changes

The colors have been popping out all over. You know it's Fall. A couple of weeks ago, the leaves weren't even changing. Maybe due to the warm weather we were having. Now with the temps dropping and it raining more. The changes in the leaves seem to be happening faster and faster. The trees are thinning their leaves and soon, nothing will be left on the trees. You know at that point, winter is coming. Brrrr.... don't even want to think about the cold weather. So for now, I'll just enjoy the view.

This is the before picture of the dining area in the kitchen. Cranberry, I love cranberry. I've had cranberry for the last 7, can never get tire of cranberry. It;s just one color I absolutely love. It just made a statement when you walked into the room. Then after thinking about it. It's not that large of a room. Maybe we need to lighten it up a bit and give it the illusion of a larger room. So after thinking about it. Went out and picked out a color. Dh was nice enough to paint it for me.

Orange Slice! What a change. Lighter, brighter, big difference. I love it. I just have to pick out a contrasting color for the other side of the kitchen. But for now, I'm really going to enjoy this view. This room, is probably my favorite room in the house. Cant wait to get it done.

Off to finish decorating the house. It was decided, we will be having guests on Halloween! That is going to mean, apple bobbing, smores and a whole lot more. I'm also feeling a giveaway....maybe for Halloween???

Enjoy your day!

Susan

Swaps received

I received this wonderful Fall package from Ngarie for the Fall Swap at Morning Glories and Moonflowers.
She sent me a wonderful scarf and a set of dish towels. Loved the colors she picked out. And some Halloween decor.

This was my first foodie swap over at Cookie Crumbs . So glad I joined, I received a wonderful package from Anne, never did see if she had a blog. She sent me some wonderful things, dips, soup mix, sauce and some homemade pickles. Which my husband is almost done with. They were good!

This swap, I received from Deb . The swap was Heidi's Homemade Halloween swap. The package that she sent me was wonderful. An apron, which is my first! With witches and beautiful laces around it. It's beautiful.

And the bag. Which is my first also in the swap world. The patchwork and colors, that you used. Gorgeous! Already carting it around with me to my crochet classes. Had alot of comments on it Deb! You did a great job.

Thank you all to my swap partners, I sure hope you enjoyed my package as much as I did yours.

Have a great day!

Susan

Wordless Wednesday

Have a wonderful day!

Wordless Wednesday

Comfort food

BEEF BRISKET

1 pkg of onion soup mix
1 pkg of brown gravy mix
2 cloves of garlic chopped

2-3 tbls olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients above. Make a paste, not to wet. If you need more
oil, add some more a bit at a time. Prepare you brisket to be wrapped in foil.
Spread paste on top of whole brisket.
Wrap into a pouch. Make sure it's wrapped good where no steam leaks.
Bake for one hour at 425 degrees. Then reduce your oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Bake for 2 more hours, depending on the size of you brisket. If it its a larger than
normal brisket, add another hour.

Open the pouch carefully, the steam will be hot.

The meat will fall apart. Our favorite is to serve this over mashed potatoes, but

you could also use rice, noodles, anything really.

It's delicious.

October is here....

Fall is finally making an appearance. The crisp cool air has been here and I think it's here to stay. Goodbye summer weather, I will miss you. Pack those summer things away. Time to pull out those sweaters and jackets. That's what I'll be doing today. Pulling out the warmer clothes to go through and pulling out the Fall decorations. Scarecrows, pumpkins, here I come! Great day to just stay home and bake.

Have a wonderful day!

Susan

Pumpkin Time!

Pick out your fabric. Cut in any size rectangular shape. The bigger the piece, the bigger the pumpkin.

Sew down the sides, stitch one end, do the stitch part with heavy thread.

stuff and stitch up the other end,

now you must take twine and go through the pumpkin, in one end, out the other. This is easier to do with a crochet hook. Make 4 sections. Tie a knot close to the center. Hot glue a stem (tree branch) and some leaves.

Happy Fall!

Made the wreath with some of my stash. My stash consists of items I've purchased along the years. You know, the items that you buy on clearance. It's such a good deal, you cant pass up. Knowing your not going to use it right away, but it's on sale. And even though when you get home and put it right away, just because you don't want your dh to see it. The next time you do come across it. Is when your having a garage sale. lol

The wreath didn't cost me a penny. I had everything I needed to throw it together. I really have to start going though my stash to see what else I have. It's like getting something new all over again.

While out shopping today, there were a few sales around. Stopped to check things out. Score, plant stand. $1.00! With a new coat of paint, it'll look brand new. Cant wait to clean it up.

