Oh Yes! You Must!

I've been reading on numerous blogs lately about how much WE all love chocolate. One of God's many gifts!

Hubby received an email about making "The Most Dangerous Cake Recipe." It's made in a coffee mug, it's easy, and most importantly...it is GOOD! Could be very fun for kids to make too!

And Willy says, "And I helped!"

I know I've mentioned before about how you think he has moved on to another room, or even if you see him laying in the kitchen, "asleep", or so you thought! HE IS SUCH A SNEAK!!! You turn your back, those chocolate morsels are history!

We made it in this special mug that was painted by Devon and given to his Grandpa for Christmas!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

a small splash of vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous). And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night! You are going to print this out straight away, aren't you?

OMG! Resist this? I think not!

Watch It!

Oren Lavie, Her Morning Elegance. A fantastic video!
So much creativity out there in the world! I just can't imagine how much time this took to make and the vision it took to make it look so real.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I love this clock. It's one of my favorites.

We have a thing for clocks. Our house is filled with them. Every room has one. We even have one of those clocks in the kitchen that has pictures of birds all the way around, and when it comes up to the hour, that particular bird sound is produced.

In our bedroom, we have 4 clocks! Really, we're not obsessed about time. We just like clocks.

For a couple of years we made clocks. Lots of clocks. Probably 50 clocks. These are the ones we have left around here.

We've spent many contented hours on them. It was even more fun because we both loved doing it.

The numbers were always the hard part, getting them placed correctly.

Some clocks I painted, some I used pretty paper on them and then started experimenting with chemicals.

Hubby made some incredible clocks with rusting solutions and patinas. We sold some that he used gold flake paint on top of the rust. Gorgeous.

The reason I bring clocks up today is that half of the clocks are not working! Need batteries, and it's so frustrating to walk through all these rooms and never know what time it is!

For The Birds

As I was walking through the dining room (I use the term VERY loosely) this morning, I had to stop and take a few steps back. Did I see what I think I saw? The light coming in from the kitchen has moved with the onset of spring. It will noticeably change every single day now.

But as it shined in to this room, it landed on these!

I swear, I didn't manipulate these at all! Isn't that fantastic!?! Looks like an exotic bird! I never would have noticed this without the light changing!

After our wedding on the beach in Santa Cruz, CA, we had an amazing honeymoon in Kauai, HI. Ten days of non-stop fun that Hubby had bartered through a barter company in CA. One of the places we visited was swarming with peacocks. Tame peacocks. I bought some bird seed and they ate right out of my hands. The place was also littered with discarded peacock feathers. We were so charmed by these birds that we picked up about 25 of the feathers, bought a shipping tube, and transported them home. That was almost 14 years ago!

Truthfully, I notice them occasionally, think fondly of when we picked them up, and go about my business. But today, noticing how exquisite they are still, reminds me of how my feelings for Hubby are just as brilliant today as they were then, albeit, more knowledgeable. Hehehe.

That being said, when you've been with someone for a long time, you notice that walking across a parking lot is not necessarily a side by side thing anymore, or while strolling on a walk, it's not done hand-in-hand any longer. But there are other ways that we silently tell each other that we are still "in love." He worries when I'm out without him. If I vary from our usual routine, he's on the phone trying to figure out where I am. Not in a weird, controlling way, but really concerned for my well-being. I'm grateful for his thoughfullness.

Lately, it hasn't always been easy through his hip replacement. He's in pain; worried that this will be permanent, or that he's had a bad doctor. And have I mentioned before that he is not a patient person, at all??? But I know him, and love him. I know that he would go above and beyond for me.

So the brilliance of those feathers still, mean so much more than the picture.

I left my stomach about 1/3 of the way up the mountain~

It's interesting to think about what we find challenging, isn't it? For some, getting through a regular day might be just as monumental as this, depending on circumstances.

Course, it probably helps to be young, full of testosterone, and be as agile as this guy!

I'd like to put that kind of effort into writing, painting, sewing, and just living day to day with my family! Hmmm, look out family! Here I come!

Grammar Anyone?

Last night we were watching a movie, Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery. While watching, I heard a sentence that, for some reason, drives me crazy. The narrator said, "He was going to try and get to the summit by nightfall."

Is that grammarically correct? Shouldn't it be, He was going to try to get to the summit by nightfall. Please! Someone help me here. I read it in books all the time! I hear people say it endlessly.

If I am wrong, I will try and not correct it in my head any longer. I mean, I will try to not correct it in my head any longer!

Buy USA

I received an email this morning about purchasing items made in the USA. I'll post the email and then give my view. Hopefully, you'll tell me how you feel as well.



Friends....In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else and perhaps even their job....so after reading this email ... I think this lady is on the right track. Let's get behind her!!

"Hi friends,

This may seem like a funny email but I was so surprised by what I discovered I had to share it with you. When I think of the job situation in this country, I can't help but think this helps in some small way.

I don't know how many households there are in the U.S. but if these were the only things we bought think of the impact....

(She wrote:)

This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off brand labeled "Everyday Value." I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA .

So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here - from a company in Cleveland OH ! So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets ....yep you guessed it Bounce was more money and made in Canada, the Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!

So my challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!

If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time!

Besides, you might save a little green in the process.

Stop buying from China ..........

We should have awakened a decade ago......lets get with the program......help our fellow Americans keep their jobs ... and create more jobs here in the U.S.A.


I have numerous friends that have lost their jobs over the last 6 months. They have families, little kids, mortgages, rents, a need to EAT!


I am not wealthy. I worry about my family's well being too. Our business is dependent on businesses being able to buy advertising. So many of us find ourselves in a very different environment than a year ago. I thank God that I am still able to pay my bills right now.


I want to buy things made in this country. It passes on a message that it's important. Please keep your business here, I'll buy it! But, "usually" the things made in this country are more expensive, and being the frugal shopper that I am, I'll go for the cheaper item.

Maybe we need to learn to be happy with less. Do I NEED that new purse? That new pair of pants? If I put it off for a little bit will I be able to buy that item that was made in the USA? I think it's worth a try.


Then there's the problem of FINDING things made in this country! Not as easy as it seems. I don't know, maybe it depends on where you live and shop. In this little town it's not so easy. Maybe I've not looked hard enough.


It is important enough to us that we look at the labels in the grocery store to see where the strawberries were grown. If grown in Mexico, there's the possibility of it being contaminated. Not because they're bad people, but they don't have the same requirements as we do here. And even here, as recent history has shown, it can be a problem. If we take the time to do that, can't we look at other labels as well?


Maybe it's just a matter of changing our priorities. My hubby will love me whether or not I am the fashionista (of which I have never been! Just ask anyone that knows me. Hehehe).

Yeah, definitely worth a try.