Romantic Dinner 4 Two...and other things

I love my husband....

have I ever told you that before?

Yes?

ok.

Well, yesterday

Thursday (gasp!)

I decided to do a romantic dinner for 2

Have I told you we live on the river?

Yes?

ok.

Well, we do....and this time of the year

it is amazing!

No bugs, light breezes annnnnnd

not much else!

The grass has begun to turn green (really green)

and the trees have lots of green buds on them...

and that is about it.

But, the NO bugs thing is simply amazing!!!

So I decided to take advantage of it

on (gasp again!) a simple Thursday weeknight!!!

WHAT!!!!

Yes! A nothing special night of the week!

A "I want to make things special" night of the week!!

So, I set a special table, on our deck

just to make my husband feel extra special!
 Have I told you before that I LOVE to make my

loved ones feel special?
Yes...
ok!

So, I set a table on the deck....along the river

with normal, everyday things, to simply

make my husband feel a bit extra special

because he IS!!

And might I say....

Your family, husband, children are extra special too!!!

Here is a picture of the table I set.

The small round table was a free gift...

the table cloth was a gift...

the dishes were my everyday, normal dishes

the food was simply

grilled burgers and grilled zucchini

along with a tomato, cucumber salad
(the recipe can be found here on my blog)

and just my love!

Every day can be special

Every meal can be fun

Everyone is WORTH that teeny, tiny

bit of extra effort....

and they will more than likely

feel amazingly loved by you....

on a very normal, day after hump day

Thursday night at home.

Amazing Idea!!!!!!

I was just speachless when I saw this!

It makes such sense,

And I will surely be making these for our

over flowing toy box!

Why didn't I think of this?????

All instructions for making these bags can be found

at this link!

http://tonicoward.blogspot.com/2010/06/peek-boo-toy-sack-tutorial.html

Picture, Link and Craft are from Make It Perfect Blog

Today....My Friend

Today....

Something none of us is guarenteed.

Today, I spend praying, worrying, hopeing, loving and

waiting.

You see, my dear friend, Diana

is having surgery.

She was diagnosed last week with

a very rare (her Dr. has only seen this once before)

form of breast cancer.

She is a huge blessing to me.

Her friendship is one of those in which we laugh,

uplift, love, talk, and share our wonderful

realationship with our Lord and Savior.

I ask for your prayers.

I ask that you think of, pray for and

remember my friend.

She has her family,

friends, and most comfortingly

her Savior with her today.

BREAST CANCER

Two of the most powerful words in the english language.

Two words all women hope to never hear.

My friend has heard those words.

My friend will deal with those words for

many weeks and months to come.

BREAST CANCER

I not only pray for my friend, but for all those

beautiful ladies that every day

get the diagnosis, are in the throws

of the treatment, having the follow-up tests,

or are adding to the years of "cancer free".

BREAST CANCER

May we soon have a cure, better treatments

and quicker diagnosis.

May we soon have a world where it is in our history and not in our future.

 

Giving you a link to one of the cutest little chicks ever!

Just in time to make for your "little chicks" for thier Easter Day!

http://www.blog529.com/2011/04/just-hatched-spring-chick-oreo-pops/

Mange! (Italian for "eat)

Link, Picture and Recipe from Blog 5 to 9

We Have A New Addition To Our Household!

I'm so excited

And I just can't hide it!

And I KNOW I like it!

You may find this addition to be

ahem,

a bit odd

but it is something that I have wanted for years!

I did not think it would happen

due to, you know, funding...

But...

It has now happened!

I am stoked!

Ok, Ok, I will stop now.

drum

roll

please...

I have a green house!!

Yes, I do!

It is set next to my potting bench,

which is awaiting the dawn of spring

awaiting some much needed green plants

oh wait....

I can do that,

because I now

own a greenhouse!!!

SAAWWEEEEETTTTT!!!!!



Random Thoughts

It is the weekend, Saturday to be precise and I am home alone

except for the dogs, who occasionally need to be let out,

but beyond that, they have left me to my leisure day.

I have taken things from my closet to be given to the second hand store.

I have made fresh whole wheat dough which turned into 3 pizza crusts,

par baked, thin crust (which is necessary for my husband)

and 2 are in the freezer, waiting for a busy night when making

a full dinner is out of the question.

I will be able to pull out a crust, put on a bit of sauce, add

pre cooked Italian sausage (which I have done in the freezer also)

some roasted peppers (again in the freezer) and cheese!

voile'! all home made, just done in minutes from pre-planning!

I cleaned out a cabinet in my dining room. AAAAAnnnnd,

the reason I did this, is because I thought that my fabric medium and new stamp was hidden in there.

And it was not.

I HAD planned on paint stamping my napkins

for the Easter Dinner that we will have.

Guess that will have to happen next week.

Do you make your bed everyday? I do. I just like to climb into smooth sheets each night, and also, I think it shows my sweet husban how much I care.

He should have that "oasis" to end each day in as he works such a physically demanding job.

Again, it is my want to spoil personality.

Dinner was soooooooooooo  good last night!

We had southern fried catfish, fried outside in a huge cast iron skillet by my husband, who does not like catfish, but cooks it like no other!

We also had shrimp, baked-stuffed eggplant, Italian beans,

salad and key lime parfaits (sugar free of course).

I am currently sitting in front of a beautiful fire, in a big ole chair

with a laptop, feeling a bit accomplished, talking to you and asking you....

"Do you know where I put that stupid fabric medium at???"

Making It Special For Your Family

As I sit here, in front of a warm, wonderful fire,

 with the dishwasher softly humming in the background,

floors clean, dinner done, dishes cleared and clean,

I contemplate my day tomorrow.

Tomorrow, after a day of work (my husbands day much longer than mine)

we will have two dinner guests.

We always try to make things special for the ones that we love,

and those that we treasure in our lives.

And tomorrow will be no different.

But how, do I make things extra special,

without all the fuss and extra time?

So glad you asked!!!

It begins, with three very simple, un-hemmed strips

of material from, more than likely, a remnant bin.

Placed on our normal dinner table.

The only thing abnormal about this time is,

that it will be set for only 4 people.

The norm for me is 12 - 20 people....

and if you can ask my husband or children about this,

they will tell you, the norm of setting a special table is,

for me, VERY normal!

Next, I add an amazingly easy, yet fun centerpiece
Of which I am giving you a "sneak preview" of the outcome

of one of my "Guess What Will Come" previous blog posts!!

Next, I added simple bone white plates,

cloth napkins and simple silverware.

And next, I added water and (for us) soda glasses

One stemmed, the other not stemmed.

And  last, but not least,

Salt & Pepper shakers for each person at the table.
Now, let me say, that my Mother, for a special Christmas present,
several years ago, gave me these mini salt and pepper shakers
to use for special or any occasion, that I pull out for MOST occasions!
So I completely understand if you do not have these as an option!
AND, Individual water bottles for all those at the table.
And again, this is not the first, nor the last time that these
will be used for a dinner at our home!

For those of you who are curious,

the water bottles are re-purposed

olive oil and balsamic vinegar bottles

in which I used up the oil and vinegar

and then carefully and fully cleaned the bottles when empty

and store in my basement until needed for the

spoiling of those that I love!

And this is not the first time that they have been used!!

Tune in next week for the completion of this

"Spoil" dinner, and the complete

example of how you too

can spoil those you love.....

with VERY little effort and $ involved!!!!

Have an amazing weekend!!!!