Needed........a funny picture!!

Really!!! Just needed a funny picture today, I might have used this pug once before but he seemed so apropos for today. This is the last day of February and March is about to start! Finished organizing my taxes and they are ready to be taken to the accountant on Monday.......sure do hope we see a refund this year. It would be nice....we need to buy a "new" car. When I say new, I mean a "used" car, but it will be new to us. We will run this car as long as we can, who knows maybe it will hold out for another 6 months, that would be long enough to save up some money. We'll see.

Well, it is getting late and time to go to bed. I drank my honey and cinnamon tea......so very good. I found quite a bit on the internet about the benefits of honey and cinnamon. Good for losing weight, clearing up yeast infections in the body, lowering blood sugars and blood pressure and lots of other uses. So we shall keep using it till we see results. I have already felt the results of clearing the yeast infections, relief, I say, a pleasant relief!

Have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

Does This Not Look Delicious???

I know, I know.........this was dinner a few weeks ago, (just now putting it on my blog).....mmmmm it sure was delicious. Burgundy beef fried in olive oil with mushrooms and spinach. I think that was a healthy meal. But now I have found out that mushrooms are a fungi, no calories involved but, not good to eat if a person deals with Candida and I think that might be a problem for me. Always something, I tell you. There are quite a few other things that I have to watch out about........but mushrooms (sigh) I shall miss. I guess a few are not bad, but I like 4 or 5 at a time.

Have been doing honey and cinnamon on rye toast or English muffins, or in warm water in the morning or evening. The honey acts as an antibody and cleans up the body along with the cinnamon, not exactly sure what they all do, but Jesus ate honey and butter. If He ate it, must have been healthy to do so, so I shall do it also. I shall have to look up honey and cinnamon and come back with a full report at a later date, or maybe tomorrow.

Well, think this blog shall be short. Need to work on income tax yet, only half way through and it is due at the accountant's office next Monday. My Valentine's tree is still up, guess it has to come down this week sometime. Been working on a bunch of cards to take to the Hospice group on Friday. Cleaned out my Etsy store of old cards that I will not be relisting on Etsy. So, most likely will add them to the cards I am taking to Hospice Care Group. (or whatever their name is). I have about 40 cards ready to go, good start. Also, a good way to unload some cards just sitting around.

You all take care and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh......Cheers~Louise

Can You Believe It?

I still have my Christmas tree up???  Yeppers........I like the lights and just did not want to take down my tree so I turned it into a Valentine's Day tree. I think now, I am ready to take it down any day now.....it's time I guess. I took everthing that was Christmas off the tree and made punched-out hearts with Valentine hearts at the base.....everything red. I have enjoyed my Valentine's Day tree and even thought to turn it into a St. Patrick's Day Tree...........guess that would be stretching it though.....the husband is getting tired of it though. So I may take it down on the 25th....that week maybe..............maybe..........maybe.......  :)

Here is a close up of the tree. Red bows, ornaments, garland and hearts. Sweet huh?  I wish my camera could have taken a picture showing the lights, but couldn't do that.........probably doing something wrong. 

Thought I would add a picture of the roses that JP gave me for Valentine's Day.....3 lovely roses. One already died (which is drying in the kitchen), but the other two are still doing great, even as of today they look really great.

Not much going on....it snowed last night (4-7in. in some areas). The snow mountain in our backyard is getting BIGGER and HIGHER. There is another storm coming on Monday and Tuesday.........well, maybe another month of this and then the rains will come and we will have to deal with a leaking roof....uge!!!
 So, I guess for now it's okay to deal with snow.

My next blog (or two) I will put up a few more "number cards" for children. Plus one Easter and a couple of birthday cards. I will be joining a card group that meets once a month and makes cards for Hospice patients. I have an over abundance of cards sitting in containers needing a home. A friend mentioned this group to me and asked if I would be interested in being a part of it.....I thought, yeah, why not. That would be a way of weeding through a lot of cards and donate them to people needing a bit of cheer, and maybe letting them know "God Loves You" with a stamp at the bottom of the card. The first meeting is March 1st....at 9 a.m. at Atlanta Bread Co. That is pretty early for me as I usually go to bed about 2:30 a.m. because JP gets home from work at 1 a.m. I'm usually cooking something for him to eat at 1.00. NOTE: even if I went to bed early, probably would be lying in bed....wide awake!

