It's Here, It's Here...the most Wonderful night of the year! HALLOWEEN

 

(A house near me)

 

hAPPY hALLOWEEN eVERYBODY!  i am sitting here at work looking at the clock like a little kid.  just 60 more minutes and i can get onto the haunting.  The candy is all ready  to be passed out, i will be bringing the animated witch and grape vine lighted pumpkin out frong when I get home.

 

Last night my friend and i made legs to stick out from under the bush on the walkway they came out good but i have to upload my pictures from my camera then i will post them.

my pumpkin I did a few years ago

Tonight they are having a live ghost hunters on t.v. that should be good to watch after the little trick or treaters are done for the night.  Dave is hoping we have no kids he wants all the candy for himself!

 

HAVE A HAPPY HAUNTED HALLOWEEN!

 

Something Important to Help Save Military Animals...please Sign petition

I did not want to forget to post this, please read this and if you agree please, please, please sign the petition.  It is basically stopping the military from confiscating and killing soldiers animals they have saved and who have comforted them.  I will be doing my Halloween post later but did  not want to forget to put this up.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/change-military-policy-about-animals


If you would like to help get it out to more people put the link in your blog or send out in email.

Thanks!

There are still wonderful people out there!

 

I was just perusing the news headlines and this one caught my eye.  In this crazy world there are still some great, selfless people out there.  Check it out:

DALLAS —  A Texas woman went to a housing auction distraught about the prospect of watching strangers bid on her foreclosed home.

Then one of those strangers bought it back for her.

Now Tracy Orr can return to her Pottsboro home, making payments to the woman who unexpectedly and impulsively bought it for her.

"It means so much to all of us," Orr told Dallas television station WFAA. "It's not just a house."

Marilyn Mock said she was acting on instinct on Saturday when she decided to buy a house she had never seen for a woman she had never met. Mock was at the foreclosure auction to help her 27-year-old son bid on a house when she struck up a conversation with Orr, who was crying about losing her home.

Orr had bought the house for $80,000 in 2004 but fell behind on the payments. She lost her job a month after taking out the loan, and earlier this year she lost the house. On the spot, Mock decided to buy it, eventually bidding $30,000.

"She didn't even know if I had a job or was a nut case," Orr said in a story for Wednesday's online edition of The Dallas Morning News. "She didn't even see a picture of the house."

Mock told a crying Orr she could stay in the house, making payments to her instead of a bank.

"She needed help. That was it," Mock told the newspaper. "I just happened to be there and anybody else would have done the same thing."

Orr said she hopes others will do as Mock did.

"More than my house, she gave me something inside, and that's more important than material or financial things," she said.

The two are waiting on final approval from Fannie Mae before visiting the home.

Mock's son also got a home at the auction.

 

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How great is that!!??  That lady just changed the course of someone's life.  I wish I had money to help people who lose there home to foreclosure. It is such a tragedy and something that should not have happened in this country but I guess it is going to get worst before it gets better.

My friend Lori posted things she is thankful for on her blog, she called it Thankful Thursday....now I am pretty sure she got the idea from another fellow blogger/J-Lander but I can not recall her name.

Well here is my list to be thankful for today:

1. I am thankful I have a good job that is secure in these hard times, I do not have to worry about not being able to pay any of my bills.

2.  I am thankful I have a roof over my head, and food in the fridge some people do not.

3. I am thankful I have a good man and monster kitten.

4.  I am grateful for all the things I take for granted everyday and do not think twice about because I really should.

It is always good to give back so instead of being lazy I am going to go home and go through my clothes and bring a big bag down to good will (I always give hardly used and washed items.)

Everyone have a great day!

Does the RMV in your town *$%* too?....along with other things

 

Is it me or does the Registry of Motor Vehicles just go out of their way to make people miserable?  I have had 3 phone calls from customer's today yelling at me about the Registry ( do not work for the Registry I just sell insurance.  The more they can ruin your day I think the happier they are.  I had one client tell me the lady turned him away with a big 'ole grin.  Just a survey does the RMV or DMV stink where you live too?

