we ate ourselves silly with popcorn

while one fur child pawed around the couch to find the perfect spot next to Gracie

and together we made endless popcorn crumb messes

and

I know. we may have paused (paws-ed) our show 300 times.

But no matter what…we sat in comfort and laughter and each others arms (and paws)

we also made a little bug trap….had to google it…because i’ve never made a bug trap (nor had the desire) but i had a little 7 year old who woke up saturday morning and was inspired to do so….this is what you need

• 1 jar
• spade
• 1 piece of fruit (we used 1/4 of a ripe banana)
• a spot in your garden to dig
• puppy to help dig, watch, be intrigued, follow along (optional)

dig a hole in the ground deep enough to hold the jar so when sitting, it’s ground level…place jar in hole…and fill dirt around the jar to secure…put some dirt in bottom of jar and place fruit on top of dirt….then check ever so often for bugs….

at about noon…she went out and made her first check up and i heard screams of joy….”MOM, I’VE GOT 3 ANT CRAWLING IN MY JAR…AWESOME…..ANNNNNNNNNTTTTTTS!” (i’ve never seen anyone so excited to have ants…love it….like i said…it’s makes us realize all the little things that we tend to forget when we grow up) and she had one last check before bedtime…in which she was so excited to find a worm (and let me say this…the worm was not in the jar..but crawling next to it) ~but she is confident that if she would have given it a little more time…the worm would have gone in after the banana….

and as promised…..here are some Vitamix Recipes….boy are we having fun with this…absolutely LOVE it! and Gracie is in charged of naming all of them~

Homemade Applesauce

• 4 apples cut into fourths and cored
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 T sugar
• 1/4 cup water

add all in and blend…top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon

Blush

• 1/4 pineapple skin removed
• 10-15 strawberries
• handful coconut
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (i use activia)
• 1/2 cup milk
• ice

pour into vitamix and blend

Coconut Island

• 1/2 pineapple
• 1 banana
• handful coconut
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (i use activia)
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• ice

pour all into vitamix and blend

Banana Dream

• 1 banana
• 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (i use activia)
• 1/2 cup milk
• ice

pour all into vitamix and blend

Resee’s Peanut Butter in a Cup

• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• 2 heaping tablespoons of peanut butter
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• ice

add all into a vitamix and blend

Iced Vanilla Frapp

• 1 cup strong coffee (i used organic decaf)
• 1 cup skim milk
• a pour of vanilla syrup (you can use anything…i’ll do caramel next time)
• ice

pour into vitamix and blend

We’re curious….what’s your favorite vitamix recipe?

no….it has not inspired me to get out and do burpees, or treadmill, or rope arm swingy-thingys…but it has inspired me to say “NO MORE EXCUSES” …mom and i have been juicing for over 15 years now and it is the one thing i always find myself saying “i need to juice more!” It seems like i get into such a great habit of juicing for awhile…and then my juicer collects just about as much dust on it as my piano….geeee-ross! so, i found these little bottles on amazon (link here)

i did some research on them and threw those puppies into my shopping cart in a matter of 5 seconds….i am an ULTIMATE PRO at online shopping…don’t mean to brag or anything…! today, my cute little UPS man dressed in brown made me a happy girl when he delivered these to my doorstep….YAY! (my relationship with him has blossomed….see above statement in bold to make the connection)

so i ripped open the package (i’m really quick at that too! lots of practice! see above statement in bold again….i’m starting to be repetative…consider me like your nana)…cleaned up some carrots and halved some apples and set out on a juicing expedition…ohhhhhhh sounds so glamerous, doesn’t it?

here’s my juicer….see….nice and clean…just swept the dust right onto the piano~

carrots (i can hear you all say “duh!!!”

apples….(double duh!!!!)

let the expedition begin

the only problem i ran into was how to pour the juice into the small mouthed bottles…so i just cut an aquafina bottle in half and used the upside down spout as a funnel…i macgyver-ed it’s ass! (expedition impromptu awesomeness!)

i used about 8 carrots and 1 1/2 apples for each! they recommend filling them to the top and closing the cap tight to seal in nutrients and vitamins…throw into the fridge and drink up within 48 hours…..BRING IT ON!

there’s a little 7 year old that i’m going to have to battle with for these

….she loves carrot apple juice as much as i…..but this is one thing i’m willing to share…..cookies on the other hand….NOT SO MUCH!

what’s your favorite thing to juice….give me some good ones….i like to explore when i’m on expeditions!

