OCTOBER 29TH

It was a dark and stormy night that October 29th!
Not the moon, nor stars would twinkle with their light!
The lightening streaked across the sky,
While the BIG, BLACK clouds went rushing by.
In the distance, the thunder clapped,
As the horses hooves went clickety-clack.
For the storm was close, I ad no doubt!

Then all of a sudden, the lightening struck,
It hit a tree and split the trunk!
The horses were scared and started to run,
From side to side the wagon swung!
Out of the wagon I was thrown,
Landing in a heap, I was alone.
Up I sat and looked around,
Nothing familiar was to be found!

Cautiously I walked, looking around, straining my eyes to see,
Rain was pounding harder and the wind blew against me!
Then, as the lightening flashed again, I saw it standing there!
It was BIG, UGLY, ARMS OUT-STRETCHED, REACHING IN THE AIR!
I screamed and ran as fast as I could, running through the trees!
All at once, it got me! Wrapping its fingers around my foot, and yanking me off my feet!
The last thing I remember as I fell upon the ground,
Was the rain upon my face, then blackness all around!

I awoke sometime later, with the sun upon my face,
Looking around and finding out that everything's in place.
The fingers that had grabbed me and yanked me off my feet,
Was nothing more than ivy, growing in the heat!
The Monster that was standing there beside the road last night,
Was only Mr. Scarecrow waving his arms with all his might!
So just remember, when the thunder rolls and the lightening strikes,
Don't let your imagination put you in a fright!
             HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

                                                                             Author: Donna Troxell





                                                                                                   

Holiday Memories

  The Holidays are fast approaching, and nothing reminds us more of Mom's kitchen than the great smells of cinnamon and spices! When I came across this recipe and remembered that good smell, I thought I would share it.Maybe some of you have it already, and maybe some of you have thought, "Gee, I wish I knew how to make those". So, here it is:

IT IS FROM THE MCCORMICK COMPANY

THERE IS NO BAKING AND IS SIMPLE FOR KIDS

                                                      CINNAMON ORNIMENTS
Mix 3/4 cup to 1 cup applesauce with 1 - 1.2ounce bottle of ground cinnamon to form a STIFF dough.  Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Make a hole for ribbon for hanging.

Carefully put "cookies" on wire rack to dry for several days, turning occasionally. OR you can bake them at 125 degrees for 8 hours, turning occasionally.

SPECIAL NOTE:  Make sure to have extra cinnamon on hand in case your dough is not thick enough to roll.

Makes about 12 Sweet Smelling Ornaments to hang anywhere!

NEW WEBSITE TO CHECK OUT

My granddaughter has just opened a new business on line. She is making bows, headbands, tutus, and bracelets for babies and toddlers! These accessories are all hand made. With Christmas right around the corner, why don't you take the time, and take a look and find that special little princes some accessories made just for her with love. Below, you will find her web site address as well as a link to it. Thanks....and ENJOY YOUR SHOPPING!

http://sassyfrasbows.ecrater.com/

My granddaughter site CLICK HERE TO VIEW

CACTUS MAN #volbc

Three times a week, Danna and I go to Curves to exercise. We go the same route usually every time. We see this man, dancing, and waving at all the vehicles as they go by to read his sign for the Cactus Car Wash.

He is sooo funny you can't help laughing at him! He really knows how to draw everyone's attention! As we all have to sit at the light waiting for it to turn green, we have entertainment! He looks like he is really enjoying his work! He dances around, waving his cactus hat, motioning to everyone who passes to come to the car wash! We enjoyed watching him so much, that Danna decided to take a video of him.

Well, I drove this morning, and saw him standing on his corner, and turned the car back around so we could catch him from the other street to video tape him. We were stopped at the light about 2 cars away, and Danna stuck her arm out the window, and started the tape. We were laughing so hard she could hardly hold the camera still! When the light turned green, I slowly moved up and around the corner. That's when he saw us! He put on a BIG grin and went into his jig! We all were laughing as we went by. This man was really drawing attention to the car wash by his innovated ideas! Other sign holders could take a lesson from this creative man! I hope when your vehicle needs washed you stop into the Cactus Car Wash! So here is the video that we captured of the infamous "Cactus Man"!

Enjoying my grand and great grand!

