On the road again

It's Christmas time! Woohoo!

Tonight we are leaving North Eastern Pennsylvania and headed out to... North Western Pennsylvania! I'm very excited to see my mom, dad, sister (with her family), as well as both of my grandma's, and all my aunts and uncles. My brother isn't able to make it out. We're all kind of disappointed, but he works as a corrections officer and just couldn't get the time off.

So, although I am really excited to see everyone, I'm also a little sad, because my grandma was recently diagnosed with Lymphoma (a type of cancer) and I know she's not feeling very well. My mom has also been worn out by this. It's taken its toll on my family, however, I'm just grateful to have the opportunity to see everyone.

If we leave here around 12:00 we should arrive at home between 4:15 and 4:30 am. Whew. That's going to be a very late bedtime. Hubby is so good about staying up- it doesn't even bother him. I can't say the same for me. It's quite a struggle to stay up that late. Especially since it's pitch black out and there's nothing to look around at! lol I will do the best I can.

So, hubby and I went to a concert last weekend and I can't tell you how great it was! We had an amazing time and were so blessed to meet the group Joey + Rory. They were so good live and at the meet and greet were kind and friendly- just like your neighbors might be. We had our picture taken with them, they signed a poster as well as a CD for us, and we just had a wonderful evening. If you get the chance to see them, please do! (I should probably mention that it would better if you like country music. lol)

Their tour bus


Scott and I with Joey + Rory

We had a large time.

So, in other news...well, let's see.

We had our Christmas party at work. I made a Cracker Barrel-style hashbrown casserole, doubled the batch, and still went home with nothing left over. I'll take that as a good sign.

Hmm...I didn't cook a whole lot this week and I'm trying now to even remember what the heck it was we had to eat.

I made chicken with sauce from a wing place "Quaker Steak and Lube". The sauce is called "Louisiana Lickers" and if you ever have the opportunity to go to a Quaker Steak, by all means, try that sauce. It's my favorite! I do believe they have several spread out in states other than Pennsylvania, so you might have one nearby. I grew up about 20 miles away from the original location in Sharon, PA.

My friend Kristin got me a glass milk bottle for Christmas. She knew I'd been looking for one and here's the fun part. It's from Jamestown, PA. That probably doesn't mean much to you, but it's about 5 miles from where I grew up. Somehow, out of all the milk bottles that were there, that one ended up in her hot little hands, a good 4 1/2- 5 hours away from its original location. Funny how God works little things like that out, isn't it?

Well, I believe that's about all for right now.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2 8-14

Check out this video called "Remember Me"

May God bless you all. A very Merry Christmas from my home to yours.

Wish list for Christmas

Hello there,

It's been quite awhile since I've thought to write anything down here. It's not that I haven't had anything to write about. In fact, lots of things, both good and bad, have taken place over the last month. I just...wasn't sure how to put them down. Do you ever get like that? Sometimes it's hard for me to verbalize what I'm feeling. Sorry for not including you. I hope you don't feel left out.

I left work early today, sick. I'm feeling a little better now, but still not quite "right". I hope that will go away with a good night's sleep.

Do you have most of your Christmas shopping done? I think we have just about everything we need, with the exception of like 5 gifts. Considering we have to buy for 29 people, that's a good chunk of it done!

I got some great deals on Black Friday online. I wasn't about to rush into the crowds in the actual malls and stores. Yuck. That's kind of my definition of a terrible time. I got 4 sweaters from Christopher and Banks. 1 was 9.99 and the others were 14.99. I was pretty pleased!


In no particular order, here are the things I would love to have for Christmas:

1. More time with my husband
2. A pretty party dress and a fun event to wear it to
3. Democrats and Republicans to get along and realize they NEED to
4. A closer relationship with God
5. Adam-12 and Dragnet on DVD
6. Good news about both of my grandmas
7. A relaxing vacation with just my husband and myself.
8. A part time job so that I could spend more time taking care of my husband and my home.
9. A car that is less than 5 years old. (Our current cars are 16 years old...each.)
10. Get involved in some kind of women's group in the evenings so I'm not sitting at home alone every night.

There shouldn't be any real shockers on the list. I'm pretty predictable.

Till next time, blog friends...hopefully it will be sooner rather than later!!

Allergies, Snow, and Joey + Rory

Well, let's lead right off with the allergies since they seem to have come up first. They've been bad. Quite bad. A lot. But that's okay. They won't last forever.

They won't, right? Tell me they won't.


It snowed here yesterday! A glorious snow with great big flakes and about 3 inches of accumulation. I really liked it. I suppose in the middle of January or so, snow becomes tiring, but up until then, I find it nostalgic, romantic, and something to look forward to. I don't necessarily look forward to driving in it, but hey. I'll take the bad with the good.

