New Gmail Feature!

Use to be that we had to attach each single photo, file etc to our email and wait to add the next.  What a handy feature THIS is.  Now, you just click on ALL the files you want to add and voila!  Love it.

Its SUNNY & our daughter sent me this… she said it made her think of me.  Awww!   We used to love these stories.  Being she’s in her 20’s now, this really touched me that she remembers.

 

Weather’s Playing with my Emotions!

 

See, tricked into thinking the snow was all melted away… sure there is still a tad of ice on the lake…. this taken via webcam yesterday about 5ish…

 

Sigh… to THIS!  This morning its snow blowing every which way.  Well, at least its blowing so its not piled up everywhere.  I understand Vancouver got up to 18 centimetres yesterday!  I told Mr. that the weather has menopause, going through the hot and cold flushes.  I can identify :)

How’s YOUR weather looking?

I received some lovely awards from my friend Shirley – I WILL get them published, really I will, Shirl.  Why not wander over to her blog and check out her cool rock collection!

My First Webinar

 

I did something interesting and fun – and new, Tuesday. I took part in a 'webinar' hosted by Corel, to introduce the new Corel Painter 11. I recieved an invitation via email and decided to take the plunge and register. I must admit, I was a bit timid about it, since I have not done this type of thing before {why, I have a hard time chatting with more than one person at a time. NOT good at multi-chat though I do muddle through somehow. Usually by the rule of 'put a sock in it' and being more of an observer}

Anyways – I took a bit of time reading all the instructions for the webinar, of course I waited to the hour before which was sort of useless... If I'd taken the time a few days before, perhaps I could have borrowed a headset from somewhere so I could enjoy the talk/listen feature. But still, it worked out great as not only was there a visual window, there was a small chat window provided where we were invited to ask questions etc.

I made sure that I clicked on the invitation link early because we were informed that the sessions were so popular that instead of the several hundred attendees expected, there were thousands! They wound up adding additional sessions to accommodate the overflow.

So, eventually it started, and it basically took care of itself. It was not anything like I thought it would be and the hour simply flew by. Robert McDonald walked us through many of the new and cool features of this new version of Painter. I won't go over all of them, but here are a few things that stood out in my mind:

 

 

 

 

 

So, these were some of the items that were discussed – and here are some of the demos:

Oh – I like!  You can now ‘shade’ with the side of your ‘pencil’ – the pen can be used in a tilt mode and will allow the medium to be expressed just as if you were shading with a real … pencil, pastel, crayon etc!

And now, you can go from  this:

To THIS!

Very cool!  You can now free transform, skew and rotate! 

I also like the feature of being able to save as png with transparent background and being able to email right from within the program.

 

Hmmm…. will my Mr. assist me in my zeal for this newest version… I’ll keep you posted (literally!) 

Sooooo – inspiration is GOOD.  I fooled around for a short while and wound up with this delectable apple!  I finished it off by overlaying it with one of dear, sweet  & TALENTED  KimB’s beautiful Vintage overlays.  Enjoy!

PS – I’m hosting it at drop.io until this virus scare is over.  Let me know if you have any problems downloading – its pretty straightforward!

Personal Use

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6th Picture

 

Louise (LouCee as she is so fondly known to us here in blog-land…. and hay, I always want to drawl the Cee out … LooooCeeeeeeeeeeeeeee)  Well, Louise has challenged me to post my 6th sixth SIXTH photo on my blog.  I dunno, feels spooky this 66sixthhhhh thing, you know.  Being a Christian that number does not sit right. 

At any rate, here is the the sixth (tongue tripping over that word today too, twisting right over with the xth part.  Makes me think of Sylvester Lisp in the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, you know?)

No, this is NOT the sixth and so on and so forth, this is just the sixth of the folder I’m working with lately.  I haven’t really shared what my BIG project is to date, so I’ll cough up now – now that its public knowledge. 

