Out Goes the Package....

Oh so cute cookie idea......

Sugar cookie dough wrapped around a candy kiss......

Bake, then wrap cookie in foil.

Of course mine aren't as cute as Country Living Magazine....fun anyway, and he won't know.

We made our own little slips using scriptures regarding Thanksgiving, and funny little thoughts that remind us of our son and brother. Find scriputres on Thanksgiving here

Packed with fudge.....

Can you ever have enough chocolate??

Rice Crispie Treats with a twist. Sprinkle a smidge of cinnamon over the dry Rice Crispies. Just a smidge. YUM.....The cinnamon offers a hint of fall in each bite. Wrap them individually so they can be shared!!

Pack treats in a pumpkin found at Walmart.....

And off to the one you love!!

Put this on a pillow: I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with Thanksgiving. ~Psalms 69:30

In The News.....

There are a few things in the news today that have just made me scratch my head in wonder.... And SOMETHING I can totally agree with....

Now...if this were your daughter, would you not haved walked out onto that field, and yanked her out of the game yourself?????

NM soccer player talks about ponytail pullThe soccer player whose rough play against BYU became a viral video tells The New York Times she deeply regrets pulling down a player by the ponytail. She says other rough play on the video was taken out of context.

ksl.com - Teen accused of trying to rob drug dealer

SERIOUSLY......REALLY.....? I'd say "takes one to know one." Now what???? Does the drug dealer go free???

NOW THIS IS SOMETHING WORTH REPORTING!!! I can totally agree with this!!!

Actor Johnny Depp: People's Sexiest Man Alive 2009

It's no secret at my house....YES JOHNNY DEPP!!!!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

Wishing You Joy.....

The Mission.......Christmas gifts,
The Challenge......To have all gift giving wrapped up, or at least purchased and made my November 30th.

After Halloween, Walmart offered their fall kitchen towels for a $1.00. I thought the red, mixed with the green would work well for Christmas.


Then, after visiting the Dollar Store, I also found these kitchen towels. They to would go with my neighbor gifts. So, it's just a matter of what you like. My favorite is of course the red and white gingham check towel.

Tea dyed tags.... These are so easy, and I love making them. After soaking them in tea, and blotting them with the tea bags, I place them in the oven on the lowest setting until dry. Doesn't take long. I like to see how they come out.

Wishing You JOY This Holiday Season.

The trick was finding the small Joy bottles. After searching all the major dept. stores, I found them at our new Walgreens. (Use coupons, and their instore coupon promotions to make it affordable)

Have a great day!

Cherie's,Favorite Things Challenge....

A challenge, a challenge!! I love a challenge. This isn't a hard challenge. This came from Cherie at Bakow Babble. This week Cherie showed us pictures of her favorite things.
Of course, her "favorite things" were thoughtful, endearing, and needless to say DUSTED. If you check out her blog you'll see what I mean. ANYWAY....she challenged us to share our "favorite things."

Mine is a bit more worldly, but smells lovely.......ahhhhhhhhh!

For years I couldn't smell or taste. I have year round allergies that are horrible. Finally 8 years ago I was tested for allergies so that I could begin getting allergy shots. Needless to say I was allergic to everything they tested me for. I wasn't surprised.

For the first time in my LIFE I could smell and taste. And then I became hooked.....hooked on smelling. (thus the need to smell people. Sometimes it's shocking)

A few of my Favorite Things

My favorite's... Daisy, Be Delicious (not seen), Juicy, Ed Hardy, Pretty by Elizabeth Ardon, Happy, Oh the list goes on.

Not only do these smell good, the bottles themselves are WONDERFUL

Here's a tip. When purchasing fragrances, it usually only costs about a $1.50 - $3.00 more to get the gift pack. With that you usually get a lotion and maybe bath gell. So mist with your favorite fragrance, and then pop the lotion in your bag. You'll smell good all day!!


Here's what I've found....as of lately, Kohls Dept. store is now selling high end fragrances. IF you have a Kohls card, you'll receive in the mail percent off cards. My daughter wants Daisy for Christmas (good choice). I received a 30% off card in the mail, (Daisy is cheaper at Kohls than Dillards), so I used my 30% off card, also received a gift with a purchase and got $10.00 bonus bucks. After I purchased with my Kohls card I said, I'd like to make a payment.....and paid off the charge.

