Wednesday, December 18, 2019

IT's so pretty...I just can't unwrap it!!!

You know how some people look at a beutifully wrapped present and the like gasp, like, "OMW!!! The wrapping is soooooooooo BEAUTIFUL!!! I don't even wanna OPEN it cuz I'll RUIN the wrapping!!!" Then they proceed to take like ten minutes NEATLY unwrapping the gift and your just standing there like, OH COME ON!!! Just OPEN IT!!! Ahahahaha!!! Weeeeeeeeeellllllll...the WAY I ROLL is...
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I just make sure people 
WANNA OPEN MY PRESENTS!!!
No overly beautiful wrapping for this sista!!! Like, sometimes I don't even use a scissor to cut the paper...ahahahaha!!! LOL! I informed everyone of this Sunday night when we went out for a birthday and everyone busted up laughing...especially when I passed over the birthday present I had wrapped!!!
 😂😂😂 
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BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
♥Mary Frances :)

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Break-through!!!

I have an announcement to make!!!
As of YESTERDAY MORNING...
I lost all 4 pounds I 
gained on Thanksgiving!!! 
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Juuuuuuust kidding!!!! That's NOT my actual announcement although I DID lose it!!! Hee, hee!!!! My announcement is that: I'm officially the lowest weight I've been my WHOLE ADULT AND TEEN LIFE!!! I mean, I had originally gotten there when I got to 279, buuuuuuuuuuut since then I've gotten down to 245 two times then gotten stuck there and gone back up a bit, then down to the same and back up a bit, buuuuuuuuuuuuut I finally broke through the 245 mark and got to 244 yesterday morning! My goal for this year is to get down to 235 and IF I can't make it to that, AT LEAST 239...I really think I can do it!!! 

♥Mary Frances :)
P.S. Isn't my sweater THE PERFECT thing to be wearing for this??? This struggle is real my friends, it REALLY IS!!! 

Thursday, December 12, 2019

12 Apostolic Days Of Christmas!!!

I saw this post from 2010 and thought it was indeed time to repost an enjoy again
12 Apostolic Days Of Christmas
By JSC
On the twelfth day of Christmas
my Apostolic friends gave to me...

12 cans of hairspray...



11 preachers preaching...


10 Bible studies...



9 potluck dinners...



8 packs of bobby pins...

7 days of fasting...


6 Gospel CDs...

5  looooooong skirts...


4 restaurant choices...


3 days of conference...

2 suits and ties...
0 Wedding Rings
Image result for No wedding ring
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Annnnnnnnnnd a
King James Holy Bible!!!

Does this sound like an Apostolic Christmas OR WHAT?!?!!?! HAHA!
MERRY CHRISTMAS my friends!!! :]
♥Mary Frances :)

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Fried Rice???

Okaaaaaaaaay this story just cracks me up!!! Its NOT even MY STORY, buuuuut its soooooo funny I have to share it!!! So my sister works for a Chinese family and the mom was telling her that they were traveling at Christmas time to visit family and that they were taking a box with them on the plane with some kind of expensive meat that they couldn't get wherever they were going.
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So she says that they're going through security and the TSA worker asks her a question about her box. AND she THOUGHT that he asked her if she had any FRIED RICE in there? And she was like, EXCUSE ME??? What did you say to me???? And the workers like, "Do you have any DRY ICE in there??? And she goes OH, I thought you asked me if I had any FRIED RICE in there???
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AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! That seriously CRACKS me up!!!
Do you have any FRIED RICE???
No, no, I said...
 DRY ICE!!!
Dry ice
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
♥Mary Frances :)
P.S. I dont' get WHY people get offended when you relate a certain kind of food to them because of their ethnicity!!! If someone asked me if I had lasagna in my suitcase...I would NOT get mad!!! ITALIANS BE PROUD!!! Plus There's PROBALBY a good chance there actually IS!!! AHAHAHA!!!

Monday, December 9, 2019

Happy Monday!!!

Hiked into heaven this morning...
My Mom says HI!!!


♥Mary Frances :)
P.S. Isn't this the coolest picture everrrrr?!!?!  And guess what?! Little O took it!!! I have to say, I'm training him well!!!! If anyone wants to edit this pic so that the road I'm on is gold...so it looks like streets of gold...that would be superrrr COOL!!! It would really look heavenish then!!!

