Hurray!! You're home! ha
I look forward to seeing all your pics when you are done with all the putting away and all the relaxing and enjoying just being back home. If you post the pics over on Holidays just send me to them so you don't have to post them more than once. There are more of them and only one of me. ha And the recipes too if you decide to share those. I LOVE fried okra. Do ya'll have Cracker Barrell restaurants there? That is always one of my sides when I go there. None of the other restaurants around here have it or the stores for that matter.

I got my kids all off to school this morning and then went shopping! It was so wonderful with just the 3 yr old. I only got a few items, but just had a relaxing time wandering around looking at things I'm usually too rushed to think about. :) Tomorrow I'm going to the TS while they are at school. A new one just opened up and I'm going to go over and see if that Hobby Lobby is opened yet too. I love my kids, but my house is so blessedly quiet right now! (3 yr old's asleep) Aaahhhh! Better get the shopping put away and get started on my laundry. Glad you are back safe and sound. ~Anj

Hey Anj, I did post the Jiffy Pops over on holidays and a link over on the craft forum. Thanks for all your help with finding a pattern for them. My niece is so excited about having them for gifts this year. She and my SIL said they had never heard of using them for crafts before--and my great niece said "What's Jiffy Pop?" LOL

Can't wait to hear what you think of the new TS. How great! Now you will have two of them to shop at. I want to go hit our local ones too, hopefully they will have lots of new stuff since I haven't been there for three weeks!

I need to do some more cleaning out--I get new stuff and then wonder where I am going to store it! LOL So many things I still like or they have a sentimental value so I hate to part with them. Maybe I can just start a box for things I still want to keep, but still make space for some new things too. Either that or buy a bigger house--yeah, right! LOL

I buy the frozen breaded okra at the store, but it doesn't have the same flavor as the fresh. And the flavor of home grown tomatoes too--just so much better.

I'm still sorting things out, and have items I still need to take pics of. I already gave my GD and DIL their gifts. Cute little shirt and pants with a snail on them from Cracker Barrell's gift shop and a personalized Precious Moments cross that said "Jesus loves me"for GD, and a metal pumpkin candle holder with words that looked like vines until you turned it sideways. I really wanted it, but needed something DIL might enjoy so decided I could just enjoy seeing it at her house. (Sigh)

Will need to get the recipes on here too. Want to make the meatball one this week. They were so yummy.

All the stores have Fall stuff on display now. Need to dig out some projects to cut out and paint too. Wish I had the energy to paint some of my rooms--just such a big job to move all the furniture and pictures so I keep putting it off! Oh, to be young and energetic again! LOL

I'll talk to you soon.

Luvs

Ok, I'm not going to the TS after all today. Had a major allergy attack last night after picking some peppers from the garden. I'm still not feeling great this morning and my eyes are still really swollen and puffy looking and I'm feeling a little sick to the tummy. So I'll be home and painting some this afternoon after I get things tidied from the morning rush. Maybe I'll get out tomorrow.

I checked out the JP's. They turned out so good. I love the one she picked out.

I hear you. We need more room in our house something fierce. Maybe in the next few years we can add on, I hope. ha

I'm eating some of the tomatoes from my garden for breakfast right now! ha I love to get fresh French bread from the store and do my tomatoes with the onion salt and pepper and ranch dressing and dip my bread in the juices. mmmm Good breakfast. ha You are right, they just taste so much better ripened on the vine.

Your gifts sound so nice. I know everyone will enjoy them. Too bad about the punkin candle holder.

I know what you mean on painting walls and such. It takes me a while to talk myself into it every time. My living room needs to be repainted, but I keep putting it off and my bedroom too. It's still the color my mom painted before we traded spaces and it doesn't go with my bedspread, but no energy to tackle it yet. ha It doesn't clash so it stays for now. :)

Fall is coming pretty quickly. I realize it every morning when I have to sweep all the leaves and berries off my back porch. I'm going to try to finish up my witch today. I'll look forward to your next project. :) Have a good day. Hope you get to the TS since I didn't make it. :) ~Anj

Hey, I'm back again. I was just reading one of your posts over on Holidays and I was going to tell you that I think I'm going to try to find some med sized metal buckets at Lowe's and paint something like the bear one you did for your neighbor on them and fill them with scented pinecones for a few of our friends for Christmas this year. Just thought I'd pass along that idea for you to consider for neighbor gifts this year. You can whip them out a lot faster than I will be able too.

That's just one of the ideas I'm tossing around right now. Think we picked a family to do the 12 days of Christmas for this year. They are not really in need of it, but the husband always comes to help my DH any time he needs it and they will be fun to do it for this year. Now have to think of 12 gifts!! ha Good grief. I did already buy one. It's a photo album with a Christmas scene on it and I'll buy a disposable camera to go with it. One down. 11 to go. ha

Hard to believe we are talking about Christmas stuff already, isn't it?? ha ~Anj

It's always nice to be able to get an early start on Christmas gifts--especially when we want to make something.

Your idea is cute and useful too. Do you already have a pattern picked out. I'm just an email away if I can help.

Trying to come up with new ideas is the hard part. I've read lots of the old posts that have gift ideas that were cute--but many of those have already been used (and received). I do remember my niece saying she had used rubber stamps and scrapbooking stickers to decorate small paper bags, then folded over the top and punched two holes to run a ribbon through. Don't remember what she said she put in the bag! LOL

I'd still like to find some of those clear cones to make the Santas, Snowmen, or Trees like Evelyn on the craft forum did last year. Those were so cute. I think they had cocoa and marshmallows in them. I'll have to go look them up again. Do you remember them?

I'm going to go through some of my books, I'll let you know if I run across any easy, inexpensive, but cute ideas.

