no smoke and mirrors here

Hello readers and friends! It is Saturday and it is so beautiful outside. Today I am planning on quilting, baking  pies and making tomato sauce. I have so much fresh fruit and tomatoes on my kitchen table right now...the fruit flies are having a lot of fun, I tell ya! This morning I changed my bio on my blog. An anonymous commenter noted that my pepperoni rolls are in complete contradiction with my profile description of myself.   My simple recipe  for pepperoni rolls is made with frozen bread dough, jarred pizza sauce, and shredded cheese from Wal Mart.....but....my bio stated that I believe in making everything from scratch. It's funny, because, for a very long time, my bio stated that I make meals from scratch, "but not everything", and I said "I'm not perfect ya know". Well, when I was updating my blog not long ago, I decided to re-word my bio a little bit and I dropped that part.  Well, I don't want to give anyone the false sense that I make my own cheese, or that I make my pasta from scratch or that I grind wheat berries to make my own flour. Although, I would totally love to do all of that because I find that stuff completely awesome!! So, I would like to say that
I DO NOT make everything from scratch....BUT...
there are many things I make from scratch.
I do have store bought pasta sauce in my pantry...BUT...
I do make homemade tomato sauce as well...cause it's awesome and oh so yummy!
Also, I love, love to bake most of my cakes from scratch....
pretty much about 99% of my cakes are from scratch.
I do on occasion bake a cake from a box mix....yes, it's true...I know...what can I say.
I do bake my pies from scratch...always, always, always, always, always!!!!!!!!
Every single pie crust I make is from scratch.
I rarely buy pre packaged food...it scares me all the crap they put in freezer food.
I have definitely bought many freezer pizzas....
but I have also made pizza from scratch many times....and it is soooo much tastier!
I buy Oreos and those mini powdered sugar donuts and put peanut butter on top of 'em....
cause it's a sickness I have....
peanut butter and powdered sugar...
I like it way too much! LOL!
I do sometimes make prepackaged flavored rice....although, I do feel guilty about it when I do...
because I know I can make it with the ingredients I have in my pantry.

On a last note, I know that my faithful readers and commenters already know this about me. I want to thank all of you guys out there. You have been so awesome with your support and faithful reading. You guys keep me going. I often go back and forth on whether or not to continue this blog. I do enjoy it, but it does keep me on the computer a little more than I would like. For some reason, I am not a quick blogger. It takes me a lot of time to make a post....sometimes. The best thing that I have gotten from this blog is the friendships that I have made with some of you. It is so awesome to be able to share interests with others that enjoy the same thing as me. I've gotten to know about your families and I care about what happens to you guys. I always think of blogging as modern day pen pals...I think it is pretty cool.

P.S. I don't want you guys to think that one comment has really disturbed me to the point of making a big post and all this stuff. I'm not mad or hurt or anything like that. I kinda have a dream of one day publishing a book....recipes, family life, Pennsylvania....stuff like that....and if I am going to ever do that, I better make sure that I am coming across real and I don't want to be misleading at all.

Love you guys!!
Have a totally fantastic weekend!
I know I will!
Lots of baking planned!
And.....by the way, I am in the home stretch with my sailboat quilt! Last night I starting attaching the binding/the edging that goes around the edge of the quilt!! I am so happy! It WILL be done today! Yay!!

from my viewpoint

Have you ever wondered what it looks like where someone else lives? 

I have often wondered this about my long distance friends and relatives.

I thought maybe you might like to see what it looks like here.

And maybe...you might find it neat

 to see what I see everyday.

Am I the only one that thinks of such things???

I really hope this is not like, the most boring-est post I've ever done!

This kind of stuff interests me...but who knows if it interests anyone out there?

haha!

So, do you ever wonder about things like this???

Bye for now!

Have a blessed day!

Stan the man, Stan my man

You are looking at the angel of all husbands here. 

There is nothing he wouldn't do for me.

He is smart, talented and creative.

When I say smart...

I mean that he retains knowledge, details and facts.

He can figure out any problem

be it structural or design.

He can build anything.

He has a keen sense of intuition which always blows me away.

More often than not, he is right on the money.

He has the clever knack of discerning bullshit from reality.

He's pretty much a no nonsense kinda guy.

But...has the sense of humor of a comedian.

He has kept me laughing every single day of our marriage. 

Seriously, it is pretty much non stop shenanigans every day around here.

He knows everything there is to know about 

biking, hiking, backpacking, and survival skills.

He served as a United States Marines for 4 years and fought on the front lines of Desert Storm.

Oh, I almost forgot.

He is strong.

Like, really strong. 

I've seen this man lift a 15 foot palm tree by himself.

How he even got it into the truck by himself is an oddity in itself.

I'm telling you, he's an ox.

He has endurance like no other.

He can hike the highest mountain with ease.

He can bicycle the highest hill.

His lung capacity never fails to impress me.

Oh, he even has the most calmest heart rate I have ever heard.

When I lay my head on his chest and listen to his heart,

I wonder if it's ever going to beat again!

haha!

It's totally slow and steady and strong.

Mine is fast and hyper and no wonder I tucker out so fast.

Another thing, 

he is my rock.

Like, serious ROCK.

He is the calm in the storm.

Especially my storms.

hehehe!

He doesn't get frightened.

He doesn't get worried.

He can handle stress.

He can handle emotion.

He can manage problems.

He finds solutions.

Even hurricanes do not unravel him, I tell ya!

Thank God for him!

When I am sick, he is caring.

When I freak out, he is calming.

When I am worried, he is practical.

When I am scared, he is understanding.

There are some fun things as well.

He teases me, picks on me, and goofs with me.

