Thank You, and Taco Salad

Thank you for your kindness and encouraging words regarding THIS POST.  Judging by the comments I received both here and via other social media -- you get me.  It seems many of us are suffering from the blues. That in and of itself is a comfort to me because it lets me know that I'm not the only one that this year's crazy winter and spring has affected.  In other words, all the "crazy" hasn't made me... CRAZY.

So, Happy Monday.  It's a new week, and I'm rarin' to go.

Our family enjoyed a wonderful delayed Second Sunday that encompassed Mother's Day, and Jill's birthday.  Everyone came to our house, and I served a Taco Salad buffet.  Jill brought some ingredients to contribute, and Mom made the dessert: birthday cake.

The very simple buffet included:

• mixed greens (bags of salad, and a bag of baby spinach to mix in)
• taco-seasoned beef
• salsa
• taco sauce
• shredded cheese
• diced tomato
• tortilla chips

We had enough pink lemonade (we usually stick to one or two sugar-free beverages for Second Sunday) for our "crowd" of 11, and coffee and tea to go with the birthday cake and ice cream.

This was a great after-church meal to pull together after a busy Saturday.  I set the tables when I got home from church, and then, all I had to do was re-heat the meat mixture I'd made the night before, dice the tomatoes, and put everything else in serving dishes.  My son made the lemonade and got extra chairs out for me.  I was glad he was around for a few last minute bits of help.

Hope you had a great weekend.  I've got more to share about our weekend later this week.  Stay tuned!

Thursday Thoughts

We enjoyed an awesome weekend with our family, celebrating our niece's First Communion and May birthdays for her and two sisters -- as well as Mother's Day.  

We've been living a lot of busy-ness around here, and just trying to keep up.  I mentioned that my son's car needed some major repair, and while it's being worked on, I've been doing a little more of Mom's Taxi Service.  I am more than happy to do this, but the driving back and forth does have a way of eating up the day.

We did have torrential downpours the other night, and spent some time in the basement due to dangerous weather warnings -- with a bit of water added in the basement, just to keep things interesting.  Nothing too out of control -- but lots of scurrying to position towels and rugs to soak up the water, while moving larger pieces of carpet out of the way.  Then there's the matter of drying everything out to be used once again... you know, in between the bouts of rain.

Winter may have been especially long and seemingly unending, but spring... well, spring has been interesting so far -- to say the least.  This world of ours has been topsy-turvy and turned on it's ear lately, hasn't it?

This weekend will be a busy one, beginning with the Gravity Race Challenge that my daughter is participating in with a team from her school.  That will take up most of our Saturday, I suspect.  I'm looking forward to a rescheduled SECOND SUNDAY Mother's Day celebration with my side of the family this weekend, which will also include Jill's birthday celebration.

We are looking forward to the end of school around here!  What's up at your house?

Second Sunday: We Could Start a Revolution

You've read what I've written about it in these posts.

Jill wrote about it HERE.

Second Sunday.

In a world where many families barely eat meals together any more, we could start a revolution, you know? Second Sunday.  Gather your family up, and celebrate how much you love each other.  Make a meal.  Have other family members bring food to complete it.  Make sure there is dessert.  Share in the duties.  Tell stories. Play games.  Spend time.  Invest in one another.  Laugh.

Yesterday, we met at our house.  Mom is still recovering from her knee-replacement, and glad to hand off the hostessing temporarily, so Jill and I have been glad to share the duties.

On the menu this month?  Subs.  A family favorite.  They're a make'em-yourself meal.  Jill brought buns, lettuce, and tomato.  I prepared plates of ham, salami, cheese, and onion -- and there's always Italian dressing on hand.

It's the way we learned to make subs back in Buffalo, when we bought them at a little sub shop at the corner of my Gram's street.  Mom used to send Jill and I a few blocks over to the sub shop with her order.  We were out of her hair for a little while, had our own adventure, and came home with a yummy meal. Usually, there was Frosty root beer waiting at home to go with the subs!

Mom (who is quickly on the mend) had whipped up and frozen a Delicious Pumpkin-Spice Cake for this weekend, and had it ready to bring and share.

We set up a buffet this time - though that is not our usually M.O.  Kids went through the line first, and were seated at their table just feet away in the living room.  As the adults made their way through the line (and before the kids could take their first bite), I asked everyone to pause for a prayer.  Usually my sweet hubby takes the lead on this, but he was busily helping the last kiddo to build their sub -- so I stepped in and prayed... and... it's such an emotional thing for me to pray over my dear family -- each of whom I love clear through to their core.

