tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1806783660045845082024-03-18T00:02:26.232-07:00Sweetly SouthernCreekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-9314196311278832332010-07-20T21:50:00.000-07:002010-07-20T21:53:29.840-07:00Are We There Yet?<a href="http://jonesborooccasions.com/shailajuly10.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 480px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 347px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://jonesborooccasions.com/shailajuly10.jpg" /></a>"Occasional Comments" By Shaila Creekmore, Illustration By Brittney Guest as printed in the July issue of Jonesboro Occasions Magazine.<br /><br />When you become the mom of two boys, you understand pretty quickly that much of your time will revolve around sports. From the time they can grip, they have a ball in their hands and are throwing them across a room as soon as they can sit up.<br /><br />Since my oldest, Samuel, was 2 years old, we’ve had a basketball goal in the living room and a surplus of Nerf footballs lying around the house. And still, my boys think they need to purchase another ball when we are at the store. I have yet to figure out why.<br /><br />Last spring, we ventured into organized sports for the first time with T-ball. It was fun for the kids and great entertainment for the parents. One friend described it as “the amoeba of T-ball” and I found that to be an accurate description. While the coaches did their best to help teach the kids about the game, that didn’t stop players from running from home plate to third base or the entire team from running to the first base line to fight over one small T-ball.<br /><br />This year we moved on to machine pitch. The kids better understood the basic mechanics of the field, but hitting a ball coming at them at 35-miles-an-hour was an entirely new skill. We spent hours in practice learning when and how to swing, where andhow to stand and what to do when you finally make contact with the ball.<br /><br />After games, other mothers and I would laugh about how excited we would become when our sons hit the ball and I will proudly say that I was one of those moms screaming, “RUN, RUN” every time Samuel hit the ball. As a parent, I found that I am just as excited as he is when he makes a good play or hits the ball. But I also found that I also feel his disappointment. Not dissatisfaction in him, but merely in knowing that he is disappointed with himself.<br /><br />We were lucky this year to be placed on a team with a great group of parents who were supportive of all the kids. Whether they hit the ball or not or overthrew to the first baseman, the supports in our stands were yelling “good job” to the kids. Friends on other teams were not so lucky with overbearing coaches, angry parents and whiney kids.<br /><br />But whether the kids can play well or not, they look the part from their bat bags down to their muddy cleats. As a momma, I don’t think there’s anything cuter than a field full of 6-year-old boys in their matching jerseys, baseball pants and monogrammed hats playing on a miniature field of dreams.Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-70590365398863073762010-07-13T21:08:00.001-07:002010-07-13T21:24:50.199-07:004th of July FireworksYou know how sometimes you are using a slow shutter speed and/or your camera just functions that way and you come out with really terrible, blurry pictures that make you automatically hit delete....and then there are other times when you come out with really cool stuff like this:<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493609525591830290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vWPtdNPuJuPVUGHQ62bwMU3N7-qAwK4aJ09V1F3sxlt3AhjT-6KNjYmkVtI8uESz1JjhWoWR3C_77YI3Ol232LJUFdwqDEQfEUIYrWDNeQiJ6JJRD94B_9qS9z4phHVyDC5vkdxZkT4/s320/JuneJuly+116PS.jpg" /><br />I love 4th of July because I love taking pictures of fireworks. This year I didn't get very many because I have a terrible case of hives and couldn't stay out in the heat very long. But I did get the cool one above and a couple others during the daytime that my kids thought were cool.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiga9ndze34VqvSuhQ__O50Pb53_kBw-u1TwslJ9PH7F-wZ4RCvfWt65aoQcOWxDQZnG3LMwbO99tgsJusWlT1nBb_McDd2po0YvIfrLD1OPkLhHvFmH8X07gV_D1OeXzljMMSiXdHxlgo/s1600/JuneJuly+108.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493609540141094642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiga9ndze34VqvSuhQ__O50Pb53_kBw-u1TwslJ9PH7F-wZ4RCvfWt65aoQcOWxDQZnG3LMwbO99tgsJusWlT1nBb_McDd2po0YvIfrLD1OPkLhHvFmH8X07gV_D1OeXzljMMSiXdHxlgo/s320/JuneJuly+108.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8NzBV4cTH23Yt8-f46Z-4FkTUb5ul-T7W770lYtcTTHg5cNz3ihMtIFyZt6cic1H8f9OQCbrwrQ9a1pearKPwAlWTQWFaU41n04XOKmApCRJXmz9SnpDaFpEU8MI2Xr5hZN39ibzN-i4/s1600/JuneJuly+103.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493609531113789634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8NzBV4cTH23Yt8-f46Z-4FkTUb5ul-T7W770lYtcTTHg5cNz3ihMtIFyZt6cic1H8f9OQCbrwrQ9a1pearKPwAlWTQWFaU41n04XOKmApCRJXmz9SnpDaFpEU8MI2Xr5hZN39ibzN-i4/s320/JuneJuly+103.jpg" /></a> For some really cool ones (that I'm very proud of) that I shot last year, click <a href="http://sweetlysouthern.blogspot.com/2009/07/outdoor-wednesday-fireworks.html">HERE</a>.</div><div><br /><a href="http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 166px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 128px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_c5cqZhJHQ4M/ShMoZu19WNI/AAAAAAAABkI/ve0tNzInLzc/OutdoorWednesdaylogo5%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" /></a><br />See more great Outdoor shots at <a href="http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/">Outdoor Wednesday</a>!<br /><br /></div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-16295197783682714082010-07-08T21:23:00.000-07:002010-07-08T21:35:20.342-07:00Chicken PiccataThis is another great way to prepare those boneless chicken breast you're always looking for a new way to prepare!<br /><br />Ingredients:<br />4 boneless, skinless chicken breast<br />1 egg beaten<br />1 c. milk<br />salt and pepper to taste<br />1 c. Italian bread crumbs<br />1/2 stick butter<br /><br />Cut each breast into two slices. Pound each slice on both sides to make tender - I skipped this step here. Sometimes I do it and sometimes I don't. To me the chicken taste great either way. If you do not have something already, this tenderizer from Pampared Chef is a great one. The round disk at the bottom unscrews and flips, allowing you to tenderize on one side and flatten on the other side.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow037.jpg" /><br />Salt and pepper to taste. Dip in milk, dip in egg, and dip in seasoned bread crumbs.<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow001.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow001.jpg" /></a> These dipping trays are also from Papared Chef and I really like them.<br /><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow002.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow002.jpg" /></a> Melt butter in hot skillet and place seasoned chicken in butter to brown on both sides until golden brown, but not cooked through. Just 2-4 minutes on each side.<br /><div><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow003.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow003.jpg" /></a> Place in a 9x13 pan or on stoneware (again, I like my Pampared Chef!). Cover with foil and bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil the last few minutes to allow to crisp a bit.<br /><div><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow005.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow005.jpg" /></a>For more great recipes, visit <a href="http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/">Foodie Friday</a> and <a href="http://www.blessedwithgrace.blogspot.com/">Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays</a>! <a href="http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 121px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBvKdfdnTcl1Uejp7kCFiu_RSX4wUFwoXZ7XwTjIk9CKSyzZZT9nBrotfeB-ATKKhx6KmEdOpvAJ4n-NaeiXoHAhK5tXav_wWLXjY23IzHk2duy_YH7wgaESzWSYKbamYgQ1m04Ja6Qk/s320/Foodie_Friday_Logo_2.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 117px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 147px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/tmttSummer09.jpg" /></a></div></div></div></div></div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-18120348815918208122010-06-27T20:48:00.000-07:002010-06-27T21:07:38.828-07:00New NightlightFirst of all - anyone who says boys can't have cute things are just wrong! You have to be more creative, but boys can have cute things too! My youngest needed a nightlight and after looking around a bit, I came across this a Hobby Lobby. So I decided to make my own.<br /><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May130.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May130.jpg" /></a> I took him to the scrapbook paper and let him pickout a sheet that he liked. He's two, so I actually picked 2 or 3 and then let him select from those. I then picked a solid sheet that coordinated.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May132.jpg" />The pull away sheet on the nightlight shade can be used as a pattern. I traced it onto a sheet of scrapbook paper and cut it out.<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May133.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May133.jpg" /></a>The shade is self-adhesive, so I just stuck the paper right to it.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May134.jpg" /> <div>Next a cut out his initial with my Cricut on the matching solid sheet. I decopaged it on and coated the entire sheet of paper in decopage to help bond it further to the shade.<br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May135.jpg" /><br />Then I glued on this fabric trim all along the top and bottom...<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May137.jpg" />wrapping it around to the back and securing it with glue to the back of the frame. I then cut away all excess hanging fibers from the trim so that none would be touching the lightbulb.<br /><div><div><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May136.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May136.jpg" /></a> And this is my finished product - with the lights on.<br /><div><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May143.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May143.jpg" /></a> And with the lights off. He loves his new nightlight and he loves that he picked out the planes, trains and automobile paper too.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/May144.jpg" />Obviously you could also do this with fabric and monogram the fabric, but I don't have a monogram machine - and scrapbooking is more my thing, so I decided to go that route. It was also very quick. From start to finish it took less than an hour and then just time to dry. It was ready to go into his room that night.