Texasdaisey Creations

How To Share A Freebie With Feedburner Email Sign Up On Blogger

2019-06-17T14:03:00.001-05:00

It is important for bloggers who want to grow to begin building an email list and to increase the subscriptions to your blog by email. In the effort to do this, it is a good idea to offer a freebie (such as an ebook, free pdf, printable, etc) in exchange.

How is one to do that if they are using the free Feedburner RSS service and a Blogger Blog There is an answer and it is easier than you might think. The goal is to get the email address and subscription before giving the freebie. This is how you can do it:

Create your freebie
Upload your freebie to a download service such as Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
Create a New Hidden Page with the link to your freebie included
Log into your Feedburner account.
From Feed Analyze Page Click On Publicize Tab
Click Communication Preferences From the left side of the page
Edit Confirmation Email with anything you want your confirmation email to say and add a link to the freebie towards the bottom within this email box. When your new subscriber gets their confirmation email then they will get their freebie.

Changes

2019-06-04T20:04:00.001-05:00

It is that time of year when change is in the air.  I actually believe we are in a time of change that is even bigger than just the seasons.  Changes that will affect us for years to come. Change can be scary sometimes but other times changes are just what is needed to make things better.  The latter is true of our little lake house.

The picture below is exactly what we first saw when we purchased our lakehouse several years ago.  As well as seeing the current state of things we had a vision for what it could be.  We knew it would take hard work and lots of time and some money but after counting the cost, we decided to go for it.

Along the way, there were times when negative things could have seemed overwhelming and defeating but we kept our eyes on the vision instead of the negatives around us. That is key to finishing something large and to keep a positive attitude in life.  Focus on the vision instead of the negatives! We have come so far since that first picture.  We are so much closer to the complete birthing of that vision.  We are almost completely done on the inside of our lakehouse. ( I will be sharing the posts showing you the inside updates very soon.)  

It would be easy to just stop here because we are at a really comfortable place in our remodel.  The inside looks and feels so very great but that isn't all of the vision.  We saw the outside completed and beautiful as well.  That vision is going to require some more work, time, and money but we are patient and God willing we are willing to see it through.

What Is Wrong With Me?

2018-12-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone. I know, I am as shocked as you are that I am writing a blog post. I know that you have not seen much from me in the past months. I am not sure if I should explain why that is but I will try to explain it as much as I can. I must be very careful of my words so that I do not hurt anyone else's feelings or cause offense in any way for anyone.

Believe it or not I have actually considered shutting down Texasdaisey Creations. I wouldn't ever hit delete or anything and I wouldn't even stop paying for my .com. I would simply leave it in park and walk away. I can not promise that won't still happen. I am still not certain where it is going. This is an unusual thing for me. I am a very goal oriented person. I need a vision of what it can possibly be before I will pay the price, set out on the journey and do the work to accomplish anything. Without that vision (goal) you can just forget about getting much out of me. To complicate things I must also be convinced that it is "my vision". I tend to be very much able to see what can be for other people.

Many months ago I stepped away from more than just my blog. I stepped away from many of the things I was doing in my life and even stepped away from church (Horror of horrors!) I felt a lack of life, joy and vision in many of the things that had seemed such a clear path before. As someone who has experienced depression, I knew this was NOT depression. It was not really about my emotions at all. It was something spiritual going on inside me. (Here is where I have to be very careful) Please understand that my relationship with God was not and is not suffering. I have continued to passionately pursue Him and press into Him even more than ever.

I live in a small Texas town. For those of you who do not understand, let me just say that one simply does not just step away from those kinds of things in a community like this without comment or notice from someone. "It just isn't done!" Normally, I would expect that someone would be having committee or prayer meetings to discuss what they needed to do to fix whatever was wrong with me. Would you believe that I have not received one text, note, phone call, visit, true conversation, or even a reach out on social media about it? The closest I came was someone mentioning that they had been concerned about me. I began to explain that I had been going through a lot, and before I could get into the deeper conversation (I was willing to have it) they said, "I know" and walked away. I am as shocked as can be about it. I am not offended, mad, hurt or feeling anything negative about it. I am simply shaking my head wondering about it.

Maybe it is how it all happened that was part of how I have flown under the radar? Because of family, travel, and a few health issues, I have been a spotty church attender the past few years. My husband has continued to attend as always. When I first made the conscious decision to step away, I didn't explain it even to him (I still haven't...I wonder if he or anyone else will even read this post?) In all these months I have continually questioned God, "What is wrong with me?" Honestly, this question has come up a lot for the past 15 years.

It took me a while to finally figure out that it was God. He wanted me alone with Him. He has been doing a deep deep work inside of me. There has been emotional healing and things happen in my spiritual life that I can't even share with anyone because they are so deep. I do not know where this is going (my blog or my life path). I don't really know how to explain all of it to anyone to help them understand. It has been almost like Elijah or David in their caves.

I do know that I am not going back to how it was before. I know I am where I am supposed to be. I know I am not out of sync with God. I know I am not the only one this has happened to. I know that suddenly last week it was like God switched something on inside me. Creativity, joy, energy, focus, and more suddenly burst out of me in the most unexpected suddenly way. I am so excited that it is hard to stay asleep even. I don't have a clear vision yet. I smell it though like the rain on a lovely spring day after a long harsh winter. I smell it and I know the vision will come along. Until then, I will enjoy the rush of creativity welling up inside me. I will run to the floodgates and wait for God to open them fully for me to capture what new thing He is doing. I will NOT miss that wave! I will ride it like a boss and I will enjoy every minute.

Oh, and by the way...you can expect some changes here at Texasdaisey Creations in the days ahead. I don't know yet what they will be but I do know they are coming so get ready...(this is your chance to walk away if you need to. It's OK, I won't be mad. I will even understand in that "I can't really explain it kind of way." )

The Beach House

2018-06-06T23:05:00.001-05:00

There is a new book out and a new website (by me!) to go with it! Brenda Mize Garza, the author of this book is near and dear to my heart because she happens to be a very good friend. That might make me a bit biased I am sure but I was quite impressed with her book.

The title of her book is "The Beach House". It is the first of a series of books. It is a Christian Fiction book about a gang of kids who discover special things about an old abandoned beach house on Starfish Island.

In the story, Brenda draws together to disparate worlds, the familiar world inhabited by people and the world where demons inhabit. She tells how one world affects the other through the decisions and actions in the other. If you like Christian fiction books that touch on the supernatural then you will love " The Beach House".

Go see Brenda's brand new website: Brenda Mize Garza and be sure to buy her book.

In Need of An Attorney?

2018-02-09T17:48:00.000-06:00

I have been busy designing websites again. My latest design is for John Perry Brooks an attorney in Wichita Falls Texas.

John Brooks offers law services for: estate planning, probate, trusts; elder law, medicaid; estate and probate disputes; business partnership and corporation; SEC/broker; as well as dispute resolution and mediation.

If you are in the market for an attorney in any of these areas just hop on over to John Perry Brooks Attorney at Law and tell him that Debbie Howard sent you.

Just in case you would like that website address you can locate him at: https://www.jbrookslawfirm.com

*None of the links on this blog post are paid links

12 House Cleaning Cheats For Busy Moms

2017-12-30T15:22:00.002-06:00

I am a Gigi now with number 6 grandchild on the way. I raised 3 children of my own and now I get to help a bit with my grandchildren. I know times have changed in respect to child rearing but there are definitely some things that have not changed.

One of those things that remains as true today as it was "back then", is exhausted parents with children who require attention vs. jobs, homes, and requirements of life. Time becomes a premium. Guilt grows to huge proportions. Guilt because you did chores rather than spend time with your children or guilt because you spent time with the children so your house is dirty. Have you ever heard, "What did you do all day?" How frustrating those words can be after you spent the entire day following after a child and cleaning up messes all day long. Maybe instead of the words you just got a look. Oh how I remember those days!

