The Path to My Blog....

. . .is paved with good intentions.

I know you have heard all the excuses before,

 so I won't bore you with all the details.

Suffice it to say that

 the pictures that follow are just a sample

 of all the goings on  around here.

There were also several things 

that I didn't remember to photograph!

The above is the "Blessing Tree"

that hubby and I made for the big

50th Anniversary shindig

for

Bishop & his lovely Wife.

 This is a picture of the honored couple

& the fruits of 50 years of commitment.

Since we didn't want to hang around for hurricane Isaac

we took the opportunity to go on a little trip.

I will be posting about the recovery 

in neighboring Braithwaite in a later post.

I do not want to gloss over it.

I feel like it would get lost in this mix 

of random reverie.

My latest kitchen adventure:

 Griddle style corn cakes & greens,

topped with a

Tomato & grilled ham salad 

&

Buttermilk Vinaigrette

 This picture is long over due!

Eloise is opening a package

 from our dear sweet blog friends

 over at B-skep Chronicles.

 This little ray of sunshine 

"Brie"

now comes to my house 5 days a week

while mommy works.

Her daddy is a Marine,

 so he is working very hard too.

 These three children were guests in my home 

 For Approx. 3 weeks.

 Keep them in your prayers.

 Finally....

The Biggest News:

Eloise is officially in the youth group 

and sporting braces.

Not pictured:

the 5 yr. old I watch on weekends

&

the 4 kids (ages 5-14)

that I tutor in order to finance 

the aforementioned braces.

We have also been sorting through

 and getting rid of a lot of clutter.

After much prayer and family discussion,

we have decided to downsize.

Come this spring we will be putting our

"Way Too Big for Three people"

home up for sale.

This is not an emergency or sad event.

It is a choice we are making,

that will possibly get us to the 

"debt free" status quickly.

Maybe with less debt & clutter

I might have more time 

to keep my blog up to date....

....don't hold your breath!


BY THE WAY:

HUBBY HAS LOST 45 LBS
IN 6 MONTHS
&
I HAVE LOST 36

Our First Order....

This is what we came up with for our very first customer.

She is getting ready to re-style her kitchen in brown and green.

As you can see the "plumbing" still needs to be done, before this is a genuine soap dispenser.

It will have a white pump, like the samples I posted a few days ago.

Hopefully this cutie will arrive at it's new home within this next week.

I can't wait to show you some of the other crafts

 we're going to be doing.

~Me~

Our Latest Money Making Scheme....

 Right now Eloise and I are tossing around ideas and tweaking them a bit.

There are several ideas we haven't tried yet like beaded, jeweled, or buttoned jar collars.

We think the Monogram design will be a hit in this narcissistic/Facebook world.

Not hating....just sayin'.

These are quart sized jars, so I think they are perfect for dish soap.
An added benefit is that the pump will help me to resist the urge
 to squeeze the whole bottle into my dish water.
We will be making smaller ones for hand soap. At the moment I am using Green Works dish liquid, but this weekend I am taking a trip to Whole Foods, so I can test a dish soap recipe. If the Whole Foods brand of castile soap works well, then I can save money. WF brand is almost half the price of Dr.Bronners.

 We were just using left over ribbon bits, but we think this design would look better with a white cap and writing. We would also use a little raffia in addition to the gingham in order to give this a country feel.

Let me just pause here and say that the "fleur de lis" was a symbol used to show our French heritage long before those guys ever cut their front teeth....let alone passed a pig skin!

We are also going to type up a few home made soap(hand & dish) recipes and place them in the jars.

If you have any suggestions feel free to post them in the comments area....
Just say it in a "good Christian way".
I don't like ugly people or comments.

I will be posting later about some of our other craft ideas. We are trying to get a jump on Spring/Summer for all of the craft shows and festivals.

Love & Prayers,
~Me~

Testing...one...two...

(Flower arrangement I made for my M.I.L.)

Praise Be!

It worked!!!!

Thank you Google Chrome.

Hopefully I can catch up with my posting now.

Love & Prayers,

Miss Riya

November Review.....

 This is a picture of Eloise sporting her new boots, groovy ear warmer(made by Plain Old Kristi), and her spiffy new sling. She is now the proud owner of a bright green cast. Pray for me Y'all. In her short little life she has managed to flip over the handle bars of her scooter and crack her front tooth(baby thank God), flip off the monkey bars and get a rock embedded in her forehead(3 stitches), skinned her face and broke her nose, and now that is all cleared up  and she has broken her arm. I guess now she will walk on the inside of the stair railings like a normal person! 

This is my most recent gift basket and probably one of my favorites. I had a lot of fun and flexibility with this one, because I actually knew the recipient. I must say, I was very tempted to keep the adorable sewing box and pin cushion message board, but I was a good girl.

This was Eloise's 1st real concert with GNOYO.

Our seats were all the way in the back, so the pic isn't too clear.  

Eloise & cousin Ting pose for a pic in their matching holiday outfits. 

This is our turkey, getting ready for his little procedure.

 I'm sure my vegan friends are horrified out there, but my hubby doesn't do stuffing, so our turkey is surrounded by shredded strips of ham.

A few of our holiday goodies.

