April Prime Purchases

Bible  Verse  Cards

If you know someone going through a tough time then these might be the perfect "happie" for them.  It is 48 very attractive scripture cards.  You might even enjoy having a set for yourself. 

AMAZON 

CLEAR ACRYLIC CARD HOLDERS

The above cards fit perfectly in this acrylic  holder and make a nice addition to the cards as they do not come with a holder.  I have recently given 3 sets of the cards with these acrylic holders to different friends going through a tough time.

AMAZON

SWEAT  SHIRT  JACKET

This is a great jacket made out of sweatshirt material.  The best part to me is that it does NOT have a hood.  I am not a big fan of hooded jackets.  These come in a few other colors as well and this has served me real well with the colder mornings and warmer afternoons we've had.  I like wearing it with my black leggings and a tunic top and the top is longer than the jacket. It's a cute look.

AMAZON

NITRATE  DISPOSABLE  GLOVES

I cannot tell you how many of these I use. I've been using them for years and years.  I use them a lot when I'm cooking, especially with raw meat.  They fit like a second skin and are relatively tough. They are a wonderful hand protector.

AMAZON

HARMONICA

Do we have any harmonica lovers out there?  My Daddy use to play many moons ago and he told me he would like to see if he could relearn to play.  So, I ordered him one and told him it was his Father's Day gift.  I was thrilled to be able to get him something that he would enjoy that doesn't require eyesight to do.  He's playing it everyday and says he's getting closer to actually playing a tune.  I can't wait to hear him.  I do hope it will bring him lots of enjoyment.

AMAZON

VINYL  SHOULDER  COVERS

My closet is full of these.  I like to partially cover my nicer clothes with these shoulder dust covers. They are a nice clear vinyl and come 12 to a package.

AMAZON

POT  HOLDERS

My potholders had gotten so stained and ugly and needed replacing.  Of course, I went straight to Amazon and found these.  They are wonderful and come in several colors.  They are very nice quality and one side is a heat resistant material.  

 AMAZON

STUDDED  RIVETS  BELT

Belts to wear in belt  loops have made such a comeback in recent years.  I ordered  this in both black and gray and it is a nice looking and such a reasonable price. The embellishments really make the belt.  If you are needing a black or gray belt then you might want to order this.

AMAZON

CASUAL  OPEN  FRONT  BLAZER

This is such a cute jacket and comes in  about 15 colors.  It looks so cute with the sleeves rolled and the lining showing.  I love the open front, no buttons, just open and free.  I use mine for casual wear but they could definitely be dressed up if need be.  NOTE: they do come folded and are quite wrinkled but I have a portable steamer and it worked great in releasing the wrinkles.  It's very well made and I do love the front pockets.

AMAZON

CAPRI  LEGGINGS  WITH  ATTACHED  SKIRT

Gals, these are so cute!  But, you may feel like my daughter and DIL and just not care for this look at all.  Suit yourself! ~smile~  It's such a fun look and I will wear it when I'm pretty much hanging out at the house but would wear them for a quick trip to Wal-Mart too.  

AMAZON

FOOD  STORAGE  CONTAINERS

Can we ever have too many food storage containers!  I don't think so and I love the 3 sizes of these. They are great for the freezer as well. They are affordable and there are 22 containers and tops.

AMAZON

CORDLESS  STICK  VACCUM

I LOVE a cordless vacuum!  I own 2 Dysons here for the house but just did not want to spend that much for a vacuum for Hubby's office.  When I saw the great reviews this one received I decided that I would give this a go!  The gal that cleans the office has great things to say about it, so if you want a reasonably priced cordless vacuum, that performs well, you might want to give this one a try.

AMAZON

ADJUSTABLE  STRAP  CAMISOLES

 I wear camisoles pretty much everyday, regardless of the temperature.  These are really nice and an extra perk is the adjustable straps. They come in a package of 4.

AMAZON

And, there you have it, another month of Prime purchases. I hope you found something that you need/want.  Wishing you a MARVELOUS May!!!

An Eastery Hodgepodge

It sure does seem that we got to Easter mighty quickly. Didn't we just celebrate Christmas? I know we say it all the time, but, time really does speed right on by.  But, for now, I'll enjoy answering the questions that Joyce has prepared for us this Easter week.  

1. Do you celebrate Easter? If so what are your plans this year? Did you have egg hunts as a kid? 

Oh, yes, we do celebrate Easter! It's one of my most favorite celebrations. This year will be a bit different as we generally have our son and family here and celebrate on Sat. I hide eggs for the girls and have some Easter "happies" for them.  But, they will be at the beach this weekend with their Mom and other Grandmother.  I gave them their "happies" last weekend.  Our son will join us for lunch on Sunday.  It will be a lowkey Easter but that certainly doesn't lower the significance of the day.

