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I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving.   I have lots to be thankful for, but this Thanksgiving I wasnt feeling so well. Just a typical stomach ache. blah. We put our tree up yesterday. It does look pretty, if I say so  myself.  I will have to take a picture and put it on here for you all to see.

For Thanksgiving dinner we had turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, baked corn and baked beans. Oh and deviled eggs. My sister makes delicious deviled eggs. She uses the cole slaw dressing out of the produce section. They taste fabulous!

For this week, I really have no plans. Well, Wednesday I go to the doctor. I want to get my christmas cards sent out.

My uncle is having a difficult time right now. He has a bad heart and a week or so ago, he began to have more problems. If you would, would you please pray for my uncle Dave? Thanks.

Take care everybody.

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I havent been around for quite a while. My mothers been ill and I've been helping take care of her. Sorry to those of you who have written me and didnt get a response. I will write you back soon.  My mom had a knee replacement surgery in august. Well, her wound got infected. Come to find out, the knee cap that was put in her was the reason for the infection. So they had to go in take it out and put a new one in. She has spent a week in a nursing rehab, several weeks in the hospital. She had an allergic reaction to a medication and almost died.  And with the last 3 surgeries she has had, she has developed blood clots. Thank the good Lord that this time she has not. She still walks with a walker and she is an IV drip daily that keeps her from getting another infection. I just pray that all goes well. My poor mom has really been put thru it.  If she would happen to cross your mind, would you please pray for her?  Her name is Eunice.

I sure am glad Fall is here. I love the cooler days and evenings and next weekend it will get dark out earlier. I am a fan of that. I know, I'm weird. I just love the cozy feeling in my home when the weather is like this.  For halloween, our town is having trick or treat on friday.  Me and my fiancee will go to my  mom and dads.  I am going to make pumpkin bars with cool whip icing. This is such an easy recipe.  All you do is mix 1 large can of pumpkin with 1 box of carrot cake mix. Nothing else. MIx that together. Pour into a sprayed pan and bake for approx. 20-25 mins. Top with cool whip when cool. This cake is so wonderful.  It is moist and tastes just like the original pumpkin bars but only without the cream cheese icing. I'm sure you could ice them with cream cheese icing if you wanted. That would be good too.

My baby's birthday is Nov. 6. He will be 31.   I have not a clue what to get him. He likes Nascar, country music, etc. I know he wants an ice cream cake from dairy queen. So I will get him that.

I have been trying to go to bed earlier. But as you can see, its almost 3 am and I'm still up. I got up yesterday and had 2 cups of coffee. I stayed up the whole day, no naps. Then I spent the evening at moms while my dad worked at the church.

Christmas is upon us.  I am looking forward to it.  However my siblings always look forward to my sweets--fudge, cookies, caramels. But this year I dont think I'm going to be making all of that.  Maybe a little of it, but not too much. I have too much weight to lose and those sweets arent helping. lol.

well its time for me to get to bed. If your reading this, you take care of yourself and God bless you!

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Hi ya all. I think I have the flu or something like it. I've had a stomach ache for the past couple of days.  I'm hardly eating and it won't go away.  It's mainly my upper right area hurting. Hope and pray it isnt my gall bladder.

I promised a few that I would try to start blogging more.   Kind of hard right now. I'm a night owl. I stay up all night, sometimes til 4 or 5 am. Then I sleep a good bit of the day. I know, I'm terrible. But I've gotten myself on this regimen and I can't get switched around.  Usually I get up though, and start some laundry, clean living room and scrub down bathroom. I do what  needs to be done. One thing is good though, I never wake up to a messy kitchen. I simply cannot sleep knowing I have an unclean kitchen. The last couple of days I havent done much of anything.  My fiancee says he thinks its my depression causing my upset stomach. I do suffer from depression. I had some unfortunate happenings the past couple of years and ....well...my life just isnt what i wish it was. I know only I can turn it around with God's help. Right now I'm just a little lost. This may not make any sense to some of you......i know I'm rambling.

Anyhoo, I think I am going to make some zucchini bread this weekend. My moms friend gave her 3 zucchini's out of her garden. Mom said I could have them. I add pineapple to my bread. Do you do that too?