They also have gift packs right now. And they themselves are 10% off, plus you could us your percent off card, or they'll give you a card to rub and see what you get!! Don't forget to get your gift with a purchase!! Great stocking stuffer.

Hope your day smells GREAT!

Put this on a pillow: From the mouth of Eeyore; Even if you think you have nothing worth stealing...someone will come along and take your tail.

A Christmas Memmory...made from TULLE!

Sunday evening I was rummaging through my husbands parents Christmas decorations, and had to smile when I came upon this old tulle candy cane. I had forgotten, but at that moment remembered that my mom had a tulle candy cane that hung on the front door for years. Do any of you remember these??? This particular candy cane has seen better days.


BUT HEY.....I thought, maybe it would be a good idea to make one for myself. A lover of tulle that I am, heck.....I'd be hanging heaven on my door. I LOVE TULLE!!!!!

It required allot of cutting, and weaving in and out, and at times I got a little impatient. I didn't think I'd ever quit adding tulle. It took about 3 yards of red tulle and 3 yards of white tulle.

The ribbon reminds me of hard tack Christmas candy that would get thrown into my Christmas sock, and end up with thread stuck to it.

I plan on hanging it on my door, just like my mom did years ago!! Thanks to my mother in-law who threw nothing away, a sweet Christmas memory has been re-created.

Put this on a pillow: From the mouth of Eeyore.... "If you follow your own footsteps...you'll only find the road to nowhere."(what an attitude this little donkey has)

Let me just sneak in a little award that one of my favorite bloggers awarded me lately.

THIS AWARD HAS A LITTLE PICTURE...BUT FOR SOME REASON BLOGGER ISN'T LETTING ME DOWNLOAD THIS PICTURE. I'M GETTING REALLY BUGGED.

The rules of accepting and sharing this award are:

*Thank the person who gave the award and link to their blog. SO....Thank you Sondra! Love this lady. Blogger is being a bugger right now. SO IF YOU WANT TO VISIT SONDRA....And you should, she is on my side bar at "CLEAN FRUGAL LIVING"

*Share "10 Honest Things" about yourself.

1. I twitch. Yep...my face twitches. I'm a nervous wreck, and I seriously thinks that's why. I talked to a doctor about it once, and he said "It's just your thing." HEY BUSTER, there's got to be a pill for this.... there's a pill for everything!!

2. I'm slightly pigeon toed. I kind of look like a duck when I walk. HAHAHA Sad but true.

3. I'm really quite easy going. I haven't always been that way, but with a little practice and discipline, I now am.

4. I prefer to be happy.

5. You won't know if I'm sad. No one new I was EXTREMELY depressed after our baby died. But I was. I'm a great actress!!

6. I polish my toenails. Even in the winter. My toes are really long and look like aliens, but polish helps my toes look more attractive. And seriously, isn't that what we all want??? Attractive toes!

7. MAKE-UP....LOVE IT!!! I love make-up. Love wearing it, LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT. I probably wear to much. OH WELL....

8. I'm a perfume junky. I have to wear it all the time. It's my favorite purchase....When people walk by me I smell them. I've tried to stop, but I CAN'T! Sometimes it's not really that pleasant!!

9. I don't usually wear tennis shoes/gym shoes/ sport shoes. Infact rarely will I wear tennis shoes.

10. My house is a mess right now. Completely and utterly a mess. I have no idea when I'll be able to get to it. So it will remain a mess for a few more days.

THANKS SONDRA. You are a delight to visit!!!!!!!

Excuse ME......

Excuse me, but I'd like to introduce myself. Ummmm.....my name is sandra. I'm 43, mother of 4, wife to my husband....I live in a field, I started blogging about a year ago, but as of lately fell completely off the blogging world. I missed all of you.

CRAZY hu?.....missing people you hardly know.

Here's the scoop!

OH.....as you read my long explanation, please enjoy some adorable items I received from Laura Laura Lynn at Enjoying the Simple Things! She's a new friend that I have just recently met. I joined her swap, and boy...did she spoil me rotten.

Last week in church we had our RS lesson on Internet use. It's a lesson every ward was asked to give throughout our church. Well.....my 2nd counselor gave a beautiful lesson etc. Which made me think. ALOT. How much does blogging take away from time that I could use to take care of my home, serve, etc? I announced in Family Home Evening that night, that I wasn't going to blog for awhile. SOooooo I walked away from my computer/craft/library room. And didn't blog.

