My kids love these almost as much as the real thing, but these are much quicker to make.
"IDHTTMCR" CINNAMON ROLLS
1 1/2cups flour (I use half white and half wheat pastry flour)
3 TBS sugar
1 1/2 TBS baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup milk
FILLING
3 TBS softened butter
liberally spinkled cinnamon sugar
1/3 cup chopped nuts(optional)
2 TBS raisens(optional)
1 TBS choc chips
Icing
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
dash salt
2-3 TBS milk or enough to make a syrupy glaze
To begin, preheat your oven to 400. In a large mixing bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients and mix well. Cut in the shortening until you have a crumbly mix. Add the one cup of milk and lightly toss until everything is incorporated. Dump out onto your now floured counter. Knead just enough to form it into a ball (about 8 times). Roll out into asmuch of a rectangle as you can make and it be about 1/2 in thick maybe a little thinner. Spread with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, nuts, raisens, choc chips. Roll up jelly roll style. Slice into 12rools and putin an ungreased 9X13 pan. Bake about 20=25 min or until golden. Remove from oven. Pour icing over the top while still hot. Serve. Enjoy!
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
AND THE MYSTERY GARDEN VOLUNTEER FOR 2013 IS!
I have no idea. Seriously. I just came in from the garden and I have two potato volunteers and 6, yes you heard(er read) right, 6 volunteer plants. I know they are garden veggie plants, but I don't know which yet. They could be either peanuts, water melon, spagetti squash or some other type squash. I won't know until they grow a bit. But for now they have been moved to their own little bed. Ooo I love surprises! The beets are up and doing well as is the brocolli, cabbage, and 10 lima bean plants. I need the rest to come up soon or I replant. No cucumbers yet so I may need to replant those as well. Alas my spinach and lettuce did nothing. I am thinking I will replant in a window box. We'll see.
So this is a short little post, but I figured I would share. Yall have a great day!
So this is a short little post, but I figured I would share. Yall have a great day!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
When I was 22....
Yesterday was my birthday. I turned.....46. Can't really complain. My mom says consider the alternative. That always helps keep things in perspective. Another thing that eases the "Ouch" of getting older, is when I look back over my life and see how far I have come.
When I was 22, I was a single mom who had only a high school diploma. I was delinquint on many debts such as credit card bills, utility bills, etc. I was a single mom who took a job at a McDonalds in order to get off welfare and food stamps. I was immature, shallow, and on the run from Christ. Thanks to God He kept pursuing me. The biological father of my daughter had left me for another woman. I found out the hard way. I shouldn't need to explain that one. I really shouldn't have been surprised. He had done the same thing to his wife...with me. Yes, I was that woman. I was "the other woman". When he left me, I found myself devastated and sitting on the small porch of my garage apartment I shared with my daughter. It was a cold evening...and late; probably around midnight or so. Before I could stop myself, I said "why me?". No sooner were the words out of my mouth than I was regretting it. Never ask a question you A) already know the answer to, and B) know that God will hold up to you and force you to answer.
I felt a presence next to me so strong I was afraid if I turned my head to the side, I might actually realize I wasn't alone. I heard a voice in my spirit that said as clear as day "Now do you understand why I said not to have affairs with married men "(You know the old thou shalt not commit adultery). You see I had been convinced, contrary to what I had been taught as a child, that God just loved us and all the "don'ts" in the Bible were just a power play by men to control us and keep us down. What I realized in that moment is that, just as a mother would tell her child not to touch a hot stove, or don't play in the street, etc, our Heavenly Father tells us to not do certain things in order to protect us...not to control us. When a child disobeys, they put themselves out of their parents protection and GET HURT. When we disobey our heavenly father, we put ourselves out of our His protection and we get hurt and hurt others. Who did I hurt by my actions? myself obviously, the wife of the man I was involved with, and my daughter for starters. My daughters pain has been an on going one for the past 23 years of her life. It is a cross I bear and will for the rest of my life. I know I am forgiven now, but the consequences of my actions are still there.
I would like to say I turned my life around right then and there. I didn't. I was a stubborn child. It took many years of God guiding me to the place He wanted me; the point where I would give my life back to Him, I can look back and see the places where God closed one door only to open another in order to allow me to move forward in the path He wanted for me.