Someone posted on my last post and asked about my dog, Bubby and asked what happend to the neighbors.  I posted about him being hurt by their dog several months ago and now he is blind in one eye.  The neighbors got fined heavily.  Bub is doing Ok. He's still eating his 3 or 4 froot loops everyday...so he's fine. :D

Well I think I'm actually gonna try to go to bed early tonight. So goodnight everybody.

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It has been a long time since I have updated my blog. Are you all enjoying summer? I cant wait to get some ruby red tomatoes off the vines soon. I have big green ones on there, just waiting for them to turn. I got my salt shaker all ready.  I froze some raspberries last month. I think I'm going to thaw them and make a cobbler this week sometime. I just love cobbler with french vanilla ice cream.  Some of you may remember back in the winter I was complaining about drinking sweet tea and my weight, etc. Well I'm still drinking it and my weight hasnt gone down. Darn it!  But what is summer with no sweet tea?

My mama had a scare this month. She had a mammogram done and the following day she got a call saying they had found some abnormalities.  She had to have a biopsy done. But praise the good lord, she does not have cancer!!!! Isn't God great?

Tonight I may rearrange my furniture in the living room. Its getting a bit stale.  I'm the type of person that gets bored with the same look for too long.

So what have you all been up to?  If anyone would drop me a line, I'd love to hear from you! Hope you all are enjoying your summer! You all take care!

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We are expecting another snow storm tomorrow.  Whats the weather like where you are?  I wish it were spring. Remember all summer, I wanted fall to be here. I tell ya, I can't be pleased.  But I should take each day as a blessing and that I do.

Today we had to take my dog, Bubby, to the vet. He's  a little chihauhau, 11 years old.  A week ago, we let him out to go potty. We live in the country and have never had any problems before. Well, we heard a comotion outside. Here a guy who lives down the road, his large dog attacked my bub.  I'm not saying anything bad about large dogs because I have a boxer, too. But, this dog was alot bigger than bubby.  We got there in time before this dog killed him. But the dog had put its tooth in bub's eye. I rushed him to the vet. They gave him a shot of an antibiotic, sent him home with more antibiotics and a gel to put in his eye. Well he got better, but, he is blind in his eye. This is heartbreaking to me.  I called the sheriff, they sent out the dog warden. The dog warden wasnt concerned at the moment with this dog running around my yard, his main concern was whether or not WE had dog tags. We have never had any problems like this before, and of course we had our tags. After that was solved, he then went down the road to tell the people to tie up their dog. They weren't home. He asked us if we wanted them to go to court for not having their dog confined to their yard. Absolutely.  Well we havent heard anything since then.  In the meantime, Bubby is doing just fine. He has nightmares and cries in his sleep, but he is OK. Thank the good Lord.

After the vet, we went to visit my parents. My dad has been down with the flu since Thursday. He isnt feeling much better today.  Tomorrow he's going back to the doctor. Please pray for him if we happen to cross your mind.

We had cheeseburgers for dinner. They were quite tasty. My honey made them.  Both of us were a bit tired ( we havent been getting much sleep lately) so all he made were the burgers. But that was just fine.

I have quit drinking iced tea.  For the past 2 weeks I have drank crystal light. It's not my favorite but I can tolerate it. I DO miss my tea, though.

I love Little house on the prairie. Don't you? I purchased the first season off ebay. I was hooked. Since then I have bought the second and third seasons. I watch them in the evenings. I make sure my house is all clean, dishes done, dinner over then I sit down and watch an episode or two, or three.

Well you all stay warm and safe. 

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Hi ya all. Hope everyone had a wonderful Monday. Here is my menu for the week:

Monday--we had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, peas and gravy

Tuesday-Breakfast for dinner--Bacon, eggs and hashbrowns

Wednesday-tuna helper, fried taters

Thursday-BBq chicken legs, steak fries, mac and cheese

Friday-chicken noodle casserole, baked potatoes, greenbeans

Saturday-BBq/cola ribs, buttered potatoes, carrots

Sunday-cornflake/ranch chicken breasts, baked beans, peas

Hope you all have a blessed week! Take care and love each other!

