"HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY"

Before I was a Mom -
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.
Before I was a Mom -
I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life
so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.
Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.
Send this to someone whom you think is a special Mom...
And remember that behind every successful woman......
is a basket of dirty laundry.

The picture on my logo is my Mother and me when I was 6 weeks old....The graphic is from My Little Raggedy Blessings.

Cake-Frosting Stepping Stones & Fat Free Carrot Cake!!!

Cake-Frosting Stepping Stone

These unique garden stones are a piece of cake!

Make just one of these "cake-frosting" stepping-stones and you'll be hooked. Success is guaranteed when you follow these simple (pardon the pun) step-by-step instructions. Best of all, you'll recapture the mud-pie-making joy of childhood.

The items you can use to make these one-of-a-kind disks are limited only by your imagination—or by whatever you stumble across around your house. There are those leftover tiles, the seashells you collect on your winter vacations, even that can of old keys. So take a creative leap: Make one stepping-stone, and you may have so much fun you'll fill your yard and garden with them.

Lay Out Your Design

Anything can make a cool mosaic pattern—tiles, glass beads, wood letters, polished rocks, found objects, buttons, and yes, even those old tools, nuts and bolts you bought at a garage sale. Whatever you're using, arrange it first on a dry stepping-stone alongside the stone you're covering. Then you can simply transfer and position items without guesswork.

Get in Step - Create a Stone!

One big advantage of using this moldless system is that you can make lots of stepping-stones without multiple forms or having to wait for the concrete to harden so you can reuse one form.

For step by step instructions and shopping list simply click on
Cake-Frosting Stepping Stones:

What a wonderful Mother's day gift this would make...I know I would like one...

Fat-Free Carrot Cake

Ingredients:
2 cups - packed finely grated carrots
1 1/2 cups - Florida Crystals® Demerara Sugar
1 3/4 cups - water
1 cup - raisins or other chopped dried fruit
1 Teaspoon - pure vanilla extract
3 cups - unbleached flour
1 Teaspoon - ground cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon - ground cloves
1/2 Teaspoon - ground ginger
1 Teaspoon - sea salt
1 Teaspoon - baking soda
2 Teaspoons - baking powder

Preparation:
In a saucepan, combine the carrots, Florida Crystals® Demerara Sugar, water, raisins or dried fruit, and vanilla. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and let sit for at least an hour. In a large bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Whisk or stir to combine thoroughly and set aside.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees about 15 minutes before you are ready to mix the batter. Generously add oil and flour to a bundt pan.

Stir the cooled carrot mixture into the dry ingredients until no trace of flour is left. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake until cake feels firm (about 1 hour). cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a rack, then invert onto a serving plate.

Serving Quantity: 9 to 10

Have a lovely Sunday & God bless you & yours!