He brought me to a place where I could get a good job to provide for my daughter. He kept me away from those who would influence me in the wrong way, He brought prayer warriors to my defense in the form of my friend, my mom and my sister. He brought my husband into my life first as a friend/co-worker then as my husband who is still even today my best friend. He brought us children and made us a family. He gave me strength at the times in my life when I thought I would be crushed by the weight of what I was dealing with. He gave me back my life. Life more abundant than I could ever have imagined. I am content. I am at peace. I am loved. I am forgiven. Not just by my Heavenly Father, but also by the woman I betrayed and my daughter. I can never thank Him or praise Him enough.
So you see,while I would looooooove to look like I am 22, I would not be 22 again. So Happy Birth day to ME!
When I was 22, I was a single mom who had only a high school diploma. I was delinquint on many debts such as credit card bills, utility bills, etc. I was a single mom who took a job at a McDonalds in order to get off welfare and food stamps. I was immature, shallow, and on the run from Christ. Thanks to God He kept pursuing me. The biological father of my daughter had left me for another woman. I found out the hard way. I shouldn't need to explain that one. I really shouldn't have been surprised. He had done the same thing to his wife...with me. Yes, I was that woman. I was "the other woman". When he left me, I found myself devastated and sitting on the small porch of my garage apartment I shared with my daughter. It was a cold evening...and late; probably around midnight or so. Before I could stop myself, I said "why me?". No sooner were the words out of my mouth than I was regretting it. Never ask a question you A) already know the answer to, and B) know that God will hold up to you and force you to answer.
I felt a presence next to me so strong I was afraid if I turned my head to the side, I might actually realize I wasn't alone. I heard a voice in my spirit that said as clear as day "Now do you understand why I said not to have affairs with married men "(You know the old thou shalt not commit adultery). You see I had been convinced, contrary to what I had been taught as a child, that God just loved us and all the "don'ts" in the Bible were just a power play by men to control us and keep us down. What I realized in that moment is that, just as a mother would tell her child not to touch a hot stove, or don't play in the street, etc, our Heavenly Father tells us to not do certain things in order to protect us...not to control us. When a child disobeys, they put themselves out of their parents protection and GET HURT. When we disobey our heavenly father, we put ourselves out of our His protection and we get hurt and hurt others. Who did I hurt by my actions? myself obviously, the wife of the man I was involved with, and my daughter for starters. My daughters pain has been an on going one for the past 23 years of her life. It is a cross I bear and will for the rest of my life. I know I am forgiven now, but the consequences of my actions are still there.
I would like to say I turned my life around right then and there. I didn't. I was a stubborn child. It took many years of God guiding me to the place He wanted me; the point where I would give my life back to Him, I can look back and see the places where God closed one door only to open another in order to allow me to move forward in the path He wanted for me.
He brought me to a place where I could get a good job to provide for my daughter. He kept me away from those who would influence me in the wrong way, He brought prayer warriors to my defense in the form of my friend, my mom and my sister. He brought my husband into my life first as a friend/co-worker then as my husband who is still even today my best friend. He brought us children and made us a family. He gave me strength at the times in my life when I thought I would be crushed by the weight of what I was dealing with. He gave me back my life. Life more abundant than I could ever have imagined. I am content. I am at peace. I am loved. I am forgiven. Not just by my Heavenly Father, but also by the woman I betrayed and my daughter. I can never thank Him or praise Him enough.
So you see,while I would looooooove to look like I am 22, I would not be 22 again. So Happy Birth day to ME!
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Well wouldn't you know it!
Yes it is time once again for the annual breaking of the tiller. But don't you fret! I can adapt. It slows me down a little, sure, but I can still do what I need to cause being the wonderful planner that I am (not); I turned under my beds last fall and so I am not having as hard a time using a shovel to remove the weeds that have gathered over the winter as well as turning under the soil. I also am pretty thankful I have the three raised beds in. That helps immensely cause I don't need a tiller to keep them in line. Yay for me!
I am finding that raised beds are a definate must for a gardener. It is so much easier to handle things. Now I am still not too sure about the need to spend a crazy amount of money to do raised beds. I have to do it on the cheap or not at all. So far the concrete beds seem to be working, but I am still anxiously awaiting the little heads of lima beans and cucumbers to break thru the soil. Getting a little nervous on that account, as well as for my tomato seeds. Now I have a long growing season so I think I have time to replant if necessary, but still......little nerve racking.
I am tickled to find two volunteer potato plants growing of course in a place they shouldn't be growing. Hey, I'll take it. Gonna move the little buggers though in a few days. So right now I have successfully growing in the garden, brocolli, beets, marigolds, radishes, herbs, few potatoes and cabbage. On the wait and see list are my lima beans, onions, cucumbers, cilantro, and tomatoes. I have back up seedlings to plant of squash, tomatoes, and eggplant.