I believe so much emphasis is put on children to compete and to succeed and sometimes we forget to nurture them and to help build their confidence….in school, we are tested and everything is based on numbers…in sports, we are judged based on our skills instead of built up for our bravery for trying…..too often kids are taught they aren’t good enough if they don’t get good grades, or make the team…..instead we should be building creativity and confidence and life skills for them to know that they are good enough and deserving….

i know every school conference Jerime and I go to for gracie, the biggest honor we can receive from her teacher is “Gracie is so kind to others” ~we always tell her, “mommy and daddy don’t care if you misspell words or can’t run a fast mile in gym…what we care about is that you show compassion to others and use your kind heart..” i tell her almost daily how proud i am of her kind and loving spirit! sit down with your child tonight and tell them how proud you are of them…how wonderful they make your heart feel…that you can’t imagine life without them….and tell them what i always say to gracie

“out of all the little boys and girls in this world…how were mommy and daddy soooo lucky to get you!” 

I’ve seen so many fun challenges floating around on Pinterest…..challenges for photo taking, challenges to clean your house, challenges to love your husband…..my heart spoke to me today as i was sitting out on the deck…basking in sunshine…..

it said…how about a “30 day affirmation challenge for Gracie” 

here’s my affirmation…i LOVE my little heart songs! i truly think it’s my guardian angel speaking to me thru creativity….so blessed! 

What you Need to get Started

• 30 scraps of paper…i used a thin cardboard
• crayons, paints, pens, pencils, markers to design them (if you want….you don’t have to…i just find plain paper sooooooo boring)
• a big jar or bowl to put them into
• tape to hang them on your child’s mirror, or a corkboard, or the fridge….wherever….maybe even have your child pick the special spot

here is the list of affirmations we used……feel free to steal them or make your own

1. i listen to my heart
2. i am very creative
3. i am deserving
4. i am grateful
5. i am blessed
6. i am full of light and love
7. i am always kind to others
8. i love my body
9. i am perfect just the way i am
10. i am protected by angels 
11. every problem has an answer
12. good is always in my life
13. i am full of good ideas
14. i can make it happen
15. i focus on the positive 
16. i use kind words
17. i believe in me
18. today i will practice kindness
19. i have a wonderful mind
20. today i will practice patience
21. i am healthy happy and whole
22. my parents adore me
23. i have a smart mind
24. my life is an adventure
25. i believe in a loving God
26. everything happens for a reason
27. i am always safe
28. my light shines in darkness
29. i care for the earth and animals
30. i am a good listeneer
31. i am forgiving

oops….i added one more……that’s how great of a counter i am…..

wait….

let me rephrase that

I AM A GOOD COUNTER

we would love to have you join us in this….let’s build our babies into light and love! we’ll begin ours on April 1st! Share this with your friends…..let’s spread it and teach them how to fly!

