Just Checking In...

To say these last few weeks have been a whirlwind would be an understatement. From VBS to work to family time to a weekend out of town to visiting all those who wished my well on my SITS day (almost done visiting you all)... I just have not had the time to sit down and blog. But, don't worry - I will be back soon and will show you all the things I have been up to.

Last Friday I headed out of town to visit my best friend Brooke and her family in Calhoun, Georgia (more on that in a later post). On my way, I pass through Rome, Georgia - home of the Rome Braves, Shorter University, Berry College, Harvest Moon Cafe and Honeymoon Bakery - just to name a few. Honeymoon Bakery carries some of the BEST homemade salsa I have ever had. It is made locally and carries the "Resa's Family Recipe" seal of approval. I had to stop and purchase some and thought I would carry a few 'treats' to her boys. I picked up some sugar cookies and then bought these yummy cupcakes for Brooke and I to share once the boys were in bed and we were spending time catching up!

If you are ever in the Rome area, take some time to stop and visit the historic downtown area. It is so charming! And visit the campus of Berry College. It is beautiful!

Until next time...

Sunday Song: The Words I Would Say

What's Cooking In Paige's Kitchen?

I am so excited to share a new blogging adventure with you! I love to cook and bake with both old and new recipes. And I love to share those recipes with you, but I did not want this blog to become a recipe blog.

A few weeks ago, I won a giveaway from Colleen over at Adventures of a Small Town Girl. It was a total blog makeover by Cristin over at Creative Creations by Cristin. I just recently had a makeover done on this blog and decided I was not ready to change my look yet, so I decided to use this total blog makeover to create a recipe blog.

What's Cooking in Paige's Kitchen? got a "Total Blog Makeover" today, and I am so excited to share it with you! Cristin captured my design ideas perfectly and I could not be happier with the design, layout and the colors!

So head on over and check it out! Grab my blog button while you are there and become a follower. I hope to post at least three recipes a week!

And... please go by and visit Cristin if you are in need of a blog makeover. She was amazing to work with on this project and captured what I wanted perfectly. Thanks Cristin!

Weekend Recap

We spent the afternoon with my dad yesterday to celebrate Father's Day! My mom bought my two nephews a new water toy to play with. Here are a few fun pictures of our time together.

Uh-oh! Got myself right between the eyes..

Love the faces of my four-year old nephew Connor..

Connor had more fun playing with the wiggle attachments on the hose than running through it..

Love this sweet boy..

He then went after my dad..

And when he wasn't looking, my dad got Connor back..

I would have given a penny to hear this conversation between Connor and my mom..

And then I ended my weekend with a stop at Publix to pick-up some yummy fruit.. Wish we had one closer to us.

Sunday Song: Daddy's Hands

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! I am at home celebrating with my dad, grandfather and uncles. Enjoy this Sunday Song!

Baking Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to all of you who entered my 'baking' giveaway! The winner is:

Sandi from Oh Baby! Custom Shower Decor... the blog

Congratulations!

P.S. I will be featuring ALL the recipes in the upcoming weeks! Keep checking back to see the recipes submitted.

Five Question Friday

Yay for Fridays... and today over at Mama M's is "Five Question Friday" so here are my answers. Head over and join in!

1. What is your favorite thing about summertime?

One of my favorite things about summertime is afternoon thunderstorms. I love hearing the rain and thunder, especially if I am at home and can take a short nap. I also love summertime because it means it is almost time for college football season. Roll TIde! : )

2. What is your ideal retirement location (if money didn't matter)?

I also thought I wanted to retire on the beach in a little bungalow right on the water, but the older I get the more I want to retire in the country, in a little white house with a garden. I want to be able to sit in a porch swing, read a book and bask in the quiet of the country.

3. Do you live in the same town you grew up in?

No... I left my hometown when I left for college, and have only been back to live there for a short while. I think that as my parents age, I will want to get closer to home to care for them, but right now I love where I am.

