I LOVE STRAWBERRY CAKE….

If I could live at the beach and cook all day I would be the world’s happiest person!  Of course I would want my children and grandchildren to visit!  BUT Seriously… cooking… I LOVE IT!

From homemade apple pies like Granny use to make to Shrimp Scampi.  I try with each meal that I create to make sure to stay on a budget which sometimes can be very challenging.  Thanks to many new coupon apps and my favorite stores having awesome sales I can usually come in under budget.

I think my favorite dessert to make is a strawberry cake.  I use fresh strawberries and homemade whip cream, which makes a HUGE difference in the flavor.  It is so moist and delicious.  And it is very affordable to make.

My fiance’s daughter got married last year, when she asked me to make her cake I asked “what flavor?”  Of course she wanted the strawberry.  I was a little hesitant not knowing how it would hold up being a 3 tier cake.  Most wedding cakes you eat are dry. You have to make sure your cup is full of punch to wash it down with. But I was going to give it my best shot to make her happy.

WOW… was it ever moist!  I was in total shock… I baked the cake 2 days before the wedding, kept them in the fridge until I was ready to decorate.  it held up great.  All of the guests complementing on how moist it was.  We took the leftovers to our home and even after 3 days later the cake was still moist.  I didn’t do anything special other than keeping it covered with plastic wrap. I was so thrilled… I had found one more flavor I can use for weddings.

I usually purchase the store brand items since they are much cheaper than name brand.  I can normally make this cake for around $10 unless I feel like cheating and use store bought whipped cream.

This recipe was given to my mother by a friend that she worked with.  But as all my family knows I tweaked it to make it suitable to our family. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have.

I constantly am reminded that God’s timing is no where near what I want it to be.  I pray for things and think to myself “ok I need this soon”… But God’s soon and my soon are two totally different definitions.

God promises us He will never leave us nor forsake us.  In hard time it seems like He has left us high and dry to deal with the trials and tribulations on our own.  BUT that is far from the truth.  Actually God is still there…. waiting until He is ready to handle our issues.  We just have to learn to trust in His timing and be patient.

Learning to trust God’s timing is one of the hardest things I have dealt with in the past few months.  Seems like Satan has tried his best to destroy my faith in God.  My life felt like it hit rock bottom.  No matter where I turned I felt like everyone was against me.  BUT that was just Satan trying to get me to turn away from God.  My lovely aunt reminded me that things happen for a reason.  God knows what he is doing.  She would say just like we as parents know whats best for our children, God knows what HIS children need.

TOUGH TO SWALLOW??? … Yes… trusting that things will be handled is one of the hardest things to learn to deal with.  It was so hard to fall asleep at night wondering when things would get better.

That’s when I begin to read the 23 Psalm again…

Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Verse 4 is my favorite…. God tells us that no matter what we are going through He is there with us and will protect us.  Once I learned to let go of my problems, God took over and, the trials in my life became a minor thing instead of the MAJOR issues I thought they were.

IF you are having a hard time letting go just remember that GOD is in total control… NO matter how big or how small the issue God will handle it…BUT you have to trust in him and allow Him to fix it His way.

A song the Crabb Family sings called “Through the Fire” is one I listen to often to remind me that God is always there, and things will get better.  And no matter what I will NOT let Satan win.

Sometimes I look around only to see the struggles that my friends are having and think “your a petty person”.  I feel sorry for my self but others are facing so much more tragic circumstances.  I have to ask God to forgive me for being so petty.  I have had friends who have lost loved ones, been through traumatic experiences, and devastating medical news.

Please remember Our country in prayer as well as my family and friends.  It is a struggle with everyday life for many of those around us.  We may see a smile on the outside of someone’s face but deep inside might have a storm brewing.  Pray for one another…

IF YOU HAVE A PRAYER REQUEST PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Well the past few months have been an absolute nightmare on the home front.  I keep praying things will get better… they do… then the train crashes again.  But I keep my head held up high knowing that God is in control and everything is going to be just fine.  After all he never promised that life would be easy, just that He would be there to carry me through the rough times.

I want to apologize for not being on and taking care of this website but I just felt that I needed to disconnect in order to gain composure and get a grip on what life has thrown on my plate. But I am back and going to go full force in making this work for me and my family.

My next post will contain things that I am working on to get back in the grove of things.  Please be patient as I try to embark on this journey.

Thanks

Kim

Get Dad a gift He will love

By: Kim Dean  /  May 22, 2018

{This post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my disclosure for more details}

So Many times we go shopping for Fathers Day not having a clue what Dad would want us to get him. Then if we even have a notion to ask he says ” You don’t have to get me anything”…. Yeah Right… If we didn’t not only would we feel horrible but what would he think of us?  Do they not love me enough to get me something after all those years I had to deal with them?

So I have tried to compile a list of the things I think Dad’s would love. NO it does not include that awesome looking tie I saw in the Department store.

