Chicken Flautas

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After a weekend spent at the soccer field, and having my granddaughter for an overnight visit, (it was much easier to entertain toddlers when I was younger) on Sunday afternoon I thought “all I want to do is go home and sit still.”  But then, I got hungry….and even I couldn’t believe it, but I wanted to cook.

Posie and I scanned Pinterest looking for something inspiring to make, with no luck.  We couldn’t find just the right thing, so taking some inspiration from my eldest daughter, I decided to make Chicken Flautas. She makes beef flautas in the oven so I had a basis for my idea but I didn’t have a recipe. I was just going to wing it….and it was either going to be good or….we’d never have them again, and I’d learn that I can’t just wing things.  Well, I’ll be making these again.

Chicken Flautas

1 1/4 pound chicken, 1/2 C salsa, 1/4 C cilantro, 1 tsp. cumin, salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, 10 flour tortillas (8-10″)1 small can black beans (or 1/2 of 15oz can), 8 oz bag of grated cheese (cheddar, Mexican etc.)

  • Cook chicken in splash of olive oil (I used chicken tenders because they are quick to cook and already smaller pieces so I didn’t have to cut them up as much as I would have to a whole breast. (just barely enough to coat the pan)
  • Salt, pepper and garlic chicken while cooking,  add salsa and cumin
  • Once cooked slice/chop into smaller pieces (1/2″ – 1″) and leave in pan (this can be done prior to cooking if you choose) Add cilantro and black beans and stir together

  • Spoon (with slotted spoon to drain any liquid) chicken mixture onto tortilla
  • Place a handful of cheese over chicken mixture and roll.
  • Place on cookie sheet with seam side down

  • Brush rolled flauta with small amount of olive oil.
  • Cook in preheated 375 degree oven until almost golden brown (about 10 minutes)

Serve with sour cream and guacamole and enjoy!


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Taking Pictures And Making Memories

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So here’s the question….Who’s the “picture taker” in your family?

In my family it’s me, whenever there’s an event where pictures are being taken I’m usually the one behind the camera. I enjoy it; trying to get those moments with the cute smiles, funny faces or just the right shot to showcase a special moment is important to me because I want to remember those times.

Being a Creative Memories consultant has taught me a couple of things about taking pictures through the years but I’ve noticed that it is always the same person taking the family photos. With the improvement of the cell phone camera sometimes you can find other family members snapping pictures  (especially teenagers) but many times it’s mom or dad with the family camera. Usually, I notice moms behind the camera (maybe because I’m the mom??) but no matter who is the photographer of the family they are usually always behind the camera and rarely in the pictures.

We take pictures so we can remember, if you’re the photographer, guess what….your family will want to remember you too! Years from now, they won’t care if you’re perfectly put together, they’ll just care that you are in the pictures. Well, ok, so maybe 20 years from now they may laugh at the clothes you’re wearing, but so will you. Which is just another reason that you should be in the pictures…for a good laugh.  Seriously…GET IN THE PHOTOS!

When my granddaughter was born I was very uncomfortable having my picture taken but it was important to me that when she grew up she could see that I was involved, loved and spent time with her. So…I’ve been trying to ask others to take pictures of me at family events.  It’s difficult for me to let go of the control and be on the other end of the camera lens.  You may have that same problem. I want to encourage you…GET IN THE PHOTOS!

Lastly….if you are like me and have a hard time giving up control of the camera, it’s a good idea to give your family members a little training on the camera.  Tips like how to zoom in and out so you don’t have cut off heads, how to focus your camera (not all are the same), not to take photos directly into the sun, (you can help with this since you will be in the pictures but they should know too) and just some general placement of subjects. Those are just a few, and they’ll make a big difference, plus if you allow them to learn, and coach them along the way, you will not only have good pictures taken by you, but also by your family members.

