Foodie Friday....Crockpot Apple Butter

Last night I tried my hand at crockpot apple butter. Can I just say.......OMG Yummy!
There is a little work involved (as a disclaimer). But the time you invest peeling coring and slicing the apples so very worth it.

Crockpot Apple Butter
6# apples cored, peeled, sliced
1 cup white sugar
1 cup lighted packed brown sugar
1 TBSP cinnamon
2 TSP nutmeg
1TSP ground cloves
1 TBSP vanilla

Mix all of your dry ingredients together well. I just tossed the vanilla on the apples before adding the dry ingredients. (No rocket science cooking for me!) Coat the apple slices well with the dry ingredient mixture.
Pour apples into crockpot. It is going to be a pot full! Cover and cook on low for about 10 hours. I cooked mine over night. I did get up once during the night and stirred the apples, but only because I randomly woke up.
At the end of cooking, I used a cup to dip out some of the excess cider from the apples, then used my immersion blender to blend until smooth. The smell of this makes me think of how heaven must smell!
The apples do cook down to about half of what you start with. I had 3 jars of apple butter plus about 3/4 of a jar of the spiced cider that I saved to use for something later.
This would make a wonder gift for the holidays or hostess happy for a holiday party.

Happy Crocking!

My crazy life update

Wow! My life has been upside down since I last blogged. Let's start with a not so lovely shingles outbreak. If this has never happened to you, I pray it never does. This was the second time it happened to me. The first being about 12 years ago. I'm not sure what brought it on. One Monday I just woke up with a painful, itchy rash on my neck. Even though I went to the doctor on Tuesday, the initial rash developed into a terrible cellulitis that was wide spread. To the local e/r I went on the following Saturday. I came within an inch of being admitted. Thank goodness the doctor I saw listened to my pleas that I didnt have time to be in the hospital and promises to follow any and all orders he gave me. I ended up loaded to the max on steriods that got me to feeling better and had me cleaning my whole house and cooking everything I could think of! Needless to say, my kids were happy! On a more positive note, I have started sewing and crafting for missions and for Christmas. I have definately found my passion. I'll post a picture of a couple of the dresses I have made for a mission trip in summer 2014. I have informed my daughter that I will be making/crafting most of Christmas this year. I'm not sure she is real excited about that! Haha! I think when all is said and done, she and my grandbaby will both be pleased. I'm just very thankful to be back to feeling like my self. I was off work for about a week and a half. It is amazing how much it can take out of you to be sick just for that short of a time.

Little Dresses of Love

This past Saturday I gathered with a group of women at Highland Baptist Church in Meridian to sew dresses for little girls in other countries. These dresses will be sent with a mission group in 2014.
I have a friend, Beth Follin, who has been sewing these dresses for years and I was thrilled to be able to join in this year. I don't do a lot of sewing and would have been very slow on my own but Beth and I teamed up. She cut and pinned the dresses and I sewed.
Not everyone who came even sews. There were women who came to help with pressing and even just to bring snacks and make sure no one ever was in need of a cold drink or coffee!
I really hope to be able to go on one of the mission trips in the future. We also watched a slide show from the 2013 trip and it was wonderful.
I feel so blessed to be able to help bring smiles to the faces of those darling little girls.


My Friday 5

Wow, what a week!

Monday - My daughter had to have a root canal at Watermark Endodonics. Let me tell you about my daughter and dental work, they do not go well together. Bless her heart, she gets so anxious that the numbing medication wears off within minutes. Dr. Moore pre-medicated her with valium to help ease her nerves. Thankfully, the procedure went very well. And, I cannot brag enough about Dr. Moore and his staff. They get two thumbs up in my book!

Tuesday - My grandson, Lane, got tubes put in both ears. We were worried about the issue of not being able to eat or drink after midnight the night before. Lane normally gets up in the morning asking for something to drink. I think it threw him off that we got up so early (to be at Rush at 6). Anyway, Lane did great! He was really funny after the nurse gave him Lortab elixir to calm him because it had the opposite effect. He was literally bouncing off of me. And for some reason, in his Lortab high, he decided it was also a neat thing to lick me. (kinda gross) He would lick my face, my shirt, didn't matter to him.