This is the newest member of our family. His name is Boolee. His owner recently passed away and he didn't have a home. The S.P.C.A. was going to put him down , so.....you know the rest.

He is very mellow and sweet, but not nearly as handsome and photogenic as Oreo. I had to say that last part, because Oreo is not dealing well with the idea of sharing his house and people with this huge stranger.

 So far this month I have made:

turkey salad, turkey pasta Alfredo, and turkey noodle soup, but I think my latest turkey makeover was the most unique. I had 4 turkey wings wrapped in foil, so I broiled them in the toaster oven and poured buffalo wing sauce on them. Two wings and a couple of side items and I was stuffed like a ......

TURKEY!

I have a couple of quart sized bags of turkey in the freezer, but I don't think I will be thawing them any time soon.



Thank God For Dirty Dishes

Thank God for dirty dishes;

They have a tale to tell.

While others may go hungry,

We're eating very well

With home, health, and happiness,

I shouldn't want to fuss;

By this stack of evidence,

God's been very good to us.

~Author Unknown~

I hope that you are all enjoying the holidays.

Love & Prayers,

Mommy Stuff...

One might wonder what it is that women do

while waiting for their little darlings to finish orchestra camp each day.

Here is what a few of us did today:

After sneaking downstairs to find a table, This lovely lady demonstrated her quilting magic.

I worked for a little while on this bread basket liner, but I am so easily distracted.

Another mother got me started on this, and I worked on it for about 30 minutes, but there is so much going on with all of the different groups practicing all over the building. During the guest performance/lectures, we sneak in the back of the auditorium to observe.

Eloise is having a blast.

This is all very new and a bit daunting,

but the older more experienced musicians(teenagers) have been very helpful.

Here is a sneak peek at one of my next projects.

It will probably be a while, before I even get started, because as soon as orchestra camp is over, we have to pack for Camp Kumbaya.

I love being a Mommy!

~Me~

Pillowcase Magic....

What happens when two ordinary pillowcases have an encounter with a sewing machine?

Great things begin to happen....

Boring pink gets some snazzy purple zig zags.....

And my little girl gets a pretty little smile on her face!

***P.S. I know I just posted this morning about last night, but I couldn't wait to post about the skirt and shirt that I just finished, so you will have to scroll down to view the previous post.

Getting Ready For A Baby Shower....

Last night my crew and I headed over to Sister E's house to help with the preparations for the upcoming Baby Shower.

There were pretzels to be dipped and sprinkled, and meatballs to be seasoned and rolled.

Heavenly Hash all dressed up in ribbon (above)

The chicken breast had to be cut, stuffed, fried, cooled, then sealed and placed in the freezer.

The meatballs were baked and will be marinated in Sweet & Sour Sauce.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of all of the egg rolls we rolled for the big day.

We had a great time.

To me this type of stuff isn't a chore;

I love being in the big middle of things!

The pretzels after they cooled and were placed in little bags with silver twist ties.

In case you haven't noticed...It's going to be a Boy.

Today, I kissed the brown bag goodbye!

Many of you know that I have been sick a couple of times this last semester. I truly believe it is because I have been so busy that I haven't been eating, sleeping, or exercising properly. Well , now that I have a little time off I started taking my daily vitamins again. I also started exercising yesterday and today I treated myself to a gourmet meal. It has always been an unspoken rule in my life that I save the best of everything for company. I usually eat the ends of the bread and use the mug that has a chip in it. Don't get me wrong, I love treating my guests. I especially love the smiles on their faces when I serve something yummy, but today I decided to treat myself. Instead of grabbing the bread and making a turkey sandwich for lunch.... I went all out. I even used the good china! I must say that I impressed myself. It only took me 15-20 minutes and it probably cost me less than $4. Who says being frugal or healthy has to be boring?

In case you were wondering: Citrus Grilled Tilapia with Avocado Salsa and Steamed Asparagus drizzled with Hollandais Sauce.

One Busy Little Bunny....

It is 1:30 am. I can officially say, "Happy Easter"!

I must be insane.

I just finished writing a paper for school and I have one more to write in between church today.

Above are the 30 goody bags, 50 sugar filled plastic eggs, 2 dozen dyed eggs, and 4 Easter Baskets necessary to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

(Please know that I am so not being serious)

BLESSINGS Y'ALL!

I'm going to sleep now...

Three more weeks till finals!

How We Celebrated Mardi Gras.....

We made a Mock King Cake.

The base is three cans refrigerated cinnamon roll dough arranged in a ring and slightly flattened.

After baking, I drizzled the icing from the can all over the top.

Carmacita decorated it with colored sugar.

*It has more of a king cake texture if you let it cool, cover it, and let it sit over night.*

This whole week Eloise has been having a blast.

She has been roller blading, bike riding, learning to play baseball, and working on some projects for the upcoming community art show (where our church's choir and brass band will be performing.)

Mardi Gras Day we decided to head out of town to avoid all of the parade junk.

We met with a few friends (family really), barbecued, relaxed, and played some too.

More friends (family).

Here is Kristi and Ses headed to the lake for some fishin.

Fishing Sisters.

Eloise & Hubby.

They had a great time catching some rays...

.... and sticks. No fish this time, but at least they had fun!

*Posting will be off & on due to upcoming Mid Terms, but I still view your blogs regularly.