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I am trying to lose weight. I'm trying real hard.  While I should be drinking water or crystal light, I resort to sweet tea. It's not real sweet but sweeter than some like it. I make a gallon and add 1 c. of sugar. I feel really bad. Its like I cant go one single day without my tea.  How can I stop this?  I could go all day and eat sensibly but still drink this tea. And I dont have just one glass......... (my goodness, I'm really spilling it here, huh) I have like 3-4 glasses maybe more :( Would you please keep me in your prayers that I will do better on my diet and lay off the sweet tea. Oh, don't mention splenda. It tastes awful in my tea :( Unless you would like to tell me how you make your tea using splenda. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Thanks.

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2 lbs white chocolate

1 c. creamy peanut butter

4 c. cheerios

2 c. mini marshmallows

2 c. peanuts

Melt chocolate in dbl. broiler. Add peanut butter; blend well. Add cheerios, marshmallows and peanuts. Drop onto wax paper lined cookie sheet.

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This year we had dinner at my sister's house. Boy, there was tons of food. Ham, turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pies, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin bars... there was alot! And I got my fair share of it. But I'm trying my hardest to stay away from the leftovers in the fridge that we had from my dinner, which we had on Friday.  Just Chad's parents and grandmother came over. It was small, but it turned out well.  Needless to say I did not do the black friday shopping. There were people in tents in front of Walmart thursday night into friday morning.  I love a good bargain but I just dont think I could do that.

This evening my beloved and I rearranged our furniture in the living room to make room for our tree.  We will probably put the tree up tomorrow or Monday. I love putting the tree up. Once it is up I will take a picture and post it if I can remember how to do that.

Well you all take care. Goodnight.

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Well, it was 90 degrees here today. And supposed to be hotter tomorrow. I live in Ohio for crying out loud. I know they say if you don't like the weather one day, wait for another and it will change. But this is ridiculous.  Anyhoo, did I tell you all that my Chihauhau, Punkin, had babies on the 12th of Sept.?  She sure did. She had 3. The father is  my other chihahua, bub.   We planned to breed her but we plan on getting her fixed after this litter is weined. They are so adorable though. We are selling them and today we got a down payment on one of them. As soon as they're ready, I will get full payment.  The only reason we charged for them was because we need money for groceries and a few unexpected bills.

I've been sticking to my menu every evening instead of running out to eat. Which was a problem for us for a while. But now I'm back on track and I actually feel alot better. That fast food sure is good, but I think a person should only consume it once a month, maybe. Am I wrong? I felt so sluggish when we would eat out 2 or 3 times a week. Not only did I feel sluggish, but my pocket book sure felt it too. Things in the supermarkets are going up as well. I try to buy good, wholesome food for me and fiance. But trying to do it cheaply is almost impossible. I read on someone elses blog a while back that it is possible to feed your family healthy, but cheap. I think I need to go reread that.

Do you ever go to www.hillbillyhousewife.com? I just love her website. Lots of good,tasty meals there.

My menu plan for the upcoming week:

Sun: Grilled cheese, chicken noodle soup

Mon: Eggs, sausage patties and hashbrowns

Tues: Chili, cornbread

Wed: spaghetti, garlic bread

Thurs: chicken and dumplins, mashed potatoes, corn

Fri: homemade pizza

Sat: bbq chicken legs, buttered potatoes,  peas

Hope you all have a blessed weekend!

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Fall is right upon us.  But we're still having pretty warm days here in ohio. I'm eager to start my baking, ya know, the pumpkin bread and bars, apple pies, cobblers. And I think I will get my decorations out this week and start deco. for fall.

This weekend we pretty much stayed home. Well, we pretty much had no choice. Our car is on the fritz. It's going to cost over 1 grand to get it fixed and we don't have that  much money right now. Chad's mom came over (40 min drive) today to take us to the grocery store. So we're stocked up for now. Thank the Lord, and chad's mother.