Wednesday - Back to work I went. It was not a great day at work. I can't even pinpoint why, but it seemed as though everyone I work directly with was in a not so great mood and we all butted heads all day.
After work life got better. I picked up Lane as usual. He attends Highland Baptist CDC and we also go to church at Highland. So, he and I stayed for Wednesday night supper and church. Lane really likes church! I decided to join the choir and Wednesday was my first choir rehearsal at Highland. I sang in the choir in times past, but it has been a while. I was just like going home!

Thursday - I don't think there was much of anything news worthy yesterday. I went to work then I went home. It was nice efter a hectic start to the week and not a lot of sleep to have an early night.

Friday - Ahhh....Friday! It is a very lovely day. Not much going on at work so I have had time to do some much needed cleaning in my office. Pretty sure house keeping is not going to love all of the bags of garbage I have come up with. (Sorry!!)
I think this evening I will try to finish up a quilt I started for Lane a long time ago. I started it by hand but obviously if I want to finish it before he is grown, I need to machine sew the rest.

Hope everyone has a marvelous weekend!

Time is flying!

This year has really flown by! I knew it in the back of my head but last night we got a rehearsal list for the singing Christmas Tree at Highland Baptist. That makes it real! Life is about to get even more crazy and busy than it already is. In fact, I sat here first thing this morning and put every rehearsal and family event on my desk calendar then typed and printed out all of the same info on a calendar to put on the fridge at home. With that said, I am SO excited! I love fall and all of the excitement of the holiday season. I am ready to decorate my house and cook/bake lots of comfort foods. I am starting to “window” Christmas shop. I actually started on my holiday gifts for co-workers this past weekend. I think I am going to give as many home crafted gifts as possible this year. Yay! The more I think about it, the more giddy I am! What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Grandparents Day

Today was Grandparents day at Lane’s daycare. I have to admit I was apprehensive about going to the program because I wasn’t sure if it would upset him too much for me to be there mid-morning, but I am so glad I did. In fact, when I got there he started crying happy tears because he was worried I wasn’t coming. That just almost broke my heart!

The teachers went threw the kids normal routine for us. The kids sang a few songs. It was all very sweet. Then the children gave all of the grandparents “happies” they had made for us.

The school had a plan for those of us who had to make a slick get away to go back to work or whatever. The kids where given snacks and distracted so we could leave with out a melt down.

Thank you Highland Baptist CDC for thoroughly making my morning!

My week away

I was on vacation last week and, I must say, it was great. What a good feeling to know that when you finally decide to lay your head down at night, the alarm isn’t going to rudely awake you in the morning.

Tuesday morning, however, we did get up early and hit the road. I rode with my daughter and grandson to Chattanooga, TN. We stopped there for lunch and visited the Tennessee Aquarium. I hadn’t been to that aquarium since my daughter was little. It is so much fun to go places like that with a small child. The wonder and amazement in a child’s eyes is priceless. Although, since the aquarium had a couple of displays where you could put your hand in and “pet” the fish, my grandson now doesn’t understand why he cant put his hands in the tank we have at home and pet our fish!

Later that afternoon I checked into the Chattanooga Choo Choo for the night and the kids got back on the road headed to Pennsylvania. This was my first visit to the Choo Choo and I was very well pleased. I was upgraded to a suite simply because I joined their rewards program when I made the reservation. Not that I needed a suite, but it was nice!

There is a restaurant name The Station House located at the Choo Choo that has really good steak and live entertainment. All of the wait staff sings! They have a band and all of the servers take turns singing. It was a lot of fun.

On Wednesday, I spent the day exploring Chattanooga on foot. I shopped, ate, strolled thru the parks and even got a massage. It was a great day.

The remainder of vacation was spent at home. It was also nice to have time to get a few things done around the house that I had been putting off. Also, to just relax and do nothing!



