Making a House a Home

Ladies, when was the last time you received a hand written letter? When was the last time you sent a hand written letter?

Why not take some time this week to sit down and write a note to a dear friend or family member. There's nothing like opening the mailbox to find a letter from a friend!!!

Most of y'all have already heard by now that October is Pastor Appreciation Month. So, when was the last time that you thanked your pastor for following the Lord and leading the sheep in your church? Write him a note of encouragment, tell him how thankful you are for him and is faithfulness to the Lord and PRAY for him!! Pastoring a church is a hard job and pastors deal with so many issues that the majority of church members don't know about. He needs your encouragment and your prayers, so please tell him how much your family appreciates him.

I found a wonderful link at Revive Our Hearts entitled "31 days of praying for your Pastor". This would be a great tool to use to lift your pastor up in prayer!! Why not start today!!

Look what I found waiting for me in my mailbox yesterday!!!



Yes, Victoria Magazine is in full swing and I am one happy lady!! Oh and their website has wonderful treasures, too! I can't wait to spend time there, too!!

So, you all know what I am going to be doing today!!

Okay, so I do not normally wear cleaning gloves... but when I saw the super cute gloves that Kim and Aggie were wearing, I knew I needed to find some!!!

While I can't find their exact gloves, I did find a website with adorable cleaning gloves! It's called ComfyBath and the gloves are called Gloveables (how cute is that?). So in case anyone is interested in purchasing something besides the standard yellow gloves that we can find at any store, we now have a choice!!

Do any of you wear cleaning gloves on a regular basis? If so, how long have you been wearing them to clean?

(And yes, those are the cleaning gloves that I want!! TOOO CUTE!!!)

I LOVE to read!! I love to curl up with a good book and get lost in the pages. Be it homemaking, historical fiction, biography, cookbooks or Christian fiction, I LOVE to read!!

One of my favorite places to purchase books from is Vision Forum. They have wholesome, Christian literature that is encouraging, challenging and uplifting. They have wonderful sales, too!! When one of their catalogs arrives in the mail, you will find me all alone, s-l-o-w-l-y pouring over the pages to figure out what newest adventure I want to go on through the pages of a book.

I just LOVE to read!!!

What about you? Where do you like to purchase your books? Do you LOVE to read, too??

This is the recipe for the Taco Soup that we had yesterday. My sister-in-law gave me this recipe and we all love it. It's easy to make and pleases everyone who eats it. This freezes well, too, so doubling it would be a great idea!!


Taco Soup

2 pounds ground beef
2 onions, diced
1 package taco seasoning*
1 (15 ounce) can Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 large (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 small (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup chicken broth
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Sour Cream

In a stock pot, brown ground beef. Drain if it is greasy. Add diced onions to the beef as well as the taco seasoning. Cook about 10 minutes over medium high heat until onions start turning translucent. Stir in beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer about 30 minutes until all the flavors are combined. When you serve it, top with cheddar cheese and sour cream.

This is also very good on top of fritos!! YUM!!

*I did not use a taco seasoning package. I always make my own. Here's the recipe I use.

Taco Seasoning Mix
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

"Depending on how spicy you and your family like your dishes, use as little or as much as you want."

I just love walking outside in the mornings and being greeted by these happy morning glories!!! The Lord is SO sweet to give us such beautiful things to look at and be reminded of Him and His creation.

Today is going to be a rather quiet day around our home. Just normal household chores to be done- Elizabeth's laundry, vacuum the house, clean the master bathroom. For lunch today (lunch is our main meal of the day), I am making my sister-in-law's Taco Soup. YUM! And I just may make Kelli's Maple Cookies. They look SO delicious!!!

I look forward to days like this that aren't so busy. I get time to read more, make a few phone calls to friends I haven't spoken with in a while, and I will take time to read some of the deeper, more meatier blogs that I don't always get around to.

So, what are you up to today? Is it a busy day in your household?

Choose the biscuit that you would like to eat.


If you cannot pick up the entire biscuit, carefully pick up a piece in your hand.


Take a bite of your biscuit.


Enjoy eating your biscuit (but please try to keep your mouth closed while you are chewing).


Eat only as much as needed. You do not need to finish the entire biscuit if you aren't that hungry. Oh, and mommy will happily clean up your dishes. :)

I am so blessed. This past Sunday, September 23, my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. 40 YEARS!!!!! Can you believe that?

