Computer Problems

Hi there everyone. Hope you are all having a wonderful September. Summer went by way too fast. Well, this post will be VERY short. It seems I am having a problem with my computer. I wanted to give you a few pictures and a short paragraph or two. BUT, for some reason Blogger keeps on telling me "Blogger is not responding" and won't bring up my file of pictures. So, no card pictures this time around. So boring.

Facebook is doing the same thing to me..."Facebook is not responding" and it takes a couple of minutes for Facebook to start working before I get all my newsfeeds. 

Just not sure what is wrong....wonder if somehow I got a virus, but then I thought Norton was taking care of things for me. I may have to take this computer back to the store and get it cleaned. ONLY, if I can get it done for free. Maybe there are a few programs that are bogging down this old computer. Tomorrow I will pull the plug and see if the computer resets it's self. Getting very frustrating how this computer is working soooooo slooooooow and not responding properly!!!

So if you do not see me for awhile....let it be known, I am having problems with this computer. I will try to comment on your blogs if Blogger allows me to. You all have a good Fall and keep looking up ~ hopefully better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Yep...I have been missing again!

Hi there everyone.....yep...as my title says, I have been missing again. Mostly because, for the past week my computer and TV has been acting up. OH I have tried EVERYTHING, pulling plugs, cleaning files and cookies, optimized, checking this plug and that plug. FINALLY I analyzed that it had to be AT&T and something in their system. MY COMPUTER WAS CLEAN!!!!! The TV is old but it kept freezing up and then would give me a message of what I had to do. So finally I called AT&T....a call I dread. BUT they fixed the problem and everything is working again. FOR NOW. I tell ya...the trouble one must go through to get things to work again!!!!

Well, on to nicer things. tomatoes growing....oh yum I can hardly wait for those BLT's!!!!!

This is a meal I made for JP last week.....I was getting silly and this looked so much like the jolly green giant....had to embellish him with some eyes and mouth.

For our 43rd wedding anniversary.......I bought a dozen red roses for $2.98......yep that is right, not a bad price huh????

This is the wonderful chocolate cream pie I bought from Schwans....swoonnnnnnnn. I shall order this again. We ate it while frozen, so it was like eating ice cream.

Saturday's special lunch for JP was Lox, bagels, cream cheese, onions and tomatoes oh and vegies and dip. Lox and bagels is one of his favorite meals.

Here is the card I made for JP.....a light house.......Jesus is the light of the world!!

Today we had our teeth cleaned....I had a clean bill of health and JP needs 3 teeth filled. We are still waiting to hear when JP's appointment for a biopsy of the prostrate is. I will be having a mammogram this month also....yeah I thought we could be done with Doctors for awhile...but no, not this month.

Well, time to close here....have to go ride my bike for a couple of miles. Have a great day and keep looking up....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Oh Bummers!!!

Hi there everyone......oh bummers......my "slow cookin', pressure cooker" conked out tonight! I have had it 9 months.....did I use it that much? No I don't think so. I was making a big pork roast with homemade sauerkraut, set it on slow cook for two hours. When I checked on it, the lights were not on. What does that mean? I changed outlets, pressed buttons, took the lid off and put it back on, pressed buttons, Oh bummers!!! Now what??? Guess I will go to Shopko and see if I can bring it back, wish me luck.

So, I took the pork roast out of this cooker and put it in my old crock and it is cooking away. Oh...I hate when things break down and stop working.

This is me.......in the picture below, yep, my world just crashes all around me when things don't work properly. When the car breaks down, an appliance stops working, my dog is sick, a friend unfriends me, my computer or the printer doesn't work or the husband is upset with me or gets an arm pain. Yeah, when things just don't go right, this is most definitely me.

Here's another thing that conked out.....my watch that I got for Christmas. Bummers!!! First the watch band kept breaking and I would super glue it back together, first the right side, then the left side. Then the loops came off and I super glued them together. When everything was super glued and working right.....one day at Walmart, I felt the watch fall off again....yeah another dose of super glue to the strap. I thought I should get a new watch band, after all that, but then when I looked at the price of a new watch band verses buying another cheapy watch, the difference was just $.88. No I will not buy a watch band. After that decision, the watch stopped working. Bummer! So I bought a new watch @ $7.88, this one is all white, have not taken a picture of it, who knows, in a few months I may have to get another new watch!!!! Watches and me just are not compatible.

