Relevant10, the Goodies

Something I didn’t expect from attending the conference was all the goodies, aka free stuff! Each of us received a beautiful tote bag from Blessings Unlimited,  full of goodies, when we registered.  Since I live nearby, I came home each night and unloaded my cache onto the bed in the guest room.

Not only did we receive gifts from the sponsors, some of the attendees gave out little goodie bags too! Thank You! It was like Christmas!

Thank you to all the sponsors………..Yes, a necklace from The Vintage Pearl was in the goodie bag!

 

Tommy Nelson, Day Springs, LifeWay Women,

Family Matters, Tavern on the Green

Operation Christmas Child, DownEast Basics,

List Planit, Gift Basket Experts, Held by God,

Red Letter Art, Pix o Sphere, Manners Mentor,

4:10 Ministries, Kelly Joy Boutique, Global Outreach,

Country Bob, Marie Madeline

Click here for a link to each sponsor.   

Now how did I manage to get this gorgeous plate? It wasn’t in the goodie bag and I didn’t win it………lots of stuff was given away everyday!    I was gazing at it lovingly and was asked by a company rep if I would like to have it!  Yes maam! squeeeee

I’m still soaking up what I‘ve learned and heard at the conference and allowing the wisdom from all the inspiring speakers to settle deeply within me. It was truly an amazing conference and I’m blessed to have been able to attend.

Thank You sponsors for allowing it to happen and blessing so many women.

 

Debbie (((xx)))

The relevant10 conference part 2

As usual, I didn’t take enough pictures. I think I was star struck and tongue tied even though I tried not to be.   I did manage a few pics of some of the beautiful gals at the conference though. Here are Beth, the Stories of A 2 Z and Traci, Beneath My Heart. Beth didn’t attend the conference but lives nearby and put together a lunch meet up at Chili’s.

Kimba, A Soft place to Land and Jen, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, both with very successful blogs, were some of the inspiring and knowledgeable speakers for the sessions each day.

A few more fun gals and  awesome bloggers, Denise, The Cottage Chick and  Chele from The Bona Fide Life.

I had the privilege of eating lunch with lovely Myra from My Blessed Life and funny, but somewhat crunchy Cheryl from Adventures of a Somewhat Crunchy Mama.

 

Beautiful bloggers, informative session and  inspiring speakers weren’t the only great things about the conference…….there were the goodies too.  Lots…..

and lots of free goodies and prizes from the sponsors.

Day Springs had beautiful displays set up in the lounge area, like these from the Grateful collection.

Aren’t these kitchen towels cute? They’d really cheer up a kitchen or a friend.

 

Next post I’ll show you what I scored at the conference.  :)

 

Debbie (((xx)))

The Relevant10 conference

When I bought my ticket for the conference it seemed so far away. Now it’s over.

It was a big deal for me, a huge deal,  because I’ve never been to a blogger’s conference before and didn't know what to expect. Hundreds of women I’ve never met before, all ages and all blog niches brought together with a few things in common…..all women, all bloggers and all Christians. The experience is almost indescribable.

Amazing, inspiring keynote speakers were:
Crystal Paine, Money Saving Mom, genuine, humble, and wise beyond her years, she blew us away with her money saving and time saving tips!
From Sally Clarksen, I Take Joy, spoke of Peace
P  purpose to build a strong foundation, be loving
E expect criticism, please God first
A accept your limitations
C cultivate your heart for God’s message
E endure with grace, enjoy His fullness
"It's the living of life, not the writing about life, that is going to change the world.”
From Ann Voscamp, A Holy Experience,
"We need our messy, real stories... stories that heal two hearts: the reader AND YOU, the writer!"
"You are a holy wonder. Every one of you."
Angie Smith,  author of Bring the Rain, spoke of the loss of her child and I can tell you there was not a dry eye in the place. We choked back sobs and then laughed hysterically  as she shared  stories of her family life.
She asked us if we blog from the ballroom, meaning are we authentic? The bedroom, do we share things for shock value, have we set boundaries, does blogging affect our relationships? Or do we need to go back in the dressing room and come out clothed in the spirit God has given us?

You probably won’t read any negative posts about this conference because it rocked. If you didn’t get a big ole blessing well…..then I guess you weren’t there! The Holy Spirit was there in a big way. We felt His Spirit and we heard His Spirit in our hearts and through each speaker. Being in a room full of Christian blogging women wanting to honor Him is an experience I will never forget.
If you are thinking of attending next year, do! You will be renewed and encouraged in such a big way. If you need more encouragement just read all the tweets with hashtag #relevant10. Like this one, from Jen, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam putting blogging in perspective, “Jesus had only 12 followers and he lost one...how many followers do you need?”
Wow, just think about that! Christ alone is all we need, ever!
Thank You all, speakers, organizers and sponsors who pulled this together. Great job!
  If you’d like to read more about it click HERE.
I have some pictures to share and lots of freebies to show. I’ll post that next.  :)

Debbie (((xx)))

Apple Dumplings

If you like apples as much as I do, then you’ll agree that Autumn and apple dumplings were made for each other.
Just look at these beauties.

