Some things just seem to hang around forever. In this case…I would be glad to see these go! Oh, I suppose they are not too bad…32 calories and 0 fat grams each. But,I have come to find that some people really love them. In fact, several years ago…my Mom said one day when we were in the grocery store together,”I could eat every one of those.” She was referring to a box that contained 4 colors of the strange little animal…24 total. I had no idea! I had never seen her eat one. So, we began getting her Peeps at Easter. And, did you know…they are available as ghosts and bats at Halloween. Also, as pumpkins at Thanksgiving, and bells and reindeer at Christmas. We would always surprise her with a new kind! But, lots of adults seem to like them, too! That’s a surprise to me!

There is now a Peeps Store, and by the looks of it, a Peeps car!

Some folks are even using them in their hot chocolate instead of marshmallows! YUCK!

Please, Oh, Please, do NOT let me find a PEEP inside my hollow chocolate egg!

Can you believe this? Now it is possible to get CHOCOLATE COVERED PEEPS! What a waste of good chocolate!

Maybe all you need is just the tiniest taste…here you go! Just lick your lips!

If your desire is to impress…here’s a ‘peep’ of an idea!

And, should you think that just because you need to avoid the sugar, you are bound to be ‘peep-less’, NEVER FEAR…here’s SUGAR FREE PEEPS!

This, my friends, is as close as I want to get to a PEEP!

It is hard to believe that Easter is so close! Time moves on and on, doesn’t it? And, faster and faster it goes!

Well…let’s talk about something we CAN do something about…..CHOCOLATE! Specifically Chocolate Bunnies! That’s the best thing in the Easter Basket in my opinion. Now, here’s the scene. You get up on Easter morning and someone (or some BUNNY) has left one of those giant bunnies…with your name on it. Be still my heart! You open the box and catch a faint scent of bliss..but as you tear into the cellophane wrapping, you breathe deeply and inhale the scent of the finest chocolate! Your taste buds are quivering. ……….

What? Who says you can’t eat chocolate for breakfast? Who is the boss of you? You, that’s who! Now…back to our taste buds…

You slowly begin to take a bite…….STOP!!!!! What part did you eat ? Now follow this link and take this test. It will tell you all the things you have ever wanted to know about yourself…or not! But, it is fun!

Now which part did you eat first…ears for me! Remember what the test said…

LIVE…….LEARN…….and most importantly……EAT CHOCOLATE!!!!!

While I was in Maui I found and purchased several kinds of shells. At first, I had no idea what I was going to do with them…just that I would ‘have’ them. And, then when Joy and I were in a wonderful shop in Makawao, I saw the most wonderful distressed box with shells covering the top. Arranged so artfully, the shells sat ‘just so’. Each was shown to its best advantage. Obviously the price reflected the hard work of the artist…the price was $125.00! Carefully, we put it back on the shelf. But, I began planning how I would create a box for my shells…which were just as beautiful.My plan was to purchase one of the unfinished boxes, paint it, distress it, then glue on the sheells.

One day this week, I was a t Michael’s and I saw some wonderful decorative boxes. I’m sure you know the kind…3 differing sizes and decorated with different types paper. I knew immediately that it would be mucho easy to do it this way. So that’s what I did. I lay down a bottom layer of smaller white scallop shells…then placed and moved and placed and changed and placed and hot glued. I think it looks really nice. It really will when I get out all of my beachy decor and kitchen ware.

I really forgot to take some before pics…so all these are afters.

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Did you know that you should wash all the shells that you get at the beach before using them? And, here is how… READ ON!

So you’ve picked up a seashell or two while on vacation at the beach. Many people do. They make a nice inexpensive momento of your vacation. No problem. At least no problem until you realize you and your bags smell like you haven’t showered, or as in our case, you jump in the car a few days later and jump right back out — it stinks! A good cleaning is all that is needed to destroy any odors the seashells might have. Knowing how to properly clean your seashells will not only get rid of the odor, but you may find you have a nicer looking shell without any algae or barnacles covering them.
Some areas in Florida prohibit the collection of “live” shells. These are shells with the animal tissue still inside. “Dead” shell specimens, which have no animal tissue inside, can be picked up freely.

There are several known methods for cleaning live shells. When finished, read through cleaning dead seashells.

1.Burying: This is probably the easiest, but takes a couple of months. Locate an area in your yard where you don’t mind digging a hole. Bury the seashells about 18 inches (deep enough so animals will not dig them up). They need to remain buried until insects, larvae, worms, and bacteria remove all the tissue. The longer you leave them the better. See step 5.
2.Freezing: Place seashells in a water-tight Ziplock?—¢ bag, cover with water, then place in the freezer (just like you would do to fresh fish). When you are ready to clean them, let the bag thaw at room temperature until completely defrosted. You should be able to grab hold of the animal inside and gently pull it out. Go now to cleaning dead shell specimens.
3.Boiling: Place seashells in a pot, add water, and bring to a boil. Let boil for a few minutes (the more shells the longer). Use tongs to remove one shell at a time. So you don’t burn yourself, grasp shell with gloves or a towel and gently pull out the animal tissue inside. See step 5.
4.Microwave: As long as you don’t mind the smell in your microwave, this is an easy method. The time it takes to cook your seashells can really vary by microwave, so just try it until you figure out how long for each shell. Grasp cooked shell with gloves or a towel and gently pull out the animal tissue inside. See step 5.
5.Bleaching: When no tissue remains, soak the seashells in a 50-50 solution of bleach and water. The length of time depends on the type of seashells and the quantity of seashells being cleaned. You must remove them after the “periostracum” is gone. The periostracum is the flaky, leathery covering that covers most live seashells.