<br /><br />Join <a href="http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/">Between Naps on the Porch </a>for more Metamorphasis Monday!<a href="http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 156px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 145px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365618399024374834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58T1j1rntxOMtxdQBac3WM_suLprJPWzSdO4-WbFSFXtdLZBFTHSg2hM9lKXoIIKMVGJeISg-FJ6TU8NR4jxLi1dFbtySGUvd73APdi4qhDW0xyf2ssutk1KSdXcw5hOLn9thjuAL99I/s200/MetMonday.jpg" /></a></div></div></div></div></div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-48650358368258851742010-06-26T20:59:00.000-07:002010-06-26T21:00:41.182-07:00hey, batter, batter, swing!<a href="http://jonesborooccasions.com/shailajune10.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 480px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 347px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://jonesborooccasions.com/shailajune10.jpg" /></a>By Shaila Creekmore, Illustration By Brittney Guest as printed in the June issue of Jonesboro Occasions Magazine.<br /><br />When you become the mom of two boys, you understand pretty quickly that much of your time will revolve around sports. From the time they can grip, they have a ball in their hands and are throwing them across a room as soon as they can sit up.<br /><br />Since my oldest, Samuel, was 2 years old, we’ve had a basketball goal in the living room and a surplus of Nerf footballs lying around the house. And still, my boys think they need to purchase another ball when we are at the store. I have yet to figure out why.<br /><br />Last spring, we ventured into organized sports for the first time with T-ball. It was fun for the kids and great entertainment for the parents. One friend described it as “the amoeba of T-ball” and I found that to be an accurate description. While the coaches did their best to help teach the kids about the game, that didn’t stop players from running from home plate to third base or the entire team from running to the first base line to fight over one small T-ball.<br /><br />This year we moved on to machine pitch. The kids better understood the basic mechanics of the field, but hitting a ball coming at them at 35-miles-an-hour was an entirely new skill. We spent hours in practice learning when and how to swing, where andhow to stand and what to do when you finally make contact with the ball.<br /><br />After games, other mothers and I would laugh about how excited we would become when our sons hit the ball and I will proudly say that I was one of those moms screaming, “RUN, RUN” every time Samuel hit the ball. As a parent, I found that I am just as excited as he is when he makes a good play or hits the ball. But I also found that I also feel his disappointment. Not dissatisfaction in him, but merely in knowing that he is disappointed with himself.<br /><br />We were lucky this year to be placed on a team with a great group of parents who were supportive of all the kids. Whether they hit the ball or not or overthrew to the first baseman, the supports in our stands were yelling “good job” to the kids. Friends on other teams were not so lucky with overbearing coaches, angry parents and whiney kids.<br /><br />But whether the kids can play well or not, they look the part from their bat bags down to their muddy cleats. As a momma, I don’t think there’s anything cuter than a field full of 6-year-old boys in their matching jerseys, baseball pants and monogrammed hats playing on a miniature field of dreams.Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-51181374887347909222010-06-22T13:16:00.000-07:002010-06-22T13:47:26.162-07:00Outdoor Wednesday - GeeseI haven't been blogging lately because we've been so busy with things, so these are from this past March. They were taken at my parents but I never got around to posting them. My dad built this nest on his pond about 3 years ago, but geese had never used it until this year. A couple took up residency at my parents this year and the female nested in the half barrel my dad created. You can just see her peaking her head up here...<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485698760878935794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqLNJG6Y-yQQ6-7gDCQuO-GMDD4J9S_Z7bQGlkbEGxfXWqvtqGJRjn7jPOcXHCQ5vTCE7Wi_XNrAVfKXxTGhVD6X2_9vGPV7w9yhmvFBWxgmsClLoIu4WPh_T8IkzwEL7UpnIr774Pus/s320/SB+036.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485698785751657490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjvBKEdQk_hfWPedRzI3vG3p7Lk4Hnenp5IBLEb8qfBgayxXGVn8kX8GubmilrcLBxFczh86ohSgU0vROCxyg1bloZ5F_7WFR0gAbNabPLjcOpA-vw1EFggT_2QwnWVkpaQi57yhvYXA/s320/SB+046.jpg" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYfAez0FmLVrfgbKIM7Wkg-8ZcyHvifDIcLeAVZiGhg5AMZseggmOYZn74ZUdQsnerjYzlEzrq-MfESejia-9ZQOnHhBDpqH9oUvJ9dFM4_fb1sFm8jiASaRdxVjeKBLZWBlgWkQ6asw/s1600/SB+049.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485698791911485762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYfAez0FmLVrfgbKIM7Wkg-8ZcyHvifDIcLeAVZiGhg5AMZseggmOYZn74ZUdQsnerjYzlEzrq-MfESejia-9ZQOnHhBDpqH9oUvJ9dFM4_fb1sFm8jiASaRdxVjeKBLZWBlgWkQ6asw/s320/SB+049.jpg" /></a> Her male partner was never far. You can see him near the nest in this picture.<br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX1sHbRU6S6ggqkShi2wFWUqQ1dHRfdpKnA_xA2MO7IIrcZEaKFI_CLoox1AeZyrdqImPelkI6uDRWcDSBuiy0-zvpSaRyxQ-NrSyHnU-x5VdfQDlJsjq8R7Y81VT7fYPboAuvtbDyBXw/s1600/SB+045.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485698773617883650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX1sHbRU6S6ggqkShi2wFWUqQ1dHRfdpKnA_xA2MO7IIrcZEaKFI_CLoox1AeZyrdqImPelkI6uDRWcDSBuiy0-zvpSaRyxQ-NrSyHnU-x5VdfQDlJsjq8R7Y81VT7fYPboAuvtbDyBXw/s320/SB+045.jpg" /></a> She hatched six geese and five survived being little. I wasn't able to get pictures of them after they hatched. We've only been home once since then and they were only on the pond in the very early morning and I wasn't able to get pictures. In addition to this family, another family shortly after joined them with three babies and another family came about 4 weeks ago. They just left the pond this week and over the past month my parents have had 21 geese in total on the pond. I'm sad that I wasn't able to go home and get pictures.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485698769807367490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3osxbHNRqHL6wRXjWHdbq5TEMgXd4YFoKn7VtIhL63ZyqJsZND2HQ8BzbatQgDy89SWAx0TeH4xfLHCHkn4s2UdG4byo1yC6mKkooFYu4todWWi5g9Y3OjgDqclEuAuAXWBgFZH8aXDs/s320/SB+038.jpg" /> <div><br /><div><div><a href="http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 166px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 128px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_c5cqZhJHQ4M/ShMoZu19WNI/AAAAAAAABkI/ve0tNzInLzc/OutdoorWednesdaylogo5%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" /></a><br />See more great Outdoor shots at <a href="http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/">Outdoor Wednesday</a>!</div></div></div></div></div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-32849774538545025792010-05-23T20:27:00.000-07:002010-05-23T20:31:23.477-07:00Just Starting Out<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PqtCw98PZ4mxMlTXbwLO8TKS4Lb4MqNGueu0yasZG37kDYsOg6mNcBnzdRexccdahUfra1nGcARslNwm7FRC4YPsm0nZ_ccHa45hfmifCAOV1krfF7YgjvKg2pkX0lY3HvusKqqffbE/s1600/shailamay10.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474673397736943650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PqtCw98PZ4mxMlTXbwLO8TKS4Lb4MqNGueu0yasZG37kDYsOg6mNcBnzdRexccdahUfra1nGcARslNwm7FRC4YPsm0nZ_ccHa45hfmifCAOV1krfF7YgjvKg2pkX0lY3HvusKqqffbE/s320/shailamay10.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Written by Shaila Creekmore, illustration by Brittney Guest, as printed in the May 2010 edition of <a href="http://www.jonesborooccasions.com/">Jonesboro Occasions</a>.</div><div> </div><div></div><div>Eleven years ago this month, I received my diploma from Arkansas State University along with nearly a thousand other people ready to tackle “the real world.” Many of those walking with me already had jobs lined up to start within days or weeks of graduation. Others, like myself, had decided to wait until the summer to look for employment. </div><div><br />I was more concerned about my June wedding and honeymoon and was certain I could find a job afterwards. My soon-to-be husband had graduated in December and had spent the spring semester substitute teaching. </div><div><br />We were young, jobless and without a care in the world. We didn’t even care that we didn’t have jobs when we returned from our honeymoon. That would all work itself out. We had an apartment, degrees and enough money saved up for about three months of expenses.</div><div><br />Our parents said we were living on love. We laughed and said don’t worry about it. They would often bring groceries on visits or send us home with a bag full of food, extra things they bought and didn’t need. My mom would mail me coupons, just in case there were any I needed. It was their way of helping out without butting in.</div><div><br />For two months, I spent time setting up the apartment and Kevin played lots of golf. In early August, I said, “I guess it’s time I got a job.” I made a phone call, had an informal interview and started working four nights a week as a copy editor at The Jonesboro Sun. Later in the month, Kevin received a phone call that one of the Jonesboro elementary schools needed an additional fourth grade teacher and he started the day after Labor Day. See Mom and Dad, it all worked out – no worries!</div><div><br />But that was a decade ago when jobs were ready to be had and a career was only a phone call away. You could drop off a couple of resumes and wait on a phone call. I knew very few people we graduated with who were worried about finding a job. </div><div><br />Today, students graduating with college degrees are waiting tables and working at Wal-Mart while sending out hundreds of resumes and hoping that someone is hiring. Some are pursuing a master’s degree instead of entering the workforce just so they can remain on their parent’s health insurance. </div><div><br />During college, my husband and I only worked summer jobs to earn extra money for the school year. Now, more college students are working in their degree fields part-time or through internships just to try to get a leg up over the competition while working their way through college. </div><div><br />Looking back now, I can see that the world I entered 11 years ago was in many ways not “the real world” after all, but ideal circumstances that I happened to be lucky enough to encounter without realizing how fortunate we were.</div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-68303958794809517152010-05-20T20:53:00.000-07:002010-05-20T21:40:07.552-07:00My TownI'm linking up to <a href="http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/">Kelly's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Korner</span> </a>for Friday's Show Us Where You Live.<br /><br />I too live in Arkansas, but on the opposite side of the state in a small city atop Crowley's Ridge.