Getting to know you (link up)

Today I am going to do a link up with Mississippi Women Bloggers called...Getting to know you. I love the idea of this. I have several favorites that I follow and feel like I know the writers, but dont know so many of the details about them. So, here I go! 1. What part of Mississippi are you from? - I am not originally from Mississippi. I was born and raised in Oklahoma and came to MS in 1993 at the age of 21. I was stationed at NAS Meridian while in the Navy. I had a baby and got married about a year and a half after moving here. I got out of the military after my time here was up and decided to stay. 2. How long have you been blogging? - I am a newby blogger. I think it has been less than a year but not certian how long. 3. Why did you start blogging? - Even though I am a fairly introverted person, I usually have something I want to talk about or share. Blogging is perfect! I can tell an unlimited amount of people about what is happening in my life. 4. What can we expect when reading your blog? - The best thing I can tell you is to expect a "regular" person talking about everyday kinds of things. I know a lot of people who have some sort of theme or favorite thing to blog about but I am just random. 5. What does your blog title mean? - Refer to #4. I just like to share my day to day. 6. What do you love about being part of Mississippi Women Bloggers? - I love the idea of having a blogging community that is close to me and can really relate to what is going on in the area. The same is true for what I get to read from the other members. 7. Who inspires you to blog? - The first blogger I really started reading is Joy Henson Sowell (The Sowell Life). I used to always look forward to seeing her put a link on Twitter about a new blog. She inspired me to just share my life experiences both joys and sorrows. 8. What is your favorite blog of the past year? - Wow, this is a hard one. I'm not sure if I have a favorite, I did really like the blog I wrote about Potholes in Life. It came to me while driving to work and I could hardly wait to put it in black and white. 9. Do your real life friends know you blog? What do they think about it? - A good many of my friends do. I put links for many of my blogs on Twitter and Facebook. One of my good friends is completely clueless about why we blog. She has asked me "what do y'all write about?" on more than one occasion. It always makes me giggle. 10. What is your current blogging routine? - There is no routine! I blog when I have an inspiration and the time to sit down and type it. I would love to do a lot more and hopefully develope a routine in the future so it can happen.

The joy of country living

I just love all of the things that can happen when you live out in the country! One night, last month, when my daughter got home from work she discovered a raccoon in the garage eating out of the cat’s food bowl. A couple of weeks later, she came home late and heard something bumping around in the garage just to discover a possum making his way to the cat food. As you can see, he wasn’t shy at all! Yesterday evening, we were sitting in the living room talking and I noticed a raccoon strolling across the back porch like he didn’t have a care in the world. My daughter said it didn’t look like the one she had seen before because this one wasn’t as fat as the first. A few minutes after we watched the raccoon cross the porch, I went to look in the garage and sure enough, there he was. The raccoon was having a snack and the cat was stretched out taking a nap like this was the most normal thing ever! I used to joke that I spent more on pet food than people food because of all of the stray cats that ate at my house. Little did I know I have been feeding half of the forest too!

Whew!

Wow! What an exhausting day. But I can say that I feel like I accomplished a lot. All of the laundry done, thoroughly cleaned Lane's room. I am disgusted by how dirty the carpet under an area rug can get. Yuck! I would love to rip all of the carpet out of my house. Thoroughly cleaned the living room and rearranged the furniture. Cooked a tasty lunch of chicken & rice, black eyed peas and cornbread. Mowed the grass in the front yard and trimmed the front yard trees (between rain showers). Most all of the above during the first half of the day when I was home alone. I rarely have the house to myself to deep clean. This evening, Lane and I spent time on the front porch enjoying the cooler weather while it was raining. Now, if I can just get in there and clean the kitchen, I'm going to call it a day. I am one tired Gigi!!

Brain overload....and it's just Wednesday!

As I was thinking about what to write today, I realized that my brain just kept jumping from idea to idea. Sudden onset ADHD? Probably not, but that still doesnt help me slow down and pick a thought or topic.
Maybe I will just blog about why my mind is all over the place.
I am planning on taking vacation in 2 weeks. I know that I am going to Chattanooga for at least a couple of days. My daughter and I are taking my grandson to the wonderful aquarium there, then they are heading further north to Pennsylvania to visit her dad. So, what else am I going to do while I am there and on the drive home?
I am taking a couple of classes this fall at MCC and am trying to make sure that I have all of my paperwork in, etc.
I am trying to make plans to go to Jamaica on a mission trip in the spring. Lots of paperwork involved in leaving the country!
Then, in the here and now, I am trying to remember what all I need from Wal-Mart, what my grandbaby and I are going to have for supper tonight, if I remembered to put the last load of laundry in the dryer, and hoping I didn't let the lawn mower run out of oil and mess up the motor. Sigh!
I'm sure the Route 44 diet DP I am drinking hasnt helped any but it makes me feel a little happier.

