My first on-line Pampered Chef Party

Welcome to our first on-line Pampered Chef Party. Please watch the video to see the recipes we prepared and the products that were used in the preparation. I hope you enjoy attending our online party. If you would like the recipes or a copy of the presentation, just let me know by leaving a comment. Simply click the play arrow to start the presentation. In the bottom right corner of the video screen, you will see a little black and white square beside the word menu. Click on that square to make the video full screen. If you would like to place an order, the link will be on the last screen of the video. The party will run through July 27th and orders will be shipped direct to your home from Pampered Chef. Enjoy!

 

More PowerPoint presentations from Brenda Keefer

Wacky Wednesday Giveaway

I would love to reach 100 followers on my blog. I know that is a small amount for some, but too me, it would be a milestone. I had 34 for the longest time, then it inched up little by little to 73 followers and 3 Google Friend Connections. That means I just need 24 more to reach my 100 followers mark.

I will be giving away this matching set of 31 Gifts Products. I absolutely love their products. The contest will start today and run until August 5th. In order to enter, simply leave me a comment confirming that you are a follower through my blog or through Google Friend Connect. I'm looking forward to seeing who will win this wonderful matching set. Want to increase your chances of winning? You can receive an additional entry into the contest if you send me a link showing where you promoted this on your blog (or Facebook, if you do not have a blog).

The set includes the following items:

Tote Bag with 3 pockets on front, two on back and a fishnet pocket on each end. This makes an awesome travel companion for short or long trips, especially with children. It can hold books, toys, snacks, etc. It also works well when traveling to use as a giant personal care bag. Shampoos and lotions will fit in the pockets without a worry of spilling in your other bags. The overall size is 10" x 15 1/2"

A thermal lunch tote that comes in very handy for packing your lunch for work, packing a childs lunch for school, or simply toss in an ice pack and some bottled water for a day spent out in the sun. It is also great to toss in the car with snacks so that the heat doesn't ruin the snacks. It has a pocket on the back side. It is 9 1/2" x 14".

This next item is my favorite item they make. It is the mini zipper pouch. It is 4 1/2 x 7 1/2 and has so many uses. I have so many of these that I have considered writing a blog 101 Uses for the Mini Zipper Pouch. This is probably one of my favorite items I own...and my biggest addiction. The mini zipper is so soft and padded that it makes a wonderful addition to any purse. You can use it in your purse to keep cosmetics...or mints and gum...or extra checks and registers. It also comes in handy as a mini first aid kit in your glove box, an emergency "tool" kit with scissors, nail file, clippers, small brush, etc. I also use mine to keep my craft essentials in such as needles, thimble, scissors, seam ripper, etc. There is a little hook on the side that you can pair it with a wristlet strap and it is perfect for those mini-trips where you don't want to cart your whole purse. My phone, camera, car keys, credit cards and cash fit in one perfectly for a day at the zoo or amusement park. The uses are endless.

The last item is their shirred front wallet. This is one of the roomiest, easiest to access wallets I have ever used. 4 1/2" x 8 1/4". It has multiple pockets for your various credit cards, rewards cards, ID's, etc. There are two sides for cash and a nice zipper pocket inside. It is long enough that you do not have to try to "squish" your dollars bills in. Nice and roomy, but not too large.

Be sure and sign up and let me know you are a follower to be registered to win this $71.00 valued prize package. If you post a link on your blog, let me know that as well for your second entry.

Blenko Glass-Reposted

NOTE: REPOSTED. FOR SOME REASON, THE ORIGINAL POST WOULD NOT KEEP THE FONT CODE. I HAD TO DELETE AND AM REPOSTING IT TODAY.

In London on December 8, 1854 William John Blenko was born to a middle class English family. William became interested in glass adornment at an early age, and being encouraged by his mother apprenticed himself to a glass craftsman. He attended school and became a pupil of a philosopher John Tyndall. Early in the 1880s he went into business for himself making what is known as rondels (Round Window Panes), while experimenting with other processes of making glass superior to his competitors.

At the age of 38, he came to New York to experiment with the wonder fuel natural gas. Hearing that this fuel was abundant around Kokomo, IN he went there and started up one of Americas first gas-fueled operations.

The year was 1893, he was producing glass but it would not sell. The American window makers would not accept his products, although it was made by Old World methods. There was a natural prejudice against a domestically made glass. The stained glass studios were European and wanted European glass. This was later known as “The Cleveland Panic”. Discouraged by this he decided to return to England and export the same product he was making in Indiana. He came back to Indiana in 1899, and started a trans-Atlantic shuttle that would end in Milton, WV 23 years later.

He chose the little farm town of Milton because the Industrial Development Dept of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad sold him on the idea of Milton as a good place to work. It was a dependable source of sober, industrious labor and natural gas, used in all the glass furnaces, was cheaply priced. In the spring of 1922 William arrived in the small town of Milton, where he soon began unloading the tools of his trade into a small hillside barn. He then went to work building a furnace, with the help of a newly recruited crew of locals. Within a few weeks, glass was being made.

