See what I received this week?  It’s my new Swiffer Sweeper, 2 in 1 Starter Kit.  I have been sick this week, and so I was thrilled to be able to sweep and mop my kitchen floor in five minutes!  It looks so shiny and smells so good.

I have an old Swiffer, but I must admit this  new one works much better.   After I put the new Swiffer together (which is a “snap”…all you have to do is literally snap the pieces together which takes half a minute), then our cute little dog checked out what I was getting ready to do.  I put her outside, then I proceded to use the dry sweeping cloth which surprised me by picking up all sorts of dust, crumbs, pet hair, etc., and it held on to them.  Then I used the wet mopping cloth and was able to reach deep into corners under the overhang on our cabinets.

What I like about the new Swiffer is that it is stronger.  That’s one thing I didn’t like about the old one.  I felt like the old one wasn’t strong enough to scrub on tough spots.   But the new Swiffer is definitely stronger and easier to use!

We attended an outside wedding located in the garden area of a bed and breakfast.  It was beautiful, like in a storybook.  However, it started to mist at the beginning of the wedding.  Mist was tolerable, and everyone got out their umbrellas.  But just when it was time for the bride to walk down the aisle, it started to rain hard.  Everyone had to head inside at the bed and breakfast, where the reception was to be held, until the rain subsided.  Soon, it did, and the gathering of people went back to their seats outside, armed with towels to dry them off first.  The wedding began again with the bride coming down the aisle.

If you are planning an outside wedding, be sure to have a back-up plan so the guests will have a place to wait until it stops raining, or if it doesn’t stop raining, a place to perform the wedding.

Trillora.com has a great selection of all sizes and kinds of computer desks, they have great prices, and they offer rapid delivery.  Plus they have a free damage guarantee on all of their products.  As I was looking through their site, I saw several desks I liked.  I would like to have room for a large desk, but since I don’t, I saw a really cute small desk that would be easy to fit in a small area.

Are you needing a new computer desk?  Check out their site and see what I mean about their great selection.  Compare and check out their unbeatable prices.

Here’s a different version of salsa:

INGREDIENTS:

• 15 ounce can Bush’s Blackeye Peas, drained
• 15 ounce can white shoepeg corn, drained
• 15 ounce can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, & oregano
  
• 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 8 ounces Italian dressing
• Chopped onion to taste
• Chopped jalapeno or chopped chili peppers to taste
• Tortilla chips

Mix all of the above ingredients together and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 1/2 hours.  Serve with tortilla chips.

I am sick again, second time since New Year’s, so I have been sick or “under the weather” most of January.  This time I have chest congestion, and yesterday my fever went up to 102 degrees.  I’m feeling much better today.   Needless to say, I haven’t felt like eating a whole lot.  I have lost the weight I gained during the holidays, so I don’t need a diet pill to help me lose weight.  Hope all of y’all are staying well and not getting sick!

Let’s talk about things that might not be quite the usual fare.

#1. What’s the oddest thing you’ve ever made with bread?

Well, actually I didn’t make it, maybe just helped a little bit.  Our daughter made a loaf of bread in the shape of Santa’s head.  It had a glaze on top which was “painted” with food colorings to look like Santa.  It was cute!
#2. What’s the oddest thing you’ve ever done with mac and cheese or pasta?

I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve seen recipes for using mac and cheese for pizza crust.  Wonder what that would be like.
#3. Is there a food you eat other then it is intended?

Hmmm….sometimes I will use a cake mix to make cookies.
#4. What’s the weirdest food you’ve ever seen?

I misread the question at first and thought it said that I’ve eaten.  I was going to say “mussels.”  That I’ve seen?  Probably some kind of seafood.

If you do have one of those cars and you are looking for Volvo Parts or Saab Parts, then Sweedish Parts Network would be a great place to check for a needed part. And the sooner, the better. It’s so inconvenient not having one’s car in working order.  I like to have my vehicle working great all the time!