<br /><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKfH7uI3G9iacuq5n5abHHB2WVIh6OaQbLJFQDbPI4jTNi0mu-9T9fYAoS9hYwLeNJRISSCNLnYx4sORISYXqVHL4XkouuuE8f12hXIdHkng9IEWGyeKvlD19ToJqPgw4o_TTA7_hEEU/s1600/170px-Crowleys_Ridge_relief_v1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473566808272336802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 142px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKfH7uI3G9iacuq5n5abHHB2WVIh6OaQbLJFQDbPI4jTNi0mu-9T9fYAoS9hYwLeNJRISSCNLnYx4sORISYXqVHL4XkouuuE8f12hXIdHkng9IEWGyeKvlD19ToJqPgw4o_TTA7_hEEU/s320/170px-Crowleys_Ridge_relief_v1.jpg" border="0" /></a> We are the second largest city in the state in area and the fifth largest in population, but constantly growing. We still have a great deal of agriculture in the area, especially in our surrounding cities with rice and soybeans being the two major crops. (Yes - these really are 2 of our local farmers! This is a photo from the magazine where I work on their farm and our Farmer's Market held in the spring and summer. I work for a local magazine - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Jonesboro</span> Occasions - and many of these photos are from our publication or my own.)<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473569178369751650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4AhHY5h-TzXXwi4_6ggA8xF4ss5kQhjdVIMp1D31-xwUZxp7dibJdGagDRM16R6JLlOqZcD1p5vTF9y1L5RqWLz0Vsui4rKadvOfUsPIasVxKc7P323XvvRd-GmOPNJ9UFJqMlh8ch8/s320/localflavorapr09.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473566823497564946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 198px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilCHDNqmGibTsA4ylIyTMTM2ZK8mSR-ITYT8oIquMDEkCOTUICctdJmY7HbKqb_AvjUDUzi1bDbbDxJF7YkJRIhRYpKci1DhzbsYJT3zg3u3GDLKZBpsuCfZUS54RBh53lNPbqEOZOV9Q/s320/CityHall.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>We also have strong industrial production with major food companies like Frito Lay and Post and green industries are quickly moving in as construction on a wind turbine producer is currently being finished. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473568852986792178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjF8preQBcWvJzxngcyri7JE-3nsj08g6_zTwPkhu6rRVuyfGDGFZ4UlWwGliV6eKoFGSRmac52w46CMppOjKpYqRbIQ5KnhVkiCOTWAxKPmy9wO4aHDJIJcZw3CGl5HZzbVB56a18bSU/s320/frito-lay-400.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>We are home to Arkansas State University - the other big university system in the state (don't worry, we're still big Hog fans too!) My husband and I both graduated from here and is where we met.</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473569197023518034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 223px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1GGLSVcDPfl064HMdA6ndv6tHOA4MfScAqX_rZ7IkOB6Igf8Bx-I9uTWK3ayl-8BijZAAKCbFfRVCcj9NCsvmKY6dQN0jsycwELWfUb66AQ0jD91hQL_k6gFrfZxFmTvvR61aq7J7ZA/s320/media-8435D64E.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>We are home to the Red Wolves...</div><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/TG039.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>Until 2 years ago, we were the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">ASU</span> Indians, but the NCAA required us to change our mascot or face not being able to compete in tournaments or bowls. So, the Red Wolves were decided to be the new mascot.</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473568838788495090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_77ar6-HnuSlfFdFL-qM7awXvilS5K8DOclXDfEDUCV2EkiPJA8-4nbTbXzCcY5Oq0d1LTdoKMfhGRY_dgnlUB9oVEqgPuMKlLWcK00jWpnEr0zjnr0WqoxyqKEYyDKc32AbTWQyIbw8/s320/coversept09.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>When I first moved to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Jonesboro</span> 15 years ago, it had an old, run down mall, very little shopping and only a hand full of restaurants. Wow has that changed! About 3 years ago, a business developer in our town built a brand new mall that has now become a model for many other malls built around the country. It's fabulous and we no longer have to go to Memphis (an hour away) or Little Rock (2.5 hours away).</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473568851274156802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHsKF5Oq0kQKHCBJSf_4kxxr67ACHG3llHanzpU0hT9Z2TmJdO-6U9qxYnYUantnrgwbWQ9ejD3ZAUbfJNlTZfFbvT20eczOlJwy8jz2HjpiApd7xuzX7yl2fnoo-qkNRr4B8U_V26F8/s320/DSC_1870.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>The kids and I spend way too much time and money here now!</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473569191717781714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 241px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyttSby8_3uevi8a2A0LV9AGPAAwFr4Ty3g4vQ1lA5LmQpwwDpFYSfVLN7sjvGzP1pGdZO1tFfDWXb_fZ54jNtp9KygSX4B54q9E9u-3nP0KyzxTxkou4sQcAfIN5Y9UnFH3eUxs_yh6U/s320/mall-turtle-creek-14.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>And we now have great restaurants, both local and chains, where we can eat. Especially Downtown...</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473569185405121090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyvirx03GXgbNcHw0w96v60T2EC_jUWR4ZJUfgP5_L5InuuXOnGM8Met-mANUlmI_TLnWxVRD9bh1lROY-_0fSXOqBN8oUtQA4RIEoRD7VAV-xXpF5IfV0c7wXiB2uR_XbzQ9mgb-Ks0/s320/localflavorfeb09.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>Like many cities across the country, we too went through a Downtown Revitalization. But ours really worked. Our Downtown is now a destination with little shops, great local restaurants and music...</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473566813009841938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxx3Qmu2D-zUUNp8O5UBiuYbBIJFPn0WPlF8KwfWruORkuKslUlXpvVyA2wtOwXX5c_jGfaKnxTkAvIjwOq84jChav0VViqxWOZ3H8FYdJDJZb7q1ErZ57u575w4LEEWjo0AnkMytQmQ/s320/31537583.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>and Art. We have a great art community including 3 downtown galleries and the community ran Foundation of Arts.</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473568834959512370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBXivwnKeqjNX2r9icvEpDBEVp9CpsGhPGQ0Os9k0KHSqRO9GaTQuw8vTEDmp5mfOTsZMb14CHCeKFLEhHNqcV6hCjljo9ZeAKguCEbqGSYWXG1wTujVh7eSGUEV9Fic5337BssbllFs/s320/covermay10.jpg" border="0" />The Foundation has art, music, dance and theatre classes for all ages. It also produces 6 plays/ballets/musicals a year all with community members.<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 223px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVeaf_vUClGoYXQObxQcxpWCSVZM4wu2cVTYd7JSeum0hTkAamQFmInGR29LAOvDvlXZfaMLWCJNTkoyTxqMYspHHpr2qBJJs7xdgX8gyv3eojtf7VqMnuY8WX-W2C99NXPj2ltnPg-uq/s1600/June+042.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>And I have to brag on our Parks & Rec. I say all the time that I think we have one of the best park systems in the country! This is one of our playgrounds at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Craighead</span> Forrest located just 5 minutes from my house - and basically in the middle of the city. This playground is handicap <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">accessible</span> and was built by our Rotary Clubs completely on donations.</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473569199073131490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 176px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlx_oobtHbe-nGeRPYhyphenhyphenoLJ41adPp-caJfFLtcGQepNvo7IB25Ds1I2LvJT8Vd7w6mrJ4vzEeQ8d4344_2gelCh5iqzDP1rB4NdPLJb5hTh7aQpqsI0dR4t3m33eb6AMH-4SRKFm5eVXo/s320/RotaryCentennialPhoto.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>Just across the lake is our newest playground, The Fort. There are similar playgrounds, splash parks, community centers and tennis courts scattered throughout the city.</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tp8z5fTpzHxurGJ9Kl_FOIPsdYE7DOHyhnse47zwLzkvEmQBnFdPK9dY7MkRiB-q4nGaSeKRrHObRn5Dj-96j8HFpVHoZQc2J3GJnTN4Fxycmrjtm1YY_gvjPaLK5fwUlP4SNks1zaxz/s1600/Fort+045.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 223px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tp8z5fTpzHxurGJ9Kl_FOIPsdYE7DOHyhnse47zwLzkvEmQBnFdPK9dY7MkRiB-q4nGaSeKRrHObRn5Dj-96j8HFpVHoZQc2J3GJnTN4Fxycmrjtm1YY_gvjPaLK5fwUlP4SNks1zaxz/s1600/Fort+045.jpg" border="0" /></a> Also just about a 7 or 8 minute drive from my house is Crowley's Ridge Nature Center, an educational building/museum, gardens and trails - a great place to spend an afternoon.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473568845989877602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 212px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPFBiBdBhGX-_J5kSAxP5fNZQsC8EU_WirRrQRa10dM-g1WDJddI4g54cmuOHsd6IV0UIxRzliSQ7pGuU7-pO5RcQzktlUj5KxHty7OlsLEOMwA3AJ2J776WLTXh0LOfSYvIS6bnsUtg/s320/crowleys_ridge1_f.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><p>I am from Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas, but I've come to really love this town! The people here are very giving, friendly and while most of the country has gone through very difficult <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">financial</span> times, we've survived basically <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">unscathed</span>. I love raising my boys here!</p>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-86425761945287677852010-05-13T20:47:00.000-07:002010-05-13T21:38:42.496-07:00Blogging?No, I didn't forget my password or run out of stuff to talk about. Life just got busy and focused in other directions the last couple months.<br /><br /><div><div><div><div>One of my great desires for the past few months has been to get deeper in the Word of God. I don't mean studies on how to be a better parent <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgwsBj0xQeaMvI67v4wHmAu3dGE_8dtuNdhRDnVi9lUE3iBzlqGmTzfhuwGTrKpirQId6_euwvcxDxQuc52L5AurQhszeh6XsCWgspSoJtQCkkeKjWkSCZzfUBTzfSo2uvdkgQASUfm4/s1600/bible-pic.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470973312413615506" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgwsBj0xQeaMvI67v4wHmAu3dGE_8dtuNdhRDnVi9lUE3iBzlqGmTzfhuwGTrKpirQId6_euwvcxDxQuc52L5AurQhszeh6XsCWgspSoJtQCkkeKjWkSCZzfUBTzfSo2uvdkgQASUfm4/s320/bible-pic.jpg" border="0" /></a>or "woman of God" (although I think there can be time and places for those types of studies), but I mean actual scripture study. What does it say? What does it mean? I feel like I have moved beyond the desire for studies that "apply to my life." I want to meet God. I want to see exactly what He had the authors of the Bible write for us. It was so important that God had them write it down - shouldn't we as believers read it, study it, find out what it means? And if appropriate, see what that scripture means for us today and how it can affect our lives today?