Tomorrow I have my yearly flea market. Going to pack up the car tonight. This way I could just jump in and go in the morning. Hoping for a warm day. And hoping to bring less boxes home then what I went with. I have a pot of turkey soup on the stove. Soup weather is here! Going to finish getting ready for tomorrow and have a bowl of soup. Enjoy the rest of your Friday.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Susan

Wordless Wednesday

You could hear a pin drop

With the kids getting off earlier to school in the mornings. The house seems so quiet and still. No TV on, no computer or xbox running. Gosh, I'm able to get things done and everything stays clean until dinner time. I love school days! Now, if I could only get the boys to make their beds before they leave, it would really be a perfect day. :)

Have a wonderful day!
Susan

Welcome September!

What a great month September is. Besides with school starting, September is also the month that I was born. I'll be a big 45 this year. To me, it's only a number. Not a year getting older. I think I get better with age. More smarter, more wiser, more experience as each year goes by. With whoever I meet or with the friends I have in my life. I'm always learning something. This year, I plan on doing something for myself. I always say I'm going to, but never do. For this month I have some goals. One is to join WW again. I do so well in the beginning then I fizz out. You know, when you lose those pounds. Then you see something you want to snack on and know you cant have it. You tell yourself, it's okay, I'll be good after this one time. Right. Bad habits are hard to break. This time, I plan on sticking with it. Going to change the way I take care of myself. Want to excerise more. Even if it means taking Murphy for those extra walks. Which I know he wont mind. I want to take some classes. Maybe a pottery class or maybe some painting classes. Something that I will enjoy doing. Maybe join a bookclub or even start one. I also have alot to change in the house. Need some color updating, new curtains. Just a fresh look.

So with that in mind. I sure hope I find my battery charger for my camera. Which I will be starting my Fall cleaning tomorrow. I am determined to find that charger! Would really like to take some before and after shots. Keep track of the things I want to change. 45 doesn't look that bad. It's going to be a good year.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!
Susan

Wash out!

Our camping weekend was a bust. We were suppose to leave on Thursday morning. But with the rain reports. Which they really didn't confirm then that it was going to be bad. We decided not to go. Good thing. The rain and storms we had. Couldn't imagine myself out there in the rain, especially in a tent. They say it's going to clear up this afternoon. So we unpacked everything and put it away, don't know if we'll be able to go again this year. With all the items I bought for the trip. We are just going to have a cookout tonight. Went to the store and bought some crab legs and shrimp. The camping place where we were going, had seafood feast weekend. We'll just have it home.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Susan

MMMM!

Now here is something different. I always stick with the same old salad dressing. Oil and vinegar, Ranch, Thousand Island. Very rarely go out of the box. Plus, I don't like to spend and end up not liking it and it goes to waste. I had a coupon for $2.00 and it was on sale for $1.67. Figured, I'd give it a try. Boy, was I happy and surprised. The Asian Toasted Sesame is a keeper. The taste is out of this world and not very overpowering. Very different. I couldn't get enough salad. Tonight I will be using it as a marinade for some chicken. This is something that I will keep in my pantry, love it!

Have a great day!
Susan

Finally came to update things here. Really need to find the time to get on the computer. With the kids home for summer, there is just not enough time in the day. Plus, by the time night rolls around, I'm wiped. I just want to hit that pillow and sleep.

We've been doing alot of day trips. Last week, we finally tried camping. Dh has been after me for years to try it. And after seeing how much a room would be for a week, I figured why not. We invested in a rather large tent. Have to say, it wasn't that bad. Had nice weather and we had a great time. Such a good time, we came home and booked another trip at the end of the month. With my luck, it'll rain the whole time. That I'm sure will be an experience.

Would love to post some pictures, but haven't found my battery charger. Been taking some on disposable cameras. Now I need to get them turned into disks. I know when I do that, I will find my charger, let's hope!

To start getting back into things. I joined a couple of swaps. A Fall swap with Morning Glories and Moonflowers. And a Kiddie Halloween Swap with Polka Dot Moon. My 10 yr old is going to love to be involved in his own swap. He loves to get my packages, wait till he gets his own.

I'm off to get my day started. Have some major cleaning and laundry to catch up on. Plus, need to start getting my work station cleaned. It's just a mess with piles of papers and things to go through. Do you have an place in your home that things just pile up? Or am I the only one. ;)

Have a wonderful day!
Susan

The weather for the last couple of days has been so nice. No rain. But I really shouldn't talk about it, being that the rain is coming. Of course, how dare it stay away. :)

With summer in full swing. Just havent had the time to get on this computer. I have to make the time, I do miss it. Miss reading all the wonderful blogs. Miss printing out my coupons. Just miss chatting with people. Now with dh back to work, I'll find the time to get on.