Beauty amidst the mess



Between all the rain we have had this year and my hectic life, I haven’t spent near enough time caring for my yard. To be more specific, my flower beds are pitiful. I am very thankful that elephant ears don’t require much attention because they are abundant and help distract from the over growth of grass and weeds.

Then, in the midst of the chaos, this burst of color erupts. It reminds me that beauty can always be found and at times strives to make its self known. Like a bright smile in the middle of a storm.

Strawberry Preserve Cupcakes!

I’m not doing a Friday 5 link up today. I am, instead, going to brag on the super yummy cupcakes I made last night.

These are an adaptation of a recipe from “The Cupcake Bible”. They are called Strawberry Preserve Cupcakes, and they are so moist and good.



1 -  box moist strawberry cake mix

1 – 8 oz carton sour cream

2/3 cup water

¼ cup oil

3 eggs

Strawberry preserves

Line muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the first 5 ingredients together until smooth. Will be thick.

Fill cupcake liners ½ way with batter. Carefully place about a teaspoon of

The strawberry preserves in the center of each cup. Cover the preserves with

a little more batter. Cups will be about 2/3 full.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

These cupcakes are great just as they are or for a little more yumminess, top with

your favorite frosting. I used a simple vanilla frosting.

Last night my house smelled amazing and I had two happy kids!

Happily Single

I have been single for several years now. Yes, I have dated off and on in the past but haven't even done that in quite a while. Occasionally, people will ask me why I am single. At times it can be hard to explain why I am so happy and content being "alone".
Yes, I have been married and obviously it did not work out. I have come to realise that some of us just aren't meant to be married. Staying single is even spoken about in the Bible quite a bit in 1 Corinthians.
Even as a child I was very content being by myself and doing things alone. I am still that way today. I can hop in my car and go out to eat or out of town all alone and have no problem with it. I don't have to worry about what someone else wants to do, don't have to wait on anyone else, and can change plans at the drop of a hat.
I was my dads shadow as a child and adolescent and he taught me to be very independant. No, I dont change my own oil, but I can tackle many basic home repairs. If I don't know how to do something, I can Google it! For the bigger tasks that are beyond me, I have several male friends and a couple of male neighbors that I can call on at any time.
Sure, at times I look at some of my happily married friends and read some of my married sister-bloggers post and wonder 'what if', but at the end of the day I know that being single is my life. And it's a happy life filled with my daughter and grandson, my job, God, lots of hobbies and friends. I wouldn't trade it for anything!

My crazy busy life!

I am so behind on my blog!!
I did try to post Monday about my weekend but the computer wouldn't cooperate. That was the one chance I had over the past week to even try and sit down to write.
Saturday morning I got up and went to Jackson. I had a 2 week follow up/nutition consult at Achieve Medical Weight Loss. Then it was off to one of my very favorite places, Hobby Lobby. I know I was in there for at least 2 hours. I have multiple projects going on at the moment and needed supplies. I am in the process of organizing all of the boxes and stacks of pictures I have around. I decided to start doing a scrap book for each of Lane's birthdays. So glad I thought about this now and not on his 10th birthday. That would be a nightmare! I am also painting a canvas to go over Lane's bed with the quote "Let him sleep for when he wakes he will move mountains".
If these things weren't enough, I recently bought "The Cupcake Bible" and a cake decorating kit. Of course, I had to also purchase something to go along with that. A cupcake corer! Who would have ever thought?
Sunday was Lane and my day. We played and made messes and really just enjoyed ourselves while his momma was at work.
Monday was back to work. Like I said, my computer wouldn't act right while I was trying to write. After work I had to work in the yard. It was really bad! I almost had to eat my words that I was going to mow even if it was in the rain. There was a lot of thunder rumbling while I was mowing and a few sprinkles. Whew!
My flower beds are still in a bit of a mess but I do have some beauty in the midst of the weeds. And I'll close with that. Have a great remainder of the week my friends!

