Our First Holiday Season in Our New Home

Since moving to Alabama in August we have been busy settling in and trying to fit furnishings from a 3 bedroom house into a smaller 2 bedroom house.  Luckily my sister bought a house a few blocks from here and won't be moving here for a few years, so she has allowed me to store my overflow at her house.
I love being here and around my grandchildren, and attending important events in their little lives.  My daughter is attending college part time so I get to watch the baby for her 1 to 2 days a week, and she is a joy to have, she is such a happy baby.  We watch the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse together (which has changed quite a bit since I was a child watching it).
My younger daughter, Nicole, moved here in August with her friend and they both got jobs fairly quick and are adjusting well.  It was great having the family together for the holidays.  This Christmas was extra special in our new home, though we have spent the last few Christmases here in Alabama. Normally we would arrive a day or two before Christmas and leave a day or two after the New Year and everything would always seem so rushed. This year I was able to bake and decorate my house.  We even got a live tree, our first one in 35 years. Though I did miss my sister and my mom back in Florida, they are coming for a visit in a few days and we will have another celebration when they arrive.

We Finally Made It

Its been a long time coming, but we are finally living in Alabama.  Its been almost 6 years since we bought our little home here and we have been waiting patiently for the right time to make our move.  We have had our home in Florida on the market two times, and we recently sold the house (though still waiting on the formal closing). We truly feel that it is God's timing because everything just fell into place, including a job for my husband.

I am so excited because I get to experience the four seasons again, and I get to spend more time with my grandchildren.  Last time I posted, I had two grandchildren.  Jesse and Sophia.  Well, as of this past April they have a little sister named Marit. I now have three grandchildren to enjoy.

Around the same time that I was selling my home in Florida, my sister and her husband were deciding to buy a home in Alabama, just blocks from our little house.  They don't intend to move there for a few years yet, but it is nice to know that they will be here in the future.

I Want To Move!

Well, we finally did it. We made up our minds and put the Florida house on the market.  I know the market is bad and the prices are so much lower than we had hoped but sometimes you just have to go with the flow.  Hopefully we will be able to sell it and finally make the move to Alabama near our grandchildren. Our little house is just sitting there waiting for us with rooms to be painted and a yard to be planted.  I can't wait!! The actual packing and moving is going to be a chore after living here for 26 years but once we get a buyer it will be Yard Sale time.  Because our house in Alabama is already pretty much furnished we won't be taking all of our furniture, just a few select pieces. I have been bringing boxes of treasures there each trip we have made in the past so I will probably have to have a yard sale once we settle in Alabama also because the house there is much smaller.

And the best part is that it does snow occasionally in Alabama.  Growing up in New York, I definitely missed the snow in the winter months living in Florida.  This past year we were there for Christmas and it was the first time it snowed on Christmas day in 100 years.  They had more snow this year than they had in the last 8 or so years since my daughter moved there.

Now all that needs to happen is to secure a buyer for our Florida home.

High School Graduation

My nephew, Anthony has graduated from high school.  He is my younger sister's oldest child.  Boy, where does the time go, it seems he was just a little boy that my girls were teaching to talk, not all that long ago.   Now, Anthony is heading to college to pursue a degree in teaching.  He actually wants to be a music teacher.  Ever since I could remember he has loved all kinds of music. His preferences are unusual for an eighteen year old boy in 2011 because he just loves Frank Sinatra, jazz and swing music.

 His parents gave him a graduation party at a local restaurant where Anthony,  his father, and a friend performed for the guests (they regularily perform at local functions around town also).  Anthony and his friend Jacob played the trumpet, while his dad accompanied them on the keyboard.  He also sang several songs and danced with his mother and sister.

5th grade graduation

Jesse and his friends Savon and Randy

Jesse was voted the school chaplain this year and his daily responsibility was to say the 'Pledge of Allegiance' every morning and at special functions.  We were able to visit Alabama and be present for his graduation from 5th grade.  Here he is leading everyone in the pledge of allegiance at the moving up ceremony.

Jesse and his proud mother, our daughter, Cindy.

Jesse displaying his gifts with a smile.

Displaying the diplomas.

I was so happy that we could be there for the moving up ceremony, and we were also there for the awards ceremony that was held the day before.  Jesse received several awards for his academic excellence including one that was presented to him from the Rotary Club.

We are so proud of our grandson, Jesse.

What I've Been Up To



Barrettes and Pins

Tomato Cage Earring Displays



My friend Christina's pillows displayed at the craft fair.