Now I'm off to the lake to enjoy some of the sunshine. Hoping all is well with everyone.

Before I go, there are a couple of giveaways I thought I would share.. Sharon
at My Vintage Studio and Jennifer at The Toy Box Years. They both have some great stuff to giveaway, go check it out!

Have a good day!
Susan

Between the end of the year activities with school and starting a new job. I really haven't had time to do much of anything. I did make time to work on my swaps and get them ready to go. My button swap was probably the easiest one I every put together. I sure hope my partner will find some good use for those buttons.

Was busy working on my Fourth of July swaps. Had some scrap wood laying around. So put it to good use and made some things for the outside. Due to the weather we've been having. Some things haven't dried as well as I would like them to. We just needed some extra time on them.

With all the rain we've been having. Everything is so nice and green. The plants and flowers are

all doing well. The colors are popping out all over. Love when I don't have to keep on reminding myself to water the plants!

Need to go finish up on my boxes to mail out. Hoping everything is dry.

Hope all is well, have a good day!

Susan

Wordless Wednesday

Enjoy your day!

susan

Thrifty Finds, Finished Project & Giveaway

Dh and I decided to go and get some plants this morning. Knowing we've been a bit behind in that department. Figured, how late can we be. Well, I guess late. There weren't that many plants to pick from. So I ended up with 2 flats, mostly of Petunia's. Picked up a couple of tomato plants also to spread amongst the flowers. After that, we decided to hit the flea market in that town. Not many booths open. There were some. Came across 2 great finds for the day. One is a metal star. Which is heavy and I nor the seller had no idea where it came from. And the other are 2 metal geese. Love them! $5 for the star, $5 for the set of geese. Both finds will be going into the garden.



This is the chair that I just finished. Sanded it down and cleaned it up. Love the color red. The bucket I also cleaned up an painted. The chair was a $1 find at the thrift store and the bucket was only .50 cents. I love those kind of prices.



This bucket I found in a back bin at the thrift store. The women at the register said it was there forever. Gosh, makes me want to look better for now on. 50 cents! Didn't want to do anything to it. So just left it as it was.

These two buckets I found at another thrift store. Didn't drill any holes in them. So I placed pots inside and then planted. These were both $1 a piece.

Was really excited to put all my thrifty finds to good use. My gardens look so nice with the different things in them. And to think, I didn't spend a fortune.

Sharon at My Vintage Studio is having her 200th post giveaway. She is having 4 winners! She has some great things to giveaway, go check it out!

Now it's time to go make some potato salad for tomorrow's picnic. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and a safe holiday.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

Susan

Wordless Wednesday

My Little Corner

Since we've made it so all three boys have there own room. I had given up my space. My room away from it all. My place of peace. A place where I could shut the door and do what I wanted. Nobody to tell me how to keep it. Mine, all mine. Now, I'm in a corner of my bedroom. A small corner may I say. Well, I could just be down about this and complain. Or, I could go with the flow. Choose to go with the flow. So I have my husband taking apart the closet and making some kind of system in there so I can keep some things. As well as maybe hang some clothes. Just functional. Now I have to start downsizing on what I keep. I want to keep everything! But I think it would be way to much in the corner.
This is what I'm starting with.

This is what I'm kind of playing with. Found some odds and ends in my boxes and hung up. Put my bulletin board up. And covered the table with some fabric. Right now, it works. I'll make some changes when the closet is done. This way, I'll be working on the inside out. Maybe incorporate it in the room. By keeping the doors off. We'll see. I still didn't pick any curtains. Need to get on that.
Also been working on a corner off my patio. Transplanted some plants from the front beds a couple of weeks ago. Cant wait till the color starts popping on them. Been painting some butterflies. Going to put some more of those on the fence. Want to add more color to the corner.

It's suppose to be a rainy weekend. So I'll be staying inside working on some projects. One will be, making some pillows for the couch. Found some great yellow material at the thrift store the other day. It's just calling my name.

Have a good weekend!
Susan

How much can one person take?

