Happy New Year!!!

I know I am a few days late, but none the less....

Happy New Year!!!!!

Things are in full swing with changes constantly hitting us daily.  Change is good right?! 

I am so very thankful for all the changes and lessons we had last year.  And now we are ready for more!

Changes that come daily in life are certainly not always easy, but they make us strong and that is when we grow.  Like every other January this time marks when I get my stuff in order!  A time for me to organize, to time I desire to see clear, fresh lines and thinking about how I want this year to be different. 

When life is not always cupcakes and daisies, when the coffee pot totally overflows(seriously!!!), when your desires are not always met, when people disappoint you, when your camera dies right as you are going to take a picture of the first EVER bluebird you saw or when your children crack nuts all over the floor and don't bother to pick them up and you step on a shell, yep, that is when you (me) must stop and think about what really matters.

So that is my goal, resolution, hopeful---whatever you want to call it---for 2014.

To "Focus on What Matters".

Will I do it every single day?  Probably not.  But I have hope to!!!  And I will turn it over to my Heavenly Father to lead me daily.  It really comes down to attitude and making your day/life what you want it to be.  You know kinda like with children you pick your battles.  Life is the same way.  You have the choice daily as to how you will see things, react to certain situations, what you will allow to make you mad (and or happy) and so on and so forth. 

I have hopes this year of focusing on what matters.

Do you have goals, resolutions or hopefuls for this New Year? 

What We've Been Up To

I did not intend to take a break from blogging.  It just happened.  And when I thought about blogging nothing came so I knew it was to be. 

I suppose it might have to do with my different attitude this December.  A while back I blogged about saying NO to lots of things this year during December. 

IT HAS BEEN FREEING! 

We've been out of school for a week and will take this week off as well.  I can't believe Christmas is two days away.  December goes way too fast. 

So here is what we've been up to.

There have been many mornings like this.

Cisco time

Several hours during the day were spent like this.

Volunteering at OCS....helping a local church bring in toys.  The TRUE spirit of Christmas is giving!

And shopping was often done like this.  I pretend I don't know them.

WHY?!?!
 

I did try a few new recipes this season.  And a few afternoons were spent like this.

Childhood memories of licking the bowl.

And quite a few evenings were spent like this.  I bet we have watched more movies this December than we have the entire year!

Polar Express

It's really all about the memories for me in December.  It warms my heart to hear the boys say....."Remember last Christmas when we _______?"


So today I tell you this.........

God bless and Merry Christmas!!!  I seriously doubt I'll post again before Christmas Day.  Enjoy your family and friends.

Thrift Shopping-What I Found

"Early to bed early to rise" I say when it comes to a full day of garage sale/thrift store shopping.  Well almost a full day.  We did make a stop at Target in the middle and I am happy to say we made it home with some amazing finds. 

I love garage sale and thrift store shopping.  Why pay full price for something if you do not have to.  Oh sure there are things I pay full price for, but I am a frugal gal and am always looking for a deal.  Thrift shopping is a practical, reasonable, and easy way to stretch your family’s dollars.  If your family lives on one income, and you’re the home manager assigned the job of managing the spending, then consider shopping at thrift stores your income contribution – you’d be surprised at the money saved.

Our first stop was a garage sale.  At garage sales I go looking for things for the home.  Odds and ends to decorate with quickly catch my eye.  Just look what I found on Saturday!

Trunk load!! Less than $8

-colorful wicker basket
-wine basket
-old John Middleton tobacco tins

-double boiler (I have wanted one of these for a long time.  No more bowl on top of the pot!)
-candle stick (with old wax! Yep, I'm leaving it on.)
-wooden stool/seat

-Budweiser blimp (for the boys and not our brand anyway!)

And last, but certainly not least and the best part of my day........drum roll please......WOODEN SHUTTERS for FIFTY CENTS EACH!!!!!!!!  Brant couldn't handle the low price and paid a $1 a piece.  And they WILL work in my kitchen windows.

It was so worth getting up early on a Saturday for this purchase alone!  


Target was our next stop.  When shopping with eight year old boys you always take their dares.  A simple mask was entertainment for some Target shoppers as we walked around the store looking for Brant.  And as you can tell the boys found their own entertainment.  It was all in good fun.