If you are going to GET IN THE PHOTOS, don’t you want them to be good? It will be one less thing to laugh at in 20 years!  So GO. Make some memories. Take some pictures (oops) Let someone else take some pictures.


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Enchanted Garden Fairy Birthday Party

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Today I realized that soon my beautiful granddaughter would be 2 years old.  I began to wonder how that happened, like overnight, and I started thinking about her birthday party from last year.  This month I’m heading to the mountains for a scrapbook retreat and one of my goals is to get some work completed in her album.  Of course…my wandering mind went right to the pictures from the party and …well you know :-) Here they are.

The Fairy Garden theme was the inspiration of my daughter and although I helped with the technical details and of course the work to create this party, the vision was all hers!

The party was held at a nearby park, we trucked in all the supplies (well, not really trucked, but there were a few cars and oh yeah, grandpa’s truck) …that was some work! Here’s the results.

We decorated the covered area with tulle and tissue poms. It’ softened the look of the canopy and made it a little more personal and feminine. We made a few lots of large tissue paper pompoms.  I read a couple of tutorials for making the poms but it definitely helped that when I was a little girl I used to make these with Kleenex.  Here’s a link to one of them.  They looked great blowing in the wind…you can tell there was wind right?

The goodie bags for the children were created with pink lunch bags, more tissue pompoms and some hand cut leaves made from scrapbook paper.

Those are Oreo Cookie pops on the plates…they were a big hit. (Stay tuned for a the post for those).   When decorating for a party, it’s little things that make a big difference.  ie…the little fairy and dwarf figurines.  My “plan ahead daughter” found them while out and about around town.  Again the little things make a big difference.

She bought these adorable spring colored planters at Michaels using coupons she collected, saving money is good, so make sure you use those coupons! I loved all the spring colors

We bought a bag of soil and a flat of spring flowers like petunias and snapdragons, and planted the flowers to place on the table.  the place mat…just a piece of scrapbook paper, cut using my Creative Memories custom cutting system 12″ decorative circle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a very good refreshing drink serve lemonade with a couple of choices of flavored syrup….Can you say mmmm!, the pomegranate is my favorite, ended up being my poolside drink for the summer.

Just a little added detail…pictures of the birthday girl throughout her first year and a butterfly tree.  I made the “wish” tree for her baby shower and it’s had it’s fair share of use..not only today, but I’ve also loaned it to a friend for an engagement party wish tree.  It’s nice to see things you’ve created be enjoyed over and over. So if you can think along those lines…like borrowing something, why not save some money, right?

Water bottle labels are another little detail that add a lot to the impact of your party.  We designed these on Storybook Creator to match the party invitation, (also created on Storybook Creator)

Lastly, dessert.  Mmmm.  We chose cupcakes. Strawberry Lemonade and yummy moist white cake.  Whatever you choose…make it yummy so you can enjoy and try to keep it within the theme.  We found these flower and grass cupcake liners at Michael’s.

Planning a party can be daunting but try to have fun. I’d like to tell you to keep it simple but really I have a hard time doing that myself. ”Have fun” is the best advice I’ve got, Oh! and ask for help because you wan to enjoy the day…and try to not be stressed!


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4 Tips To Great Spaghetti Sauce

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Everyone should have a good spaghetti recipe!  And I bet you do…you just may not realize it because there are a few tips to making really good spaghetti sauce.  You may not realize how much better your recipe could be by following some simple tips.

Having an Italian heritage I grew up with Sunday Spaghetti dinners, and learned to make sauce a long time ago. The interesting fact about our family recipe is that although we..mom, dad, aunts, grandma, sister, and brother, have the same basic recipe, we all have our little tweaks and make it our own way, (although we pick up tips and hints from each other) and yet..all of us can make some sauce!

So I thought I’d share some tips and tricks to making some good spaghetti sauce. No, I’m not giving you my recipe (I may get shot if I did) but I think I can show you that your own recipe can be great too!

