CHRISTMAS

It is officially the Christmas Season!
My most joyful time of year. The opportunity to celebrate the birth of our Savior consumes me;
the wonderful feeling of love and good will toward men.

I am enjoying baking this morning and I have my Christmas decorations spread out all over the floor in front of the fire place. I have Christmas music playing and love and peace in my heart!

Love and peace and joy to God and Happy Birthday to Jesus Christ our Lord!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

SUNNY SUNDAY

What a beautiful sunny Sunday!
I woke up and thanked Jesus for my life as I opened my blinds to a pretty frosty wonderland.
It seems very Christmasy outside and puts me in the holiday baking mode.

Thank you God for a wonderful day; I promise not to let anything negative take it away from me.

Love and peace! xo

Saturday at Cohen's House

I'm babysitting my Cohen girl. She is sleeping right now so I am taking the time to write.

My baking business is called SUGARNSPICE and I am now licensed by the State to proceed.
Soon my web site will be complete at www.sugarnspice.org!
My specialty is that I focus on natural organic non-trans fatty ingredients low in fat and sugar.
It is all about healthy baking and tasting delicious; so yummy that one cannot eat just one cookie or just one bite of any my deserts!

Best of all, it is something I truly love and enjoy doing! I am very excited about SUGARNSPICE and will keep you posted as we progress.

xo

SUGARNSPICE

IT IS OFFICIAL!!!!! SUGARNSPICE BAKING COMPANY BECAME LICENSED TODAY!!!!!!

WE ARE READY TO LAUNCH!!!!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

I will tell you more tomorrow.

God bless.

Solitude and Prayer

I have been spending a lot of time alone at home working on projects. I feel good about the progress I have made and now I look forward to having some free time!
The quiet solitude was much needed, as I felt I needed time alone in prayer.

Today the rain is gentle outside my door and the warm fire I made inside seem to be in harmony together. I love the quiet and the peace of mind it offers.
I have been reflecting on all my many blessings and praying for the millions who are without.

I have been thinking a lot about my friends and loved ones who are non-believers and it has been weighing heavily on my heart.

The meditations of my heart belong to God. The more I spend in prayer, the closer He becomes and I feel His presence all around me. The warmth of His embrace, the strength in His calm voice.

It is very simple really; to know God. His miracles are all around us. Just open your heart and let Him come in. Take some time to think of Him.

xo

Strwaberry Rubarb Pie

My daughter Kesha makes THE BEST PIES ever!
Last night after dinner at Kwan's with my Mom and Dad; Quinn and Katy and I were invited over to Vin and Kesha's for home made strawberry rhubarb pie!
I can't wait until she makes another one; I think I will ask her to make one for our Thanksgiving dinner. It is YUMMY!

I am so proud of myself! I dug into my junk room yesterday and totally organized it. I am happy to say it cannot be called my junk room any more! It took me all day, and I gave up swimming and hiking to do it, but it was worth the sacrifice. After a year of living in this house and always unloading everything in it, it was a mess! It had boxes that had never been unpacked from moving in, and everything else that didn't have a place!

This morning I am going to make a big bucket full of HOT Murphy's Oil soap and scrub everything. That is the finishing touch to my deep cleaning. I wash all my cupboards and floors and anything else in my path with it.

Time to go get started!

xo

The Calm After The Storm

Wow! We had a storm yesterday! We lost power too! I enjoyed watching the wind blow from inside my house in front of my fire place. It was a good time for thoughts of soldiers and prayer for their safety and well being. The storm made me appreciate my warm home, and think of others who are less fortunate.

This morning it is calm and cold and crisp outside. I have a pot of vanilla and cinnamon simmering on my stove. It smells soooo good!
I have lots of ambition to clean my house and get organized for the Holidays. I made creme brulee for Thanksgiving this morning and have it in the freezer. Next I am going to make some low fat deserts. I have a recipe for a pumpkin custard that is very low fat and made with very little sugar.

I am ready to start decorating and baking for Christmas! I love Christmas time and want it to last as long as possible. This year will be Cohen's first Christmas..............What a gift to have an angel in the family at Christmas time.

xo

Love Thy Neighbor

He is back! The neighbor who lives right next door. He and his wife went on vacation for a week and it was great for me! I was able to go outside first thing in the morning in my P.J.'S and not have to worry about seeing anyone.
I'm a private person and I do not feel comfortable seeing or talking to neighbors first thing in the morning with only P.J.'S on!!!!!
I learned my lesson a year ago when I first moved in. I woke up, made my coffee, and went outside to enjoy the perfect morning. My porch seemed safe and peaceful, but when I decided to walk over to the side of my property that is attached to His to look at my plants, SURPRISE, there he was! He wanted to know immediately why I was up so early! I wasn't really even awake enough to talk but gave him some quick answer and ran back to safety on my porch!!!!!!

I'm a swimmer. Before hitting the pool I wet down my hair and put a special conditioner on it to protect it from the strong chlorine, [blonds can turn green from chlorine] and then slick it up into a tight bun that will fit under my swim cap. I feel like I look like Mrs. Potato Head and really wish not to see a sole as I go straight from my car to the pool and home again.
Wouldn't you know it; as I was leaving to go swim He came running toward my car, motioned for me to stop and roll down the window so he could talk to me!!!!!!!!
I can't count how many times I had to see him after my swim when I was drenched with chlorine and just wanting to get inside to take a shower before my skin began to dry up!
I finally solved that problem when I was able to make room in my garage to park my car. Thank God for the invention of the automatic door opener. I push the button way down the street and the door is open and ready for me to zip in and then close behind me.

