The Little Tree

Gotta tell ya about this.

I did much work today. Much too much work I think!


See this tree? Well a few weeks ago I bought about 14 of these, two are getting very close to dead and so I decided to get someone to dig my holes for me and then I could do the rest.



Did you hear me say 14? Let's just say un-digging a hole is not as easy as it looks. I did eight trees, (the captain helped with the other 6 the next day and he was done in no time) one of them was a possible waste of my strength and energy since it's looking very dead at this point. I'm going to pray over it, and it'll probably turn out to be the biggest one.



Even before the digging though, I went to Lowe's and bought 7 bags of this top soil and 7 bags of manure, and 2 bags of potting soil. They told me 1/2 soil & 1/2 manure for each tree. So I switched my cart for a double decker shelf on wheels looking thing, and loaded all 16 of my 40 lb bags up onto it, then I dragged it down the aisle until I saw a super turbo trolley thing, this was like a lumber hauling cart, just what I needed! So I re-loaded all the bags of, well, crap, onto the new cart from heaven and hauled it right up to the check out. The lady was mortified to see me. I guess she had assumed that I was asking about the amount of dirt I needed because I was buying the trees. So I explained to her that I already had my trees at home and now wanted to plant them, in dirt. She humbly said that a guy could have "quick loaded" them right into my car and pointed out pallets and pallets of the same stuff I had just spent 15 minutes tossing back and forth. My eyes crossed. Then I went home and made 16 trips back and forth across my yard, 40 lbs was about my max at that point, delivering the bags to the approximate area that I thought I'd need them.

By then the sun was high and burning my neck, but I was not ready to give up. All I could think about was that poor tree, dying in the heat with shrivled roots and no one to care for it. Must. Plant. Trees. Nothing else mattered, until that brown little guy was in the ground, after that, it was all about me again, those other green giants could wait!

Strawberry Banana Cupcakes

These are the cupcakes I told you about long ago! V8 and fresh strawberries make the major difference in these cupcakes from a box! As you can see, this is your average cake mix. I replaced the water with the V8 Fusion and added about 4 lg strawberries.



The batter was such a yummy looking pink and it smelled so good! I'm a typical over-stirrer and so I really tried to watch that this time because I wanted to see what kind of difference the ingredience really would make.



I used a regular (or not so typical since I seem to make it up as I go along)buttercream frosting, since it's my favorite and because I love the way it pipes on and looks so pretty. The batter turned out beautifully though lost a lot of the pink hue, I suppose I should have tried it with egg whites only so the yellow of the yolk didn't take over the light pink... I'll try that again and let you knowhow it goes.


Although I did not see my mother-in-law, this was in honor of her birthday.


That brings up a question I have in my mind now and then. I've been saying my "mother-in-law" when it's really my father-in-law's wife, and not actually my husband's mother?


I just wish she could have tried one!

Strawberry Banana Cupcakes

These are the cupcakes I told you about long ago! V8 and fresh strawberries make the major difference in these cupcakes from a box! As you can see, this is a typical cake mix. I replaced the water with the V8 Fusion and added about 4 lg strawberries.



The batter was such a yummy looking pink and it smelled so good! I'm a typical over-stirrer and so I really tried to watch that this time because I wanted to see what kind of difference the ingredience really would make.



I used a (or not so regular since I seem to make it up as I go along) buttercream frosting, since it's my favorite and because I love the way it pipes on and looks so pretty. The batter turned out beautifully though lost a lot of the pink hue, I suppose I should have tried it with egg whites only so the yellow of the yolk didn't take over the light pink... I'll try that again and let you knowhow it goes.


Although I did not see my mother-in-law, this was in honor of her birthday.



That brings up a question I have in my mind now and then. I be saying my "step-mother-in-law" when it's really my father-in-law's wife, and not actually my husband's mother?


I just wish she could have tried one!

Lake of the Ozarks

After taking my step-son home last Tuesday I found myself driving to one of my favorite destinations, at a very high rate of speed! My sister-in-law and my brother had each, separately, urged my mother and I to accompany their adorable family on a boat ride with them! So, off we were, to The Lake of the Ozarks! Here's what it looked like from my angle:


While sailing along (not really, we had a motor) I captured a quick shot of the Assemblies of God camp grounds, where I attended 5 exciting days of youth camp with all my friends each year of my teen years, and then a extra year as a Jr counselor because I just couldn't leave. Come to think of it, I guess I'm old enough to be a regular counselor...camp never has to end!

and "The Blob" where the heights were higher and the water was deeper! The idea is that one person hops off the platform and onto the blob, then slides, crawls, slips, claws all the way out to the other end where and when, if they make it that far, another person (or three) hops off the platform and catapults the first person right off the end, up into the air, and down into the deep, blue, sea. Or lake, but when you're in it, there doesn't seem to be a difference.

