Sausage Balls 101

Our family grew up camping on Lake Toledo with Uncle Joe's family. 

Steinhagan Lake

He is legendary in these parts for his camping cooking and campfire stories! The little kids would always hear about the Steinhagan Lake monster that sneaks in your tent and eats your toes if they are not covered up! 
Uncle Joe taught us the "proper" way to make pancakes, hot chocolate from scratch, and how to eat sausage balls with honey! He would say "Come on over here, we are gonna have pancakes(or fill in the blank) 101!"
This recipe is a Christmas Eve tradition in my family. They are good for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all the times in between:)



Sausage Balls

1lb Jimmy Dean sausage (I am a sausage snob and will only use Jimmy Dean)
      Maple sausage is my favorite, although it is fun to use different flavors.
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese (try different kinds of cheese to mix it up)
3 cups Bisquick


options to add: finely chopped bell peppers or onions


Mix ingredients all together...this will be tough! 
I find it easier to use my hands than a spoon. If you have men in the house have them do this!


You will mix and mix and finally everything will bond together. Roll into balls. Sometimes I make meatball size balls for a meal, or walnut size balls for a party. Adjust your cooking time accordingly.


Bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes. Do not over cook! They will be slightly brown on the top. I usually open one to make sure the sausage is cooked.
Best served warm with honey, ranch, or most anything else:)

Still feeling blue...decoratively speaking:)

It all started with a stencil, a scrapbooking stencil that I have been dying to use in a big way! 

I am so in love with my blue door that I have been looking around my house for more things to paint blue:) I have this fabulous cabinet with iron legs that my sister in law built! 
It was begging to be blue:) 
I used the same blue as my door adding aqua as my stencil color. 
I distressed the whole cabinet with black.

I painted one coat of the base blue

The stenciling took hours...it is the drying time
of one section before you can over lap the stencil for the next section. 

I started out doing 2 light coats, realized how long that would take
and then just did one fairly generous coat of paint.

You can see the difference between the stenciling
with, and without, the black distressing.

I chose a portion of the stencil to center on the drawers.

I found these great knobs at Hobby Lobby.

I chose to leave the shelves unpainted to break up the blue.

I love my cabinet just as much as my blue door
.....what else can I paint blue?:)


P.S. The stencil is called "Swirly Vines" from a company called Crafters Workshop.

More... of the best things

Sometimes I wonder what God thinks of us down here on earth racing around in our quest to acquire more and more things. I know that more isn't always good... unless you are talking about grandbabies or chocolate:) 
I was sitting in church singing this hymn when I realized here were some things that I NEED more of...attributes that I painfully lack in different amounts. And so this year I am going on a journey of more...more of the things I really need and this song is my study guide. I will go line by line and phrase by phrase studying those key words from God's word. What does holiness really mean? How can I have patience when life is hard?
I also realize this is quite a task and I know that it won't miraculously turn me into a saint:) 
I do know that I will have a better understanding of what is really important, and that I hopefully will be a better wife, mother, grammie, daughter, sister, friend and member of my community. 
And so I begin my quest for more...of the best things.

More Holiness Give Me

More holiness give me, more strivings within,
More patience in suff'ring, more sorrow for sin.
More faith in my Savior, more sense of his care,
More joy in his service, more purpose in prayer.


More gratitude give me, more trust in the Lord,
More pride in his glory, more hope in his word.
More tears for his sorrow, more pain at his grief,
More meekness in trial, more praise for relief.


More purity give me, more strength to o'ecome,
More freedom from earth stains, more longing for home.
More fit for the kingdom, more used would I be,
More blessed and holy- more Savior, like thee.
                                         Text and music: Philip Paul Bliss, 1838–1876

                  
   

 P.S. Enjoy a beautiful rendition of this song
..........a few minutes of peace:)

http://youtu.be/sLxv4v9OB3A

                                                                          

Decorating my planner:)

Like most people in the world, I buy a new planner/calendar each new year.
This becomes the center of organization for my life!
Since my calendar becomes a permanent part of my kitchen counter I thought it would be fun to decorate!
I layered paper, rub-ons, stamped images, and a prima pearl embellishment.
I did put on a really thin layer of matte Mod Podge for longevity.

Each item of embellishment was chosen with purpose and meaning.

Poppies are such happy flowers:) This paper was the perfect backgound.

I chose a bicycle stamped image to remind me to enjoy the journey of life.
A treble cliff image reminds me that good music soothes my soul.

Rub-on words I included:
Unique- to remember I am a "one of a kind" child of God.
Cherish- to remember how blessed I am to have a family.
Joy-to remind me to be happy!
Love- a reminder to serve those around me.

I added a punched tree because trees are an anchor to the landscape, and a comfort to me.
 I hope to be an anchor and comfort to those I know.

The pearl flourish adds class and beauty reminding me to seek for true beauty.

I find that surrounding myself with meaningful creativity makes life a little more sweet...
even decorating a lowly black planner!

Album display for New Years goals

I created this album display last year

...still working on my project for this years goals:) 

This was constantly before my eyes reminding me 

what I wanted to accomplish!

See the whole project at

www.txscrapbookingretreats.com

Behold the Blue Door!

As I was leaving my driveway the other day I looked back at my house and realized I didn't like my black door anymore! 
Black is great, but I just got a decorating bug and had to do something different:) 

Originally I had a hunter green door which was a popular color in the 90's, but today it became blue, not just any blue but..."Running trout stream" blue!

I love all shades of blue...
the sky,

the ocean in Cozumel,

my son's eyes,

and my beautiful glass tile bowl which was the inspiration for my door!

I painted 2 coats of semi gloss paint, then dry brushed black paint into the corners and panel edges.

I liked the look of the black edges so I dry brushed the whole door:)

 Behold the blue door!

I added my January wreath which has frosted magnolia flowers with a

 crystal swag intertwined in the flowers. 

I love my door so much that tomorrow I am painting my back door blue:)

Snowbunnies in Pink!

Beautiful girls, snow, vintage lace, painted chipboard, 

embossed snowflakes...

See my album @

www.txscrapbookingretreats.com