I walked out on my job. I signed up to work on Mother's Day. It usually is a good day and worth working. When I got to work. The station that has been mine for the last 3 years for holidays. Was given to someone else. Okay, I guess I could live with it. But I needed to know why. So I hunted down the manager. Which I have to say, we dont agree on anything and bump heads alot. Found him and simply just stated. "I need to talk to you about my station." Then bang, he yelled and told me how dare I bother him with this. Said some bad words in there, but I wont write them. I just apoligized and told him we'd take it up another time. Then as I was doing my side work. One of the younger servers came up and asked if I was alright. Told him dont worry, just stay out of it. Then he stated, " he should of never talked to you that way." Lightbulb went on! I'm 45 years old and I'm going to have someone talk to me that way. I dont think so. So I went to grab my things and left. Nobody needs to get yelled at like that. Not right.

You see, everyone there is afraid of this manager. I'm not. When someone has a problem or something happened. They come running to me. So I usually go and ask. Well lately, lets say, 6 months now. He usually just says, " I don't have time right now", "don't bother me with this," "you don't like it, there is the door". He has labeled me a trouble maker. Why? I just want whats fair for one, fair for all. It's not like that here. He talks to people, now remind you, not the "chosen ones", like crap. The kids, he treats like crap. Telling some, "why do you even bother to show up and ruin my day".

I know maybe I shouldn't of walked out. Especially at a time my dh is on layoff. But really, do I deserve to be talked to that way? I have a spotless record, nobody can say anything bad about me there. I do my job and I do it well. It just upsets me why I have to take this crap. Well, guess no more!

I do believe, when one door shuts another opens. Its time for change. Don't know what I'm going to do. But I'm positive there is something out there for me. Wish me luck, because that's all I have now.

Have a good day!

Susan

Dear Sun,

Have I told you how much I miss you? The kids are missing you also. They would love to go outside and play. But they cant, the rain has taken over. We miss seeing you in the morning when we wake up. We miss the warmth you bring. Everyone is wondering where you've been. Do you hear us calling for you?? Please come back soon.

Happy Monday!

Susan

Chicken Review

While shopping the other day I picked up a Perdue Roaster in a bag. Selling price was $7.99. I had a coupon for $2.00. So how could I lose. It wasn't hard to prepare at all. Take it out of the wrapping. Place in dish. Put in oven. Cook.




While it was cooking, the bag was expanding. The little one kept saying, "it's going to burst, it's going to burst". I think if he said it one more time. I was going to burst.



No mess, stayed in the bag. Didn't have to worry about it any grease in the oven.

I will definitely buy this again. It was moist and tasted great. The best part is the clean up for me. Next time, I'll use a throw away pan for even an easier cleanup.

Have a good day!
Susan

It's a start.
Yesterday I started WW. Need to really get my act together. Getting older and feeling it. I have some pounds to lose and yes. It's hard to do. For me, very hard. My life is hectic at times. Really, most of the time. I don't always sit and eat right. I love to pick and munch. Pick at the wrong things and munch at the wrong time. I figure, cut out things I don't need. Keep with the healthy, good for you kind of stuff. I just want to feel good about myself. Lately, I really haven't.

So now, I think it's time. I'm going to make healthy choices. No junk. Drink more water. And will start walking. Eat whats good for me. Going to take one day at a time. It's a start. Anyone want to come along for the ride??

Happy May Day! Enjoy your day!

Susan

Finally able to get on the computer. I wont have to ride to the library to check emails. Wont have to bug my kid to use his laptop. Wont have to call my friend up and say, "look this up for me?" It'll be nice to finally just get on and do what I want when I want. I missed reading and keeping up with everyone. Now I need to go catch up and get back into things.

Hoping everyone is doing well,
Life is good here.
Susan

Boo,Hoo!

I'm still without a computer. I'm hoping, actually, really praying that I get it back this week. Really do miss it. This is the longest I've been without.

I just wanted to stop in and let my swap partners know, that everything is out. Also, can you please take pictures for me? I cant find my battery charger and I'm lost without it. I did receive a few swaps, my basket swap, which I loved. The Easter Egg Swap, very cute and my spring theme swap, great package. Thank you ladies, it was a pleasure swapping with you.

Now, I need to get off, my son wants his laptop back. Hope to be back soon.

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter!
Susan

Be back soon.....

My computer is down.
Hoping to get mine back this week.

I miss my computer! :(

Hope all is well,
Susan

Happy Spring!

Or is it???? I don't think we could say goodbye to winter yet. Right now, we are getting snow. And it's coming down. First day of Spring and it's snowing. I know it's not going to be around long. Our weekend temps will be going up into the 50's with full sun. That's what the weatherman says, beautiful weekend......he also didn't say anything about snow today.

Have a wonderful first day of Spring!
Susan