Happy Friday everyone! We were up bright and early in order to get Zack to the ballfield for a 9 am game. Third game of the season and we finally got our first win. Zack hit a triple in the second inning to bring in two and did well with pitching. The picture below was emailed to me by a friend from last week's game. I'm always keeping score and pitch count at the games so it is hard to do anything else.

Today was actually a very windy and dusty kinda day. Yuck! I really, really hate the dust. But a sweet someone sent a little sunshine my way. Bunny from I'm Just Sayin' left me a message that she had a little award for me and it turns out to be a Sunshine Award. It is exactly what I needed today. Thanks Bunny! I always enjoy visiting Bunny so hop on over her way and tell her I sent you.

I'm enjoying crocheting and hanging out at home since the weather outside is frightful.

The sun was lost behind all the dust today, but the moon was shining bright this evening.

Hope you have a relaxing weekend. Peace & blessings, Tammy

Thankful Thursday

Please visit Rhondi at Rose Colored Glasses for Thankful Thursday.

The weekend in Kuwait is Friday and Saturday. I am thankful it is the weekend.



Yesterday I bought all these lovely cotton yarns. Our local craft store sent out an sms that they are having a 50% sale. The cotton yarn is perfect for dishcloths, so that's what I plan to work on this weekend. I am thankful for my yarn stash and all the lovely colors.

These are for an afghan.

Happy Hands Happy Heart! Hope your day is filled with lots of happy things. Peace & blessings, Tammy

Wonderful Wednesday and a little White

Morning has broken ...
6:35 am

6:45 am

6:55 am

to a beautiful day!

"The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”

On Monday, Sweet Lori from Altered Glass posted the Happy 101 award for me on her blog. It's the same one I received from Dee Dee in Texas but at that time I didn't post 10 things that make me happy. These are things that for me, make every day a good day!

1. A beautiful sunrise
2. A good cup of coffee
3. No traffic
4. Unexpected surprises
5. Enough work to keep me busy
6. Time to breathe, relax, play
7. An evening walk
8. A nice, warm bubble bath
9. Cereal for dinner
10. A comfortable bed at the end of the day
    
    But THIS does not make me happy!
    

My dining able has been a mess for a week now. I must get oranized! I did finish my second shoebox makeover -- always need a place to store scrapbooking supplies. (I think most images are from The Graphics Fairy.)

Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday!

Peace & blessings, Tammy

Tuesday This and That

In the States, there are Dollar Stores, but here, we have the 100 fils stores.

100 fils is about .30 cents. When I was teaching kindergarten, I used to shop at these stores all the time because I could find little gifts for the kids, stickers and all sorts of things. The price was certainly right. Granted, some things might cost 150 fils now, but at still less than .50 cents, you just can't beat it. I got rocks and shells and pretty colored decorative glass pieces.

Beach inspired candleholders.

Plastic containers with red lids and little cups with hearts that I've started to fill with candy and gingham hearts for Valentine's Day.

And these great little camels.

The main reason I went to the 100 fils store was to purchase 40 coffee mugs. The same person who coordinates the Trash to Treasures program at one of the embassy shelters, is now going to hold a 6-week course for some of these ladies based on Steven Covey's book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Other ladies have donated baked goods for the evening, and I helped to provide mugs that can be used each week, pretty napkins and sweet-smelling candles to set a lovely mood. I was able to purchase the last of the palm trees made by the ladies at the shelter and donated more magazines and fliers for their cause.

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While out shopping, I also bought these magazines from a bookstore.

Look at the title of one of the articles.

This used to be a rice box, and now it is a lovely little gift box.

And this is another shoebox makeover. It's not complete yet as I still need to get some crocheted lace for a trim around the lid.

A lovely quotation I put on the lid.

Hope you are having a terrific Tuesday. Peace & blessings, Tammy

Monday Blues and Muffins

Happy Monday to everyone. It's our second day back to school while most of you are just starting your week.

Today started out with clouds. Cleared up mid-day. And now it is very windy out there ... and unfortunately, dusty. This wallhanging is on my kitchen door. Bought it during a layover in Amsterdam.

A collector's plate hangs in the hallway. We have a friend who lives in Amsterdam and during a 9-hour layover coming back from the States one summer, he met me and the kids and took us for a boat ride along the canal.

Amsterdam is often cold and drizzly and it certainly was this day. These are all sites we saw during the boat ride.






Unfortunately, this is what Zack did the whole time!

No matter where we went -- in the car, on the boat, to a restaurant to eat -- he would wake up only long enough to get to the next place and then he would promptly fall asleep again. Poor guy! I think he was about 5 at the time. Jet lag really does a number on us when we come back this way.
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I often make Banana Muffins as we eat a lot of bananas around here and some always get a little ripe before we can get to them. I use the same honey wheat muffin recipe I posted about before and add bananas and some extras to make them moist and delicious.

