HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!

2007 is drawing to an end ….so they say…

However when you think about it really¬†…it is simply… the beginning ….

It is the front door that opens to a New Year …. new expectations¬†…¬†and a new road for us to travel¬†

As I¬†remember 2007 …. I think about all the bumps in that road .. …. the rocks I tripped over… and the hills that I climbed… the sky that I reached for…..the start of my business…. the mistakes I¬†made which in turn have taught me new lessons¬†…. and the friendships I have forged ….¬†¬† there has been happiness and sadness…. tears….joy…laughter and ¬†pain…. it has been a year of discovery …..¬†a lot about myself…. my talents…. my moods….. my creativity ….and a lot about the wonderful friends who have touched my heart¬†in ways that¬†I can’t really¬†describe …¬†

I have been inspired by the¬†‘BUCKETS” of ¬†creative talents that know no boundaries….. the strong and beautiful¬†ladies (and men)¬†that I would never have known or seen had it not been for this fabulous world we call blogging…¬†¬†we have¬†the ability to reach across the miles to different parts of the country …. to learn about the everyday lives of those so far away…. we are¬†living a piece of¬†history if¬† you think about it …..¬†we are pioneers…..¬†¬†we are able to communicate freely with someone who lives in Australia…¬† learn about their families… their daily routines… the music they love… the food they eat…. all through the wonders of the internet….we dont just see it through photos in a book…. we actually experience it with them and many have become a part of our extended families… how neat is that?

I think about how lucky we are to have this freedom¬†and ability to reach for the stars …

I am looking forward to 2008 with enthusiasm… anticipation…and ever growing excitement …..¬†

So I thank those who have been a huge part of my life in 2007 and I look foward to those who will be a huge part of my life in 2008!

My¬†wish for¬†everyone is health…¬†happiness….. friendship¬†and LOVE……¬†in the New Year!

Don’t forget the giveaway (see the post below) for details… and tell your friends if they haven’t entered…. it ends at midnight Dec 31st …

PS… NEVER SAY NEVER!

HUGS BLESSINGS LOVE

JO

Because of the Holidays fast approaching and my having family for Christmas dinner and cookie baking to be had…. I will be¬†MIA on my posts for a while… I will visit others when I¬†have a chance¬†as it will be a welcome respite and a way to unwind…but I have a lot to do for now ……¬†and that….¬†leads me…. to my give away ….in collaboration with Cat¬†Chambers …..¬† http://shabbychiccatsgardencloseups.blogspot.com¬† ….¬† many of you know the wonderful talented Cat already….¬†it is through her photos that she¬†brings such¬†beauty and life to her subjects…..so ….

I wanted to do something really clever for this give away… however my mind does not seem to be in¬†that particular¬†state of creativity….¬†¬†alas it will be rather simple instead…¬†

I love tradtion… special little memories….¬† all you¬†have to do is¬†leave a special memory or little story in the comments section about the holidays that maybe continue with your family or¬†something about your¬†childhood… it does¬†NOT have to be about Christmas,,,,¬† it can be about anything…. something special…. a simple memory… perhaps your mom kissing you goodnight….anything at all… or about your family now….truly anything¬†and you¬†will then be entered in the give away plus¬†if you link to it through your blog and have someone tell me you sent them you will be entered again …¬† the limit will be five …so …do all three and get five chances to win¬†.. …¬†( links will be at the bottom of the page… you can cut and paste) ¬†if you do not have a blog then mention it in the comments section and I will take care of it…..¬†the names will be drawn out of a hat the old fashioned way….and will be announced¬†Tuesday ¬†January¬† 1… so you have from now until¬†December 31 at 12:01 am¬†to enter (Jan 01 ) EST….¬†now on to the best part…. the give away itself….

The prize will be¬†a choice of one of three different items… either an original¬†painting (11×14 unframed)¬†…. a hand made pillow…. or a set of¬†8 glitter cards…… these will be custom made by me from photos taken by¬†Cat….. you will have your choice of one item¬†and a choice of which image you want for that item¬†…..see the images below…¬†Now the only catch will be that it wont be sent to you until some time in February…. if I can do it sooner I will…. because they are going to be custom made it will simply take a bit longer to do

I am excited… I hope you will have fun with this…. here are the pictures you may choose from …. they will be numbered one through¬†twelve¬†ABOVE the image¬†to make it easier for you…

Enjoy ladies… We hope you like¬†what has¬†been chosen¬†it was not¬†an easy task….

Have a wonderful time with family and/or friends creating new memories for next year….

