Hey all!!! I'm back!!! It has been a while since my last post. I have been rather busy this spring/summer. It always is the busiest time of year for a farmer. Thought I would post so you would know I am still alive and kickin. We have been working in the hay fields for a while now and not sure how much longer before the first cutting is all baled and hauled away. Seems to be taking a long time with all the rain and storms that we have had to contend with this year. It is a blessing to have all the rain but it puts a damper on getting the work done. I have been trying to take up the slack for Steve and doing all the mowing and weedeating around the place as well as taking care of the chickens so he can concentrate on the hay. I had a bit of a break today and thought I would post something. Not much exciting to talk about from here. I didn't even realize it had been so long since my last post until I got an email from our old neighbor in Monticello (who keeps up with us via my Xanga post) that it was February since I last posted. Time just flies by when you are having fun... I guess....
One of the activities that took up much of my spare time this past few months was planning and having a 50th anniversary party for my in-laws. It was May 16th, which was also the same date in 1980 that Steve and I were married. I haven't planned or had many parties in my lifetime and it was rather a chore for me. I couldn't have done it without the help of my wonderful daughter-in-law, Amber and of course, my wonderful son, Chris. Amber scanned a bunch of pictures and I do mean a "bunch" into the computer so we could have a slide show for the party. It turned out really good and I think everyone really enjoyed it. We went to alot of trouble to buy music selections from the year my in-laws were married and it didn't work. We couldn't hear the music over the noise in the fellowship hall at our church. We couldn't play it loud or no one could have heard themselves think on less hear what each other was saying but that was the only thing that didn't go so well. Joan, my mother-in-law, had to approve all pictures that went into the slide presentation. I am kinda glad she did after all was said and done. She wanted to show pictures of her two boys that had passed on from psytic fibrosis at early ages and kind of do a memorial to them. It was so sad. She and Allen both broke down during the slide show. It put a damper on the whole thing. Steve had done a lighthearted talk before the pictures and then it all ended in tears but I was glad Joan was the one to want to include that part of their life and it wasn't just the mean old daughter-in-law that did it. You know what I mean???
We also got Amber's mom to take pictures during the whole thing. She is a great photographer and should start her own business. Here are a few pics from that day:
This is the one of the napkins laying on top of the photo book I had made with some of Joan and Allen's wedding day pictures. She did not have a wedding album. I remedied that. I made a mistake when ordering the cover for the book. It had a cut out that was supposed to show a sneak peak picture but the first picture didn't work. Their heads were chopped off. So... I had to come up with a fix. I decided to cross stitch a design and padded it so it looked puffed out. I did the heart in gold thread (which is no fun) and it turned out great. I am good at covering up my mistakes.
Here is a picture of Joan and Allen on May 16, 1959. Weren't they such a cute couple. They were married in Joan's grandmother's house. I love the flowery wallpaper in the background. Notice the cake topper, she still had it and I used it on the cake we had made for the anniversary party.
Here it is behind the glass topper with their names and the wedding date on it. I thought it would be a nice keepsake for her to have.
Here is a pic of the banner and one of the flower arrangements Joan and I made for the event. Our irises were in full bloom and we used a bunch of them as decoration. I remember doing the same thing for Chris and Amber's wedding last year and for mine and Steve's wedding day 29 years ago. There are irises in all the pictures from our wedding day's. It was only fitting to use them for this party as well.
Here is where guests signed in. I had the wedding picture enlarged and we had a current picture of Joan and Allen made by Amber's Mom and I enlarged it as well. Ended up giving the framed pictures to Joan as a gift along with the picture album of her wedding pics.
Here are the honorees behind their cake. Joan wore the same dress she wore for Chris and Amber's wedding last May. She wanted to get some use out of it. I had an iris corsage and boutinerre made for them. You can't see it very well but I had a box covered with a beautiful purple velvet fabric pooled under the cake to give it some height.
Here are the three generations of Tackett's. Joan wanted me to wear a light colored outfit (I usually wear dark colored clothing). Now I see why I do. She and I found this cream colored suit shopping one day. It does not flatter me at all. You can't tell that I have lost 25 pounds. That is why I didn't wear the pretty purple dress I wore to Chris and Amber's wedding last year. It was way too big on me. I wish now I had taken the time to cut it down and wore it. Oh well.... hindsight is 20/20 and never like to see myself in pictures anyway. I always find something wrong with myself.
Here is one of Steve and I getting the party started. Steve did a presentation of interesting facts and things that happened in 1959, the year they were married. It was quite interesting. Amber made a slide show and supplied pictures to go along with it. I think every one enjoyed it.
