Saturday, June 29, 2013

Sunday Snippets: 6/30/13

Welcome, friends, to my spot on the web!
Thank you so much for stopping in!

Time once again 

for Sunday Snippets, 
graciously hosted by RAnn 

Vintage Spring divider

I've only one post this week
to link to  the Carnival, which is mainly bloggy "business,"
but contains info on what is sure to be am inspiring
 series on marriage throughout the month of July,
Hot Summer Nights.

And since today is the 'anniversary' of our engagement
....17 years ago!.....
I'm including a wedding pic!
(Actually, it's the only one of our wedding photos that is digitized.
Gotta do something about that!)
Anyway, about the Hot Summer Nights Series,
please click over for  the details on contributors and topics.
Or click to Jen, the series hostess, for the scoop.

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Thank you to RAnn for hosting the Carnival!
Be sure to visit the other bloggers who've linked...
Have a lovely Sunday!

Until next time,

~Chris

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Sunday Snippets: 6/23/13

Welcome, friends, to my spot on the web!
Thank you so much for stopping in today!



Time once again 
for Sunday Snippets, 
graciously hosted by RAnn 

Vintage Spring divider

I've only one post this week
which is suitable for  the Carnival of Catholic posts....

Yesterday's post in my Artful Friday series,
"God Saw All He Had Made..."
around JPII's Letter to Artists


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However, I do have a few posts with "cute Catholic kids!"

My water Theme Thursday post

and

Father's Day in photos

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Thank you, RAnn, for hosting!
Please click over to RAnn's for more Catholic posts....

Until next time,

~Chris

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Artful Friday: "God Saw All He Had Made..." ~ JPII's Letter to Artists

Welcome friends, to Artful Friday, 
here at my spot on the web.

A gem, a beacon, a guide,
to those who are artists in any capacity,
is Blessed  JP II's 1999 

As parents, as homeschoolers, as Catholics,
it is vital that we familiarize ourselves 
not only with our 
Beloved Holy Father's intent, but also 
his style, 
his benevolence toward his flock 
and 
his love of The Arts.
 Have you read it?
Lately?
Now that the school year has wound down,
I felt I needed the rejuvenation of
his words.
After all, he is my family's hero.
He's our go-to guy for all things Catholic,
all things love,
 all things right.
I've written about being in the presence of this saint
here and here, 
if you have the time to click over and  read further.

In our homeschool 
The Arts play a significant  role
in that each of my children
study several instruments and
act in local community theater.  
In addition, my older son  blogs and writes a column at a tech site.
They "do" art.
They "live" art.
They need BL JPII's guidance.
So do I. Big time.
As a writer and blogger, I find I need to read and reread his words to artists
to remind myself about the why and the how of my craft.
Not the competition.
Not the bells and whistles of blinkies on my  blog sidebar ...
Yeah they're cute though. No?
Not the stats and the linky parties.
Not the number of "likes" or shares  my recent
 Catholic Mom column garnered.....
(Not many.)
But still.

When I get another freelance rejection.
When I see a post I poured my heart into is not widely read or commented upon.
 I need the reminder of this.
Do you, also?
About the real reason behind why we do what we do?
The real driving force?
Here is the beginning of Blessed John Paul II's
 Letter to Artists:

To all who are passionately dedicated
to the search for new “epiphanies” of beauty
so that through their creative work as artists
they may offer these as gifts to the world
.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Gn 1:31)


The artist, image of God the Creator

1. None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked upon the work of his hands. A glimmer of that feeling has shone so often in your eyes when—like the artists of every age—captivated by the hidden power of sounds and words, colours and shapes, you have admired the work of your inspiration, sensing in it some echo of the mystery of creation with which God, the sole creator of all things, has wished in some way to associate you.

To read the full text of this landmark piece 
by our 264th Pope 
and
 my favorite artist/actor/writer 
turned priest....
Revel in the words he intended.
Just for you.
Their beauty and their magic.
Thanks for visiting, friends!
If you'd care to dust off something from the archives of the past
Artful Fridays,
here is the list of previous posts:



As always,  thank you for spending some
of your precious time here at my home on the web!

Don't forget to subscribe to Campfires and Cleats
 by scrolling to the subscribe button at the  top left sidebar.
I'd love to stay in touch regularly.

Until next time,

~Chris


 Until next time,

~Chris

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Sunday Snippets: Carnival of Catholic Posts ~ 6/16/13

Welcome, friends, to my spot on the web!
Thank you so much for stopping in today!



Time once again 
for Sunday Snippets, 
graciously hosted by RAnn 

Vintage Spring divider
I guess under RAnn's  guidelines, these
fall into the "cute Catholic kids"
category:

my son guest posts again with another step bystep
"how to" video.
Go check it out!

