Happy Labor Day

Hope you are all enjoying your Labor Day, whether you are working, resting or enjoying time with family or friends. Have a great day!

Award

I got this award from Mary of Mary's Treasured Memories. Isn't it cute? Thanks, Mary for sharing it with me! I'd like to pass it on to everyone on my blog roll on the side. If I didn't love your blogs, you wouldn't be there!

Dancin' the Boogie

I got this recently in an e-mail from my friend Shelly. I thought it was fun and was pretty impressed by the footwork. Hope you enjoy it!

Getting to know us!

Sandra from Diary of a SAHM posted this and asked some of us to do it too. Here's a few bits of information about Bob and I.

1. Who is your man? My husbands name is Bob. He is the assistant manager of the True Value in our town. I think he's the man to see if you need paint! He is also a talented carver and woodworker. (someday I'll post pictures of the furniture he made for our bedroom) He tends to be quiet when out in public, but he knows how to goof off at home. He is serious about his faith and being a follower of Christ.
2. How long have you been together? We celebrated our 27th anniversary last week.
3. How long did you date before you got married? We dated for a little over a year before we got married. We were engaged after 5 months!
4. How old is your man? He turned 50 in June
5. Who eats more? You wouldn't know it to look at us, but he does. We call him the cookie monster at our house.
6. Who said "I love you" first? He did.
7. Who is taller? He is. He is 5'10" and I am 5'5".
8. Who sings better? Good question - neither of us are great but I'm probably on key more than he is. He does make a "joyful noise" though!
9. Who is smarter? Depends on the subject. We each have our things.
10. Whose temper is worse? I'd have to say his.
11. Who does the laundry? I do
12. Who takes out the garbage? He usually puts it out on trash day. As far as emptying the wastebaskets and bringing it out, it's either one of us.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.
14. Who pays the bills? I do.
15. Who is better with the computer? Probably me - he would say that's because I'm on it so much.
16. Who mows the lawn? He does - and does a much better job at it than I would!
17. Who cooks dinner? I do - unless I ask him to grill something.
18. Who drives when you are together? Usually Bob, but sometimes I do.
19. Who pays when you go out? I'm usually the one that takes the money along.
20. Who is the most stubborn? I have to admit that usually it's me!
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me - he would just as soon not talk about things and just get on with it. I like to get things settled.
22. Whose parents do you see most? I see my Dad sometimes during the day, when he stops at our house or stops where I work. Other than that, we see them about the same.
23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me first.
24. Who asked who out? He asked me out.
25. Who proposed? He did
26. Who is most sensitive? Me - sometimes I'm upset about something and he doesn't have a clue!
27. Who has the most friends? We are each other's best friends, and the people I'm friends with, he is too. I probably have more casual friends than he does.
28. Who has more siblings? I have 2 sisters and 1 brother, he has 2 sisters and 3 brothers.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? He teases me about this, but in reality - he does!
30. How did you meet? My cousin married his brother and they set us up.

Hope you had fun reading this. I'd love to see you do it too!

Happy Birthday, Aaron!

Today (August 27) is my son-in-law Aaron's birthday. He is 25 today. We are so blessed to have had him join our family. As parents, we prayed for just the right mate for Laura, and God sent Aaron. He is very responsible, but also easygoing. (Which is a good balance for Laura, because although she's always been quite responsible, easygoing is not a term I'd use to define her!) Most importantly, he is a Christian and the spiritual leader of their household.
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This is a picture of Aaron and Laura from the vacation we went on last summer to South Carolina.
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I included this picture to show you that Aaron fits well into our family of goof-offs!
Pearl - if you read this post, I have to say thanks to you and Ron for doing a great job of raising your son.
Happy Birthday Aaron! We love you!

What are we doing tonight?

Yes - we are still working on that kitchen! We are at the final big step. Tonight we tore out the yucky old vinyl flooring. I have hated this floor since we moved in and am not at all sorry to see it go. Bob rigged up a scraper and did the hard work of scraping it up, while I hauled pieces away and moved things as he got to them. What a messy job!

Here's the floor as it looks now. Beautiful, isn't it? Bob's going to do some sanding to it and is hoping to be putting the new floor in on Saturday.

Senior pictures anyone?

Some of you might be in the process of getting senior pictures done for your kids. I found a site that lets you do senior pictures on yourself! However - it puts your face into hairstyles suitable for years in the past. Just to show I am able to laugh at myself, I'm showing you these pictures!