We are a normal family, having seen our share of hard times, unemployment, sickness, and general life frustrations.  But, the bottom line is: we are family.  Always.  Forever.  And no matter what.

You would think I'd have a million pictures -- but no.  We were too busy eating and talking!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now... do you need to start your Christmas shopping?
It's never too early to plan ahead, so...
While I'm on the subject of supporting family, I thought I would share a link to my daughter's recent sophomore fundraiser.  They are selling YANKEE CANDLES and other goodies.  She has her own fundraiser page on-line where you can order and pay directly, giving credit to her sophomore class, and to her specifically as well. If you choose to order this way, your items will ship directly to you!  Thank you for considering.  {Just so you know, I'm not doing all the work for her.  She's been a good little salesperson -- but when they offered this techie web-page option... well, it was just too hard to resist!}

YANKEE CANDLE Fundraiser link [click HERE]

'13 Gratefulness

* grateful for time to gather with family -- all 11 of us

* grateful for our commitment to Second Sunday through the years, and all of the great memories

* grateful for a wonderful church family

* grateful for successful "homecoming" shopping over the weekend

Feel free to chime in with a comment!  What are you grateful for today?

Mother's Day, and Then Some

It's Wednesday already.  How is that possible?  These days of May are flying by for me.  The kids are finishing up school, and soon the summer schedule will be upon us!  In the meantime, how did I get from Saturday to Wednesday?

Saturday was cake-baking and birthday celebrating for us.  My daughter baked her first angel-food cake for Sunday's strawberry shortcake, while I caught up on laundry.  Saturday evening we celebrated our nephew's 15th birthday.

Sunday was (as always) a great day of worship.  We have the best worship band.  I could sing with them all day!!!  Afterwards, it was on to my parents for our 2nd Sunday lunch, and some gift opening.  Since my daughter asked, I mentioned that I would love a new goldfinch feeder.  Taa-daa.  That was my gift.  To that, add this great card from my son.  Cards are few and far between from him, so it sort of tickles me that he took the time to find this.  Apparently he spent some time reading cards, because he told me of at least two others that he might've chosen for me.

... probably thinking, "Okay,

what did the kid do this time?"

Happy Mother's Day

(P.S. Nothing's wrong, I swear!)

Mom, opening her gifts on Sunday

Monday?  Since I did a late post on Sunday, I didn't worry about Monday.  It was a day for more laundry, and some errands. On Monday evening, I somehow found out that people sell their homeschool curriculum on Etsy.  WHAT?  Why did I not think of that?  I guess that because I never shopped for curriculum on Etsy, I never thought to SELL it there either.  Well, that's all about to change.  If I hadn't fallen asleep during "Castle," I totally would've started listing things Monday night.

On Tuesday, I woke up with a purpose.  It was my intention to get some curriculum listed on Etsy, and that I did!  You know how I've talked about being productive while still in p.j.'s?  Yep.  It was that kind of day.  Etsy can be a time consuming thing, what with descriptions and picture taking!  But, I've got a start.  I even listed some Vintage Children's Books.

Also, we spotted a goldfinch at my new feeder.  My hubby says the goldfinch will tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on...

And, about this guy... He was in my little rose garden... all day.  Just lounging.  Truly, he was there from about 6:45AM until 4:30 with maybe a break for lunch.  I caught him in a few different positions, most of which made me laugh.  This is definitely his home.

It made me laugh to see him out there with his statuesque counterpart.  The other day, I happened to look out and see him much closer to the statue.  It seemed he was looking out of the corner of his eye -- you know, in case anyone was watching.  He wouldn't want to appear interested in this stranger.  

Well, today is Wednesday.  Wednesday is my scrapbooking day.  Mom and I alternate going to one another's houses to work on scrapbook pages for a couple of hours.  So, Mom will be coming here today.  I always look forward to that.  Right now, I'm working on getting pictures into a scrapbook for a friend.  Her family is my family, and so it's always fun to work with her photos!

What about you?  Is the week flying by for you?  Any new flowers up in your yard?  New birds at your feeder?  Have any new friends in your yard?  -- or new scrapbook pages finished?  What about new boxes on your doorstep?  I confess, I'm eagerly awaiting one of those.  I'll tell you more about it when it arrives.  Stay tuned.

In the meantime, live your Wednesday to the fullest.  Afterall, tomorrow's already Thursday!

My Team

My parents are having all of the carpet replaced on the first floor of their home.  Easter Sunday, when we were all together, they asked if we could help move furniture in preparation for the carpet-layers.  So, on Saturday morning, we headed to their house to move furniture.