Friday, December 6, 2019

Grandpa's Cookies

Red and white dough twisted together, infused with peppermint flavoring and little pieces of peppermint candies- Grandpa’s Candy Cane Cookies. 
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Shortbread dough dipped in milk then rolled in sesame seeds, cooked until golden brown. Best served while still warm with hot chocolate- that’s Grandpa’s Sesame Seed Cookies.
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 As one takes a bite of this next cookie their mouth will be filled with a variety of delightful goodness. This cookie is crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. It is filled with the sweetness of almond paste and yet salty from the taste of pine nuts- these are Grandpa’s Pinoli Cookies. 
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The all around favorite cookie is a 3-layered, Neapolitan-Italian-flag cookie. In between each layer is a filling of fruit preserves and topped with a thin layer of melted chocolate. Once the chocolate is hardened they are cut into tiny, bite-size squares. We simply call these- Grandpa’s Three-Colored Cookies...
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Every year, at the end of November, my Grandfather, Joseph Mangino, a retired New York City Policeman, would begin his holiday baking. Grandpa was a big man with broad shoulders, a loud booming voice, chubby cheeks a big smile and a twinkle in his eye. Everyone loved his baking and looked forward to it. Then one year everything began to change. .
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I don’t know Franny,” my grandpa says to his daughter who is my mom. “I don’t think I am going to be able to send cookies out to everyone this year.”

“Why not?” Asks my mom.
“I just don’t feel up to it,” he says with a sigh. “I don’t think I could get it all done.” I couldn’t imagine Christmas without Grandpa’s baking. It was a part of who he was and a part of what made Christmas.
“We’ll help you make them,” says my mom. “You can teach the girls. They need to learn anyways.”
.So the baking lessons began…The thing about Grandpa’s baking lessons was that it didn’t matter if you already knew how to bake. When you were in HIS kitchen, you did things HIS way! I remember standing in the kitchen one day after putting all of the dry ingredients in a bowl; I got out the hand mixture to blend it real well. I plugged it into the wall then stuck it into the bowl, which was on the kitchen counter.
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“Uh, uh,” said Grandpa. “Stick the bowl in the sink and then begin mixing it. This way if any of the flour comes out it will go in the sink.”
“Okay Grandpa,” I said. Next I got out the eggs and began cracking them into the bowl.
“Uh, uh,” said Grandpa. You gotta get a separate bowl and crack each egg individually to make sure the egg is good. Otherwise if one egg is bad it will ruin the whole batter.”
“Okay Grandpa,” I said. I began rolling the cookies out and putting the lumps on the cookie sheets.
“Uh, uh,” said Grandpa. “Those cookies are way to big. Make them smaller.”
“Okay Grandpa,” I said with a sigh.
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When I would get something right Grandpa would nod his head in approval.
“Atta girl Maria, atta girl.” Then when I would take the cookies out of the oven and they were just right Grandpa would smile. “Beautiful, beautiful,” he would say taking a bite.
So became our tradition, each year at Christmas time, my mom, my sister and I would take turns on different days baking cookies with Grandpa.
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“You gotta get this right Mary” Grandpa said to me one year as I baked. “I might not be here next year to show you how to do it.” I was startled to hear him say this.
“Don’t say that.” I said looking up from what I was doing. I couldn’t imagine him not being here.
“Well you never know,” said Grandpa. “Everyone dies some time.”

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We all knew that Grandpa was getting weaker with each passing year. His body was deteriorating from Parkinson disease, but we didn’t want to think about it.
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Then one day it happened. Grandpa died. I remember sitting in his recliner in the living room watching as early in the morning two men from the mortuary came to take his body away. A soft blue blanket covered him as the men rolled his stretcher down the hallway, through his kitchen and out of his house. It took a while for the reality of the situation to really sink in. Grandpa was gone.
However the things that he taught us still live on...
As Christmas time comes around my family and I begin our baking. It’s a family thing and my brother John has picked up the role of BOSSING everyone around now. Through the laughter and teasing of who broke the cookies and who cooked them too long, I remember Grandpa’s words to me;
“You gotta get this right Mary, I might not be here next year.”
“ Don’t worry Grandpa. I promise, I am going to get it right!”
I start mixing the ingredients in a bowl on the counter. Then I remember and put the bowl in the sink. I pull out a separate bowl for the eggs and hope the cookies aren’t too big. As I take the cookies from the oven, I know Grandpa would be smiling, nodding his head in approval, satisfied in knowing that his cookies are still being baked. If I listen closely as I take a bite of a cookie I think I hear Grandpa.
“Atta girl Maria, atta girl.” I take another bite and savor the taste. “Beautiful, beautiful!”