I can't remember hunting eggs as a child but surely I did.  I'm sure Easter baskets were merely for holding eggs and there was nothing else in them.  Easter baskets, like everything else, have gone a bit over the top in recent years.

2. What's your favorite bread to find in a bread basket? 

Oh, my goodness!  While I do not generally eat bread, I'll sure take just about any kind. It's something I treat myself to when eating out if the restaurant brings bread as an appetizer. Give me bread and oil and I really don't even need a meal.  It's a good thing that it's not available often.

3. Your favorite chick flick?

I have a few but Steel Magnolias was the first to pop into my mind.  Such a great, great movie and filmed right here in our great state of Louisiana.

4.Tax day is rapidly approaching in the US of A...what's something you currently find 'taxing'? 

Yesterday morning I decided to bake some brownies for the Grand girls and their Momma to take to the beach with them this weekend.  I usually use a couple of my brownie pans because I love not having to cut brownies and these are neat and nice little small squares with about 24 to a pan.  But, I decided to use my mini cupcake pans instead. I baked them, cooled them and then went to remove them and they simply would NOT come out.  I was so frustrated!  I had even sprayed the pans with Pam.   It ended up being the biggest mess and to say I was "taxed" would be an understatement.  I finally got them all scrapped out and thrown in the trash.  I bake all the time and I pretty much know all the "tricks of the trade" and I'm fairly certain that I should have sprayed the pans with Baker's Secret rather than Pam.  I use Baker's Secret in my bundt pans and have NEVER had a cake stick, even in the fancy designed pans.  I'm not sure why I chose Pam but it will NOT happen again.  I'm going to try a redo today so I will let you know. ~smile~

5. Have you ever ridden in a taxi? Do you have a funny-scary-crazy-interesting taxi story to share? Do you use any of the newer taxi-like services such as Uber? 

On my first two trips to NYC a taxi was all we used to get us from place to place.  It was an unforgettable experience!  I'm not sure I've ever been so scared in my life.  I mean those drivers drive like a "bat out of he...."  I finally had had all I could take and I told one of the drivers that I would appreciate him driving carefully and he did.  They drive fast, stop fast and weave in and out of traffic all while going FAST!  

On my last trip to NYC about 3 years ago we used Uber for everything and they were amazing.  We had the app on our phones and they showed up at the right place at the right time and drove decently.  No more NYC taxis for this gal! 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Because HE lives, I can face tomorrow.

The Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's been a bit too long since I participated in the Hodgepodge so thought it was time I get back with it.  Joyce is so faithful to us, gives us the questions and we give her the answers.  A fun post for all.

1. What puts a spring in your step these days? 

The arrival of spring has put "spring" in my step.  While I do not like big time yard work, I love preparing our porches and patio for spring and summer.  Everything is already green and our rose garden is just about to burst forth.  That against the backdrop of the pond is such fun to look out and see everyday. We are so thrilled we chose this location for our new home 6 1/2 years ago.

2. April 2nd was National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day. Did you celebrate? Do you like PB and J? If so how do you like yours? What's your favorite kind of jelly? 

I had no idea there was such a day, so, no, I did not celebrate.  I LOVE peanut butter (the crunchy kind) and I like jelly, but I have NEVER eaten a PBJ sandwich and I never will.  Just does not appeal to me at all.  Weird! I know.  It's rare for me to eat jelly but if I do, I prefer plain ole grape jelly. 

3. What's a memory you associate with spring flowers?

Oh, my goodness! My earliest memory would be dandeloins. As a very small child I could hardly wait for the dandeloins to bloom so I could go pick them and then blow their little hairs everywhere.  That was back in the days when we had no TV and most of my entertainment was playing outside until dark.  Those were the days............

4. Three things on your spring bucket list? Do you have a spring bucket list? If not pretend you do. 

1. Attend and cheer on our Andi Kate when her softball season starts next week.

2.  Have some ladies over to enjoy our porch and pergola while it's still cool enough to do so.

3. Take a spin with my fella in his "toy" one or two times. ~grin~ I'm not a fan of convertibles but Hubby sure is.

5. One place you will travel this spring? (It might be Europe or it might be the grocery store)

We will be traveling to the Atlanta area the first of May to see Hubby's sisters and their husbands for a few days.  We always look forward to our time together and there's always a lot of fun retail therapy for the gals.  Oh, my goodness! So much wonderful shopping.  We're hoping for beautiful weather while we're there.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I bought a new phone yesterday, the 13 Pro Max.  I had the 10 XS and thought it was an amazing phone and could do amazing things.  It was 3 1/2 years old and had begun to have a few glitches so I decided it was time to get a new one.  Well, my goodness, this phone does everything but clean my house. ~just jokin'~  I can't help but wonder how many more things can they enable a phone to do in the future. I guess there will always be another "new and improved" version but it baffles me.  And, I'll just go ahead and admit it, I do enjoy it and the very few times that I have forgotten it, I've felt like I was missing an arm.  But, I sure did seem to make it just fine without one for many, many years. ~sigh~

March Prime Purchases

And, here it is, March prime purchases. 

