FOR THE LOVE OF READING/BOOK CHALLENGES

Do you love to read?I've particiapted in a few book challengs from time to time& thought I'd surf the net & see what's out there for 2011 & there are tons let me tell you LOL,thought I'd share a few that I thought to be interesting, check out the links & see if you'd like to join on one or more

http://2010atozchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/12/sign-up-for-2011-to-z-challenge.html

http://www.read52booksin52weeks.com/2010/12/welcome-to-2011-52-books-in-52-weeks.html

Jane Austen Mini Challenge
http://www.read52booksin52weeks.com/p/jane-austen-mini-challenge.html

this book challenge would be neat because the site has links to read this authors books on line

.

http://savvyverseandwit.com/category/challenges/2011-fearless-poetry-exploration-reading-challenge

http://thebookjunkiesbookshelf.blogspot.com/2010/11/2011-christian-fiction-reading.html

HAPPY READING!

BUTTERFINGERS WANTTABES

Welcome to tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, hosted by Lisa over at http://blessedwithgrace.net/ this week I am sharing a wonderful recipe Butterfingers wanttabes I found over at Holly's blog, Hallelujahs By Holly & trust me when I say they do taste like butterfingers

lol & she also has a great idea for a cookie swap party, be sure to visit our host & get in on some great recipes, if you have a recipe to share be sure to add your link to Mr Linky

all you need is a box of Triscuits, peanut butter & chocolate almond bark, after I shaved off the edges they were much better looking for presentation which you'll see in the next picture, the cookies I posted last week that I was going to experiment on the family this year were also a big hit , recipes are in last weeks post

PEANUT BUTTER WANTTABES

triscuit crackers

peanut butter

choc.almond bark

spread peanut butter between 2 triscuits

dip in choc bark, lay on wax or foil lined cookie sheet

I dipped them out with a fork & shook off excess choc. then shaved the edges with a knife after they cooled to give a cleaner look

CHRISTMAS BUFFET

can you believe just a few more days till we embark upon a new year, not sure where this year went but it's almost gone lol, do you have big plans for the new year, I have lots of new & exciting ideals to bring up at my next Ladies meeting for the new year, I want to have more time for reading & studying Gods word & embracing his goodness, there are thoughts of a Ministry blog , there are lots of books just waiting for my finger to tap the buy it button lol, while we're waiting on the new year to roll in let me catch you up on pictures, starting with my buffet for our church Christmas dinner

pastors grand daughter Katherine giving her approval on my tree lol

TEMPT MY TUMMY TUES /NEW COOKIES

Welcome to tempt My Tummy Tuesday, I came across a few new recipes that I want to try out for Christmas, not to sure about the poppy seeds in the Almond cookies so I'll probably omit those lol, but over all I think they make a pretty snowflake look cookie

Almond Poppy Teacakes

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/3 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 egg
1/4 cup sliced almonds, if desired
1 cup powdered sugar
3 to 4 teaspoons water

1.Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, flour, poppy seeds, butter, cream cheese, 1 teaspoon of the almond extract and egg until soft dough forms.
2.Roll dough into 1 1/4-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press balls slightly to flatten. If desired, top each flatten ball with 5 sliced almonds arranged to form a star.
3.Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
4.In small bowl, mix powdered sugar, remaining 1 teaspoon almond extract and enough water to give the glaze a nice spreading consistency. Spread glaze over warm cookies. Store tightly covered in a single layer at room temperature


I've never used pistachio in cookies but the colors scream Christmas don't they LOL
Cran-Pistachio Cookies


1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1 box (4-serving size) pistachio instant pudding and pie filling mix
1/4 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 eggs
1 cup dry-roasted salted pistachio nuts, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped

1.Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix, pudding mix and flour. Stir in melted butter and eggs until soft dough forms. Add pistachios and cranberries; mix well.
2.Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press with fingers to slightly flatten.
3.Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature

these recipes are from bettycrocker.com

I recently came across a blog Hallelujahs by Holly who posted an interesting cookie she calls a butterfinger wannabes using triscuits,PB & chocolate

so here are 3 new cookies I'll be trying out on my family Christmas lol I'll let you know how they turn out next week!

be sure to go by visit our host of Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays over at http://blessedwithgrace.net/

SUN.SELECTIONS / DRINKING FROM MY SAUCER

I pray that today has found you well & richly blessed,if you were able to wake in your right mind you are blessed my friend, the fact that you were granted another day, choose wisely what you will do with it & don't forget to give him praise for another opportunity to embrace his goodness

I came across this poem , DRINKING FROM MY SAUCER & thougth you may enjoy it


DRINKING FROM MY SAUCER

I've never made a fortune, and it's probably too late now.
But I don't worry about that much, I'm happy anyhow.

And as I go along life's way, I'm reaping better than I sowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

Haven't got a lot of riches, and sometimes the going's tough.
But I've got loving ones all around me, and that makes me rich enough.

