Never Take Life for Granted

Sitting here at the hospital with Dad Watson and the rest of the family and thinking about how much we need to hold the ones we love so close. If you want to let them know just how much you love them.....do it. You never know what a day may hold. I've been so stressed over all I have to do, Thanksgiving coming, Christmas, I want this done, that done, etc etc. and now........None of that means anything when you realize just how fragile life is.
You know what......all those things will be there later, I can let some things go and probably most would never notice that I did. I keep thinking that I'm eventually going to get it all together and be this organized person that has her house just so, crafts made in a timely manner, blog on a regular basis, and on and on. I may just need to accept me for who I am and quit stressing about it. Now to just actually be able to do that.

I read something today that I really liked..........
When you write the story of your life make sure no one else holds the pen!

What works for me

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about 17 years ago. I was 25 at the time and had went through the horrors of thinking I had cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, or who knew what. I actually wondered if they really didn't have any idea what was wrong with me and just made up a name. lol Then on top of it.......I have/had OCD. My daddy broke his back and was paralyzed from the waist down. My uncle had passed away 2 weeks earlier. Life was so out of control and so the dr says.....That was one area I took control in and I cleaned like a fire out of control. I cleaned so much that I was literally making myself ill. I felt like I was going crazy and didn't know what was wrong with me. Thank God, a friend called and read part of an article out of Reader's Digest about OCD and I was like.....that's me! Wow, this could go on to be a book, and I'll add more as time goes on but to make a long story short.......There were more bad days than good and some where I could hardly get out of bed and didn't. I tried so many remedies, herbs, health food things to the point that I was pretty much skeptical of anything. They would give me pain killers but those things scare me. I've seen first hand what they can do. My daughter, Brooke, had asthma so bad that I would sit up and hold her so she could sleep at night and she would have to have treatments several times a day and night. Rev. Beers told me about a product called Juice Plus that had helped one of his grandchildren. If I ordered it, she would get it free for entering a children's study they are doing. I did it! (she no longer uses and inhaler or treatment by the way, and I can't remember the last time she has been sick) I now take 3 tablets a day and have more good days than bad and actually have a life again. I met a lady, Cindy Hartly, who is absolutely amazing. She has MS and a good day for her was getting out of bed and sitting on the couch. When I met her I was only taking one tablet a day and she advised me to go up to two. I couldn't believe the difference it made. I wish I could tell you all about it like she can. I think she should write a book! Basically, in a nutshell.........If we could get all our fruits and vegetables in a day, foods that hadn't been picked before ripe and lost nutrition, that is the best thing!! But, this is not a perfect world and we can't! So to bridge the gap, Juice Plus takes fresh fruits, veggies, and berries and dehydrates them, and puts them in a capsule form. What's funny is I've been taking this for years and now it came out on TV today. Below is a link that will explain so much better what I am trying to say.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2097567154343

https://www.juiceplus.com/nsa/content/Home.soa?site=ew46914

Homemade Dog Biscuits

First of all, I caved. Me, with my OCD and having said I would NOT have a dog in my house......I ate my words. And Chloe has stolen my heart. She is, of course, the cutest, smartest, most adorable dog ever. lol Here she is wanting a treat! :-) She will now sit, lay, and walk on her back legs for a treat and definitely knows what "treat" means.


I have found that dog treats are quite expensive, especially if you're like me and want them made in the USA. Surfing around on blogs I found the neatest little blog and this girl had a dog, that I think is blind and deaf and she shared the cutest stories and pics of him. Anyway, I got this recipe off of her blog and now........I can't find her blog. I thought I had saved it. :-( If anyone knows the blog, please let me know so I can give her credit for this.

Dog Biscuits

4 C whole wheat flour

1 C cornmeal

1/2 C parmesan cheese

1/4 C milk

1 1/2 C water

2 eggs

1/2 C canola oil

Preheat oven to 350. Oil or spray 2 baking sheets. Combine all ingredients till mixed well. Roll out dough to 1/4 to 1/2 thickness. Either cut into squares or rectangles. (I used cookie cutters.) Bake for about 20 minutes or until biscuits are hard. Let cool. I found that you should really make sure they are completely cool and dry before you put them in anything. These are not to be sealed in a container. Just put them in a bowl or something without a lid. Chloe absolutey loves these and we shared with my friends dog and she loved them, too.

