Check It Out!

We have started a new blog for the boutique that I work at! Check it out! www.ozzieltd.blogspot.com
Soon they will be starting a website where you can do some online shopping. If you cannot make it into the store, because you live in another state maybe, you can still see the store, and even order some of the treasures it holds!
Thanks for taking a peek!

Ozzies!

I LOVE my job! Just a year ago I decided to take a break from teaching and become a pastor's wife again. I just didn't have to time to do it the way I wanted to while teaching at St. John's. It also seemed like the best thing to do for our family. I had my jewelry business, and decided to focus on it as my source of income, along with teaching piano lessons.

In the summer I began working one day a week at Ozzie's, LLC, a local boutique that carries my jewelry. My one day a week has turned into 3 days a week right now, and it is looking like possibly more. I am decorating the store, and I just LOVE it!!!! The ladies I work with have become some of my closest friends. They are so fun and so thoughtful. I also love all the people I am meeting working in the store. It seems as though we are not just a great store to go to to pick up a great gift, it is also a place to go to get away from your troubles. Many people come in to be cheered up on a bad day. I love being able to listen to their woes and possibly help cheer them up!

If you have never been into the store, and you are in the area, you should check it out! We specialize in accessories and garden items. We have great jewelry, purses, scarves, and shoes! The garden items are original and so darn cute! It is hard to work there and come away with a paycheck!

I am posting pictures of the store at Christmas along with the girls I work with. I will post spring pictures when the flowers are blooming! Stop in and see the "Ozzie Girls" sometime. We are located in downtown Corydon in the old Branham Tavern on Capitol Ave. We are about a block from the old capitol building.

A Feast for the Eyes!

So I thought I would post some pictures of our wonderful Italian night! There was more food than anyone could have possibly thought of eating. It was so AMAZING! Brian and Emma made Italian Wedding Soup (best I have ever had), Homemade Bread (the sea salt was a great touch!), Eggplant Parm. (some chicken for me and the wee ones, Yummmy!), and Italian Ice that tasted JUST like Johnnie's! Aaron and Michelle made Toasted Ravioli (from scratch, one of my favorite foods in the world, and they were awesome!), Cream Puffs (to die for), and Italian Cream Cake (this pictures says it all!) Rich and I took Sangria, Fettuccine Alfredo, and Goat Cheese and Garlic. I will say no more. The pictures tell the story!

Italian Night

Tonight we are getting together with our dear friends the O's and the G's. It is Italian night! Everyone is bringing great Italian food. I am bringing my sangria, roasted garlic and goat cheese to go on Brian's homemade bread, and my 4 Cheese Fettuccine! I thought you might enjoy the recipe for the fettuccine. It is really great. Not for any of you watching your calorie intake, but perfect for a fun not of no caloric worries! Enjoy!

4 Cheese Fettuccine

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 8 oz. package for cream cheese, cubed
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 cups grated Parm. Cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
2 1/2 cup cooked diced chicken if you wish.

topping:
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 Tbs. melted butter
1 to 2 Tbs. grated Parm. Cheese

Cook fettuccine according to directions. Meanwhile, in a large kettle, combine soup, cream cheese, cream, butter, and garlic powder. Stir in cheeses, cook and stir until melted. Add chicken. Drain fettuccine and add to sauce. Transfer to a shallow baking dish. I use a 9x13. Add topping. cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes until golden brown.


I will post pictures after the big night tonight!

42

My 42nd birthday was almost 2 weeks ago. It was one of the best ever! My favorite birthday had to have been my 30th. I have never been one to be upset when another year rolls around. I am not sad that I am getting older. I have never gotten all weepy when Ben turns another year older. That is just not me. But when I turned 25 and every year after that until I was 29, birthdays were difficult. I thought I would be married and have children by then, and there was not even a prospect of a husband in my life! On my 30th birthday I spent my first birthday married and my first birthday pregnant. No gift from anyone could have been as wonderful as that!

Turning 42 was not extremely eventful, but it was a great birthday! I had mentioned to Rich and Ben that I think the edible bouquets are really neat. When I saw how much they cost I told Rich that he shouldn't get me one. He didn't get me one, but he MADE me one! I was so surprised! It was so neat! He cut the pineapple like Mickey heads, the cantaloupe like stars, and dipped the strawberries in chocolate! It was better than one from the shop! What a great husband I have.