During the depression era William became aware that there would be a need to expand the product line to more than just stained glass. So in 1929, he secured the services of two Swedish Glass Craftsmen. They trained the Blenko crews to craft beautiful pieces of glass by hand. Production increased and in 1930, the company changed from Eureka to Blenko Glass Company, and so came the tableware line of glass products that have made “Blenko” a household word all over the world.

(From: http://www.blenko.com/history.html)

(Photo Courtesy of Big Ashtray.com)
You may wonder why I find this story so fascinating. It is because the little town of Milton, WV was the neighboring town to my hometown I grew up in. My Uncle Charlie lived on a small farm "just around the bend" from Blenko. When we would visit on the weekend, sometimes my Aunt Louise would take us over to the Blenko plant and we would visit the gift shop. You could purchase little bags of glass remnants that were so beautiful. I liked to put them in little vases or bowls in my room. Blenko glass brings back a lot of wonderful memories of going up to visit Uncle Charlie. Every time I see a Blenko product, I am reminded of happy times.

Welcome, Monday

It's Monday. A time for fresh new beginnings, a new start. If you are like me, you normally approach Monday with a sense of dread. A sense of wondering what's in store this week. As of today, I'm changing my thinking.

It's Monday. New things are right around the corner. Blessings lay ahead. I can't help but wonder what good things might come my way. What changes and challenges has God prepared for me. Will this be the week that I see prayers answered? Will this be the week that I see all my hard work pay off? Or will this be the week that things will get back to some semblance of order and bring smooth sailing for awhile.

I know one thing. No matter what is in store for me, I will face it with both feet firmly planted on the ground. I will abide by Philippians 4:13 as I go through my week --  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!

Today I'm loving...

...my grandchildren

Waiting, waiting, still waiting.....

How funny is this picture? Do you ever feel like this? You sit at your computer and you are either waiting for information to come, a photo to upload, your chat partner to respond, a page to load...always waiting on something. I'm not to good at the waiting game. Thank goodness for my laptop which can go at a pretty good pace.

But as I sat looking at this picture, I wondered how patient others are when they are having to wait...and wait...and wait.

Now I have never claimed to be a patient person. As a matter of fact, when the grandkids get impatient for anything, my kids blame that trait on me. But the truth is, I have learned to be more patient. But I am about to run out of it with my car guys insurance company. As you will recall, my car was damaged in a recent hail storm and it was totalled.

Therein lies the problem. My car guy has the perfect car for me. It's a 2005 Ford 500 and it is SO adorable. The minute I saw it, I started drooling and murmuring "Mine. Mine. Mine". It had a minimal, really minimal amount of hail damage but he is selling all the damaged vehicles at a ridculously low price since he is not going to fix them (I have a guy lined up to fix it). It is a perfect car for what I want and the little bit of damage will allow me to pick it up at a bargain. He even let me drive it for 2 days to make sure I liked it. I DID!

This is going to be an awesome deal and I am getting so excited to get the car. Enter Mr. Insurance Man.  He wants to calculate and combobulate all the damages of all the cars that were on the car lot at the time of the storm. My car guy had hoped to have it all settled in 2 weeks. Mr. Insurance Man said it shouldn't be a problem, THEN he went on vacation. THEN the insurance company needed more files.   THEN he wanted to see the car again. THEN ... I guess you get the picture. So here we are, 50 DAYS after the hail damage, and I am still without wheels. I am so tired of driving hubby's truck I could scream.

But, still, I persevere. I want THAT car. I am willing to be patient until I get it. I know in the long run I will be glad I waited, but oh the waiting it not good for someone known as Little Ms. Impatient.

Looking ahead....

Some people dwell on the past, some look forward to the future and some just live life for the moment. Which one are you?

I asked myself that question today. I was a little dismayed by the answer. After a lot of soul searching, here is what I discovered.

I'm a little of all three.

It is normal, as we get older, to remember the past with great fondness. To think of the people, places and things that we have enjoyed and have combined together to make us what we are today. That is just a normal process of aging. However, I think that I am guilty of revisiting the past on things that are better let go.



As I traveled this journey, I realized that I also live for the moment. I try to find happiness in whatever comes my way. I try to squeeze every moment of joy out of each and everything I do. Do I succeed, not always. It's hard to live for the moment when you can't let go of something in the past or you spend time dreaming about the future. But for the most part, I find it easy to be content with whatever God's plan is for me at any particular moment.

I have realized that I also love the future. I love having something to look forward to. The excitement and thrill of anticipation. Whether it is something long awaited such as a vacation or something as simple as a day out with my hubby, I just love having plans and dreams. I love knowing something good is in the air and that things are looking up. As I was looking out my window this morning, I had to laugh as I was thinking about the future. I was noticing that the neighbor needs to mow. He just mowed a few days ago, but the rains have really given us some good green grass this year. But it made me realize that in the middle of every season, we start anticipating the next season. Here we are, barely into July, and I was thinking about the fall decorations I want to put out in September.

After all this deep thinking and soul searching about the past, present and future, I have decided that's it's okay to be a little of all three. Doris Day said it best in The Man Who Knew Too Much when she sang Que Sera, Sera  (Whatever will be, will be.)