Love is...Give and Take/Pink Saturday Snowmen/Blues

Due to the craziness of the holidays I am combining a few memes to post all together. Please visit Marydon and join our Love is...My Sweets had a late paycheck this time around! So when it hit the bank this morning we went out to breakfast. This was us as we split the cash we got at the grocery store!

A favorite Barbie ornament on my Christmas tree. Tell Beverly I shared my pink with my Snowmen too!

My friendly snowman is thinking about his New Year resolution! Maybe he wants to lose a few pounds too!. He is trying to hide the Special K cereal behind him!

My tree! We never put ribbon or garland around it but it looks so pretty with the lights, especially early in the morning when it is still dark outside. We have had a real cold spell and more to come! No pretty tree skirt with the silly dogs! Too much shiny stuff to get them into trouble!

My Red Riding Hood ornament looks sweet but my Rudolph is hard to see. My I Believe in Jesus is made in the USA and features a pretty blue ribbon for Blue Monday too!

If you look closely you will see Rudolph with his shiny red nose! My late friend Patty K. made him for me and I tenderly care for him each year. She lost her battle with breast cancer many years ago and Rudolph takes center stage with all my favorite ornaments. A pretty blue felt skate hangs next to my metal ornie that says "I believe in Santa"!

Linda made this sweet Snowman ornament. He sits way up high with our phamily ornament that shows all of our names on Santa's list for 2012! He smells really nice!

A blue star for Jeremy!

Nick has a blue snowflake and he is next to a gingerbread boy!

A snowman who is crocheted and starched very regally stands with his blue and white scarf and a little bell that jingles!

A little blue bird adds a delightful whimsy to  my tree. His feathers are so soft! My mother always said your tree is not complete without a bird in it!

A metal snowman appears to be juggling his lights!

New Year's is just a  blink away. I hope 2013 is good to you and you are blessed with good health, much wisdom and lots of happiness.

Remember to share all your blues with Sally and share the snowmen with Beverly too. A little pink never hurts either!

E is for Excitement and F is for Family!

Hey do you like my fancy swimsuit? My sis Mary found a box of old photos in her attic! I was so excited! I love these black and white photos. I must have been three or four and standing in our front yard. My father prided himself in his yard and those matching trees were always perfectly manicured! I love old photos! The excitement in looking over them is so much fun! So since I missed my Alphabe Thursday "E" last week I decided to combine it with my "F" letter and show off a few vintage photos. I will share some today.

My sissy says I was a "Prissy Missy"! Laugh Out Loud! I am sure this might have been the summer my mom was filling my little wading pool and I was dancing around! A wasp flew into the ball of my foot and stung me! Ouch! That hurt! I wish there was a way to preserve these photos. Such memories. Wonderful times, no cares, no worries, just having fun and enjoying being a kid!

Tarrah ( who has the loveliest hair) is standing behind me in this lovely photo! My son-in-law Roger drew my name for the Secret Santa this year. Look what he found, on his own I might add! A Barbie 2013 calendar! Thanks Rog! I also got a beautiful Olay gift set to make me so beautiful and relaxed!
It was a good Christmas.

Rebekah and Jeremy were the deviled egg artists this year! Colton, Tarrah and Jayden are in the background!

Nick coming home from Kansas! Denver International  Airport 2012. He is so tall!

Noelle's yummy scalloped potatoes. She is just like Martha Stewart only sweeter!

Poor little Hannah! This was a tough Christmas for her. She is so sick. Sinus junk! Ugh!

Christmas snacks. Celery stuffed with cheddar cheese, beef Summer sausage and cheese and crackers.

Oh Holy Toledo do I LOVe this photo! I am on the right holding my nephew Tony in the plaid outfit. My grandma who was my BFF is holding my cousins son Frank and next to him is his big sis Luann. She just lost her husband to cancer. So sad. So young. Cousin Rosemarie in blue and white dress. She is a breast cancer survivor and her hubby Aaron is also a cancer survivor. They are so young and so sick. My nephew Charles in brown cords and plaid shirt. My nephew Edward in the blue blazer and oldest Gary in white shirt. We never missed holidays as a phamily. We were always together. I just don't think people make the effort today. I think so many are so self centered and only care for themselves and things. It is a sad world we live in. My grandma's youngest daughter made the trip every single Christmas until she passed away. She and my uncle lived in Baton Rouge. That was a long trip to take each year and they did it anyway!