When we arrived, my mom and dad had cleared out all kinds of knickknacks and small stuff so we wouldn't have to be bothered with it.  Mom had a little breakfast snack set out on the counter: muffins, grapes, and iced tea.

We moved furniture, toted dresser drawers upstairs and other items to the basement.  Soon the entire first floor (with the exception of the kitchen) was furniture-free.  With nine helpers, we had accomplished it in no time.  Then, my hubby asked if we should tear out the old carpet.  That way, my parents wouldn't have to pay the carpet-layers to do it.  So, away we went!  Three rooms.  Four guys cutting strips of carpet and rolling them up for the trash.  Three girls holding trash bags, and taking carpet out the door.  My mom and I taking turns scraping up carpet padding, and vacuuming as we went.  We were a force to be reckoned with.

Since this week was "Second Sunday," my hubby had the idea that we should host lunch at our house -- since we had just removed all of the furniture at Mom & Dad's.  So, everyone came here on Sunday.  But -- I didn't have to cook.  Mom had already prepared sloppy joes.  My sister brought dessert.  I made a salad.  You get the idea.  Again, we all did our part.

I've never been an athlete, or part of a sports team.  Nevertheless, I love and admire teamwork.  When I see a group of people work together to accomplish a goal, it moves me.  Really.

I am part of a team.  It's called FAMILY.

Never Let It Be Said...

...that I made my daughter put up the Christmas tree on her sick day.  I mean what mother would do that?

However, she was feeling better in the early afternoon yesterday, and was bored.  You know, she OFFERED.  I mean -- I wouldn't want her to be bored.  Besides, I may have mentioned before that putting up the Christmas tree isn't really my thing, and my girl gets SO EXCITED to do it!  Why rob a girl of her joy?

I'm just sayin'!

So, earlier than ever, the Christmas tree is up.  We usually tackle the job about the first weekend in December -- but this year, we're having December's Second Sunday lunch at our house, so I'm getting decorated a little early.

The "First Gift of Christmas" tree is in place, and so is the Hot Beverage Station.  There have been a few additions, and a few subtractions in holiday decor.  Some things are exactly the same because... really?  I can't imagine doing them differently.

I'd show you the tree, but... after an episode with bulbs that wouldn't light, and a trip to the hardware store for my hubby and daughter... well, let's just say the lights need a little reconfiguring before the decorations go on.  Stay tuned.  (And no.  I am so-not stressing out about it.  Just not.)

How about you?  Is everything decorated at your house?  Tree up?  Wreath on the door?  No?  That's okay.  It's way more fun to do it in YOUR time than someone else's.  So, whenever you decorate...

enjoy the process and remember the REASON for the season.

Thanksgiving 11.17

Today, I am thankful for:
1. My mom - today is her birthday, and we'll celebrate tomorrow
2. My sweet nephew, Noah -- his birthday was earlier in the week, but we'll celebrate today
3. The opportunity to have my family here for 2nd Sunday lunch tomorrow (yes, I know it's 3rd Sunday -- that's just how it worked out this month)

Thought: (spotted on Pinterest) All we have is all we need.  All we need is the awareness of how blessed we really are.  ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

Weekend In Review...

We had a full weekend filled with family time and an adventure.

Friday night was my nephew's birthday.  He's 13.  How is that possible?  Because that means my girl turns 14 in February -- which will be here before we know it.

The kids checking out Sam's new baseball cards...

Saturday started with reading an article in our local paper about the USMC and Toys for Tots using our local blimp hangar for a drop-off point.  You could drive through the decorated blimp hangar, wave to Santa, and drop off your toy.  Well, we've donated to Toys for Tots before, and we are all about the blimp around here. (It flies over us all. the. time.). So, we decided to make it an adventure.

We stopped at the store, and bought some toys to contribute, and were on our way.

There was a long line!

And then...

And then...

And then...

There it was!  And there was Santa Claus too, sitting in the gondola.  (You can barely see him in my photo.  I think he was giving his waving arm a break!)  And where were the Marines, you ask?  Oh yes, I took pictures of them for sure!  The only thing is that they were so busy accepting gifts from all of the cars that every single picture I took of them was a complete blur.  No joke!

Saturday night we were honored to be invited to a Christmas Concert at a friend's church.

And Sunday was 2nd Sunday, and you know what that means.  Not only did we enjoy lunch with our extended family, but the kids got to help Grandma frost and decorate Christmas cookies -- a fun project for the 5 grandchildren (17, 13, 13, 12, & 11).

 Notice that even the Pillsbury Dough Boy showed up! 

