I am in a swap online, and my swap partner has specifically requested throw pillows for her living room couch.  We made a deal that if I make the pillow covers, she will buy the inserts for them if I make them a standard size.  That way the shipping won't be so costly.  I hope she loves them!!!  The fabric was on her wish list, so I think she will. 

And the bonus is, zippers are not that hard!!  I am thinking of  buying some smaller zippers and making some wristlets and makeup bags sometime soon!!

Here is a pic:

And here is a close up of the fabric:

I have been sewing and crafting for others so much lately (and I honeslty do enjoy it), but decided the other day to take 15 minutes to spend on my own apron.  I have had this apron laying in a stack on my sewing table 1/2 way done for 2 months or so now.  LMSO  Sad isn't it???  But alas, it is done, and I love it!!!!

Here is a pic:

Ok, I managed to mop, workout, vacuum and shower. I attempted to try and clean the kitchen chairs, but it's useless. We'll just recover them this winter.

I also got the cheeseball made for Saturday. I ground up enuf green onions and beef to make 2 more next week. I have the cream cheese and just need to get a box of crackers. We're giving one to horseman. I even have a fall paper plate to give them to serve them on. I also have the potatoes sliced and waiting to boil for au gratin potatoes. I'm desperately trying to use all the potatoes before they go bad. They are not lasting nearly as long as they did last year. They were good until Feb, but taht doesn't appear to be the case. So we're having pork chops and potatoes for supper. I can just throw them in the oven when we get back from Joey playing bells.

I also got the rugs washed.

Well, she's done it, finally!!!!!  Kristy graduated high school in 2001 with honors and went straight to NSU. Thank God that the university is about 10 minutes away across our little town. She could remain living at home and didn't have far to travel. I made all my children wait until they were 18 before getting their drivers licenses, so she had just started driving.

She started college with an open mind and no real agenda. She was taking general studies courses at first until she decided that she wanted to become a nurse. It was always something that she thought about, so nursing it was. By the middle of the first year she had switched and started taking classes that would lead her to becoming a nurse. Three years into it she got a professor that was sooo mean. When I tell you the class started with 30+ students and within two weeks had lost almost half and that my daughter came home crying almost everyday, I'm not exaggerating a bit. She stuck with it though, until the women got into her face and literally screamed and spat  on her face for something Kristy was even taught.  The professor would skip over things in the books because she "expected" the students to know these things. Well how are they going to learn things that they aren't being taught? I told her to hang on that the year was almost up, but she informed me that once your assigned a professor,  your stuck with them for two years, until you've finished the program. That wasn't an option at that point for Kristy, she couldn't take it anymore.  She left school that day and did not return for a little over a year. I was so upset to say the least.  I even called the school and told someone the story. They told me that they heard several complaints per week about this women, but that they were so short handed, they had no option but to keep her on staff.

So for a year my daughter beat herself up for what she had done to herself.  I was disappointed but never let her see that. I'm not one to push my children into things that I myself probably could not do.  I prayed that she would come  to figure out what she wanted in life and work to get it.

While she was off, she did work at several odd jobs, but nothing made her  happy.  She knew that she had made a big mistake so back to school she went. She found out that she could get back into the nursing program but with a different teacher. She was so excited. Well two more years into the program all is going well. Her grades are fantastic, she even made the Dean's list once or twice. THEN, my husbands little nephew died in my daughter's arm. He was one year old and died of heart failure earlier this year. She was giving him CPR and couldn't revive him.

OK, once again she was tramatized. I'm sure you can figure out where this is heading. Yes, she dropped her nursing classes AGAIN, BUT she dicided that she would get that diploma.

She was short only one credit to graduate. She picked up a speech class and Monday night was her last class. She has to email in her last exam and she's done.  THANK YOU JESUS!!!! LOL

She now has  a great job that she loves. She is working for a home health care company as a data entry clerk. With her partial  medical background  she is good at this job. She works with nurses and some doctors, so she is in at least the area of her choice, lol. 

She called me yesterday from work and asked me if I would go and pick  up her diploma from the school on December 16th because she doesn't want to miss work. She isn't one for big ta-dos or events, so graduating with the large class was never an option for her. So for her long six years of hard ups and downs, I  get to go pick her diploma. I won't even get a picture of her receiving it, LOL.  But, as long as she is happy, isn't that all that matters to us moms!

