Happy Anniversary Card

A friend asked if I would make an anniversary card for a friend of theirs. This is what I came up with. I went to the member's gallery on Two Peas in a Bucket and found something similar. It was so pretty I thought I would try to duplicate it. It isn't exact, of course, but I do like how mine came out.

I just used scraps that I had in my studio. I love the butterfly punch, it is from the Martha Stewart Collection.

Hope you enjoy.

Rocky Mountain Memories

I have an interview this month with Cheryl Grigsby, owner of Rocky Mountain Memories in Estes Park. I am so looking forward to meeting her and seeing what could be in store for us.

I also have two scrapbooking jobs that I need to get started on right away. One is an invitation card for a college graduate. And the other is a high school graduation album. Two albums to be exact. That is the big thing here in Yuma. If you have a son or daughter who will be graduating you must have an album made for all your guest to look back over their school years.

On Tuesday of this week we went to Scottsbluff, NE. Don had been invited to speak at the Chapel Service at Summit Christian College. He was scheduled to speak Wednesday morning, so we drove up a day early so we helpfully could see some sites. The college provided a wonderful room for us to stay the night.



Unfortunately the Scottsbluff National Monument was closed by the time we got there so we went and got some supper and had a wonderful family evening.

The next day after Chapel (Don did a great job speaking!), we went to the National Monument. What a beautiful spot! The history of this place is unbelievable. If you ever go, be sure to see the little movie. It gave so much more information on the Oregon Trail than I had ever heard before. At this site back in the 1850's the western pioneers were just beginning to see the Rocky Mountains. What an awesome feeling comes over you as you stand where they crossed the plains. I highly recommend stopping by to see this beautiful monument to those brave travelers of yesteryear.

Hospital Visit

Last Friday night I went to bed with a headache, I then woke up at 1:00am with such a severe pain in my stomach. At 9:00am I was so weak from being sick all night long (every 10 min) that Don was getting very worried so he got me up and off we went to the Clinic at the Yuma District Hospital. Once there they sent me straight to the ER. I spent the next 7 hours getting hooked up to IV's and they were giving me anti-nausea medicine all day. After a cat scan and some much needed sleep (induced by the medicine), I was finally able to hold down some jell-o and juice so they let me go home. I really don't remember a lot of that day or the next day I was still very weak and still under the drug's effects. It wasn't until Monday evening that I finally began feeling like myself. The doctor had a suspicion of what was going on but I need to go back for more test to be sure.

I've been admitted into a hospital before for various procedures but that was my first time in an ER. From the moment you are placed into an ER bed you loose all sense of dignity. All you want them to do is to get you better and you do not care what they do to get you to that point. I had two very nice and sweet nurses (the perks of small town is that they know you personally) and the Dr. was so good to me too. You could tell that they were trying their best to figure out not only what was wrong but what kinds of medicines and procedures that would help me feel better.

I was watching a TV reality show that showed the lives of Doctors in an ER setting and what kind of cases that come through these big city hospitals. This one particular Dr. had just saved this man's life and he said that he believed in God and that God sends miracles down to us every day but we just don't seem to see them. He said that someone had once told him that the Doctors dress the wounds and God heals them. I saw that happen on that day I was so sick. I thank the nurses and Doctor for being there to help me and I thank God for healing me.

Rearranging of the Furniture

I had posted on my Facebook a few days back that I rearranged my dining room and kitchen. My son said when he say that post that I had changed around the refrigerator and stove and the kitchen cabinets.


















I know he was teasing me but I thought I would go ahead and show you a little of what I did. I took out the big pine cabinet I had in the kitchen. (It held the microwave, toaster and some metal bowls, etc.) I then took my dining room hutch apart and put the table (the bottom half) in place of the big pine cabinet. I turned this into a desk. I love the way it looks. The dining room looks so much roomy and there is so much more room going from the kitchen into the dining room. I had fun rearranging but it took all day long. I didn't think it would take very much time to move two pieces of furniture but once you get started on a project like this you realize just how dirty things are. The things that are behind and not seen on a day to day basis. My next big project will be my scrap-booking space. That is going to be a huge undertaking. I need to go through everything and purge!

