Birthday 53

I turned 53 years old yesterday. My mind tells me I’m 23 but my body tells me otherwise. 

My daughter came home this past weekend to start the celebration with me. My husband had to work so It was just me and her. She came to the house with a handful of surprises. One included this lemon cake. 

We have been eating on it all weekend. I love any kind of cake and lemon is one of my favorite fruity flavors. 

Gifts she got me included a My Pillow, a herb growing kit, and a hair brush. 

Then she went with me to get a …….yes. A tattoo. I have been wanting a tiny white tattoo but was not sure where I wanted to put it. I decided to have it put on my finger. That’s weird because I said I would never have a tattoo on my hands. In fact, I though I was out of that faze of wanting tattoos. But like I said, my mind tells me I’m 23. 

She was excited to take me to get it. She does not have any tattoos, nor does she want one. She almost got one in college but she looked at the long time effect of having something permanent on her skin. Smart girl. 

Afterwards, we had lunch at McAllisters deli. We ate outside on the patio. We had a guest at the table. My daughter shared her lunch with him.

The evening turned bitter sweet when I got a call that my Aunt had just went to heaven. Though the news was sad, It also calls for celebration. 

Not many people can have the peace in their heart knowing where a loved one goes after life. We could all still use your prayers. 

Yesterday was my actual birthday and I had to go to work. 

When I arrived, I walked into the office to see my work cubicle decorated with birthday banners, cards and few gifts. 

It made me smile and all day long, everyone that walked by, wished me a happy birthday. It was a good day.

At the end of the day I come home to a nice steak dinner from my husband.  He gave me my birthday gift earlier this month. It was the Yeti bag you see in the picture above. I had been wanting one to carry my purse, lunch and other things I need for work. 

Next weekend the celebrations continue at my mom and dads house. Mom will have May birthday dinner. I have a sister, brother and daddy that also celebrate a birthday in May. 

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Well it’s now three days after Christmas and I am just getting around to blogging. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. My favorite time was Christmas morning when I could slow down a couple hours and enjoy a cup of coffee and homemade sausage balls. 

After a couple hours of quiet time, my twenty nine year old daughter came running into the living room to see what Santa had brought. He indeed stopped by. She got almost everything she asked for. She also surprised me and Nick with a few gifts. She got me some little things she knew I had been wanting. 

Here are a few of my favorite things.

Turkish beach towel. These towels are thin and soft. They are absorbent and light. Turkish towels can also be used for a light blanket or scarf.  

I have also been wanting some silicone cupcake liners. I got both.

There was a sweater I seen on the internet that I had my eye on and she managed to get the exact sweater I wanted.

 

She also got me some slippers, make up brushes and make up. I was happy but all I really wanted and needed was her just being here at home with me.

Her boyfriend got me this nice oil defuser. I love it and it is so relaxing. 

Something else I got for Christmas was a future new Sister in Law. My brother in law preposed to his girlfriend on Christmas Morning. I have only met her a couple of times when I visited the beach this past Summer. She is a sweet girl and I wish them the best. 

Later my Mom and Dad stopped in for a visit and then we headed off to Nicks other brothers house for Christmas Dinner and watched some of the little ones play and open gifts. 

I even snuggled my Nephews bearded dragon. I think it liked me and I’m showing some guts here. I’d much rather be snuggling a puppy. 

I slept late on Sunday and that was nice except I missed church. Then my daughter left to go back to her place and I spent the rest of the day taking down Christmas decorations and cleaning the house. 

This coming weekend will be busy again. I will be doing my traditional New years dinner. Boy I’m tired!

What are some of the special moments you had this Christmas? 

Pocket Prayer Cloths

Between working, shopping, wrapping gifts, cooking and somewhat keeping the house clean, I worked in a few minutes to create these little pocket prayer cloths. My friend and neighbor asked if I would make her a few to give to some people she knew that might want one.

Once they were completed, I held them in my hands and prayed a little prayer over them, then packaged them ready to give.

What is a prayer cloth?

A prayer cloth is used by an individual or group of people that are praying for an ailing or sick friend or family member. The prayer cloth is usually prayed upon by the individual or group, and then given to or wrapped around the sick person.

The ones I made were small pocket size. They can be kept in your pocket, or purse. They are small enough to hold securely in your hands when you want to feel comfort. 

I remember a church group giving one to my mother-in-law when she was sick. I thought it was so precious. It meant a lot to her.

