Great Day For a Picnic

Well, today we packed it all up and headed home from the beach. The weekend was too short. The weather was windy and cold but we made the best of it. After seeing some kids shoulder deep in the ocean, I had to test the waters myself. Suprisingly, it didn't feel that cold.

Like always, the day you have to go home turns out to be the prettiest. 

The drive home was a nice one though there was quite a lot of traffic. There was a large car show at Myrtle beach this weekend. We did not go to it but we did see a lot of old fancy cars while we were on the road. All the way home we would call out the year and make of the old cars we passed. I guessed a lot of them right. 

We have our favorite half way stop in Mcbee right outside of Darlington called McCleod Farms. We decided to pass up all the fast food places and have a picnic outside of McCleods. It was sunny and 62 degrees. Perfect for a picnic. First I went to the counter and ordered an apple crisp. That intitled me to some plasticware to use on the Dukes mayonnaise for a tomato sandwich. I cut the tomatoes before we left. You just never know when your gonna pull over and make a mater samich.  

 

Nothing beats a good tomato sandwich,  and "it has to be Dukes".

I remember when I was younger, when we would take family trips, we would find a roadside picnic table where dad would pull off the road and we would all gather around for a picnic lunch. I rarely see those anymore. They used to be everywhere. 

We enjoyed our picnic. We talked and laughed and we watched the birds wait for us to finish so they could grab some bread crumbs. The picnic tables sat next to the tractors outside a vintage museum so we walked over to take a look. I'm always fascinated with these for some reason. 

 

Nick snapped a shot of me playing around on one of the tractors before we got back out on the road. 

 

Until next time, its back to work come Monday and ill be counting down the days until our next trip. 

At the Beach

Hope everyone had a fun and fabulous St. Patricks Day!

It was an absolutely wonderful day for me. Why? Because I took a day off and we decided to head on down to the beach.

But first I had to have my traditional St. Patrick's Day breakfast. I love me Lucky Charms. I absolutly could eat a whole box in one sitting.
Luckily, they make these single serving sizes.

 

We had been planning on going to the beach this weekend for a while but the crazy weather decided to turn cold on us and we were not sure if we wanted to go this weekend or the next. Next weekend looked more rainy but warmer. After thinking about it, we decided to go on down this weekend. A cold day at the beach is better than a cold day at home if you ask me.

This is our first trip of the year. We hooked up the water and plugged in the electricity. Then we did an inventory of things we needed for the season and headed out for a nice walk. We will head out to Walmart after dinner and pick up the things on our list.

Its always nice to walk around the campground and we never fail to find friends or family staying at the same park. Since the car show is this weekend down in Myrtle Beach, we are seeing a lot of nice old cars around too.

After lunch, I was looking for something St. Patrickish to get into. We walked up to the nearest ocean side bar which was about three hotels down the coast from us. 

 

We found a warm spot in the sun and an enjoyed a little rest with a view. Nothing green to see here.

Afterwards, we walked about half a mile down to my brother in laws place to pay them a little visit. 

Saturday morning we woke up to a cloudy day. It was cold. That did not stop us from getting our walk in. We could see the sun popping through the clouds. 

 

Now we are cuddled up in the camper where its warm so I decided to write this little post. We hope it will warm up, but I doubt it as the wind is riping through the air. This is definatly not a great weekend to catch some warm sun, but its still a getaway we needed badly. 

 

Later we plan to go out to a nice dinner and maybe a cruise down the boulavard. 

Frankincense

Frankincense- "A wise mans cure".

I know most of you have heard of Frankincense. It's such a precious oil, that it was brought to baby Jesus as a gift the day he was born.

I bet Mary and Joseph used some of it. 
It's was known for its sweet aroma and many medical uses.

 

I have been curious about the benefits of all these essential oils I've been hearing about. It seems like everyone I know is a distributor of  Young Living Essential oils.
I read up on a few of the oils they offer and one that struck me the most was the Frankincense .

Funny story:
When I was little, I thought the three wise men brought Jesus Gold, "Frankenstein" and Myrrh.
Sometimes when I talk about Frankincense, I will still say Frankenstein just for the fun of it.

I have friends and family members that sell these essential oil products and when my dad heard about it and attended some of the informational classes, he was sold. He is now a distributor.
My dad is retired but he is a professional salesman. He has sold everything from chemicals to grave lots. He is also a certified insurance salesman and now for fun, he sales essential oils.

He called me up the other day and said "I'm coming by your house. I have you some Frankincense". He pulled in the driveway like a wise man (except he was driving a Dodge not a donkey) and handed me a tiny little bottle of oil. I could not wait to use it as it has a relaxing and calming aroma.
I ran into the house with my little bottle of potion and added a few drops to my diffuser I already had as a gift from my sister a couple years ago.