Chocolate Pumpkin Mini-Muffins Recipe

(makes approx 48 mini muffins)

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin

1/2 c mini chocolate chips

2 egg whites

2 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease the insides of your mini muffin liners, otherwise the muffins will stick to the paper. (I used vegetable oil and a small brush for this. I know this is a pain but it does work. If you don't do this your muffins will stick to the paper. I got tired of doing it and the muffins that didn't get oiled did stick.)

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until a little foamy. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir until well blended. Use a tablespoon to fill prepared baking cups. Bake for about 13 - 15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pans and let cool.

This is a very simple recipe. They didn't look like much when they came out. I guess you could put some icing on them to help their looks but I didn't have time to do this.

I was wondering if you could mash some bananas and use them instead of the pumpkin. Just a thought.

Our church has begun a new ministry called "He Brews" Coffee Ministry. Immediately following church service a table is set up in the back and we have coffee brewed, hot water for tea, and some goodies to eat. This is great time for everyone to stop and fellowship a little after service. Kind of a get-to-know-you time.

We are trying to get people to sign up for the goodies which could be anything from muffins to fruit. I signed up for last Sunday so these muffins are what I took. I heard there was a couple of guys who were popping them in their mouths one right after another. Good to know they were delicious.

If you have a recipe that would be quick but good for our ministry, let me know.

Bellus

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, her name is Bellus. If you have been reading this you know that we have been searching for a cat for about 2 months now. We have been looking for an Egyptian Mau or a Bengal. Well Don and I went to PetSmart on Valentine's Day just to see if they had any cats left over from their National Adoption Weekend. And yes they did! Bellus was the third cat that we looked at and when we saw the markings on her legs, head and belly we just knew she had to have some Bengal in her. (Sorry for the picture with the white eyes, she has the most beautiful green eyes.) She was so cute and lovable that we said "We'll take her!" A few hours later, after buying everything you need for a house cat we were on our way home with Bellus.

Actually her name that the Shelter had given her was Turnip but my son didn't like that name. He found Bellus, which means beautiful in Latin. She's to sophisticated to have a name like Turnip!

We were a little nervous about she and Max, our Lab, getting along, but no worries at all! They get along very well. No dog chasing a cat yet!! She has been sleeping in our son's room for the last two nights and she pretty much follows him throughout the house. She is so cute.

We just love have Bellus in our family!!

Relay for Life

We had our Relay for Life Kick-Off last night. It was held at the Nazarene Church here in town. Don and I are on the Planning Committee plus Don is heading up the Food Committee. So we were not going to be a Team Captains this year but some people who were there last night asked if they could be on Don's team this year, so guess who is team captains again this year! We enjoy doing it, it is just a lot of work.

We were discouraged last year since we were not able to raise very much money. I think we had the lowest amount raised. How embarrassing. So this year we are starting early, like I am beginning today! Cellular Recycler is teaming up with the American Cancer Society to donate money for old cell phones. I have ordered all of the necessary materials to collect the old/unused cell phones and I am going to announce today in church for people to begin collecting their old cell phones and to bring them in to me. Anything little thing can help.

Both of our families have been affected by this terrible thing called cancer. I don't think there is a person out there who hasn't had at least one person in their family affected by this. This fund raiser then is very important to us. Maybe some day with the help of all this money being raised for research, they will finally find a cure.

If you would like to help find a cure, be sure to check out the American Cancer Society's website to find out what you can do.

Living Water Academy of the Plains

We are starting up a new Christian academy here in Yuma. It is called Living Water Academy of the Plains. It is very exciting to think that there will be a classical based academy here in our community. We are trying to get everything finished up to begin classes in August of this year.

We will follow the Logos School from Idaho. Go to their website to find out more about this awesome school. We are going to strive very hard to make our school just as great as that school.

If you have any questions just leave a comment or email me.

It's cold outside and on the inside

We are in a complete freeze here in Northeast Colorado as is much of the plains, and it is coming into the Midwest. We have kept the a fire in our fireplace for the last 24 hours.

This is how my creativity is right now, in a complete freeze. Nothing is coming to mind. I have no desire to go into my scrap room. It just feels like my scrap room is so far away from my family. It feels very lonely down there. At first I blamed it on my grief over the loss of my mother-in-law, but now I'm not sure. I think it could be some insecurities coming on too. Maybe when the weather outside gets a little better maybe so will my desire to be creative.