Christmas Bliss

Written December 26th...

It's the day after all the Christmas festivities and as I sit here drinking my coffee looking around at the Christmas goodies around my living room I can't help but have a full heart! I am so thankful for my family and my husband's family. They have been such a big support and big reason for our success as a family through the years. I cherish their continued love and support and my heart is thankful for that!

My daughter's had a wonderful holiday and were so thankful for all they got! I have to share a short story about my oldest Emily. As we divided the gifts up early Christmas Day, her pile was noticeable smaller than her sisters. This was due to the new phone she would be getting and had no idea. As she opened her gifts I could see that she was not disappointed but like she didn't get what she wanted. She kept a small smile on her face as she watched her sister opening up her gifts and then her moment came and we surprised her with her cell phone. She cried and was so excited and thankful it made me cry and as tough as my husband is he was bright red fighting back the tears. I asked her after how she was feeling as she watched her sister open up all her gifts. She said to me, "Well, I knew that I was getting my ears pierced so I kept telling myself be thankful for that and I have that to look forward too."

That moment as well makes my heart swell and so proud of my Emily. This young girl has a huge heart, is so sentimental and truly thankful for all she has. She never says she doesn't have enough and really doesn't ask for much at all. She is going to do great things for people when she gets older; I feel that and believe that with every fiber of my being. She is a very special young lady and I am so in love with her and so proud of her.

Meanwhile, back in Cristina land she too has many wonderful qualities and is definitely going to be the person to make people laugh and enjoy life. She had picked out a robe to wear around the house while on a shopping trip with my mother in law. This robe was not the cutest by far but she loved that damn thing. So, my mother in law bought it for her and when she opened up that gift she was so excited and wore it immediately. What I love about that is she is not afraid to be herself. She is truly one of a kind and unique! She does what she loves and that is it! A true free spirit not corrupted by others thoughts or words!

My heart is overflowing with love for them, they are my world and I am so proud of them. I really am excited to see what they become as they grow up and what they accomplish. If you ask me everyone will know their names, but I am biased, I am their mom!

In reflecting about my girls I could not imagine my life without them. My thoughts go to the families who didn't have their child home for Christmas this year. May they find some type of peace!

I hope you found your moment of bliss this holiday season, amidst all the holiday chaos! 

Natural Lotion Bars

Feeling rather crafty this holiday season and I LOVE IT!!!!

Today I made Natural Lotion Bars.  I decided to make them mostly to help my youngest with her skin issues. She gets really dry skin and LOVES to scratch the heck out of it leaving scabs. No Bueno!

 After much searching on the internet I found a wonderful recipe which I made today.   Thank you to Anne at http://raisingsweetgrace.blogspot.com/ for this wonderful recipe!

 

Here is the recipe:

½ cup Beeswax

½ cup Coconut Oil

½ cup Shea Butter or Cocoa Butter

Essential Oil (optional)

2 tsp. of Vitamin E Oil 

(I used Shea Butter for my recipe, it does not clog pores like cocoa butter does.)

 

Use a double boiler. You can see from the picture I took I use one for candle making. I think it was $14 at Hobby Lobby but with a coupon 40% off.

 DIRECTIONS:

Add the Beeswax and let it melt completely giving it a stir once in a while.  Then when it’s all melted add the Coconut oil, stirring periodically. Lastly, add the Shea Butter. Try not to leave that in the double boiler too long. Shea Butter has a tendency to become grainy when overheated.  Again, stir periodically then you can take off heat and add oils. I didn’t measure how much essential oil I used. I LOVE lavender so that is the oil I chose. Add what you like, just a few for a hint of the scent or lots for a strong scent. Typically with any homemade recipe calling for oils 15-30 drops are safe. Don’t forget to add the Vitamin E oil too. STIR really good make sure it is all mixed in.  If needed, let the double boiler sit in the hot water for a few seconds again.  Pour into molds!

THAT IS IT!

This recipe filled 7 muffin tins about 3/4 full.

 

You can buy all kinds of fancy molds for these bars in the soap department or even baking department.  I followed the recipe I found and used muffin liners.  The only thing I didn’t like about it is for the first few uses all the little groves from the liner break off the mold.  You can see that in my final product, all the ridges.

