Facebook is such an incredible socializing network, it still amazes me the way it crosses so many cultures, ages, and lifestyles.  I have treasured most of the contacts I have made through scrap booking friends both designers and customers plus the vast number of people I have met through some fun games and groups. Some I connect with on a day to day basis and others just through a game or once in a great while.

Recently I came across a naughty but funny status some had on their page and being a bit quirky as I am I found it funny and hit the “Like” button.  Now be warned once you hit that like button everyone you connect with sees what you like . One person took offense on it ,now mind you she’s  not even an acquaintance really just asked to be a friend because I was friend of a friend of hers and she needed some more people who played a game she does.   So after seeing that I liked this naughty status , she sent me a wall to wall message and to a few others  telling me that  I needed to “clean up my act” that some people were offended or didn’t like that sort of thing.  At first I was totally thrown off by what on earth she was talking about. Questioned her and found it it was not something I had posted personally but something I had “liked” . I shook my head that made no sense to me I didn’t write it I just thought it was funny and really it was a message between me and the person who wrote it that yeah I agreed and it was funny. This person apparently thought it was her duty to police what is on my facebook page.  I just got pissed and the more I thought of it the more I got pissed.So after one more note to her I unfriended her. I noticed she has about 10 friends on her list and has been on FB a long while, hmm wonder why only 10……. People sure are strange sometimes.

Check it out lots of goodies , don’t forget to leave a little love for all the hard work to share these goodies with you.

Kristine - http://kristinesplace/blog
Diane - http://www.carjazidesigns.com/
Jodiann - http://www.jodianncates.com/weblog
Cate - http://www.scrapsationsofcate.blogspot.com/
Mindi - http://madebyholeycow.blogspot.com/2010/04/long-time-and-collab.html

May 1st…  Woo hoo !  Choo choo!   A Blog train is coming.

Not sharing any more info for now but check back on May 1 st to find out where to find the goodies!

To quote Bugs Bunny ;What a maroon!  I did this layout early part of last week and completely

forgot to add it here. It’s from a kit called Natalie’s Day and the designer is Designs By Kristine

The pictures are really kind of fun, my nephew (13 years old) was the school blueberry man/mascot for the event. Even though he can be quite a ham most of the time this had him a bit on the shy side. Probably more from having to dance with a teacher then the costume and marching itself.

What a joy it is to be 13  being embarrassed is so easily done. Mention a girl and his face will turn 10 shades of red.

So glad he is a good sport and did this anyway, makes for fun pictures and great scrap booking pages.

Not much doing this evening, Saturdays are just not the kick that they once were.
Had a nice afternoon with my sister and nieces. Stopped at the Thrift shop and grocery store and had some lunch at the Chinese Buffet.
Introduced my younger niece to Chili Crawfish and her older sister was totally grossed out at it. Even more so when the “little lobsters” were being held at her and waving hello with their little claws.
Kicking myself for only remembering my sister’s b-day gift after she had left , it was sitting there waiting for me to give to her and I totally forgot UGH. Called her cell but she was already too far away, (lead foot).
Gorgeous day in the low 70′s what a treat in March.

I adore the alpha with this kit and I admit to not being a big fan of alphas.   I did these layouts  from a kit called Cheerful by  Designs By Kristine

Awake and watching the snow fall.  I have my book to finish reading but thought I might just get another recipe in here so I will have it at hand if an when I am ready for trying it out.  This one just sort of fascinates me two things I like and seems like together they would either be awesome or really weird. Seeing that it is snowing , it will probably be a while before I try it, it calls for grilling and I really don’t cherish the idea of shoveling the area around the grill or shoveling the grill off either.

Coffee Rubbed Steak

1/4 c. finely ground coffee beans or espresso powder

2 Tblsp. packed brown sugar

2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

2 boneless beef top sirloin steaks  (1 inch thick 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 lb  each)

1. In a small bowl , mix dry ingredients together. Rub generously on steaks to evenly coat both sides. Leftover rub can  be put in sealed container and frozen for another use.
2. Grill covered 8-12 minutes until desired doneness

Wow last night was one hell of a storm, winds were gusting up to 65 mph and that the weather reporter got that from a near by town because the weather trackers in the city were knocked out.  The electricity was on and off most of the evening and the rain was unbelievable. It was a lot like a tropical storm.

Lots of damage left behind too, nothing really bad in our yard, but some trees sure took a beating and a lot of really tall trees are down in the woods.  It cleared out a lot of snow to make room for more.  In fact as I just looked out it is snowing, and it is a weird snow, looks like the stuff they spray around wreaths and trees at Christmas time , fake snow.