I hate the registry!

I went to the grocery store at lunch and did my grocery shopping for the week (I fly through the store like a maniac).  I was able to get a whole shopping cart full of food and get back to work in 30 minutes! Of course the one thing I needed to get "Halloween Candy", I forgot.  GRRRR!

I seem to be fighting off a cold and fell kind of crabby today, I do not like being sick.  I got these pictures  in email had me snickering at my desk so I wanted to share them.

What is this?  Who would by this????

And now my favorite it is sick, sick, sick...LOL

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I had a good weekend it went by too quick as usual though.  Friday Nite we sat around the fire pit and just hung out.  Saturday It was chilly out so I stayed in p.j.'s all day, then took a nap.  I got up took a shower and decided at 10 p.m. at night I wanted to set up my exercise room and get at least 1 room finished.  My friend Regina helped me, we were lugging a big huge gym into the house from the garage then we put it together.  I am becoming very handy with power tools!

this is what we assembled

part of the exercise room set up

Friday Night's fire

another side shot

One last picture of my hat enjoying the sunset.

Friday's Fun Ideas

Well I will be free of this place (work) in 35 more minutes...(BIG SIGH). Did you ever notice when you are having fun times just flies by...but not so when you are chained to your desk. Today has not really been bad just long and drawn out as in never ending. I am really looking forward to this weekend we are suppose to have crappy weather tomorrow so its a good stay in your P.J.'s kind of day. Maybe we can have Chinese food delivered.

I made sure my dishes are done, the floor's are vacuumed and the house is in a somewhat tidy state.....I hate coming home on a Friday with chores to do. I am one of those anal compulsive ones it drive's me crazy when things are out of place or messy. As life would have it Dave is the total opposite of me so I am forever following him around picking up or organizing after him. It drives him crazy he says I organize his stuff and he can never find anything. Hmm if I was looking for a pair of socks I would look in a DRAWER not on top of the washing machine...lol

Well I just seem to be going on and on about nothing. I just wanted to share a cute easy craft form www.hgtv.com, If your home this weekend with the kids this might be fun:

Materials:

small foam pumpkin
sequin pins or craft glue
sequins or glass beads

Steps:

1. Cover the surface of the pumpkin with sequins or glass beads, attaching them with craft glue or sequin pins. This project could be completed with a fresh pumpkin rather than a foam pumpkin, but a foam pumpkin is preferable because it's much easier to stick with pins than a fresh pumpkin. Plus, it won't spoil so it can be used year after year. Tip: For a stylish variation, use contrasting colored sequins to spell out letters or to create a design.

I am going to try to get that recipe I wrote about last weekend (true southern pulled pork) and I will post it. Hope you all have a safe and fun weekend

Almost Scared myself to death last night

Well it is Thursday and life is good (payday for me). I'm sitting here contemplating what I should I buy, I always buy 1 thing one thing on payday. I may spend a dollar I may spend $100 just not sure yet.

Last night was very windy, dark, rainy and cold so I decided I would be nice and make a nice meal for Dave. I breaded some nice center cut boneless pork chops , along with it I was making macaroni and cheese and asparagus spears it was going to be perfect until.....Dave decided that my breading was not browned enough so he put them in the toaster oven with out my knowledge. My beautiful juicy pork chops became lovely browned hockey pucks....oh yum yum. He was like oh they are fine, just put some gravy on them...ya right. Well me being the stubborn one that I am refused to eat them ( I hate over cooked meat)I said I would just eat the sides that's after I went on a rant about leaving my dang meat alone (oops). Then I went in the other room, next thing I know Dave is gone....the sweety drove all the way to the supermarket and bought me 2 new already breaded pork chops, I made him feel bad I am such a brat. Dinner was saved!