So yeah, in the picture below.....this is so apropos for me. I remember years ago, when I was applying for a job, I said, "I try to get all my ducks in a row....but sometimes they don't" And the new boss asked me, "So what do you do when your ducks are not lined up?????" Jokingly, I said, "I shoot them" (not really though, guess I would gather them, and start all over again), You should have see the look on his face....so funny! Well, needless to say, I did get that job, and I am not sure if I ever got my ducks in a row, cause things were always changing, just when I thought something was done.....it got changed or moved. Oh well, sure glad I am not there anymore.

Well...I hope you had a good day and a better week. The weather should be nice this week and the temps should be in the 50's, how nice is that??? Maybe it is time to sit on the porch and maybe get  my fountain going. I know Kylie will enjoy the porch time.

Tomorrow, JP and I have a dentist appointment to get our teeth cleaned....sure hope things go well, can't afford any more high bills at this time.

I think the rest of this week, I will lay low for awhile and maybe concentrate of seeing if I can get a new pressure/slow cooker from Shopko. Hopefully I saved the box and maybe the receipt is still in the box.

You all have a great week and keep looking up, Things and times will get better, eventually.
Cheers ~ Louise

Scrumptious Beef Roast and the Card Order Finished

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good evening. Well, I just got done watching "Master Chef Junior" My goodness, those kids can sure cook!! They must have some awesome mothers who encourage them. One of the kids, Andrew, cooks for his family. My goodness, my mother never let me in the kitchen to cook....only to do her dishes!!! Maybe that is why I hate doing dishes today, if only someone would do MY dishes!!! 

When my mother finally did let me cook, I always had to peel the potatoes and boil them....."KP Duty"....well, I did watch her cook a lot. Liking to cook did not come into play till after I got married. Gosh, I don't remember cooking a lot before then. I must have gone out to eat a lot, fast food was my diet, hamburgers, french fries and pizza's, that maybe why I deal with diabetes now. Eating all the wrong things....too much sugar and too much salt and fats. Oh well, now I try to eat right and trying to control blood sugar and A1c numbers...which can be a challenge everyday.

So today I wanted to post this scrumptious looking roast beef I made.....this being my first roast last week using Biz's marinade,  my second roast was from Festival, a "beef burgundy spoon roast" which had already been marinated. This is a really easy way to do your roast. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees, 5 minutes per pound, (if the roast is 4 lbs. = 20 minutes) then turn the oven off and leave in the oven for 1 hour without peeking. Your roast will turn out perfect like this. You can find the recipe here , it's a very good recipe and I think will be my "go to" for all my roasts. I can then slice the beef for sandwiches during the week for JP's lunches.

I received a comment in my previous post. Angela wanted to see the card order I made for my friend. In the above picture are the cards I made. I already gave her 2 Birthday Cards....it was a nice order and I am hoping to buy a cheap printer at Walmart with the $$. The computer downstairs has a label program, but not a printer. My computer upstairs has a printer but not a label program. Here's hoping this all works out, "we'll see", said the blind mouse.

Here is a set of cards that I will be adding to my Etsy store in the next few days. $9.00 + postage. I used the Stamping Up's "work of art" stamps. I saw the idea on the Internet and liked the idea....so here is my rendition of that card. I like cards that can be used for multiple seasons and reasons. As you can see, the order to my friend also includes one of these cards in the set.

Well, the Presidents speech is done.....sounded like a Utopia type world he was talking about...."we'll see", said the blind mouse!!!!!

