THE HAPPY DANCE!!!!

Ooooooh, ooooh, oooooooooooh - I am doin' THE HAPPY DANCE, oh yes I am!!!!! Looky there what Mr. Fed Ex man brought me today!!!!! See, we've been having - oh, shall we say - phone issues recently that involve two extremely chatty girls (a teen & a 'tween :) who, between the both of them, can literally talk on our current cordless phone until it is absolutely dead. Oh yes - dead, dead, dead with the only other option after that is being tethered to a CORDED phone. (Now that just gets in the way of my moving around and "multi-tasking" LOL) I have a feeling we're gonna just LOVE having that extra handset!

Pure contentment....

It doesn't take a lot to make me really super-duper happy...a new paper trimmer for $6.99 and 12 sheets of scrapbook paper for 18 cents each - YAY!!!! I am content :)

(You can bet my husband just LOVES the thrifty side of my personality - no overspending problems around here! LOL)

MMMMMMM, monkey bread...

Sorry there's no picture to share of some delicious, mouth-watering monkey bread I made last night to take to our Home Fellowship church group last night.

But, I'm happy to share the recipe with you!

MONKEY BREAD

4 cans biscuits
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter

**Cut one can biscuits in fourths. Shake pieces in plastic bag with white sugar and cinnamon. Do the same with the other cans, one at a time until all the pieces are in the plastic bag. Place pieces in a tube pan (one that doesn't have a removable bottom). Boil together 1 cup brown sugar and 1 stick butter; pour mixture over biscuit pieces.

Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees. Let set 10 minutes. Turn out on plate.

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This stuff is SO good! My daughter Taylor was hoping there were a few leftover pieces so she could take them to school today - her wish came true!

SEE, I WASN'T JOKING!

I really, really LOVE books!
I always make the most of my
library card - I even check out
the basket to hold everything!

SO, WHADDYA THINK?

How do ya like the new blog look? Isn't it pretty?! I'm soooooo thankful for my bloggin' bud, Candy, who worked her creative magic and computer genius to help me out so my blog wouldn't be so LAME anymore! Thanks, Candy - you already know how much I loooooove it!

Go visit Candy's beautiful blog sometime -Candy's Home and Thoughts....

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES!

Changes.....Some people love 'em, some people hate 'em. Me, I guess I actually DO like change. When I go to get my hair cut, sometimes I never know quite what I'm gonna do! So, last week I was feeling like I needed a style change so I just went for it and had the girl cut A LOT off! I've been blessed with thick (make that super-duper thick) hair and it grows fast and.... well - I'm really not all that obsessed with my hair. Doesn't really bother me to have long hair, short hair or in-between. I know several friends whose husbands/boyfriends like to have a say in their hair style or length. Thankfully I'm not married to someone who cares about that; otherwise we might just have a few problems! LOL (The only thing Bobby has ever mentioned is that he DOES NOT like auburn hair - no offense to those of you with auburn hair or anything - it's just not his thing!) So, anyhow - I'm really liking this new style. It's easy to do and I don't feel old & frumpy anymore :)

Aw thanks, you're so sweet!

You guys are just the best! Thanks for your get-well wishes...I'm feeling SO MUCH better now! It's wonderful to be able to actually breathe through my nose again! LOL It's also nice to not have a constantly dripping nose! hehehe

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Anyone got any special plans? We really don't. Gonna go to the library in a little bit (one of my favorite places LOL) and the grocery store later. WHOOO - big exciting plans! ha ha ha Church tomorrow; then the kids are off school on Monday. So we're just enjoying a pretty nice laidback pace around here.....

A couple of "C"s....

Computer issues and a cold. Yup, those are the two "C"s I'm talking about! We've been having computer issues as of late (we're eventually going to have to get a new computer, no doubt about it) and this cold has made the rounds in our family during the last week - apparently it's my turn now! LOL So, if I'm scarce around this blog, that's why....Hope you're all having a good week so far :)

A few deals you might want to get in on!

Just thought I'd pass along a few deals I saw yesterday when I was out shopping...

Hobby Lobby has all of their Christmas stuff marked an incredible 90% off!!!! JoAnn Fabrics has theirs marked down 70%. Big Lots has all of their bath/body sets, perfumes, coffee/tea gift packages, decorative vinegars/oils for the kitchen, etc. marked 50% off. (Think gifts for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, birthdays....)