1.  The first and most important thing is cook your sauce – Duh, you say, but I mean cook it for a long time.  The secret to thick rich tasting sauce is cooking it for a looooong time, on a low heat, like 8 hours. Cook it uncovered, stirring it often. The flavor of the spices and ingredients you add to your recipe really have a chance to blend together when you cook the sauce for that long.  It will thicken as you cook it, which means that even though your sauce is thin and runny when you begin, you should have a nice thick sauce when it’s done.

2. Add some meat to your sauce while it’s cooking. - It adds flavor.  Meatballs, Italian sausage, beef or pork, etc. , even ground beef will help (although I don’t really like the ground beef option). Yes I said pork or beef, a good readily available meat, is country style ribs (with the bone), you will have to remove the bone once all the meat falls off  of it. Do not cook the meat first let it cook in your sauce. (make sure that the temperature of your sauce is high enough to cook your meat fully)

3.  Season your sauce.  – Don’t be afraid to add some seasoning, they will add depth and flavor to the sauce. BUT….remember that when you cook your sauce for that long the seasoning really comes alive. So be careful you may not need as much seasoning as you are used to.  When you only cook your sauce for an hour or two you need more seasoning to make it taste good.  When you cook the sauce all day the flavors of the tomatoes and the seasoning is richer.

4.  Make some good meatballs - Not to be mean…but I’ve tasted some nasty meatballs.  When you cook meatballs in your sauce it ads flavor, but when you eat those meatballs, you want them to be tasty, right?  Yes…I’m going to tell you how I make meatballs, but beware…I don’t use traditional measurements so I’m guessing about how much here… you will have to be brave and give it a try.

Ingredients – 1 pound ground beef, 2 eggs, parmesan cheese, and Italian style breadcrumbs, milk, salt, pepper and garlic.

Place the ground beef in a bowl with the 2 eggs, about 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, about 1 cup of bread crumbs, 3/4 tsp. salt,1 tsp. pepper and 1 tsp. garlic powder (powder, not salt) I don’t measure this, I just dump it in until I think it looks right so these measurements are just guesses, which means that your guess is good too! Slowly add about a 1/2 cup of milk and mix it together until it is moist enough to stick together but not soggy. If you need to, add more milk just make sure that it’s not soggy. (if they are soggy…they will fall apart so do your best) Roll into meatballs. depending on the size this should make about 20-25 meatballs.

Cook your meatballs in your sauce. You can brown the meatballs and place them in the sauce or just place them in the sauce as is.  When you brown them it tends to hold them together a little better.

Now, a tip for your meatballs.  Use ground beef with a little higher fat content for moister meatballs. I use 20% but only for meatballs.  Secondly, when you cook them in your sauce they will not only flavor the sauce but the sauce will flavor your meatballs.  Good trade off!  BUT, since you will be stirring the sauce often, they can break up easily so….stir slowly!

Now, take your everyday spaghetti recipe and go make it great!

Enjoy!

I’ve linked up over at



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Memories From A Life

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Recently, I had to find a picture from about a year and a half ago, for a friend of mine.  I have an amazing program called Memory Manager from Creative Memories; it’s so amazing, that usually I can find pictures from years ago in minutes with just a few clicks of the keyboard.  Imagine that you are looking for a picture of your daughter playing on the swings during your family reunion, from 5 years ago.  You need it quickly because you forgot that she had to bring pictures of herself to school for her “I’m Special” poster. With this program, within 1 minute, you can pull the picture up on your screen for printing, saving the day! Tragedy averted, she is a happy girl and more importantly…You are supermom!

Usually Sometimes that’s how things go around here…. but this day, I was unorganized and I needed this picture for my friend.  So on the way to work I grabbed my hard drive with thousands of pictures on it.  My lovely daughter was coming to work with me for the day and I thought she could spend some of the time in the office scanning for the needed pictures.  Because we were just scanning the pictures on my work computer, not using the program (it is on my home computer) the pictures were in no logical order.  So that meant that scanning most if not all of the pictures was necessary.

