New Year 2010 New Pink Saturday

I am probably the most clueless blogger in cyberspace! LOL!  But today I came acrosss an awesome blog I would hope everyone would check out. I am always trying to find myself on my own blog site and googled myself but I got The Phamily Blog instead. This wonderful California mom of 2 has the most precious daughter Gabby with Down's Syndrome. I am certain the Good Lord Himself put me there to find this blog. My whole life I have been a "Right To Life" fighter and I guess it goes along with what my late mother use to say to me. She always told me that God blessed me with five incredibly beautiful and H E A L T H Y children. I know how often I take for granted these precious people God entrusted into my care so I can not imagine what kind of super special mom you would have to be to have Him choose you to be the mom of someone as wonderful as Gabby. I have always believed that God, in His infinite wisdom would never allow one of these precious children to be given to a mom other then one who is dedicated and caring as well as compassionate and full of so much love. I know one thing, I would not want to be any of the mom's who choose to destroy these precious lives. I truly believe God has a plan for each one of us and I had to share this with everyone.

I am trying to get my daughter Hannah to help me with my blog and post my pics for the Pink Saturday I somehow missed with Beverly! Ah! Ugh! Urgghhh...But my baby girl is resting with her super crummy ear infection. I am going to blog about my mold house I live in and why I think my precious daughter has been sick with these awful infections sometimes 2 and 3 times a year! I have lots of plans for the 2010 year with my blog and I hope and pray that I will be more  getting blogging buddies.

I am planning a giveaway when I hit 10! Help me out and join me please! I usually add chocolate to my giveaways!

As for Pink Saturday I am trying to show you my pretty hot pink New Years Top hat and my cute lil porcelain pink mini jewelry box I found for one dollar at my local Dollar Tree Store. I am also trying to show a pic of the wonderful Christmas cards my friend Sherrie in Santa Maria, California sent me to recycle for my collage project that I actually found out that I found on Beverly's page!

I can't sew  but I can put together a decent scrapbook and I also love to get postcards and prints of more expensive art work (i.e. R C Gorman or other noted artists and frame them in my dollar store frames that work wonderfully.

I am going to wind down for now and I wish everyone a Blessed and Healthy and Happy New Year 2010! May God richly bless each one of you.

I want to thanks Barb at dogmom diva, Beverly at howsweetthesound and Linda at Prairier Flower Farm for keeping me sane on a daily basis. Thanks ladies!

I want to mention Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for keeping me creative with decorating and also just for being a solid Christian woman giving me uplifting moments when I check on her blog. Thanks Rhoda!

I want to mention Blue Creek Home and the Old Parsonage. You gals have made me so happy because you stopped by and commented on my blog. Plus your blogs are great and very cheerful for me to stop by and visit. I feel like all of you are old friends. I have a great blogging idea to blog about friendship in the coming months.

Let me close with Happy New Year to All and to All a Grand 2010!

PINK SATURDAY FOR A FIRST TIMER

I have been waiting and hoping and trying to join the fun on Pink Saturdays. This is my first attempt. I want to thank Beverly for allowing me to join this fun group and I am tickled to tell you about a project I am working on. I have a great recycle project I am hoping to complete in 2010.  One of the wonderful blogger ladies gave me this great idea and I apologize that I don't know who it was! If it is you please let me know! LOL! I am collecting Christmas cards with Santa's, Angels and Snowmen. When I have enough I plan to make a photo collage of these and I hope I collect many,many recycled cards so I can use this great idea as gifts for next Christmas!

So far my dear friend Sherrie in Santa Maria, California sent me an envelope full of wonderful cards. I have some in my own collection and am waiting for my niece Holly to send me any she collecting in 2009. She said she already recycled her 2008 cards. So any one wishing to help me with this project feel free to contact me for info on how to send those cards my way!