“Good morning my little darling….what would you like for breakfast”

and she replied

“Chocolate Chip Pancakes”

now, let me be honest with you…..i make these ALL the time…it is my most requested meal from both her and Jerime (although Jer always wants pancakes and strawberries with whipped cream) ~but this morning,

i didn’t wanna cook pancakes

i wanted to open a mini box of cereal and pour it into a bowl

i wanted to unwrap a nutri grain bar and throw it on a plate

i wanted to throw pre-frozen cinnamon waffles into our toaster and wait 3 minutes for them to cook

Didn’t she understand that yesterday i made BBQ Chicken Egg Roll Wraps AND Homemade Broccoli Cheese Soup? What am i? When I grew up I wanted to be

a mommy 

a dancer

a photographer

an animal trainer

a fashion setter

a children’s book writer

a princess

an artist

and a cupcake sprinkler

pretty much think i’ve got ALL THOSE STARTED (if not finished)

well now i can add pancake maker to the list

Nothing says “I LOVE YOU” like chocolate chip pancakes (recipe here)

Enjoy these two recipes also from yesterday

BBQ Chicken Eggroll Wraps

Ingredients

• egg roll wrappers
• chicken breasts (seasoned, cooked and cutup…i used leftovers from the day before)
• BBQ sauce (i used Buffalo Wild Wings Honey BBQ)
• broccoli slaw
• green onions
• cilantro
• shredded cheese
• sour cream seasoned with taco seasoning to dip

Ingredients

fill it up

seal it up….

eat it up! 

Homemade Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients

• 1 T olive oil
• 1/4 onion chopped
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk (i used up 1/4 whipping cream in mine and 1 3/4 cup milk…i just had to use up the whipping cream so i threw it in)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups fresh broccoli
• 2 carrots diced
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• handful of shredded cheddar cheese

saute onions and garlic in olive oil, add butter and flour and then whisk in chicken broth until the lumps dissolve, slowly add in milk and bring to a boil…stirring occasionally….add in broccoli and carrots, and sprinkle in salt pepper and nutmeg….cook until veggies are tender…about 20-25 min…continue stirring so milk doesn’t scald…right before serving, throw in a handful of cheese and then garnish with more cheese if desired

perfect served with grilled mozzarella panini

here is a collection of some her pictures from last night…

my goal in the next couple of weeks is to make a “scavenger hunt” walk and look for things to check off our list….example

~a bunny

~a blue house

~2 dogs in a backyard….etc

that should give this little darling some more inspiration to jaunt around the neighborhood 

i went to bed last night with visions of oatmeal dancing in my head….i go to bed hungry almost every night and dream about what i’m gonna make for breakfast the next morning…some people dream of husbands, some of children, some of wishes, some of vacations….

I

DREAM

OF

FOOD

well, i woke up this morning without one glimmer of an appetite….(happens every morning) most days, i can go until 2 o’clock without even having the slightest tinge of hunger…especially in the summer when i’m super busy painting all day

...it is nothing unusual to not even eat until dinner time…..I KNOW…I KNOW…that’s so bad….but it’s the truth

but this morning, my curiosity got the best of me…i HAD to see if this oatmeal actually turned out…because i had major doubts…what could seriously be that easy to make? Boy, was i wrong…it’s absolutely delish! and the possibilities for add-ins are endless

Ingredients 

• 1/2 cup oats (not instant)
• 1/2 cup of yogurt (i used vanilla)
• 2/3 cup of milk
• a sprinkle of ground flax

after a week of putting off doing taxes, i’ve made a rule….i can’t do taxes on a rainy day….and even tho yesterday was full of sunshine, the rule started today! i love making rules!

I detest doing taxes…..maybe less than politics….but more than spiders and maybe somewhere comparable to slow drivers

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas mashed
• 1 T vanilla
• 1 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
• 4 T pure maple syrup
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup coconut

Directions

preheat oven to 350 degrees….in a small bowl, combine bananas, vanilla, peanut butter and maple syrup and mix with a hand mixer until creamy. in another bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt. add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to mix. fold in chocolate chips and coconut. place by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet and cook for 15 min…..

today, i fed my daughter dark chocolate for breakfast…because science says dark chocolate is good for you and there are two things i can’t argue with….

science 

and 

my mother

cookies and spongebob for breakfast…..let’s get this week started out right! 

