Check it Out!

If you want to see a photo of me doing a back bend, click here.

Have a great day!
Melissa

Year End Review

Cindy @ My Romantic Home is having a Year End Review. (Please scroll down for Blue Monday Post.) I thought it would be fun to join in. I do not have a flicka account so I just posted photos.

I have only been blogging since the summer, but I have gotten so much inspiration. And learned a lot! And enjoyed sharing what little I know.

My lowfat, low cal Banana Pudding Yum!

Crock Pot Turkey Breast Roast. That is good too!

Grilled Tuna Steaks, Sweet Potatoes and Asparagus
I think the rest of my food is on the external which I have disconnected....

Tea Time w/Jan & Tom using my Laura Ashley Tea Set.

Huge wicker basket Thrift Store find. I think $4.25. It will be a parrot poopy perch. (Cheaper than Michael's 1/2 price!!!)

Linen piece found at the same Thrift Store.

My favorite find (Yard Saling with Southern Hospitality Rhoda) 1917 Electric Table Top Singer.

Other Thrift Store Finds. Doilies are in my linen chests until after Christmas. Silver tray, see photo below. Also scroll down a few posts and see a Nativity displayed on it. I think I paid less than 5 bucks for that thing. Candle sticks are in my bedroom, white thing painted black and on front stoop with flower pots in it, baskets put to good use around the house.

Thanksgiving Decor.


I found this tired old Chandelier.

And it was just what I was looking for! Now it has prisms hanging from it. (I need to take a new photo.)

My Laura Ashley Tea Pot and Tea Cup...

Crochet Doilies and Trivets made by my DH's Grandmother.

Recycled stuff from my basement. Old frame spray painted then glazed. Foam core sprayed with Chalk Board Paint.
Old Silver Plate Wire basket primed and spray painted to go with my kitchen.


Homemade Cloche.


Another Homemade Cloche filled to the brim with gourds.

Princess House Crystal Vase with Pine Cones and gourds.

And I am looking for a lid to one of my favorite tea pots. I broke the lid a couple of years ago. But meanwhile, it makes a great flower vase!

Beautiful almost flat clear soup bowl. I want to use it in my china garden. That is what I bought it for. But... It is so pretty!

Old Rusty Brass Umbrella Stand. Spray painted to give it a fresh new look.

Clipboard Craft makeover. Makes great gifts for teachers, co-workers, students, etc.

One of my Trash to Treasure features (made from a sneaker box that you would throw away), an Elfin Bed. Fit for any Elfin Prince. Or one coming to visit from the North Pole for a few days.

I enjoyed sharing some of my review with you. Look forward to looking at yours as well.

Happy New Year!

Blue Monday

Happy Blue Monday Everyone! I took this photo the Saturday before Thanksgiving. A dance school client of mine was invited to bring her performing team to Walt Disney World to perform in the Tomorrowland Amphitheater that Sat before TG. It was all decorated for Christmas and Winter. And the girls danced and twirled to Christmas Songs and Carols. It was so much fun and exciting!

The school invited us to come down and take advantage of the discounted tickets. Park Hoppers were indeed a bargain! And DH & DD have been itching to go back to WDW so we jumped on the opportunity and were delighted to take photos of the team during their performance. I just love how the Blue Stage complimented their Blue costumes! (The school that performed 2 hours before did not have that advantange...) And also notice the coordinated jump! I am an excellent shot at getting those synced jumps. Usually, the girls are not all in sync (sometimes choroegraphed that way) when they are supposed to be in sync and they mess up my shot and their performance. You can tell they worked hard on making this one perfect! Not one girl left on the floor. :D My shot looks good. I think the reason I can get them every time is b/c I danced for so many years and b/c I shoot them so much. Instinct. I know when it is coming and I am ready to shoot.

I love the Blue and the Blue Background. It was not planned. But turned out ever so perfect!

For more Blue Monday Posts or to participate, go to Sally's Blog, Smiling Sally, by Clicking Here. Happy Blue Monday Everyone!

Sunday Music Video

To enjoy the music video, please turn off the music on playlist in the right of my sidebar.



Have a great day!

Wonderful Christmas!

I sincerely hope that everyone had a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas day. We had a lovely day. A lovely week! It was busy! And flew by fast. And we had a wonderful time. My mom, who lives 2 hours away, stayed with us a few days. I went to her place to pick her up Tues and took her home today. She does not care to drive. We all spent Christmas day at my IL's house. FIL's wife had invited her two children and their spouses as well. We had a lot of fun.

Next week, I will begin to start posting to my Health and Fitness Blog again. I stopped some time ago. For a couple of reasons. But the main reason is I was asked to try out a product for free and write a review on the blog. I was not told what the product was, but I was so excited! A new fitness tool/contraption. A kettle ball, a new type of band, tube, ring, weight, something altogether different.... Well it was something altogether different alright. I wonder if the person even bothered to read my Health and Fitness blog! If they had, they would have known that this product was totally inappropriate for my H&F blog. If I told you what the product was, you would either die laughing or be offended. So I will leave it to you imagination. I will say, I was so disappointed and it took the wind out of my sails. I almost made it a private blog for the ladies that come to the fitness classes that I teach at church.

I have had a few of you ask if I will start posting pointers, etc again, either in this blog or in the H&F blog. With that bit of encouragement, I will start posting to the H&F blog. I might even start with a photo of me doing a back bend! And a DISCLAIMER and WARNING!

I will include tips on converting recipes to low fat and healthier ingredients that still taste great. How to start exercise programs, set a goal, etc. It will be great!

I hope that y'all will stop by that blog and visit and post often!

And just b/c I work out a lot does not mean I am immune to the holiday back sliding. I have been a Miss Piggy!!! And I will share with you tips on how to control that and get back into a healthy lifestyle when you catch yourself 'backsliding...'.

