Me 1996

I have noticed that at least two of my Facebook friends do what they call "Throwback Thursday". So I thought to myself what a great blog post that would make this week. The only difference is that I am adding a theme. With all the reminiscing I have been doing I have decided that this week's theme is "Hair Days".

How many of you remember those days of high hair,big hair, and wings? With the help of some of my "VERY" awesome friends let these pictures remind you.

Amy 1991

Trey 1990

Brandy 2003

The Dorks are back!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

In trying to find salvation and acceptance, we often times seek out what we feel to be Godly

Photo Courtesy of Murderpedia.Org

counsel in other individuals, whether it be our pastor or priest. But sometimes when seeking them out what we find can be very dangerous.

Such is the case of Jim Jones, founder and leader of the "Peoples Temple".  Founded in 1956, Jones first sermons were based on social injustice, community, and racial equality.  He became widely respected for desegregating churches, during this time.  But by 1965 he began to take an apocalyptic view.  He went as far as to claim the world would be engulfed in a nuclear war on July 15, 1967.
In August of 1977 Jones and his almost 1,000 member congregation moved from  San Francisco to a settlement that Jones, named for himself Jonestown, in Guyana. This was to be a socialist paradise free from racism and communist principles.  He asked his followers to think of him as the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
Back in the States,  numerous members who had left the church prior to its move, told authorities of beatings, murder, and a mass suicide plan, but they went unbelieved. In November 1978 Rep Leo Ryan, after allegations of abuse from other human rights organizations decided that he would go to Jonestown on a fact finding mission. Ryan along with Don Harris an NBC correspondent, a NBC news reporter, various other reporters, and Temple member relatives arrived in Jonestown on November 4 and spent three days interviewing the residents.  While there several members slipped Ryan a note pleading for him to help them to get out of Jonestown. When Temple members discovered an attempt was made on Ryan's life, forcing Ryan, his delegation, roughly 20 Temple members to abruptly leave Jonestown on November 18. Once at the airport and boarding the planes though, a truckload of Jones "Red Brigade" arrived and began shooting. At the same time, Larry Layton, who was masquerading as a deflector, drew out a weapon and began firing at the passengers that were already boarded.  When over 5 people, including, Ryan were dead.

Photo Courtesy of YouTube.com

Later that same day, all 909 inhabitants of Jonestown committed suicide by apparently drinking cyanide.  303 of these inhabitants were children. Jones was found with a gunshot wound to the head.
 I will say that from all the reading that I have done the delusion that he was Jesus was imprinted into his brain when he was young, by his own mother who thought him to be the messiah, but that in no way can excuse what he did and what he caused to happen.

The word amazed does not seem proper here, so I will say that I am stunned that one person can have that much control over so many people.  This man played on these peoples need to be accepted, loved, and to belong. But is it OUR need for these things in this life that we could allow our  own personal judgement to become so clouded, that we can no longer decipher what is right and what is wrong. It is my belief that our Godly counsel are to help us feel the need for love and acceptance.  Not to prey upon our fears and insecurities, such as in this case.

I love chocolate and this is probably one on of the best truffle pie recipes that I have found.


Ingredients:

2 1/2 pkgs of Semi Sweet Chocolate Squares

1/2 c. Whipping Cream

4 Eggs

1/4 c. Flour



Directions:

Preheat oven to 325.

Microwave chocolate and whipping cream together on High for 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted; stir until completely melted. Let cool about 5 minutes, then add eggs, sugar, and flour.

Spray a 9" glass pie pan with cooking spray and then pour in chocolate mixture. 

Bake for 35 minutes or until center is slightly soft, but edges are puffed.

Can be served with whipped topping or powdered sugar.

Book Description:

Phoebe Bertram is boring, bland, and unexciting. She works a job that is inadequate of her abilities. She has a boyfriend that is a dud. She is on the treadmill of her life and doesn’t know how to get off. 

With changes in her job and her apartment going condo, she must find a new place to live. Her friend Meghan brings her to the perfect apartment and the moment Phoebe steps in the door she knows there is something atypical about this perspective residence. 