I tease him, pick on him and goof with him.

This is all the fun kind of teasing and picking, mind you.

No mean stuff, just silly, goofy stuff that keeps us laughing!

Every day laughing!

He can't stay mad long even if he tries.

He is generally upbeat but in a calm way.

He has his grumpy moments.

He has his dorky moments.

He is the best father to our children.

I tell him he is a better father than I am mother.

He says no, that's not true.

I would not pick another man to be my children's father.

His example to them is strong.

He has always played with the kids more than I have.

He wants to do all the fun boy stuff with them

like build ramps for their bikes

and tree houses

and rope swings.

  So, ya, he's pretty much an angel.

Does he ever make me mad or irritated?

Well, ya, now and then,

but it quickly passes.

I don't know how.

It just does.

I am so happy I have Stan.

He is my man!

A very blueberry crisp, A very quilty quilt, and Some very crazy chickens

Man oh Man!! 

We've been blessed with some REALLY good blueberries in our CSA this summer.

Not to mention they are organic. Double bonus there! 

I made some blueberry pancakes a couple of times, and they were heavenly. 

These blueberries are not tart at all.

They are perfectly sweet.

I love blueberries. 

Yesterday, I made a very yummy, blueberry crisp. 

I was happy that the recipe used the remainder of my blueberry stash, as I didn't want them going to waste. 

The recipe for the awesome crisp will be at the end of this post.... so DO check it out.

I finally got myself going on my sailboat quilt again.

Yay!! 

I have really been putting the hours in on this thing.

I am hand quilting, so it does take some time. {but I machine pieced it together} 

Anyhow, I am proud of myself, because the quilt is starting to really come together. 

I am hoping to be done with all  hand quilting by tonight, 

and then I can start making the bias tape that goes around the edges. 

Call me crazy, but I love sewing on the binding. 

It is so fulfilling!! 

I attach the binding edge with my sewing machine... 

and then when you fold it over the edges and tuck in under, I hand stitch it to the back. 

For some reason...I love this part. 

I think because it is just stitch after stitch and it's almost mindless. 

It's just good.

For now, I will leave you with a couple photos of my crazy chickens. 

They look dead, don't they?!

Don't worry, I assure you...they are very much alive!

They are sunbathing on the hot wooden deck.

I have read that chickens don't like the heat and the sun...

so what's wrong with my silly chickens???

They have always done this....this is nothing new....this is a normal thing for my chickens.   

They apparently love the deck because the wood is so warm. 

Sometimes there's 3 or 4 of them all doing this together. 

In the rare occasion the chickens do this when we have a visitor, our guests will look out on the back deck and say "OH NO! I think something's wrong!!"  

I'm like, "oh, ya, they're fine, just get a little closer to the glass and they'll notice you and be up and running." 

My chickens don't do this all the time, but they do it a few times a week. 

Mostly, they do this in the cooler months when the sun is out and warming the wood...

but they do it once in a while in the summer too.

To me, chickens are a constant source of interest and entertainment.  

Too funny!!


A VERY BLUEBERRY CRISP

3 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. corn starch
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
pinch of salt
4 Tbsp. softened butter

Toss blueberries with white sugar, corn starch and lemon juice
Dump into 8 or 9 inch baking dish.
Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, oats, salt and butter with a pastry blender of fork.
Sprinkle mixture evenly over berries.
Bake in 375 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes until golden.

TODAY'S HEADLINES: Stay-at-Home-Mom wastes too much time and doesn't even enjoy the summer sun!

My goodness, I don't have any photos of yummy food to show you....nor do I have any photos of cutesy craft projects.  I've been in a semi funk all summer! Like, not a bad funk, just a little funk. I don't know what my deal is. Of course, I have absolutely no good reason to be in a (semi) funk...I am blessed beyond measure and God takes care of our family constantly. He is so good to us every single solitary day. So why the funk? Hmm? I don't know. I sound spoiled and ungrateful! But I promise you,  I am very, very grateful!
One thing I thought about the other day....it totally just made sense! I haven't been outside very much this summer during the heat of the day in the direct sunshine. I was thinking I might be lacking vitamin D from the sun. I totally get this way in the winter....and I get blah. This has been the most I have stayed inside during the day, during any summer I can ever remember. I have to make myself catch some rays today.

On to other things...I am going to attempt some time management for myself. It's not that I don't have enough time to get things done....it's the opposite. I have too much time! And......I need to be utilizing that time to my advantage!! I have so much time and I am letting it slip away to nothingness!

Oh look, it's a picture of me! 

LOL!

People.....this is me this summer!! All June and July...but hopefully not August. 

Must. Reform. Myself. 

!!!

At this time in my life, I am blessed to have the time to get chores done, be a mom and wife, annnnndddd, also have plenty of time to do my hobbies. There are some quilts I started that I would love to finish....and I would like to get back into scrapbooking. I've got the time....I'm just not using it right! Days go by and I think, sheez, what do I have to show for it! I made a list of things that "kill" my time and I am evaluating whether I really need them in my life....is it something that adds quality to my life? If not, cut it out. Some things I'm going to try to eliminate and some things I'm going to just cut way back on.

My first order of business (after housework and children)  is to get working on those unfinished quilts....and I will show you guys when I complete them. If I actually finished these quilts, I cannot tell you how proud I would be of myself!! But, I have to be careful to balance the time and not let the quilting time get out of control or then my housework will slip! hahaha!

Okay guys, that's all for today! I'm going to get moving! I have already promised myself time in the sun today...then I'll do some touch up housework....then I will pull out the first quilt top to be finished!!! Please send some energizing, motivating brain waves my way!