</div><br /><div>To go deeper, my husband and I moved to a new small group at the beginning of the year that has challenged us in completely new ways. We both grew up in Southern Baptist churches - every Sunday morning, every Sunday night and every Wednesday night. We are well <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">churched</span>! But it has been such a reminder that there is so much more to learn and to look at scripture with new eyes - not just accepting it as it has been taught - but looking at it for ourselves. I have also joined a new small group on Sunday night that is also reaching into the word of God. My husband isn't able to do this group with me because he serves in the sound and media booth on Sunday nights, but I have really enjoyed it.</div><br /><div>As far as personal Bible Study, I was able to join Bible Study Fellowship in February. I had <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XBlKDD9Yh4lStwNU_prBGEFYzJHrPPNnlucaHaiOAFJyQJ-alDml7exTbUKSfVMmWtgsRxx_hEC19YE6U_YZSxbUo6062YeQxQV6jPqvN5zb7yySyxibKaC-M2lq14pzsLMLpW5urVs/s1600/the-gospel-of-John-chapter-19.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470975516227648434" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XBlKDD9Yh4lStwNU_prBGEFYzJHrPPNnlucaHaiOAFJyQJ-alDml7exTbUKSfVMmWtgsRxx_hEC19YE6U_YZSxbUo6062YeQxQV6jPqvN5zb7yySyxibKaC-M2lq14pzsLMLpW5urVs/s320/the-gospel-of-John-chapter-19.jpg" border="0" /></a>attended the very first intro class in the fall, but there is such a long waiting list (especially if you are bringing your child(<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ren</span>) into the program as well) that it took until Feb. for me to get a spot. I was able to do the last several chapters of the Book of John and learned so much about the Resurrection of Christ. It also gave me the great opportunity to discuss it with some incredible women of God.</div><br /><div></div><div>In March, the publishing company where I worked launched a new publication that I am very excited about and spent a lot of time working on. We had a similar publication before, but suspended it two years ago while our company went through some changes. This spring, we made some changes, revamped it with a slight name change and we are very proud with what we came up with. I wrote 5 of the articles for the publication: the cover story featured two sisters who found through the death of their father a way to reach others with their new <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TIepvIu2vkC3Z__gwxe7dEtmnXfCxSlQDDZbEbgVL9dtScf9J4swD1nTQFXwevAI6vNW_E6ECPesEH30qF9dooSN9J_knlJL-qFUCQRIQ0wBaUKzQsNVDc8T_c7xLmcPNnYpsvfYm1I/s1600/F&F.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470973320918239794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 246px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TIepvIu2vkC3Z__gwxe7dEtmnXfCxSlQDDZbEbgVL9dtScf9J4swD1nTQFXwevAI6vNW_E6ECPesEH30qF9dooSN9J_knlJL-qFUCQRIQ0wBaUKzQsNVDc8T_c7xLmcPNnYpsvfYm1I/s320/F&F.jpg" border="0" /></a>company called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">HopeGlass</span> which makes glass crosses; for our children/youth focus I wrote about two churches who are using Bible Drill to teach their children basic Bible skills; our mission focus was on a local team who went into Haiti just a couple weeks after the first earthquake and have partnered with a ministry to send a team one week a month for the next year; our family focus was on a family who's 4-year-old son was diagnosed with <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Leukemia</span> in Nov. and how their church family has come alongside them to help through this time; and our Leap of Faith (business) profile featured the couple who owns our local Chick-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">fil</span>-A franchise who have grown the store into the top 1% of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">CFA's</span> in the country. We also had a story on local college students who attended Beach Reach <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">written</span> by one of our other writers and we also have 3 columns written by local writers. It takes a lot of my time to prepare and write the stories, but I really enjoy it. I felt as a young teenager that God called me to work in some manner for Christian publications, but never had any idea that he would give me that opportunity through a locally owned publishing company (we live in a small city in Arkansas of 50,000 people).</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Easter024.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Easter024.jpg" border="0" /></a>And of course there's my family! I sometimes can feel very overwhelmed with all we have to do and places we have to be, but I realized that I wasn't really enjoying it. I was just living it hoping to get to tomorrow. I have decided to try to really enjoy it in the moment. If that means dishes sit in the sink while we go to the park, then so be it! I currently have 3 baskets of laundry waiting to be folded and put away, but tonight, there was ball practice. Tomorrow there is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Kindermusik</span> with my little one and a game tomorrow night with my oldest. If it gets done, it gets done, if not, do you think they will remember that? No, but they will remember getting on 2<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">nd</span> base and the cute little songs we sing. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So that's where I am. Letting it go, letting God and enjoying it.</div></div></div></div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-87247212870736799852010-04-23T20:31:00.000-07:002010-05-23T20:39:57.983-07:00Storm Stories<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEiXTbp5B37TqUX3NT1WlRTfcZgA7uKoKwuA3qQ-SpMxvN5R5QkiMmhIbRUm8FmQAG_a7f7gx6tLBRit20THmG_g1Gn7YWFUpWJOp5PnrF9hGAQeTx4zW-5MhCM-au-FqRBedDLAYxNk/s1600/shailaapr10.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474675113505991970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEiXTbp5B37TqUX3NT1WlRTfcZgA7uKoKwuA3qQ-SpMxvN5R5QkiMmhIbRUm8FmQAG_a7f7gx6tLBRit20THmG_g1Gn7YWFUpWJOp5PnrF9hGAQeTx4zW-5MhCM-au-FqRBedDLAYxNk/s320/shailaapr10.jpg" border="0" /></a> Written by Shaila Creekmore, illustration by Brittney Guest, as printed in the April 2010 edition of <a href="http://www.jonesborooccasions.com/">Jonesboro Occasions</a>. <div><br /><div>I don’t remember being afraid of storms when I was younger. It was just part of growing up in Arkansas.</div><br /><div>The first memory I have of a tornado was when I was three years old. We were visiting my grandparents in rural eastern Arkansas when the storm reports began on television. I remember my grandmother being concerned because my Grandpa Dailey had not returned from town. When he did finally make it back home, we learned of a tornado that had touched down only miles from their home. I can still remember seeing the metal of the twisted main power lines that ran across the farm fields as we made our way home the next day.</div><div><br />Two years later, I sat in my elementary school hallway with my head tucked between my knees as a tornado went directly over the school. It was the last day before Christmas break and the buses were already lined up outside when the tornado sirens began to sound. The teachers lined us up along the inside hallway and covered us with our kindergarten mats. Minutes later, there was destruction on each side of our school, but the school remained untouched. The damage kept the buses from being able to run and parents had to walk to school to pick us up. As my dad carried me back a mile to our car, I remember seeing damaged houses, including a classmate’s house with a roof that had been lifted off the house and propped alongside the front wall in one piece. For many years later, sheet metal and other debris in the trees around the area served as a reminder of that day.</div><br /><div>Following that initial tornado, the storms continued to come for several days. We spent a number of nights in our cinder block shop listening to the storm reports on the radio. My nieces and I slept under my dad’s John Deere tractor on a mattress until the warnings were lifted and we could return to the house. On Christmas Eve night as we walked back to the house, my nieces and I asked over and over how Santa Claus would be able to come to our house through the bad clouds but we were assured that Santa’s magic would get him there. Until writing this column, I had never thought about what my parents must have gone through that day the tornado narrowly missed my school. How did they find out? Did they initially think the school might have been hit? Was there a moment of panic? Until thinking back on those memories with the knowledge I now have as a parent, I only saw them from the perspective of a 5-year-old. </div><div><br />Many other storms came and went over my years growing up in southwest Little Rock and we always escaped the damage until my later high school years. Just prior to a Saturday afternoon storm, I remember thinking that the clouds looked like someone was stirring them with a spoon. Minutes later, my mother came running in telling us to get into the hallway. When we came out, 11 of our tallest pine trees laid across the five acres, one missing my bedroom by only a few yards. My dad stood in the shop and watched as a funnel cloud moved overhead, touching down in a neighbors pasture destroying their barn. </div><div><br />With these stories, you would think I would have been afraid of storms, but I never was … until I had children. Before then, my husband and I never went into a safe room. We were usually outside watching the clouds or at least looking out the windows. Now, I prepare our master closet with flashlights, pillows, the radio and any other supplies I think we might need. We head there with the boys with the first sound of a siren. Having two little boys to care for has changed the way I view storms and I now find myself much more nervous about them. </div><br /><div>With spring's return, so will the storms. If you need to find me, I’ll be in my closet with Samuel and Tyler pretending it’s a fun new place for story time.</div></div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-81250114652423309772010-03-04T11:59:00.000-08:002010-03-04T11:59:00.345-08:00All Things Loved in FebruaryHere are a few things we loved in February!<br /><br />Our small group <a href="http://thecreekmorefour.blogspot.com/2010/02/souper-bowl-party.html">"Souper" Bowl Party</a>! We had fun watching the commercials - oh, I mean the game - and eating some great soups!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow3080.jpg" /><br /><a href="http://thecreekmorefour.blogspot.com/2010/02/snow-again.html">Snow!</a> I've posted plenty of it on here, but we had more snow in Jan. & Feb. than I can remember in my lifetime. That's big for the south!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow3093.jpg" /><br /><a href="http://sweetlysouthern.blogspot.com/2010/02/happy-valentines-day.html">Making Valentiens. </a>I just like making them for the boys friends - and getting to do something just a little more girly for a change!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines020.