The Cake

Shoo! I finally got the cake done. We might have to go with Walmart for future birthday parties. LOL! I ended up putting 2 1/2 containers of fluffy white icing on this butterfly cake. Can you say major sugar rush? I had to put a lot of icing because there was a lot of cut pieces of cake and I tried not to get the cake mixed up in the white icing. Difficult! The hardest part was tracing out the butterfly. Since Katie loves the color pink, I thought it would be cute to outline the cake with pink icing. Ha! Ha! What a stupid move on my part! I couldn't get my hand just right to outline it correctly. The icing would either get too thick on spots or didn't get enough icing in spots. Ugh! All I could do was laugh and think to myself - WHAT AM I DOING? I told Doug, "now I know why I bought so much white icing". According to the directions, it suggested using fruit roll ups for the antennas. I couldn't get my antennas to straighten up. Oh well! We'll just have to live with it. Overall, I didn't think the cake was too bad. I was afraid that I would have to run to Walmart before it was said and done to get a replacement cake. lol. I was trying to think how long ago, I've made a cake like this. If I had to guess it's been 8-9 years ago. I've piped a 101 Dalmatian puppy cake for my nephew's birthday and cut up an Easter bunny head for the nieces and nephews when they were little. I think I remember now why I haven't made any since then. lol.

Katie and I have been cleaning and decorating all day today. She has been such a great help! She is so excited! I put out the Fancy Nancy decorations and she began squealing with joy. I couldn't get her to take a nap for anything today because she was so excited. I finally gave up on the nap, got her dressed and we went to the Nursing Home to visit Mom. I promised Mom that I would bring her by the day before her birthday party. We had a very good visit. She was the same ol' Mom, talking and laughing. Katie was showing out, which kept Mom laughing. I felt bad for her because she wanted to be at the party tomorrow. I told her that we would take plenty of pictures and save her a piece of cake.

A Great Play Date

First of all, I have to apologize for last night's post title "Counting Day The Days". What? I don't know what I was drinking last night. I do know that I didn't go to bed until 11:30, so I'm blaming sleepiness for the unique title. LOL!


I've got to tell you this story - this just goes to show that Katie doesn't meet very many friends. For the past couple of days, I've been talking to her about meeting Anya. Katie told me, "I play with Anya, Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty tomorrow". Her saying this made me think that Katie thought Anya was a cartoon character like Giselle. Well, she finally got to meet Anya and she doesn't seem like such a cartoon character anymore. lol.


I was afraid Katie wasn't going to allow this play date to happen. As you know, Leslie spent the night with us last night. Katie had so much fun playing with her that she didn't want her to leave. When Leslie got up this morning, getting ready for work. Katie didn't want her to leave and she kept telling me that she wanted to stay home and play dolls. I told her that Leslie had to go to work and we would see her this weekend for her birthday party. As I was getting ready for the day, I heard Katie ask Leslie when she would see her again. Leslie was explaining to her that she'd see her this weekend. When she left, Katie again was telling me that she didn't want to go to church and play on the playground. I was trying to get her excited by talking to her about Anya again. I couldn't get her to understand that we have to go to church to play with Anya. lol. Katie was getting hungry, so I finally got her excited because I told her that we would get a hamburger from McDonald's on the way to church.


It is so good to finally put a face with a name. When I saw Allison and Anya walking up to the church, I could tell it was them because I've seen Anya's picture and they were carrying McDonald's bags. Ha! It was very nice meeting them. Allison and I (I believe) hit it off. I know Katie liked playing with Anya in the playground area. I had to call on Katie to apologize to Anya once. I think Katie was playing a game with Anya and being too rough. I hope. Later, Katie told me that she would play nice. I've had such a hard time getting in Katie's head, not to play so rough with children her own age or younger. I think they were fine after that. We let the girls play (hard) from 11:45 - 1:30. Unfortnately, one of our church family members passed away Monday and the funeral was at 1:00. We pretty much stayed inside the playground, so we wouldn't disturb the funeral proceedings. It was so nice of Allison and Anya to give Katie a birthday present. Thank you! They gave her a butterfly Barbie. Katie loves it! We all walked around inside the facility, showing Allison and Anya all that Northbrook has to offer. I think the girls wore themselves out from playing so hard. It was so cute, Anya would call Katie "friend". She'd said, "come on friend, let's go this way." Anya will be turning 4 years old in October. Allison and I were talking about what activities, we would like for our girls to get involved with in the next couple of months. Allison said they are going to enroll Anya in ballet as well. How exciting! Wouldn't it be great if Katie and Anya both took ballet lessons together? Allison also added that they want Anya in gymnastics as well. That would be great. Allison and I would like to have more play dates in the future. When we got to the truck to leave, Katie's hair was wet from sweating.


First time ever, Katie told me that she was tired and wanted to take a nap in her bed. She didn't like the idea of us going to the grocery store first. She didn't fuss, she just wanted to go take a nap. I was hoping to go ahead and pick up the hamburger meat and other food for the party today. Well, I got everything but I wasn't about to get the meat because it was dated July 17th and our party is the 19th of July. Ugh! I really didn't want to get out Friday, instead I would rather decorate and make the birthday cake. I guess I'll try again tomorrow and get the hamburger.

Prayer Request
Above I mentioned a church family member passed away Monday. His name was Buford Johns and such a perfect grandpa figure. He and I volunteer as church greeters every 4th Sunday. You probably remember me asking for prayer for him before. He's had heart trouble for quite some time. I know he is with our Lord and not in anymore pain. Tela told me today that he was in the hospital with pneumonia and passed away from complications. Please remember his wife, Ruthie, and other family members that are grieving his loss.

Counting Day The Days!

