The Best Of PA

My first fishing outing!   Going to my grandparent’s home was always an anticipated visit as a child. They owned an old camp ground in Benton PA; it seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.   I loved going there.   Aunts, Uncles and cousins would flock here for family gatherings.   Here is where we would walk the trails in the fern engulfed woods.   We would twist and weave until we reached the top, where an old bench lay, facing a pretty view of the mountains.   The look-out was always the destination, but the fun part was taking a different path down. My Uncle David and Aunt Carol almost built a house here.   I say almost, because at the edge of the trail, in the dense pines, stands a decomposing foundation, with soft planks of wood covered in light swirly moss.   A creek lay ahead of my grandparents white two story home.   A babbling icy cold stream, where we grandkids would busy ourselves with catching salamanders, building dams and f...

 Scatter Sunshine today: to someone who needs a smile, a hug, a compliment.  Make a person's day bright with encouragement or a simple act of service.  Have you had the opportunity to serve as of late?  I have been praying for such things and have been blessed to do so.  If you think service simply means donating money to a specific charity, well you need to expand your horizons.  Time is best thing to give away, it is also sometimes the most inconvenient.    Time is precious and fleeting, we all try to not waste a single drop of this golden gift, so sometimes when a friend calls for a favor it seems easier to say no.  I have wonderful friends for examples, people who have taught me to take the time and truly make something of it.  God has also molded me and continues to shape me into what I should be with service opportunities.  They are always simple, but profound.    I have the blessing of being at home with my girls so when a friend has an appointment, I am available to watch...

The Supplies "I can't wait for the date!!"   Ellyanna jumped up and down excitedly.  She was talking about Danny and I's twenties date.  I didn'thave the heart to tell her that it was just for mommy and daddy.  After all, Elly had seen me plan numerous micro dates.  I have collected things from the store, gathered materials I already had, and decorated specific rooms to whichever theme I had concocted for the evening.  When eight o clock rolled around and we accomplished our daily reading and we brushed our teeth and dressed into our jammies.  Elly sensed that this date would not involve her.  Her tiny lips quivered.. "But I wanna go to you and Daddy's date." Tears sprouted from her big blue eyes as I tried to console her. "I know but this is a date just for Mommy and Daddy.  But hey, how about we have a date for you tomorrow.  We could dress up for a ball and go dancing!!" The sad w...

Our first activity on our "Roaring 20's" date night was a pea eating contest.  I know it sounds silly, but really the twenties was full of crazy contests, dancing, pea eating, standing on poles at the top of buildings for many days and much more.  Contests, marathons and any weird challenges were ever so popular. It's funny because in highschool and college, tests and history was sort of boring to me.  However now that I am older I seem to be soaking this kind of stuff up.  I read an easy book on the Roaring Twenties callled "Life During the Roaring Twenties" By Dian Yancey.  It's a "The Way People Live" Series for what I am assuming junior high students.  Anyways I decided it would be fun to create some trivia from all that I learned. There was lots of games in the twenties.  It was before the television, and the movies were meant for the weekend.  Games and the radio were a main source of entertainment.  Naturally I took advantad...

Elly crawled up next to me and whispered into my ear "I love you Mommy" "Oh thank you Elly, I love you too!!" She smiled, then waved her finger and shook her head. "Don't tell anybody though. Don't tell anyone that I love you or that you love me." Then she ran off to jump on her bed and sing.

Oh I love preschool and all the fast creative ideas that pour into my head last minute.  I come up with the usual things and then an hour before class is in session a zillion different games and learning ideas creep into thoughts.  Here is what we did today.  Many of them were last minute visions that floated into my brain. Today we: -Sang and acted out "Once there was a Snowman" Our Snowman Race consisted of who could dress the fastest -Had a "turn into a snowman" race -Played Whisper down the lane-introducing the word "secret" and whispering numerous "S" words down the lane.  Hilarious the words and phrases they would end up with. -Made some "S" soup-think stone soup What made our soup?  stickers, swords, snowman, smiles, star, snowflakes, shoe, sticks, shovel, snow globe, stamps, sunglasses and straws -Made snowflakes -Found the letter "S" and words that began with the letter "S" This i...

Got this pic from lowdenlifestyle.com       April 6th.  That is how long my new self inflicted challlenge will run.  Six whole weeks of striving to rearrange my crazy eating habits.  I went six long days without sugar and fourteen days without chocolate so I am confident that I can do this.  It is a decision, really.  A decision that can affect my health and change my perspective about what I allow into my mouth.  I need it.  I exercise, I'm decluttering the inside of my humble abode, so now it's time to put the right kind of nourishment into my belly....so that it won't be a belly anymore, rather a tight little tummy.  And after the six weeks?  Well I plan to gather another slightly more intense six week plan, until I have a bunch of six week plans that turn me into a lean mean health machine.  I shall be ready for swimsuit season.  I know you are dying to know what does the first six week pl...

