Seeking Serenity-Taking A Break

Sundays are usually quiet

around here.

MyHero is on call a couple

of weekends a month so

we lay low on these weekends.

Last night's sunset looked

like this.

Quiet and serene.
I need a little serenity.

I started this blog as a way to
TAKE A BREAK.
Pretty obvious from my blog name, huh?
Anyway,
Right now
I need to take a break
from blogging for a while.

If you think on me at all
think of me somewhere
laughing my fool head off
at something said by
SweetCheeks.

or said by anyone of these
crazy people I call family.

Love to all of you and
I hope I have left you smiling.

No Flour Pumpkin Pancakes

Somewhere around Blogland

I saw a recipe for 

pumpkin pancakes.

I meant to earmark it

but didn't...so...

I decided to create my own.

I don't do flour or sugar

but sometimes I want a "treat".

This comes close to being

sinful for me!;>)

It's an easy, peasy recipe.

 I made two kinds

and will include adaptation

for 2nd ones.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 cup canned pumpkin

4 eggs-slightly beaten

1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla

1 tsp. Stevia (I use Truvia)

(or more to taste)

Beat together.

Spoon or pour into preheated

greased non-stick pan.

Cook until air bubbles come through

then flip and continue cooking until done.

Shake pan during cooking to keep them

loose and easier to flip.

These have a souffle consistency.

If you want a denser pancake add:

1/2 cup of oatmeal to batter

These are heavier and flip easier

and have the "heft" of real pancakes.

I put a pat of butter on mine

and sprinkle a little more stevia

on them.

You could use honey or maple syrup-

which would be even better.

Enjoy

Oh yeah...

Don't flip them too soon.

Why?

Ummmmm... FAIL........

Looks like Pumpkin Scramble, huh?

Alphabet Laughs-Z Is For Zip Lock Bags

MyHero loves Spaghetti
but he only likes it for
ONE DAY!
He does NOT like left over
Spaghetti.

He likes to WHINE and COMPLAIN...
just for something to do.

Well, SOMEONE doesn't mind leftovers.

One day I picked

SweetCheeks up from school
and we went to the grocery store.

There she spotted

Kid's Meals in the frozen section.

They come with an entree,

a vegetable and a dessert.

I bought 3 of them and saved

the little trays.

Ah...here is what I do with

the left over spaghetti.

I fill up the entree section

with spaghetti,

and the veggie section with

green beans

and the little dessert section

with two little

sugar cookie cubes.

Awww...look...it's

one of Mom's home cooked meals..

I cover them with saran wrap

and stack all 3 of them

into a gallon sized ZIPLOCK bag.

When SweetCheeks pops over

she has a

meal-in-a-minute.

I nuke them for 3 to 5 minutes

in the microwave.

Everything gets warm and

the cookies bake to a nice

little soft dessert.

And, SweetCheeks,

thinks she is a

very special girl.

And so she is!
Special AND Messy!

And these?

Do you think they are big

enough to hold a 

WHINER AND COMPLAINER?

Just askin'.....

Now...what do you think about the

Alphabet posts?

Another round or give it a rest?

HONEST opinions, please!!!

Alphabet Laughs- Y Is For YUM Or YUCK

If you have 

TEN SECONDS

please click on the

video  of
CharlesInCharge
below.

Turn your sound on so you

can hear the kids
and SweetCheeks belly laughing 

in the background.

Are you smiling now?

If you have another

TEN SECONDS

please phone the

MPA

Mean Parents Association

to report my daughter!

Alphabet Laughs- X Is For XACTLY What I Was Hoping For

So....you remember
how the
front of our house
 looked last week?

Well, it doesn't look like
THAT anymore.

Ready?

Here it was before...

Ah...yes...
NOW you remember.

Cleaned up and pretty.

Do you know those window boxes
were always there?
Covered by VEGETATION.
The windows go from
floor to ceiling in the
MyHero's office and
the laundry room.
As an idea -the new arborvitae
are just over 3' tall.

This is the recess where
the old front door used to be
before we built the porch
and added on to the house.
All that stone was
saved from the front of
the old house and reused.

I put my fountain in the niche
and I will get that up and
running this week.
We have moved that fountain
5 times over the years.
I have the words of the movers
still ringing in my ears.

That high window
above the fountain is
in the powder room.

The sedums have been moved
to the side as you can see.

Oh...and to sit in a chair now
and just breathe a minute....

 I am glad it is done!
Whew!

