Been ill lately

I was in the hospital the other day due to a severe pain in my abdomen. I will have to have gall bladder surgery. I have to do some things to get ready for surgery, such as pump milk for my baby and get the house in order since I will be taking it easy for awhile. I will try my best to post those promised pictures, but that is not the most important thing right now. Sorry for the wait. I expect I will have surgery early in Oct. and should be back to nearly normal just a couple weeks later.

God Is Not Finished With Me Yet

My grandpa woke up one night, because God spoke to him. He decided to have a family gathering and tell all his decendants about Jesus. He also spent $500 to buy a Bible for all his grandkids, their spouses and children! He gave DS the cutest little board book Bible about a little bear. It is so sweet and the cover is soft and furry! DD got a thicker Bible with Board Book type pages and longer stories than DS's. It is perfectly written for a 3 yr. old and has plenty of pictures. DH and I got a Thinline Bible in NIV. Grandpa told everyone that he reads his Bible every day and wants us to read the Word and have a relationship with Christ. I am so sorry I was unable to go to the family gathering since I had a vender fair w/ Homemade Gourmet to do. DD was w/ my parents and got to thank Grandpa and Grandma in person. I love that my new Bible is thin and easy to take with me. I can stick it in the diaper bag without it weighing it down.

After the Wind Storm...

we picked apples and pears from the ground that fell off the trees in the backyard. I am going to make apple butter, apple sauce, poached pears, and whatever else I find to do w/ them. We live far from the coast, but the wind was thanks to Hurricane Ike. I can't imagine what it would have been like if the wind was twice as fast. The victims of the hurricane are in our thoughts and prayers. Many people are without electricity, including my parents. They brought their food over to put in my freezer and took the rest to work to use the freezer there. They have a gas hot water heater, so they can at least have a hot shower in the dim light of a lantern. They bought a camp stove to cook, and at least it was not too hot today to be without air conditioning. There is even flooding in the northern part of my state and 7 people have died in Indiana from the Wind Storm and flooding. We are forunate that our power only went off for a quick moment twice.

I know I thought I'd get those pics taken and posted, but I have not had a chance yet. I will do it tomorrow. I have been learning the art of couponing lately and went to Walgreen's and got over $100 of stuff for $35 w/ all the coupons. I can also send in for three $1 rebates. DH got me the Buxton Bag that is now available at Target. It is my early b-day present.

Sorry for unplanned hiatus

I have been very busy with the kids, Homemade Gourmet gatherings, babysitting, mystery shops, and life lately. I have finally got some extra rest and feel like I can sit down and blog more. I have made a small scrapbook w/ DD in it wearing the dress her grandma made her for her 3rd birthday. I will add a post about it w/ pics this week.

I am also going to make myself a Home Management Binder and will post pics once I get it decorated. I am on the steering (leadership) team of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and have to present it to everyone in Jan. and help them decorate one and then give tips on what to put inside theirs. It will have a planner, mystery shopping section, HG section (with my HG preferred customers and newsletter customers as well as orders placed, etc), a Quixtar section w/ similar info to the HG section, a grocery list, menus, freezer inventory checklist, chores and daily routines, zipper bags for receipts, mileage track, records of doctor visits and kids' weight, a Kids' Say the Darndest Things sheet for each of my kids (I can jot down funny things they say), websites I like (for when I clear the history on my computer), etc. etc. I think it will take me until Jan. to get it completed!

CrockPotting Blog

I saw Stephanie on Rachael Ray's show a couple weeks ago, since she made a resolution to use her crockpot every day for a year and blog about it. She was getting over 4000 hits per day before she was on TV. I wish I found her blog sooner. I am really enjoying it and have already tried a couple recipes. (the 5 layer brownies and chicken nachos). Go here and check out her blog. She makes me laugh all the time and tells if the recipe was good or a flop. She is quick to write back when you email her, too. I shared the crockpot recipes I have on my blog with her.

Breakfast Pizza

1 lb. breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 tube crescent roll dough or pizza crust
6 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp. Homemade Gourmet Grandmother's Sunday Roast Seasoning
2 c. shredded Cheddar

Cook, drain, crumble the sausage. Turkey sausage is a great substitute. Unroll the dough into a rectangle on a cookie sheet. Use fingers or dough roller to smooth out and seal seams if using crescent dough. If using a pizza crust, create an edge to keep egg onto crust. Beat 6 eggs in a bowl w/ Grandmother's Sunday Seasoning. Pour onto crust. Spread cooked sausage on top, then add cheese to that. Cook in preheated oven at 35o Fahrenheit for 10-15 min.

