FOCUS...My New Year's Word for 2012

"FOCUS"

No I'm not talking about the camera!!

I'm talking about Me!

I lose it so often, I wonder if it is really hiding from me.

So I'm really going to train my BRAIN to be more FOCUSED in 2012

I've never been a list person, but maybe I need to start!

I've never really needed a calender to remember important dates, but I'm beginning to think it may help me

 map out my day and keep my FOCUS on what is important in my life.

Here is my #1 FOCUS of 2012!

Yes, Mr. B

We are becoming Empty Nester's and I don't want life to take us in different directions.

We talk about this so much I don't think it will happen.

You will have the joy of seeing us old and wrinkled on here.

Mr. B ~  is the love of my life and keeps me grounded!

He's the "L" in my LOVE the beginning and the end!!

He holds me and comforts me, laughs and cries with me!

I love that I get to do life with him!

Thank you LORD for creating him just for me!

There are tons more, but that is for the list I'm starting and the calender entry I will be making.

Here is hoping whatever "WORD" you choose to "FOCUS" on in

 2012 will bring you Happiness and Smiles!!

Footnote: Thanks Andrea for your facbook post! Got me thinking I needed a word and this one could not have been better for me too!!!

{SweetTalk Shop} Addictions

My name is Lisa

and I'm addicted to

Blogs

Doesn't matter what format!! I love them!!

Party Blogs, Crafting Blogs, Devotional Blogs

Pinterest

Oh my, if you haven't experienced it and need an invite to join, 

Please leave me a comment so you can get in on the fun!!!

Facebook

This is where I go and meet up with all my friends and meet new ones!!!

Twitter

Love reading all the tweets and sometimes trying to figure out the slang.

Still haven't figured out hashtags.

Want to follow or like me on any of the above sites???? 

 Oh I hope you do!!!!!

Click on the links to the left and click the like or follow button when you get to the site!!!

It would surely make my day!!

And remember to leave your info so I can like or follow YOU!!!

I'm thinking of starting a support group!! Do you think you need support for an addiction to any of these??

{SweetTalk Shop} Designs

I started this blog in hopes of starting a party planning, custom design invitations site.

I found that as much as I like parties and all the little details that go into planning one, it it not my calling.

So I design custom invites for family and friends and really anyone that asks.

I love designing one of a kind invites.  Don't get me wrong, I would love to be able to design a whole

collection like some of my Sunshine Bloggers do. 

It's just that these ladies really have talent and I don't feel like I am in thier league.

Plus I work full time outside the home, have grown sons that really have no desire to have the whole party

theme going on anymore.

With that being said, I will just stick with custom work for the people that ask and my crafts. 

I mean really my mind is all over the place when it comes to my likes.

Crafting, Photography, Cooking.

Here are a few things I have done for family and friends.

Sleeping Bag Invite ~ For a Dear Friend's daughter

Invite for a long time Friend's son

Gator Fan ~ Niece

Invite for Mr. B's co-woker's daughter

Invite for very sweet girl

Another of my Sweet 16 gals

50th Anniversary ~ Info on back

Very Special couple in my life!!!

Luau Invite for Niece

Sweet friend's daughter

This one made me feel old!! The new mommy's Mom and I went to school together.

My Uncle and his grandson (my cousin)

For a Dear Sweet Friend.

If you would like a custom invite. Send me a message, I would love to discuss it with you. I'm no pro,

but have fun working to make your dreams come true.

 

{SweetTalk Shop Cooks} Recipe Tuesday

One of my co-workers brought this for our Christmas luncheon!!!

I don't know if this recipe has name, but I call it GOOD!!

You need only these 3 ingredients!

And one of these!

and you will get THIS!!!

so GOOD!!!

2 blocks of cream cheese

1 tube of Jimmy Dean saugage

1 can of Rotel tomatoes

place the cream cheese in the crockpot

brown the sausage then drain and rinse grease, place on top of cream cheese

pour can of tomatoes on top of sausage

switch crockpot to high and cook for 2 hours stiring frequently

then place on warm until you are ready to eat.

