Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt - Safe

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Wow! The themes for the Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt have been tough lately! This week's theme was safe. I've been thinking all week. Safe?! A photo of safe? What?! Homeplate? A bank vault? A padlock? Nothing really grabbed me. Everything I could think of didn't seem safe enough.

Then last night I thought of this. This is "safe" to me.

S.P.S.H. - Safe

The name of Jesus

Here's why:

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous runs into it and is safe.

Proverbs 18:10

And I can run to His name and be safe because of this:

[God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Ending the week with a meme

I got tagged by the wonderful Wooden Porch. So I'm starting off the weekend with this Nine Weird Things About Me Meme.

Here goes nothing...

• 1. I collect Hot Wheels, Matchbox and other die-cast cars. I keep my collection in a box under my bed. I remember getting some for a birthday when I was a little girl and I still have several of those very cars.



• 2. I don’t wear perfume or cologne much. But when I do put something smelly on, I like to wear men’s fragrances more than ladies’. Just like the way they smell.



• 3. I have CMT which can be a drag although it's usually just a nuisance. But it does make it so I can fold my hands in half and my feet are so small that 355 days a year you’ll find me in size 4 sneakers that I bought in the boys’ shoe department.



• 4. I eat honey on my hot & spicy New Mexican food. I don’t use a whole lot, but I like the sweetness in contrast to the spicy food and it can reallly cut the heat if the dish is pretty hot.



• 5. Thanks to an unfortunate fall while I was pregnant with #1 Son, my Xiphoid Process (that little bone that hangs off the end of your Sternum -breast bone ) points out at a 90 degree angle when it should really point down to the floor.



• 6. Growing up I had a female cat named Fred. I didn’t name her that, but thinking back, it was the perfect name for her.



• 7. I’m a high school drop out who graduated from college Magna Cum Laude with honors at age 20. What am I doing now? A stay-at-home homeschooling mom of five children (hoping for 2 more.) and wife to Pastormac for more than 17 years. I’d like to see some of my college professors or even some of my classmates do that!



• 8. During college I used to put ice in my milk. Also, I’d make a salad from the salad bar at our school’s cafateria, complete with carrots, sprouts, cucumbers, sunflower seeds and Ranch dressing and then pour the whole thing on my turkey sandwich and eat it all up. I did this practically every day for lunch. (Pastormac thought these two things to be very weird back then. Still does.)



• 9. I like to play video games nearly as much or more than my kids. When I’m at an arcade I love pinball the best. I got Nintendo’s first version of a Gameboy for Mother’s Day when Sweetanlo was 1 1/2, and I got a Nintendo DS for my anniversary/birthday present this year. I can’t wait for the Nintendo Wii comes out this Christmas so I can get one for me my kids.

That was fun! I'm spreading the weirdness joy. Beck, Susanne, Michelle, and Heth. Tag! You're it!

Love Thursday #8

Love Thursday's here...just in the nick of time! I can use a little love to get me through the next couple of days. And then weekend arrives. Aahhhh!

I took these two pictures of my girls, Rummy and Sweetanlo. We were all out at an indoor playground at the mall. I was sitting on one of those long padded benches watching the kids run around. The girls sat down on either side of me and decided to put their heads in my lap. Just so happens, I had a camera handy and so snapped these pictures. We were having fun and being silly and I think the pictures really capture that.


I love these girls!



Check out Chookooloonks for more of Love Thursday.

Yay! Works-For-Me Wednesday

I've been I trying to get some things made for an upcoming church crafts exchange. (If you interested, GiBee at Kisses of Sunshine is hosting a Homemade Gift Idea Exchange and has some amazing ideas posted and links to all sorts of other blogs with crafty ideas.)

A friend was moving and so gave me a box of all sorts of yarn she didn't need anymore. So the other day while I was at Michaels (I love that store! And Hobby Lobby!) I bought one of these for under $10.00.


It's called a Knifty Knitter

Now, with this little gadget, two of those skeins of yard, and around six hours, I made this beauty:



My daughter Sweetanlo, who is a knitter, says it's cheating. (I think she's just jealous because she's knitting scarves the "real" way for all her friends for Christmas.) I'm decent at crochet and a novice knitter. Projects take me months to finish. This scarf took me a day. Cheating or not, it works for me!