Laura Lynn made this banner. ADORABLE HU??

Good grief, it was a bit tough at first. But I decided to hold out. How many closets would get cleaned? How many more chapters would I read in my scriptures? How much more would I exercise?? Would I serve more? Would I....WOULD I.....WOULD I......NOTHING! NOTHING MORE!!! NO CHANGE WHATSOEVER!!

Everything has remained the same. Ahhhhhh.....what a relief, that although I get a kick out of blogging, and meeting and visiting all of you, I have not let this rule my life. If anything by visiting all of you, I am inspired to do better and be better. Work harder. I missed your friendship, and the inspiration that I receive from the blogs I visit. I'm glad to be back.

Another banner made by Laura Lynn.

CUTE!!

This past week my oldest son turned 20. I did notice a few more wrinkles, and my stomach pooch is more defined. That's a definite sign of having an adult-adult child. I'm sure of it. I missed him a lot this past week. He's happy and doing well. We are proud of him.

SO....I've got some ideas I've been thinking about for Christmas, and will whip up then share. I've receieved an award from SONDRA I'm excited about and will share 10 things about myself. I'm certain you're dying to read about. A few random thoughts to share that have been going around in this crazy head of mine. Along with a 1 year anniversary. WOW....one year.

A BIG-BIG thank you to Laura Lynn. Visit her blog. Introduce yourself. I think you'll really, really like her.

I'm off to get back to bugging you all!!!

In the words of Eeyore...
Put this on a pillow: Make a First Impression.....
"What did you say it was?" he asked. "Tigger." "Ah!" said Eeyore. "He's just come," explained Piglet. "Ah!" said Eeyore again. He thought for a long time and then said: "When is he going?"

An Old Friend Stopped By!!

An old friend stopped by today, to help me make my yearly Halloweeny Witchy Fingers.

Years past we made the cookie dough from scratch. This year we were in a bit of a pinch, so we used package cookie dough.

We didn't like this consistency quite as well. Since we were already into it, and not wanting to clown around we moved forward.

We're huge fans of the Wizard of Oz along with the sound track from WICKED, so green fingers are a great big must! (I'd love to see WICKED....it was nice of me to send my daughter to San Diego to see it this past summer though.... wasn't it? I LIKED IT FIRST!!! I'm not bitter.)


We shaped the cookies, and added cut in half almonds. In years past we purchased slivered almonds, but I had some almonds in my cupboard that were old and needed used. Just cut them in half.

And what's a witch without a manicure??? Red food coloring works well.


This is Flora's favorite time of year. And what good witch doesn't want to look beautiful??

Oh so pretty with her own witchy corsage.

From the mouth of Eeyore...

Put this on a pillow: Eeyore's Second Law of Motion. "A falling Pooh will land on a gorse bush, but....a falling Tigger will land on an Eeyore!"

Lunch Break

Not far from the office I work at is a great little bakery calld "Old Grist Mill." They make sandwiches, soups, bread etc. At least twice a week I treat myself to a cup of soup and a slice of wheat bread. Sounds harmless right? The problem isn't the soup and bread the problem is the 3"x3" cream cheese frosting brownie or pumpkin chocolate chip with cream cheese frosting square. There lies the problem. I'm forced to tweak my lunch plan.

The dollar store has the perfect little containers for holding food. They don't spill or leak. And you get a handfull for a buck. They are the containers with the blue lids. The containers in the back will spill but are wonderful for holding sandwiches.

However, I can't eat an entire can of Progresso soup which happened to be on sale this weekend. And if I open a can and take part of it, then the leftover soup gets the gross fridge/tin can taste. So I have figured out, empty the entire contents into another container, snap on the lid and I have lunch for about 3 days.

Packing my own lunch will cost about the same as eating at Old Grist Mill, however, for the same price I also get apple sauce, yogurt, string cheese, and crackers.

Throw it in your lunch bag......less calories, and a no standing in line for your lunch!!! Gives me extra time to read for my 30 minutes. WHICH I USUALLY DON'T TAKE, AND JUST EAT AT MY DESK WHILE WORKING. AUGH!

What lunch ideas do you have??? Please share.. always searching for brown bag ideas.

From the words of Eeyore:

Put this on a pillow: Be Honest about your Feelings

"And how are you?" said Winnie-the-Pooh. Eeyore shook his head from side to side. "Not very how," he said. "I don't seem to have felt at all how for a long time."