Happy Labor Day {and a banana pudding recipe}

Well, it's the last big holiday of the warm weather season. You are either thrilled or sad to see summer go. Which one? Do tell.........

I'm on the fence this year. I've really enjoyed the warmer weather, but I do love the upcoming Fall season and it's gathering holidays. I love  gatherings, the chilly weather, candles aglow and everyone cuddled around a warm fire! Mercy, I'm getting ahead of myself!

I thought I'd re-share a favorite recipe of mine that would be spectacular at your Labor Day celebration, it's super easy but looks like you made a big fuss over it. It's a winner with the grown-ups and kiddos alike! Enjoy y'all.........

I know that it's September and already all the caramel and pumpkin laden recipes are popping up everywhere, but here in the deep south, it's still WARM! I just can't get into all the fall baking when, down here, summer's not done with us just yet. For this weeks celebration of the 'DAYCATION', I'm sharing a favorite old southern classic desert recipe. We took this with us to our picnic at the falls {you can read about that here}. Instead of making the pudding by scratch, I'm going to use an easy substitute by adding Jello brand pudding {the COOK kind only!}. This will really speed up the process but doesn't compromise the desert's flavor. 

     Ingredients:                                                                                                                                 

4   medium bananas, sliced

1 [12 ounce] box of vanilla wafers

2 [4.6 ounce] boxes of Jello Brand Cook And Serve Vanilla Pudding and 6 cups of milk to prepare 

For the meringue topping:

6 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

Prepare the pudding according to the package directions. Place half of cooked mixture in a 13x9 inch baking dish, place single layer of vanilla wafers over pudding then sliced bananas over wafers. Layer other half of pudding on top of layers.  Place more vanilla wafers around the outer edge of the dish. Cover with plastic wrap to cool slightly while preparing meringue.

 For the meringue: Preheat oven to 350*. Beat egg whites and cream of tarter until soft peaks form. Then gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Spread on top of pudding and bake until golden brown. 

Chill a few hours in the fridge before serving. Enjoy!

This dessert is just so beautiful. The meringue gives it such a crown of glory. This is comfort food at it's best. I hope you'll give it a try sometime soon! It's so very yummy to the tummy!

Being Brave {In The Form Of Frozen Foods}

A very brave friend of mine recently had to relinquish some of her commitments because life got hard. Real hard y'all. Sometimes we can't do it all, not even close. You know what? That's okay, not just okay, but brave even. Saying "no" or "it's too much" is hard, but oh so necessary. 

Sometimes all this blog stuff with it's fancy, shiny all dolled up posts, is hugely deceiving. Don't get me wrong, blogs serve a great purpose of inspiring us through others. But you have to remember that my house doesn't look like those pictures that you see posted here from time to time. You can't see all the fur on the sofa and fuzz balls on the floor in the pictures because the camera lens just doesn't pick them up- thank heavens! If I'm doing one thing well, then you can surely trust that there's a handful more that I'm not. I don't have it all going on! My life, why,  it gets just as messy as yours.

This week I found myself in the frozen food aisle. That's probably not all that earth shattering of a concept to some, but for me, the organic, wholefoods, bake from scratch, me, it's BIG. This week, I really wanted to have the time to bake for others and hand-make some gifts for our friends on top of our usual LIFE. I- can't- do- it-all. I just can't. So I found myself on the convenience food aisle begging for a helping hand from Stouffer's and Sara Lee and anybody else that could help me with this week's meals. I felt soooooo guilty putting those boxes into my cart, but listen, my load feels so much lighter because I did. 

Sometimes we all need a little help. Sometimes we have to be brave enough to let go.

Linking At:
Living Well Spending Less  A Life In Balance

Why We Don't Celebrate Halloween

I know we're in the minority here, but before you start penning your objections in the comment section, remember that we all do this life thing a little different from one another, and that's o.k. None of us knows exactly what's right or wrong and we each have chosen what we believe keeps us closest to God and sometimes that looks different in different families.

