I love looking through Etsy, seeing all the wonderful creations. This morning I had a little extra time so I created 2 wonderful treasuries.
The first one I made as I was trying to come across an idea. Ya'll know how much I love glass and bright colors, with that in mind check out "Glorious Glass."
Next I wanted to dedicate some time to one of my teams. I haven't made one Cats Rule The Whole World team, so what better them to use than adorable "Purrr-fect Pink."
Have you ever wondered how God views your life? Do you worry that He sees your flaws and mistakes which makes you question His love for you? Do not worry!
God knows you and loves you just as you are. You are his masterpiece...a work of art. He continues to mold and make you in such a way as to bring glory to Him.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
By God's loving grace we are being molded to the likeness of Christ. God has seen the finished piece. His eternal eyes know exactly where we need His greatest attention. So every heartache, frustration, or disappointment has a purpose. When God see your life, He see a person of worth and great promise.
Just thought I would share this song. It has a wonderful beat and makes me want to say "Lord, I love the way you hold me!" This is a great toe tapper.
As you know I love my animals and they are a lot of inspiration behind my crafts. So, I am going to do a series called "My Precious Pet", each telling the story of each pet. I hope you come to love these guys as much as I do...
I can't remember when I first discovered Australian Cattle Dogs (aka. Blue or Red Heeler, ACD), but I do remember thinking what an awesome dog. I'm very adement about researching things especially animals before purchasing them. Although each dog has its own personality, every breed has certain traits that can make them desirable or undesirable to the owner. I search out a certain breed not just for companionship but for their breed specific traits that will be to my benefit. If I got every dog that I thought was cute, I would be in a mess.
Always ready to hit the trail.
At the time of my search, I was a young single mom to a toddler, who leased a 100 acres of pasture for my horses. This was a time before cell phones. Entrance to the pasture was down a long dirt road, next to a river and another large pasture with a wooded area. The road was frequented by hunter and hikers, not to mention I often saw copperheads, wild hogs, and a pack of stray dogs that liked to harass my horses. I was uncomfortable at times with strange men stopping to talk while I was out attending my horses. This is when I decided I needed a dog. Not just any dog would do, I needed an intelligent, free-thinking, strong, protective dog.
"Wait for me!"
I found just what I needed in an Australian Cattle Dog that I named Dakota. I purchased this adorable, 6wk old, pup from a breeder in Alabama. He was just what I expected. Dakota grew into a magnificent dog that bonded with me and my son, Zach. He was mostly social with other people but there were a few times when he would be still and a low rumble could be heard. At one time he did bite an unfamiliar man who was ruff-playing with Zach. He didn't break the skin, but I had no doubt if it wasn't stopped, he would have bitten again. Dakota also made it easy to bring in the horses at feeding time.
Goob and Lady lead the way. You're probably thinking "I thought this story was about Lady?" Well, Dakota is Lady's father. Dakota was such a wonderful dog, that I decided to find a female to breed him to before neutering him. Lady is our pick of that litter. Although Dakota has passed, Lady is his living heritage. She has all his wonderful traits that made him so special to us.
Wet after plaining in the creek. Did you know that Australian Cattle Dogs are born white except for the patches or markings they will have later in life? This trait comes from the Dalmation being in the breeds that were blended to make this wonderful dog; Dingo, Smooth Haired Scotch Merle Collies (reported to be a cross between the Rough Haired Scotch Collie and the Blue Italian Greyhound), the Dalmatian, the Bull Terrier and the Australian Kelpie. To learn more about this breed visit Cattledog.com.
Stopping in a shady place.
I don't know why I chose Lady, but I'm thankful that I did. She came to our family just before the birth of my younger son, Aaron, and has been a great playmate to him. One of her favorite things to do is ride on the 4-wheeler with Zach. It cracks me up to see her tongue hanging out and her ears flopping around as she sits on the back, just enjoying the ride. I can always count on Lady to keep me company on my walks. She always goes ahead checking everything out and then circles back to check on me.
"Lady have you been chasing the chickens?"
