Cranberry Crockpot Meatballs

Cranberry Crockpot Meatballs

1 14 ounce can of jellied cranberry sauce

1 12 ounce bottle of chili sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

approximately 50 meatballs

 Turn the crockpot to high and dump the cranberry sauce, chili sauce and brown sugar in the pot.

 

Stir those ingredients to combine.  At this point, you could also add in some pineapple juice, apple juice, maple syrup or other flavor.  I had none of these, so mine are going to be the basic recipe which is yummy on it's own.

Now pour in your meatballs and stir gently to coat them with the jellied-goodness.

Put the lid on your crockpot and cook for at least an hour, but honestly you can go as long as you need.  Just be sure to check on your meatballs and turn the crockpot down if necessary.  If they seem to be getting too sticky, you can add in some liquid to loosen them up again.

These meatballs are great over rice if you need a quick meal or you can serve them up with some toothpicks as individual appetizers.  I hope you enjoy.

Paul opens the fourteenth chapter of Corinthians with these words:  "Pursue love".

I am not sure what that means in a practical sense.

What does it look like to pursue love in my relationship

    with God?

             with my husband?

                    with my children?

                            with my friends?

                                      with my church?

                                             

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Approaching a New Year

I confess that I have a love/hate relationship with the week between Christmas and the New Year.

Mostly hate.

Am I the only person who spends this week evaluating my life and believing that everything needs a serious upgrade for the new year?

That all things are possible?

Last year at this time, I thought I would take a picture and post it everyday.  I think that lasted about fifty days.

This morning, I am convinced that I should set up an online calendar system for my whole family to use.

What is the balance between striving to be a better person and wasting time on mundane goals that don't profit anything?

I long to hear God's voice over my life during this season.  What would He want from me this next year?  How can I grow to look more like Him - not just more organized.  Or thinner.  Or happier.  Or popular.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Chair

I have been reading so much about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint lately that I wanted to give it a whirl.
There are only two places in Tennessee that carry it.  I purchased my at The Back Porch Mercantile located in a store called Ironic in Knoxville, Tennessee.  It's a great store with lots of fun metal pieces.  (I should have taken some pictures, but I am sure to return, so that's for later.)
You must know that I am really good at buying lots of new craft products for a great project, only to let them sit around unused.  I give you my 365 photo project as example 'A'.  (Once I decided I wanted to quilt.  That didn't work either...)
So knowing this about myself, I purchased only one can of paint and one of the available waxes.  I said "No" to all the lovely colors and chose this shade of blue:

Provence

I have had this chair forever and never done anything with it.

And here it is after painting and waxing:

I can see why everyone is raving about the ASCP. (How cool am I to use the abbreviation?)  It is very easy to work with.  The distressing part was much easier than it is with latex paint.

Now the problem is, everything paintable in my house is going to be blue!

Do you buy tons of supplies for craft projects that you never complete?

Inspired

I have no photo to post today.
I haven't had one for some time now.
But I have a friend who has started writing and his thoughts made me realize how much I missed this online journal.
As if I need another thing to do.

Was my 365-project a failure?
Probably.

I long to not be paralyzed by the possible.
What can you do today (or tomorrow considering the time) that may not turn out perfect, but is better than nothing at all?

pinterest

Day Fifty-Nine

In my mind I have been composing an "I'm sorry" blog post for a few days.
I have been searching for the photo to post.
Rehearsing the words.

I have come to realize it is not the blog I have neglected.
Or the photos.
It's a grateful heart that I have abandoned these last days.

It is in the deliberation of choosing something to capture in pixels that I notice the things around me for which I should be truly grateful - sunrises, chocolate pudding, hard work, technology, growth - none of these profound in their impact, except to remind me how blessed I am.  And by becoming "too busy" to photograph these moments and share my overflowing heart with fellow sojourners I have become too busy to be grateful.

So today I clarify my project goal.  It's not to capture three-hundred-and-sixty-five photos worthy of an Ansel Adams display at a fancy museum.  The goal is not to be "read" by hundreds or discovered as the next best blogger.