Here is a picture during the old photo portion of the show. Amber spent a lot of time on this. Joan gave her all the old pictures and she then had to scan them in and label each and every one of them. I am planning to have the whole thing made into a picture album/book eventually. That is a picture of Steve when he was a baby in his grandmother's flower bed. During the slide show is when Joan and Allen both broke down when the pictures of the relatives now gone were shown as well as her two baby boys who died. It was rather sad but it is an integral part of their life and that was the intent of the presentation... to show their life in pictures. There were actually some guests at the event that didn't even realize or had forgotten that they had two other children besides Steve.
Here is a shot of the crowd visiting and eating cake.
Here is another crowd shot. Here is one of Joan drying away the tears after the picture show. That is one of her best friends from church helping me console her.
Here is a shot of some of the immediate family that were there. The lady in the center is Joan's 1st cousin who lives in Searcy. She made a surprise visit for the event. Joan was elated. The couple on the right (she is Joan's cousin as well) live down the road from Joan and Allen and moved here from California a few years ago and renovated an old house that they live in now.
Here is a picture of my Dad and Mom with Joan and Allen. It is so nice to have both sides of your family all in one place. We all attend church together and usually are all together for family functions. Sure makes life alot easier. (Mom has lost 25 pounds as well now with me on Weight Watchers and she loved the way the dress she wore a year ago for Chris and Amber's wedding fit.)
And here is a picture of me and a lady from church who I absolutely adore. She is such a sweet person and I enjoy being around her. She is also a huge inspiration for me. She has lost 30 pounds on Weight Watchers and she and I always find something to talk about. She just makes me happy every time I get to spend time with her.
Okay, now you have a glimpse into the anniversary party that took up much of my time this past Spring. I hope the amount of pictures I loaded on here doesn't cause any of you problems. I have a bunch of pictures from that day. I had the lady take a picture of each couple or family with Joan and Allen and have since gotten them all put into an album for them. It was the best part of the whole thing to them, to have pictures with all the guests, their friends.
I have also been doing alot of crafting in my spare time, what little I have. The community had a benefit recently for a family that lost their home to a fire a month or so ago. I didn't have an afghan made so I had to get busy and get one made for that. Everyone now expects an afghan to bid on at these auctions made by Twila. My friend above that I told you about won the bidding this time and got the pretty multi green afghan for her living room. I was so happy she got it. I want the person getting it to appreciate all the hard work and she definitely does.
I have rambled on and on. There is no way to update you on all the goings-on around here over the past 3 or 4 month. I will try to be more diligent about updating my post from now on. Thanks for your patience.
Today was my mother-in-law's birthday. I am making supper to celebrate tomorrow night. Tomorrow just so happens to be my birthday and we usually celebrate together. Since she made the big birthday supper for Steve a couple of weeks ago, I decided to reciprocate and do the cooking this time. Not making anything fancy. It will just be Steve's parents, my parents and Chris and Amber. My whole family loves my Bean Soup. I will make corn muffins to go along with it, a salad and a tray of veggies to munch on. Mom is bringing tea. I am also baking us an angel food cake and going to whip up an icing with pineapple and pudding and then top it all with some strawberries. This meal shouldn't mess up mine and my mom's weight watcher program too bad. Won't be near as bad as that german chocolate cake my mil made for Steve (with double the frosting on top). I gained two pounds at the following weigh in. I know it wasn't all from that meal (since I only ate a small piece of that delicious cake), but that meal didn't help any.
Weigh-in this week was a bit better. I lost 1/2 pound. Mom gained 1/2 pound. We were both satisfied with it tho. We were both so afraid it would be a whole lost worse. We are both feeling so much better and even it we don't lose weight each week, we know we can do it and we know we will have some ups and downs in the process. My past week was not good. I spent three days of it with some kind of stomach bug. I would have thought I would have lost more weight after suffering with that but it just didn't happen. Anyhoo... onward and downward (I know it should be upward but I am talking about the scales.... want the number going down and not up!)
For my birthday this year, I decided to redo my bedroom and, what we call, Steve's room (the bedroom with a TV in it.... he spends alot of time in there). I didn't do the whole painting thing but I did buy new bedspreads (they are actually quilt coverlets) with the shams. I also bought new curtains (was able to keep the bedskirts... they matched so much better than the ones that came with the set.) Also moved around some pictures and bought a couple new pieces. I think it looks really good. Nice change from before and that was my intent. I was able to pull out some old pillows I had stored away that go perfectly with the new stuff. I love it when that happens. I also moved my old bedroom curtains into my office. I loved those curtains and just couldn't stand the thoughts of packing them away. Glad I thought to put them in the office, they look even better in there than they did in my bedroom. Go figure! Chris wishes I would use more modern stuff but my house is just not modern. It has painted paneling. It has white windows. I have alot of homemade pieces and that just screams country. I like to call my style "country cottage". That is what makes me feel comfortable.
