S.W.A.P. Rewind

August 6-12, 2000 was a week filled with many great memories that I hope to never forget. I was 15 years old and had been so excited to go on a missions trip with fellow "Franklin Conference District Youth" friends. Several of the older youth had gone in previous years but you had to be 15 to participate so I couldn't wait until I hit that mark. The year finally came and we embarked on a billion hour van ride to Harlan, Kentucky. The outreach called "S.W.A.P. - Sharing with Appalachian People" takes groups in for a week at a time to work on homes that are falling apart in one form or another. My group consisted of Kara Lehman (youth group and lifetime friend) and two guys from New York whom we had never met before. Our task was to completely gut a bathroom for an older lady who was in desperate need of a bathroom remodel. This was her only bathroom so we all had to use the neighbors bathroom while we were completing this task. Not only did we get to know the lady we did the work for but we get to know the neighbor lady and her son as well. It was neat to relate to all of them in just the short time we were there. On our last day of work, I swapped addresses with them and have managed to keep in touch via snail mail over the years. The lady who we did the work for stopped corresponding a few years ago but the neighbor lady had continued to keep in touch. Shirley Elkins -- would you believe we even shared the same birthday? Over the years we would write when we could and swap birthday/Christmas cards on a regular basis. 

Fast forward to today. I received a hand written letter that had a return address of Frankfort, Kentucky but the person's name wasn't familiar to me. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach and upon opening the letter my suspicions were proved true. The letter was written by Shirley's oldest daughter whom I never had the opportunity to meet. She was writing to tell me that Shirley passed away suddenly. She began to tell me that Shirley always loved hearing from me and thanked me for keeping in touch with her. She ended the letter saying "She thought a lot of you." 

It's never easy to hear when someone passes but I took this letter particularly hard. I can't say where Shirley is today but I hope and pray she is rejoicing in Heaven with Jesus. The questions flooded my mind....

Did I say enough? Did I really make an impact on her life in a positive way? Did Jesus shine through my letters? Did the week I spent interacting with her almost 14 years ago make a Jesus impact on her and her son? Sobering to be reminded that all of our days are numbered and every interaction we have with others in this world are of serious eternal value. May I never take the power of my actions and words for granted and may Jesus SHINE BRIGHTLY through me in all that I do and say today and always. 

 

White Bean Chowder

I had several requests for this recipe so I thought I might as well put it up on my blog for everyone to enjoy!

The original recipe can be found here. I double the original recipe when I make it and have tweaked it to look like the following:

Ingredients -

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3 Slices Bacon, Diced

1 Large Onion, Diced

2 Celery Stalks, Diced

2 Large Carrots, Diced

1/2 of a Red or Green Bell Pepper, Diced

6 Cloves Garlic, Minced

3 Tablespoons Flour (I use Oat or Brown Rice to make this Gluten Free.)

6 Cups Chicken Broth

2-3 Fresh Tomatoes, Diced

2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

2 Bay Leaves

1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper

4 Teaspoons Dried Parsley

3 (15 oz.) Cans Cannellini Beans, Rinsed and Drained

6 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

Cooking Directions -

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat; add the bacon and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and bell pepper and cook until starting to soften, about 3-5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, stir in the garlic and cook 2 minutes, then stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes more.

Add the chicken broth, tomato, tomato paste, bay leaves, oregano, salt, pepper, parsley, and beans and bring to a boil; turn the heat down and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Mash a few of the beans against the side of the pot if you want a thicker soup. (I do this quite a bit as I like thick soup.)

Remove the bay leaves and stir in the heavy cream. Simmer a few more minutes until heated through. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as desired; serve. 

I serve this with shredded cheddar cheese and/or parmesan cheese which is a nice addition to the top of each hot bowl of soup. :) Enjoy!!

Warmer Days

What a busy Spring it's been so far! I can't believe May is practically half over. I'm so thankful that the weather is finally warming up and I don't have to freeze while working outside. :)

At the end of March Chris and I spent 6 nights & 7 days in one of our favorite places - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee! We had such a nice, relaxing time and it was bittersweet to come home. We visited Cades Cove for the first time and that was such a beautiful drive. Definitely recommend that one to anyone visiting the area. As always, we returned home with new memories very much looking forward to returning there again hopefully sooner rather than later. :) We just never get tired of that place! If you've never been, don't judge us but rather go experience it for yourself. It's funny how you just can't accurately describe that vacation spot to anyone that hasn't ever been there. Anyone who's been there knows what I'm talking about though!!  

