"Monday Sharing and its actually Monday"

The newest lovely place I happened upon this weekend was an incredibly bright and beautiful artists website and blog

Her name is Wyanne..

Her artistry is absolutely beautiful, whimsical and just completely amazing!

You will love her use of different mediums mixed together in one painting and she has several videos on her blog where you can watch her work and observe her applications of some techniques I have totally not seen before but was in awe of..admittedly, I think I sat for 2 hours absolutely glued and mesmerized to my screen.

I now know the next class I am going to take..!

Enjoy..

Val

"Its all about the Cake"

Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Glaze

Another recipe from my "Sweet Spitfire Mom"

In celebration of all our 

"Sweet Spitfire Mamas" everyday...

Ingredients for cake:

1/4 cup sugar for cinnamon sugar mixture only

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 med apples chopped small

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup oil

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Ingredients for Glaze:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons milk

The How To's:

Grease a Bundt pan and coat with cinnamon sugar mixture.

Mix apples, eggs, oil and vanilla with electric mixer.

Add flour, sugars, baking soda and walnuts, should you choose

 and mix well.

Pour into pan and bake 45 minutes @ 350 degrees.

Allow cake to rest in pan for 20 minutes and then invert on a pretty cake plate.

To prepare glaze:

Combine butter, brown sugar and milk in a med saucepan.

Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute.

Spoon over cake and allow to cool.

Serve wedges topped with a dollop of real whipped cream or a creamy vanilla ice cream sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar...

There you have it...some sweet for the sweet!!!!

Love to all,

Val

"On being a Mom"

My children once said to me that "Mother's Day is a Hallmark Holiday, everyday is Mother's day!"

I have to admit, at first I thought it was just their means of excuse for forgetting to call me on Mother's Day, in fact not remembering it at all...

I was hurt..

I, in fact felt a little angry..

How could these children of mine think a day in which to honor the woman who carried them for all those long months, shared her body with them for so long...cared about what she ate, how much she slept, how much exercise she got...cared about rubbing her belly so they would know she was there, talked constantly so that when they each were born they might recognize her voice, played music so they would feel her sing, read out loud so they would be born loving to read,

 (back in the day, they really did tell you to do that...it worked for one but not the other)

and for heaven's sake, went through 19 long hours of a very difficult labor and delivery...with each of them..

Not to mention the million other things I went through everyday to raise these children!!!

How could they forget Mother's Day???

Like I said, I felt hurt and angry initially anyway...

Ahhhhh, but then I remembered, with a loving heart and an open mind, mind you...

all the moments, minutes, days, years in which there were wondrous, beautiful, incredible, funny moments everyday, where these children would show me so much love....

Its in the little things you know...

Not just the kisses and hugs, although is there anything better than a small child's arms around your neck?

A nursing baby looking up at you with that amazing look of total love and contentment..

A crying child buried in your arms, seeking solace from the big, bad world..

Is there anything better than seeing your toddler daughter wear her first tutu, or see your son hit his first ball in T-Ball and then try to run the bases, but quit at 2nd and just run to you...

The first days of kindergarden when you cried leaving them probably more than they cried leaving you..

Then 6th grade was over

Then 8th grade was done and gone

Then they are walking across the stage getting their diplomas..

Then her father is walking her down the aisle to another man..

And the boy child, who is now a man, is packing up and moving away...

They are grown and gone now..visually anyway...but they remain..

Their smell is in this house, some of their things remain and I see their pictures everywhere...

And they call often and visit often..

We share so many moments still..

Moments filled with memories...

And you know what...they were right...everyday is Mother's Day...

Everyday will always be Mother's Day..

We started a journey together many years ago, just me and each of my babies..

A journey that will last a lifetime and beyond...

I would rather have that, than just one day in a year with a card or phone call...

I am a very lucky Mom...!   

"Lets Talk Books"

Did I ever happen to mention that I LOVE BOOKS???

Probably, I am pretty sure..

I admit it, books are such a huge part of my life that honestly I can't even ponder the mere idea of not having them stacked up in every room...

I even love the look of messy stacks and I am not particularly fond of messy anything, although I am working on that little part of me that becomes rather obsessed with tidiness in all things..

I divert..

As long as my memory goes back, books were always somewhere

 in my life..

And when I grew up to have my own place, they were there, stacked on the floor next to my bed, on side tables, coffee tables, book shelves, counter tops..everywhere...

Cookbooks, big picture books of photography and such, books for leisure reading, books for expanding the mind..

Books of fantasy, classics, historical fiction, science fiction, my little bible from confirmation...pretty much everything..

Well not much has changed..in fact I am running out of places to put them...

My Mr. needs to start his wood working again...sad to say..

I can't seem to part with them..

People have told me that I could make a little extra money selling them on Amazon, or adding them to a garage sale..taking them to a 2nd hand store where you can build credit to buy more books..

but then I would have to pick out some to take to the second hand store to trade...

Try as I might, I gather a few up, ones that I have read, sometimes even twice, and I put them in a neat pile to part with

And there they are, staring me in the face and they look like this little pile of rejection..not good enough to keep...

EEEEEKKKKK...I can't do it..

So I lovingly grab them and back on the stack or shelf they go..

But I think they somewhat tell a story of their owner..don't you?

You can browse someones book collection and get a sense of them..what they are interested in, what they care about, what their joys are..I like that about books...they reveal little bits about their owners without having to ask..

I wonder what my very eclectic family of books says about me??

An interesting thought..

Maybe...that I am all over the place..

Which might be a bit true..

I do tend to delve into many different interests..

I do tend to try lots of new things..like anything artistic or with my hands..