1.  Flashlights – Dad’s always need flashlights.  Whether it be for his car or truck, the garage or around the house.  They are always useful and very inexpensive.  Here is a great deal I found on a Maglight.  I bought one for my Dad several years ago and it is still working.
2. Echo Dot Speaker – Who’s dad wouldn’t love to hear Alexa do what he asks the first time.  Unlike most of his children who have to be asked several times to accomplish one simple task, Alexa does it fairly quickly for good ole Dad.  I found a great deal on Amazon for the Echo. 
3. Portable Hammock –  Relaxing in the hammock after a long days work would sound so wonderful.  In fact it really is.  I bought one of these for myself and I absolutely love it. The MallowMe  Hammock is very lightweight but is weighted to hold up to 1000lbs.  So no worries about the kids wanting to join Dad while he is relaxing or even the wife on a late night date.
4. BBQ tool set – What dad doesn’t like to BBQ during the summer?  If he is anything like my husband he even grills in the winter.  I found a great BBQ tool Set I think Dad’s would love,  it contains all the necessary tools plus a carrying case to keep all of it together.
5. Folding Camp Stool – For the Dad who is into the Great Outdoors no matter if it is fishing, hunting, watching their child play sports or sitting on the beach, this Zology Camp chair is the best.  It has a insulated cooler for drinks, pockets for gear or snacks and is portable for carrying to remote locations.

So I hope that I have helped you find some different things that Dad would love at a great deal for this Fathers Day’s which is June 17.  I am sure Dad will love what ever you get him no matter what it may be.

Have a great week!

Simply Sweet Living

There are so many distractions that come in everyday life that seem to cause me to delay what I really want in life.  So I have decided to just jump in the fire and go get what I want.  Which is living simple with no strings attached.  To find my happiness I knew I needed have the ability to work from where ever I choose.  Whether it be at home, on a beach or beside the river in the mountains.  To accomplish this I had to get this blog going.  So here it goes…

First thing that needed done was I had no clue where to begin so I  set out on Pinterest to find the perfect solution for me.  I stumbled upon a free online course by Elise//House of Brazen. I enjoyed it so much I took the online course How to Make Your First Affiliate Sale in 24 Hours.  It is very affordable and I learned quite a bit. If you are wanting to make money at blogging I recommend this course.

I wanted a simple name for my blog. Something that reflects me as a person. So I chose SimplySweetLiving.com, which describes how I am perfectly. I love the simple life. If I could live back in the days of “Andy Griffith” or “The Beverly Hillbillies” I would be in total bliss! Church Picnics, Front porch rockers, family and friends is what I love doing the most.

As I begin my journey into blogging the first thing I needed to do was find a hosting site. I didn’t want to use a free site since I wouldn’t actually own my website. I wanted something that would allow me to keep my blog name.

So I chose to use Siteground in the beginning which I found to be a little difficult to navigate. So I turned to the wonderful staff they have and all the YouTube tutorials. I like the fact that it offers a monthly trial so there isn’t a huge commitment while you see if this particular website is good for you. Visit the website through this link to receive a discount.

I am far from being techno savvy so I need all the help and user friendly sites I can find.

There is also Bluehost it is inexpensive as well, you can find good deals on hosting if you pay for several years in advance. Of course doing this keeps you committed to sticking to your blog until it takes off. You can get a discounted price through my link here.

There are several YouTube tutorial videos on both of these sites that I recommend you watch before choosing which one to go with. I wish I had took the extra time to see how they actually worked before I purchased. It would have saved me much time and frustration in the long run.

Just remember while you are growing don’t get overwhelmed. You can always edit or add to your blog as you go. It takes a little time to get to where you can be financially in a good place so don’t worry just stick with it. I am trying to. As bloggers if we stick together we all can succeed.

There are so many of us in the world who are stressed to the max by our everyday jobs.  Working 8-5 then coming home to deal with home life is tough on anyone.  I wanted more out of life, less stress and the ability to go where and when I wanted.

My children are all grown and as a single mother I struggled every day to make ends meet.  If I had only known then what I know now things could have been much different for my children.   I will be a grandma soon and I DO NOT want my grandchild to go without because life is not fair.  Both her parents work so I want to be able to help ease some of the stress on them.

So I decided to dig into finding out more about blogging and what all it would take to begin to make money so I could eventually quit my everyday job and live my life simple.

I read so many other bloggers ideas on “How to” and “What not to” I was so confused.  So I decided to just take both feet and jump right in.

So begins my journey at blogging from home to earn enough money to be able to travel with my sweet parents while I still can,  and take care of my grandchildren so their parents will not have to pay the ridiculous child care costs.

I have found that many women are like me, they want to stay home with their family while earning enough money to live a comfortable life.  In order to do this I am going to try to put together the best information that I can to help others earn so they can live life to the fullest.

My first thought was “Oh NO… What have I gotten into.”  But then I realized that it isn’t as hard as it seems.  I am passionate about helping others make money from home, which helps a lot, plus I love to talk.  And writing is just talking on paper.  SO I thought to myself I got this… NO Problem!

So in the next few post I will walk you through the steps I have taken on my journey to making money.  Hopefully soon I will have enough coming in to resign my full time job and concentrate on working from home.

Have a great week!