Number One

Number Two

Number Three

Number Four

 

Number Five

Number Six

___________________________________________________________________________________

The images below… are for cards only…. the images above …..you may have a painting done… a pillow made or cards made

Number Seven

Number Eight

Number Nine

Number Ten

Number Eleven

Number Twelve

UPDATE: I am adding a few other pictures to the equation as we all have different tastes … Because of the amount of detail in the pictures below … and because I am trying to run a business (my online boutique)… I will discuss these last pictures… should they be picked …as to whether or not a painting would be done… you can however have these made into a pillow or cards….

All rights reserved… These images are being used with permission from Cat Chambers and are solely for the purpose of this giveaway and¬†are not to¬†be copied without the express permission of myself or Ms Chambers

Please dont forget to mention how you found out about the giveaway and if you came by way of someone elses blog link so they can get credit… Thank you

HERE ARE MY LINKS:

http://www.NeereAnDearCreations.com

http://www.NeereAnDearCreations.com/wordpress

NOW a special and warm thank you to my beautiful Aussie friends Jenn and Jacqui …¬† http://www.thebowerbirdsnest.blogspot.com¬† for the lovely little e card that was in my mail box this morning…. I just LOVE the two of you… you are always thinking of others no matter what… and you truly made my day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL …. It has been such a pleasure making new friendships and lasting memories this past year…. may there be many more to come

HUGS BLESSINGS AND LOVE

JO & PJ

Well I have been incognito for¬†a few days… but I am back with a great recipe and some even better news about the giveaway ….

First a recipe…

I decided the other night that I wanted something really different for dinner instead of the same old same old…so…… I made acorn squash with a spicy sausage stuffing.. and it was delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

1  РMedium sized Acorn Squash (this is enough for two people depending on the size ..I made it into a meal)

1/2 pkg – Jimmy Dean hot spicy sausage (give or take depending on the size of your squash)

1 Bag pre packaged seasoned bread cubes for stuffing  (2 Р3 handfuls )

1 box chicken broth

1 Р2 stalks chopped celery 

1/4  to 1/2 chopped onion

Butter

Salt and Pepper to tast (I only used pepper) 

I am one of those cooks that really doesnt measure anything unless its for cookie and cake recipes so you can use your judgement on most of this except the squash

So …you take your acorn squash and split it in two…scoop out the seeds … place it in a baking dish skin side down and add approximately 1 inch of water to the bottom of the pan (now if you have a problem with your squash sitting up straight.. just cut off¬†a teeny slice on the bottom )¬†…¬†and bake in a 350 o¬†oven for approximately 30 to 40 minutes…. this¬†will depend on the size of your squash so after 30 minutes start checking for tenderness.. poke with a fork… squash will be…. well squashy hehe… remove from oven and¬†let cool for a few minutes and drain MOST but not all of the water

While your squash is cooking in the oven….

Melt some butter in a frying pan (use as much as you like) …add your onion and celery and saute until opague to lightly brown…

Then add your sausage… crumble with a fork and cook until nicely brown …( lots of browning in this recipe)¬† ….once done¬†take your bread stuffing cubes and throw into the pan and add just enough¬†chicken broth to make the¬†mixture moist…sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste….¬†

Once squash has cooled add a pat of¬† butter in the middle of the hollowed out area of the squash¬†then stuff with the mixture¬†…

Lower oven heat to 325 0 ….place a small dab of butter on the top of the mound of¬†goodness and a few small dabs in the bottom of the pan along with the small amount of water left and return your stuffed squash to the oven and bake until¬†the mixture¬†is golden brown on the top..

( see I told you lots of browning in this recipe) then serve and eat… deeee lish!

Now on to the lovely day…

I had not been¬†feeling¬†the Christmas spirit of late.. why?….. I dont have a clue…. I just couldnt seem to get myself¬†¬†to realize¬†that this wonderful holiday¬†(my favorite) was right around the corner¬†…. let alone get excited about it…. Well¬†this morning¬†was spent making a list of the ¬†goodies we were planning to have…. looking through¬†tons of cook books and making decisions on what would make everyone happy….family will be coming here … on Christmas day and Christmas eve for drinks and d’oeuvres… so there was a lot¬†of adding and crossing out on the list

Then…. it was on to the shopping… well…. as I started picking up all the ingredients…¬†Christmas Eve dinner. … A combination of seven different fishes in puff pasty with a lemony cream sauce… then Christmas day …..a buffet style dinner¬†including but not limited to¬†my ricotta stuffed pasta shells and homemade sauce..¬† marinated pork¬†tenderloin….buffalo chicken wings ( homemade)… little smokies in a sweet sour sauce…moms meatballs…shrimp … veggies….brie stuffed with pistachios cherries and brown sugar rum sauce encased in¬†puff pasty … an assorment of¬†dips¬†……cheeses…..crackers¬†and cookies that I will be making this next week ( and this is¬†only the beginning) ¬†….. suddenly my mood lifted and I started getting all excited….especially as I picked¬†up the sugar… flour and butter for the baking.