Here is a picture of my bedroom from the doorway. It is a very small room (Ignore the humidifier... it is a necessity in my room and I was too lazy to move it out for the picture. The closet is behind glass doors on the left and to the right past another dresser is an entrance to the one and only bathroom in our house (after I combined the two teeny weeny bathrooms a couple of years ago) to the right. I need to take some close up pictures of the valances and the quilt. It is so pretty. I got them on sale at JCP. I brought the picture I had cross stitched a few years ago and absolutely love that is above the old dresser in from another room. It goes perfect in here now. I love that dresser. It was my great grandfather's. Mom refinished it years ago and gave it to me. The cedar chest at the foot of the bed was given to me by my mom and dad one Xmas. It was made by a local artisan.
This is a shot of the dressing table Steve gave me one Xmas years ago. I love it. It holds my lamp and all my books I am reading. Also a good place for my fan (but you can ignore it too. Not very attractive.) I wanted you to see the four plaques I also bought from JCP. They are so my style. I love those. And see what I mean about the bedskirt... it was the one I made myself from curtain panels. I had not been able to find what I wanted plus one that fit this bed. It sits high up off the floor. So, I just found some curtain panels that matched the old bedspread and made me my own bedskirt using an old sheet and sewing them on to fit. The rug is old too. Use to be in my den but I bought some new rugs for there as well. Guess you could say I have been stimulating the economy here lately. Oh and don't freak out about the purple lamp. It was part of the purple/gold decor of old. I had taken an old glass panel lamp and covered the panels with fabric to match a pillow on the old bed. I am going to cover it with a burgundy see through fabric that will go with the new stuff.
The pillows on the bed were made by my mom. They were made a while back and go perfectly with the new bedding. And the two little bitty pillows were purchased years ago at a Cracker Barrel. Didn't have a clue what I would ever do with them. I figured it out finally. Mom and I decided to swap headboards to save money. She came by today and took my homemade, covered head board and she is bringing her wooden one over tomorrow night when they come over for supper.
Now here is Steve's TV room. I just love this quilt. I also bought it at JCP. It went perfectly with the existing red and white stripped bedskirt that Mom made for this bed years ago (this bed was my grandpa's when he was a boy... just spray painted it... Chris used this bed frame when he was a little boy.) Ignore all the crap on the tables... When I took the picture I didn't notice the junk laying there or that the cord is not straight running from the lamp... funny you only notice this kind of detail in a picture. I bought the two blue pillows new from Wal-Mart the other day for $2.50 each. Mom made the red and white one with the buttons years ago. I made the flag pillow a couple of years ago when I was in a crafty mood. I think it is so cute and goes perfectly with the bedding.
Here is the new curtains. Nothing fancy but they have an understated elegance about them and they match very well. Now you see the TV. It gets way too much use around here.
Here is the view from the doorway. It is another very small room but it serves it's purpose. The rocker on the right is where I sit to work on my crocheting while Steve is busy watching TV. That is a poinsetta on the side table left over from Xmas. It added such a nice pop of flower to the room. Love it!!
And you can see the bedskirt in this pic. Mom had to make it as well to fit the old bedstead. The one's you buy are just not the right length. Glad Mom and I can sew. Sure solves alot of issues.
Here is a picture Steve took of me after church this past Sunday. He thought I was looking so good. I never like to look at pictures of myself. But here it is anyway:
Hope this all makes sense. Steve is hollering for me to come watch American Idol with him so I am just going to send this on. Him and his TV!!!
Here are a couple of good recipes. Sunnyc and I are both on the weight watcher's program and love trying new recipes to keep us on track. Thought these might even interest you fellow Xangans not on the program. They are really tasty and good for you to boot. Enjoy!!
Heat the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwaveable bowl until melted.Add the cereal and mix until completely coated.Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper lined pan and sprinkle with a little sugar substitute.Refrigerate until firm.You can make six large haystacks (2 pts each) or eighteen smaller ones and have three little haystacks per serving. (Note: Instead of sprinkling the sugar on top, I just added it to the chocolate before adding the cereal.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Grease muffin pans with Pam. Mix dry ingredients.In another bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, applesauce, oil, vanilla, and pumpkin until well blended.Stir in chocolate chips.Mix dry and wet ingredients well.Scoop into muffin pans and bake 18-20 minutes.Turn onto rack and cool.Wrap in plastic bag and keep 1-2 days.Reheat before serving.Make 1-2 days ahead for best flavor.Makes about 2.5 dozen large muffins.Notes: Made as above: 3 points per muffin.Omit oil and chocolate chips entirely: 2 points each.Replace ½ sugar with 12 packets of aspartame: 1 ½ points each.