Sorry, I have no new photos for today. Our play set project is on hold until Henry can help Doug and Millard build some steps for Katie's play set. We did get outside this afternoon and Katie played and played on her new slide and swing set. She loves it! Right now, we are using a ladder for her to climb up in it. We both got up there and swept all the saw dust out. I also wanted to double check to make sure there were no staples left up there. Katie got a little mad at me because while I was up there, I wouldn't let her go down the slide by herself. Her going down by herself, I wasn't worried about. It was the climbing up the ladder while I was still up on the deck that was freaking me out. Unfortunately, her throwing a tempertantum like that cost her from playing outside longer. She had to stay in the house until her Daddy came home. He took her over to the slide and let her play for a little while longer.

Around 6:30 this morning, Katie climbed into bed with me. I don't know if Doug wakes her up in the mornings, while he is getting ready for work or what it is. Sometimes, she wakes up and crawls into bed with me. Most of the time, she wants to watch her TV. Not today, I opened one eye and she smiled at me. After I got her all covered up, she got on her belly, turned her head away and we both went right back to sleep. I got up around 7:30. Ahhh, I felt so rested. I knew there was a lot we had to do today, so I went ahead and got ready for the day. I had to go drag Katiebug out of bed around 9:00. She is so much like me that it's not funny. She may have Doug's looks, but she is not a morning person like me.

We left home around 9:30 and were back home for lunch and Katie's nap around 12:30. I was so proud of us, I just couldn't stand it. I dropped off our Library books and had to explain to Katie that we would have to go back to the Library and check out new books another time. After I spent 5 minutes explaining the situation with Katie, she finally accepted the task and was ready to proceed.

We've had enough of mosquitoes! I feel like a prisoner in my own home. As soon as you walk out the door past 4:30, you are at great risk of becoming the next victim. Before you know it, your legs and arms are ate up with bites. Ugh! My sisters swear by Tiki torches filled with Citronella oil. So, it was my mission to find and purchase descent Tiki torches for a reasonable/cheap price. I thought I would hit the dollar stores and Big Lots first before going to Walmart and Lowes. I knew Lowes had them on sale for $5 each. Our first stop was Big Lots. Oh, I was so happy to find pretty descent Bamboo Tiki torches for $2.50 each. Yes! Not sure how well they would work, I grabbed 3. Then, I saw a nice bronze metal Tiki torch for $15. I thought it would look nice in our front yard. I just got one of them. I put the Bamboo Tiki torches around Katie's play set in the back yard. It really wasn't all that difficult putting them in the ground. As most of you know, our back yard is pitiful (lot of clay soil and hardly no good rich top soil). So, I grabbed my shovel and dug up the ground a little to get it soft enough to put the torches in the ground with ease. I had them lit, while we were outside playing with the slide. I believe I'm going to need at least 2 more of thoses torches for the back yard. Tehe!

Katie and I had a blast, of course, in Hobby Lobby. Since we are having a "Fancy Nancy" Birthday party this weekend, we have to dress up. Right? I've told the sisters to dress up, if they would like to. We picked up some extra pink beaded necklaces and boas to help us look fabulous. I also needed a couple table covers, balloons, napkins, and plastic forks. Oh by the way, Hobby Lobby is having a great sale on their garden decorations - 80% off. I found some nice glass sphere shaped candle holders that you can hang in the trees for $1. I picked up 2 pink and 2 purple. I plan to hang them in the our cherry tree the day of Katie's birthday party, while she is opening her gifts that evening. I purchased some Citronella tea light candles to put in the holders. I thought it would be pretty and yet useful. Can you believe that Hobby Lobby has all of their Fall/Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations out on the shelves? Of course, Katie and I had to look over every single piece. Tehe! She loves Scarecrows and Santa Claus. So every one she could spot, she had to look at it and some she had to hold. I told her, we would be back when they begin their sales and find her a Scarecrow. They had some stuffed crows all decked out. They were really cute with the straw hats. I had the hardest time explaining to Katie that they were not penguins, but crows. She told me, "Mommy, I don't think so. I think they are penguins."

Last but not least, we hit Wally World. I got most of the plastic ware and paper products from there. I couldn't find a tiara, for me to wear for the party. So, I thought I would look at their hats. Can you see me in a hat? Never! I did find a big white, floppy beach hat. I tried it on and Katie liked it. So, I tried it on in front of a mirror and then she had to look in the mirror. I thought, well Fancy Nancy wears hats as well. Why not me? My new hat cost me a whole $3. LOL! I'll have to take a picture of it, so you can see what it looks like.

We had leftover Spaghetti, salad and French Rolls for supper. The secret to my Spaghetti is Paul Newman's Marinara sauce. We love it! As soon as I cook a pound of Ground Chuck and drain the grease, I put a jar of marinara sauce on top of the meat and let it simmer for a while until it's hot. Yummy! I love every thing in a salad - broccoli, carrot match sticks, mushrooms, shredded Colby and Monterrey Jack Cheese, bell pepper, cucumber, baby spinach leaves, restaurant style croutons, chopped bacon and Ken's 1000's Island. Yum! I think I'll have to have that for supper tomorrow night.

Leslie has a CPR class in the morning around 10:00, so she is staying with us tonight. Bless her heart, she works 12 hour shifts, 3 days a week. I tried not to sound like a Mother hen, but I was beginning to get concerned. I didn't know she worked 12 hour shifts at the hospital. Her being a PCA, I guessed maybe 8-10 hours a day. At first I called Sue to make sure I didn't get my days mixed up, but she wasn't home. It was getting close to 6:30, so I left a message on Leslie's phone. It was 7:00 before she got here. Poor thing! On top of that Katie insisted on sleeping with her tonight. I put my foot down, but Leslie told me it would be alright. I warned her.

