New Blog

Hey guys!  If you're wanting to follow me online, this is no longer the place.  Check out naomi-sugarspice.blogspot.com to see where photos, food, and good times have taken me.

Thanks for stopping in!

Bookmarks

You know, ever since I started my Sugar and Spice blog, I've kind of decided to put this one away.  Not really to try keeping it up anymore.  Not because I don't want to, but because I just... Don't... Have time.  Eh-he.  But then sometimes, I write things down, thoughts about life... Which I wonder if might be a good thing to blog about, rather than just scribbling it all down on pieces of paper which eventually end up stuffed into one book or another, adding to the stacks and stacks of "Bookmarks" I make for myself.

Perhaps this blog should be called, "Bookmarks."  Or maybe I should start a 20th blog, and call it that.  Nope.  I don't think I have time.

Oh well.  Don't know if anyone reads this anymore, but I'll just send this out into the void anyway-- 'cause sometimes, you've just gotta send these kinds of rants out there like a paper boat on a mission.  Sending it out has its own kind of satisfaction, regardless of where it ends up. 

Ta ta for now.

--Naomi

P.S.  You know how I always wanted to post pictures of MY OWN on this blog?  Well, I finally have my dream camera, and I finally take all of my own pictures.  But I no longer post on here, I just put the ones I like on Facebook.  :-[  Oh, the irony.  (I did take the one in this post, though.  At least I have that satisfaction.)

Lilacs

Lilacs are my favorite flowers.  And THEY'RE IN BLOOM RIGHT NOW!!

So I picked some for my mama.  :)

 

Red Roses for Valentine's Day

You know, up till this point, Valentine's Day to me has been nothing more than a day to play dress up with my little siblings, eat chocolates with no guilt whatsoever, make paper Valentines, and drink my tea out of a mug with hearts on it. But this year, for some reason... I dunno, perhaps I'm getting old, but yesterday I caught my mind wandering as I walked past the Valentines display in the grocery store. I saw a display of red roses, thought about how beautiful they were, and then considered how wonderful it would be to be a recipient of one of those flowers someday. I might have smiled and blushed at the thought... That, it seemed to me, would be pretty special.

Still, I quickly dismissed these ponderings: I try to keep my head in the present as much as possible, and when one is on a mission to find chocolate syrup and pink napkins, one must not get distracted thinking about things that make you blush. ;) I found the things I needed, purchased them, and left the store.

Later on that day, however, my mind wandered back to those roses. Only this time, when I caught myself thinking about a possible future admirer, I directed my thoughts toward the romance that I already have; my divine romance, my relationship with Jesus Christ. It is that relationship that matters most to me, and it is that relationship that I want to always take first priority in my life. I thought about that, and asked myself why I would wish for anything more? I suppose, I thought, having a someone who would buy me a rose would make me feel special... And I imagined to myself how grateful I would be to receive a gift like that from them.

But then... I realized. There are so many things, all around me, every day, that God has given to me. Here I was wishing for an admirer to buy me a red rose on Valentine's Day... But I have a Creator who loves me, and every day shows it in so many ways! The beauty of nature, the joy of my family, the blessing of friends... I have red roses from my Lord every day, in these things. Every day He gives me more. Every day I have a fresh bouquet. Not just on Valentine's Day. Not just for special occasions. Every day I get a bouquet of fresh reminders that He loves me.

(Wowie. Way to make me feel special!)

So this Valentine's Day I've been thinking beyond chocolates and hearts and dress up. This year I've been thinking about red roses; and from now on, I hope and pray that I treat the ones from my Savior with the same attitude of thanks that I'd wish to show an admirer with a rose. Jesus loves me; and I have mountains of red roses all around me to prove it. :)

Sitting in Starbucks. In January.

My toes are froze. My nose is froze. My fingers are froze. My Starbucks is empty, so... It is also froze, and my blog... Is ready for a happening new post!

So!

...

Shoot. I forgot to bring my inspiration. Froze toes don't usually work for that.

_________

Coming soon, something thawed, happy, and happening!

Stay in touch... Comment if you want... (Comments thaw my smile.)