First things first….let’s start with this fabulous cheesecake….i just

can.not.

 wait.

         any.

      longer.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons butter melted
• 2 T sugar
• 4 packages of cream cheese softened…i used two regular and two reduced fat
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 T flour
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup Baileys Irish Cream Liquor
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup light sour cream
• 3-4 T strawberry preserves
• strawberries for garnishing

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Stir together first 3 ingredients and pour into a 9 inch round pan…the recipe calls for a spring pan…i don’t have a spring pan so i just used a round pan…press into the pan to create a crust and cook for 10 min and let cool

reduce heat to 300 degrees

beat cream cheese, one cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons of flour with an electric mixer until combined and creamy. gradually add vanilla and irish cream and mix just until blended…add 1 egg at a time and  cream until blended…add 3/4 cup sour cream and mix until blended

pour half of batter into graham crust and then drop tablespoons of strawberry jelly onto the batter and swirl around with a spoon…spreading it over the batter

bake at 300 for 55 minutes and then turn the oven off and let cheesecake sit in oven for 15 min…remove from oven and run a knife around the edges gently to loosen…cool completely…the recipe i followed here, wanted me to chill for 8 hours…(i had 3 hours before serving friends at dinner….) so i stuck it in the freezer and wished for the best….when we were ready to for it, i gently flipped it onto my cake stand and threw on some whipped cream and fresh strawberries….

what a great weekend we had…..we celebrated Gracie’s “Very Merry Un-Birthday” to kick it off on friday….we’ve never done this before and we just thought it would be a fun reason to celebrate, so we just went ahead and did it….i highly recommend doing it….it made her feel so special ….we bought balloons and i made a huge sign for the front door so she would see it on her way home from school, then we took her to toys r us and out to dinner. when we got home she decided to put her scooters from last year out on the curb for some other little boy or girl to use…and she was so excited when they both found a new home within an hour….LOVE HER!

I worked all day Saturday on tree signs for our backyard tree stump…we had a walnut tree removed a few years ago and were left with an ugly boring stump right in the middle of our fence posts…and i knew i always wanted to do something with it but just never decided what…so i gathered scrap wood and made fun signs to hang on it….

what you will need:

• drop cloth
• sponge brushes
• acrylic paint, white for base coat, black for letters and what ever other colors you’d like to use
• scrap pieces of wood
• a cute saying
• polyurethane sealer (the same one i used for my rainbow steps here)
• screws to put into the tree

directions

prime your boards using a sponge brush with white base coat and let dry completely, smear color on top of each piece…not perfectly…just swipe it on and allow to dry completely, paint on your words with  black paint and let dry, screw into the tree stump and spray with polyurethane…i applied one coat last night and will apply another today (maybe even two!) easy, simple and such a fun way to spruce up an old boring stump

 easy, simple and such a fun way to spruce up an old boring stump

i am head over heels with spring….like bat my eyes…swing my hips….slather on some lipstick…can’t get enough, wish it would call me…thinks the moon rises and shines…over.spring

I needed to take a break from cleaning and renovating to do what i do best…..decorating. I’ve wanted to do this picture garland forever and figured to “Carpe Diem”

Materials Needed

• old fabric (you could also use branches, yarn, braided rope, twine or whatever your little heart desires)
• clothespins (i bought mine at target)
• pictures (the number amount is your choice)
• nails
• hammer
• acrylic paint
• sponge brushes

start by laying out your pictures on the floor to assemble how many rows you’d like and spacing….the picture placement doesn’t matter…that is super easy to change once you get the garland up

follow by cutting out LONG strips of material…i cut out four but like i said, the amount will matter on how much space you wanna fill

then take one end of the fabric and pound it into the wall with a nail and pull the other side over and nail that one on opposite wall

hang pictures by clothespins

you’ll notice the weight of the pictures pulls the material down (now if you had a big enough wall, you could leave it swooping, but my space was limited so i just pounded nails in to raise it so it was level

continue this process until you reached the amount of rows you’d like and then trim the edges of leftover material

i decided after the fact that i wanted to have some color instead of just plain clothespins, i would recommend painting before you start hanging…..but since i’m a mediocre professional painter, i used my mad skills to dab on some color with a sponge brush while they were still hanging…i choose to do rainbow colors because asking me to decide on which color is like asking me to choose between my children*

the above was a trick statement…i’ve only got one child….so i’d ALWAYS choose Grace…bad example! 

i absolutely love it….fabulous way to show off my pride and joy~ now, i have to admit, i had multiple reasons for posting this blog….

