Still Exhausted and Fell Asleep In the Car - In God We Trust Moment

I have been so tired. I hauled all the boxes in from the car and trailer. They have been in my house for days. I was working on so many projects, but I keep seeing rainbows on everything and everywhere. 

I forgot to share when I arrived home from the reunion, I got out of the car and walked towards the garage and there was a corner of a $20 bill and guess what was on the corner? It had a 111 on it! 

I have no idea where a corner of a $20 would come from as I never use cash, but I felt like someone was trying to take care of me and remind me to "Trust in God! I have fallen asleep the last three nights while blogging. I hope I can get back to blogging and catch up with all the crazy events but I can't seem to catch up on my sleep. 

Have a blessed day!

Daith Piercing - Good and Working For The Most Part

I posted a few weeks back about getting my ears pierced to help my migraine headaches. Here is a link to that.

I haven't had a migraine since I got the daith piercing! It has been quite interesting to see how I have still had dizzy bouts and some tooth pain, but no headaches or vomiting. 

The pain of the piercing has decreased and the gunk has cleaned up for the most part, but last week as I was heading out to my reunion, I had everything packed but I was having a bit of pain so I was cleaning and disinfecting the piercing using a q-tip just before leaving, and somehow the top of the earring unscrewed and fell into the garbage disposal. 

I used a magnet to pull out the bb sized top to the earring that screws on. I was getting ready to head to the family reunion and I spent an hour getting the top back on the earring. My niece used needle nose pliers to tighten the top while we were camping and I hoped it was going to be secure again.

I was cleaning it tonight and it happened again. The top fell off and the earring fell out and I spent 2 hours trying to get the little bb top back on! I couldn't do it! I then had to find an earring that would fit in the area and have no small hoops. So I found a round earring but it is larger and it hurt putting it in as my ear was so irritated due to trying to get the top on the other earring. 

My ear is so sore I am afraid to sleep on it. I think there may be some misthreading on the earring that it keeps falling off. I will have to contact my niece and see if she can fix the problem with the earring falling out. I can't live with this earring in my ear as I am afraid it will catch on things so I hope my niece can figure out why the earring keeps falling out. 

If you are thinking of getting daith piercing to help with migraines, I have to share that it worked for me so far! I wish I had done it years ago!

Have a blessed day!

First Family Photos in 3 Years Two Weeks in a Row

I am still reeling from the past two weeks of the wedding and the family reunion. I was so busy during the crazy activity, that I didn't get to spent much time with my kids or grandchildren. 

We hadn't all been in the same place in almost 3 years. We haven't had a family photo since back then. With Prince number Three joining our family, I wanted to get a family photo to replace the one on the wall. I was a bit sad that the photographer only took two photos of us on the wedding day, and I wish she had pulled the girls in the back to the sides and spread out the grandkids, but at least we have a photo of us all together. 

Then at the reunion, we got one in our carnival shirts, but I was super stressed and not feeling well so I wasn't at my best with the heat on top of that, but at least we have something. I don't want to blow up either photo, but at least we got a few photos. 

Even with all the crazy, they were all good things. I am still fighting exhaustion and dehydration, but I feel blessed!

Have a blessed day!

 

It's Been Such a Busy Two Weeks, I Am Beyond Tired

I had the wedding last week, and the family reunion this past week. It was crazy and I would like to share about how it went, but on the flip side, I am falling asleep. 

My home has boxes from the wedding with the decorations and platters from the showers, and more and more. I have been purchasing totes every time I go to thrift stores so I can package all the stuff in them. 

I also have boxes of games and prizes, and activities all over the house. I have five coolers stacked in my kitchen and another in the garage. I have five water coolers in my house, and all the luggage etc. I haven't slept much in a month with everything going on. 

I finished unloading the trailer and cleaning it about midnight last night. I woke at 11:30 for a homecoming for my nephew who returned from a mission to Thailand and CA recently. He and his brother spoke, and then another speaker who was fabulous. I watched over zoom and when it ended I fell back to sleep until 5:30 p.m.  

I slept 15 hours and it is sad how tired I still am. I hope I can feel better and have the energy I need to to get what I need to do done. 

Have a blessed day!

Measuring Life by the Trees in our Lives

My best friend in town years ago was Michelle. She lived one street down and we met when I took my girls over and we helped her unpack her home after moving in. Most people you don't know wouldn't accept help from a stranger, however, she was a military wife and due to that, she was used to having that military "unit" to rely on, so she was more open to help. 

Many years ago when they lived here, they planted two trees in the front strip of their yard. The trees grew and they moved. Another adorable family moved in and the trees got bigger. I sent Michelle a picture a few years back showing her how big they had gotten. 

I visited that family just yesterday while distributing the apples and carrots from the food bank. Today, I was passing and noticed a tree service truck in front of their home. I saw that one tree was down and the other was on its way down. 

I stopped and visited with the family while I took some pictures of the tree coming down to send to my friend Michelle. 

I came home and was picking plums off my tree and could hear them making the last cuts on the tree to take them down. I took a short video to send my friend. The inside of the trees had started to rot and they were way too tall for the area they were planted causing the sidewalk to uproot and were a hazard to the home. 

It made me ponder while I was picking plums how the trees in our yard can tell stories as well. Many were here when we moved in, many I have planted. I am planning on taking out the back apple that is the only fruit tree left in the yard that I didn't plant. Things like that, make the house mine and not those that owned it before me. 

It is interesting that new owners have to live in a house a long time before it comes "their home" as when we first moved here, for probably 15 years, our home was the "Smith Family" home before it came our family home. 

I do feel like we can measure our life here by the trees in our yard! Have a blessed day!