The lotion bars will melt if put in a warm spot so don’t leave them in cars or in the sun!

These bars are completely natural and so good for your skin.  Coconut oil is natural antiseptic, will not hurt raw or cracked skin it also encourages healthy cell regeneration over time.   Shea butter is great for healing dry skin, reducing wrinkles and scars and is a natural anti-inflammatory.  I used the Shea Butter versus Cocoa Butter because Shea will NOT clog your pores.  Beeswax locks in moisture and protects skin.  Beeswax is also a skin softener which makes these bars really good for those feet during winter!  Vitamin E is also good for scars, wrinkles and brown spots.

 So you see how can you go wrong with them? They will make great gifts for Christmas and literally took me 15 minutes to make.

UPDATE:   !!! Just realized this could double as chapstick!!!

 

I hope to have more of my crafty goodness up from the holidays.  Let me know how you like the lotion bars?  To me they resemble Burt’s Bees Hand Cream.  They smell really good too!

 

Tis The Season

 

It is my most favorite time of year.  I absolutely love the Holiday season, I enjoy baking yummy goodness, decorating, spending time with family and friends and getting that perfect gift for someone. 

We are late getting our tree but hope to do that this week.  This weekend the kiddos and I made our own holiday cards. They were amazing simple and fast. 

I have a tendency to get so wrapped up in the project that I forget to take pictures. I did manage to snap the final project but like I mentioned earlier they are so easy there is no need for more pictures.

Without further ado….

Well what do you think?  I think they are super cute and the girls had fun making them with me.

All you need for supplies are:

•             Glue stick
•             Star sticker

•             And scrapbook paper or construction paper whatever floats your boat. 

Take the paper and rip it into strips, then rip to size you need THAT SIMPLE!!

I know this post is short but sweet. I just didn’t want to go much longer.  I am sure there will be more posts to come.  I hope you take time to enjoy time with your children and family during the hustle and bustle of things to create memories.

I will be posting soon on all the crafty goodness that went on for Christmas this year. I just don't want to spoil it for my friends.  Here is a bit of a spoiler... I made rings, hats, cowls and lotion bars. I will be posting all with instructions. :)  Stay tuned...

Tis the Season!!

Christmas Calendar Project

 

This weekend after stuffing our bellies with Turkey and all the yummy fixings, we started on Christmas Calendar project.  I thought it would be cute to create a calendar of Emily and Cristina for the grandparents. 

 

Late Saturday morning around 11:30 I turned the kitchen into a photo studio. I took down my white sheer curtains from the living room and taped them up on the wall for our backdrop.  I then got busy with foam and construction paper creating various props and cutouts.

 

I gathered the girls and we got started on the project I thought would be fun to do. FUN it was until about October and 4 plus hours later. We finished that bad boy at 5 pm.  We were all spent and as you will be able to see my oldest was just DONE! Low blood sugar and tired.  They even did wardrobe changes!

 

Even with all the drama at the end I am very pleased with how it turned out. I am glad I am able to share with you as none of the grandparents even know what a blog is and have no idea how to get to it.  

 

This is the cover. With my favorite photos of them EVER! 

I remember that day like it was yesterday! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OMG!! I almost forgot the best SURPRISE EVER!!! I could not figure out what to do for September and then the girls and I realized it was Todd’s b-day so since he never likes to get in pictures we thought we would ask him if he would do it and he said YES!!! He even took a silly picture! LOVE HIM!

Right about here is where Emily was done, expired and finished! You can see it in her

Todd Jr.  eyes! Lol!

 

This was the best idea yet! I am so excited with the final product that I am going to have a hard time waiting to give it to them.

 

Have fun making your Holiday Gifts this year.

One down several more to go! :)

While the Hunters are away...

This weekend my husband and older daughter Emily went hunting.  It was Emily’s first time and she was both excited and nervous.  Here is my hunter in training. :)

 

I was so excited for them both to have the weekend together. Makes my heart happy!

While my hunters were hunting J Cristina and I had our own bonding time. We kicked off our weekend with Kool-Aid play dough.  She was so excited because she was able to make it from beginning to end.