There are a few really wise things I learned from another mom that helped me quickly clean the house day to day. Here are 12 house cleaning cheats for busy moms:

1. It is easy to find 15 to 30 minutes to go through the living room, kitchen and bathroom (public places in the home) to tidy up. Quickly pick up toys and stash in a container. Clothes go to the laundry hamper, dishes go to the kitchen. I do this right before the hubby comes home. I still do it. Sometimes, I enlist the kids to help. I make it fun. Treat it as a race to see who can get the most done.

2. The toothpaste that falls into the sink when I am brushing is great to use in shining my sink up. The same goes for that soap I just rinsed off my hands. I take my hand and use finger wipe that soap to wash the sink a bit...a little rinse and seconds later the sink is shiny again.

3. That washcloth I just washed my face with gets to shine up the faucet, sink or counter too. (even the disposable ones work for this!) Rinse it out if it is too dirty with makeup.

4. I keep a scrub brush with a long handle (for reaching) hanging in my shower. When I am about to get out, I take a bit of soap or shampoo on my brush and scrub those spots in my shower. a quick rinse later and I get out of a shiny shower or tub.

5. A bit of bleach or cleaner stored near the potty and a toilet brush makes it easy to give a quick cleaning swish at least once a day. Or better yet get one of those brushes with the cleaner included. You can also mix up your own cleaner with essential oils for those of you conscious of chemicals.

6. Cleaning wipes stored nearby are a quick way to clean under and on the seat. You can also use baby wipes or facial wipes with a bit of essential oil added for this job.

7. That sticky kitchen or bathroom floor that needs to be mopped can be cleaned the cheaters way...drop a wet rag with a bit of cleaner on it and use your foot to quickly mop up any spots. This doesn't eliminate the big mop up but it does help your floor go a few extra days till that mop up can happen. Get the kids to help with this one! They love to help. It doesn't matter if they don't do it perfectly. Imperfect clean up is better than no cleanup.

8. Have a little dust pan with a crumb brush ready for your kids to help "sweep" the floor in spots.

9. Kids are motivated to quickly tidy up their rooms if you tell them, "We are not going anywhere or doing anything until your bed is made and room picked up!" You will be amazed how quick they can make it look better. Wait until 10 minutes before it is time to leave for this one. That adds to the motivation (I didn't believe it would work. I thought they would just let us be late for school but I found out different when I tried it!)

10. Kids also love to help do dishes if you are there helping too. They can be on a chair with a brush and soapy water helping clean them a bit before the dishwasher.

11. Kids can help with the silverware, pans and plastic items when unloading or loading. Make it fun while you work. Everything you do with your kids makes great memories and raises them up to be people with a great work ethic some day.

12. Organization needed? Instead of tackling the entire job just clean out 1 drawer or 1 cabinet each day or week. Before long your whole house will be organized. Keep doing this and it is perpetually organized.

All these little cheats add up and will help your house to stay a lot cleaner. They do not eliminate the need for the deep clean but they will help that deep clean be much easier if you don't have to get out the hoe for the clutter and the chisel for the grime. It will take the overwhelming cleaning job down to manageable. You will be amazed at how easy the cheats are to add into your day.

I bet each of you can come up with even more ways to cheat in day to day house cleaning too. I would love to hear some of your ideas in the comments.

Read here for more Tips for moms

Check here for Organization Tips

Look here for Encouragement

Celebrating With Christmas Traditions

2017-12-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

Christmas is definitely a wonderful time of the year. Christmas for me includes so many special traditions.

I love to sing along to Christmas music as I decorate my home in celebration of that anticipated day. I love to have lots of lights and sparkle. My family teases me because no one can come to my house and leave without getting a bit of glitter on them.

It is also a time for family and friends to connect and celebrate at special dinners, parties, and get togethers. The calendar seems to fill up quick with these but that is OK because it is this part that multiplies joy.

I also have the tradition of presents. I absolutely love to give and receive presents. It isn't about how much those presents cost or whether it is the latest greatest whatever. It is about finding that special something that shows the receiver that you considered them.

I also thoroughly enjoy wrapping those gifts. I like to make those gifts look really pretty under my Christmas tree. Many people would consider wrapping gifts a drudgery but not me. My tradition is to make a big pile of gifts to wrap on one side of me and all my Christmas wrapping materials on the other side. I sit on my couch and pull my big round coffee table closer so that I can wrap in comfort. Then I spend the time watching Christmas movies while wrapping the evening away.

This year, I think I will consider wrapping presents on a Sunday because Pure Flix is offering a free Christmas movie every Sunday the rest of December. You can sign up for 1 Free movie every Sunday through December 24th and no credit card information is needed. How great is that? You can signup for the free movie every Sunday at the Pure Flix Signup Page. This is a great network that offers good wholesome, family-friendly movies that do not offend Christian values not to mention they also offer some great free homeschool resources in addition to their great lineup of pure clean movies.

As you go through the hustle and bustle of the holidays, remember to take a little time to savor and enjoy your traditions.

Want more? Read more about Christmas

You can find some great Christmas Recipes on Texasdaisey Creations.

***There was no exchange of goods, services, or money for the links on this post***

Tips For Making Your Home Beautiful on a Budget

2017-05-09T15:02:00.000-05:00

Do you want to learn how to make your home beautiful on a budget? Are you feeling the need for an update in your home or maybe even a complete overhaul but then you see the size of your budget compared to the list of needs and then feel overwhelmed? I have been there. I know those feelings of frustration, overwhelm, helplessness, and even depression that can come at times like this. I also know how the condition of a woman's home can make such a difference in how she feels and acts. It isn't that it needs to be fancy or large. It just needs to feel good, be pretty and be comfortable. That is possible. In the next few weeks, I will share some of my best tips for making your home beautiful on a budget.

Believe it or not, the atmosphere is the first most important thing about making your home feel and look good. Decorating is important to me, colors, paint, textures, furniture, and accessories are great but one can spend millions of dollars on decorations and still have a home that doesn't feel like a home. Atmosphere is what makes a difference. The first thing I did after we purchased our little lakehouse is to change the atmosphere.

There are many who would love to say that atmosphere doesn't make a difference or that it will come later when it is beautiful but think about it. When you have been out shopping and suddenly you step into a store that makes you sigh with joy and wonder. That place just feels good the minute you step into it. You look around and feel the beauty as well as see it. If you pay close attention you will realize that it isn't just how it is decorated because you will realize there are many things there that have been in so many other places but they didn't feel like this. You will realize it is arranged beautifully but the same is true in so many other places. If you will look deeper you will realize it is a spiritual difference in the atmosphere.

Have I scared you yet? Get ready because it is going to get deeper before I am done. This is the time to bail before I go on talking about spiritual things that might make you feel uncomfortable. By the way, I am not going to give you breadcrumb scriptures to lead the way. I believe it is time for Christians who are Kingdom minded and want to be mature sons to stop being fed like a baby with milk and grow up. We need to begin to fully experience the scriptures so lovingly written for us and learn how to look deeper with the help of Holy Spirit rather than a teacher or preacher to bottle feed it to us. It is time we immerse ourselves in His scripture, learn His ways, and begin our Kingdom journey with Him. For those of you still reading, this is your last chance, here we go...

The spiritual atmosphere of a place affects everyone who comes into that place whether they realize it or not. There are many things that affect and cause a spiritual atmosphere. I am going to start with the basics here. You are welcome to contact me if you are interested in or need help on anything deeper or even weirder on this topic, nothing surprises me too much on this topic.

When we first purchased our lakehouse it came with spiritual baggage. Every place on earth comes with spiritual baggage. Now that baggage can be good, bad, evil, wonderful and everything you can think of. That happens because of the people who were there before and those who are there now. Everything that has occurred in that place has also affected it. You can check out The Bible to verify this. Just google "The land is defiled in scriptures" and you will see the negative ways we affect it. Everything we do affects creation. We choose whether it is heavenly or hellish. We are the gates of Heaven and/or hell. What gate are you choosing to open when you step into a place?