Making apple dumplings is a lot of work but totally worth it. So let the peeling commence.

Roll out the dough and make a pile of apple slices, add a pat of butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. I prefer to slice the apples rather than using them whole, but you could used a whole cored apple.

 Next, gather up the dough around the apples and press the edges together.

Put in baking dish and sprinkle with more cinnamon. In my opinion you can never have too much cinnamon!
Did you know that cinnamon is a antioxident? Sprinkle it on generously.

 Pour the sweet syrup over the dumplings and bake.

If you want to get fancy, you could brush the tops with an egg wash and sugar or even try a little apple cutout.

Here’s the recipe.
Dough,   Combine 5 c. flour,  2 c. crisco,  dash of salt,  1 t. baking powder.
Mix together 1 T vinegar and 3/4 c. water with 1 egg. Using 2 forks mix dough together, adding liquid slowly. This dough is easy to work with. I roll out small pieces of dough, making one or two dumplings. Cut off the unneeded dough. Reroll the leftover pieces.
Syrup,  1 c. sugar,  2 c. water,  3 T butter, 1/4 t. cinnamon.
Boil and pour over dumplings. Reserve some for adding later if needed.
Bake  at 350* until apples are soft.
Enjoy warm, so yummy and add vanilla ice cream or milk if you like.

  This is my Mom’s recipe and I can remember her making these for supper. We actually had apple dumplings as a meal. It was a special treat, but now even more special is the memory and her recipe.
Linking to Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Tasty Tuesday.


Relevant10 is only a few days away. It’s my first blog conference and I’m nervous and anxious  about meeting women I don’t know. I’m sure everyone else is too.  It’s so exciting and I hope I’m not tongue tied or too star struck to take lots of pictures to share!

Debbie (((xx)))

No more hole in the wall

The hole in the wall is gone and I’m ready to fill up the joints and git er done! Here is the first post about this room in case you missed it.
 
I had a commenter on my last post say they liked the little peek into the sewing room.  Honestly, so did I, but it made room arrangement difficult. While the room is large, it’s narrow and floating the furniture away from the walls just didn’t work.
It wasn’t an easy decision to cover up the hole but I wanted the TV up higher and out of the corner so the hole had to go.
 
We had enough pieces of old drywall, that I had used for practicing some sort of faux finish, to finish both sides of the wall.
This is what I was left dealing with. It wasn’t hard to patch this up because there’s a stucco finish in this room.  (My Olive garden walls.)
Here is what it looks like in the sewing room. Not pretty and this wall has a smooth finish so it’ll be harder for me to get to look decent, but I’m sure gonna try! At some point this room will be repainted too.
Next, the bottom of the hutch will be painted black and converted into a tv stand.
 
Since I have a huge tendency to get distracted, I’ve learned to set small goals to keep on track. So my goal this week is to finish the walls and get the hutch bottom painted. That’s sounds easy enough, I hope. Hubby wants help working outside and I have a ton of apples waiting to be pies, dumplings, and cobblers, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I get this done.
What are you working on this week?

Debbie (((xx)))

I was hacked

Here’s the scoop.
My Facebook was hacked and I started sending out stuff to my friends, like lose 9 lbs in 9 days and have you seen this cute baby. While not a big deal, it was a little embarrassing, but not nearly as bad as having my debit card numbers stolen.

Sadly, it’s true.
How did it happen? I’m really not sure. I think it was a fraudulent website, but it’s made me rethink the whole debit card versus credit card issue. I’ve always used my debit card. For me it’s easier than using cash, but I’m using it as a credit card now, reducing the risk of opening up my checking account to the world. Read this about stolen debit cards.
It’s scary. From About.com, When you use plastic at some retailers (gas stations in particular), they 'block' your card. This means they authorize and reserve money in your account - typically $50 to $100. They don't know exactly how much you'll buy, but they want to make sure you can afford it. If you only buy $20 worth of gas, they won't release the remaining amount immediately -- it can take several days. During that time, you don't get to use the blocked money and you might bounce checks or incur overdraft charges.
  It’s better to use your pin number at an ATM machine for cash.




My account had transfers from a personal line of credit to my checking account for a few thousand dollars to buy airline tickets in London. The way my bank works, the money was automatically transferred because there weren’t enough funds in the checking account. Transactions for $300, $1400, $919, and $214. Almost 3 grand!
I was shaking when I discovered this. Was I shook up, wow!  I was ballistic with heart pounding panic. Thankfully I’m not liable. My bank is working with me and I’m filing a police report. It won’t get fixed overnight but it will get worked out.
Be careful. That’s why I’m sharing this. Don’t think it can never happen to you because it definitely can.
 
Have you experienced anything like this? I'd really appreciate hearing your story. Got any tips to share?

And one more thing,
I feel sometimes as bloggers we put too much of ourselves out there. Our names, kids names, the towns we live in, even when we are going out of town. All I’m saying is, be careful, especially if you have blog stalkers or mean commenters because you just never know how mean some people can be. 

Debbie (((xx)))

Upcoming CSN review

Please click over to my review page for an upcoming review for CSN stores.  Thanks :)