Well, time to close here, it's almost ready to get JP ready for work and make his lunch. He needs to leave for work at 4:00 pm and shovel the dumpsters at the buildings he works at. So you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Some day I will write a blog explaining that previous sentence and why I use it. Have a great day today and everyday, despite the chaos in this world.
Cheers ~ Louise

Adding Cards Daily to Etsy

At least I am trying to do that. The above card "number 5" could be a boy's card or girl's card. Been having lots of fun making these cards...can let my creative juices "take off into my child side" back to the days when I was a little girl coloring in my color books. On the back burner are "numbers 7,8,9 and 10" all done and just have to take pictures of them and download them into my computer. It all takes time to get this done, but, it will get done, eventually.

"Number 6" is in little girl type colors, and most likely I will have a "number 6" in boy's colors also.
 I love that little lion, coloring him in has been lots of fun. All my "number" cards are in my Etsy store selling for $3.00 + shipping. You can buy my cards direct from me if you live in the Appleton area....that would save on shipping costs. Although I spend alot of time on each card and should be selling them for $5 a piece, I have decided not to. No two cards will be alike, the only consistency will be the Numbers and balloons with a string hanging down.
Note: the balloon punch is from a Martha Stewart, one of these days I will buy that punch when I find one. In the mean time I will buy them from the Etsy seller.

Here you see my St. Patrick's Day card. The little boy is a copy of a postcard I bought from an Antique store and ran him off on my printer. The shamrocks are from an Etsy seller, she made up a bunch of them with her Martha Stewart punch. Selling them in her Etsy shop, 100 for $1.40. No doubt, one of these days, I shall have to do that also.

This is my Easter card. Must put this in my Etsy store pretty soon, cause Easter is March 31st........gosh these seasons are coming on fast. Before you know it, Christmas will be here again!!!!

Well, the above Easter card was made with an embossing folder with the names of Jesus, using a "hope" die cut right in the middle, with 4 gems embellishing the card at the 4 corners. Very simple and to the point.

Time to close this blog, have to go get JP's lunch and sandwiches made for work tonight. I need to work on my income tax stuff and get it all organized for the tax guy to do. No, I don't do it myself.....too complicated for me.

Take care and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

What In The World?????

A Meteorite just passed by Russia today and that was just the baby one (about the size of a bus). The newscaster said the parent is coming and it is much bigger.........wow!!! Over 500 people were hurt from broken glass from windows and one lady had a heart attack........so sad. God is talking.......are we listening??????

Well, the above picture are the cards I made at Betty's house this past Tuesday. Cute aren't they. I thought the frog was really cute. The owl was made with die-cuts and the inside has a post-it pad.  The three bird houses were colored in with copic markers and heart and button punches added. The black card was really very simple with leaves and flowers and gems and "you're the best" embossed. It is always fun to go to Betty's to learn new techniques.

Still working on my "Number cards" for children. Last night I finished 7 and 8. Tonight I'll be working on 9 and 10. Will be listing number 4 in my Etsy store for $3 + shipping and 5 and 6 over the week-end. When finished, I will have all 10 on Etsy........hopefully they will catch the eye of someone looking for a number card for a child.

Time to close this blog for today, have a few things to get done, as I have been sitting at this computer for a few hours and as I look around, I see a front room and dinning room that needs some TLC. I still have my Christmas tree up, but it has Valentine Hearts on it. Guess now that Valentine's is over, time to take it down??? Not unless I keep it up a few more weeks and stick shamrocks on it for St. Patrick's Day....lol!!!

So you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh!
Cheers ~ Louise

Happy Valentine's Day Pizza

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
Here is my special Valentine present to JP at 1:00am this morning when he got home from work.
 Made the crust from a package mix, shaped the dough into a heart then baked for 6 minutes at 450 degrees.

After cooling down a bit, (time was 12:30am...much too early to finish decorating and bake.)
Something different I used, instead of tomato sauce or pizza sauce,  I used Mild Enchilada Sauce.  Sliced mini-peppers, pepperoni, Italian turkey sausage, (geez, what was I thinking, forgot the mushrooms and onions.)