Many of you know that my Mr. works at (and I attend) a Learning Centre – I actually graduated here at the ripe old age of 43  (GOOD old age I say – I truly DID get ‘older and wiser’)  Well, the Principal at the Centre is retiring at the end of next month.  She’s a wonderful person and good friend.  She’s a huge advocate of education and learning – and has an especial place in her heart to see people come back to finish high school – even if they are up to their senior years.  I think the oldest person I saw graduate from the Learning Centre was in their 80’s – how cool is THAT?

I have SUCH an admiration and respect for Bev – she’s a very special woman.  I know there are many who will agree that her presence in our lives have made us better people.  She instilled a confidence and strength in myself.  Thank you, Bev, for the sacrifice of your time and dedication to help me become the person I am today. 

 

 

15 years passes quickly – truly in the blink of an eye! 

The school started off in one community, actually in the humble room of a local hotel!  After several years, the school expanded to a second location in a neighbouring town and eventually a third community was added.  In all this time, Bev remained as Principal at all three – so as the schools grew, Bev had to shoulder all the more work.  No wonder she’s ready to pass the torch!

We’ve known for a long time that retirement was coming, but I’m sure we’ve all been avoiding the reality of it in our hearts. 

So, when the staff inquired what Bev would like as a parting gift – she had no hesitation to say that a scrapbook of her years of her career and years at the Centre.  I have been busy gathering, scanning, collecting and compiling photos, articles and information for the past several weeks and I think it will be several more weeks before the book is ready to publish. 

Part of me does not want it to be finished, for that means the reality is here …

 

 

We had a potluck lunch last Thursday and the students presented her with a ‘money tree’ and a beautiful embroidered gift.  The tree is a ‘real’ tree which can be planted out – Bev loves to garden.  She will certainly have time to do this now.  What a nice thought that the tree will grow and spread out roots – just as the gift of learning she’s instilled in each student will grow roots out to the generations in their own families.

I thank God for people like Bev who give their very lives to give a helping hand to others.  Its a true honour for me to take this project on – its a labour of love and a small opportunity to give back. 

Great Louise… now you got me all teary, first thing in the day – way to go, girlfriend! *sob*  Don’t all stand around and watch me weep – why not visit Louise and check out the sweet kit she’s giving away? 

Oh – and a last minute tack-on here of interest.  Yesterday I was watching the news and heard of a hotel burning down… and realized it was from the area where my friend Cicero hails from.  Why, not only that, she was unaware – so off set her husband with camera and in hand and voila! – we have our own news coverage… how neat!   You can read about it and see the pics by visiting Cicero’s blog!

Bacon Faces

photo credit:ba1969@sxc

Last night I cooked a ton of bacon for a breakfast at our church which we had this morning.  As each piece was done, I laid it on a piece of newspaper to drain.  It felt so WRONG to lay the pieces of cooked meat on the faces of the local realtors.

It sure was a good idea to precook the meat though – last time I did it all in the morning and it took forever, created a huge mess and left me sweating and smelling like a slab of bacon all morning.  This way, I just had to pop it into the oven to warm. 

Usually I don’t eat ANY breakfast {yes, this drives Mr. and almost everyone else in the world batty} – but somehow having a HUGE delicious breakfast {including chocolate chip pancakes, applesauce, muffins and quiche} feels so RIGHT.

Do you eat breakfast? 

My sister sent me a link for a cute Seasame Street video, and after I watched that one, I found this one - I can't help but share. Ok, so I was really really REALLY looking for scripture which goes with the theme of this, for I KNOW there is something that lines up, but can't find it exactly - any ideas?

Yes, I got a haircut. Well actually - I GAVE me a haircut. Right, I keep seeing the commercial thats running on our local station. The one with the guy who's buffing his car, the disheveled looking neighbor comes up, coffee cup in hand and makes some crack to the guy about his car being "cheap". The guy looks up, annoyed and says: "my car is actually new but inexpensive... and then he barks at the coffee cup guy- "YOU cut your OWN hair, now THATS cheap!" (and we get a view of the back of the coffee cup guy's head - there's like this big bald chunk cut out of the center) Ouch!


