YUMMMMM!

Last Friday I went out to dinner with my girl cousins on my dad's side of the family. There was 8 of us all together. It was such a fun night!!! I can't wait til we get together again! My cousin Marla was telling me about a recipe that one of her son's girlfriend found and made for them that we just HAD to try.

It sounded pretty easy and sounded amazing!

You take a roll of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, and slice it all up and line a 9x13 pan with it. Then you mix up some brownies and pour them over the cookie dough and bake! I ended up using 2 boxes of brownie mix just to be able to cover the cookie dough.

I think if I make them again, I'll use the full fat brownie mix, and I'll use the little refrigerated cookie dough squares instead of the roll. It took a ton of brownie mix to cover the slices and it came out more cakey than brownie. It fell apart because it was still hot when I cut it-I couldn't wait to see what it would look like!!!

Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit...

Today I made a long trip to pick up a sleeping bag. One of our students left it on the bus last Sunday when they returned from winter retreat. The bus company is in Wyandotte...and a loooonnnnnng way away from me! I picked it up and went to an estate sale out that way-that was billed as a cancer sale for a former dealer who didn't want to leave her family with a mess of antiques to sell when she passed. It was in a VFW hall, and was being conducted by a local estate sale company.

When I got there, about 3 minutes before they were scheduled to open, there had to be at least 50 people in line ahead of me. Some left because they didn't want to wait, but most waited in line. From the advertising and pictures online, I expected something much bigger than what I found. The prices were on the high side and I wasn't impressed with what they had. I've been to sales in houses that have had waaayyy more stuff than this hall had. The tables weren't even full for the most part.

People were coming out empty handed or with tiny little bags of stuff. The people in line were asking if it was worth it to wait to go in and they all said it was, and that it was gorgeous inside...they must have really gotten a laugh out of that! It was sooo not worth the wait, and inside was sooo disappointing!! There still was about 50 people in line waiting when I left, and they had about 50 inside too. I'm glad I was already out there for the sleeping bag and didn't make the trip just for the sale!!!

I think this estate sale company made a huge mistake in advertising this sale to be a big deal when it wasn't. I overheard a LOT of people grumbling and cussing about what a waste it was to drive out there and it sounded like they don't plan to attend any more sales by this company!

I stopped at another sale on my way back, but it was really picked over and the prices seemed pretty high as well. I made it a round-about trip toward home and stopped at Knightsbridge Antique Mall in Northville-I love that place!!! It is one of the few antique malls that I've been to that you just feel comfortable as soon as you walk in!

I decided to take back roads to get home from Knightsbridge, and drove through the towns I grew up in. while I was driving, I came across some signs that said "ESTATE SALE TODAY 9am-5pm". Since they were going in the same direction that I needed to go to get home, I followed them. It ended up being in a newer home of a couple who looked to be downsizing and moving. They said they hadn't advertised, but something about the sale seems to ring in my mind that I read about it somewhere...

They were in their second day, and things were very well picked over. I did see several Red Poppy items in their garage-they were priced really high! They told me they were from the 30's and were highly collectible and hard to find. I came right home and found most of the pieces right away on Ebay-for the same price or less than what they were trying to sell them for!!

I picked up a few things while I was out and about today, but nothing to brag about...it was nice to be out and about again-I got home right before it started pouring rain! It was more of a frog kind of day than a prince kind of day today-as far as sales and treasures.

The best part of the day was when I got a call from my cousin. She and her dad had just met with one of the pastors at the church I work at to discuss arrangements for my aunt's memorial service on Monday. They don't have a church of their own, they shopped around over the years, but never really settled. She was so thankful that not only is the pastor doing the service for free, the church is putting on a luncheon for free as well!!! She said my uncle almost started crying over their generosity!! Money has always been very tight for my aunt and uncle, and I know all of her hospital expenses and hospice expenses have been a heavy blow to him. My mom and I were going to secretly pay for the luncheon, but the pastor/church won't let us-they are taking care of it!! What a blessing!!!

How was your Friday? I'll be stopping by to visit your blogs and see what you've been up to while I was away last week! Hope you have a GREAT weekend!!!!

Unexpected Benefit!

We added a sun room to our house to have some extra room to move around. Our house is really small and with 2 guys still living at home who are 6'4" and taller-we really needed the space. We've been enjoying it all winter-it is so bright and cheery that we all love being in that room.

Last night, Adam had a bunch of his friends over for a LAN party. We never heard a thing! Come to find out, when the door is closed, the sun room is virtually sound proof!! They played their video games until 3am, and ate us out of house and home, and we never heard a peep!!! I LOVE it!!!

This is what I saw when I was leaving the house this morning...

 How many guys are in there besides Adam??

Everyone had left except Ian...notice the bare feet hanging over the edge of the love seat...I LOVE that they hang out at our house and they have fun, I just dread how long it will take for them to break down their set up!!!

Sad News...

Thanks everyone for your prayers and concern. My aunt Brenda passed away peacefully late Monday afternoon. The past week has been very hectic and it has gone by really fast! Last week Thursday, my parents came to town because it was my aunt's birthday. She was in the hospital in Detroit at Karmanos Cancer Treatment Hospital.