In a day and age of quickie divorces, these two have stayed the course. They haven't had an easy time, either. Aside from the fact that they had three children (two of which are very strong-willed!!!), both of them have dealt with major health issues. They could have easily given up and walked away thinking, "I deserve better than this!", "I don't have to do this kind of stuff!", "I want to be able what I want to do!!!". But they haven't. They have truly modeled a godly marriage to my brother, sister and I.

Are they perfect? No. But they sure have given me an earthly example of what unselfish love looks like. I am so blessed, indeed.

I love you Dad and Mom!!!

A dear lady left a comment on one of the posts yesterday asking for recommendations for safe, non-toxic cleaning products while she is pregnant. PLEASE forgive me, but I do not remember who asked! I cannot find the comment either! Oh dear!!

I did a little research and it all led back to my favorite cleaning ingredients plus a fresh smelling ingredient- vinegar, baking soda and lemons!!!

Here are some sites that give wonderful information about cleaning with these products:

Vinegar Tips

27 Ways to Clean with Baking Soda

3 Homemade Natural Cleaning Products

Vinegar, Baking Soda and Lemon Cleaning Resources

As with anything, please check with your doctor or midwife before using any products while pregnant.

Happy cleaning!!

Oh ladies!!!! A wonderful new book will be out soon!! Jennie Chancey (Ladies Against Feminism) and Stacy McDonald ("Raising Maidens of Virtue") have collaborated on a new book entitled "Passionate Housewives: Desperate for God".

Here's a little bit about it from Mrs. McDonald's blog...

Have you struggled to reconcile God’s vision of virtuous womanhood with worldly myths that marginalize and mock the role of the homemaker? Do you wrestle with cultural messages that demean the homemaker’s calling and exalt instead the emotionally androgynous power-woman—the wife whose worth is measured only by the degree of her ambition, the shape of her body, or her money-making skills? Such is the image of the “desperate housewife” that the modern media, culture, and feminism are promoting with great energy.(You can read more here.)

I so look forward to reading this book!! The only problem is that I have to wait about a month until it comes out- oh dear!!

We LOVE lentils here in our home and I was so excited to try a recipe from a friend. She makes the BEST lentil soup!! Her secret? Ham hocks.

Now, I know that most of y'all probably don't think twice about using ham hocks in cooking. But I've never used them before and, quite frankly, I was a little scared of them. I'M NOT JOKING!!!!! They are used a lot in Southern cooking, and though I am Southern, my mom never used them in cooking. I just didn't know what to do with them.

Well, I'll tell you what!! I definitely know what to do with them now! They flavored this soup sooo beautifully! If you haven't used them before in cooking, try it! You just may LOVE the flavor!!!


Crock Pot Lentil Soup

1 bag of Lentils, rinsed and soaked overnight
1 onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
2 smoked ham hocks
5 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste


Add all ingredients to crock pot. Set on low and cook for 7 hours. Serve with fresh baked rolls.

6-8 servings

Don't you just love it when you are "walking" through blogland and you come across a post that just makes you smile?

Recently, I read a post entitled Simple Pleasures over at Hope in Laodicea. Here, the author, Ingrid Schlueter, talks about how the simple things in taking care of her family make her so very happy.

I love this quote,

"There’s something in most women that God placed there that if given the chance, really thrives on the simple work of serving our families."

The entire article is so encouraging! Be sure and take time to read it.

This morning, Mr. U and I decided to go to a local park for our morning walk. Elizabeth was MORE than happy to get out in this cool weather and enjoy her stroller. The temperature was 58 degrees when we arrived and the skies the clearest blue.



After we walked, we headed over to the children's play area. Mr. U held Elizabeth and slid her down the slide. Then he climbed to the top of the slides and gently let Elizabeth slide down to me. I grabbed her about 1/3 of the way down the slide (it was a short slide, too) because I was worried she would be scared. Silly me. She was all smiles and held her arms out to daddy to slide again!!! We'll be heading back to the park soon so she can slide more.


As we were leaving the park, I spied the first "official" sign of autumn- the leaves!!! Finally I found some leaves around here that have changed to their glorious fall colors!! Yippee!!! Now... I just need a hot mug of apple cider and I'll be set for today!!!

The weather this morning is a sure sign that fall is on it's way. HOORAY!!!

I walk two days a week with a dear friend at a nearby school. We were both quite surprised this morning when arrived at the walking track to find how chilly it was!! Shivering, we walked and talked and were both VERY excited to have left those 100 plus temperatures and have this lovely cool weather to welcome us outside.

