Peony Place

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Oh my goodness. I woke this morning to find SNOW SNOW SNOW all over the place. I am just gathering the harvest for Thanksgiving and already we have snow. Geesh!

It is beautiful though, to look out at and see all the horse hoof prints and doggie prints all over. I bet if I looked close enough I would even find prints from lil mousies.  

I hated to have to go out in it but I did. I had groceries to get, things to take to the postoffice, and meds to pick up at the pharmacy. I am so proud of my grocery shopping today as I actually looked at the sales paper and with the help of coupons, a $25 gift certificate and a little planning, I was able to get $134.00 worth of groceries for $62.00. Now for some of you that may not be a big deal but for ME, the quick spender, it really is a mile stone. I am trying so hard to focus more and keep our grocery bill down to the minimun. Today, I DID GOOD!

I am home again and nice and warm, viewing the snow from my favorite place.... INSIDE!  I pray you are all warm too. Have a blessed day and drop a comment or two. heheee

It's giveaway time again! A Christmas Package

 I posted once before about all the "free" stuff I receive in the mail from many organizations and charities that I sometimes donate to. Well once again I have an abundance of items that I will not be using. This times it's Christmas cards and gift labels. I am not the type of person that throws ANYTHING away. I always try to find another use for it or another home for things.

So I thought with times being the way they are and just yesterday on the blog someone mentioned that they can not afford to buy or mail cards this year, I thought I would offer a package that may be helpful to someone.

I have a package that I have put together that includes the following items.

• 72 gift tags
• 35 or so Christmas cards with envelopes from different organizations or groups, all too cute.
• a 2009 wall calendar
• a smaller one page 2009 calendar with a conversion chart on the reverse side, great for the kids.
• a Christmas CD with 29 great Christmas songs on it from the Disabled Vets
• I will also include a book of 20 Christmas theme, (if I can get Christmas ones) stamps to help with the mailing of the cards.
• And maybe an extra added surprise or two for good measure, lol. 

Sorry I don't have a picture, my camera is still not working, I'm so lost without it too. So if anyone is interested in these items just leave a comment here on my blog. If I should get more than one comment I will draw a winner from the bunch. I will let this ride over the weekend and pull on Monday morning. Hope this is helpful to someone.

Prize 3 in the giveaway

here today gone tomorrow

Dear Friends,

I have missed being here, so I am returning once again to say hello, sit awhile sipping hot cocoa with each of you..

I have been on a long spirital journey since I last wrote but the Lord has seen me through alot and still working with me on some...You know when the Lord is teaching and leading you to places you never thought in a life time you would need directions in, it is lonely, scary, and alot of tear sheding takes place..But thank God that the Lord also comforts in these times..

I'll go into some of that in future post, but for now, I just want to sit back with a cup of cocoa and read what has been going on in your neck of the woods as we say here in Louisiana..

PS  WHERE HAS ALL THE "OLD BLOGGERS" GONE?  GUESS LIKE ME..TAKING A COFFEE BREAK...WHAT DISAPPOINMENT..GUESS I WILL VISIT NEW BLOGS...SEE YOU THERE.

Thanks for stopping in.....Have a blessed day.

Ornament #2 in the giveaway!

HOW TO LIVE ON ALMOST NOTHING AND HAVE PLENTY

How to Live on Almost Nothing and Have Plenty

A Practical Introduction to Small-Scale Sufficient Country Living

 By: Janet Chadwick

I just re-read this book and I think it could be helpful for someone who is just starting out.  I have read Carla Emery's book, John Seymore and Storey's publications.  All very informative and helpful, however if you are starting out too much information can be overwhelming. This is why I recommend this book.  It is really for a novice.  It also contains some great diagrams and recipes too.  I also felt the author did a very good job holding the reader's attention through the dry areas of material.  In truth, it was not really dry. Certain areas of reference were just subjects that didn't pertain to my everyday life.  So, with that said! 

Happy reading everyone!

Jennifer

My daughter finally finished college, after six years, lol

Well, she's done it, finally!!!!!  Kristy graduated high school in 2001 with honors and went straight to NSU. Thank God that the university is about 10 minutes away across our little town. She could remain living at home and didn't have far to travel. I made all my children wait until they were 18 before getting their drivers licenses, so she had just started driving.

