Peek at my MANY Weeks (April, May, and June)

Remember a few months ago when I gave you weekly peeks at my life and the online content I had discovered? Life got beyond busy, and there was at least one event that was tough for me to mention, so I let the weekly peeks go to the wayside until I could bear to begin again. I'm ready now to start sharing like I did before.  But, let me catch you up.

First up, just about every weekend has seen at least a little time spent in or around the pool these last few months. Thunderstorms and illness are about the only things that have kept us away.

In fact, in all that time, I think we've only made two trips to the beach, and we didn't get in the water either time. That's CRAZY, yo!

In addition to all the busy-ness these last several months, we lost our sweet Leeloo in April as she suffered a series of seizures and her little body just couldn't take it. This loss was the main thing that kept me from sharing these peeks. I just needed some time before I could mention it.

It wasn't all tears though, our oldest niece was a senior this year. She went to prom in April.

Then, we celebrated her birthday.

Her sister's birthday was only two days later and that was celebrated as well.

Of course, the big excitement was that she turned 16 and got her driver's license. April was a BUSY month for us all!

At the start of May, Pat and I took a short staycation for Pat's birthday. Mostly, we stayed home and enjoyed the pool. We did venture down to the river one day for lunch and Bushwackers, though.

I was supposed to get to go to a big concert in New Orleans that same week, but Pat and I must have overdone it as we ended up at home sick.

Later in the month, the oldest niece graduated from High School. We were all so excited!

Since she plans to attend the community college near my house (an hour from hers), she planned to move in with us. So, we prepped the guest room during May and into June, when she moved in. That's been an adjustment for all of us!

I had been waiting since before Christmas to see the Barenaked Ladies in concert. They were special guests of Hootie and The Blowfish at the beginning of June. It was AMAZING!

I finished out June with the annual Alabama Grand Assembly for the International Order of Rainbow for Girls. It's a girls' organization that I'm an advisor for, as well as a past state president (hence the crown). The convention is exhausting and rewarding at the same time. It always takes me weeks to prepare for and weeks to recover from. I'm finally there. Ha!

There have been loads of smiles around the pool for the past several months. I do hope to get better about making these weekly posts again and plan on catching up on July's events next week. 

For now, I'm relieved to have caught up this far and think that everything's calmed down a little. I hope the last several months have been good for you. I definitely pray that they've not been as crazy as mine.

Christmas Table Favors (and the Candy Cane Legend)

I am fortunate enough to be an advisor for the International Order of Rainbow for Girls (a Masonic Girls Organization). We recently had our state-level Christmas party and (because of the position I currently hold) I needed to have favors for the party. Me being me, I knew I wanted to make as many of them as I could.

If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, or Tumblr you might have gotten a glimpse of what I made for this event.

These are basic peppermint sticks dipped in melted chocolate and rolled in festive Sprinkles

I combined the dipped peppermint sticks with several other fun items to make goodie bags.

The bags are simply closed with Christmas washi tape.

In each baggie were two zip-top jewelry bags. One bag contained two chocolate-dipped, sprinkle coated pretzels and the other held one of the peppermint sticks. The Merry Christmas labels were printed onto cardstock and attached to the baggies with a staple.

These tiny stained glass coloring books and markers from Oriental Trading Company were also included in the bags.

Lastly, I threw in a little more candy and some holiday stickers. (oops, that fancy penguin's upside down!. . .the top hat makes him fancy, obviously.)

I wanted to be sure to give each of the girls that attended a little something special as well, so I made up another set of little baggies as pedicure kits.

They're just a small bottle of nail polish and a set of pedicure tools, but the label is what makes it for me. I found the "For Your MistleTOES" labels via The Crafting Chicks.

Favors were also made for the devotional breakfast. This time I went a little more simple with baggies of homemade hot cocoa mix (with marshmallows), a printed Candy Cane Legend bookmark, and some candy canes.

I don't recall exactly which cocoa mix I used, but you can simply find one by searching for 'homemade hot cocoa mix' on the internet. I topped the cocoa with another homemade label that included the instructions.  The Candy Cane Legend bookmarks were found HERE on Scribd. To add a little more pizazz to them once they were printed, I punched a hole at the top, stuck on a clear reinforcer, and tied a bit of red ribbon to it (though green would have been nice too.)

I also read some information about the Candy Cane Legend to the girls. It's a legend that I just really love so I thought I'd share with you what I shared with them.

