An awesome 72 hours

Good afternoon, friends.  I am so happy to be blogging today.

I returned yesterday from my Walk to Emmaus.  This was an amazing experience for me.  I don't think I have ever been happier in my life.  Walking closer to Christ is an experience everyone should have.  My heart was so heavy about two different things, and now?  Well, my heart is light and much happier.  This truly is probably the single most important event in my life.  If you are a Christian you should definitely talk with your pastor or priest and inquire if you could possibly go on this wonderful adventure.  And there are walks for men, as well as the women.  Check it out, I'm sure you'll be glad you did.

On another subject, I am showing you a card that I made last month  (I'm not sure who designed it, but I fell in love with it).  I hope you like it, too.  I used Close To My Heart stamp set Card Word Puzzle (C1494) for the flower and stamp set For Every Occasion (D1187) for the word hello.  I also used Outdoor Denim ink for stamping the flowers, and a strip of the Outdoor Denim card stock with natural hemp (Z280) tied over it.  Then I used a small piece of Colonial White card stock stacked on top of a piece of  kraft card stock for the small card attached.   

If you are interested in any of these supplies, please contact me at normsdarlin@aol.com for ordering
I hope you enjoy seeing this card.  It's so easy and you can make a ton of them very quickly.  Also, you can vary what is stamped on the small card.

And now, it's GLUTEN FREEBIE TIME!  This recipe uses Udi's gluten free bagels and comes from flour on my face.com.

Udi's Gluten Free Bagel Chips

2 Udi's plain bagels

1/4 C olive oil

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

a pinch of dry dill weed

Carefully cut the bagels thinly.  The slices don't have to be perfect.  Variation in the thickness, shape and size is what makes bagel chips so much fun to snack on.  In a bowl or a gallon size zip-lock bag toss olive oil with the bagel slices.  Take your time and evenly coat the pieces as well as you can.  Not all of the pieces will be entirely covered with olive oil.  

Mix the spices and sprinkle into the bag.  Seal and shake to cover the bagel pieces with the spices.  The spices I used are just a starting point.  You can flavor your bagel bites with any spices you like.  You could add some ground pepper flakes or a small amount of cayenne pepper if you like things spicy.  This is one of those recipes you can change up depending on what favors you feel like having.

Spread pieces on a large baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake for 7 minutes at 400 degrees in your oven.  Remove bagel chips from the baking sheet and cool on a cooling rack.  This will keep your chips crispy.  Store in an air tight container.  This recipe is great, by the way, for using up bagels that have gone a little stale.

Cucumber and Dill Dip

4 oz. softened reduced fat cream cheese

1/2 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped fine

1/2 tsp fresh dill, chopped fine (or dried)

Cash of salt and pepper

Peel, cut in half and seed the cucumber, scraping a teaspoon down the center to remove the seeds.  Dice into small pieces.  Chop the fresh dill finely.  (If using dried dill weed you may have to adjust the measurement.  Add 1/4 tsp to start, then add more if needed)

Add all ingredients together and mix well.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.  Overnight is best.  When ready to serve, mix well again, taste to make sure you don't need to adjust the spices.

I hope you have a Blessed Week and enjoy all I have given you today.  See you next week.

Hugs,

Lynn 

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you ladies out there.  Whether you gave birth to a child or you raised another person's child, I wish you a Happy Mother's Day.

And this blog today is to honor all of the wonderful mothers in my own family.

From my Grandma Peters, who I loved dearly, as she raised six children by herself since my Grandpa was killed in the line of duty, as a police officer.  Her name was Anna, and she was born January 6, 1872 and died at the age of 90.  She had this long dark hair which she brushed each morning and night,  and wore in a bun.  Her hair was all the way down to the back of her knees, and not a gray hair was found.  She had all her own teeth, could hear very well, but she did wear glasses, as you can see from the picture.  Some good German stock.  I miss you, Grandma.
 

And then there was Aunt Rose, sister-in-law of my father.  She and my Uncle Pete (her husband) raised my sister Nancy, my brother Mike and myself, from the time we were very little until we were out of school.  She took really good care of us, and one of the things I remember most about her is that she made all of our clothes all those years.  And I mean everything, including undies.  LOL  And what a fabulous cook she was.  I still think of all those wonderful meals she put on the table.  Thank you, Aunt Rose, for all you did for us.

Next would be my sister, Nancy, who gave birth to four children, three boys and a little girl.  I'm sorry to say her little girl did not survive at birth, but she raised three wonderful boys.  Another wonderful mother in our family!

And I guess I'm next, giving birth to three children, two girls and one boy.  I have always loved being a mother, and I hope I did a good job raising my three.

One of my daughters, Laura, has four children: two girls and two boys.  They all live in Maryland.   She was born to be a mother in my eyes.  She is a wonderful mother, and truly loves her children and would give her life for any of them.  This I know and I applaud her for it.  She is one of those mothers who doesn't get bent out of shape when something goes wrong.  Her patience is unending, and believe me, she needs all that patience at times.  LOL

My other daughter, Debra, who lives in Kansas, has raised her husband's son since he was a little boy.   Adam was Debbie's son from the time she married Jim.  Adam has grown up to be a fine man, and now has two children of his own.

Now comes my daughter-in-law, Beth, who has given birth to my wonderful grandson, Joshua, who will be turning 16 next week.  I am fortunate to have them live very close to me.  Beth is a wonderful mother and I love her for her love of my son.

And last, but not least, is my grand daughter, Amanda, who is the mother of three little ones, and another baby due in September.  She, like my daughter Laura, I believe, was meant to be a mother.  She truly reminds me of Laura in many ways, including having a lot of patience.

So, as you can see, our family has many mothers, and I salute all of them.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU!!!

Hugs,
Lynn

May 12, 2012

I know, I know, you are asking "where have you been"?  Well, I've been here all the time, just didn't know how I was going to change the direction this blog is going to take.  A lot has happened in my life since the last time I published anything.

So here goes, my sweet and wonderful Art passed away in December of last year.  So now my life is turned upside down and I need to figure out what I am going to do in my future.

One of the things that I am working on is figuring out recipes and making them gluten free.  I will be posting a recipe each time I blog, and I'm not sure yet how often that will be.  I don't know if it will be daily (I doubt that) or once a week, which seems a more workable deal for me.

I will also be sharing a card that I design using Close To My Heart supplies.  I love making cards and also occasionally scrapbooking.  I am still a Consultant with Close To My Heart and will continue working with their merchandise.

And that's about it for now.  I also have to figure out how to publish this blog, since things have changed here.  So at this time I will show you a card that I made at my last card class.  I hope you enjoy it.

 

Hugs,

Lynn