Friday Photo Flashbacks - 1998

Alicia, from More Than Words, hosts the Frida Flashback meme, so we can share our photos from WAY back, before the digital age. :) What a fun idea!

This photo is from the summer of 1998 and is a photo of my sweet hubby,...before he was my sweet hubby. We were dating and went on a camping trip with his brother to the Florida Key's.

Have a beautiful day!

Product Review - Apple Peeler, Corer, Slicer...

This is one of my absolute favorite kitchen items. I have had my Pampered Chef, Apple-Peeler-Corer-Slicer for almost 10 years, and it still works great and has never let me down. It makes peeling and slicing apples for pie and apple butter, soooooo easy and quick. You can also slice and core apples without peeling them if you wish, by simply latching the peeler back.

Here is a video I found on Youtube, that shows how easy it is to use this item. I have seen other types in stores and magazines, but I think the Pampered Chef model is strong, sturdy and has definitely passed the test of time...



Use this tool to make My_Mom's_Texas Apple Pie.

Blessings,

Friday Flashback - Father's Day Tribute

Since Father's Day is right around the corner, I decided to dedicate my Friday Flashback photos to my Dad.

My Dad with his Dad...Laredo, TX...probably early 1939...

High School Graduation...Laredo, TX...

U.S. Marine Corp. (served 3 years)...

U.S. Air Force (served 22 years)...

Dad with me (the baby of 6)...1968...

Dad and all his kiddos...1971 or 72...

Dad and me at a park in Oxford, England...my Mom loved photography and had her own darkroom in the garage closet...she took and developed this photo herself...

Dad and me at our apartment in El Paso, TX...probably Christmas of 1981...

September 4th, 1999 - (yup, still not digital)...

Ok, this is where I cheat a bit...these three photos are of the "digital age"...but I couldn't leave you hangin' on how my Dad looks now! :)

Dad and all his kiddos - Father's Day 2007...

Dad is a die-hard biker man (and retired school teacher)... :)
Dad - 2009

For more Friday Flashbacks from the "non-digital" age, visit Alicia at More_Than_Words.

Have a beautiful day and go shoot some pictures!

Friday Funnies - Sleep Walk

DISCLAIMER: Ok, here's my disclaimer... I really like dogs, and I wouldn't ever want to see a dog hurt themselves, I'm pretty sure this dog fully recovers from her bad dream!

I mean, my dog runs in her sleep, but this takes the cake...

For more laughter and giggles, visit Kim's Friday Funnies The_Real_Me.

Have a blessed and laughter filled day!

Mimi's Cafe Review - Lunch with Kim...

Lunch at Mimi's Cafe - we'll go there again!

Tuesday my best friend Kim asked me to accompany her on the difficult task of "clothes shopping" (you absolutely MUST see_her_blog on that) - anyone with a best friend KNOWS that shopping includes lunch! ;)

We decided to try Mimi's Cafe - we've never eaten there before. The place was decorated so cute, very colorful and jazzy. The service was excellent, and our server was so sweet, she even offered to take our photo! :)



The little buzzer that tells you your table is ready was kinda scary though, when it went off it really startled us - it talked to us and that was a bit strange! :)


Because of our weakness for Quiche, we both ordered the Broccoli Cheese Quiche. It comes with a muffin and a side salad. Ok, sounds fine. Well, for the price, they certainly do feed you well!!!

The muffin was huge, and we got to choose from about 4 different varieties...we split the Carrot Cake muffin and the Coffee Cake - they were totally yummy and more like a dessert!
The quiche was big, about 5 inches in diameter - and tasty with a flaky crust. It also came with a little side salad of spring greens, PLUS a slice of honeydew, cantelope, watermelon AND orange. We definitely could have split one meal and been satisfied, but instead we did our best to clean our plates.

Yummo Quiche!

After the stress of shopping we NEEDED coffee!!!!!!!! Yes, shopping_is_stressful, just about everything we found was super weird and when we found one pretty skirt it was way tooo much...

I don't think so!

Kim had a Starbucks gift card, so we headed there for a Tall Iced Mocha (with whipped cream of course). Of course, anyone knows that shopping with your best friend MUST include lunch and of course afternoon COFFEE! :) - oh, didn't I say I was giving that up?...I guess I'll give it up another day. :)

Blessings and have a beautiful fun filled day!

What I learned this week...

I'm sure that the things I learned this week will seem like vanity, as if all I ever think about is my ever changing, daily aging body...well, I'm over 40 now and it does seem to weigh on my mind a bit, LOL...so this week will be dedicated to things I learned about my body... LOL...

This week I learned...

1. That I MIGHT not be eating enough calories per day to lose the weight I want to lose! Woo-Hooooo! Ok, I ALSO learned that I can't eat more chocolate to reach that caloric goal. I'm not a real big eater, but I've been having a hard time losing lately and even think I'm gaining weight - yikes!!!! I read in Prevention Magazine (the "over 40's mag of choice" LOL) that if we take in less than 1,200 calories a day, our metabolism will slow down to conserve energy so we don't starve (apparantly my body has not had a good look at itself lately - no starvation happenin' here). So the good news is, I can eat more! :)

2. I also, unfortunately, learned that there are 20 calories in one tsp. of raw sugar. I usually drink 2 cups of coffee each morning and (embarrassed to admit) 2 again in the afternoon around 3pm. I add 2 1/2 tsp. of raw sugar to each cup of coffee (UGH! I'm revealing all my bad habits here!)...that means that in coffee alone, I am wasting 200 calories in sugar (not to mention the whole milk / 1/2 n' 1/2 mixture I pour in there)! I found out that over 200 calories counts as a meal...that means I am almost making a meal out of sugar!!!!! Sooooo, I'm gonna have to give up something here...not sure exactly how to work that out, but somethin's gonna have to change!