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines007.jpg" /><br />Samuel's <a href="http://thecreekmorefour.blogspot.com/2010/02/valentines-party.html">Valentine party</a> was a lot of fun! I took a chocolate fountain and the kids loved dipping their fruit, marshmellows and pretzel sticks!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Photo0091.jpg" /> <a href="http://thecreekmorefour.blogspot.com/2010/02/charity-ball.html">Charity Ball</a> was fun again this year. It is the major fundraiser for our local Junior Auxiliary and it's fun to get to dress up and see friends.<br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall026.jpg" /></div><div>For the start of the Olympics, we had an <a href="http://thecreekmorefour.blogspot.com/2010/02/olympics-opening-ceremony-party.html">Opening Ceremony Party </a>with food from different countries. This is our Canadian friend Meghan sporting her official Olympic gloves and scarf sent by her family from Canada.</div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall012.jpg" /></div><div>And we really enjoyed every minute of the Olympics this year! We watched everything from snowboarding to curling. Samuel was really interested in it all this year too.</div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall015.jpg" /></div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-16560135133258010272010-03-03T11:51:00.000-08:002010-03-03T11:56:49.937-08:00Occasional Comments - Kid's Welcome?<a href="http://jonesborooccasions.com/shailamar10.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 480px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 347px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://jonesborooccasions.com/shailamar10.jpg" /></a><span style="color:#660000;">Written by Shaila Creekmore, illustration by Brittney Guest, as printed in the March 2010 edition of </span><a href="http://www.jonesborooccasions.com/"><span style="color:#660000;">Jonesboro Occasions</span></a><span style="color:#660000;">.</span><br /><span style="color:#660000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#660000;">We strike fear into the heart of every seating hostess. Waiters and waitresses panic at the mere sight of us. Customers sigh a breath of relief when we are not seated next to their table. We are a group of mothers with small children.It is not our intention to cause such mayhem in our local restaurants; we just want to enjoy a non-chicken nugget meal with friends. But the looks of dread are noticed all the same.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#660000;">Usually at least once a week, I enjoy lunch with a group of girlfriends and our small brood of children. Over time, the looks of dismay by various restaurant staffs across town have become a little joke among us. </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#660000;">The most notable was on a visit to a family friendly restaurant for brunch one morning. The two hostesses ran around, nearly falling over each other trying to figure out where they were going to put our group of four moms and seven children. The confusion over how many highchairs and how many adult verses children’s menus was nearly too much for the pair. When we reached our table, we quickly realized our experience would not improve when our waitress asked, “Are ALL these children yours?” To top off our trip that morning, the waitress sat a small plate in front of one of the two-year-olds who promptly knocked it off the table, shattering it on the tile floor.<br />But not all of our trips are that exciting – well except for the day I set off an alarm on a fire door adjacent to our table – most are a time for visiting, laughing and asking for more spoons or straws to replace the ones thrown to the floor.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#660000;">It is always our intention to be as respectful as possible to those around us and for the restaurant staff. We expect our children to behave, we attempt to make as little mess as possible and try not to bombard the server with requests.</span><br /><span style="color:#660000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#660000;">But in return, we expect a few things as well. We expect a clean highchair with properly working safety straps. A working strap in a highchair is a matter of safety and yet getting one with buckles that work is a 50-50 shot. If a restaurant wants to make a momma a happy customer, never bring a highchair to the table with missing straps or broken snaps. I will just send it back for you to find one that does.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#660000;">We ask that you don’t pass food or drinks over the top of a child’s head. When my oldest, Samuel, was nearly two years old, a waitress dumped a tray of drinks on top of him as she passed our drinks across the table. He was cold, wet and had red marks on top of his little bald head where the ice had hit him. He immediately started screaming and I quickly rushed him to change his clothes and calm him down. Part of my frustration was that we had intentionally seated him near the wall and left an area of the table clear for her to serve, but she still stood over him as she waited on us. As I returned to the table, the manager was there helping to clean the mess up and apologized for the accident. He tried to make light of the situation and remarked, “I guess just be glad it wasn’t coffee.” I quickly turned to him with a look only a momma can give and said, “No, YOU better be glad it wasn’t coffee.” Our meal was free.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#660000;">So what are a few things that can be done to keep a momma happy? Please give toddlers appetizer plates, salsa or cheese dip bowls or silverware just like everyone else. They like to eat too. Don’t place refilled glasses directly in front of small children. That empty area on the table in front of them is there for a reason. Children can be sneaky, so please only take food and drink orders from the parents. And bring extra napkins – lots of extra napkins!<br /><br /></span><span style="color:#660000;"></span>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-64677953271404861692010-02-16T14:38:00.000-08:002010-02-16T14:38:00.140-08:00Outdoor Wednesday - Snow IIIAs promised <a href="http://sweetlysouthern.blogspot.com/2010/02/outdoor-wednesday-snow-ii.html">last week</a>, here are more snow shots. These are from the snowfall we received last week. Here in Arkansas, we are lucky to get one good snow - and a good snow for us is a couple inches. The first big snowfall we got 7" and this one we got 6". The kids are loving it, but we've missed 7 days of school so far, not so much fun when June comes and we're still in school!<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow3086.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow3086.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow3088.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow3088.jpg" /></a> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow3096.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow3091.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow3122.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Snow3124.jpg" /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><a href="http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 166px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 128px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_c5cqZhJHQ4M/ShMoZu19WNI/AAAAAAAABkI/ve0tNzInLzc/OutdoorWednesdaylogo5%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" /></a><br />See more great Outdoor shots at <a href="http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/">Outdoor Wednesday</a>!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p></div></div></div></div></div></div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-54796612246514448202010-02-15T14:45:00.000-08:002010-02-15T14:45:00.273-08:00Olympics Dinner PartyWe'll pretty much use any excuse to get together and have a party! Friday night we invited a group of friends to come over for an Olympics Watch Party. One of our friends, Meghan, is from Canada and we wanted to celebrate the Olympics with her. This is her in her official Canada Olympics mittens and scarf you saw them wearing throughout the opening ceremonies and on the sidelines during the competitions.<br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall012.jpg" /></div><div>When I thought about what we should do for food, I kept thinking "What is 'Olympic' food?" Wednesday morning it hit me - Food from around the world. So that's what we did. Each couple/person brought something from a different country.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall001.jpg" /></div><div>For an appetizer, we had Mexican chips and salsa and cheese dip. We also had Fried Plantains from Cote d' Ivoire, Africa and a great crab dip made by Meghan (she grew up in Nova Scotia which is on the Canadian East Coast). <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall007.jpg" /></div><div>Our main dishes were Italian Lasagna (trust me, it tasted better than it looks here, the guys were hungry and wouldn't let me get a good picture! Ha!)...<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall005.jpg" /></div><div>and Sauce d' Arashide from Cote d' Ivoire, Africa.</div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall006.jpg" /></div>Four of our friends (all present that night) recently returned from Cote d' Ivoire and Karen made this dish. I really have no idea what all is in it except that it has chicken and a peanut butter sauce. She served it over couscous.<br /><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall004.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall004.jpg" /></a> For our bread, we had what else but French Bread!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall003.jpg" />For dessert, we had Canadian Crepes. They were sooo good!<br /><div><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall002.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall002.jpg" /></a> It's great to get together with friends and it's also fun when you can try some new foods in the process.</div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall008.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall009.jpg" /> We are loving us some Winter Olympics this year!<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall015.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/OlymBall015.jpg" /></a> Sorry no recipes this post, but it was a great food night at my house!</div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br />For more great recipes, visit <a href="http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/">Foodie Friday</a> and <a href="http://www.blessedwithgrace.blogspot.com/">Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays</a>! <a href="http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 121px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBvKdfdnTcl1Uejp7kCFiu_RSX4wUFwoXZ7XwTjIk9CKSyzZZT9nBrotfeB-ATKKhx6KmEdOpvAJ4n-NaeiXoHAhK5tXav_wWLXjY23IzHk2duy_YH7wgaESzWSYKbamYgQ1m04Ja6Qk/s320/Foodie_Friday_Logo_2.