I found that while she scanned, she ended up opening many of the pictures old and new to view the larger file.  She called me over to view some of them and we had some fun laughs reminiscing about times that had been captured on digital files. The pictures brought back some fond memories and reminded me of some wonderful family times, even how much I loved and missed some of the people in the photos. I was reminded of the powerful effect that pictures have on our lives.

I was also a little sad, I print my photos, put them in photo albums, and write the stories, about the moments that mean something, and even about the day-to-day moments, but in the last couple of years I’ve become a bit behind.  I really need to concentrate on getting caught up.

I also realized that so many people leave those wonderful pictures sitting in digital files on their computers, on social media outlets, and even in boxes. Even though boxes are not the ideal solution, and even kind of primitive, I believe that they are the safest solution of the three I mentioned.  Digital files are extremely fragile, websites go off-line and even change the resolution of your pictures, altering them, making the quality not suitable for printing. We are trusting the storage of some of our most prized possessions.  I’m worried that our children will grow up, or we will grow old, with no photos to pass on our family heritage and legacy, no funny stories to share, and no proud moments to encourage those we love.  I believe this is a tragic.

For years our biggest fear was that a fire could destroy our pictures. The odds of your house burning down are pretty small. It happens to just .08 percent of U.S. citizens.  Today, the likelihood of losing our digital pictures from a computer/phone/website problem or crash is FAR more likely than a fire. If fact it’s not a matter of “if” you will lose your photographs, it’s more likely “when” you will lose them.

If you are in the same boat that I am with your recent photographs, or maybe even all of your photographs, I want you to imagine how you would feel if you lost all of those photos….or even a year’s worth of photos.  If that does not appeal to you, and I bet it doesn’t, consider a safer way to preserve the photos and moments that mean something to you. Print your pictures, the favorites are enough, just don’t leave them unprotected and find a good, SAFE photo album, write down the stories and preserve those special times.  One day you will be glad you did!

This photo from searchquotes.com says it perfectly

This photo from searchquotes.com says it perfectly

My choice for my photos is Creative Memories, there are other options available, but I have chosen CM because of the quality and guarantee of their products.   If you’d like to learn more about the different options Creative Memories has for your photos you can visit my personal website, there is something for everyone from simple slide in albums and digital albums to more extravagant decorative albums.

Pick an album that works for you and get started. I’m encouraging you to begin today,

Ok, so tomorrow will work….:-)

Update****  I forgot to mention that we never found the pictures we were looking for on my hard drive and I resigned myself to going home and searching with my amazing Memory Manager program :-) ….until a couple of hours later my daughter was so into looking at pictures, she found them on my phone….another dangerous place to leave pictures…but there they were,  just waiting for someone, namely me, to do something with them.


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Orange Cream Cupcakes

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In the last couple of years my daughter “Poop” and have began to make cupcakes for friends and family, it started off as an fun afternoon of “cupcake wars” with Posey and since we’ve received many compliments on our yummy cupcakes and requests to make them often.  We’ve had fun experimenting with different flavors. We are MAD about cupcakes.

Normally I’m not allowed to post cupcake recipes, (according to my daughter) we like to make up our own recipes, sometimes they are very yummy and sometimes they need some work. After thinking about it for a while I came up with an idea and this recipe was a keeper.

Orange Cream Cupcakes

  • White Cake Mix
  • 1 C Flour
  • 1C granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1C Sour Cream
  • 1 1/3 C Orange Crush Soda
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 Tablespoons Oil
  • 6 Tablespoons Orange Gelatin (Jello)

Mix all of the above ingredients together. Scoop mixture into lined cupcake pans and bake at 325 for 20-22 minutes. Touch top of cake to check doneness, it should slightly bounce back. Let cupcakes cool before filling and frosting.