Have a good rest of the night and keep looking up!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Missing In Action and a Few Vintage Things

Hi there everyone. How was your weekend. Mine?? Not so hot. Weather wise it was great. But I was having computer problems again!!! That's why I was HOT!!! It seems I was hacked and got a couple of viruses into my machine. Oh geez....I get so upset when stuff like this happens. Had to take my machine in to get it fixed and cleaned. I've had this computer only 4 months. I was getting messages that my Adobe Flash player needed to be updated. Well, I did not know that flash player is embedded in the machine, so it did not NEED to be updated. Well, I did not know that. So I went ahead and updated and that is how the hackers got into my computer. I have learned a very hard lesson. Here I thought Norton was taking care of everything. Little did I know a "hacker" came along and attacked me and gave me problems. The technician said that is the first place a hacker goes is through the "media" attacking your video and audio....I guess the one place where your entertainment comes from......well, let me just say this, I was NOT entertained!!!! To say the least.

I found after 24 hours I was going through withdrawals and needed to see what was happening on facebook, and my blog. I needed to get something listed in my Etsy store and Pinterest needed my input!!! Oh and I needed to get a few scrabble games in and try to beat Mr. Computer. Thank God, the tech called yesterday,(Saturday) and I didn't have to wait till Monday, like I first thought. So, yesterday I went and picked up the "baby" to the tune of $157, then did some shopping and came home. Hooked up my computer and off I went. Whew, what a RELIEF, and I didn't even need a TUMS!!!!

So today I thought I would add a few elephants and tea cups and saucers to my blog today. This one I call the "Spotted White Elephant with a Pewter Head. Selling him for $8.00+postage.

This elephant is carved out of some kind of stone, not sure what kind. There is no branding on him.

Two pretty little tea cups and saucers....I forget the make on this one and how much it will be. When I finally list it on Etsy I will have all that info ready.

This white elephant can carry a candle on his back, or maybe candy.

I sold a pretty tea cup and saucer this past week, so I thought I better add a few more tea cups.....I really like them, but I have run out of space in my cabinet, so it is time to find new homes for these lovelies.

Well, time to close for today. It's going to be a busy week. I have started staining my porch, I shall take some pictures this week and share my hard work with you. Oh yes, there is weeds to pull, would you like to come over and help me??? I will make a cup of "toasted caramel" tea for you in one of my tea cups and saucers......doesn't that sound like fun??? I found a recipe for some "garlic/Cheddar cheese" scones....think I will try those this week too.

Oh yes, Hospice was cancelled, we waited for Rebecca to show and she didn't, she forgot, so now we have another meeting THIS Friday and she is treating us to breakfast at Denny's....YES...I will be there, thank you!!!

Well you all have a great day and a great week and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

June is Busting Out!!!

Hi there everyone. How is your new month going so far??? I was hoping to get a post going on June 1st, but had some computer problems....seems my computer got attacked....Geez, did not realize it. Tried uploading some pictures, but to no avail. Finally had to give up.

Today I am back, files are cleaned and got my pictures uploaded, always have some kind of hoop to jump through....such is life!!! Today I thought I would show a few pictures of my house, and garden and flowers around the house.

Here is a picture of my house, we've lived here going on 23 years this July 27th. Where has all that time gone?? There definitely has been lots of changes since we moved here.

A picture of the back part of my yard.....things are just starting to grow and I have lots of work yet to do. Not sure I will put in much of a garden this year. I mostly just want to enjoy the work of my labors and just do fun things around the house. What that is, I do not know as yet.

Another view from the bird houses towards the pond. I am slowly getting some of my garden animals out...they always seem to make the back yard homey.

These are my little flowered crocuses that come up along side the house....as soon as they die off I will be planting some Zinnias along side the house. Big tall Zinnias this year.

This is a cute little Begonia plant I got for JP for his birthday. It is planted in this pot and sitting on the porch.

Walking Kylie around the neighborhood, I passed by this house that had these beautiful purple flox growing outside. The lady was sitting on her front porch...I told her the next time I pass by I am bringing my camera for a picture. I passed by today.....they are almost finished blooming, glad I got the picture when I did. 



This is another picture of a garden I pass by while walking Kylie. I thought it was so intriguing  with the ladder over the garden. The plant growing under the ladder is a tomato plant. I shall be keeping an eye on it as Kylie and I pass by and watch it grow.

Well, time to close here...JP will be home soon and I did not get a chance to get downstairs to make some cards. I have some birthday cards in the process of being made. Take card and keep looking up.
Cheers ~ Louise

I Am Back...............

