

Dave and I teach the High School Sunday School class and right now we are reading "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis and doing a discussion on it.  If you aren't familiar with the book or the writer, C.S. Lewis is most famous for his series "The Lion The Witch and The Wordrobe" and this particular book we are studying is a series of ficticous letters written from a 'Master Demon' (Screwtape) to his protege and nephew (Wormwood) a 'demon in training' type of scenario.  Wormwood has been assigned a patient that is a new Christian/Believer so Screwtape is imparting his wisdom on tripping up followers of Christ.

I've been pretty impressed with how the students are responding to book.  We don't require that they read it, but most of them have anyway.  Every week we answer some questions on a couple of chapters.  So far we have discussed topics like time management, prayer life, and family issues- figuring out that pushing your family's 'buttons' is a way the enemy gets a hold in our life.

This week's topic dealt with the 'troughs and peaks' in our walk with Christ.  (Most people call them the valley/desert and mountaintop times)  We discussed how ALL followers have both experiences and that it's okay to be in a trough sometimes.  They concluded from their own lives that being in a trough sometimes brings the greatest strength in our relationship with Christ because you have to work harder at it.  One student gave the example that you don't get very strong lifting a 2lb weight, but if you trade that in for a 20lb weight your muscles will ache at first but grow quickly!  That is exactly what CAN happen in those trough moments if we allow them to happen.

Unfortunatley many of us enter a trough time in our life and think God has abandoned us.  We get the idea that just because we are having a bad day or because life isn't going well that God has left us to fend for ourself.  People begin going back to what they knew before they were introduced to Jesus- maybe not extreme cases like alcohol or drugs, but maybe selfishness or business?  I know in my trough moments I try to busy myself with projects and busywork so I don't have to think of how junky my life is right then.  My thoughts turn inward to how I can fix what's going on instead of looking to God for support and wisdom.

This week I challenged the class to think about the troughs and peaks they have experienced and to thank God that He has given them both experiences.  Then I asked them to pray and ask that during this Christmas and New Years season when so many around us are depressed or lonely or feeling a trough moment, that God would reveal to them a hurting person.  Maybe a family member, neighbor, friend, or even cashier at the store is going through a trough moment and God wants to use one of those students to get them through it.

Life can't be lived on the peaks- it's nice for a season and the snow is pretty, but life is lived in the troughs.  If we never delve into the trough, who will we ever reach?  Very few "unbelievers" are on the peaks, THEY LIVE IN THE TROUGH!!!  So I will challenge you and me to do the same thing I've challenged my students with.  Pray that God shows you someone in the trough this next week or two (or fifty two) and help them understand that it's okay to be there- God is NOT far away if you will just look for Him!

MERRY CHIRSTMAS!!!!

Packaging a GIFT CARD

Anyone else hate giving gift cards for the simple fact that the "gift-ee" doesn't get to actually OPEN anything.  Well a friend of mine called my Mom (who is also creative) and asked for some clever ways to give a gift card to her niece.  I may be biased but she came up with some REALLY great ideas!  Here you go:

Gift card ideas from Debby:

*Buy a package of gum you think they would like, put the gift card inside and then use hot glue to close the container back OR tape the gift card onto the back.  You could also tape the gift card to     a candy bar or move size box of candy

*Buy a cheap stuffed animal at the Dollar Tree and attach the gift card with a ribbon-you could use a hole punch to make a hole in the gift card envelope and then tie the ribbon to the stuffed animal.

*They have really cute plastic glasses for $1 at Wal-Mart.  They’re clear plastic and have red and green polka dots on them-you could fill the glass with candy and stick the gift card in with the candy

*They have tons of cheap, cute little tins and boxes at the Dollar Tree that you could use

*You could buy an inexpensive ornament and attach the gift card to it with ribbon-write the name and the year on the ornament so they can keep it as a momento.  I do this with my kids and grandkids every year

*They have lip gloss for $1 at Wal-Mart-you could attach that to the gift card

*They have those $1 magic gloves just about everywhere-you could put the gift card inside one of the gloves

*Put the gift card in a plastic Ziploc bag-make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and put the giftcard inside.  Put the sandwich and a small bag of chips with a Little Debbie snack and a juice box (so it looks like a lunch).  This is my favorite idea but you would have to make the sandwich that day so it wouldn’t mold or something gross but I think she’d get a kick out of it!!!

OK-I’m out of ideas-you’re on your own. 

Debby

Thanks Mom!!!  Isn't she great?!?!?!  Hope you can use one of these- Happy Gifting!

