Inspiration from a Fellow Blogger!

About two weeks ago I read a fellow blogger's post that hit home. Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage opened herself up and admitted that she suffers from decorating ADD. She goes on to say that she is horrible at starting things and then not finishing them. Boy does that sound familiar!

Honestly. I think I just have all these ideas in my head and want to do them all. I tend to take on too much and then get overwhelmed with all that I have taken on. I often don't know where to start so not as much as I would have liked has gotten done.

So. Anyway. Gina challenged us to join her to complete 10 tasks in 10 days.

I didn't take the challenge at that time because we had just done Mom's Craft Night Out and my carpal tunnel had acted up. I'm better now and I am ready to go!

Gina has changed the "10 Tasks in 10 Day Challenge" to "5 Tasks in a Week." She's invited everyone who is participating to link up over at her blog on Thursdays for her "Transformation Thursday" blog party.

I'm in but since I'm highly motivated right now, I'm going to run with it and do the original 10 tasks in 10 days. I'm hoping by making a big dent in my task/project list, it will keep me motivated to keep going. After the 10 tasks, I'll drop to 5 tasks in a week. I started yesterday so next Thursday, October 29th, is my deadline for my first 10 that I've listed below. I'll post some of my progress along the way so be sure to stop back to see what I've accomplished so far!

My 10 Tasks in 10 Days List!

1. Turn the old chair into a reading chair for Allison.
2. Paint a canvas for above Allison's bed.
3. Clean out junk drawer in kitchen.
4. Paint front door.
5. Paint mirror for entryway.
6. Paint & stain table for entryway.
7. Make Allison a coat/back pack organizer for entryway.
8. Paint coat hook board for entryway.
9. Make Allison's Halloween costume.
10. Make our Christmas want/need list for my family.

Have Fun!

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Menu Plan Monday ~ Oct. 19th!

Last week I didn't plan my menu. I flew by the seat of my pants. All I can say was it wasn't good. I don't know why it was stressful to me but it was. I like having dinner planned so I don't clutter my mind every day with "What do I make for dinner?"

So. Here's my menu for this week! I'm going simple and easy. I have a ton of things I want to accomplish this week so I don't want to waste too much time cooking in the kitchen!

Monday - Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad and fresh baked Italian bread.

Tuesday - Chicken fajitas.

Wednesday - Baked shrimp, rice pilaf and Prince Edward vegetable medley.

Thursday - Smoked sausage, potatoes, peppers and onions.

Friday - Homemade Pizza.

Saturday - Grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Sunday - Mesquite marinated pork chops, scalloped potatoes and green beans.

I'm linking up with Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for her Menu Plan Monday. Need ideas for dinner, stop over and see what others have planned for their meals this week.

Have Fun!

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I Never Could Have Imagined!

I never could have imagined when they placed her in my arms 8 years, 3 months and 2 days ago just how much joy and happiness she would bring to me.

Last night while I was tucking her into bed, she said to me "Mom, when I'm older can you give me tips to be as good as a parent as you?"

I hope she realizes one day how my life was truly blessed to have her as my daughter.

Thank you God for trusting me to raise this wonderful creature and for answering my childhood prayers.

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The Moms FALL into Fun!

Finally! My post on our "Mom's Craft Night Out!"

As you can see, we made pumpkins! It was not my original idea. I found the idea on "It's a Daisy Day!" website and put my own little twist on it. As you can see, she made fall pumpkins for her craft. We did too but we painted both sides and added jack-o-lantern faces on one side. When Halloween is over, all we have to do is twist the ribbon, raffia and wire around that's on the stem and we've extended our decor through Thanksgiving! Gotta love a dual purpose pumpkin!

See. Here's the other side!

Okay. I get caught up in the night and forget to take pictures of everything but here are some pics from the night with the directions thrown in!

First we painted all the sides of the pumpkins except the bottom with craft paint. These pictures show really orange pumpkins but they aren't that orange. They look more like the first two pics. We used 2 X 4's for the pumpkins and they are cut in 6", 8" and 10" lengths. Thanks Curtis for cutting them...we all appreciate it!

Hanging out while we wait for them to dry. Usually at this time we are snacking on the treats our Snack Hostesses bring but we did that before we even started. We had some catching up to do since our group had the summer off from crafting.

Applying a second coat.

After the two coats of orange were dry, we painted the faces on them. This was a stressful time for some of the Moms but they ALL turned out so cute!

Once all the paint was completely dry, we took sandpaper to all the edges of the blocks. We also did a light sanding over the front and the back (right over the faces) to distress them a little.

We took floral wire and wrapped it around a pencil to make the curly part of a pumpkin vine. We then stretched to spring to elongate it and make it look not so uniform.

Okay, here's where I stopped taking pictures so there are no visual aids for the next steps. Anyway, they are really easy and I'm sure you can figure it out!