CASUAL  LACE  SLEEVED  TOP

This is the cutest top and comes in a few colors. I love the sleeves! It is just perfect for this season. I got the white and the gray one.  I am constantly amazed at the choice of clothing on Amazon.  I've ordered enough that I realize the reviews are the way to go.  But, it's so easy to return that it's not that big of deal if you happen to not like the item or it isn't quality made. 

AMAZON

METALLIC  POST  IT  PAGE  MARKERS

I keep "page markers" by my chair at all times.  I might see an article, a recipe or something I want to refer back to and these are so handy to "mark the page."  These are so cute and I got 2-3 packages so that I could give a couple of them away.  They add an extra sass to page markers for sure.

AMAZON

BURLAP  WIRED  RIBBON

I make bows to use on the trees by our front door each season.  Just one large bow at the bottom to generally match the color of the pillows I have on the benches.  I was a happy gal when I found I could find the ribbon in any color on Amazon and I didn't have to go chasing it down from store to store. This is a great wired ribbon for protected outdoor use.

AMAZON

BUFFALO  PLAID  PILLOW  COVERS  AND  INSERTS

AMAZON

I love  buffalo plaid check and use these pillow covers on our porch benches for the various seasons of the year.  And, like the ribbon, they come in great colors and are a thick and weatherproof fabric. They come in a few sizes and I opted for the 24 x 24.  These are only covers so you will need to order the pillow forms below to fill them with.  And, while these pillow forms are 24 x 24, they are not as tight as I like.  So, I buy a bag of  poly fill and add some to each corner to make sure the pillows are tight. Tight pillows look SO much better. ~in my opinion~

AMAZON

OVERSIZED  MAKEUP  MIRROR

Okay ladies, if you need a HUGMONGUS mirror, then this is for you!  I love everything about it except that it is not lighted.  It's a regular mirror on one side and 3x magnified on the other.  I love that part for sure because, for me, 3x is enough magnification.  Anything more is distorted.  I don't want or need a lot of light on a mirror when applying my makeup but just not sure this one will work for my makeup application.  I do love the size though.

AMAZON

SHIRT  EXTENDERS

If you are like me, you probably have some tops that you wish were just a tad longer.  Well, no more worries, meet the shirt extender!  These are the "cat's meow."  They just slide on and extend under your top for a longer length.  They are especially great when you wear leggings and need to make sure your derriere is covered.  I got the white, gray and black. NOTE: they run very small so I suggest you size up.

AMAZON

MEAT  TENDERIZER

I love kitchen gadgets!  While at our daughter's a couple of weeks ago her husband used one of these tenderizers on some steak he was about the grill.  I was intriqued and decided I might need one of these in my kitchen.  I do make a chicken dish where the boneless kitchen breasts are tenderized before using and this will be great to have.  It comes in black, white and this lime green and, of course, why not lime green.  It will certainly be easy to find. ~grin~

AMAZON

GLASS  TEAPOT

I love this tea pot but I do not use it for what it is intended to be used for.  I keep tea in our refrigerator ALL the time.  I make it by putting tea bags in a glass container and bringing the water to a boil in the microwave.  I've always just used a 4 cup measuring cup but this is soooo much cuter and has a top to put on when I take it out of the microwave and a spout to pour it into the tea pitcher.  It is made to use with loose tea but it works great for tea bags as well.  I just removed the attached strainer.

AMAZON

HEAT  RESISTANT  FLAT/CURLING  IRON HOLDER 

I've been using the same flatiron/curling iron holder (for traveling)  for years and years and it was time for a new one.  This one is plenty big and has room for the cord as well and is very well padded and comes in several fabric prints.

AMAZON

BACON  UP

Oh, my goodness folks!!!! This right here is a game changer!  A tub of bacon grease without having to fry one piece of bacon. I love to add a tad of bacon grease to green beans, peas, etc. but I never have it so I generally just add a couple slices of bacon.  Not sure who dreamed this up but what a brilliant idea!

AMAZON

DEMOCRACY  ABSOLUTION  CROPS

Gals, these are just the cutest and most comfortable jean type crop I've nearly ever owned.  My dear daughter introduced me to this brand and they have regular jeans, crops, capris, jeggings and in every shade and cute camo prints.  I'm so picky about jeans and these fit all my criteria for a good fitting and comfortable jean.  You just might want to give them a try.