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 117px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 147px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/tmttSummer09.jpg" /></a>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-53004927034979096192010-02-14T20:41:00.000-08:002010-02-14T21:03:29.190-08:00Happy Valentines Day!Hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day. I thought I would show the Valentines I made for my boy's friends at school.<br /><br />Tyler goes to a Mother's Day Out Program and only has 6 in his class, so I wanted to make something cute, but easy. I used my Cricut to make these butterflies.<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines004.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines004.jpg" /></a> The cut is off the "Simply Sweet" cartridge using the butterfly cut in floral paper and the Shadow option for the background on purple card stock. The card stock was needed to make them sturdy enough to hold the sucker. I ran the butterflies through my Xyron and stuck them on the card stock.<br /><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines001.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines001.jpg" /></a> I then made 2 small cuts in the center with a straight blade and stuck a Dum-Dum through them. On the back I just wrote "From: Tyler" Very easy, but I thought they looked cute.<br /><br /><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines006.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines006.jpg" /></a> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines007.jpg" /><br /><div><div>For Samuel's class, I wanted to also make something easy, but still cute. I used the two flower shapes on my George and Basic Shapes Cartridge - both on shadow so the hole would not be cut in the flower. For these Blow Pops, I used a 3" size for the flowers and leaves. (The sample I made was with a Dum-Dum and I made those with 2.5" shapes.)<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines011.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines011.jpg" /></a> For the top flower, I used printed paper and then folded them up toward the sucker. For the bottom leave, I used matching card stock and left them flat.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines012.jpg" />For the leaf, I used the acorn cut on the Doodlebug cartridge, but just tossed the remaining pieces. My son wrote "From: Samuel" on the back of the leaf and I wrote his classmates names on the front.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines015.jpg" />The girls flowers were 1 or 4 printed pink papers with matching pink card stock. The boys were a two-tone green with purple card stock. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines021.jpg" />To push the sucker through the center, I made a small whole with a sharp pointed tool and then pushed the sucker through the hole. I then used a small piece of scrapbook adhesive to adhere the leaf to the bottom petal.<br /><div><div><br /><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines017.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines017.jpg" /></a> As a special flower for his teacher, I used the left over card stock and one of the printed papers to make a larger flower for her. (We also gave her a small gift, but I thought this was cute.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines020.jpg" />I then placed tissue paper in the bottom of a small blue (his school color) tote pail and arranged the flowers in the pail.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines018.jpg" />Although he's a boy and this may seem a little girly, my son was very excited to hand out his flowers. Valentines is the one day a year a mom of two boys can get away with making something a little sweet.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/10Valentines022.jpg" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-22862513954961250972010-02-11T14:19:00.000-08:002010-02-11T14:19:00.224-08:00Molten Chocolate CakesI LOVE this dessert. It's easy and I usually have everything on hand to make it up quickly if we're in the mood for something sweet. I thought this would be a good week to post it since Valentines is this weekend. This is a great couples dessert. This recipe makes 4, so you could either half it and just make 2 or go ahead and make all 4 and put the extra 2 in the fridge for later. Just reheat for 20-30 seconds and they are just as good the next day!<br /><br />Ingredients:<br />4 squares semisweet baking chocolate<br />1/2 cup butter<br />1 cup powdered sugar<br />2 eggs<br />2 egg yolks<br />6 T. flour<br />Cool Whip, powdered sugar or ice cream to top<br /><br />Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 4 custard cups. Place on baking sheet. Microwave chocolate and butter in a large bowl for 1-2 minutes until butter melts. Stir with whisk until chocolate melts. Stir in sugar.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Recipes021.jpg" /><br />Whisk in eggs and yolks. Stir in flour.<br /><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Recipes024.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Recipes024.jpg" /></a>Divide batter between cups. <div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Recipes027.jpg" /></div><div>Bake for 13-14 minutes until sides are firm but centers are still soft. Let stand for 1 minute. Run knife along edge to losen. </div><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Recipes028.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Recipes028.jpg" /></a> Invert onto dessert plates or place in bowl. <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Recipes029.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Recipes029.jpg" /></a> Top with cool whip or ice cream or dust on powdered sugar.<br /><div><div><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Recipes030.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Recipes030.jpg" /></a> When you break into the cake, the yummy melted center pours out of the cake. Enjoy!<br /><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Recipes031.jpg?t=1265866366"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/Recipes031.jpg?t=1265866366" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div>For more great recipes, visit <a href="http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/">Foodie Friday</a> and <a href="http://www.blessedwithgrace.blogspot.com/">Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays</a>! <a href="http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 121px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBvKdfdnTcl1Uejp7kCFiu_RSX4wUFwoXZ7XwTjIk9CKSyzZZT9nBrotfeB-ATKKhx6KmEdOpvAJ4n-NaeiXoHAhK5tXav_wWLXjY23IzHk2duy_YH7wgaESzWSYKbamYgQ1m04Ja6Qk/s320/Foodie_Friday_Logo_2.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 117px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 147px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/tmttSummer09.jpg" /></a>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-10844213883897520852010-02-10T16:43:00.000-08:002010-02-10T16:55:49.160-08:00One Tip Wednesday<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdjhL3lCKBeM1oX8DZYv6Jn4dhEQpNOO5tadNAsiYZmp8A4KAYFGWU_nt9ZaOH-anJCnr58IlCPAxPx-fQ-em6JLcdd2o_fiS2Kx-jZAUIQJbAZi6zMaol9MPzGPhz7u0wcGHK9EZ1YvB/s200/One+Tip+Wed+1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 164px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdjhL3lCKBeM1oX8DZYv6Jn4dhEQpNOO5tadNAsiYZmp8A4KAYFGWU_nt9ZaOH-anJCnr58IlCPAxPx-fQ-em6JLcdd2o_fiS2Kx-jZAUIQJbAZi6zMaol9MPzGPhz7u0wcGHK9EZ1YvB/s200/One+Tip+Wed+1.jpg" /></a> My latest project has been working to backup all of my digital photos. I take lots of photos both professionally and personally, so it's always a challenge for me to keep them all backed up. Part of my problem is that I have 3 computers where I often download photos: my Mac at work, my home desktop and home laptop.<br /><br />Over the last couple months, I've been working to get them all moved onto my desktop, making sure to not miss any, but also to get rid of any duplicates. Next I began putting them in date order, organizing my files by month. Once that was done, I have started burning them onto DVDs in month order, putting as many months on one disk as possible, but keeping the months in order.<br /><br />My next task is to buy an external 1 terabyte hard drive and move all of my photo files off of the desktop onto the external drive. I will also from that point on, keep my files on both my internal and external hard drives until I have enough to burn a disk. Once a new disk is burned, I will remove them from my computers internal drive, but leave them on the external, always having two copies.<br /><br />So why both? The DVDs are a good way to permanently archive the photos, but they are not as accessible as I would like. Having them on an external hard drive will keep them accessible, but not taking up space on my desktop (which I'm quickly running out of). You can buy a 1 terabyte external drive for around $100, so very affordable.<br /><br />Why don't I just keep my photos on my camera memory cards? With the number of photos I take, I would have to buy cards constantly. That would simply be too expensive.<br /><br />What about Jump Drives? NO!!! Never use a jump drive/memory stick to archive anything. They fail often and are not meant to be used to archive. They are to only be used as temporary memory, to move files among computers.<br /><br />Another idea is to also make an additional copy of your DVDs and put them in a bank safety deposit box or at someone else's home like your parents for safe keeping. In the event of a fire or other disaster, you won't lose your pictures.Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-38963473543046885332010-02-09T21:27:00.001-08:002010-02-09T21:39:30.600-08:00Outdoor Wednesday - Snow II<a href="http://sweetlysouthern.blogspot.com/2010/02/outdoor-wednesday-snow.html">Last week </a>I posted several pictures from out big snow we received here in Arkansas last week. This is a continuation of those photos, with a more nature photography feel. I love to shoot nature, but have the opportunity near as often now that I'm usually focusing on my two boys. But I love it when I get the chance!<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow145.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow145.jpg" /></a><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow170.jpg" /></div><div> </div><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow166.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow166.jpg" /></a><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow175.jpg" /></div><div> </div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow174.jpg" /></div><div> </div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow178.jpg" /></div><div><div><div><div><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow177Cropped.jpg" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow189.jpg" /></div><div> </div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow213.jpg" /></div><div> </div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow197.jpg" /></div><div> </div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow215.jpg" /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow228.