Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Recipes for the Gracious Hospital-i-Tea Blog-a-Thon...


It has been several weeks since I've been able to participate in the Blog-a-Thon, and so, I am excited to share recipes for this week's challenge! I hope I have not added a recipe that has already been submitted, if so, please forgive me! "smiles"



Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches

~Paula Deen Recipe~

(Makes about 64 tea sandwiches)


2 - 8 oz. packages sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 - 8 oz. package Colby Cheese, grated

1 1/4 cups mayonaise (I use Duke's)

1 - 7 oz. jar diced pimientos, drained

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Whole grain white bread


In a medium bowl, combine cheeses, mayonaise, pimientos, and pepper, stirring to combine well. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Spread a thin layer on pimiento cheese on half of bread slices. Top with remaining bread slices. Trim crusts from sandwiches and cut into quarters.



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Quick & Easy Cheese Biscuits

~Aunt BoPeep's Recipe~


2 cups Shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cups butter melted

1 cup sour cream

2 cups self rising flour


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cheese and melted butter. Let sit about 2 minutes. Add sour cream, and mix well. Stir in flour. Spoon batter into greased mini muffins pan. Bake 18 to 22 minutes. Batter can be stored overnight in refridgerator.



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Raisin Puffs

~Paula Deen Recipe~

(Makes 4-5 dozen)


2 cups raisins

3/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar, plus more for rolling cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place the raisins and 3 /4 cup water in a small saucepan and simmer gently until raisins have absorbed most of the water and are soft, about 5 minutes. Drain.

Using an electric mixer at low speed, cream the sugar, butter, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the dry ingredients and raisins into the butter mixture with a spoon. The batter will be crumbly.

Gather about a tablespoon of dough in your fingers and squeeze so dough holds together. Roll into a walnut-sized ball. Roll the balls in granulated sugar and place 1 1/2" apart on prepared cookies sheets. Bake for 11-14 minutes, until lightly browned and puffed. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Store in airtight tins, as these are quite fragile and shouldn't be jostled.



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Symphony Brownies

~Paula Deen Recipes~

(These are so delicious, they are SINFUL! They will wow anyone who tastes them!!!)


1 - 17.6 oz. Package brownie mix with walnuts

3 - 6 oz. Symphony Candy Bars with almonds & toffee chips (Super-sized bar)


Preheat oven according to box directions...

Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions. Line a 13 x 9 pan or pyrex dish with foil and spray with cooking oil spray. Spoon half of the brownie batter and smooth with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Place the candy bars side by side on top of batter. Cover with remaining batter. Bake according to package directions. Let cool completely, then lift from the pan using edges of foil...makes it easier to cut into squares.

Note: To insure that it has completely cooled & settled, I usually make it the night before and then cut the next day.
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For more recipes for Tea Time & other special occasions, I highly recommend the book, Paula Deen & Friends, Living It Up, Southern Style.
It is a delightful book that offers "grouped together meal choices" for showers, teen parties, luncheons, etc., from the appetizers to main course, to desserts!
It is an invaluable resource for entertaining!

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Remember the strawberry basket I purchased from the yard sale last weekend for $1.25???

Here it is, cleaned up & ready for a "Casual Tea!"

Scroll down to Saturday's post, if you'd like to see it in it's orginal splendor!


I'm off to check out everyone else's blog-a-thon post! ~Rhonda












Monday, April 21, 2008

It's My Party & I'll Cry If I Want To....

Happy Birthday To Me, Happy Birthday To Me,
Happy Birthday To Rhonda,
Happy Birthday To ME!

Today I turned 40, and yes, I did cry....but, it was a good thing! "smiles" It was quite a day and the one birthday I will never forget! A lot of people dread those "milestone birthdays"...30, 40, 50, etc..... Not me, I was actually quite excited! So what, that it seems over night, things are starting to droop. My skin is taking on another texture, that I won't dare call wrinkles. And what isn't drooping or "textured," is filled out with a few extra pounds I seem to accumulate with each passing year! And when they talk about the "young kids," I'm not in that group any more, but officially a middle-aged adult! But, I feel like I'm finally at the age, I'm not trying to impress others for and with the wrong things, or stay hip and say all the right things! I'm now free to be me and appreciate the things we really should in life....like my beautiful family....children who fill my heart and make my life what it is each day,....and my husband who loves me like I am....and if he doesn't, he keeps it to himself!