Don't forget to stop by Rocks in My Dryer for all sorts of great Works-For-Me ideas. So glad Shannon didn't decide to make her blog-vacation a permanent one.

BTW: Sweetanlo says she'd love to wear this scarf. I told her she'll have to duke it out with the rest of the ladies at the crafts exchange! ;-)

How about my new look?!

I suppose tonight is an appropriate night to debut the look of my blog after it's Exteme Blog Make-Over!

Ta-da!

How'd ya like the new look? I think it's just awesome!

Susie over at Bluebird Blogs designed it for me. As you can see, she a talented lady. And now I can join the many other pleased bloggers who say that she is not only an amazing designer but also a joy to work with! Attentive, conscientious, willing to keep trying until it's "just right." Extra bonus - her prices are so reasonable! I can't recommend her enough.

So welcome to It's Always A Production!

Now go on over to Bluebird Blogs to order a new look of your own.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt - Dreaming

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This week's S.P.S.H. theme is dreaming.

I've been dreaming of one of these since this post.

In the name of S.P.S.H. **wink, wink** today I got one.


It was wonderful!

German-chokolatekake (if you're wondering)

Love Thursday #7

I can't believe another week has flown by in a blink!

I'm doing something a little different for Love Thursday this week. This post has been on my heart for a while now. I think it applies.

Treasures

I haven’t had much time to blog and visit my favorite blogs the past few weeks because I have been spending my days wrapping and boxing up the things that my Aunt Ga. left behind.

As I’ve wrapped each item to be sold or given away, I’ve wondered.

Why?!

Why did she keep these things. Why did she save them and and pack up and bring them with her when she moved twice? What was so special? Some of the things are exotic. Some look expensive. Some are strange. Some are unbelievably beautiful. Some are very very old. And some of these things are downright weird! I know for certain, each thing has a unique story. And I wonder.

Why?!

Why didn’t I start a year ago, taking each item to my aunt and asking her to retell it’s tale. Why didn’t I ask her why these things were so special to her? Did this come from a foriegn land? Was that a gift from someone dear? Why are these so valuable to you that you packed them and moved them here to have them with you to keep you company during the sunset of your life?

But I didn’t do that and now the memory of these precious things is lost. And I’m filled with regret. How sad that I’d didn’t take the time to know her better, to understand why these things were a treasure to her and thereby make them in some part a treasure to me. But my chance is gone.

However, perhaps your chance is not gone. Perhaps you still have time.

So I’m urging you. If you have a granny or a papaw, a mom or a daddy, an auntie or a tio, don’t let another visit go by without asking about those precious things. Collect the stories and tales, you might be pleasantly surprised at what you find out. I think you’ll discover that people of “mature” stature, have so much to offer and such a deep desire to impart it to someone. Who better than someone they love, someone who loves them? I know that you'll find that these things left behind will mean so much more to you when you have their story too.

If you don’t have a person like that in your life, no doubt you can find one. A neighbor or family friend. Pay a visit to your local assisted-living community, which I can guarantee you is full of folks without anyone with whom to share their lives, their treasures, their stories, their love.

And please, share this message with your friends, your family, your co-workers, your blogging buddies. Time's a wastin'. The days are fleeting. Grab those memories before they're gone. Share the love.



Be sure to visit Chookooloonks for more of Love Thursday.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt - Lost

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This week was a tough one for me. I can't wait to see how everyone else captured it.

Anyway, how to picture "lost" in some way? I couldn't come up with anything. I was trying to think of things that I have lost. (How do you take a picture of something that's missing anyway?) Okay, back to the search, what can I take a picture of that has been lost? My mind!! But I can't take a photo of that! What else am I always losing? Then it hit me.

S.P.S.H. - Lost



BLAST! Not again!!
Wonder where they are this time??!

Love Thursday #6

Another week and time for some more love. Love Thursday is here again!

This week I present to you: Cousins!





These guys had never met before this visit. But watching them together, you would have guessed that they had been best friends their whole lives.

Be sure to visit Chookooloonks for more pictures of love. No doubt you have pictures you could include as well. (G-rated, of course!) Share the wealth.

Works-For-Me Wednesday - A Chance to Win FREE BOOKS!

My WFMW this week is courtesy, Life in a Shoe. Back in this post we learned of a contest being held by Vision Forum. All you have to do is guess how many products are in their new catalog and you could win $700 in books! That's alotta books! The contest ends this Friday, so you still have time. Go visit Kim's to read the official rules and submit your entry. It's really pretty easy.

