Behide but Moving Forward

Boy I am behind on my blogging. I have just been so busy. If you see my house right now you would know it’s not that I have been busy cleaning. My home has been neglected too. 

I just got a few minutes here at 10:46 at night to type a few words and read a few blog post. I can barely keep my eyes open. I will eventually read through all the ones I follow. It may not be until the weekend but I will get there. 

I have a good excuse why I haven’t been actively blogging these past two weeks..

1. I have been reading my Bible. I am trying to read through the New Testament. I am in Acts now. I have been reading this instead of blogs. I read some in the mornings and some in the afternoons. That’s when my eyes start feeling heavy. They say that reading the Bible will do that to you.

I have to say, “It is hard to read the Bible”. I am a terrible reader and have trouble understanding what I read. Add those biblical words and names and my brain becomes mush. I just hope it’s all sinking in and will come to me later when I need guidance.

2. I started a new job. I have kept hush about this one for a while until I actually started. I started Monday.

I accepted the job offer the first of July and put my notice in at the accountant office on July 5th. My last day there was last Wednesday. It was a nice place to work but I just couldn’t turn this one down as it has benefits. I am now an Administrative Support Specialist with the County. I will be working in children and family services. I think I'm going to enjoy it and so far everyone seems really nice and helpful. 

I can’t wait to go in tomorrow to see what else I can learn. 

I plan to get back to blogging regularly. Life just throws me loops sometimes and the older I get, the harder it hits. 

I need more hours in the day. 

Have you ever read through the Bible?

Do you read the book or use an app?

I have several Bibles in the house but I choose to use the Bible App as I can just click on the app anywhere I am and start reading. 

I love the plans and other features. 

Handmade Earrings

I haven’t been doing a lot of crocheting lately. I just ran out of ideas on things to make. I sell what I make but no one seems to be buying so it was costing me more to make things than I was collecting. So I have given it a break until some things start to sell. 

However, I have been playing around with macrame. I remember my grandmother and aunt used to make macrame items back in the 70’s. They made key chains, plant hangers and pocketbooks. They would go around in the laundry mat and sell things. Grandmaw would at least make enough money to buy us ice cream because thats where she would take us after she sold a few of her crafts.

I guess it’s in my blood because I have been making these macrame earrings. I love the boho look and they are quick and fun to make. 

Have you ever macremed anything?

Do you own a piece of macrame? Like …..The owl. Hahaha. I think everyone had a plant hanger or owl in the 70’s.

Email me if your interested in a pair of these earrings or you can find them in my Etsy shop.

Purple Potatoes

Ok, here’s a new one. Purple potatoes. Of course when I seen these in the produce department at my local grocery store, I had to get a couple to try. I love trying new foods. Especially if they are healthy. 

Purple potatoes not only add color to your plate but they have lots nutritional value.

They offer vitamins B6 and C.

They are less than 100 calories each and less than 1 gram of fat. That would register as zero fat on the label. 

These potatoes have more potassium than a banana and better for blood sugar than a white potato. 

Purple potatoes are packed with antioxidants and also helps with inflammation.

I loved the color. The skin is purple or blackish and vibrant purple on the inside even after cooking it. 

I can imagine purple mashed potatoes, purple fries or better yet, purple potato salad. I think kids would love it.

What do purple potatoes taste like?

They are sweeter than the white or yellow potato but not quite as sweet at the orange sweet potato. They have a nuttier, earthier flavor than other potatoes. I thought they were good. 

We cooked them in the microwave until soft then put them on the grill to make the skin tasty. I added lots of butter just like any other potato. We also had steak and veggies. 

It was fun to eat and nice knowing I was putting something healthy in my body. 

Have you ever heard of a Purple Potato? 

Trash to Treasure

They always say “One mans junk is another mans treasure”. I can prove it and it’s not the first time. 

We set out to take our normal afternoon walk. The next street over was a house that had just sold and they were gradually throwing trash to the side of the road on Sunday evenings. The trash truck would pick up on Mondays. This day as we walked past, I saw an old vintage step stool waiting for the big truck to come along and scoop it up. I pointed it out to Nick and said “I like that old stool. I could fix that up”. He just sort of shrugged his shoulders and had a look on his face that suggested I didn’t need any junk at that house. We kept walking and I didn't think much more about it. 

