December 31, 2010

Unknown Deceased Female found in SC in 1995, approx early 30's

Missing: Michelle Rego, 28, of SC

MISSING: Michelle Rego , 28 - SC

Michelle Rego (Source: Richland County Sheriff's Office)

LITTLE MOUNTAIN, SC (WIS) - A Richland County woman with a pre-existing medical condition has been missing since Monday.

The Richland County Sheriff's Office says 28-year-old Michelle Rego went to visit a friend on Leesburg Road that day but never made it to her destination.

She is also traveling without a cell phone.

She's described as being 5'4" tall and around 155 pounds.

Rego has dark brown hair and blue eyes.

She was last seen driving a gold 2006 Ford Focus with a South Carolina license tag number of GUG 834.

If you have any information on her whereabouts, you're asked to call Crimestoppers.

December 26, 2010

December 26, 2010 ~ Ok, so yea, we got snow (I told that ladybug we might!).

Forgive the pics, they're backwards, blogger won't let me move them tonight, and they have also sized them as small as they can. Sheesh.

Behind our local school:




Not ours, but cool : )

Mom & Dad's place


At a friend's place:

Drink much??



I've got my coffee cup from grandma's, let's go!!
Got your coat?
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!


Diehard church-goers : )

Baby, just stand there a minute so I can get your pic!
I'm freeeezing!
Wimp! LOL

Minnie can handle it!
Mom & Dad's from the side (my view of their home)
8 am What we had overnight
He's sleeping thru it all.



Misty

7:30am Had to wait an hour after I woke for it to
be light enough for the pics to show properly.



*sigh*
Typical SC snow, it will all be gone tomorrow, and we won't see it for another year, if that soon.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Happy New Year!


December 25, 2010

The Cell Phone

My son raised the question this evening: how long have cell phones been around. I wanted to be correct in my answer, so I looked it up. I remember my mother's first car phone : )

Interesting:

Unbelievably, the basic concept of the cell phone has been around for decades. In the nineteenth century, scientists experimented with using the earth's atmosphere to transmit and receive communications. There was, in this groundwork, the beginnings of the cell phone. It wasn't until 1973, though, that the first call was made from a cell phone.

In 1947, AT&T and Bell Labs requested that the Federal Communications Commission allocate more radio wave frequencies so mobile phone use could become more widespread. The FCC declined, and so there were only a limited amount of frequencies available. This meant that only about twenty-three conversations could take place simultaneously in the same service area. It wasn't worth any company's time and money to invest in the technology when it wouldn't be used in a more widespread manner.

Luckily, the FCC decided to allocate more frequencies to mobile phone use in 1968. This was the real beginning of cell phone use. Several small low-powered towers broadcast signal. Each cell covered a radius of a few miles, and calls could bounce between towers if they left the cell's range. Cell phone trials could now start, which they did with 2000 Chicago users in 1977. Cell phones have evolved from cumbersome, car phones to tiny phones we can fit in the palm of our hands.

Cell phones didn't become as common or popular until the 1990s, but they have been a work in progress for decades. Now, in addition to making calls, you can take pictures, listen to music, go online, send files, and much more. You can find out who owns a phone number, look numbers up, and communicate more freely with others. The cell phone has been one of the most important innovations of the past century and will undoubtedly continue to change the way that people communicate with each other in numerous ways.

Christmas Evening 2010


The child : )


I hope all of you had a good Christmas! Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Our day was small but fun. Just the kid, myself, mom & dad. Great food, gifts we actually needed, and some good coffee.

Zach got a new Vivitar digital vivcam from mom & dad so I've been playing with it all day. He got a cellphone (egads) from his dad and other grands, so he's been playing with that all day LOL

The artificial tree will be taken down tomorrow and since there wasn't much on it, it won't take me 10 minutes to pack everything back up. Just wasn't in the mood this year with being on the poor end of the spectrum and partially disabled. Just not up to it physically, but in mind, I'm all over it.