Mom Update
I might have some good news for you. I spoke to Mom tonight, she continues to sound really good. She told me that the Nursing Home Administrator met with her and Dad today about Mom possibly going home for good. Woo Hoo! The administrator asked Dad if he was ready for Mom to come home. He said yes, as long as they felt she was able. They said that Mom's come a long way and there's nothing else they can do for her. I asked Mom if she felt that she was ready to come home. Poor thing, she started crying on the phone with me. She said she is very scared. She wants to come home, but it's been so long since she's been home. I figure too what is in the back of her mind, she was never home longer than a week before having to go back to the emergency room. I'm sure that would be scary. She did say that nothing was official about her coming home, but they are just talking about it. Please remember Mom in your prayers!

Kelly's Kids
I got a message from Kelly's Kids. Their Fall/Winter fashions are out now. I tried downloading the pictures, but I guess everyone wanted to see them because it was taking forever to download. So, I thought I would check it out at a later time.

Praise Report
Oh, I've got to tell you. Emily (lung transplant) was able to come to church this past Sunday. I didn't see her because it was my Sunday to watch the 2 year olds. Isn't that wonderful? You'll have to check out her blog for further news on her progress.

Lunch Date
Tomorrow, Katie and I have a lunch date with a new acquaintance Allison and Anya. They are somewhat new to the area here, but not to blogger. We've been emailing back and forth. We thought it would be nice to get together and let the girls play. We are both stay-at-home Moms and our girls are both 3 years old. Katie saw Anya's (beautiful name by the way) picture on Allison's blog and asked who that was. I asked her if she would like to play with Anya this week. Her eyes lit up with excitement and said "oh, yes! I play with her tomorrow at the playground." We're going to pick up a McDonald's Happy Meal and head over to the church. Allison was interested in our church and I thought it would be good to let the girls play in the air conditioned playground, followed up by a tour of the facility. I hate sweating and fight off bugs for a bite of my sandwich!

Take care and please remember me as it is getting closer and closer to Katie's birthday party. Yikes!

Day Three - Play Set Project Update

Doug and Millard finished the fourth wall, installed the rails to the slide and poured concrete to secure all four posts. The final step is building and installing the steps up to the deck.

Day Two - Play Set Update

Well, we were able to install the slide and have three of the four walls complete. It seems to be coming right along.

These are photos of our completion for the night.

Katie has been biting at the bit to be able to go down her new slide. Poor baby, I felt so bad that she couldn't stay outside to watch because the mosquitoes are so bad. Peggy would try to bring her out ever so often to see what we've done thus far. Bad thing is when it's time to go back in the house, Katie starts crying because she doesn't want to go back in the house. I told Doug that I will be purchasing some tiki torches this week to put around the house, especially the back yard.






As you can tell, Katie loves her new slide. She was able to go down it about three times before it was time to go in the house.

We ran out of daylight. So tomorrow, we plan to pour in the concrete. Doug also wants to finish screwing in the 2x2 pieces of wood to complete the fourth wall. We'll allow 24" off to the side for the ladder. We've decided that Katie doesn't need the climbing wall right now. We feel that she is much too young for a climbing wall at this time. When she gets a little older, we will then consider installing one.

Doug seems to think there is a place in Decatur that you are able to purchase mulch by the truck loads. He said, he would try to call tomorrow to get a price. I just feel it would cost less, if we purchased the mulch by the truck load rather than by the bag. We also need to find where we can buy the long safety handles. Lowes shows them on their displays at the store, but they told Doug and Millard that they didn't have any to sell individually or in a pack. I think I'm going to call Home Depot and see if they sell them. If they do and have them in stock, I might could get Doug to stop by there on the way home and pick them up.

Play Set In Progress

Millard, Doug and myself have been working hard today on the play set. Shoo! We got the frame and flooring done. Yes! I wouldn't have been able to help without Peggy watching Katie for me. We sprayed and sprayed ourselves with Off or Deet, but the mosquitoes still got us good. After everything was said and done, I had to rub Hydrocordizone cream all over the bottom portion of my legs. I couldn't help out much with the flooring, so I turned my attention to the fence row. Where our neighbor had planted her vines, rose bushes and other bushy trees, looks like a jungle. Last year, I wanted to clear all that junk out, but we never got around to it. Today was good enough for me to dig in and clear it out. Guess what? I actually have a chain link fence. How about that? I haven't seen it in so long, I thought all of our neighbor's plants took it over. I couldn't get over how much Jasmine vines take over everything including very tall trees. Buddy, I cut all that vine away from our fence. It looks much better.


Tomorrow, we plan on finishing the decking, stairs, and attach the slide. We got a really good deal on the slide, it's fairly deep and wavy. Anyway, a couple we know had this slide for their grandchildren and decided that they didn't need it anymore. It's in very good shape, so they sold it to us for $25. Doug said it looks exactly like a slide Lowes sells for $140, except it's yellow. As soon as we got it home today, I started washing it up while the guys went back to Lowes to get more wood for the flooring.


Photos

Our design model to go by

Doug and Millard working on the frame

View from the front

View from the back

Visit with Mom
While Doug and Millard went to get the wood for the deck frame, I visited Mom for a little bit. I haven't seen her in a week and felt bad. We've just had a crazy week and I have a feeling it's not going to get any easier with the big birthday party coming up next weekend. I got to her room right when she finished her breakfast. She was still in her Jammie's. A volunteer popped her head in Mom's room as asked if Mom and Flo were planning to go to the singing at the chapel. Mom sounded excited about going to the singing. I helped her get ready for the day. We had to get some help to put her in her scooter because she was too weak to stand up today. We went to the singing and had a good time. It was great seeing all the elderly enjoying the singing. Mom was a little disappointed because she thought it was just gospel music, instead it was bluegrass. It lasted about an hour. As we were going down the hallway back to her room, we met up with Dad. Mom felt like going outside before time to eat lunch. Mom, Dad and I walked outside under the shade trees and visited a little. I let Mom and Dad look at all the photos of Katie. I had Mom pick out one that she liked the best to put in the frame I have hanging in her room of Katie. It was getting close to Mom's lunchtime, so I thought it would be a good time to leave.

