Sunday, February 28, 2010

Sunday Inspiration

This is in honor of the Olympians and their families who sacrificed so much and worked so hard in order to achieve their dreams.

Friday, February 26, 2010

I'm Such a Girl

As I walked through the pearly gates, there lay before me streets of gold, angels were singing a heavenly tune, and the light had a heavenly glow.  Actually, it was plate glass doors, terrazzo tile, Muzac and bright fluorescent lighting.

I could be talking about any store in any mall.  But this store is non other than Sephora.  People who know me, know that I am not the type who cannot leave the house without applying lipstick.  But when I do wear makeup, I like to use products that are good for my skin type and color.  Sorry to say, but some makeup that you find in the aisle of the typical corner drug store just does not cut it for me.  Some of it breaks my skin out, or it wears off easily.  At Sephora, there is such a variety of makeup products and gadgets that you can be overwhelmed upon your first visit.  But there are some very nice girls there that are more than eager to help.  And the bonus is, you can also have a makeover while you are there.

Some of my favorite brands that you can find there are:  OPI, Urban Decay, and M.A.C.  There are so many other brands that I would like to try.  In fact, a trip is planned in the near future as I am out of blush.  Darn!;-)

Anyway, if you haven't stepped foot in a Sephora store yet, be prepared to spend some time and money there.  What I do is allow myself one item that I have been having my eye on or need in my makeup bag to buy.  That way, my wallet is not screaming in protest.  Plus it prevents Honey from having a stroke.:-P

Men become much more attractive when they start looking older. But it doesn't do much for women, though we do have an advantage: make-up. 
Bette Davis 

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Olympics

A couple of nights ago, we went out to dinner with some friends of ours.  The Olympics entered our conversation.  Our friend said that he was watching the curling competition with interest.  We commented that we were too.  His wife said that she found it almost hypnotic.  I laughed and couldn't believe the similarities in our interest in the sport.

I never thought in a million years that I would take an interest in a sport where you slide a stone with a handle across the ice and your teammates would use brushes to sweep the ice to get the stone to go where they want it to.  Our observation was that it was almost like playing chess.  There is alot of strategy involved in this sport.  Honey, our son and I were yelling at the t.v. at one point (as if the players could hear) to change their strategy.

I remember years ago, I would flip through the channels. (All seven of them.;-)) and on CBC  would be curling.  I would immediately turn it to something much more interesting.  Like American Bandstand.  (Now I am really showing my age.)

Anyway, I even went a step further in my quest to learn more about the sport of curling and actually looked up curling leagues in Michigan.  Unfortunately, they are too far away.  I don't know, maybe after trying it once, I would go back to my prior opinion of the sport many years ago.  That I would rather watch paint dry or grass grow.  On the other hand, I could be one of those yelling at my teammates to get the stone where we spent time figuring out where we wanted it to go.

In case you are wondering, "What in the heck is curling?  I thought it was something to do with hair."  Here is a pic I looked up.


Sunday, February 21, 2010

Sunday Inspiration

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

                                                           Romans 8: 38-39

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am my lover's and my lover is mine;  he browses among the lilies.  Song of Songs 6:3

My command is this:  Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:12-13

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perserveres.  Love never fails.  1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Monday, February 8, 2010

52 Things We Love About Our Town, State and Country

Superbowl commercials!

Every year in the middle of winter is a time-honored tradition called the Super Bowl.  Many people wait in anticipation for this event all year, rooting for their favorite team.  Then in the week or two before the game, people plan menus, send out invitations and some will "buy squares" to place bets on scores during the game.  Finally, the day arrives and as people gather together to nosh on nachos, pizza, chili and any other number of treats they stare at the t.v. for three hours watching the much anticipated game.  You can hear the sound of cheers and groans, depending on whether the game is going in the spectators' favor or not.  And there will be debates on whether or not the referees made the right call.

For some of us, though, we gather together and nosh on nachos, pizza, chili and any other number of treats and wait in anticipation for the commercials.  We do this primarily because A) our team did not make it into  the Super Bowl and the teams that are playing we could care less about.  And B) we haven't wrapped our brains around what a down is and what in the heck is a line of scrimmage anyway?  And besides, the sponsors pay like a zillion dollars per second to air their commercials, so someone has to watch them and appreciate them, right?

I will say, that most of the commercials are perhaps the best ones advertisers produce for the year and the morning news shows are full of commentators speaking about which one drew the most laughs or were the most thought-provoking.

Here are a few of our favorites from last night that we wanted to share....





Sunday, February 7, 2010

Super Simple Superbowl Snack

Say that five times real fast.;-)  I recently ordered a new cookbook that was written by a couple of women, one of whom is related to my next door neighbor.  My neighbor had a copy hot off the presses and showed it to me.  After looking at it for all of two minutes, I knew I had to buy it.  The cookbook is titled "The Stocked Kitchen" and you can purchase it here and you can also purchase it at Meijer stores in Michigan and Toledo, Ohio.

The Stocked Kitchen is a system that these talented women developed by using a list of items commonly found in your pantry, freezer and refrigerator and came up with dozens of tasty recipes.  The cookbook not only has a bunch of yummy recipes, but it also includes a grocery list of items you will need for every single recipe in this book.  It is very simple really and it is nice that someone else went to all the work to figure it out.  The list is in tablet form and you mark off what you need, and rip it off and take it with you to the store.  Another thing that I like about the book, which some people may not think about, is the fact that it is spiral bound so the cookbook lays flat on your countertop.  However the spirals are covered so you do not have to worry about it bending.

I will be sharing a few recipes from this book and hope you and your family will enjoy them as much as we have.

This recipe is officially called "Bacon Wrapped Pineapple".  But I call it heaven.  My salivary glands were working in overdrive as they were baking, so I knew it would be good stuff.  This is a good treat to take to a party or to make just because.  And it is super simple.  So in honor of Super Bowl Sunday, I call these morsels of delight Super Simple Superbowl Snack.

Bacon Wrapped Pineapple


5 slices bacon
30 pineapple chunks, drained
1/4 cup brown sugar


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and then top with a cooling rack.
2. Cut slices of bacon into thirds and then cut the thirds in half lengthwise.  Wrap pineapple chunks with pieces of bacon and secure with toothpicks.  Dip in brown sugar.
3.  Lay on top of jelly roll pan.  Bake for 20 minutes or until bacon is crispy.


Yum!:-)

I highly recommend visiting the website.  They have more recipes and you can sign up for a newsletter.  Enjoy!

Sunday Inspiration