The other day  I got a message on Facebook from someone I haven’t seen or heard from in  at least 20 years. What a kick. Went to school with this lady from baby grades on , looked at her profile photo she hasn’t changed all that much. Still think I would recognize her on the street if I saw her.  Responded to friend request and passed a few messages back and forth .

A lot of miles traveled since then.

My sister thinks ,it’s great to have an old friend come back into your life and that you can pick up from there.  I have no delusions about that, all this time has passed, be lucky if you would remain an acquaintance.

It’s like an entirely different lifetime .

I mentioned before that my sister brought me a treasure box of older cooking magazines and the little specialty category booklets, such as  Potluck Recipes, Grilling and Marinades etc. Slowly I’ve been going through them picking out recipes I want to keep and giving away the books after. Sometimes I keep the entire book if there is enough recipes worth the book taking up more space in this already cluttered space.  Mostly I will pick a few and pass them along . I have some put aside that I’ll be doing some recipe cards with , just need the energy to do it with.  There are some awesome kits come out from Designs by Kristine, that are just begging me to  make into recipe cards with some of these culinary finds from my “treasure box”.

Some of them I just add here to have a quick reference when the mood strikes to cook something a bit different. Here is one of those .

Pulled Beef Sandwiches

1 Large Onion, chopped

1 Cup Barbecue Sauce

1/2 Cup. French Dressing

1/2 Cup Condensed Beef  Broth (from a can)

1 Boneless  Beef Chuck (3 1/2 – 4 lb)

12 Burger Buns , split

1. Spray 3 to 4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Mix onion, barbecue sauce , dressing and broth in slow cooker. Add beef ;stir to coat.
2. Cover; cook on LOW heat setting 8-10 hours.
3. Remove beef from slow cooker; skim fat from sauce. Using slotted spoon, place 1/2 cup mixture on bottom of each bun. Cover with tops of buns.

This one I found in a 2008 Pillsbury Potlucks  magazine

Easy meal to do up for Saturday evening or for a crowd watching the ball game at your home.

I love my slow cooker, some great things come out of it , using those inexpensive cuts of meat.

What possesses someone to get out of a warm bed in in the late days of February on a rainy night?  It’s certainly not sanity, more likely the middle age ramblings of hormonally unbalanced female, who wakes up with menopausal hot flashes.

So I headed off to the second bedroom and opened the window to cool off a bit. I sat there waiting and listening to the rain and my mind churns with random thoughts. Nothing profound or witty, just random stuff.

I sat there thinking for awhile and recalled how I used to use to write a great deal, nothing of any matter really. Poetry , short stories, thoughts, crafty project ideas and doodles of course .  I had notebooks all the time , just the simple spiral ringed dollar store bargains , and lots of pens, because they would always run out of ink at inconvenient times.

One time I wanted to be a writer and I guess that still sits in the back of my mind sometimes. However the art of writing and just the thought of pens and papers has practically disappeared from life in general. So now instead of just sitting and writing all sorts of useless bits and bobs , I wait  for the computer to boot . You would think that would give one the chance to get the thoughts into some sort of order, but it doesn’t really they just still come random and goddess knows what will come out. Difference being between writing in a notebook no one will see and writing on a blog is that now it goes out for someone to see, if they care to look.

I have no thought that anyone is really reading this blog, all though on occasion there will be a comment shared by a friend and that is just fine with me, blogging is for me anyway it has taken the place of the pen and paper.  I am thinking there is something lost in the process though. It’s sort of like the difference between holding and reading a hard copy book or reading an e-book. Something is lost in the satisfaction of it. I love the instantaneous fix of an ebook, but it just looses the “comfort ” of holding a book and reading. So it is with writing in a blog on the computer. There is the wonderful spell checker that makes it read better in a computer journal and the fact that  my penmanship has gone to the dogs , chances are no one could read it now, not then anyone would want to, but it is pretty bad, when you can’t really read your own writing any more.

All those years of grade school penmanship practice, and little gold stars on paperwork for having great penmanship has pretty much gone . Not just the gold stars , you can get those at that dollar store too, but when you can’t read your own writing, wow no gold stars here any more.

Just maybe it is time to head back to the dollar store and stock up on notebooks and pens again. Just for the satisfaction of writing again and see what comes of it. Maybe with practice I might  want to get some little gold stars for the paper too.