Once cupcakes are fully cooled, fill cupcakes using a pastry bag with stabilized whipped cream and frost with Orange Cream frosting.

Stablilized Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 T powdered sugar (or to your taste) 1 tsp. unflavored gelatin dissolved in 1 TBSP VERY hot water. Whip cream and sugar until peaks form. Add cooled gelatin to whipped cream and gently stir/whip together (do not whip too long as you don’t want your whipped cream to breakdown)

Orange Cream Frosting

  • 1 8 oz package Cream Cheese
  • 1/2 C Butter
  • 3 TBSP Orange Gelatin
  • 3 tsp Orange Crush
  • 3-5 Cups of Powdered Sugar ( use your judgment to get the consistency and sweetness that you enjoy)

Use mixer and blend softened butter and cream cheese until well blended. Add it orange gelatin and Crush. Mix  Then slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until your desired consistency is achieved. Frost cupcakes using a pasty bag or by hand.

So there you go…enjoy!


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The Sock

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I have this issue…… Maybe you have it too.  My house can never stay picked up.  I’m sure that it’s a common thing for households but I’m starting to notice a trend, things, like socks, glasses and dirty dishes seem to just appear from nowhere.  It’s really starting to drive me crazy!

I get so tired of asking “Who’s glass is this? Who left this here? Why are there dishes in the sink?” I feel like a broken record and I’m sure that they are tired of hearing me. But then, I wonder, if they were really sick of hearing this from me, wouldn’t they pick up their things so they didn’t have to hear it?

One would think, right?  I don’t have any young kids in my house they are teenagers and older!  They are all fully capable of this type of logical thinking AND picking up around the house.  So sometimes…my head spins…and I have little rantings, most of the time in my head, and my thinking becomes, well…let’s just say…not sane.

Meet the sock.

It was the sock that sent me over the edge into insanity.  Last week it suddenly appeared on the stairway landing. I’m sure that someone dropped it by accident and figured they would surely pick it up once it was noticed. And so I controlled myself and didn’t ask “who’s sock is this?” Wrong! No one picked up the sock.

And that’s where the “not so sane” thinking comes in…I decided to see just how long the sock would be there before someone would pick it up.  As the days (yep, I said days) went by, I had to remember not to get angry and just conduct this as an experiment.  On day 3 the sock moved down a couple of stairs, but again, no one picked it up. Now keep in mind we ALL go up and down those stairs at least 4 or 5 times a day. You have to step right over it on the way

After about Day 5, my thoughts became even more obsessed with the sock.  I decided that I was going to ask my daughters to gather all of the white clothes and start a load of laundry.  I wondered, Would they gather everything else and disregard the sock. I pondered about this plan for a day wondering who was crazier…me for obsessing over this sock or them for leaving it there. And then it happened on Day 6 the sock was gone!

I was shocked….and after a bit I had to ask!  You know what I wanted to know right?  Who picked up the sock.  I started with the youngest because she is usually the most aware and helpful about things that need to be done. Posey, did you pick up the sock?  Her answer…”what sock?”  SERIOUSLY???  WHAT SOCK?  I laughed,” the sock hat has been on the stairs for 6 days that’s what sock”.  I would have bet my last dollar that it was her who picked it up!   As we were talking the hubby walked by and inquired “what are you talking about?” I asked if he picked up the sock. With a little attitude in his voice he said. “Yes, it was sitting on the stairs for 3 days I thought someone better pick it up”.  So…3 days huh? He saw it laying there, and stepped over it, for 3 days before he “thought someone better pick it up.” I guess that’s pretty good.

Since I conducted this test as an experiment, I needed to take a look at what I learned.

  • My family is blind.  Lol!  Not really, they just don’t see things that I see.
  • My hubby is a little slow. Nah!, he’s just taller than me so it’s harder for him to see things on the ground. But, he will pick things up if he needs to.  ps…he doesn’t leave his things laying around! Seriously.
  • I thought that once the toys were gone my kids wouldn’t leave stuff laying around. I was wrong.
  • My children obviously didn’t learn the Clean up song with Barney…no matter how many times we sang it.
  • I will make myself crazy trying to figure them out ….or trying to get them to figure something out.