I thank God for his blessings, and the mercies He's bestowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

I remember times when things went wrong, my faith wore somewhat thin.
But all at once the dark clouds broke, and the sun peeped through again.

So Lord, help me not to gripe, about the tough rows I have hoed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

If God gives me strength and courage, when the way grows steep and rough.
I'll not ask for other blessings, I'm already blessed enough.

And may I never be too busy, to help others bear their loads.
Then I'll keep drinking from my saucer,
"Cause my cup has overflowed."

Drinking From My Saucer by John Paul Moore 1970

A BUSY WEEKEND RECAP

for those who don't follow both of my blogs & missed my post over at http://nannasraggedys-n-prims.blogspot.com I thought I'd recap it

Can you believe it's less than a week till Christmas ,there's still way too much left to do, I'm still decorating for our Tour Of Lights party,my mom's 75th's b'day on the 26th, decorating the fellowship hall for the church's Christmas dinner/party

there's still those "just for me" projects ~lol~ not sure my machine will cooperate for that, I've got my eye on a new one & the hammer beside the old one to help it make up it's mind if it'll cooperate~lol~







do you ever wonder when do you know you're old ~lol~ my baby girl has asked if we want to spend the night Christmas Eve & wake up with them on Christmas, I turned & looked at my husband & said I think we're at that age where we don't need to be alone on Christmas ~lol~ the twins are growing like weeds & are a laugh a minute

TMTT/ PURE JOY ,HOMEMADE HOT CHOC.

this plus sugar, milk & vanilla will get you this


for a single serving

1 cup milk

2 tbsp. coco

2 tbsp.sugar

van.extract (I use the cap)




heat milk but not boiling, add coco, sugar & van. whisk till blended, pour into favorite mug, add marshmallows if desired, this is so good, you may never go back to box coco ~lol~


this post is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

http://www.titus2atthewell.com/

A HINT OF CHRISTMAS IN THE KITCHEN

There's still lots to be done, seems like I'm just getting a little here & a little there but soon it will all come together...I hope!~lol~ here's a hint of what's going down in the kitchen, a few years ago I had the white tree in the kitchen which will get moved to the living room this year , the past few years the main kitchen tree has been prim

the antique cookie jar now holds my cookie cutters, it's great knowing right where they are when it's time to make cookies with the grandkids

this little antique crock holds a small tree that sits on the stove,

one of the things it holds is an antique yellow ware bowl ornament I found at an Antique shop a few years ago
still a little tweaking going on in the kitchen ,then I'll take overall pictures

SU. SELECTIONS /The Crabb Family -- The Light House

Welcome to Sunday Selections, today I chose to sing The Lighthouse, I love researching & studying words & see where they lead
"LIGHTHOUSE".......a tall structure topped by a powerful light used as a beacon to aid marine navigation

"LIGHT"...to signal, to direct,to guide with or as if with lights.....In Quaker doctrine,the guiding spirit or divine presence in each person


seach the word light in your Bible commentary, dictionary, concordance etc

JOHN 13:6 Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life,no mam cometh to the Father but by me

pink Sat./It's A Wonderful Life - Trailer

Welcome to Pink sat., which is hosted by Beverly over at How sweet The Sound, this week along with our Sat. post we are all sharing our favorite Christmas movies as well so come on & join in the fun over at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

isn't this the sweetest apron? a few weeks back when I did my Christmas show, the lady across from me had these,pink is no way my color ~lol~ but yet this one called me, it must of been the polka dots ~lol~ this sweet dotted fabric is sewen onot a pink handtowel, if you'd like to make one,she said she got the pattern off of Martha S. site

as with movies, lets just say I played It's A Wonderful Life till the TV ate the tape ~LOL~ yes I watch it all year round ~lol~but not to worry I found one at a Antique shop & won one off EBay so now now only do I have one but a back up ~lol~

A HINT OF CHRISTMAS TO COME

so much to do, will there be enough time to do it all? ~lol~when you have more than one blog do you post special occasions such as Holidays on both or just the one humm decisions decisions ~lol~ we just finished up with the Christmas Bazaar at the church & decorating the sanctuary,(I'll grab picture Sun.) you'll find pictures of the bazaar over on my raggedys blog, we've been getting ready for our Tour Of Lights party for friends & family but not fast enough, I 've been working on the office & there's eight more rooms to go, whew! oh & did I mention the outside,burrrrr ~lol~

here's a hint of the tree in the office, I added some golds this year & still tweaking & thinking about making some more somethings to add to it

starting Monday I will be posting rooms as I get them ready for our Tour of lights, but shhhhhh don't let on that you got ot see first! ~lol~ I've tweaked the bookcases, still a few shelves to go but I'm loving how they're turning out

still lots to do in the office, theres' a huge silk tree behind the computer desk that needs lights, there's an arch behind the regular desk that gets Christmas cards, well you get the picture~lol~