Lastly, let us take a gander at my new flavor of the month in music: "Joey + Rory". If you are a fan of country music, please give one of their tunes a listen! They are Christian folks, married, and have an older country sound.

Two of my favorites:

"This song's for you"

"That's important to me"

You gals might find "That's important to me" mighty endearing. I know I do.


So, what's happening in this household? Not a whole lot. I cleaned out a bunch of old books that I don't really ever plan on reading again. I just need to find a couple boxes to put them in so we can take them down to Salvation Army and donate them.

I am using our desktop computer- something I haven't done for a long time. I feel so disconnected from everything else when I'm up here. That can be nice at times, but I tend to lose track of time faster up here. Also, the space bar on the keyboard squeaks. It's kind of distracting.

You know, I'm not so much in the mood to write tonight, but I did want to update my poor little blog. I feel like I've been neglecting it lately. Sometimes I just don't have a whole lot going on. My life is pretty routine- I'm okay with that, but it doesn't make for riveting reading. lol

I hope you're all doing well. If you ever have anything you want to ask, feel free. I know I don't have a huge readership, but any questions are welcome. :)

May God bless you!

A time for everything

Hello all,

I hope that you're having a good week so far. Mine hasn't been too bad, all considering.

I'm looking forward to this weekend- my husband and I are going on a 3 hour train ride on Saturday. The excursion isn't very long- only from Catawissa, PA to Northumberland, PA and back. However, we both enjoy going on train excursions and the fall leaves ought to be beautiful. I hope we will have a nice day, but I think whether it's sunny or rainy, we will still have a good time.

If I get any nice camera shots of the train or while on the train, I will feature them in a blog post. :)

One of the girls in my office is celebrating her birthday today. We will go out as a department for lunch to help her celbrate her special day. Yum! Mexican food!

Over the past few weeks, it seems as though it's been one thing after another- and as a result, my poor house has suffered. I really need to make a plan on how to get it back on track. Right now the dust is so thick on some of the shelves in our living room and in our bedroom, I might be able to collect it and start a small fire. Yuck! In addition, our living room carpet needs swept badly, my clothes need to be changed from spring/summer to fall/winter, my shoes need straightened, the kichen could use a good scrubbing, and for that matter, so could the bathroom. Whew! I am tired just thinking about all of that. If you have any tips on how to get motivated, I'd love to see them.

One thing that I am happy about this year- we bought some curtains for our bedroom. Are they pretty, frilly, and beautiful? No. They are not. They are thick, dark and not very attractive. However, they were made to be functional! These are energy saving curtains that are supposed to cut down on those winter drafts that our upstairs windows seem to have a lot of. We always put the plastic up on them every year, but hubby thought it might be a good idea to get the energy saving curtains, too. I think it's a great idea and I hope they help! :)

I'm please that all of our decorations have been up and displayed since about the 5th of September. I love coming home to a nicely decorated home. It makes things a little more pleasant. Do you decorate for fall?

I used to have a lot of decorations for both Halloween and Thanksgiving, but lately I've only put up more generic "fall" stuff and then added some turkeys when November was close by. Halloween has just fallen out of fashion for me. I'm not interested in it any more.

Thank you for stopping by. I'm glad you were here to visit!

God bless you!

Mandy

It's been awhile!

I realize I haven't posted anything in almost a month- time seems to be getting away from me.

Hubby and I just returned home last weekend from a vacation in Maine. It was beautiful there!

Me at Cape Elizabeth


My mother in law took this beautiful shot at Portland Head Lighthouse



On the lake where we stayed



We had a wonderful vacation and have so many great memories!

I will post again soon. Sorry to have been away!

Bless you all! :)

Recipe!

Tonight I made one of our very favorite casseroles. Because it mimics the real thing very well, and is so easy to make, I thought I might post the recipe here. I served it with green beans and garlic toast, but salad would be great, too.

Lazy Lasagna

6 oz uncooked pasta (I used Mafalda cause it resembles tiny lasagna noodles)
1 pound ground beef
14 oz. pasta sauce (I used store bought, but if you have your own, use it!)
8 oz cream cheese cut into cubes and softened to room temp
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to directions (I recommend slightly under cooking since this will be going in the oven). Place in a greased 8x8 pan. Cook hamburger on stove top till no longer pink. Drain and add sauce- stir till combined. Set aside. In a medium sized bowl, combine sour cream, cottage cheese, and cream cheese. Use a fork to mash and blend the mixture until it is smooth and creamy. Spread mixture evenly over pasta. Spoon beef mixture over cream cheese. Top with parmesan cheese. Bake 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Delicious!!