4. What nervous habit did you have as a child that you kicked to the curb before becoming an adult?

When I got nervous as a child, I use to talk A LOT! It was just a bunch of rambling words. I am much better at controlling that now.

5. What is the most embarrassing thing that happened to you while on the job?

Our school installed cameras in various locations on campus for security reasons. They are night-vision and cut on after hours when their is motion detected. One night after a basketball game, I needed to get a folder from my office. I let myself in the building and got what I needed. When I was leaving, I heard a noise in the hallway and turned suddenly to see what it was. When I did, I lost my balance and hit the floor, losing everything in my arms. I never once thought about the camera being in the lobby area. The next morning at staff meeting, our IT guy mentioned there was some after hours motion in our building and that he had reviewed the tape. I tried not to look guilty, but had no choice when he cued up the tape on the video system in our meeting room and showed my fall. You can bet I am FULLY aware of all camera locations now and try my best to avoid a fall in front of them!

P.S. Don't forget my baking giveaway ends tonight at 12 PM CST. It's easy to enter - just leave a comment with your favorite cake recipe on this post.

Easy Father's Day Gift

Several years ago, my mom gifted my sister and I with the above framed photo and poem. She also gave one to my dad, and we all have them in our homes, reminding us of the love between fathers and daughters. This would be an easy and inexpensive gift to make for the dads in your life.

Here is what the poem says:

Father and Daughters

In His eyes,

she'll always be

His little Princess,

the light of his

life.

In her eyes,

He'll always be the brave knight who slayed the

monsters in her closet, her hero, her protector...

As the years go by, her attention will turn to other

knights and handsome princes. One will win her

hand and carry her away to another castle,

but her brave knight will always be in her heart,

a shining example of all things a father, and a man should be.

If you use this idea, please let me know. I would love to do a post showing them all.

Look What the UPS Man Delivered..

I was sooo excited to come home today and find my Rachael Ray Yum-O Cookware set! The giveaway for the "baking" items ends tomorrow, so this is perfect timing. If you have not entered, please head over to this post now and enter. All you have to do is comment and leave your favorite cake recipe. So simple!

Next week I will make the winners favorite cake recipe and feature them on my blog! I will also have some exciting news about my "Christmas in July" giveaway week and a new idea I am working on.

Knock Knock

So many people have asked me where I got my "To-Do" notepad from this post. I bought it last summer in a quaint little shop in Rosemary Beach, Florida. But the company who makes these has a website - Knock Knock. On their site, they claim they "put the FUN in functional." Knock Knock was founded in January, 2002 by Jen Bilik. Their items were created to provide interesting, smart, well-designed gift and stationary products, along with anything else that might strike the Knock Knock fancy.

Go check out their site, and buy yourself one of their fun notepads.

Disclaimer: I was not asked by Knock Knock to provide this information. I did not receive any compensation or product for this entry.

I'm Speechless...

Wow! Wow! Wow!

What an INCREDIBLE day! I loved reading through ALL the comments left on my blog in regards to my SITS day, and am still reading through them. I am surprised my e-mail account didn't go on the fritz with all the traffic. You girls sure know how to make a girl feel loved, and it was just what I needed to start this busy, crazy week. I plan to visit each of you that commented and even added it to my to-do list so I don't forget.

Please forgive me if it takes a couple of days, but this is VBS week at our church and I am "saddling up" to teach our Kindergartners about God's plan for their life on Saddle Ridge Ranch!

Speaking of VBS, here are just two of my room decorations we are using this week. The first is my horse hanging his head out of the barn door greeting my kids to our room. Last night we had a contest to name him, and it was unanimous that he be named "Rowdy" since apparently that is how my kids described themselves... rowdy cowboys and cowgirls!

And here is one of the bulls that hangs in our room's pasture! They named him "Earl"... not sure where they got that name, but it stuck.

Thanks again to all of you who visited yesterday and left me comment love. Don't forget that the "baking goodies" giveaway ends on Friday, June 18th at midnight CST. I will post the winner on Saturday and will start featuring the cake recipes on my new recipe blog the following week. Head over and enter!