They were told, along with my uncle that they should set up Hospice for my aunt-and that she only had 4 months left to live. They moved her to Arbor Hospice in Ann Arbor on Friday where they were told she only had one week!!

My mom,her husband and two of her daughters were with her when she passed away. My mom said she knew it was going to be soon because of her breathing. She called her friend Jessica and Jessica sang Amazing Grace over the phone to my aunt. My mom hugged her and whispered in her ear to go dance with Jesus, and then dance with Brian (my brother who passed away 12 years ago). Shortly after that she passed...

She was a very loving, caring person who will be greatly missed!!

Girlfriends in God-Today's Message...

This was in a daily devotional email that I received today. It really spoke to me and I thought I'd share it with you...it is from Girlfriends in God-you can find their link on my sidebar if you are interested in receiving their daily emails.

Hope you're having a great day!!!

How to Stay Young

1. Throw out non-essential numbers such as your age, weight and height.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. If you really need a grouch, there are probably family members to fill that need.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Just never let the brain idle.

4. Enjoy the simple things. When the children are young, that is all you can afford. When they are in college that is all you can afford. When they are grown, and you are on retirement, that is all you can afford.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. Laugh so much that you can be tracked in the store by your distinctive laughter.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person that is with us our entire life is ourselves.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it is family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies or whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Go to the mall, the next county, a foreign country - but not guilt.

10. Tell the people you love how much you love them every chance you get. Never assume they know.

11. Don't worry about things you cannot change or do anything about. Accept them and move on.

12. Read more and dust less.

13. Spend more time with your family and friends and less time working.

14. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. Recognize these moments now and cherish them.

15. Do not "save" anything. Use your good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the next blossom of flowers you see.

16. Wear your best outfit to the market.

17. Don't save your good perfume for only special occasions. Use it even if you are going shopping or just to the bank.

18. "Someday" and "one of these days" should vanish from your vocabulary. If it is worth seeing or hearing or doing, go and see or hear or do it now.

What about you? Are you living each day to the fullest? Jesus is all about living an abundant life in the here and now … whatever stage of life that may be for you. Jesus came so that we can live abundantly and eternally. Eternity began the moment you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

An Unsuspecting Victim...

I work in the Youth Department at my church. I assist 3 youth group directors who work with kids 5th grade through 12th grade. This weekend we are sending over 140 students and leaders (7th through 12th graders) away for a winter retreat to two different location via 3 charter buses. It is my responsibility to make sure everyone has all of their permission slips, payments and medication lists in order before the trips take place.

In addition to these two retreats, we are registering for a 6th grade event, a high school mission trip, planning a fundraising dinner(that I am doing the food for), and another 5th and 6th grade event. So I have been working a lot of long, crazy hours and by the time I go home, I am fried.

Usually when I go home, I make sure my desk is cleaned up and empty-I hate starting a day off jumping into a mess. So today when I walked in and saw that someone had gotten the permission slip books out of the upper cabinet above my desk and just left them on my desk-I  wasn't very happy.

This is the cabinet as is usually looks when I come in, closed hiding the many folders that I use to organize permission slips and purchase orders.

 This is what it looks like when it is empty.

This was hidden inside...a box that had been modified with a ramp of cardboard-higher in the back and lower in the front. It was filled with ping pong balls!!

 

Enough to fill the ping pong ball dispenser, and cover the bottom 3 inches in a 3 gallon bucket. All of which flew out at me as soon as I flung the cabinet open to put the books away!!!

They went EVERYWHERE!!! I laughed and laughed and laughed! Then I started cleaning them up, and plotting my revenge! At first I just acted like normal when my coworkers started trickling in. I hid the balls and left the books out on my desk to make it look like I hadn't sprung the trap yet, but when I went to grab some ping pong balls to throw at the one guy whom I was sure was the mastermind-I tipped over the bucket and they all hit the floor again-and he just cracked up in his office!

I still have to come up with something to do to him to retaliate, I was too busy to think about what I could do that wasn't going to get me fired or in serious trouble! Any ideas?  A few years ago, one of our students took paper dixie cups, filled them with  with water and put them all over the floor of our previous department directors office. There were hundreds of cups! It took hours to empty them all!

Another prank a high school student pulled was to stick the director's stapler in a bowl of jello and when it hardened, she dumped it out onto a plate on his desk with a note. I can't use those ideas, because they know about those, Oh, and I got one of them today by sticking a small piece of masking tape on the bottom of his optical mouse-he kept trying batteries-to no avail!

I'm glad I work with the people I work with, because they have a great sense of humor, and that little prank was just what I needed to turn a crummy week into one that I'll still be smiling about for a long time to come!


So, let me hear your ideas! Have you had a good prank played on you? Or have you been the prankster? I'm looking for a fun way to reciprocate!!

Great Reads for a Sunday Afternoon!

I had a turkey in the freezer in the garage just waiting to be grilled, and today was the day! Do you ever buy more than one turkey when the prices are really low? I usually do, and we have one in the winter and another one on Easter. Have you ever tried grilling them? You don't know what you are missing if you haven't!!! YUM!!!