As you can see, it was an "anything goes" project, and they were a little heavy-handed with the sprinkles.  No complaints here!  

(This one's mine on Christmas Day!)

But my very favorite might be this one (below).  My sweet nephew's cookie broke while he was frosting it.  He kept right on going, added sprinkles, and then added the broken piece on top for good measure.  I love that he didn't waste the broken piece.  (Too cute!)

Phew!  And now it's time for a nap.  Wouldn't you say?  We finally got the Christmas Tree all decorated, so after my nap, yeah, right, a nap! I'll vacuum up the pieces of tree and garlanding that got left behind, and try to get all the shopping bags in order.  My girl is ready to wrap some gifts for me tomorrow.  I'm not going to miss taking her up on that!

Second Sunday: Dessert

You may have "heard" me mention before that our extended family gathers at my parents' house for lunch every second Sunday.  We've done this for about 18 years.  Typically, my mom provides the yummy meal, but every now and then she asks me or my sister to bring something.  This week, I'm taking dessert -- "Apriscotties" to be exact.

This recipe goes back to my days in high school Home Ec.  Our class was broken down into kitchen-groups, and each group had to prepare a recipe that nobody in the group had ever prepared.  One of our group members found this recipe in a pamphlet (if I'm remembering correctly).  We all enjoyed it.  Sometime after that when I prepared it at home, it was a hit too.  I've been making it ever since.

It's super easy, and you only need 7 ingredients.  I confess to being a little sentimental about this recipe --since it's history {in my family} begins with ME.




Apriscotties

1-3/4 c. quick oats

1 c. flour

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. almond extract

1/2 c. margarine

1 - 12 oz. jar apricot preserves

Grease and flour a 9" square or round pan.

Stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder and almond extract.

Cut in margarine until coarse crumbs form.

Press 3 cups of the mixture into prepared pan.

Spread with preserves, leaving 1/4" margin along sides.

Top with remaining crumbs.

Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Enjoy!  -- and Happy Second Sunday!

Check this out (Love it!)

I love this YouTube video link that a friend recently shared on Twitter.

It's an older gentleman talking about how he was encouraged by his parents to keep a journal....  Well, just watch.  It's priceless really.  What a legacy he is leaving to his family!

Weekend Adventures

Friday night was the beginning of our weekend adventures.  We went refrigerator shopping.  [You can read about my refrigerator saga HERE.]  Since the last time we went, I read a lot of comments on Teresa's blog, and started to wonder if a french door/bottom freezer was a good idea afterall.  We went to a couple of stores, but didn't make any big decisions.  Hubby and I seemed to be leaning in different directions.  I had come to the conclusion that we should get as close to what we have now as possible.  He, on the other hand, was thinking bigger, better, and freezer on the bottom.  At least, that was my perception.

Today, we went out again, and hit a few more places.  AND, I think we might actually be getting closer to a decision.  Right now, it's looking like pull-out freezer on the bottom, and one door on the top.  Progress!

Also on our list today: Bed, Bath & Beyond.  Who doesn't like to stop there?  Hubby and daughter have these great travel mugs, and I was wishing for one for myself (that doesn't taste like coffee or cocoa).  I found one for $5.99 (pink for breast cancer awareness, in honor of my friend Kim) - along with a few other things, and a $5 off coupon.  Amen?

Another favorite Saturday stop is the local Penn Dutch market.  Today we brought home yellow popcorn, wheat rotini, cheeses, and oatmeal cookie mix.  Some day I'm going to go in there when it's not busy (NOT Saturday!), and take pictures of all the neatly lined shelves.  They have all kinds of stuff for baking, and snacking, and ... you get the idea.  You will go in thinking you don't need anything, but trust me -- you'll find something.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing at home -- mulling over refrigerator choices, and baking cookies.  The mix I bought said "just add water", and they turned out so yummy!  My sweet hubby made pizza for dinner, and that's always a treat.  We love it when he bakes (anything)!

Tomorrow is "Second Sunday" lunch at my parents' house.  This has been a tradition since right after my husband and I got married.  It's an effort on my parents' part to get the family together regularly -- and for eighteen years, everyone has really tried hard to be there.  Sometimes we take turns bringing side dishes or desserts, but mostly, my mom prepares a meal that we all love.  The time spent together is precious.

So, I just realized that I didn't cook tonight, and won't be cooking tomorrow either.  Life is good.  I love to cook, but who doesn't like a break every now and then?

Hope you're having a great weekend.

I'm linking up with Mommy Head Adventures for "Say Hi Sunday."

It's a no rules blog hop where you can meet new friends,

and find some new blogs to follow!