3. I found out that if you set a timer to remind you of an e-bay auction and then leave the house for several hours, you will not win the auction...duh! ( I just glanced over at my timer and it was counting up from going off over 30 hours ago).

4. Weeds don't pick themselves... Ok, I knew this already, but it is constantly evident to me, LOL.

5. I learned that planning to go to lunch and clothes shopping with your best friend (she NEEDS me) is soooooo much better than taking your dog to the Vet when she REALLY doesn't need to go that bad... :)

Have a beautiful and blessed day!

"Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies." Proverbs 31:10

To find out what other's learned all week or to link up and write your own, visit Musings_Of_A_Housewife.

Monstrous Mosquito!

Hubby had some rifle training to attend out at the Kennedy Space Center last week. He came home the first day telling me that the mosquitos out there were big enough to carry away a small child.

Now, we live in Florida, and mosquitos are a way of life for us, big, small, fast, slow, they are common and plentiful and come in all shapes and sizes. However, I was intrigued by his high tales of these huge monsters and when he offered to bring home a "sample" I just knew I had to share it with all of you! :)

I sent him to training armed with a quart size canning jar, he poked holes in the lid to ensure our captive arrived home safely. Here is our "guest" sharing space with a quarter to show his size. Now, remember, this guy has an empty belly, just imagine his size after munching on your blood for a few seconds - Yikes!

Have a beautiful and mosquito free day!

Friday Flashbacks - first day of school

I love photos, they document life in such a neat and fun way, so when I saw that Alicia at More_Than_Words hosts a "Friday Flashbacks" for photos taken before the digital days, I wanted to join in the fun!

This is me on my very first day of school. I started school while we lived in Helmdon, England, there was no kindergarten there, so I started 1st grade when I was 5 years old. The blue bag I'm holding is my "shoe bag" for tennis shoes for "Field Activities" (or PE). I loved to wear dresses, and wore them most days. The brown bag on the front porch held our milk bottles - we actually had a milk man that delivered milk in quart size glass bottles.I lived in this big, 3 story, 500 year old cottage with my parents, 2 older brothers and 3 older sisters. That's our 1965 blue Dodge Van - groovy!

My walk to school included passing a chicken farm, the friendly horse across the street and crossing a stone bridge that went over a little creek that ran through our village. This is my school house. The bldg. on the far left was my 1st grade classroom. The center building was my second grade classroom. The blue door inbetween the 2 led to the "cloak room" where we hung our coats on hooks on the wall and removed our "wellies" (rubber boots that we wore over our shoes on rainy days). At snacktime, the milkman would deliver crates of glass pint size bottles of milk with foil tops. Liver and onions was served on a regular basis meal and I would get in trouble often for not finishing my food (a requirement before you could leave the lunchroom). I cherished the days that I would see my Mom walk across that bridge to take me home for lunch for a good ole' PBnJ sandwich!!!!

Have a beautiful and blessed day!

Friday Funnies - a picture is worth a thousand words...

All I can say is...

...you haven't been to a women's retreat until you've been with Kim and Kathy, LOL...

Have a beautiful and blessed day!

Fun Food Presentation...

I love food, I really enjoy cooking it, creating recipes, serving food and eating good food!

One of the things I really like about serving food is making it fun and pretty. Somehow food tastes better when it's presentation in a beautiful way. It makes me feel like holding my coffee cup with my pinky in the air and taking my time to enjoy every bite.

Here's one way to make a simple dessert look elegant with very little effort.

Food you need:

Angel Food Cake (the rectangle one is easiest to use for this).

Strawberries (sliced) - you can use frozen sliced ones, just thaw them first

Any type of 100% fruit juice

Sugar

Whipping cream (the kind you whip yourself)

Cocoa Powder

Pretty garnish (mint leaves, a pansy, rose, etc...)

Tools you need:

Serrated Knife

Sifter (or fine seive)

Small (1/2 cup) tupperware type container with lid

In a medium bowl, mix sliced strawberries with a drizzle of juice, and sprinkle with sugar. Toss, continue to toss every now and then while you are preparing the plates (this is a good job for a child).

Put about 1/4 -1/3 cup whipping cream in a small lidded container, sprinkle with sugar, close tightly. Shake vigorously until cream is slightly thickened, so it will drizzle but hold it's shape (this is a good job for a child).

Using a sifter, sprinkle a light coating of cocoa powder on your dessert plate (white plates look best).

Cut a long 1/2 inch thick slice from your Angel Food cake, then cut that every 1/2 inch.

Arrange 7 slices in a circular pattern on your plate.

Top carefully with strawberries, trying to keep them centered.

Using a spoon, drizzle cream in a circular fashion.

If you have them, add two mint leaves, or a flower that hasn't been chemically treated. It adds a nice finishing touch.

Voila! Now, you tell me, which one looks tasier?

Blessings and have a beautiful day!