Happy Birthday to the Life of the Party, my mother!

 

I think you would have loved this cake!  Every year I will celebrate your memory!

Happy Birthday! 

I love you forever and ever to eternity.  Always in my mind and thoughts! 

When Life throws you a twist.....

 Well, this week was a busy week!  I had my car battery die this week at work.  After my shift, my car would not start.  It just did a click, and I knew that I had trouble.  I was able to call my insurance and they sent someone out free of charge with my roadside assistance coverage.  That was a life send!  The next morning, I had enough of a charge to start it to get to the mechanics and replace it.  

I told the guy at the mechanic garage, I remember working at Walmart in 1995 in the automotive section and car batteries at that time were like $35.00, now they are $159.00!! Oh my goodness.  But it was free installation with purchase of battery.  It all worked out.  I also went ahead and replaced two of my tires that were showing steel tread.  I have had to stop by the air machine at least once a week to fill my tires, so I went ahead and just replaced those two as well.  

Lesson Learned is that I have now started a Maintenance Journal for my car and home.  

Since I have been using my air more often, I also opened up my a/c intake here at home for the first time since I moved in, which was 2022.  It was disgusting!!  I started realizing why my son was sneezing up to 10 times in a row.  The a/c filter was of course full of dust and the intake had so much dust and debris, I filled up a Walmart grocery bag with lint and dust from the a/c intake area alone.  Note to self, start changing the a/c filter at least once every 3 months.  I also bought a Yankee Candle scent for the a/c filter.  You hook it on to the filter and it will have a fresh scent throughout your whole home.  I love it!  The reviews do seem consistent to say that this would be more for a party, or an odor you are trying to get out of the home because it does not last very long.  Max like 1 week.  But it was fun to try out. For me, it is day two and I love it. The scent is Apple Cinnamon.  

Journals or day planners have always been fun for me to buy and try to use on a daily basis.  Recently, I did buy a Wellness Journal at Walmart and I am loving it!  Nowadays the journals come with reminders about exercise, meditation time, screen time, what is your mood like today.   Great way to stay on top of maintenance in the home and car.  And just smile when opening it up daily.  

It has a section for the week ahead planning, also a separate page for daily appointments and then a weekly recap page of everything that transpired the week 

 Here are some additional things it allows you to track on a weekly basis:

• Watered the plants 
• Washed my hair 
• Hydrated 
• Acts of Self Care
• Acts of Kindness
• Lessons Learned
• Daily Affirmations 

Fun stickers to add in the planner! 

Reminders of adding joy to each day!  

• Check out the clearance section in the garden center if you are on a limited budget and want to spruce up the yard 
• Stop by the floral section and buy a bundle of flowers for the inside of the home
• Buy a new scent for the home or car. 
• Read a good book and just relax! 

Friday Favorites!

 Friday is here!  Friday is here!  

Normally, I post Friday favorites about random items that I have found lately that just make my days a little more happy.  Today, I thought I would change it up a bit with Mothers Day approaching and post some fond memories of my mom, my favorite things or memories about my mother. 

My Top 5 memories of my Mother.   

5.    My yardsale partner.  On the weekends we would always wake up super early to catch yard sales.  She wanted to get out there early, at least by 8 before all the "good stuff" was gone. We would come home with all kinds of knick knacks.  Car slap full of finds that would soon be found collecting dust somewhere. That's ok, at the time we knew it had a place in the house somewhere.  Her favorite things to buy were jewelry, tv's, and clocks.  She used to absolutely love clocks.  

4.    She used to love taking on the task of helping us move.  If it was packing up a house, or unpacking she loved to be involved.  Now, she wasn't looking for a job at Two men and a truck so the items could not be promised to arrive all in one piece.  Picture everything being placed into one box without any bubble wrap or newspaper.  It makes me laugh now just thinking about it.   Oh, the memories.  

3.    Her Macaroni Salad.  She used to have a homemade recipe of Macaroni salad with Tuna.  That was her dish (amongst many other dishes) that she always made at holidays or large family gatherings, and it always had a spot on my plate.  