Now hop over to Ms. Jenny's and join the letter fun!

More Christmas Sharing!

Ah....the memories of childhood! My father was a steelworker and when he left for work on Christmas Eve he would fill the front porch with our gifts as he drove away! What a delight! It took us many years to figure out it was him and not Santa! All that stomping on the porch was our clue to stay put and not try to catch Santa in the act! Oh how we wished we could! I have a wonderful memory of my fifth Christmas! I received a bicycle with training wheels. I will never forget the day my father pushed me off for the first time without those training wheels! He ran behind me for a long while and as I continued to steady myself he let go! What a feeling of pure independence! It is a happy memory I have had for many many years!

A  Phamily Photo! Last Sunday we spent time with our sweet niece Chelsea who was visiting from Oregon. We cooked some Slovenian food. It was great fun! I made Chelsea copies of some of our favorite phamily traditional recipes. We had great fun! Oh my, I Just noticed Stella got into the act! She rarely lets us photograph her leading us to believe she is part of the Canine Witness Protection program. Being a rescue dog, for three years she refused to be photographed! My oldest daughter Noelle is decked out in a  blue shirt! We are quite the crew!  We fit into the Blue Monday theme don't we? So please visit Sally and all the other blues today!

Aw.....the mistletoe! It is a sure sign of love during the holidays! This Love is...is extra sweet! So visit Marydon and share your favorites too!

Where ever you may tonight if travel is in your plans be careful. Lots of awful wintry weather lately. Enjoy the beautiful holidays and have a beautiful Christmas season!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!


                      

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

I am dreaming of a white Christmas! In the past one hundred and twelve years we have only seen snow on Christmas Day fourteen times where I live! I have been away from my blog! Not because I want to be but because life has been stressful! The office where I work had become a zoo and my mind was not anywhere but there! The work was piling up and finally the doctor had to make a very difficult decision. He let the lady who was causing such chaos go! If she had slipped a few times and not completed her work he would have understood. But the poison in her mind was filtering into those who had to work closely with her as well as those who had contact with her making all the daily office decisions run very akwardly. I don't want to get into all the problems but prayer for this woman is needed. She is a menace to herself as well as anyone who comes in contact with her. I have often felt she was troubled with mental illness. She could be very kind and then at a moments notice snap and be rude and extremely cruel. I found it difficult to pray for her. I confided in a dear friend and she said I had to pray about it, make peace about the severity of the situation and once I could let go of all that bitterness I felt I could pray for her...

Then the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting happened. It tore at my heart! I am sad twenty five years later at the loss of my unborn child. A baby girl I was never to know in this world. So my sadness compiled with work related stress and the heartache I felt for those who lost their loved ones was too much to bear. I prayed. I prayed harder. I spent many hours praying for these victims families. I started making a new prayer list. It was so heartbreaking. It seemed everywhere I looked sadness was filling this beautiful season. The time of year where I delight in making a birthday cake for our Lord. Where I love to spend hours dreaming of the perfect gift for my Secret Santa. I hung my favorite Christmas ornaments on  the tree. My favorite USA made silver ornie that simply states " I Believe In Jesus". My favorite childhood memory, a metal ornie that says "I believe in Santa". My blue bird sitting in his nest inside my Christmas tree. Because my mother always said a Christmas tree is not complete without a bird in it!

I found that I could only do what one person can do! Pray! Express kindness where ever I go! Smile! Hand out a compliment to those I deal with in the work place. Continue to trust the Lord. Remember the reason for this season.
So although my Christmas celebration will be a bit off this year, all my Nativity sets are packed away somewhere I have not searched yet we will join all together and celebrate the season. We will remember the less fortunate, the hurting, the homeless. We are in for colder weather. Temperatures to drop into the thirties. I will pray. I will hold those I love close. We will celebrate with turkey and ham and all the wonderful holidays traditions we share. I did find the perfect gift for my Secret Santa. But they may read this and I can not give away my surprise yet! I read about a real Christmas miracle. On Face Book a friend I have there has a family member who had a little baby struggling for her life. She will be released in time for Christmas. Little Kaydence! Going home for the holidays! My joy was set! A tiny little person I prayed so hard for along with countless others was going to go home. A real Christmas miracle.