Well, I don't consider myself 'cheap', though I do love to save my pennies for things that I would rather sink my money into. I used to always go to a hairdresser - never DARED touch my own hair. Except for my bangs. Boy, I sure used to mess them up and good! I'd wind up having to have a hairdresser 'repair' my damage which meant usually having really short, dumb looking bangs. You know the kind.

Anyways, as my true hair color began to fade, and as we camped almost every single summer, with little money and no hopes of a hairdresser, I learned to not only color, but cut my own hair. Little by little I gained confidence - now it takes no time at all. And now, while I CAN afford to go to a salon, I actually like how I cut and color my own hair. Because I like a style thats sort of layered and thinned, its very simple for me to do a bit of trimming right after I color it. I have it down to a science.

So, do YOU cut or color your own hair? Any tips you would like to share with me?

Note: I cannot cut my man's hair. We've tried that a few times in desperation on vacation, but its FAR wiser to have a professional go at his handsome scalp.

And I guess I must have spring-cleaning fever, for once I finished with my head, I went at the house for 10 hours of intensive cleaning, which involved moving EVERY stick of furniture and vacuuming and rearranging furniture. Have any of you had this urge of late? Or is it just me...

I want to mention that if you are looking for something new and yummy to make for lunches, Ariel has a fantastic Three Cheese and Broccoli Calzones recipe on her baking and books blog - with her first own video instructions. I think I may try these, they look easy! Just click HERE to visit.



Am I having fun OR WHAT? I've been having a ball playing with KimB's ROCHE kit, its the second in a 'friends' series of her kits - and its positively BEAUTIFUL! Kim hosted a card I created and I'm hoping to publish some more projects in the future as well - all sorts of ideas brewing! Hop on over to KIMB'S place to find out how to buy this SWEET kit for your collection!

Last, but not least, here's an 8 x 8" QP for your enjoyment. My DEAR friend Valinda made it using my Soft Birthday Wishes kit and I added a few of KimB's Commercial use items on it as well. Please, rather than thank me here, skip on over to Valinda's to see the lovely layout she made with this QP - featuring her adorable grand-daughter! Thank you, Valinda!

Personal Use

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I did make a little gift for my husband for Valentines, but I'm not able to share it ... yet. But I did wrap it all pretty and he was VERY impressed. I will reveal it some time in the future, but for now, the focus is on the best gift in my life - my husband.


Besides 'hijacking' my blog, he took a day out of his totally busy schedule to pamper me with a delicious and decadent Valentines supper - cooked by himself! He was very patient with me as I took photos of everything - only so I could share it here and keep it for memory sake. Here's how it was:




First, he set up the projector to play onto the entire wall of our front room and put on some concert music, with a screensaver that played a show sort of like a cross between fireworks and planets - always shifting and changing, but with the beat of the music guiding it. Hows that for atmosphere?



He had the table completely set up really nicely, and low lighting. He baked the bread in the front - from the Artisan Bread in 5 recipe - he topped it with cheddar cheese.




Besides having a set of tall, romantic beeswax candles (a gift made for us from our dear friend Melanie) there was also a smaller tiffany-lamp looking candle... and floating candles which burned in a gorgeous bowl which was given to us by our daughter and her man this past Christmas (I think you can see the stand on the previous photo) It looked very very romantic.



Then, what celebration dinner would be complete without some 'bubbly'? Non-alcoholic, of course! The bubbles go up one's nose so nicely.




And he washed behind his ears and put on a fancy shirt, shaved and put on a big smile for the camera.