I want to frame these different collages and use them as gifts. I think it is a great way to recycle and I personally always love a homemade gift. Since I have no sewing talent, having been scarred by a nun at Catholic school in my freshman year of high school, with her comment that I was talentless in the sewing dept. I figure this is the way to go!

As far as Pink Saturday's go, I have an advantage because I love pink and I own a pink cell phone as well as my favorite pair of shoes have pink soles! I own several items of pink clothing and I even keep a pink mini notepad at my bedside so I can jot notes to myself throughout the evening. I have purchased a bottle of "Pink Truck" wine to display in one of my upcoming Pink Saturday's!

I am excited to be a first time Pink Saturday participate and I hope & pray that I can figure out how to get my blog over to Beverly!

I enjoy looking at other blogger's sites and I have found a few to share. Sunny Place is a lovely blog and I enjoy visiting it. I also love to visit Linda at Prairie Flower Farm. These are two of my favorite blog sites.

I am having so much phun visiting sites and learning about other wonderful folks. I am hoping to grow my blog and continue visiting many of the wonderful friends I have found  through blogging.

I wish all of you a Healthy and Happy New Year in 2010. I am hoping I can continue this blogging journey and I wish you many blessings and much joy in the New Year. I started this journal of sorts in honor of my daughter Rebekah's little dog Tinkerbell, a poodle who wandered into our lives on Memorial Day 1996. She never left and we figured someone harmed her and dumped in in our old neighborhood. Earlier this year she was diagnosed with liver disease and we take it day by day with Tink. She is a lovely little dog with a lot of love to give. I originally tried to help my daughter, a struggling college student paying her own way with some of Tink's vet bills. Then I tried, not so successfully, to help her by encouraging everyone to buy a Princess House item so I could help Rebekah, my good friends Alyn and Sandy  and also myself to provide a comfortable life for Tink. We just want her to be pain free and enjoy her remaining time with us no matter how long or short that may be.

I am the most easy going person you would ever met. I often look back on some of the endeavors I attempted and found that perhaps my overly kind attitudes toward people made me not be the most successful business woman around. But I have never been a hard sell sales person and I doubt at my age I would change now. I always will welcome anyone to share in the wonderful Princess House Products but I will never push or prod anyone to buy anything they don't want!

In closing tonight I want to thank Beverly again for this opportunity and thank everyone for listening. Have a wonderful 2010!

AFTER THE CHRISTMAS RELAXATION

Before I begin the New Year which will be filled with promises made and some broken I want to review the wonderful December 2009 I had.

I turned 56 on December 3rd and my wonderful daughter Noelle & her phamily gave me an 8 bottle wine cooler. Now I can stroll the wine aisle at Total Beverage and find wonderful new wines to try.I was treated to wonderful lunches and dinners with my phamily and given more gifts then I should talk about! All the wonderful cards and wishes made me feel so loved and appreciated!

Noelle and her husband Roger celebrated dual birthdays on December 13th. My baby girl is 34 and her hubby just twelve birthdays ahead of her. We still owe them a birthday breakfast, we are early risers they enjoy sleeping in so our schedules often don't mesh.

Noelle and Roger hosted our Christmas dinner which included prime rib, ham and an assortment of side dishes and delectable desserts. It was a beautiful snowy day with phamily. Andrew brought his girl Tarrah and Jeremy had buddy Nick Fender. The twelve of us enjoyed a feast fit for royalty!

I received a wonderful array of gifts including the 2009 Barbie Holiday Doll and Hannah our youngest daughter asked for a purity ring. Books and fragrances and new clothing for all. It was a wonderful Christmas.

My boss gave me a tidy little bonus plus a gift certificate for Honey Baked Hams. I guess we have New Year's covered for dinner too!

Last night we celebrated yet another Christmas dinner with a beautiful Jenni-O  17.9 lb. turkey that my brother-in-law Mike & his phamily provided for us when we attended their Christmas party last weekend. Jeremy invited Nick F and his good friend John V to share in this wonderful feast which included more salad,sides and desserts then we should be able to digest! Our grandson Colton joined Nick,Hannah and Rebekah as well as Avery and myself and we enjoyed  sharing this bounty of good eats with good folks!