On the fruit bearing front, I have baby blueberries and blooms on my apple trees. Not many apple blossums, but a few. Blackberry bushes are greening up nicely. The peach trees are a wait and see. Not sure if the late frost zapped my baby peaches. Update to follow on those.
So that is my garden update for 2013. Pics will follow later I promise! So have a great day! And go play in some dirt.....Good for ya!
I am finding that raised beds are a definate must for a gardener. It is so much easier to handle things. Now I am still not too sure about the need to spend a crazy amount of money to do raised beds. I have to do it on the cheap or not at all. So far the concrete beds seem to be working, but I am still anxiously awaiting the little heads of lima beans and cucumbers to break thru the soil. Getting a little nervous on that account, as well as for my tomato seeds. Now I have a long growing season so I think I have time to replant if necessary, but still......little nerve racking.
I am tickled to find two volunteer potato plants growing of course in a place they shouldn't be growing. Hey, I'll take it. Gonna move the little buggers though in a few days. So right now I have successfully growing in the garden, brocolli, beets, marigolds, radishes, herbs, few potatoes and cabbage. On the wait and see list are my lima beans, onions, cucumbers, cilantro, and tomatoes. I have back up seedlings to plant of squash, tomatoes, and eggplant.
On the fruit bearing front, I have baby blueberries and blooms on my apple trees. Not many apple blossums, but a few. Blackberry bushes are greening up nicely. The peach trees are a wait and see. Not sure if the late frost zapped my baby peaches. Update to follow on those.
So that is my garden update for 2013. Pics will follow later I promise! So have a great day! And go play in some dirt.....Good for ya!
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Yummmm does this constitute going over to the dark side?
Yes, it is confession time. While in Florida I had to buy shampoo and conditioner. Having gone three days without conditioner, my hair looked like haystacks. Scary huh? Well I opted to buy ....uh...name brand(SHOCKER!). I purchased Pantene brand shampoo. Can I just say...WOW! I Loved It! So there is something to being brand loyal I suppose. Now in the intrest of saving money, I purchased my next Pantene at Sams Club and it is in pump form so I won't use too much. This also got me thinking about some other purchases I make. One being laundry soap. Now I have tried over and over to make my own, but I am thinking Ga water is not condusive to homemade laundry soap. My next step up was to by a less expensive brand, but they didn't clean my clothes as well. So while at Sams I bought the ginormous box of Gain. I read on the box to use only to the first line for reg loads. So that is what I am doing and I have to say I love it. My money saving with this is to use only what I need. It is easy to fall into the trap of using too much because you got a larger size, but I will be disciplined enough to measure all of that. I believe this is worth it in the long run. Ya know Proctor and Gamble should love me. In fact I believe I will call the store and get some coupons. Did you know you can do that? Oh Yes You Can! Then hold those babies til the item goes on sale. Make the most of that coupon.
Sonow that I have confessed all, it is time to redeam myself frugally. Humm what did I do this week that was frugal...... Well I hung clothes on the line. I planted tomatoes, onions, cilantro, beets, cucumbers, and lima beans in the garden. I made 4 loaves of bread and got to teach a bread making class. We turned our heat/Air off and just used fans in the windows. We(Dh and I ) began painting our back deck with paint we already had on hand. We did have to get some brushes, but other than that, a cheap fix. I will post a pic of the finished deck once we are done.
So as you can see, I haven't crossed over to the dark side totally. Seriously though, there are times when one can be penny wise and pound foolish. It isn't a savings if my clothes are smelly or my hair is like straw. If I have to use twice as much of a product to get the same result as a product that is only 30% more in cost, I am losing 20% of my money. KWIM? So, I am thinking this is a worth while investment.
Well,I know this isn't a barn burner, but there it is. I promise a batter entry later. Happy Monday everyone!
Sonow that I have confessed all, it is time to redeam myself frugally. Humm what did I do this week that was frugal...... Well I hung clothes on the line. I planted tomatoes, onions, cilantro, beets, cucumbers, and lima beans in the garden. I made 4 loaves of bread and got to teach a bread making class. We turned our heat/Air off and just used fans in the windows. We(Dh and I ) began painting our back deck with paint we already had on hand. We did have to get some brushes, but other than that, a cheap fix. I will post a pic of the finished deck once we are done.