What she never expects are the three ghosts that arrive on her couch to teach her how life is really meant to be lived. 

Author of Beatrice Munson, Lorena Bathey, has brought us another great example of character study combined with a moral at the end of the story. This book will make you laugh, cry, and look at your world with new eyes.


My Review:

Lorena Bathey does another fabulous job telling you this amazing story of one woman's journey to find out who she really is, with the help of three female ghosts and the lives they lived. Truly an inspiring book.  Reminds us that often times we become complacent in our lives and need to break free, so that we can really live.


If you are interested in any of Lorena Books you can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or sign up on her website at http://www.LorenaBBooks.com.


Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Note: Book description provided be Amazon

One of the restaurants in own makes a baked banana and that was my original goal, until I got home and realized that I had no phyllo. But I found tortilla shells in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:
4 bananas
4 oz.  of chocolate chips
2 tbsps of butter
3 tbsps  and 2 tsps of cinnamon
1/4 c. of sugar
6 ( 8") tortilla shells
2 tbsps of brown sugar


Slice bananas and place in a bowl.  Add 2 tbsps of brown sugar and 2 tsps of cinnamon. Mix, cover, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Mix 3 tbsps of cinnamon and 1/4c. sugar together in a small bowl. Melt 2 tbsps of butter and brush on the top of tortilla shells, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Place your tortilla shell with cinnamon side down. Add your bananas in the center, sprinkle a handful of chocolate chips over your bananas and then place another tortilla shell on top. Cook until chocolate is melted.

I used my Quesadilla maker, but a frying pan can be used. And in one of my quesadillas I added peanut butter on it, because I love peanut butter and bananas together.

Well today I am now in the same place I was almost four years ago when I started blogging.  The difference though is I am not afraid of what's to come or am I angry with God.
We have had to make some pretty big decisions about what we will do from here and we can only pray they are the choices that God wants us to make.  Hubby and I both pray continually that for God to lead us in the right directions, provide our needs, and help us to remain grounded in the rest and peace that He has offered us.  I know right now without a shadow of a doubt that He has got a great plan for us.
I also want to say that four years ago when all of these same events transpired my mind, heart, body, and soul were in a total uproar.  I hated everyone and everything, yet it was at that time in my life that I found God's true love for me.  This time I was upset, but yet strangely peaceful. So I decided that I would just bask in the peacefulness and not question it.  Crazy I know but I have just let go and let God have it all.  I am absolutely tired of living my life worried, tired, and depressed by things that I can not change.  So now I have decided I am not going to live that way anymore or ever again.  I am living on God's good graces. I am praising and worshipping Him  for all He has done and will do, for all that I have had and will have, and for who I have been, am right now, and will become.
The devil has tried to put a few stumbling blocks in my way, but I won't let him take anything more from me, nor will I allow him to make me doubt or question my faith or my God.  What he does not know is that my GOD will return all that he has stolen from me and my GOD will help to stay in my victory.
As I reflect though I realize that God often keeps bringing us back to certain places in lives.  I am not sure why. I can only assume it is a lesson that needs to be learned, maybe a choice that needs to be corrected, or simply a different reaction to the problem.  I honestly do not know, nor do I pretend to know what God is doing or thinking, but what I do hope is that whatever it may be we do or get it right this time.  I also hope that in starting this journey differently then the last, that I have found favor with Him.

The book was a fantastic read. Once I began reading it, I couldn't stop until I was finished. The author keeps you captivated by Clarissa's transformation from a weak woman to one who was strong not only physically, but emotionally and the lengths that she went to save her children.


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.


*Book Description courtesy of Amazon.com

Ingredients:

3 apples, peeled and cored
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 c. oats
2 c. milk
2 c. water
pinch of salt

Directions:
Put in brown sugar and pinch of salt. Now add apples, then add the remaining ingredients.  Cook on low overnight.

Hubby loved this recipe. I, on the other hand have to say I loved it more after I sprinkled some sugar on it.