The Nativity

Dave and I had a fun weekend.  Since he is still working 3rd shift I had Saturday morning and afternoon to myself.  I spent the day making biscotti, homemade caramels, and a few Christmas gifts!  Since both our birthdays are in December, that night Dave and I went to one of our favorite restaurants 9th Street Grill.  It's like having gourmet food in the middle of hickville!  (We like it because it reminds us of the food we used to eat when we lived near Chicago.)

We headed home, jumped into our jammies, pulled out the hideaway from the couch, and had a movie night.  It's so fun cause I feel almost like a little kid when we do that and we love it.  Our neighbors lent us "The Nativity Story" and we were so impressed.  When the movie first came out a few years ago we didn't think much of it cause we thought it would be kind cheezy since unfortunately most Christian movies are.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo Movies

This movie was great.  Dave and I really liked the way they portrayed the story.  It gives SO much more light to the idea of what Mary and Joseph went through when they found out they were to be the 'parents' of the Messiah.  Since the story is quite vague in the Scripture, not EVERYTHING in the movie is completely Biblical but it's definitley not straying from the probability of the situtation.

If you are looking for a GREAT Christmas movie to get you into the Spirit of Christmas or if you need a reminder of the sacrifice involved in Christ's life- even BEFORE he was born rent The Nativity Story or just buy it because you'll love it.  Merry Christmas!!!

Percolating Projects

Ever wonder what it would be like if you moved to a new home and met a neighbor that happened to become one of your best friends? 

Well you would basically live at each other's house, watch each other's dogs while they are out of town, babysit on a moment's notice, come up with a routine of TV to watch together, have meals almost once a week at each other's houses, and have pancakes or waffles together AT LEAST one Saturday a month.  Then on top of all that you would find in each other the creative drive you have been searching for!  You would encourage her desire to cook and she would encourage your desire to craft which leads you to clean out your garage and turn it into a work area for crafts (including a table saw, circular saw, TONS of sandpaper, PLENTY of Mod Podge, a Cricut, and a sewing machine.)

That's never happended to you????  What?!?!?!  Wow- guess I'm pretty blessed then cause this is what has happened to me over the last 10 months.  Moving into our 1st home was a little scary cause it means I'm really growing up.  On our street we already had some great friends from church that we knew so we were excited for the move.  Then once we met our next door neighbors The Heralds we were even more excited!  Two great sets of friends on the SAME STREET AS US!!!!

Tanya and I have now started our own cooperative blog "Percolating Projects" where we will be posting tutorials on recipes, crafts, and whatever we brew up in our little heads!  Come on over and see what today's flavor is!

I'm not just a winner in my Mommy's eyes...

SO I won a giveaway a LOOOOOOOOONG time ago and I'm just now getting around to posting about it, because I was too busy USING my new gift! :)

Alisa over at The Sweet Life gave away one of her beautiful aprons and I was ecstatic to be the reciever of the following eye candy!

Isn't it beautiful?!?!?!?!  She had several really cute options to choose from but I chose this one because it's my favorite color combo.  Seriously these were my wedding colors AND my whole house is done in green and brown- even my kitchen cabinets!!!

Anyway, the apron is REALLY well made and I love it so very much that while I was baking cookies and stuff for Thanksgiving I was so afraid to get anything on my beautiful apron.  Then the 'duh' button inside my head went off and I remembed the PURPOSE of the apron!  Head over to her blog and look around at what she has to offer because she is FANTASTICLY talented.  She even has a few aprons in her Etsy Shop!

Want free stuff???

How would you like to win a COACH PURSE???? Seriously not kidding at ALL- just go to the AMAZING Recessionista site and enter THIS giveaway here. Quickly, no go now and then come back cause I have something just as awesome to tell you.

Ok thanks for coming back.

How would you like to win something like this???

Go to the Creative Crate and enter this wonderful giveaway.

These ladies are AWESOME for doing these giveaways, so make sure to thank them!!!!

Melissa and Doug Giveaway

Need a cute Christmas gift for a kid in your life? Want something that is not only fun but SAFE? Melissa and Doug products offer fun for kids and peace of mind for parents. Their products are safe for kids which is so important in the evergrowing 'lead paint' society we find our toys coming from.


Head over to "A Little Tipsy" and enter her giveaway for the Melissa and Doug Fruit Crate. It is ADORABLE! Your little one gets to actually CUT fruit with a little play knife- what kid wouldn't like that?

Blessings to you all, and I hope you win! (But not more than I hope I win) :)

Mixed Martha 'Motions

It's supposed to be "emotions" but the 3 M's just taunted me too much. I give in so easily to that little voice that snickers in my mind at things like that- the voice sounds a LOT like my friend Danielle Wolf.