(feel free to snag any images you like, as they are snagged and shared with permission)

Well I got my payback for complaining alright. Dave went to bed so I was playing pogo on the computer and watching Ghost Hunters. They tv station was having a little marathon of episodes and it was really cool because the Ghost hunter or TAP team as they are called are based out of Warwick, RI (next state from me) and the houses they where investigating where all in MA where I live. Any how to me these shows are never scary, they always see, hear or feel stuff but it never seems to be caught on camera so I can see it happening or its not very clear. Well anyway the episode right before bed was pretty creepy it was a bad ghost or something in this ladies house and her and the family where selling the house to get out ASAP. The ghost had hit her and had not let her or her son out of the house by holding the door closed and made horrible sounds and stuff like that.

The TAP team goes to see about this house and they caught the creepiest sounds on tape and it was the most believable show yet. So I am dying to see the end of the show and their results of the investigation and instead I fall asleep and didnt know I fell asleep....but I wake up to "IM GOING TO KILL HER, her blood will be all over the floor"....I look up and see this horrible disfigured man/ghoul holding a knife to a woman's throat and he is talking to this guy who is saying we are not here to hurt you. I did not realize I fell asleep and woke up to a different show ( where they pull these horrible scary pranks on people) and I thought it was the bad ghost in the house come to life on the ghost hunter show. Lets just say I am a little grayer today and my cat will never forgive for screaming so loud. Then I went to bed and could not go to sleep because I was scared. I am the biggest baby I hate horror movies and stuff like that, even if Halloween is my favorite holiday...but I like cute halloween not gory halloween. Ok I am rambling hope everyone is having a good day. I will be posting some fun stuff tomorrow.

Stop the VIOLENCE

Thank you Indigo for sharing these phone numbers. If you need help pick up the phone there is life after abuse ( I know first hand). Feel free to post these on your blogs...it could save someone's life.

Checking in been busy and a few treats, screen savers and 30 minute chili!

Technorati Tags: cooking,halloween,30 minute chili,screen saver,black cat,pumpkins

Well I have been busy the last 4 or 5 days and have not been able to catch up with my old and new blogger friends blogs....but I will try to catch up by today or tomorrow. This weekend was a total lazy weekend, it was freezing! Both days where between 40-50's and in the 30's at night! We had a fire going both Saturday and Sunday it was nice and cozy, my kitty Delilah curled up with me all weekend. Sunday we made a wonderful homemade beef stew. I have tons of it left over. Whenever we cook our winter Sunday meals like, stew, chili, etc we always seem to make enough for an army and there are only 2 of us, (the dang cat wont eat chili). I am going to try a new recipe in the slow cooker from my friend in Florida- pulled pork she made it Sunday, I have to get the instructions again but when I do I will share. It takes 16 hours to cook and its true Southern pulled pork...yum! Hope everyone had a great weekend, I wish it was Friday already.

Well as promised here a few treats:

The first 2 are desktop backgrounds free from HGTV, click on the picture to save it to you pc, then set it as your background very cool.

And now from www.Marthastewart.com and easy fast recipe for our cooler nights, it may seem like it took all day to cook but how does 30 minutes grab ya!

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 pounds ground beef chuck
• 3 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) mild lager beer
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven or large (5-quart) heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add tomato paste, chili powder, chipotles, and cinnamon. Cook, stirring, until mixture has begun to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add beef, and cook, breaking it up with a spoon until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes with their juice, beer, and beans. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a rapid simmer. Cook over medium heat until chili has thickened slightly and beans are tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, if desired.

