Swap Buddies!...

I participated in my first ever blog swap! And here's what was in my package full of "awesome-ness"!

Sarah, Thank you so-so-so much for the perfect surprise swap gift! I love the scents of the shower gels and lotion (oh, they smell so good), ...the amazing scrubber (perfect for those hard to reach spots), ...the eye mask (soothing treat for my "blaming-the-computer-time", dry, red, eyes), ...and the terrific tote and lovely lunch sac (such pretty color combos)... our girls would love to be "sharing" my gifts (but we're here in Coastal Georgia and they are in Kentucky...aw shucks, hehe). And thank you for the adorable Polish Pottery couple (salt & pepper shakers!)... Thanks for asking me about some of my likes or dislikes. I am excited that these guys were part of your awesome, amazing, adorable, beautiful... (I can go on through the alphabet for appropriate adjectives, but I will spare all of you... I love alliteration too, if ya haven't noticed).

...ummm, back to my thankyou- I really enjoy Polish Pottery (I'll post about that in another post) and did not have a salt & pepper shaker set... so this was the Perfect Polish Pottery Piece (thank you!!!) Everything in the box was color coordinated with the pretty fresh green and blues...ah, soothing and relaxing. (can't wait to try them all out!)

(Sarah, Yours was shipped out last week! I hope that it doesn't take as long as they estimated getting to you in Germany. I grew up military and having been overseas, I remember packages sometimes taking a little longer than normal, so I really should have sent yours sooner!)

Thank you to MollyLouGifts for hosting such a fun event...the Christmas in July Swap! (And hey, this just dawned on me...I joined in on her Christmas in July Swap...and then later happened to join in with JustAddGlitterandStir's Christmas in July party hop! ...what a co-inky-dink!...honest, I wasnt thinking of the other when I joined in each of their fun!)

Blessings & Aloha!

Christmas in July...It's a Party!

Mele kalikimaka! (a Hawaiian greeting from Coastal Georgia!)

Feliz Natale! (Thanks for the Portuguese, Delima Dilemma :o)Feliz Navidad! Froeliche Weinachten! Joyeux Noel! Christmas Alegre! Buone Natale!

Веселое рождество! メリークリスマス! 圣诞快乐!

... in other words...Merry Christmas!

There's a wonderful bit of Christmas Cheer going around. So, I'm glad you stopped by...

I'd like to share a picture or two...well, actually quite a bit more than that...so come on in and take a peek.

"Maligayang Pasko!" (coming from you straight from the Philippines...it's mini me at age 1!)

...Here is my mom and I (age 3yrs old) all nice and toasty inside, while it was super chilly on this Massachusetts' Christmas!

Meanwhile, in the beautiful tropical weather of Hawaii...a couple of years before I was even born...came a wonderful (10 pound +) Christmas gift...that I claim would be all mine... Mr. B! He was a Christmas baby...born on December 25th! (also, he was the 3rd generation born o Christmas baby...his Auntie Florence..and his Great-Auntie Maggie).

Mr. B with his big brother looking at what Santa brought...

"Hey, does he come with a horse or a tricycle?"

...1 year old

He's not looking to sure about the guy with the beard & big belly...

He never was short-changed on the gifts and birthday cake! :o)

What a handsome Christmas boy!!

2 years old!

I love this one of him and his brother... (see his hand? he was always pretending it was a plane and he was flying it! hmmm...his dream to fly would become reality as a helicopter pilot for the Army :o)

"Howdy & Merry Christmas!"...from our oldest daughter (who at birth, weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz.) aka theluckiestmrs. at the age of 17 months.

Our little "Kewpie doll" is dressed warm for the unusual snowfall that came down in

San Antonio, Texas that year!

"Merry Christmas, y'all!" from the newest member of our family...here in Ft. Rucker, Alabama.

Our little (9lbs. 2oz.) baby doll was only 16 days old at Christmas...

(If she had followed the family tradition of one born on Christmas...she says she could have been 10lbs. 2oz! ...um, no thank you :o)

...and it's back to Hawaiian-style... "Mele Kalikimaka!" from our handsome keiki kane (baby boy) and his two sisters.

Our little man was 7 months here... (since I mentioned the other's birth weights...he was 8 pounds even...thank goodness! I was not looking forward to that "1 pound more" trend that happened with our girls.) I love this photo taken in Hawaii when they were little...now these 3 beautiful kiddos are grown, in college and left my hubby and I as "emptynesters".

...I'm so happy you stopped in! You're welcome here any time!

Please leave a comment whenever you do, so I know that you were here.

...I'm leaving you with this drawing of Old St. Nick.

It was drawn for a customer, entirely with her unique name "Alpha".

