What it means to be a hillbilly country gal...

Hillbillies. Southern girls. Country gals. Call them what you will, but they are a unique breed of individuals.

They love their man and don't worry about being treated like the little women, protected and loved.

They have an independent streak a mile wide, yet appreciate anything anybody does for them.

They like their blue jean shorts and tank tops on a hot summer day, whether it is the style or not.

They love their flip flops and will wear them all summer for any occasion. But in reality, if you ask them, they would much prefer to just go barefoot.

They can walk in 4" heels or run barefoot on the gravel.

They are feminine with a touch of tomboy thrown in.

They are always "afixin' to" do something or planning on "heading over that way".

They can play with their dainty toy china tea sets or play a rousing game of tag with the boys.

They love to laze in the shade of the old oak tree with a good book, but get a gang of friends together and they will join in a friendly game of wiffle ball.

They can bond with the girls in their lives and forge friendships that will last for decades.

They know the difference between have a boy for a friend or having a boyfriend.

They will draw a line and dare you to cross it, then forgive you when you do.

They have heart and soul and compassion and understanding.

They like sugar and sweets and won't hesitate to enjoy them on occasion, no matter what the health experts say.

They love God, family, country. They respect their elders and say thank you and you're welcome. They say yes ma'am and no ma'am. They hold doors open for the elderly.

They go to church on Sunday and say their prayers before they go to bed every night.

They are the first to fix a casserole for a friend going through a rough time and the last to leave the funeral visitation when a friend needs them around.

They stop for funerals and worry about the bereaved in the funeral procession, even when they don't know the diseased.

They believe every word in the Bible.

Mom and Dad are always important in their lives.

They care about family ties and love their siblings.

Cousins are just as important to them as brothers and sisters are.

They make loving moms and grandmothers.

They know that Aunts and Uncles are very special people and they appreciate having them in their lives.

They work hard and give a good day's work for their pay.

They used their share of outhouses.

They love taking walks in the woods.

They love banjos and guitars and good old timey music.

They come from the hills and the hollers. They are southern born and southern bred.

Thoughts of spring....

I don't know why it is that once it starts feeling a little like spring, we get the urge to clean, rearrange, redo and tackle new projects around the house. But I have several things that are going to need my attention this year. One of the first things I want to do is replace our porch swing. It is a metal swing and the cushions on it are so worn and ragged. I want to replace it with a nice wooden one and some throw pillows on it. Doesn't this one look cozy?

I also need a new set of tables and chairs for the other end of the porch. I just need to decide what I want. I may be leaning toward wrought iron, but not sure. 

I may even go with something in wicker.

I need to do something on the back deck as well. It gets a lot of sun so I'll need a small umbrella table and chairs I believe. I would love to find some retro style like the old metal chairs Mom and Dad had. 

I am not sure what I will hang on the front porch this year. Last year, I had Boston ferns and I absolutely loved the coziness they made on the porch.

But a part of me wants hanging pots of flowers this year. Lots of vibrant colors. I'm just not sure. My ferns stay fresh and pretty all the way up until November. I don't think hanging flowers would do that. 

I also need some type of plants on the back deck. It is small so I can't do a lot. But I'm toying with the idea of window boxes on the railing. I love these from Windowbox.com

But I may just want a big pot with an assortment of flowers. 

I guess I have a lot of work ahead of me. I can't wait till the local garden centers start getting all their plants out. 

Good Morning, Monday.

Not so sure what is so good about a Monday morning, but Good Morning anyway. Check out my little snack plate I got at Target this weekend. I love anything with cute little bees. I have been B to my family since my first niece learned to talk about 1976. So when I saw this, I just had to have it. 

I try to pick up anything unique that is a bee but the only thing I've found in the past year was this cute little tea candle holder. I'm going to have to start keeping my eyes open. 

I changed my blog template today. I just love Lee Lou Blogs. She always has awesome blog layouts and   her templates are very easy to switch in Blogger. 

I love computers and have always been fairly tech savvy on learning new things and running new programs. But I was thinking this morning that it is strange that as much as I love working on computers and learning new things to do, I have never once thought about teaching myself how to design my own templates. I tried to do a search for a tutorial and found so many that I was overwhelmed. Anybody have any ideas? I use Blogger so I need a tutorial for how to create templates for it. 

On another note, it is so good to see April bringing some sunshine our way. It's supposed to get up in the 60's today. That will be fantastic. 

For those of you on spring break, hope you have a fun filled week. 

He's Alive!

Happy Easter!

Thank you Sara Lee

As a nation, we mourned the demise of Twinkies and Hostess Cupcakes. We had to wipe our tears at the thought of no more Sweet 16 donuts and Ding Dongs. But through our despair, Sara Lee was quietly working in the background to bring us a new line of snack cake products. Imagine my excitement yesterday when I stumbled upon their new line. Cakes reminiscent of our beloved Hostess cupcakes.

Spongy goodness that rival that of our Twinkies. 

Donuts in chocolate or powdered sugar to tempt our taste buds. 

