And the winner is....

Thanks to all who visited Vintage Gardens and entered the great giveaway.
Random.Org picked entry #5 as the winner, so congratulations to Amanda Flynn!!!!
Please keep Vintage Gardens in mind for all your jewelry needs!!!

Thanks so much, Rebecca for sharing your shop and giveaway with us!!

A Cry For Help From the Bottom of the Font Barrel

(BTW, Still time to enter the giveaway! Scroll down 2 posts!)

.

When it comes to technology I am basically an idiot.

I came to realize this once again a few days ago when it was time to get a new cell phone plan and, thus a new cell phone.

I actually got a little sad about having to get a new phone.

Yes, partly because there were no pink phones available on the new plan, but mostly because I cringe at the thought of having to read an instruction manual to figure out how to operate the thing. I told Josh I would prefer that we all carry around a rotary dial phone....things would be much easier. (And you can bet that I will be asking him to program my new phone for me!)

Computers are even more foreign to me. It took me just shy of forever to figure out how to add a link into this blog and in the end a teenager showed me how to do it! (of course!)

Once again I am asking for help~

So if any of you know how I can use a cute font here I would love the help!

I have found a ton of adorable (and free) fonts online and pretty much know how to download them (kinda....not really)

But I have NO IDEA how to use them here on blogspot.

So if you can help I will be so grateful! Wish I could offer you a reward, but maybe seeing a cute font here for a change will be reward enough.

.

Lemon Butter Tilapia

Scroll down to next post for a featured artist and giveaway~

(You don't want to miss this artist, her shop is fantastic!!!)

A few nights ago I made Lemon Butter Tilapia for dinner.

I got the recipe from Simple and Delicious Magazine a while back.

I think it caught my eye because it uses Ritz crackers, which in my opinion, adds deliciousness to any recipe :)

The photograph of it turned out less than appetizing.

So here's a picture of Lucas's tooshie instead.

He's hiding under the pillows as I dry my hair.

Lemon Butter Tilapia~

4 fresh Tilapia fillets

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

3 Tbsp butter, melted

dried parsley flakes

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup crushed Ritz crackers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Place fish in 9x11 baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover ( I use plastic wrap) and microwave on high 3-4 minutes. Combine butter, parsley and lemon juice and pour over fish. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs. Microwave uncovered 3-4 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. (Cooking times may vary according to your microwave and size of fillets.)

.

Feature Friday Time!

Allow me to introduce Rebecca of Vintage Gardens~

I think you will love her shop! Her jewelry is stunning and so unique. And the photographs of each piece are gorgeous!

With so much to choose from I suspect you will find something that catches your eye~

Mother's Day is just around the corner and I bet you could find something for your special mother in Rebecca's shop!

.

I asked Rebecca a few questions to help us get to know her better~

.

Tell us a little about yourself and your Etsy shop~

.

My name is Rebecca Weldon. I live in Jacksonville, FL with my amazing fiance', Gene, and our two silly doggies, Angus the Bulldog and Frodo the Chihuahua. I love coffee, trying new recipes, karaoke, my family, and just about any medium of art. I have had a sort of obsession with art since I was a young girl…in the 3rd grade one of my drawings won an art contest that featured my work in a city-wide school calendar. I remember the sense of pride I felt and have been hooked ever since. I have a lot of creative energy. I get so excited over a new project that I can’t sit still and have to rush to the craft store on my lunch break to buy all the needed supplies, which usually ends up sitting in a bag in my craft room along with all my other great ideas and unfinished projects. O.C.D.? Nahhhh!

My Etsy shop consists of vintage and/or vintage inspired jewelry. I offer a variety of pieces from dainty to bold to try to reach all different kinds of customers. I am very passionate about creating jewelry, and I get so excited to see a new piece come together.

How long have you been selling on Etsy~

At the end of 2006, I started a shop on Etsy, The Artful Garden, where I created pendants made of polymer clay and famous works of art under a clear resin. I was actually doing pretty well with sales, but I got burnt out having to roll, cut and bake the clay before applying the images and decided to close that shop down. It was too difficult to keep up having a full-time job as well. So, at the beginning of last year I started Vintage Gardens and just recently have been dedicating more time and energy into this shop to hopefully make this one a success too. My goal is to eventually be able to quit this full-time job of mine and dedicate more of my time to Vintage Gardens

What are your favorite items to make and your favorite supplies to work with~

Currently, my favorite pieces to create are my silver and Swarovski crystal earrings that feature famous works of art, vintage maps and sheet music, etc. under a clear resin (attached below). They are much like my pieces from my previous shop, minus the time consuming clay. I plan to create lots more of these in the near future…so stay tuned! :)

Rebecca has graciously provided a giveaway for one of you lucky readers!

You could win these beautiful earrings!

Take a look at her shop then come back here and let me know your favorite item. Be sure there is a way to contact you in your post or by clicking on your blogger id. I will announce the winner next Wednesday. Good luck and thanks so much Rebecca!

.

Hey~ You're exercising too!

As a continuation of yesterday's exercise post, I looked up a few more activities to see how many calories are burned~

I am buring a hefty 10 calories just by typing this post

And you are buring 7 just by reading it!

Keep reading....keep shedding calories

(Or, if we would both just get up and put away that pile of laundry, we could really be working out!)

And the WInner is~

Thanks to all who checked out our feature shop: MichiganHemp!

Thanks to Theresa for letting us get to know her and for providing a great giveaway!

Congratulations to RocketGirl! You are the winner and I will be contacting you soon!

Stay tuned for another great shop featured this coming Friday.

I started exercising a few months back.

I have been hesitant to share this with you because making it "public" means I have to actually go thru with it, but I set a goal a few months back to loose 25 lbs. And I gave myself the entire year to meet this goal! :)

So far: 10 lbs down and 15 to go.

I alternate jogging with walking a few days a week and occasionally you will find me huffing and puffing around the neighborhood on my Wal~Mart bicycle.

I am not an exercise kind of girl. Not since high school anyway. Let's face it, lumbering down the street, my sports bra-clad-mono-boob bouncing all the way is not really my idea of fun. And it can be rather depressing when your workout attire is your old maternity warm up pants. (Not kidding).

But I am feeling better already. And I am proud of myself for getting out there and doing something to be healthier and get active.

.

I found a list of random activities and how many calories each one burns.

.

You may be interested to know that a 150 lb person can burn 90 calories by cooking for 30 minutes. So if you are cooking brownies, you could eat about a 1/4 of a brownie and break even.

.

15 Minutes of ironing and you'll have lost another 38.

.

30 Minutes of talking on the phone~ Wow! 36 burned

.

15 Minute shower? 72 down!

.

Maybe I am getting more exercise than I thought!!!!

.