A very simple thing you can do to change an atmosphere is step into it. Have you ever noticed at a gathering when one person stepped in the whole atmosphere changed for the better or worse? Well you just saw spiritual dynamics at work. How you are feeling and thinking affects the atmosphere when you step into it. Your relationship with God (YHVH ) affects the atmosphere. How is the atmosphere changing when you step in? Is it getting better or is it going the other way? You choose. If you want your home to become a haven of beauty, love, refreshing, peace or anything then you can make the difference by deciding in your heart to release that into your home the moment you step in.

How do I release those good and Heavenly things? Here it is...I first step into His kingdom (it is at hand, close by) I close my eyes (not necessary but helps one focus when first learning) When I began this I saw only darkness when I closed my eyes, now I see more. That darkness is a veil in the temple of our body. When Jesus died, that veil was torn so that we could step through into the Holy place (hidden place, prayer closet). I part that veil and step through that veil by faith. (You can even take a physical step forward to help you have a physical experience that will give you a pattern for how the spiritual experience will feel.

After I step through, I inhale and pray, "Father I receive everything you have for me today in this place by faith." Next, I back out (never turn your back on a King) and I exhale as I declare, "I release everything you gave me Father into this atmosphere to manifest as you desire." Try it! You will see what I mean if you truly do it with faith and a heart of expectation, knowing He will not give you a serpent or stone (anything that will harm you or weigh you down) when you ask. If you do this every day for just 5 minutes, You will begin to see and feel a definite difference in your home.

Now, go a bit deeper when you step in. "Father, I come into the place of Your presence by faith and I ask for peace, love, laughter, joy, beauty, etc. (whatever traits you desire for your home) to be released for my home." Inhale and then back out and exhale and declare, "Father, I release all those things (I list them out sometimes) into this place and atmosphere to manifest without delay as You have ordained."

Practice "going in and coming out" in this way until my next post on making your home beautiful on a budget and I would love it if you would leave a comment sharing what has happened as a result. When we share testimony it raises the faith of all who hear it and increases the results. My testimony on this is that the very things I stepped in and prayed for and then stepped out and released are the same things that people who visit my home and property will list out and say they feel when they are here. They have no idea that I asked for my property to be blessed with these things but they experience them and so does my family.

I have placed a beautiful Mezuzah on the lintel post of my door not because I am Jewish but because the scriptures say to do so. I picked a really beautiful one so that it catches my attention and reminds me. It is there for me to be reminded to go into the kingdom and come out with blessings for my home as I step through the door of my home. I don't believe we should be "religious" or motivated by law but I do believe there are keys in scripture that when applied properly with right heart intent will help us walk in His ways and change everything in Heavenly ways for the better of everyone and every place on Earth.

I do plan to get to the actual physical parts of making your home beautiful on a budget which includes color, texture, furniture, accessories, etc but understand that everything in life needs to be done properly, in order, with the right foundation to achieve the best outcome. Get the spiritual part right and the rest will be as easy to achieve as sliding through warm butter.

If you liked this post you may also like: Lakehouse Entryway

or: Lakehouse Bedroom 2 Reveal

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Hope Is A Beautiful Thing

2017-03-15T21:11:00.000-05:00

I would like you to meet Heather Von St. James. She is a survivor of a rare cancer called mesothelioma. I thought you might be inspired by her story:

My name is Heather Von St. James. I am a mother, a sister, a wife, and an 11 year survivor to the rare cancer mesothelioma. I am married to the love of my life, Cams and we have a beautiful daughter, Lily and this is my story.

Lily was born in 2005. Just three and a half months after our baby girl joined our family I started experiencing my symptoms. At the time, it was very easy to convince myself that my symptoms were merely signs of postpartum. After all, I had just given birth. During my pregnancy I didn’t gain very much weight. So, when I began to lose an unexplainable amount of weight I started think something might be off. Not to mention, I was so tired, all the time. I never seemed to be able to shake my exhaustion. To top it off, I had a persistent low-grade fever that would plague me each night. Each and every one of my symptoms alone never seemed too serious. Until it happened. I remember putting Lily in her swing and passing out for over an hour and a half. When I woke up I thought there’s no way this can be right. Like anyone new mother feeling that way I headed to the doctor.

Never, in all of my life, could I have ever imagined that these things that were happening to me could be the result of something so awful. On November 21, 2005 I was officially diagnosed - it was cancer. I remember that's all I could hear, cancer. I was given 15 months to live with a diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma. The average age for a mesothelioma diagnosis is 75 for males and 72 for females. But here I was, a brand new mother and it was happening to me.

Mesothelioma clearly does not discriminate. It is caused by exposure to asbestos and is typically found in a person’s lungs or abdomen. It’s a unique and extremely threatening cancer because it has a very long latency period. It can take years after exposure to present any real symptoms. After taking some time to determine when, where and how I was exposed it dawned on me. When I was little I would play in my father’s jacket after he got home from his job in construction. All I remember was it being one of the warmest things ever. It hung right in the entryway of our house and it was always my go-to when I went outside because it meant I wouldn’t get my coat dirty. Sure, it was always dusty but he worked in construction -why wouldn’t it be? I never thought twice about that. Little did I know his jacket was covered in asbestos fibers.

On February 2, 2006 my left lung, one of my ribs, half of my diaphragm and some of the lining of my heart/lung were removed. This experimental procedure, coupled with radiation and chemotherapy, were by best shot at being able to spend more than 15 months with my baby girl. I spent weeks in the hospital and then recovered with my parents in South Dakota accompanied by Lily. It was a very long road to recovery. Cam could only see us here and there. It was an incredibly tough time for my family and me.

One of the biggest things we had to learn was what our new normal was. I now stayed home with Lily while Cam went back to school and furthered his career so he could support us. I was no longer contributing to our household financially as I had in the past, my career that I had worked for so many years towards was now gone.

After a while I learned about mesothelioma awareness conventions and events and different groups that existed in the mesothelioma community. I am thankful for these causes everyday because I realized I was not alone in this fight. I learned that I could help people. It is not only rare to survive this disease but, it is very rare to survive this disease by 11 years. I learned to share my story and connect with people affected by mesothelioma because I could provide them something that is exceedingly scarce in our community, hope. Doctors, statistics, and numbers offer meso patients grim prognoses. My story offers them a reprieve to that reality. This along with blogging for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance has become my passion and a huge part of my life. I want to spread hope to as many people as I can. When there is nowhere else to look, the hope that there is someone, anyone who has beaten this cancer and continues to beat it everyday is what most people need.

I have dedicated my life to mesothelioma advocacy so it didn’t take me long to start working toward monetarily benefiting the Meso community through what I call: Lung Leavin’ Day. Ten years ago my sister and my husband decided to turn the anniversary of the day my lung was removed into a celebration. Lung Leavin' Day that would take place each year on the anniversary of my surgery. My sister came up with “Lung Leavin’ Day” and it’s sort of just stuck ever since. This celebration started as me and my family and few close friends shivering around a campfire. It has since grown to a huge gathering of people in person and online that supports several different foundations and organizations in the mesothelioma community.

To date we’ve raised over $30,000 for The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. This celebration has become so much more than me and my family surrounding that campfire. Each year, like the ten before, we each write our deepest fears on a dinner plate with a sharpie and smash the plates into a campfire. It might sound silly, but it is one of the most cathartic experiences I have come across. To be able to outwardly express your fear and then symbolically and quite literally smash it – is absolutely invigorating. Each year we try to involve as many people as we can in the celebration. It’s no longer about me, my lungs or even just mesothelioma. It’s about people relying on their community, addressing their fears, smashing them and, healing while doing so.