When I was a little girl, Halloween was a BIG event! We had the coolest costume parties at our house and all my school friends would come over and we'd bob for apples and eat chili dogs made with my mom's homemade chili. It was the greatest! Fast forward to my husband and I and our first child, and Halloween was still going strong. I LOVED decorating for Halloween and our house was the radest on the block, not scary, but picture votive lined sidewalks, lights and lots of jack-o-lanterns, and of course, 'Monster Mash" tunes playing on the front porch. When our oldest was six, a good friend of ours told us that they didn't celebrate Halloween and gave me a book explaining her rationale. I honestly thought she was a little nutty {translate totally cray cray}, Halloween was amazing and I just didn't agree with her at all! But, and this is a really big but, a seed was planted. It would take MANY years to sprout, mind you, but it eventually sprouted. 

Over the next six years that seed lay dormant, but during the seventh year, God knew right where my heart was and He placed the thought before me once again. So, nine years ago, I pulled out that old book {blew off all the dust} and began reading. My vision was different than it once had been- God's timing is always so spot on y'all! This time when I read this little book, some of it made perfect sense, I knew in my heart that our Halloween celebrating days were over. My husband and I talked and he completely agreed that Halloween just really didn't seem to honor God and it would be best if we changed how we looked at Halloween. We just didn't feel that it was what God wanted for our family. I know that there are many arguments that the facts in this book and others like it, are just totally skewed and taken out of context. And, believe me I know that there is soooo  much information out there both for and against Halloween, but we came to the conclusion looking at the facts and arguments that nothing about Halloween glorified God and maybe we just shouldn't put so much of our attention into this one particular night of the year.

Now before you go getting all weepy for our poor, deprived kids that miss out on all that candy and fun on October 31st, let me tell you how we DO celebrate.......... EVERY November 1st, we get up early, throw on our clothes and hit the 50% off sale at Walmart. Yep, all that over priced candy goes on sale the day after Halloween and everything related, goes on sale too! Snacks, costumes, all of it goes on sale. This way the kids get to pick out their favorite bag of candy and they don't feel like they missed out at all. We look forward EVERY year to the day after Halloween sale! I LOVE this day too- I get to stock up my "emergency chocolate drawer", you have one of those, right? 

In case you may be interested in reading this little book, I'm doing a FLASH GIVEAWAY for y'all, my precious readers. You can find this book on Amazon, but I want to give away one copy on the blog. If you're interested, just leave a comment saying so, and I'll give away one book to a random comment-er on Halloween night, October 31st {I'll announce the winner on Saturday morning, November 1st}

However y'all choose to celebrate, have fun and be safe! Remember, just leave a comment saying that you'd like to have a copy of this little book and you'll be entered. Until next time........

Linking At:

*Living Well Spending Less*  *Tatertots And Jello*  *Natasha In Oz*

A Southern Breakfast

Happy Labor Day Y'all! I hope you have lots of peace and tranquility planned for today! Our day's filled with food! Good ol' southern classics. Here's a peek at breakfast: 

Down south, breakfast's an EVENT! A holiday just wouldn't be a holiday without a big hearty meal. Here in the south, there's always grits, scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, and toast or biscuits. Can you say YUM? OK, OK, I know plenty of you non-southerners are saying, "grits?, yuk!". Grits are a southern staple! Why, we eat grits before we can even talk!

So, how's your holiday shaping up so far? Maybe a big hearty breakfast would start your day off right. And then, a late afternoon hamburger on the grill? Oh yeah! That's our holiday for you. Food, food and more food! I'll just leave you with one final thought........ Got Grits???

