How does my garden grow?

not wonderful but not terrible either. The flowers are doing better than the edible things.


our 3 tomato plants - kind of straggly but we've been picking a handful every day

jalapeno peppers - I thought I planted 1/2 bell peppers and 1/2 jalapeno, but they all seem to be jalapenos

dill plant with Gavin behind it

squash, cukes, cilantro

herbs and veggies - I think this shows the squash and cucumbers, maybe the basil and some radishes

Yellow rose bush from Aldi

tiny tea rosebush

a few sunflowers

Marigolds with tiny buds that should open soon and thumbelina zinnias

Cooking at Nina's

About 5 or 6 weeks ago, I helped Nina fill her freezer with meals. Nina and John both liked them alot and they planned on doing it again on June 5th. But baby Elizabeth was born a little early and they did not get done it done before she came.
Nina is recovering so quickly, she wanted to get some more meals done and thought if I helped her, we could do it today.
So we did!

No gourmet recipes today - they both like casserole type meals so that is what we made.
The first casseroles finished were 3 tater tot casseroles.


Other meals
pasta with cheese, broccoli and ham
from Tammy's Recipes Saucy Chicken and Broccoli bake
From Taste of Home Meatloaf
porcupine meatballs
creamy chicken cordon bleu bake
and there might of been some other things cooked too but my memory is not working so good.



Elizabeth is one week old. She was happy we were cooking a lot so her parents will have nice meals for a month with very little prep or cleanup - so there will be more time for them to dote on her.

CSN Stores winner

Thank you all for entering for the CSN Stores gift certificate contest.
My hubby picked #7 as the winner and that is Donna

This week's thrifty finds

This big pot was at the first sale we stopped at - just $3.
Want to see how big it is?
big enough for Gavin! He thought it was lots of fun to stand in a flower pot.
I don't know yet if I want to put plants in it or use it to hold magazines.

Nope, I did not purchase this ceramic cat. She was $1 and my son bought her, I think as a joke. She is currently sitting on the table that is the first thing you see when you come in our front door.

My oldest brother was here this weekend, he and Jimmy share the same sense of humor and he left this post-it on the cat.
Don't you wish those 2 could help you find awesome things at yard sales?

this is a big stack of fabric, I think it was $8 total - 2 are very long lengths, more than enough for dresses for me as well as shorter pieces for small projects and quilts.
We also got 56 nice childrens books for 10 cents each - except the seller only charged us $5 because she did not want to make change.

These fresh squash are not from a yard sale - my other brother grew them in his East Texas garden and sent them to us via my parents. We had a big pan of fried squash with our Sunday lunch - it was so good!

Linked to
Rhoda - Southern Hospitality
Selena - Apron Thrift Girl

And if you have not yet entered - I hope you check out my previous post and register to win a $50 CSN Stores gift certificate.

$50 Giveaway!

Do you need a new bathroom vanity?
Or maybe some really cute baby things?
How about kitchen cookware?
Does shopping at 200 stores at one time sound good to you?

The town I live is not real big and I do like to shop locally, but I can't always find what I need here. So I am very happy to find CSNStores - it seems they do have just about everything and it is all good stuff.
Shopping online is the easiest way for me to read reviews on items I am shopping for and to compare prices.

CSNStores has so many things! I am writing to tell you about them and to host a giveaway for them.
One If you do stuff, stuff gets done reader will win a $50 CSNStores giveaway, good in any of their 200 stores. They ship to US and Canada addresses so you need to live in one of them.

Just leave a comment and I will pick a winner on Weds, June 9th - that was the due date for our granddaughter but we are really happy she came early.


so, just leave a comment and look around CSNStores and be thinking about what you might want to buy......

Birth Day

Our granddaughter Elizabeth was born this morning, a few days before her due date. She weighs 7 pounds 6 ounces, is 20 1/2 inches long and has lots of sandy hair.
Her momma had a pretty easy delivery.
The new momma, daddy and baby are all fine.
And we could not be happier!

What's new at my home

I apologize for not posting in so long. Sweet Gavin shared his cold&sore throat with Jeff and I and it slowed us down for about a week. Thankfully, we are all better now.

At home, I decided some of my rooms needed sprucing up.
Just adding a tablecloth and one of my mom's doilies perked up the breakfast nook.

I changed some pictures on the wall in the dining room, then added a summer tablecloth.
hydrangeas from my yard in a tea pot from an old friend that I just heard from after several years.

Our bedroom has one huge wall that I've never known what to do with.
We have an assortment of paintings and prints and stitched pieces and Jeff is very fond of all of them. So I tried out the gallery look I have seen on other blogs, I think it works on that giant wall.

This is not new, obviously made in 1987, but it is one of my favorites.

We have a sick puppy - so sick that he needed to go his veterinian yesterday.
He has some problems in his intestines.

Theo is just thrilled with his canned dog food and pills - not! - but they are helping him, he woke up this morning feeling much better than yesterday.

The biggest new thing here is the roof. Because of hail damage in the spring of 2009, we needed a new one. The roofers worked all day Friday and Saturday morning, reshingling the whole thing and replacing a small section of decking. I think they did a great job.

