Glade's Flameless Candle

...aaahhhhh, the power of marketing. When seeing the commercial for Glade's Flameless Candle, I was wondering how it worked. On my last trip to Wal-mart, at the end of an aisle, there it was, so naturally I picked one up--the Clean Linen scent. I went home, followed the instructions on the package, and the result is shown above. It operates on batteries. The flameless candle gives off a nice scent every so often--it has a scented oil bottle that you put in the base. Also, if you press down in the center of the candle, the light will come on and flicker just like a candle. My husband, who as an engineering background, was also impressed with how they made the candle flicker. I imagine a candle ring with flowers or some type of decorative based could be placed around the bottom of the candle. If you are looking for something different to try in the way of home scents, this is something you may enjoy. Have a great weekend!!

Today Has Been a Blur!!

Do you ever have days like this--they just seem like a blur because you've been so busy all day that you haven't had time to sit and reflect? Today has been one of those days where all I've been doing is running. The children will be home any minute, and then the running will start again before 5:00 p.m. and won't end until 8:30 p.m. or so. I'm not especially fond of these days because I feel like outside influences are taking way too much time that they shouldn't. How do you feel about days like these? The picture above was taken by our son in the inside of a restaurant that has huge fish tanks and jellyfish lights, but it definitely fits with today.

First Pumpkin of the Season

This is the first pumpkin of the season from our garden--although he's a little leaky because I ended up pulling most of the top stem off!! We haven't planted pumpkins for a couple of years because there's not a lot of time to check them daily. We decided to plant a few hills this year because we love having them in the fall, but again this year there was just not enough time to check on them regularly. Imagine my surprise when I found this guy a few weeks ago--I figured we wouldn't have any pumpkins because they just didn't get regular care--i.e, we just planted them and let them go. He's not very big, and also noticed there are more pumpkins on their way--hooray!! Pumpkins take a lot of room to grow--if you have the room, try growing some--I did notice some of the pumkin vines were growing up into our pine trees. They are also just great for the kids in the fall!! Have a very blessed day!!

Mums Gone Wild!

Chrysanthemums, that is! We love mums! Last year I planted about 10 new mum plants in a relatively small garden area (I planted these in memory of my mother)--one didn't survive, but the rest really took off and grew quite large. Two of the mums bloomed this summer, and the light purple one shown above is now showing glorious color. Am patiently waiting for the others to start blooming. We did try and make sure to keep these watered frequently this spring and summer, plus we had some great rainfall that really helped. I also planted some mums last year on the south side of our house in direct sun--most of them did not come back, I think it was just too hot. If you love mums, now is the time to plant as you will find lots of them at your local garden center or nursery. These are also great for fall decorating. Have a blessed day!!

Brats!!

We love brats!! I should also say that we bought these brats from Kurzweil's Country Meats in the Kansas City, Missouri, area. They've got lots of great meats, but somehow we managed to attach quite well to all the wonderful brats and polish sausage they have! They are delicious! And when we travel to Kansas City or Branson, we always make sure to stop there on the way home.

Brats with Peppers and Onions

1 package of your favorite brats
1 small onion, sliced into thin rings

1-2 peppers (or more), sliced into thin strips or rings

Place the brats in a slowcooker for 2-3 hours on low. When they are heated through, remove them and brown them in 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. (Sometimes if you cook them long enough in the slow cooker, they will brown themselves--this just speeds up the process a little bit.) Then put the brats back in the slowcooker. Take your sliced onions and peppers and put them into the same frying pan with the remaining oil and heat through until a little brown or almost tender. Put the peppers and onion in the slowcooker with the brats and let all heat through. You will be able to tell when it's done by the softness of the peppers and onions. You can either eat these plain or put on your favorite brat buns!! Enjoy

Miniature Roses

A few years ago, I was at a local nursery browsing all of the wonderful plants and flowers they had when I stumbled across some miniature roses--oh my, were they stunning!! Absolutely breathtaking!! I planted two other minature roses, one which has orange-pink petals and has already bloomed (I never took any pictures either--that will teach me!). Of course, you may have to wait until next spring or summer to find these at your local nursery. They are small and take up very little space. If you have a small spot in your garden and wish to add some gorgeous color, try these--I don't think you will be disappointed. Have a great weekend!!

Hot Beef Sandwiches

This is a recipe found over at allrecipes.com. I made them last year for my husband, and he really liked them. Needless to say, they've become a regular in our home.

Hot Beef Sandwiches

1-1/2 to 1-3/4 pounds sirloin tip steak
1 packet of Italian salad dressing mix (dry)
1-1/2 cups water

Place your steak in a slow cooker. Cover with water and add salad dressing mix (I believe mine was the zesty style). Cook on low for 7 hours, then up to high for 1-2 hours. Take the meat out when finished, put on a plate and shred with a fork. (You will know when the meat is done because it will shred very easily.) Place the meat back in the slow cooker for a few minutes to mix with the juices, then serve on your favorite hoagie-style roll. You can use the juices for dipping. You should be able to get 4 sandwiches out of this recipe, depending on how much of the beef you place on each roll. Enjoy!