--Naomi

A Cure for the Common Cold

Alright, here's a happy thing. I actually made this tutorial for a friend who wasn't feeling well, and well, at the time I thought... "This is a happy thing. I will have to put this on my blog at some point."

So here we go. :)

This is something that my mom said she learned from her mother, and I honestly have no idea if it does anything medicinal... but to me, a little kid with a cold, it was an extra-special treat (we never got to drink tea as little kids, much less with raspberries in it). I can recall a couple of times as a sniffly young child being brought a cup of tea like this, to make me feel better. If we didn't have raspberries, in went the second best thing-- a little bit of raspberry jam.

Perhaps it was just the magic of this out-of-the-ordinary treat that made me feel better... But feel better, I did. And to this day, when I'm feeling poorly, I think of this old remedy and wish I had some raspberries to go in my tea.

Want to know how to make it? It's pretty simple. Here goes!

[Note: I MUCH prefer to make the tea in a pot. That is the superior way to do it, but if you don't have a pot in which to make the tea, this will do the trick.]

Step #1 - Get yourself a cup, a tea bag (whatever kind you want), and some raspberries. Wash the raspberries and put a few into your cup like this... If you want it to look pretty. Or you can make the tea and add the raspberries later... whatever you want. It's up to you.

Step #2 - Boil some water, and pour it into the cup. (I like to put the tea bag into the cup after the water, when making an individual cup, because I like my tea on the weaker side. It is almost always gets too strong if you put the bag in first, I find... But again, this is just a matter of preference, so you do whatever you jolly-well want.)




Step #3 - Swish the tea bag around a little bit, till the tea is the color you like it (I like mine honey-colored, or a little darker.)



Step #4 - Add some honey. Now, easy here... You don't want to go all crazy on it. A little honey will do the trick. See the photo below to see how much honey I would recommend in a teaspoon for one cup of tea.




Step #5 - Enjoy! :D I recommend the use of pretty tea cups for little girls (or, if you have a group of little girls and boys, use them for the boys too-- they probably won't want to feel left out.) For everyone else, I would recommend a nice, chubby mug. Then get yourself a blanket, cuddle up with your cup, breathe in some of the steam, and then.... Smile. Mm. :) Smiling makes most everything better... (Including the common cold.)



Step #6 - Get better.


And there you have it. Easy-peasy. :)

Pumpkins, Cakes, and Pumpkin Cakes (and also some random pies)

Wow, has it been a long time or has it been a long time?! It's been forever. That's what.

Well, here I am, finally! With more to say. In fact, so much more to say, that I've been too intimidated to try and say it all... hence, the lack of posts on the blog. :-D But I'll try to fix that up now, by saying little and picturing lots so that you can get the general idea. ;)

Here's a tiny bit of what I've been up to... Complete with captions, so that it makes sense. :-D

First off, I bought a pumpkin. Why? Well, because... It was stinkin' cute. Look at it! Gah!



There I was, walking through the grocery store, and I spotted them... "Oh look, tiny little pumpkins! Buy." Haha... I'm not usually an impulse buyer, but sometimes... You've just gotta do what you've just gotta do. ;)

I've baked this pumpkin, and shortly, I'm gonna make a pumpkin cake out of it. I haven't yet... Though, I almost feel like I have. I'm that excited about it. I love baked pumpkin-y things. It's going to be a good time.

Now, here are the "Cakes" I spoke of. Since I make cakes (don't know if y'all knew that or not :-P), I've been... well, making cakes. Lots of cakes. So here are a few, for your perusal.

Fall wedding cakes...



Slab cake, to go with the fall wedding cakes...



Baby shower cakes...




Fancy-shmancy cupcakes...


And more weddings cakes! You can see more on this cake, as well as some other ones, on My Other Blog by clicking on the link. It'll tell you more about them.



And then, last but not least (and not all, certainly-- more will be coming to the blog later), here's some random pies that I made. Smile! Pies are delicious. :)



That's all for today, folks! Thanks for stopping in and for reading all of my rambling. And remember-- your comments are a "Little bit of happiness" in my life, so don't hesitate to leave them. :)

--Naomi