Ingredients:
37 Vanilla Wafers
4 Semi Sweet Chocolate Squares
2 sm. boxes of instant Chocolate Pudding
2 cups plus 2 tbsp. of  Milk
1 tub (8 oz.) Whipped Topping
1 pkg (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 c. sugar

Directions:

Take 16 vanilla wafers and place them around the inside edge of a 9 inch pan, that has been lined with plastic wrap. Melt 3 of your chocolate squares.
Beat pudding and 2 cups of milk together for 2 minutes. Add melted chocolate and mix well. Now take 1 c. of whipped topping and fold into mixture. Spoon into pan and spread evenly.
Cream together cream cheese, sugar, and 2 tbsp of milk. Fold in 1 c. of whipped topping, mix well. Pour on top of pudding mixture and spread evenly.
Place remaining vanilla wafers on the top.  Refrigerate for 4 hours.


This recipe can be found on Kraft Brands

As a kid, Star Wars was one of my favorite movies, so I really was excited to be able to get to review this costume from Costume Discounters. 




 Costume Discounters carry an enormous selection of great quality costumes for adults, teens, toddlers, and infant. You can also even purchase a costume for the special pets in your life. 

Their selection includes some of the hottest trends like Hannah Montana, Iron Man, Power Rangers, and Star Wars just to name a few. 

The prices will amaze you also. They have the lowest prices guaranteed on the Internet. And if by some chance you find the same costume on the Web somewhere cheaper, they will price match.


This review was strictly for Star Wars, so I chose the Princess Leia costume for Sisa. I thought this would be great for her to wear for this years Halloween festivities. 

The Princess Leia Costume for kids comes with a white dress that has a turtleneck collar, open ended sleeves and made from 100% polyester. Also included is a white with silver design belt and of course it would not be complete if it did not come with the Danish Ear wig. It is offered in a small, medium, or large size and can be purchased for $36.99.

So the next time you are looking for a costume for Halloween or any other occasion go and check out what Costume Discounters has to offer. Your savings will amaze you.



I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

I saw this in my recent Facebook news feed and went on over to Pillsbury.com to check it out.

Just to be fair to the dorks I thought it was important to share just a bit of my own dorkness. The video is taken in our local Food Lion and you should have seen the look on the face of the lady at the deli counter it was....  PRICELESS

Bobbie, from The Experimental Foodie, is showing us today how using the Bible in the kitchen can bring harmonious results, not only in a cake but in our lives. While the recipe instructions may be a tad confusing, the message is not.

The Bible Cake :

Here we are with some more Dork pictures. Some of these were in January and some in February!

Funny how in reminiscing with hubby and kids the other night I was amazed and saddened by all the memories that came flooding back.

My earliest memories are of a man I barely knew, my paternal grandfather.  On Easter of 1979, I remember this man handing me a dollar. The next memory that comes is about a month or so later of my father sitting in a chair crying.  When I climb up in his lap and ask him "Why he is crying?" he grabs me and hugs me. This, of course, was the day that Papaw died.

The next memories are probably when I was about five and my Dad was a cop, that worked the late shift.  Each night that he worked, my mother would put me to bed and say to me "Do NOT get out of this bed." But I would get up, creep down, and sit on the steps, where I usually fell asleep. When my Dad would arrive home which was usually around three in the morning, he would wake me up and we would head off to the kitchen to have a snack, before he returned me back to my bed.  I can remember that my Dad also worked at our local Dunkin Donuts, and after making the donuts my younger brother and I would each receive some of the first ones out of the oven. There is still nothing like a hot doughnut.

I also have a memory of my Dad giving my younger brother a BB gun. Before, my Dad could ever get out of his mouth "DO NOT aim that gun at anyone", my brother had already pumped and shot my Dad in the forearm. Needless to say that was the first and last time my brother ever saw that BB gun.

Now my oldest brother, he often came up from North Carolina and stayed with us for a couple of weeks. I do remember one time in particular that he brought a friend with him that was so dirty that I believe he was handed a bar of soap and told to go bathe. And my Dad didn't mince words, if you know what I mean.