Not Every Post can make you all Fuzzy Happy inside……unfortunately

Hey Peeps I usually do not try to air my public laundry online, but sometimes it is the only place you can vent and get new perspectives on how you are feeling.  Well here goes……I am totally pissed off!!!  Yesterday was my Dave’s Birthday and I tried to make it as special as I could.  Actually it was rather funny we went out to new restaurant in our new town…..what a horror show!!!  The kid next to us kept bellowing…DO PEOPLE REALLY PAY $28 for a steak in Weymouth!  It was a trip…..Anyway I am getting off the subject, It’s Daves birthday and his one and only sister called him that morning to wish him a happy birthday.  He was born at 7:56 p.m. so we get home it is now 8pm 8:30pm he is sitting I knew inside of me waiting for his dad to call him to wish him a happy birthday!  Dave lost his mom to Breast cancer 3 years ago and she never EVER forgot she use to call him on the exact minute he was born every year.  So Dave calls his dad and his dad is like what's up??? Dave is like I don’t know do you want to say anything to me….LIKE HAPPY BIRTHDAY?? He is all like OMG gee I forgot. Now the killer is he is having relations with the chic next  store who is only in her forties!  he is 68, not that is a bad thing but he ignores the family now.   I'm am just pissed off and venting I guess, anybody who has known me long in the journal work will understand my Davey  is my savior, he saved me from an abusive ass who loved to beat the crap out of me for fun.  And of course I know you ask well why did you just not leave him??  Well I had pets and I thought deep down inside I could love someone enough who was lost (he was an alcoholic) I could not, I tried, I almost lost my life doing it.  Lesson learned.  I just hate to see my Davey hurt.  If you love someone just let them know it. That's all I have to say sorry for being a downer tonight…….But on an up note all my love to Lori and her family who just welcomed into the world this weekend Ms. Ellie…. Peace all…..please remember everyone has feelings and please  treat people the way you would  want to be treated.

Sick of throwing away spoiled fruits and veggies????

I found this great article on www.lifehacker.com (it is a great site for tips about all kinds of things, give it a look).  Any how I know I waste more veggies and fruit and it really kills me because fresh produce costs so much more now due to the crappy economy this is a great article.  I do not take credit for this article I found it on Lifehacker and it was taken from www.sparkpeople.com (another great free site for people who need to lose weight, I have used it and its great and FREE...just as good as weight watchers).  Here ya go:

How to Keep Fruits and Veggies Fresh

By: SparkPeople

Eating more fruits and vegetables is a requirement for every healthy eater. But when you buy more fresh produce, do you end up throwing away more than you eat? You’re not alone.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away nearly 31.6 million tons of food every year. And a recent University of Arizona study found that the average family tosses 1.28 pounds of food a day, for a total of 470 pounds a year! That’s like throwing away $600!
Storing fresh produce is a little more complicated than you might think. If you want to prevent spoilage, certain foods shouldn’t be stored together at all, while others that we commonly keep in the fridge should actually be left on the countertop. To keep your produce optimally fresh (and cut down on food waste), use this handy guide.
Countertop Storage Tips
There’s nothing as inviting as a big bowl of crisp apples on the kitchen counter. To keep those apples crisp and all countertop-stored produce fresh, store them out of direct sunlight, either directly on the countertop, in an uncovered bowl, or inside a perforated plastic bag.
Refrigerator Storage Tips
For produce that is best stored in the refrigerator, remember the following guidelines.

• Keep produce in perforated plastic bags in the produce drawer of the refrigerator. (To perforate bags, punch holes in the bag with a sharp object, spacing them about as far apart as the holes you see in supermarket apple bags.)
• Keep fruits and vegetables separate, in different drawers, because ethylene can build up in the fridge, causing spoilage.
• When storing herbs (and interestingly, asparagus, too), snip off the ends, store upright in a glass of water (like flowers in a vase) and cover with a plastic bag.