Don’t you love the ease of shaving with your favorite shaving cream or lotion? Well, you can get that simple time saver for less!

When your shaving cream or lotion runs out, don’t replace it. Instead use olive oil! Olive oil is a bit thicker than other oils, but also provides essential moisture to your skin. Rub it on your leg and shave as usual. If this seems like the end of this frugal practice, hold on, because you will also save on your moisturizing lotion. When you use olive oil in place of shaving cream, you won’t need to moisturize your skin afterwards. DOUBLE SAVINGS!

This tip works with men as well, and since olive oil doesn’t have an odor, no purchasing of separate products. Now that is a simply frugal savings!

These are my thoughts.

Leslie Valeska

~Contributing Writer~

Leslie Valeska is the lucky wife of Thomas.  With children ranging in ages from 4-16, she has had a lot of time to learn and experience much of the fine art of homemaking. She is a writer, speaker, and vintage seamstress. For FREE daily tips and a FREE E-zine on simple and frugal living visit her blog Journey to Simplicity. Need a source of encouragement, inspiration, and support on your journey to Godly womanhood? Visit Simple Journey Ministries (she has a FREE E-zine too!) Of course, don’t forget to visit the Simple Journey Bookstore!

Ok I am a little late, but I want to wish my 2 daughters Susan and Stacie a HAPPY BIRTHDAY.. Sue's was on saturday the 15th and Stacie's is today.. WE LOVE YOU GIRLS!!

Mom and Dad

At any rate, I'm dead. I got up and started the food and worked out and got us and everything I needed out the door. Our MOMS group made checkbook covers and a bunch of bday and anniversary cards since we were almost out. I made them legal size so envies will be cheap. We had 2 cricuts going so it went quickly. From there, I went to the pie place and scored big w/pies. Mat's youth is hosting a Thanksgiving meal on Tday so he can't help, but I offered to get 10 pies. Thankfully, they had sugar cream, pumpkin chess and german chocolate 2nds and I got 7 for $12.50. I'll get the others elsewhere. Then to the grocery for our Tday foods and then to Walmart for waht was left. Then to pizza hut for lunch (We got 2 personal pans, salad, and breadsticks for $3.20!) and finally to library. We got home about 3:40 and unloaded and I dusted and cleaned the bathrooms. Then we read a chapter in the Plymouth book. Supper is easy and I need to get it int he oven.

TOmorrow is cleaning floors, probalby seeing if I can clean the kitchen chair upholestry and making cheeseballs.;)

Oh how good it feels to sit down and look through blogs and let my mind just go...........

I want to thank those who have prayed for my mother and I.  Thank you so much.  She is in ICU still after having  surgery on October 27th.   I thought many times she was not going to make it but she has.  She should've only been in the hospital for a relatively short stay but had one complication after another with pneumonia and respiratory failiure and her body becoming septic and blood clots and the list goes on.  She had a tracheotomy and peg tube yesterday put in and will move from ICU to a long term critical care unit and then on to a rehabilitation home for a year the doctor said today.  This all has been horrifying.  My mother was a well person before all this and got around great with no serious health issues and was very active and happy.   She had just had new flooring put down in her house and had gotten new furniture for her den and sun room.  She was enjoying her new car and loved wearing stylish clothes and was in Church every Sunday to give you an idea of how Mama is and of how shocking this has been for us.

As for me?  I stayed with her constantly for 17 days and then a sister came from another state and has been with her while I came home and got some much needed rest.  I believe I have been at my breaking point and have been just teetering on the edge of somewhere I've never been before.  I covet your prayers for my mother and myself and my entire family.  

I hope, as time allows between trips back and forth, to blog about other things again.  I love my blog and I miss it.  I think it would be good for me to do so and it would help me get my mind off of things if I'm able to.  So come back and visit. 

Today's Tips:

• If you plan to make fruitcakes for Christmas, you need to make them now, this week, because most fruitcakes have to "season" for at least a month and are even better if you can let them set longer.
  
  
• I know some of you would love to give them as gifts, but I suggest starting small until you have some success with them. The ingredients for fruitcakes can be expensive. If you buy a ton of ingredients and make several batches that subsequently flop you can be out a lot of money.
  