(well, there was supposed to be a picture of my lovely flower here. computer still having upload issues)

Lane's "dayday" party

So hard to believe that my Grandbaby, Lane, turns 2 this week!
We had his birthday party this past Saturday at Planet Playground. The kids had so much fun. Thank goodness for the clouds because it wasnt miserable hot. Sweet boy woke up Saturday morning saying "dayday par" "2". Haha! He knew it was his big day.



Pre-holiday fun

I really do work with some very great people.

Since this is the last day of our work week, we decided to have an office “cookout” in celebration of the holiday. We each brought something pot luck style and sat down for good food and good fellowship over lunch. Now, I will probably be sleepy and miserable for the remainder of the afternoon!

For the luncheon I brought a corn dip and chips. The recipe is so simple!

3 cans fiesta corn

1 small can chopped green chilies

Small bag of grated chedder cheese

8 oz carton sour cream

½ cup mayo

Simply mix together, cover and chill for a couple of hours.  I prefer scoops corn chips with this dip.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun filled 4^th of July holiday!



My weekend

I had a marvelous weekend! Saturday, my sister in law, Karen, came to visit for the day. Of course I was thrilled to have company and had to cook for her. My daughter gave me this beer bread mix at Christmas. If I had had any idea how good it was going to be, I would have made it long before now.
Also, it is so simple. Stir one can of beer in with the bread mix, put into grease loaf pan. Melt stick of butter and poor over dough. Bake for one hour. That's it!
This particular mix was bought at Reflections in Meridian. I give it 4 stars!!!

Sunday, I attempted to work in my flower beds a little, but it was just too hot outside for words.
Not to be deterred from being productive, I decided to rearrange a large portion of the furniture in my house. Talk about an adventure! I still get a break from the sweating even after I cam inside.



Friday Five (#1)

Hooray for Friday!!! I wish I could say that I had a really eventful week, but it wasnt really.

1)No skin cancer! I recently had an odd looking lesion on my foot biopsied, and found out this week that it is benign! Talk about a sigh of relief.

2)Golf! If you read my blog you will already know that I have decided to try golf. A friend from work is letting me borrow a few clubs to start out. I cant go spending a couple hundred dollars on a hobby I dont know yet if I will like. I'll try to keep everyone informed how it goes.

3)Back to school! I registered to go back to school yesterday. I dont really have a game plan. I only lack a couple of classes to have a university transfer AA degree, so for now that is what I am doing. No, I am not planning on leaving nursing. I would actually take classes all the time if I could afford it. Call me a nerd, but I love going to school

4)Grilling! Yes, I love to grill. I grilled more vegetables a couple of days ago, but this time I cooked them in one of my cast iron skillets. So good! My sister in law is coming to visit tomorrow so I think I will do that again. One of my neighbors gave me some fresh squash from her garden, so that will be grilled also. Yummy!

5)Visiting! Earlier this week, Lane and I went visiting in the Dynamite City of the South (DeKalb). For anyone who is familiar, this is not a big experience. It was just something different to do. We visited Sage book store where Lane got a new Beanie Baby. He loves his babies.

Lara, who owns the book store, lets her dog and kitten roam in the store. Lane fell in love with the kitten!

This is my first Friday 5 and I didnt really plan for it. Hopefully next week I will have pictures and more embellishment!

Feedback please

The first full week of August I am planning on riding to Pennsylvania with my daughter and grandson. (she is going to visit her dad) I am trying to plan an itinerary of cheap things to do while I am up aroung the East coast. I have looked into visiting Washington DC. I know there are always things to do there.
I have never really been up to that area so I am open to fun things to do and see....on a budget.
Thanks!

Adventures Anew!

All of the men in my family have been golfers. My father, both brothers, cousins, all enjoy chasing that little ball around the green. I decided there might be something to it! I am going to give golf a swing. (Get it.....golf, swing....haha)
But seriously, I know that I might look like a bumbling baffoon when I start out. I am ok with that. Fresh air, exercise and the social aspect all seem worth it to me.
Although, I do remember when I was in high school and my next older brother, Jim, was going to teach me how to correctly hold a club and hit the ball. By the time I had my hands in the correct position and my head turned just so, I could hardly move! It was very comical even if I didnt think so at the time. I am going to tell myself that part of the problem was that it was my brother teaching me and I was being hard headed against his direction and not that I am THAT uncoordinated.
I havent given up the running that I started in the spring. Please dont think that I am a band wagon person. The Southern heat and humidity is kicking my booty. I needed an outdoor activity that isnt quite as strenuous as running but not as sedentary as just lounging by the pool.
Wish me luck!