This is not the first experiment that I have conducted with my family and it probably wont be the last but each time I will learn something…something about them but more importantly something about myself.


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My Soap Box

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I usually try to stay off of my soapbox when writing my blog posts.  But there are a few subjects that I just have to speak about. (ok well maybe a couple more than a few). This week, I read that Victoria’s Secret will be introducing a line of underwear geared toward younger girls in the “tween” age group. (You can read about it here) This bothers me on many levels.

Maybe it’s because I have 3 daughter’s and a granddaughter that this story hits home for me, or that waaay back when, when I was a teenager, I remember struggling with my self image and worth, barely surviving that time emotionally, but the fact that Victoria’s Secret has decided their profit line is more important than sexualizing our middle school girls, just ticks me off!

One father said it eloquently in his open letter to Victoria’s Secret and has caused a viral discussion regarding this subject.  In the letter  he states “I want my daughter (and every girl) to be faced with tough decisions in her formative years of adolescence.  Decisions like should I be a doctor or a lawyer?  Should I take calculus as a junior or a senior?  Do I want to go to Texas A&M or University of Texas or some Ivy League School?  Should I raise awareness for slave trafficking or lack of water in developing nations?  There are many, many more questions that all young women should be asking themselves… not will a boy (or girl) like me if I wear a “call me” thong?”

I say AMEN! I wish I saw more of this type of “standing up for the respect and morals of  our children” vs the “it’s no big deal” attitude from parents.  It’s a big deal people!

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VS initially introduced the line stating,  ”When somebody’s 15 or 16 years old, what do they want to be? They want to be older, and they want to be cool like the girl in college, and that’s part of the magic of what we do at Pink.” but now, after the parental backlash they are changing their tune a bit and stating that the line is for college students…..Seriously?  Does that mean that it’s appropriate for a college student to wear underwear that states “call me” on the crotch? Again, I doubt it!

And while we’re on the subject of boys….how in the world can we expect them to treat our girls (college or younger) with adoration and respect if they also are infused with this message. Do we really want them thinking that it’s ok to view girls as sex objects? Don’t we want them to grow up to value their morals and respect women?

I know many moms who purchase VS underwear, or logo items for their tween girl and some of those purchases make me shake my head in wonder. In the long run, I know that as a parent I have the last word, and that word happen’ to be “NO” much of the time in my household.  It will be NO regarding spending my money on underwear from Victoria’s Secret and I just may have to go to Bath and Body Works or Scentsy for my body and hand lotion now

So….get on your soap box and tell Victoria’s Secret NO, when they come for your middle schooler!


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Win A Kitchen Aid Mixer

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I have this rule for the hubby.

What’s the rule, you ask?  Well, he is not allowed to purchase any kitchen appliances as birthday or Christmas gifts for me unless I specifically ask for it.

Now, usually “rules” don’t go over too well when it comes to him, but over the years this one has kind of sunk in and he is very good about following it. So good, that when my cousin suggested he purchase a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for me for Christmas he said…”oh no, that’s against the rules!”  She ended up convincing him that THIS present would be ok, even if I hadn’t specifically requested it.   She was right!  I love it and I’m completely surprised how much I use it too!

I had no idea how handy this tool is in the kitchen!  We use it for many things, pizza dough, mashed potatoes, cakes and breads, fresh whipped cream in just a few short minutes, even shredding chicken!  I have the basic attachments that came with the mixer but there are additional attachments that are available, some of which sound interesting..like the pasta maker or the food grinder.