  
• Be sure to allow you fruitcake to age for at least a month before you put it in the freezer. Freezing stops the aging (or seasoning) process.
  
  
• Always bake at low temperatures: 250 - 300 degrees is best, but some recipes do go a little higher depending on their ingredients.
  
  
• Because they take so long to bake, line the pan with 1-3 layers of brown paper (you can use a brown paper sack) to prevent them from getting too brown and drying out. Make sure the paper comes up a couple of inches past the top of the pan.
  
  
• Fill the pan only 2/3 full with batter.
  
  
• To help prevent the fruitcake from drying out, place a pan of hot water on a lower rack in the oven while it is baking.
  
  
• To test whether it is done, insert a toothpick. If it comes out moist but not gooey, it is done.
  
  
• Let fruitcakes cool on a cooling rack before taking them out of the pan. When cool, dump them out of the pan and peel off the paper.
  
  
• You can bake in muffin pans or mini loaf pans, but be sure to adjust the baking time. It will be shorter.
  
  
• Don't store in a plastic container. The fruitcake will absorb old flavors that have been left behind in the plastic. Wrap in plastic wrap; then foil. Do not wrap with the foil touching the fruitcake because in some cases it can cause a chemical reaction.
  
  
• You can take any basic recipe and change what you put in it as far as the fruits and nuts are concerned. Just be sure you use the same amounts. For example if it calls for one cup of dried pineapple, you can replace it with mango as long as you use one cup.
  
  
• Always mix the fruit and nuts with some or all of the flour for the recipe before you put it in. This keeps all these things from sinking to the bottom. Do this with any recipe that calls for fruit or nuts.
  
  
• As with any recipe, read it from start to finish before you begin!
  

Today's Recipes:

Here are 4 fruitcake recipes that you might try. The first is not your usual fruitcake, but I thought it was perfect for our web site (Poor mans fruitcake ;-) ) and the second is a more traditional one. Number 3 is a no bake and the fourth, (No Fail fruitcake) I dedicate it to all the first timers.

Poor man's Fruitcake

1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten well
4 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. each cloves, nutmeg and salt
1 1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. hot water
1 tsp. vanilla
16 oz. gum drops, no black ones
3 cups raisins
1 cup pecans

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and line two 9x5 loaf pans with brown paper. Sift flour, and spices. Cut gum drops into fourths, and mix those, the raisins and nuts with part of flour mix. Cream together butter, sugars and eggs. Alternately, add the flour mix and applesauce. Add soda to hot water and mix it into the batter. Then add the vanilla. Add gumdrops, raisins, and nuts mixture. Bake for 2 hours. If you use a tube pan instead of loaf pans bake 30-40 minutes longer.

Christmas Wreath Fruitcake

(Don't forget that you can take out anything like the dates or fruits and replace them with equal amounts of something you prefer.)

1 1/2 cup raisins
1 cup red and green cherries
3/4 cup dates, pitted and chopped
3/4 cup candied pineapple, diced
1/2 cup coconut
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
1 1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp.  lemon zest
4 eggs
2 tsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 300°. Mix first 8 ingredients. In separate bowl cream butter, sugar and add lemon zest, eggs and lemon juice. Mix into flour mixture. Bake for 2 hours.

No Bake Fruitcake

14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
2 cups raisins
2 cups mini marshmallows
2 cups candied pineapple chunks
2 cups dates, pitted and chopped
1 cup dried currants
1 cup walnuts, chopped
2 cups almonds, chopped
1/4 cup candies cherries
1/2 tsp. each nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, salt
4 cups graham cracker crumbs

Grease a 9x13 loaf pan. Mix everything well and pour into the pan. Cover and let stand in a cool place for 1 week to age.

Never Fail Fruitcake

This is a big recipe but you can easily half it. Using half, you can make 22 cupcakes but, if you do, only bake them for 40 minutes.

1 lb. candied cherries, chopped
1 lb. dates, pitted and chopped
1 lb. candied pineapple, chopped
1 lb. pecans, chopped
4 (8oz.) pkgs. coconut
3 Tbsp. flour
2 (14 oz.) cans of sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 300°. Grease two 9x13 pans and line with brown paper or parchment paper.  Mix everything very well and press into pans. Bake 1 1/2 hours. Cool and remove from pan.

This was all taken from my newsletter:

Living On A Dime