Picture Day Adventure

First of all I would like to thank all of you writing so many nice compliments about Katie's pictures. That was very sweet of you.

Now, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story. Our appointment wasn't until 10:10, Katie and I were ready and packed by 8:20 yesterday morning for Portrait Innovations. Peggy drove up at 8:30 and I told her how I would like to stop by the bank on the way to the photographers. No problem. We left in plenty of time. Right? After the bank, we hit the interstate and it wasn't long before Katie was taking a quick cat nap. Yes! Thank you dear Lord. We were doing perfect timing and made it through B'ham just fine. No problem. As we were passing the Lakeshore exit, I noticed a swarm of vehicles coming onto the interstate from that exit, pretty fast. On the tail of this swarm was a black SUV, similar to a Yukon or Tahoe. My Guardian Angel told me to watch out for this person because the way they were driving, like they were on a mission (tunnel vision). You know what I mean, I've been guilty of this a time or two. I'm sure everyone has one time or the other. Anyway sure enough, here they (don't know if man or woman) came over on me. Oh my gosh! All I could do was lay on the honk and hit the brakes. I couldn't go any where because there was a little traffic. They heard the honk and got back over really fast. You talk about some praises going up to Jesus right about then because I've seen some pretty awful wrecks right in that particular area. Shoo! Thank you Dear Jesus! Peggy was in the back saying "Amen". Our hearts calmed down as we were approaching the Hoover exit. For a split second something told me to get off there. "No" I thought I know where to get off at the Galleria exit. It would be much closer and we won't get into a lot of traffic that way. No problem. Well, we came up to the three way split. I knew not to go left because that would take you to the Summit. Left took you to T-Town and I wasn't for sure if that was the right turn off. I just knew I was suppose to go straight. Okay, can you tell by now that I haven't gone this way much to go to the Galleria by myself? Apparently, not enough. I decided to go straight and pray that was the right decision. WRONG! After a while, I was beginning to get concerned because I haven't seen the Galleria yet. I just didn't think it would take this long. What is up? I didn't want to worry Peggy, so I calmly picked up my cell phone and called Doug because Montgomery was fast approaching me in about 70 miles. Thank God, Doug answered. See God is with us all the time, especially me because I need His help at all times as you can tell. lol. Anyway, Doug had to tell me that I was going the wrong way and I needed to turn around. I kept asking him, if I could just turn off one of the other exits that we've passed and take a short cut. "No", he insisted. I had to go all the way down to the three way split and go towards T-Town. Ugh! I told him that I was suppose to be there in 10 minutes. Will we make it? "No", he answered. Ugh! I was so upset, but had to stay somewhat calm because Peggy and Katie was in the car. All I could do was laugh because I wanted to cry and crying never did me any good. Ha! I knew I should have listened to my inter voice because it's always right. Should of, could of, would of! Well, it's too late. As soon as we got on the right road, there was a sign "Galleria Blvd." LOL! Right around the corner, there was the Galleria. LOL! We finally got there and boy was I praying that they would have an opening to get her picture made. We walked in the door at 10:15 and thankfully they told us, it was okay. Shoo! Thank you again God! We didn't even have to wait long.

Since Katie did so well in her pictures, I kept my promise and took her to the Carousel. She loves carousels! She told me, she wanted to ride the frog. There were not that many children waiting to ride, so she got first pick. She was so excited! As she is waving to everyone eating and relaxing, including her Grandma Peggy, she was telling me how much fun it was to ride on the carousel. She is so sweet! When it was time to get off, she announced that when she comes back "tomorrow", she was going to ride the kitty cat.

I think I've got Peggy addicted to Strawberry-Banana Smoothies from Haagen Dazs. On our way to the car, she wanted to get one. There is no telling how many calories are in that drink, but the are oh so good.

Like I've told my Mom several times in the past, when we go off on adventures, it's never a dull moment when she's with me and she agrees every time. I don't know what it is. It's like the devil wants to ruin my perfectly good timed day and God always works it out.

Today, Katie and I spent a lot of time together. I like to go over her shapes, numbers, letters, colors and etc. with her at least twice a week. I make it into a game, so she enjoys the attention. She still has trouble counting objects, but she's only 3 years old. On her own, she can count up to 12. She just gets carried away when she's phyically counting. For instance, 3 rabbits might end up being 8 rabbits. We're still working on it. We are starting to recognize the actual numbers and letters themselves. For our craft, I showed her how to cut paper with safety scissors and paste. She had a ball with that. All she wanted to do was cut stripes of paper, so I let her. Then, she'd cut or rip some paper, take the glue stick and paste the paper on top of paper. She really thought she was doing something special. While she was busy cutting, I traced my hand with some chalk on a piece of paper. Well, she liked that idea. So, I traced her hand with some chalk and made two works of art. LOL! She really thought was something else.

Our Chalk Artwork. Tehe!

Katie's Play Set
Tomorrow, Doug, Millard, Peggy and I are planning to work on Katie's play set. We went out tonight and took a few pictures of a play set, in order to get an idea. He is planning to pick up the lumber and rent an auger(? -not sure about the spelling) in the morning. He hopes to at least get the framing up and concreted. Katie is so excited about getting a slide. She told Peggy and myself that she wants a pink slide. Peggy asked her what if her slide was another color other than pink? "No. I get a pink slide," she responded. I told Doug about it tonight. I guess she'll have to live with what ever color slide we can get. I'll keep you up-to-date on the whole process.