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

With Christmas just around the corner there's lots of cookie, candy, cakes, & pies , nut mixes etc. going on, you don't have to go all out to give a special treat even the simplest cookie can be dressed up for Christmas, such as peanut butter

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

2eggs

1c.sugar

1c. peanut butter

flour (add till desired thickness)

roll into balls & with prongs of fork make criss cross's atop cookie

bake 350 about 8 min. cookies will appear soft to the touch but will set as they cool, don't over bake, they cook quick

for more great recipes visit http://blessedwithgrace.net/

BLUE MONDAY /DEAR OLD BIBLES

Welcome to another week of Blue Monday, you can find more wonderful Blue Monday participants by visiting Sally over at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/ our sweet host of Blue Monday

with all the going going going & shows & everything else that 's squeezed into normal everyday life, I'm finally to the place where I can get excited about cleaning & organizing the house getting it all ready for Christmas, the first room to get tweaked was the office, I took all the books off & gave them a good dusting & rearranging, the rearranging made room for future book purchases ~lol~

I took some of our old Bibles yea I said some ~lol~ isn't it funny how there's something about a bible you just gotta keep it, there's bibles my husband had as a boy, Bible his great grandparent gave him, etc, there's the bible my mother-n-law gave me at our wedding & on & on & On, ok back to where the blue comes in ~lol~ I took one of my crates & put some of the older Bibles in it & arranged the top of the bookcases to my liking, as you can see one is in need of some tender loving care with tape ~lol~

as you can see I still have a few shelves needing tweaking , the tree's up in the office, nooo you can't see it, cause it's in green's ~lol~ but when I get to the guest room that tree will be in blue's ~lol~ people laugh cause I get excited about staying home to clean but I've been so busy with parents anniversary, baby showers, grand kids birthdays, church dinners, we just had a Christmas bazaar, Church Christmas decorating whew! the next three weeks are non stop on the busy, mom's 75th B'day, Church Christmas dinner, one of our sweet mothers is having a baby, there are about 8 b'days in the family, maybe more I lost count lol, our anniversary, it'd take a whole post just to tell what all's happening in the next 3 weeks & that's why I'm excited to be home! lol

SUNDAY SELECTIONS/THE MANY HATS WE WEAR

The Many Hats We Wear .
~by Rev. Lucinda Schersing, DD

How many times have you felt that you were simply spread too thinly over too many situations? It is not surprising that we often feel that way. We each wear many hats within one day.

There is the hat of the child-like qualities of innocence and joy. This is the hat we wear when we look at the world around us and enjoy each moment, watching the dew on the grass as it is kissed by the sun; or listening to the sound of birds singing or flying across the sky. It is this hat that we wear when we take a moment and watch with interest as a butterfly flits from one flower to another or watch as a bug scurries along keeping whatever appointments a bug keeps.

The hat of worry and sorrow is probably the heaviest hat to wear. This is when we become hopelessly lost in the problems of the moment or deep despair or the sorrow of loss.

The hat of the teacher is one that we all wear. Whether that is our profession or we are teaching our children. We also wear this hat when we demonstrate or teach a skill to adults. Sometimes this hat feels far too large as we begin to realize that what we are teaching can affect many lives in many ways for many years.

The hat of compassion, empathy, sensitivity, love and kindness looks very much like the hat of the teacher and yet, in some ways resembles the hat of child-like qualities. Each time we offer a small act of kindness - what we might consider 'the right thing to do' - we are wearing this hat.

There is the hat of creativity which is the hat of the poet, writer, painter, craftsperson, photographer. This hat expresses feelings through the arts and crafts and touches all our hearts and lives.

What does your hat look like? Is it well balanced so that a gust from the Winds of Surprise will not knock it off? Do you change your hat often? There is nothing so forlorn as a hat that is battered and rumpled because it has become unbalanced from being worn too long or a hat that simply sat on the shelf, unworn.


( this article is from http://www.turtlezen.com/manyhats.html )

I often ponder on all the hats I wear in my daily life, my ministry & wonder how can it be possible to wear one more & even when there's a new one I am reminded God will not put more on me than I can bear, have you thought about how many hats you wear & though we wear many hats it is important to keep balance by which ever hat is being worn takes priority at the moment

(1st Tim.4:14) Neglect not the gift that is in thee which is given thee by prorphecy,with the laying on of hands of the presbytery

CATCHING UP /BABY SHOWER

been so busy getting the church decorated for Christmas & setting up the fellowship hall for our Christmas Bazzzzarr this weekend but thought I'd caught up on picture posting on things I said I'd show you so here we go with the baby shower lol , sweet little ole Chasity is due in just a few weeks, we can't wait to see that baby girl! I surprised her with a candy buffet, she enjoyed everything so & had a great time