What to Store Where: A Handy Chart
Use this color-coded key along with the chart below:

 

*More about Ethylene: Fruits and vegetables give off an odorless, harmless, and tasteless gas called ethylene after they’re picked. All fruits and vegetables produce it, but some foods produce it in greater quantities. When ethylene-producing foods are kept in close proximity with ethylene-sensitive foods, especially in a confined space (like a bag or drawer), the gas will speed up the ripening process of the other produce. Use this to your advantage if you want to speed up the ripening process of an unripe fruit, for example, by putting an apple in a bag with an unripe avocado. But if you want your already-ripe foods to last longer, remember to keep them away from ethylene-producing foods, as designated in the chart on the last page.
Food is expensive, and most people can’t afford to waste it. Print off this handy chart to keep in your kitchen so you can refer to it after every shopping trip. Then you’ll be able to follow-through with your good intentions to eat your 5 to 9 servings a day, instead of letting all of that healthy food go to waste.

By Liza Barnes, Health Educator and Stepfanie Romine, Staff Writer

Article from:

http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22145/57459-keep-fruits-veggies-fresh

Halloween pictures and odd and end videos

Here are some pictures of my decorations, hanging around the fire pit and odds and ends. It’s Saturday night and I am tired I have been playing around with plug ins for Windows Live writer and I am getting aggravated since I cannot get the one I want to work properly. Quiet night just hanging out with Dave he is flipping back between nascar and baseball (Its really putting me to sleep)

Well I was going to insert some video’s but I do not know what the problem is it just says processing for ever and ever so I give up for tonight. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

The Move from Hell is over and some Friday laughs.

 

I am so HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY today!  Not only is it a long weekend but we Finally got all of our stuff out of the old place last night and gave the keys back......NO MORE MOVING I am DONE!  The weather is absolutely beautiful its around 70 degree's today and is suppose to be sunny and pleasant for the weekend.  I am thinking of cooking outside on the grill and relaxing around the fire pit with a few cold refreshments.  I can also now start on painting and getting stuff organized finally. 

This joke below is from my friend Ricky a little chauvinistic but I thought it was a riot:

 

OOO I can make my real live scarecrow for the yard and my legs sticking out of the ground, this is a picture from my old, old house where we did the legs:

 

This is my old beloved dog Max sniffing the giant pumpkin we got (these pics are probably 10 years old)

Me and Max, I miss that dog!

Here is my old baby Shepard Xena she took care of the little kitten because the mother was horrible. (Again this picture is about 10 years old)

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Now Friday's Fun Recipe

 

(picture from: Witch fingers ) My co-worker makes these for us every halloween and they are very good!

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
Witches Fingers
Yield: about 36 witches fingers
1 cup water
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
Pinch cayenne
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup grated Cheddar, (about 4 ounces)
1 large egg yolk
Whole unblanched almonds
Kosher salt
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Put the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking until the butter and sugar melts. Remove pan from the heat and sift the flour into the pan. Stir the dough together with a wooden spoon. Return to the heat and stir constantly until pulls away from the sides of the pan and is slightly shiny, about 3 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a medium bowl, and beat until cooled, about 2 minutes. Add the cayenne, and whole eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating each 1 thoroughly before adding the next. Mix in the mustard and cheese.
Put 1/4-inch plain tip in a pastry bag, and spoon the dough into the bag. Pipe 3 1/2-inch long thin finger-like shapes onto prepared pans. Beat the egg yolk with a tablespoon of water and dab or brush the tops of each witches' finger with it. Lay an almond on the end of each witches finger so that it looks like a nail, sprinkle fingers with kosher salt.
Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue baking until the fingers are golden brown and slightly crisp, about 5 minutes more. Cool on a rack.

 

courtesy of photobucket

 

Im out of here peeps for now anyway, Have a Great Weekend!

There is a Chill in the air...

Well fall is in the air! The leaves are turning wonderful colors and the warmer jackets are coming out of the closet. Try this great recipe to warm you up:

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups apple cider


• 1/4 cup real maple syrup


• 2 cinnamon sticks


• 6 whole cloves


• 6 whole allspice berries


• 1 orange peel, cut into strips


• 1 lemon peel, cut into strips

• 
  
  DIRECTIONS

1. Pour the apple cider and maple syrup into a large stainless steel saucepan.


2. Place the cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, orange peel and lemon peel in the center of a washed square of cheesecloth; fold up the sides of the cheesecloth to enclose the bundle, then tie it up with a length of kitchen string. Drop the spice bundle into the cider mixture.