 

The play dough turned out great and we had a nice mess to clean up after or should I say I had a mess to clean up after.

 

 

She was so excited about this play dough. She didn’t waste any time getting busy.

 

An hour later…

 

Here is the recipe for the Kool-Aid play dough we made. I included my lessons learned and a few tips. HAVE FUN!!!!

Saturday we went to a Holiday Market Craft fair and after went to Hobby Lobby to pick out a fabric for my kitchen valances.  Boy oh boy did that take much longer than I anticipated. There were so many choices I could not make up my mind.  I elicited some help from an employee and in the end, ended up deciding on a fabric not at all discussed.

After we went home and I took a nap. I was so tired because sharing a bed with a child who does not know how to sleep still, kept me awake!

We ended up at Applebee’s for a bite to eat. She was feeling pretty cheeky that night. 

 

After dinner we watched BRAVE, (super cute movie). Once she was tired enough I slipped downstairs to get started on my valances. An hour and a half later this was my end product. I LOVE IT!!! The pictures do not do them justice. The fabric fits perfectly.

 

My Hunters came home Sunday afternoon empty handed but had lots of stories about their experience. It was nice to have them back home safe and sound!

Hope you had a great weekend too!

What Kind of Energy Are You Freeing Into the Universe?

I came across a question the other day and it really struck a chord with me.

“What kind of energy are you freeing into the universe?”

 What kind of energy AM I putting out into the universe?  I really do try daily to put positive vibes out there, thinking positive and being positive. “There’s always a silver lining” or “look at the bright side” is a regular thought or comment I will make.  Every once in a while I loose myself to that negativity that sits there lurking around the corner to sneak in when I have my guard down.   I do think that it’s perfectly normal as long as it doesn’t linger.  I mean let’s be really honest here.  There is not one person who can be so positive 24/7!  If that person exists I want whatever they are smoking.  Having said that, I do think that I can say without hesitation I put an honest, positive, upbeat, love of live vibe out there.  At least that is what my goal is.

 I try to always see both sides of every situation and not judge. I TRY!! I think that is fair and reasonable.  I feel that putting that positivity out there I have somehow made a small difference in what lies ahead for my children. I hope that how I look at things and how I have behaved has rubbed off on them and they will continue that as adults.

 I love making a strangers day by giving them a compliment or kind word.  Looking ahead to 2013 I am going to try and step that up a notch.  I am going to follow my heart and stop worrying about what others will think. I have for a while wanted to put more out there.  I did start my blog up again and I hope to continue.  I figure if I can at least make one person smile or reflect on something I have up I have done my part. We are all a work in progress and reflection is a great tool.

 I am at a point in my life where I am really trying to figure out my greater purpose.  I am not sure how or where to begin. Part of me feels I will find that in a church and the other part of me feels reflecting and discovering further what is in my soul will help me.  I feel like it’s a pretty amazing time for me. I am excited and not sure what will come out of this soul discovery but I am excited. We are constantly growing and our souls are constantly thirsty for more.  

 “Know how you want to feel and do whatever it takes to feel that way!”  I want to feel fulfilled, I want to feel happiness daily and joy for life, I want to feel love and give love, I want to be radiant and I want my soul to shine bright! 

 How do you want to feel? Do what is going to help you feel that way.  Create an environment around you that will help you feel that way and help you give off that energy to others.

Share and let’s grow together.

Love and Light!

Motivational Monday 11/12/12

November 9, 2012

I love Aaron Rodgers and his sense of humor!

Motivational Mondays!

 

 

 

 

Friday Funny 11/2/12



 

The best of now...

Welcome to

I love anything and everything motivational.  My life is a work in progress and it is constantly evolving and changing.  I am completely in love with where I am at right now in my life!  I contribute some of that to positive thinking and constant reflection and deciding to live in the now and be present with the people I LOVE!

I hope you enjoy Motivational Mondays!  I also hope you find motivation not only on Mondays but every day in all you do!

Today’s motivation was found on one of my favorite sites The Daily Motivator.  It rings true to what I mentioned above.  Now IS the time to bring your dreams to life.  How can you make the very best of now?

 The best of now

Now is the time to make a difference.

Now is the moment to do what you know you must do.