After my diagnosis you could not have told me I would be where I am today, but here I am. I made the decision that I was going to do whatever it took to raise my baby girl, I was going to fight. 15 months was not enough for me. Along the way I learned that I have more to offer the world than I could have ever imagined. I can offer hope and strength and most importantly, I can help.

Heather

Heather has a very powerful story, If you would like to help in the fight against mesothelioma or find hope in your own battle, click the links above and they will take you to websites where you can donate or volunteer in the battle against the cancer called mesothelioma.

* This is not a paid post. No compensation was received for this post.

What To Do When You Think Your Facebook Is Hacked

2016-11-03T13:17:00.002-05:00

If you spend any amount of time on facebook then you have probably seen when a friend has been "hacked" on their facebook account. What they usually mean is someone has created a fake account that looks identical and is trying to friend all their friends. As someone who has truly experienced being hacked, this is not being hacked, this is being impersonated. I would like to explain the difference and what to do about each if it happens along with some other misnomers and some preventative tips.

When someone creates an identical facebook page to yours it does not mean you are hacked. It means that someone with wrong intentions has access to your photos and/or personal information and you probably gave it to them. They usually create identical profiles and try to friend your friends for one of two reasons. They are in sales and figure that your friends will be more likely to purchase things from "you" or they want to scam your friends out of money pretending to be you.

If you are being impersonated then it is probably by someone who has access to your information on facebook. It can be a random person who friended you, another impersonated account you are friends with or you are showing too much info on your facebook account. If someone impersonates you then your friends will likely let you know about it. If it happens just simply report it to facebook. They will probably not let you know much but they usually quietly take care of the impersonated account. It is also a good idea to change your profile picture to something updated, change your password and let your friends know in a post that someone is impersonating you.

To prevent impersonation from happening you can manage the settings on your facebook account. The first thing to do is keep your friends list private. You can do this by clicking on your name in the blue bar. Next scroll down to friends section. Click on little arrow to the right side of friends box. Click "Edit Privacy". Where it asks who can see your friends list click "friends" or "only me". Click "done". If you choose "friends" then be aware that any random people who you friend will have access to this information but it will give you an idea who may be impersonating (someone on your friend list).

One more little change can help with impersonation problems. Click on Arrow in blue bar. Click "settings". Click "Public Posts" (left column). To the right of Who Can Follow Me, Click on little world. Change to Friends. This eliminates complete strangers from seeing your posts without adding you as their friend.

Being hacked means they have access to your account and they can change your password and then have full control of your facebook account. This is a different monster all the way around. Many times people will have someone posting spam or smut on their facebook page that they can't even see the posts themselves but it is posted in their name for all their friends to see. This may or may not mean they have been hacked. Usually not and I will explain how and why.

Remember those quizzes on facebook? You know those that supposedly tell you something about yourself if you take it? Some of those quizzes and other apps you click on while scrolling through facebook will ask for permission to post the results on your facebook page and many times we click right through these permissions without thinking. We do it on apps on our phones and computers and on facebook because apps have become a way of life and who wants to spend the time reading all those permissions when we can move on to the good stuff with just a click. That is how you probably gave access to the spammers. They haven't truly hacked you in this case, they just have permission to post things to your account and that one thoughtless click of yours gave them access.

Because we often give permissions this way it is a good idea to review your permissions often and delete any that we don't know or remember. You can do this by clicking on the little arrow in the blue bar (to the right side). Click "Settings". Click "Apps"(left column). A list of all apps with permissions on your facebook will pop up. Click "Show All". If you don't remember or know an app then remove their permission by clicking "X" when you hover over the app with your mouse. You can also edit permissions on apps by clicking on the little pencil. You can also scroll down and click "Apps Others Use" and change the information on your profile available to the apps that your friends or others use. Simply uncheck any boxes you don't want them to access and then click "save". Remember to go back and take away permission from any questionable app or quiz immediately after using any and that will help keep your account secure.

If your account is actually hacked by someone where they have complete access and control and can even change your password then you will need to get into your facebook account as soon as possible and change the password. If they have already locked you out then you will need to contact facebook. There are some safety measures that you can have in place that will help if someone actually hacks into your account. Click on arrow on right side of blue bar. Click "Settings". Next click "Security" (left Column). Click on each of these items and review them. Change anything you desire to improve your security and alert you in event of a breach. DO NOT DEACTIVATE your account! This will make it go away (Unless you want it to go away)! You can also click "Mobile" from list on left and review these as well. It is actually a great idea to review all the items in the list to the left and make sure that every setting is as you desire. You might be surprised how many settings you can personalize.

If your facebook account was compromised and actually hacked then it is a really good idea to make sure that your other social media accounts are secure as well as your email. Many times our social media was compromised because we inadvertently clicked a link in our email that gave crooks access to our email. It is so quick too. This happened to me once.

I was checking email on my phone and clicked a link in an email without thinking (Don't do this! Go to the website from an app or browser instead!!!) It immediately took me to a page that was African in origin and then went black. The link gave the crooks access to my email. They immediately changed my email password to lock me out and even accessed and changed my backup email account! Because, I did not have the proper safeguards, they had possibility of access to my bank accounts, social media, website, etc.

It was a pretty horrendous day. The first email account was with a little known company and I lost that email account completely and it took the company weeks to even get it shut down (no more accounts with them!) I was quickly able to get back control of my Gmail because I did have safeguards in place there (a text message when password is changed and because I use Google chrome they ask me if access was ok when I log on the net again in Chrome). I spent the day systematically going to every online account (Thank God, I had them listed in a book). I changed passwords and log in information. Some had to be called on the phone to take care of. It took about 2 days to get everything safe again.

It was hard but it was possible, so if the worst happens to you just act quickly. Take care of the most important accounts first such as anything tied to your money. Next work in order of importance from there until everything is safe again. Also, it is a good idea to have all your accounts, numbers, log in info, passwords and any other pertinent information listed in a book. An address book will work for this or any smallish notebook, or spiral bound will work. Be sure to keep this book in a safe location.

If possible it is a good idea to access from a different device than what you clicked the link (Just in case it gave the hacker access to see everything you type in that device). It happened on my phone so, they didn't have access to that but I did switch to my laptop to change my information just in case.

Hopefully, you will never have a hacker but now you will know what to do and you have some tips for preventing it.

Lakehouse Update: Exterior Before & After

2016-07-08T20:10:00.002-05:00

There has been lots happening at the lakehouse lately. So much so that between that, my garden, my Gigi duties, and just life in general, I haven't been posting as often as I usually like to here at Texasdaisey Creations. Hopefully I can remedy that soon.

In the meantime, here is an update on the happenings at our little lakehouse.

Many of you will remember that this is where we started on our little jewel. It was looking a bit ummmmmmm rough. We actually had people who thought we had lost our minds when they first saw it.

This was my first view. I remember thinking "please let it not be the one with the red roof!" But then I saw the front of it and looked deeper at the bones. She had good bones. We purchased her and we had her eaves closed in properly.

We decided to paint her and took a wrong turn on color with the first coat...I mixed in some creamy white and voila it became more what I had in my head. A bit Bahama Mama!

We were headed down the right road now! Things were beginning to look alot better.

The new paint job made me smile! I loved how she looked and was looking forward to all the many changes that were to come. (one which would include painting the roof).

After only a few short months (not even a year), this is what her paint began to do...we were so disappointed! We knew that new siding would have to come much sooner than we had hoped. Even that timetable was propelled forward when we tore out the bathroom and discovered huge cracks in the siding.

We had already changed out all the doors because we thought our cabin was being flooded that way every time it rained. The doors were only part of the problem. The siding was part of the problem too.

After much research and seeking of opinions, we decided that Hardie board was the way for us. We decided that we needed to move our air conditioners to their new spots and add our new windows at this time. We then added a new wider trim around the doors and windows.

