Once a Month [Old Stuff] GiveAway

Thanks so much for all of your comments throughout the month!
I love reading them and think it's so fun to share together! I love hearing your thoughts on some of things I put out there and am planning a post to connect with each one!
I appreciate each of you taking the time to stop by and visit!

It's time for the

'Once a Month [old stuff] Giveaway!

Each month I randomly draw a name from the comments throughout the month and send that person a little bag of [old stuff] goodies that hopefully they can use [new to them and all, you know...] It's a flat rate box so I can pack it FULL each month!

The Winner for June is:

Kristin

- send your mailing address to me: Judy@faithbasedpages.com
and I'll get a little box of goodies out to you soon!

Ten on Tuesday

1. My week included four days of training policy to 20 new [to us] staff – wheee! – I’m the state trainer for our division so not only do I train – but I’m responsible for seeing that all the material is covered. And let’s just say my OCD had a couple of run-ins with someone else's ADD– lol. But we gotter done. [As we say in the South -]
2. Traveling alone is a little boring. I did shop some, but I"m not one to go out to eat alone. And to be honest, by the end of the day I'm so pooped to be good company with anyone else.
3. So once I got home I was thrilled to just veg-out for most of the day. I slept-in, read a whole book, ate vegetables, and just relaxed. So nice.
4. We went to the Flying Monkey’s Artist Showcase at Lowe Mill this week – open free for artists in the area to share their wares. It is such a beautiful old warehouse – a great place if you need studio space and have the time to meet their requirements. I’m considering participating a couple of Saturdays closer to The Holidays.
5. We caught up with friends over dinner on Sunday afternoon.
   
6. And we also had time to get the lawn / garden done – I really [REALLY] love to mow the lawn and was able to finish it up just before the first rain drops started to fall.
7. We had sushi with the boys on Monday night. Fun food and fellowship together.
8. And since I don’t work outside I’m still not detesting the heat – but I’ll concede that it’s felt like a sauna a few days this week with the 200% humidity.
   
9. While out / town I took some girls to paint. And again, love them all. Each one ends up with their own personality, and I have to say this is one of my all-time favorites, so don’t be surprised if she ends up hanging in my office. [Psalm 23]
   
10. And speaking of my girls - Flickr has informed me that I've reached my quota for free - so instead of paying them for that service, I'll be moving them over to the website I already pay monthly for. More to come.

Summer of Color - Purple

I know some of you are joining in The Summer of Color fun for the next few weeks

where the focus is on a different color each week.


I'm cheating again - I worked out of town all last week and
while I did take some of my girls to play and paint with -
I just completely forgot about the purple challenge -
and it's one of my favorite colors of all!
Our den is painted purple
[think light - not lavender - sunset purple] and
I. Love. It.
Well, in fact my whole house [sans boys' rooms] has some sort of
purple - green- or- cream / gold in every room...
Since you walk from the living / dining room into the den
I made this to go on the wall.


I made it a few years back from an old door, fabric, cardboard, wall-paper,
and the same paint that is on the walls of the den.
[The spray paint pictured above just didn't work -]
Photos were scanned and printed AT HOME -
I'd never use a pricey photo for a project like this and
printer-places won't re-print studio photos for ya.
Lots of mod-podge and giant dragon fly pin finished it off.
[Oops - not in this photo -
but he's hanging out just over the quote - ]
I love it still.
[Although, I am thinking of moving it
to the playroom upstairs and
trying something new on this wall...]

Favorite Photo Friday

Another of my dad's slides -
this on was waaaaaay over - exposed in that California sun -
so I did shop it up a bit. My sister and me at Disneyland in the '60s - so fun.

Who remembers that little blue stuffed dachshund
bought in New Mexico
that had a broken back by the time we got home? -

Cooking Light [on-line] Supper CLub

We interrupt the regularly scheduled

Cooking LIGHT post to bring you - yes,

Knock You Naked Brownies from The Pioneer Woman

[My tweaks are in red, below.]

We had a little family reunion this weekend and I volunteered to make desserts. So I made the most delicious Banana Pudding [Paula Dean's recipe] because it's Craig's all-time favorite dessert and, since I love chocolate, I decided to try these:

Ingredients

• 1 box (18.5 Ounce) German Chocolate Cake Mix (I Used Duncan Hines)
• 1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans
• 1/3 cup Evaporated Milk
• 1/2 cup Evaporated Milk (additional)
• 1/2 cup Butter, Melted
• 60 whole Caramels, Unwrapped
• 1/3 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, chopped pecans, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until totally combined. Mixture will be very thick.

Press half the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.

In a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water) melt caramels with additional 1/2 cup evaporated milk. When melted and combined, pour over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.