Doesn't seem that intimidating you say? Well, my friend, it's bigger up close, you gotta give it a try.

Check out this new development called Atlantis Island. It looks pretty impressive to me!

From what I understand, there's a ferry that can take you from the mainland (where you would park your car) to the island, if you didn't bring your boat, that is.

This is a local hot spot called Lazy Gators, which is actually a part of Shady Gators. It looks like a nice way to enjoy the sunshine or the shade.


Here's a relaxing view to leave you with

Wish you were there!

Oh yeah, neither the Lake of the Ozarks, Assembly of God church camp, Atlantis Island, nor Shady/Lazy Gators asked me (or paid me) to tell you about this. I just thought you should know.

What's Goin' On?

So, I didn't go to Silver Dollar City last Thursday, which was a downer but just as well since I had big plans for the long weekend and was feeling crummy already!

Instead, I prepared my house and watered my plants and packed the car, I was on time when I reached my destination! You can guess at how often that happens, since I'm mentioning it, huh?

My first stop was my step-son's house (that's him up above right after I married the hottie he's walking next to), he hopped into the car and we then headed off to a drive-in movie with my mom, sister-in-law, nieces and nephew. We then stayed with my brother and sister-in-law for two nights! The little girls always wish for a sleep-over that lasts for two nights. So the kids got cousin time, played inside and out-side, watched movie after movie, and ate and ate and ate. I kissed little girl cheeks and held the most handsome baby boy, ever (since my last two nephews were babies), and got in some much needed snuggling with my step-son. He's 10 years old now but he and I are the kind of people that like to sit CLOSE to the people that we love.

We came home on Saturday night after a little shopping at my favorite store for a birthday gift for my mother-in-law. I'd show ya what I got her but it's already wrapped! Wrapping is really my thing so I'm usually inspired to get it done.

She and my father-in-law recently bought a new bistro table and chairs set for their covered patio so this was purchased with that in mind. We'll take it by on our way through their town on Tuesday when I take my step-son home in time for Summer School. The long square package is a set of 4 unbreakable tumblers, and the long round one is sparkling pink lemon aid in a beautiful bottle. The cupcakes are something I felt the urge to try out. They're strawberry, banana cupcakes with a butter cream frosting (my fave after cream cheese). I'll tell you all about it tomorrow or the next day. You'll see below that I didn't make them from scratch, I just had an itch to do some baking.


After we came home Saturday night, we went to see a movie! We saw Alice in Wonderland, though I had seen it with my mom last week, my step-son had not. It was well worth the second viewing. Even better the second time, I think!

Today is Sunday and I slept later than I am willing to admit. Then I did the usual stuff that happens when one comes home from a little trip. After that, I made those fresh strawberry cupcakes (which didn't turn out very pink). But then... we had a little party in the backyard with some of the neighbor boys. Have I mentioned that we don't have any girls in this neighborhood? So we built a fire in the pit, the boys roasted some beef franks, then some marshmallows and we made s'mores.


It was such a good time that I'm willing to try it again tomorrow night! I think we'll have a little camp-out in our back-yard.

So Much To Say!

Oh do I have a lot to tell you! I can't tell you today though because (as you can see) it's after 1am!
Tomorrow I am going to Silver Dollar City!


Then I'm going to pick up my step-son and visit my neices for a long weekend. They've been hounding me to produce him!

I made a triple chocolate, triple layer, cake tonight that I'll blog about here in a day or two. Here's a preview to hold you over. The pic is fuzzy but I already gave the cake away, so it's the only one I've got!

I'm going to make another dessert this weekend that I'll tell you all about as well! It has cream cheese in it, that's all I can say.

I took some photos at a conservation type park the other day that I'd love to show you. I don't know how you'd feel about a scenery post, what do you think?

Other than that... hmmm, well we'll just have to see what comes along!

My Favorite Things

Marshall's has the best stuff! Each time I walk through their doors I am charmed by an array of beautiful items that I must possess! If I were to buy out the store of each object that pleases me, here's where I would begin:

I love this bird. I have a couple similar to him, which I was given by my good friend, but he calls to me and begs to come home with me. How can I explain to him that I mustn't take home each bird I meet?

How about this guy? Hmm? What shall I tell him? "My long and skinny friend, you may live on my front step. Where you may greet each visitor that passes you with your ducky lipped smile. Thank you. Oh, and bring your blue neighbor."
Would you like to come sit on my back patio with a cup of coffee? These are the seats we will sit in. If I could just get them into my car. All four of them please.
Pillows. The chocolate, the roses, and the cream colored bouquet beneath the roses will welcome you from atop my very high, king sized bed. They will match the window treatments and the chocolate coverlet on the bed. "Come home with me pillows, come home."