I eat with these!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I have!!

Thanks for the recipe Hutch!!

Now leave a comment if you want to name it for me!!!

I have linked this recipe on the fabulous Whipperberry Friday Flair/Link Party!

{SweetTalk Shop} Creative Photo Idea

I took these photos of my sons, nieces and nephews.

Then I made a precious gift for my Parents and Mr. B's Parents for Christmas!

The photos started out color.  Then I went to PhotoBucket and changed the effect to GreyScale.  Selected

advanced options and then selected Only Painted area.  That way I could keep the letters RED.

I ordered the photos.  I guess PhotoBucket is in partnership with CVS because that is where I had to get

them.  Not biggie, we have 2 where I live.  If they are not convenient to you, if you have enough time you

can order and have them shipped.

I messed up Lil C's photo, I inked around his photo the size opening for the phot on the border.  Oh well, I

just ordered another one.

And I'm only half way finished, but so far I'm loving what I see.  As I am sure the Parents will too!!

Had to wait on this guy to get home from college.  So I was still working on these Christmas Eve Day.

Finished gift for Mr. B's Parents.

 Cousins!!

And finished gift for my Parents.

They couldn't ask for better boys!!

Nice bunch of Grandkids, Don't you agree??

Did you make any special gifts for loved ones this Holiday Season??

This post is part of Get Your Craft on Tuesday at Today's Creative Blog , also linked to 

 Not Just a Housewife ,  Blue Cricket Design , Tutus & Tea Parties , Creations by Kara,

 Rae Gun Ramblings, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Six Sisters Stuff,

and Tatertots and Jello!

