HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!

My dear husband (MSgt. Ronald E. Baker, Retired Air Force) served 20 years in the military.  We are still very stirred when someone takes time to shake his hand and thank him for his service.  Every now and then, someone will salute him, and it always brings me to tears. 

I.AM.SOOOO.PROUD.OF.THIS.MAN!! 

My handsome Marine served 4 years in the USMC - 3 tours in Vietnam...
2 years, 2 months and 22 days...when he came home (& married me!) then he went to Parris Island, SC to become a Drill Instructor. (He is  presently 100% disabled because of exposure to Agent Orange).  His strong Marine spirit keeps him going as he's on dialysis and deals with many health issues. 

OORAH!! 

He then served 16 years in the Air Force and did an outstanding job of running the base correctional custody facility at Fairchild AFB, WA.  Here he is holding drill competition and speech competition awards (2 of the 4 that were given to his class of 39 members) at the NCO Academy when we were stationed at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. 

This next photo was one that was published in our local newspaper after I had a tea party with 2 of our granddaughters and some of their friends several years ago. (The girls are now 17 & 19!) 

As a 'team' they 'built' a flag by pushing plastic dixie cups through...our chain link fence...the neighborhood enjoyed it for the whole summer. 

ENJOY AN AWESOME 4TH!!  

Don't forget to stand for the flag! 

​

Our Florida "Vacay" 2015

Hey Y'All!!

We just returned home last week after getting to spend 2 lovely months of 
R & R in Florida. 

(Don't miss reading my 'hint' at the bottom of this post)....

It was an awesome time of sharing in fellowship, fun, food and faith! 

Just thought I'd share a few special photos with you...in case you missed seeing pics on Facebook. 

We celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary on March 10...

After all these years, I still have to say I love how he loves me...

and I'm so blessed to be the woman on the arm of this man of

steel and velvet....

Very dear friends joined us on a nature/dolphin boat tour on our anniversary day.  What a charge! 

We enjoyed a couples pedicure TWICE...and I had 3 body massages during our 2 month stay!
Talk about feeling pampered! These kinds of things are very reasonably priced down there. (And truthfully...my hubby is diabetic and gets a monthly pedicure here at home...it was fun to be able to do this together!) 

We went to the Strawberry Festival in Plant City twice...these sundaes are huge! MMMMMM! 

(Why yes...we did eat it all!=) 

We enjoyed seeing nature while there...so much to enjoy...besides sunshine!

I'm totally 'gaga' over palm trees....this first shot is over the pool at the Bay Aire RV Park, in Palm Harbor, where we were blessed to stay during 

February and March.  

                   

I sat on a bench right here on the Dunedin Causeway and read while I sunned...lovely!

My hubby read EIGHT books while we were there - he's an avid reader. 
He would oftentimes go to the Causeway...drive on the beach...and read, while I was busy doing something else. 

(Be still my heart...seeing the Old Glory AND palm trees flying in the breeze was such a charge!!! 

My dear friend, Becky, is a great seamstress.  I took one of my dad's (passed away in Jan. 2015) shirts to her...she used one of my own and added the contrasting pockets and ruffle to make me a treasured keepsake apron!  Cool huh???

This is just a glimpse of our fun in the sun...I got to have breakfast with my dear cousin, Vanessa....also enjoyed lunch with a blog follower, Cydnee Knoth, for the 3rd year in a row..made some amazing new friends....and so much more.... 

I do want to pass along a 'hint' for you...I slept like a LOG while I was there...it was fantastic.  And I do believe a big reason for that was because I slept without an alarm clock in the bedroom! You know how you wake up...look at the clock, and think about how much longer it is until you have to get up?  

I haven't even plugged my alarm clock in since we've been home...

RETIREMENT IS SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPEALIDOCIOUS! 

​

I LOVE Getting and Giving Awards!!

Oh how tickled I am to have recently received this lovely award (a new one to me!) from Aunt Nubby's Kitchen Thanks a million Anita for thinking of me with this one.  I'm tickled down to my toes!

The "Triple Cute" Blog Award!

This award is to be passed on to seven other deserving bloggers by the recipient. I have chosen some favorites of mine with super cute blogs and lots of creativity, all wrapped up into one triple cute blog!

 Please visit these lovely ladies and check out their awesome blogs.