We also closed in the larger window on the front of the house. This would usually never be an option for me because I love windows but this one allowed so much heat into the house along with an ugly view, not to mention the neighbor's yard light shining in at night. This is also where we will possibly add on to the house in future if we end up go forward with those plans.

Every detail added and changed was beginning to add up and make my pretty vision come into being. This is about the time we began to get several weeks of rain. Inches and inches of rain! I wanted to paint! I was not going to pray for that rain to leave though...especially after that 5 year drought. Finally the sun came out again.

We decided we might as well go all in and get the electric upgraded too so we could cover the needed manhole in the side over with the new siding. It is funny how one step can add so many other expensive steps before it is all over...lol. Next came paint again. this time, I knew exactly what shade would be perfect.

Our little lakehouse is becoming beautiful! Oh how she makes me smile! My husband named her Rocky Point. I added Cottage to her name. Rocky Point Cottage. Everything about her makes me smile...especially the peace that we feel as soon as we get near.

Oh how she makes me smile now! She is becoming a shining jewel and I can't wait to show you all the things that are changing inside too. Soon she will have some beautiful jewelry to wear that will give her that finished look along with a little sparkle. In the meantime:

Check out the updates that I have already shared about our Lakehouse

Lakehouse Update: White To Bright

2016-06-30T21:31:00.001-05:00

Do you always take the advice of your friends and family? Many times I will but then there are those other times when "they" are just wrong! Sometimes if we always follow what the crowd does we might miss out on something really great.

I have been very busy lately finishing many projects at our little lakehouse. Sometimes I will have an attack of "I'm not sure" on a decorating project and will then ask the advice of my family and friends. Usually they can help me make the right decision with their excellent advice but this time the advice just didn't sit well with me. Everyone thought I should leave the kitchen door white (I wonder if it was because we got a new door and that made everyone reluctant to paint it?). I tried to take their advice...really, I did!

I was busy painting the other day and I kept looking at that white door. It just looked...blah. I decided to jazz it up with some turquoise. This time, everyone was wrong. That door went from white to bright. Now look how great that door looks!

How To Make a Capiz Shell Chandelier Without Breaking The Bank

2016-06-20T19:11:00.001-05:00

I decided that my beachy themed lakehouse would not be complete without a capiz chandelier but when I began to price them I got sticker shock. They started out about $150 and went up...way up. Being the thrifty gal that I am, I decided I could do better.

I found a capiz shell mobile on sale for about $45. I was thrilled. It did not have a light but that could be added. I then purchased a hanging swag kit and a lamp repair kit. Each of those were about $8 each. Everything I needed for a beautiful swag chandelier for less than $60. That is a bargain.

I fed the cord that came with the swag kit through the chain. I then strung the bottom of the lamp kit onto the end without the plug. I tied an underwriter's (electrician's) knot.

Next I loosened both the silver and brass screws on the switch part. I bent the wire ends around the base of each screw.

It doesn't matter which end goes on which screw. I tightened the screws so that the ends were fastened well and would not pull away.

Next, I tucked the knot up into the bottom of the lamp kit and tucked the cover over the switch part. Then I attached the two together. It should snap together.

Make sure you have enough cord to allow the light to hang down in the middle of the shells when hanging. It took a bit of adjusting to get it just right. I secured the chain to the hook at the top of the capiz shell mobile and allowed the light to hang free. I then hung the entire thing from a hook in the ceiling on a hook with a molly bolt. I added a second hook closer to the wall. I plugged the light in and it worked!

When I unwrapped the capiz shells, I realized they hung much longer than I really wanted them to so I used a hot glue gun and folded the long layer up into the length I desired. I glued the end capiz shell to another one up inside the mobile. My husband added another switch on the cord for me so that I could turn it off and on easier.

I am thrilled with how it turned out. If you wanted to make a true chandelier that attaches directly to the ceiling You could easily purchase a kit for that. There are all sorts of reasonably priced kits and parts for sale at lumber and hardware stores or even online. There are also lots of tutorials online that will show you how to wire any kind of light or lamp. Go ahead! Give it a try. You can do it.

Check out more posts about my Lakehouse

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Gigi Problems

2016-04-20T21:42:00.001-05:00

I have been keeping my granddaughter, Zerah, at least 2 days a week since she was 5 weeks old. It has been pure joy for the most part but there have also been those other days. This past week she discovered a purple magic marker (I have no idea where) Anyway...you can see part of the damage in this pic. There was also "artwork" on the wall and a couple pieces of furniture.

Zerah loves playing with Gigi's phone. I try to limit how much screen time she has so I encourage her to be a photographer. Apparently she is quite the photographer because she captures images that I have no idea about. It is always interesting to see what pics she took after she leaves. I have been blissfully believing that she never touches my things on the fireplace. Boy was I wrong as I discovered with this picture. Lol.

Not all of her pictures capture something naughty. Sometimes it just captures her perspective. I find it pretty interesting. Who else but Zerah would take this photo? I was so glad when she wanted to get in the cart. I had no idea she had my phone out of my purse at this point. Lol.

In this photo, she is laying under my coffee table with her feet up on the couch. I thought she was playing a game on my phone. I'm not complaining because I think we may have a budding photographer in our midst and that thrills me even if she does capture a few odd photos.

Art isn't the only thing we have to be concerned about at Gigi's house. On this day, Zerah didn't want to be completely dressed. In this photo she is wearing a shirt, pullups, and her garden boots. I did try to dress her properly but Zerah had other ideas. That is OK though because Gigi, figures that there are other battles to fight and this one wasn't it. It wasn't so bad since we were just in the backyard and it is Gigi's house after all.

A couple days after Zerah was gone, Gigi found this. It was some more artwork that Gigi had somehow missed in the purple marker debacle. I got most of it cleaned off but not all of it. I guess Gigi needs to paint the cabinets in the 2nd bathroom now (sigh). Now, I am wondering what other surprises Gigi has from Z.

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Secret Designer Tips On How To Decorate Coastal Style On A Budget

2016-04-19T01:52:00.000-05:00

Coastal Retreat

I have always dreamed of having a beach house in Florida or somewhere. I often dream of how I would decorate that beach house to make it beautiful and relaxing. I am decorating our little lakehouse with a coastal style and have gained some insight about the best way to make it a place of coastal serenity, peace, and a bit of glam while staying in budget.

In the style board above you can get a bit of insight into the way I am decorating in the coastal style. I am using a palette that includes blue, aqua, turquoise, and green along with brown to give it a bit of warmth. All of this on a white background gives this room a soothing palette that speaks serenity, peace and relaxation.

My inspiration for this color palette comes directly from the painting in the upper right corner. Using artwork or a multicolored patterned fabric is a great way to find the color palette for a room (1st secret designer tip). After I decide on my palette, I like to go to the paint store and collect paint chips with my colors on them. I find paint chips that have several shades of the same color on them. Every one of these shades will work in my room and all those shades only count as one color on your palette (that is another secret designer tip). I carry these paint chips in my purse for when I am out shopping (Tip #3).

A secret designer tip to stay in budget is to shop online, in magazines, books, or anywhere for the things you would love to decorate with. Take a photo or email the link of the items to yourself to carry on your phone. Then, when you are out shopping thrift shops, tag sales, discount stores, or wherever, you can look for similar items that cost much less.

I like to pair unexpected things together when I decorate. One way I do that is by pairing the smooth white leather sofa with the texture of the white wicker chair. Another way is to use natural items such as baskets, shells and wood flooring with the smooth sparkle of glass. This gives the casual relaxed room just a bit of glam and sparkle.

Last, I add personality to my coastal styled room with accessories. These accessories take the form of seashells, glass bottles, baskets, pillows, lighting and plants. I use accessories that fit the color palette and many even have the coastal theme.

