Whoo! Hooo!

I don't ususally post on Monday's BUT I have some news AND it is REALLY EXCITING!!!! It involves the one below:

A little background for some

of you.

Two years ago Mr. Ken was laid

off from the job that he had been

doing for 20 years!!! This brought

stress, fear, anxiety and a lot of

sleeplees nights, we spent a year

looking and being rejected for job

after job.

Many prayers were said by family

and friends and Mr. Ken was able

to obtain what we thought would

be a great opportunity. This was

ALSO about the time that Mr.

Ken came down with a blood

clot in his leg and we also found

out he had kidney stones.

Needless to say holding a job was

hard to say the least and his very

uncompassionate boss let him go!

We were back on the roller coaster

from you know where. Back to

hunting and being rejected---

he did have more interviews this

go around though. This phase has

gone on for almost another year!

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

To save gas, Mr. Ken has been taking

and picking me up from work.

I got in the car today as usual to go

home and after we had visited for a

moment Mr. Ken passed me his phone.

On the screen was an email stating

that the company he had interviewed

with several times and said company

had requested permission for a

background check and drug screening

was offering HIM A JOB!!!!!!!!!!

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

More prayers have been said by family

and friends AND now they have been

answered!!!!

My husband is GOING BACK TO WORK!

No start date yet but soon.

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

If this seems to ramble, please forgive

me---I am soooooooooo excited!

I am also sooooo very proud of my

husband and how he has handled

all this stress, rejection, fear and

anxiety. He has been a trooper!!

I am also VERY proud of both of

us--we still have our house, both

vehicles, bills are up to date AND

the very best item----WE ARE STILL

MARRIED. We are tough and have

made it through a tough 2 years.

NOW we can start fresh with a new

month, a relatively new year and

a brand NEW JOB!!!!

YEA!!! Praise God!!!

Thanks for bearing with me on this very long post but I just

had to share our wonderful

news with our blog friends !!!

~Keep on Dreaming~

A Simple Uplift

I have these--they sit on a "side shelf"

in our dining room. I like the black

"legs" because I feel they have a

simple elegance to them. But I was

ready for something a little

different for this area. SO....

These were in the closet and I thought

"Why not paint THEM black ?" The

brass was a little much for me--I

guess I'm not is a "brass period"

anymore.

Off to Ace Hardware where I picked

up a can of black glossy paint and Mr.

Ken did the spraying for me. (He's in

a spray painting mood right now.) :)

We also put a clear gossy finish on

them.

Here we have an up close look. I

really like the way this turned out

and I put a votive inside instead

of a taper--not much into those

anymore either.

TA DAAAAA!!!!!!!

Here are the beauties now. No

regrets in painting them. Hope-

fully they'll get more use now.

I'll put the others up for now

and they may come back in the

Fall.

Easy Peasy!!!!!

~Keep on Dreaming~

A Thought from Pooh

"Sometimes, said Pooh,

the smallest things take

up the most room in our

heart."

~Keep on Dreaming~

You Deserve a Break Today....

Did you know?????

**McDonald's sell more than

1/3 of all the french fries

sold in restaurants in the

U.S. each year.

**They will buy 54, 000,000

pounds of fresh apples THIS

year. Two years ago they

purchased NONE.

**Nearly one in eight workers

in the U.S. has at some time

worked at a Mc D's.

**Salen in Sweden opened the

FIRST ski-through Mc D's in

the world.

**More than 50,000 students

from all over the world have

graduated with the "Bachelor

of Hamburgerology" degree

from Mc D's "Hamburger

University."

**Since it's founding in 1955,

Mc D's has sold well over

100 billion hamburgers.

~Keep on Dreaming~

Easy Peasy

Sunday Savor:

We have a recipe today that

is easy AND delish so.... pull

up a chair and relax.

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

Picante and Green Beans

Tweaked from a friend

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

1lb lean ground beef

1 can green beans

1-1 1/2 C picante sauce

1 C rice-cooked

Shredded Colby/Jack cheese

Cook and drain the ground beef.

Add the green beans--cook

until almost done.

Add the picante sauce--stir

until beef and beans are mixed

together.

Stir in the rice until it is mixed

the other ingredients.

Serve.

Cheese can be sprinkled on

the mix once it it plated.

Enjoy!!!!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Oh, Happy Day!

When we heard the

weather forecast for

today, this is how we

looked!

We also needed these!

And we ALL did a

"happy dance"

because today's

temp. was 73 degrees!!