I never get enough opportunity to put my wedding dress on - so this was the perfect time to do so. I don't think I'd be brave enough to put my headdress on for a restaurant, but for a time like this its perfect. I culled this photo out of a series I took while Mr. was out grilling the dinner *wink*




And my, oh MY, what a feast! There was fresh salad with mixed greens, lemon herb couscous, broccoli, grilled mushrooms with chili, grilled steak and prawns. I'm so envious - every single thing came together for him, was served with precise timing and was marvelous!



And then, as if this was not fabulous enough - he assembled this incredible dessert which was made up of fresh strawberries, a dark chocolate coated ice cream bar, whipped topping and more chocolate. Sigh! I still can hardly move. What a sweet man I've been blessed with. As I told him, this was BETTER than any restaurant he could have taken me to, by 1,000 times!


Thank you goes to Amy for allowing me to use her Chocolate Dipped kit to blog this special event... how did you KNOW, Amy? It could not be more perfect for our dinner. Amy's kit was on sale, but we missed that, don't you know? But, its still for sale, and you can find out more on how to order it (and scoop her KILLER co-ordinating QP, for FREE) by visiting her blog - just click HERE. And... andandand - I'm so very PROUD of Amy, for she's now a College Graduate! She's been diligently working away at it all this time. Way to go, girlfriend!!

AmyW's Chocolate Dipped Kit

Also, just a note, if you're thinking of getting a new look for your blog, my good friend Bunny is a very talented designer who makes killer blog makeovers... and she's having a makeover sale for February! Why not give yourself an overhaul - let Bunny know I sent you! Just click HERE to find out the details!

And I almost forgot - my friend Cicero is having a GIVEAWAY! She is a very talented soap maker and I'm pretty sure that will be among the things she'll be giving... the contest has already started - began Valentines Day, but you have plenty of time to try for this. This is a clip from her blog:


"for my 2nd blogiversary coming up March 15th. The prize will be some home made soap plus whatever else I feel willing to part with come the day. Each day, every commenter's name between today, February 14 and March 14th, will have their names thrown into a hat (only one entry per day). That means, the more comments over the period of that one month, the more chances one has to win the give-away. "


To put your name in, just click HERE to be transported to Cicero's blog! Tell her I sent you!

Happy Valentines Day to All

I know, I'm a bit early, but I couldn't wait....




Yes it is true all, Barb has captured my heart. I have temporarily hacked into her site even though she changed her password. I am hoping she will forgive me...

but I must confess to all my love for this precious women. She is a perfect wife, companion and her life is an inspiration to me. I have watched her grow in Christ and now she has become quite an encouragement to me in my faith as I know she is for all of you!

Barbara, I love you forever and it keeps growing everyday. I pray that the Lord continues to work in your life as you and I walk in faith together. I love the way that you love Jesus and I know that this faith will carry you forward to greater and greater things. I look forward to what lies ahead.

Thank-you to all who read this blog who have befriended Barb - she talks about you often and I know she feels richly blessed by all of you!

I better go before I am caught.

I love you Barbara!

Miles

I apologize to all of you who might be wondering why I've been MIA for this past week - I'm building a SUPER gargantuan scrapbook project for a dear friend and co-worker of mine and the Mr.'s, so its taking all my time and resources to keep up. I am learning as I go. So I'm asking if you'd pray for me for this project. I want it to be something our friend will keep forever and will be a quality item she'll be very proud of.

So, with that, I must take myself away again. I thought today I would belatedly post something I meant to do at Christmas, actually. It comes from Janna's blog - and I wanted to be sure with her it would be ok to republish. Thank You, Janna.

Anyways, this is a list of 100 Cheap Neighbor Gifts - they are Christmas themed, but you know I think they could be EASILY adapted to any occaision. What came to my mind was with Valentines, and this scripture which reflects what REAL love is:

²⁸One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" ²⁹"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' ³¹The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

So, this list should give you some great ideas how you can show your 'neighbors' that you care about them, and not just for a society-driven celebration like the official Valentines day, but EVERY day. And love your neighbor by deciphering what is important to THEM, what they would like, rather than what you would like FOR them. Let your gift reflect your recognition of who they truly are! Handmade items and your own service and time, are some of the most special presents of all.