Whether you have a beautiful Florida coast home or not you can stay in budget and still give any home coastal style using these tips.

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Why Am I Keeping That?

2016-04-11T11:55:00.000-05:00

Do you ever find yourself keeping things that do not make sense? Things that don't really have an emotional value and certainly not much monetary value. I found this spoon rest in my drawer. Why am I keeping that? Why did I actually use valuable storage space to keep it? Why did I have to think about it before I tossed it into the trash?

It isn't like I can't afford another, not that I even need another one. There are at least 4 or 5 more in the house (but not with cherries like those!). So, what is the deal?

When, I asked myself these questions the first thing that popped into my head is, "well there might be hard times ahead." What? So a broken spoon rest is going to help that? Lol. I am really not crazy y'all. I promise.

I did something freeing today. I tossed that broken spoon rest into the trash and I felt lighter. Maybe, I need to go through my cupboards and closets and drawers and garages, etc and do some more throwing away. Apparently, I keep some things without reason or at least any reason that makes good sense. That snuck up on me for sure!

I have always had some things I am not using and no apparent plan to use but those are things I describe as the Johanna Gains kind of keeping (not hoarding). One never knows when one will want to decorate somewhere with it, but apparently there are also those broken spoon rest kind of things too. Those broken spoon rests need to go.

Now, I just need the energy and motivation to tackle that job...lol (big sigh).

Let's Talk Fonts

2016-04-07T19:10:00.000-05:00

I really really like fonts! I like fonts so much that I have actually spent money buying fonts. What are fonts? Fonts are the styled characters that are typed out when you type on your computer keyboard. (This one is Georgia). Fonts come in many many different styles and types and they are great to have if you do scrapbooking or design work, especially graphic design or web design. They are also great for those who just like to be creative with fonts on their posters, cards, etc.

There are some really great websites where you can download fonts. Many of these websites will even offer free font downloads. Be sure to read the license of use for each font you download. You can find tons of font places from Pinterest. I have a Pinterest board where I have saved some of my favorite font blog posts that lead to font websites where you can download some too. Here is my Pinterest board for fonts.

Follow Debbie's board Fond of Fonts on Pinterest.

If you decide to download some fonts be sure to check out their terms of use. Some fonts require payment before you can download them. Others require payment or a donation under certain circumstances such as for commercial use. Other fonts are completely free to use for anything anytime, anywhere. Many of these websites operate under the honor system. I stay on the proper side of the law and the honor system concerning fonts, pictures and anything else I download. This saves any embarrassment and/or lawsuit issues. Believe me they can track you down if you don't (besides it just isn't cool to steal or cheat).

Once downloaded your fonts need to be installed on your PC before you can use them:

Find the downloaded file and click on it twice.
Click Extract File Button (located at top of opened file)
Open extracted file (If it doesn't open automatically)
Click Install Button (located at top of opened file)

Your new font is installed and ready to use.

Come back next Thursday and learn how to create your very own font and install it on your PC (Trust me it's super easy!).

Stop! Don't Upgrade To Windows 10!

2016-04-02T16:26:00.000-05:00

Have you been getting the offer for a "free" upgrade to Windows 10? Stop! Don't upgrade to Windows 10! It won't be an upgrade! It is a downgrade! I know, it may even be too late. Oh how, I wish I had this warning before I did it and more than 30 days have passed so that I can not go back to my old system. (Sure, now I figure out I only had 30 days to decide...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr). I waited, I researched and I read all the reviews and they all seemed to be good overall for Windows 10 which now makes me wonder about the reviewers and their blogs. Yes, it does seem to be a bit faster especially when first opened but I don't think it makes up for the obvious faults that seem to be skimmed past or ignored in all the reviews.

I added Windows 10 to my old laptop, and it is on my new laptop and now, I don't know what I am going to do and I am really not happy with Microsoft right now. I know, they are the big guy and I am just the Don Quixote tilting at windmills in this story but someone somewhere has to start being truthful. Microsoft's Windows 10 is absolutely substandard in my opinion. Why do I call it substandard? Here are my reasons:

I can not connect my camera to my system and easily load my pictures up onto my computer now. I had to spend hours finding a work around way that takes forever to get my photos off.
My Compact Disc reader wouldn't work either! Come on Windows! People want to use their computers for the things they have always used them for like pictures. I ended up having to buy a new disc reader when the old one was not that old....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
I have a lot (and I mean a lot!) of CD's that I can not access the files on because Windows 10 rendered my system unable to open them . Precious photos are on those CDs and my system and CD disc drive that worked perfectly before windows 10 is now rendered useless; so here I am spending hours online trying to figure out a way to access those so that I can get them uploaded to my cloud....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Windows 10 forces you to have a password to get into your own computer. Come on! I don't want to type a password every single time I get onto my own darn computer! That is fine if I have secrets to keep from others but their should be a way to turn this off. (I believe this is part of how Microsoft is monitoring our activities, by the way, along with the keylogger they installed (it logs every key you strike) because you are actually having to sign into Microsoft every time you log onto your computer.) I found a work around for the so called "upgraded" laptop password to be turned off but so far nothing that actually works for the new laptop.
Windows 10 gives Microsoft access to your computer even when you are not online with the keylogger software. This means they are probably monitoring your activity on your computer all the time you are on it (and who knows, maybe when you aren't on it either!). No, I am not doing anything wrong or even embarrassing on my computer but I don't like the fact that someone is looking over my shoulder all the time on my computer and even possibly accessing my camera. How far will they go? I don't think they have a line they won't cross. What if they don't like what I write on my blog or decide they don't like my religion or race or whatever?
Windows 10 forces you to update whether they are good updates or not. There is no avoiding it. If you don't accept when given reminders then guess what? You wake up one morning and it has been done without your permission (yes, this happened to me). What happened to living in America the land of the free? Apparently Microsoft wants to end that. They also like to change your settings back to their own idea of what they think should be even when you had it like you wanted. (No warning is given either!)
Mandatory driver updates that can break some systems. No choices, no way to stop it...I am wondering if this is a way to sell more computers.
Cortana is just downright creepy! It is supposed to be a takeoff version of Siri only on your desktop. I'm sorry but I don't like it and I don't want it. I am not driving when I am on my laptop and although I can think of maybe a few times it would be handy to have it search for me,..mostly, I just want it off my computer or at least a way to disengage it completely and trust that another update won't just turn it on again (yep, I tried checking the box that said I didn't want it) It is at least silent now but still there.
Windows has no tech support to speak of. Have you ever gone to the Microsoft website seeking a way to fix something? Guess what, you are left with a message board where people can make suggestions of how to fix your problem. Some work and some are bust. I wonder if this company believes they are too busy to help the little people who made them big with tech problems on their product. Are they willing to fix these problems? Will they? Do they even need to? They seem to have a monopoly on operating systems or at least on getting them installed into any well known computers. Why is this?
Windows 10 adds a big square box full of their own advertising on your desktop (it is supposed to be a way to their store). Sorry, but last time I checked I can get there very easily on my own without a huge box on my desktop reminding me all the time. So far, I haven't figured out how to get rid of this either.
It is not easy to navigate. Everything is different. I am pretty good with finding things on my computer, I learn new things easily. I have taught myself how to code my blog and I love new tech so explain to me why it is so difficult for me to figure out where things are on the new Windows 10 even after several months of using it?
Some apps that were there in my system before are completely gone now. I used some of those things. If you have more than a set number of items then you can't find them or even search them in your start menu...now you have to add a desktop app.

I could probably go on and on and on with all the negative things about this operating system that does not operate very well but I think you have the picture now of just how frustrated I am with it. I am even more frustrated by the fact that all the big tech blogs seemed to jump on board the Windows 10 train with positive reviews and now; I don't trust them anymore. I am not usually a negative blog person but someone has to tell the truth and so, here I am! Microsoft Windows 10, in my books you get a big fat Texas fail!