He had a ball making the videos!
 Here;s one of his creations~~


 Vintage Spring divider
Also for the "cute Catholic Kids" category~~


(baseball diamonds ~ ha!!! )

 Vintage Spring divider
Posts which honor Dads this week~

 I wrote, for my Memoir Monday piece,
 about the role of
 Dads and their encouragement and quiet support in

Vintage Spring divider 

And,
a few photos for the

Vintage Spring divider 

Now, this post is not  Catholic, nor does it have any  cute kids.
BUT, it's a "how-to" for  
easy peasy and festive cupcakes.
It definitely dresses up a table.
I'd love to share it with you
because it's so simple and celebratory!

Vintage Spring divider 
Thanks friends for clicking over.
Please head to RAnn's for other Catholic Carnival posts!

Have a wonderful day with your Dads, husbands, sons, brothers and friends
on this Father's Day 2013!

Until next time,

~Chris




Friday, June 14, 2013

Saturday June 15: Last Chance to Enter the Giveaway!

Hi there friends and welcome!

As you know, I've a fun giveaway going on...
I have been abundantly blessed by my readers 
throughout  my blogging journey thus far.
 I need to celebrate  and I'm gifting one lucky reader ...
(maybe it will be you! )
a cache of summer-y,
pamper-y items, 
plus a wonderful new Catholic book.

So.

Head on over to the post with the full details 
to read up on what you could win.
And to enter.

It's easy.
It's fun.
So go ahead.
You have until midnight, Cinderella!

Winners will be posted here on Monday June 17.


Thank you!



Monday, June 10, 2013

Sprinkled, Festive Mini Birthday Cupcakes

Hello friends
 and welcome to my corner of the web!
Although I've shared a few DIY posts recently,
 it's been quite a while since I wrote a recipe post!

This recipe for festive sparkly cupcakes is really more of a how to, than a recipe!
I use already prepared food and boxed mixes some of the time...
You know how it is when you're
 preparing for a crowd at your kids' birthday parties, 
you need to minimize kitchen time!
This way I had time to add a few  decorative and special touches to the desserts,
in order to prepare a table laden with goodies for twenty or so teens!

This dessert was one of many goodies at my son's 
recent birthday party and they are oh-so-easy!
They look delightful on the platter!
Here goes:



1. Batch of cupcakes, fresh out of the oven.
As I said, boxed cake mixed.
I use pretty silver cupcake liners.
Can't see them in the picture though.


2. Frost.
I love this cream cheese recipe, which I posted here.






3. Here's  the fun part:
Get your sprinkles ready!
I use these in any color I can  find.
Cut waxpaper to the approximate size shown above.
Spread your glittery sprinkles in a line on the paper, again, as above.


4.Roll your cupcakes' edges in the sprinkles.
(no pictures of this step. sticky fingers for the camera!
The boys were off sweeping and readying the yard for the party that evening,
 about to start in just a few hours!
Lord knows I did not want to stop their productivity to catch a shot of this!)




5. Voila!
Done.
See, I told you it was easy!
Here they are arranged on a silver platter.
I  printed out my son's 
  party "theme" for each dish on the table and 
add a festive little sign to each tray.


Friends, thank you for joining me today!
I am gratefully linking to the recipe and homemaking hops on my sidebar.
Please join us at those hops for more delightful recipes and lovely creations!

Don't forget to subscribe to Campfires and Cleats
 by scrolling to the subscribe button at the  top left sidebar.
I'd love to stay in touch regularly.
Until next time,

~Chris

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Sunday Snippets: 6/9/13


Welcome, friends, to my spot on the web!
Thank you so much for stopping in today!

Time for Sunday Snippets, 
graciously hosted by RAnn 

I published  new content each day this week,
 but there are really only  
a  couple  of my posts which are suitable for link up
 with RAnn's Catholic Carnival and so, here goes:


Vintage Spring divider
I guess under RAnn's  guidelines, this one falls into the "cute Catholic kids"
category, as it is not "Catholic-related!"

My son demonstrates  fun, easy kid crafts and 
includes a 'how to' visit when he guest posted 
this week in part 1 of:

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Five Minute Friday: "Fall"
The rhythm of our days and my kids "growing up."


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Journey Toward the Sacraments
is my memoir Monday reflection 

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Because I've been so blessed in my blogging journey thus far, 
I'm celebrating my readers here, in
my blogoversary giveaway.
One lucky reader will win a cache of fun summer-y goodies, 
plus a 7-11 gift card and 
the brand new and amazing Catholic Baby Name Book
!!!

Vintage Spring divider

Friends, thank you for clicking over to visit my corner of the web today!
Please don't forget to click here to  see if you'd like to 
enter my giveaway!


