Just Sing...

“A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer,
it sings because it has a song.”
~ Maya Angelou

37 Things to Share

37 Things....Share Share Share
Share ODD things about you! If you opened this, leave a comment so I can find you and then COPY and FILL IT OUT, post it on your blog! Learn 37 things about your friends, and let them learn 37 things about you! Send back to me and to several more friends!!

1. Do you like blue cheese? Oh yeah, on a steak or on a salad.

2. Have you ever smoked? Nope, never.

3. Do you own a gun? You bet your bootie I own one, and know how to shoot it too.

4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? Black Cherry, but I rarely drink it.

5. Favorite Kid Meal? Meatloaf and mashed potatoes with catsup

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I love them, loaded with everything. Chicago style with coleslaw and chili?

7. Favorite Christmas movie? It's a Wonderful Life - anything with a Christmas Theme.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? COFFEE!!! with cream, no sugar or English Tea

9. Can you do push ups? How many?

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? A diamond necklace I got for Christmas one year. The memory is special. It came wrapped in blue paper with a tiny silver bow and I can still remember the feeling of opening it on Christmas morning with everyone there.

11. Favorite hobby? Dancing - crocheting, painting, or writing.

12. Do you have A. D. D? Probably, but I probably misplaced it. What was I doing?

13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? Glasses

14. Middle name? Dorine

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I wish Kenton felt better, he's been really sick with this crap. I should be sleeping, but I'm probably not going to get much sleep tonight. Another cup of tea would warm me up.

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink daily: Tea, Water, Juice

17. Current worry? Kenton... That's why I'm up this early.

18. Current hate right now? Current political direction of the nation.

19. Favorite place to be? Anywhere with my kids and granddaughter.

20. How did you bring in the new year? With the kids and some friends at church.

21. Where would you like to go? Denver.

22. Name three people who will complete this: ?, ?, ?

23. Do you own slippers? Yes, I don't wear them often though.

24. What color shirt are you wearing? pink

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Not so much.

26. Can you whistle? No.

27. Where are you now? At home

28. Would you be a pirate? Um... probably not.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? I don't usually sing in the shower. Prayer or thinking, either one probably dangerous.

30. Favorite daytime activity? working or shopping. I love my job and I've always enjoyed shopping.

31. Favorite outdoor activity? Picnic or hiking in the mountains. I love playing at the park too.

32. What is in your pocket right now? Nada

33. Last thing that made you laugh? My son showing me how to connect his spots and make the big dipper on his chest. Even sick, he's a hoot!

34. What vehicle do you drive? Dodge Caravan - my mobile carry all.

35. Worst injury you've ever had? Broken arm November 2 of 2004. OUCH!

36. Do you love where you live? Yes! Both Denver and Lamar.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? One too many.

The Bag is Important - Fashion Statements

Today, I went searching the Internet for blogs about hand bags, home made, specialty bags, and those carry alls we ladies love to stuff and swing over our shoulders. Nobody seemed to have what I was looking for, but, I ran into a lady who said she loved the concept and would consider making several bags for me, using the suggestions I offered. So, since she's making and sending me samples of the bags over the next several weeks. I'll have a few spectacular bags to give away as they arrive.

But, here I go thinking again... really a dangerous thing to do. If I'm going to give away spectacular handbags, there should be some spectacular women who receive them. If you're a spectacular woman, and I bet you can think of some special something that makes you spectacular, or of someone you know who is a spectacular woman who will be worthy of a spectacular handbag created specifically for you.

Come on ladies, these bags will be designed with a woman-on-the go in mind. roomy and strong enough to carry your laptop if you'd like and yet, light weight enough to carry around your most precious cargo. We all have those important things stuffed in our bags, along with the grocery list, the wallet and the all important necessities.

How many of you still carry party favors in your handbag?

What about pictures of your kids or grandbabies? Wouldn't it be wonderful if you had a bag big enough to tuck in a small photo book? How about a toy or two? What about a bag big enough to carry your keys and your wallet, and still have enough room to toss in a library book and a light jacket, without being so heavy you can't swing it over your shoulder and take off running if you have to?

Ladies, leave a comment and tell me why YOU are deserving of a spectacular hand bag!

Coolest Tote Bag Mom

This tote bag definitely makes me the Coolest Woman on the Planet and my granddaughter agrees! That's all the reinforcement I need! When the kids suggested I come up with a Valentine's Day Tote Bag for Gramma's I could hardly wait to get to my design program. I love artsy designs and my granddaughter is a major source of inspiration. I loved the idea of a tote bag with something about my Lizzie on it. She's my special Angel.

Stick figures are always appropriate and anything with a heart in it reminds me of grammar school Valentine's Day Projects.

Remember playing post office in grammar school and creating those awesome valentines with spongy folded paper arms and legs attached to hearts? They always looked so cute. My favorite ones were made with paper heart doilies and silver glitter. My first grade teacher always gave us suckers to include with the valentines when we put them in our Post Office.

So, if you're still looking for a spiffy cool Valentine's Tote Bag, or maybe you just want a Tote Bag that says how much you love your little Angel, this is definitely the bag for you.