Understand that I believe in grace. I believe in forgiveness. I believe in second chances and even 150th chances. Microsoft, I am willing to forgive you and allow you the chance to fix these things. I am waiting and I am sure there are others out there waiting for you to fix these problems.

Fun Times In Spring Time

2016-03-24T16:32:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot of fun going on in our lives lately. Spring has arrived and that means we can go to the park. Little Z loves the park! She runs her Pac and I (Gigi) up and down the park every time we go. We have lots of fun watching her have so much fun. Yes, it is exhausting but exhilarating too. The extra exercise sure doesn't hurt us either. Lol.

Little Z also has us visiting the Whiteside Museum of Natural History otherwise known as the "Dinosaur Museum" to little Z. She really gets a kick out of it. I have to admit that I am very impressed with it too and so are the dinosaur experts who like to come see the new species of dinosaurs that have been dug locally. There are new displays and new things to learn every time we visit. There is even a great view into the workrooms where the local paleontologist, Chris Flis works on the newest items that have been dug up.

We also had fun when Baby B came along with his mama to spend the night. Oh how much we love their visits. Baby B is taking a few steps now...soon he will be motoring around everywhere. His first birthday is here and we are planning a big birthday party this weekend. I think Baby B will have a great time eating birthday cake and opening presents. It sure will be fun to watch. I wonder if he will like the presents or the boxes better? We shall soon see!

To top off the fun this week, Baby B and his mama brought me a really great surprise...this guy flew in all the way from Japan to surprise us. Oh how happy I am to be able to hug my youngest again (at least for this week anyway). It is so difficult to send him off to Japan again but I know it is a must because his country needs his service. My heart already looks forward to when we will see him and hug him again.

It has been a great week with lots of fun despite my back giving me problems again. (And right when Spring gets here too!) Hopefully I can get it fixed this next week and be out in the garden for some cleanup and planting...more fun for me! I love working in my garden in the Spring time and I am determined to not be laid up this year.

Fun times in Spring Time here in Texas. Gotta enjoy it while it lasts because the Texas Summer heat will be here before we know it. ;0)

Spring Time Dreaming

2016-03-11T09:31:00.000-06:00

We have been spending every weekend we can at our little lakehouse this year. It is a good place to stop and take deep breaths and even do a little dreaming. What a view to dream with! I never get tired of the beautiful views from our lakehouse deck.

As springtime has neared I have been dreaming of flowers and trees and bushes. When we first moved into our regular home it had a pretty garden that I enlarged and made into a beautiful garden. Oh how I enjoyed sitting on our patio or any of the little spots where I had chairs or benches to enjoy my garden with.

A few years ago we began to have a terrible drought that many of you have read about in my blog. It pretty much devastated my garden. I lost 9 full sized holly trees, a huge American Elm (which is almost extinct), a couple of pecan trees, about 4 Elberta peach trees 2 white faced peach trees, 4 plum trees, countless bushes, countless roses, countless perennials, a dreamy bent grass lawn...

The drought is over now but our water rationing is not over yet. We are still waiting for the rains to restore our underground water reservoirs and that takes time. At the moment we are allowed to water two days a week with a hose by hand (no sprinkler) for one hour in the morning and then in the evening another hour.

I am still trying to decide whether to start planting yet or not. I trust the drought is over, I just do not know how much time I want to spend actually watering everything with a hose in hand. Time has been a premium lately and although I am dreaming of a new beautiful garden...I'm thinking we will jump back into planting slower but I'm just not sure because I know that eventually I will get spring fever and then what? I am so tired of seeing the weed patch that my back lawn has become and the dirt patch that my front yard has become.

I haven't given up...I just want to be certain that the next garden I plant has every possible chance of making it. I am already planning it in my mind and probably need to start plotting it on paper. More likely though I will just go with it and plant as I see in my head and let the garden be a bit on the cottage side. Oh how I adore flowers, trees and bushes as well as the little critters that come with them! Maybe I will plant some showy crepe myrtles to replace the holly trees, and I will definitely be planting David Austin Roses along with many other flowers and herbs and bushes and trees. I still have hope and I have faith that I will have a beautiful garden again soon.

In the meantime, I have scattered thousands of wildflower seeds at our little lakehouse to add to the many that are already there. I am so excited to know that no matter what goes down this year at our regular home there will be flowers at my lakehouse. I can already see them growing and I look forward to their beautiful colorful blooms.

You know, Texas has the very best wildflowers ever. You can see even more of those blooms Here

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Transition

2016-03-10T20:25:00.001-06:00

Everything was going along OK in life till one day everything changed. Now you have picked up the pieces and you are ready to move on but you find yourself where you can't go back to the way it was and you can't seem to go forward. My friend, you are in what is called transition.

I have gone through many times of transition. Those times always involved moving from one place to another. Those places were sometimes actual places on a map, or one season to another or one job to another, one career to another, or even one way of being such as from child to adult, or from single to married and many more I could name.

One thing all these had in common is that they were uncomfortable and sometimes even painful. It was like going from living in the whole house of life to living in just the hallway. I will be honest, I have shed many tears, thrown many fits, worried my hair gray, and even come close to giving up when in times of transition because they were so very hard at the time. Looking back, I now see how very important those times were and I see why they are designed by God to be so uncomfortable. He doesn't want us to camp out there any longer than necessary.

I also see how I could have relaxed a little and made better use of those times than to cry, throw a fit, or become discouraged. I could have spent more time preparing for the next place in life. I could have spent more time hanging out with God. I could have spent more time enjoying my family. I could have spent my time learning something new, etc.

Be encouraged friend if you are in a time of transition and the pressure is on (like a baby in a birth canal). You can rejoice because you can be sure that as you cooperate with God in the process that He will complete what He has started. You can trust that He is faithful to His word. You can find comfort in that word and in spending time with Him. Many times the transition is simply a place of holding you until the timing is perfect for you. You wouldn't want to start a brand new job only to lose it a month or two later. That almost happened to us once.

We knew God had put our current city on our hearts as the place He was taking us. We were so happy to finally have a destination. We had been in contact with the administrator of the hospital and they were interested in a meeting with my husband. We began to research the town and happily went to visit family for a holiday, knowing that we would be talking to the administrator about a new job after the holiday was over. The holiday ended...the week went on to two weeks and we heard nothing from the administrator. What happened? It was heartbreaking because we thought we had heard so clearly from God with confirmations even. That shook us up a bit.

We picked up the pieces and began to look elsewhere. My husband gained a job in another town and we prepared to move. We put our house on the market, began to search for a new home in the new town. Months passed and for many reasons too long to tell today, we didn't move. In fact, it got very very difficult for us in those months that added up to a year. We were tested in our faith many times through that year and It was terrible at the time.

After such a severe time of testing in so many areas of our life that included finances, failing a test for credentials, losing all our life savings, borrowing up to our necks, losing another job and even questioning if we heard God wrong; we learned that when God tells you He is going to do something then you can bet on it happening as long as you are on board for the process (transition) necessary to make it happen. After all that, we were preparing to take a "too good to be true job" that paid huge wages (but we didn't have peace about it). I told God, "If you don't want us to take this job then you better do something before I mail these papers in the morning." That evening we received a phone call from the hospital that we had originally felt God was leading us to...my husband now works at that hospital.

If you find your life in a time of transition then remember that you can make it harder or you can make use of the time. Use this time as an excuse to get even closer to God. Relax and remember that God is faithful. He wants you to prosper even more than you want to. He has your best in mind. We found out later that had we got my husband's job at the time we first thought he would then he would have lost it because of a shakeup that happened. God was protecting us all along and in the meantime He was teaching us so many lessons in faith that I wouldn't give up now even if I had the choice because, I know my God so much better than I did before and I know without any doubt whatsoever that He is faithful.