Now.....Aren't you glad I didn't use my

on something like this?

Cuz I think this is
much more Xciting!

Don't you?

To Honor Those Who Gave Their Lives 9/11/01

May We Never Forget-A Poem From Me

The day began with sun filled skies,

And ended with the nations' cries.

The horror came and never left,

Leaving family and loved ones bereft.

The towers stood mighty, strong and tall,

A symbol of greatness that soon would fall.

The airplanes came and hit each side,

Scattering lives and debris far and wide.

Some fled on foot down stairwell halls,

Some stayed and died within those walls

While others jumped to their own death

So that fire wouldn't steal their last breath.

Let us never forget the lives we lost,

And let's not forget the heavy cost.

Heroes weeping over hero's graves,

Being greeted by tears of the ones they saved.

And in the end the flag was raised,

And every American was to be praised

For we stood strong,  united as one,

Another chapter had just begun.

We rebuilt lives and we stood the test,

Monuments were erected to honor the best,

And we proudly go and we proudly fight

For the freedom to raise two beams of light~

Today is the day to pray for us all.

Knowing this great country shall not fall.

Shall not fall to the invader's hand,

Let us stand strong to protect our land.

God Bless America!

©Diana -Nana Diana 

Alphabet Laughs- W Is For Weekend And What And Who

Hello Ladies..

and whoever else is crazy

enough to be here.

Yes...W is for Weekend.

Guess What

I did this Weekend?

I played Nana.
According to bj over at
Sweet Nothings 
yesterday was grandparent's day.
I guess THIS was MY gift!

WHAT WAS IT?
Well, I saw 

This one...

snuggled up with

this one...

Wrapped in a Warm 

blanket.

Snuggled down...

Sleepy and Doo-doo head SweetCheeks.

Notice they all have their

Packer clothes on.

It was Packer Sunday here,

football frenzy has descended.

After lunch we went for a little

playtime.

Did they want to go to the park?

NO!

They wanted to go to their

SCHOOL PLAYGROUND!

You gotta be kidding me...

You're there all week and 

you want to go there on Sunday-

but what do I know

I am only the Nana.

So...off we went...

Lulu on the monkey bars.

And speaking of monkeys...

Yep- SweetCheeks -doing what she

does best- hanging around.

So, now you know

What happened to my

Weekend!

And the
WHO?
WELL....
WHO do you suppose
got ahold of MY camera?

Any guesses?  Anyone? anyone......

Alphabet Laughs- V Is For Vegetation

Yes, V is for 

Vegetation -

otherwise known as PLANTS.

However,

I needed a V word..

so..

Vegetation is what you get!

Like it or lump it

Wonder WHAT plants 

I am talking about?

If you have followed for a while

you know that I planted one of

those mail order gardens

out front.

Everyone laughed when I

got that box with all of 

those silly little plants in it.

I think I heard the word

"rip off" pass some lips.

However,

three years later those

"silly little plants"

have turned into this.

It's a jungle I tell you.

A living breathing jungle of

VEGETATION.

It does NOT look good with

the front of our house.

Kinda scary, huh?

To give you an idea,

those are floor to ceiling windows..

crazy plants have taken on

a life of their own.

Soooo...

after much deliberation,

 I decided

we needed to move this garden

to the back fence.

I told MyHero that if he would

till up along the back fence

I would dig up the plants 

out front.

We took a truckload of plants

(about half of them)

to my friend, Ellie

She just moved to a new house

that had NO plants.

Some of them went back

behind our garage.

The rest?

Well...

Here is MyHero doing what he

loves to do best

whining and complaining because

I am making him 

using the Mantis to roto-till

up the ground.

Oh- Yeah...It's a 

Hunka-Hunka Burning Love...

Oh wait-

that's just sweat!

Here she is..

all roto-tilled and waiting

for me.

It doesn't look it but it about

4 feet wide and 20 feet long.

And, here she is all planted.

The plants will not look pretty this

Fall but they will be pretty

next year.

At the far end is 

My New Dawn Rose

which I hope will survive the 

move and scramble up along the

fence behind the other plants.

And,  MyHero?

Well, he says when it comes 

to working in the garden

I am a 

"thorn in his side."

Hmmmpfff...

Wait till he sees what I have

waiting in the back of the 

truck to replant the front area

now that I have a blank slate.

If you don't hear from me in

 a couple of days please send

someone over to look for

unusual lumps in the

planting area....

Ya know what I mean?