In this picture the pizza is all decorated and sprinkled with Mozzarella cheese and ready to bake.
Baked at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.

Well, as you can see, the pizza is cut and robbed of some yummy pieces. So now I am wondering, can a shamrock pizza be made......hummmmmmm????

 Have you noticed my pizza pan, not the most beautiful of pizza pans, but.....it has seen lots of pizzas in it's day and probably many, many more to come. I think this pan is over 40 years old.....guess some people would throw this baby out....but hey, it still works, it's a little warped, but I like it. I have a newer pan in the cabinet, but I hardly use it....I always grab for this one for cookies, roasting vegies and baked chops and chicken AND of course PIZZA!!!

Well, I took some pictures of the cards I made at Betty's house on Tuesday....they turned out really cute, that will be in my next blog along with my Children's cards 5 & 6. 
So you all have a great Valentine's Day and enjoy and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Some New Children's Cards 4U

Presenting...♫ ta da dat ta daaa ♪ my "new children's cards" that I have added to my Etsy store for $3.00 + shipping. Here you see number 1 with a little turtle which I drew "free hand" colored and cut out. Each card will be "one of a kind" and probably the only consistency in them will be the numbers and the balloons. I bought the balloons from a fellow artist on Etsy and will use them till gone. In the mean time, I will be looking for that balloon punch at the stores.

Card number 2 with little fishes.

Card number 3 with a lion.

Card number 4 with another turtle, no, this one was not drawn "free hand". I have just finished 5 & 6 last night. I make the numbers with my Cricut machine, so numbers 7, 8, 9, and 0 need to be made.

My inspiration for these cards came a couple of years ago and I am just now doing something with that inspiration. I have 2 grand-nephews and 1 grand-niece who will be turning 4 and 1,  so this will be their cards for the next couple of years and for whoever else comes up needing a card. Fun and easy to do. I now will be on the look-out for kid type stamps that can be used with my numbers. I may just use these cards for adults if I know their age...hahahaha....I can go all the way up to 100 and past that if I like, that would be fun. Do you know anyone that is going on 100....I don't.

Well, I guess this next week I will be working on my income tax.......sure do hope we get something back, could really use a refund for all we pay in!!! I don't know if it is my imagination, but food sure is getting expensive, almost feels like I am spending 50% more, like everything has doubled in price. Gas is going up too.......just don't know where it all will end.

I do have one fun thing I am doing this week, tomorrow is my "card making" day at Betty's. My morning out with the girls. Maybe I should take a picture of the cards this time around and post them on my blog, guess I have never done that as yet. I will see how they turn out. Not promising anything, cause I just may forget by tomorrow....hahaha!!!

Well, I guess it is time to close, cause I am just rambling, which doesn't make for "very interesting reading" so you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws near!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Mexican Lasagna and Pizza Bread



So today we took Kylie to the groomer. From there we went to Festival Foods for a few things, like dog food, flour and grapes. Usually on Tuesday and Thursday's Festival puts out "dented and scratched" food in a box for $10. If I get there at the right time, sometimes there is a box or two left. Today, I got a box of canned goods, noodles, soups, seasonings, cookies, juice, puddings, pickles. There was some lasagna noodles, diced tomatoes and refried beans. I thought, hummmm, wonder if I could make a "Mexican Lasagna". So I looked up on the internet www.cooks.com and found a recipe. Although I did not have all the ingredients, this is what I came up with, using what I had in "the box".
Lasagna noodles
Can of refried beans
Can of diced tomatoes
1/2 pound hamburger
1/2 chopped onion
1 bag of shredded cheese (mozzarella, Cheddar, or mexican)

Brown hamburger with onion (drain if you need to) add can of tomatoes and refried beans. Layer in a small lasagna pan, 1st layer is mixture, then cooked noodles, mixture, cheese, noodles, mixture, cheese, noodles, mixture, cheese, noodles, mixture, cheese (I think that is four layers), depending how tall your pan is, layer accordingly. I baked this at 350 for about 30-45 minutes.
It was not very spicy so if you would like to add hot sauce to a layer or two, that would be good.



Pizza Bread
Now this was really good!! Found the recipe from a book I got from the library. Called "Everything Flax" More than 100 easy ways to work flax into  your everyday diet.