See that picture of the sunset above? That photo was taken about 5 minutes before the picture below. The same camera was used and both photos were taken without filters or even alterations done with the exception of my name added in the corner. Sunsets are a time of transition...

Take encouragement from the photos. Remember that God is taking you from one place that may seem beautiful to a place that is stunning in joy and beauty. Remember that the process takes time sometimes and that it isn't always (in fact almost never) the way you think it will go. Sometimes it might even get messy and painful. Remember that God has your very best in mind. Remember also that God truly does have it all in His control as long as you leave it there and cooperate with Him. Make good use of your time.

You Don't Have To Be Stuck With That White Freezer

2016-02-22T21:52:00.001-06:00

We needed a small freezer at our lakehouse to hold extra ice and so we moved one from our garage to the lakehouse. It was the perfect size but not the perfect color. I decided that I didn't have to live with it so I decided to fix it.

I had hoped the white would be OK since our walls were white but as you can see, it really stuck out.

I knew I could leave it and eventually get used to it but I decided that I could make it look better. I considered several options which included using Stainless Steel Contact Paper to make it match my other appliances. I also considered stainless steel paint.

I decided to paint it the same color as our cabinets. I used Behr Jamaica Bay Acrylic Paint with primer. I used a brush which does cause slight brush marks but they are no more noticeable than on the wood cabinets which didn't bother me because it causes the texture to be more smudge proof and not show fingerprints but if you wanted it to have a smoother feel then just use the paint in a sprayer.

You could make the surface more resistant to scratches by using an oil based paint but I have found that with the proper handling that acrylic holds up just fine. Be sure to let the paint cure for at least 3 weeks before heavy use. That gives the paint time to harden and become more resistant to scratches.

Now, doesn't that look better? Even my husband thinks it does, although he is getting a bit afraid that if he sits still too long that I might decide to paint him too.

Another Lakehouse Remodel Project

2016-02-04T20:02:00.001-06:00

Some new friends of mine recently bought a lakehouse near ours and I am so excited about that. My friends happen to be my contractor Kinlee Hoyt and his dear wife, Brittney. She loved all the turquoise and aqua in our lakehouse and decided that she wanted to use those colors in their lakehouse with a twist that I won't share quite yet. I can't tell you how excited I am to see everything they do to their cute little cabin with so much possibility. Here is one of her first projects. This is an old refrigerator that still works great but....well...you can see the problem. That didn't stop Brittney though...

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She had some paint mixed in a beautiful turquoise color called Bella Vista. She taped off the parts that she didn't want to be turquoise then she primed and painted that refrigerator with a brush! (I like this girl already!)

Look how great this refrigerator turned out! I think it looks great! It just proves what I have always said. A little paint can do a lot! Great job Brittney. I look forward to seeing what else you and Kinlee do with your new cabin.

Green Chile Chicken Soup

2016-02-02T11:00:00.000-06:00

Oh my, has it been a busy couple of weeks for me. There is lots happening at the Lakehouse that I can't wait to show you and I have been busy at home cleaning out drawers and closets and garages. That is a big job at my house...I am kind of like Joanna Gaines. I have cool stuff stashed all over the place but because I am not going to have a business like hers, I have decided to let go of some of it and clean out the junk that fills up my life. I'm doing that in the natural and spiritual parts of my life. It is hard but it brings so much freedom too. Anyway, I decided to pop in and give you the recipe for this new soup that I created simply because I was in a hurry and needed something really good for supper. He loved it.

This is a quick soup to make but it tastes oh so much better after it has sat for a while. I likw to allow those flavors to meld and become oh so yummy. I do this by letting the soup rest for about 30 minutes and then reheating it to serve hot. This can definitely be served immediately but it is worth the wait to allow those flavors to meld together.

Green Chile Chicken Soup

1 1/2 C. Chopped Chicken Fajita Meat
1/4 C Onion Chopped
2 Cans Green Chilies
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Pkg Chicken Alfredo Hamburger Helper
1 Sm Pkg Mixed Frozen Vegetables
1 Pkg Velveeta Cheese Shreds
2 1/2 to 3 C Water
Salt and Pepper

In Skillet over medium to high heat Stir Fry Chicken Fajita Meat, and onions. Towards end of cooking I add both cans of green Chilies. Stir fry a bit longer to get those flavors released and mixed. Dump all this into a Soup Pot. Add Spice Mix from Hamburger Helper Mix. Mix Well. Make sure all spice mix is broken up and dissolved. Add all other ingredients. Cook on medium until noodles are done. Allow this soup to rest for about 30 minutes and then reheat to serve. This would be really great with some Corn chips served on the side.

How To Caulk And Make It Pretty

2016-01-25T11:33:00.000-06:00

Have you ever tried to caulk a painted project and ended up with a mess on your fingers and everywhere else? Me too. For years I would work at it and always end up with an ugly caulk strip and caulk all over me, my clothes and my work area.

One day I was happily painting alongside some other contractors. One of them was caulking the cracks between seams on the walls and suddenly he swiped that caulk with a wet rag. That seam was beautiful! I asked him about it and he said that was the best way to get a smooth pretty caulk seam and eliminate the extra caulk. I said, "That information could have saved me years of frustration."

He shared a couple of tips. This method only works on caulk that is water cleanup type. First you lay a bead of caulk down then you use a wet rag to swipe it and smooth it out and even push into little spots with the caulk that ends up on your rag. From time to time it is good to rinse out your rag as you work.

If this is your first time to try to caulk anything then you will need to know a few things:

Using a caulk gun is by far the easiest way to do any large amount of caulking. Those squeeze tubes will wear you out and make your hands sore after a bit. Spend the little bit extra and get a caulk gun. They are not expensive. Then you will buy the tubes that look a bit like a bullet.
Install the tube of caulk into the caulk gun.
Cut the tip of the tube about 1/4 inch from the tip. You can use scissors, a utility knife or a regular knife for this.
Use a long nail or a piece of wire to poke down the end of the tube and break the membrane that holds the caulk into the cardboard part of the tube. (save that nail or wire for the next time!)
Squeeze the trigger and caulk will come out. It will keep coming out until you push the little silver metal lever piece on the back of the caulk gun (just past the area of the back of the tube.) Practice a bit so you get the hang of how fast it will come out and stop.
Lay a bead of caulk on the seam you want to seal. Don't caulk slow, go at a quick pace because this will keep you from laying too much and keep it smoother as you go. Keep the tip at the seam you are caulking.
Have a wet rag on hand to swipe the bead against the crack or seam and make it smooth and pretty. You don't want to end up with a long raised amount of caulk. The best job is when it blends down in and smooths and seals the crack.
There will be extra caulk on your rag. This is normal (and better than on your finger). Use it to start sealing your next part. Don't let it go to waste.
Rinse your rag out from time to time as you proceed on the job.
When you run out of caulk in the tube you will need to push that silver metal piece and then pull that piece of metal rod (the one that is bent at a 90 degree angle at the end) out of the tube. This will allow you to pull that tube out of the gun and reload a fresh one. (remember to cut the tip)
If you have to stop the job before it is finished you can keep the caulk fresh by putting a screw that fits the tip of the tube tight into the tip. Just screw it in with a screwdriver. You can further protect it from drying out by wrapping the tube in a plastic grocery bag and twisting it closed. (sometimes I just do this if I will be back the next day and skip the screw.) It will be ready to go for you when you come back to work with it. You can store caulk like this for quite a long time with the screw and sack method.
One more tip...be sure to buy caulk that is close to your final color for your project and be sure it is paintable as well as water cleanup.

Give these tips a try next time. You will be amazed how much prettier it turns out. Now you can have a beautiful contractor like finish too when you caulk. Let's face it. Caulking the cracks and holes on a painting project at the seams and holes and dimples in your project makes all the difference in how professional looking it turns out.