April was a whirlwind for me. Garden work and yard clean up have had me in high gear. I also started scheming up ways to surprise my husband for his 30th birthday which was May 3rd. Neither Chris or I are big party people but I decided to do some special things to help Chris ring in his 30's in several memorable, fun ways! All in all I'd say the weekend was a success and I'm so thankful for everyone who helped me carry out some crazy ideas. Since his birthday was a Friday, I contacted my cousin & brother-in-law Chad (weird, I know) who happens to ALSO be Chris' boss and he helped me work it out that we could SURPRISE Chris with a day off work! It was pretty hilarious because Chris does payroll among many other things which he used to do every Friday. Well, if he didn't know he was going to be gone that Friday, no one would get paychecks! So -- Chad being the genius that he is, came up with an excuse two weeks prior that would make Chris start doing payroll on Thursdays instead just so that he wouldn't get suspicious and paychecks would still go out that week. It worked like a charm! Needless to say when I surprised Chris Thursday evening with Iron Man 3 movie tickets for the following afternoon (his birthday) and informed him that he wouldn't be going to work he was very surprised! :) We had a fun day together. I was also able to surprise him with cards from his friends and family that were filled with well wishes and memories of years gone by to help usher him into his 30's. So thankful to everyone who participated and sent cards back! The day after his birthday I escorted him to his parent's farm for a surprise party filled with both our immediate families. I'm pretty sure he was on overload by that point. Poor Chris -- such a good sport!!

It's golf season again! Chris and his Dad play in a golf league every Tuesday evening so I use that opportunity to hang out with my dear mother-in-law and sister-in-law (Tanya) some of the weeks! Tonight we were able to add Elana to our fun as Chad was out with some guy friends so that was a nice treat! Especially since it involved Mikie's ice cream!!!! Yum! Thanks for the lovely dinner ladies. So thankful for my second family.

Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend already and I am so excited for that! My family was able to work it out to all go camping together just like we used to before our lives got crazy. :) Last year we were able to go too but it was really hot and the weekend got cut short because of some crazy thunderstorms and torrential downpours of rain. :( Hoping for much better weather this year!

The Gift of Cooking

Today was a pretty ordinary Tuesday for me. This morning I put a roast in the crock pot so that it could cook all day and be tender and falling apart delicious in time for supper. I went on with my day keeping the possibility in mind that I may make mashed potatoes to go along with the roast. Afternoon came and I decided I'd do just that. The menu would include my crock pot roast, homemade mashed potatoes with homemade gravy, peas from our garden, & sauerkraut for Chris (since he's crazy and likes that nasty stuff). That was definitely NOT homemade. It's bad enough smelling that stuff when I heat a little bit up on the stove. ;)

Of course it took a lot of dishes and some extra time to get everything made so that it was ready to eat and still hot when Chris arrived home from work which is never the same time each day. Thankfully he always calls when he leaves work to give me a heads up. :) He arrived home and we devoured everything in no time flat compared to how much time it took to prepare. 

Inevitably my kitchen somehow experienced a tornado while we were eating and all the dirty counters/pans were staring me in the face. So I proceeded to dig in and restore my kitchen back to normal state.

Chris normally helps me but instead he took Pyro out, filled up the bird feeders, and moved the truck to the top of the driveway in case it actually does snow a bunch tonight. Alone in my kitchen to clean up my delicious mess, I started pondering just how blessed I am.

I can cook. I don't post this blog entry with pride or arrogance. I debated not posting but I decided to do it anyways. My mom deserves a shout out for taking the time and energy to raise me up learning precious lessons right beside her in the kitchen. Rest assured at the time I was expected to learn all these lessons, I didn't think they were near as important as  she did. :) But now as I try to take my role as a wife and homemaker seriously, I am so very thankful for those years of stretching and learning. So many women didn't grow up with this blessing and I hope that I never take it for granted.