Hi everyone.......oh my goodness is this all so different...wow!!! I have such a BIG page to write on and I even noticed I finally have "spell check" Where on earth did that disappear to????

The picture above....picked it up from Facebook....my sediments exactly (poor little birdie). Was very busy today...took down the old computer and put up the new one and cleaned up the computer area...gosh it sure got messy. Moved a few things around and reorganized, dusted and vacuumed also.

This is the only picture I could put up tonight. Have not figured out how to get my pictures from the camera into this computer.........I shall work on it though and maybe in a couple of days I will be able to put a few cards up that I am putting in my Etsy store.

Well, it is almost 3am so I better get to bed. You all take care and keep looking up, talk to you later.
Cheers ~ Louise

Friday Ramblings........

Hi there, how you all doing?? I am fine and surviving the Christmas and New Year's activities. Plus doing some resting too. Caught some kind of cold, the residue is a bunch of flemmy junk and cough in the morning, but once that is out of the way, everything is fine. Sleeping in has done wonders, guess that is why we are told to drink lots of water and get plenty of rest. You might get rid of the cold quicker, instead of it lingering for weeks on end.

Well, I found the above picture someplace on the internet and thought it was worthy of being placed on this blog, so here it tis. ENJOY and I hope it brings a smile on you face!!!

 Listening to the radio while typing. My favorite talk shows are Rush, Sean and Mark........they talk so much of this "fiscal cliff" I wonder what it really means. Is there really a fiscal cliff or is it all just a scare tactic, getting people all worked up for nothing. I don't know, these politicians sure can make up stories to cover up other stories. They should be ashamed of themselves. What is so hard about speaking the truth??? Guess truth does not make money.....hummmm?!?!

Weather is snowy today. I was going to go to the store today, but JP said the streets are slippery. We can go store hopping tomorrow and pick up his meds and some food.

I think I finally got my computer fixed, it was running soooooo slow. I knew there was something plugging it up, but just did not know how to get around it. Finally clicked on Norton again and there is a program Norton has that finds virus's that are deeply hidden and fixes the problem. Plus let's you know if there are other things not working right. So I jumped through those hoops and now things are running better. For now. Have to check out a few other programs I was having problems with before the "big fix".

So what are you doing for New Year's......I think we are going to a friends house, they live on the Fox River. From their home can be see the fireworks and the ball dropping....that should be fun watch, can't remember ever seeing fireworks on New Year's Eve.

Well, time to close this blog for today, probably will say hi again on the 31st and say "Good-bye" to 2012 via my blog.

You all have a great couple of days and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

170 Mile Challenge Accomplished ~ Whew!

Whewwwwwww!!!! Finished the 6-week-170-mile-challenge last night, peddled the last 7 miles with an exuberant HOORAY!!!! Never lost any weight, but have managed to maintain my weight for the last 6 weeks. I have been riding my stationary bike for a year now and have put on close to 1800 miles since last October, now that is a feat for me. Because "one of my bad habits is to start things and not finish them," so said my Step-father many, many years ago.

Why do words from the past seem to always haunt us in later years????

Haven't done many cards in the past couple of weeks. So if you have not received a card from me lately, please understand, I have been busy too! So just relax and cut me some slack. The card will come, in my time and not in your time.

This computer business is still driving me crazy. Thought I had the problem remedied but it looks like I have not. Still waiting for it to do it's thing and run through the motions of starting and stopping, type a few words or a sentence and then wait.....wait.....wait!!!!

The next step, a new computer I guess, why can't things be made to last instead of having to invest in something new every couple of years....not everyone can afford new technology every time something new comes out.

The phone is ringing off the hook today and probably for the next couple of days till the election. It ceases to amaze me how you can be on a no-call list and still get called.

Why are politicians exempt from this no-call policy??????

Been working on my cricut machine lately, playing around with "glass etching" which I think might become one of my favorite techniques. Once I finish a few pieces I will take a picture or two and put them in my blog for you to see.