ANYWAY- the real reason you are reading this post- MARTHA STEWART. That name brings strong emotions for many people. Some love her and emulate her every move, others loathe her and want nothing to do with her. I'm somewhere in the middle. I'm not a follower of her to the point that everything in my house is a soft breezy color and every gift or goodie I make is homemade but I'm also not a hater. She has some good ideas some of which I use and some I throw away knowing I will NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS use/make that!

No matter how you feel about Martha I have a link for you. On her website she has set up a "Santa's Workshop" page and it is CHOCK FULL of fantastic ideas! There are some really great recipes I'd love to try- these are just too cute!

And talk about GIFTS GALORE!!! They are all homemade gifts and you can search for different categories like 'for her,' 'for him,' 'for kids,' and others. I found several things that would be great ideas for not only Christmas, but birthdays and other celebrations!

Go check it out and if you make anything please let me know how it turns out!

Your hut

I received an e-mail from my Aunt today. She's a twin and is the 'receiver' between them, which means that when her twin sister has any kind of pain, she can feel it. They don't even live in the same STATE, but she knows when her sister has even a headache! The reason I preface this post with info on my Aunts is because I want you to understand who sent this message to me, it makes the words so much more powerful.
Dad was the twins older brother and definitely took on some 'fatherly' roles since my Grandpa had MS. Grandpa passed away when all the kids were young, and my Grandma remarried to a WONDERFUL man that raised my Dad and my Aunts as his own. Skip ahead SEVERAL years and here is what has happened in my Aunt's lifetime: Her father passed away when she was young, her brother (my dad) passed away in his 20's (leaving a wife, a 3 year old son, and a 13 month old daughter), her mother and step-dad both passed away, her nephew (my brother) passed away at age 19, and in the midst of ALL this she and her sister both incur incredibly painful physical problems and no amount of surgery or medication can fully control the pain. Now remember with the pain problems, that not only is she experiencing her OWN pain, but also the pain of her twin sister!!! DOUBLE WHAMMY!

Anyway- all that to share this with you, and to remind you that no matter what your circumstance, God is doing something through it. Just trust Him since he has YOUR best interest at heart.

Your Hut
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, "God! How could you do this to me?"
Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

The Moral of This Story: It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground.

It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

Giving away PEARLS?!?!?!

So thank you to Songberries for the scooparooni on this amazing giveaway. Bungalow is giving away $50 worth of PEARL JEWELRY from Pearl Necklace Source.com!!!!! Wahoo!!!!

My personal favorite is this pearl bracelet- called the Hannah.

Pick your mouth off the floor and wipe the drool off the computer screen. Go enter the giveaway HERE!!!!

Lost and Found- Friend edition

I logged onto Facebook tonight after a LOOOOONG day. Woke up this morning and cleaned part of the house, then my sister and Dad came over for a few minutes since she was in town. A few other people dropped by had coffee and before I knew it my morning was GONE! I ran out to get measurement of the Kids Church room at church so I could make some curtains that I PROMISED would be finished today (which is why I was up so late in the first place.) After I got back home I got ready, went to a birthday party, then the whole family went to dinner and shopping with my Grandparents. Tons of family fun!

So back to the original story.... I logged onto Facebook (like I do every night before going to bed) and got a great surprise. A friend I haven't spoken to in about 4 years started a 'chat' with me! What?! Seriously?! At first I thought it was going to be a quick little "Hi what's new? Bye" kinda thing, but it wasn't and I was THRILLED!

This guy was my best friend at one point in my life, and when Dave and I started dating the friendship dwindled. Not that I wanted it to, but he had feelings for me and I think he was hurt. ANYWAY we haven't talked in about 4 years and it has caused me a lot of turmoil. Over the past few years I have told Dave COUNTLESS stories about Chuck and how much fun we had together. I tried calling him early on and seeing if he wanted to hang out but got no response. I commented on his blog and got no response, so finally I just gave up.

But tonight was different. Tonight was the "old Chuck and Jenna." I felt like I had my friend back and I loved it! Nothing huge was talked about, just catching up on life but it was so good to have him back. Even now I feel like some part of my life has been restored that I never realized I was so hurt about. How strange is that?! And right now- the total NON CRIER that I am has tears running down her cheeks because I'm so happy.

Chuck and I will probably never see each other face to face again since he lives in Hawaii now. We'll never have movie night. He won't teach me how to play video games again, or take me bowling, but I'm still happy. It took 4 stinkin years for us to come back to this point, but I'm glad I found my friend again.

Do you need a good laugh?

Have you had a bad day? Have you had a good day? Have you just had a whatever day?