We hot glued (with a big old glob of hot glue) the 2" natural wood stems on top of the blocks. They are about a nickel size in diameter. Curtis found us some awesome branches on the ground (so no trees were harmed in the process...this makes my "green" daughter very happy) in the woods at his parents' house and cut them for us.

After the hot glue was set, we tied a piece of torn fabric, 5-6 strands of raffia and the curly wire onto the stem and ta da! We have pumpkins!

Here we all are with our pumpkins! Thanks Stephanie (Susan C.'s) daughter for taking our pics! Left to right are: Kelly, Susan C., Dawn, Sherie, Nettie, Sandy, Me (Cindi) and Susan D..

A little artsy shot from Steph...she wanted to highlight the pumpkins but I think she highlighted my double chin! Thanks Steph!

Here are our final projects. I think I missed taking pics of some but aren't the ones I did get sweet?

Have Fun!

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Taking a Little Hand Rest!

I LOVE my blog readers! I've had a couple of emails asking if I'm okay.

Yes. I'm fine for the most part. You see. We started "Mom's Craft Night Out" up again last Friday. We had taken the summer off. Anyway. Over two days I ended up sanding 51 wood blocks with my mouse sander and then painted 16 of them...both front and back...two or three coats each...and then hand sanded some of them. Needless to say, my carpal tunnel in my right hand acted up on Saturday. The first two days I suffered, the next two days and nights I wore my brace and yesterday it was feeling much better.

I'm not going to push my luck though. I'm going to wait another couple of days before I type up my entry for "Mom's Craft Night Out." So for now, here's a little pic to tease you! I know. I'm bad!

One more thing before I go. A friend and I went shopping yesterday in Volant. Outside one of the little houses that have been turned into a shop was this sign posted on a pole of the porch. I laughed out loud and had to share it with all of you! Sorry for the quality of the pic...all I had was my cell phone with me.

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A Sundae to Make a Little Girl Smile!

We stopped at Bruster's last night on our way home from gymnastics.

My little gymnist wanted the brownie sundae.

It didn't look that big in the picture!

No. She didn't finish it. Daddy did but Mommy got a bite!

Have Fun!

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Menu Plan Monday ~ Sept. 28th!

Wow! It's Monday already and you know what happens on Monday!

I join Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for her Menu Plan Monday Party. Last week there were 430 bloggers who joined the party! Now that's what I call a party!

Here's my menu for the week:

Monday - We are going to Chili's for dinner to support St. Jude's Research Hospital. Today all Chili's give 100% of their profits from today's sales to St. Jude's. If you are able, take your family to a Chili's near you to help find a cure for childhood cancer.

Tuesday - Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup with fresh baked bread.

Wednesday - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn. (Yes, this was on last week's menu but we surprised Curtis for his birthday and met his family out for dinner so it was on my menu because he reads my blog.)

Thursday - Pierogi Skillet Dinner

Friday - Homemade Pizza

Saturday - Grilled Chicken Salads (Pittsburgh style)

Sunday - Pork Tenderloin, with Lemon-Butter Red Potatoes and green beans.

Have Fun!

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A Little Stroke of Luck!

This happened a while ago and I forgot to share it with all of you. I found this picture when I was going through some pics in my files.

I bought some Schwebel bread one day. There was this little ribbon of extra plastic where you twist the bread shut. I looked at it and it was for a contest. I thought, what the heck, I'll send in an index card with my name and address on it. I never gave it another thought. Well, guess what???

Yes! I won!! Quite a while later, I received a letter and a $50 VISA Gift Card! I couldn't believe it! I was SO excited!

You see. I am not the lucky one in the family. Curtis and Allison are...especially Allison...you can read about her winnings here and since that post, she's won two more door prizes! So. If anyone wants to join us on a trip to Vegas when Allison turns 18, let me know because I've started a list. :)

Since my little win earlier in the year, I've entered more of those easy contests. I haven't won anything yet, but who knows.

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Recipe Crazy!

I've been a little recipe crazy lately!

I've been posting recipes over at my cooking blog. Baked Potato Soup, Cornbread, Amish Peanut Butter just to name a few and there's more coming!

You can find the link over there. --->

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A Little Guy Needs Our Help!

This is Carson.

He is the nephew of a friend of mine.

Last October at 3 1/2 years of age, Carson was diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma cancer.

He had surgery to remove the tumor and sadly it came back in the Spring of this year while he was undergoing chemo for the first tumor. In June he had brain surgery to remove the second tumor and his chemo had been extended for that tumor.

Today, his parents received the devastating news that there is a third tumor.

This child and family have been through so much in the last year and still has so much more to go through.

It just breaks my heart.

Carson's Mom and Dad are amazing and doing everything they can for this adorable little guy but they need our help.

I believe in the power of prayer and we need more people praying for his recovery. So please, please, please. If you are reading this, please say prayers for him and his family.

Thank you and God Bless! Pin It