A'lil Country Sugar....who amazes me how she creates delectable dishes and uses leftovers to make something new! Ever the creative blogger!

Chocolate Covered Katie...who blows me away with all the incredible & healthy desserts she comes up with!

4littlefergusons...who keeps me in awe over all the things she accomplishes and the wisdom she has as a young mama to 4 precious wee ones. One terrific photographer too!

Flour Me With Love...who is so faithful to share the most delicious recipes and has a darling blog set up.

Cooking with Libby...who is not only a creative blogger & cook, but one I've been following the longest because she never fails to 'keep me on the edge of my seat' with her wonderful posts.

Lark's Country Heart ....who has fantastic recipes, but best of all, has a {country} heart that gives and gives herself away.  A lovely lady who never ceases to amaze me.
The Sweet Swiper - by Kirsten - a woman after my heart. She makes the same kind of foodie delights that I like to make...and eat too. I love the cute and simple crafts she shares also.

***********************************

Many thanks to my sweet daughter, Deb, AKA The Queen Mommy who bestowed me with this award a few weeks ago and I just haven't made time to pass it along, so figured I would include it in this post also.  She's the reason I began blogging and am ever grateful for her encouragement.

Liebster means "Beloved" in German..just lovely!

The Liebster is awarded to spotlight up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers (which may or not be true in every case!) . Here are the guidelines a recipient should follow:

Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog. Copy and paste the award on your blog. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers. And most of all – have fun!

Grandma Loy's Kitchen - a good email bud who inspires me and shares amazing recipes.  I especially love all the DIY ideas she shares!
Amee's Savory Dish - she shares lots of ways to make nutritious & healthy dishes and I so appreciate that.

Sneakers of Faith - by Heather - a fairly new blog (and a very new bride!) that is full of inspiration and encouragement.
The Cooking Blog - by Jessica, a young teenage gal who shares great recipes, simple crafts and her interesting life. 
(I was that young girl once upon a time=)
Live.Art.Fully - by Jennifer, who shares struggles with a chronic disease, is a homeschooling mom and is full of faith and inspiration.  A new blog to me, and I'm glad I crossed paths with this one.  

Blog Award =D

Glory Be! I've been bestowed with another blogger award!

Whoop-De-Doop!!!

I am so proud to be the recipient of the Liebster Award! The word Liebster means 'Beloved' in German--and a show of love and support is what this award is all about.The idea is to bring attention to new blogs

with fewer than 200 followers.

 

The rules of winning this award are the following:

 

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award

by linking back to them.

2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know

by leaving a comment at their blog.

3. Post the Award on your blog.

4. Enjoy the love of some of the most supportive people on the Internet!

So I want to give a BIG THANK YOU! to Michael at The Big Green Bowl for choosing me. I am truly honored.

{Actually, Michael's Big Green Bowl just fell off her cupboard and broke recently.  Oh how sad!  But her uncle found a replacement, so the joy is returning to her kitchen.}

I've enjoyed getting to know Michael more via email.  She's a preschool teacher like I use to be! And she has some great recipes at her site - PLEASE pay her a visit!

It is hard to pick only 5 blogs to pass this award to! The ones I chose are

ones I have enjoyed visiting, and I think you will too.

Here they are....

The Sweet Swiper

Grandma Loy's Kitchen
Amee's Savory Dish
Crazy for Crust
A'lil Country Sugar




 

Cherry Chip Cheesecake Bars - A Contest-Winning Recipe (5 Ingredients)

PSALM 34:8 - O TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD!

I'm so honored and thrilled to be able to share with you my prize winnings from a recent dessert contest online at The Book Club Network!

I will share the winning recipe at the bottom of this post.  One of my all-time faves!!

Cherry Chip Cheesecake Bars.

I won a $100 gift card to a high-end kitchen store online - Chef's Resource - where they advertise 'tools for the serious home chef', and I also received two autographed books.... 

"Always the Baker and Never the Bride" is a humorous book written by Sandie Bicker. The other is a mystery - "Deadly Ties" - by Vicki Hinze.  I've been privileged to get emails from both these gals too.

I'm looking forward to reading both of these special gifts.

I decided I should get a 9" X 13" dish to bake the winning recipe in, so this is what I settled on...it is seriously gorgeous too!