This makes a great casserole to take somewhere.  You can vary the amount of spice in this recipe by using Mild Rotel if you don’t want a lot of spice, or you can spice it up to your heart’s content!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can diced Rotel
• 1 stick butter, melted (Hmmm…I know, not healthy.  I’m going to try it with extra-virgin olive oil sometime or at least half butter and half olive oil.)
  
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I use reduced fat)
• 1 box Jiffy Cornbread Mix

Mix cornbread according to the directions on the box.  Combine the other ingredients, reserving 1/2 of the grated cheese.

Pour into 11 x 9 casserole dish and bake, covered, for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and heat until the cheese is melted.

There’s a T-shirt available in Hawaii that has the saying on it, “I survived the road to Hana.”   If you’ve been on that road, then you know exactly what they mean.  It will be ten years this June since our family went to Hawaii, but I still remember a lot about it because it was such an awesome trip.  And I definitely remember the road to Hana.

We took that road during the daytime to get to the “Seven Sacred Springs” which were beautifully located in a rain forest.  It was worth the trip on the narrow, winding-around-mountains-road to get to walk in the rain forest around the springs.  However, we had no idea how horrendous our return trip would be.

When we left the springs to head back to our motel on the other side of the island, it was nearly dark and starting to rain.  Winding around narrow, treacherous, mountain roads (so narrow that you had to honk to warn on-coming traffic as you rounded a curve because there was only room for one car on the curve!!!!!) on a dark, rainy night for miles and miles and miles was at the very least nerve-wracking.  We were never so glad to get to flat land and see the lights of the city.

So…if you ever go to Hawaii, Maui to be exact, beware of the “road to Hana!”  The Seven Sacred Pools and rainforest are worth the drive but be sure you travel the road during daylight hours!  And if you survive, be sure to get yourself a T-shirt. 

This is in response to Lori’s “Finding Faith” post.  I was going to leave a comment but then realized it would end up being a long comment and it was actually something I would like to share with my readers.  Sorry about the quality of the pictures.  I took digital pictures of photos I already had, but hey, it works.   Well, here goes:

This happened back in 2001 on a Saturday morning.  My husband was gone for the morning, and it was just our son and me at home.   He wanted to go next door and see the neighbor boy.  The weather report said that a storm was heading our way but it sounded like it would be 30 minutes before it got to our house, so I said OK.   He opened the front door and then came back inside.  Then we heard the tornado sirens going off.  Minutes later, we heard someone knocking at our back door.  It was a neighbor who informed me that our two gigantic trees had  blown over and completely obstructed the sidewalk and front door.  We ran around to the front and sure enough, there was this massive forest of tree trunks and branches all over our sidewalk.

Neighbors gathered quickly and covered the hole in our roof with tarpaulin  because rain was headed our way.  That was a blessing because soon the rain started to pour.

(The picture below was taken after trimming had been done.)

When things had settled down a bit and my son and I were talking about all that had happened that morning, I found out that when he opened the front door, he actually saw those two gigantic trees (which were close to our house, not far from the front door) swaying from the ground up.  In other words, the trunks themselves were swaying which meant they were getting ready to come forward towards the house.  I realized that God had kept our son safe from going out onto the sidewalk where the trees were getting ready to fall.

On Monday when the insurance adjuster came, he couldn’t get over how those two huge trees did not cut our house like a knife.  He said that when you have two enormous trees fall over on a house, it usually cuts completely through the house.  Again, I realized how God had protected both my son and me from being hurt by the trees and a falling roof and ceiling.

One thing I remember, too, is that my husband said those two trees looked like they had been laid gently on our house.  I believe it was the hand of God, easing the fall of those trees to protect us!

How many times does God protect us throughout our lives and we don’t even realize it?

We ended up getting our roof repaired and a replacement chimney.  One tree did major damage to a corner of the house where there is a walk-in closet.  (You could stand in that closet, look up, and see the sky.)

I felt sorry for the guys on trash day who came to pick up tree limbs! Those pieces of tree trunk and large limbs were huge and very heavy.  Those were 60 year old trees so they had done a lot of growing!