Some of my greatest memories though of are the summers I spent with my cousins, who were my Dad's youngest brothers kids.  Forgive me if I begin to babble a bit here.  My Dad and his youngest  brother were what would be called "Change of Life" babies. So most of his other siblings were considerably older than him, which in return made their children the same age as my Dad. My mom's siblings,except one, all lived out of state.  So it was these children that I was close to.

Each summer morning my brother(s) (if my older one was here, he usually went with us) and I were take to my Aunt and Uncles house for the day.  There was JBJ ( I have changed her name and given her these initials since she was a huge Jon Bon Jovi fan), Bones ( which was her nickname as a child) and then myself. I name them more for myself than you. The boys were usually off reeking their own havoc on something or someone, so they never really hung with us girls.
Most of our days were spent exploring the woods behind their house and these are the woods where I learned to "cop a squat". What a thing to remember, but this is the truth. These are also the same woods that I learned that when you "cop a squat" it is always important to look at where you are and what might be around you or you might find yourself with a black snake between your legs looking up at you. If I hadn't already been peeing I would have peed my pants. I also learned that wiping with leaves could lead to some very itchy trouble, so best just to drip dry.
Some days were spent riding bikes to the local store down the road and buying Cokes, which were in glass bottles, handfuls of .10 candy, or Popsicles. We used to collect those disregarded Coke bottles along the side of the road on our way to the store, because they gave you .5 per bottle back then and it was always nice to have some extra money.
We also spent time walking those same roads to either our paternal grandmothers house where we raided her candy dish of orange slices and ate all of her Little Debbie snack cakes, this always made the walk worthwhile, or their maternal grandparents house.  We spent more time at their grandmothers than ours and I can say that their Papaw, Granny, and Uncle John became mine also. They claimed and loved me as much I them.  Even though Papaw has now been gone quite a long time the feeling I have for them is still very much there and I try to stay in touch the best I can.

On the days we couldn't go out because of the rain we could be found playing Atari (Nintendo didn't exist yet) or watching WWF wrestling tapes that my Uncle had recorded on his brand new VCR.  It might sound crazy but us girls just loved watching those matches with Hulk Hogan, Tito Santana, or the Road Warriors Hawk and Animal.  I loved it so much that I watched until they became the WWE which is longer than I care to admit. I only watch now every once in awhile, but
when I do those and many other memories come and hang in the back of my mind. Kind of like the time my younger brother taught our then 2 year old nephew how to do the "Alabama Jam" off of the arm of our recliner. I can still see him flying off that arm and driving that elbow into the back of my brother.

Another memory that is vivid right now with the mention of VCR is Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Let me explain....  We did not have cable until we moved to Havre de Grace in 1986, so when the "Thriller" video debuted I was not able to see it on MTV. But they had released it on VHS, so I remember my Aunt and Uncle renting it so that all of us girls could watch it. Which also makes me think can you remember the first video ever aired on MTV? It was "Video Killed The Radio Star", but the first video I ever saw was Dire Straits "Money For Nothing".

Where was I. Okay so when we relocated from Aberdeen to Havre de Grace, they also were moving to the same location.  It was in the first house they moved into that I met the boy that would one day become my husband . I thought he was hot, whatever hot can really mean to a 12 year old. He was friends with JBJ, because she was dating one of his friends at the time.  I told her of course, that I wanted to go out with him, but unfortunately it was just not to be at that moment in time.  But it was here in these streets of this house that we learned to start getting ourselves into some pretty creative trouble.  More was only to come once they moved into the next house and this trouble usually involved the neighborhood boys. Now wait that came out wrong, it wasn't that type of trouble. It was more that we liked to talk to the boys from the bedroom window into the wee hours of the night, which resulted in my Uncle nailing the windows shut. In return we proceeded to remove those nails and get ourselves caught again, this time he put the fear of God into us, so that was the end of that. But it was also here that two more of our cousins became a permanent part of the group Stac, who lived up and across the street, and Trish. Stac and JBJ, had always been very close and would go weeks on end hanging with each other, and Trish, she lived down near the water, so we could walk to her house anytime we felt the need. I spent some time with both of these ladies and can tell you that I created some really great memories with them also.  Like the time Trish and I were belting out Air Supply in her bedroom using hairbrushes as microphones or the time I stayed at Stac's house for a week after she moved to Market Street, we walked all over town, stayed up all night, and raided the frig, until I think we emptied it out.

