Craft shows, you win some you lose some.

So the craft show didn't go as well as I had hoped.  It is just the way it goes.  We did have fun and we aren't out money so that is a good thing.
 I thought I would share pictures of our booth.  I thought it looked pretty great if I do say so myself.

Magic Santa Keys 

Reindeer food and Snowman soup

Stick pony

Snowman poop, and some of the pots we made

The girly Stick pony and some of the signs

Our set up

Jewelry display

All and all it was fun.  Ready to set up again in 2 weeks

Craft Show week hectic running and last minute crafts

Bookmarks made from Hymns printed on Card stock and then painted.

Sorry I haven't posted this week, it has been a  busy busy week.  It is Craft Show week.  The week before a craft is always a busy week, hectic and crazy week.  If you are like me, you run around crazy pricing and packing up.  Not to mention the last minute panic that you don't have enough, so you run around frantically creating more just in case.   Yes even I do this every show and I have been doing this for 20 years.  This time around I did bookmarks from hymns, pebble magnets, crazy Christmas sweater jewelry, and more.  Honestly no matter how many times you do shows you always get a little frantic and worry.  I worry a lot.  This is how Tammy (Friend and craft show conspirator) and I get our Christmas money.  We love to craft and using it to make a little extra money makes sense.  I thought I would share a few of my last minute projects with you. 

Glass pebble magnets 156 in fact.

Gift card holders.

Crazy Christmas sweater necklace.  It is really beautiful.

Snow man ornaments Tammy made them and I painted them.

A display I made for jewelry and small items that get lost on the tables.   An Antique Samsonite
suitcase, made to stand open and  hooks to hold necklaces.  Tin bins for other small items and I made
Necklace stands out of cardboard and printed burlap. 

Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies

You know when Handy Hubby ask for something sweet, especially with his heart healthy diet, it is cookies I will make. He works so hard to provide for us, he deserves a treat.   Today's creations are Glazed Lemon Sugar cookies.  John loves sweet and sour so I thought lets try this.  

John and the kids loved these I would say they are a hit.  I have to say they are Yummy!!!

1 c sugar and zest of 1 lemon for the creaming process.

Juice of 1 lemon but we only need 2 tbsp at this point

Added the butter and egg and creamed together until light and fluffy.  I used my egg beaters.  For some strange reason I tend to set fire to mixers.  I go through  one every three to six months.  Love the older technology it saves my behind in the kitchen.

Mix together the dry ingredients.  Then add them to the creamed mixture slowly. 

When it is all mixed and crumbly put it in a plastic zipper bag and roll it into a log form and park it in the ice box for a couple of hours.

When the painful wait of 2 hours is up.  Take the dough out and roll it into balls.  I got 20.  Put them on a cookie sheet and throw them in the oven for 12-14 minutes at 350.

While the cookies are baking, get another cookie sheet and a cooling rack ready, it makes for cleaner glazing.  And I mixed up the super simple glaze.  I combine the lemon zest and the confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

Then juice that lemon 

I measured it out.  And John is over here licking his lips.  He likes to drink it.

This is the beautiful glaze, I used my egg beaters again.  Trusty eggbeaters.

I dipped each cookie in the glaze and set them on the cookie rack.  At John's insistence, they needed yellow sugar.  So I sprinkled that on top.  

Aren't they pretty?

Ethan, who just got back for the Event at Ozark Christian College, says they taste as
good as they look.  

Handy Hubby loved them too.


Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies

• 1/2 c butter
• 1 c Sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 c flour

Cream butter, sugar, lemon zest, Lemon juice, and egg together, in a separate bowl mix baking soda, salt, and flour together then slowly add to the creamed mixture.  When it is all crumbly and combined put in a zippy baggy and chill for 2 hours.  Then ball up and bake for 12-14 minutes at 350

The Glaze

• 2 c confectioners sugar
• juice of 1 lemon
• zest of 1 lemon

Mix together until smooth and no lumps.  

Southwest Hashbrown casserole

This morning we had a major dilemma for breakfast, sweet or savory?  Well, I settled on savory.  So I got my tell in the kitchen and started cooking.  Handy Hubby helped me out.  He grated cheese and potatoes for me as well as  went to get the eggs and other ingredients.  He also took a couple of pictures for me.  So if you see my hands doing something, he took those pictures.  These are only a smart part of the reason I call him Handy Hubby.  

With this recipe you could omit things or substitute frozen hash browns for fresh grated potatoes.  It is really simple for anybody to make.  You could even make the night before and bake in the morning, or even freeze it.   

Shred the potatoes but you can substitute frozen hash browns if you want.

Brown Sausage if it is still frozen just use a fork and scrap cooked meat off then turn and repeat until all the meat is cooked.

I love my antique egg beaters for beating eggs.  It takes less time than a mixer. 

Combine all the ingredients but 1/4 c cheese save that for the top.

When the sausage, peppers, onions, and garlic are done drain them on a paper towel to cut the grease and fat.

The sausage draining on a plate with 4 paper towels.  See all the yucky grease on the paper towel.

Mix and pour into the buttered casserole dish.

Add cheese and bake at 350 for about an hour.

Southwest Hash brown casserole

• 5-6 good sized potatoes  washed and grated (skin on or off) or one bag of frozen hash browns
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 8 oz breakfast sausage 
• 4 eggs beaten
• 1 can Rotel drained 
• 1 3/4 c shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese 
• 1/4 shredded cheddar cheese for top 
• 8 oz sour cream 
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

Add  butter and a little bit of EVOO to a skillet, then add your onions, peppers, and garlic and cook on medium heat until they are almost translucent.  Then add the  sausage  and brown it, Then drain the mixture on a plate layered with paper towels. Then in a large mixing bowl combine everything but leave out  1/4 c of cheddar cheese and mix well.  Then use butter to grease a casserole dish and pour in the mixture and top with the 1/4 c of Cheddar and bake at 350 for about an hour. 

