Happy Anniversary to our daughter and her husband!

January 8th...was their first year anniversary.  We can hardly believe that it has been a year since they walked down the isle together.

Wishing them many more wonderful years together!

Almost embarrassingly, I share my way of making chicken noodle soup, only because I had some requests for how I make it.  I make it so often and share it with others.  There is something so calming and comforting about a pot of hot chicken noodle soup, especially during the cold, winter months.

I prefer these two brands of the chicken noodle soups.  I add as many cans as I need.  I add 1 can of cream of chicken soup, a teaspoon of chicken "Better than Bouillon", a pack of my frozen corn, and a can of Libbey's sweet kernel corn, 2 TBS. of sugar and a few dashes of salt and pepper.  That's it.

I simmer for 1/2 hour to 1 hour.

I top it with some chopped fresh parsley.

The sliced carrots and pieces of chicken already in the soup, give it a homemade taste.

It is a quick, easy gift for a busy, new mother, or for anyone who needs a gift of comfort.

I took a pot of this to my niece when she had her third baby and she just asked me for the recipe.  I think she will like when she finds out how simple this concoction is.

I use these two products for many of my dishes.  My mother introduced them to me.  It certainly adds good flavor to recipes.

Wish I could serve a bowl of this to you this evening.

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The following craft was created by my sister.  When she shared it with me, I thought it was a clever idea, and decided to share it with you.

She attended a bridal shower on Saturday.  She bought a black tablecloth and black napkins from the bride-to-be's registry.  She thought it would be nice to add napkin rings with the gift, but when she priced them, found them to be too expensive. 

Instead, she decided to make her own to include with the gift.  She bought a package of shower curtain rings at KMart.  Her husband drilled a hole in the top of each one.  She bought a stem of white gardenias at Joann's Store, along with a bag of pearls.  She hot glued the stem of the flower in each hole.

She removed the yellow centers from the flowers and hot glued a pearl in the center of each one.

Total cost...!$1.15 each.

What a pretty, creative gift.  I can imagine how beautiful her table will look, when she has friends over.

I congratulated my sister on her inexpensive, creativity.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Yes, I am sharing yet another sunrise from my window, this morning, thanks to my dear aunt who called and told me about it.  She knows how much I enjoy seeing sunrises and sunsets, and how disappointed I am when I miss them. 

The only sad part to me is that my Sony cannot possibly capture the REAL, breathtaking beauty of it all.

 

I do wonder what my neighbors think as they see me standing by the upstair's window taking a multitude of pictures in the early morning hour? And of course, I wonder what you all think that I am sharing yet another sunrise picture?

This framed piece describes my early morning event perfectly..."This is the day".  My oldest daughter purchased it on Etsy, as a gift for me this Christmas.  It was beautifully created by..."www.jeannewinters.etsy.com

It is taken from Psalms 118:24  "This is the day the Lord has made;  We will rejoice and be glad in it."

I've placed it on my kitchen wall unit and it serves as a needed reminder to me, that each day that I am given, is truly a gift from God...

...whether there may be glorious sunrises in it, or not.

You may want to visit her Etsy shop and see her creations.

Wishing you a reason to celebrate today despite what you are facing.

 

Cleaning, organizing, getting rid of...it is all part of my mission since New Years.

This is the glass cupboard in my kitchen.  Most of the dishes are old and have come from special people.
I enjoyed cleaning each piece and remembering it's history.  I am surprised how dust can settle in cupboards even when they have glass doors.

The dish detergent, vinegar, and hot water, sure did make the pieces shine.

This set of old dishes was given to my from my oldest daugther.  She found them at a local flea market.  They add a touch of color to the white bead board.

I got this piece from a flea market.  Can you tell me why this cup has two handles on it?

The tiniest cup and saucer from my one grandma.  I wish I knew the history of it.  All I remember is that it was from her grandma.

These crystal goblets were my mother's.  She only used them on very special occasions.

During the Christmas holiday, I took this picture of my friend's china cupboard.  Her blue and white dishes look so pretty against the green and white decor.

Dishes and crystal...they have always been a part of my life, and I never tire of seeing everyone's pieces.

Thanks for stopping by this evening.

Do you have an interest in china and crystal?

My "smile makers" today...

The last one of my Christmas decorations is packed up and put away.  It is a big job and not near as much fun as putting them out before Christmas.

My husband had off work today and had time to spend with his little buddies.

Their laughter always makes me smile.

Now to many of you, this is not a big deal, but it is my first time ever to see a fox up close, or to photograph a fox.  I was capturing another brilliant sunset this evening at the neighbor's farm, and there right in front of me was this red fox running close by.  Lucky for each of you, you too get to see a fox up close:)   Now aren't you happy that you stopped by?  I am.

On New Year's Eve we helped celebrate our neice's 30th birthday, with a surprise 30's style birthday party given by her husband and her family.

When this family decides to do something, they sure do it right.

They visited flea markets and consignment shops.  It resulted with the thirties coming alive in an old log building, in a nearby town.

The three close-knit sisters looked beautiful, dressed in their 30's garb.

The birthday girl is the one in the middle.

Even their husbands got in the act with the 30's style dress.

Favors were bags filled with the birthday girl's favorite candies and tied with vintage type tags.  Our daughter created these festive favors.

The birthday girl's husband gave a heartfelt, meaningful, and memory filled tribute to his dear wife.

Here is my neice and her husband from my side of the family.  She happens to be good friends with the birthday girl(which happens to be a neice on my husband's side).

My sister-in-law and her daughters.  They dressed perfectly for the occasion.

The mother and father of the birthday girl, which happens to be my sister-in-law and brother-in-law.  Don't they look good?  I think my sister-in-law would have fit in the 1930's era perfectly.

Even the youngest one (cousins) enjoyed dressing in the era.

Happy 30th Birthday to our dear neice!

We wish you years of joy and blessings as you enter your 30's!

What a special way to welcome the year 2012!

Due to a bit of overeating this past few weeks, this is now our official snack of choice for a few weeks.

Thanks to the dear lady at "cottagecozy.blogspot.com/", I discovered this easy, inexpensive, and low in calorie snack.

One bag of Jolly Time Pop Corn from the local grocery store. 

One lunch size brown bag.

Layer pop corn kernels in the bottom of the bag, just to cover the bottom of the bag.

Fold down the top one time.

Sit it in the microwave.

Set the microwave oven for 2 minutes.

The popped corn will fill the bag.

Pour into big bowl, drizzle with extra light virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with salt.  Stir thoroughly.  If you want, you can sprinkle it with parmesan cheese too, and toss.

If it lasts until the next day, it tastes good too.

For now, this is our snack of choice.

But, just in case you prefer...I made these cookies over the holiday and they were delicious!
I found the recipe on "Food.com - 232088".  They are "potato chip chocolate chip cookies".  Oh my are they good, salty and sweet!  Hence the "pop corn" choice for us this week:)  Right now, I have a platter of them in my freezer.  If you happen to be in my area of the country, stop in for some cookies and milk.

Another year is almost over.  I read that Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) made five resolutions in his youth.

1. Live with all my might while I do live(he died at 55).

2.Never lose one moment of time, but improve it in the most profitable way possible.

3.Never do anything I should despise or think meanly in another.

4. Never do anything out of revenge.

5. Never do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

I am thinking that is some good advice to live by, in this coming year.

I wish you a Happy New Year ahead!