Turn out remaining brownie dough on work surface. Use your hands to press it into a large square a little smaller than the pan. Use a spatula to remove it from the surface, then set it on top of the caramel and chocolate chips.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for several hours. When ready to serve, generously sift powdered sugar over the surface of the brownies. Cut into either nine or twelve helpings, and carefully remove from the pan.

*Adapted from the standard/classic "Knock You Naked Brownies" recipe. These brownies don't really knock you naked...but almost.

Mine:

I used a big pan [13x 9 , maybe?] and TWO cake mixes, mixed separately with the butter and evaporated milk [so you'll need twice as much of those ingredients as well.] I also put the pecans in the bottom layer and the chocolate chips in the top layer of cake mixture [not on top of the caramel] - I used the same amount of caramels [well, almost, I used one whole bag, and according to serving size there were 50 in the bag -- I didn't count] and sprinkled a little salt over the top before putting on the second layer of cake mixture. AND - I did not refrigerate.

They sat on the counter [covered] overnight and were served the next day without any oozing of the caramel all over the place. I pre-cut them into smaller squares before putting the sugar on - Next time I will definitely use less [or no] powdered sugar.

Verdict: These are so worth the effort to make.

Hands down - the best brownies we've EVER had.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Let me start by saying that my sweet husband keeps me on an even keel in the storms of life. I'm so thankful that he chose to go through life with me-
2. I've had another busy week - filled with good things, and work things, and better things -it's all about the attitude we choose to have, really.
   
3. Got mom home from rehab on Thursday and she seems to be doing a little better each day. I still have hope that she will be up and at 'em before long.
4. I took my inspiration board [an on-line class assignment] to work so I can see it every day - I love it hanging right over my desk - [and I'll share a larger photo so you can see the poster I've had over my desk since my first year at work n Mobile in 1983 - this rabbit was a local celeb ... seems he ran free in their yard and every afternoon he'd jump in this big barrel of water to cool off.]
5. And we enjoyed getting together for pizza with our camping buddies [veggies lovers + bacon for me - is that a paradox?] - friends we've hung out with for over 20 years - camping or not. LOL.
6. Pet Peeve - well, maybe not really a *peeve* - but definitely something that irks me - and it's not even a bad thing - but -- I. Am. So. Tired. of going to my favorite blogs only to have them covered with give-a-ways and advertisements. So. Tired. I started reading them for the CONTENT - not the commercials...
7. We had a family reunion this weekend with my dad's side of the family. [Much thanks to John for all the wonderful photos.] - Why don't we do this more often guys? We sure enjoyed being with each other and sure did miss those who were unable to join us. So. Fun. Love my dad's sisters so much - THEY are an inspiration.
   
8. I'll try and get photos to share next week [or the next] of Pauly - he's very different from any cat we've had before. When we got him last summer he appeared to be a short-haired kitty but as time went on he puffed into a long haired cat that made me sneeze anytime I walked by him, much less touched him - and now, back to the summer again, he's lean and slick and cute as can be - and I'm not sneezing. I just wonder if he'll puff up like a marshmallow again in the winter. Very different.
9. I took a little time to re-do my art area - I'm loving the smaller bins that have all the things I use to create - all divided and easily accessible. My crafty area[s] continually change as the way I create changes.
   
10. And I was able to paint backgrounds this weekend - lots and lots of backgrounds. It felt good to take the time to be creative. I hope to finish them up this week.
    

The Summer of Color: Red

I know some of you are joining in The Summer of Color fun for the next few weeks

where the focus is on a different color each week.
This week the color is RED- and I'll admit that I'm 'cheating' again since
I've had another crazy-busy week.
[I think my life will settle down sometime in August.]
So this is a little project I did a few weeks ago at My Spirited Art -
[love that everyone interprets art differently -]
It's similar to Sip N Strokes, if you have one of those near you. A friend and I went together back in February and had a great evening
visiting and painting together.
[And she's lost over 100 pounds since then, you go girl!]But you know I have to put my own spin on things
so I actually took some gesso and an old hymnal
and covered the canvas in hymn pages before we started painting.
It's only visable close-up and I love the extra depth it gives the painting.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Worked two days in Birmingham - and was so glad to have my sweetie come along with me! [Photo not from this little trip -]
2. We ate at The Cheesecake Factory and The PawPaw Patch - and guess which was our favorite? PawPaw's - hands down - I'm not sure I'll ever go to The Cheesecake Factory again...
3. Mom's doing so much better, and while she still needs some assistance, she should be going back to her apartment in a few days.
4. I ate a 'california gold' tomato - and it was yummy - but it looked so much like cantaloupe that I couldn't get my taste buds to reconcile with my eyesight - lol
5. The last space shuttle went up - and while I didn't get a chance to watch it, I was a little sad - I hope our little city can survive the cut-backs of the space program.
6. I was called to be a substitute for bunko - and it was good to reconnect with some friends I haven't seen for a while ...
7. Saw a church sign promoting their Harry Potter Vacation Bible School - and while I consider myself fairly liberal in my faith beliefs [and I do love Harry and the gang,] I just can't quite put the two together...
8. So [sooooo] hot this week with a heat index of 110* or higher - and since I don't have to work outside I'm still not tired of it -
9. I planted some daisy like flowers yesterday afternoon [big and orange with brown centers - I hope they'll come back every year.
10. And finally - I'm so enjoying having youngest home for the summer - and seeing oldest a little more often too.
    