My neighbor wrote me the other day and told me that the little prayer clothes were appreciated and loved by those that received one. She said it also brought tears to one of the receivers. This touches me heart. In the world we live in today, we all need to know someone out there is praying for us. 

Now keep in mind, a prayer cloth does not heal. It is only a token of prayers said for the person it’s given to. Prayers, believing, and faith in God brings healing. 

“So that from his body were brought unto the sick, handkerchiefs or 
aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of 
them”.

Act 19:12.

  

You can find the free pattern HERE.

Prayer cloths are not to be sold, only given.

 

Almost Valentines Day

Valentines Day seems to have come fast this year. I guess because we started seeing heart shaped candies and fluffy teddy bears taking over the store shelves the day after Christmas.

I like Valentines Day. Love is in the air everywhere we go. While most couples are busy every day with work and/or kids, this is the day they will find a baby sitter and spend quality time alone whether it’s at a fancy resteraunt or in their den watching a movie.  Nick and I never really get into the whole candy and roses thing with each other but we do try to go out for a nice Valentines Dinner. I’m not sure where we will end up going but I look forward to it. 

Here is a little token I have kept for years that my daddy got me one Valentines Day. It came in a little red velvet rose shaped ring box. It’s holographic and says “I Love You”. 

I never remember my parents really making a big deal out of Valentines Day with us kids but I do remember mom always made sure I had valentines for class mates. I would spend hours trying to figure out which ones I wanted to give who.  I also remember her making red heart shaped pin cushions for my teachers. They were pretty and gained me a few brownie points. 

I always make sure to get my daughter a little Valentines gift each year. This year we got her a few of her favorite snacks and some candy. I wanted to do more but she came home to visit before I could finish putting more things together for her and I knew I wouldn’t be seeing her until after Valentines Day. 

Instead of flowers, we got her an Aloe plant. She is always calling us upset that she burned herself while cooking or hot ironing her hair. I also think it will look sweet in her little apartment. When she lived at home, she always woke up to heart shaped pancakes. Now she has her own Valentine sweetie so we will not be seeing her until next week. 

For myself, I usually like to find a fun Valentine shirt to wear. I found this adorable heart sweater on Poshmark. 

Poshmark is a website where you can buy and sell your new or gently used clothes and shoes. I actually have my own posh closet where I will sell some of my unwanted clothes. I haven’t sold much but It’s a fun way to make a little extra money. You can find my closet HERE.

I had some extra yarn on hand so I crocheted a matching hat. Pretty cute huh?

For Valentines Day dinner, I have a red sweater to wear. I rarely wear red but I make an exception for Christmas and Valentines Day. 

Handmade Loofah Soap

I promised a post about the outcome of my Loofah harvest.

If you have been following my blog then you know I grew a small loofah garden this past summer. Loofah is a natural sponge. It grows on a vine and in the same family as the gourd. They grow large and dry out in the Fall. Once they skin is hard and dry, you peel it off to reveal a loofah sponge ready to remove seeds, rinse and use. 

My harvest was small. I had many loofahs appear but never reached maturity. I blame it mostly on the size of the trellis I had it to climb. They need a lot of space to spread. I was a little disappointed. I wanted to have an abundance of sponges to share, but it didn’t happen. 

I found a way to share the small harvest of loofahs with friends by cutting them into pieces and making them into soaps (not my friends, my loofahs). For Christmas I was able to give each neighbor a couple homemade loofah soaps and a set of my crochet washcloths as gifts. They also received homemade cookies. 

The process was easy. 

I first had to find a a silicon soap mold which I ordered off ebay. Then headed out to Hobby Lobby for some melt and pour soap. I chose the natural goat milk soap base. I have never made soap before. I could never accept the process of buying soap to make soap. It just doesn’t make since to me. 

But I did it anyway.

I placed a cut of loofah into the molds. Then I melted the soap and added a drop of fragrance. I used some soap fragrance but you can use essential oils just as well. I poured the melted soap over the loofah in the mold. I actually only filled the molds half way as I failed to get enough soap. I refused to buy anymore and made due with what I had. Once the soaps dried, I popped them out of the mold and they were ready for use.

My husband was my guinea pig. He used one for a week in the shower. He said he liked how soft it made his skin and liked the scrubby texture of the loofah. 

I want to grow more loofah this year on a bigger trellis. They were fun to watch grow and attracted lots of friendly bees. 

If you would like to grow loofah this summer, I have a few packs of loofah seeds for sale if you would like to purchase them from my  Etsy shop or contact me via email or contact form. 

The money made from these will go toward my garden fund.

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