Well, I have had about enough of this computers shenanigans so I will close for now. Don't forget to VOTE on Tuesday and do please follow your heart on this one, cause it will have far reaching effects on America in the years to come. So you all take care and keep looking up for your redemption truly is at nigh!!!!! Cheers ~ Louise

PS. DON'T FORGET TO TURN YOUR CLOCKS BACK TONIGHT - DAYLIGHT SAVINGS!!!

Cards, Flowers and Garage Sale Stuff

My newest card is in my Etsy store. "The Flying Duck 2". I love this technique, really a lot of fun to do. Using the duck template, I stamped a scenery stamp on card stock, then dabbing around the edges of the duck to finish it off. Embellish any way you would like.



A cluster of beautiful mums in my front yard.



The last of my brown-eyed susans. Hopefully next spring there will be an abundance of daisy's growing.

Still have some garage sale stuff for sale. A lady emailed me who saw my ad on Craigslist and wanted to know if I still had some plants and plant stands, pots and stuff. Took some pictures and emailed them to her....take it all for $20....haven't heard from her yet. Guess I was supposed to mark it all for "FREE"

Taking my computer in on Friday to get cleaned and more ram put into it. Gosh, sure do hope this all will help. Been fiddling with this computer, typing a few words at a time into this blog......good thing "Nashville" was on so it didn't matter how long it took for this machine to do it's thingie.

Well, time to close, need to get the husband's dinner going, ride my bike and do some dishes so you all take card and take Jesus and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Off Line for a Few Days

Yep..........that's what I look like when this computer is not working properly, it is driving me
NUT-SO!!!!

I am taking this computer to Office Depot today, I have literly had it!!!! Not sure what I will be doing without not having a computer in the house, shucks, maybe I will get some stuff done around the house. This is going to be quite the sacrifice, but I guess it has to be done for my sanity. Don't want to be looking like that poor puppy dog above.

If I take the computer in today, might get it back tomorrow so that won't be too bad of wait. Well, I do have some money to put towards whatever it might need and if they try to talk me into another computer.......we will see.

Well, I guess I shall close here, time to get ready to face the music.
Talk to you later and you'se all take care and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh!!!
Cheers, cheers, cheers, ~ Louise

Making Sloppy Joes & Another Garage Sale

Had another garage sale ~ today only ~ about 12 noon all that had sold was $10 then...........up drives a man on a motor cycle and says "this could be your lucky day" he ended up buying $50 worth of stuff. I had an old violin that he bought and some other old stuff that had been sitting in the basement. By the end of the day the tally was $84!!! Well, I am $500 away from a new computer. This computer that I am on is about 8 years old and runs very slowwwwwwww!!!!! I will probably do a few more garage sales the next couple of Fridays, everything is all set up, so I might as well, of course it all depends on the weather. Of which one can never be sure which way the wind will blow!!! Also, there will be less stuff to put away till next spring and have another garage sale..............hopefully by then I will have my new computer!!!

Oh Yummy, Sloppy Joes have turned out very good. We are helping some friends move tomorrow from their condo on the lake to a very lovely house on the river. My job is to make the Sloppy Joes and direct  traffic at the old place and clean cabinets. I will add coleslaw to the menu. As Sandi will be adding calico beans and chips. Brownies and chocolate chips have also been added to the menu.

Well, me thinks I will close this blog for today and I need to make the coleslaw, talk to you soon and keep looking up for your redemption drawth nigh.  Cheers ~ Louise

Garage Sale ~ a Success!

Facing West...............cards, pop corn, cups, house ware, books,  DVD's, CD's and lots of nic-nacs.
(All these pictures were taken before the sale started)

Facing East...........coffee, tea, water, soda, planters and music all day.

Facing North west............house-wares and misc. stuff.

Facing North-east............stamps, nail polish, earrings, Herbalife, sleeping bag, yarn, cups and cards and DVD's and etc.

Garage sale was a success........I think. Sold $115 worth of stuff @ 25cents to $1 with a few things at $2, $3, $4 and $5. Still have lots of stuff to sell though. Counted the people too (estimated) 92 visitors. I figured I put in about 30 hours setting up and opening and closing. Made a whopping $3.82 an hour plus I was sooooo tired on Saturday, after the sale shut down I sat down on my lazy boy and napped for 3 hours!!!