Bama News!
Did you hear the latest news about Kenny Stabler? Poor Kenny obviously has a alcohol problem. This is his third DUI charge. If you don't know Kenny, he was a former football player for Bama and NFL player. Kenny has been an announcer along with Eli Gold on the radio for the Tide. Today the University released a statement that Kenny will not be announcing any games on the radio with Eli Gold this up coming season. Apparently, Kenny asked for this next season off to take care of some personal issues.

iPhone 3G
Do you have your new iPhone 3G yet? I saw video from our local news of people lined up outside one of the Apple Stores at the Summit. I heard that Apple's phone circuits crashed because of people calling in to order their new iPhone 3G. According to NBC 13, Apple is hoping to attract customers by dropping the cost for 8 GB to $199 and double the storage will cost $299. In the long run this new smart phone is suppose to cost more than the previous smart phone because the calling plans will cost an additional $10 per month. I guess I'll stick to my little ol' Motorola.

Hope you have a great week!

Picture Day!

Peggy, Katie and I went to Portrait Innovations this morning, so Katie could have her picture made. Oh, they turned out so good. We purchased the pictures below.




Don't they look wonderful? I just love them. What do you think? Her facial expressions tells it all. Don't you think? LOL. I can't let you believe that I paid go money for these bloopers. I guess you could say yeah, because I did get the pictures on a disk. I didn't however have them printed. The ones below were our favorite.

Breakfast Pizza

Picture of Breakfast Pizza

Breakfast Pizza Recipe

Makes: 6 servings

Prep: 15 minutes. Cook: 20 minutes

Bake: at 350 degrees for 20 minutes

1 package (8 oz) crescent roll dough

6 oz breakfast sausage patties

1 cup frozen hash brown potatoes

3 tablespoons butter

3 eggs, beaten

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread out crescent roll dough to fit pan.

Crumble the sausage and brown in a 10 inch skillet about 6 minutes. Drain and transfer to a plate.

In the same skillet, cook hash browns in 2 tablespoons of the butter, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to another plate.

In same skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add eggs and scramble over medium heat, about 2 minutes.

Sprinkle sausage, potatoes and eggs on dough. Season with the salt and pepper. Top with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and edge of pizza is browned. Cool slightly. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.

Mirya's Special Notes: I didn't want hash brown, so I substituted it for bacon. I used the bacon you can cook in the microwave (saves time). I would suggest scrambling 4 eggs instead of 3. I also added a little more shredded mild cheddar cheese. You could probably make this a day in advance for breakfast or supper.

I've had made other breakfast casseroles with bread, but I like the crescent rolls the best.

Miscellaneous Pictures From Last Weekend

These are pictures of the 4 baby birds nesting in Millard and Peggy's Crepe Myrtle. Katie loved watching the baby birds. We stayed long enough to get a picture of them. We didn't want Momma bird to stay away for too long because the babies were beginning to get hungry.

Katie taking a ride in her coach. Grandma Peggy loves pulling Katie all over the yard in the hot heat. Shoo! It was too hot, so Peggy and I took turns pulling Katie around in the wagon.

Doug never goes far without his computer. LOL! I had to take this picture of him checking out Millard's Linksys System, making sure it still worked. LOL.

I've been playing around with Blogger once again. I've been noticing on other blogs, where women like to label their favorite recipes that they've blogged in the past. Well, I wanted to try labeling as well. Today, I finally had that chance and went back to all my older posts. Oh my gosh! Have you ever just went back a year ago and read your old posts and watch old videos. I nearly started crying watching a video, I posted, of Katie watching "The Wizard of Oz". She was around 20-21 months old. It was so sweet! It's hard to imagine that my baby is turning 3 years old in a few days. :(

I noticed I didn't post my favorite cobbler recipe, so I wanted to share it. I made it during the 4th of July weekend, but forgot to take pictures of it. Most everyone loves my cobbler recipe. I hope you will enjoy it just as much.

Peach Cobbler
1 cup sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup milk
1 can peach pie filling
3/4 cup margarine

Melt margarine; pour in bottom of casserole dish. Mix sugar, flour and milk, add next. Do not stir! Spoon in pie filling on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Mirya's Special Notes: I like to put a few dashes of cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of cobbler before putting into the oven. There have times where I just put cinnamon powder on top. I normally use peach pie filling, but you can use any of your favorite fruit flavor like cherry. Of course, this cobbler tastes best with some homemade vanilla ice cream on top. I would love to make a chocolate cobbler. If you've already made it, please let me know how it went.

"I Remember Laura"

I have enjoyed reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's biography; however, it is so sad that this book was written way later in life. I really wished that it had been written while she was still living or just after her death. This biography is a collection of stories and memories of Laura's friends and neighbors. When stories haven't been retold in several years, people begin to forget a lot of the details and it just leaves you thirsty for more. I'm grateful that a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan did have the strength and patience to go out and dig for stories about Laura, when they soon found out that there was no biography on this extraordinary pioneer. Stephen Hines made it his mission to put together this book, in memory of Mrs. Wilder.
The photo above is younger Laura Ingalls Wilder

I take for granted so many times of the luxuries that I've been blessed with and then soon thank God for not allowing me to grow up in the pioneer days. Ugh! The life Laura lead, the struggles and fear she must have felt living in an Indian Territory before moving to South Dakota. The Winter of 1880 is mentioned a lot in this biography and it must have been awful. To sit in a cabin, trying to take your mind off of the thoughts of dying or someone else that you love, dying in this terrible storm. How horrible it must of been as a child. But I believe her childhood and adulthood trials are what made her the strong and charismatic women she became in her older days. Apparently, Stephen asked Laura's friends and neighbors why there was never an autobiography of Laura, while she was still living. They stated that she was a private and humble woman and never would have allowed it. In fact, her daughter, Rose, was the one that asked her mother to write down all of her childhood memories for her. At the age of 65, Laura finally did it. Since Rose was an author, Laura assumed Rose would want to add a few of her stories in a book. Nope, Rose told her mother how good the stories were of the past and told her to make it into a book. Laura would write with a pencil and tablet between loads of laundry and pulling weeds in her garden. She would tell how rough it was for women especially to survive in the Indian and Dakota Territories. They either made women tough or broke them down and nearly crazy. I'm thankful, I never lived in thoses days. She never considered herself a celebrity and loved people. Her husband, Almanzo Wilder, died at the age of 92 and she passed away at the age of 90. Almanzo was much older than her, so she spent a lot of time alone. Did you know that Almanzo called Laura "Bessie" and Laura referred to Almanzo as "Manly". I just thought that was interesting.