We're suppose to get 1-3" of snow tonight after midnight. We're in SC, I really don't think we'll get much at all. I remember hearing it last year and it didn't even rain in my area. We shall see.

Have an awesome Sunday!

UPDATE:
We got about 1.5 inches and up to 2 inches in some parts of the yard because it snowed overnight and all into the next day!

December 22, 2010

Little Ladybug


Photo borrowed from botos.com


Little ladybug on my window, you really need to find some food and hurry back into hibernation! Our local weatherman is calling for a huge cold-front Friday night.

I understand you'll be fine, but still...

Well, the NOAA has said our area has a 50% chance of wintry weather.

Yes, I know that's not possible here in SC, my dear, but why chance it?

OK, you take care now, and be careful.
Oh, and Merry Christmas : )


Freelance Editing/Proofreading


I have started editing what people write, from simple blogs to full-blown books. I take the content they’ve written, polish and edit it, then email or mail it back.
This includes blogs, books, journals, classroom materials, manuals, transcriptions, brochures, flyers, screenplays, research papers, and news articles.

If you need this service, email me at MissSlickOne@aol.com with "Editing" in the Subject Line. Tell me what you need edited, how many words there are in your blog (use www.wordcounttool.com for your online needs) material or book, and I will get back to you with a quote.

With simple things like a short blog, I can be done within a day, depending.
Books take about 3-10 days, depending.

(Please do not comment here asking how much I charge, because it depends on what you need done and how long it is. As I stated, please email me with the info.)

I've also gotten exited about getting back into freelance writing. I've been away from it too long... It's all on paper but hope to transfer it to my blog someday soon...

I've been writing books since I was a teen but never finished them, nor talked to anyone about them. I am looking forward to finishing that project as well someday!


December 20, 2010

"School-less"? : )

That's the word that popped into my head just now while trying to figure out what I was going to write about today - this first day of the holiday season for the kids here in SC : ) YAY! So starts a new couple of weeks, to refreshen, and relax!

My son & I 'celebrated' Saturday by going to his papa's place of work for a few hours. He manages a billiards room, and Zach plays for free against his papa when he visits. He has a blast. I hadn't played in years, and it felt good to 'get back on the table' again. I miss it. Then we had supper with my oldest, bestest friend. She was visiting from NC.

So now it's a time for newness, freshness.
We have the cold weather coming in making the plants go dormant;
We have a good bit of rain refreshing the trees and ponds;
We have berries popping out on bushes for the birds.
New things. Things we haven't seen since last Winter.

I pulled the artificial tree in from the porch last night. Something new in the house. The cats are confused. As they circled it, I had a spray bottle of water in my hands. Cat owners know why ; )
Today I will go through my old ornies and my new ones I received from friends this year in ornament exchanges. New and old mixing. Making a new-looking tree.
I will start cleaning certain areas of the house to welcome my guests on Christmas evening. I'll make some new recipes but mostly old, treasured ones.

Tonight will be a Lunar Eclipse, viewable from all places within the hemisphere where the moon is above the horizon. For us Easterners, it will begin at approx. 1:15 am and end around 5:30 am. The old moon closes out, a new one begins. Not really, but it will seem that way; like turning a page of a book, we will turn to a new morning.

Have a beautiful day!

December 18, 2010

Review for "Jungle Warfare: A Basic Field Manual for Christians in Sales" by Christopher A. Cunningham

"A 22 day power-packed battle plan"

I joined Booksneeze last month and ordered this book (free of charge) in exchange for doing a review on it. It's the only book they had available at the time but I was eager to get started and I love any Christian-based book I can get my learning-little hands on. (Always learning, never-ending!)