2.    Her laugh.  She would laugh so hard sometimes she would cry.  We used to have a great time hanging out on her back porch and just shooting the breeze.  A lot of times when all the family would get together it was just a great time to reminisce and get mom laughing.  

1.    Her calls.  She would call a lot or text just to say hi. I still have an abundance of voicemails on my phone.  The other day, I happened to listen to a randomly selected voicemail that she had left on my phone, and she started out with saying Hope you are having a good Monday.  And it happened to be a Monday, so that just filled all the places to let me know although she is not here in body, she will always be with me in my heart and mind.  

My mom passed away in 2021 due to Covid. My dad also lost that battle a month prior.  She was full of energy at 70 years of age, healthy and loved her kids. She did instill in me a love for God.  One of her favorite mentors was Joyce Meyer.  Every morning, she would watch her show.  My mom could be found volunteering at church pretty much anywhere they needed the help.  From answering phones to helping assemble merchandise for outreach events.  

She had a lot of people in this life who loved her.  And we truly miss her. 

Our last Christmas in 2020

She loved Crablegs!  

Friday Faves!

This post was stored in my drafts and was originally from 2011.  Great Memories at Gemini Springs in Debary.   Gemini Springs was a place you used to be able to swim at the park but now it is officially closed for swimming due to bacteria.  Can you even imagine?  It is still a great place to picnic, canoe and take pictures.  We have had several birthday parties at Gemini because of the expanse of lawns.  It really is a great place to just take a picnic and chill.  Also, they have a walking path that goes for miles. 

These pictures were taken after I had bought my new Canon Camera.  I loved having my kids be the victims of my new hobby.  James was 8 and Susan was 11.  Also my sister and my niece joined us.  What great memories to share!  Seeing the smiles on my kids' faces are definitely a Friday Favorite for me!  

Just hours away from the weekend and I am looking forward to it.  Have a great day!  

Spring is in the Air

 I hope you enjoyed the previous recipe for Lasagna!  I loved it and nearly ate every bite of it.  Well, this blog all started about 14 years ago, I actually started on a different website and lost my password, so I was unable to log in any longer. And the email address is no longer valid.  I then created this blog picking it up in the year 2012.

This page was originally started to document all the years of my kids' lives and everything in between in life that happens.  It was mainly geared for my family as the audience, just a way to keep everyone updated with family holidays and being able to have a place to upload pictures and stories of the day.  

Well one thing happened, two of my biggest fans are no longer here to update (they are now keeping the angel's company), so I have kinda slacked off, but I do feel led to update even still.  

Here is to you mom for the memory that still lives on.  

I recently bought a home! (well, actually in Dec 2022)  My first home to own alone.  I absolutely love it!  And I love the neighborhood that it is in.  There is so much work to be done; it will be an ongoing project for sure.  

One of the first big differences in the home is the living room.  The woman that lived here before me with her daughter was renting and they allowed her to paint the walls all black. (my realtor said it looked Navy to her)  I mean it was dreary! but I could see the potential even still.  here is a before pic.

Here is what several coats (more like 4 coats per wall) of paint did.  I love the way it turned out. The color is Sashay Sand by Sherwin Williams.

And here is my most fav thing to do. Curl up to the fireplace with a movie and a blanket.

I'll show you more pictures of the house soon.  Trying to make it pretty!  In time it will be all done.  But in the meantime, it keeps me busy on pinterest researching inexpensive ways to fix it up. 

Right now, since it is Spring, I have been focusing more on the outdoors and I have all the pins from pinterest.  Hoping to check them off one by one. 

Here are just a few ideas and wishes of how I would like my outdoor space to look.  

I just love pink and since I have been divorced I tend to lean towards pink a lot.  I guess I do because I can!  

I love the squared floor.  You could most certainly do this with a stencil so this is on the pinned list.

I just love the flowers and wicker furniture. So refreshing to look at.

 Sunday is the day to unwind, relax and plan for the week ahead.  I am planning to get back on track with eating right (after the week of lasagna) and hopefully being consistent and get back to walking at least 10000 steps a day.  That really helps with my energy.  The weather sure has not been disappointing this weekend. I did manage to get in over 8000 steps today. Tomorrow it is supposed to be in the 80's.  How can you not be in just the greatest of moods with that weather?