Welcome SITSas!!

I am so excited to welcome all of my SITSas from SITS today! In case you are not familiar with SITS, I will take a second to fill you in... SITS (or The Secret Is In The Sauce) is an online blogging community. The community is made up of all kinds of bloggers - new ones, old ones, young ones, mature ones... moms, singles... simply bloggers! Each day there is a featured blogger (today that is me!) and we are encouraged to visit and leave comments on others blogs. There are about 5,500 bloggers who are apart of this awesome community. The brains behind this great site are Tiffany and Heather, who do a great job keeping us all connected.

So... welcome to my blog and thanks for coming by to celebrate my SITS day with me!

So here is a little more about me... I am a single girl living in Sweet Home Alabama waiting on Mr. Right! I work at a PK3-12th college-preparatory private school and am responsible for the marketing/development programs of the school. I LOVE my job and am so incredibly blessed to work with our faculty, staff and students. I am very involved in my church and teach 4&5 year old Sunday School. I am an aunt to two amazing little boys and am very close to my family. I love organization and am a planner. Each Sunday, I post a "Sunday Song" for my readers so I hope you will come back and check out my song choice each week.

I like to cook and craft, but don't have a lot of time to do either. Here are a few of my favorite recipe posts:

Healthy Treat

Pumpkin Muffins

Holiday Hot Orange Drink

Homemade Guacamole

Chicken Stir Fry

Chetzels (Chocolate Pretzels)

I also enjoy hosting giveaways and reviews on my blog. I am currently giving away a "baking" gift for commenting and leaving your favorite cake recipe on this post. I will also be hosting a "Christmas in July" giveaway week during the week of July 12 - 16. For a list of giveaways and requirements, read this post.

Thanks again for stopping by today and celebrating with me! I hope you enjoyed visiting my blog and that you will continue to come back to visit again soon. I love meeting new blog friends and look forward to visiting each of you this week. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Sunday Song: Enough

Do you ever have one of those moments where you hear a song or your pastor says something in his sermon that just hits you square between the eyes as if God is saying, "Hey you! Listen... You need to hear this!"
I have heard this song lots of times, but this week it really spoke to my heart. He is ENOUGH for me and my needs. And yet, I sometimes forget that on days when I am trying to do it all myself and be in control.
I hope this song speaks to you in some way this Sunday morning! Have a blessed week.

Pear Tree Greetings

I recently won a giveaway from Mixed Mama Project to Pear Tree Greetings. Their site is dedicated to helping you share greetings and your biggest occasions in a truly personalized way. They have sooo many cute items!

And you can't beat their customer service! I had an issue with my order and had to contact the company on two different occasions. The response time and online chat was so quick and convenient, and the staff worked to fix my problems with little hassle. It is one of the best customer service experiences I've had with an online shopping site in a couple of months. Thanks Pear Tree for your service!

I loved how the items were each individually boxed for shipment...

I loved this stationary pattern and the colors... (sorry - the picture is a little blurry!)...

More great items...

Loved the cherry design on this one...

Simplistic, but elegant...

And these fun labels I will use at Christmas on my homemade "goodies" gifts...

Go by and check out Pear Tree Greetings! They have so many different designs and options that I know you will find what you are looking for and you can't beat their pricing.

Disclaimer: I was not asked to write this review. It is solely my opinion and I was not compensated or received any goods for this review.

Christmas in July - Giveaway Week (July 12 - 16)

The week of July 12-16 I will be hosting a week of "Christmas in July" giveaways. There will be giveaways from several Etsy shops, including those listed below:

**Little Bittle Designs

**Childish Thoughts

** All Things Pretty

** Sugar Owl Design

** Cutie Patooties

Entering will be as simple as commenting on the giveaway post for that day. One additional entry will be given for posting the event button on your blog by July 1. If you place the button on your blog, please let me know so I can track your extra entry. Simple and easy!

** I still have some spots available if you would like to provide an item to giveaway during this event. Please contact me at epfaulkner@gmail.com if you are interested.