The photo above is the Ingalls Family Portrait. (L-R: Caroline "Ma" Ingalls, Caroline "Carrie" Ingalls, Laura Elizabeth Ingalls, Charles "Pa" Ingalls, Grace Pearl Ingalls, and Mary Amelia Ingalls).

According to the biography, Ma Ingalls was a refine and well educated woman in her day and Pa Ingalls was fun loving and reckless at times. Would you believe that the friends and neighbors of Laura and Almanzo said that the producers and actors of the television series "Little House On The Prairie" never once came out to Mansfield, Missouri to do any research on Laura Ingalls Wilder's life? In fact, they said that the series wasn't true to Laura's stories of her childhood. I thought that was interesting as well.

I'm on chapter 10 and nearly through with the book. The book also contains old pioneer recipes from either Laura Ingalls Wilder or other pioneer women. I'd like to try the "Cream Puff" recipe one day because it sounds very easy. Sandy - I've really enjoyed reading this biography, so I would like to take you up on your suggestion and read Eleanor Roosevelt's biography as soon as I'm finished with Laura Ingalls Wilder. Well, that's enough of the history lesson. Sorry if I rambled on and on.

Sandy - have you read any of Kelli's blog? She is bookmarked under my friends and family. She has such a passion for antiques and days of old that it reminds me of you and your passions as well. Do you still like to shop for antiques? I checked in on Kelli's blog yesterday and she has a favorite shop where she picked up a few antique pamphlets, it looks like it. Thought you might be interested.

Hell's Kitchen

Well, Hell's Kitchen is over and I was right, Christina won the competition. I wasn't really into Hell's Kitchen this year. I don't know if it was because I didn't have a favorite competitor this year or what it was. Now, Kitchen Nightmares will be coming on pretty soon. Woo Hoo! Have you ever seen that series? It's not for the weak stomach people at all. There have been times where I had to stop watching for awhile, it can be that bad. It will almost make you stop going out to eat.

The Bucket List

Okay, The Apron Queen came up with a good idea. She started a "Bucket List" and asked what was in everyone else's bucket list. Well, if I had a bucket list, I guess I've already successfully accomplished 5 out of a list of 10 things that I would like to accomplish before God calls me home. The top 5 items that I've accomplished are listed below:

1. God saved my soul from Hell, so now I have an eternal destination in Heaven.
2. God blessed me with a wonderful and very close family
3. I married the man of my dreams
4. God blessed us with the most precious gem - our little daughter
5. God blessed me with the ability to stay home and raise our daughter

The items in my bucket list that I would like to accomplish before I die are as follows:

1. I have some interest in genealogy, it's the whole history of it that I enjoy. Most of my decents came from England, so I would like to go and visit.
2. I would like to go on Missionary Trip to South America. I know that sounds crazy, but I would like to get the nerve up (of course, have God with me) and do it. As an American, it's so scary to go out of the country because you know every one (just about it) outside of this country hates Americans (me). It's God's work and what a blessing that would be. I guess the only thing keeping me from doing it is Doug and Katie.
3. I would love to take Katie to Disney World and become a kid once again. Wait, did I ever grow up? I don't remember. LOL! I would love to see her face when she sees all of the Disney characters in real life. What a face she would have.
4. I would love to go to Hawaii on vacation and be able to swim with the dolphins. That would be the ultimate vacation destination for me.
5. Never be too busy for my family.

So tell me, what is on your "Bucket List"? I would very interested to see what was in it.

Until next time, take care of yourself. By the way, tomorrow is picture day for Katie. Wish us luck! (Pleeeese!)

It Says So In The Bible

Okay, I got my monthly newsletter from Women of Faith and this was one of the articles. Do you remember hearing at least two of these sayings during your childhood? I believe I've heard just about every one of them all my life and how it was the gospel. We are probably using the same sayings today. Come on, "the truth will set you free". Ha! Ha! Well the ladies we know so well, have opened our eyes and let us know what really is gospel. Enjoy reading!

There are many well-known phrases that people “just know” are found in the Scriptures. But are they? Just because people think a saying is “Gospel truth” doesn’t mean it can be found in the Gospels. (Or anywhere else in the Bible, for that matter.) Can you spot the Scripture imposters in this list?

1. Moderation in all things.
2. Spare the rod, spoil the child
3. To thine ownself be true
4. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
5. God helps those who help themselves
6. Money is the root of all evil
7. A house divided against itself cannot stand
8. Cleanliness is next to godliness
9. Pride goes before a fall
10. The truth will set you free

Answers
Answers to “It Says So in the Bible”
1. No. That was Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics
2. Sort of . . . it’s close to Proverbs 22:15, “Every child is full of foolishness, but punishment can get rid of it.”
3. No. Shakespeare wrote that, in Hamlet (Act 3)
4. Yes! Matthew 7:12
5. No. Ben Franklin came up with that one.
6. No. Money is fine. It’s the LOVE of money that’s a problem (1 Timothy 6:10)
7. Yes. Jesus said that in Mark 3:25.
8. Only if you’re a Pharisee. (Truthfully, not even then.) No, it’s not in the Bible.
9. Close, but no cigar. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18
10. Absolutely! You’ll find it in John 8:32.