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1 Tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. crushed dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/4 cups skim milk (or 1%)
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 egg
1 small tomato, sliced
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cover the sundried tomatoes with boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes, drain and dice.
Preheat the oven at 350, spray an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
In a bowl, combine rehydrated sun dried tomatoes, flour, Parmesan cheese, sugar, flaxseed, baking powder, oregano, salt and pepper.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, oil and egg and pour the liquid ingred. into the dry ingred. Stir just until the dry ingred. are moistened.
Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
Sprinkle the fresh tomato, bell pepper and mozzarella cheese over the batter.
Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until the wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, and transfer the bread to a rack to cool.
This can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

MMMM Good!!!!!!!

I know the pictures aren't that great, but it all did sure taste good. Well, you have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

February~~What's on Your Calendar??

Does You Sink Anybodis Can Sees Meeee?

So I am sitting here, watching the Baltimore Ravens and San Fransisco 49er's. I really didn't care who win's.......but now I seem to be rooting for the Ravens.....mostly because the 49er's beat the Packers!! BUT, the lights went out and now the 49er's got 2 touch downs within minutes........Boooooooo!!! Gosh those 49'ers are so cocky!!! Well, I am still hoping for the Ravens. I will let you know who wins at the end of this blog. It just may take that long for me to finish. One thing is for sure, I am sure loving these commercials.....just saw the one for RAM....Paul Harvey speaking about "God Made a Farmer" that was a good one!!!! Go Ravens!!!!!!!

So, what's on your calendar this month??? My calendar is pretty much blank at this point, but for sure I have to get my taxes done this month. Gosh I hate that job of getting everything together to itemize. Once I get going and get organized I will be okay....it's just getting started that is the hardest.

Kylie has an appointment to get her "shower and shave" on the 7th, hope it is a nice day and no snow. I think we have had enough for a while, would be fine with me if it all melted. Well, it will be 2 months since we had Hyko put to sleep, I still have not gotten over it, and Kylie still looks for her friend. She does not like to be alone. I bought Kylie a little white doggie for Christmas and she really likes it. I think she needs a white doggie for downstairs to keep her company when we are gone. Maybe I will make a trip to Thrift store this week to find her a stuffed friend to keep her company. (oh oh 49ers just scored again!).

The second Tuesday of each month I usually go to Betty's for card making, $14 to make 4 cards. 9am is pretty early for me, especially when I go to bed at 2:30am in the mornings. Once I get rolling I am fine. I like going there, cause I get lots of good ideas and the fellowship is good too. I have some cards that I am working on....birthday cards for little kids. Once I get some done and under my belt, I shall post them here and in my Etsy store. I bought some punched out balloons in multi-colors to add to my "Kid Birthday Cards", looking forward to receiving them soon. Will be sending out my Valentine cards in a few days, certainly have alot made and some new ones in my Etsy store: www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com

I guess one of the things that needs to be taken care of this month, is a Dr. appointment for me. Had my blood done on the 14th of Jan and tests came back that my blood was elevated. Dr. wanted me to come in to see him.....have not made an appointment as yet, why is that always hard to do. Not too anxious to see him, my blood pressure always goes up when I have to see him. We joke that it's the "white coat syndrome" but he usually does not wear a white coat. I think just the thought of seeing him, my body stresses!!! Hey did you know that "stressed" spelt  backwards is "desserts" maybe that is what I need to eat before I go into the Dr's office...a delicious dessert!!! Maybe not, my blood sugars would probably skyrocket!!!!

The score: Bal 34 ~ SF 31 in the 4th with 1.42 seconds to go....................Go Ravens!!!!! What an intense game....11 seconds to go....now 4sec. Looks like SF is praying really, really hard, such intense looks on the faces of the players........who's going to win?????? RAVENS WIN!!!!!!!!! NEXT YEAR'S WINNER'S IT'S THE GREEN BAY PACKERS!!!!!!! GO PACK!!!!

Time to close this blog for tonight and get it up for tomorrow. You all have a great week and a great month, hope it is not too stressed.....if so, have lots of DESSERTS to counter act the stress! So keep looking up for  your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

A Silent Saturday.........

Quack............Quack!!