My son Jeremy got a brand new crock pot courtesy of his favorite mom. I figured when he decides to move back home this February when his rental lease is up he and I can whip up a batch or two of his favorite stuffed peppers. Cooking with my kids is fun and we enjoy spending time together.

Colton and Hannah's beau Markus got cocoa making machines from us and I purchased a bottle of Peppermint Schnapps in case they want to share.

God has given us so many wonderful blessings that I want to ask your help. My nieces Karla and Holly would appreciate your prayers as their dad Bob is going to have major heart surgery tomorrow. My girlfriend Sharon would appreciate prayers for her younger brother Gary who needs a new kidney. Keep our phamily's in your prayers daily as well. We could all use the Grace of God in daily doses.

Finally please check out the Princess House specials coming up for the New Year. You can buy any item and get a second one of equal or lesser value for 1/2 off. Also there are tons of specials you can add to your collection or purchase for a special gift in the coming new year. You would be helping some wonderful PH folks including Alyn who lost her jobs three years ago and could really use the extra income.  You could help Rebekah restart her PH career and help her little dog Tinkerbell enjoy her golden years pain free. You could also help Sandy and myself because Sandy has always generously helped me to  extra PH savings on her "Anne Robinson life long layaway plan".

May God richly bless you and keep you and yours safely in HIS care.

"May grace is sufficient for you for My power is made perfect in weakness" 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Scrubbing the Bathtub,Cleaning the Kitchen and Shopping for Christmas

My bathtub is old and disgusting. But recently my niece Karla told me to go to Walmart and purchase a cooper pan scrubber. This little scrubber works like a gem! You should check in an inconspicuous place to make sure it won't scratch the surface you are cleaning but I got a workout using that little pad! Three of them cost $1.95 and that was a great deal! I used my soft scrub with bleach and a pair of rubber gloves and my bathtub looks very nice.

I never have a scrubbing problem with my kitchen pots & pans. I use all my Princess House kitchen ware and it cleans up like a dream! I don't always use their cleaning products either because the cookware cleans like a dream. Considering the cost of cheap pots and pans I have purchased in the past their cookware is a wonderful bargain. They have a new line of healthy cookware and you can buddy up with a friend and buy a set and get a set half off!

The hubby and I have spent a few hours during this weekend to shop for the holidays. Our kids are older now, three in college, paying their own way. So we set a limit and draw names. But I can never stop shopping for just a few more items.Just small things like a movie or warm gloves,socks or cologne. We have quite a few readers in the phamily and a good book is never a bad gift. I also like to add things like hot cocoa with a new mug or little items like bookmarks,eye makeup and lip balm.

Nick wanted a Peyton Manning jersey because rather then embrace the Denver Broncos he is a life long Colts fan. $79.99 at the nfl.com shop, $50 at J.P. Penney and $24.99 at Walmart.com with free shipping. Not such a bad deal in these economic tough times.

Hannah wanted a book called "The Perks of Being A Wallflower". $15 with tax at Barnes and Noble.

Rebekah wanted her very own copy of Scrabble. Walmart:on sale $9.99.

Jeremy a warm thermal shirt, K-Mart, on sale for $6!

The hubby had beautiful thinsulation gloves. Found 'em to replace his pair Nick lost, at Wal-greens, $5.99!

I found Axe Chocolate Gift Set for Colton at Walmart, $8.87 compared to $9.99 at Walgreens and K-Mart.

Nothing for Noelle and Roger just yet and Andrew is easy, gift card, Barnes & Noble. We can not keep up with the unusual books he reads!

By the way, Nick is my Secret Santa and we had a $25 limit!