1950
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1966
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1978
(This is actually the year I graduated from High school and my senior pictures didn't look like this!)
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1988

.1994
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Pretty funny, right? If you want to try this out, go to Yearbook Yourself. I'm hoping to see some of your pictures too. Have fun!

Award

I have to thank my friend Kat from JustaBeachKat for passing on this Kreativ Blogger award to me. There are some rules that go with this award. I have to list 6 things that make me happy so here they are:

1. My family
2. The beauty I see in nature
3. My updated kitchen
4. good weather
5. a day off
6. Praise time at church

Now I'm supposed to pass this on to 6 people and this is the hard part, because so many of you are creative! I'm listing people that I remember posting about creative things they've done. Here's my list:
1. Jennifer from Zaankali's Adventures
2. Cheryl from Cherdecor
3. Sandra from Diary of a SAHM
4. Mary from Mary's Writing Nook
5. Perri from My Life in Bits and Pieces
6. Leslie from The Wright Girls

That's my 6! Now you can all pass it on!

Why I'm not in the Olympics

I have been enjoying watching the Olympics when I've had the time. I got this video in an e-mail from my friend Shelly and I thought I should share it before the Olympics are done. Hope you enjoy this too!

It's corn time!

Don't you love corn on the cob? My daughter Laura used to call it "cob off the corn" when she was quite young. I don't know where that came from but we thought it was pretty funny. I saw these interesting facts about corn on the cob in Real Simple Magazine:

• each ear has about 600 kernels, arranged in bands of 14 to 16
• one bushel of corn contains a total of about 90,000 kernels
• there is one strand of silk for each kernel (no wonder it's so hard to get it all off!)

I usually do my corn on the cob by just boiling it, but I recently found this recipe which promises great flavor and texture. I've always wanted to try it on the grill and this sounds good enough for me to try it.

1 Prepare your grill, gas or charcoal, with direct, high heat, about 550°F.
2 Remove just the visible silks from the tips of the corn. Place the corn in their husks on the hot grill. Cover. Turn the corn occasionally, until the husks are charred on all sides, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3 Remove corn from grill. Let sit for 5 minutes. Use a hand towel to protect your hands while removing the silks and charred husks from the corn.
Serve hot, with butter.

Hope you enjoy!

Works for me Wednesday

Have you heard of the Debbie Meyer Green Bags? I had seen them on TV but I usually don't believe those commercials. Recently I saw a little write up on them in a magazine where they gave them approval, so when I saw a package of them at Bed, Bath and Beyond, I decided to try them out. I did a little test on them. I bought a bunch of bananas and separated 1 banana. I left it out and put the rest in a bag. Here is a picture 5 days later. There is a real difference between them. I did learn after that first trial not to close the bag up tightly. The banana's last even longer then.

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Here is another example. I bought tomatoes at the farmers market and put them in a bag on my counter. This tomato was still firm and good after 2 weeks!

I have used these bags for other fruits and veggies and have had good results each time. I know I am saving money, when I think of how much produce costs and how often I had to throw it away because it spoiled in the past. These bags can be found online, at Bed, Bath and Beyond and I even saw them in the produce section of our local grocery store.
For more Works for me Wednesday tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.

Chicken BBQ

Saturday evening I had a great meal at a Chicken BBQ near us. From the time I was young (many moons ago!) my family has gone to this annual chicken BBQ. It was always kind of a small town affair, where it seemed my Dad always knew everyone and there were plenty of relatives around. He continued this tradition after us kids grew up, although I haven't gone every year because Bob doesn't like chicken BBQ (I know - he's a little weird!) and because it doesn't always work with our schedule. This year I had the day off and Bob was working evenings so I joined the rest of the family. My Dad and Ann, my 2 sisters and their families and my brother were there. There was more going on than usual because it was the 50th anniversary.
. Here are several family members enjoying that delicious chicken.
.They had a small petting zoo which included these angora rabbits, other baby bunnies, chicks, and goats. There were also demonstrations by the fire department, police, crash dummies and jaws of life. The kids enjoyed a bounce house and a few other fun inflatable things.
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They also had a corn maze. I've always thought it would be fun to do this. I grew up on a farm and remember walking down the rows of corn and feeling so hidden. It was fun to walk through the maze following my 2 nieces. I'm always surprised by how tall the corn is and how you really can't see to get out. We did eventually find our way to the end, and then went on a hay ride. It was a fun evening. The only problem was that I forgot my camera so I have to confess that I stole these pictures from my sister. Thanks Terri!