I made this Saturday and it was so simple. I think I will cook the meat up ahead of time to make it even quicker next time. It was a hit w/ DH and DD decided not to try it, but I know she would like it. She is not a morning person!

This double page layout is the beginning of the pages for DD's 1st birthday party (and she just turned 3!). We did a Hula theme w/ decorations and DD's and my clothes. No one else dressed the part. She had a cake w/ Lilo and Stitch on it and a surfboard. I used the SU set Do the Hula for invitations. I did this layout for a VSBN challenge on SCS to grab items to use in only 3 min. and complete the page in only 1 hr. I did get the left page in an hour, but I needed about 30 min. to do the right page. So, I guess I did the challenge, since each page was under one hour.

Products used: CTMH Giggle Alpha, black ink, SU Simply Scrappin' kit, metal edge tags, hemp

Wheely Special Cake

I found a great cake in Parents magazine to make a that looks like a ferris wheel. All you need is a cake mix (I did 2), frosting, food coloring (they recommended paste for more vibrant colors, but I used what I had), Runts candy (2 boxes), gum drops, Rainbow Twizzlers, 20 Dum Dums suckers, 7 C. Rice Krispy Cereal, 4 Tbsp. butter, 1 c. melted white chocolate chips, 10 oz. marshmallows, 4 wooden skewers, 4 blue paper cupcake liners, a 9 inch round cake pan, and pyrex bowl to bake the cake in. I placed the domed cake on top of a 9x13 cake for extra stability & more servings.

So, put wax paper in the bottom of the round cake pan & grease the sides well. Melt the butter & marshmallows on low heat in large pan. Remove from heat. Color orange w/ food coloring and stir in. Add 1/2 c. melted white choc. chips & 7 c. Rice Krispies Cereal. Stir well. Put into cake pan, pressing firmly to make a solid wheel. Refrigerate at least 30 min. to set up.

Bake cake in greased & floured bowl - I used 2 qt. Pyrex. Must be ovensafe. Bake in 350 preheated oven for 40 - 50 min. Test w/ cake tester or toothpick to make sure it is done. Let cool in bowl several min. Run rubber spatula around edges to loosen from bowl. Place cooling rack on top of bowl & flip them both together. I also make a 9x13 at the same time. Baked 9x13 according to directions on the box.

Remove cereal treat from pan and put on a plate. Cut Twizzlers into 12 4 1/2 inch strips. Melt remaining white choc. chips (1/2 c.) and put into sandwich zipper bag. Snip sm. piece of bag at corner. Use it to attach Twizzlers into spokes. Place a gum drop (I used Dots candy) in center of wheel. Pipe white choc. dots on edge to attach Runts. Put in fridge to set up for 5 min. Carefully, flip & repeat on other side.

Tint vanilla frosting w/ red food coloring. It will come out pink unless you use paste food coloring. DD's favorite color, so I didn't mind the pink. Frost cake on cake plate or serving platter. I frosted the 9x13 first, then transfered the dome cake to the top using a spatula. Before transferring the dome cake, cut a notch out of the top to hold the wheel 2 inches wide by 3 inches long by 1 inch deep. Frost cake. Arrange runts around the edges. The sample in the magazine only had orange and green pieces around the base of the cake and had red, yellow, and blue around edge of the wheel. DH only found Tropical flavors, so we made do w/ different colors.

While wheel is on plate, attach 4 cupcake liners w/ dum dums suckers (5 per cup). We attached the cupcake liners w/ a small pieces of wooden skewer first, since it is tapered at the end. It was much easier to attach. After you get your people in their seats, attach 4 skewers in bottom of wheel about 1/2 inch apart from each other. Leave 3 inches of the skewers showing. Stand wheel into cake notch. Frost any imperfections around the wheel if your notch is a bit too big.

Attach wheel to cake. I recommend you do this after your guests arrive, since the humidity or wind in our case, may make it hard to stay up more than 30 min. Oh, walk very slowly w/ cake to the display table, because it feels like it will fall off.

And the winner is..

mistigoguen is #14 & she is the winner. I do not know how to get a random # generator, so I had DH pick a #. Please give me your address. email me at shaykarena@yahoo.com

Sorry for the delay, but w/ storms, and prepping for dd's b-day party, I had no chance for computer time for 3 days.