When I work in my yard I like to go outside grubby with no make up and not a care if my hair looks like I stuck my finger in a light socket..........I have blond eye lashes and without mascara I look totally different then with..........so without, I am not comfortable seeing or talking to neighbors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just want to go outside and look like a wreck and do yard work!

I feel it is getting harder and more difficult all the time to "love thy neighbor."
In biblical days when one's neighbor's tent was a foot away and there was no such thing as mascara and pools full of chlorine, people had to love one another and depend on each other to survive. I think neighbors were more like family. The women most likely were not girly girls like me either. I am high maintenance and depend on my hair dryer and modern day beauty tools. Women of the biblical days were much different. Perhaps like the earth mama's who exist today? They probably did not care what they looked like, and could love a neighbor who wanted to greet them first thing in the morning, or wanted to hang around while they did their outside work?

Now there is the neighbor who wants to play his stereo TOO LOUD all night, such as the case next door to Vin and Kesh, and then there is the neighbor who never cared if his cat or dog took a dumb in your beautiful well kept yard, such as the case next door to my Mom and Dad...........

I hope God understands. I do love my nosey neighbor. He does have a kind heart and truly cares about me, but there are times when I can't love him and just wish he would go away.......like the week he was on vacation. I loved my privacy more.

Anyway, just had to vent about it. I feel much better now.

xo

Sunny Saturday

I just returned from being gone over night. [a rare experience for me.]
When I walked in my house it smelled stuffy and funny! I cannot stand stale smells! I immediately opened the whole house up and let the fresh air come through. After I air it out I will make a big rip roaring fire and take the chill off. I am addicted to natural smells of lavender and cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg and apples and oranges and lemons!!!!!!!!!! I think the smell thing must be a strong gene that runs in my family because my Mother and Daughter are the same way!
I just put a pot of vanilla and cinnamon on the stove to simmer and it will make my house smell yummy.

I am making a wonderful lunch. I found the recipe in one of my health food magazines.
It is onions and peppers and shrimp simmered together in a skillet with a touch of olive oil, seasoned with ginger, garlic, and light soy sauce. Next you add tofu and blueberries and pine nuts. [You do not have to add blueberries.] Blueberries are not in the recipe but I add them to almost everything as I am a blueberry fanatic! Anyway, it's delicious and low fat.

I love to eat. But only healthy foods. I alarmed a couple of family members with my last posting when I said I didn't eat because of the shopping thing and wanting to lose another 10 pounds.
I do want to lose 10 pounds, but I would never starve myself to do it. I mentioned it because I NEVER go without eating and it was amazing to me that I did! Honestly, my blog is my journal of thoughts written for no one other than myself and God. I forget that there are actually people who read it!

God bless.

Too Much Fun

I have been having too much fun!
SHOPPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
With my two best shopping buddies Kesha and Cohen.
Yesterday we hit the Anniversary sale at Nordstrom. We got there at 10:00 AM and were lucky enough to have my daughter Cim who is manager of B.P. show us the great buys. First she led us to the 7's [the best fitting jeans on earth] and helped us find our sizes in the middle of a bunch of crazy women who were frantically grabbing them up as fast as they could! The jeans are called "Skinny Jeans" and are $189.00 a pair. They are now on sale for $89.00! But there are none left at Salem's Nordstrom; however Cim can call another store and order them, like she did for me since my size was all gone. These jeans are of the finest quality and are made to wear with flats, or tucked into Ughs or boots.

I was all ready to do house hold chores today and nothing else when Kesh called me and said she and Cohen were headed to Portland to IKEA.......I couldn't resist and away we went! I had only been to the one near Seattle and have been wanting to go to the new one by the airport.
It is HUGE! The prices are really great-really low! There is everything imaginable for furnishing a home. We had too much fun! The little food court is nice too. I had potatoes and Swedish meat balls with cranberries and a yummy sauce for $4.99.
That was all I ate all day! I love it because I am wanting to lose another 10 pounds and not having time to eat is a plus! Yesterday I had coffee before leaving for Nordstrom and didn't eat until later that afternoon when I came home........I popped a Lean Cuisine in the microwave and ate it right before I went out to rake leaves.
Now I'm enjoying a glass of organic elderberry wine along with some soft music by Michale Bolton; perfect for relaxing after two long days of shopping.

I think I will take a hot shower and give myself a facial............I love being alone and having the house all to myself. Not totally alone; my Jesus is always with me.

God bless and good night.

Love To Write

I LOVE to write. I wish I could live the life of a writer! I would hang-out in mountain cabins and ocean bungalows with my lap top and type writer.
Oh well, dream on. I am lucky if I can find the time to write in my blog!

Last week was very fun. Halloween was great at Cohen's house. I got to be a kid again and enjoy the fun and innocence of Halloween.

I did some good hikes and enjoyed the colored leaves falling all around the ground. It is too neat, all the variations of leaves and color.
Did you know science can't figure out why the leaves on trees turn color? They have a couple of guesses but nothing they can prove.
The changing of color is a gift from our God. If one is lucky enough to live in a place on earth where it occurs it is a wonderful, enjoyable treat!

Speaking of leaves. I'm going to go outside now and do some raking in my yard before it gets dark. It gets dark sooo early now!

God bless.