3. Place the saucepan over moderate heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cider is very hot but not boiling.


4. Remove the cider from the heat. Discard the spice bundle. Ladle the cider into big cups or mugs, adding a fresh cinnamon stick to each serving if desired.

(thank you to Stella at: http://www.allrecipes.com/ )

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I am on the final 2 days of moving and I am exhausted if I can just get this done I can breath a sigh of relief! I went shopping after work yesterday to Michael's crafts store and got some wonderful decorations for the front of the house on sale. Later this weekend when things calm down I will be sure to post some pictures. I can not even tell you how happy I am this is a long weekend I may get to make my famous chili, It's an all day project but taste's awesome! If you would like the recipe just let me know, I have it saved as a works database file and I cant figure out how to convert it so I can just copy and paste it in Live Writer. This is me and Dave making it last year in our old place while watching the football game. See how small the old kitchen is hardly enough room for 2 people!

AOL users read this if you want to transfer your old journal to blogger....this is an official post from AOL I copied

Dear AOL Journals user,

As we wrote in an e-mail on Sept. 30, AOL(R) Journals will permanently shut down on Oct. 31. It's never an easy decision to shut down a feature, especially one like AOL Journals that some of our members have used for a long time. But with a decline in Journals usage, we have to look carefully at all of AOL's features to make sure we're providing as much value to our members as possible.

Though we know this might be an inconvenience, the good news is that we've partnered with Blogger.com to provide a smooth transition for your journal. Blogger is a free service from Google that makes it easy to share your thoughts with friends and the world. Blogger supports most of the features you've come to expect from AOL Journals, and it's easy to get started. If you wish to automatically transfer your journal to Blogger, they will move your posts, comments and photos to your new blog on their service. When you're ready, go to this link to get started.

Remember, it's very important to save your Journals content before Oct. 31. If you choose not to move to Blogger, you'll need to save your information manually (for example, by copying and pasting its contents into a word processor).

So Excited

This is a great book series, I am on the last book. Let me tell you I read for 13 hours when I started this series.

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html


The Movie Twilight comes to Theartes 11/21/08

More Halloween fun!

(This is a post from my old AOL Journal but its a fun easy craft

Ghost I made

Happy October! I had to share some pics of the awesome cheese cloth ghost I made last year. When ever I look at it I start laughing. It was easy to make, I used 2 yards of cheese cloth and some fabric stiffener (which Is basically Elmer's glue but more expensive, next time I will just buy glue). You make a form, I used a ball of tinfoil and taped it to paper towel cardboard tube which I then stuck on a cup to make it higher. I taped some arms to the cardboard just using cardboard. You can also make a base (which I will try next time using a large soda bottle and stick pipe cleaners into the bottle for arms), I then cut the cheese cloth into four sections and put 1 section at at time in the glue/fabric stiffener, let it soak then squeeze out the excess you drape the cloth over your form, I did each piece in a different direction so it would look like a ghost. Your have to let it dry over nite, but the way you get the ends to stick out is after about an hour of drying it will get a little stiff pull on the ends to create a eery ghost then prop the ends up on cups or whatever you have just so the dry out turned. Then when its all dry you take it off the form and its stiff.....Viola. its about a foot or more tall, but you can make small ones too. I got my supplies at Michael's craft store it was about 2.50 for the cheese cloth and 4 bucks for the fabric stiffener, again just buy Elmer's glue, 2 parts glue to 1 part water. you can decorate if you want with eyes and ribbon I have not done that yet. Enjoy!

Do not give the pumpkins any alcohol

they just make a mess!

Now here is a nice easy idea,get a cheap silver platter, flip some inexpensive wine glasses upside down, place a mini pumpkin or gourd

underneath the glass and put a votive candle on top....just fill in empty spaces with pine cones and your done!