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This is my 3rd Birthday!
My Birthday was off to a great start when my sweet husband went first thing that morning to Bojangles, and got us all chicken biscuits.

My daughter woke up at 8:00, to bake me a cake before church. The delicious cake was butter pecan with buttercream icing, and would melt in your mouth!


At 2:00, we met my Mom & Dad, at one of my favorite restaurants at the beach....Bluewater. It features the best deserts in town! In anticipation for my day at the beach, I had been spraying on tan out of a can for days! "smiles"


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The festivities were over the for day...or so I thought!!!

We went to the bookstore and hung out a while. My husband was relaxing and all of the sudden said, well let's go....highly unlike him...he could spend hours in a bookstore!!! We load up and head to what I thought.... HOME! My son has turned into a Civil War buff, ....so as we near a park, my husband pulls into it, and tells my son, he wants to show him a civil war cannon that used to be in the park. As we drive up, I see what looks like the back of my mom walking up to a shed, and then I see a car that looks just like me SIL's....and then these people are waving...but the park is crowded, so they are probably waving at a car behind us...and and then we pull into the parking space, and my husband says...."get out"...I open the door...and they all start singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

And then....I CRIED!!!

My sister-in-law, Leighann, and dear friend, Jeanna threw me a SURPRISE 40th Birthday!

I found out later they had been planning it for months, and everyone knew about it....and I had absolutely no idea! I was touched beyond measure!!! I love to throw parties...it is one of the things I live for...LOL! It was really strange, when the tables were turned and I was the one the party was for! Leighann and Jeanna did a wonderful job and threw me an amazing party!!! They rounded everyone up, and coordinated every little detail, which was quite a feat considering they had to drag all the stuff to the park, on a very windy day! Several people brought food and the fellowship was great!

Thank You, Leighann & Jeanna!!!!!

......and, to all the others who chipped in!!!

My sister-in-law, Leighann, at the end of the table in the flowered jacket & my MIL in the pink shirt.






Jeanna, in the white top and shorts...

My Mom and Dad, on the end!





Kevin, my witty husband (in the light blue shirt), entertaining the guys with his jokes and tales! He is a great storyteller! :)

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I received some WONDERFUL GIFTS!!!

These were some of the funnier ones....

This was my gift from my dad! It was actually an old metal coal bucket I loved, but the packaging...he went all out didn't he! LOL!!!

And what is a milestone birthday without a gag, Over the Hill gift....and so, this was mine from Leighann...oh she got me good, but I'm not above regifting...and she turns 40 next year! LOL!!!

Another gag gift from Leighann! My legs are so short, I have to slide the driver's seat all the way, as far as it will go, UP to the steering wheel....everyone picks on me and says I look like Garfield plastered to the windshield!

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This was a wonderful Birthday, but I did not share it alone!

Edna Parker, from Indiana, turned 115 today! The oldest human being alive! She was born in 1893, and was widowed in 1939!

Happy Birthday, Edna!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

THE Yard Sales that keep you coming back...

Almost every Saturday morning, I wake up at the crack of dawn and head out to the yard sales & local flea market. Being in a small town, I often come back home empty handed. There just isn't much to find, or the stuff is not so great! But it seems like, about once a year, I have a Saturday yard sale experience that will just blow your socks off! Treasures are everywhere, and I get to them before someone else does! LOL! These are the Yard Sale Days that keep you coming back...drive you to get up each Saturday morning...to capture the high and excitement of that great BARGAIN day, you are sure is going to be THAT day! And if it isn't, oh well, there is always next Saturday!


TODAY was that day! I was on such a roll, my Hardees Biscuit had to be put off! I was on a mission, finding something at each yard sale! I was pretty proud of the junk I brought home today! "smiles"



The Strawberry Basket was $1.25!!!
The lady told me that her brother's grandmother-in-law had used it to pick her strawberries with.
The handle is a tree branch & the side handles are handcarved wood!
The quart baskets and dirt were free! LOL!
I'm not sure what I will do with it, but I just loved it...and who sells something like this with so much history???

The tongs were 10 CENT!!!

The old metal beige trash can is in great shape, purchased for a whole 25 cents! The inside is GOLD.