We bought tamales today. We always have a huge Christmas Eve celebration! My youngest daughter loves the vegetarian tamales a local Mexican restaurant makes, we love their mild pork tamales. So we ordered three dozen to share. I found cherry chips at the baking aisle in my grocery store! I am happy I still have time to make my cherry mash candies! Although I did not get to send my Christmas cards from Santa Claus, Indiana I ended up sending way more than I anticipated! I LOVE sending and receiving cards  so it was an easy choice! I just started to think of everyone who needed some cheer, like myself, and I mailed them so hopefully they were all received!

Tomorrow I will share a Christmas letter we received. Our former babysitter Heather, who today is the mother of six made their holiday letter all about the reason for the season. It touched my heart and helped me feel better about the holiday season.

I will continue to pray for the families of all those lost in the Connecticut shooting. In these difficult times we must not stray from God! He ultimately holds all the answers and we have to trust that.

Let me make you smile here:

What’s Your ELF Name?

 Perky Pointy Toes here, wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

James R. Mattioli Memorial Fund

I'm forwarding this on in case anyone is interested in helping this family. It is a legit address from one of my friends, not from Facebook land.

"By now, everyone has heard of the tragic events Friday in Newtown, CT. I'm sure there will be many charities and many offers of assistance, and if you are looking to give, please consider giving to the James R. Mattioli Memorial Fund. I know James' aunt Melissa and my sadness and grief for their entire family is indescribable. Whether you choose to give or not, please pray for peace for these families and everyone in their community."

James R. Mattioli Memorial Fund

c/o Newtown Savings Bank
39 Main Street
Newtown, CT 06470

My niece Holly shared this with me. She knows little James aunt Melissa personally so this is not some  'snopes"  or Facebook  hoax! This is my niece and this is her friend who is aunt to little James. He was a huge baseball fan and the family would like to build  a baseball field to  honor James 'memory.  I know many charities will be springing up but I wanted to share this because my niece knows Melissa and wants everyone to know if you can not make a donation in James memory please pray for the entire community in Newtown, CT. Thank you.

By now everyone heard the Morgan Freeman piece about the media was a hoax. Half the time anything you want to do someone says snopes says it is false yet I still do not know who snopes is, why people trust it and who is behind it! With all that said I wanted to share the very first legitimate information I received.

I hope you also will use the school address here:

Sandy Hook Elementary School

12 Dickenson Drive

Sandy Hook, CT. 06482

To send any cards or letters to these precious families during this tremendously difficult time. Please write the names of these beautiful children and the adults who perished with them on your heart. Please do not forget them. 

Chris Johnson is following in Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz‘s footsteps by giving a personal tribute to the Newtown, Conn., victims on his cleats. The Titans’ running back has written all 26 names on his cleats for Tennessee’s Monday Night Football game against the Jets. Cruz wrote the name of Jack Pinto, a six-year-old victim, on his cleats and gloves after he found out he was the young boy’s favorite player. Johnson tweeted, “R.I.P to all the victims” along with a picture of his cleats. He is averaging five yards per carry this season after a down year in 2011. He has 223 carries for 1,037 yards and four touchdowns.  below. Photo via Twitter/@SportsCenter   via Twitter/@ChrisJohnson28

"D" is for Dare to....