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow228.jpg" /></a></div><div>As I type this, we have another 6" on the ground outside. I can't remember ever really having a winter where we had two large snowfalls - 7" inches that we had during this snow is a very rare <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">occurrence</span> here in Arkansas - much less to have them less than 2 weeks apart. This has <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">truly</span> been a winter unlike many here have ever seen. And of course I shot some more photos today - I'll be posting those next week! <div><br /><a href="http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 166px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 128px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_c5cqZhJHQ4M/ShMoZu19WNI/AAAAAAAABkI/ve0tNzInLzc/OutdoorWednesdaylogo5%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" /></a><br />See more great <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Outdoor</span> shots at <a href="http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/">Outdoor Wednesday</a>!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-65547448754684328432010-02-06T20:38:00.000-08:002010-02-06T20:42:30.444-08:00A First Love<a href="http://jonesborooccasions.com/shailafeb10.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 480px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 347px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://jonesborooccasions.com/shailafeb10.jpg" /></a> <div>Editorial By Shaila Creekmore, Illustration By Brittney Guest as printed in the February Issue of <a href="http://jonesborooccasions.com/">Jonesboro Occasions Magazine</a>.</div><div><br />My first true love was Daniel Green. We were 5 years old, and he was dreamy. We met my first day of school in Ms. West kindergarten class at David O. Dodd Elementary in Little Rock. He was my first boyfriend, but alas, I was not his first girlfriend. He had been the boyfriend of my two best friends before me. By the end of kindergarten, he had been the boyfriend of nearly every girl in our class. But we didn’t care, he was worth sharing.</div><div><br />I was lucky enough to be his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day. He brought all of the kids suckers to the Valentine’s party, but I was home sick and had to miss the party. When I returned the next day, Ms. West told me that my sucker was broken and Daniel Green had insisted he take it back home and get me a new one. He brought back a huge, red heart sucker that I proudly told my mom was from my boyfriend. </div><div><br />Eventually he moved on to another girl, but that was okay, because I was the one who had gotten the big heart sucker for Valentine’s. When we began our first grade school year, Daniel Green, as we forever referred to him, was gone. For six years, he was a legend among the girls. We often wondered what happened to our beloved Daniel Green and would still talk about him at bunking parties.</div><div><br />In second grade, I had two boyfriends at the same time, Josh and Brian, who were best friends. They carried my books and passed me notes in class. For Valentines, they both got me a box of chocolates and Josh had his mom meet me after school with a balloon. In fifth grade, my boyfriend was David. He and I participated in a school orchestra program together, I played viola and he played cello. I broke up with him by slipping a note into his cello bag one afternoon.<br /></div><div>When we reached seventh grade, our junior high pulled students from three elementary schools into one school. At a bunking party later that school year, we learned what had happened to Daniel Green. He had moved into one of the other elementary schools for a couple of years and they too had all loved Daniel Green. Each of them had been his girlfriend at one time or another and after a couple years, he had left them just as he had left us. </div><div><br />A couple of times at other bunking parties, we tried to find Daniel Green, once calling nearly every Green in the Little Rock phone book asking if Daniel was home. We’re pretty sure we found him one night, but he denied that he had gone to either of our schools. We were not convinced.</div><div><br />My oldest son is now the age I was when I had my first boyfriend. While he has friends that are girls and turns a little red when you ask him about certain ones, he has not yet had a girlfriend. But one mother recently told me that her daughter said she only liked Samuel and one other boy and all of the other boys are mean. She went on to say, “I think Samuel’s quite the lady’s man.” Is he the Daniel Green of Ms. Sarah’s room? Luckily I think not. When I asked him about the girls in his class, he replied, “YUUUCCKK, girls!” The sly smile he gave me afterwards, however, tells me it won’t be much longer until Samuel finds his first love.</div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-23850466199673192322010-02-02T17:06:00.000-08:002010-02-02T17:06:00.512-08:00Outdoor Wednesday - SNOW!!We have had a great few days of being snowed in! Here in the south, a couple inches of snow can shut down a city for at least a day - 7" of snow can shut it down for...we'll we're not sure yet, school is still out! While we usually get at least one snowfall a year, it sometimes isn't even enough to build a snowman. But exactly a year after a catastrophic <a href="http://sweetlysouthern.blogspot.com/2010/01/one-year-ago.html">ice storm</a>, we finally got our big snow!<br /><br />It started late Thursday evening as sleet and a little freezing rain which continued through the night until around 9 a.m. Friday when it finally changed over to snow. One unusual thing about this storm is that it snowed throughout the day. Normally here, it snows at night and you just wake up and it's there. Many were disappointed when they woke up that morning to find nothing but sleet and very icy roads. But my husband (a weather man at heart) was quick to tell me that this was exactly what it was suppose to be doing. In the end, we got around 7" as of Tuesday afternoon, we still have a lot of snow on the ground and schools are still closed. From Thursday evening until this morning, I had only been out of the house a total of 1 hour to run to work to shoot photos. A friend called last night and said - enoughs enough, lets get out of the house. And just to show you want we have been driven to - we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese! You keep a mom locked up long enough and she'll do just about anything for a little adult interaction!<br /><br />My kitchen window all frozen over from the freezing rain the night before.<br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow002.jpg" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow004.jpg" /> My husband took this a couple hours before the snow stopped.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow026.jpg" /> I love how bright it is outside when snow is on the ground!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow027.jpg" /> My footprint in the snow.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow038.jpg" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow048.jpg" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow050.jpg" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow052.jpg" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow098.jpg" /> Gotta love pics of the kids in the snow!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/BigSnow111.jpg" /> Check back next week - I've got lots of great outdoor shots that I've not yet had time to edit. Snow and ice are so cool to shoot! </p><p><br /><a href="http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 166px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 128px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_c5cqZhJHQ4M/ShMoZu19WNI/AAAAAAAABkI/ve0tNzInLzc/OutdoorWednesdaylogo5%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" /></a><br />See more great Ourdoor shots at <a href="http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/">Outdoor Wednesday</a>! </p>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-51450983781678708632010-02-01T21:14:00.000-08:002010-02-01T21:42:46.879-08:00Roasted Chicken and AsparagusThe key to this chicken is low and slow! We have a great little local store that carries dozens of spices, spice blends and specialty items. One blend that I love is a simple Rotisserie Chicken Rub (I'm sure you can find a similar spice in most stores). I start by tying the legs together with oven bands (available at most cooking stores) or twine and lay on the rack in my roasting pan. Next I drizzle olive oil and rub it all over my whole chicken. I then sprinkle on - and inside the cavity - the rub all over the chicken until it is completely coated.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433512308303044034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgke16GKmDZE58Jhyphenhyphenyr6ye8a3x3VNkv2naVD9GLJaTs2aw_mq4lr2DOby9YiwlX-VDUScCEYRxVDgwaDkvzdPmtGbQ_ok0aMt5_WmFcMm3RT1yPIGmzjJSgWAOoWfArIPvw8YRMS9fk2eA/s320/Recipes+003.jpg" /><br />I cover the roasting pan with heavy duty foil and place in the oven. I bake it for 2.5 to 3 hours at 325 degrees. My mom couldn't believe it. She said that would nearly cook a whole turkey, but that's what I do. I do not uncover the chicken at all for at least 2.5 hours when I then check the internal temperature. The chicken is so tender and juicy that it will completely fall apart when you begin move it off your baking rack.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdxnDxNkeLBicm0p7ICETDF0xehFhilHh6ywRsLh2uBO6tVn-Hq_NxXkhYQ4f3YWi3JUtSwbRGbcOZhTlbywxhvIcldod3K66f8ZdIce2oYabTcz8LTLdW5DPJKA-qVK6FamMDdGG4zc/s1600-h/Recipes+019.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433512319977321106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdxnDxNkeLBicm0p7ICETDF0xehFhilHh6ywRsLh2uBO6tVn-Hq_NxXkhYQ4f3YWi3JUtSwbRGbcOZhTlbywxhvIcldod3K66f8ZdIce2oYabTcz8LTLdW5DPJKA-qVK6FamMDdGG4zc/s320/Recipes+019.jpg" /></a>Another idea is to cook two chickens at the same time. My roasting pan is perfect size for two chickens, so many times I will cook two at the same time. It's a great meal for taking to someone who is sick or has had a baby and it's no more work than just cooking yourself dinner. Or occasionally I'll let the second cool completely, vacuum seal and pop in the freezer for a meal later on.<br /><br />By the way - whole chicken just doesn't photograph well! I work for a magazine where we've tried many times with our food photographer to make it look good - and it just doesn't! Ha!<br /><br /><br />Microwaved Asparagus:<br />I'm the only one in my house who will eat asparagus, so I like to make it quick and easy.<br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433512301802293330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieLA86mBgAVgwJGZoWgJ-oQypbvN7ECdibA7wQyOHSTZJYQocfZbjBgDVG5kcVo25u6sFsYU-25GOf7wHyKzU3040tpFoZ8AJXbBRs-QIv-bMTnQtYckrBSdn3n6_kmnTVs8OkUq41rOk/s320/6BD+034.jpg" />I wash and cut the ends and lay in a 8x8 glass dish. I coat with olive oil and sprinkle on dried Italian seasoning. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the microwave. My microwave has a setting for fresh vegetables that I use to set my time. I check it and microwave a couple minutes more if needed. If you're microwave doesn't have that setting, the important thing is to cook on 50% power. That allows it to cook more evenly without drying out the asparagus. Once it's cooked to your liking, sprinkle on a little Kosher salt to taste. Do not salt it prior to microwaving! You never want to salt anything you are cooking in the microwave because salt is a dehydrator.</p><p>For more great recipes, visit <a href="http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/">Foodie Friday</a> and <a href="http://www.blessedwithgrace.blogspot.com/">Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays</a>! <a href="http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 121px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBvKdfdnTcl1Uejp7kCFiu_RSX4wUFwoXZ7XwTjIk9CKSyzZZT9nBrotfeB-ATKKhx6KmEdOpvAJ4n-NaeiXoHAhK5tXav_wWLXjY23IzHk2duy_YH7wgaESzWSYKbamYgQ1m04Ja6Qk/s320/Foodie_Friday_Logo_2.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 117px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 147px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/creekmommy/tmttSummer09.jpg" /></a></p>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-38002152250420513042010-01-28T20:00:00.000-08:002010-01-28T20:15:57.154-08:00Snow CreamWe are watching the weather outside, patiently waiting for the sleet falling to turn to snow for a pretty good snow storm headed our way. We may get up to a foot of snow - major for Arkansas. Only a couple times in my life have we had that much snow here. Schools are already closed and I bought a sled yesterday. When it snows here, the one thing we have to have is snow cream. So I thought it would be a great time to post the recipe. (This picture is from a couple years ago). This exact time last year we were experiencing a catastrophic ice storm - and that is no exaggeration. Read my post below about that great experience!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OyXi7yh2bo0JfZZfr2n0BjkUhidEBHMfxI4pOcxZhs_qbnPJUFQVNx2B1jyei1etJ8Gryx40AAKxe6dxt33vMRhucBHfp6lqRDig_5ETi8I-FbJdzbz1IpR7Rmc9RKB8ugSwcagUTvk/s1600-h/IMG_7060.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432007988733010994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OyXi7yh2bo0JfZZfr2n0BjkUhidEBHMfxI4pOcxZhs_qbnPJUFQVNx2B1jyei1etJ8Gryx40AAKxe6dxt33vMRhucBHfp6lqRDig_5ETi8I-FbJdzbz1IpR7Rmc9RKB8ugSwcagUTvk/s320/IMG_7060.JPG" /></a> Ingredients:<br />1 large bowl snow<br />1 egg (we use pasteurized egg product for safety)<br />1 cup sugar<br />dash vanilla<br /><br />Mix and eat. It's really yummy!Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-83863145104434202222010-01-28T06:49:00.000-08:002010-01-28T07:21:53.152-08:00One year ago...One year ago, we woke to this...<br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296584068368071218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHXfj71E94ZvxXxg7r66IAZFLSgS3OCX6lzAdxYSxq_LC1j8eInbFEW8NDDRyqa1GXv50L5RjJvxb-kXmkd0HVdkeICdp2YkgQGzZHOrtp88kJy_vOn8xKy5h6WhJfiSBGz5LChcLPM7L/s320/Ice+Storm+029.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>We experienced a major ice storm unlike I had ever seen before. Living in the south, ice storms are not unusual. In fact, I would say we tend to get ice more than snow. But this storm was nothing but freezing rain. No sleet, no snow, everything you see is frozen rain. It rained HARD for about 35 hours with lightning and thunder with the temps between 30-32, just enough to freeze. Even The Weather Channel was here in our small city.</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296584072415759122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFomvwSmypRBFv8ONYYObaPeNKIJR7pruqIe_lfnjXOwslPEaF5Rosndu7HhEKUC9dzhPgODE4gWeDWezAIT9cA6mISq9Pn-q7kUdAdzVDN9UHEucfbd8Q4LA_z7J-kKt46dR3oYREpnX1/s320/Ice+Storm+026.jpg" border="0" /> Our corner of the state experienced a near total blackout. Only little pockets of our city remained with power. Some surrounding cities lost nearly their entire infrastructure. When we woke the next morning and began calling all our friends who we discovered were also in the dark, we found ourselves trying to figure out what to do. It became very clear from the radio that it was going to be days before we got power back. We packed and headed to my in-laws an hour away who had missed the storm. Luckily, the roads remained clear, the problem was literally up in the air. You can read my post from that day <a href="http://thecreekmorefour.blogspot.com/2009/01/ice-storm-2009.html">HERE</a>.<br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296584063539990738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIH1aXZleLf4sDx6hWIZJpDUODQl1tl7AT8Q_NGmRM16YdgiA7npXPZjOsweSgJUZirOnlh-gof3oQ5UCJwkT6wz0wYy9CflXnqx60ykc-N_vf99zPgY6N2G145GK64CoxPjgVDRmmLDYY/s320/Ice+Storm+034.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>At our house, we were without power for about 70 hours, just short of 3 days. It was very stressful not knowing what was going to happen. You can read more <a href="http://thecreekmorefour.blogspot.com/2009/02/ice-storm-part-2.html">HERE</a>. Both of our works were closed because they too were without power, so at least we didn't have to worry about going to work. Even the following week, my husbands work ran on generators for days until his city was restored. And it was the middle of Feb. before we were able to distribute magazines (I write/photograph for a local magazine) because the city where our magazine is printed was down for 2 weeks.</div><div></div><div></div><div>This picture was taken a couple weeks later when we finally got a little snow. Piles of debris lined our streets for weeks. As you can see, this pile is nearly as high as the roof lines and this is right in the middle of the city. The further out you went the higher the piles got. <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-nMxwim7dRMxk7ZwORY17FvEBJIcdUCjnbO5edEyAFwQ3S6rR19N_Co714SeuGDxY731_CoSAPymS__dy-KRVmJ8cdDMdJBRMUxmJHOnPsgKqdLe_uvKKXc1Ox356IeXAZu85sFZN0o3/s320/Feb+28+015.jpg" border="0" /></div></div>Our city had to hire a company to come in and clean the debris up and it was a major operation. I had to go to the burn site for a story I was working on and shot some pics of the trucks coming in. I couldn't believe the amount of debris the storm created. That post: <a href="http://thecreekmorefour.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-shopping-spree.html">Ice Storm Cleanup</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BA2iIzbVn_znnogYa8SVd_JHY2F3a3et4qvnCU5qpcuEsbTFjw7sLXaBBPkqIHq5uNXzODCkd2kA96A0uYlSrnlg7Rq_2y0oxksn97o4f5slfahCa2G6miPqE0Yw0soaMJ4Z6gdarZLo/s1600-h/IMG_5725.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319435323953050738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BA2iIzbVn_znnogYa8SVd_JHY2F3a3et4qvnCU5qpcuEsbTFjw7sLXaBBPkqIHq5uNXzODCkd2kA96A0uYlSrnlg7Rq_2y0oxksn97o4f5slfahCa2G6miPqE0Yw0soaMJ4Z6gdarZLo/s320/IMG_5725.JPG" border="0" /></a> So, as I write this, we await another winter storm moving in tonight. This one promises snow, not ice in our part of the state, but it's pretty strange to be talking about another winter storm exactly a year after our last. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be posting pics of us playing with our new sled, not loading up the coolers with food from our fridge and taking refuge somewhere else!Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-39078492575464051052010-01-27T15:41:00.000-08:002010-01-27T15:45:33.253-08:00Removing Gum<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdjhL3lCKBeM1oX8DZYv6Jn4dhEQpNOO5tadNAsiYZmp8A4KAYFGWU_nt9ZaOH-anJCnr58IlCPAxPx-fQ-em6JLcdd2o_fiS2Kx-jZAUIQJbAZi6zMaol9MPzGPhz7u0wcGHK9EZ1YvB/s200/One+Tip+Wed+1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 164px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdjhL3lCKBeM1oX8DZYv6Jn4dhEQpNOO5tadNAsiYZmp8A4KAYFGWU_nt9ZaOH-anJCnr58IlCPAxPx-fQ-em6JLcdd2o_fiS2Kx-jZAUIQJbAZi6zMaol9MPzGPhz7u0wcGHK9EZ1YvB/s200/One+Tip+Wed+1.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Today's One Tip Wednesday is totally based on experience - today! My 6 year old got a spot of gum on my couch about the size of a half dollar. Momma was not happy when I found it later because he didn't bother to tell me. I first tried just a wet rag which of course did nothing. So I thought - What removes gum? I've heard ice and I've heard peanut butter. I decided against the peanut butter because that to me just seemed to add to the problem - I mean, what would get the peanut butter out? So I layed a piece of ice on the couch and then scrubbed it with my fingernails. I repeated it over and over and it's gone! And my son is still alive! </div>Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180678366004584508.post-21407457399046734192010-01-21T22:02:00.001-08:002010-01-21T22:12:07.115-08:00The Blogging WaggonI feel off the Blogging Waggon this week. My youngest has had croop which required steroids, so I've had a coughing wild animal in my house this week. If you've never seen a 2-year-old boy on steroids, well, it is a sight like no other! The second and third days were the worse. He was literally another child. Today was not as bad and tomorrow is his last day on the meds. His cough is better, although it's still there, so I'm hopeful we do have to do another round. But he no longer sounds like a 50 year smoker.<br /><br />But I learned something interesting about croop. The doctor pretty much had his diagnosed before he entered the room just by looking at his chart. We were one of his first patients after lunch and he had already seen 10 cases of croop that day - and that doesn't include the other 3 doctors in that clinic. He said when the fog rolls in, so does the croop. We had 10 days solid without going above freezing - I live in Arkansas - that doesn't happen here! Two weeks ago, the kids were out of school because it was too cold to go! No joke - it's Arkansas! Then once it broke, the temps went up and up over the next 3-4 days. By Saturday, it was in the 50s and the humidity was quickly coming back. Sunday he woke up with that barky cough. It was so warm we didn't even wear jackets to church. Monday morning there was a very thick fog in the morning and it was in the mid-60s. He said that when you have cold, dry air that quickly changes to warm, moist air, many kids get croop. I thought that was interesting. Oh, and there is snow in our forcast for next week. In Arkansas we have a saying, if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes, it will change. It was so warm here today, my friend wore a sleeveless shirt to work. You never know around here!<br /><br />But the good new is - I did still get a little scrapbooking done! I finally finished my pages for Christmas - 2008...yes 8, not 9! Hey, I'm getting there!Creekmore'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401594241942948681noreply@blogger.com0