***For all those that leave a comment...I'd like to give a little gift for each of you...10% off any drawing ordered from now to the end of August.***

Be sure to go to"Just Add Glitter and Stir"

for more Christmas fun!

Blessings & Aloha!

(...remember the reason for the season:o)

We are spending this last weekend with our daughter before she has to fly back to college...

so I'll try to finishing making my rounds to all the wonderful Christmas in July parties and meet all you wonderful hostesses!

Thank you for stopping in!

*don't know how to get this to quit underlining?*...oh well :o)

Monograms are forever classic...

These two photos were taken of a Personalized Sketches drawing of this very sweet couple's monogram and given to me recently so that I could show it here... It was great to learn that she displayed her drawing in her entry way and is seen as soon as you come into her very lovely home!

I have another monogram drawing that was just completed, but will wait until it is received to post the photo of it that I took before shipping it out today.

So...I am getting a better handle on the blogging and blog reading...now if I would just quit finding so many great new bloggers, so that I constrain myself from adding yet another to read! (I can't help it, I do enjoy reading all the blogs that I follow-although I may not list all of them on my sidebar, I se them on my dashboard and really do read them all! oh and I do tend to comment often...this too is something I need to limit or risk seeming too "stalkish-like"! Please just know, I will try not to comment too frequently :o)

But please DO comment-everyone-on mine as much as you'd like! I love it!

Blessings & Aloha!

Tastes of 2 momma's recipes...

For this week's blog hop...it's all about recipes...

Mr. B's mom (Lorain) and my mom (Remie) were wonderful cooks! So, I thought I would pick one recipe from each. (It was hard, since we have quite a number to choose from, so I thought I would pick two quick & easy recipes).

Lorain (of Portuguese descent) was born and raised in Hawaii. And one of the things I remember when I first met her as her newlywed daughter-in-law was the amount of food they make for get-togethers! Since they were not able to be at our wedding in Wisconsin, when we went to Hawaii for our honeymoon, they gave Mr. B & I a Hawaiian style luau inviting family and friends. I have never seen such HUGE pots and baking pans! And it was complete with a huge pig that was roasted in a pit dug into the ground.

Lorain's Corn Meal Cake

1 block of butter

2 eggs, beaten

3 tblsp yellow corn meal

1 cup milk

1 cup sugar

2 cups Bisquick mix

1/2 tsp bking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

~>cream butter & sugar~>add eggs & blend~>add corn meal, bisquick, bking powder, milk & blend well with rotary beater.

~>pour into buttered square pan and bake in preheated oven (350 degrees) for 30 miinutes.

~>Spread top with 1/2 block butter while cake is hot. Serve warm.

Remie was born in the Philippines and married my dad, who was in the Air Force. About every two years, we moved and she made every place we lived ~ Home :o) She amazed me in that no matter what, when, where or who...she always had a delicious meal ready. Everyone was welcome. She did love to try new recipes. But often she would "create" to taste.

Remie's Panfried Beef & Onions

beef roast (thinly sliced)

1/2 cup flour

1 Tblsp garlic powder

1/4 stick butter

1 sweet vidalia onion (thinly sliced)

1 lemon

1/4 cup soy sauce

~>coat thinly sliced beef roast in the flour & garlic powder mixture (you can do this in a gallon zip lock bag)

~>pan fry breaded beef in melted butter (may need to add more butter-I'm estimating amount)

~>add onion slices and continue pan-frying until meat is cooked through and brown.

~>squeeze lemon all over beef and onion

~>add 1/4 cup soy sauce to pan

*serve over hot rice*

Happy Birthday to "theluckiestmrs"!!! aka our sweet firstborn :o)

*Edited* I thought to add this photo of our birthday girl aka "theluckiestmrs" aka our sweet firstborn... (I had hoped to get a photo of her on her birthday this year, but since she and her hubby have been getting ready to go on their summer honeymoon cruise, I wasnt able to get one, so I am posting this wedding photo of her. (right after their wedding on Dec 31st, with a short amount of time before classes started up again, they took a "minimoon" trip to New York and saved the slightly summer break to go on their honeymoon cruise).

...at 7 months

...this photo won 1st place at this studio's children's division (newborn to 12 yrs old) category. Hilo, Hawaii

I was able to find some past birthday pics... (although, our other girly-whirly-aka "LittleMiss" happens to have some of our albums back at her place in Kentucky, so I'll post what I have. :o)

I love our son's expression as he looks at his "big sister" :o)

Dad...Happy Birthday!!!

I would have loved to have all my dad's photos from when he was growing up, so that I could post some of them on here...

but they are up at his place in northern Wisconsin.

...so I am going to post a few photos of my dad that were taken on my brother's wedding day. He looks so handsome in his tux :o)

Although I'm a little late posting...Happy Birthday!

