Let it be known....

that if you have the nerve to come to MY front door... KNOCK... and ASK ME for money for ST JUDE then you BETTER be telling the truth! OR the authorities will come for a visit! 3 deputies and a state trooper to be exact! Ha HA that is what YOU get! (Not, that I had the pull for all of those... lke I said.. I just called the authorities!)



So, FYI to the 13 year old girl that came to my door today!!!!! St Jude DOES NOT give out plastic bags for you to go door to door with to collect money with.... and they do NOT tell you to say.. OH, I should have brought the piece of paper WITH me so I could tell you about St. Judes and then tell me... you know that St Jude hospital!??!?! Because I will stop you and point out the shirt that I just happen to have on today supporting Brady asking you if THIS is the hospital that you are talking about after you could tell me NOTHING about St Jude!!! Because when you change your story to tell me that you are actually "NOT REALLY" collecting money for ST JUDE specifically.. that you were collecting money for your cousin to have surgery then I will tell you a little bit of information that I know from collecting money for them the last few years. AND when you go to my neighbor (who is on a fixed income and take her money) and tell her that it is for your SISTER that needs an eye surgery then you better stop and think about it..... Your stories did not match up... and when you start screaming and running and acting like an idiot hollering OMG lets get out of here fast.. I WILL call the cops.

So, with the money that you did take from people because of the lies that you told to them I hope that you decide to do something GOOD with the money and not use it for alcohol or drugs. I hope your guilty conscience bites you square in the bootie!


**** This was from a couple of weeks back.. I wrote this after the initial knock on the door and forgot to post!

Shop is CLOSED!

Sorry, but due to the HUBBY putting his foot down shop is officially closed until December 29. Thanks to EVERYONE (even those of you that called today) for supporting me! I appreciate it SO much! I hope that everyone enjoys their goodies! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Oreo Balls

1 package of Oreo's (blend in blender until completely ground up.. I do 6 at a time making sure to get out the hunks if there are any!)

1 package cream cheese softened

Mix these two things together and then form into bite size balls and place on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. You can refrigerate these overnight OR put in the freezer for an hour.

The dipping process....
8 Hershey
1/3 gulf wax

Melt the wax and add to the microwaved candy bars (this will only take like 30 secs, then 30 secs, and then 30 more... stirring in between.. DO NOT BURN.. watch them closely because your microwave may be different than mine! Then you can add the melted wax to the candy bars and it will finish melting them. IF this is not completely melted at this point then do the 15-30 second longer thing in the microwave. Then get to dipping!

Warning: THESE are WONDERFUL! Like... seriously! Give them away quick or you will be feeling really bad after being left alone in a room with these for like even 5 minutes. I WOULD post a pic BUT I can't get my pictures to load tonight!

Busy day today!

Today I finished up some Christmas gifts & got them wrapped!!!! That feels SO good to get that off my to do list! I have a couple of things still left to do, and when Lee gets off g/y on Tuesday he has a small to do list too to help me out!

I still have a few things to that need to be picked up too! I have called.. and emailed every one... I WILL NOT be here for things to be picked up on Christmas Eve so consider yourself warned!

Avery is such a big help this year in the wrapping that department! Every day she asks... Mama you got anything that I can wrap!?!? What a BIG help this is to me! Tomorrow we (SHE) will work on that some more too!

Tonight we made cheese logs & Oreo balls. They are both to DIE for! Have you ever had any of the Oreo balls? Can I just say OMG!!! Paula Deen... I mean Margaret Edney makes them. She is THE Southern Living cooking QUEEN of our Pokeno group! NO KIDDIN!! The cheese logs are something that Papaw Roxie use to make! When I got old enough to make them I asked her for the recipe she did not remember it! I was heart broken!! I was over at a friends house a couple of years ago and I was telling her about it.. she goes.. hold on one second!!!! She went to the refrigerator and brought something back and started to unwrap it.. I nearly cried I was SO excited to discover that it was THE cheese log recipe. I called Robert Louis (aka.. Papaw Louis... and my brother.. and the the John Deere salesman that can not get my daughter a honk for her Gator! LOL) to tell him about it right then!!! He was excited too when I was telling him about it.. He told me that his mouth was watering just talking about it! So, tonight when we were making them I was telling the girls about how it was Papaw Roxie's recipe and about how it was such a good memory of mine.. simple but GOOD in more ways than one! And Dalton belted out.. AND Papaw Louis too!!!! And then told me that she could not wait to take some to him!

Tomorrow after work we plan to finish the Oreo balls.. Avery and I have very specific instructions from Dalton to NOT finish them until she gets home from school!! We also only made 1/2 of the cheese log recipe tonight because I did not get enough cream cheese! So, gotta run and get some to finish all that tomorrow!