Well, after a wonderful time with my granddaughter and great granddaughter, I had to say, so-long! They had to take that 5 hour trip home, back to their daily lives. On the bright side, they are coming back next month! I can't wait! The time goes so fast when they are here. I can't get over how much that little girl has changed in her looks. At 18 months, she is losing her baby looks, and looks like a beautiful little girl! She is growing up way to fast! Her mama says she is to smart too! LOL While she was here, she came to me an said "Gama, Gama," as she crooked her little fingers for me to follow her. So I did. She went to the pantry, and reached up, and took the container with cookies in it down off the shelf and gave it to me, with a VERY endearing look! Come on now, you all know that look! LOL Well, I tried not to laugh as I said, "We have to ask Mommy first!" She looked at Mommy to see what she was going to say. Mommy said it was OK, so I opened the container, and held it down so she could help herself. She put her little hand in, and took only one cookie. She took it and went over to give it to Mommy, but Mommy said she didn't want one. She immediately took the cookie apart and ate the filling out! She used to do that when she was younger, then ate the cookie, but now she just eats the filling an leaves the cookie! Ha! Ha! My neighbor, Danna Crawford came over, and wanted to take her picture. She took her camera and told Peyton to say cheese. Peyton looked at her and smiled and said, "Cheese!" Danna started laughing and said, "What a HAM! She poses for her pictures!" Who needs to watch TV when there is an 18 month old in the house! They are entertaining enough! Needless to say, I miss them very much and can't wait to see them again! Their visits are always to short! I'm sure all you Moms, Dads, Grandparents, and Great Grandparents understand what I'm talking about! I hope you all have a blessed day! Till next time....
Grama Donna

1st Social Networking Event with OcalaNetworking.com--topic is "Twitter"

Just returned from Denny's restaurant, where Danna Crawford presented a free class on how twitter can help your business. We had a good turn out, and learned about twitter. A few of us, myself included, had no idea what twitter was all about. Danna explained how to sign in, how to make the  profile, how to market your business weather it is selling on eBay, or blogging. She told us about the #, (hash tags), and how to use them. Danna explained how the use of twitter can direct traffic to our blogs, and our eBay stores. We got a lot of information from other guests as well as from Danna! After Danna's presentation, she opened the floor for discussion. We then had a chance to socialize a little. All an all, we had a very delightful, and informational, informal meeting! I'm sure everyone there had as good a time as I did. KODOS to you Danna, once again on a job well done!

Thanks an hugs, Danna!

W&M Day At Curves, September

Well,.....here I am again! There has been a little time that has past since I last posted a blog.  My mind has been wondering about what to blog about., and that has been my hold up! I thought I would just say a few things about my activities. As I have stated in the past, I do walk 2 x’s a week and go to Curves, thanks to Silver Sneakers, to work out 3 x’s a week with my good friend and neighbor Danna.  We had a weigh in again, (actually, this one is the second one), and my report was OK. Danna’s, on the other hand, was Fantastic! She has lost over 5 lbs, and I’m sorry that I don’t remember her other losses, but believe me when I say, SHE is doing an awesome job!!  I, on the other hand, have a problem. You see, I don’t get hungry! I know, some of you might say that would be GREAT! It really isn’t, cause you eat something just because you know you have to, and not because you want to. I have been known to eat just once or twice a day! Of course as you know, that isn’t good for you. So, when I weighed in last month, I confided in Joyce, who is the owner of Curves and is the most delightful person, about my problem with my appetite. I will say, that I also was not taking vitamins, or any supplements. My measurements stayed the same, except my weight loss was 1lb, and waist loss was ½ inch. My body fat percent, however, increased by .60%! I couldn’t understand this. After hearing of my problem, she said that possibly since I don’t eat right that I have loss muscle tone. She advised me to eat 4 or 5 small meals, take a multi-vitamin, and increase my protein per day. Well, I now take a multi-vitamin, and eat more protein. Eat the snack bars, and try to eat more through out the day. Well, we just weighed in and measured again for this month. I have gained in all my measurements a total of 1 ½ inches, gained 2 ½ lbs, and gained .10% body fat! However, I have lost ½ inch in my abdomen! Joyce is pleased, and said good job working on the nutrition! She said that for my build an etc. that my top weight should be about 138, and really everything else is about where it should be. So,...I don’t know....I would like to weigh at the lowest 125 to 130 lbs., and lose some of the body fat. Oh well,...maybe next month I will level out if I keep on with the nutrition. Guess we are never really satisfied! I do want to keep fit though. At 68, life isn’t as long as it use to be when I was 21! Ha! Ha! With that,
my wish for all of you who read this, is to keep fit!
Have a blessed day.