Now is when you can transform possibility into reality. Now is when you can bring your dreams to life.

Is there a problem that’s been frustrating you? Now is when you can take real, focused action to work your way through it.

Sure, there are plenty of ways to waste this day. But you now have the chance to choose to make good and valuable use of it.

Now is an opportunity to create value. And that opportunity cannot be delayed until later.

Now is yours to use for whatever rich and fulfilling purpose you can imagine. Stand up, step forward, and get busy making the very best of now.

— Ralph Marston

 

 

FRIDAY FUNNIES!

Welcome to…

FrIdAy FuNnIeS!

I will TRY to post a Friday funny every week! I find many things humorous.  This may be the best way to share these things.

My funnies will range from funny pictures, stories or even personal things that have come up and if you know me and my family, we have very few dull moments.  Our kids help us with that!

 Enjoy!!

Now you ALL should know my fear of spiders and how great it really is. In fact just a few weekends ago the whole family is in the car going to a party.  My daughter Emily says from the back seat as we pull up to a stop sign. "umm mom, look up".  At that point I did not realize I was about to come FACE TO FACE with a spider.  I jump out of the car, I didn't even care if it was moving.  My lovely husband who is also afraid, slaps it with his own BARE hands!  We then both look for the supposed dead spider but could not find it. My husband tells me to get back in the car as there is a small line forming at the stop sign.

I just cannot get myself to put my feet on the floor, so there I was feet up on the dash and barely breathing as my body is simply not made to sit that way!  We get off expressway to stop light and there out of the corner of my eye like a NINJA SPIDER is our friend on MY HUSBANDS SLEEVE!!!

I immediately go into SCREAM MODE!!!! My body completely pressed up my window screaming in terror as my husband flicks his arm and the spider lands on my seat!!! I AM GOING TO DIE is all that was going through my head and I can't stop SCREAMING!  My husband then squishes the spider again with his BARE hands!  I am so worked up I am shaking and I did not know whether to laugh or cry and everyone is mad at me for screaming like a fool in the car.

Needless to say, YES, if there is a spider on the emergency exit...Yes we ALL would die!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Halloween Goodness

This year I actually had time to get crafty and creative with our porch Halloween decorations. Thanks to a few great ideas found on Pinterest, I think it turned out pretty cute!

First, I bought some super cute pumpkins from a local farmer who is adorable. On a trip there (which I initially thought would be a fast one) she spoke to me about all the pumpkins she and her husband grow and which are her favorite squashes.  I really enjoyed taking the time to meet with her. I am a new customer for live!

 

 

I also found a really cute bat craft from Inspiring Pretty. I purchased black cardboard from the Dollar Tree (love this place). I cut bats in four different sizes.  Now thinking about it next year I am going to place them coming out of the other side.

 

Then we put up the rat shadows and finally the Spider Egg Sacks!!! My Absolute favorite craft with the girls.   This is our end result.

Oh I almost forgot our fun scary toilet!

 

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!!!

 

 

 

I'm A Lucky Girl



Today, I had the opportunity to have lunch with a pretty great person.  It was on the other side of town.  So I had a nice long ride there and back.  On my way back home I decided to take the roads less traveled. It too longer to get home but boy oh boy was the scenery beautiful and little did I know where this road would actually take me!

 

 

I LOVE taking in all the natural beauty that surrounds me. The changing of the seasons, both visually and through the smells of rich soils and fallen leaves just makes me smile. At times I felt like a kid in a candy store and I had just wished I had my real camera with me and not my phone.  I wanted to stop the car so many times and enjoy it, capture all the beautiful fall colors. 

 
As I was appreciating the scenery around me, the song “Home” comes on and oh and I whisked away in memories of big gatherings with friends, friends which I consider my family.  I AM A LUCKY GIRL, I thought to myself. I have all these wonderful people in my life.  People who will drop everything to help when needed.  People who make me smile and love my kids and my family as their own.   I can’t help but to smile at the thought that these people also choose me and my family to be in their life!  It truly fills my heart with joy.  Yup, I AM LUCKY.