Have a great evening y'all!

Merry Christmas!

To: All Blogging Friends and Their Families

Merry Christmas!

(I am going to take a few day off from posting. I will visit, but this will be my last post to my blog until after Christmas.)

As we approach the time that we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, it is my sincere hope, prayer and wish that you have a Safe, Happy and Merry Christmas.

Love,
Melissa & Family

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There is a DeWalt Track Saw Combo Kit GiveAWay. Registration ends January 5th. You can check out the details by clicking here or by going to the GiveAWay section on my sidebar.

Merry Christmas!

Jan & Tom's Christmas Card Swap

I wanted to share with everyone all the gift cards and the goodies I received while doing Jan's Card swap. Oh what fun!!! And.... There is a Recycle Christmas Card Ornament Tut at the end.

BTW, the stack of cut up Christmas card strips with brads on each end is not a book marker. It is a Christmas Ornament. It has 8 pieces . If you spread those 8 pieces out, top one going to the left, the bottome going to the right, so on and so forth until it curves and opens into a round ball. A greata way to recycle Christmas cards. Then just hang by the ribbon from a branch on your tree. It stores easily as well.

Thank you Jan for hostessing the Christmas Card swap. It was much much fun.

Card and Tags and Goodies from Lolly@ Lolly's Nest Egg.


Card and Angel Bracelet from Lady Jane @ Lady Jane's Emporium.


Card, tags and pin from Our Bathroom Beauty Snapper Diva-Shelia - Note Songs


Card and tea from Brett @ Southern Hostess.


Card, ornament and tag from Cary @ A New Path


Lovely Card and ornament from The Hostess with the Mostest- Jan - Jan & Tom's Place


Card and Tags (Nikon cap is being used as a paper weight...) (Awtemnymf) The Faerie Wysperer


(Nikon cap being used as a paper weight) Recipe cards, book mark and tags from Card Designer and Artist Diane Knot@ Diane Musings


Greeting Cards, scrapbookking goodies, recipe cards from Designer and Artist Michelle Palmer.

Now ladies, some of you think that the stack of cut up Christmas cards with brads on each ends and a ribbon at the end is a weird book mark. I see you have not subbed to Martha Stewart Living or watched her shows as much as I have in the past. LOL! This is right off of one of her shows or mags in the past 2 or 3 years. I had to go buy a box of cards b/c I had used all my cards from the last two years. And I wanted to select something that would pack flat in an envelope.

Take a pretty card and cut it horrizonally into 8-13 strips. If it has rounded edges, as this one did, those will need to be trimmed off, as all the corners will need to be squared. You will need to measure your card and get out your calculator as the strips will need to be in even strips. ie: a 10 in card divided by 8 strips... so on and so forth.

Hole punch the top and bottom of each strip in the same spot. Make sure you keep each strip stacked on top of each other in the order that they are cut. It makes a nicer ornament when it is opened up.

Cup the bradded strips in your hand like a C then begin to fan it open. Since I stacked the left side of the card on top fan open the top strip to the left and continue to fan open the strips to the open. You will begin to see the art work of the card to take place and develop and the ornemant take on a round shape as in the photo above and below. If it does not make sense, ask for clarification. I will be glad to answer any questions.

Now your ornemant is ready to hang on the tree!

Y'all have a great weekend!

Christmas Survey

This looks like fun!

Is having a Mr. Linky Christmas Tag today. I thought it would be fun to participate. If you want to participate, click on the logo link and it will take you straight to her site.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping Paper. With real ribbon. I also like all my paper to be alike and ribbon alike, but my family messes me up by finding the hodgepodge of scraps of Christmas pass...

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial

3. When do you put up the tree? Day after Thanksgiving, but not this year.
4. When do you take the tree down? News Years Day or the 6th of Jan. Growing up, we always took our decorations down on the 6th of January. In DH's home they took them down on the 1st. So we go back and forth.
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but hot cocoa better!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? A Barbie in 1964 or 1965. I still have her. And a Chatty Cathy the year before. I no longer have her. She must have died...

8. Easiest person to buy for? My mom.

9. Do You have a nativity scene? Yes. Several and they are all different sizes.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? When I was an early teen, I wanted money. So I got a check in my stocking and that was all. That was a very disappointing Christmas.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Right now, Santa Clause I.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Any time. It is always different.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No. If I do not like something, I donate it.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Sweet Potato Casserole And Ginger snaps

16. Lights on the tree? White and lots of them.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Hark the Harold Angels Sing

18. Travel for Christmas or stay home? Stay home or very close.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? No.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One on Christmas Eve, the rest on Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? No time.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? The deep burgundy reds!
24. Favorite Christmas dinner? A broth soup, a light salad, Turkey breast roast, asparagus casserole, sweet potato casserole, some sort of dessert and coffee. ...

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? melrose silver dinner forks (long story how 4 are missing from my set) and lowes or home depot gift cards.

What I WON!

Last week I found a box at the door....
It was from Christie@ Somewhere in Time. I had just won her 100th post GiveAWay!

A lovely note and Christmas Card from her.

A Vintage Handmade Ornament


A Vintage Handstitched Wall Hanging


An Adorable Book Marker


A Sweet Vintage Elfin Ornament


A Vintage Cross Stitched Ornament


Cinnamon Sticks ummm they smell good!


Vintage Santa Cards




Mint condition Vintage Linen Dish Towel


Vintage Wall Hanging


Sweet Christmas book


Christmas Fridge Magnet


Vintage Christmas Apron

And there was a lovely silver angel pin that I could not get the camera to focus on so I did not photograph it. But is is pretty!

Thank you Christie!!! I love them!