It's Coming - FALL

Well..... it's coming...... FALL. Whether I'm happy about it's impending arrival or not~ it's coming. If you're thinking to yourself that I must be completely c-r-a-z-y......... how could I not like the crisp air and the colorful leaves that blanket the landscape- it's not those that make me shudder. I actually adore those changes. Fall means that the cold, dreary winter is inevitable and with that comes great depths of depression for me {I posted on that here}. I really do love fall, but this year I've got to ease into it gently, you know, sort of tip toe into it's presence. Instead of fall's usual dark, heavy color combinations that are traditionally used to usher in the season, I've been researching many lighter, brighter options. Here's what's tickling my fancy so far.......

{Skona hem}

{Ruffled}

{The Turquoise Home}

{Better Homes And Gardens}

{LiliyBean}

Whoa! So I don't have to go all dark and heavy! I feel better all ready with these lighter options. What do y'all think? Looking forward to fall or not? 

Linking At:

*My Pinterventures*  *Yesterday On A Tuesday*

On Getting Back On Track

Wow! I've been on quite a holiday! We didn't even leave town, but it was a holiday never-the-less. It feels great to get back to writing here on this little blog. I enjoy this time I spend with you all! I'll have to admit that it was mighty nice to have a little time away from the regular. You know what I mean? Sometimes it's just renewing to push all the everyday things to the side and just fly by the seat of your pants for awhile! I highly recommend it!!

I hope that you had an awesome relaxing holiday just like we did here in Georgia. The weather was scrumptious! Cool mornings and evenings, with low humidity during the day. Perfect weather to get out and enjoy some firework celebrations! We spent the evening at a local park and then spread a quilt on the ground to catch the fireworks.

 His enthusiasm over the fireworks just gets me! He had us all cracking up!

Sunday was moving day for our son and we helped him take a few larger items over to his new house from the apartment. Luckily my husband has a trailer so we didn't have to rent a U Haul or anything. Free moving! Can't-beat-that! 

It was so great celebrating this momentous day with him. I still cannot believe he is moving into his first house. Crazy, huh? Any of you mom's out there have grown-up kids? I know it's such a cliche, but they DO grow up so doggone fast! He has an indoor kitty that really isn't too sure that she's on board with this moving thing! She decided to climb up to the highest point in the apartment to get above all the chaos. Poor kitty!

So, how did you spend your weekend? Big parties or chilling at home? I hope that you had a most fabulous holiday weekend! There's so much more summer fun to enjoy! I'm just loving these long sunny days. I'll have more please! In case you missed it on Facebook, a very sweet blogger featured me on her Friday Favorites. I'm forever grateful for her mention. When you have a minute follow this link on over to her blog at Natasha In Oz. You'll be glad you did! Have a Marvelous Monday Everyone!

My, How Time Flies

Well, it's officially July! Writing here on this blog, reminds me how fast a month blurs by. Do you notice that?  The older I get, one month just seems to run right into the next. Do you feel that too? Having this blog really helps me to slow things down and appreciate each moment more. I'm so grateful to have this place where I come to write and share. This blog is a true blessing. I've also met some of the sweetest women in the world, fellow blogger's, who journal about their lives too. Yep, such a blessing!

June was mighty busy over here and in case you missed anything, here's some highlights. Come on along with me as I take a little walk down memory lane! 

The first week of June I shared a five part series on How To Survive And Thrive On One Income. This series reached so many folks and I truly hope that it spares someone from making many of the mistakes that I made!

We made a scarecrow for the garden that is working so far{fingers crossed}! We haven't had any critters steal any veggies yet and we have little baby watermelons growing fast out there.....

I learned that sometimes just celebrating with family is ENOUGH in The Hostess With The Mostess, and that it's mega important to take care of our friendships in I'll Get By With A Little Help From My Friends. 

I opened my Etsy Shop! Still doing my little happy dance over here!!!

I shared our son's new house and our favorite t.v. show. And the most popular post this month, Easy 5 Step Window Box Tutorial. This post was featured at Herbs And Oils Hubs and on Motivation Monday! Wow, so honored!