Mr. Cunningham uses the field manual his grandfather had from the U. S. Army, and combines its messages with the ways to be a Christian sales person.
Even as a home-based sales person, this helped me. I've been in sales all my life, from behind a counter, to selling housewares in a department store, to direct sales like Avon. You are always selling something, or trying to add something to the sale to make it bigger.
This book will make it bigger. And I don't mean with the ends being money. I'm talking about your mindset, your soul, your heart.
Are you always striving to be a better person yet the pressure of being better in sales keeps you in the wrong mindset? Using your head over your heart? Then this field manual is for you!
It starts every day with a story, a verse, reviewing your battle plan for the day, offering a prayer, recording your thoughts, and writing down your own prayer requests. You can read it at night if need be, but it works better to get your in the frame of mind you need to be, if you read it in the morning. Use it right alongside the Bible and you are set!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

December 15, 2010

Almost Done

I have another week in the book I am reviewing for BookSneeze and then I will post my review here this weekend... maybe Monday. My weekends tend to be busier than I expect, especially in December with all the 'parties'.
Until the wknd...

Sweet and Savory Crockpot Pot Roast - borrowed from A Year of Slow Cooking

Sweet and Savory CrockPot Pot Roast Recipe

The Ingredients.

serves 6

4 pounds beef rump or chuck roast

2 onions, sliced in rings

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup ketchup (I bought the Organic. the marketing worked!)

2 cups beef broth

2 cups baby carrots (optional--I've made this with or without.)

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put the roast into the bottom of your pot, and add onion slices, separated into rings. Pour in brown sugar, vinegar, and ketchup. Toss in carrots (if using). Pour broth evenly over the top. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the meat has reached desired tenderness.

If you find your meat isn't quite as tender as you'd like prior to serving, remove it from the pot, cut it into a few pieces, then return to the crock, and cook on high for about an hour. Tough and/or dry meat isn't from over slow cooking--it's from under slow cooking!

Serve over mashed potatoes. I made these---and the kids gobbled it all up.


crockpot365.blogspot.com

December 07, 2010

Pre-Review for Booksneeze

I am loving this book I'm going to review for them. It's a Christian salespersons field manual! How cool is that? It takes you through a 22-day training which is why it's taking me a little longer than usual to read. I was reading two-days in one night so I could get the review done, but I got a little thrown-off, so I try not to always do it. I want it to help me too, you know! I am a Christian and I am in sales (Avon and everything else I do in life)!
You will really enjoy this book.
Back in approx. a week with the review!


December 03, 2010

Recipe borrowed from "A Single Serving" blog by Shirley Anne Fifer

Cannellini and Italian sausage supper

Posted on 03 December 2010 by safifer

One Italian sausage provides seasoning and a bit of meat for two meals. The starting point gives enough for two servings. When I’m using the Italian sausage for two separate meals like this, I usually buy sweet instead of hot, since I can readily add the heat I’d like with crushed red pepper flakes at the time I’m preparing the meal.

§ 1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

§ 1 sweet Italian sausage, meat removed from the casing and crumbled

§ 4 cloves garlic, minced

§ 1 tablespoon olive oil

§ 2 cups cooked, drained white beans (cannellini or great northern) or 15-ounce can rinsed and drained

§ 2 tablespoon water

In a 12 inch skillet with a tight-fitting cover, add the olive oil; when the skillet is heated add the sliced onion, and cook until it is beginning to brown. Add the sausage and brown. Add minced garlic and cook about 2 minutes. Add the rinsed beans, and cook covered about 5 minutes.

Remove half the bean/onion/sausage mixture to be used for a second meal. Cool and refrigerate.

Meal 1:

§ Half the bean/onion/sausage mixture

§ about 15 grape/cherry tomatoes, halved

§ 1/4 cup antipasto salad mix (pitted olives, peppers, carrots) from the salad bar, chopped finely.

§ several sprinkles of crushed red pepper flakes

§ 2-3 teaspoons chopped fresh sweet marjoram or Turkish/Greek oregano, or 1/2 teaspoon dried herbs.

§ a single-serving size handful of haricots verts (longer, thinner type of green bean)

§ 1 teaspoon water

§ salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste (the antipasto salad is salty so taste before you add additional salt.