It has glazed enamel on the inside and outside. I love that it has a gasket around the top so it fits tightly onto the bottom.  You can write on it with permanent marker and it washes off!  What a great feature!  It's also microwave, dishwasher and freezer safe. 

You can't beat that combination!

I'm loving it! in my red, white & blue kitchen!

I also chose this set of star shaped ramekins by Le Creuset suitable for baking. Oh what fun it will be to use them all year long, but especially for patriotic celebrations!

Adorable aren't they???? I'm soo tickled for them.

Now for the winning recipe! It has only 5 simple ingredients! And it's easy to make too.

(I made them in the new dish the day after it arrived....what fun!)

WARNING:  This is not a low sugar recipe. =)

CHERRY CHIP CHEESECAKE BARS

1-18 oz. pkg. cherry chip cake mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 - 8 ozs. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 - 16 oz. tub cherry ready-to-spread frosting
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat cake mix (dry) and butter in large bowl on low speed until crumbly; reserve 1 cup. Press remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9" X 13" X 2" baking pan. Beat cream cheese and frosting in bowl together on medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs and blend well. Pour over crust - sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Bake about 45 minutes or until set; cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut into bars (or small squares as they are rich)  - refrigerate any leftovers.

(My daughter-in-love, Kym, has made this recipe using cream cheese frosting and it was wonderful too!)


I won $100 from the national publication - American Profile - a few years ago - for an awesome butternut squash casserole. I've been told it tastes like dessert.  *-*

AP has published 6 of my recipes in their Hometown for the Holidays cookbook also.

​


Linked to A Themed Bakers Sunday
         Ingredient Spotlight
                Gooseberry Patch Roundup
    Recipe of the Week
   Mop it up Monday
       Gooseberry Patch Roundup - Memorial Day
Weekend Potluck
Full Plate Thursday
Meal Plan Monday

We have a new grandson!

Hello Blogging Friends!

We have been sent another sweet miracle from heaven!

# 8 grandchild....

SAMUEL GREGORY TAYLOR was born yesterday - March 3, 2011 - weighing in at 10# 14.2 ozs! 

(My hubby is retired from the military and is very fond of Sam's initials...

S.G.T. =)

Isn't he just a dumplin??  A BIG dumplin, yes...

Our daughter Deb was 38-1/2 weeks along and was dealing with gestational diabetes and high BP.

She was induced and had him naturally after about 4 hrs. labor.

Which is only right since she's had hours and hours of contractions for the last month!

They live almost 3 hrs. from us so we were on the road there when we got the call he had just arrived. 

His hair looks brown, but in the light, it definitely has a red cast to it.

We are partial to redheads - my husband is one of 10 in his family with red hair...none of our 3 children had red hair, but each of them have atleast 1 child with red/auburn hair.  

We just LOVE it!

It's just an added bonus to getting our precious gift.

While I stood at the nursery window with his two big sisters, Claira - 6 and Kaity - 3 - watching little brother get his first bath, Claira proclaimed "This is just the best day ever!"...then she looked up and said "Thank you God"...still brings me to tears to think I got to share in that special moment in time. 

James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above....

Nana Marsha holding 2 hr. old Sam

IT JUST DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!

THE BETTER BAKER hits the road! *-*

HAPPY! HAPPY!  JOY!  JOY!  HAPPY!  HAPPY! JOY!!!

Lookie!  Lookie!  What my darlin' hubby did for me!  We just got it done yesterday and I couldn't be more pleased! 

 How fun is this?

AND...the man who did the lettering bought 2 cookbooks from me - a woman who works in the same building bought 3!  Yesterday was a very very good day.

I also won a "Cook Once a Month" cookbook from my friend Jane Doiron's blog.  Yippee!!!

God continues to blow my socks off in all these special blessings! TO HIM BE THE GLORY!

Thanksgiving Prayer

(please click on the link below)
O Give Thanks Unto the Lord

credit: whitneyinchicago

Thanksgiving Blessings

Lord, as we bow our heads to pray,

We celebrate Thanksgiving Day.

Help us have the right attitude,

As we turn to you in gratitude.

Thank you for our festive mood;

Thank you, Lord, for this good food;

Thanks for blessings great and small;

Thank you, thank you for it all.

By Joanna Fuchs