You're Invited!

You're Invited To Join Us

We are coming together the 19th of July at 5:00 p.m.

To celebrate Kaitlyn's 3rd Birthday.

It will be Fancy, so any one and everyone is welcome

to dress up in your Fanciest wardrobe.

I've decided to go with the butterfly cake, instead of the ice cream cup cakes. I don't think our cake will look exactly like this one, but I hope it will be close. LOL.

Movies In Review

Y'all know I love my husband. Right? He is my other half and I love him dearly. He has good tastes in clothes, food, and pretty good instinct about most things. When it comes to picking out a good movie, can be a little questionable. This past week, Doug rented two awful movies - "10,000 BC" and "Vantage Point". He thought it would be neat to watch a movie based on prehistoric dinosaurs. We really didn't know what to expect, but this movie went on and on. What was so bad is that the Sabertooth Tiger was 1,000 times larger than the caveman. Unrealistic!

Now, I love Denise Quad just like the next person, but this movie was something else. It should have been called every one's point of view plus. After the 5th flash back, Doug and I just looked at each other and laughed. I think Doug was getting sick of me say "oh my gosh, not again". If you have ever seen this movie or plan to see "Vantage Point", you'll know exactly what I mean.

Our Day
I caught up with our laundry today. You know Allison, that job you don't care for. Tehe! I don't mind laundry, it's washing dishes I don't like. We have a dish washer, it's just a dinosaur and doesn't clean our dishes very good. I do it the old fashion way, hand and dish cloth. Yuck!

I playing dolls with Katie for a little bit before we left to do our errands. Katie loves her Barbies. If you are still looking for ideas for Katie's birthday. She might like some Barbie accessories like clothes or Barbie furnishings. She feels that Barbie should change her clothes about as many times as Katie would like her clothes changed during the day. LOL!

I finally got an appointment with Portrait Innovations on Katie's birthday pictures. I'm excited! I just hope Katie will cooperate with them. You know how she has her moods. If she doesn't want to do something, she's not going to do it. I've got a few outfits picked out for her to wear. She may not wear all of them, while we are there, but I want to be prepared. I love the black, white & fuchsia Smartie Britches outfit on her. It's not her favorite outfit, but it's mine.

Katie had some Library books that were due back today. As soon as I mentioned us going to the Library, Katie grabbed her dolls and was ready to go. She picked 3 books that she really wanted to read. I grabbed one book about visiting the Dentist. I want to prepare Katie before she gets her teeth checked for the first time. I'm hoping this book might help. I also found a book of manner for her to read. I found a biography on Laura Ingalls Wilder. Did you ever watch "The Little House On The Prairie"? I loved the television series and I still have the series of books written by L.I. Wilder. I thought it would be interesting to read about Ms. Wilder's life in the eyes of her children.

Rewards Jar
I had to let y'all know that Katie earned every rock in her jar this past weekend. Now, we've got to find a time that would be best to go to "Air It Out" aka Jumper House. Tehe! They are only open certain times of the day and certain days of the week. I'm hoping it will encourage her to earn more rocks for her jar in the future. I'm hoping it will help me potty train her.

Happy 4th of July!

I hope y'all had a wonderful 4th of July, ours started on Thursday. As you may know, Leslie came by last Tuesday night and picked up the television, we gave to her and Whitney for their apartment. Would you believe that 31" tube fit in Leslie's Ford Focus? We kept asking her and Susan, if they had some muscle men to move this TV into the apartment. They swore up and down, they did. Anyway, we had the 31" in our bedroom and the 28" TV temporarily in Katie's room. Doug was ready to put his TV back in our bedroom. Millard and Peggy kept saying that Katie was going to miss having a television in her room. So Thursday, we all piled into Millard and Peggy's car and went to B'ham. Doug found a good deal at Sam's Club, so we went there first and picked up a 22" Vizio TV for Katie. We left there and went to the Galleria. We went to the Disney Store and luckily they were still having their sale. I got a couple of PJs and a Mermaid Coverup for $4.99 each. I was so excited! They had their flip flops for $2.99 and sunglasses for $1.99. Katie was too busy looking around that she would never pick out a pair, she would like for next year. They had their swimming suits for $4.99 as well. I picked out a Tinkerbell bikini for next year (size 4) and Peggy wanted to get it for her. Would you believe that suit fits her now? Ugh! Now, I wished I had picked out a size 5 as well. They had some dolls and accessories on sale as well. I picked up a Belle with accessories for $6.99 and got an extra outfit & accessories set for $3.99. With all the stuff I got, my total was $28. I was so surprised! We left there and went to Libby Lu's for a little bit. Katie's out of her glittery lip gloss with a wand, so I thought I could get one at Libby Lu's. All they had were combination packs that would have one lip gloss wand. Ugh! Oh well, I didn't get anything because I can get it at Walmart. By this time, I was getting a little hungry. I told Peggy about the Hagan Daas shop's Strawberry-Banana Smoothies. Yummy! I don't consider myself a big smoothie person, but I love that smoothie. On our way back to Belk, to pick up the guys, I bought a smoothie and let Peggy try it. She agreed that it was good. I paid close attention this time as to how they made this Strawberry-Banana Smoothie. Would you believe they put cranberry juice and vanilla ice cream in it? Mmm! It's good anyway. We left the mall and went to The Cheesecake Factory for supper. Oh that was so good. I had the Teriyaki Chicken and a Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake for dessert. Yummy! On the way home, we stopped off at Academy Sports to get Katie her swim belt for June and Pat's pool on the 4th of July.

Here's a picture of my new flip flops, I got at Belk. I love them! I've heard a lot of good things about "Yellow Box" brandname flip flops, but never have owned a pair until now. Tehe!

Don't you think they match my nail polish perfect? Tehe!

