Hook n' Go

I am always on the search for something to make my Mother's life easier. She is 84 and barely weighs 105 pounds, so lifting and carrying things can be difficult for her. Just a few days before her birthday and Mothers Day, I found something on Zulily that looked like a great gadget for her.


It is called a Hook n' Go. You hang your plastic grocery sacks over the little hooks and wheel them all into the house at one time. No straining. No wearing out the muscles. And it even jumps the four inch tire bump with ease. If you have steps going into our house, it might not work too well. She loved it so much that I decided I needed one.



Equalize the bags on each side. It will hold eight heavy bags. (If you are wondering why I have so many soft drinks in my car, it's because we had a group from church over last Sunday evening.) The one down side to this gadget is that your soft drinks have to be in plastic bags for it to haul them. I just leave it in the garage for the next time I come home loaded down with groceries.

I found mine on Amazon.com and had to pay an extra $10, but I think it definitely was worth it. For those who have arm, back, shoulder pains, it is a great investment.

Hope this simplifies your life.
Have a Blessed day!

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A Life Changing Post

This post may be life changing for you or at least someone in your family. I have no clue who the smart person was that figured this out, but let me tell you, it can be a blessing once you discover it and share it with those in need. Are you tempted to eat the entire cake if it is in your house? Do you have a parent who lives alone, loves sweets, but has no need for an entire cake? Do you have small children who need a summer cooking class to keep them busy? Do you have a college student who only has a microwave in their dorm room? The list goes on and on for someone this blog can be very beneficial to. Here is the answer.



Take one regular cake mix, any flavor, and mix together with one Angel Food cake mix. I store mine in a baggy, but I am thinking about getting something more permanent next time since this really turned out great. All you are doing is mixing the two boxes of mix together, no other ingredients for this.




Take an individual microwaveable dish and add three (3) heaping tablespoons of the cake mixture and



Two (2) level tablespoons of water (you do realize you can't "heap" water in a spoon. Ha). Stir until mix and water are combined.


Place in microwave and cook on high for 1 minute





Remove from microwave and you have a light and fluffy individual cake!


If you want a little frosting on your cake.....


try some coconut pecan frosting. This will last for weeks in the refrigerator so you can use it each time you treat yourself or someone else to their own cake.




it is hard to tell, but I added the frosting to this cake. Talk about yummy! And the best thing is, it is nice and warm and so fresh! I used a German Chocolate cake mix for my first try. Remember that the Angel Food cake mix will make your chocolate not so dark, but it still tastes great. This is also fun to do when friends pop in. They will be so impressed with your skills! I think next time I may try it with a sugar free cake mix. At least you would be cutting out half the sugar that way. Wouldn't this be great to take on a vacation where you have a microwave for a late night snack? The possibilities are endless.

Hope you enjoy!

Have a Blessed week!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Foot Care

Do you have dry, cracked heels? I have found something that really works and believe me I have tried many products. If a store had a product that claimed to cure dry, cracked heels, I would buy it. Some worked better than others, but none worked totally, until now.



O'Keefe's for Healthy Feet works. I found it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond but you can also buy it on Amazon and I am sure other places. It was only $6.99 too which makes it even better!

The other thing I got new this week is also great for the feet and looks good too. I have searched for the perfect sofa for me. I probably would have rather had a recliner, or so I thought, but since every living room needs a sofa, I couldn't go that route. Most reclining sofas are a little too bulky for my liking. So I Googled reclining sofas and came upon the perfect sofa for my living space. It is Ethan Allen, the Conor incliner. It doesn't really recline, but it goes back a little, has a foot rest for the feet and looks stylish. It has the foot rest on each end. My color is called pear which has a little more green than the picture shows. It comes in leather too and it was only a couple of inches taller than my old sofa. I ordered it in January and just got it yesterday. I do believe it was worth the wait! Hope you like it too! Now I need to find the right pillow(s) to decorate it. Guess that calls for another shopping trip!


Hope your Easter is a Blessed day!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A Life Changer

I must say right up front that I am totally addicted to smart phones, the computer and my iPad especially. Yes, if we are home in the evenings, we have the tv on, but our real attention is directed to the iPad for me and the laptop for my hubby. With that disclaimer out of the way, I want to tell you about the best app that money can buy, "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young.


A very dear friend has had a life changing experience recently and this daily devotional book was a part of that experience. After she started talking about her devotional for the day and how it so spoke to her, I decided to get the app. There is nothing quite like waking up and reading a Word from your Father before you ever get out of bed. I can say, it speaks to you EVERY day. It puts your day in perspective and gives you assurance that your Father will be there no matter what the day brings. It gives you a whole new perspective on living each day.
The nice thing about having the app on your smart phone is that it goes with you every where you go. Forget to read it one day, it is there with you no matter when you remember or no matter when you need it. Each devotional is a short, one page reading packed with just what you need for the day.
My husband has also become hooked on hearing from the Father each morning. They are easy to share on Facebook and Twitter too. Reaching the world to let them know there is Hope has never been easier. Whatever problem you face in life, I think listening to Jesus each day will certainly be a life changer for you.
Have a very Blessed day!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Dear Teacher

Dear teacher,

I have entrusted you with my dear, precious child (ok, maybe not so precious all the time, but still precious to me and to God) for seven hours a day, five days a week.  For my young child, that means you will be with him more waking hours than I will.  That is a scary feeling. 

Who are you?  What kind of personality do you have?  Will you love my child in the way my child needs love?  Do you have the morals that I want my child to learn from someone that spends that much time with him?  Will you honestly seek out the best ways to help him comprehend the concepts that he must learn at his age?  Or, do you just consider this a job and do the same things the way you have done them for ten, twenty or even thirty years?  Are you a screamer or will you give my child that special hug that only a teacher can give when my child needs it?  Will my child look up to you or will he be indifferent to you?  Will you be the teacher that is disciplined and requires discipline in return?  Children can sense the kind of love that is real, that comes from discipline.  Please don’t let them do whatever they want to make them happy.  Life is not that way and they need to learn that at an early age.

Do you comprehend that teaching is not a competition with other teachers?  It is God’s gift to you and you are to do your very best as though you are teaching for the Lord, not for the other teachers or even the administration.  Do you find yourself jealous when other teachers seem to be doing a better job than you or maybe when other teachers get a compliment?  Do you talk about other teachers behind their back trying to make yourself seem more important?  Shame on you.  Do not be slanderers or gossipers.  Do not be jealous!  Try to learn from that person.  Go to other teachers and ask questions.  Sharing ideas is wonderful.  No one person knows it all.  Learn from others.  See if they have a method of teaching that you might use.  It is NOT a competition!  It is my child’s life at stake.  No matter what the grade, you influence them whether it is a positive influence or a negative one.  What my child sees and learns from you could be the beginning of a wonderful life or the beginning of a life of misery. 

If my child doesn’t get the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic, he will feel he is a failure when he is older.  If he doesn’t learn how to interact with others in a mannerly and considerate way, he will not achieve the things in life that could be his.  If he doesn’t learn to respect his teachers, he will never respect adults in life.  If he doesn’t learn to abide by the rules, he may land in jail.  You are molding my child’s life.  This is not a job, nor a competition.  It is my child’s life you are dealing with.  Each day before you enter the classroom, please pray that it will be the day that makes a difference and I will be praying for you.  In my eyes, you have the most important job in the whole wide world.  Don’t abuse it but adore it.

Have a Blessed day!

Just thought I would share a few pictures of my Christmas decorations this year.  Not much changed, but they are still fun to look at if you are like me!  Enjoy!

Merry Christmas to all.  Hope you are enjoying this time of preparation for the big day as much as I am!

Have a Blessed Season!

Texas Corn Bread

I am bad and I didn't take a picture, but I so wanted you to have this recipe!  It is absolutely the best corn bread you will ever eat.  At least I think so.  My mother bought the little cookbook around 50 years ago.  It is "LBJ Barbeque Cook Book" by the caterer to the LBJ Ranch - Walter Jetton.  The actual writer is Arthur Whitman.  Be sure to read the entire recipe.  It is quite comical since it was originally made to be cooked out on the open range.  I added my more modern version at the end for all us Southern City Folk. 
I had not had this recipe in a rather long time and I still had memories of this recipe being the one that turned me on to corn bread. My mother is 83 now and has been cleaning out and giving things away for several years now.  She was giving away some of her cook books since she rarely uses them these days and I told her that was the cook book I wanted.  It might be the oldest thing she has that reminds me of my childhood.  I remember the day trip to the LBJ Ranch and her purchasing the cookbook.  Was the recipe as good as I remembered?  It ABSOLUTELY was!!

Here is the recipe.

Texas Corn Bread

(LBJ Barbeque Cook Book)

Read entire recipe before starting!

1 cup yellow cornmeal

½ cup flour
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup sweet milk (that is plain milk to you young readers)
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon soda
1 Tablespoon baking powder

Mix corn meal, flour and salt. Add all the other ingredients and let stand at least 15 minutes without

mixing. Grease the skillet well and heat it. Now stir the mixture and pour into the skillet. Cover the
skillet and bake in the coals, checking every few minutes to see that the heat is right. It is cooked when the top crust is a golden brown color. You will find that the bottom is somewhat moist at this time.
That is fine, for it should be.

HOW I MAKE IT FOR THE MODERN WORLD

Put ½ stick butter in cast iron skillet in a 400° oven and let it melt. Mix corn meal, flour, 4 Tablespoons powdered butter milk and salt in mixing bowl. (I use powdered buttermilk all the time since we don’t drink regular butter milk. Keep it in the refrigerator after opening the container so the powder won’t turn to a hard brick). Add all other ingredients plus a cup of water (to replace the liquid for the buttermilk) on top of the powdered mixture. DO NOT STIR! Pour the hot melted butter on top of all the other ingredients. Let stand for 15 minutes without mixing. This is a very important step. At the end of 13 minutes, return the cast iron skillet to the oven to get hot again. After the full 15 minutes, stir the batter, pour into the hot skillet and bake in 400° oven for 18 – 20 minutes (uncovered) until the corn bread starts loosening around the edges and the top is starting to turn golden and the bottom is really brown. This is so good when it comes out of the oven that you don’t even need to add butter to it! Might want to make two recipes so no one will know you ate the first one all by yourself!

I also made this today with white corn meal because my mother's recipe for corn bread dressing says to use white corn meal.  Works great with that too.  Hope you enjoy!

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!