She started college with an open mind and no real agenda. She was taking general studies courses at first until she decided that she wanted to become a nurse. It was always something that she thought about, so nursing it was. By the middle of the first year she had switched and started taking classes that would lead her to becoming a nurse. Three years into it she got a professor that was sooo mean. When I tell you the class started with 30+ students and within two weeks had lost almost half and that my daughter came home crying almost everyday, I'm not exaggerating a bit. She stuck with it though, until the women got into her face and literally screamed and spat  on her face for something Kristy was even taught.  The professor would skip over things in the books because she "expected" the students to know these things. Well how are they going to learn things that they aren't being taught? I told her to hang on that the year was almost up, but she informed me that once your assigned a professor,  your stuck with them for two years, until you've finished the program. That wasn't an option at that point for Kristy, she couldn't take it anymore.  She left school that day and did not return for a little over a year. I was so upset to say the least.  I even called the school and told someone the story. They told me that they heard several complaints per week about this women, but that they were so short handed, they had no option but to keep her on staff.

So for a year my daughter beat herself up for what she had done to herself.  I was disappointed but never let her see that. I'm not one to push my children into things that I myself probably could not do.  I prayed that she would come  to figure out what she wanted in life and work to get it.

While she was off, she did work at several odd jobs, but nothing made her  happy.  She knew that she had made a big mistake so back to school she went. She found out that she could get back into the nursing program but with a different teacher. She was so excited. Well two more years into the program all is going well. Her grades are fantastic, she even made the Dean's list once or twice. THEN, my husbands little nephew died in my daughter's arm. He was one year old and died of heart failure earlier this year. She was giving him CPR and couldn't revive him.

OK, once again she was tramatized. I'm sure you can figure out where this is heading. Yes, she dropped her nursing classes AGAIN, BUT she dicided that she would get that diploma.

She was short only one credit to graduate. She picked up a speech class and Monday night was her last class. She has to email in her last exam and she's done.  THANK YOU JESUS!!!! LOL

She now has  a great job that she loves. She is working for a home health care company as a data entry clerk. With her partial  medical background  she is good at this job. She works with nurses and some doctors, so she is in at least the area of her choice, lol. 

She called me yesterday from work and asked me if I would go and pick  up her diploma from the school on December 16th because she doesn't want to miss work. She isn't one for big ta-dos or events, so graduating with the large class was never an option for her. So for her long six years of hard ups and downs, I  get to go pick her diploma. I won't even get a picture of her receiving it, LOL.  But, as long as she is happy, isn't that all that matters to us moms!

One of the ornaments for the giveaway

Happy Birthday Susan and Stacie

Ok I am a little late, but I want to wish my 2 daughters Susan and Stacie a HAPPY BIRTHDAY.. Sue's was on saturday the 15th and Stacie's is today.. WE LOVE YOU GIRLS!!

Mom and Dad

MY MOTHER AND I

Oh how good it feels to sit down and look through blogs and let my mind just go...........

I want to thank those who have prayed for my mother and I.  Thank you so much.  She is in ICU still after having  surgery on October 27th.   I thought many times she was not going to make it but she has.  She should've only been in the hospital for a relatively short stay but had one complication after another with pneumonia and respiratory failiure and her body becoming septic and blood clots and the list goes on.  She had a tracheotomy and peg tube yesterday put in and will move from ICU to a long term critical care unit and then on to a rehabilitation home for a year the doctor said today.  This all has been horrifying.  My mother was a well person before all this and got around great with no serious health issues and was very active and happy.   She had just had new flooring put down in her house and had gotten new furniture for her den and sun room.  She was enjoying her new car and loved wearing stylish clothes and was in Church every Sunday to give you an idea of how Mama is and of how shocking this has been for us.

As for me?  I stayed with her constantly for 17 days and then a sister came from another state and has been with her while I came home and got some much needed rest.  I believe I have been at my breaking point and have been just teetering on the edge of somewhere I've never been before.  I covet your prayers for my mother and myself and my entire family.  

I hope, as time allows between trips back and forth, to blog about other things again.  I love my blog and I miss it.  I think it would be good for me to do so and it would help me get my mind off of things if I'm able to.  So come back and visit.