Making 300 Wedding Treat Bags with LOTS of Help From Angels, Family, and Friends

Princess Number 3 (My Third Daughter) just got married. We thought of several "thank you" gifts that we could give at the wedding, and we finally decided on a "Cracker Jack" popcorn recipe that you shake in a paper bag and cook in the microwave. 

We thought we could put a cute little "Thanks for popping into our lives" or something similar on the cello bags of popcorn tied with a cute bow. I thought I could make all the bags by myself in a day, but after making three batches, bagging them, and tying them off, it took me three hours to make 30 bags. 

I ran into my nieces at the grocery store. There were probably 500 cars at Walmart and my nieces parked in the spot next to my car. They didn't know it was my car, but they had rainbow hand-prints all over her car and I recognized it when I came out. On my blog, I have shared many times how my mother used to sing us "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" each night before bed. 

Since her passing, during stressful times, I usually see rainbows and it makes me feel like she is watching after me. Seeing those rainbows, and rainbow hand-prints on my nieces car and the fact that she parked right next to me in a huge parking lot, I felt like my mother was sending me help from above as I wouldn't have thought about calling to ask them for help, so I am grateful for those rainbows to draw my attention. 

When I saw my nieces, I had the thought to ask them to help bag the popcorn as that was what took so much time. I had already asked my friend if she could help me. She called and told another friend I could use some help. So, around 7 p.m. my four angles showed up and my nieces stayed for 2 1/2 hours and my friends stayed for over 4 hours. We whipped out about 300 bags of treats! It was so amazing to see everyone pull together to help with this project. I thought it was going to be taking me all week after my trial run, but getting them finished so quickly gave me more time to get to other things done! It was a wonderful day with wonderful people! I am blessed with great friends. 

At the reception, I was walking in a little late as we had some issues with rain, and I were slipping in the exit. As my sister and I were walking in, a lady and her husband were leaving and she was telling him, "This popcorn is a yummy bag of deliciousness!"  Her comment made me feel happy that we found a treat that would make Princess Three's reception memorable for her and others!

During the reception, I look over and see a couple taking photographs of the display, sign, and treats which also made me feel good.

As we were cleaning up, the couple who rent out the venue told me that they had the display basket for a long time and had never found a use for it but once she saw what we used it for, they now knew how to use it! The venue was $1200 for the day and that included tables and lamps around the edges. The rest we provided. They had other things to rent for extra, and they were taking pictures of many of our displays and watched us carefully as we cleaned up all the decor. I have a feeling they will be buying and renting more decor after seeing what we did. 

We had some left over and I am glad for that as we can use them at the reunion. We did give out more than I thought we would as there was a steady flow of visitors for the 2 hours of the reception! 

I feel truly Blessed.

Cracker Jack Caramel Popcorn Recipe - Paper Bag Popcorn

 

I was looking for some kind of wedding "thank you" treat to hand out at the reception. My sister said they gave out bags of popcorn at her daughters with a sticker saying, "Thanks For Popping In" on the front. 

I said plain popcorn wouldn't be great, but the caramel popcorn I make would get super sticky in the heat and wouldn't do well being made ahead of time. 

Here is one recipe we use that has marshmallows in it. 

Here is another sticky recipe we use that has peanut butter in them. 

There is another type of popcorn treat I make and give out at Christmas that has melted chocolate with different flavors on it, but worried that would melt in the heat and make a huge mess if anyone opened it at the reception as it is outside and will most likely be hot.

Here is a link to the post about that.

My sister then suggested my "Aunts" recipe for popcorn. I had NO idea what recipe she was talking about as I have never had that aunts recipe of any type of popcorn. She said "The one that you make in a paper bag." I told her I had no recollection of anything like that. She said "It is like "Cracker Jacks" as it doesn't get sticky like others. 

I asked her to send me my "aunts recipe" and the picture at the top is what she sent, she got it that way from my Aunt who got it from someone named "Hatch" and I have no idea who that is or if my aunt knew them. It took me a week or two to have the time to make it, but I also had to find paper bags to make it. I was finally able to find the items and to make the recipe. Here is the recipe:

Wedding Reception Popcorn

1 C. Brown Sugar

1/2 C. Butter

1/4 C. White Karo Syrup

Pinch of Salt

1/4 TSP Baking Soda

 3 Quarts Popcorn

* Can add nuts, pretzels, M&M's, chocolate chips or anything else that sounds good

2 Paper Bags

Mix the top four ingredients into a microwave safe bowl and put in for exactly 3 minutes. Take it out and stir it, and then put it into the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes longer. 

Have the two bags inside each other and the dry popcorn in the bag and ready for this next part. Take the heated mixture out of the microwave and stir in the baking soda.

Once it is fully mixed and stirred, pour it into the paper bag into the center so the caramel isn't on the sides. Roll the top down over each other on the bags and start shaking vigorously.

Put it into the microwave and heat for exactly 1 minute. Shake vigorously and put in the microwave for 1 more minute. Shake vigorously and put in any of the "other" ingredients at this point and shake them until coated. Pour out onto a cookie sheet and let cool. 

When cool, put into container.  

At this point, I will share that I thought 1/2 cup of butter was LOTS and that perhaps it could be made with 1/3 to 1/4 cup, so I tried that recipe and had people taste test both types, one with the larger amount and one with the lesser amount of butter. The one with the 1/2 cup butter was the winner as it was really creamy and smooth tasting, but it does leave a greasy film on your fingers. 

The batches with less butter were more like "Cracker Jacks" and still sweet and good, but not as decadent as the 1/2 cup batches, so we decided to go with the full 1/2 cup butter for each batch. 

Enjoy and have a BLESSED Day!