Category Archives: Fun

Walking with Lovella and Company ~

So I joined an online walking club over at What Matters Most with fellow bloggers. Most everyone has pedometers but so far I do not so I am figuring it out on averages and how many steps I take on average in a minute. Sounds complicated but it’s not too hard to figure out. Anyway the point is to try to get out and walk more. Here’s my first weeks average. I am calculating 6 days and taking Sunday off.

Monday ~ 7900
Tuesday ~ 8680
Wednesday ~ 9980
Thursday ~ 3500
Friday ~ 9000
Saturday ~ 12,350 (woohoo)

Total 51,410 divided by 6 = 8568

I’d like to get to over 10,000 steps a day….

Show & Tell ~ Wedding Shower Favors?

Ellen b. is not known for being one to sit around making crafts. In fact I have a reputation for being not so crafty. That however does not mean I never get inspired to try to make something “cute”. I was inspired by Vicki at Windows to My Soul when she posted a great Christmas gift idea. A whisk stuffed with candy kisses wrapped in cellophane and tied with a pretty ribbon. On the card she wrote “Whisking you a Merry Christmas”.

I decided I wanted to do the same thing but with smaller whisks and for a New Year’s Gift for my Mom, Sisters and Nieces since we weren’t together on Christmas but we are having dinner together this week. These would also make great party favors for a wedding shower. Here’s the process I went through to make these.

 

The whisks were purchased at Business Costco in Washington State. They were very reasonable ($2.25) for the small ones.

You gently pull apart the whisk and gently stuff the head with Kisses.

You can use food wrap to seal the head of the whisk or you can buy that fancy cellophane that you use for making gift baskets.

Tie the bow on with a gift card and you have a cute gift or party favor. Fun all around…

Here’s how they looked at the place settings for our dinner.

For more Show and Tell head over to Kelli’s!

Surfers Point ~ Ventura, California

A HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST SUNDAY. SURF 6 TO 8 FEET WILL PERSIST ALONG EXPOSED WEST FACING SHORES.
62°F at 2:00 pm

We took a short drive up the 101 Fwy to Ventura on Saturday morning. We parked at Seaside Park and started our walk along the beach at Surfers Point.

We walked along the Promenade.

The Surf was exceptional today and there were tons of surfers and photographers waiting to catch the perfect wave.

The waves were so much more dramatic than my photos can show.

We were on the pier for these shots. The foam tells the story of the power of these waves.

Some of the waves were high enough to spray onto the pier.

The calm before the next set of waves. This is on the Ventura Pier looking back on Ventura.

 

5 Things Meme

It’s time for some Saturday fun and let me tell you I started my Saturday fun by staying in bed till 8:00! I don’t know the last time I did that. So I’m drinking old coffee (Dear made it 5:00 am). We’re experiencing lots of clouds and rain here in the Southern California area so I just might pretend I’m a Hobbit and stay in my Hobbit Hole and watch the Seahawks game and try not to eat too much… Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

I found this fun meme and totally stole it from Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

 

1. Five things found in my room (I’m in the Dining Room)

Table & 4 chairs (which is our eating table, my computer table, my bill paying desk, etc. in the Condo)

Wall candle sconce

A tin sign that says Blessed

An antique mirror

A framed self-portrait my daughter sketched

2. Five things I’ve always wanted to do.

Ride a horse on the beach

Go to Ireland

Be able to speak in front of people without shaking in my boots

Have a professional chef come into my home and make a meal for me and close friends.

Pay off all my and my kids debts

3. Five things found in my hand bag.

My digital camera (I’m a blogger after all!)

My wallet

My cell phone

My clip on sunglasses

My Hankie

4. Five things in my wallet.

license

credit cards

checkbook

photos

grocery store cards

5. Five things I’m currently into.

Blogging

Reading the new Jan Karon book (I just finished it!)

Trying to cut down on calories

Trying to walk everyday

Reading Ephesians every day for 20 days

If you decide to post this meme on your blog let me know so I can come see….

Happy New Year!

A very Happy New Year to all!

We’re headed to the airport to fly back to Southern California from Washington early on New Year’s Day. We’ll be in the air and on the road for a large portion of the day. Today I have to totally de-Christmas my house and try to pack everything I want to take back to Cali with me. I won’t be back in Washington till Easter. The last few days of 2007 were spent with family and friends celebrating our daughter’s 22nd birthday and then just celebrating our friendships. It’s been an eventful busy year. Looking forward to what 2008 holds. Blessings…

The Birthday Party

The Cake

The Soup Party the next night…

It’s always good to have a tupperware drawer way down low…

Christmas Tour of Homes ~ 2007

 Boo Mama is hosting a Bloggy tour of Christmas homes. Come join the fun.