I had a different way to go with my very late and dearly needed to read  Alphabe Thursday post! But I will do my very best to incorporate it all here! My heart goes out to all those effected by the tragedy in Connecticut today! I have put up several posts on Face Book and I hope you will read those! I am what many would call a bible thumping Christian! But I am a strong willed woman and it is important that you do not think I am making light of a tragedy or my faith! I just feel sometime too many Christians are  wishy washy! They step back instead of forging ahead and possible hurting someones feelings! They love the Lord but cautiously. They won't take a stand against all the ridiculous political correctness in this country. Then when a tragedy strikes they wonder where God is?! Why didn't He do something to stop this! So love me or leave me I am an outspoken girl! Sometime I hear little whispers from the Lord and I choose my words very carefully but I make my point! The bible is a book of knowledge. It is filled with everyday advice. It will help you, if you are still raising young ones, to deal with those, like myself, that are strong willed! It has helped farmers for years  produce crops. Dependent on Him ,somehow our lives make more sense! Even when we suffer those "Job" times. I use to think, "boy Lord you are nuts! You want me to believe I will still love you after you take all that is important to me? Hmmm....." Then my own life suffered tremendous loss! Good health, a spouses good job, the death of an unborn child, bankruptcy, losing a favorite phamily car! A beautiful new home! The loss of a beloved father, a darling, doting dad who adored his youngest daughter! Grief! Thick as fog over a river on a cold dreary morning! More job loss, more heart breaking  foreclosure! Another home, one which raised five adorable children gone, taken away from homeowners hoping this would be the one place to retire one day. Taken away by corporate greed, people hungry for money! When that money stares them in the face they need more! Then they make jokes about poor helpless drug addicts trapped in a cycle of despair, their own lives mirrored against that of the less fortunate.  The homeless the ones who have lost hope.They compare us to all the once hard working people struggling to stay afloat! Yet their love of money, of needing more and more effects many hardworking individuals that are reduced to "losers" in this game of life! We are the bad guys. The ones that should have planned better. All along that winding broken road is the One who loves us, money or not! House or cardboard box! A light goes on inside your head! Things, they don't matter at all. when life is said and done things will not matter. Only God staring us in the face looking over our lives and what we made of it. How we treated those around us. A kind word or a wicked one. During these difficult times in my own life, and yes this happened to us, I did not make it up, I found out that God matters. People matter. Love and kindness matters and money, it helps give us basic comforts but it is not my god. It is not my reason for living. We lost nearly everything we had and we let it go. Bitterness, no, sadness, some! We tried to live up to Job! We nearly succeeded! We trusted God. Sometime we felt He was the only one there and found out He was! We started depending on Him. It is always easy? Heavens no! But when tragedy strikes, such as this shooting of innocent lives in Connecticut I prefer to trust Him. I dare you to read your bible. If you need one, give me a shout ! I will send you one. I dare you to trust God! I seriously double dog dare you! In fact, the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister triple-dog-dare ya! I want you to read the bible and share a comfort or two with me. Believe me you will find something to touch your heart during a senseless tragedy. God has a way of putting it in front of your face! So will you accept my dare and read the bible? Then rememeber these beautiful words from Jesus Himself, "But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 New American Standard Bible. I think in the days ahead perhaps a parent will, if only for a brief moment, find some comfort in these words. Their lives have been forever changed. I hope you say a prayer, send a card or note and trust God! Now accept my dare and than share your own thoughts with others.

PRAYER REQUEST

I need to put up my posts for Alphabe Thursday and also Pink Saturday but this is just an urgent prayer request. Lots of people need to be lifted up in prayer immediately. Here is a list:

Nick struggling with a final that will determine his next step forward at college. Please pray

Theresa needing to be lifted up in prayer due to many circumstances no one but the Lord can control.

Lia, that the Lord has kept his Angels surrounding a little girl who just wants to go home.

Linda, dealing with the impending loss of her mom. Any of us who have lost their mother can understand this.

Raney, who had a surgery today and was fearful of the outcome as well as the anesthesia.

Lonnie who is suffering from Stage IV cancer and his family including eight children who will be without their dad.

Robert who continues to struggle with the rebounds of cancer. Pray for friendship and strength for him.

Teresa who is recovering from surgery that her strength will return and she will recover and be cancer free.

Marydon dealing with health issues that overwhelm us .

Mary who is struggling with the effect of Alzheimer's at a very young age.

Thank you.




 

Love is.../Blue Monday

O.K. so we can't dance around the kitchen right now! My Sweets has a terrible cold and he coughs so much I am afraid he will cough up a lung! But we have always loved dancing at home with the kids when they were small! It is one of those little pleasures that does not cost a thing! Visit Marydon and share your favorite Love is...with her too!