Yep, hard to think Christmas when the weather is still so hot. Just shows how optimistic we are that it will cool off. LOL

Gotta get going, have a great day.

Luvs

Hey, I happen to have that same book that you did the bear from so I may try to just make that pattern the size I need or I think there may have been a few others that would work that are wintery, but not necessarily Christmasy.

I do remember the cones. Very cute and should be pretty easy to make. I'm thinking I might do some of the printout Jiffy's since I haven't given those out to neighbors yet. Just the one I did for the 12 days last year. We have about 10-15 friends in the neighborhood that will work for. My SIL is coming in October and that might be a good craft to work on while she's here to show her how to do it? Better start collecting JP's. ha

I just need a few nicer gifts for a couple of special friends. I was also thinking of doing a thing I saw in a mag for one friend. They have you take off your shoes at the door so I thought I might get a big heavy plastic tray and fill it with river rocks to set by the door to put wet winter shoes on instead of just having a big pile? I really liked it in the mag, but wonder about it for a gift. I'm pretty sure they would like it though. What do you think?

Well, I went out to breakfast with 3yr old (she got syrup all over me!) ha and then went to the TS. Found some kids books, a tiny basket and cheesebox to paint and a nice snowman covered dish and a nice resin turkey wreath and a couple of windchimes. Everything .50 cents to $1. Oh and a cute material frog girl for my SIL who loves frogs. I think I'm having almost as much fun collecting things to paint as I am actually painting. ha I'd better stop that, huh? I'm going in there right now to work on that witch. :) Later....~Anj

Found a pic of a boot tray like I was trying to describe at this site. Kind of a cute site really. Anyway, tray with river rocks. Good gift/bad gift? Whatcha think? ~Anj

Here is a link that might be useful: Boot tray

Hey Anj, I would think that would be a very thoughtful gift. I've seen bags of river rock at Dollar Tree. Not sure how many bags you would need. Might be better to check for them at Lowe's. I think you could put the river rock on the tray, add a couple of silk poinsettias, then wrap it in that clear cellophane wrap. That would be a cute presentation.

Sure hope my DIL will give me a wish list again this year. I have a hard time thinking of things she might like. They are getting their patio put in now, so might be able to think of some patio items they would like/need. Might look around that site you posted for the boot tray and see if that gives me any ideas.

Good finds at the TS. Can't beat the prices on kids books there. Other than one glass tray, that was all I bought yesterday when I stopped at one too. Got an illustrated Children's Bible, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, The Night Before Christmas, and Stories for Three Year Olds. Two were Disney books with lots of pics, and the Christmas one has beautiful illustrations. Child's Bible is full of pics too, so hoping GD will enjoy it.

I know what you mean about having fun collecting things--I just love the thrill of the hunt. Never know what I might find--sometimes nothing, sometimes really good stuff. I couldn't wait to see if there was any good stuff waiting for me since I had been gone three weeks! LOL Aren't you glad to have two of them to get to treasure hunt in now?

Better get going here. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?

Luvs

Ok, I'll keep that on my list then. Good idea checking at Lowes for the rocks. I'll put that on my list for going there next week.

We have lots of TS's here, but they had closed about 3 of them down and the one I was talking about just reopened in a new building so I guess it's not totally new, but they have been collecting stuff all summer. My dad said it is just packed with anything you can imagine. I've got to get over there!@!! ha The one closest to my house closed too and they just built a new bigger building right by my Walmart so I'm waiting for it to reopen as well so I don't have to drive as far. We have a bunch of Salvation Armys, Savers, Deseret Industries, and Thrift Town TS's.

Yesterday was my B-day and DH took today off to take me out to breakfast and antiquing!! I'm pretty excited. Then he's taking me out to a new steakhouse for dinner tonight. My parents took us out to Cracker Barrel last night for my b-day so I'm just getting spoiled all around. ha

Do you have any good plans for the holiday weekend? DH is doing his Cajun BBQ ribs on Monday and we may take the kids to the Alpine Slide. It's a big slide that you go down on sleds with wheels. We have to see if it will be open though.

Anyway, I've got to run finish getting the kids ready for school and myself ready to go too. Have a wonderful day. ~Anj

Happy Birthday to you! A bit belated but sincere non the less. Sounds like you got to do lots of fun things to celebrate!

Wow, you are lucky on having so many choices of TS. My friend tells me there used to be allot more in our area but many have closed. I have three that are the closet that I mostly go to. Do want to go back to the big one my friends and I visited on our outing, but it is a good 30 minutes away, so will need more time on the day I go there.

Well, I'm really goofing off this morning. Need to get off here and go get something done, so I'll catch you later.

Luvs

Thanks again for the b-day wishes Luvs. I'm off to the TS again today since the kids are out of school again. Don't feel like being stuck in the house all day. They like to look thru the toys and they have found a lot of toys to add to their sets they already have like Ben 10 and Transformers. I'm hoping they will have a lot of new stuff after the long weekend. Maybe people used the time to clean out and haul over to the TS. :) Yes, I'm definitely addicted. ha I'll let you know if I find anything good. ~Anj

I tried to go yesterday, forgot about it being a holiday so one was closed. The other one was open, I got three mugs to use for gifts with tea bags and candies in them, and found a really pretty cup with roses on it--had to get that one. Also found a cute little saucer with a birdhouse scene on it, and a book titled Christmas Inspirations. From noon until four, everything was 30% off so I only spent a couple dollars but got to enjoy the "thrill of the hunt". :o) One lady had found a nice thermos lunch bag--she said she had just paid $14.99 for one just like it at Target, this one was $2.00 plus 30% off! We both agreed that it is like a treasure hunt, just never know what you might find! Hope you and the kids have a fun time, let me know what treasures you find, okay? Luvs