Gettin' Ready for the show!

I'm doing my first "real show" this weekend at the Whyne & Mutts Art Stroll and I'm mixed with emotions. I'm exhausted from the late nights of sewing to build up my inventory, I'm nervous that nothing will sell and I'm also EXCITED to be able to get my name out there! Man do I need some exposure. A portion of the proceeds benefit the SPCA of Central Florida, so stop by and see other local vendors, artists, etc...

Bring the dog too! Free wine when you buy raffle tickets - nuff said. ;-)

Love this lady!

I recently joined a friend who was attending a local bible study on Monday evenings. It sounded like a great group of women and I have never once opened a Bible to just sit and read it, so I thought this would be the perfect setting to do it...well, it turns out that it is an actual 8-week program that they are doing called Breaking Free with Beth Moore.

I had NO idea what I was getting into! I was sort of anticipating the uncomfortable pressure I feel around someone who starts talking about Jesus and the Bible and quoting verses and I just stay quiet because I know NONE of it. But...It was exact opposite - it was open and fun and exciting! We have a workbook and homework to do (yes, homework at the age of 40)...I read a few pages in the workbook each night or on my lunch break(which includes question and answer items and to read verses from the bible - usually just a few at a time and they are related to the specific daily/weekly lesson). Then on Mondays we break out to small group discussions to chat about our homework for about 45 minutes, then the large group gets back together and we watch a 1-hour video that is led by Beth Moore. This lady is a cute, spunky petite thang! I've never laughed outloud so hard in a "spiritual" setting as I do when I watch her. She makes it SO real and makes it impossible to not want to find God and to follow him with 100% of your pure heart!

I drive home each Monday night just excited about the next time I can come back to watch her video some more! I'm saddened just knowing it will be over in just a few short weeks, but knowing the other women in this study...there will be more fun stuff ahead. :-) I hear Beth will be in Tampa in April, I might just have to go see her in person!

Coming soon to Just For You!

I'm excited to tease you with a few of the new items that will be coming to my online store soon! I will have items for men, women, kids...including engraved charms, necklaces, rings, bracelets, keychains. I will also be adding to my embroidered items with totes, umbrellas, insulated lunch bags, soap, candles, soft blankets, scarves, hats...you name it! Here's a sneak peek at a few of the engraved jewelry items! Store should be updated soon...so be sure to stop by in the near future to see it! Until then, you can find us at justforyou.me.

Fish Lovers...Read Up!

I am the cook in our house...so I always try to come up with new menu ideas. (thanks to my dear hubby for accepting the bad ones as calmly as the good ones.) Anyhow, lately I have been trying to incorporate more seafood into our diet. So I headed to Publix to pick up my weekly groceries and instead of getting Tuna Steaks, I went for the Tilapia Fillets. Nice that they co$t LOTS less too! Now although I enjoy cooking, I can't come up with ideas on my own...I need to follow recipes. The blackened Tilapia fillet recipe I found was incredible! (Found it @ www.bassonhook.com/fishforfood/tilapiarecipes.html)

But before I share the yummy recipe I have to tell you what happened when I made it this week. (BTW-eating the leftovers now!) As I was making the seasonings, I followed the instructions to pre-heat my skillet for 5 minutes. Bad move. The instant the first fillet hit the skillet this huge cloud of smoke came out and because of all the seasonings, I started coughing immediately as I fumbled around to turn the vent on and the burner down. My kids were even coughing and slowly the house filled with this burning smoke. I mean, it burned your throat and nose something awful! Daddy had the kids crawling around the floor to avoid the smoke...and to tease me all at the same time. My big mistake in this was that the instructions say to heat your "iron" skillet - don't know exaclty what mine is...but it's surely not iron. So, if you don't have an iron skillet when you make this recipe, just turn it on right before you start cooking. :-)

Blackened Tilapia

4-6 tilapia (I used two butterflied)

2 tbls paprika

2 tsp salt

2 tsp lemon pepper

1.5 tsp garlic powder

1.5 tsp ground red pepper

1.5 tsp dried crushed basil

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dried thyme

1 c. unsalted butter melted (i used 1/4 cup and it was plenty)

Heat iron skillet on high 5 minutes. Mix all seasonings in a bowl. Dip fillets in melted butter and coat with seasonings. Place fillets in hot skillet and cook 2 minutes on each side.

I served mine with black beans and rice with chopped onions. Delish!

Happy Valentines Day!

Brrrr...it sure is cold!

I'm a baby when it comes to cold weather. I was born in Ohio, moved to Florida in 1979 and have adapted to the warm very well. So well that I freeze when it's below 65 degrees...I mean freeze! My hands stay cold all day long unless I have them in gloves. Hard to type at work though when I'm wearin' them. Today's high was at 7am...a cool 48...and getting into the 30's tonight. Ok, that is just plain misery.

Not sure how the folks in the North East are handling all of the snow. I think I'd prefer to be a bear and hibernate for 6 months and come out when it's warm. My daughters are so opposite of me...they will play outside until their lips turn blue and cheeks bright red. They are so jealous of the people who are experiencing snow. I've been told by them that "it's just not fair" that they don't get it. When they see a forecast for another city on TV and it says or shows snow...they jump up and down and ask if that is our town? It's cute. They really just want to build a snowman and make snow angels, but what kid wouldn't.

February Already?

It feels like Christmas was just yesterday...and yet it also feels like it was eons ago! How is it that time just slips past me so quickly. I wake up every Monday morning and say "here we go...another long work week." But then why does it feel like it was just January 1st?

I have to start thinking of summer school ideas now, where will I send my 7 year old? Will she try somewhere new...where maybe some of her new school classmates go? Or will we send her where she went last year because we KNOW we love that place! There are May birthdays to plan...get my 4 year old (almost 5) ready for Kindergarten. Whew! I'm getting tired thinking about it, but with the pace I'm going it will be May before I know it!

Happy February everyone!

Twitter obsession

I have this new obsession with Twitter. I'm starting to follow some really smart folks and have learned a lot from them in just the last 3 days. I'm up to 60 followers (I know, not a lot) but only had about 15 or 20 3 days ago. I've got to keep adding to keep gettting them. First round was to find some e-commerce folks, social media gurus and entrepeneurs. Next up...Moms like me! Would love to learn how working Mom's keep their cool, find time for themselves, their family and such. Since I'm trying to launch my own business - I hope to find some insight there as well. It's so hard to even find time for this and yet this is what I've learned will help my business grow - blogging. I'm doing this on my lunch break at work now!

Have to go run errands though so will have to add more later!

follow me at www.twitter.com/just4ubymel