 

Now I want to share something blue! Stop by Sally's and join the fun!  I participated in the Secret Santa Soiree at Suzanne's. I received my package on Friday and I was so excited! This was in my gift package. A pretty blue tea for one tea pot and a navy blue tin filled with English Breakfast Tea and a pretty blue box filled with tasty candy! Thank you Secret Santa! I will have great difficulties figuring our who you are! You sent my gift from an online tea store! LOL! Hmmm..... Thank you because you sent a gift I truly love and will use! It really made me happy! Merry Christmas where ever you are!

Saturday morning the mail carrier dropped another package off! From Tenneesee! Hmmm....A pretty Scentsy warmer! How did you know Secret Santa that I just stocked up on the sweet smelling little wax melts? I promptly set this up in my bathroom. Thank you for sending such a nice gift package! I am really enjoying all these lovely treasures!

Now let me get some rest and you visit Sally and Marydon and Suzanne very soon! Love to all of you and thanks for the gifts Secret Santa!

Please Induldge Me!

I had to share this today along with what I had planned. Please promote this, share it, do it, make a soldier smile this holiday season please! They have done so much for us!

Please note the correct address is 6900 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington D.C. 20307-5001

Personally I am taking the four boxes of new cards we found hauling our Christmas stuff earlier today and sending several of the 72 cards I have! A kind word is sometimes just what a wounded soldier needs.

Now for a favorite holiday recipe. My aunt Ang who was the Holiday Queen of food preparation made these tasty little devils! They are so good you can't stop at just one!

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef                                                1 8 oz. can jellied cranberry sauce

1 egg                                                                                 3/4 cup chili sauce

2 tablespoons of water                                                      1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 cup of bread crumbs                                                    1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons minced onion

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl mix the ground hamburger, egg, water, bread crumbs and minced onion. Form into nice appetizer sized meatballs.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

4. Ina  slow cooker or large saucepan add  cranberry sauce and chili sauce with brown sugar and lemon juice. Add meatballs and simmer for one hour. Put them on colorful toothpicks for serving.

I have another recipe using grape jelly in place of the cranberries sauce and add all the other ingredients. Yummy either way! Plus if you are short on time you can use frozen meatballs from the grocery store. Who doesn't need an extra helper in the kitchen during the holidays?

Voila~

Now share some love at Beverly's and please send a soldier a Christmas card or just a simple card of encouragement today! Thank you!

Sad note: It seems snopes says the deadline for mailing cards to soldiers was yesterday! In the USA? I am sick of all the politics! Ugh! Who is snopes and why is snopes so powerful? How do they know everything!? I think that is God's job. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Cards need to get to soldiers regardless of where they are! Also we could send them for New Years too!

"C" is for Crude

The common cold! My favorite word for it is "crude"! My hubby has been fighting a head cold all week long! As much as I tried to steer clear of him I knew I would get sick too! But I have to go bigger! I have to get a sinus infection! Ugh! The best perk working for an ENT doctor is the fact that I can see him for a quick minute, he is excellent at diagnosing the problem! I have an antibiotic and hopefully it will kick in! Then I will start to feel better.

Some google images so we don't scare you with our ailments! You might be scared if you saw us! we look like pale, sad people with coughs and drippy noses. Congestion! Ears that are painful and full of negative pressure!

This is a cartoon image of us. The cat does try to nestle all snug on your head! There is no cuddling but lots of complaining when you are sick! Here are somethings to help you feel better:

Chicken soup, that Jewish grandmother was right! It is a cure all!

Tea time! My mother use to give us hot tea, plain old fashioned Lipton tea bags in a cup with a spoonful of honey! Lemon too! Any extra vitamins are going to help comfort you during cold.season!

I should look this cute when I am under the weather! The crude discriminates against no one! It makes anyone in it's path ill! So take some precautions and try to stay healthy! Drink lots of water to stay hydrated. Take extra vitamins including Vitamin C and Zinc. Keep lozenges at your bedside and in your purse. They help take the edge off sore throat pain, dryness and cough! If you haven't had your flu shot, please get one! They really do work and even if you get the flu, it will not last long at all!

Finally get plenty of rest. Then stop by Ms. Jenny's and visit all the really cool "C" participates!