I’ve used this Legend many times because there’s just something so innocent about a candy cane, yet it is packed with meaning. You’ve probably heard me or someone else tell this legend before, but it’s still hard to find a consistent story about where the candy cane derived. Some stories say that in 18th century Europe public displays of Christianity were forbidden so a candy-maker used the candy cane to covertly display his love for the Lord. Another story is that the first maker of the candy cane was in Indiana. Yet another story is that a Choirmaster in 1670 Germany gave hooked candy sticks to his young members of the choir to keep them quiet during the service. In all of the stories I found, the symbolism of the candy cane remains the same: 

**The hooked shape is a symbol of a shepherd’s hook to remind us that Jesus is our shepherd and we are his flock. When turned upside down, the cane becomes a “J” for Jesus’ name.
**It is a hard candy to remind us that Jesus is the rock of our salvation.
**It begins as a pure white to represent the virgin birth and the sinless nature of Jesus.
**The stripes on the candy cane also have meaning. Most often, the candy has one main stripe and three smaller ones. The large one represents the blood shed on the cross for our sins. And the smaller three are the trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
**Even the flavor of the candy is symbolic. The peppermint is similar to Hyssop which was used for purification and sacrifice just as Jesus sacrificed His life for ours. 

Unfortunately over time the real story of the Candy cane has been hard to find and its meaning all but lost in the busy-ness of the season. It has become nothing more than a piece of candy. However, you now know what it truly means and can share it with others. For when you share a piece of a candy cane, you are sharing Jesus with a friend.

I'm not positive I'll have time to post again before Christmas, so let me go ahead and wish you a most magical and blessed Holiday however you choose to celebrate it!

Zoofari, Menu, Recipe Review, Shop News (too much?)

Before I start in about my menu, let me say that I had an exhausting but fulfilling weekend. I got to spend a majority of it with my nieces and a group of wonderful young ladies at the Birmingham Zoo. I got to watch this guy during most of my visit.

As well, I saw lots of pretty birds.

I love all the bright colors on this Lorikeet

These flamingos were more peach than pink and these three were involved in some kind of brawl

But, that was it for me and the animals as we had to be on the road to hear the Alabama v. Ole Miss game!! Roll tide!

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Anyway, it's Monday once again and time for a new meal plan for the week.

Breakfasts: Oatmeal/grits, Juice, Yogurt w/granola & fruit, Waffles or pancakes from the freezer, Jam-filled almond muffins, Breakfast burritos

Lunches: Leftovers, PB&J, Tuna noodles, Chicken salad sandwiches, Cheese & mushroom calzones, Soup w/grilled cheese, Cheese pizza (from freezer)

Dinners: 

Peanutty Thai noodles with sugar snap peas w/tofu

Mushroom, corn, & poblano tacos

Red lentil rice cakes w/roasted cauliflower & leftover orzo

Ham & potato soup

Cheese ravioli in marinara w/salad

Steamed shrimp & mushroom dumplings w/sesame garlic snow peas & fried rice

I'm linking up this Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

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Recipe Review

From last week's menu

• Black Bean and Cheese enchiladas with ranchero sauce: I've made quite a few black bean enchilada recipes since we started this low-meat thing. I think these were the best of the bunch. For one, I used whole wheat flour tortillas instead of corn. The ingredients in the tortillas were simple, though the ranchero sauce took up most of the time. However, I think it was worth that extra effort for sure! I will probably make these again.
• Tuscan bean soup with shrimp: I'll admit that I was a little worried about how good this would be despite it being a Pioneer Woman recipe. I should know know never to worry about her recipes. It was wonderful and filling. I did use crushed tomatoes instead of diced as neither of us is big on chunky tomatoes in our soup. I froze what was left and may make this again.
• Barefoot Contessa lemon chicken breast: This was pretty simple and definitely yummy. I used two large bone-in breasts as I couldn't find skin-on, boneless ones. It turned out fine. Even with only two breasts I had to cook these for almost 50 minutes. (Though I do admit that I know my oven cooks slower than others.) This recipe might just be repeated.
• Parmesan basil orzo: I think Pat like this okay but I really, really loved it. It was a simple recipe that cooked while I took care of other things and it was divine. The touch of basil in it was inspired. I definitely will make this again.

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Shop News

NEW!

Beach Glam Necklace

On sale!