Gas prices

Gas today in Crossett at one place was $1.37. I waited to get gas in Monticello because it is normally cheaper.. Not today! It was $1.65! So, needless to say I did not buy gas in Monticello!

Taking turns to drive....

on the levee heading to Papaw Robert's house! They don't have any problems remembering whose turn it is either! LOL Yes, they both take turns driving while sitting in Lee's lap ... Avery has a lot more freedom that Dalton since it does not take much to get her sidetracked as to what she is doing!

Sorry this is SO close! I had the WRONG lens on my camera when I decided to take this and did not have time to change it!

I have not had time to blog since Friday. I got so behind just by losing a few hours alone! Avery gets out of school early for the rest of the week, and Lee is on g/y's so there is NO time alone for me except for when the girls are sleeping! WHEW I can tell you I have a TON left to do too! I hope you are all almost ready for the holidays. I am ready to slow down and enjoy them! Papaw Robert may be coming tomorrow to help me with some things.

Singing at the bank today!!!!!!

Edited to add that it is a good thing that I took pictures of my happy child BEFORE the action started at the bank because the little boy behind Dalton THREW UP and it got on her. She made it during the singing, but I guess the STANK got to her afterwards! It was BAD! I had to bring her home to change clothes, and she was so emotionally distraught that she did not want to go back! Now I can't get that STANK out of my mind... I hate that!

Oh MY GOODNESS!!!!

*UPdated Thursday AM* Avery thinks the weather man needs to be fired.

Gasp! My kids are going NUTS right now!

Boycotting buying meat... KINDA

Since gas had gotten so high I had been really watching things we use to go on sale and stocking up.. and even using coupons too! And I am not too proud to say that!!! That is like yesterday in Wal-Mart they had the liquid bath soap that we buy that is normally $3+ a bottle on sale for $1.73!!! I know it is not a lot, but it adds up especially when you are stocking 4 baths areas!!! So, buying 4 at a time will eat your lunch just on soap!!!! Plus, this is not even counting the pool shower!!!

Not long ago I was in a store and there was a coupon attached to my shampoo for $2 off. I nearly fell O-U-T! I snatched a few, and bought them up!!! Then I went back and got MORE! Yes, when I can get something like that that we use a TON of then I will buy it and stock up! Plus, I normally take extra stuff to Papaw Robert's since he does not use what we do.

We have been eating meat out of the freezer LOTS too!!! So, now that we have killed these deer and paid $165 to have them processed we are sitting pretty! I thought I would list some things that I make with deer meat!

tacos
spaghetti
lasagna
chili
meat loaf (don't make fun... Avery begs me to make this secret recipe!)
veg. soup
beef enchiladas ( this is what the girls call it, but of course it has deer meat in it!)
hamburger steak and gravy

with the tenderloin we do...
fried deer meat
deer steak and gravy
planning to try stew next

This saves us SO much money considering that when I make a double batch of chili that it is like $12-$15+ just for the hamburger meat! I am sure there are more things that I cook, so I will add if I think of it!

I buy pork tenderloins when they are on sale... those big ones and I either cut them up myself of they do it at the store for me. I like to have steaks for grilling or frying. And I like to have big chunks of it for the crock pot for tenderloin or pulled pork sandwiches. I can make that one tenderloin feed us for a while! I can't tell you the last time that I bought meat that was not on SALE and stocked up on it... Is there anything that you do to help save money?

Is it too much to ask!?!?!

That when people talk to their children about things they would ask them to NOT discuss it with other children at school!??! This is what I do with my child.

More of Avery Lu Who!

Mrs. Lauren as The Grinch....

Was the Grinch a little to lazy to walk during the parade!?!?!? Kinda looks like it don't it!?!

Mama Robin Lu Who and the famous Avery Lu Who!

I could not get a good pic of the float because of all the peoples (and YES I meant to say PEOPLES and not people..just read and be happy that I am posting and do not waste your time trying to correct me cause it has taken me FOREVER go get these pics to load! NOW THERE!) around the float at all time... It was like Lauren's Lu's Dancing Who's were POPULAR or something!

Daddy and Mama Who. That you for NOT sticking your tongue out in this picture Big Daddy Who! LOL

The back of Avery Lu Who's HAIR!

The picketers. Hannah Lou Who and Avery Lu Who.. Getting ready to walk for the entire parade route. They had a BALL!!!

Notice all the glitter on this who girls face! And THE GRINCH!

The back of the float.

The Who girl in action with her sign!

Dalton watching some girls talk before the parade started.

The back of the shirts!

Avery Lu Who....