Add the herbs, the chopped antipasto salad, crushed red pepper flakes and mix well. Over medium low heat, add the tomatoes, lay the haricots verts on top of the cannellini beans, add the water, cover tightly and continue to cook until the haricots verts are tender. Serve with shavings of Pecorino Romano over the canellinni beans, and the haricots verts on the side, drizzled with a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil.

Meal 2:

§ the reserved cannellini bean/onion/sausage mixture

§ about 15 grape/cherry tomatoes, halved

§ 3 generous handfuls baby spinach

§ 1 tablespoon water

§ salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste

Place the cannellini bean/onion/sausage in sauté pan, add the water, halved tomatoes, and cover. Heat gently for about 5 minutes (until starts to steam). Add the spinach, cover, and allow spinach to wilt. Toss to combine with the bean mixture.

I had this with some steam-sautéed carrots as an additional vegetable. Add a glass of good friendly red wine and it’s a very satisfying meal that’s easy and economical.


Find her site here (single folks and single families, check it out, it helps a lot to not have sooo much food left over)! http://a-single-serving.com/

Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk recipe

chicken in milk

main courses | serves 4
A slightly odd, but really fantastic combination that must be tried.


Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5, and find a snug-fitting pot for the chicken. Season it generously all over, and fry it in the butter and a little olive oil, turning the chicken to get an even colour all over, until golden. Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate, and throw away the oil and butter left in the pot. This will leave you with tasty sticky goodness at the bottom of the pan which will give you a lovely caramelly flavour later on.

Put your chicken back in the pot with the rest of the ingredients, and cook in the preheated oven for 1½ hours. (Cover for 1st 1/2 hour). Baste with the cooking juice when you remember. The lemon zest will sort of split the milk, making a sauce which is absolutely fantastic.

To serve, pull the meat off the bones and divide it on to your plates. Spoon over plenty of juice and the little curds. Serve with wilted spinach or greens and some mashed potato.


Happy Days with the Naked Chef

ingredients

• 1 x 1.5k/ 3½lb organic chicken
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 115g/4oz or ½ a pack of butter
• olive oil
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 1 good handful of fresh sage, leaves picked
• zest of 2 lemons
• 10 cloves of garlic, skin left on
• 565ml/1 pint milk

December 01, 2010

James 5:16 Confessing My Sins

I was trying to start a new devotional with my 13 yr old son this morning, and only got so far before I started crying. It got so bad that I couldn't start again, I had to move it over to him and tell him to read as I walked away to try to calm myself. I feel distant from God again, and I am an emotional person, so this was getting the better of me. It took several moments to calm myself in my room. After I explained to him why I was so upset, I gave him a hug, we prayed, and I helped him finish getting his stuff ready for school, help find a hat, etc.
When he left, I just broke down. I cried out again, couldn't see through my tears, and made my way to my bed. I had the sense to kneel, but He knows my knee problem and I am sure will forgive me.
So there I sat on the edge of my creaky bed, crying my eyes out, praying hard, out loud. I felt the urge to pick up my bible and look up 'conviction'. What I found was 'confession'. I turned to the two personally written excerpts from biblical teachers in the Women's Study Bible I have in my bedroom. They talked about confessing your sins to God, admitting what you know of your sins, asking him to show you other sins you have committed, and then confessing them to another human being. (James 5:16 - Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.)
After crying it out, I was convicted by him about staying online too long playing games, and not spending time in his word which was sent to us from him to be read on a daily basis, sometimes all day if we fear trouble from satan.
What I was led to do next made me nervous - I was told to blog it. So here I sit, typing out my conversation (my crying) to him, and admitting my sins to you, whoever you might be.