My mom took us to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I love going there! We had a yummy piece of turtle cheesecake. They decorated the plate for my birthday and sang. It was very cute.

My Ozzie girls gave me some lovely gifts! They are all so sweet! They made it a very special birthday!

On my actual birthday I spent the day judging Instant challenge at the Destination Imagination competition. If you haven't heard of DI, it is a wonderful program. It is a creative problem solving competition where the students are give and problem and have to practice solving it and planning a production. They also have to do an instant challenge. They come into a room and find a problem they have to solve without any prior knowledge. They have a few minutes to plan and a few minutes to carry out the task. When judging it is very important to treat each team the same so that their attitude is not changed and affect their performance. Our runner told the first group that we saw that it was my birthday, so she then had to tell every group! I was sung to 15 times! My friend Emma, who organizes the judging of Instant Challenge, put a candle in my danish in the morning and had all the judges sing to me. At the awards ceremony there were about 500 people. My friends Tyler and Mackenzie told the DJ it was my birthday and I had to stand up and have the entire place sing to me! When I arrived home there were three messages on my phone where people were singing to me also!

On Sunday our morning bible class sang Happy Birthday. In the afternoon we had our small group bible study and my friends John and Jessica had a cake for me and they all sang to me. I cannot remember a birthday where I had been sung to sooooo many times! It was sure fun!

Where is the priority?

I am proud of our country. I am proud that it seems that we have been able to let go of our hatred. Isn't it amazing that our country has elected an African American president! However, it saddens me when it appears that some have voted for President Obama only for that reason! I believe that is just as prejudiced as those who would not vote for him because of the color of his skin. I will pray for our President. I will pray that he can see the wrong in the killing of innocent babies. I will pray that he can hear God's Word and be moved to act in a way that is accordance with it. I want to see him do well, even though I did not vote for him. I also pray that people take the time to know the facts, to know what he really stands for. How well he speaks, how wondeful his family life seems to be, and the color of his skin do not make a good President. The issues and the decisions he makes regaurding them are the things that will bring about change in this country.

Holiday Catch Up Part II

After arriving home from Disney we were flung quickly into the official Christmas season. On Christmas Eve my mom had us all over for brunch. It was so yummy. We opened our presents and everyone was thrilled with what they got! We then went home to prepare for Christmas Eve services. Ben played the trumpet with his friend Tim at Lessons and Carols. Rich and I sang with the choir. Ben, Rick, and I also sang a song together during the offering. I was so thrilled to be able to do this as a family. Following the service we had the Oberdieck family, the Smith family, and our families over to our house for yummy appetizers. We even sprinkled reindeer food on our lawn to encourage Rudolph to stop at our house. He even think we saw he flying in. (Gotta love the red lights of the air strip!)

I awoke Christmas morning feeling less than healthy. Ben went to church with dad and played the trumpet with Tim again. My mom headed to Centralia with my brother. The three of us spent the day hanging at home watching the Disney Christmas Parade. I made turkey, mashed potatoes and such for a nice dinner at home with a fire. We also watched my favorite "Little Women".

On Friday I had to work at Ozzies. I felt so awful. My boss finally sent me home. She told me to go home and take care of myself. So I did. By Sunday morning I was at the Urgent Care. They told me I had Bronchitis and a Sinus Infection. We were supposed to leave for Peoria when Rich got out of church. We loaded up the van and headed on our way, but on the way there I became quite ill. The meds. that they gave me were not working well together. I was in the bathroom for several hours, and finally went to bed and slept the rest of the day.

On Monday we did leave for Peoria. I slept on the way there. I laid low while we were there. It was nice to be there together with family. We open our gifts and had a nice ham dinner. It was a nice trip. We enjoyed going to see "Bedtime Stories" as a family. Other than that we just relaxed and enjoyed being together.

Upon our arrival home Rich started with a sinus infection, and Ben is wrapping up the season with a sinus infection also. Hopefully we will get it all out of the way and the rest of 2009 will be happy and healthy!