Malcolm and flowers

Here's a few flowers that are blooming in our yard right now:

Left to Right, clockwise:
Hydrangea tree, Cosmos, Globe Thistle, Purple Coneflower
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This is the back corner of our yard. I thought I would introduce you to this little boy who sits in our flower beds. His name is Malcolm. The kids gave him to Bob about 8 years ago and we have enjoyed seeing him ever since. You may wonder why his name is Malcolm? Bob named him that, saying he was "Malcolm, in the middle of the flowers". The show, "Malcolm in the Middle", was popular at the time and so the name stuck and we still refer to him as that.

More Kitchen News

I'm happy to report that there is great progress being made in our kitchen. While I was lazing around in a campground last week, Bob was coming home from work and getting lots done in the kitchen. He got the counter top on, the sink, faucet and dishwasher all installed and running. I was thrilled to come home and see it!

Here is my new sink and faucet. The basin in the sink is really big, so whole pans can fit in it. I also love the tall faucet. The counter doesn't show up too well in this picture, but it looks like dark marble.
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Here is a view that shows more. Do you see that lovely dishwasher? I have been enjoying using it all week.
As I post this, Bob has finished putting up the tile for the back splash. It just has to set, and then it can be grouted. The floor comes after that. It's almost done!

Award!

My friend Sharon, from Quiet Reflections has passed on this Friendship award. I am so thankful for the friends I have met online, that I would have never known without blogging. You make me laugh, cry, pray with me, share recipes, share inspirational thoughts and so much more!
I have a hard time choosing just a few of you to pass it too, so I'm passing it on to all of you regular readers. Your friendship means a lot to me. Sharon - thanks so much for sharing this with me!

Slow Cooking Thursday

Here's a slow cooker recipe that's easy and makes a whole meal. Hope you enjoy it!

Slow Cooker Chicken Dinner
6 medium red potatoes, cut into chunks
4 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-4 tablespoons mashed potato flakes (optional)
Place potatoes and carrots in a slow cooker. Top with chicken. Combine soups, garlic and salt; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. To thicken if desired, stir potato flakes into the gravy and cook for 30 minutes longer.
Yield: 4 servings
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For more slow cooker recipes visit Sandra at Diary of a SAHM.

Bob's little fans

Bob spent an extra day with us at the camp ground, before going back to work. He decided to do a little carving while he was sitting around.

Here he is, working a little man.
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He wears a Kevlar glove, while he is carving to protect his fingers. You can see the man taking shape, but without a face.
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This little guy is from the Revolutionary times. Take note of the 3 corner hat and the ponytail.
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You can see the front of him here. He is almost done and ready to be painted.
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The girls were quite interested in this. They would be out on a bike ride, then stop by to see how the carving was going. I know Bob enjoyed having them around and he had some fun conversations with them too!
Left to right: Shaelyn (Terri's) and Arianna and Halle (Cheri's)

It was a great week!

I spent the last week camping with my sisters, on the shore of Lake Michigan near beautiful Grand Haven, Michigan. This campground is only about 20 minutes away from where I live, so the husbands were able to come out for the weekend. The older girls were able to spend a lot of time with us, although they each had to work a little throughout the week. Here are a few pictures showing you how we spent some of our time.

We didn't do a lot of campfires, because it was quite warm, but we enjoyed the evenings we did have them. Of course we had some good campfire treats too!
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We had a lot of really nice weather, but there were a few periods of this:

This storm came on Wednesday and it looked like a small river was running through the campground! It only lasted a short while though, and then we saw this:

I love rainbows, and the promise they portray.
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Laura and Aaron spent Sunday afternoon and evening with us. Here they are standing on the Gazebo overlooking the lake.
Left to right: Heather, Bob, Laura, Aaron
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While we were standing in the gazebo, Bob got a call from Andy. Heather, Laura and Aaron went for a walk on the beach while he was talking.
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I love to watch the sun set over the lake. Here are pictures from a few different days:

This is the walkway to the beach, lit up in the evening.

The campground is landscaped beautifully. Everywhere you walk there are different flowers blooming.

The gazebo near the lake is used every weekend for weddings.

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We took a walk down this trail and enjoyed the woods surrounding the campground.

Here's one last picture of Lake Michigan. We had a great week, spending time with family and relaxing.