Since the turkey needed supervision on the grill, I couldn't venture too far from the house, so I thought it would be a perfect day to catch up on some reading, picture ogling and some drooling over vintage goodness!

The magazines were great and the turkey was great!! Hope you are having a nice Sunday too!!

Share Your Pins Sunday!!

Check out this fun new linky party/blog hop hosted by Esther over at Shabby Cottage Collectibles!! What a fun idea!! Thanks Esther for hosting!!

Here are my favorite pins from this week...

Don't you just LOVE linens hanging on the clothesline?!?! Check out all of my boards for my vintage favorites!

Don't forget to stop by

Check out what everyone is pinning, and post yours too!!

Saturday...A Review!

This morning I got up and made 4 pans of brownies first thing. One was decorated with sugar letters that said Happy Birthday, for a friend from our volleyball league, because today is her birthday and she will be playing tonight. The rest are for the rest of the people who will be there.

Then I went to my booth to take down my Valentine's garland,and to straighten and fluff. It looked pretty good, only a few things out of place. I did find 4 empty hangers and that has me a little concerned...I haven't sold any linens since last week Friday-yet I have 4 empty hangers! I walked around the mall, but didn't spot any strays of mine in other booths. I hope someone didn't just shove them into a big purse or diaper bag or something!

After I was done there, I decided to check out an estate sale in Mason. When I was at the booth, I was already halfway there, so it made sense to head over to it. It was the second and last day of the sale. It really wasn't worth the extra drive. There was still a LOT of stuff left, but even at half off, it was still too high for me. I guess the main draw of this sale was WWII bomber things that were original to the person they were holding the estate sale for.

All those things were long gone when I got there, but I did get to hear the guy conducting the sale talking to a shopper about a physical fight that broke out in line prior to the sale opening! Two guys wanting the WWII stuff so badly, they turned into brainless fools. What a shame! Is there really anything at an estate sale that is worth fighting over? Is your spot in line so precious that you'd be willing to get into a scuffle over? Not for me! I'd walk away first!!

I picked up a couple of dumb things, mostly because I drove all that way, and felt I needed to at least walk away with something. I don't know why I got them-I should have left them there! Here they are...

I was starving and set the GPS to find a McDonald's and on the way, I passed the Mason Antiques District and a Goodwill store. You know I stopped at both-right!?!? The Goodwill was very well picked over, and looked to be full of dealers looking for their next find for their booth.

The antique shops were holding their cabin fever sales of anything from 10%-60%, although I never saw the booth(s) holding the 60% discounts!

I haven't been to Mason for a good while now, and if I wasn't already there, I wouldn't have driven out of my way to get there. Their prices are really way too high. Even if I wasn't a dealer (which I wasn't the last 2 times I visited), I would still think their prices were too high! I saw a Fiesta mixing bowl that has to have been there at least 5 years, in the same spot at the same price ($225). I remember because that is when I fell in love with Fiesta mixing bowls and at the same time fell into despair because I thought I'd never be able to afford them!

Since then, I've finished a full 7 piece set and have started 2 more sets that are almost complete and I've never paid more than $40 for a bowl-even the biggest of the set!! I almost wanted to whisper to the people shopping there to save their money and their time and drive another 20 minutes or so to my antique mall!! The majority of the booths in my mall have very reasonable prices, and a much better selection.

The Mason Antiques Mall also has outside stalls that dealers rent and "display" or dump (which is more accurate) their wares for people to browse through. I hate shopping the stalls, it is creepy, and dirty and for the most part looks like no one has touched the stuff in them for months! One stall had a big mirror on the floor leaning against a shelf. It was so dusty that people had written all kinds of things in the dust.

So, my advice is skip Mason for antiques. Go to Livingston Antiques Outlet mall, Williamston Antiques mall, Mega mall, or Knightsbridge Antiques mall if you are in southeastern Michigan. You won't miss anything, in fact, you will more thank likely be thankful for the time not wasted.

What Did You Do Today???

I didn't go to any sales today. I have enough junk treasures to get me by until something wonderful comes along. Instead, I ran errands all morning, had a super fun lunch out with my guys at Applebees (the Paradise Chicken Salad is very good!), got the car washed, cleaned the garage and (the cat is out of the bag...) took the rest of the Christmas lights off the house and the trees in the front yard-gasp!!

Now, I'm taking a break before I tackle the laundry and cleaning my room. While we were out, the boys had me stop at Planet Fitness, and they both went in and joined! It was $20 to join and $10 a month for a year, and you pay each month. I guess going to lunch with me tired them out, because they are at home now watching Sponge Bob-resting before they go work out for the first time!

Isn't that blue sky gorgeous?!?!?

While I waited in the car, I cleaned the inside of the car and found some papers I picked up last weekend when I visited Mega Mall. If you live in Southeast Michigan, or are within driving distance of Mega Mall in Lansing, you might want to mark these dates on your calendar!

Break time is over! Off to finish my chores-then over to your blog to see what you did today! Thanks for stopping by!!