Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Last weekend, my sister's church had a fun day that she invited us to.  So, I gathered up my family and my almost 3 year old granddaughter, and made the hour long drive to go spend the afternoon with them!  There were several activities set up for different age ranges, so my granddaughter and her two grandkids would all have something to do.  Her granddaughter is just one day shy of being a month older than mine, so they had a big time playing together!  They hardly ever get to see each other, so it was nice to see them interacting so well!

And, of course, being the wonderful grandma that I am, I had to get a few photos!  ;-)

My grandgirl is in the purple dress.  :-)

Aren't they the adorablist things you've ever seen??!!!!

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Yellow Clouds

I'll never make a professional blogger.  I post way too infrequently.  LOL  Anyhoo, I have some awesome photos I want to share with you!  A couple days ago, I noticed this yellow glow in the house, so I went and looked out my front door.  It was around 7 p.m., and the sun was setting.  I just couldn't believe my eyes!  The photos don't quite do them justice, but there were these huge clouds above my head, and they had this amazing yellow cast to them!  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Cute Hatchlings - Wordless Wednesday

I have been watching these insect eggs for about 4 or 5 days, and today, they hatched!!!  Yeah, I know, I get excited over the weirdest things.  LOL  The eggs started out pure white, then a couple days ago, they got a black speck on them.  Then the next day, they had a brownish cast to them.  And when I went out to check on them today, they were hatching!  They kind of look like lady bugs right now, but they could be some other sort of orangish beetle.  I hope they stick around long enough for me to find out!

Wow! What a Rock!!!

I know what you're thinking... somebody just got a new ring!  WRONG!!!  But my husband did give me a present!  He's always bringing me this kind of present!  It's a rock!
 
A rock.  Literally.

Now don't make that face.  It's ok!  I LOVE rocks!  LOL

Pretty rocks.  Unusual looking rocks.  Rocks with fossils on them.  Yep!  Call me crazy, but I love them!  Now don't get me wrong.  I like rings, too!  But I've only got so many fingers.  LOL

My husband brought this rock home to me. The star formation goes all the way through! (Photo credit: wvclaylady)

This rock is really different!  It has a naturally formed, nearly perfect, star shape going all the way through it!  Isn't that amazing??!!!  I think you could almost say one of a kind!  Priceless even!  He found it in road gravel.  We believe it may be some sort of quartz, but we're not sure if the star is the same material or what.  He's pretty sure it's either river gravel or from a limestone quarry that has been hauled in to do the cover the road to this place he delivers lime to in Langsville, Ohio.  It's hard to tell where the stone was hauled in from.  But it's very cool, huh?  :-)

I think it's a very good reason for me to learn how to wire wrap a pendant!  If anyone has tips on that, I'd love to hear them!

Greg, or Bubba as he's known at work, is outdoors quite a bit for his job, so he's all the time finding rocks to bring home to me!  He's also been known to bring home other things, such as interesting chunks of wood, unusually sized insects, and, once, a baby goose!  LOL  Not to worry, it was left alone in the middle of the road, and he took it back and found the parents to return it to the next day.  :-)

Check out the giant mushroom (or toadstool) he found and brought home!

Giant Mushroom 02-3 (Photo credit: wvclaylady)

But as weird as it may seem, I love getting presents like that!  I really don't have a list of things I want, so little surprises like that are right up my alley!  I guess it's my inner hippie shining through.  LOL

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Captcha Problem Fixed?

CAPTCHA Insanity (Photo credit: JillWillRun)

 I understand that some of you may have had trouble leaving comments due to a problem with the Captcha.  I have tried to fix the problem in the only way I know how, by not using it.  LOL  So, if any of you would like to try again, I would appreciate it!  If you still have trouble, you can contact me at unusualarts at the GEE male.  Know what I mean??  *wink wink*  :-)

BTW, it's gonna drive me crazy if you think I'm illiterate.  I did THAT on purpose.  LOL

Little Things Mean a Lot

I don't lead an exciting life.  I don't work outside the home, so my days are filled with the mundane most of the time.  Cooking, cleaning, and taking care of my little family.  I have a husband, and three daughters, but two of them have left the nest, so I have my (almost) 16 year old, a german shepherd, a cranky kitty, and every afternoon, my little neighbor girl, after school.  I do artsy stuff sometimes, and that is fun, but most of my time is just regular old day to day living.  And that's just fine by me!

I find happiness in little things like the first ripening strawberry!  (And, when editing my photos on my laptop, spotting the tiny baby slug behind the berry!  I know, they are a pest, but how can you not go "Awwww" when you see a baby ANYTHING???  LOL)

Or, the fact, that my little 4x4 foot raised strawberry garden is just filled to the brim with baby berries!!!  And, hopefully soon, a bajillion baby praying mantis' that will hatch from the TWO egg sacks that are hidden amongst them!  (Again, I'm a sucker for babies!  LOL)

I love seeing the sunlight shine through the damp, morning leaves.  Seeing this early in the morning just made my whole day brighter!

Now, I don't only find happiness in tiny creatures.  Take Zeus, for instance.  He's huge, but he's still MY baby!  He's almost two years old!  How could you look at that face and not smile?  It can't be done!  I've tried.  I can't scold him for some bit of naughtiness, because I can't hold my "grumpy face".   ;-)

This german shepherd puppy (yeah, he's technically a puppy!) gives me smiles all day long!  Like when I see him just STOP, and take that classic shepherd pose!  Isn't that a beautiful thing to behold?