Katie couldn't understand me taking a picture of my new flip flops that she wanted me to take a picture of her Mermaid flip flops. Ha! Ha!

At home, Doug got Katie's new television all hooked up and working. Oh, she loves it! She was a little confused though. She couldn't understand why her TV was in our bedroom and she had a new smaller TV. Now, she refers to her new TV as her "little TV". Too cute!



Friday, I got Katie all dressed up and we went to visit Mom for a little bit. Mom seems to be improving every time I visit her (at least once a week). She looked so good. I took her a bouquet of my "Starburst Lilies" from my flowerbed. She has always loved those lilies, so I told her that they are her fireworks for the day. Can you believe she is using a walker more? She can get from her bed, to her walker, to her scooter and visa versa. Yay! She is walking with a walker up to 40 ft and on the special device up to 80 ft. I'm so proud of her and the effort, she has put forth. She really wanted to come home for a little bit for the 4th of July, but since her Medicare was renewed, it started the 20 days process again. Ugh! Poor thing! Her and Dad's anniversary is the 31st of July and she really wants to come home then, but we don't know if the 20 days will be up by then. I think Dad is going to check into it. She began asking me questions about what has happened to her these past few months. I guess I have to say; fortunately, she doesn't remember a whole lot about what has happened to her. She couldn't understand the serious shape, she was in. She wanted me to tell her the symptoms of C. difficule and how she could have gotten it. She didn't know that she nearly died a few times because of the infection. She didn't know that doctors and nurses prayed over her bedside for God to heal her body. She was just amazed with all the stories, we had told her.
Here Katie is swimming with Jodi in the pool. She was playing with the intertubes. I hate it that you can't see the swim belt.

RuthAnne would be so proud of Katiebug and her swimming abilities. I strapped that swim belt on her and off she went to the pool. She was kicking those legs and reaching with her arms, but I had to remind her to hum (keeps her mouth closed). Unfortunately, a T-storm came up and we all had to get out of the pool. Man that was a storm and a half. I guess it rain pretty hard for about 15 minutes and the wind was gusty enough to snap one of Pat and June's Dogwood Trees. If I had to guess, it would be like a 5-7 gallon tree. When the storm past, it got cold. Too cold to go back into the pool that's for sure. All the kids went in the house with Katie and changed their clothes. Us ladies were talking about going to the firework display at Smith Lake. We decided to put on some pants, load up two trucks and head over there a little early, so we would be able to get close enough to see the fireworks. From past history, I figured we would be stuck behind some trees and wouldn't be able to see much. I'm so positive. Right? I want to tell you, I followed June over there and she pulled over to our usual spot. Nicholas and I were not too satisfied with the spot because of all the trees in our way. I told June to follow me and see if we can get a little closer. I drove over the bridge and there was a county road off to the left. I asked Nic, if we should take it. "Sure", he said. Okay, here we go. I had no clue as to where we were going. There was a little clearing, but I was afraid to just park onto some one's front yard. Didn't seem very nice. On the left side of the road, there was a clearing next to the water. I told Nic that we could turn around and come back right there. Well, I turned down the next dirt road to the left and was looking for a place to turn around. Well, a few cars followed our trucks down this dirt road. Oh me! I was trying to figure a way to turn around with June right behind me and the string of traffic behind her. Okay, I turned left again in some one's driveway and I put it in reverse to show I was backing up. June was right on my bumper. Then, she drove down the road and asked if I would pay $5 to park and watch the fireworks. "Sure", I told her. She laughed "okay, let's go." If I had just kept going straight, I would have seen the sign that read "$5 per car - firework show parking". I had no idea, but lead our caravan right to the firework's show. Ha! Ha! We laughed and giggled about it. You couldn't have picked a better spot. We were across the lake from Smith Lake Park, where they were having the firework's show. What luck?!? I told Nic, we will have to remember this place the next time. I wished I had taken my camera. The fireworks were awesome! Katie had a blast watching them. To see her face was well worth the $5. We all sat in the beds of the trucks, side by side. We brought some drinks and snacks. We had a very good time. I guess they lasted about an hour. I got tickled at Katie, she would know right when the fireworks would do their big bang. She was our sound effects girl. Her eyes would get real big, she'd suck in her lips real tight and BOOM! BANG! It was a sight. She was almost asleep when we made it back to June and Pat's house.


Saturday, Doug had to buy new tires for the car. They were wore slap out (bald). I've been on him for a while because it is so dangerous to have such slick tires like that. Later that evening, we went to Millard and Peggy's for supper. I got my "butt sandwich"! Tehe! It was so good. Peggy bought me a watermelon because she knows that they are one of my favorite fruits. It was so good and sweet. While, Peggy and I were eating slices of watermelon, I was making homemade vanilla ice cream. I put a little extra vanilla extract and I was surprised how good it tasted and I'm not a vanilla fan. I like vanilla, but I like chocolate syrup or sprinkles of some kind on it. I forgot to take all the fixin' with me to Peggy and Millard's house. Oh well. It was nice enough to sit outside for a little bit before the mosquitoes ate you up. Peggy took Katie to see if their baby birds had hatched yet. Sure enough, there were 4 little baby birds in their nest. Katie was amazed at the babies. She loved watching them. I took a couple of pictures, but it's a little dark.

I would like to Thank God for allowing us to have a day of rest. Rest is exactly what we needed today. Katie and I hit the couches and took nice long naps. Until, I heard the dog barking like crazy. Ugh! Doug decided he would move his truck next to the house and fix the gutters where the roofers put our leaf guard back in a little crazy. It was making the shingles stick out a little and it was bothering Doug.

By the way, I have a conclusion on Paul, the roofer. Friday morning, Doug looked out the back window and noticed something was weird. He looked closer and announced that Paul did show up after all and put the grass seed down on the top soil. Hurray for Paul.