A seashell that is found already dead is actually a lot easier to clean. Follow these easy instructions:

1.Bleaching: Soak the seashells in a 50-50 solution of bleach and water. The length of time depends on the type of seashells and the quantity of seashells being cleaned. Just be sure to remove them when the “periostracum” is gone. The periostracum is the flaky, leathery covering that covers most live seashells.
2.Barnacles: If there are still barnacles and other matter on the seashells, you can use an instrument, such as a dental pick, to chip off the material. Other useful tools are a toothbrush, grill brush, wire brush or a water pick.
3.Shining: If you want to give your seashells a nice finish, you can wipe them with a mineral or baby oil.

Cleaning Sand Dollars
?ĢIf the sand dollars are dead let them dry for a few days, then put them in a pan with a little bleach. You may need to brush them gently. Do not let them bleach for too long as they tend to crumble.
?ĢIf you have the time you can just let them set all winter and they will dry and whiten by themselves.
?ĢIf you leave sand dollars out in the sun too long they tend to become brittle and break easily. There is a commercial preservative that can be brushed on to harden the sand dollar.

I was reading a post over at Southern Lagniappe, written by my friend, Janie. She is a photographer of such talent! Every post is full of beautiful pictures of the wonderful things she encounters as she travels around her part of the country. Her post today is full of bumblebee pics, and they reminded me of an experience I shared with my boys when they were younger.

Anyway, as I was looking at the window, I saw that the wasp was working on a nest. It was pretty tiny. “I have got to get someone to move that screen and get that out before it gets too big, ” I thought. Yeah, right! I think great thoughts. I do. And, if I carried them out, life would be so much easier for me. But, they tend to go as quickly as they come…and I remember them no more. I don’t mean to forget them…it’s just that bigger and better things take their place!

Well, the next time I had any thought of any kind about wasps, and nests, or wasp and nests in windows, was when I was putting away some of Alex’s clothes in his closet…which is right nest to the window. And, this time I noticed several wasps flying in and out of the window, and the nest had grown quite a bit! And, then I did a strange, strange thing! I pulled a little stool up to the window and sat there and watched them for a while. I can be very brave when safe behind a glass! I quickly became engrossed with these tiny creatures. They would fly out and come back and work on the nest…then fly out and come back again. I think there were about 6 or 7 working there. It was sort of hard to tell since they were not wearing name tags. lowly, I began to see how the nest was expanding.
{I know this looks creepy, but don’t worry…you are protected by the computer screen! They can’t get to you!}

I was fascinated! And, then I called the boys, and Alex and Ian came and watched with me. Adam was too cool to do such at this point in his life…and Ian was too antsy to sit there for very long…but Alex and I thoroughly enjoyed them!

We watched over the next few weeks and several changes took place. First, they completed the nest. How do they know how to construct these nests? How do they know how many openings to have in each one? How do they know when is or isn’t the right time to build them? Look at the constructions of an empty nest…such perfect little cells.

The wasps began to work fast and furious…there were always workers there…and soon, we noticed this…{warning! kinda gross…} We soon realized that they were laying eggs in the cells! Well, the queen was, at least! But, we could never catch her at it!

Then the workers began covering over all the cells. It seemed to us that they were working harder than ever. Soon the entire nest…all the cells…were covered over with what looked like the same papery substance they built the nest out of…just thinner. We continue to watch…and watch…and soon…we could see movement in each cell. Those things were squirming around in there! This was not something that I particularly enjoyed watching. It really creeped me out. But, I wanted to see what was happening. I relied on Alex to keep me up to date when I just could not bring myself to look.

And then, one day…he told me the ‘things in the cells’? babies? wasplettes? were coming out of the cells. And they were. It looked as if they were pushing out. And, indeed that is what they were doing. Being born, I suppose. After they opened up the hole they would struggle up a little bit at a time and eventually they began to fly away. The workers were all gone. And, all movement had ceased in the cells that didn’t open. Only about 10 out of maybe 150 didn’t come out.

And, that was that. Wow! what a unique viewpoint we had on this buggy phenomenon! Alex loved watching it. Ian loved sneaking a glance as he quickly moved on to something more exciting. I loved watching it. But, I don’t ever want to watch it again. Because as fascinating as it was…it was also creepy. This look at the unknown was enough to last me a lifetime. And, now that I’ve blogged about it…I do not even need to talk about it ever again.

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But, I have to add this first. God is as glorious in the way he created the tiny creatures in this life as he is at creating the large ones. As much thought went into the wasp as went into the elephant. And, the miracles of life are not only the big things that are easy to see…but the tiny ones we very seldom see. God is great…in all things!

“How many are your work, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.” Psalm 104:24

“O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is your name in all the earth!” Psalm 8:1

“I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.” Psalm 9:1

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BTW…These are not pics of the exact event…I was not a blogger then and did not realize that every event of my life needed to be documented

My friend, Jewel, asked me to write her name in the sand while I was in Maui. And, I did!