Note- this recipe works just fine with reduced fat/lower fat cheese and sour cream.


I hope you like this. As I said, it's a winner in our house!

Fall is in the air!

Tomorrow will be September 1st! Woohoo! Not only do we have a vacation to Maine coming up in a few weeks, but it's also time to decorate for autumn- my favorite time of year!

Since the last time I posted, hubby and I weathered Irene- which wasn't really a big deal where I live. We had a lot of rain, some wind and spent some quality time at the local mall since we couldn't be outside. Benton, a town about 20 miles north of us, had a lot more wind damage. I believe there are quite a few folks who still don't have power up that way. Still, everyone is safe and with the exception of some trees, everyone weathered the storm safely. I hope that you rode the storm out comfortably, too.

My husband put in for a 1st shift position. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am at the prospect of being on the same shift again. For the past 4 years, we've worked opposite shifts. Basically, he leaves the house an hour and a half before I get home, and he comes home about an hour after I've gone to bed. We see each other Friday nights (if I am able to stay up late enough!) and on the weekends. I am thankful for the time we do spend together- but I wish that we could be a "real family" and I could cook for him, see him daily, etc.

Do you ever feel like you didn't learn something well enough the first time, and now you're sort of scrambling to make up for those lost years? I took Home Economics from 7th grade to 12th grade. I got high scores. I actually won the Home Economics award my senior year. However, I sort of feel like I could have done better and learned more. I found a Home Ec course online for teen girls...I'm considering ordering it. lol Silly right? I mean, clearly I've got enough down to get by. The house is relatively clean, I meal plan, I cook, etc. Still...I feel like I could use a refresher course. I never really learned how to properly clean the house from top to bottom. I typically just do things as I notice they need to be done. Bah, I digress. I'm sure me listing a list of things I'm not great at housekeeping-wise makes for a riveting read.

So, at any rate, back to fall. I am planning on cleaning the house 1 room at a time and putting up decorations in each as I go. I believe we have 2 totes of Fall/Thanksgiving decorations down cellar, so I'll start with the living room and keep on going till I'm done! Do you like to change your decorations for the seasons? I must admit, I'm not always as enthusiastic about it. Sometimes it seems like a hassle, but once the decorations are up and my home feels cheery and cozy, I'm always glad I took the trouble to put everything up.

Have you any plans for the long holiday weekend? I believe my husband will be forced to work on Saturday, but Sunday and Monday should be free! Woohoo! Two blissful days with my fella!


Picture this- a man is at the beach with his son. He decides after awhile that the rest of his family is hungry and summons his son Sam to come to the car with him to grab the family cooler so everyone can have lunch. He walks ahead and Sam, who is about 9, plods along behind him. He can hear Sam behind him, his shoes crunching very softly. He stops for a moment since his son has slowed down and seems to be examining something in the sand. Sam looks up and notices his dad, then stands up and continues on.

Halfway to the car, dad looks back again. Sam isn't there. He looks across the beach- no little boy. He looks for someone who could be disguising a boy and is sneaking him away- no one. He calls Sam's name...then louder...then louder yet. No response. He begins to panic. He walks back down to his family. He's not there. At that moment in time, everything that is in this man- all his resources, everything he has learned is focused and honed in on 1 thing. His missing little boy. No amount of money is too much to try and find him. His life is about the search. Nothing else matters. Getting back Sam is the most important thing in the world to him.

God knows exactly how he feels...because God feels exactly the same way for all of His children. God is actively pursuing everyone who hasn't found him...who has turned away from Him. God is frantic. He wants them back SO badly. He's doing His very best to find them. To find you. He wants YOU. He is frantic with worry to find you. Do you know Him? Have you felt Him looking for you in your life? Consider this a little nudge...say a prayer. Just say Hello. Are you angry at God? Tell Him about it. It's okay. He can take it. Honest. Just talk to Him.

Some people say they don't know how to pray...if you can talk to other people, to a pet, or just to yourself, you can surely talk to God. It can be as informal or as formal as you like. Pray for wisdom. Pray that you are doing the right things in your life. Pray for God to help you make good decisions. Tell Him thank you. (If you think you've got nothing to be thankful for, don't be silly. If you have the ability to read this, a place to live, food to eat...etc. You've either got a computer or you have access to one somewhere...I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.) Tell Him you are scared, worried, sad, happy or whatever. Just talk to Him!

He is looking for you. Take that step and get to know Him. Please.

Have a good night everyone.

Bless you all!

Mandy