Avery Lu Who says PEACE OUT to you this holiday season! The girls dance studio entered the downtown Christmas parade and their float was WHOVILLE from The Grinch! It was SO cute! It even had a working chimney!

The little who girl did not want to make her hair all crazy like Avery Lu Who... Dalton kept saying COME ON CINDY LU WHO LET'S GO! Then she would just laugh so hard at her! LOL

Notice her checking out that crazy funky hair!

If she knew that the big who girl was doing behind her she would have a F-I-T! Dalton had to carry a wrapped present to hold on the float. She refused to wear a hat so she was miserable and was NOT happy by the time we got her off the float across town!

I personally think that my big who girl should get student of the year because after all she did just have 9 teeth pulled to be able to pull of being Avery Lu Who with those big 4 teeth in the front! How many students do you know that go to that extreme Ms. Lauren!?!?!? I mean.. COME ON!!!!

Za toothless chef...

Here is finally a picture of Avery and her toothless self. Kids are praying for her at local churches... I guess they think that she only has those 4 teeth on the top or something. The kid had to have 9 teeth pulled to make room for other teeth that were coming in... THAT IS ALL! She does not have any other issues! The new teeth were coming in all crazy, and needed some where to GO besides in the crazy places that they were going! The baby teeth were NOT ready to let go yet, so we had to help her out.... only to prevent more issues in the future.

Check out my sweetie cooking her favorite... deer burger tacos... SOFT tacos to help her out with the chewing! They were YUMMY! She has really gotten in to cooking here lately.... Every night she asks what she can do to help!

Introducing.... A Toad in a Hole

Have you ever seen a toad in a hole!?!?!? My kids LOVE these especially when Lee is working evenings. You take a piece of bread and tear a hole in the center of it and butter it on the front and the back...

Then you put it in a skillet on med-high heat and put the egg in the middle.. when it gets like the picture about on the side that is down.. flip the sucker over!

(WHY do my pics load backwards!!?!? Oh, this blogger thingy gets on my nerves) Anyway, this is what they look like before you flip them..

They are also good with jelly smeared on the top or with just some salt and pepper on them!

I know some others have told me that they have had these, but they were called something else... Help me out with the names if you know this as something else! If your child has a hard time eating eggs.. try this out on em! I got a girl to eat one that HATES eggs one morning! Her mother almost fell out when I told her what she ate for breakfast! LOL She even got her mother to ask me how to cook them!

Girly pillowcases (regular size)

* updated 12/4

I have these made and ready to go..... all I have to do is to put the monogram on the lip of them! They are fun and funky.. Girls love them as gifts! They take them to church camp, and sleepovers and get a lot of attention! This is a requested item among girls in town! These are first come.. first serve. They are numbered. If you want to purchase one you can email me and I will TRY to mark that number sold ASAP to keep from having any confusion. Email me @ larbarnett@alltel.net for any info you need. These are $24 and includes the name too!! If I have to ship, there will be an additional charge of course.

Click on the picture to enlarge it to see the details.

A couple of ornaments

This is the 3rd time that I have tried to upload pictures... I was giving up after this time so it finally decided to work! Below is one of our ornaments from a beach trip.. we always get a new ornament to tell a story about what we did that year as a family... The snorkeling Santa is also another vacation ornament. The girls LOVE him!!

Here is a Santa ornament that Avery made. It is her hand up side down and it is VERY delicate. In fact it has been glued a couple of times already. I LOVE the homemade ornaments that the girls make at Wee School and school!

The year that we took the girls to the circus we got this one...

Here is our big ole tree with the traditional ornaments. I know LOTS of people will turn their noses up.. but guess what OUR tree tells a story about us. Every single ornament tells you something about one of us. There are some from when I was little, when Lee was in high school (since their house burned when he was little when don't have any of his when he was little) Things that both girls have made, mementos from our trips/vacations, and very special gifts!!! My aunts are great about giving the girls ornaments that are unique and that reflect the things they like.

The tree skirt was made by my Aunt Kay. I think it add the special touch to the tree. If my house were burning down and I could get something out of it I would want my Christmas ornaments. I think was make them even more special is how excited the girls get about them every year and how they can tell you things about the ornaments. I hope that your tree means as much to you as ours does to us.

P.S. This is 1 of 4 trees in our home!

Follow me...

I am trying to be up with the times, so I have added the follow me thingy on my blog! FOLLOW ME if you will!! I am going to go and add myself to some blogs too after I figure out how to add a picture to my profile since I got chewed out by someone that I won't call her name (but she thinks too deeply about freaking black birds... ROSJUANE!)

Today I plan to add a couple of last minute gifts that I have available.. stay tuned! They will be first come.. first serve!