Cinnamon rolls and honey buns for glazed goodness. 

Then I spotted these that are like a rectangle Ding Dong instead of the traditional round. I thought those would be the ones I would try first. 

So I brought a box home with me. 

I took one out to sample it. 

Put it on a little plate.

And cut it in half to share with hubby. 

Was it good? Let's just say I decided hubby could get his own. I wasn't sharing. These were out of this world.

Thank you Sara Lee!

That plan didn't work out....

Well, things are falling apart on the Pyrex front. Hubby wanted to get me the Pyrex pink daisy casserole dish for my Easter basket this year. I saw it at a local antique store and he gave me money to get it when I was by that way again so he could make sure he was giving me the right one. The plan was that he would pay for it and I would pick it up and bring it home to him. Then he was going to put it in hiding until the Easter bunny comes to fill it with candy. 

So today, I decide to go pick it up while I was running errands. So I get there. They still have it. It is still the same price as before. Now I pick it up to look it over to make sure that it is what I want. And I gasped! Since the last time I was there, someone has dropped it or knocked it against something. There is a big chip in the top rim and one side has a deep gouge that has also scratched all the paint off. My beautiful soon-to-be Easter basket is no longer worth the price they were asking. And I don't want it if it has a chip in it and a chunk out of it because I wanted to bake casseroles in it. When I get one, I want it to be in good shape like this one, not broken. 

So I looked around and didn't see anything else I wanted. So I went home empty handed and told hubby to forget Pyrex for Easter. So he told me to take the money and get me a something I wanted. Well, I have had my eye on a pair of flip flops at Kohl's. They are the same price as the Pyrex bowl. So I just have to decide do I want the coral pair?

Or the turquoise pair?

So I went on line to look at them closer and try to decide and guess what? They are on sale for 1/2 off this weekend. So I can actually get BOTH pairs if I want. With my luck, they won't have my size now that I have finally decided to get them. Or I won't like the way they "feel". Then I had this big dilemma on what to wear for Easter. I finally made a decision to wear this coral sweater and white slacks that I already have. I have torn the house upside down looking for the sweater. I just saw it a couple of weeks ago and now it is nowhere to be seen. So I decided to wear a turquoise top and the white pants. But when I got out the pants to wash them up, there was a stain right below the knee that I didn't notice when I put them up for the winter. I did wash them and they did come clean. But I really don't want to wear the turquoise top so I have decided on a dress I have that I've only worn about 2 or 3 times. 

So my plan for my Easter Basket didn't work out the way I wanted and my plan for my Easter outfit was a flop as well. Oh, well, at least I will get chocolate from the Easter bunny ... unless he forgets where I live. 

What I ate...

I see a lot of posts titled what I wore. I love looking at the outfits and wish I had some kind of sense of style. But the older I get, the more I go for comfort than fashion. Don't get me wrong, I dress nice enough but I won't win any fashionista awards. So instead of posting what I wore, I thought I would post what I ate this week. This was Wednesday's lunch. I couldn't decide what to eat and was feeling to lazy to make anything so I figured you can't go wrong with ice cream. But there was not peanuts to go on so I tired M & M's. It was delicious. 

Last night I decided I hadn't use any of my Pyrex in awhile so I checked the cabinet and found that I had a chocolate chip cookie mix I had not made. So I got out my new Town and Country bowl and my favorite little pink bowl so I could get my butter to room temperature. 

It was a snack size package, one of those that are just $1.00 and it only makes 12 cookies. That is the perfect size for me and hubby. So I dropped them on the cookie sheet. I was out of parchment paper. I normally NEVER make cookies without using my parchment paper but I didn't feel like running out for just one thing. 

I sat the timer for the required 10 minutes. I always set it for the lowest time they recommend and usually always have to go 2-3 minutes longer. You would think I would just set it at the 12 minutes to begin with with but I'm always worried they will get done at 10, but they never do. 

So while they were baking, I heated up some Campbell's vegetarian vegetable soup and made a grilled cheese. If you look closely you will see there are not veggies in the soup. That is because I just like the flavor of the veggies in my broth, but I won't eat them. I'm a broth only soup gal. Even when I go out to eat, if I order veggie soup, I order it as "Vegetable soup with no vegetables." The waitress always scoops me out just broth. 

I got the cookies out to cool right as I sat down to eat. When I was finished eating, it was time for dessert. I am so addicted to Luigi's Sherbet. It is so delicious. It is like eating an orange Icee. It doesn't have that milky texture that other sherbets have. I did go on a rant the other day when I came home from the store. I usually eat two or three of these a week. Well, they are always 10 for $10 with my Food City Value card. It's been that way for over a year. But Food City has decided to take them off special and now they are $1.25 each. Yep, that's right. I got upset because they raised my price by .25 cents. But it is still the best Sherbet ever. 

So I fixed me a big bowl of sherbet and a little plate of cookies and had myself an awesome dessert. If you have never had chocolate with orange you do not know what you are missing. It is divine. 

Time to start my day with a healthy breakfast but all I hear are cookies and milk calling my name. Have a great day!