Cooling doggie treats

All arranged in a bowl my father-in-law made and sitting on my buffet. :-)

Update: I found the website.

http://www.jenandcoblog.com/homemade-dog-biscuits/

Tip Me Tuesday

Loving Tip Junkie's! Tip Me Tuesday sure does have a lot of great ideas!

With school starting and going out of state for a family reunion I haven't gotten a lot of crafty things accomplished. I did do 9 scrapbook pages and started on my cards for a card swap I'm in. I'll have to post some when they are completed.

Pinterest Addiction

I find that Pinterest is one of my very favorite sites these days. I "am" trying make it a good thing, tho. I have made quite a few of the projects that I have found and yesterday I made a new recipe. It must have been good because tonight Christopher asked what it was I had on the stove and told me it was so good he had 3 pieces. lol I'm hoping it'll motivate me to get some gifts made for Christmas. I did finish one day before yesterday and it was an idea I pinned. I'm loving the cake stands and have made one for me and one for a gift. I guess rather than just telling about it, I should just put pics up. I think I'll do that tomorrow. (Well, later today) I just realized the time and should really get some sleep. :-)

Zucchini Butter and more

I am so glad it isn't so hot anymore! It's sad when you think 88 feels good! :-) Hoping tomorrow will be a good day, too, since I work for Nancy. At least it's enjoyable to work for her. She spoils me. ;-)

I'm hoping to run across someone sick of zucchini! I made zucchini butter and it is soooo good! You would never know it isn't apple butter.

Zucchini Butter

4 cups cooked and blended zucchini (peel & remove seeds)

4 Tbsp vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

1 tsp lemon juice

2 cups sugar (I use brown sugar)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp allspice (I couldn't find allspice, I really thought I had some, soooo I used pumpkin pie spice lol)

Boil zucchini til tender,

drain and then puree in blender.

Mix in the rest of the ingredients & put in crock pot or oven. (If crock pot, on low. Neither recipe told me what to put the oven on)

Cook til desired thickness.

I cooked it all night. It is delicious! My hubby and momma both loved it!

Put into jars and then hot bath to seal.

1000+ free sewing and craft tutorials

http://everythingyourmamamade.com/its-all-about-the-free-tutorials/

I haven't gotten a chance to go through them but am looking forward to finding more projects I want to add to my looooonngg list! lol

Make your own Babylegs

How to make a crib / toddler bed sheet

How to make a Pack ‘N Play / playard sheet

Gathering with a serger or sewing machine too!

3-in-1 T-Shirt Dress / Tunic Top/ Skirt For toddlers to adults!

A Personalized Little Girls Apron!

No-Itch Twill Tape Tags & Clothing Labels

How To Use Bento Egg Molds

My Scarf Dress

Free NICU Smock Pattern

Bookmark clean-up! 1000+ free tutorials, patterns & websites FULL of patterns that I have had saved in my bookmarks . (These are not my own tutorials, but links to others I admired & would love to try in the future)

170+ Bags, Purses, Pouches & Backpack Tutorials

78+ Kids Gift Tutorials

80+ Girls Clothing Tutorials

20+ Boys Clothes Tutorials

43+ Maternity, Nursing, & Expecting/New Mom Tutorials

77+ Infant & Toddler Tutorials

36+ Tutorials for MEN & Women!

36+ Tutorials for Women!

47+ Womens & Juniors Clothing Tutorials

98+ Apron Tutorials

84+ Tutorials For The Home!

10+ Quilts & Quilting Tutorials

11+ Crochet Patterns

354+ Edible Gifts (Like jar mixes)

24+ Techniques, Modifications & Alterations!

12+ Sites for free patterns & tutorials

Items I have made from others free tutorials (with the tutorial link of course )

Nylon Chiffon Girls Pettiskirts

Womens Azalea Dress

Emma & Emmy (Or Eddie) The Earthworm

These are not my tutorials but have some links to other great free tutorials & patterns…

Burda Open Source Sewing

Lots of free great tutorials (good for beginners too)

You can also buy & instantly download great patterns from YouCanMakeThis.com. They even have smaller patterns that you can download for FREE as well!!!