Before we turned down our road to finish our 2 mile walk, he said “Do you really want that stool? If you do, we can walk back over there and get it.”

Of course I said yes and we headed that way. I was hoping it was still there and it was. 

 

As I was carrying it back home, I was telling Nick all the ideas I had for it. I figured if I look at it a while and decide I didn’t want it, I would just throw it back to the curb or see if my neighbor wanted it for her little antique booth. 

I decided to keep it and use it as a plant stand on my patio. It looked in pretty bad shape and I was losing any hope that it would look good enough to ever bring into the house. I took my chances anyway and we headed to the hardware store. I needed some sand paper, paint and new leg tips. I also went to the dollar store and picked up a cheap thin rug to use for a step cover. 

2 hours and 10 dollars later, It did not look like the same stool. My idea worked. 

 

The rust was only surface rust and I was amazed at how well it painted. It took less than a can of spray paint and only one coat. 

I still plan to use it as a plant stand on my patio but I have it inside for now while I admire how cool it is.  

Cookie Dough Energy Bites

I am not a cookie dough eater. Home made cookies have egg in them so when I think of cookie dough (or any dough), I think of raw eggs. No thank you.

We used to lick the beaters when mom would make a cake but that was from the homemade frosting. Yum yum, that brings back some memories.

Now days you can find “eatable” cookie dough in tubs at the grocery store. I assume there are no raw egg in this type. I have never had intentions of trying it but I know a lot of people that love cookie dough. There is even cookie dough flavored ice cream, yogurts, and cereals. 

If you like cookie dough, you are going to love this recipe I’m going to share with you. This cookie dough is made with only 4 ingredients and no eggs included.  

I am always looking for a small finger tip snack and this is perfect and so easy to make. 

Cookie Dough Energy Bites

1 Cup- Almond Flour (or coconut flour).

2/3 Cup- Peanut Butter.

2 Tablespoons Honey. 

1 Tsp. Vanilla (optional).

1/4 Cup- Chocolate Chips ( minis are best).

Mix peanut butter, honey and vanilla until smooth.

Add Almond flour and mix/kneed until combined.

Add chocolate chips and mix until combined.

Roll into 1 inch balls.

Store in airtight container in fridge. 

Beware: It’s easy to eat too many of these. Each ball only has about 3 grams of protein and a little over 100 calories each, so take it easy if your trying to drop a few pounds. In fact, you may need to hide them from yourself. After one bite, you will get the urge to eat a few more. 

Cookie dough lovers, I guess you can just keep it in a bowl and eat it with a spoon. 

Independence Day Weekend

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. I had a good weekend. It was a long weekend because my work place closed the office on Friday for the Holiday. My vote was to close on Monday but I was out numbered. However, having Friday off worked out great for me. 

My husband had to work on Friday so I headed down to Charlotte to spend some time with my daughter since she had the day of too. The plan was to get some bagels for breakfast around the pool at her little apartment. That didn’t work out as planned because it rained. So we had breakfast inside. 

After breakfast she wanted to take me to place on the other side of town called Camp North End where there were shops, art displays and restaurants. Once we got there, most of the shops were closed but we had a good time walking around and looking at the unique setting. 

Afterwards, we grabbed some lunch and the sun finally decided to make an appearance so we run out to the pool. 

We didn’t swim but instead, we sat around and talked about work, boys and fashion as we giggled at the little green lizards running back and forth under our chairs. 

It was a nice day.

Saturday, my husband had the day off so we got up early and went out for breakfast. He wanted to visit a little underground breakfast shop called “The Notary”  in the basement of one of the hotels in town. The food was delicious and the coffee is the best. I highly recommend the grits. 

On Sunday, The fourth of July, I was able to squeeze into my Independence Day dress that mom made me over 25 years ago and headed out to church for a wonderful service. You can always find my church services broadcasted on Facebook at “West Franklin Baptist Church”. 

Later that afternoon me and Nick grilled out steaks and watched random fireworks going off around the neighborhood. It was just enough to enjoy before we called it a day.

Now Back to the work week. 

Did you go anywhere to watch fireworks or did you stay in?