Mash 1-1/2 ripe bananas
Stir in 1 egg, 1/4 cup canola oil, 1/2 honey and 1/2 cup of milk; mix together.
Add 1-1/2 cups of wheat flour; 2 tsps baking powder; 1/4 tsp salt; a pinch of cinnamon; TBS of oatmeal and chopped pecans or walnuts. Blend

Grease your muffin tins, fill and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until done.

Great for breakfast or a snack!

The wind is really whipping up out there now, carrying dusty with it. Yuck! Weather folks say that the next few days will be cold. Hope you have a fantastic evening and a terrific Tuesday. Peace & blessings, Tammy

Silver Sunday and Soup Therapy

Welcome to another Silver Sunday. If you love silver, make your way over to Beth's place at Gypsy Fish Journal and check out all the lovely items the party participants have to share. The pieces below remind me of the trip my husband and I took to Thailand about 5 years ago. It was our first trip without the kids.

Sadly, I have few photos to remind me of our time there. We visited so many temples, watched elephants parade and play soccer, saw a snake show (and Sam actually held the snake), took a ride in a tuk-tuk. But, one summer while the kids and I were away, DH decided to reformat the computer. He didn't think to back anything up. All our pictures from Thailand were on there and that was that. Only the memories remain. My bedroom now has lots of little elephants hanging about.

Anywhoo ... today on Yahoo I read an interesting article about soup. The opening paragraph reads: The healing power of soup: something that both scientists and grandmothers can agree on. From helping you lose weight to warming you up from the inside out to boosting your immunity, soup is a winter staple that you shouldn’t be without. Maybe that is one reason that it is celebrated this month with its very own National Soup Month. Here's a closer look at what you can do to benefit from soup's amazing healing powers. You can read the whole article by going here.

I love soup and make it all year round. Last week I found a slow cooker recipe, but since I like fast and easy, I decided to make it my own.

Savory Bean Spinach Soup
3-14 oz cans vege broth
1 15-oz can tomato puree (I used diced canned tomatoes and a bit of tomato paste)
1 15-oz can white beans
1/2 cup brown rice (I used instant)
1/2 cup chopped onion (saute in a bit of olive oil)
2 cloves garlic minced (I used garlic powder)
1 tsp dried basil, crushed (I also sprinkled in some Italian seasoning)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bag frozen spinach
shredded or powdered parmesan cheese to serve

Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil then just add everything together and let it cook for about 20 minutes. I added a pinch of red pepper flakes to give it extra spice.

This is a nice, thick yummy soup! Had it with some wasa toast and smoked provolone cheese. Delicious!

Today I had leftover soup for lunch and wasa topped with avocado (mashed with salt, cumin, lemon juice).

Yesterday was bright and sunny, but during the nite we had a little rain pour that lasted all of about 30 seconds. Today was a bit cloudy. I saw the skyline this afternoon and thought it looked rather silvery gray.

These pictures were literally snapped just seconds apart. I could see the sun as it was dropping behind the clouds. Amazing

Wishing you all a delightful, restful and soothing Sunday! Peace & blessings, Tammy (PS I hear thunder :)

Happy Pink Saturday

We are having a beautiful day here!

I'm still embellishing empty jars and will be gifting them with chocolates and candles for Valentine's Day.


Using leftover yarn to crochet tiny little hearts that I can place inside handmade cards.

Jingles always manages to find a bit of sunshine to brighten her day. Hope you are having a wonderful day wherever you are.

Peace & blessings, Tammy

Handcrafted Goodness

Good Friday to everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful end of the week. We were able to sleep in a bit this morning as Zack's Friday baseball game was an afternoon one.

It's always nice to have a relaxing start to the day rather than up and rushing about like we normally do during the week. For breakfast I had my coffee and toast with this delicious homemade peanut butter.

Yusef's English teacher (who happens to be from the same area in Michigan where my aunt and cousin are) makes it fresh and includes flaxseed oil. She does different flavors during the holidays like pumpkin pie spice for Thanksgiving and candy cane pb for Christmas. They are all yummy and healthy. I love peanut butter and eat it every single day!
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I also had time for a little cleaning and some simple crafts. This shoebox ...

is now a pretty place for me to store scrap supplies. I just used old wrapping paper and graphics I already had printed out, doilies, stickers and decoupage glue.

Who says you need to go out and buy new containers for storage! I've saved several shoeboxes and have decided I will glam them up and use them for holding all my scrapbooking and crafting supplies that need a home. I really need to get organized!
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So it's just about the bewitching hour for us. Even on the weekends, we go to bed early. Usually around 10 pm. Tomorrow will be a day for cleaning and crafting as I have no other plans and for that I am very, very thankful. Wishing you all a most blessed and wonderful weekend, Tammy