This was a record high

for today!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

What a glorious day. :)

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

Hope your day was glorious!!!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Our Wish For You!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S

DAY!!!!!!!

Love,

Melinda and Mr. Ken

~Keep on Dreaming~

Fun Project

Monday is a special day--It's

the day that we show those we

love some extra special LOVE.

If your child still needs cards

for their class may I suggest

making them.

Ok, I hear your groaning--"Is she

nuts?? I don't have time for this."

"Well, sure you do!" How about

making CONVERSATION HEARTS.

they are quick, simple and EASY.

Check out my Thursday post to see

the ones I made for the card shower

that Leslie and I participated in.

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

Supplies:

Heart pattern/s

Paper--any kind

Glue-optional

Embellishments

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

Use the heart to trace your cards.

Decorate.

Add a phrase.

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

You are done! Easy right?

No need for envelopes--your

child can write on the back

of the card who they want to

give them to.

Have fun!

~Keep on Dreaming~

We Did It!!!

Thursday Thoughts... Well, we did it! We made some Valentine's for some kids that need a little cheering up. These are the one's that Leslie and her daughter from : http://A Little Spoonful/ . They made quite a few very cute and creative cards for the kids. Aren't the ladybugs adorable? Here we are--I gathered all my supplies so I could start creating.

The creative process has

begun. I decided to make

my cards look like

"conversation hearts."

These are the finished product.

I thought they came out really

cute!

Here's a close up view.

A great big Thank you goes to

Leslie and Sally for taking the

to make some Valentine cards.

I know the kids will LOVE them!

She also made a beautiful pink

sequin and pearl heart ornament.

Forgot a pic--it's really pretty

though!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Ken and I delivered them

yesterday to one of the eight

drop-off sites so they could

be picked up and delivered

to the hospital on Monday.

Thanks again Leslie and

Sally --you ladies are

GREAT!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guess What??

THIS IS MY 300th POST!!!!!

Wooohoo!!!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Did you know?.... That

Spring

begins

in

40

days!!!!!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Super Sunday

Are you ready for some football? Well, we were! Here is the "crew" minus me. Left to right: Curtis (Pops), Ken, Dan and Nancy. Apparently we are a hungry group! We had a great spread!

I'm not sure why everyone chose

the couch. But they were comfortable.

I guess that is all that matters.

Looks like they are enjoying them-

selves.

We have a WINNER! Nancy picked

the winner again! She chose those

Packers. Go Nancy!

We had a super time at our

Super Bowl Party! How was

yours?

~Keep on Dreaming~

Happy New Year!!!!

Gung Hey Fat Choy!!!!

Wishing you prosperity

and wealth!!!!

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

Happy Chinese New Year to You!

It is the Year of the Rabbit--

February 3, 2011-Jan 22, 2012

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

The Chinese New Year is the

longest and most important

festival in the Chinese calendar.

It is celebrated on the second

new moon after the winter

solstice and is observed with

great excitement by all. *********************************

If you were born in the year:

1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951,

1963, 1975, 1987, 1999 and

2011. You are a RABBIT.

Those born under this sign

are said to be a reasonably

friendly individual who

enjoys the company of good

friends.

They are good teachers,

counselors and communicators.

But they also enjoy their own

space!

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

Tonight we will be enjoying

our own celebration of:

Pork Fried Rice (homemade)

Egg Rolls (store bought)

Enjoy!!!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Mother Nature's Fun

We have been "enjoying" a BLIZZARD. Yes, my friends that is what I said. Actually we have been under a "Blizzard Warning" all day and it will continue into tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. According to NOAA a Blizzard Warning is when there are "sustained winds or frequent gusts of wind up to 35 miles an hour OR greater. Considerable falling/ blowing snow and reduced visability to less than 1/4 mile for a period of 3 hours or more." We are also under a state of emergency and many of the main highways are closed. Most stores and restaurants closed early and all schools were closed. Schools are closed tomorrow too. I can say that I have never experienced anything like this before. Storms yes, a blizzard no. I guess there IS a first time for everything. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Below you will see pics as our storm developed. The first three were taken around noon. Compare the wagon pics.

The next set of pics were

taken between 3:00 pm

and 4:00 pm.

We are doing fine.

We have groceries and

heat plus power. This

too shall pass.

Right now it is 10 degrees

with a wind chill of -10

degrees. Wind gusts

around 40 miles an

hour!

Please don't forget the

Valentine Card Challenge.

See Sunday's post. I would

appreciate any help.

Thanks!!!!

~Keep on Dreaming!