CHEAP NEIGHBOR GIFTS

1. M&M's -"Have a Merry and Most wonderful Holiday Season!!"
2. Soup or soup mix -Wishing you a "Souper" Holiday Season!!
3. Frozen or ready to bake pizza -"Warm up to a wonderful Holiday Season "Topped" with Christmas cheer!"
4. Apples and Hershey's Hugs -A teacher can't live by apples alone...She needs "Hugs" too!!
5. Popcorn Balls -Hoping you have a "Ball" this Holiday Season!
6. Loaf of Bread -For being there when you were "Kneaded", for "Rising" to the occasion, largeor small. For never "Loafing" on the job, for helping others to "Heel"with TLC. No matter how you "Slice it", you do a terrific job lovingothers. Merry Christmas!!7. Jolly Ranchers -Have a Holly"Jolly" Christmas!!
8. Rootbeer -We're "Root"ing for you to have a Happy Holiday Season and a WonderfulNew Year!!
9. Chex Party Mix -Remember Santa "Chex" his list twice to see who's been naughty ornice..so be good for goodness sake!! Merry Christmas!!
10. Box of Hostess Ho-Ho's -Hope a merry "HO - HO - HO" fills your heart the whole year through! (Put asanta sticker on the label)
11. Wire wisk - (Filled with Chocolate kisses)"We WHISK you a Merry KISSmas!!"
12. Jar of Jelly -jelly is like love - you can't spread it around without getting some onyoursel f! Merry Christmas!!
13. Christmas Tray -We "Tray"sure your friendship! Merry Christmas!!
14. Bell -With each chime of this festive bell, may a Christmas wish come true. Andbring you peace and happiness to last the whole year through! MerryChristmas!
15. Yule Log -"We send you warm greetings this Christmas Season!!"
16. Potpourri -"May this sweet scent bring back thoughts of warm Christmases long ago!"Merry Christmas!
17. Cleaners -"You add sparkle and make our life brighter!" Merry Christmas!
18. Nuts -"We're nuts about you!" Merry Christmas!
19 Lifesavers -" You've been a life saver!" Have a great Christmas!
20. A juice pitcher filled with candy canes-"We pitcher you raising a little "cane" during the holidays!" Have a merryChristmas!!
21. Broom -You're "Dust" the finest neighbors we know! Merry Christmas!
22. Paper Towels -"Blot out your troubles; absorb the Christmas Spirit!"
23. Measuring Cup or Glass Measure -"Wishing you Joy Beyond Measure!
24. Bananas -If we could choose our friends, and we searched the whole world through,we'd go bananas trying to find a better bunch than you!!"
25. Any Star ornament -"Remember the reason for the season!"51. Oranges -" Orange" you glad we're Friends!?" Merry Christmas!!
26. Chocolate Mousse Mix -"Merry Christmousse" to our "Deer" Friends!
27. Wooden spoon -Whether stirring up cakes, cookies, soups or souffles; You'll find thisspoon useful in so many ways. But whatever it's use, it says, "Merry MerryChristmas from us to you!"
28. Flower -"If friends were flowers, we'd pick you! Happy Holidays!! Or "You makefriendship bloom all year round!"
29. Heart Christmas Ornament -"May the Joy and Love you give away, come back to you on Christmas day!"
30. Cinnamon Sprinkles -(Cinnamon &Sugar, or cookie sprinkles)"May your Christmas be sprinkled with laughter and love!" Merry Christmas!
31. Hersheys Hugs -"A friend always knows when you need a little hug!"
32. Christmas music..CD or Tape -"May the sweet song of Christmas make your heart rejoyce!" Or "May themerry sounds of Christmas bring a Joyful Melody to your holiday season"Merry Christmas!!
