Pay It Forward - Update

Quick update on the Pay It Forward post. Congratulations to Brenda, Jennifer, and RubyRedSlippers for being the first three to post comments! I put the two additional names in a hat and drew out Shannon's name! I'm so excited but I am also nervous about what I am going to make. Brenda at Deck the Halls... set the bar high!

p.s. Amy, don't fret - you know how I am with my prototypes and you have always been such a good guinea pig and friend - ha!

My (Computer) Hero!

A great big shout out to Keith for getting my computer back so I can at least back up my data and finish out February business! This picture was already posted on the WWW by his wife, MakeLifeDelicious, so hopefully he won't mind me reposting here. Thanks again!

If you are in the central Arkansas area and ever need help with your computer I highly recommend Keith. Knowledgeable, nice, and reasonable. Oh and as a friendly reminder to everyone reading this - back up your precious data!!!

Check Out My Loot!

I wanted to share all the loot I received recently for FREE from Southern Living at HOME! I am an independent consultant and I earned a $300 product credit based on consistency in the fall. I finally cashed it in a few weeks ago. That product credit was in addition to my commission and royalties! Oh and I'm now working on an all expense paid trip to Cancun! Can't wait to share the details of that in a couple of months!

I was so excited to spend it on these new items in the Spring 2009 catalog. So here's my loot...

Savannah Beverage Server (pg 21)

Galveston Footed Hurricane (pg 29)

Gail Pittman Hand Painted Veranda Platter (pg 40)

Ashford Bedside Set (pg 16)

Signature Flower Pot (pg 43)

You will see these out about in my home and for entertaining very soon! Our theme for the March women's ministry is comfort food and I think I will serve either lemonade or sweet tea in the beverage server. I'm so excited about that!

OK - now for a quick and shameless plug - like what you see here? You can get it for FREE, too! It's easy to host either a home or catalog party. Or if you want to earn extra income in addition to free products check out our opportunity. Want to learn more? Shoot me an email and let's chat!

p.s. Still begging and borrowing computers. Haven't reverted to stealing just yet - ha! So I'm having to be creative with my posts and pictures. Ideally I would have photos from my home but all in this post are courtesy of Southern Living at HOME.

Three Cheese Ziti (Pasta Bake)

Picture courtesy myrecipes.com

A couple of weeks ago my women's ministry group got together for our monthly dinner and Bible study. We host themed potlucks each month and for the month of LOVE we decided to go with Italian. I wanted to do something a little different so I did the Three Cheese Ziti (pasta bake) from my Southern Living Busy Moms Weeknight Favorites cookbook. It is super quick and easy and I really like the end result. Enjoy!

Three Cheese Pasta Bake

Prep: 20 min., Bake: 30 min. Ziti pasta is shaped in long, thin tubes; penne or rigatoni pasta may be substituted, if desired.

Yield

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (16-ounce) package ziti
• 2 (10-ounce) containers refrigerated Alfredo sauce
• 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

Preparation

Prepare ziti according to package directions; drain and return to pot.

Stir together Alfredo sauce and sour cream; toss with ziti until evenly coated. Spoon half of mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

Stir together ricotta cheese and next 3 ingredients; spread evenly over pasta mixture in baking dish. Spoon remaining pasta mixture evenly over ricotta cheese layer; sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Going a Little Deeper Today...

Hello! I am still alive and well but my computer is still very sick. It won't even boot up. I have received one very bad diagnosis for my computer with not much hope of retrieving my data. I am going to take it to another friend tomorrow for a second opinion and will hope for better news.

I had downloaded pictures from Christmas and BBC's 5th birthday a couple of weeks ago and didn't take the time to back it up. I had been working on my tax information for my home-based business and hadn't backed that up either. I knew deep down inside that I needed to back up. It was even a nagging feeling a few days before but I still ignored it.

I would think to myself - I've got plenty of time. What are the chances I will lose it in the next few weeks. I've been in the computer world too long to know better.

So all this has me thinking on a deeper level. What else have I been putting off because I am too busy? Don't we always think we have more time in the future? What about taking time to connect with a friend I haven't seen in a while? What a concept to ACTUALLY have lunch with her and not just give it lip service! Am I giving my family the right priority? Have I paid proper attention to my health? Is my spiritual life in order?

Life is but a vapor. Thankfully today it is just my computer that is sick. It could just as easily have been me or a family member or a friend. What important tasks have you been putting off? I encourage you to get it on your list of things to do this week!

Don't Know What you Got Til it's GONE

My computer got sick on Saturday. I don't know yet if everything is gone or not. I know it will eventually have to be wiped and reloaded but I am praying that we can retrieve data before that happens. I know it is a silly and selfish prayer request but God cares about us - even the small details! So when you set out to pray today please pray for favor for my data recovery if you don't mind. I've not been as good as I should be with backups lately and I could stand to lose a lot of valuable information.