Potholes in Life

Have you ever stopped to think about potholes? I think about them every morning as I am driving to work. I live about 35 minutes away from my job in a neighboring county, so there is a lot of road to cover every day.

No matter how many times a pothole is patched, it comes back. All it really takes is a little bad weather, and that nasty hole is back in the road just waiting to possibly do some damage to your car. Unless, of course, the road department takes the time to actually resurface the road in that area. Patching can be done in a few minutes by a guy with a shovel and some loose asphalt. Resurfacing takes a crew of men/equipment and a decent bit of time.

My point in this “pothole 411” is that we all have some sort of pot holes in our lives at one time or another. When you get a rough patch in life, are you just going to temporarily smooth it over with a quick fix and risk serious damage with the next heavy rain or are you going to invest the time and effort into correct the underlying cause of the problem?

First day of school

Today my grandson, Lane, started his first day at Highland CDC. Like going to "big school"!
Up until now, he has stayed with a family friend during the day. So, although my daughter has been dropping him off somewhere each day when she goes to school or work, it is very casual. Not like going to day care.
We backed his backpack last night with everything on this list. This morning I talked to him about going to big boy school and making new friends and having new toys to play with. I have no idea if his almost 2 year old brain really comprehended, but he seemed excited. My daughter was very nervous.
After dropping him off, she texted me to say that he didnt cry. He was all too concerned with the toys! He gave mommy a kiss and that was it.
I asked her if she went to the car and cried. I would have and probably did the first time I dropped her at daycare. Bless her heart, she said she held back tears.
Babies grow up so fast. Hard to believe that today my baby dropped her baby off!

Blessings

What a wonderful long Memorial weekend! No, I didnt go to the beach. No, we didnt have a big bbq. Yes, I enjoyed time with my wonderful daughter and grandson. Saturday, we all spent the first part of the day outside working in the flower beds. Lots of sun and fun! In fact, I got a bit of a sun burn which is itching me like crazy now!
Monday morning, the three of us got up and went to feed horses for some friends then had our Memorial Day feast at Waffle House. It was delish. Haha. And no clean up!

This picture is from Lane and I out enjoying nature. He pulled a branch off a holley bush and was telling me "smells good". Children are the best!

Playing catch up

Once again I have gotten behind on writing. Oh well, such is life.
Cinco de Mayo was fun. We met some old friends at one of our favorite mexican restuarants for an early dinner. It was a wonderful blending of us grandparents, kids and grands.

This past Saturday, my out-laws (ex in-laws) and I took part in the Words to Live By 5K in Meridian.
It was a lot of fun in spite of the outrageous hills on 29th Ave. Ugh! I have joked that if I never see another hill, I am just fine with it.
For the first time, I am looking forward to the State Games of MS. Always before, I just grunted about all of the extra people in Meridian and not being able to get a table if we went out to eat, but this year I am signing up for the 5K. So, I will be a part of the horde of people in town for the Games!

My Laney

Falling off the wagon

Ok, no I do not mean as in an alcoholic.
I started off with really good intentions to run and blog. Sad, to say I have fallen short on both of these. But as they say, admitting a problem is the first step.
I do have a 5K in just over a week that I am going to have to bust my booty to get ready for. I am doing it with some friends so I cant back out!
But, one would think I could at least hold up on the blogging.
In my heart I would like to be the kind of woman who blogs, scrapbooks, has a green thumb and cooks delish meals. This might also sound like I should wear pearls when I vaccuum!

Life Changes

I don't make New Years resolutions. I have, although, recently decided to make some important life changes. Work on mind, body and spirit, if you will.
I have started training for a 5K. Yes, it will be a while before I can actually run a 5K. But, I am doing this whole heartedly. I have started walking every day, at least a mile per day. Have even decided on my first 5K even though it will probably be way more walk than run.
Both of my parents died too young. My father had had a quad bi-pass and my mother died from a sudden cardiac arrest. I don't want this to happen to me. I have too much to grow old for!
My intention is to now turn this into my training blog. I think it helps it write down my progress.

Any and all encouragment is welcome!