33. Filled Basket -"Wishing you a basket full of Christmas blessings"
34. Salsa -"Add a little Spice to your Holidays!" Merry Christmas!
35. Stocking or filled Jar -"Have a fun filled christmas this year!"
36. Lamb -"Have "eweself" a Merry little Chistmas!!"
37. Candle -"May your days be happy, your heart be light, your Christmas merry and theNew Year Bright!!
38. Holly -"Happy Hollydays!"39. Calendar -"Keep Christmas in your heart the whole year through!"
40. Shaped Sugar Cookies -"Rolling out a batch of Christmas Cheer, for Someone we think is verydear!!"
41. Cherry 7-up -"Just a Little Christmas Cheer from Happy Hearts this time of year!! MerryChristmas!!"
42. Sparkling Cider -"Wishing you a Sparkling Holiday Season!"
43. Warm Casserole or Bread -"Bundled up with warm wishes!!"
44. Popcorn or Carmel Corn -"Just "Popping" by with a Holiday Hi!" Or "May your Holidays be Poppin'!"
45. Seasoning Mix -"Seasoned with Love" Merry Christmas!!
46. Eggbeater -"Have an "Eggstra" Special Holiday!!"
47. Hersheys Hugs and Kisses -"Christmas Hugs and Kisses to You " Or "Holiday Hugs and Kisses to you!"
48. Apple Pie or Apple Crisp -"Wishing you a Scrumptuous Christmas!"
49. Fruit Basket -"May your New Year be Festive and Fruitful!!"
50. Any Sweet Treat -"Wishing you a season filled with sweetness!"
52. Chocolate Orange -"Orange" you glad it's Christmas? Hope your Christmas is a Sweet one!
53. Sprite -" May your Christmas be Merry and Sprite!"
54. Ice Cream Snowballs and Hot Fudge -" Here's some packaged"snowball" treats - Just Drizzle Hot Fudge and itsready to eat!...Enjoy!!"
55. Snicker Bar -"Don't "Snicker", just be glad you got Something!!"
56. Mints -"Friends like you are worth a Mint!!" Merry Christmas!! Or "Friends like usare mint to be."
57. Matches -"No one Matches you as neighbors!" Merry Christmas!
58. Strainer - (With a christmas bow)" We couldn't restrain ourselves from wishing you a very Merry Christmas!!"
59. Box of Light Bulbs -"Have a bright and radiant Christmas"
60. Bubble Gum or Bubble Bath -"May your holidays "Bubble" over with fun!!
61 Pencil and Notepad -"Merry Christmas from our pad to yours!!" or Merry Christmas to a"noteworthy" friend!"
62. Jar of Pickles -"Just in brine, Our wish for a merry Christmas!!"
63. Grater and Cheese -" To a Grate Neighbor! Merry Christmas!"
64. Ice Cream -"Have a "Cool" Yule!!"
65. Bear shaped Honey -"Have a Bear-y Sweet Christmas!!"
66. Santa -"Ho - Ho - Hoping your Christmas is Heavenly!"
67. Angel -"Hoping you have a Heavenly Christmas!!"
68. Eggnog -" Have an "Udderly Moovalous" Christmas!!"
69. Gingerbread House -"Nibble, Nibble like a mouse, We hope you'll nibble at this house!" MerryChristmas!!
70. Mugs with Hot Chocolate Mix -"To our special friends who are so Dear, We wish you all a cup of Cheer!"One Mug would be a special gift for a Teacher."To a Special Teacher dear, wishing you a"Cup of Cheer"!"
71. Cocoa Mix -"Wishing you a warm and wonderful Christmas!"
72. Muffins or Muffin mix -" You're getting "Muffin" for Christmas!!"
73. Gum -"By Gum, You're a great Neighbor!! Have a Merry Christmas"
74. Veggies and Dip -"Dip into a wonderful Holiday season and a Healthy New Year!"
75. Christmas Shapped pasta - ( Or any Pasta and a bottle of Sauce )"Have a Pasta-tively Happy Holiday!"