Our final stop after Target was a thrift store.  The boys were beyond done at this point, but did enjoy looking through all kinds of FUN things in this store. 

NOTE: Never take boys to thrift store again.  Shopping at thrift stores means having to sift through lots of aisles of crammed-full racks.  Eight year old twin boys do not do well in this type of situation.  At least not over 10 minutes.   

On Saturdays all clothing is buy one get one FREE at this particular store.  So you know exactly where I was headed.  Always check the store to find out the specials.  When looking for clothing in thrift stores, Goodwill or a garage sales (its rare for me to find clothing I like at a garage sale) I look for unusual pieces.  Although I usually try to stay away from trendy styles here is where I can justify a trendy piece.  And I always look for quality brands.  You’d be surprised by the amount of well-made, expensive clothing hiding in thrift shops, just waiting to be found.  On Saturday I picked up this top.  It goes well with black dress pants and I adore it with jeans and boots.  Make sure when purchasing clothing at thrift stores you look for any rips, tears or seams coming apart.  I often ask for a discount if I find something wrong with it.  Since clothing was buy one get one FREE my other top I went for a basic long sleeve button-up cotton shirt.  And like the other it goes great with dress pants or perfect with jeans and cute little flats.  Just because something is $2 I make sure I stop and really think about how I would wear a top/pants, etc.  I visually put an outfit together and always try things on if there is a dressing room.

Other recent finds.

Small prints, Nine West gypsy cross-body bag, Ralph Lauren ladies flannel shirt and Rosie the chicken.

So there you have it.  Are you a thrift store shopper?  Are you looking for household gems?  Maybe designer clothes for a fraction of the price.  Find a thrift store and get to shopping.  Or get up early this Saturday and hit up some garage sales.  Have FUN, be patient and grab it while you can.

Tuesday Tip-Homemade Scarecrow

You might remember my cute little fallscape with our homemade scarecrow and hay bale.  The boys were so excited to make a homemade scarecrow.  And of course curious to buy it at a feed store.....city boys!  I did adore the cuteness, but after the rain started he soon looked like this.

And then it rained again.  And again!  "Someone" forgot to tell me that this was not a good idea.  And I will admit I never even thought of the weather being a factor.  And we never drilled holes in the wheelbarrow so he sat in water.  For days.  When it would stop raining I would go out dump out the water and just as soon as I was done another downpour would come!  The hay bale was falling apart and ants were finding it to be a great place to make their home.  Throw in the awful SMELL of wet rotting hay and let's say it was just nasty!  So shortly after poor Mr. Scarecrow looked like this.

It was time for plan B. 

Carefully remove wet, smelly hay bale and throw in the back of your truck.   Oh wait---first recruit your husband and his truck.  Give him gloves because the hay bale is full of ants.  Stand back and watch his massive arms throw a wet hay bale in the back of his truck.  And listen closely as he says, "I knew it would not work".  Quietly listen and thank him for all his hard work.  And then say goodbye to Mr. Scarecrow. 

Next have Honey drill holes in the wheelbarrow because rain is coming AGAIN!  Set up new fallscape of simple mums, pumpkins and a cute flag and call it done.

Tuesday Tip:  When making a homemade scarecrow it might be best to plan to have him under a porch.  The weather is brutal on such a delicate guy.  And in my opinion hay bales are suited for much dryer climates. 

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte-Revised

Recently Brant and I had a Saturday to ourselves for a few hours to do some shopping.  We were near a Starbucks and decided to have a treat.  We don't go to Starbucks often and since it is the season we knew what we would order.  You guessed it-the oh so famous Pumpkin Spice Latte.  We also knew after making them at home a few weeks ago we needed to taste their version again to aid in perfecting my homemade recipe. 

Upon the first sip we knew our homemade PSLs must be sweeter!  So Sunday afternoon I made up a batch.  The revised version of this recipe is pretty darn close I must say. 

But wait!  If you are looking for a "skinny" PSL search again.  This is not your place, but the original recipe may be.  You can find it HERE . 