Note: The above recipe is as it was given to me by a fellow weight watcher.When I made this recipe, I substituted the sugar with splenda and a little bit of splenda brown sugar.I also used egg beaters instead of regular eggs.And I used unsweetened applesauce.I omitted the oil and the chocolate chips completely.I did add about a cup of chopped pecans to my recipe however.I used my mini muffin pan and made little bite-size muffins.They were adorable as well as delicious.I think the next time I make these muffins I am going to try using whole wheat flour and adding a handful of oats just for some more texture. I love taking recipes and making them my own.
Sorry I don't have the dietary information on these muffins. You might can find a similar recipe on one of the many weight watcher websites if the information is important to you or if you are really a diligent "weight watcher", you can figure up the stats on your own.
It is after midnight here and I am fixing to head to bed. First I have to give Steve a big kiss and wish him a happy birthday. Yep, today, February 17 is my husband's birthday. He is 49 years old today. We celebrated with his parents and our son and dil at my in-laws earlier this evening. My mil made dinner and a homemade german chocolate cake (Steve's fav) with strawberries and ice cream. I did pretty good. I ate small portions and only had a half piece of cake with the berries and no ice cream. My mil kept insisting we bring home the rest of the cake but Steve was bound and determined as me not to have it around to tempt us. I am not feeling like this week will be good to me on the old scales. I have not been as good at keeping up with my food journal. It has been a very busy past couple of weeks and I have not gotten in my good cardio workouts either. I have done alot of work on the farm but I need those good sweaty cardio workouts to feel like I am really staying fit. Just hoping I haven't gained this time but if I have, I will just get right back up on the wagon from whence I have fallen off of.
Hope you all had a Happy Valentine's Day and got to spend it with the one(s) you love.
My Saturday was spent with my sweet hubby and my son and his wife. Chris and Amber decided to build two outdoor benches to go on either side of the fireplace on their carport for part of their Valentine's gift to each other. Here they are in our barn working on the project.
Chris got the instructions online and bought all the supplies and they whooped out two benches in just a couple of hours. The girls he works with thought it was romantic that he wanted to do something that he and Amber would be able to work on together. Here they are enjoying the fruits of their labor. I didn't help any with this just supplied them with hot cocoa to keep them going and took their picture as the project went along. I was cooking a big pot of homemade soup for our lunch and kept running back and forth keeping an eye on it. I also made some really good pumpkin muffins that a fellow weight watcher had given us the recipe for. They were delicious!!!
Here is a picture of the two benches I took this morning on the way to church. It will be nice to have the benches there to put on their shoes when they go out to work. Plus it will be nice for the next party we have at their house. Good place to sit. They also plan to prime and paint them later on. They had another painting job planned for Sunday.
Chris had also ordered a new comforter, sheets, bedskirt and valances for their bedroom as part of Amber's Valentine's Day gift. They painted their room today and put on the new stuff and I think it looks awesome. They are going to try to find some artwork or sconces to put up behind the headboard on either side of the windows for decoration. I also think they need to purchase some roman shades in a wood tone to cover the windows. It would really look good with the color scheme they have going on in there now. They did a great job and I think they are both exhausted after their busy weekend. Chris has tomorrow off for Presidents Day but Amber has to substitute teach at a local school. She was not lucky to get the day off to rest.
Chris made a valentine box for his office party Friday. Working at a small bank allows for fun stuff such as this. They gave each other valentine cards. I thought he was very creative in making his box with an outdoor theme with a pond with lily pads and surrounded with trees and a man fishing (the little figurine came off of his birthday cake). I was impressed!!! The girls at the bank accused him of not doing it himself. They think Amber did it but he did it himself. Not bad!!!
Steve and I have a busy day planned for tomorrow. We have to move the baby chicks to three quarter house. The 105,000 chicks are getting a little crowded in half house so it is time to give them some more room. It is really cold here tonight but supposed to warm up some tomorrow. Sure hope it does and stays warm for a few days. We are using a lot of propane to keep the babies nice and warm at 85-90 degrees. Oh well... life of a farmer....
We are also going to my in-laws Monday night with Chris and Amber to eat homemade german chocolate cake for Steve's birthday which is Tuesday. My MIL is serving strawberries alongside. I will have to control myself and only eat a little bit. I have my weight watchers meeting Tuesday night and don't want to show a gain this week.