So as you can see, I haven't crossed over to the dark side totally. Seriously though, there are times when one can be penny wise and pound foolish. It isn't a savings if my clothes are smelly or my hair is like straw. If I have to use twice as much of a product to get the same result as a product that is only 30% more in cost, I am losing 20% of my money. KWIM? So, I am thinking this is a worth while investment.
Well,I know this isn't a barn burner, but there it is. I promise a batter entry later. Happy Monday everyone!
Friday, April 5, 2013
What would pictures of your life reveal?
I am writing today from the sunny state of Florida. Not a planned trip, and I assure you, we were not ready.
My 90 year old Father in law passed away yesterday, peacefully and with his wife and daughter by his side. We live 12 hours away and when we got the call day before yesterday that it was close we cobbled everything together as fast as we could and headed down. Sadly, my husband was not able to make it in time. It makes it that much more precious that we prioritized a trip back in Nov for my husband and my sons to come to my FIL's 90th birthday party.
Part of the families preparations for the funeral were selecting pictures to display the life of thier dad. I was honored to be able to participate. His life was remarkable. We're looking at pictures and I see a family picture dated around the late 60's. There is a man in the picture I don't recognize. I asked my husband who it was, thinking it was a relative I wasn't aware of. His response? J Edgar Hoover. Yep. The creator of the FBI. My Father in law was a WWII vet, an FBI agent, a world traveler, dad to 6 kids, granddad to 7, great granddad to 3(and 1 pending) and married to the love of his life for 66 years. I is an amazing life filled with friends, family, serving God and others. It was amazing to see pictures of him from his childhood to his later years. A good-lookin guy with a quick wit and a quicker smile. He made me feel welcome from the get go all those 20 years ago. He has a special place in my heart, and always will.
Upon looking at all those pictures and we could only use 51, I thought to myself, when my time comes what will the pictures of my life say. Can you look at pictures of my life and say it was a life well lived? While I haven't travelled extensively(really not at all unless you count a few states around Ga), I hope people will look at my life and say it has been lived in the midst of family, friends, doing what I love, trying to serve God and others. I have my "things to do" list, but this comes secondary to getting my kids raised. So I guess first on my Bucket list would be raising my kids. All in all, I am happy. While my life isn't that exciting (at all), I am content. Do I want to travel? Welllll Yea! Have I done anything extrordinary? Not in the big scheme of things I guess, but I may not know of any impact I have until heaven. Thats OK.
So can I just end this post and say "Thank you and I love you" to my FIL, John, I am so honored to have had a place in your family and as such your life story. It is an amazing story worthy of the man that lived it.....
God Speed you on your way...see ya soon.
My 90 year old Father in law passed away yesterday, peacefully and with his wife and daughter by his side. We live 12 hours away and when we got the call day before yesterday that it was close we cobbled everything together as fast as we could and headed down. Sadly, my husband was not able to make it in time. It makes it that much more precious that we prioritized a trip back in Nov for my husband and my sons to come to my FIL's 90th birthday party.
Part of the families preparations for the funeral were selecting pictures to display the life of thier dad. I was honored to be able to participate. His life was remarkable. We're looking at pictures and I see a family picture dated around the late 60's. There is a man in the picture I don't recognize. I asked my husband who it was, thinking it was a relative I wasn't aware of. His response? J Edgar Hoover. Yep. The creator of the FBI. My Father in law was a WWII vet, an FBI agent, a world traveler, dad to 6 kids, granddad to 7, great granddad to 3(and 1 pending) and married to the love of his life for 66 years. I is an amazing life filled with friends, family, serving God and others. It was amazing to see pictures of him from his childhood to his later years. A good-lookin guy with a quick wit and a quicker smile. He made me feel welcome from the get go all those 20 years ago. He has a special place in my heart, and always will.
Upon looking at all those pictures and we could only use 51, I thought to myself, when my time comes what will the pictures of my life say. Can you look at pictures of my life and say it was a life well lived? While I haven't travelled extensively(really not at all unless you count a few states around Ga), I hope people will look at my life and say it has been lived in the midst of family, friends, doing what I love, trying to serve God and others. I have my "things to do" list, but this comes secondary to getting my kids raised. So I guess first on my Bucket list would be raising my kids. All in all, I am happy. While my life isn't that exciting (at all), I am content. Do I want to travel? Welllll Yea! Have I done anything extrordinary? Not in the big scheme of things I guess, but I may not know of any impact I have until heaven. Thats OK.
So can I just end this post and say "Thank you and I love you" to my FIL, John, I am so honored to have had a place in your family and as such your life story. It is an amazing story worthy of the man that lived it.....
God Speed you on your way...see ya soon.
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