3 Things you didn't know about me...

***This week, on TUESDAY, 7/14/09, the theme is:

THREE THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT ME (or US).

One:
I have been married to Mr. B for 27+ years. He is my Handsome Hubby, Fabulous Father of our 3 kids, and we are proud of his military service...my Awesome Army Aviator. (This photo was of him after his last flight as an active duty soldier... I had asked him to please take this photo for me to have...love my man in uniform :o)

Two:


We have faced challenges such as Mr. B 's robotic open heart surgery, in Atlanta, 1 and 1/2 years ago to replace the mitral valve chordei, by the leading cardio surgeon of that procedure. (He is doing great!)
...and our youngest ("heartbreaker") was diagnosed & treated for cancer when he was 14. He is healed and healthy. He's had many opportunities to witness the healing power of our Lord and encouraged many to support & volunteer for various cancer awareness organizations. (Here is a collage of him with his sisters during their 2005 spring break, and as the 2006 Georgia Ambassador for Children's Miracle Network, at his 2008 Make A Wish trip to Hawaii & his High school graduation). (He is in his 2nd yr of college).




Three:

Besides being a wife, stay at home mom, and doing the art that I've done for 24+ yrs, I graduated from college this May 2009. (hmmm, the oldest of my class in the Dental Hygiene program :o) By the grace of God & loving support of my family! (Thanks Mr. B for always encouraging me & thanks to my kids for inspiring me & thanks to my dad for listening to me during our daily phone calls. sorry for my whine-y moments :o)***

Drawings...recently completed...

This police badge is done and ready for shipment...

This is what was said in R.W.'s correspondence for her order:

My husband is retiring this Friday after 30 years with the ..... County Police Department. When I saw your drawings, I knew we had to have one made for him! It is the most amazing thing I've ever seen!!! I've taken 2 pictures of his badge - 1 is the whole thing and the other is a close-up of the top. The top has an eagle holding what looks like a ribbon in it's beak. Pictures are attached.

I would like some calligraphy but am not sure what at this point. Suggestions? I am so excited about this - it will be a perfect gift for him! And while he's retiring this Friday, his official retirement date (and retirement party) isn't for a couple of weeks so I think this might arrive in time!

Congratulations & thank you to R.W's husband's 30 years of service & dedication to keeping their community safe. (I was asked to not show the county name). (Started on July 8th, after confirming all information, and ready for shipping today, July 11th, but post office closed before being able to get there... I'll be mailing it out on Monday :o)

This is the following message that came with the monogram order:

This is beautiful... a perfect 1st anniversary gift since tradition gift is Paper!!!...
Thank you so much! I am so excited and cannot wait for it to arrive!

Happy 1st Anniversary!

The monogram drawing was ordered on June 30th, and after confirming all the information, I was able to mail it out on July 2nd.

Thank you both for your orders :o)

Blessings & Aloha!

A few more of my photo treasures that I have found...

On my last post, I showed one of my favorite photos of my mom and that I would be putting up a few more of her (there's many more, but here's a few)...

...in the Philippines, about 23yrs old.

(such a cute figure!)

...in the Philippines, love the up-do & her dress.

...in Wisconsin (love my mom & dad!)

... on one of our vacations in Northern Wisconsin. (we had to really convince my dad to take this old-timey style photo... thank goodness, we didnt have to sit for hours like they had to do in way back when.)

top row: my brother, Leo; my hubby, Mr. B; me

second row: my sister, Megan; dad, mom, our daughter, theluckiestmrs.

third row: our daughter, littleMiss; our son, heartbreaker

*taken in 1992*

How great it is to have pictures to remember by and even through a picture, we can learn a little about the person. My mom was always so giving! And she always made sure everyone was taken care of and felt at home. She had so much energy and was always doing something...quilting, crafting, volunteering, cooking, baking, gardening, and on and on and on! (I would love to have half the energy she had :o)

Blessings & Aloha!

McKLinky Favorite Photo... and also, one of mine.

***The McKlinky Blog Hop is such a great way to meet other bloggers! Thank you to all of you that have stopped by and left a comment to say hello!

This week is: A FAVORITE PHOTO -share yours and tell a little story behind it... come on an join in! and I hope you take a peek at my other posts and photos.

As it is for everyone... wow! how hard to pick just ONE favorite photo. But this one I am posting is one of my beautiful mom.... she is about 25 or 26 yrs old here in 1965. I do miss her so. It has been 5 years and still so hard to realize that I can't just pick up the phone, ask her advice, tell her how everyone here is doing, tell her I love you... I'd love to just be able to hear her voice. I am blessed knowing that as a believer in Christ, I look forward to being with her again.

Be sure to let your love ones know how special they are!

(I'll be posting more photos that I have of her in my next post)

Blessings & Aloha!***