Cooking

Writing

Painting

Sewing

Crocheting and knitting

organizing

Gardening and Canning

Baking

Scrapbooking and Card Making

Frugality, thrifty living, repurposing

Christian Living

organic living

Buddhism

budgeting and financial stuff

I could go on and on and on and on...but lets just leave it at those..

Yeah, pretty much all over the place..

So basically I love the written word, but it has to be on paper between my hands so I can feel it..

No Kindles or fancy technology for me..

No books on tape...

Just plain old paper and ink..

I am tactile, thats important..

So explains a bit about this girl and her books aka friends!

So now here are the new sweet things added to my stack and I can't wait to begin..

#1

Did I also mention that I am that consumer that packaging plays a big part in some of my purchasing decisions..

I mean take a look at this book..its so beautiful on the outside that I think to myself..if they put that much thought into the outside it must be incredible on the inside..

But then again the topic is a humungous part of the decision..and I have to say, anything that Barbara Kingsolver writes is incredible and stays with you..

So my first pick for the next couple of months is

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle...

#2

I can't wait to read this book..in this world we live in, combined with 3 teenagers...take away technology...what a tale to be told.

#3

One man's promise to bring home the lost children of Nepal...

Little Princes is a true story of families and children, and what one person is capable of when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. At turns tragic, joyful, and hilarious, Little Princes is a testament to the power of faith and the ability of love to carry us beyond our wildest expectations. 

I know this will tear at my heart and give me and my Mr. one more reason on our list to embark on an adventure to Nepal...

#4

I have been eyeing this book for a month now..and now I can't wait any longer..

A must read...

www.amazon.com

The write up on amazon about this book is amazing!!!

And lastly..

For me this is another must read..!!!

My daughter and I have always been very interested in supporting woman around the world in their endeavors to start their own businesses and therefore increase the value of themselves as women in the eyes of their societies...

My daughter Erika, this year, has been very involved in donating to the cause of Micro financing for women in 3rd world countries..have I said how incredible my children are...??

Hmmm I do believe I have...many times in fact..

Well thats it for now...hope you enjoyed my little book devoted writing..

Blessings,

Val

"For the Mother who fears failure-Ann Voskamp"

Waking, grabbing my coffee, finding my way to my computer..

Mornings have come to be my new thinking and writing times as well as the checking in on my most dear fellow bloggers...I once again am given the gift of the writing of Ann Voscamp on her site www.aholyexperience.com..

This morning I was greeted with such a lovely story of Motherhood these few days before Mom's Day...

utterly beautiful, honest, humble..

Please click on the link above to share in her story...

Happy Day to all 

Val

"The Verses That Inspire Me"

I stumbled upon this incredible writing this evening and it spoke to a very protected space in my heart...

"Lead Me To The Rock"

There are times in life when you feel rejected, despised, and left alone. Negative circumstances swell above you on all sides, and leave you downcast, disheartened and dejected. Despair and gloom rise around you, to cloud your vision and choke off hope itself. Those whom you have loved most, even your best friends, have deserted you. All you have ever done in life to help others is forgotten and overshadowed by rejection and the gnashing of enemies' teeth. When you "walk through the valley of the shadow of death" (Psa 23:4), and nothing is working quite right, how do you respond? Where is happiness and contentment to be found when you find yourself in the midst of depressing despair, when it seems that all hope itself is lost?

by Jerry Gentry


Psalm 61:2


From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I..
NIV

Psalm 126:5

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy..

King James...

These verses from the bible will remain always ever steadfast in my heart.

Whispering them for my own ears in times of trouble.

Balancing the thoughts of others with what we know to be true of ourselves can be a most tricky business..

We inhabit a most cynical, cynical world..to coin a phrase from "Jerry McGuire"

Yet I find that a few moments spent exploring, absorbing and embracing the words of the bible always works their magic in easing the sometimes heaviness, if you will, of 

"the daily grind".

Its in the believing or rejecting of this life and its perils, that we find our way...

It is in the courage, the bravery to remain, soles planted firmly in the earth as the winds howl around us, that which most decidedly depicts our strength...

In the aloneness we find our purpose, in the aloneness we find our God!

These are my thoughts...presented honestly from my heart, not to necessarily 

persuade, but perhaps provide ideas for thought..

As always I wish many blessings...

Val

"Thrift store finds"

Yesterday after having a most fun day out and about with a friend I decided to stop by the local Goodwill to see whats up!

I had the best time..so many choices..what to do, what to do?

My arms were full of wonderful treasures, but I had a budget and finally settled on these..

I don't think the pictures do them justice but I am in love with all of them...

Now this little grey cutie may not seem like much, but I absolutely adore a good hoodie..snugly and warm and it zips, so no hair messing...and the kicker was it was .99 cents..in perfect condition and its already worn in and comfy...

I have been looking for a brown t-shirt type shirt..I absolutely adore the off white stitching and the little cap sleeves..1.99

This picture absolutely does not do this bag justice.  It isn't at all shiny, its just the right size, the hardware is clunky and perfect and the interior looks like it has never been used...I have been looking and looking for a bag just this perfect size with just a touch of blingy stuff, but not to much..it was 50% off and was just 4.99

And lastly my ultimate favorite find...

Wha-La

The Dress

This dress is the cutest thing..even my daughter loved it and honestly she is quite picky and doesn't really go for the Prairie Girl look, but it is just so darn adorable you can't help but love it..

it falls at just the right spot to wear with leggings and flats or tights and "Fat Baby" boots...3.99

So the total for my newest closet mates was 

$11.96 + tax = $13.00

Seriously, $13.00 for a hoodie, a cutie pie brown shirt, a very nice leather bag and that adorable dress..!!!

Did I score or what..

Love it, love them!

Me