This time of year I enjoy on line shopping as opposed to the crowds in stores and the hassle of parking the car. My favorite picks, amazon.com,walmart.com and a new fun find with jewelry including pieces made with  Swarvorski crystals. It is reasonably priced and the site is FashionJewelryForEveryone.com. Lots of great reviews for this site too.

I am always interested in finding great new finds on line. So send your favorites to me today!

I usually rely on Barb at dogmomdiva and Beverly at HowSweetTheSound for bloggers but I am always looking for new blogging sites to check out. I like to visit Linda at Prairie Flower Farm and Rhonda at Blue Creek Home. I get a lot of encouragement from all four of these ladies.

My baby girl Noelle turned 34 today. We missed having breakfast with her and her husband Roger, who is also a birthday boy today. They are late sleepers, we like to get up and out before the crowds. But I am happy that are having a nice day. It probably would be nicer if the darn Cowboys could beat the Chargers! Those Cowboys are Noelle's favorite team!

I am a little sad, my blogging buddies still are two plus myself, quite by accident! I guess no one ever wants me to give away lots of great goodies! I think if I get 10 followers I may have a giveaway!

I think Tink is getting worse, she is having trouble holding her bladder in particular. She makes a terrible mess on my runner in the living by the front door. I am just tired of washing rugs every day! It isn't like  she is here alone someone will always help her. Someone is always home but she drinks so much water and pees everywhere. It is so frustrating. I still think she may have diabetes but the vet says liver disease. After the holidays I am thinking Rebekah may have to make a tough decision.

My nephew bought his fiancee a second French bulldog. Talk about a dog with some serious health issues. I read that one lil guy in a foster home here in Colorado takes Pepcid AC before his meals. Others are prone to spinia bifida and have to have their lil rumps wiped when they use the bathroom! I learn something new every day but an expensive dog like that should have a built in warranty! Yikes they can cost upward $800-900! Too rich for my budget! But they are certainly cute lil dogs.

I wanted to show everyone "Gracie" my Avon edition Madame Alexander doll standing under our Christmas tree showing off her cute lil plaid holiday dress!

Happy Sunday to all and a wonderful  work week to all!

Blog Frog "Give the Gift of Community"

BlogFrog would like to inspire you to "Give the Gift of Community" to your blog readers and to The Children's Hospital!  For every community that adds 20 new participants (someone who starts or replies to a discussion) between now and the end of the year, BlogFrog will donate $10 to The Children's Hospital.  Also, all qualifying community owners will automatically be entered to win a $100 Target gift card. Here's how to participate: Install a BlogFrog community widget on your site (if you already have one, you are one step ahead!). Make sure the widget is high enough to easily be seen by your visitors. Announce your community to your readers in a post and tell them about the "Give the Gift of Community" challenge.  For every community that adds 20 new participants (someone who has not participated in your community before and starts a discussion or replies to one) before the end of the year, BlogFrog will donate $10 to The Children's Hospital (up to $400)! Spread the word about your new community by sharing discussions on Twitter and include the #blogfrog hashtag so other BlogFrog members can join and re-tweet. Every community that adds at least 20 new participants during the campaign will be promoted in our next newsletter and on our website as "Blogs that gave the gift of Community". No need to count new participants - we'll keep track of that! That's all you have to do.  We'll keep track of new participants and will be posting about progress in our community and on Twitter and Facebook. For more information, button code, and questions see this discussion. Thanks for your support and help! Holly Hamann co-founder of BlogFrog holly@theblogfrog.com

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The Feast of Saint Nicholas and the Generous Spirit of Christmas