76. Jar of Jam -"Hoping you have a Holiday "Jammed" packed with fun!!" "Have a "Berry" niceholiday season!!" Or "Hoping your Christmas is "Jam-packed" withChristmas Cheer!!"
77. Cookie Dough -"Here's a little extra "Dough" for Christmas! Or"Everyone Needs a little extra "Dough" for Christmas!!"
78. Homemade Frozen Rolls -"Here's a little holiday treat. Rise and bake, it can't be beat! Warmfresh rolls just for you. Top with butter that's all you do! Warm HolidayGreetings to you"
79. Brownie Mix - (Or any Mix)"Whip up this mix for a wonderful holiday fix! Wishing you a "rich" HolidaySeason!!" (Be sure to attatch the recipe!)
80. Homemade carmels -Hoping you have a "Rich" and "wonderful" Holiday!!"
81. Pie -"Just a "Holiday Hi" and a tasty Pie!! Happy Holidays!!"
82. Divinity -"May your Christmas be "Devine" and your Holidays so Fine! Sweet ChristmasWishes!"
83. Rice Krispie Treats -"Snap, Crackle, Pop" We think You're really Tops! "
84. Toffee or Brittle -"Any way you break it, We think you're the greatest!"
85. Fudge -"Fudge" a little on the calories and enjoy the Holiday Season!"
86. Cheese Ball and Crackers -"We don't mean to sound "Cheesy", we just hope you have a "Ball" thisHoliday Season! Or "Spread a little Christmas Cheer this Holiday Season!"
87. Apple Anything - (Pie,Cobbler, crisp, muffins etc.)"Sending you a "Bushel" of love this holiday Season!!" Or" You are theapple of my eye, Teacher!"
88. Banana Bread -"Banana Bread just for you, because you have so much to do... We also loveyou a whole "Bunch" too! Merry Christmas!"
89. Cinnamon Rolls -"Here's a sweet treat "Rolled" up with warm Holiday Wishes! MerryChristmas!"
90. Homemade Chocolates -" You're so Sweet...having you as neighbors is really a treat! Have aHeavenly Holiday Season!"
91. Cake or Cupcakes -"You take the "Cake" neighbor, We think you're first rate! Happy Holidaysto you!!"
92. Cornbread or Mix -"We're not trying to be "Corny" we just want you to have a Merry Christmas!"
93. Carrot Cake -" I Really "Carrot" alot about you!! Merry Christmas"
94. Spiced Drink Mixes -" Hoping your Holidays are "Spiced" Just right!"
95. Homemade Ice cream of a Frozen Treat -"Here's the Scoop: Hoping your Holidays are a "Blizzard" of fun!"
96. Recipe -"Just like you, friend...it's tried and true, just for you! Happy HolidayBaking or Merry Christmas Cooking!"
97. Pizza -"Hope your Holiday has a touch of "Pizza - z!!" Merry Christmas!!"
98. Candle -"You Light up my Life!" Thanks for your friendship! May your Christmas beMerry and Bright!"
99. Crayons and Coloring Book -Hope your Holidays are Colorful!
100. Plant -" The kindness you showmakes our friendship grow and grow! Hope you have aHappy Holiday!!"
101. Soda Pop -"I'd "Soda" like to wish you a merry Christmas!
102. Stuffed animal - (Beanie Baby)"Pawsing" to wish you a Merry Christmas!"
103. Donuts -"Donut" you know we love you??? Have a happy Holiday!!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes go out to my GOOD friend Cicero - who you can find HERE. Why not stop over and wish her a good day? Warning: you might get stuck there as she's always a good read. She's a wealth of knowledge and nummy recipes, gardening, quilt making and soap-making. must come from ALL those years of accumulating them? *snickering* Ok, throw a shoe at me, girlfriend!