The windows in my home are wide open right now and I can smell that nice "outside" smell drifting in on the breeze. Today is a busy day with homekeeping duties, meeting good friends for lunch and running errands, but I am SO happy to be doing these on a much cooler day!!

What are your plans today?

How is the weather where you are? Can you tell that fall is on the way?

Just to let you know, our family is usually a little behind times when it comes to TV shows. So I won't be the least bit surprised when y'all tell me that you've been watching this show for years!! What show? "How Clean is Your House?" on BBC America.

Last night was the first time I had seen the show. These two ladies, Kim and Aggie, went into a DISGUSTING house to help the lady get it cleaned and taught her how to keep it clean. I was shocked that the house was soooo dirty!! However, I loved learning the cleaning tips they gave (like using lemonade to remove hard stains in the toilet!!!). They really gave the house a good scrubbing and the lady was SO happy with the end result.

Another interesting thing I learned about was about...well...I hate to share such icky things... but... dust mite fecal. UGH!!! Kim and Aggie kept referring to all the germs that dust mites carry and how they leave their fecal (albeit microscopic) all over the house!!!! MY STARS!! I could barely go to sleep last night!! All I could think of was the dust mites on my pillow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have no idea how this dear lady's home got to be the horrible condition that it was, but, ladies, make sure that you are taking care of your home so that it never gets to that point! Please!!!!

Just in case you've ever wondered, when a recipe for roasting chicken breasts says to "rinse and pat dry" each breast, please do so.

The recipe was simple.

"Rinse and pat dry" chicken breasts. Place them in a roasting pan and drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive oil over them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven 45-55 minutes until juices from chicken run clear.

I learned a hard and smelly lesson this morning. I thought "Why should I pat the chicken dry? It's going in the oven. The heat from the oven will make the water evaporate." WRONG!! Why? Because when you roast chicken in the oven, you always use some olive oil, too. The mixture of oil and water in the oven caused a whole lot of smoke!!!! There wasn't enough smoke to make the smoke alarms go off (thank the Lord!!!), but the oven is VERY dirty from the chicken popping all over the place!!!!

So, the chicken breasts are finally done. They don't smell nor do they look funny. All that's left for me to do is to do is to let the chicken cool down and shred it.

Oh, and clean the oven. Can't forget to do THAT today!!

Lesson learned.

Hi y'all! Yes, I am alive and well. I just needed a little time off from blogging. I do apologize for not sharing that beforehand. Very rude of me indeed. Please forgive me.

I'm going through a blogging slump. Last week I found myself thinking "I should blog!!" but then couldn't, for the life of me, come up with anything to blog about. I think I just needed a mindless week to do my day to day jobs, put Melissa & Doug puzzles together for the millionth time, play with the Tupperware Shape-O ball yet again and just watch Elizabeth have a joyful time eating spaghetti and meatballs while feeding HERSELF!!!!

So, here I am, back and semi-refreshed and ready to visit y'all's blogs!! I'm still in a fog about what to blog about, but I'm sure if the Lord wants me to share something, then He will make it clear.

Have a blessed day and be SURE and spend time with the Lord today!! What an honor it is to be able to open His Word, sit at His Feet and truly KNOW the Creator of the World!!!!

What does this picture of Elizabeth have to do with this post? Nothing. I just think she's adorably cute and wanted to share!! :)

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Do y'all ever procrastinate about anything? My son and I have referred to ourselves as the king and queen of procrastination. HAHA!!

Yesterday I did two things in our home that I have put off and put off. First I needed to clean above the door frames. You know that little section above that door frame that sticks out from the door? I have noticed dust up there and it's been driving me NUTS looking at it. But, of course, I noticed it LAST WEEK and just yesterday finally cleaned it off. LOL!! And you know what? I cleaned that part of every door in our home and it took only about 20 minutes to do it!! Just two quick wipes was all it took above each door frame and ta-da they are clean!!!

The other job that I've been putting off is washing our windows. In the past, I have said that mopping is my most dreaded part of cleaning. Nope. I've discovered that I washing windows is worse!!! That would definitely explain why I haven't cleaned our windows since JANUARY this year!!! Oh my!!! And before that it had been TWO YEARS since they were last clean!!!!!! Yes, it's true!!!! So, I have decided to mend my ways and put myself on a monthly window cleaning schedule!!! When they are cleaned more often, it's MUCH easier to clean them!

