Orphan Train

Orphan Train was a very interesting book, and I really enjoyed reading it.  I was unfamiliar with the practice of trying to find homes for orphaned children in the early 1900's by putting hundreds of them on trains.  The train would stop at towns along its journey, and the children would be paraded in front of couples hoping to find a child to adopt.  Many of them were given loving homes, while others were used for cheap labor.  This is the story of a girl who rode one of the orphan trains.  I could hardly put the book down and bet you won't be able to either!

The author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be delivers her most ambitious and powerful novel to date: a captivating story of two very different women who build an unexpected friendship: a 91-year-old woman with a hidden past as an orphan-train rider and the teenage girl whose own troubled adolescence leads her to seek answers to questions no one has ever thought to ask.

Nearly eighteen, Molly Ayer knows she has one last chance. Just months from "aging out" of the child welfare system, and close to being kicked out of her foster home, a community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping her out of juvie and worse.

Vivian Daly has lived a quiet life on the coast of Maine. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past. As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly discovers that she and Vivian aren't as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.

The closer Molly grows to Vivian, the more she discovers parallels to her own life. A Penobscot Indian, she, too, is an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past. As her emotional barriers begin to crumble, Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life - answers that will ultimately free them both.

Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second chances, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.
(review taken from www.goodreads.com)

Camping Keepsake

Last summer, we went camping in the beautiful state of Minnesota.  My grandparents used to live there, so it is a special place for us to visit as often as we can.  Some wonderful memories were made with my dad on that trip.  I made this little scrapbook album as a keepsake for him.  However, I don't think he's going to get this one.  Good thing I bought two!

 At the local scrapbook store, I purchased the coordinating album, papers, and chipboard stickers. All these supplies made putting this album together very fast.  Shown below are the inside pages:

Thank you for stopping by my blog to see my camping keepsake.  Have a great day!

Spicy Sweet Chicken

We recently moved to another home, and I gave most of my cookbooks away.  Because there are so many good recipes on the internet, my cookbooks were hardly ever used any more and were just taking up space.  Here is a recipe for Spicy Sweet Bacon Chicken that I found on Pinterest.  It was a home run at the dinner table tonight!

You'll need the following ingredients:

chicken breasts (thin pieces or pound them out)

bacon

salt and pepper to taste

chili powder

garlic powder

brown sugar

Wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of bacon.  If you can get two slices on each, go ahead.  The more bacon the better.  

Generously sprinkle chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper on both sides of each chicken piece.

Roll each piece of meat in brown sugar.

You can bake this recipe in the oven at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, but we grilled ours outside instead.  It was delish!  Let me know if you try this recipe and like it.  

Recommended Titles From Frisco ISD Librarians

Getting my hands on a good book this summer was one of my primary goals.  I recently finished The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult (loved it!) and now need to decide on another title.  The list below, recommended by Frisco ISD Librarians, will help me do just that.  If you're in need of a good book to dive into, it might just assist you, too!

January Scrapbook Page...2013

Do you have any crafting goals for the new year?  Mine are to get back to my first crafting love...scrapbooking and to learn a new skill...sewing.  I have the best Santa, and he bought me a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas.  I'll have to tell you about this wonderful machine in another post, but it is going to help me with that first goal.

Doggone that Pinterest.   They just make everything look so easy...even sewing.  Now, don't look for me to make any articles of clothing.  I just want to know how to #1 thread my machine and #2 sew a straight line, but I'm looking forward to making a few things I've seen on the web.  Sewing on cards and scrapbook pages is also really popular, and I want to know how to do that.

I enjoy making a small scrapbook each year to highlight the happenings of the Hobbies each month.  Here is an 8x8 layout that I've made for January.  It's all ready to insert a couple of pictures.

Materials Used:  All are Stampin Up unless otherwise noted.
Paper:  Not Quite Navy, Marina Mist, Peach Parfait, Whisper White, Black, Polka Dot Parade DSP
Ink:  Marina Mist
Stamps:  Capture the Date (CTMH)
Embellishments:  Marina Mist ribbon
Tools:  snowflake punch, scallop border, tag die   The Silhouette was used to make the snowman and j.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!  I'd love to hear about your crafting goals for the new year.

Thanksgiving Turkey

In club this month, we made a 6x6 scrapbook page to fit the Thanksgiving theme.  I wanted to make a simple turkey, because most of my customers have children.  The body of the turkey was made with the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge by cutting out a three inch oval.  SU's large oval punch was used for the feathers.  For the comb of the turkey's head, I used a bow from a giftbox of a Cricut cartridge.  His beak was made from a square punch cut in half to make a triange.  The waddle came from yet another punch...the wing of  the SU's bird punch. 

Of course, this scrapbook page will look much more complete showcasing a picture.  I plan to have each of my family members write something that they are thankful for on the pull out tag.  Gobble-gobble! 

Materials Used:
Paper:  Orchard Harvest DSP, Early Espresso, Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Crumb Cake,
More Mustard
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Raspberry Ripple
Stamps:  Pursuit of Happiness
Tools:  large oval punch, square punch, SU bird punch, scallop edge punch, decorative label punch,
Sizzix tag die,
Embellishments:  Raspberry Ripple ribbon, googly eyes,

Seven Layer Dip Cups

This recipe is familiar to all of us, but its presentation caught my eye right away.  A friend of mine brought this seven layer dip in individual servings to our last stamping club, and I'm stealing the idea to take to a ladies event tonight.  Thanks for sharing, Kim!  Here is the recipe just in case you want to use the idea, too.  Kim won't mind.  She's a sweetheart. 

Ingredients:
2 cans refried beans
1 package taco seasoning
2 cups guacamole
1 8oz. container sour cream
2 cups salsa or pico de gallo
1 cup shredded cheese
2 tomatoes
1/2 bunch sliced green onions
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
9 ounce plastic tumblers
tortilla chips

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix refried beans and taco seasoning.  Layer the ingredients in each cup in the following order:  beans/taco seasoning mix, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, shredded cheese, tomatoes, olives, and green onions.  Store in the refrigerator until serving time and serve with chips. I used Frito Scoops.  This recipe makes about 12 nine ounce cups. 

Kim obtained this recipe from this great blog:  www.sixsistersstuff.com