I use the diffuser in my powder room as I'm getting ready for work each morning. The Frankincense smells so good and the mist has some positive effects on my mood. Unfortunatly I don't want to leave the room therefore making me late for work each morning. ha.

Here are a just a few benefits of Frankincense oil:

• Immune System: It's a natural antibiotic. My cousin puts a drop on the roof of his mouth each day and has stopped taking medication. His last blood tests came back perfect. 
• Oral health: Prevents bad breath, mouth sores, and cavities. You can actually make your own toothpaste with a drop of this oil and baking soda. 
• Healthy Skin: Its also good for the skin as it can contract muscles and blood vessels to reduce wrinkles. Inhaled, or applied to skin it can also reduce acne, boils, scars and stretch marks.
• Menstrual Periods: It can relieve pain, nausea, fatigue and mood swings. "Gimme!"
• Digestion: Gives intestinal relief from gas, uneasiness and indigestion. 
• Stress and Anxiety: Promotes deep breathing and relaxation.
• Cancer: It regulates estrogen hormones to reduce cyst and tumors that can cause uterine cancer.
• Respiratory: Soothes coughs and bronchitis.
• Disinfectant: Keeps air clean in your home.

The list goes on......

So far for me, its worked for a mood enhancer and good smell. There are no known side effect and its all natural. 

My husband plans to rub some on his shoulder next time the pain flares up. It's also suppose to work for muscle pains and arthrist. 

Did you know there are over 188 references in the Bible pertaining to essential oils? That should say something there.
I'm a believer that natural is better and if I can find some cleansing, refreshing, calming and relief without medicine or chemicals, I'm going to try it.

The next oil I would like to try is Thieves. I hear that's a good one for allergy sufferers. I can really put that one through the test.


Note: I am not affiliated or getting any compensation for this post from any essential oil company or distributor. Information found in this post can be found online from various searches including:

Organic Facts
Young Living Essential Oils
Frankincense and the Bible
Young Living Essentials on Face Book

Sweet Spinach Muffins

I'm getting all green for St. Patricks Day. 

I have a new green shirt and even painted my nails green. Its a different look from the usual red and do not plan to get used to it. Im not a fan of the color green but its fun to celebrate St. Patricks Day. 

As the day approaches, I'll be adding more to the list.

Last night I decided to make these green spinach banana muffins. They are so good! I guess they are healthy since they include a whole bag of spinach and a couple bananas in the mix.

 

These muffins were delicious with the texture of a cupcake. The main flavor that tickled my tastebuds was the cinnamon. I really thought they would taste more like banana. 

The spinach?  You would never know its in there. You can not taste the spinach at all. 

 

Know what that means? That means you can trick your kids into eating this healthy veggie. 

Really! Do not tell them. Just call them monster muffins, frog cakes, or Leprechaun buns and enjoy watching the kiddos gobble them up. 

 

Spinach Banana Muffins

Preheat oven to 350

Mix in large bowl:

• 2 cups self rising flour.
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. Ground cinnamon.

Mix and puree in blender:

• 1/4 cup canola or vegstable oil.
• 3/4 cup milk.
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1- 6 oz bag fresh spinach.
• 2 ripe bananas

Add liquid mixture into dry mixture and mix well.

Pour into lined or greased muffin pan.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 16 muffins.

140 calories each.

They got the thumbs up from my husband and I wish my daughter was here to try them. 

It was hard not to eat more than one. 

I will be having a green muffin for breakfast with a hot cup of coffee. Yum.

Snow Really?

Here in North Carolina the weather has been unseaonably warm. Its been as high as the 80's already and its still Winter.

After dinner Friday night, my husband asked if I wanted to go walking or go shoe shopping? Well, there was no question there, so off to the mall we went. I wanted some new tennis shoes and flip flops for summer. I had Spring fever and we are planning a trip to the beach real soon. 

We walk through Belks department store and low and behold, they have free wine tasting and free cupcakes! Needless to say, I never got any shoes. We went back out on Satuday and tried it again. I got some new shoes, new jeans and a new shirt. I went old school on the shoes and bought some white leather Adidas just like they wore in the 80's. I couldnt afford them then but can now. Ha. 

We went to a family dinner Saturday night and I want even mention that double layer German Chocolate cake that my Mom made! 

Ooohhh it was soo good, it would make your tongue slap you forhead.

When we got back home, it was late, we took our showers, turned our clocks up and went to bed. 

I got up this morning and looked out the window. I said, "oh no! Snow! It was snowing like crazy! It had powdered the ground and was coming down like a pillow fight from heaven. I jumped back into bed , whining and complianing. Im so ready for Spring. 

Here was my view this morning.

 

If you slept late you probably missed it because by noon the temps were back up in the 40's and there was not even a sign of snow. 

The news station pretty much summed up the day with this meme.