Right now I don't have regular access to email, facebook or the internet. I am borrowing a computer to post this. I feel totally disconnected from the world and I've only been without my computer for a couple of days.

I miss you all and can't wait to get back to posting, reading and commenting on your wonderful blogs!

A Little Valentine Cheer

I usually don't do too much decorating for Valentine's Day. I have been inspired by all you to beef it up a little this year. I like changing out decor so this is fun to have you all motivate me to do so!

This is the little table in the entry hall.

My craftiness!

Remember the project I did at Christmas with the two glass cylinders? They're back! I found the cutest cutout scrap paper at Hobby Lobby on sale for $0.99! A little double-sided tape, a black stand that I had around the house and presto chango - a fun new look for the day of love!

For crafty project number two, I took an unpainted heart from Hobby Lobby and sprayed on several thin layers of red paint and added flocked stickers for the message! I had planned to make several in differing sizes but this is the only one I've completed so far. Looks like a great project for next year!!!

And finally, I found some cute little silver frames at Dollar Tree - two to a package. I hot glued them together and printed L-O-V-E on silver and white scrap paper. All these crafts combined took me less than $5 to create! Not bad for the impact!

A couple of updates to the mantle.

Oh and another set of glass cylinders!

I found these at Goodwill for just $1 a piece! I just added gel hearts and put them on a candle stand to spice them up for now...

There are a few other touches here and there in the house but not much else. Simple and sweet (pun intended)!

Pay It Forward

Remember all this fun loot I scored from Brenda yesterday? She sent it to me in a fun little bloggy game that pays it forward! I was a lucky commenter that won the loot! Now to fulfill my end of the bargain, I get to Pay It Forward, too!

Here are the original Rules:
1. Be one of the first three bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which entitles you to a handmade gift:-)
2. Winners must post this challenge on her blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first three bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!
3. The gift you send can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!
4. When you receive your gift, feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love
5. If you are not one of the Top Three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Please start your own 'Pay It Forward chain', and encourage your blogging friends to do the same.

Southern Fried Gal Rule Amendment (You know me - I've got to tweak, right?)

I will be paying it forward to FOUR winners. Three to the first 3 to leave a comment, of course. And then I will draw randomly from all other comments posted by Friday, February 13th for the fourth recipient!

Isn't this fun???

Now on to "PAY IT FORWARD!"

Two Packages

I received two packages today that I am totally excited about. One of them probably won't interest you - it is a bag of meds. Yes, I'm sick again and haven't slept in a couple of days so I'm TOTALLY excited about the GOOD cough syrup, antibiotics, and decongestant! OK - enough about me. The second package was from Brenda at Deck the Halls.

Inside was this cute bag!

She handcrafts these - look at the attention to detail!

Even on the inside!

And it even came with these goodies!

Now you are probably wondering why she sent these to me - right? Well you will have to check back tomorrow to get the scoop!

Random Picture

I have been pulling stuff out of cabinets, closets, everywhere and doing a major purge in the house. My husband asked if I needed to tell him something because it seemed as though I was nesting. Nothing to report other than this effort is much overdue! I actually found some receipts and paperwork from the 1980's!!! When DH and I got married, his mom gave them to me because for warranties and such. I didn't know exactly what to do with them so I threw them in a plastic bin. That was almost nine years ago and I'm happy to report that I threw away almost an entire plastic bin's worth of papers - woo hoo! I also found some random packets of pictures from pre-digital days. This one made me laugh so I thought I would share...

At our previous home we had lots of squirrels stop by for visits. We even had one of those funny squirrel feeders - it was very entertaining. People didn't believe me when I told them we had one black squirrel. They made fun of me so I decided to document it. And I wanted to make sure I had a gray one in the picture for contrast. This is my proof! To this day that is the only black squirrel I have ever seen. Isn't it cute? Have you ever seen one?

February Door Decor

I usually leave my basket of berries up through March. I would prefer to change out more often but just never got around to it. That is why I love having a blog! It keeps me on track with all the projects floating around in head.

I had the idea to spray paint this not-so-me bucket last year.

Super excited that I implemented that thought this year!
I can't believe the difference!

I splurged a little on the flowers and greenery yesterday at one of my favorite shops, Conway's Classic Touch. I'm way to practical (read cheap) to get real roses on Valentine's Day so I figure a little splurge ($20 - not bad) on forever flowers in the month of love is OK. I had everything else on hand so this is still a super thrifty update for the door!

And the winner is...

And the winner is Michaela! (Girl, I hope I spelled it right - ha!)

Thank you to everyone that left such kind comments. You guys really did show the LOVE! There were lots of comments about the giveaway itself and although I would like to think I am a decently generous person, I must confess that A) I can sniff a bargain out a mile away and B) Being a Southern Living at HOME independent consultant (and/or hostess) has its perks (like fabulous hand-painted pottery, cookbooks, and subscriptions for cheap to FREE)!

Speaking of LOVE - please check back for my new February door decor!!!