 

From that thought I was taken away by a vision of my husband, by the song “Falling in Love At a Coffee Shop” (love that song!).  My dear, sweet, strong man; who I am still infatuated with to this day and can give me butterflies.  My husband, who ALWAYS put us and our needs first.  Yes, my hero who even at his most frustrated moments with me, (and there are many), will still reach out and quickly forget with a big hug and kiss from me.  His smile lights up my face and makes my soul sing. I love him so deeply!  I would be so lost without him.  I am for sure SO LUCKY!! 

 

 

I so enjoyed my ride home.  I realized how blessed I am to have all these wonderful things and people in my life! Yes, I am A VERY LUCKY GIRL!

Jolly Rancher Vodka

Drink, Eat, Be Merry!

 

My husband enjoys his vodka drinks. His most favorite is the Blue Raspberry flavored Vodka.  He will have a beer now and then but Vodka is always number one.  Now the man is not a lush by any means, that is just his drink of choice.

For his birthday this year I knew his gift had to include vodka somehow.  I did some searching around on the Internet and found this website http://mixthatdrink.com/jolly-ranchers-vodka/ .

At first I had planned to make their starburst vodka recipe but I simply did not have enough time to go through all the steps.  Then I found this wonderful recipe for Jolly Rancher Vodka.

The recipe:

8 oz of vodka
12 jolly ranchers
You can make bigger batches just add the correct amount of Jolly Ranchers.

I used 16 oz. canning jars and so I doubled the Jolly Ranchers. Once you have the Jolly Ranchers and vodka together shake them a bit, then let them sit a bit, shake some more, sit some more and wait 24 hours.  By the end of the next day the ranchers were totally melted.  I honestly did not shake them too much. I let them sit for 5 hours and gave them a shake before I went to bed.  then I shook them one more time in the morning and they were pretty much all melted. I imagine the more ranchers you put in the jar the longer it would take.

Here was my finished product.

Who doesn't like a fun label on their drinks. I made the labels myself. If you like the template you can get it here.

 

 

Give it a try! They taste delicious and please let me know how your turned out.  Also, if you ended up trying the starburst or skittles recipe instead.

Enjoy!

 

 

What's cooking?

I decided about a week or two ago that I wanted to try and make meals ahead of time.  The whole "what do YOU want for dinner?" conversation was getting a bit tiring.  Not to mention the many daily trips to the store to get what we needed for that particular dinner was getting a bit costly.

So, after much research on the web I came across a website that had a few really great meal ideas and some that didn't help much at all.  I looked for crock pot meals that I thought the whole family would like. I gathered the recipes and created a massive shopping list. The hubby and I ventured out to our local grocery store grabbed two carts and had at it.  After about an hour and a half we were done. When I tallied the receipts to see what we spent on the meals it was only about $100 that included the Ziploc bags. NOT BAD!

I made 7 meals and divided them in half for a total of 14 meals. I will provide you with the recipes a long with the grocery list of everything you will need. I was fortunate that the store we went to had pretty good sales on meat but I also had a ton of coupons.

The meals:
Chicken Cacciatore
Savory Chicken
BBQ Pork
Sweet and Tangy meatballs
Teriyaki Chicken
Peppers and Sausage
Lazy Day Stew

Printable Recipes Are Here

The day after I shopped was prep day.  I gathered all the vegetables and chopped and sliced what was needed.

After chopping all the veggies I got the gallon sized bags and labeled them.  I also put on the bags any instructions that were needed.  Cook times, temperatures any additional ingredients and what to serve it with.

Next, I took out the meats and put them in appropriate bags. ***I should mention I did end up buying the frozen chicken breasts as it was just too costly to buy the fresh ones.***

 

After the meats are in the bags, add the vegetables, and finally any other ingredients needed. Mix in the bag and squeeze as much air out as you can.

Easy Peasy!  For the hour or so I spent planning and 3 hours of prep, having to clean up only one big mess in the kitchen was worth it.   Not to mention the extra time now we can actually spend doing something other than cook!  **side note** I did add more meat to a few of the recipes to accommodate a few super hungry appetites!

Next time, I am going to try to add casseroles to the mix.  This was a first time for me so I wasn't sure what to expect.

Come back and let me know how it worked out for you and what changes you made.  Hope you enjoy the recipes and give it a try!