Well I have the cure for ANY AND ALL kinds of days!!! Hilgers wonder serum takes care of..... oh wait, just kidding! (No I really don't think I'm that funny- don't worry)

The real cure is two cute blogs that I've fallen in love with. Now be prepared to not only get some crafty ideas, but also to laugh so hard, while trying to be quiet that (a) your husband looks sideways at you wondering what you could possibly be giggling at while he is watching SportCenter (b) you have to excuse yourself to the restroom cause you just peed a little (c) you need to get a tissue to wipe the latte spittle that just came from some oraface on your face that is now splattered on your computer screen OR (d) all of the above **Disclaimer- I of course did none of these things, I just have a good imagination** ;)

Now that I have given you proper warning to prepare yourself- visit Matsutake (which is apparently some sort of Japaneese mushroom, but her site has nothing to do with mushrooms) she is hilarious and has some of the most RANDOM but fun crafts to do.

Then my next favarito is Lollychops. By the end of reading her posts I felt that I had been in some craft fanatic brain of a child diagnosed with ADD but not on any medication. Long story short- she's amazingly random. Just fantastic!

So go visiting and then come back and tell me what you think of my new finds!

Bloggie Giveawy

Hello All~

I wanted to tell you about an ADORABLE Etsy shop called Jesse Janes. (Isn't that cute first of all!) She make some beautiful item and they are reasonably priced too! Can't beat that... or CAN you????

Go to Songberries and you could WIN one for FREE wahoo! Plus she has some really great recipe ideas. So head over to Songberries and enter the giveaway, and then take time to look through her recipes. The Chocolate Buttermallow Cake she has up looks TO DIE FOR!!!!!

Texas Style Chili

In case you didn't know..... IT IS FALL!!!!!!

I love this time of year so much. Other than some memories th

at are hard for me at this time of year, it is probably my favorite few months of the year. The weather is just gorgeous, the trees are so distinct, and of course the FOOD! :)

Let's just be honest the food at any time of year is the biggest thing we look forward to. Fall brings wiener roasts, s'mores, pumpkin flavors, cinnamon, nutmeg, apples, caramel, soups, and of course CHILI! Confession ALERT: until the last year or two I wouldn't eat chili. NEVER in a million years would I have eaten, let alone MAKE it!

I've grown up though folks and here I am, a total chili LOVER! We

ndy's chili was what originally got me hooked and I only ate it because I was trying to eat a little healthier to fit into my wedding dress. Chili at Wendy's was a better option than the fried chicken sandwhich and french fries I used to get there! So now I love chili of all kinds but not too spicy. The following chili has become my all time FAVARITO! It came from my Mother-In-Law's friend and I have changed it a little bit to fit my taste and to simplify it. Feel free to do the same! :)

Texas Chili *This was a double batch in the pictures, recipe is a single batch*

3-5 lbs stew meat

1 Tbsp vinegar

3 beef bouillon cubes

1 envelope of dry onion soup mix

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 onion chopped (I only use a full onion if I make a double batch cause we don't like it much)

1 can of rotel (only used 1 can in the double batch and it worked fine)

2 cans kidney beans- drained and rinsed

1 can of chili beans

Toppings (Optional): Cheddar cheese, fritos, sour cream

Put meat in a 4-5 qt heavy stock pot with 1/2 cup of water (with

double batch don't double water.)

Cover and cook on med/high until meat is cooked and grayish. About 30 minutes.

Uncover and cook away juices, turn meat so that it browns as evenly as possible. About 25 minutes. Lift out meat and put into a separate bowl.

In original pan add 1/4 cup of water and vinegar. Scrape down sides to loosen any brown bits (YUMMY!) and add bouillon cubes, onion soup, chili powde

r, and onion. Cook and stir for 10 minutes.

Add rotel and beans.

Stir to mix well before adding the meat back into the pot.

Cover and simmer until the meat falls apart- 2 hours is good but

can simmer for a while if needed.

**I added some tomato juice and water to this batch because it was pretty thick. It IS a thick chili so add as much tomato juice as you feel comfortable for your taste. Have fun with it!**

Dave loves his with fritos and cheese, I also put sour cream on mine. Woop woop!

Lastly- keep your dogs away from it. My dogs accidentally got a taste of chili a while back and now ANY time they smell that wonderful aroma they go nuts! I was sitting here working on this post and looking at Facebook and had to snap this shot!

Just because I need a few pictures on here

This is completely and totally random but I felt like I needed some pictures on my blog. And since my blog is ALL about randomness, WHY NOT?!

These are from this summer when Dave and I went out garage sale shopping. Dave had NEVER been to a garage sale before so I had to document the experience. Again- picture quality isn't that great, so just excuse those please. Later gator!

We got some good deals- mostly tools for Dave!