credit: lumise at sxc

credit: msdotty at sxc

credit: buzzybee at sxc

credit: LilGoldWmn at sxc

credit: bigfoot at sxc

credit: twvogel at sxc

Isaiah 57:4

(New International Version)

4 Whom are you mocking?
At whom do you sneer
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,
the offspring of liars?

I never knew sticking out your tongue was in the Bible - and when did it turn into a 'fun' thing to do? huh!

Thank you to all of you who left comments and also emailed me with get-well wishes, and also to say "Happy Anniversary!" I truly appreciated each and every single one.

I had prayed to be delivered from my cold for our weekend, and I was truly delighted for it happened completely - and timely.

I woke on wednesday - our 'official' anniversary, a very, very sick person. Though Mr. Miles and I exchanged cards and gifts I was not truly able to give it my total attention for I slept most of the day away in a weak stupor. I was completely stuffed up with a pressure in my sinuses and all the yuckness that goes along with it. This 'cold' really kicked the stuffing out of me!

Mr. Miles was trying to prepare me for the emotional 'crash' I might have had if I was not better, but I assured him that I was confident my prayer that we would find me healthy would be answered. He was amazed that I woke thursday COMPLETELY better. Not just breathing a little easier. Not just a LITTLE better, but absolutely 100% feeling good and eager, able to pack and plan for our little romantic getaway!

God is so good!

We had researched and chosen to return to a beautiful resort which we'd visited once before, several years ago. Its a nice, quiet time of the year and they have terrific packages on. Its very quiet and peaceful, though I suspect this changes for the Valentines weekend.




The resort sits on beautiful Okanagan lake and is situated high up on a hill, so the veiws are sweeping and romantic.



The first thing we did after gettting settled in is to go for a walk to the beach and hiking trails. As usual, you can dress me up but can't take me anywhere... within the first 5 minutes I'd managed to locate the muckiest point to take a photo from and walked around with something like liquid cement on the bottom of my shoes. Typical for me. I also took a good dive on the trail when the top layer of soil was melted with a slick sheet of ice underneath - and wound up with a mucky glove, pants and coat.



There's a long boat dock which I'm sure is jam-packed in the summertime. The walking trails begin from here.



My baby is so patient with me as I made him c.r.a.w.l. out onto the end of this slip for a photo shoot. The particular one I asked him to pose on was pretty rickety and he was not entirely impressed that he had to drop to his hands and knees. (yes, he looked both ways to make sure nobody could see)

I put out a display of old photos in our home recently, covering many of our years together and realized that Mr. Miles used to ALWAYS take photos of me, but as time slips away so did the amount of photos we took of one another. I vowed to change that.



Fair's fair - I did my own little crawl too!


I love this shot I got of my handsome one atop this rocky outcrop!



The view from the end of the trail!


The few reluctant last moments of our weekend - a bountiful breakfast in the restaurant, overlooking the lake and pools - one hot, one cold.

One especially nice touch to our time away, was that my dear friend Amalia had pressed a gift into my hand on Thursday when I saw her. It was a set of two cassette tapes, called Strengthening Your Marriage. Right, cassette tapes, those small square things with the brown ribbon inside? And the tapes were produced in 1990 - from Focus on the Family. But the neat thing is? We HAVE a cassette player (Amalia did not know this at the time) and I took the tapes along with us. We played one on the way up, and one on the way home. How powerful they were. How they ministered to us. How awesome. Marriage ministry NEVER grows stale! The recipe still remains basically the same - Hard work + commitment + trust + honesty + dedication + faith = a good, strong marriage. Its not about what your spouse can do for you, its about what YOU can do for your spouse.

Our time away gave us a real opportunity to connect and grow closer. It was a much needed break from everything we know and a wonderful time of refreshing. Your marriage is SO WORTH investing in! The best gift that Mr. Miles gave to me this anniversary was himself.

And it was sunny the whole time too! :)