A whole lot of shaking going on.

Last night the town I live in suffered a large 5.0 earthquake.   While I only heard of minor injuries, please pray for those people and the people who can no longer live in there homes.  There were several building damaged.  Half of the town was without power last night.  The movie theater's ceiling came in during a movie and the facades of many downtown historic buildings came crashing down.

This is bricks laying on the side walk from a building.  So sad.

I know it isn't very good but this is the top of a building where bricks have fallen from.  Some of these building are turn of the 20th century buildings.

Again not very good, it was so dark I couldn't even see to change the settings on my camera.  All power was out.  The light you see was a car parked behind me and my flash.

This is the awning and bricks from a building laying on the sidewalk.

Please pray for those affected.

1 Recipe 4 different cookies

The kids decided that Charlie (the Cookie Jar) needed to be fed again.  So I decided to experiment with a cookie recipe.  I used the standard Toll House Chocolate Chip cookie recipe, and I tweaked it and twisted it for some yumminess.  First batch I used the standard recipe as is.  I split that dough into 2 different batches.  The first half I balled up and baked according to the recipe and the second half I put in the freezer until it was frozen solid and crumbled.  The next dough I made up was still the Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe and I added 1/2 cup of cocoa powder to the wet ingredients.  Then I separated the dough into 2 different batches.   

Standard Toll House recipe with Pecans.  I live in Pecan country.  And I love pecans
 (pronounced Pa cons (at least the part of Texas I am originally from))

This is the same recipe with the cocoa powder added and some of the frozen cookie dough broken into it.

Standard Toll House recipe.  

Cocoa added and chunks of frozen standard cookie dough added into the chocolate cookies

Half of each of standard toll house cookies and 1 chocolate toll house cookies.

Chocolate toll house chocolate chip cookies.

Aren't they yummy looking?

Test strips, shots, and lots of attitude (the life of a Type 1 Diabetic)

With November being Diabetes awareness month, I thought I would share some of our journey with Type 1 diabetes. Many have called Type 1 Diabetes Juvenile or Insulin dependant diabetes.  It is different that Type 2 diabetes which gets mentioned tons in the news and on TV.  There is a big difference. Type 1 is not curable, it isn't because they ate too much sugar or are overweight, it has nothing to do with lifestyle.  Type 1 is an autoimmune disorder, which means the body's immune system attacked the pancreas and killed off the Beta Cells which produce insulin.  Most commonly it happens in families, but not always.  In our family there is no Type 1 diabetics but there are other autoimmune disorders like Celiac Disease, psoriasis, and others.

This was a few days later as she
was starting to feel better and
 got to go play in the playroom.

This was when she was first
 in Arkansas Children's
Hospital, she still felt bad and
 was swollen from the
first bit of insulin.

My daughter Sophie was diagnosed with Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes when she was 3yrs old.  As a matter of fact she was diagnosed on April 8, 2012. Which was Easter that year and also John and I's 10th wedding anniversary.  Well everybody wants to remember their 10th anniversary and it is guaranteed I will never forget it. One of the hardest things in my life was watching the helicopter take off with my daughter in it heading for Arkansas Children's Hospital.   She stayed in the hospital to stabilize her and diabetic education for 5 days.  Mom and Dad had to learn about diet, exercise, and how to give shots.  At first she was angry, she didn't understand why she had to have so many shots.  This was all hard to explain to a 3 yr old.  Play therapy helped her a lot with that, although she still had her moments. We kept saying, at least this will be all she knows, she won't remember life before.

Sophie's  first soccer game

Fast forward almost 5 years, Sophie is doing fine.  She is in second grade and thriving.  She even played soccer this year.  She runs and plays, has birthday cake, jumps on the trampoline, and acts like every other kid.  She goes to school and church activities.  She played soccer this year.  She really loved playing with the other kids. She had to have her bow in her hair and her ribbons on her shirt.  She also had hot pink soccer cleats. There is only one difference she has to check her blood sugar and get shots.

 I tell her all the time there is nothing she can't do.  Every time I hear of an actor, musician, pro athlete, or high powered professional with Type 1 diabetes we talk about it.  If you know of any let us know in the comments.   We still have our ups and downs, but for the most part she is just like any other kid.

This represents the finger sticks and
shots per day.

I thought I would give you a idea of her day.  Sophie wakes up at 6:45am every morning and checks her blood sugar.  Then eats her breakfast and gets a shot of insulin calculated to counteract the carbs (not sugar) in her food. Then about 10 am we check her sugar again and she may need a snack.  At lunch she checks her sugar again then eats lunch.  When she is done at lunch you guessed it another shot of insulin.  She checks her sugar when she gets home from school and has a snack.  At dinner she checks her sugar again, eats, and has a shot of insulin.  One final time at bed time, she checks her sugar, possibly a snack because she can't go to sleep unless her sugar is at least 125, then she gets a shot of her long acting insulin which is different from the one she gets at meals.  If she is sick or had a day of ups or downs I get up and check her check her sugar to make sure she is okay at 2 am.  Then we repeat the next morning.  She does this everyday for the rest of her life.  Insulin isn't a medicine it is life support.

So if you counted, that is a minimum of 4 shots a day and 7 finger sticks a day.  Many people are afraid of needles and many more are just nervous about shots and needles.  Think about  what Sophie or any type 1 diabetic endures in a day, week, month, year, or lifetime.   Just like the picture says, She is my super hero. She is extremely strong and awesomely brave.  She is a super hero!!!!  Just like all Type 1 Diabetics.