AMAZON

70th  BIRTHDAY TEE SHIRT

I know lots of folks hitting the big 70 this year, including myself.  I'm thinking that a cute tee might be a good gift for some of them.  Amazon has lots and lots but this is one that I ordered to have on hand.  I think this one would be especially cute with a crown to wear.  Might make turning 70 a little less traumatic. ~grin~

AMAZON

That's it for this month.  Hope you saw something that "spoke" to you.

Have an awesome April!!

A Random Catch-Up

It is a very rainy and dreary morning here in Northeast Louisiana.  Bad weather is predicted throughout today and our local schools even closed today.  Tornados are possible and I'm sure the "powers that be" in school administration would rather be "safe than sorry."  So far, nothing but rain has happened and it's just the perfect day to stay in and catch up on things.  I had a few pieces of ironing and knocked those out earlier, had a load of laundry and got that done.  Since I have definitely neglected my blog in recent weeks, it seemed like a good morning to do something about that as well. I truly cannot believe that I blogged 3 times a week for many years.  Goodness! I grew very weary and began to feel very pressured and a couple of years ago decided to just blog whenever the spirit led me.  Well, obviously the spirit has not led me on any kind of a regular basis, but it's been very freeing and hopefully my readers "get it."  Okay, enough rambling, on to whatever else comes to my mind.

Last week Hubby and I had an experience unlike anything we have ever experienced.  We attended the Oklahoma Youth Expo in Oklahoma City.  Exactly what is OYE?  Well, folks it is the world's largest youth livestock show in the WORLD!  Yep, you read that right.  Clancy has participated in this event for the past 3 years and we wanted to go and watch him this year.  It is always held during Oklahoma's spring break, so it pretty much consumes our daughter and her family during that week.  If I remember correctly there were 2500 sheep, goats, cows and pigs.  Folks, that is a whole bunch of animals and guess what else, it is a whole lot of "poop."  ~that's the gospel truth~

We had never seen so many animals, stock trailers, big trucks and kids.  My goodness! The kids 

(ages 9 - 17) move their animals into their assigned section of the barns and they go to work preparing the animal to show.  Most of the preparation at this point is the grooming and you can't imagine all the work that goes into getting them ready to show.  Of course, Clancy shows sheep and he had a stall in the sheep barn and we spent a whole lot of time sitting in lawn chairs outside his stall just taking it all in. 

Might I add that I did not see another woman at this event not dressed in jeans and boots.  But, that's not my particular style so I went in what I usually wear.  Bridget could NOT believe that I actually wore a white top and white rhinestone wedge slip ons one day.  I'm pretty sure she was embarrassed  but, hey, I left that day with shoes and shirt that were still clean.  Now, whenever we were walking through the barn, I never looked up.  I watched every step I took!  Yes, this Southern Belle was put to the test. 

~chuckle~

But, can I just tell you that it was worth it all to watch this hard working Grandson place with all 3 of his sheep.  This was tough competition and while he did not get any top honors, he has 5 more years to compete in this show and I'm pretty sure he will definitely take home some top honors.  This was his 4th year to compete and in the past 3 years he has been sifted (that means he did not place) but he was determinded to place this year.  And, he did!  I wanted to stand up and hollar but they don't allow such at these type of events. ~shucks~ So, I gave him a big ole hug when I saw him afterwards.  I have little doubt that his commitment and responsibility with the care and work with his sheep will carry him far in life.  

Bridget decided the best way to keep up with these two was to buy a wagon to pull them around in.  That proved to be a very good decision.  Shucks, Poppa and I were wishing she was pulling us around in a wagon as well. ~laugh~ It's a HUGE venue and there is lots and lots of walking that takes place.  And, to keep up with these two is not for the faint of heart so having them confined to a wagon worked well.

Bridget and I did find a little time for some "retail therapy" and we always enjoy that. We may laugh and talk loud more than we should when we're together. ~mother-daughter fun~

And, another "hi-lite" of the trip was seeing this dear friend. Terri and I met at my Dad's first pastorate in Alma, Arkansas some 60 years ago.  That's a long time folks! She recently moved to Denton, Texas and it worked out perfectly for us to stay in Denton  as we were headed to Oklahoma.  We enjoyed a great visit and a nice dinner.  It had been 13 years since we had seen each other so we had a whole lot to catch up on and didn't nearly skim the surface.  But, we have plans to not let so much time go by before we plan another visit.

Our little red headed diva celebrated her 7th birthday last month.  She has such sass and a laugh that's contagious.  She goes at life with all she's got! Never a dull moment with this one for sure. Such a delight to our lives.

 Look at this picture of our Hanna Beth! I mean, isn't she adorable? Folks, she will be 13 this year and I don't know if I can stand it.  She is our quiet, reserved, studious gal that we love dearly.  Their all growing up so quickly and, as any grandparent, we are more than a little proud of all 5 of them. 

I think that about covers what's ramblin' through my head this morning.  Now,on to see what else I can get into this rainy day.  A little cookie baking might be in order.