Blog Candy is here

I hope you like the blog candy. There is a spool of striped grosgrain ribbon, a card made by me, a round accordian album ready to be altered, dragonfly embellishments, and a set of clear flower stamps. I will draw a number from all those that post on this post. Please include email address or check back for the winner. I will draw a name on Fri. June 27 @ 10 PM EST. While you're here, please take a look around. I love comments on my work and pictures. Good luck!

Blog Candy

It is DD's 3rd birthday, so I will try to add the blog candy this weekend. I thought it would take longer to get 400 visits.

Blog Candy Coming Soon

I decided I want to offer blog candy, so when I get 400 visits, I will post some.

Sausage Veggie Casserole

4-5 potatoes, peeled & sliced
sm. onion, diced
can corn, undrained
can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 lb. breakfast sausage, sliced

Grease 13x9 casserole dish. Place potatoes in bottom, add onion, pour cans over. Slice sausage and add to the top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 1 hr.

Dips are Special

Homemade Gourmet has a special for 15% off all dip mixes, so if you would like to order Mock Spinach Dip, Grandmother's Sunday Roast, or any of the other great ones, please let me know ASAP. Email me at shaykarena@yahoo.com

Joyful Gardener

This is a pic of DD taking a break from helping in the garden to be a ham for the camera. She loves to garden and loves to read her book, The Surprise Garden, so she calls our garden a "purise"

Crock pot Pizza

The quantities are up to you, so use as little or as much as you like to suit your family size and taste buds. Omit or add something if you prefer.

1 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey, browned and drained (add onion and bell peppers to skillet and cook together, if you like)
1 pkg. pepperoni slices, separte each piece
can mushrooms, drained
spaghetti, cooked and drained ( I break into sm. pieces to make it easier to eat)
2 c. mozzarella (we love cheese and use more)
1 t. (or more) Homemade Gourmet Garlic Basil
jar of favorite spaghetti sauce or make HG Homestyle Spaghetti Sauce

Dump all ingredients into large crockpot. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours.

Harvest Pork Chops

I have a simple recipe for you. It is not Homemade Gourmet, because I realize you may not have anything from HG to make the recipe. All you need are 3 ingredients and a crock pot!! I buy boneless chops and put them in the crock pot. Pour 2 c. apple juice (no added sugar like Juicy Juice) and a dash of cinnamon. Cook on low 4-6 hours. I got this recipe from a church cookbook. Serve w/ applesauce or apple cobbler for dessert to tie the flavors together nicely. Even my picky DD eats this up.

Baby Beauty Pageant 2006

This was the baby beauty pageant at the county fair. It was very hot and they had us right in the sun for lining up and for judging. The judges decided that in order for a baby to win they had to smile. DD was not in the mood to smile, because it was hot (around 95 or 100 degrees) and she wasn't used to being in full sun during those temperatures. She was good, but didn't show off for the judges. This was just a few days before her 1st birthday, and she wasn't quite walking on her own. She won in my book! She is the one in the middle.

BC Before Children

I forgot to put a title on my page! I am a late night scrapper or I try to scrap on the weekends while DH can entertain DS. He is still quite clingy, so I even wear him in the sling to scrap. I was probably tired when I did this.

The base of the page is Wild Wasabi, the patterned paper is from SU, the mats are choc. chip and bashful blue. I used a flourish stamp set I got from my friend, Tessa that is from TAC. I even used a little envelope from her. I used a scrap of silk ribbon to tie around the stitched Wild Wasabi grosgrain and a large gold eyelet. I stamped flourishes in Close to Cocoa and also inked up the envelope that holds the tag I made. I have journaling on the tag that reads: This is one of my favorite pictures of us. This was taken in the fall of 2004 when I was not pregnant or too early to tell. I had just lost 30 lbs. and my hair

was looking good. I do miss getting my hair highlighted.

Baby Sprinkle (Shower)

Since I was pregnant with my 2nd child, we called the shower a sprinkle. We only needed boy clothes & diapers. The top pic is me, my friends Beth, & Joy holding my daughter. The quilled giraffe was a premade giraffe I bought with the intent to use on a zoo page. I used choc chip, creamy caramel, GP white & Blue bayou cardstock, paper flowers, and some scalloped ovals.

Trying to Make Up for Lost Time

I realize I didn't add new posts for about 3 weeks and I'm trying to add something new for you to look at. These are of my daughter and my husband working in the garden. She is so adorable and loves to help. When he handed her some seeds to drop into the row, she threw them, though. When they were planting the tomato plants, she laid down on her stomach, so she could help pack the dirt in around the plant. She loves getting her garden gloves and rain boots on to go help Daddy. I actually made a set of gardening tool embellishments ages ago from wire and the use of an idea book. I plan to add them to a layout if I can find them.

