Our anniversary weekend getaway!

It was so nice getting away with my hubby. I love spending time with him and it's so important to have that one on one time with each other.

We went to North Bend State Park and stayed in the lodge there. We spent most of our time out doors and on the many trails they have there. We seen some wild life and some other odd but wonderful things of nature. There were many of the trails I couldn't go on due to my physical limitations,oh how I would have loved to but with my back condition it makes it nearly impossible to climb and explore. But such is life,I still had a great time!

Here's the Lodge were we stayed......





This is just one of the many,many fishiing spots there. This is a large pond where many go out on their boats to fish,the park also offers boat rentals.













John turned the cameral on me after taking pictures of the lake. It never turns out well for me when he has that camera in his hands. LOL




We were going to the castle rock trail and as we were going to it,we passed the damn. If you look really close you may be to see John standing in front of it.




Now here's a closer one of him in the same spot.....





Now on our way to the castle rock trail. John leading the way......




You can hardly make out the big rock that is the cause of the name of this trail Castle Rock. Due the the trees it was hard to see but I did get one closer up. John says that the reason for the name is He thinks it's because of the large part of the rock that is set up higher than the rest of the rock,he said it's where the Princess would be in the tower. LOL Silly Guy!



Here's the one closer up....



A few more pictures of castle rock....




This was the coolest thing, a tree growing out of the rock and grew in an L shape. How neat is that!




My dear hubby acting silly.....



John snapped this one when I had to sit down and rest my back......




Finally as we were walking back to our suv,we noticed a group of deer eating on the hillside not far from the path we were walking.



It was so awesome to be that close to them and one looked right at the camera as I was snapping the picture.

Sadly we didn't get pictures from the first day and evening,it rained most the day and evening. So when we went out I left my camera behind. I wish I would have had it though we seen a big 8 point buck walking and eating pretty as you please.

Menu Monday

Monday - cream of chicken over buttermilk biscuits,leftover mash potatoes,green beans

Tuesday - Chicken and noodles (using the leftover cream of chicken),cucumber salad,Italian bread

Wednesday - Taco salad

Thursday - BLT's, mac & cheese,sliced strawberries

Friday - meatloaf,mash potatoes,gravy,green beans

Saturday - grilled chicken breasts,chicken N cornbread casserole,sliced peaches

Sunday - fried pork chops,mac & cheese,cucumber salad


Tune in tomorrow I'm posting about our weekend getaway and sharing some pictures

God Bless,

Confessions of a messy

Even when I was a child my mom use to complain because I was a clutter bug. Not to bad just my clothes. I would get changed and drop my clothing onto the floor in the corner by my bed with every intention of picking them up and taking them to the laundry. But well that just never seemed to happen. I got so busy with things I would honestly forget. Then my mom would see them and well lets just say not be too happy.

Then I thought it would be smart to outsmart my mom (like I ever could,mom's are superhuman and know when their kids are hiding something). I would hurry up when she was doing room inspections and shove all my "stuff " under my bed. Yea that's a great place,she will never find them there I thought. Then I won't have to hear my mom yelling at me about my room. Or so I thought.

I went on my way doing things. When my mom came to my room, I stopped and watched with my fingers crossed. Hoping that she doesn't look under my bed and knowing that if she does I'm toast. As she walked in my room she looked around and found nothing. She looked at me pleasantly surprised and I gave her a nervous smile. She walk around looking at things checking things out and I thought I was in the clear. See I wasn't going to keep the things under my bed I was going to take them to laundry just as soon as the coast was clear. And I wasn't doing this to save myself but to save my mom the aggravation of dealing with me. See how much of a loving and understanding child I was (not). Just before she walked out of my room I turned to see her getting down onto the floor. I thought oh no please don't look there. She bent down and lifted up my bed spread. I stood there terrified of what she would do when she saw what I have done.