(And if you blog about it you increase your chances of winning!)

A chance at winning free books! Works for me!



Shannon has got a great WFMW up this week about making a Jesse Tree for your family's upcoming Christmas season. Don't forget to surf on over to Rocks in My Dryer to read about this idea and tons of other great ideas and hints for making life easier and more enjoyable.

Starting the week off with a meme.

Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story tagged me with a meme. A first! Don't I feel special now!? It's taken me a while to answer the questions. Some of these are tough!

1) Five Minutes to yourself. How would you spend them ideally?
Boy, only five minutes?! That's barely time to collect my thoughts. I think I'd pick up one of the books on my Fall Into Reading list and exercise my brain.

2) Five Dollars to spend right now. How or where would you spend it?
I would head over to Cold Stone Creamery for a German-chokolatekake and a tall glass of water. Chocolate ice cream, pecans, coconut, brownie and caramel. Heavenly! Worth every last penny.

3) Five Items in your house you could part with right now?
-the 20+ year old brown hand-me-down couch that I got from my brother.
-the temperamental pink toilet in the master bathroom.
-the matching pink tub.
-the box of Barbie dolls and Barbie stuff.
-the Ebay stuff and shipping supplies in the shop.

4) Five Items in your house you absolutely, positively could never part with? ( You know, I could do without pretty much anything in my house except the people. But for the sake of the meme. )
-my Bible with the special notes and pictures tucked inside the zippered cover.
-my iPod with all my music on it.
-the box of familiy photos (that will one day be put in albums - I hope!)
-my wedding rings
-my quilts

5) Five Words you love?
-Jesus
-Take-out
-Forgiven
-Date-night
-Pastormac


That was fun and thought-provoking. Can't say that about every meme. Thanks Susanne!

Okay I'm tagging Shalee, Michelle, and Overwhelmed.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt - Sleeping

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My picture of the week.

Wow! That was some wedding reception!

He danced the night away!

Love Thursday #5

Am I the only one who feels like the weeks are flying by?! Love Thursday is here again already!

Here's my picture of the week.

(Pastormac and his brothers with their mom)

What says love more than a mom and her boys?

No matter how big those boys get!

I need a good healthy dose of love today - it's been a really really draining week. So I'm heading over to Chookooloonks. Join the fun yourself.

WFMW

Do you ever have trouble with clothes, especially jackets and coats, sliding off their plastic hangers and ending up in a pile on the bottom of the closet? Drives.me.nuts! Here's what a did to fix the problem.

I took this:


and this:


and I made this:


Works like a charm!


Boy I could sure use a Works-For-Me Wednesday pick-me-up this week. So I'm going over to Rocks in My Dryer. See you over there.

Holiday Cooking Blogger Style

Overwhelmed with Joy is hosting a Holiday Cooking-Blogger Style Recipe Exchange! I enjoy cooking and I love recipes and cookbooks, so I’m in recipe heaven! Don’t forget to go on over there and take advantage of the wealth of recipes already listed and while you’re at it, add yours!

Here's my contribution.

My mom was an amazing cook. Each year at Thanksgiving and Christmas, she would make a meal (turkey and all the trimmings) that was so incredible we would all wonder at how she did it; and then we’d eat ourselves silly and nap afterward. She did show me how to do many of the things that she did and other things I learned from just watching her. She had to show me, because she usually didn’t use recipes.

For me, this holiday meal is so tied to my mom, even three years after her death, I find it very hard to make. It makes me miss her too much.

That being said, this is the recipe (one of the few from a book) that my mom gave me that our family still makes every year. We eat them ourselves and we give them away as special gifts.

It is the best Pecan Pie evah!



Georgia-Style Spiced Pecan Pie

3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon flour
9-inch, unbaked 1-crust pie shell


Combine the first 4 ingredients. Mix next 4 ingredients and add. Blend pecans with flour and stir into the mixture. Turn into a 9-inch pie plate lined with unbaked pastry. Bake in a preheated hot oven (400F) for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to moderate (350F) and bake 40 minutes longer or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. If needed, cover the edges of the crust with foil to keep it from browning too quickly.

Yield: One 9-inch pie.

from The Spice Cookbook by Avanelle Day & Lillie Stuckey