I babysat my niece Haylie last night. She's a handful, but soo much fun. I just adore her.  But her parents let her watch scary movies. She's only 3. I don't agree with that, but I'm not her parent. Anyway, she wanted to watch scary movies here. I wouldnt let her. She didnt like that at all. She quickly got over it though, I suggested we fingerpaint! lol.  Do you let your children watch scary movies?

This week I plan to get my house cleaned from top to bottom.  I'm looking forward to getting started. I love to clean. Am I a weirdo? I just like the look and feel of a clean home.  My house isnt what you would call messy now, but I'm just going to dust everything, wash down walls, shampoo carpets. Stuff like that.

My menu for this week:

Sunday: chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes , rolls and corn

Monday-Beef stroganoff over toast

Tuesday-steak, baked potato, salad

Wednesday-pot roast with onions, potaotes and carrots, buttered bread

Thursday-tuna helper and corn

Friday-tacos

Saturday-shepherds pie

Have a good week everyone!

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Crockpot Bean Dip

4-16 oz. cans refried beans

1-1 lb. package co-jack cheese, cubed

1 package taco seasoning

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 c. sour cream

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, cubed

Add all ingredients to slow cooker, stir to mix. Heat on low 2-3 hours. Stir often. Serve with tortilla chips.

Drop Biscuits

2 c. flour

3 teas. baking powder

1/2 teas. salt

1/4 c. shortening

3/4 c. milk

Preheat oven to 425.  Stir dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Add milk and stir.  Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet.  Bake 10-12 mins.

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Gooseberry Patch Meatloaf

source: gooseberry patch cookbook

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 box stuffing mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 egg, beaten

1/2 onion, chopped

2 T. sour cream

In a bowl, combine ground beef, stuffing, egg, onion and 1/2 of the soup.  Spread mixture into a loaf pan. Bake @ 400 for 35 mins. MIx remaining soup with sour cream. Spread over meatloaf.  Bake addl. 5-10 mins.

Easy peach cobbler

16 oz. sliced, canned peaches, undrained

1 c. flour

1 1/4 c. sugar, divided

1 c. milk

2 teas. baking powder

1/8 teas. salt

1/2 c. butter

In 2 qt. casserole, melt butter in the oven. In med. bowl, mix flour, 1 c. sugar, milk, baking powder and salt. When butter is melted, pour this mixture over the butter. DO NOT STIR. Add peaches on top. AGAIN, DO NOT STIR. Sprinkle remaining sugar over top. bake at 400 for 20-30 mins. Great with vanilla ice cream!

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My cherry tomato plants are finally producing. They taste soooo good. Still no big maters yet. But I ate another one at my dad's the other evening.  It sure has been rather cool here in Ohio.  Don't even need air conditioning in the evenings.  We are supposed to get some rain tomorrow.  My garden will love that.  I want to learn to can. But I have nobody left in my family that knows how. I think I'm going to buy me a few books on it.  I dont have any accessories either.  Maybe next year.

Are groceries getting more expensive in your neck of the woods? They sure are here. I think it was last week I paid almost 4.00 for a gallon of milk, this week the half gallons are on sale for 1.33. That is one relief. But it seems with each passing week my grocery bill goes up. It's just the two of us, no children.  But we're still on a tight budget. I dont bake my own bread, which is something I should start doing. It just seems like you can't buy a good loaf of bread anymore and it is awfully expensive. Plus homemade just tastes better. We've cut out eating out unless its once in a blue moon.  What I normally do is shop at the grocery store one day at the beginning of the month and get most of everything we'll need. I menu plan by the month. Then I'll go to the grocery once a week to get bread, milk and anything we run out of.  But it still seems like each trip I spend more money.

Speaking of menu plan, here is mine for this week:

Monday--we had BBq biscuit cups and chicken flavored rice a roni.

Tuesday-Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn

Wednesday-steak, fried potatoes, salad

Thursday-Bean and Weiner Casserole, mac and cheese

Friday-breakfast for dinner--French Vanilla Toast, sausage patties

Saturday-Southwestern Chicken and Tater tots

Sunday-Corndog muffins, glazed carrots, baked beans

Thanks for stopping by ya'all. Have a good day!!

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This is a few of my annuals.