When she finally got up to her knees she turned and looked at me. And said " Do you think I'm stupid,like I wouldn't look under here." " Get it cleaned up NOW!" And then she walked out of my room. Me well what do you think I did. Of course I cleaned it. Well for the most part.

After I thought I was finished I called to my mom. " Mom I'm finished can I go play now" My mom would reply with " Hold on a minute let me check your room real quick first" I would say with a somber "ok" Why so down,I knew I had not cleaned very well and I knew I would not be able to go and play for a while yet if at all that day.

She comes into my room,I'm standing waiting for her response. She looks immediately under my bed and turns her head and looks at me with that you can't be serious look on her face. She gets up and gives me that Get it done right look and walks out of my room. I being the insane child I asked her as she was walking out of my room "can I go play now" in a not so sure voice. She looked at me like I had two heads and purple spots all over my face and said "NO,Get it done."

Knowing that if I didn't clean it right I would be stuck in that room for eternity. I decided to give in and get it done,not because I was being nice,not because it was my responsibility but because I wanted to go play. When I was done I called to her again and she came. She looked and smiled and said "See now that wasn't so hard was it" I asked "Can I go play" She replied "yes"

I ran out of that house so fast it would make speed racer look slow. Finally I was free and I could run and play.

Part 2 coming soon!

Chapter 2. You would think I got the picture,but nope!

Yes as I grew I knew how to clean but did I do it,nope. I can't tell you how many battles my mom and I had just because I didn't do what I was told to do or I didn't do it right. I hated to wash dishes (still do to this day),I hated to sweep and mop and clean the bathroom and do laundry. I hate to sort through things and get rid of them. Some could say I was a lazy girl and yes I was to a point,but I had the thought of why clean it,it will just get messed up again.

Well that way of thinking didn't roll over to well with my mom. She was very good at cleaning and organizing things and just wanted to teach me the same way of living. And I do have to say she did her job and did it very well. I was just so stubborn that I didn't want to listen to her and was so determined to do it my way.

That way of thinking caused me more trouble than you want to know. Not just from my mom but also my dad. Because when my mom couldn't get through to me then that's when my dad would take over. And let me tell you I really didn't want that. Sooner or later after redoing and job I was assigned to do,the job was done correctly.

I can remember hearing so many times,"if you would just do it right the first time,then you would save yourself so much time and frustration" Oh if I only listened to my momma then.

Witnessing to others

Witnessing to others was the topic for last nights youth group,the older group called Fish ,First I Seek Him, I had the opportunity to share my personal testimony and we talked about being a witness for the Lord.

We all know that Jesus tells us to be a witness,but how do we do that. Many times we hear to be a witness but have no idea how to go about it. So what do we do to witness for Jesus Christ?

It's really rather simple,you don't need any fancy words or even a ton of scripture. Sometimes the best witness is your story. Yes that's right your story. What has Jesus done for you in your life. My personal testimony is my way of witnessing to others. What Jesus has done for me is beyond words but I finally told my story last night. I hope to have touched someone or even spoke to someone of the power of Jesus and what he can do in your life to if you only let him.

It doesn't have to be something as big as what I talked about but if you share your personal story or testimony with other of what Jesus has and/or is doing for you in your life then my friend you are being a witness to others.

And sometimes we don't have to say a word,but our actions and the way we conduct ourselves is a way of being a witness. There are way to many people out there that say they are a Christian but don't live their lives as a Christian,so in other words they talk the talk but they don't walk the walk. So when non Christians see them that is how they judge all Christians. Yes sad but oh so true. So when someone comes along and daily lives what they talk about and truly shows the world they are a Christian this speaks volumes to them. The sad thing is if you think about all the people that could have been saved if only they had a true Christian to witness to them. It breaks my heart to think about it.

Please don't let the next time the opportunity arises to witness to someone pass you by!