Perfect Wave Bracelet - 20% off

Green Ladybird Necklace - 25% off

Unique Delight Earrings - 15% off

I think that's plenty enough information for today. I apologize for getting carried away!

Returning Home and Planning my Week

I'm running a little behind this week after not getting in from out of town until LATE Sunday night and spending most of yesterday recovering from all the fun and excitement. As such, let me just try to catch up.

You may remember all the baggies of beads I mentioned last week that I was taking with me on my trip. I did get a brief chance to break into them, but this was as far as I got!

 

Now that I'm home, I don't really have time to complete that necklace since the Bead Hoarder's Blog Hop is this Saturday and I haven't even started on my hoarded treasures yet. Though, I have narrowed the pile down to these beauties.

I need to make something with at least one of those before the week's out. Wish me luck!

Though I miss my Rainbow friends, it's good to be home from the convention. While the food there wasn't bad at all, I tend to have my nerves so tied in knots that I don't eat well. I'm looking forward to some home food now that I have my menu made. Here's what I have planned.

Breakfasts: Cereal, Juice, Cinnamon sugar croissants, Pancakes, Cheese Omelets

Lunches: Leftovers, Tuna noodles, PB&J, Bean burritos, Soup w/grilled cheese, Chicken salad roll-up, Snack lunch

Dinners: (we've got a busy week so there are very few days that we're both home at the same time so this is a short list)

MyRecipes Mushroom Lasagna

Mushroom Lasagna w/Best Broccoli

Pioneer Woman Potato Soup

Slow cooker sticky chicken wings w/hashbrown casserole (1/2 recipe) and green beans

Sticky Chicken from Six Sisters' Stuff

My mouth's watering just looking at the above list!
What do you have planned for the week?

Pre-packing bead palettes for travel

I'm heading out of town for a couple of days and though I know I probably won't have time for it, I insist on taking craft supplies with me. I pondered for several days what kind of craft I'll be craving and after tossing out grand notions about kumihimo and embroidery, I realized that I just want to meditatively wire wrap some beads.

At first I simply packed several selections of wire, my pliers, and a single divided box of miscellaneous beads. However, I soon realized that the idea of even sorting though that single organizer felt cumbersome. While I still have that organizer packed (along with a few small seed bead containers), the notion of pre-packing some bead selections hit me. I liked it.

I hate pictures of beads in baggies too, but there was just no other way to get a picture of these. I apologize

I absolutely have not had time this week to be creative, though my body has been yearning for it. Yet, sorting through my beads and coming up with these color palettes healed that feeling some.

This picture is a little better, right?

Picking out the beads was almost meditative and slightly addictive. I know that these fourteen baggies of beads are way more than I need for a BUSY four day trip, but it makes me feel better to know I have options.

And I KNOW this one is better.

Oh, and I did add some waxed linen cord and buttons to my craft bag as well. . .you know, just for good measure.

What's your method for making sure you can get your craft/bead fix while away from home?

Bead Table Wednesday: Short and Sweet

I'm still working toward getting back into the swing of things since my trip. I think I'm just about there and might actually make it into the craft room to create!

Since it is Bead Table Wednesday, let me share what's waiting for me there.

Some beaded bangles I started on last week. You can see some other little bits of them in the background as well.

While I'm talking about items I started before my trip, let me go ahead and share the pieces I made FOR the trip.

I just needed a few little things for some of the outfits I wore, and these worked out perfectly!

There's more Bead Table Wednesday in the Flickr Group!

Bead Table Wednesday

As I'm trying to keep this short and sweet, here's the bracelet I listed today

Passion Bracelet

 And now I'm outta here!! :)

On the Fourth We Partied and on the Fifth I Packed

I'm going to try to knock this post out quickly.
I've got a convention (nothing to do with beads. . .sorry) starting tomorrow and lasting through the whole weekend and I've still got plenty to do in preparation. But I wanted to let you know why I may be absent the rest of the week (though, you never know when I might be able to pop online for a few minutes.)

I hope you had a fabulous Fourth of July whether you celebrated America's independence or not.
Mine was spectacular.
Pat and I decided to chill at the house most of the day (since there tends to be a high incidence of drinking and driving on the 4th). However, since we are water babies, we still wanted to get wet. So, Pat set up the soaker hose on a tarp in the backyard then added our beach chairs and a cooler with some cold beverages.