Anyway... I started cleaning the windows and I cleaned all of them in our house in about 45 minutes!!! That was MUCH faster than I had anticipated! I was very happy to be done with cleaning them AND that it was much faster that I had expected!!!

So... what dreaded task have YOU been putting off? Tackle it today!!! I bet it'll take a whole lot less time and energy than you think!

I am FAR from in shape. In fact, I need to lose a good bit of weight. I've been trying to exercise several days of week. Do I like exercising? No. Do I like that it is good for my body? Oh yes! And I want to be healthy so that I can care for my family until I am 100 years old or more!!

I really enjoyed reading Elizabeth's post entitled "The Physical Demands of Homemaking: Specificity of Training" over at A Merry Rose. After I read the article, I was motivated to get up and exercise! I want to be better at my tasks as a homemaker and exercising is a way to accomplish just that.

Do you exercise? Why? Do you feel that it helps you as your role as a homemaker?

Y'ALL!! Giveaway alert! And it's for a super cute bag!! Head on over to Musings of a Housewife and enter! Oooooh!!! Cute bag for fall! I would LOVE to win this!

Now, this isn't a fairy tale, ladies. I'm talking real life here. "The king" is your husband. "Where he lays his head" is, obviously, your bed. What about where he lays his head??

After reading Mommy Bee's post over a month ago entitled A Heavenly Bed, I've been on a mission to make the place where Mr. U, the king of our home, lays his head more comfortable. Mr. U works so very hard. When he is resting at night, I want him to sleep well.

Mommy Bee's post has been swirling around in my head for a while now. The first step I took was to purchase a fluffy mattress pad!!! I was looking online at different mattress pads and knew I could never afford the super nice one I was eyeing. I did, however, find a very fluffy and comfortable mattress pad at Target!!! I put it on our bed last Tuesday night and Mr. U said the bed is very soft! He didn't realize how hard the bed felt before we put this new mattress pad on.

This is only my first step in making our bedroom more comfortable for Mr. U. I love him so much. He is such a good, kind, loving, godly and SUPER SMART man!! I want to take extra special care of him!! After all, he is the king of our home!! :)

Okay, well, my family isn't going on a picnic and neither am I, for that matter. I am hostessing the ladies fellowship at our church in September and I have chosen the theme of "Picnics". That sounded fine and dandy at first. It actually sounded kind of FUN even. But now... I'm lost. What kind of decorating do you do for a picnic when the picnic is going to be indoors with ladies of all ages? We can't very well sit on the floor, nor can we have any three-legged races. (HAHA!! Now that would be fun!!!)

If y'all have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to share them. I did think of red-checked table cloths and purchased them already. But how else can I decorate (with a small budget, please) to make it nice for all the ladies??

I do have the guest speaker all lined up for the night. Shhh. Don't tell any of the ladies, but our beloved pastor is going to be the speaker!!! He's the most talented, most godly, most HANDSOME pastor I've ever met!! (Please see my profile in the "About Me" section on the right.)

I look forward to any help/advice y'all can give!! :)

Thank you in advance!!!

Photo found here.

Many of us Southerners LOVE iced tea. For fun, I would love to know...

-which brand of tea does your family prefer to drink?

-how much sugar do you add to a gallon of tea?


This should be fun and interesting!! :)

Oh, I suppose I should answer, too! We currently use Luzianne (decaf) and I prefer 1 1/2 cups of sugar, but Mr. U prefers only 2/3 of a cup of sugar in his gallon of tea!! LOL!!

While I am VERY well aware that temperatures are soaring in most parts of the US right now (it's been in the 100s everyday for about 3 weeks here), when I discovered this recipe for Mexican Chicken Soup, I just HAD to make it.

Ina Garten, also known as the Barefoot Contessa, made these two recipes on her show recently. Her original recipes can be found here and here on Food Network. Typical me, I had to change the recipe around a bit because, well, simply because I can!! LOL!!


Here's my version...


Mexican Chicken Soup

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)
1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 quarts chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional
12(6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas*
For serving: sliced avocado, sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, fresh chopped cilantro and tortilla chips

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 teaspoon salt , 1 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tortillas in 1/2, then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, extra fresh cilantro and broken tortilla chips.

*the corn tortillas dissolve in the soup and is a thickener for the soup.


Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melteds, plus extra to grease the pan
8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided
1/2 white onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix! Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the onion and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 12 large pieces

Mmmmmmmm... smoothies!!! I LOVE smoothies!!

A friend gave me a bunch of fresh fruit this past Sunday. She had taken it to church for a monthly fellowship and she had a lot left over, so she asked me if our family would like it. Like it? We LOVE fresh fruit! And it was already peeled and chopped, too!! Some of it will be used right away and some of it I can put in the freezer for later.

For our smoothies this morning, I threw some canteloupe, honeydew, pineapple and grapes into the blender and blended them up. Next I put in about a 1/4 of a cup of plain yogurt. While that was blending, I drizzled in some honey (taste it to see if it is the sweetness you like). You can also add some ice cubes to make it colder. Yum!

I used fresh fruit, but this can also be used with frozen as well for an extra cold and refreshing smoothie. I shared another smoothie recipe last summer. You can read about that here.

What did YOU have for breakfast this morning?

No, that is NOT a picture of my microwave!! LOL!! And hopefully yours doesn't look like that one either!!! (Click on the picture for a better view!!)

All microwaves need to be cleaned. Paula over at Of Children and Home has a wonderful and VERY EASY way to clean your microwave!! So... let's all head on over and learn so that we can clean our microwaves TONIGHT!!!

Today was one of those days that I have actually accomplished EVERYTHING on my "to do" list!! I love when that happens!! The only thing left is for me to sit down after church tonight and crochet for a bit. How delightfully restful before bed.

I woke up this morning and immediately started on today's jobs around the house. I washed our sheets and towels as well as our son's sheets and towels. I made a loaf of whole wheat bread. I mopped the kitchen and eating area and then scrubbed the shower walls in the master bathroom. The beds are all made with fresh, clean sheets and ready for sleepy family members tonight. The kitchen floor is gleaming. And the house smells of freshly baked bread. Ahhhh... it sure makes you feel good to get things accomplished, doesn't it?


For lunch today, Mr. U took Elizabeth and I to McDonald's!! I LOOOOOOOOVVVE McDonald's!! Yes, I know most adults will not admit to liking it, much less loving it, but I do. My granddaddy used to take me when I was small. He would buy me two cheeseburgers (after I begged and begged) and he would tell me not to tell my mom- which, of course, I always did anyway. LOL!! I guess my love of McDonald's started with him. What fun memories.

Does Elizabeth eat McDonald's food? Oh no!! I take along some healthy food for her- steamed broccoli and sweet potatoes!! If only *I* ate that healthy!!

Mmmmm... Carrot Cake!!! I really love Carrot Cake. Not only does it taste super yummy, but it just sounds so healthy since it's got plenty of carrots!! Ha ha!!

Our church had Homecoming this past weekend. I took my Mom's Chicken Pot Pie, iced tea ("Southern" sweet, of course) and Carrot Cake, per Mr. U's request.

I had never made Carrot Cake before and Mr. U really likes it, so I decided to try it. I have this "thing" about me... I'm kind of weird... I have a hard time following any recipe. So, true to form, I didn't follow any one recipe for this cake. I combined several recipes for the cake and the icing. Surprisingly, it came out DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!! Mr. U was pleasantly pleased, which means S-U-C-C-E-S-S in my book!

Here's the recipe in case y'all want to give it a try. And if y'all have any changes that you make, please share them!! :)

Carrot Cake

1 1/2 cups oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups grated fresh carrots*
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Grease two round cake pans. Mix together oil, sugar, eggs, carrots, pineapple, flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt until well blended. Stir in pecans. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 35-45 minutes or until golden brown (cake should spring back when you touch it with your finger). Cool in pans before turning onto cooling racks.

*Do NOT use carrots from the grocery store that have already been shredded. They are too stiff. Buy whole carrots and grate them by hand for a more moist cake.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 stick salted butter
2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecans

Make sure that butter and cream cheese are soft and at room temperature. Blend all ingredients together very well and spread on your cake layers. Yum!

The ever kind Mrs. B has chosen me as one of her "Nice Matters Award" winners!! I am SOOO honored!! Little ole me!!!

This is what I found out about the award...

"This award will be given to those that are just nice people , good blog friends and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others that are there to lend support or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!"

Thank you Mrs. B!!!

Now... for my winners of "Nice Matters Award"...

