Although I have been quiet lately, I haven’t disappeared. I have just been caught up in the whirlwind of having twins that will graduate from high school next month. It has been very busy around our house lately but very … Continue reading
Many of us on Valentine’s Day indulge in some sort of chocolate dessert. My husband and I prefer the warm gooey kind of chocolate as compared to a Forest Gump box of chocolates. Mr. 25thHG’s favorite dessert is Chocolate Chunk … Continue reading
Learning more about photography is one of my favorite things to do in my free time. Wow, free time! That just seems funny to even say “free time” during the holidays because I haven’t had any free time except when … Continue reading
There are so many reasons why I love this time of year. I started a tradition a long time ago after I lost my father much too early to cancer. He passed away in June and when it was time for Christmas, I decided to adopt an ”angel” off the Angel Tree at a local department store in his memory.
As I lost additional family members through the years, I would adopt additional angels in their name. I also asked my friends to support their local Angel Tree instead of giving a gift to me. I started this tradition over 20 years ago and last year, my husband and I started a new tradition. We now adopt a family and help them at Christmas. As much as I love opening gifts with my family, I have to admit that when I deliver the gifts to our adopted family, sharing that joy with them is my favorite part of Christmas.
This year, we have a single mom and her 12 year-old daughter, whom I’ll call Jill. Jill’s wish this year was to have her room painted pink and she also wanted a zebra comforter set with matching curtains. Two weeks ago we delivered that comforter set and curtains along with a stocking full of girly things and some clothes for her. We also picked out some things for her mom too. We contacted our local painter, Bear Mountain, and told them about Jill’s wish. Bear Mountain donated the labor and most of the paint and Sherwin Williams also contributed some of the paint. Bear Mountain painted the entire room including the ceiling. On Christmas morning Jill, will have her Christmas wish wrapped in her new comforter set in her pink room! My sincere thanks go out to Bear Mountain Painters and Sherwin Williams for their generosity.
Giving just feels good especially this time of year. There are so many ways you can give of yourself and giving doesn’t always mean money. You can give of your time through a charity or mentoring. Find a cause you believe in and make a difference.
One charity that I think is fun and a little different is Kiva. On Kiva, you can make loans of all sizes to entrepreneurs all over the world. Your loan is typically repaid a little at a time. I wait until the loan is halfway re-paid and then I loan it out to another entrepreneur.
One of my New Year’s resolutions this year will be to give more of myself next year. I lost a dear friend last week. She was sick for only a few weeks and unfortunately I didn’t get to say goodbye. She gave so much of herself to our church and to our outreach projects. I will miss her so much. She was someone I always admired and so I want to give more of myself next year, in her honor.
We can all make a difference in this world. It doesn’t matter how small or big the gift. It is just a matter of reaching out
That is the question that Linus asks in The Great Pumpkin. This cartoon is one of my favorite holiday cartoons because I love that Linus never gives up on his hope to have a visit from The Great Pumpkin. We … Continue reading
How does it happen every year? I think there is some sort of conspiracy that the days get shorter around October 1st and then the holidays just suddenly are upon us. Consider this your warning….in a little over eight weeks we will be celebrating Christmas. Don’t take me wrong, I love this time of year. I just wish my new iPhone assistant Siri could take over and do the prep work for me!
On a recent beach trip with some college friends of my husband’s, one of the wives was in charge of breakfast the first day. We always sleep in on vacation so Mr. 25th Hour Gal and I were the last two up that day. We were told that the Beach Breakfast Mix was in the refrigerator. I was really hoping it wasn’t something healthy. Not that I have anything against healthy eating, I just wasn’t in the mood that Saturday morning for granola and fruit.
The Beach Breakfast Mix was a wonderful mix of eggs, bacon, cheese and spices. You spread this on an English Muffin, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and broil it for about 5 minutes or until it is golden brown. I loved it and it was just what I needed that morning. The best part was that everyone had a hot breakfast whenever they woke up that day. No cold leftovers for those late risers.
After returning home, it dawned on me that this would be perfect for the holidays when we have a lot of family in town and everyone seems to eat breakfast at different times. Especially great for Thanksgiving morning when Mr. 25th Hour Gal is preparing the Turkey and I am making endless casseroles and desserts (I don’t want anyone to go hungry at my house).
So, here is the recipe. Thanks to Mary E. for sharing.
The weekend is finally here and the weather is beautiful. Why don’t you grab the family and do something unique this weekend and visit the new baby Zedonk in Dahlonega at the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve?
If you are asking yourself….what is a Zedonk? Well, it is a really cute offspring from a donkey and a zebra. In 2010, Pippi the zedonk was born at the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve. You might have seen Pippi in the AJC or featured on one of several TV news shows. This past August, Pippi’s little sister was born. As you can see in the picture she has striped legs and ears like her zebra dad.
The Preserve features other animals too. On our recent visit there we saw white Bengal tigers, bears, monkeys, alligators, turtles, birds and more. It takes about an hour for a leisurely stroll around to get a close-up view of all the animals at the Preserve.
After your visit to the Preserve, you can always have lunch in Dahlonega or visit a winery or even pan for gold! They are located at 469 Old Dahlonega Hwy.in Dahlonega and they are open everyday from 10 – 4pm.
Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!;
The fabric drawer liner project is complete! I stopped by the fabric store on Saturday and picked up some fabric at 30% off and they also had the fabric stiffner. I cut the fabric into four smaller pieces. I used a large mixing bowl to dilute the fabric stiffner. Don’t follow the directions on the bottle! Follow the directions from the blog link on BlueEyedYonder. She recommended diluting the stiffner much more than the directions on the bottle and this is important. You only need the fabric to be slightly stiff. If you use too much of the product the fabric is very difficult to iron flat and it is just too stiff. The picture above is the finished product!
Now that I have the drawers lined, I needed to move my clothes from my old dresser to the new one. I don’t have as much space in the new one so I needed to consolidate and eliminate. I really think you have to be in the right mind set to eliminate. I am on a mission to get rid of clutter and things I don’t use so bit by bit, I am getting there.
My inspiration for this project is from my friend Laura. Laura is one of the few people that may be more organized than me!! It is a sickness really but it works for me. Laura sent me a few pictures of the way she organizes her dresser drawers by rolling everything instead of stacking. I had always previously used the stacking method but when you stack, you can’t see what is underneath. With the ‘rolling’ technique, you can see everything in the drawer clearly and things just slide in and out without disturbing the entire stack.
As you can see in this picture, I have rolled my T-shirts in two rows on the right and then the two smaller rows on the left are my tank tops and camisoles. Why didn’t I think of this sooner!?
I am loving my new drawer liners and my new organized drawers. Tomorrow I head to the Abba House thrift store to drop off my donations.
More About That 