I always start my day with prayer, reading my bible study and an energy drink plus coffee.  Caffeine wakes me up, Jesus keeps me going.

         

Resurrection Day

Today is the day celebrated throughout all eternity as the Resurrection Day!  I hope you are able to spend intentional time today remembering this day and what it means.  

My day was so relaxing.  I cannot imagine having a more relaxing day. First, I attended church and heard an old familiar hymn, Amazing Grace. I love the older hymns intermixed with the current songs.  The message was great, a message of hope and assurance.   After church I did not turn on the tv or my phone.  I just wanted it to be lowkey and quiet.  I spent the day outside, reading my book, making dinner and listening to some tunes by Fleetwood Mac, Doobie brothers and many other similar artists.   It was perfect and just what I needed.  

For dinner I decided to make Lasagna!  I want to share this recipe I found.  This year since I knew my son was going to be here with me, I decided to make Lasagna.  Normally I am a Stouffers frozen lasagna girl, if I eat Lasagna at all.  I don't typically eat Lasagna a lot or at all throughout the year but if I do it is frozen.  So, I pulled up this recipe from the internet.  It was titled the World's Best Lasagna.  I knew I had to try it.  If I am going to eat Lasagna, I want to make sure it tastes like the World's best lasagna.  

Here are the ingredients:

1 pound sweet Italian Sausage

3/4 lb ground beef

1/2 cup minced onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatos

2 (6.5 oz) cans canned tomato sauce 

2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons white sugar

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided

1 1/2 teaspons dried basil leaves 

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

12 lasagna noodles

16 oz ricotta cheese

1 egg

3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced (I used shredded)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

These pots and pans were my mothers, when she passed away, we inherited all of her dishes, and these are just two that she had. I felt a small piece of her with me today. Disregard the olive-green avocado stove.  ha!

To make:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Brown the ground beef, Italian sausage and minced onion with garlic cloves until completely browned. 

Stir in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, water, 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, basil, salt, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, pepper.  

Let simmer for 1 hour.  Stirring occasionally.

After 1 hour, mix together the ricotta cheese, 1 egg and remaining parsley with pepper.  Leave in the bowl. 

Boil the 12 lasagna noodles in slightly salted water.

After oven is pre-heated, place 1 1/2 cup of meat sauce along the bottom of the 10X13 baking pan.  

2nd layer is to lay down 6 noodles lengthwise, slightly overlapping. 

Spoon on half of the ricotta cheese mixture. 

Sprinkle on half of the mozzarella cheese, Also sprinkle on parmesan cheese. 

Repeat for a second layer.  

Top with remaining meat sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. 

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes covered with foil, then another 25 min without foil. 

Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.  

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Yummmm......The final product was Deelicious!  It was so yummy!     And this recipe I would give 5 stars.  I tasted all the flavors and savored every bite! A step above the Stouffers frozen Lasagna.

The sun is shining here in Florida, and I love it.  I hope you have a great week! 

Good Friday!

 This day only comes once a year and I wanted to make sure I took a minute to reflect on this day.  

What does this day mean to Christians?  Well, this was the day that Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem to his death.

He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities. Isaiah 53:5

When you really stop and think about the enormity of what Christ did for us, it is amazing.  

After betrayal by Judas and unfair trial, Jesus was flogged and given a crown of thorns.  A company of soldiers put a purple robe on him to mock, spit upon and hit him repeatedly on the head with a staff.  They stripped him of the robe and put his clothes back on him, then led him to Golgotha (which means “place of the skull”) to crucify him.  John’s gospel said that Jesus carried his own cross.  Other gospels mention Simon of Cyrene carrying it for him.  He was followed by a large crowd, and many women wept for him.  Nails pierces his hands and feet.  Soldiers cast lots for his clothes. 

 

But he said…………….

 

“Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”.  Luke 23:34

And at three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloe, lea sabachtani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?).” Mark 15:34

 Jesus’ final words………….. ”Later, knowing that everything has now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty’.  A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.  When he had received the drink, Jesus said ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:28-30