-Melissa at Desiring to be a Godly Woman. She's nice in the blog world, yes, but I happen to be blessed to know her in real life!! She's even MORE nice in person!! My dear sister-in-Christ!!!

-Mrs. Pear!! She's a super sweet lady! She is so kind in her emails and in her blog posts. I appreciate all that she shares and she always shares it so graciously.

-Mrs. C at Riverbend Ramblings. Always upbeat and cheerful, Mrs. C DEFINITELY deserves this award!! I always know that I will have a smile on my face and encouragement in the Lord in my heart when I visit her blog.

-Wendi at My Heart is Always Home. Goodness, I feel like Wendi and I are practically twins!!! We both love homemaking and both have recently added a Chinese daughter to our families. What a blessing!! I can see her smiling when I read her posts- now THAT'S not something I run across every day in blogland!!

Please go visit these VERY "nice" ladies blogs!! You will be blessed, too!

I know there are several of y'all that have Etsy shops. Do you like using Etsy? What are the good/bad points about it? Have you actually sold anything?

I'm kust asking for future reference. I don't have anything to sell, yet, but I have a few ideas rolling around in my head. :)

Mr. U and I LOVE to watch The Andy Griffith Show. We have watched reruns after reruns after reruns and we've never tired of it yet.

We just finished an episode and I noticed a few things about his Aunt Bee. She and her friend, Clara Edwards, were at the market purchasing some meat. Clara shared with Aunt Bee about a huge sale on beef, but in order to save, you had to buy the entire side of beef. Aunt Bee bought the side of beef, you know, "to save money", and put it in her deep freezer. The freezer? Well, it was old and ended up being broken and she was left with a big freezer full of stinky beef.

What about THAT taught me a lesson? Well, it wasn't actually the story that I learned from, but when Aunt Bee and Clara were at the market, they both had on lovely dresses, pearls, both had a dainty purse hanging on their arm, their hair in a beautiful updo, and gloves on their hands- at the grocery story!!! They left their homes looking lovely, looking feminine. If Aunt Bee went to that much trouble to look lady-like, I would think I could spend a few minutes tidying myself up to go to the grocery store, too.

Is it necessary that I wear pearls and heels or even gloves? Oh no, not unless I truly want to dress that way. But I think making sure my clothes are clean and pressed is a good place to start. How about my hair? Is it brushed nicely? Is my face clean? Do I need to apply a bit of makeup? What do I smell like? Have I brushed my teeth today? These are just a few things that I could do to make myself more feminine, more lovely. It truly does shock me that there are some ladies who do not even do the most basic of cleaning when leaving their home!!!

What do you wear when you go the grocery store or just running errands? Do you show up in baggy shorts? Or at you dressed up with pearls and gloves? Or are you somewhere in between?

Thank you, Aunt Bee, for setting a lovely example for me of loveliness!!

Have any of y'all ever listened to Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss? Elizabeth and I listen to her almost every day for our "teaching time". I am blessed to be able to hear Miss DeMoss share about the Lord.

On her website, she has lots of wonderful downloads you can print out for free. Things like "30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenge", "The Style Quiz", "How to Endure Suffering", and "Evidences of Pride" and many, MANY more!!! All there for you to download and read!!

Nancy Leigh DeMoss has helped me grow in my relationship in the Lord. I appreciate her insight and her always pointing me to the Word of God.

Oh y'all!! I am SOOO excited!! I'm a little late in noticing, but Mrs. Pear is writing a book!!! How exciting!! And guess what?? She needs YOUR help!! So please head on over to her site and help her out with her research for her book.

And guess what else?? She's having a giveaway!! For everyone that helps her, they'll be entered into a drawing for some wonderful prizes. So... don't just sit there, head on over to Mrs. Pear's place!!!

Oh boy!! This is a HIT with me!! Yummy blueberries in a delicous cake with just a hint of lemon in the glaze!!! YUMMMM!!!!

I'm not sure where I found this recipe, but I've made it several times and I always love it!!

Blueberry Yogurt Cake
2 1/2 cups blueberries
1 T plus 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
1 stick butter (at room temperature)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 t vanilla
4 large egg whites
6 ounces plain lowfat yogurt

Glaze
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 T lemon juice
1 T water

In one bowl, toss berries with 1 T of flour.

In second bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt.