December 6th is the feast of St. Nicholas. Having grown up in the Catholic church and later marrying a wonderful Christian man, I have been able to incorporate my childhood memories and traditions into my own phamily. Tonight my kids, even though they are now 24,21,18 and 16, will put their bowls out on the kitchen table and wait for St. Nick to fill them with simple treats. We always start with an orange. Although both of my parents were of Slovenian decent, the tradition of the orange started in Spain. There are various stories and theories to back this up but Nicholas gave gold to save three young women from being sold into slavery, thus the orange. You may also give  apples,clementines or tangerines. It is believed that Nicholas came from a very wealthy family, and when his parents died he used the wealth from his inheritance to give to the poor.  We add a candy cane. There are many symbols for the candy cane. In the case of St. Nicholas, is represents the staff that he carried and we always add one to the bowl. Now the gold coins. Ah...to give real gold coins! That would be a treat. But we give a small bag of gold coins that actually are good quality chocolate to represent the goodness of St. Nick as he used his wealth to ultimately help the poor. Next are socks, now my late mother would attest that as a child they hung their stockings for St. Nick but since we have no fireplace we use the bowls and we add a pair of warm socks for each one of our children. In Europe children often put a pair of shoes for him to fill with treats! Today we add other small items to our children's bowls. These items include lip gloss for the girls, lip balm for the boys and other treats like a small Christmas book or other small items.

When the kids were small they faithfully wrote their letters to Santa. Legend has it that when children wrote their letters to the Christ Child or Santa, Nicholas collected them and made sure they got to their destination.

There is the lump of coal. My mother said if you were naughty St. Nick would leave one of these for you. Today you can even buy "coal" gum for the naughty child!

You can use a small Santa doll or even read your child a book about St. Nick. These wonderful traditions really add to the meaning of Christmas.

In the Netherlands there are no holidays decorations until after the fifth of December. St. Nick is still a big hit there and they celebrate with these timeless traditions.

The story of Saint Nicholas will always be a treasure for me. He knew the true meaning of the holiday season, helping the poor and giving from the heart. Today I notice more and more that under privledged children are asking for simply necessities like warm clothing . I listen to the local c/w radio station 98.5 FM KYGO. They have a holiday tradition called Christmas Crusade for Kids. This pairs local law enforcements officers with children that truly need our help. They collect donations of new items and cash from those of us who are willing to help and deliver these items to needy kids . Lately all I am hearing on the radio are kids asking for warm clothing, a new pair of shoes etc. Rarely does a child ask for big ticket items like an XBox or other high tech gear. Last year some of my girlfriends and I adopted a phamily. It turned out that this phamily was a dear friend of mine, Lyn. Her three grand daughters live in a remote farming area in Northern Colorado with their dad Greg and his wife Sheila. His first wife, the mother of these girls, hit the drug scene and still is into it. It is very tragic because her phamily has money and live a very affluent lifestyle in Washington state. But they enable her habit, helping her out. Anyway, Greg got custody of the girls but he has been in and out of jobs due to the crummy economy and they live in a old drafty run down house.Last Christmas Lorna and Veronica my friends from the University Hospital Billing Office helped out along with several ladies they work with. Koko and Theresa from my office and myself donated and we collected so many things for these needy phamily. We bought those girls nearly everything on their wish lists and one gal donated gently used coats that her own kids outgrew. We filled my car with mittens and gloves and hats and other winter wear. We had gift certificates for the parents to complete their holiday dinner and also had little gifts for the folks too! It made me feel so good! But boy was it hard to give up those Barbie dolls! LOL!

Several years ago when my husband and I were in a similar situation someone, and to this day, I do not know who they are, turned our kids name into the Christmas Crusade for Kids. I was taken back by their generous gifts but I had had two back to back surgeries and only the hubby was working. My girlfriends from the UH Admissions Dept. pitched in and cooked dinners for us for two weeks while I was recuperating and Lorna and her dear parents collected tons of food and gifts for our kids. I was so overwhelmed, I felt like I could never give back like that! But some years God is very good to me and I donate as much as I can. Other years, like this one, I rely on the kindness of phamily and friends to help us thru a rough patch.

In closing I just want to say please do not forget those less fortunate then you. Go out and help someone in need. You will feel like a million dollars and your heart will feel warm & full from your generous act.

God Bless You All!