Lip Biting and Spiked Hair

My son's hair is so flyaway and baby fine, but it looked so adorable when he got sweaty. I made it stand up and he was making the cutest faces, so we had to get the camera out. He is also sucking his bottom lip in since he started teething. So sweet!

I used the Cherish book by CTMH for the sketch of this layout. I used the SU stamp set Miracle of Spring, SU mellow Moss, whisper white, SU DP, scalloped oval punches, and quill strips. Quilled eggs are shown up close in the last photo. Quilling is very easy if you have a quilling tool. Just twirl it around the tool and pull off, let it loosen up as desired, pinch end to make the shape, glue end together. We made tie dyed eggs that we bought a kit for, but you could do it on your own. You need a different medicine dropper for each color of dye. Put an egg in a sandwich sized zipper bag, add a couple colors of dye. Zip closed and rub the dye into the egg.

Dimpled Cutie

You can only see a dimple in one photo. I used a sketch from CTMH Cherish book. I used a retired DP by SU (the blue and white squiggles), 2 other patterned papers (unknown mfg.), Certainly Celery cs, Certainly Celery and Blue Bayou ink w/ Little Shapes, and chipboard letters.

Indescribable Gift

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. 1 Corinthians 9:15
I used a sketch from the CTMH Cherish book. Some of patterned paper is from DCWV & some are unknown. I used SU bashful blue & river rock cs, big eyelets, ribbon, circle clip, buttons, distressing tool, Nursery Necessities SU stamp set, alpha stamps, tags, organdy ribbon (SU retired), blue bayou & close to cocoa ink.

Snow Fun

This is my daughter with her very first snowman. He is taller than my husband. DH got to be a kid again and play outside with our snow bunny for about 2 hrs.
I used Basic Grey patterned paper, SU Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, GP white, Soft Sky ink, tempting turquoise ink, ribbon, stapler, distressing tool, stamps are all CTMH.

Showing our Irish Roots

We do have a little Irish in us, among several other nationalities.

I uses a sketch from SCS - forgot which one, but I turned it on its side. I used choc chip, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla, and MME Wild Asparagus paper. I also used a glittery flower w/ a green w/ white polka dotted brad in the center, shamrock brads, SU SAB rub-ons, Wild Wasabi stitched ribbon, green stickles on the rub-on, green primas, and a poem from a book. The poem is by Crystal Dawn Perry & it reads:

Let me dress you up in green

And I'll carry you on my arm.

You can be my little leprechaun.

You're already my lucky charm.

Tip: cover part of a photo. I was sitting a bit crooked & I didn't like the look of my hips and thighs, so I used primas to hide a little bit of me. I also accidentally mis-spelled a word in my poem, so I selected a few words to cover up w/ vanilla cardstock w/ the word on that.

This is of my husband and children on Easter. It was a chilly day, so we put the baby in a one piece sweater outfit and my daughter had a sweater on w/ her dress. This page is using only SU products. The patterned vellum is retired and I believe the stamps are, too.

3 month photo shoot

This is another two page layout that I used the Basic Grey Oh Baby! Boy kit. I stamped the stars in So Saffron (the little ones) and Buckaroo blue (the larger ones), then cut them out. I love to use strips of patterned paper, too. I just cut various sizes and made sure to do two in that size, to make one for each page. I adhered the strips to a paper I wasn't crazy about that I had for years and used the white back side (in case I didn't get my stips lined up perfectly and a little white showed through). The tag is also part of the kit and I used some fiber on the tag. The stamps are SU.

This is a 2 page layout I did on white (not my favorite choice), so I used Marigold Morning to ink up the edges. I used Basic Grey Oh Baby! Boy kit, SU Nursery Necessities, Making Memories orange ric rack, unknown mfg for green strip and mats. My boy was making so many cute faces, so I just had to take these beautiful photos of him.

This is a card I made for my friend Joy's swap (daiseyfreak on SCS). I used my Cuttlekids die that can be used in my Cuttlebug, a felt flower, a brad, some Basic Grey striped paper & chocolate chip cs. I used Itty Bitty Backgrounds w/ white Stazon.

Stampin' with Shay

Well, I decided to take the plunge and start a blog. I don't know if it will look like much at first, but at least I have one. I love to stamp and scrapbook. I also make cards & altered items. I am a wife of almost 12 years and a mother of two.