Well, I am figuring that I will open my garage sale for the next couple of weeks, depending on the weather, on Friday only. I found Thursday was a very weak day for selling and also Saturday. Friday was the big seller day. So, as long as I am set up and the weather cooperates, next Friday, 28th is the day to sell. I can handle one day....whew, stuff that I could do with no problem years ago has become a very laborious thing.....I sure was a tired old lady after this one. Not sure if the ad I put on www.craigslist.com helped, but I will certainly do that again, just in case it did work.

So you ask.........."What'cha going to do with all that money you are making at your sale???" Well, to answer your question.....I need a watch and the rest is going towards a new computer. (Ha....that's if it doesn't burn a hole in my purse first.) This computer is close to 8years old and I was told by a computer guy at Office Depot that computers don't last more then 4 years. But then I have a friend who's computer lasted 14 years, so go figure.

Well, being I was so involved in my garage sale this past week, my Etsy store lacked a some TLC. Soooo this next week I must get some NEW cards up and going and get my Christmas Cards going too!!!! It's almost October....yikes!

Mail came.....we were just invited to my nieces christening of her baby in Chicago on October 7th.........man, October is filling up and we haven't even gotten there yet. It seems for the last couple of months JP and I have been visiting Doctors alot lately and each visit requires a Co-pay and that is surely wracking havoc with our finances of late. Going to Chicago for the weekend would involve $400-$500 for us. Renting a car (because our car would never make it), putting the dogs in a kennel for the week-end and who know what else, gift, cards, money?????

Well, that answered that problem.....JP just got home from the Physical Therapist for his arm pain ($30 co-pay a visit) and read the card and said we are not going, can't afford it......guess I will just send a card and money, much cheaper then $500.

Time to close this here blog for the day..........you all keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh and the return of Jesus is sooner then we all think!!! See ya later, cheers ~ Louise

Computers....computers....computers!!!!

Just like a man.....can't live with them and can't live without them!!!! Not going to blog much today.........having major computer problems and will be taking this baby in for an overhaul!!! Booooooo! What will I do without it, just not too sure. Thinking I might pull up my old computer from downstairs and see if that is working. I might have some old pictures on it that I could download onto a flashdrive. Won't hurt to try.

Not sure what is wrong with this thing, just did not want to start up this afternoon, had to shut it down 3 times before it started up right. Was not getting my icons???? Never had that problem before. Clicked and clicked and clicked all over the screen and nothing happend. Finally just went and let the dogs out and came back and wala, there was my icons. Then I tried clicking internet explorer and it took 15 minutes to come up....that is when I called Office Depot. "HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM" So, it has been 2 years since I last had my computer cleaned by Office Depot, so maybe it is time. Had more memory put into it at that time and the guy said I shouldn't need anymore...........but, the "Virtual memory was low" box came up a couple of times, so I am thinking there is a slight problem there.

Well, it is time to close, have to go make JP's lunch so he can go off to work. I then need to work outside for awhile. Guess it is time to clean up the yard and chop down some weeds. I feel like I am behind in my gardening..............but, it is not Memorial Weekend yet so there is still time.....You all have a great week and I will see you when I see you. Keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh!!!

Many Cheers to you all ~ Louise

PS I know the title and the picture do not go together......but just can't do a blog without a picture and I thought this picture of the dog was so cuuuute!!!

Funny Monday!!!!

Funny, funny, funny Monday!!!

Saw this picture of the nosey doggy on the internet.....think it was Pinterest, copy and paste. Sometimes I just don't have anything interesting to say.

I cleaned all my pictures off my computer Saturday and onto a USB Drive with 16gb, guess it will hold about 5,200 pictures. Thought maybe my computer would run alittle faster, but seems to be going at the regular speed........SLOW!!!