No, the goal is to cultivate a thankful heart.

The lens is my ink, for cameras have sensor eyes, and pixels record.  I slide it into a pocket, a thin point-and-shoot, and find another way to chronicle, to force the lids open; another way to receive the moment with thanks reverential...If clinging to His goodness is the highest form of prayer, then this seeing His goodness with a pen, with a shutter, with a word of thanks, these really are the most sacred acts conceivable...the only way to be a woman of prayer is to be a woman of thanks.

How To's Day

The problem:  I needed something (anything!) to hang above the bed in my freshly painted master bedroom.
The challenge:  Come up with something different and inexpensive.
The inspiration:  Thanks to my 365 photo project, tons of unused landscape photos on my hard drive.

I wanted to use a found object of some sort, so I made a trip to my parent's storage building. You can find similar pieces at junk stores, antique markets, yard sales, flea markets or maybe your parent's house!  Be on the look-out for any piece that catches your attention.  This is a method, not a recipe, as the saying goes!(Bonus points if you get it for free or find it in the trash!)
 I found this old wood door.  I liked the lines and it had character.  I also liked that it had four panels.  Did I mention it was free from my parent's house?  Just checking...
The four panels reminded me of the four seasons.  Could I come up with four photos that represented each season?  My wheels were turning!

Back at home I made a quick scroll through my photo organizer.    I came up with about twenty photos that I liked.  However, I must have something against Spring, because there were no photos to represent that lovely season. I ran the Pioneer Woman's black and white action on the seasons that were represented. This way they would look similar in the project. 

Something you must know about me:  I am an obsessive-compulsive, perfectionist who has no patience.  I know, I am a walking oxymoron.  It completely ruins lots of projects.  Waiting on photos to arrive really stretched my limits. 

The first thing I did to the door was give him a quick shop-vac. (Not sure why, but the door is male.)  Don't scrub too hard or you knock off the character!  I just didn't want spider webs hanging above my head.  (That's what corners are for at my house.)  I made a call to my local hardware store and had them cut four pieces of plexi-glass five by seven inches. 
A trip to my guy's workbench turned up eight rusty nails that would look perfect to hold the plexi-glass in place.  (Note to self:  might want to update tetanus shot.)

For my project, I tapped a nail in the bottom and top of each section of the door, right at the place where the plexi-glass edge would be.

See how the plexi-glass slides under the edge of the nail head?  That's what will hold your picture and your covering in place.  So make sure you leave the nail partially out of the wood.  Here's what it looks like with all four pieces in place:

Next was a way to hang the door.  It wasn't too heavy, but I didn't want to run the risk of it falling off the wall onto my head anytime soon.  Remember how I told you about my oxymoronic self?  Well, I refuse to hang anything that requires two nails.  The whole level, straight line thing just baffles me.  I opted instead for two screw eyes on either end and a picture wire stretched between them.  Yes!  One nail!  Instantly straight!

See?  Just twist it in and you are good to go...

Stretch the wire tight and wrap it around itself.  Lift up your piece by the wire to make sure it holds correctly.

(Insert long wait because of snow storm that made my pictures which normally arrive in two days not arrive for six!  Ahhhhhhh!!!!!)

Slide your pictures under the plexi-glass and you have a great picture frame/piece of art! 

Here's mine in it's new home.  Note the missing season of Spring?  I promise as soon as some buttercups or tulips bloom I am going to replace it.



Speaking of which, that's one of the great things about a found piece of art that you create with your own photos.  As you want, you can change out the pictures to reflect the season, your mood or your improved photography skills.

Here are two other found objects that I have used to display photos

An old window...

A piece of iron gate that I've had forever.

 I framed our family's Christmas cards from the last few years and hung them by some string from each of the points. (Don't tell my mom, but I just took this down today...yikes!)

   My next project is a spring mantle, inspired by The Lettered Cottage.  I'll keep you posted!

How do you use your photos?  I hope everyone will share some ideas.  I plan on making a blog book at the end of the year, but why wait?  It's a challenge to get those photos off your computer and into use in your home.  Immediately!

Blessings Friends,

Jennifer