Tonight I am very grateful for this blessing and counting all my others that are truly never ending. Mom, the gray hair wasn't in vain - I love you!! Thanks for not giving up on me.

Good Deals & Free Things

Who doesn't love a good deal? In my early teen years I saved up my hard earned paper route money to buy myself a trampoline. I made sure to scout out the best deal possible and when I finally had enough money saved, Scott took me to get my long awaited trampoline!! A few days after I made the large purchase I had a dream (nightmare actually) that I found the trampoline cheaper at another store. :( Needless to say I was relieved when I woke up and realized it was just a dream! Whew! Haha! To this day I still try to scout out the stores for the best items/place to purchase things as to spend my money as wisely as possible.

Last week I received this entire case of Biscoff Spread absolutely free!! A few weeks ago they advertised this opportunity via their Facebook to the first 4,000 participants and I was one of them. What fun!

It's interesting to me all the things that you can get for free in this day and age. A lot of companies host contests on Facebook or simply give away free samples via their website, etc. Sadly, a lot of them are at specific times throughout the day or random times that you need to just "happen upon". This is where deal blogs come in very handy!! I have compiled a collection of blogs that I check several times a day when I have the chance. They take most of the work out of keeping up with the giveaways and have been so helpful to me. Here are my favorites:

Hunt4Freebies - "Your One Stop Shop For Freebies & Deals"

For the Mommas - Real Savings, Real Solutions

Sample Stuff - Saving Money, Made Easy

Bargain Blessings - Save Like Never Before

Money Saving Mom - Helping You Be A Better Home Economist

Hip2Save - So You Want To Save A Buck? You're In Luck!

Because of the information I read on these blogs we get several free magazine subscriptions, a subscription to the Wall Street Journal newspaper, tons of shampoo/lotion samples, lots of razors, a few reusable shopping bags, oodles of tea/coffee samples, many t-shirts, two pairs of Nike sneakers, roses, and so much more! ALL FREE!! I've always loved getting mail and when the mailbox is filled with these special surprises several times a week it's even cooler. :)

It does take some time to keep up with some of this stuff but if it's something that interests you, hopefully these blogs will help you out as much as they have me. 

While the blogs have deal information as well as free stuff information, there are some other websites that I check regularly that are specifically for deal finding. Chris and I have found many great items on both of the following websites that have enabled us to purchase things for our home or ourselves that we may not have been able to purchase at full price. They can be found here:

slickdeals - The largest and best community driven deal sharing site for deals and coupons!

Woot - One Deal A Day

And last but not least, I have been blessed to win some free cabin stays in Tennessee via Sugar Maple Cabins Facebook page. We stayed with this cabin company on our honeymoon and have been back several times since. We love the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Sevierville area. Last April I won a two night stay in one of their cabins that Chris and I are planning to take advantage of next month!! We are so excited to get away for a bit.

Table Makeover

About 5 years ago my aunt informed us of a friend she had who was downsizing and moving. This friend was in the process of selling various things in her house for very reasonable prices just to move things quickly. Chris and I were living at our Fayetteville duplex at the time but knew that we would be moving in a few months since we were planning to buy our current home in the spring of the following year. We decided it may be a good idea to just go check out what she had and see if we could find any new to us, fun pieces to add to our home collections. We had a successful trip that included this small accent table...

I fell in love with the table right away but not so much the colors. I never was a huge fan of peach or gold but thought the table could have some future potential somehow. And so the years have gone by (quickly I may add) and I hadn't found the perfect spot for this table until recently. When Chris and I remodeled the basement area, we relocated the water softener and water heater out of the bathroom/previous utility room so that it wouldn't be so cramped. When the bathroom project was complete, I knew the table would be a great fit for the newly opened space.

So I had finally found the perfect spot to put it but the colors just weren't working for me. Thanks to a few Pinterest ideas and a new find of 'Valspar's Antiquing Glaze' the following pictures will walk you through my table transformation process.....

(All primed and ready to paint.)

(Painted one coat - Ready to sand down some of the edges before the antiquing process.)

(Antiqued and ready to put a coat of Minwax Wipe-On Poly on to protect it.)