  

Whew, and that's just some highlights of June! If you missed anything, feel free to go back and browse! I haven't written in a journal in so many years and I'm truly having the time of my life jotting all these moments down. Thank you all ever so, for allowing me to ramble on weekly about our little life! Have A Blessed Holiday Week Everyone!

On Kicking Fear To The Curb

" The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? "

Psalm 27:1

Our fear shows up in different places at different times and in different ways. But it shows up and always it's root is the same. Satan wants us to doubt. He wants us to doubt our belief in God's promise to us. We all have fear for different reasons and in different circumstances. Here's what mine looks like right now. We are renters. And with renting, by it's very nature, there can be some fear of the future involved. You live in a home that you don't control the when's or if's. The owner may want to sell and it's not in your control. Even in the best of circumstances, in the very back of your mind somewhere, you know that someone could choose to sell "your" house. That can eat you up if you let it. There are two kinds of renters. Some that are just in a very temporary frame of mind and they just live in a state of limbo not investing any time or money into their space. Others consider their home "their" home and they pour their heart and sole into that home. I've always been the latter. This is our second rental home in our twenty three years together, and it's always the same. I love on our home, no matter who's name is on the deed. Most often I know in my heart that we are in this home of ours because God placed us here. But every now and then, fear rears it's ugly head in my heart. An immobilizing fear that sucks the breath right out of me. I don't just consider fear an emotion. I consider it an all out attack by Satan himself. God promised us " though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear". That's how I know that Satan is trying to come between me and God's promise to me. 

Since beginning this blog and preparing to open an Etsy shop soon, I've fallen even more in love with this house of ours, this gift from God. Journaling our life in photographs has caused me to slow down long enough to see what a beautiful life we have here, Satan despises my joy and causes fear and doubt to creep in. "What are you doing? Why are you investing so much of yourself in this house? It's not even YOURS! Not even yours!". That's what fear sounds like in my heart. At church last Wednesday evening, as the pastor began his discussion on prophecy, my heart heard something altogether different. God showed up and spoke right into my fearful heart. God desires all of us to "fear not", but to flourish exactly where he has planted us. Even if that's in someone else's house. God's light and the darkness that is fear, just don't go together. So that's my fear and this is what I do about it. I remind myself that God promised to provide for my needs TODAY. I walk outside and look around at this amazing house God provided us with, and then I log onto my Fabric.com account and order yards and yards of oilcloth to make table runners and weather proof banner's for my soon-to-be Etsy shop............

.......and while I'm doing all this I snub my nose at Satan and smile reeeeal big! And that's how I kick my fear to the curb!

And, on a lighter note, our oldest son came by on Mother's Day and grilled a huge party worthy lunch. Oh my it was fabulous! 

I hope your weekend was joy filled. Happy Tuesday everyone, go forth and have a FEARLESS week!

A Healthy Dose Of Reality

On this Mother's Day weekend, I want to be real y'all. Life gets hard sometimes. We are moms NOT supermoms. So for all you Mom's out there that your hair's a mess, your house looks a little like a war zone, your toilet could be a science experiment......... well, this post is for you {and me!}. It's because we ARE momma's first that life gets a little lot out of order sometimes. Now, take a moment to soak in all the gloriousness of these pictures for awhile, and rejoice in your mess this weekend. Remember the why, the why it's a mess in the first place. It's because you ARE a great momma! 

It might take awhile to process all that beauty, so maybe sleep on it all. Love on and enjoy those kids of yours this weekend. Monday'll be here before you know it and you can clean then {that's my plan!} Hoping that your weekend is beauty filled everyone! See you next week!

*** I'm linking up to the Link Party Palooza @ tater tots and jello. Come on over and visit me ***

On Easter Weekend

Wishing all my friends a blessed Easter weekend. Enjoy this day, and remember that we serve an awesome, LIVING God! Take some time to reflect on how amazing your life is today because Jesus died and rose from the dead for us all!