It was also around this time that my parents, JBJ and Bones parents, and Trish's parents all started attending church. And of course we all went to the same church. So we were all required to attend church and youth group pretty regularly.  I suppose this was their way of trying to keep us out of trouble.

I also want to tell you that at this time in my life I also met two other people that impacted my life.  The first would be Corey ( I change her name to this because after watching "Lost Boys" she was in love with Corey Haim), she as it turns out was a distant cousin also.  She was what most would call an "Army Brat", so they were never in one place too long. I spent a good bit of time with her also, and was sad when her family was given orders for Germany.  We tried to stay in touch, but it didn't take long for us to lose contact.  I found her again though right before I got married and have tried my best to stay in touch with her this time around. It is her that when my faith is at it's lowest I think of. Her faith reminds me of what God was, is, and always will be.  The second I met was Bobbie. As you have been or have not been told Bobbie and I originally did not like each other, but after her moving and then returning things changed. I can only say that the second impression must have made a lasting impression, because it has now been 25+ years. We have weathered many storms, but have come out on the other side, better people and better friends.

As for the gang, after I started high school, it wasn't long before our closeness seem to dissipate   As life would have it JBJ and Bones moved to Cecil County, which I was still able to go and visit them, it was the move to Tennessee that sealed the deal though.  Again, too much distance gets in he way.  I made the trip a few times before getting married and once after I was married. JBJ in return made a few trips here after my oldest daughter was born, but they ended not long after they had started.  Stac and I had already drifted apart by the time her and her family also moved to Tennessee, but Trish well, her and I hung in there as long as we could.  We went to school together, and also spent at least two maybe even three summers working at the same place. We had some fantastic times in that hot ass drive in movie theater restaurant.  Some of the others that worked there with  went to school with us and some of them didn't. There were some really great memories made in those summers and I wouldn't change them for the world.  Her and I were hanging out when Hubby came back into my life for the third and what would be the final time ( I will of course give you the whole story in another post).  We graduated together and each attend the others weddings, but again that stupid thing called life got in the way, and we lost touch to.

So now you wonder where am I going with this, well now all I can do is sit and watch their Facebook feeds to see the latest updates.  There are often times I want so much to reach out and tell all of them that I miss them and the closeness that we all shared at one point and time in our
life.  But then I know that it would only lead to each of us making promises to get together, call more, or write more that none of us would keep. I suppose it is also that where JBJ is concerned I will never get that chance again.  She has now been gone a little over two years, but of late she has been on my mind.  Maybe it is the fact that when I look at my daughters hands I see her hands (silly huh!) or maybe it's just that as I get older I want so much to return to those younger days when I didn't have a care in the world. I suppose it could also be that they are my family, that fact has and always will remain the same, and we all will at some point be gone from this life. I can only hope that they each know in their own way how much they each meant to me and how even some of them have helped to mold me into some of who I am today.

In honor of JBJ 1973-2011

It is sad to remember all the faces that have come and gone in your life. Some only share a part of your life for a small period of time, where others come and stay permanently and then some.

On a lighter note I want to say that it also saddens me a great deal to read this and realize that in my 37 years on this earth I have seen some really great and some not so really great things invented.  Kids today do not know how good they have it.  One more thing, the images included are probably random, but I just could not help myself.  But the last one is in memory of JBJ. She may be gone, but she will never be forgotten.



* Images courtesy of : Coca Cola Bottle: http://buytheway.uscannenberg.org, Pac man: facebook.com, WWF: http://www.backtotheeighties.net, and Jon Bon Jovi: www.becomegorgeous.comv