This is my fiance, Chad and my neice, Haylie, 3. The 2 loves of my life.

This is me, trying to look innocent. LOL.

Just thought I would show you a few pics.  Nothing much has been going on around here. Its been hot, but nothing like in the west. Those poor folks. I have a few lil green tomatoes but nothing red yet and no peppers yet either.  However, I was at my dad's house yesterday and he gave me a tomato fresh from the garden. I wiped it off on my shirt ( i know, i'm awful) and took a big bite out of it, then I grabbed the salt shaker and went to town. Boy was it delicious.  He also gave me some zucchini, mild peppers and cucumbers. I took the cucumbers home,  washed them, peeled and sliced them and put them in vinegar with salt and pepper. MMMMMMMM. That was a real treat.

Financially, I have been trying to save money this month instead of going crazy on ebay. I'm wanting to go to Amish country in September. A small little get away for Chad and I.  I would like to spend the night at a small bed and breakfast and then spend the following day at the huge flea market. That would be right up my alley.  I have to have a surgery soon and I want to have some fun before.  Even though, my life after surgery will be crazy  for a bit, this surgery is supposed to better my life for me. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Hope you all are having a wonderful summer. I'm ready for fall now. I'm ready for the mums and pumpkins, and decorating for fall. I just cant wait.

My neice, the lil one pictured above, has had the flu.  Would you be so kind and please pray for  her? It is just heartbreaking to see a child ill.  Til next time, take care.

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I am enjoying this wonderful weather we are having.  However tomorrow it is supposed to be around 94. I'm dreading that.   I love the warm days but not where its unbelievably uncomfortable. 

We have been keeping our traveling down to a minimum. As I'm sure most of you are.  This gas is really something, huh.  But ya know, we can't do anything about it, so we may as well not complain and save our mouths the trouble.

I'm looking forward to the 4th of July.  We plan to have a cook out and we are going to the fireworks. 

My garden is doing so well.  I really can't wait til its harvest time. I can't wait to taste that first tomato, though. It should be soon.  All of my annuals are really growing. They are beautiful. If I ever figure this thing out, I could post some pictures for you!

I just love country living. I dont work outside the home. But boy do I work inside the home. I wouldnt trade it for anything though.  I take pride in having a clean home, homemade food on the table and chores to do everyday to keep me busy. I love working in the yard and decorating for each holiday.

As soon as I figure out the picture thing, I will post pics of my home.  Its decorated in the prim style.  And let me tell ya, its prim style on a budget. But it still looks nice, IMO.

Well I'm off to drink me a glass of iced tea before bed.  Ya'll take care.

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I read your posts everyday, but I sometimes feel I have nothing interesting to talk about.  Well, have any of you had the flu yet? I had a flu shot in November but I still got sick. Yep, it was only the 24 hour bug, and I thank God for that!

Here in Ohio, we are expecting a snow/ice storm in the next few days.  This makes me nervous. (I'm just thanking God that I dont live in New york-100 inches!! wow) Anyhow, we already have about 6 inches on the ground from our last storm, this time we're expecting anywhere from 6-10 inches, plus lots of ice.  A few years ago around Christmas time, we had an ice storm and had to spend Christmas without power and we couldnt go anywhere cause the roads were too bad.  And we were without power almost a week. I just pray that doesn't happen again.

I'll be so thankful when spring starts. I love spring.  And to be honest, I kinda enjoy spring cleaning. I just like making the whole place feel fresh. Ya know, opening windows, letting the air come in, burning my tart burner with spring scents and not crying when I open my electric bill. :)

Chad is down at his grandmother's, which is about 45 mins from here. Her water in her kitchen froze and the pipes busted. He's been down there all evening working. Bless his heart. Hopefully he calls soon and tells me he's on his way and that everything is fixed.

I have been reading the little house on the prairie books. I just LOVE the show and the books. I would love to live life back then, but, then reality hits me and i think about outhouses and snakes! And no electricity and I forget about that. But I do love country life.

I promise not to stay gone long for anyone who enjoys my blog. But remember I read your blogs everyday!

Blessings,

Bobbie

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