Mostly, we use the mixer for cakes and cupcakes; one of the best features is the fact that while it is working (mixing) you are available to measure and clean up your mess without starting and stopping, both hands are free!  It’s very efficient and man does it have some power! I keep mine sitting out on my countertop and I’m glad, it’s a heavy bugger, Normally I like the appliances tucked away in a cabinet somewhere but I am very glad I don’t have to lift this out every time I want to use it!

I would have never asked for a mixer like this, for Christmas or any other gift, since it does come with a bit of a hefty price tag and the price of those extra attachments…yep some of them are almost as much as the mixer itself. I probably wouldn’t have ever purchased it for myself either but now that I have one I understand why someone would. I think everyone should have one of these in their kitchen!

For this one time (and only this time honey)…I’m so glad that the hubby broke the rules and listened to that great advice. So… when I saw that The Hopeless Housewife was giving away a red Kitchen Aid stand mixer on I Heart Naptime, a blog that I read periodically, I just had to share it with my friends here.

Enter To Win A Kitchen Aid Mixer

Have I told you that now that I have one of these mixers, I think everyone should?  (he he) and wouldn’t it be great to get it for FREE!

You only have a 3 days left to enter so don’t wait!

I’ve entered, and if I win… I plan on gifting the mixer to someone special, so even if you are one of the lucky ones and already have a Kitchen Aid of your own…enter to win and gift it!  You will make someone’s day!

Blessings to you!


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What Was I Thinking…

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The last couple of days I’ve been trying to decide what I would post about next.  I have a couple of projects that I’ve completed and a couple more in the process but as Holy week is approaching I really wanted to write a little more of a faith related post. I’ve had several thoughts during my recent days and have, at the time, been able to expand that thinking into more, until I sit down at my computer to write…then they are all gone! I don’t understand how something that I can think about for a good deal of time during the day, can be “just gone” when I finally relax for the evening.  Then I’m reminded about my head and the whirlwind of “stuff” that is in there, and I kind of understand. This morning while taking a look at my site stats I noticed a post labeled “picking up the pieces” that I had written and remembered one of those thoughts…Yay! no whirlwind in my head today.

Not long ago I was “pondering” about how decisions you make during your life can have a profound effect on your circumstances for years to come, some good and some bad. I’ve realized that when I was younger I made decisions much differently than I do today, probably because I know that even the smallest of decisions can have big implications.  I would bet many of “us older people” would have some words of wisdom for the younger generation.  When you think about choices that you’ve made are there any that you wish you wouldn’t have made?  There are definitely some of those in my life.  Even the good decisions, the ones that I wouldn’t change, the life time decisions, like getting married, buying a home, moving to a different city, or having children; I have at one time or another, thought…WHAT WAS I THINKING? Honestly, not that I would change any of those things if I had to do it all over again, but the “what was I thinking” thought was definitely there at one time or another.

However there is one decision that I have NEVER felt that way about. I’ve thought it through, for many months now, trying to remember a time.  I’ve been thinking back to so many times during my life and I cannot think of one time that I’ve ever had the “what was I thinking” thought about inviting Jesus into my life.  No regrets, not once ever, can I think of a time that I was disappointed or disillusioned with that decision. Jesus never promised that life would be easy and there are many of those “difficult” times, but I wouldn’t want to go through them without Him. The gospel (good news)of Jesus was for everlasting life, not easy life.

With Palm Sunday the beginning of Holy week, commemorating Jesus’ glorious entrance into Jerusalem, then, less than a week later, seeing how quickly the tide turned for Him and the disciples, into something awful that be described as God’s will, I’ve decided to celebrate Jesus’ glorious entrance into my life almost 20 years ago and be thankful that after all those years I’ve never looked back to wonder “what was I thinking?” but instead, I have been more and more humbled by the fact that He loved me enough to die for me.

I want to remember the words of Jesus, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you”. – John 15:16

 

 

My prayer for this week is that we all spend a little time thinking about Jesus and the meaning and implications of His last week before being crucified.

God Bless,


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