The pyrex and metal pans were 25 cents each, too! I was pretty excited to find the pyrex dish! I had broken mine this size, before Christmas, and refused to buy a new one...I knew one would pop up at a yard sale!

And then there is the Maxine cookie jar by J. Wagner....in perfect condition! It really doesn't go with my rooster & fruit kitchen decor, but maybe I can use it in my pantry. It is sure to bring a smile when I open the door and there she sits...full of cookies, no doubt! Oh, she was $4.00, I believe!


Another view of Maxine!

The serving set was $8.00, probably a little high, but it was really nice...and new! The pieces are really beautiful! Plus, I found it at the Relay For Life yard sale, and all the proceeds were going to the American Cancer Society! I was feeling a little generous for such a good cause! :)

Sally Huss Tote/Bag...only $3.00! The lady said she never used it, so I guess that qualifies as Brand New! I just loved the colors and I love Sally Huss designs...so cheerful & bright!

The little glass bowls were 25 cents a piece! They come is so handy and had no chips!

I just loved the little stocking taper holders! I included another picture just to show them off a little better! LOL! They were new and were only $2.00!



And last but not least, my rooster platter...$4.00, New in the box! Now this WILL find a home in my kitchen!

Well, I'm off to load the dishwasher with my "stuff"...and scour them with hot water & soap! I try to never think where this stuff may have been or what it may have been through, especially if the price is right! LOL!



Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend so far! ~Rhonda






Friday, April 18, 2008

Show & Tell Friday....



Friday is my busiest day and today was no exception, but I have for weeks, wanted to participate and share in Kelli's challenge at There is no place like Home
....Show & Tell Friday!


As the Rabbit said in Alice in Wonderland...."Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it is getting!"



It's 10:30, ... thankfully I still have time...




These are two of my favorite treasures!

No one really appreciates the architectural piece as much as I do...LOL!

You can't handle it without creating dust from crumbling plaster...

About 10 years ago, the college I graduated from was renovating a stately old mansion, that was probably bequeathed to them. It had fallen in a sad state of disrepair. All of the columns had to be recast and the old pieces, this being one of them, were left by the road for trash pick-up! A friend of mine rescued a piece for the both of us!

I just feel like we salvaged a piece of history!


The hat box beside it was given to me by my Dad....the tightest man with a dollar you will ever meet! "smiles" Remembering that I used to collect old vintage hats years ago, he bought it for me! So I was VERY touched! I just added the flowers for interest...I like to "think outside of the box," when decorating! LOL!

I already have several things in mind to post next week!
....So, I hope you will come again! ~Rhonda
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Sorry that I don't have the link to Kelli's House ~ There is no place like Home, directly from this post! I'm new at blogging and have not mastered even the simple stuff yet! :) But if you go over to my favorite blogs...you can link to her site from there!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

New Treasures...

Tuesday, my husband and I rode over to Mullins, SC, to one of our favorite eating places, Webster Manor! It is always a treat, and we try to steal away about once a month, for lunch. Mullins is a quaint little town, one of those old southern towns, that was once booming during tobacco and railroad times. But now that both industries have long since pulled out, were "left behind...stuck in time...."
The Webster Manor is a renovated 5,000 sq. feet house, and all rooms of the bottom floor serve as a buffet style lunch house. The only meal available is lunch. A few old complexes surround the house, and are used as a B&B! The house is filled with beautiful antiques, and the fabrics are pretty and cheerful...not a stuffy old house, but very peaceful....one lunch can leave you feeling as though you have been to a retreat...it is just a magical place! And the food....oh my goodness! It is better than you could imagine! The owner and operator of Webster Manor, is also the 70-some year old Mayor of Mullins! The staff is very friendly!


After we ate, we decided to peruse a few antique stores. ....Actually after the first, my husband went to the truck to take a nap, and told me to take my time looking! :) I found a few treasures and the lady let me have both pieces at a much lower price than was marked on the items!



My first find...this needlepoint footstool!




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I have a fondness for mirrors...they are my weakness!

The lady let me have this one for half-price! I'm tingly just thinking about the bargain! :)

All of the "moldings" around the mirror are intact, and it is so heavy! I didn't have any idea where I was going to put it, but as Picket would say...it issued that "calling to me!" ...and so, home it came with me!