Back to the new recipe.........in my humble opinion a PSL must have the whipped topping.  Otherwise just make coffee at home and go buy a pumpkin spice creamer at the grocery store.  By the way that is not too bad either.  Anyway, although I do not know Starbuck's recipe for PSL I am pretty sure it has TONS of sugar.  As I wrote this post I became very curious about just how much sugar they do have in their PSL.  As to be expected they don't exactly give out that info.  They do give the grams of sugar per ounce, but I was too lazy to figure it all out.  So I searched on and found that LIVESTRONG.COM was not lazy.  Check this out!

Livestrong says:
"In the grande pumpkin spice latte there are 49 g of sugar, or 12.25 tsp. Even if you order just a 12 oz. drink, you still get 38 g of sugar, or 9.5 tsp. Ordering non-fat milk does not significantly affect the sugar content. While some of the sugar is naturally occurring in the milk, these numbers far exceed the American Heart Association recommendations for women to take in just six added teaspoons of sugar daily and men just nine."

So to say my new recipe has less sugar than Starbucks is a mysterious.  Although I will say I am making this for four cups.  How many ounces is each cup I have no idea.  And frankly I am not willing to take the time to figure it all out.  Besides PSL are a treat.  It is not something we have everyday.  Just know up front it has a lot of sugar!

Revised PSL
*makes four PSL

3 cups whole milk (I use 2% all the time)
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Enough double-strength brewed coffee for 4 cups (I usually make 4 cups)


And for the topping"
4 tablespoons sweetened whipped cream
4 pinches pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Combine the milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice in a small pan and heat until hot.  Not boiling!  You can either whisk until frothy or put in blender and mix until frothy.  Pour the milk mixture into 4 coffee mugs about half full.  Then pour coffee leaving just enough room for whipped topping.  Add a dollop of the topping and garnish with pumpkin pie spice on top.  And if you are making for company a cinnamon stick would look fancy.

 

I usually give the boys a little less as you can see in the picture above.  This is more like a dessert to me and still a treat for us all.  It does take a little time to make, but so worth it in my opinion.  So much so we have officially made this our Sunday afternoon treat during October and November.  So if you plan to visit us on Sunday afternoons give me a shout so I can make extra. 

Happy Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday-Homemade Scarecrow

 

Tuesday Tip-Homemade Italian Seasoning

I've had this recipe for a couple of years now and finally got around to making it/measuring and pouring into a bowl and mixing. 

I use a lot of Italian Seasoning.  I use it every Friday night making our homemade pizza dough.  And I sprinkle it on our pizzas before going in the oven.

I made this seasoning two weeks ago, but wanted to try it a couple of times before sharing.  My thinking was if Brant and the boys eat pizza as usual then the seasoning must taste the same.  This past Friday was week two using it in the dough and on top of pizza.  I finally asked and no one could tell a difference. 

SCORE!  It's a keeper!

I will say this could be expensive to make if you do not have all spices and dry herbs on hand.  In my case it cost me nothing thanks to my inlaws giving home grown-home dried herbs for a Christmas gift last year!

Here is what you will need:

3 tablespoons Basil
3 tablespoons Oregano
3 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Mix all in bowl (or the container you plan to keep it in) and stir.  Once this sits on the shelf for a while all those seasoning settle to the bottom.  So make sure to give it a shake or two before using it each time.

It smells amazing!  And looks so fresh compared to the store bought. 


You might also like my recipe for Homemade Taco Seasoning .

Tuesday Tip-Make Your Own Flower Arrangements

I love making my own flower arrangements.  I try to remember in the spring to make sure I plant seeds or buy baby plants.  I really should be planning for next year right now.

Planting flowers in our yard that I can bring indoors is just another way I enjoy living a simple life.  The cost is next to nothing!  A seed packet is less than $2!  And I get flowers for months!  I love being able to walk out whenever I want and cut flowers to make an arrangement.  Or to have just a single flower.  This summer (and spring) I have had a single flower in a tiny vase in the bathroom every week.  It's a nice way to brighten up a little room.  By the way Marigolds make a great cut flower.  I try any and all flowers growing in our yard.  What's the point in growing them if you can't enjoy them indoors too. 

 

In this vase I have sunflowers, zinnias and spearmint.  By the way the vase is actually a plastic container (Sunsweet prunes).  I just knew it would come in handy for something. 

Vase inspirations is from Monica over at The Homespun Heart .  I simply glued the sheet music to the container and added a piece of burlap and tied. 

Homemade flower arrangements also make a perfect little sussie.  Now if I can figure out what flowers I could plant in our yard to last through fall.  Happy Tuesday to you.

**sussie- a small "just because" gift.**

Fruit Freeze

We call them a fruit freeze.

Mango, banana, grapes, strawberries and orange juice. You can add a tad of sugar if too bitter.  I keep bananas and grapes in the freezer to use for these cool drinks.  You can add ice to make it more slushy.  They are perfect for hot summer afternoons.  You can make it with any fruit you or your children like.  And it is great for those fruits that are about to go bad.  I use apples sometimes too.  The combination of fruits are endless.  The key for me is to give them something cool to drink that is good for them too.  They love these slushy drinks and it cools them off.  Win win!

Umbrellas are optional. 

Sweet Orange Salt Scrub

I love being out in the sun.  And you know how much I love being at the beach.

 

 

But after a day at the beach my skin needs a little love.  

You know those times when a little exfoliation is due?

To maintain beautiful, glowing skin it’s absolutely necessary to exfoliate all those icky dead cells blocking the baby soft layer of skin underneath. But boy can the body exfoliators and scrubs in the beauty aisle really put a dent in your shopping budget. So before you rush out and spend a fortune on a salt scrub do it yourself.  

 

DIY scrubs are: 

-Super easy.

-You can make it in less than 5 minutes.

-You only use four ingredients. 

 

I totally forgot to measure how much this makes, but as you can see it filled up a wide mouthed Mason jar and another little Mason jar.

 

Coconut oil naturally protects from the sun, so this scrub is great for bare legs. And orange makes us happy!  The sweet scent of orange is always energizing and mixed with the coconut oil it makes for a delicious scent and leaves the skin with a healthy glow.  

Sweet Orange Salt Scrub:

1 cup sea salt (Epsom salt would be fine too)

1/4 cup coconut oil (olive or almond oil would work too)

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

20-30 drops of Sweet Orange essential oil

 

 

So next time you spend a day in the sun give your skin some love. 

Of course only if you are NOT nursing a sunburn.  

And that extra jar full of Sweet Orange Salt Scrub makes a thoughtful and wallet-friendly gift.

Wouldn't this be sweet in a summer spa basket?!

 

 

Warning: this will make a shower floor very greasy.  I suggest cleaning after each use. 

 

Benefits of Salt Scrubs

Thankful Thursday-Simple Roasted Chicken

I am thankful for the simple roasted chicken we had for supper last night.  It was our first chicken from the pasture raised chickens we butchered on Saturday.

When cooking if I want to taste the "star of the show" I prefer to use less in seasoning.  So for roasting this chicken we used just a few ingredients.  We were all anxious to see if the taste would be different than our usual nasty grocery store chicken. 

Brant and Matthew without a doubt thought it tasted different.  I thought the breast tasted different.  Ryan just ate.  Funny thing was I am usually freaked out by chickens from the store.  They are nasty, slimy and have a weird gross smell.  As I took the chicken out yesterday afternoon to wash it I did not bat an eye at handling it.  Maybe because I knew where it came from, what it had been eating it's whole life and because I had just handled it on Saturday.  Also it did not stink and did not have that disgusting sliminess factory raised chickens usually do. 

Even if there were not a big difference in taste, we all agreed that because of the chicken's life, the way it was raised and what it ate, it is all around better for us.

Ingredients: 
1 (5 pound or smaller ) Roasting Chicken
salt (eyeball)
pepper (eyeball)
1 lemon quartered (surprisingly this gave off a strong taste.  Will omit next time)
3-4 garlic cloves
1 onion quartered
3-4 sprigs of thyme
2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.
Allow the chicken to get to room temp for about 30 minutes.
Remove inside giblets and such. Rinse the bird under cold water.  Pat dry with a paper towel. sprinkle the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper.  Stuff the cavity with the lemon, garlic, onion, and thyme.  Rub the bird all over with butter.  Then season with salt and pepper.  Using kitchen twine tie the legs together and tuck the wings under.  Or cut small slit in the excess skin and tuck legs in the slit.  Place the chicken in the pan and roast for 1 1/2 hours or until golden and crispy and the juices run clear.  You can use a meat thermometer and check for doneness it should read 160.  Let the bird rest for about 15 minutes before you carve it.

Serve with homemade mashed potatoes of course!  And gravy made from the drippings of the chicken.  And go ahead and stem some broccoli.....easiest recipe ever for broccoli-add just about an inch and half of water to a medium size pot.  Add 1 teaspoon of sugar (yes, sugar); bring to a boil.  Toss in cut up broccoli trees (the boys call them little trees when they are cut up), place lid on pot and let steam for 8 minutes.  DONE!  And super delicious.

I just gave you a whole meal idea.  Enjoy! 

I am off to find more chicken recipes.  You'll be seeing lots of them here.  Do you have a favorite chicken recipe?  Leave me a comment.  Share a link.  If you have a blogged about it let me know, I'll share it here.

And come back tomorrow for FUN Friday/FUN Weekend.  I 'll give a recipe and craft for this up coming Memorial Day Weekend.

Simple Strawberry Jam and Breakfast Grilled Cheese

Since May is National Strawberry Month I just had to share a strawberry recipe or two.

Both are super easy to make.  This would make a perfect breakfast for a certain man in your life.  Yep, that day is right around the corner.  Or it would be a great brunch idea with friends...for a ladies brunch cut in half.  These are super filling!  And I am pretty certain your children would love it too! 

Warm sweetened cream cheese and strawberry jam oozing out the sides of these toasted waffle make me drool.  Sprinkle with powered sugar and cinnamon oh my!!!!

First lets get started on the simple jam.  This is perfect when you don't know the whole canning process (that's me!) or just don't have the time. 


Simple Strawberry Jam
Ingredients:
2 cups of fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup of sugar* (see note below)
1/4 cup of water
1 tsp fresh lemon zest

Directions:
Wash, hull, and slice your strawberries.  Put them into a saucepan with the water, lemon zest, and sugar.  *Note* add sugar a little at a time and taste as you go.  You may like your jam a little less sweet.  Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until jam thickens and reduces.  You can add cornstarch to make it thicker if you like.  Mash with a potato masher while cooking to break up big chunks.

**Don't forget: his jam has no pectin in it, so it needs to be refrigerated and used within a couple of weeks.** 

Not a problem!  You can quickly use the jam by making this delicious breakfast grilled cheese.  Are you ready?

Breakfast Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:

⅓	cup whipped cream cheese
2	tablespoons powered sugar, plus more for topping
4	frozen waffles (untoasted....you could use fresh if you so desire)
1 to 2	tablespoons jam (any flavor)
1	tablespoon butter, plus more if needed
	ground cinnamon for topping

Directions:
Mix the cream cheese and powered sugar in a medium bowl. Spread 2 waffles with the jam, then top with the cream cheese mixture; cover with the remaining 2 waffles.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sandwiches and cook until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes per side, adding more butter to the pan if needed. (Adjust the heat if the waffles are browning too quickly.)
Let the sandwiches rest 1 minute before serving. Sprinkle with powered sugar and cinnamon.

Serve with bacon, fruit and OJ.  Maybe serve this to Dad on a silver platter in bed on Father's Day.  He'll be shocked and give you lots of hugs and kisses!  Enjoy breakfast! 

Happy Wednesday.

I Survived Butcher Day!

Well I did it.  I survived our first butcher day! 

I didn't throw up, didn't freak out and actually thought it was a great learning experience. 

If you missed my post on Friday I'll quickly tell you that Saturday was butcher day.  Our family along with Brant's brother's family butchered 47 pastured raised chickens. 

I'll spare you with all the details, but if you are the least bit interested you can go HERE to read about "Our First Butcher Day". Warning:  there are some graphic pictures.

I know a few of you who are waiting with baited breath to find out the role I played on butcher day.  And contrary to what some may have thought I did do some work.  I did take pictures.  I did cut feet and tails off.  And did eventually pull heads off.  I did handle dead chickens.  I helped in the final cleaning of the dead chickens.  And I did learn more than I could have ever imagined!

What I did not do. I did not do as much as some on butcher day. I did not kill chickens (thank you to my amazing husband and his brother for taking that on).  And I had no part of eviscerating (gutting) the chickens.  I did from time to time have to pull parts of the insides out that were forgotten when I did the final cleaning, but that was as close as I got.  Speaking of gutting the chickens..........Kudos to my SIL who got right there in the action of eviscerating.  Maybe next batch I'll be as brave as you.

My thoughts on this day..........it was a long work day.  But truly satisfying when at the end we saw the fruits of our labor.  Our freezers are now stocked with fresh pasture raised chickens.  Chickens that were fed and cared for in a manner that we are not ashamed of. 

More thoughts on butcher day.....the chicken plucker was by far the most fascinating part of the day.  If you have never heard or seen one that is reason alone to go to the link above to read about "Our First Butcher Day".  A video is in that post.

Right now I am gathering chicken recipes.  And can't wait to have a lovely roasted chicken this week. 

Happy Monday to you.

Snack Time!

We will soon finish up school (for a little while at least).  WOO HOO!  Our days will be less structured.  There will be more in prompt to running around.  And days where we have no plans at all.  All this craziness will result in me not planning for healthy meals.  And that will lead to me snacking instead.  And the boys thinking the kitchen is a constant open buffet table!!!   

You can call it snacking or eating several meals a day. Whatever you call it I thought I would start working on some healthy ideas.

Here are a few of my recent favs.  I love each and every one.  And the boys like a few too.  Pinterest was a big help in the search for these snacks/small meals. 

Cucumber, Feta and Dill Salad-OK first these were suppose to be little bites.  You'll see the picture below.  I didn't cut up my cucumbers small enough so I just made a salad.  Either way is SO GOOD.  I'll probably just continue to make the salad, but the bites would be perfect to take to a summer party.  There is just something about fresh cucumbers.  Oh how I will miss our gardens this summer...sniff-sniff.  I look back at pictures from last summer.  We were so blessed with boat loads of cucumbers!  It was nice, but this year I'll have to make do with store bought.  I love cucumbers.  And I love Feta cheese.  But I never had thought to put them together.  The saltiness of the Feta is perfect with the cucumber.  Add dill and fresh ground pepper, and you have a wonderful simple salad.  I adapted it from HERE .  Since I did not have fresh dill I used dry.  Next time I'll use fresh.

Salad

Bites

Frozen Blueberry Yogurt Bites. These will be perfect for warmer days ahead.  Blueberries in Greek vanilla yogurt.  Place on cookie sheet with wax paper and place in freezer.  That's it!  The frozen berries I found HERE .  Ryan loved these....Matthew not so much.

Loaded Apple Rings-core an apple, spread with peanut butter (or your favorite spread).  Top with any of the following: oatmeal, almonds, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, flax seeds and or a few mini chocolate chips.  Because a little chocolate always taste good!  I usually load up two rings and eat the rest of the apple plain.  Very filling snack!  And the apple rings I found HERE .  Both boys gave these a thumbs up.  Kid-approved snack moms!

PB, oats, almonds and mini chocolate chips

Smoothies-my favorite, Hairy Green Supreme.  Go HERE for recipe.

Flax seed was added in this one.

Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas-for years I have been making spicy roasted chickpeas.  I saw these on Pinterest and could not wait to try a sweet version.  LOVE, love, love these!  You can find the recipe HERE .

Crackers, cheese and fruit. This one I came up with all on my own. Triscuit Thin Crisps are a new favorite.  And an approved cracker in this household.  Having only THREE ingredients in them!!  And I can pronounce every single one!
15 crackers-130 calories.  These thin crackers with extra sharp cheddar and a few BIG strawberries make a perfect snack.  This is a favorite of Matthew's!

I passed on having 15.



 

What are some of your favorite healthy snacks?  I would love some fresh ideas.