And sometimes, he is just plain SILLY!  Like here.  Lately, he has taken to chasing his tail.  A LOT!  Sometimes, I  have to stop him, because he's thumping and bumping so much I just can't take the racket anymore.  But.... I gotta laugh every time I see it!  You usually picture smaller dogs, or puppies doing this, not a 90 lb behemoth!!!  It's adorable, I tell ya!

So, as you can see, I lead a simple life.  But I am constantly finding things to smile about!  And that seems pretty darn important to me.  Now, how about you?  What little things make you smile throughout your day?
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Weekends are Fun Bloghop!

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday May 15 2014

I'm a day late and a dollar short, but here is today's Wordless Wednesday (on Thursday) photo!

 

This is a rock my hubby brought home to me a few days ago!  Isn't nature amazing?  :-)

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Making Jar Pincushions

I recently went to a quilting group with my sister in Calhoun county.   It's mostly made up of cousins of ours.  It was a fun day!   And since I don't know how to quilt,  they are going to help me learn!   So, because I'm just awesome that way (LOL), I decided to make them all a little gift!   But what can you make for a bunch of quilting ladies who probably have everything they need?

Brand new pincushion jars!!!

 

Aren't they beautiful?  I hope they like them!  I'm going to give them to them at the meeting next month, so don't tell anyone!  I want it to be a surprise!  ;-)

They were super easy to make!  Just cut out your material about twice as big as your lid, put a handful of stuffing in it to form a pocket.  Put that through the underside of the ring, then put your lid on, with the edges of the material sticking out the sides.  Then hot glue the edges to the underside of the lid.  Cut out some felt and glue it over all the messy edges, and put them on your jars!  Simple!

There's just one problem.  Deciding which one to keep for myself!  LOL

Then, to decide what kind of quilt pattern I want to try for my first quilting experience!  But that's a post for another day!  ;-)  I'd love to hear any ideas, or tips from your early days of quilting!

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Painting the"O" Update

Ok!  I got the painting finished!   I'm not a great painter, but I think it turned out pretty good.   I hope he likes it!

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Painting the"O"

Yep I'm painting an "O"!  The classic image of Ohio State University.   No, I'm not a fan, but my future son-in-law is!  In a BIG way!  LOL. So, I'm painting this as a gift to him.

I hope he'll be happy with it.   Well,  I'm sure he will,  cause he's just that kinda fella!  But it bugs me that the lines aren't coming out nice and straight.   My hands tend to shake a little bit.   I have a feeling that my pain medication may have something to do with it.   *sigh*  I guess until my back decides to stop paining me so much,  I'll just have to deal with imperfect art!  ;-)

I've still got a few details to take care of,  but I'm almost finished.   I can't wait to give it to him!

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I know a secret!

Yep!  I do!  And not only is it A secret, it's The Secret!  Have you heard about it?  It is a book by Rhonda Byrne about the Law of Attraction.  It's also a movie.  Well, an info movie, if I can create a name.  You may be able to find it on Netflix or Youtube.  It has changed my whole way of thinking!  If you're more into books, I highly suggest The Power, which is also written by Rhonda Byrne, and is the updated version of The Secret!

Have you heard of the Law of Attraction?  It's a natural law, like the Law of Gravity.  :-)  I learned THAT from Esther Hicks (The Essential Law of Attraction Collection )!  She and her late husband, Jerry, have gone around the world teaching people all about it!

the law of attraction (Photo credit: Brenda Cooper)

I am no genius, so I will do my best to explain it, but you're really better off checking out the sources I have listed to get a full understanding.  The reason I say the Law of Attraction is like the Law of Gravity is that it is a real law of nature.  The basis for this is that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING in the whole universe is made of energy.  The rock you stepped on in your driveway, that tiny little speck of space dust, and even.... YOU!  Everything is energy!  Therefore, it's all connected.

Now, don't ask me to explain THAT part of it, but where energy is concerned, like attracts like.  So, when you put good thoughts (yes, thoughts are energy too!) out into the universe, good comes back to you!  And the same goes for bad thoughts.  Thoughts, feelings, energy.  They're all very powerful things!  So, getting in the habit of thinking more positively, and picturing the things you want, can actually bring those things right back to you!  I kid you not!  I have actually seen it working in my own life.  Nothing like winning the lottery or anything, but in small ways, like having enough money for something when I needed it.  But if you watch The Secret movie, you'll see some bigger examples of it in action, and there are plenty more out there to be found if you look for them!

What you are living is the evidence of what you are thinking and feeling - every single time (Photo credit: Spiritual Quotes To Live By)

Have you had any experience with the Law of Attraction?  I'd love to hear your story!  Tell me about it in the comments!

Easy Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

This evening I felt like having a little something sweet, so I decided to make some blueberry muffins!  I must say, they turned out pretty good!  So good that half of them disappeared before I could get a picture of them!  LOL

I'll post the recipe below.  I wish it could be formatted better, but I can't seem to find a gadget for recipes here on Blogger.  If any of you know of a good way to post recipes, please let me know in the comments section!  Thanks!

By the way, here I am in the new apron my good friend gave me for Christmas! Thanks Debi!

Shannon's Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
 1 tsp ground flax seed
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup water
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 pint (2 cups) fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners.  Stir together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, flax seed, and baking powder in a large bowl.

Stir oil, egg, water, and applesauce together in a smaller bowl.  Then add to dry ingredients.  Stir until smooth.  Lightly stir in berries.  Spoon mixture into 12 muffin cups.

Bake muffins in the preheated oven until they rise and tops are golden brown (about 20 minutes).  A toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then move to a baking rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy!