A Little Rambling and Some Giveaway Wins!

Hi, everyone. I hope you're all having a great week so far. We only got a little dusting of snow over the weekend here, but my hometown got about 9 inches! I've been enjoying the pictures my friends have posted on Facebook. Oh, how I miss the mountains!

Anyway...

We were out of school yesterday for Presidents' Day. It's nice to have a day off here and there. We made a big breakfast and just enjoyed being home and not having to go anywhere! Now for those of you who already bake your bacon, please do not laugh at me, but this is a new discovery for me! My goodness, I very much dislike standing over a frying pan turning bacon and getting popped with grease! The microwave isn't much better. For those of you who may not know about bakin' your bacon, this is all you have to do - line a couple of cookie sheets (be sure they have sides) with aluminum foil, then lay out the bacon, making sure it doesn't overlap. Put it in a cold oven, turn the oven on about 400°. After about 12-15 minutes, come back to check on it. It should be about done by then. Be very careful taking it out of the oven because there will be a lot of grease! You may have to adjust your temperature and timing depending on your oven. Now, isn't that easy? :)

I have been blessed to win a few more giveaways recently, and thought I'd show you what I won.

First, I won this beautiful stitchery from Dani at Sweet Home Stitchery. Those little sheep are just too cute. That's a lot of stitches! She did a great job on it, and she has her own etsy shop, so stop by and visit! :)

Such a sweet little tag.

She also sent me this bookmark and cross pin. I put the pin on the front of my Bible case so I know which side is the front.

Thank you, Dani. I will enjoy my gifts. :)

My second win was this sweet bread board from Willa at The Old Cupboard Door. I really like it. She did a beautiful job painting it, and she even added a star cookie cutter and a jingle bell. She also has her own shop. I'm sure she'd love to have you stop by. Thank you so much, Willa!

My third win came from Cyn at Cynzplace. This is a beautiful embroidered heart...such pretty stitching! I really like the cheesecloth ruffle and buttons too.

She also included this sweet handmade bookmark! I love to read, and it seems I'm always looking for a bookmark. Thank you, Cyn! She also has her own etsy shop, so please stop by and visit her too.

My last win was from Nancy at the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe. I won some rosewood buttons! Please stop by her shop and see all the things she has for sale. She has a lot of giveaways, and I'm sure she'd love for you to enter. Thank you, Nancy!

I'm enjoying all my beautiful items. Many thanks to all of you talented ladies!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week. Thanks for stopping by. :)

Take care,

~Melanie

A birthday, a blogoversary, and a giveaway!

Hi, everyone! I hope you're all having a great week. It's been a busy one here. I have some catching up to do here at home and at work after being sick, but it will get done...all in due time!

I've started working on our taxes too...not fun, but necessary. At least we're not going to owe anything this year, so that is good news! :)

Katie's birthday was yesterday, now she's 14...hard to believe! Time seems to fly by so fast. She went snow tubing yesterday with her class and had a wonderful time! We're going to have a little party for her on Sunday afternoon, so she's looking forward to that. We usually do something before her birthday, but with all of us being sick, we just weren't able to get it all together in time.

Here she is yesterday at Chick-fil-A. Her class stopped there to eat after they finished snow tubing. They all had fun with the cow. :)

Yesterday was also my two-year blogoversary. I have made so many sweet friends since I started my blog. I enjoy visiting you and seeing what you're doing. Thank you for being my friend.

Before I go, I want to let you know about a giveaway my friend is having. Laura, from All Good Gifts, is giving away three thread catchers that she made...very neat little gadgets! Her giveaway ends Feb. 11th, so hurry on over and enter. She is a very sweet friend, and I'm sure she'd love to have you stop by.

Enjoy the rest of your week! Thanks for stopping by.

Take care,

~Melanie

Just a Quick Little Post

Hi to all my sweet friends. I hope you've had a good week.

Thank you so much for your prayers and well wishes. I am feeling much better. I didn't make it to church Sunday...I really missed not being there. I stayed home from work on Monday too, and got plenty of rest. Lee and Katie pitched in and cooked and cleaned. I'm very blessed to have such a wonderful family.♥

Last week, my sweet friend, Teri, had recommended the book, Enough, by Adam Hamilton. I ordered a gently used one from Amazon, and it came in the mail Monday. I've been enjoying it, and have already read most of it. I definitely recommend it.

Sandi received her hearts from my giveaway, and I was happy to hear they'd made the trip safely from Virginia to Wisconsin. I'm glad she likes them. :)

I haven't shown you a picture of Oreo for a while. He is such a sweetie. Here he is taking a nap with me when I was sick. He's lying on my arm looking all cute and giving me purr therapy.



My husband told me a funny little joke the other day and I thought you'd like it too.

There once was a baby turtle who decided it was time to make his own way in the world. He very slowly climbed all the way to the top of a tall tree and jumped! He held out his legs and flapped with all his might, but fell to the ground with a splat! Dazed and confused, he got back up and slowly made his way up the tree again. Just like the first time, he jumped and flapped his legs as fast as he could, but he still fell straight to the ground! All this time, there were two birds in a nearby tree watching what the turtle was doing. As the turtle started to climb the tree for the third time, the birds looked at each other and said, "I think it's time to tell him he was adopted".

Wasn't that cute!

Have a great weekend!
Thanks so much for stopping by. :)

Take care,
~Melanie

We Have a Winner!

Good afternoon to all my friends. I hope you're all having a good Saturday. It's chilly here in Virginia. We had some snow and ice last night, but it's all melted away now.

Well, my husband drew the name for my giveaway and he chose...

Sandi at The Primitive Skate

Congratulations, Sandi! If you would please e-mail your address to me, I'll get these mailed to you right away! :)

Thank you all so much for your entries and your sweet comments. Enjoy your weekend!

Take care,

~Melanie

A Valentine Giveaway!

Hi, everyone.

I hope you're all doing well, and getting back into the swing of things. All of our Christmas decorations have been put away for another year, and it always makes me a little sad...but I DO keep my snowmen out during the winter! I like their cheerful little *smiles*.

Our weather here has been chilly this week. We woke up to a dusting of snow yesterday morning...it did my heart good to see a little snow.♥

Well, I thought it might be nice to do a giveaway for Valentine's Day, so I have made up these five little hearts to give away (basket not included). Katie helped me cut them out. :-)

You have three chances to win.

First, you need to be a follower of my blog, and leave a comment on this post telling me you'd like to enter. New followers are welcome!

For a second chance to win, you may use this picture to do a post about my giveaway or put it on your sidebar with a link back to this post.

If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, I will enter your name a third time. Just click the red Pinterest button on my sidebar...by the way, I think Pinterest is wonderful!!

Let me know if you post this on your blog or follow me on Pinterest.

If you do not have a blog, please be sure to leave an e-mail address where I can contact you. If the winner doesn't claim the prize within 3 days of the drawing, I'll draw another name.

The giveaway will start today and end on Friday, January 20th, so the winner can get them in time to display for Valentine's Day!

Have a great weekend, everyone! Thanks for stopping by. :-)

Take care,

~Melanie

All My Sweet Giveaway Wins!

Well, if you remember before Christmas, I told you I had some giveaway wins to show you. I won three giveaways all within a week's time! I want you to please understand I do not show these pictures to brag. Honestly, I feel a little awkward having won so many beautiful items! I show them to give credit to the very talented ladies who donate their time, talent, and resources. Please do visit these lovely ladies' blogs and etsy shops.

The first giveaway I won was from The Old Farmhouse Gathering. It was a giveaway of ten items made by different ladies who are part of a very talented group! I have received seven of the items...not sure where the other three may be.

Natalie sent this sweet north pole can. I think the penguins are too cute. :)

Kris sent this potpourri, and as an extra little treat, a bottle of sugar cookie scented room spray. They both smell wonderful!!

Mary sent this tea light. I really like the little snowman picture.

Marilyn sent this so cute snowman hat...love the song on front.

This snow angel was made by Barb from Barb's Heartstrokes. Isn't it sweet?

This lovely hummingbird teardrop ornament was made by Robyn from Motherlode Toad. It is beautiful!

This sweet little snowman make-do was made by Vicky from Vicky's Art. She also tucked in a little buttered rum tart. It smells wonderful!

The second giveaway I won was from Kitty at ShabbyKat Primitive's Sundries 'N Such. Her giveaway was a mix-n-match, which meant I got to pick any two items from her etsy shop! I chose the Star Ornie Fixens and a set of her grubby battery candles. These smell wonderful, and I love the little star pan. She is a very talented lady who happens to be a cat lover as well.♥

The third giveaway I won was from Laura at The Quilted Pumpkin. She was giving away a very sweet handmade snowman who was busy decorating his tree for Christmas. She named him Sam and I thought it fit him perfectly. :)

I'm going to have a giveaway of my own very soon, so be sure to check back!

It was 16° here when I got up this morning! I hope you're all staying warm wherever you are. Enjoy the rest of your week. :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Take care,

~Melanie

Thanksgiving

Hello, everyone!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. We spent the week with our families, and had a very nice visit. Mom, Katie, and I did some shopping before Thanksgiving, and had fun just being together. We visited with my husband's family yesterday, so we didn't do any 'Black Friday' shopping. We stayed as far away from the mall as possible! What a shame to hear the stories of people fighting over the things on sale. :(

We had to leave Mom and Dad's early this morning to avoid most of the UVA/VT game traffic. We still ended up in some of it, but it wasn't too bad. We got home a little while ago. I washed some clothes, my husband made some tomato soup, then we started unpacking.

My giveaway package arrived today too, so that was a nice treat. I already have my little snowmen displayed.

They're so cute, and much nicer than these pictures show. Faye did a beautiful job on them. :-)

I hope to come around and visit soon. Hope you have a wonderful week ahead!

Take care,

~Melanie

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...July 5, 2011

Outside my window...cloudy and about 70°.

I am thinking...that I'm looking forward to visiting with my parents next month.

I am thankful...that I have had wonderful, Godly parents all my life. ♥

I am hearing...the washing machine. I'm so thankful for the little 'maids' we have. :)

I am remembering...the beautiful fireworks we went to see last night. The weather was warm, but not hot, and there was a wonderful breeze blowing. I really enjoyed it.

I just finished reading...The Masterpiece by Mary Ann Minatra. This is the second book in the Alcott Legacy series. I'm looking forward to reading the third one.

From the kitchen...I'll be cooking some corn on the cob today. A sweet lady from church gave us some tomatoes and cucumbers on Sunday, so I'm going to make a salad too.

One of my favorite things...Olive Garden salad dressing. Oh my, it is good! One of our friends from church took Katie shopping last Monday, then they went to Olive Garden for supper. Our friend bought an Olive Garden gift card and a bottle of their dressing so Katie could give it to us for our anniversary. Wasn't that sweet? I'm looking forward to using the dressing tonight. :)

A few plans for the rest of the week...working at the school to get ready for next year, groceries and library tomorrow, church on Thursday.

Words to think about...When we obey God and yield our lives to Him, emptying ourselves of selfish desires, the Spirit of God is just like a spring bubbling up within us from down deep in our souls. The Spirit source fills us, and we are satisfied. ~Joni Eareckson Tada

A picture I'm sharing this week...I was so happy to win Laura's giveaway! These bags are so nice. It's special to have something handmade from a sweet friend. ♥

Please visit Peggy to read more daybooks.

Hope you're all having a great week. Thank you for stopping by.

Take care,

~Melanie

'All Good Gifts' is Having a Giveaway!

My dear friend, Laura,
is giving away two sweet bags that she made.
She is very talented, and has her own etsy shop too.
Please be sure to stop by and say 'hi'.
I know she would love to hear from you. :)

Hope you have a great week!
~Melanie

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...June 13, 2011

Outside my window...it is a beautiful day ~ sunny and in the 70's.

I am hearing...the fan in the window. I love it when it's nice enough outside to open the windows. :)

I am thinking...that I need to get ready to go to our teacher's meeting we're having this afternoon...just trying to get some plans in the works for next year.

I am thankful...we were safe this past weekend. We had two huge thunderstorms with strong winds and hail. Poor Oreo was caught out in them both times. He was such a wet mess when we got him back in. The rain was a blessing though. It was getting pretty dry around here.

I am reading...The Masterpiece by MaryAnn Minatra. This is the second book in The Alcott Legacy series. I'm really enjoying her books!

Around the house...mostly hanging clothes today since the weather is so nice. They're drying in no time! :)

From the kitchen...Our blueberry bushes are doing really well, so I'm planning to make a pie with them.

One of my favorite things...Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile Tea. It is delicious.♥

A few plans for the rest of the week...library and groceries tomorrow, church on Thursday, Father's Day on Sunday. :)

Pondering these words...Everyone carries an atmosphere about him. It may be healthful and invigorating or it may be unwholesome and depressing. It may make a little spot of the world a sweeter, better, safer place to live in; or it may make it harder for those to live worthily and beautifully who dwell within its circle. ~J.R. Miller

Please visit Peggy to read more daybooks. Have a great week!

Thanks for stopping by.♥

Take care,

~Melanie

I'm Back!

I'm back from vacation, and we all had a wonderful time!

Katie wrote down all the names of everyone who entered and drew the name for my book giveaway.

And the winner is....

Sherry from My Journey Back

Congratulations, Sherry! I hope the books will get lots of good use!

I plan to post more about our trip later this week.

I'm looking forward to catching up with your blogs. Have a great week!

Melanie

A Giveaway!

We all know that children not only outgrow their clothes and shoes, but their toys and books as well!

Katie and I have been going through her things and have given a lot of things away to family and friends, but I saved these four sweet little stories for a giveaway. They are all hardcover books in wonderful condition.

All you have to do to enter this giveaway is leave a comment telling me that you want to enter. That's it! Please make sure you leave a way for me to contact you.

I will be taking a blog break next week, but I'll be checking my comments and e-mail. I'll miss reading all your wonderful blogs, but when I return we'll see who wins!

Take care,

Melanie