A little over a week ago I did my first craft fair along with my friend Christina whose table was next to mine.  It wasn't a very big craft fair and it wasn't in a well trafficked area.  Most of the attendees were senior citizens who watch their money closely, so needless to say, it wasn't a big money maker.  Luckily to rent the spot wasn't expensive at all, so we were able to make that money back and a little bit more.  But, I guess it was good for a first experience because it definitely was NOT overwhelming

Since the fair I have been busy with baking, something I always do at this time of the year.  I also finally started my Christmas shopping.  Normally, I am more than half finished with my shopping by now, but with the economy as it is, our spending money is sparse.  My Christmas shopping this year is going to have to be more bargain oriented, which takes a little more planning and time. I am becoming very good at finding nice things on the clearance sales racks.

  

I am also cooking and freezing meals for my hubby. You see, my youngest daughter will be moving back home for a while and we immediately planned a trip for her and I to go visit my other daughter and grandchildren, leaving poor hubby to fend for himself.  He would love to come too but can't miss work right now.  He is saving his vacation for Christmas time.



It's That Time of Year

It's that time of year when the weather gets slightly cooler (I am in Florida) and I start to miss the autumn leaves falling, and the aromas of fresh baked breads and cookies filling the house.  I can't do anything about the autumn leaves but I can fill the house with delicious scents. Last year I found a recipe for the best pumpkin bread I ever had on recipes.com.  Unfortunately, last year during the holiday season I baked so much that I put on some extra pounds that I never got rid of.  I have been trying to put off my itch to start baking in order to stay on my diet and lose a few pounds first. I had been successful until today.  After talking to my sister-in-law on the phone about diets and exercise, she asked me for my pumpkin bread recipe, which I promptly gave her.  But now I wanted to bake even more, so I decided that I would try to make the recipe a little more diet friendly.  I switched out 1/2 cup of butter for 1/2 cup of light butter with canola oil(land o lakes), and instead of 3 eggs I used 1 egg and the equivalent of 2 eggs in egg substitute.  The recipe called for 3 cups of sugar which I used 1 and 1/2 cups sugar and 1 and 1/2 cups of Splenda.  I don't know calorie wise how much I saved but I know that this bread is healthier for me than the original recipe because I have to watch my sugar, and cholesterol being a diabetic with a heart problem.  I was quite pleased with the results and I don't think anyone will notice the difference if I don't tell them.

Here is the revised recipe, if anyone is interested.

1 cup light butter(made with canola oil)

1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 and 1/2 cups Splenda
1 egg
1/2 cup egg substitute
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 and 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
1-16 oz. can pumpkin
Cream together butter and sugars, add eggs and mix well.  Combine dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture.  Stir in pumpkin.  Pour into two greased 9x5 loaf pans.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until test done.

Pretty simple and pretty delicious.

7 Things About Me and Passing on the Award

An Oklahoma Granny and my friend, Dolly, from Consider The Lillies passed this award onto me. I am supposed to post 7 things about myself that most do not know.  I will try, but honestly, I think I am a pretty boring person and what you have seen so far from me is what you get.  But I will try to search the crevices of my mind and see if I can come up with any interesting facts.  Okay, here goes....


1.  When I was about 11 years old I decided to run away from home because I had gotten punished for something.  I guess I really didn't have the concept down because I left my house and went straight to my grandmother's house (she immediately called my mother who didn't even know that I was missing yet). This  escapade added a few days to my punishment but I also got the silent treatment from my heartbroken mom which was worse than anything else.

2. I have never been on an airplane and I have no desire to ever go on one either.

3. I can't swim and I live in Florida with a pool in my yard.  My poor kids weren't allowed in the pool until their father came home from work or another adult was present who could swim.

4. I found that history definitely does repeat itself.  My husband and I got secretly married and remarried a year later publicly on our 1 year anniversary.  History repeated itself with our oldest daughter who did the same thing.

5.  I accepted the Lord when I was twenty after reading the book 'The Late Great Planet Earth' by Hal Lindsey. My husband (then boyfriend) spoke often of this book that I had to read it. Immediately after reading it I went out and bought my first Bible. Many years later someone asked us the question if there was a specific person in our life that we could pinpoint that helped lead us to our decision for Christ. Naturally I said my husband because of his conversations with me about this book. To my shock, my husband's answer was me. I never knew that he had not accepted the Lord until after I had read the book and we would read and study the Bible together.


6.  I flipped my car and landed in a ditch on the side of the Long Island Expressway when I was a teenager.  I wasn't speeding but it was raining and it was kind of a freak accident.  The car was totaled, the roof smashed down and all, but the three of us that were in the car walked away without a scratch.
 
7. I miss my grandchildren and I can't wait to move to be near them.....okay, so anyone who has read my blog already knows this but I couldn't think of anything else.  Sorry!
 
The seven I pass this award onto are:
 
1.  Rachel from Breathing vs. Living
2.  Andrea from Under Grace and Over Coffee
3.  Rhoda from Southern Hospitality
4.  Michele from The Homesteading Apartment
5.  Katy from The Country Blossom
6.  Nen from Living The Small Town Life
7.  Penny from The Comforts of Home