In third bowl, beat softened butter until smooth. Beat in sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add egg whites and beat until smooth. Beat in flour alternating with yogurt. Gently fold in berries. Pour into greased bundt pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes. Be sure and test "doneness" of cake by inserting a toothpick into the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is ready!! Let cake stand 10 minutes before turning out.

Once cake is completely cool, stir together ingredients for glaze. Add water as needed for glaze to be drizzling consistency.

Enjoy!!!

I received this email about two weeks ago...

Dear Mrs. U,
I enjoyed today's blog posting on creating a "SenseSational" home. Would you ever consider creating a blog entry on the single woman and her home? Some encouragement as to why she should bother doing ANYTHING to/or in her home? What you (and your readers) wish you had done or known before marriage and family, etc. etc. etc. It's so easy to see the point in creating a beautiful, restful "sanctuary" for a husband and children, but when it's just you..........why bother? It's easy to think your time would be best used elsewhere. I bet you could offer ALOT of encouragement, tips, and advice to many women.

:)
anonymous - HA!

Just so that y'all know, I know who this "anonymous" person is...


Please allow me to introduce my sister, Miss F.,pictured here with Elizabeth. (I was going to share more lovely pictures of her, but I'm pretty sure she would kill me! LOL!!).

Okay, ladies, so what advice can you offer to her as well as to all single ladies? It's easy to see why single ladies with children should care for their home because they want to teach their children. But what about single ladies, living on their own with no children? Why should they even bother to "make their house a home"?

To be honest with you, I have never even thought of this before. That's why I'm coming to all of y'all. Please be sure and share ideas to encourage Miss F. in her homekeeping endeavors.

Oh, and by the way, if any of y'all know a SUPER GODLY single man, let me know!! Mr. U and I will be more than happy to check him out before allowing him to speak with Miss F!!! (Oooh... my blogging days are over... she's going to kill me for sure now!!!!)

I sure do love my sister.:)

I have had the hardest time with my broom ever since we got our new floor put in. The old floor was lighter in color than this one and I guess I couldn't see the dirt as easily. Now I see every tiny little speck that's on the floor. Could be the new floor color, sure, but I suspect it could also be the fact that Elizabeth is always picking up the tiniest little pieces of dirt to give to me that causes me to notice!! (Hey, at least she's finally past the stage of putting it all in her mouth!! Now she just hands me all the dirt! LOL!!!!)

So, what's a girl to do? The good ol' broom was NO HELP at all!! It seemed to just scatter the dirt rather than helping direct it into a pile to be disposed of!!! No fun!!!

After much looking around, I discovered this...


It's called the Vileda (or O-Cedar) Hardwood Pro™ Microfiber Dust Mop and it's wonderful!! Here's the details from their website:

-Ideal for hardwood floors and other flooring surfaces

-Soft microfiber attracts and holds dust, dirt, and hair

-Rotating head and adjustable handle for hard to reach areas

-Machine washable mop head

It's the BEST!! It cuts my sweeping time in half, too! Can't beat that! And I just throw in the mop head in the wash each week but I do NOT use fabric softener otherwise it will repel the dirt instead of attracting it. Can you believe that I actually LIKE sweeping now? WOW!!

Oh and I'm not the only one around here that likes to use this thing... :)


The handle on this is adjustable, so I can use it at the regular length or I can shorten it for little Miss Elizabeth to use. She LOVES it!!!!

Well, we're home!! We got home Friday night and I had mountains of laundry to do. I KNOW all of y'all understand that!!

We actually weren't on "vacation". We were at a week long conference that we go to every summer in Birmingham, AL. It's on the campus of Samford University and it's hosted by Beeson Divinity School. It's called Pastor's School and they have classes and wonderful speakers for the whole family. We look forward to going each year and seeing the same sweet friends over and over. It's a blessing for sure!! And this year we got to introduce everyone to Elizabeth. They were so happy to finally meet her- they had prayed for her for two years!! :)

While we are there, we stay in the dorms on campus. It's a lot of fun and reminds me of my days in college. Oh, and we get to eat in the campus dining hall and BOY DO THEY HAVE SOME AWESOME FOOD!!!! When I was in college, everyone avoided the dining hall because it was pretty much tasteless- but not at Samford!!!! They have incredible food and I REALLY over ate all week long! And the desserts!!! Oh dear, don't get me started!!! I gained 5 pounds just last week!!!!

And before I forget, if anyone reading this lives in Birmingham, do you KNOW how blessed you are to be near O'Henry's Coffee??? I fell in LOVE with this place!!!