Baby E has not yet made her appearance. That really will be big news.
Nina is staying busy and made these cute closet dividers for a baby shower she is hosting on Saturday for another of the coach's wives that is expecting in July.
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update on freezer pizza dough

Several of you requested I tell how the freezer pizza dough works out.
We had it for supper tonight. Jeff, Jimmy and Gavin all liked it. I liked how easy it was. It makes a crust that is a little chewy and crispy on the bottom.
I just used my basic pizza dough recipe - 2 cups water, 1 t salt and sugar, 1 T oil, 2 t yeast and about 6 cups of flour. I think any yeast pizza crust recipe would work.
I divided it into 3 crusts but I think it would do 4 if you like really thin crust.
I do think oiling the balls before putting them in storage bags is important as I think they would really stick while rising if not oiled.

The crust was a success and I will be making more batches of this freezer crust.

Sorry no pizza pictures - it was a little hectic here as the pizzas came out of the oven. Gavin was hungry, Jimmy just got home from work and Jeff was finishing up with the roofing contractor who will be doing our new roof tomorrow.

Momma Hydrangea and 5 of her babies

This is our original hydrangea. This is her 4th spring in our flower bed. I did not know how to take care of her until I learned from Manuela
Thank goodness she knows how because I was doing it all wrong, pruning it too much, watering and feeding it too little.
Last summer, this bush sort of collapsed and many of her branches were laying on the ground. So I follower Manuela's tutorial and ended up with 8 baby hydrangea this spring.
And not only did they grow, they are even putting on buds and blooming!
Thank you Manuela!
She has a great post today about her pretty yard. Her's are blooming bigger and sooner because she is in a warmer zone than we are, but mine should be blooming in full just like hers soon.





Notice all the holes in the leaves? Those are all from Oklahoma Spring hail.

This is a Blushing Bride hydrangea and was planted the year Nina and John got married. How sweet that this bush has babies the same year they are will have their first baby too?

my opinion of Olay Simply Ageless

"COVERGIRL & Olay Simply Ageless - A first-of-its-kind premium make-up line that can actually make you look younger - "

well, that is what they say anyway.

I have belonged to BzzAgent.com for about 6 years. I have participated in several campaigns where Bzzagent sends out products for sampling and testing, they hope that the bzzagents will like the products, then talk favorably about them to their friends.

My latest products from Bzzagent were 4 Olay Simply Ageless cosmetics. They sent 2 under eye concealers, which I don't really need but I do think they are a good product if you use eye concealers.
They also sent a blush in a color I am not crazy about but I do like the blush.
I really like the foundation. It is light for foundation, goes on smoothly and not heavy looking, easy to blend and does not have any scent that I can tell.

sorry, I don't have any free makeup to offer you, I do have 5 $2 coupons that I would be happy to mail out to any one who wants some of them, while they last any way. Just leave me a comment and I will get back to you.
But I think there is an even better Cover Girl coupon that does not expire until the end of May that is B1G1F.

Saturday morning yardsale purchases

It was Jeff and me out to the yard sales today. I'm a little sad that I did not see a single piece of Pyrex but we found a few good deals.

retro coffee/tea pot for $1

2 yard toys for Gavin for $1
Both are Fisher Price, one is a Lion Glide and Ride and sells at Target for $43.

Boppy baby seat for Baby E. It was in great shape, but since the cover was so easy to remove, I machine washed it and it looks even better.

And - a Walmart sack full of very nice baby girl clothes, $5 for all!

I ran all of the clothes through the wash too. Then I hung them up on hangers after partially machine drying them. There were 14 complete outfits, 3 bottoms, 1 top and a cute little bathing suit with a skirt.

I like all of the clothes but I think this appliqued dress is my favorite.


So, did any of you go yard-saleing today? and what goodies did you find?

once a week baking

well, I hope this baking will last a week but you never know! Jeff likes toast every morning for breakfast and Jimmy is here for the summer, he really likes sandwiches.
Yesterday, I made 2 recipes of my Grandpa's bread. One recipe was baked into 5 small loaves.

See, I don't always use Pyrex. I've had this Pampered Chef pan for several years and tend to use it spurts, then store it back in the bottom of the cabinet for a year or so.


The second batch of dough was made into sandwich buns and hot dog buns. I slice them with a serrated knife almost in half before storing away, that way they are easy to open up but the tops don't get separated from the bottoms if they are still slightly attached.

I also made a batch of pizza dough and am trying freezing the dough balls. The theory is to freeze the dough, then on the day of pizza making, let the dough thaw and rise in the fridge all day before making pizza that night.
I oiled each ball with olive oil, then put them in twist tie bags so they could expand a little without popping the bag as they froze.

Then I put the balls into a freezer bag for better freezer protection.
I'll let you know how they work out.

another shower for Nina and Baby E

Nina was blessed with another baby shower last weekend. It was hosted by her matron of honor and longtime best friend as well as the wives of other coaches that John works with.


Baby Elizabeth got so many nice things.
Can you see the baby doll Nina is holding? It was crocheted by my mom, and is just like one that my Grandma made for Nina when she was a little girl. The baby is all crocheted except for the soft plastic face and hands. One hand is holding a baby bottle that fits in the baby's mouth.

I made a diaper bag for Nina and used this tutorial.

Hip Mama Diaper bag tutorial

Baby E is not due until the second week of June but some signs are pointing to an earlier delivery - who knows though?