Sunday Song: I Will Rise

Getting Ready to Saddle Up...

In one week our church will hold Vacation Bible School and I am getting ready to "saddle up" for an adventure on Saddle Ridge Ranch. The materials this year from Lifeway are so good and I can't wait to teach my kindergartners about the love of Jesus. The motto for the week if "Need Answers? Ask God." The theme verse is:

"Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him."

James 1:5

I spent a large part of today getting the rest of my supplies and decorations in order. I will post pictures later this week of some of my wall hangings and will also share with you some of the crafts we plan to do. If your church is planning to do the same theme, please feel free to use some of my ideas!

Here are the name tags we will use to identify our children and leaders in my room. The boots are for the children, and will have their names on them. The back will have our church name, Saddle Ridge Ranch VBS 2010, and the theme verse that is used that week (James 1:5). The sheriff badges are for me and my two helpers - Miss Taylor and Mr. Harvey. We will be the "Sheriffs of Kindergarten" that week. I thought they were so cute!

And for those of you who saw my "to-do" list post, here is more proof that I am a list person. Here is our planning chart for the week of VBS. I gave these to my two helpers and I think they both broke a sweat at the organization of it all. Ha! One is a college in freshman and the other is retired - and I am working full-time. This was a must for me to be able to handle the teaching that week!

Check back later this week for additional posts on our decor and crafts!

Fun Friday Follow

Stacie from Simply Stacie and Lynette from My Wee View are hosting a Fun Follow Friday. The goal of this hop is to be introduced to new blogs! All you have to do is add your blog link and start hopping.

When you visit a blog that you like and want to follow, leave them a comment with your link telling them you are following from the Fun Friday Follow. The main goal is to have fun and follow the blogs that interest you!

P.S. Don't forget to visit this post and leave a comment with you favorite cake recipe! There is a "baking" giveaway included from me.

Favorite Cake Recipes (Review & Giveaway)

The generous people at CSN Stores have offered me the chance to review a 5-piece set of Racheal Ray's Yum-O! Bakeware. With 200+ stores, CSN carries everything from bakeware to sofas.

I have been drooling over these baking pans since I bought my Racheal Ray cookware sets several months ago and am looking forward to using these products to make some yummy desserts.

But, can I ask you all a favor? Yay! I knew you would say yes.

What is your FAVORITE cake recipe? Post a link or the recipe in my comments section and when I try your recipe, I will post about it and link back to your blog. And as an added bonus - I will choose one lucky winner to receive a "baking" gift from me (some fun cupcake liners, sprinkles, all the recipes left in my comments, etc.). Easy enough!

I can't wait to get my new bakeware and share a review with you, and also to try some new recipes. So start sharing those cake recipes!

Working 9 to 5

Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living... except when you are working more than 9 to 5. This has been one of the craziest two weeks ever. You may remember my to-do list post and just when I thought I had marked the last thing off my list, my list exploded!

Here is a quick run-down of last week's activities:

• Awards Assembly for both schools (lower and upper)
• Awards Banquet for upper school
• Baccalaureate Service for seniors
• Graduation Rehearsal
• GRADUATION - Congrats Class of 2010!
• Post-planning meetings for teachers
• Launch of new school website
• Begin layout of all-sports program for fall season
• Begin closing out one fiscal year and planning for the next

In the midst of all this, our IT director is going to be out for six weeks and we are all going to pitch in to keep the technology side of things running. I also took a quick trip home for Memorial Day and am planning a week of VBS activities for kindergartners. This is all on top of my daily/weekly to-do list and all the other things I need to do (pay bills, run errands, grocery shop, etc.).

But amidst all the craziness, I am so blessed! So blessed to have family and friends who love me; so blessed to have a job that I love and amazing colleagues; so blessed to be able to teach children about Jesus and watch them grow in the Lord. SO BLESSED!!

So take a minute and remember how blessed you are, even midst all the chaos of your life!

I hope to be back to more regular posting after this weekend. And be on the lookout for a fun week of giveaways coming to my blog! More details soon...