You really will save a ton of $$$ just by planning ahead a little bit!

An old cookbook with some great advice

I'm not a collector of cookbooks. I have a few that I really like but I don't have a whole bookshelf full of them or anything.

Every year for Christmas (or something like that) there was a church cookbook included in my mom's gift from my grandparents. Well, one of those old cookbooks found its way to my house after my mom died. It's from 1982 put out by the "Mary Martha Circle" of a local Baptist church in the town I grew up in. I just love the "tried and true" recipes that tend to be in those type of cookbooks. You know, Grandma Smith's famous apple cobbler or Aunt Betty's homeade macaroni and cheese - that's what I'm talking about!

So I was looking up a particular recipe the other night in that church cookbook. I found the following recipe and thought it was so good that I wanted to share it. Just as a reminder for all of us, ya know. I'm sure many of us have already read this lots and lots of times but it never hurts to be reminded to strive for a happy home!

A HAPPY HOME RECIPE

4 cups of LOVE
2 cups of LOYALTY
3 cups of FORGIVENESS
1 cup of FRIENDSHIP
5 spoons of HOPE
4 spoons of TENDERNESS
4 quarts of FAITH
1 barrel of LAUGHTER

Take LOVE and LOYALTY, mix thoroughly with FAITH. Blend it with TENDERNESS, KINDNESS, and UNDERSTANDING. Add FRIENDSHIP and HOPE, sprinkle abundantly with LAUGHTER. Bake it with SUNSHINE, and serve daily with generous helpings.

The Family Manager

Have you ever heard of Kathy Peel a.k.a. The Family Manager? She's an author, speaker and the founder/president of Family Manager, Inc. Kathy promotes the strengthening of busy families and enhancing the home by becoming better organized and more purposeful with your time.

Several years ago I had the pleasure of attending a Family Manager seminar and I have to say that I enjoyed it very much. My kids were quite young at the time and believe me, between having my hands full with them and a husband who worked a lot - I was very interested in anything that would help me stay organized and retain my sanity with 3 little ones!

Last night I was browsing through a Family Manager book. This one was called "The Family Manager's Everyday Survival Guide". Something caught my attention that I thought was pretty neat and I'd like to share it with you.

Obviously, we've just gotten through the holiday season. Was it stressful for you or did you enjoy it immensely because you were well prepared ahead of time? I guess I'd have to say I was a bit stressed. I'm determined to do things different for Christmas 2008! How, you may ask? Well, let me share with you at the beginning of each month something called "THE YEARLONG CHRISTMAS PLAN"...

THE YEARLONG CHRISTMAS PLAN

I was getting tired of Christmas being a joyful time of the year for everyone but me, the Family Manager. So I began a search for better ways to manage this huge project. That's when it came to me: Divide and conquer - work on Christmas a little each month, all year long. In other words, start a yearlong Christmas plan. It's really very simple, and you can start any month of the year and still reap benefits. Here's how:

JANUARY:
*After Christmas, take some time to write down what would make things go smoother next year. Incorporate those ideas into your next year's yearlong Christmas plan. Avoid gift duplications next December by writing down who received what this past season. Also make a note of which gifts were a hit and which ones weren't.
*Hit the half-price holiday trimmings sales.
*Go through holiday-card envelopes and make necessary corrections on your card list.

I'm hoping to make this next Christmas season less stressful by following this Yearlong Christmas plan month by month. I'll share the rest of the plan at the beginning of every month. Care to join me?

Thanks, Lib!

WOW, I got an award from Lib from Lib's Private Paradise blog - wasn't that so sweet? Thank you so much, Lib! If you haven't already, you really should go check out Lib's blog - you'll be so glad you did! Lib's posts are great reminders to live simply, don't take life for granted and be thankful for what you have - plus she shares great pictures of her handmade crafts.

Hmmm, I'm not really sure who to pass this award to sooooooo....I believe I'll just say a great big thanks to whoever reads this blog!!! Thanks for visiting "Treasure the Moment" - wishing everyone a wonderful day!

Thanks again, Lib - you're one sweet gal!