Thursday, June 30, 2011

Potluck favorites...anyone


Looking for Potluck pleasers at Gooseberry Patch round up this week.
Submit your potluck Favorite or find a new favorite to take to your next potluck.
Get details here.



The Protector by Shelley Shepard Gray


This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Protector
Avon Inspire; Original edition (June 28, 2011)
by
Shelley Shepard Gray

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shelley Shepard Gray is the beloved author of the Sisters of the Heart series, including Hidden, Wanted, and Forgiven. Before writing, she was a teacher in both Texas and Colorado. She now writes full time and lives in southern Ohio with her husband and two children. When not writing, Shelley volunteers at church, reads, and enjoys walking her miniature dachshund on her town's scenic bike trail.

Check out Shelley's Facebook Fan page

ABOUT THE BOOK

Everyone needs a safe place to call home


When her mother passes away, Ella's forced to auction off her family's farm. Her father died years ago, and she could never manage the fifty acres on her own. But after she moves to town, she can't deny the pain she feels watching the new owner, Loyal Weaver, repairing her family's old farmhouse—everything Ella had once dreamed of doing.

What Ella doesn't know is that Loyal secretly hopes she will occupy this house again...as his wife. He begins inviting her over, to ask her opinion on changes he wants to make. As their friendship blooms, Ella starts to wonder about Loyal's intentions, especially when her best friend, Dorothy, hints that Loyal is not who he seems. There's no way the golden boy of their close-knit Amish community could be interested in Ella, long the wallflower, hidden away caring for her ailing parents.

Should she trust the man she's always yearned for, or the friend who's always been by her side? When one of them threatens to disrupt the independence she's finally achieved, Ella is faced with a choice. She can protect her heart and keep things the way they've always been. Or she can come out of her shell, risk everything for the love she's always wanted, and finally have a place to call home.

If you would like to read an excerpt from The Protector, go HERE.
 
 

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Wordless Wednesday ~ Houston, We have ....a bloom....




Maybe there's hope for some fruit urrrrr (vegetables) 
First of July and no fruit yet hummmmmm!!!!!


Mom Spotted


posted at:
A Renaissance Woman

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Delicious Fresh Strawberry Pie

Delicious Fresh Strawberry Pie

Ingredients: (makes 2 pies)
2 baked pie shells
approx. 2 lbs. of fresh strawberries, washed
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
6 Tablespoons corn starch
1 small package of strawberry jello
1 tub whipped topping

1.  place washed strawberries in baked pie crust, if strawberries are small you may use them whole if larger cut in half or quarter




2.  In sauce pan thicken sugar, water, and corn starch.  Remove from heat add jello and allow to cool approx. 10 min.  pour sauce over strawberries in pie shell.



3.  place pie in refrigerator and allow to chill.  Serve with whipped topping.






Friday, June 24, 2011

In honor of Fairy Day...


I have a Tinker Bell fan in my house so just had to post this in honor of Fairy Day today.  
Happy Day to you all


Thursday, June 23, 2011

SummerTime Favorites


SummerTime Favorites is being rounded up this week at Gooseberry Patch
Submit your family's Favorite or find a new family favorite.
Get details here.



Everything PINK

zwani.com myspace graphic comments

Today is National Pink Day so I thought I'd just be random and do something totally different. I love pink it is my favorite color. Enjoy!!

 







She Makes It Look Easy by Marybeth Whalen



This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
She Makes It Look Easy
David C. Cook (June 1, 2011)
by
Marybeth Whalen


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marybeth Whalen is the wife of Curt and mom of six children. The family lives outside Charlotte, NC. Marybeth is a member of the Proverbs 31 Ministries writing team and a regular contributor to their daily devotions. Her first novel,The Mailbox was released in June 2010. Her next novel, She Makes It Look Easy, will be released in June 2011. Additionally, she serves as director of She Reads, Proverbs 31 Ministries' fiction division.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Ariel Baxter has just moved into the neighborhood of her dreams. The chaos of domestic life and the loneliness of motherhood, however, moved with her. Then she meets her neighbor, Justine Miller. Justine ushers Ariel into a world of clutter-free houses, fresh-baked bread, homemade crafts, neighborhood play dates, and organization techniques designed to make marriage better and parenting manageable.