1. to share with you this tutorial 

and 

2. to share my grasshopper pie recipe (adapted from Babble …i doubled their recipe)

Grasshopper Ice Cream Pie

• 1 bag of oreos, pulverized in a food processor
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 carton mint chocolate chip ice cream
• 1 big tub of light cool whip
• 3 cups dark chocolate chips
• 2 cups heavy cream

Coat a 9×13 cake pan with a light layer of nonstick cooking spray.
In your pan, mix together the Oreo crumbs and butter until well coated. Press into the bottom of the pan. Allow the ice cream to melt until it’s a pliable consistency, then spread it over the top of the Oreo crumb layer. Smooth a layer of whipped cream over the ice cream, then return to your freezer until it’s fully frozen, about 2 hours.
In a small pan, heat together the chocolate chips and heavy cream. Stir until a creamy ganache results. Smooth over the frozen whipped cream. Return to the freezer and allow the ganache to harden completely before serving. i had left over mint chocolate chip pieces so i sprinkled those over the top also for a garnish
 then allow the cake to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before slicing into it with a very sharp knife.
Makes about 24 servings

we had extra ganache left over so the next morning i made chocolate covered doughnuts….S-A-WING! (doughnut recipe here)

Almond Joy Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter (Softened)
• 3/4 c sugar
• 3/4 brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips
• 2/3 almonds
• 1 cup coconut

add flour, baking soda and salt together into a small bowl….in separate bowl, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar….add the vanilla and one egg…mix…then add second egg…mix…mix continually while gradually adding flour mix…stir in almonds, chocolate chips and coconut….drop by spoonfuls on baking sheet….350 for 13-14 minutes 

thankful

for him

EVERYDAY

many of you know that 8 years ago, while 5 months pregnant with gracie, Jerime got diagnosed with Malignant Melonoma….you can read the story here at my blog post 7 Years Cancer Free It was a time in our lives we learned to lean on each other (me more so on him…then him on me….pregnancy hormones were on overload), a point in our lives where we realized what was REALLY important and what things didn’t deserve extra stress…it was the only time in my life i begged, prayed, cried and pleaded every.single.day. You see, life just wouldn’t be life…without him by my side.

This morning, i received an email from a truly inspirational woman…. 

her name is Heather Von St. James

and this was the email she sent me

The reason I have reached out to you is because of your blog! I myself am a mother to a quirky little 6 ½ year old, Lily. She is my only child, and my whole world. The very beginning of Lily’s life was a little more turbulent than I would have hoped for. When Lily was just 31/2 months old, I was diagnosed with Mesothelioma; a type of cancer that kills 90-95% of those who have it.  As I’m sure you can imagine, the first thing that came to mind when I was diagnosed was my baby girl and how I wasn’t going to be able to watch her grow up.

After all that, I’m still here 6 1/2 years later and cancer free! I’d like to turn my pain into purpose and become someone that other people can look to for guidance, inspiration, and hope in situations like my own. I contacted you because I feel that your blog would be an excellent place for me to share my story.  Your visitors are the type of people I’m trying to reach out to; these are all the types of people who could gain something from my story.

Would you consider putting a link to my blog on your site as a resource for your readers? (I have a button if that makes is easier!) Or, if there are other ideas you have about ways we could work together, I’d love to hear them! I hope you are interested.

Heather…you are remarkable….to me and to so many other people….i would be more than happy to share your story…and i thank you for touching my life along with so many others…Here is the link to one fabulous, strong and beautiful survior!