Thank you, RAnn, for hosting!
Until next time,

~Chris

Saturday, June 8, 2013

My Blogoversary Giveaway: A Summer-y Cache of Goodies~Plus an Awesome Book!


Hello friends! 
Welcome to my corner of the web on this gorgeous, early June day!
I hope this finds you all well!
If you are new here, welcome! 
Please feel free to click around and make yourself at home.
Return readers, welcome back!



As mentioned  a few days ago,
this month is a blogging milestone for me.
I know. I know.....
Many bloggers  have been at this forever.

So although my blog is still a baby,
<<SIX MONTHS OLD!>>
I feel so blessed to have met the most wonderful people 
along my blogging journey!
Truly wonderful.
I need to celebrate by giving away 
  a few goodies and a wonderful new book!

So far~~~
six months of blogging,
  19,000+ page views,
 200 posts, 
repeat visitors who've become friends.
 from not only the USA, Canada and Mexico, 
but four other continents as well.
Wow.
Thank you.
All is grace.

Dear readers,
 you have blessed me beyond what I ever expected or imagined!

You are true friends who have taught me and inspired me.
Not what I envisioned when I opened up my  blogger page on 
the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe in December.
At all.
Expecting  simply to chronicle my family's  journey 
and hold myself accountable to my own writing.... 
...those were my goals.
Thank you for broadening, illuminating and enriching me beyond.
Really beyond.

With knowledge.
With kindness.
With faith.

You rock.


SO.
Here is the  fun, get-ready-to-pamper-yourself-because-you-
are- awesome
 stash of goodies that  one lucky reader will win:

OP flips flops and comfy beach towel


sunscreen: lipbalm and facial stick

Neutrogena  towelettes 
( I love these! They are facials in a wipe! 
Not that I ever had a facial. But still.)
Pond's face moisturizer and Jergen's body moisturizer
(sorry-I even tried retaking this shot and 
mixing up the spacing of the items. 
Can't get it right side up.
If anyone knows how to conquer 
this maddening picture turning Blogger quirk,  please LMK.)




Conair salon hair clip 
(Isn't it  lovely?)



AND all of your items will be packaged in this adorable pouch
 along with a Loreal nail polish, "Wishful Pinking."

PLUS.......
on the way to the beach, 
the pool, 
or maybe you're just grabbing a few minutes of relaxation in your own yard:
Grab an iced coffee or tea from 7-11~
There's enough on the card for two large iced coffees!
I was thinking of including a really cute mug as well...
Buuuuut, I'd worry about it breaking en route.


I had sooooo  much fun picking out these gifts for you, 
 my reader friends.
Now,  southern hemisphere readers, if one of you wins, 
I guess you'll just have to put this all away for a few months 
until your summer rolls around!
( I mention the brands of all the above, BTW, 
so that if you have any allergies to an ingredient or a product, 
you are aware of what you're entering to win. ) 

Okay, last but certainly not least:
One  item left in our gift cache:


If you are  not expecting,
 I'll bet you have a  daughter,  sister, Mom or friend who is! 
She will love it!
But, I warn you: 
You'll be hooked and might not want to give it away!
The research and details within on name history are gripping!

Here's how to enter:
1. If you are not already, become an email subscriber.
 (Go to the left sidebar all the way at the top of this page.)
Get ready for the cute verification note in the email you will receive. My son added that into my feedburner. He's a good kid to have around!

DO NOT FORGET to check your email after you subscribe so you can click to verify! If you do not do this, you will not receive posts by email.

2. Share this giveaway post on FB, Twitter, G+ or Pinterest.
Blog it or email it.


3. Leave me a comment letting me know you'd like "in" on the giveaway package. Let me know how you shared the post, okay?
In so doing, please let me know, if it is not obvious,  who you are, by stating in your comment, the first few letters of your email address. 

After all, she did author one of our giveaway prizes!
Leave her a little comment love too!

That's it!
Four easy steps!

The giveaway begins immediately and runs for one week,
 until midnight EST June 15, 2013.

The winner will be chosen at random, the old fashioned way.
All names in a basket, one pulled out.

There are so many lovely benefits to giveaways that I have held in 
the past....
developing friendships with new readers 
and 
deepening friendships with those who return......
I wish we could all gather at my kitchen table for a chat and a cup of tea.....
but since that's not possible, I guess this is the next best thing.

Thank you for stopping in, friends!

And while you're here, 
why not click over to my son's guest post from yesterday?
He demonstrates  balloon crafting in a "how-to" video.
East, quick kid fun!
I wish you a wonderful, happy, peacefully productive day!

Until next time,

~Chris


Blog post dividers courtesy of Cutesify