Quote Sunday

"A boy has only two jobs - one is just being a boy and the other is growing up to be a man". ~Herbert C. Hoover

Justin's New Toy...

Last night Justin purchased a brand spankin' new 2011 Chevy Silverado Z71 4WD truck...needless to say he is BEYOND excited! This is his first big purchase and he is so proud! (Mike and I are so proud of him - he's a fantastic young man and has worked so hard to buy a new truck!)

Here he is with his "pride and joy":

Have a fun and safe weekend!

Recipe of the Week..."No-Bake Creamy Lemon Pie"

The temperatures here for the past few weeks have been soooo hot! Highs around 106 to 108 degrees each day - ugh! My sweetie works in an un-airconditioned shop, so he's been drinking orange Gatorade like there's no tomorrow! With the temps this high, I just don't do a lot of baking or cooking in the summer...it's just too hot to heat up the oven!

This week's recipe requires no baking at all, and I know that it will become one of your family's favorite summer desserts too!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. tub of Cool-Whip Lite, thawed
• 3 oz. box lemon gelatin
• 1 prepared graham cracker crust
• 1 cup water
• Juice squeezed from 1/2 of a large lemon
• Zest from 1/2 of a large lemon
• Lemon slices

Method:

Boil one cup water in glass bowl in microwave. Add lemon gelatin to boiling water and stir until dissolved. Set gelatin mixture aside until cooled to room temperature. Add zest and juice from 1/2 of a large lemon to gelatin mixture. Whisk Cool-Whip into room temperature gelatin and spoon mixture into prepared graham cracker crust. Refrigerate until set. Cut pie into 8 pieces and top each piece with a twisted lemon slice before serving. A cool and delicious treat to serve on a hot summer day!

Blessings,

Inspirational Quote Scrapbook

In the fall of 2007, when Justin was a senior in high school, we had his senior portraits taken by one of our church friends, Clay Allen, who is a professional photographer and teaches photography classes at Tulsa Tech. All of the photos that Clay took of Justin turned out fantastic and highlights Justin with a few of his favorite things...1.) the Beretta shotgun that he uses for competitive skeet shooting; 2.) the Guild guitar that he loves to play; and 3.) his 3/4 ton Chevy 4WD truck.

To commemmorate that special time in Justin's life I created a little album using the proofs and some wonderful, inspirational quotes that I'd been collecting. The album is only 6" x 6" but packed full of love! I scanned the pages, so you should be able to click on the photos below for a close-up view of the pages.

Here's the cover page:

The quote reads: "When you look to the sky, know this: there are more stars shining inside of you than in all of the heavens above." ~ Lydia Carfield

Here are the 2-page layouts:

The quote reads: "Do not fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have". ~ Louis E. Boone

The quote reads: "Do not pray for an easy life; pray to be a stronger person. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God." ~ Phillips Brooks

The quote reads: "To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; this is to have succeeded!" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The quote reads: "All of your dreams come true, if you have the courage to pursue them." ~ Walt Disney

The quote reads: "The purpose of life is to live it; to tase experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

The quote reads: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

The quote reads: "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The quote reads: "Peace is seeing the sunset and knowing who to thank." ~ Unknown

The quote reads: "Among the things you can give and still keep are your word, a smile, and a grateful heart." ~ Zig Ziglar

The quote reads: "We need men who can dream of things that never were." ~ John F. Kennedy

The quoted reads: "ABILITY is what you're capable of doing...MOTIVATION determines what you do...ATTITUDE determines how well you do it." ~ Unknown

Sorry that this scanned image is a bit blurry in the corner...the little compass was kinda bulky for my scanner so the edge of the layout is blurred. The quote reads: "Go confidently in the directins of your dreams! Live the life you have imagined!" ~ Henry David Thoreau

The quote reads: "When you come to the edge of all that you know, you must believe one of two things: there will be earth upon which to stand, or you will be given wings to fly." ~ Unknown

Then quote reads: "Confidence is that feeling by which the mind ebarks in the great & honorable courses with a sure hope and trust in itself." ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

The quote reads: "Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life." ~ Dr. David M. Burns

The quote reads: "This is the day that the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad in it." ~ Psalm 118:24

The quote reads: "Our todays & yesterdays are the blocks with which we build." ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The quote reads: "What God intended for you goes far beyond anything you can imagine..." ~ Oprah Winfrey

The quote reads: "There's a little cowboy in all of us, a little frontier." ~Louis L'Amour

The quote reads: "The hindsite to know where you've been; the foresite to see where you are; the insite to see where you are going...that's my wish for you!"

I had every intention in entering this little album in last week's Frosted Design challenge, which was to use a quote on your project, but got so busy each evening that I didn't get around to posting it - oh well! Quotes make fantastic journaling on a scrapbook page, and sometimes it's just easier to express what you're feeling with a quote. I hope that this little project has inspired you to use quotes on your layouts!

Happy Scrappin'!!