God Bless,

My grocery trip yesterday....

went really well. I do have to admit that it was a bit overwhelming to buy for a whole month at a time but I'm sure that the more I do it the easier it will be. But the really cool news is that I was able to shop for the whole month and I saved so much money so far. I was really surprised, I thought going into this adventure that I would be spending more. But I didn't. I couldn't believe how much more of our grocery budget I have left for the month.

I set our new grocery budget at 500.00 it was previously 600.00. I wasn't sure how I was going to keep it at 500.00 when I had a hard time keeping it at 600.00,but to my surprise I have been able to do and still have a little leftover. It has taken a lot of diligent work,keeping track of what I have on hand at all times to make meals from and that meant keeping my inventory sheets up to date and current,keeping a menu and using what I have on hand to make a menu,using leftovers as much as possible. All these things have helped me keep our grocery budget under our monthly goal. But to do this for a whole month that was a whole new thing for me and I wasn't sure how it was going to go.

But I went on as I normally do making my menu one meal at a time. I do have to admit it was harder than I thought to come up with a months worth of meals in one sitting. Once I had it the grocery list was the next challenge,it wasn't difficult the only thing was making sure I had enough of the little things like butter,salt,pepper and other spices for cooking/baking. But I think over all I did ok. I'm sure there will be things I forgot as this is my first time doing this and it's a learning curve for me.

I may or may not continue to shop this way always we will have to wait and see about that. But so far it was not as bad as I thought it would be. And to boot I have 302.00 left of our month grocery budget of 500.00!!! wooohooo!!!!

God Bless,

Going Shopping

My goal this month is to make a menu out for a month and then make a grocery list with it. So I sat down yesterday with paper and pen in hand,a printable monthly menu calendar and my inventory list.

Remember I shop at home first so that's where I started. Making as many meals as I could from home first then adding stuff that I didn't have to my list. I did really well as I am stocked up very well. I actually only needed to add a few freezer items to my grocery list for the whole month. The rest came from my freezer stock. I was happy at the end to have 1 pork loin,1 whole chicken,1 package of chicken thighs and drumsticks,and one bag of skinless boneless chicken breast left for next month.

If this works well for me I could cut my shopping trips down tremendously and with our given financial situation (that I will talk about more at a later date) it is a very good thing for us. Now I know I will have to go a couple times to get milk,eggs and fresh fruits and vegetables but the bulk of my shopping Lord willing with be done in one trip. Just think of all the time I will have to do something I have been wanting to do for a while like practice sewing. Yes I know shame on me I'm well into my 30's and I can't sew,well not very well anyway. But I'm learning and that's the important thing. Ok back on topic,I was able to with my menu in hand schedule in 3 times a month for our family to go out to dinner. Twice to a sit down restaurant and once to a fast food joint. This way we are not going over board but still not going cold turkey so to speak.

With any luck I will be successful with this goal and save my family more money that we can put toward something else like vacation money or home improvements.

God Bless,

It's Monday!

The holiday is now over and we are recovering from a constant state of being tired. LOL It's a wonderful fund raiser for our church but with only a handful of our members volunteering their time and helping out it makes it harder on those that have to be there more and more. But there are the good things that come from this,we all become so close and great friends.

Now I sit here and look around at my neglected home and sigh. There is so much that needs to be done and oh how I hate getting behind and having to play catch up. And trust me there's a lot that needs to be done. So what to do...... well first make a list and then gather my supplies and get to work. I often pick the room or task that is less time consuming,I don't know what I do that, I suppose you could say it's to have an instant sense of accomplishment.

I will also go around and spray my counters and stove,bathroom counters and toilet and sprinkle the tub with comet,then I do a run through and get all the odds and ends of things that just seem to be out of place or that needs to be tossed into the trash. Already my house will look so much better. While I'm working I try to work with a smoothness so that I work as efficiently as I can,that way I am not cleaning all day long. My goal is to get as much done in as little time as I can without sacrificing the quality of my work.

Ok speaking of time I'm out of it for today.

God Bless,