Thinking of getting a new Cannon camera this week. $149 camera for $99. Need a new camera, my old cannon is a 3.2 pixel, took great pictures but it goes through batteries like no bodies business and for some reason the time and date setting is not working and always seems to pop up, has become a nusience to me and instead of the pictures going into their specific dates, all the pictures would go into 1980 even if I set the time and date, didn't matter. So, I guess the camera gave up trying to work. I have probably had this camera for over 10 years........gosh, whenever they were still using 3.2 pixels, for however long that is.

Not planning to do alot today, maybe just work around the house. Tuesday I have blood test @ 10am and JP has an appointment @ 10:45am.......wonder if we will be able to make both appointments in a timely fashion.....the appointments were made for us.....I will try and rush my appointment up a notch.....should work out okay.

 Made a wonder pot of soup today (Sunday) Slow Cooker Taco Soup......gosh was that delicious!!!!

Here is the recipe:

1 lb Ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1 onion, chopped

 1-16 oz Chil beans w/liquid

2 cups water

 2-14.5 oz diced Tomatoes

1-15 oz kidney beans w/liquid

1-15 oz corn w/liquid

1-8oz tomato sauce

1-4oz green chili peppers (I did not use)

1 Taco Seasoning Packet

Directions: Brown meat with onions (I also used 1/2 chopped green peppers) Drain well if needed. Mix all ingredients together in a slow cooker and cook on low setting for 8 hours. You can also use a dutch oven or large pot and cook up right away. Serve with chips, sour cream and grated cheese on top!!

Absolutely delicious!!!

Well, you have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise

♥New Cards a'brewing and Computer Follow-up♥

Here is a new card in the making. It is a bleach technique, which is really lots of fun.

1-Ink the stamp with versa-mark and stamp on the colored cardstock you want to use.

2-Embossed with black embossing powder.

3-Filled a cup with bleach and used a soft pointed blending tool and filled in the places I wanted bleached....which was all of the little girl.

4-Let dry, then give her a second coat of bleach and let dry thoroughly before coloring.

5-My first attempt to color her in I used colored pencils.....looked nice and looked almost antiquey.

6-My next attempt was using Twinkling H2O's, I like this technique, hard to see her sparkle, but she is. Now I shall turn her into a card tonight along with the other little girls I made. I probably will sell one of these little girls in my Etsy store. Hopefully I will have her up in the next week or so. Go to http://www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com/ I probably will sell her for $3.50 as there were alot of steps to making her. AND this is a piece of art....and maybe even one of a kind. If you like this "little girl smelling roses" stamp, I found her in Door County at Oscars Stamping store.

As a follow-up to my computer problems.....it didn't end when I brought the computer home. I ended up taking it back to Office Depot, because it kept shuting off and rebooting at least 10 times. They could not find anything wrong with the computer, so I took it home and hooked it up. Again, the computer ran like a champ for 3 days then acted up by shutting off and rebooting, so I pulled the plugs and started all over again.......this time I found there was a short in the monitor, took the old monitor off and brought up another old monitor from down stairs.......The computer has been working fine for over a week now with no problems. Although the screen is much smaller now, maybe someday I will invest in a larger-flat screen. But until then, this one is fine for now and is working.

It is our Anniversary on Friday, we've been married 37 years.....where has all that time gone? I guess we are truely vapors.....puffs of smoke, here today and gone tomorrow. JP is taking the day off and we might go to Red Lobster for lunch. We should have a little money saved for that special day. Well, time to end this blog for now, watch for another blog in a week or so, once I get a couple of cards put together.

Blessings~Louise

My computer was SOOOOOO Sick!

Well, here is the inside of my computer after I dust sprayed it....had this computer 6 years and never once dusted the inside. The guy that fixed my computer was shocked....I could tell it on his face. I never was told that the inside of computers needed to be dusted...I didn't even know how to get the side of the panel off, let alone dust.

It all started when my DVD player was hiccupping and would not play properly. I thought I would blow into the player and a big wad of a dust bunny flew out....oh my gosh I was shocked.....then I thought to blow the dust spray in there, then clean it with the CD cleaner. I tried everything and still...to no avail. I thought I was going to have to get a new DVD player.