{SweetTalk Shop} Merry Christmas 2011

~~~MERRY CHRISTMAS~~~

from my Family to Yours!!!

Thank you to each reader of The SweetTalk Shop!!!

You all have made my dreams come true when you

stop by for a visit or sneak peek. 

Thanks for all your sweet comments throughout this past year!

I do life with these 3 wonder guys and I want to thank them for

letting me share some of our craziness with you all!!

I look forward to what 2012 will bring!

May God Bless each and everyone of YOU!!

{SweetTalk Shop} Christmas 1993

Merry Christmas

Season's Greetings

Happy Holidays

Whatever you say or want to hear at this time of year, I hope you all have a safe and happy

HOLIDAY SEASON!!

I have been sharing past Christmas pictures with you all, and I have saved the best for last!! LOL 

First I want to apoligize to my sons C&C if this embarasses them in any way!

This was our very first family Christmas picture and Bryan and I were just so blessed to have 2 wonderful

sons to share life with.  I could not have been blessed with a better husband or 2 more loving sons. 

As you can see we are all happy and the photographer captured a sweet family photo!!

And then this!!!

What went wrong???

Wet diaper??

Tired??

I don't know! All I know is, is that I promised the photographer if she would just take the picture I would

buy it.  Bryan and I were laughing because the tears were just contagious.

Big C has a huge heart for his brother and Lil C was just done!!!

Boy are these truly Precious Memories!!! Brings a tear to my eye just looking at how young and small they

were.  I guess that is why parents love to become Grandparents so they can relive the love of their children

through their grandchildern!  My heart swells with pride knowing that my boys are grown and loving, caring

individuals.  As different as night and day, but they have a strong bond that I pray no one ever come

between.

Big C was 2 1/2 in this picture and he loved dinosaurs!! He had begged for a Triceratops for Christmas that

year.  When we moved in our home the summer of 1994 we put up huge dinosaur stickons on his walls. 

 I swear I thought he would become a paleontologist.  He carried that book every where for years.

And when Jurrasic Park came out in June of 1993 I think he was probably the only 2 year old in the

theater.  He could hardly wait to see the movie.  Of course we doubted whether of not to let such a young

mind see such a movie, but he loved it and when it came out on VHS (in case you don't know what those

were, it was how we watched taped movies before DVD's) he owned it and wore it out!!

Wishing you all the Brightest of Holidays and Lots of Memories to carry you through the years!!!

 

{SweetTalk Shop} Home Improvements

Mr.B and I received a grill for Christmas from my parents.  YAY us!!

I know it's not the actual day, but Lowe's was having a sale and we got to pick it out!

So Friday we went to Lowe's to check them out and see if we wanted a new fandangled one. 

 Personally I think it is a man thing to want to check out grills. 

I mean really, you throw the meat on there, let it burn a little to give it some flavor and there you have it!!

DINNER!!!

Then we went towards the back and there were tables set up with items discounted, and the manager

 discounting things you picked up and were interested in even more.  So we got a light for outside.

It is LED and Rob (Lowe's Manager) assured me that the lamp would wear out and be out of style before

 the lights burned out!!  $17 and I never have to buy light bulbs and he says it uses only a small amount of

energy.

I spotted some Plantation White wooden blinds that we needed for our sons rooms. We got some a few

 years back that only fit in the tall windows of their rooms. So they each had one plantation set of blinds and

one mini blind set in either navy or green. We weren't really sure of the size and passed them up, they were

marked $20. Once we got home we decided to measure the windows to see if the blinds would fit and they

 would have been a perfect fit.  So we drove back to Lowe's and the Manager marked them down to $7 a

set just to be rid of them.  What a steal!!!

We also found some solar powered

yard stake lights to line the walk way. These were also a steal at $8 for the set of 8 in Bronze.

Then the manager told us that other lighting would be on sale the next morning starting at 7am.  Well usually

Saturdays are my days to sleep in after rising at 5:15 am during the week, but I have been in need of a new

foyer light. I've had this one since we moved in the house back in 1994.

Very dated!!!

I have been wanting something that went more with our new decor which has a tuscan feel.

 I am not an interior decorator and can not tell one era from another when it comes to furniture or decore.  I

just know what I like, and I like what I saw!! And at $10 why wouldn't I??

Mr.B rids the ceiling of the 17 year old light.

And proceeds to ask??? What are you doing??? 

Me: Taking your picture to put on the World Wide Web!! LOL

Blogger friends, do your husbands understand the need to photograph everything??  I think Mr.B is getting

used to it, but I wonder sometimes.

And here it is!! I'm so happy with our home improvements!!

Merry Christmas to us!!

{SweetTalk Shop} Showing My Country Side

First off I want to apologize for the quality of these pictures!!! They stink I know, but I have never said I

was photographer.  That really is the reason I only have 2 pictures of the Christmas lights out in the country

 where I live. I realized that they stink and I was wasting my time.

So we headed home!!!

But scroll on down and you will see what we ran up on!!  My hubs says this is why you don't let women

drive!! WHATEVER!!!  I will tell you a secret ~ I do 95% of the driving in this family and it is not his

choice, but necessary!!

I'm going to try and go out this weekend and get better pictures.  I promise!! This home has hundreds of

little Christmas trees lining the sidewalks and drive.  I just think if look so sweet!!

This home is in a wonderful neighborhood that has a really neat house decorated.  And the picture really

stinks worse than this one!!  But this house really looks nice and I hope I can get a better picture later.

Well we were headed home and I have to say you only get to see this kind of thing out in the country!!

This poor girl decided to turn around in the dark and didn't realize how deep the ditch was behind her.  We

pulled up and she is crawling out of the ditch from looking for her cell phone.  Her Daddy is in Ocala

(which is 2 hours from us),

probably hunting Bambi's Daddy.  But she was relieved to see someone come up and offer to help her.  We

called a few friends to see if they could come pull her out. 

Back tires stuck big time!! She was driving a big F150

She was lucky a couple of young kids were out just looking for someone to pull out of a bind.

They were in a big F250 or maybe even a F350 4x4!  The chain he pulled out to help said it all.

That is my hubs in the red shirt! He liked watching the action, but mosquitos love him and he wasn't

 really happy about being out there.

To say the least before it was over, that country road had a traffic jam.  I'm thinking the call went out and

 they were coming to see if they could help.

Unfortunately when they pulled her out of the ditch it was in the opposite direction that she wanted to go.

 

I advised to go and turn around in a near by church parking lot just to be safe.