So once we got it all home and unpacked it was close to dinner time…

The decorations which we¬†are late getting up¬†are going to have to wait until tomorrow (Sunday)….so ¬†we opted for some¬†munchies (little quiches with a few mini corn dogs and pizza rolls thrown in hehe) ¬†by the firepit

 

Which was a much needed respite… the weather was warm but chilly and perfect especially after being¬†sick for so long¬†….it was¬†so nice to get some fresh air and relax .. This was then topped off with a lovely after dinner drink of brandy with eggnog…

 

The glass on the edge of the pit…right next to the fire…warmed slightly from the heat… perfect ending to a lovely day..

Tomorrows¬† (Sunday) dinner…

Pork roast perfectly cooked with sauerkraut.. apples and onions¬†on top of creamy¬†snow white¬†mountains of yummy mashed potatoes.. cant wait… moms recipe of course…

And on to the giveaway

Within the next few days I will be posting all the information about¬†my exciting giveaway… a little teaser….there will be pictures….. this is in collaboration with the lovely CAT of http://www.shabbychiccatsgardencloseups.blogspot.com/

I am excited… and I hope everyone else will be too… I am fnishing up the particulars… it will be grand… so keep checking back

HUGS TO ALL

JO

 

Well I am back in business again… so I have a lot of catching up to do…

First off there are two (deuce) sets of bloggers that I am honored to know and would love to thank for their friendship….generosity…. and their sense of humor

First I received this¬†Rockin¬†Girl Blogger¬†award from the lovely Jenn and Jacqui…which I mentioned in the previous post…

Now I have talked about¬†these two¬†lovelies before … a mother daughter duo from Australia… they are so much fun and¬†post such¬†great stories and they take you on these fabulous vacations while you sit in your pajamas and sip on a cup of coffee, tea or diet coke …. please visit at…. http://www.thebowerbirdsnest.blogspot.com/ ….I just absolutely adore them

Then we have Kari and Kijsa (Car Keys) this daring duo brings flair… creativity … and loads of talent to their blog and have now opened an etsy shop… http://www.kariandkijsa.blogspot.com/¬†

These two sweethearts raised their diet cokes in a toast to me for which I am humbled… I had the honor of being in the company of many other wonderful and talented bloggers when they clincked their glasses… how neat is that?…..they are the darlings of the blogging world for many of us…. how could you not just LOVE them?!!

So this¬†brings me to my awarding the Rockin Girl Blogger Award to a few fun and fabulous friends that I have had the pleasure of “meeting” BUT….. Before I do that … I want all of my¬†blogging buddies to know that this award goes out to all of you …..

First and foremost and not too soon…. back at you Jenn and Jacqui….¬† http://www.thebowerbirdsnest.blogspot.com …..¬†that is a given because you most obviously ROCK!

Then in no particular order except alphabetically by first name….

Cat …. http://www.shabbychiccatsgardencloseups.blogspot.com/

Diana…. http://www.chloeschicboutique.blogspot.com/

Diane….¬† http://www.petticoatjunction.typepad.com/

Julie…. http://www.nunniesattic.blogspot.com/

KariandKijsa….. http://www.kariandkijsa.blogspot.com/

Melissa….¬†¬† http://www.theinspiredroom.wordpress.com/¬†

Rebecca….¬†http://cre8tiva.blogspot.com/¬†¬†¬†

¬†Each of these websites and blogs are so different from each other and each one speaks for themselves… I hope you enjoy visiting…

Now for the ONE

I must give many thanks¬†to my programmer …. Derry….. http://www.Gloderworks.com¬† This man…. well…. he has¬†the patience of a saint ….¬†an extraordinary¬†sense of humor and puts up with the likes of me which I will tell you is a feat in itself…. I am one of these clients that goes into a full fledged PANIC!!¬† ATTACK!! when something goes wrong with anything on my website or blog…. seriously…. how he manages not to bop me on the head amazes me..of course that is kind of hard to do from England…. still .. I truly put this man to the test and that is a key word…. test…. I do that on a regular basis and yet through all if it… he does the updates I ask for…. fixes the glitches… walks me through it when I need him to and simply tolerates me…. He can get a HUNDRED emails from me…. and that is not an exaggeration… and he answers every one …. ok so maybe not EVERY one but seriously 97 of them…

So I am tipping the diet cokes… the glasses of wine… or the drink of choice to my programer extraordinaire…. Derry

Plus A PJ

Sorry…. I couldnt resist posting this again…. I think its adorable plus PJ says¬†she misses you!!¬†

My Aunt Nay babysat me while mommy went to the Dr last week and took this photo while she was lucky enough to get me to sit still

So keep checking back… there are surprises in store with a fabulous giveaway…. more coming soon!!

HUGS BLESSINGS LOVE

JO