(This first sentence is rough, but it was said)

I don't understand how a piece of crap like me could be allowed into your kingdom, but I want to be there. I want to go to heaven. I want to be with you. God, I need your help. I am so lost, so far from you right now. I have felt disconnected from you so long. I am a daily sinner. I stay online too long and I don't stay in your word like I should, your word that you sent to us to read. I know that I am a liar, I know that I still think about stealing (and I thank him that I do not act on that feeling). I know that I have lusted in my heart. I need your forgiveness. I need your love and I need your safety. I want your Holy Spirit to be in me. Please show me the sins that I do not know I am committing and help me face them and overcome them. Always keep me safe from satan, I do not want him in charge of my life. It is you I want in my life first, before everything else. I want to be reminded that I am to ask you first before I do anything. You are the one to be prayed to first before I make any decisions regarding anything in my life. I am to ask you what is to be done. I am to pray to you for comfort, for help, for peace, for love. God, you are the beginning and the end. I am to remember this, every moment of every day. Please help me. Please love me. Please forgive me. Please stay close so I can always feel you. I feel so scared sometimes like you have left me but I know you haven't. I know you are right here looking over me; understanding, forgiving, loving. I wish I could be just like that. I want so much to be like you. Oh, God, I love you, I love you, I love you. Thank you, Amen.

November 09, 2010

Black Friday Avon specials!!

Only a couple more weeks until Black Friday! Check out the home page on my Avon site and see what kinds of savings you can get by shopping with me on Black Friday 7am to 9pm! The earlier you shop the more you save!

Natural remedies to ease Strep Throat (I'm hanging on to this one!)

BE A PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN

BE A PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this;To look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James 1:27

What is "real" Christianity? Think of it as an on going relationship- an all encompassing relationship with God and His Son Jesus. It is inevitable that your life must be lived in relationship to God. The question is not if you would have a relationship with Him; the burning question is whether that relationship will be the one that seeks to honor Him or the one that seeks to ignore Him.

We live in a world that discourages heartfelt devotion and obedience to God. Everywhere we turn, or so it seems we are confronted by a mind- numbing assortment of distractions, temptations, obligations, and frustrations. Yet even on our busiest days, God beckons us to slow down and consult Him. When we do, we avail ourselves of the peace and abundance that only He can give.

AMEN

NEW Spiritual DVDs on sale now!

Amish Grace

Based on an incredible true story. In 2006, the peaceful community of Nickel Mines was changed forever. A gunman senselessly took the lives of five girls in a schoolhouse shooting before taking his own life. As the public watched in disbelief, Amish leaders forgave the shooter and reached out to his widow. Discover the faith behind the forgiveness—and the extraordinary courage of one grieving mother to find healing and restoration. Stars Kimberly Williams-Paisley


The Way Home

Torn between the demands of work and family, Randy Simpkins finds his faith and family severely tested when his two-year-old son disappears. In his darkest hour, the community responds, uniting behind Randy and his wife in a spiritual journey that will change them forever. Based on a true story. Stars Dean Cain


To Save A Life

This film will convict your teen to go deeper to reach his or her friends. Addressing the real-life challenges of teens and the choices they face, To Save A Life dares to ask, “What’s your life going to be about?” Its powerful message speaks to those who desire to develop a life lived deliberately for Christ. A great resource for youth groups.


WWJD: What Would Jesus Do?

The town of Raymond has fallen on hard times. When an ambitious politician starts talk of a casino, a drifter arrives and encourages the pastor and his flock to live life according to the precepts of Christ. Can the town resist the temptation of money? Based on the book, In His Steps.


Letters to God

Experience the inspirational story of an 8-year-old boy who finds strength and hope by writing letters to God as he faces his battle with cancer. This redemptive story speaks to the universal search for meaning and away your faith can help you face adversity in your everyday life.


Rust

Rocked by a crisis of faith, former minister Jimmy returns to his hometown and finds it reeling from a recent tragedy. Jimmy finds he must uncover the mystery behind an unexplained fi re and clear a dear friend. A story of grace, sacrifice and hope starring Corbin Bernsen.


The Love Comes Softly Boxed Set (**I love these!)

Get the entire Love Comes Softly DVD series together in one package. The heart of a young widow softens to experience love again, and an endearing family story continues through the children and grandchildren. This series can be enjoyed in or out of sequence.