♥Mary Frances :)

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Getting older...it's all good!!!

Sometimes, when I hear my friends and peers complaining about getting older...I just can't fully relate...I don't feel older and I don't mind saying that I'm almost 40!!! (ok, in 4.5 years buuuut I'm closer to 40 now than 30;) 
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Buuuuuuuuuuuut when I friend recently sent me a comparison photo, I realized WHY perhaps I don't mind getting older...
Check this out!!!! 
I don't particularly relate, looking good and feeling good and good health, TO MY AGE!!! I feel better older, than I did younger!!! It's been a looooooong journey, and I'm not completed yet, buuuuuuuuuuut thank God for his help in getting me where I am today!!! God's given me A LOT of tools that I've had to choose to use and work with to get here, buuuuuuuut ultimately, I couldn't have done it without God's help!!! 
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I meant to say this on Thanksgiving but ran out of time to post about it, but I really am SOOOOOOOOOOOO THANKFUL for my health! To be able to freely do active things and enjoy life to the fullest is such an amazing gift!!! Thank you Lord!!! 

♥Mary Frances :)

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Meeting Santa!!!

Sooooooo it was literally THE CUTEST thing everrrr last year...I just gotta remember it all over again!!! We went to a little kids Christmas play and as we were walking in, there was a group of people there for another show and OF COURSE little O just has to talk to everyone on our way into the theatre! Hi! I'm Odin, what's your name?
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 So he sees this husky, older gentleman, wearing khacki slacks and a plaid shirt and who just happened to have a white beard and he greets him as usual, "Hi, I'm Odin!" and the man says back to him, I'm Santa Clause!
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Odin just stops dead in his tracks, mouth agape, his WHOLE FACE JUST LIGHTS UP in sheer shock and joy! Then, without saying anything, he just walks over to the man and throws his arms around him in a HUGE ODIN HUG!!! 
The look on his face was liiiiiiiike NO WAY, I'M ACTUALLY MEETING SANTA!!! Everyone was laughing soooooooo hard and it completely made the man's night!!! It was literally THE CUUUUUTEST, FUNNIEST THING EVERRRRRR!!! Gotta love this kid, there's just no one quite like him!!! 
♥Mary Frances :)

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

If MY MOM was Rudolph!!!

Soooo one day, while my mom was alive, her and I were doing some Christmas baking at her house. We're just mixin an stirring, listenening to Christmas music, havin a good sweet, mother/daughter time together.
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All of the sudden, over the radio comes on the song Rudolph The Red Nosed Raindeer! I've always liked this song, you know, its just kind of happy and fun....WELLL...My mom is like, "YOU KNOW, I've NEVER understood this song!!!" [So i'm thinkin like oh great, here comes a lecture about how this song has NOTHING to do with the birth of Christ...(Which is TRUE...BUT...its still a fun favorite of mine)] so she is like, "I've NEVER understood this song" ...she pauses then continues... 
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"if I WERE Rudolph, her NYC accent kicks in like she never left 30 years ago, I would have just told THOSE OTHER Raindeers WHATS UP!!!" She's like waving flour in her hands, "I wouldn't of let them treat me like that!!! I just woulda let them know!!!" 
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AHAHAHAHAAA!  I was  laughing soooo hard! "I'm like, "MOM, I'm SURE YOU WOULD HAVE!!! I'm SURE YOU WOULD HAVE!!!" (You know, MY MAMMA AIN'T NO ONES DOOR MAT!!! Trust me!!! ;)
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Sooooooooo I saw this and thought...
IF my mom HAD BEEN RUDOLPH!!!
Those Deers are BLESSED, that MY MAMMA wasn't Rudolph...
THEY REALLY ARE!!! BAHAHAHA!!!
I seriousley have THE AWESOMEST MOM EVER!!!
♥Mary Frances :)

Monday, December 2, 2019

Happy Monday!!!

Let the Christmas
Joying begin!!!
Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime
What will you do this week to put some
 Christmas Joy into someone's life???
♥Mary Frances :)

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Happy Sunday!!!

You guys...it's CHRISTMAS TIME!!!
New quotes bible christmas advent calendar 57 ideas #quotes
Take some time this year, with your family, friends or even just yourself,
 to put MORE JESUS into our festivities!!! You can neverrr have TOO MUCH of Jesus!!! :)))
 
♥Mary Frances :)Marks of a Christ Centered Home. #home #Christcentered #marksofhome #goodhome #parenting #Christmas