It's all about the bag...

Writing a journal for your kids or grandkids can be a fun experience, as well as something quite valuable to give them. Just a little part of your day will reveal the character within you and how you lived your life. Kids today need to know how others live, and how those before them lived. There's a definite reason why you should be journaling.

This little journal offers a quick and easy reminder with a pert front of the book that reminds you in kid-friendly stick figures that your purpose is to connect with a younger generation. Tell me... What You Did today!

Include something fun and friendly, tell about your family and friends. Share your thoughts, a quote or a story that your reader can relate to. Offer an anecdote to life that will drift down through the generations and improve life again with a resource you'd like your child to have access to. Recipes and how-to stories are always a good source of projective good times.

Does your mouse pad remind you of someone special? This mouse pad will give you a memory to share. Buy one for you, one for your little angel and enjoy the thought of sharing your heart with someone you love.

My little angel is too young to have a mouse, but she uses her mouse pad on the dresser to set things on, particularly little things grandma gives her.

Readers delight in book bags that remind them to read. This bright yellow bag is easy to locate and carries enough books for a whole week of fun reading material. And... it reminds you to read every day.

Instruction on the joys of reading together every day, the bag folds over to hold books, note pads and pens safely together for a quick trip to the library to get new books, or even to the park to find space to read them.

Leave A Comment - Please

Some days, I write the best articles and nobody comments. It's not a really big thing, but just a little comment when people stop by means a lot. I enjoy reading your comments and hearing what you think about my projects and ideas. It's important to me to hear from you, so I know what you want to hear about. Write a comment.

Nothing big or incredible, and feel free to leave a link. I know there's a lot of traffic through my blogs, I hear about it via email. With more than two thousand emails a day, I KNOW I'm getting traffic. Your links are appreciated!

Be kind and be classy, one or two relevant links goes a long way to making our blog traffic aware of other sites and information along the lines of what they're seeking. And please no unpleasant links. I'd have to delete those.

If you find something you like, either here or at Mom 4 Biz let me know. Write about my blogs and post a link back, it'll get you a blog review and comments, as well as links from me!

Red Hat Women - Ladies Start Your Engines… Errr Hats?

A cast of 30 red hat cars arrived on site, with purple fenders, sparkling silver trim and … um, women drivers?

Sassy Women -

From every walk of life, these women pull on purple and red clothing of every style you can think of, decorate RED hats and add saucy accessories, then go OUT in public. At first, I was a bit surprised by the sassy attitudes, then I realized, they’re having lots of fun. I wanna be a Red Hat Lady! They were all laughing, smiling, and having the time of their lives. None of them cared that they were over … shhhhh 50!

Stylish Women -

You might question the stylishness of red and purple on the same day, but I’ll tell you what, I saw some pretty stylish ladies out there that afternoon. One had on a saucy purple dress, red leather accessories and a pair of red cow-girl boots. Her hat was western style red felt with a purple feather and a rhinestone hat band. She had more sparkles than a sun shining snow storm. She had the reddest lip stick I’ve ever seen and her lips were turned up into a sparkling smile. Laughter escaped her and she jiggled merrily with curves that would make a mountaineer jealous.

Spicy Women -

As you get a little older, most women think the spice is leaving their lives. But Red Hat Ladies have no such conceptions of life. They believe the SPICE is a permanent quality you invest in regularly. Laughter comes with spice and spice means life. They laugh often. They live well. And they LOVE much.

Mom 4 Biz offers quality life advice no matter what your age. Come see us at http://mom4biz.com and get your FREE ezine subscription.

© 2009 - Jan Verhoeff

Carry All Totes & Organizers

Women - Carry All Totes & Organizers for Women on the Go

What do you grab last when you walk out the door?

There’s the jacket. It’s usually a streamlined light weight kind of jacket that goes with everything, and you hope nobody has spilled anything on it. Why? Because you were in too much of a hurry to get dinner on the table, kids fed and put to bed and whatever the hubby needed to hang up your coat. Never mind aligning it with the universe and buttoning it appropriately to keep it on the hanger.

There’s the keys. Usually lying on the desk or the table, if they aren’t in yesterday’s pockets. Where did you put the keys this time? Oh, yeah, the freezer. Your first activity after entering the house last night was to pull the roast out of the freezer for dinner. Of course, they’re right there on the lamb chops and frozen meatloaf!

There’s the purse. Your personal file cabinet and treasure trove, kept organized by stuffing. You know where it’s at, so long as nobody else gets into it. Mini-sized baggies keep things tidy, even when Jr. throws his half eaten snack bar in there to save it for later, EWWW! Or when the orange you took to work for lunch last week begins to get squishy. YUK!

There’s the tote bag. Almost without exception, there’s a tote bag for every purpose. There’s the Library bag, with returnable books, most of them get in there before they’re late to the library. There’s the stack of grocery bags, for when you’re headed to the grocery store (it’s uncool to use paper or plastic these days). There’s the brief case you carry into the office with yesterdays files you took home to finish - did you get that done? And there’s the kids toy bag that you carry, just in case you have to entertain Jr. while you wait, and wait, and wait… on someone else.