Here's a better look at the soaking

And my invention for not getting water into my beer (that's right, it's a plastic glove. . .we were calling it a beer condom)

We grilled some brats and corn (we only took the husk off right at the end of the grilling, per these directions)

And I threw some tater tots in the oven for one yummy feast!

After a bit, we were craving something sweet, so I made some Four Ingredient Nutella Brownies (we ate them ALL)

Later in the evening we headed downtown for my favorite part of the Fourth, the FIREWORKS!!
I caught a few videos on my phone, so here's a sample of our show. I personally liked that the crescent moon was in the background the whole time and you can see the reflection of the fireworks on the water. . .so pretty!!


I know for sure I'll be back posting away next week. . .for now let's just see if I survive this one! First, back to packing!

Getting Back into the Swing of that Jewelry Thing

By the end of this week, I should have the Etsy shop open and ready for business with some items listed and everything.

I know it seems to have taken forever, but I've been on two separate "vacations." That's in quotes because the first one was more of an obligation/service than a vacation. Of course, I enjoyed myself. But, the second one was the real vacation. You see, Pat and I went to ARUBA for a week!!! He got to do his windsurfing (and some kiteboarding) thing and I got to sit on a lounge chair under a palappo (dang, I know that spelling is wrong but it means tiki hut) and flip through bead magazines, doodle, and listen to music. Of course, I also took breaks from that to get in the crystal clear and perfect temperature water!! It was wonderful.

Even though we were getting our chill on, Pat and I discussed this new venture of mine and how he'd like to see me speed some things up. As such, I have a deadline of having at least one item listed by Friday. So, instead of playing the week away in the craft room with some of the ideas and notes I have from the week of vacation, I will be working more on the business side of things. We'll see how it goes. For now, I'll leave you with some of my favorite images from Aruba!

That's about it for now. I suppose I should get to work and all that jazz. Of course, these images of Aruba will be floating through my mind all day! Inspiration to say the least!

A Little Explaining to Do and WWWW

I survived the mountain of work that faced me on my return to the office yesterday, and I apologize for not posting anything more interesting. I'm trying to get back in the groove of normal life. However, the past several weeks were so overwhelming, that it may take some time.

I don't know if I mentioned what I was doing in Huntsville or not. Basically I was at Alabama's Grand Assembly for the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls. I will not summarize all that happened as two of my friends have already done a much better job. I will say that I held the honorary position of State Mother Advisor this past year and the trip to Huntsville was the culmination of that duty/honor. I handed the job over to one of my best friends' mother. The job was a love/hate thing for me. I loved being able to work with the girls and encourage them to do their best, but it is also an adult position that overrides my "girl" title. Some of you know what I'm talking about. As usual, the convention hit a chaotic high with the announcement of Grand Officers. I went back to being a State Executive (big surprise) and was happy that my friend, Julie, gets to Chair the Ritual Committee (a job I've held for several years and don't mind that she'll get the opportunity to do it.) It's nice to take a break from many of the obligations I've had the past several years and try to focus on other things I enjoy. Grand Assembly is a lot of things for us 'has beens' in Alabama. We really enjoy getting to see each other, visit with the girls, participate in the banquets; but at the same time, it can be very stressful when the girls and some of the adults get so upset about what office the girls are assigned. They don't think about the honor that has been bestowed upon them by simply getting an office, about all the other girls in other states who will NEVER have the opportunity to hold a grand office, or about the fact that a group of people intentionally deliberated over what office to give them. I hope, in time, they all learn to appreciate what has been HANDED to them, whether they have earned it or not.

That's all I want to say about that!! On to more fun subjects, which is the turn I hope my life takes now that Grand Assembly has passed.
It is "WILD WILD WEB WEDNESDAY"!! YAY. And, I have some stuff for you guys. Somehow, I have amassed links to photo collections that I think are cool. I hope you like them too.

• Japanese fashion gallery
• Photos of people getting items dumped on their heads. Couldn't get photos, but this is my favorite on this list!! Check it out!)
  
• Photos by a 3 year old. Some are what you expect, and some are pretty good.
• Celebrity money - mashups of celebrity pictures and faces on money.
• Great moments in history on etch-a-sketches, below is the Salem Witch Burnings.

Okalie-Dokalie, I hope that was worth waiting for. Like I said at the beginning of this post, I'm trying to catch back up to normalcy (and most of you know what that was like). Hopefully, you'll hear from me tomorrow, we'll see!