(All finished and put back into place! :)

Over all I was pretty excited with how well it turned out. I wasn't sure what I was doing at first but it was fun. :) Now I'm eyeing up more pieces in my house to antique......:)

Pinterest, Baubles, & Bargain Fun

About a month ago while I was perusing the vast library of Pinterest, I stumbled on a picture of a very colorful and uniquely decorated Christmas tree. I was instantly drawn to it and pinned it right away thinking that it may be a fun idea to do some year down the road.

Last year Chris and I purchased an artificial Christmas tree for our upstairs living room so that we could enjoy the holiday lights much longer than the amount of time a real tree allows. In the meantime we finished our beloved basement space where we spend most of our time now and were sad that our Christmas tree was so far away this year and on a different floor of our home. We attempted to make the tree fit in our basement but with the suspended ceiling, there just wasn't enough space between the floor and ceiling to make it work. We decided to put it in the upstairs living room just like last year and enjoy it anyways.

Fast forward to this past Friday. Chris got off early and we headed for Hagerstown to run a few errands. We stopped at Target and everything in the Christmas section was 50% off. I knew I was in trouble but we had to at least breeze through and take a look. It was really busy and of course everyone was bustling around trying to grab up all the best deals they could find. Then it happened. I spotted these...

ONE HUNDRED glass ornaments that instantly took me back to the Christmas tree I had found on Pinterest. The box of 100 originally sold for $30 but now it was only $15. There were two boxes left on the shelf. Chris said I should get them. I quickly pulled up the Pinterest picture on my phone and we tried to figure out roughly how many I would need. We decided that it would be best to get both boxes. $30 instead of $60 for TWO HUNDRED ornaments. "Baubles" as Chris calls them. I'd never heard them called that in my life. HAHA. :) I was so excited about my new bargain find that I wasn't even really intentionally looking for.

We looked at the artificial Christmas trees they had left but there wasn't much of a selection anymore so we decided that we'd probably try to get one on sale next year so that we could use these fun new ornaments and have a second tree in our basement.

Now fast forward to Monday (yesterday). Chris and I were in Chambersburg running some other errands and we decided to stop at that Target to return some pants we got the day before that didn't fit well. We went to the Christmas clearance area and would you believe everything was now 70% off?? I'm a sucker for a good bargain. They had a perfect looking slim Virginia Pine tree that was originally $185.00 marked down to $55.50. We couldn't pass that one up either so the tree was bought and away we went.

And I forgot to mention that before Target, we stopped at Hobby Lobby and found some pretty ribbon that was 66% off! 90 feet of wide wired ribbon for $3.33!!! I had all the pieces to my project puzzle.

By the time we got home I could barely contain myself. I suddenly and VERY unexpectedly had everything I needed to complete the Pinterest project I had fallen in love with but had no intentions of it falling into place so soon. So today, I was faced with a dilemma. Christmas is over and this project was definitely something that would have been best to do a month or so ago but there was no way I was going to be able to put my mind to rest until next Christmas as it was on overload wondering if I would be able to recreate the Pinterest creation.

The Pinterest Inspiration:

I went for it. The following pictures show you the results of my afternoon...

~Fluffing the new tree.~

~Adding the reds.~

~Reds are done. Hera checking things out.~

~Adding the pinks.~

~Pinks are done.~

~Adding the purples.~

~Purples are done.~

~Adding the blues.~

~Blues are done.~

~Adding the greens.~

~Almost finished! One last step.~

~Adding the ribbon.~

MY Finished Version:

So Chris and I are enjoying an extended Christmas in our basement now for at least a few weeks. :) As I was finishing up the lengthy process I threatened that the tree will just have to stay up the entire year. I'm sure that won't be the case but for now we will enjoy it and hope that I can recreate it later this year when Christmas time rolls around again. :) What a project! Special thanks to my talented hubby for photographing each step of the process for me and for taking some finished project shots. :)

Random fun facts about this project:

1. Only 1 ornament hit the floor and shattered during the entire process. Thus the smart move of blankets covering the floor after I realized just how fragile they were and how hard the floor was.

2. I ended up using 165 of the 200 ornaments.

3. The project cost me $88.83 instead of $254.99 which would have been the non clearance total price.