I tacted on the last two pics to this post, to show a little inspiration I "borrowed" from another blogger!
I am so enjoying blogging and THANK!!!... everyone from the bottom of my heart who have been so kind and encouraging!
I have collected so many great ideas for my home & garden, ...tasty recipes ....and wonderful insight on the simple things that can bring us such joy in our daily lives!


About a month ago, a blogger posted sign holders similar to these that she had found in a local store, but included a link to an ebay dealer that had these to sell! I am so sorry that I can not remember who she was and if anyone knows, please let me know so that I can credit her! I have seen two other bloggers with these signs since her post!
As you can see, I used mine for pictures. To cover the unattractive backs of the pictures, and to give them a little more stability, I pasted a piece of leopard print scrapbook paper to it.






.....Well, I'm off to tidy up the house! My MIL is coming to visit this afternoon!
Hope you all have a great day! ~Rhonda

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Low-Carb Diet Recipes....

I promised Kat, from "JustabeachKat," that I would share a few of my favorite low carb recipes. These two are very tasty, and even if you are not on a low-carb diet, they make a great meal.
I hope this motivates me to get back on my diet!!!
I weighed 117#'s, when I got married...
15 years later....I don't! :)
Okay, maybe that shouldn't be a "smile" but a :(....oh well, it is what it is!


Last June I decided to really buckle down and lose weight, and from June until November, I lost 37#'s.....WOOHOOO!
But then in November, I went on a 7 day cruise, gained a few pounds...not too bad...
Christmas came...gained just a few more pounds, okay, not too bad...

But, then Easter came and I gained a few more pounds...Not so good!
Now altogether, I gained 8-9 pounds back!
....Not so Good!

So, pray for me and my discipline as I try to get back on my diet!

It's not so much a vanity thing, although, as my father-in-law used to say,

"Nothing looks as good on a person, as skinny!"


....But, at 39, it starts to be a health issue!
I'm not obese, but I don't want it get out of control...so I need to start backtracking! :)

If anyone out there has any simple low-carb recipes, I would really appreciate you sharing them with me!



Crockpot Chicken with Cream Sauce


1 Italian Dressing Seasoning Packet

5-6 Chicken Breasts

1 Stick Melted Butter

1 can chicken soup

1 8oz. package cream cheese


Combine seasoning packet, chicken, and butter in a crockpot. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6 hours. Remove chicken and add remaining ingredients to crock pot, mixing well. Return chicken to crockpot and cook on high for 1 hour.


Net Carbs: 2.4 Sugars:.1


This recipe is absolutely delicious! I would eat it even if I were not on a diet! Would be great over rice!

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Hamburger Casserole


2 tbsp. butter

2 pounds ground beef

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup tomato paste

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp black pepper

6 green onions (opetional)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese



Fry hamburger in butter until browned. Add onions. Add cottage cheese, sour cream, tomato paste, black pepper, and garlic powder. Heat through. Put in a pyrex dish, top with cheddar cheese and broil until cheese melts.


~ Bon Appetit ~

Monday, April 14, 2008

Friday at the Formal....

(Ashley...second from right, navy blue dress)

Spring ushers in an influx of activity,
...and this weekend was no exception!


Friday night was Ashley's Formal. Very similar to a Prom, but she attends a private Christian school, and since there is no dancing, they have deemed it a "FORMAL."

They are eligible to attend when they are freshman, so this was Ashley's first year.

The evening entailed a wonderful, tasty meal & social, ...and was held at a local B&B, that has been renovated for special occasions, primarily weddings and receptions.

The girls met at our house before the formal, for pictures and light refreshments,and then were back at the close of the night, to spend the night!

(Ashley, middle)


On their way...

This picture below, touched my heart!

I realize that soon they will be walking out into the world...

"I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for your harm, to give you a future with hope." Jeremiah 29:11

All but one of the girls started kindergarten together....Oh, how they have grown into young ladies!

I entrust them in your care, dear Lord!


Loaded up and ready to roll...
I was secretly so glad that I was driving them to the Formal this year, and not a boy!
(They are only freshmen!)
The girls decided to go together as a group, but one of the girls stated,
"Maybe next year we'll have a date!"
I say, maybe, maybe not! :)


I'm enjoying the journey....but they grow so awful fast!

~Rhonda