Elly's Hearts Kelseys Hearts In Preschool today we: Elly's Paper-notice how she uses one circle to cover both seeds. Kelsey's Paper, I love seeing how different each child is in thier learning and actions. -counted hearts to 19, then organized them by color. -did some subtraction -found the letter S on the wall and sounded it out. -painted goody bags and added stickers to them -traced letter S -ate cake topped with fruit

photo from: http://www.123rf.com/photo_10797075_vintage-treasure-chest-with-some-jewels-inside.html "Do you think I'm poor or something?" I looked at Bridget, her lips curled into a smirky smile. Countless times I've heard her say interesting things about money. "Elly don't expect gymnastic lessons, it costs A LOT of money....Don't worry Danielle, if you save your money up, maybe eventually you can go to Disney....Danielle playing an intsrument and taking lessons cost a lot of money, you might want Elly do something else." I find it to be rather entertaining her bits of wisdom for me. But I've never viewed myself as poor, AT ALL! I often wonder why Bridget views us as "po folk". Was it because we didn't have cable? Is it our lack of fancy cars, or the obvious old worn furniture and painted kitchen cabinets ? I was baffled, and so when another: "yeah, skiing is probably to expensive for you" comment flew ...

    Last night Danny arrived home to see a prettified table with some delectable treats.  Ole!  It was time for a Mexican Night.  There is nothing like munching on tortilla cips, salsa, and guacomole.  Of course we needed something to sip on, so naturally I made pina coladas, with whipped cream and a cherry. Let the Games Begin! I looked up some "Mexican" games online and found a drinking game.  Side Note: We don't consume alcohol, and yes our pina coladas were virgin.  Despite the fact we don't drink I thought it might be fun to learn this game.  It involved two dice, sipping drinks and keeping score.    After one round we were ready for something different Enter: Mexican Train!  It's an addictive Dominoes game that we adore and play often. Yeah, not sure how to turn it.  It's any surprise I can even blog. When we were finished with this, we were onto a quick transition gam...

Rainy days are perfect for soup. And I love a delicious and yummy soup simmering in the kitchen. If you know me by now, then you know that I'm not really a measurement kind of gal. So here goes. -A Big Pot of Water-think like two quarts or a little less. Again I don't measure. -Three beef bouillon cubes -Two Tablespoons of dry salsa mix -Taco Seasoning Packet -One Onion Chopped, and cooked with meat -One Packet of wild rice, with herbs (I know I have two packets in the pic, just go with it) -A Can Of Dices Tomatoes -A Can of Corn -A Can of Black Beans -A Can (small one) of chopped black olives -Half a pound of ground beef cooked 1) Brown Beef with chopped onions and half of the taco seasoning packet. 2) In a Big Pot throw the rest of the Ingredients in. Let it simmer on medium high. 3) When the Beef and onions are cooked, strain the fat out, then add beef and onions to the soup. 4) When ready to serve, add sour cream (knew I forgot to add something to th...

      Yesterday Danny arrived with bags of food in his arms.  I had already begun fixing dinner, a mexican dish, consisting of dirty rice, beans, tomatoes, olives, chicken and taco seasoning.  It was sizzling in the pan, and letting off a warm spicy aroma. This is easy and yummy to make, especially when you buy the boxed dirty rice "Oh your making dinner already.  Well that's alright, we can just add that to the meal I'm making for us."  He shlopped the bags down onto the table.  "Oh? What meal are you making?"  I leaned over his shoulder trying to catch a peak. Danny  pulled the items of food from the filmy plastic bags.  Lobster tails, giant fresh scallops, shrimp and clams were placed on the kitchen table. "Mmm, I can't wait!"  I chimed   Danny began throwing all the cold items in the fridge and headed outside. "Yeah, I figure I could cook it outside over the fire, like Li...

      Happy Valentines Day Everyone!   I hope your day is filled with warm embraces, gentle kisses, decadent desserts and romantic compliments.  It is a thrilling Valentines week for Danny and I.  In addtion to chocolates (which of course I can't eat right now) and opening up the compliment jar, we have three dates set up for this week alone.        Two of them are micro dates, provided by Danny and myself.  It is a  Date Off .  Who can give the best micro date, and of course there will be prizes for the winner.  The first one is tonight-a date Danny is planning himself.  I have no idea what it consists of but I promise to give details and pictures tommorow.  My micro date is Thursday, and I am still whittling down three date ideas.  I need to make it good, so yeah, I'm a little under pressure here.  But I'm lucky becuase I go last, and can therefore make it better. ...