Christmas Tour of Homes

Please do come in and enjoy my home at this beautiful Christmas time. Jesus has prepared the way for us to love and enjoy this season. There would not be a Christmas worth celebrating without Him!

The wreath welcomes you at the front door. Please do come in and make yourself at home.

I’ve been busy preparing for your visit.

From a Christmas past on to Christmas present…

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care…

and lighted garland is placed here and there…

Some Christmas decorations handed down from years gone by…

Now here’s a Caramel Pecan treat before we go any further. If you enjoy them you can find the recipe here.

Now to some tables set for my friends. First red and green on cream.

or how about gold with green?

Here’s the fun Christmas breakfast table set for the family with placecards and placemats from long, long ago.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my home. It would be so much fun to see you in person and share a cup of coffee, cocoa, eggnog or tea to go with the Caramel pecan cookies. We could sit by the fire and enjoy the lights on the tree. Blessings on your day touring other homes. Click here to continue your tour from Boo Mama’s.

Show & Tell Friday ~ Fun Christmas Table

Last year at the after Christmas sales I bought these great chair covers for half-price. Our everyday and breakfast Christmas table is casual and fun with Santa Bear place-mats from our daughter Katie’s 2nd birthday party 20 years ago.

The chair covers are Christmas hats with a little bells on the back of the covers that jingle when you move the chair.

For more Show and Tell head over to There’s No Place Like Home.

A New Tradition ~ The Mystery Tree!

This year I decided to join my brother’s family in their tradition of the Mystery Tree. My SIL Kelly says it started because of their small Pastor’s salary that wouldn’t support an expensive tree. They would go to Target or Home Depot and get the biggest tree they could on their budget. They bought one that was still wrapped. No fair untying it and seeing if it’s a beauty. No walking around the tree lot for hours looking for the perfect tree. Throw it on top of the car, take it home, put it in its stand then unwrap it, stand back and enjoy the surprise! Sometimes you’ll get a Charlie Brown Tree (which some people prefer) but for the most part you get one that is great. So join me on my Mystery Tree Expedition…

Straight to Home Depot and to the garden department. Down the row of 5-6 ft. trees. I picked this one.

 

I really confused the Home Depot employee when I told him I was taking it just like it was. I told him I wanted to be surprised with our mystery tree and that I had faith it would be great. He sawed off a bit of the bottom for me so it would soak up water in the tree stand…

He was kind enough to put it in my car for me with a smile for the camera…

It fit in my car perfectly and home again, home again, jiggity jig…

Here it is in the house still in its mystery stage. Katie had the stand all ready when I got home. She got the honors of cutting the rope.

Voila! Mystery solved and oh what a beauty. The best part of this whole story is that the only man required for this adventure was the Home Depot guy. Ladies it is possible to get a tree from the lot to your home and up in the stand if your hubby is away on business or in the service, or if you are a single mom, etc. Maybe it’s more fun to do it together sometimes but don’t despair if you have to do it by yourself. Make it fun. Try the Mystery surprise tree method. From Home Depot to this stage it took me less than 1 hour!

I’ll let you see it again when we get the lights on and decorate it. Blesssings on all your activities this week….

Soup-Tacular…because it’s cold, y’all

 

It's A Soup-Tacular!

I’m joining BooMama and others in the bloggy world for Soup-Tacular. If you’d like to see more soup recipes click here and enjoy the carnival…

I found this wonderful recipe in the Better Home and Gardens Hometown Cooking February 2000 edition. I tweaked a couple things.

Mexican Corn Soup (prep: 15 min. Cooking: 10 min.)

1 – 16 ounce pkg. frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
1 – Cup chicken broth (I used the whole can of chicken broth and just 1 cup of milk instead of two so I wouldn’t have a half a can of broth left.
2 – Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 – 4-1/2 ounce can diced green chili peppers
1 – clove garlic, minced
1 – Tablespoon snipped fresh oregano or l tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1/4 – tsp. salt
1/4 – tsp. ground black pepper
2 – cups milk (I used one cup see chicken broth above)
1 – cup chopped, cooked chicken
1 – cup chopped tomatoes (I used a can of diced tomatoes w/jalapeno, med/hot)
1 – cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (4 oz.)
cilantro as garnish if you like it

[The soup is great with the full can of broth and tomatoes. I do not like half cans left over. ]

In a blender container combine half of the corn and the chicken broth. Cover; blend until nearly smooth.

In a large saucepan, combine corn puree, remaining corn, butter, chili peppers, garlic, dried oregano (if using), salt, and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in milk, chicken, tomatoes, and fresh oregano (if using); heat through. remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired (this is where I substitute cilantro instead)

Enjoy

If you’d like my mother’s recipe for a great pot of Russian Borsch click here.