Lady will be 12 years old this fall and spends most of her days lounging around under the trees. At 7 years of age, I thought she had an infection. Her eyes were real watery, and she was developing what looked like scaly skin around her eyelids and on her nose. So off to the vet we go. He did skin scrapings to check for mange and a variety of blood test. Unfortunately the diagnosis was Autoimmune Disease. This is a condition in which the dogs immune system fights against itself. Our vet said "she's basically allergic to herself." Without treatment, she will develope an itchy, scaly skin on all of her mucous membranes..."ouch!" The treatment is with steroids. We decided on a rotation treatment plan with oral steroids. It took a few weeks for the skin to clear up, but it worked. The main side effect is severe weight gain. Lady is really over weight, I call her my little puj-puj. Even with low-cal food and plenty of exercise, she is and always will be over weight. Not a lot is known about the disease, and I'm not sure why she hasn't had it or shown symptoms of it all her life. I do know that it is not breed specific, so it can happen to any breed. Whether or not it's genetic is still questionable. It doesn't matter anyway because Lady was spayed at 6 months old.
Even with her physical ailment, Lady lives a full and happy life.
Today is the day! The winner is....drum role please....
Jacqueline who said "omg too cute! I say boys! jmmccarr@gmail.com". I will be contacting the winner asap.
I know all of you want to know the answer to the question about whether the hoglets are boys or girls. Well they are 2 girls and 1 boy. The two light colored are girls and the darker is male.
Thank you to all the participants. Blessings to you.
I love cooking! My mother taught me some basics in cooking, but she came from the get it out of the freezer box and bake it generation. In my early thirties, post hysterectomy, and weight gain, I wanted to get healthy. I started to read about all the preservatives in packaged foods, so my first step was to learn to cook healthy dishes for me and my family. This begins (and still is) my trial and error of learning to cook. I enjoy watching cooking shows and learn a new helpful tip. I love to take basic, unhealthy, boring dishes and change them into a party for you taste buds.
My taste buds love spicy or very flavorful foods. Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables and I love to make them many ways, but this recipe is loved by many who have tried it.
This amount feeds a family of four with leftovers:
2 16oz. pkgs. frozen cut green beans (you can use fresh but may need to add a little water when cooking them. Canned beans get too mushy.)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 c low-sodium soy sauce (if you use regular soy sauce, do not add salt)
Heat large, deep skillet on high, add olive oil and brown minced garlic, onion, mushroom, reduce to medium heat.
Stir in frozen green beans. Add spices (you can add more or less depending on you taste) and cover to keep moisture in.
Let cook, stirring the green beans every few minutes. When the beans start changing color (getting darker), add the soy sauce. Cook till beans are tender. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
There are a lot of great animal movies out there, and I've seen most of them, but what I love about Secretariat is that it glorifies God. The movie starts off with Penny reading a passage out of Job. In that Scripture God is talking to Job, saying "Do you give the horse its strength?"(Job 39:19). Job chapters 38-41 are God speaking to Job, telling of things that He has control of, no one else.
The fact that Secretariat won the Triple Crown and the last of the three races, he won by 31 links. Let me say that again...he won by 31 links! That is a record that no other horse has come close to. He was named the Super Horse. How could he possibly have won with that kind of distance over the other great racers? All I have to say is "who gives the horse his strength?"
One of my favorite pastimes is browsing Etsy. It's not only a wonderful way to find a fabulous gift or to get inspiration, but also to mingle with like-minded individuals.
I will be promoting (blog, Etsy, Twitter) my "Favorite 5" every Friday, so contact me if you would like me to check out your items. Tell me what you think about these items or share some of your favorites...
Find something you want, just click on the name. Please take time to visit these shops to see all their awesome items.
Here are some of my favorite horse finds that make great gifts for horse and horse lovers...
Those who know me know how much I love glass animals. This is a beautiful horse bead. Horse Head Bead
Anything personalized is always a good gift. No need to adjust the fit when you know which halter goes to which horse. This item comes in different colors. I chose my favorite...pink. Personalized Halter
You can't got to the barn without some delicious treats for your horse. Carrot-Apple Treats
This backpack is a great way to carry your necessities on a ride. Canvas Backpack