Quote Sunday

"History will judge you on the extent you have used your gifts to lighten and enrich the lives of others".  ~Robert F. Kennedy

Silly Saturday...

Just had to share this funny photo that I found online this morning...it made Mike and I laugh out loud!

Have a fun and safe weekend!!

Sweet Blog Award!

Upon checking my email and blog comments on Saturday, I discovered that the very talented Ashley at Made Especially For You had given me a blog award! Thanks, Ashley...you just made my week!

Upon accepting this award I am supposed to tell you 7 things about myself and then pass this award on to 7 other bloggers, so here goes.....

1.) One of my favorite summertime treats is an orange cream slush from Sonic...they are SERIOUSLY addictive and you really have to try one!!

2.) I have never traveled outside of the U.S.

3.) I recently had to purchase reading glasses to wear when I read or do close-up craft work. (But they are really cute/funky reading glasses!!)

4.) I love the feel and smell of sheets and towels that have been dried in the sun on a clothes line.

5.) I enjoy people watching...there's a lot of funny in the world if you just sit back and take a minute to look around!

6.) Cleaning house is a chore that I don't mind at all...I actually kind of enjoy it!

7.) I like to play Scrabble with my mom.

Now for the 7 bloggers, in no specific order, that I'm passing this award on to:
1.) Kari at Creating with Kari
2.) Justine at Kerr-afty Creations
3.) Lisa at Lisa's Loft of Joy
4.) Gloria at Scraptabulous Studio
5.) Tammy at The Stamper's Cottage
6.) Ann at November Rose
7.) Kimberly at Scrap It Girl

I hope that you'll take a minute to click on the links that I've provided above to check out these gals' wonderful blogs! I know that you'll be inspired by them just as I am!!

Have a blessed day!!

Recipe of the Week...Egg Salad

Whew! The weather here has been super hot lately...temps above 100 degrees each day with no end, (and no rain - ugh!) in site. When it gets this hot outside I don't do a lot of cooking with the oven because of the extra heat that it generates, therefore we eat more crock-pot meals and sandwiches in the summer.

Egg salad is one of Mike's and Justin's favorite sandwiches, so I'm going to share my egg salad recipe with you this week. When served on toasted wheat bread along with some sliced garden-fresh tomatoes and chips it makes a cool, quick meal.


Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs, hard boiled*
• 1/4 cup light mayo
• 2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
• 1 Tbsp. dill pickle juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. paprika

Method:

Carefully peel and chop hard boiled eggs. I use a Pampered Chef slicer to chop eggs...

Place your eggs into the slicer vertically and gently press down to create slices, then turn the egg the opposite direction and press down again to cube the slices...

Place your chopped eggs into a small mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients, gently stirring to combine. Chill egg salad and then serve on lightly toasted bread for a quick, inexpensive and cool summer meal. Yield: 3 - 4 sandwiches.

*TIP: To make my boiled eggs easier to peel, I add about 1/2 Tbsp. of baking soda to the water with the eggs and then bring to a boil as usual.

Stay cool!

Just a Few Simple Cards That I Recently Made...

Just a quick post today to share with you a few simple cards that I recently made...

Thanks for looking! Have a blessed day!

Quote Sunday

Today my sweetie and I are celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary, so this week's quote is in honor of our special day!

"The heart of marriage is memories; and if the two of you happen to have the same ones and can savor your reruns, then your marriage is a gift from the gods".

~ Bill Cosby ~

Blessings,

A Fun Friday...

Hi, All!! We'll I'm back to catch up on my blogging and email correspondence after a looooong week of my department moving to a new building. By the time I got home each evening I was just too pooped to even read any emails or blog posts, so I'm spending my Saturday catching up!

Yesterday I treated myself to a vacation day from work so that my best bud Jamie and I could go to the "Affair of the Heart" craft show at the Tulsa Fairgrounds. Jamie and I had the best time, (although we ALWAYS do when we're hanging out together!), and are looking forward to going to the show that's held in the fall too.

Here are some of the fantastic finds that I got yesterday...first off a couple of really cute birdhouses:

I'm a sucker for cute, handmade birdhouses, (especially when old hardware such as drawer pulls, door knobs and finials are used in their construction!), and these were real bargains! The red one was only $7.00 and the white one was only $15.00!

My FAVORITE find of the day was this wonderful re-purposed 100 year old theater chair, which only cost me $19.95, and now has a home on my covered front porch:

How AWESOME is that?!?!? It had a tag on it that stated it was made in 1911 and came from the Midland Theater in Coffeyville, KS. The lady whose booth I purchased it from, painted "Welcome" and a cute flower pot scene on it, and then lightly speckled the chair with cream and black paint. I love that the actual seat number 5 still shows on it. As Jamie and were loading it into the trunk of her car, we noticed that a piece of old chewed-up gum was stuck under the chair on one of the metal legs...gross but funny! We wondered if the gum was 100 years old too - ha! ha! ha!

Wishing you a terrific summer weekend!! Stay cool!