Summer of Color - Brown

I know some of you are joining in The Summer of Color fun for the next few weeks

where the focus will be on a different color each week.
This week the color is BROWN - and while I don't use it often in my art - it's definitely the staple of my wardrobe - where others have black as their basic, the foundation of my closet is decidedly brown. So I went to work and pulled together a little something for this week [brown with a punch of bold color] and came up with this little piece.

I'm not sure how 'bold' the flag is since I muted it a little with, yes, brown - but I know that to some the statement will seem bold, even though I believe that's what our founding fathers
built our great country on.
[Oh, and don't count the 'stars' - I got a little carried away - ha.]

Cooking Light [on-line] Supper Club

PESTO!

[and a sunflower because, well, - they're blooming & I love them!]
Another recipe that's really pretty basic using the staple of summer: basil!
So I'm sure you've seen lots of different varieties through the years.
Here's the link to Cooking Light's recipe.
[I make mine with walnuts.]
I do love a good pesto - - when we lost electricity for a week during the storms it was one of my saddest things to lose in our freezer - - but yay! It's summer again, and I now have all the basil I want! Yippee!


So I made a fresh batch and served it with grilled chicken and goat cheese, along with polenta and grilled squash. Yum.
And then a few days later we had grilled sandwiches with sliced chicken breast, pesto, tomato, and mozzarella cheese. Yum, again.

[I apologize for the blurry photo...]
And I still have some left to add to some pasta this weekend.
Triple yum. Ha.

Ten on Tuesday

1. In between phone calls [and yes, some crying] to see how Mom was making it I had another [[very]] busy week - so glad brother could be with her for a couple of days.
2. I worked like a crazy woman all week getting ready for my largest county's review that was postponed due to the storms. So happy to have all the reports reviewed before I visit them for the actual assessment.
3. Emma now lives with us officially, I think. She's settling in nicely.
4. Mom's back in rehab and I again have hope that she can have some happy days when she gets back to her apartment. It's all just so hard on her; and I can't change it.
5. Youngest got home from his trip to Florida and headed back to work today.
6. Got my lunch from a diner near my office - I always enjoy walking around our little town when the church bells are chiming...
7. I enjoyed visiting with friends at my monthly crop [think quilting bee for scrapbookers] - and actually completed 5 pages.
8. We visited a new weekly 'farmer's market' downtown a couple of blocks from work and found all kinds of goodness -fruits, veggies, local meats, and flowers. YUM.
9. Saw Mom on the weekend and she seems to be adjusting to the new routine of this rehab center - it's little more strenuous but we know they will not ask her to do anything that will cause her to be worse - it's all about helping, even if it doesn't feel like it sometimes.
10. And finally, our [July] Fourth was lazy and laid back with lunch with our boys and a movie [Larry Crowne] later on...
    

Happy Fourth!

Summer of Color - Yellow

I know some of you are joining in The Summer of Color fun for the next few weeks

where the focus will be on a different color each week.


This week the color is YELLOW - a another favorite color of mine.
And I'll admit I've had another draining week with so much at work to be done and so much on my mind outside of work.

So I'm 'cheating' and sharing a few of my favorite yellow projects from the last few months

- enjoy!

Magic is believing in yourself,
if you can do that,
you can make anything happen.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I'd forgotten it was July already -

And the new issue of Hobby Lobby's magazine hit the store yesterday -

Stamping-Stationery-and- Scrapbooking - Third Quarter 2011
and I'm in it!
Well, not me - but a couple of my [very favorite] layouts:


This first one is a photo my cousin John took of some flower pots on a bench outside his home in Arizona - I 'shopped' the photo up A LOT and love the painted look of it - combined with a favorite quote and ton of eyelets and it's a pretty simple but great looking layout.


This one is also pretty simple - it's a photo from one of my dad's slides of my little brother and my mom walking on the beach. I did NOTHING to this photo - just let those beautiful fading colors of the slide shine through and added some complimentary colors for another favorite layout.
Fun. Quick. And easy.
That's my scrapbook 'style.'