Oh my computer was running sooooooo slow and I was getting more frustrated and just about ready to throw this computer out on the streets! Finally I could take it no more and called up Office Depot, took it in and found out it needed more ram....only $39.99....cleaning and tune-up was 69.99.....labor was $30.00 plus tax........guess that is cheaper then having to buy a new computer though.

Joel said that I needed to spray dust the inside and run the Norton virus scan. This computer is running like a champ now and oh what joy, feel like I have a NEW computer. Joel says that every time I get an oil change in the car to also spray dust the inside of the computer too. It should be done 3-4 times a year.........I sure don't want my computer to look like it did, just never realized it had to be clean on the inside as well as on the outside to work well.

It's sort of like our spirits.....we can look clean and good on the outside but if we are dirty on the inside we have defeated everything that God is trying to do in our lives. Suddenly our talk does not match our walk........believe me this past week was a real trial for me....people will say God is testing us, well, I flunked the test again. It's like I have to start from ground zero again, two steps forward and five steps back, never quit making it to first base.

Oh well, God still loves me even when no one else does and especially when I am in a hate mode and just want to give up. Thank God for his mercy and grace, without that we would be lost.

Well, I think I shall end this blog for today. I know now it will be easier to blog because my computer is working much better. Yall have a great day in the Lord.

Louise

BIG STORM TODAY...........WOW!!!!!

We sure had a big storm today..............most snow in 24 hours since the 1920's. Woke up this morning to find 2 people trying to dig their cars out of the snow..........sure was a mess, they finally got unstuck after about an hour.

I went out for a little while to brush off my car, or should I say shovel off my car, there had to be over a foot of snow on my car. Then to my shock, I noticed my car door slightly opened, I then opened and shut it, thinking my husband had gone in there for something and just didn't shut the door properly. Thinking not too much about that incident I kept on shoveling. Then we had to move the cars to get the snow plowed and I got into my car and noticed my sunglasses on the floor................that was strange............then I noticed my walking shoes were out of my 'inches a weigh' bag...........that was strange...........seemed like things were a little disaray in my front seat, tapes were moved........that was strange.........I sure felt like someone had been in my car.

WELL.................then I opened the back door to get the car brush, I noticed my black leather merchandising bag was missing?????????? Where did it disappear to???????? I do believe I was robbed..........I think the robbers thought there was a computer in the bag BUT, there was nothing of value in that bag, just pens, notebook, change purse.....maybe with a few pennies, pliers, hammer, tape, water...........nothing of value.............I guess what bothers me is that someone was rumagging around in MY CAR!!!!! At first we thought the laptop computer was still in the bag, cause my husband thought he had used it at the library..............but that was the other bag. Soooo, no, the robber did not affscound with our old laptop computer.

I know you will say................."well, lock your doors from now on". I was going to do that, but the doors freeze during the winter months and I will never get into my car then. So I just will not keep anything of value in the car, if I do have something of value, I will put it in the trunk.

LESSON LEARNED............................

Well, we are all dug out now, it was a nice day off. Got some candy made for the cookie container I am sending for my stepfather in Las Vegas for Christmas. Little round pretzels, with a hersey kiss melted and a red or green m&m placed in the middle..........fun to make.

Christmas is fast approaching.................16 days away...................still feel scattered, got my cards made and in the next couple of days will get them out to a few people........I am really cutting back this year. Christmas has gotten so commercialized, I am tired of being so caught up in all this stuff. The true meaning has gotten so watered down................shame on us............FOR JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON. How have we gotten so far off into left field??????

Well, I shall end this blog for now............you all have a great day and take time to smell the roses and enjoy the day.
Louise

Here is my newest treasury...............

Here is my newest treasury, got it about 12:30am (yawn) was getting kind of tired and JP was not home yet from work and still had to feed him. But I got it done and just had to add my comments. Now I am contacting the artist to let them know they are in my treasury.

This may be the last one for awhile.......the newness has worn off.......have not gotten any sales because of doing a treasury..................soooooo......this may be the last one at least for this month. Maybe I will try one a month or something...........I'll see.

Well I am going to cut this blog short, it seems my computer is doing alot of hipcupping, seems to want to type then not. (so what is new in computer land)

So you have a great day and..................
Enjoy,
Louise