Women need totes.

Mom 4 Biz offers mega delightful information for Mom’s on the go. Everything you need to know at http://mom4biz.com and more, derived from the art of being a mom.

© 2009 - Jan Verhoeff

Seeking Wisdom? Ask a Mom - She Carries Wisdom

Are you looking for wisdom?

It's that time of year again, when little girls thoughts turn to spring time, love and, uh, little boys. During those days, little girls often ask Mom for advice on how to catch a man. Most every mom I know has one secret recipe that they know without a doubt will capture the heart of any man. (At least any man they'd want.)

So, when asked, Mom's give their daughter's a favorite recipe - the secret recipe - to win the heart of their special love. Here's mine.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

For crust

3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
10 tablespoons (about) ice water

For filling

3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed)
1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

Make crust:

Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. Using pulse action, cut in shortening and butter until coarse meal forms. Blend in almond extract and enough ice water 2 tablespoons at a time to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; cut in half. Flatten each half into disk. Wrap separately in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.)

Make filling:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently.
Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie plate. Trim excess dough, leaving 3/4" overlap.

Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spoon filling into crust. Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Twist as you place each strip in place. Form lattice by placing remaining dough strips in opposite direction atop filling, twisting as you place them. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively.
Brush glaze over crust. transfer pie to baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.

Guaranteed, if there's a man out there worth having - he'll LOVE this pie!

Leave a comment and tell me what you favorite man catcher is.

New Store --- Open TODAY!

Here it is The Carry All Moms Store ready to go today. You can order merchandise, get your special carry all bags, a coffee mug with your favorite logo on it, or a journal to WRITE your story.

The best part of having a place to get your favorite totes, is that you have an opportunity to design your very own special tote too. We've fot a contest going for the next few weeks. You can design your own Tote Bag Sayings and we'll add your bag design to our special bag design.

The contest begins today - send your designs at least 800 X 800 pixels to verhoeff.jan@gmail.com for consideration by February 14, 2009. The winner of our Tote Bags Sayings Contest will receive a Quilted Rag Tote compliments of Carry All Moms --- designed by Jan Verhoeff.

(NOTE: Your designs may be displayed here on this website.)

Contest winner will be announced February 14th, 2009. To be considered, your design must be submitted in .gif or .jpg format via email.

Grandma's Treasures

Sometimes you need to find just the right gift for Grandma, or something you can share with you mom, or child. This site offers great gifts, tote bags, and gifts for Grandmas, kids, or mom's - Go to Carry All Moms and see what you can find.

This special tote for Grandma's Little Angel can be for Grandma, or the angel. On the back side, you'll find a spiffy line drawing of "mom 'n me" along with a link to remind you where to find more information about the positive value of family.

Whether you're a mom, a grandma, or a kid with lots of things to carry, this spiffy little tote will come in handy. It's just the right size to care a spiral notebook, a reading book, and all your necessities on a trip to the park, the library, or even on public transportation. Stay organized with a cute bag that's easy to wash and carry.

Tote Bag Mommy

Are you a tote bag mommy?

When I first realized I was a tote bag mommy, I nearly passed out. I had bags for every purpose under the sun and they were scattered EVERYWHERE! Seriously, there were bags on th dresser, bags on the floor, bags on the bed, bags on the washer, bags on the kids dressers, and worst of all, BAGS on my desk.

Then when I realized I was grabbing particular bags for particular purposes, the lights came on and I realized that my organizational style was Tote Bag. Ahem... I'm a Tote Bag Mom. But, my tote bags were getting out of hand. I needed to organize my tote bags.

Tote bags were taking over my life.

That's when I started finding Tote Bag Organizers that would hold my tote bags. My favorite hangs in the back hall and supports at least four tote bags. I hang up my most frequently used bags after they're restocked for whatever I'm using them for on any given day, and they're ready to go when I go. As I run out the back door, I just grab my bags off the hooks and off I go.

Tote Bags offered the solution, and hooks solved my problem of storing totebags. So, you'd probably think I had no more problems, right... Of course, that was before I had grandchildren. One grandchild, whom you care for often can create a lot of issues over storage and 'what-have-you' kinds of issues - although as a grandparent I'd NEVER call these problems.

So, once again I turned to my trusty totes to find the solution and there it was, waiting for me, right there in the midst of my bags... The Grandma Tote!

The design must be just right, and I had to have the perfect cover... Not difficult, since I take millions of pictures of my little ANGEL.

I had the perfect idea. Angel totes, with my granddaughter on the front of the totes was a perfect example of the solution. And then, I'd never have to top and dig out my wallet - but, that's what Grandma's do. So, I compromised.

I found a bag that advertized my Granchildren without showing off their pictures. Now, I still get to share the fact that I'm a Grandma, but I get the pleasure of pulling out the photo book and showing off my grandchildren while proudly displaying the fact that I am a grandma. And everybody knows how much they love me!