Soon Ariel realizes there is hope for peace, friendship, and clean kitchen counters. But when rumors start to circulate about Justine’s real home life, Ariel must choose whether to believe the best about the friend she admires or consider the possibility that “perfection” isn’t always what it seems to be.

If you would like to read an excerpt of She Makes It Look Easy, go HERE.


 

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Wordless Wednesday ~ summer FEET





Mom Spotted


posted at:
A Renaissance Woman

WWW ~ June 22, 2011




My WWW Meme is over at 4 the LOVE of BOOKS this week. There is a What to Read giveaway attached to the meme this week. So head over there and help me decide what to read next and sign up to enter the contest. Tell me you came from Scraps of Life for a bonus. Click here to go to Giveaway and find out what I am reading right now. 


Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Quick and Easy Chow Mein


My hubby doesn't cook much but this is one recipe that he introduced to the family.  It is pretty easy.

1.  brown 1 lb. of hamburger, drain off grease

2.  stir in 1 small onion and 2 ribs of celery.  cook briefly 3-5 min.  I like the celery to have a crunch it seems to add to the dish

3. add 1 10 oz. can each of tomato and cream of celery soup.  Heat through but don't boil.

4.  hubby stirs in chow mein noodles, but if you don't eat all they get soggy so you may serve the with the sauce and let people put the sauce over the noodles on their plate.  either way works.  I like the crunch of the noodles as well as the celery.  left over soggy noodles not good, but I have eaten that way too.



Is your Teenager Wasting His Summer?


Is Your Teenager Wasting His Summer?
By Carol Topp, CPA

Summer is a great time for a teenager to earn some money working a temporary job, but most jobs are a waste of time. Summer jobs are usually low-skill jobs with tedious tasks like running a cash register or cleaning up bits of paper at an amusement park. These jobs pay poorly and do not usually offer any paths to advance or grow. They do nothing to help a teenager develop his gifts or prepare him for a
future career. The best that can be said about a summer job is that it keeps a teenager busy and pays him a bit of money.

What if there was a way for your teenager to make some money, learn a lot and test a future career this summer? It would be a much better use of his time. What if your teenager learned time management, practiced math and writing skills, and grew in confidence and responsibility? That would be a very rewarding summer.

Instead of telling your teenager to get a job, encourage him to start a micro business. A micro business is a one-person business that can be started easily, usually without any up-front cash, using what a teenager already owns. Micro businesses are usually home-based and very flexible so a busy student can keep up with other interests, sports and a social life.

Teenagers can use their skills to develop businesses such as teaching guitar lessons, doing web design or caring for children. Some teenagers have started micro businesses by offering services such as house cleaning, pet care, and lawn mowing. One easy-to-start micro business is tutoring. Students can tutor math, Spanish, computer programs or any subject that they are good at.

The quickest way to get your teenager started is to look for a need he can fill such as teaching a subject he knows well. Edgar is bi-lingual, since his family speaks Spanish in their home. He is tutoring another student in Spanish as a micro business.

Other teenagers can turn their interests into a micro business. Kristin combined her love of reading and childcare. She assembled a small group of children one morning a week and in a two hour block of time read them a story, planned a craft, and fed them a snack. She charged $5 per child per week and conducted a six-week mini-camp one summer. It was so popular, she offered an afternoon reading
camp as well.

One benefit of running a micro business during the summer over working a job is that a teenager can try out an idea and see if they want to pursue it as a career. Joel has a talent for computer web design. He is teaching himself software like InDesign and makes money by creating buttons and banners for websites. His web design micro business will help Joel determine if her wants to be a full time graphic designer. Meanwhile he is learning time management and customer service skills while getting paid.

So don't saddle your teenager with another summer of working a boring, tedious job that offers no challenges or opportunities for growth. Instead, encourage him to have his best summer yet by starting a micro business.


Carol Topp, CPA advises teenage business owners through her Micro Business for teens books series. Carol's day job is accountant to business owners, and she enjoys teaching teenagers to succeed beyond their dreams.  Students appreciate how she shares what they need to know in clear and helpful lessons.  Her web site is MicroBusinessforTeens.com


Visit the book tour here.
Visit guest articles:
How to launch a Mirco Business: 10 easy steps
Spring Cleaning: a time to make money
Celebrate Independence