Jammin' & Me

Faith & Hope

2015-09-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

I heard a talk last night from Dieter F. Uchtdorf he told a parable about faith. I could relate to this talk on a few different levels. It's a simple story with so much meaning about an 11 year old girl that goes to spend the summer with an elderly aunt whom she has never met while her mother has and recovers from a surgery. The girl sees and is eventually drawn to the happy countenance of her aunt and before going home at the end of the summer asks aunt her how she can be so happy even though her life is less than perfect. Her aunt replies.

" "It's Not Fair" was the song I sang over and over in my head...Eventually I discovered something that turned my whole life around...Faith...I discovered Faith and Faith led to Hope and Faith and Hope gave me confidence that one day everything would make sense. That because of the savior all the wrongs would be made right."

This really spoke to me. For the past while I have been trying to increase my Faith. Some days when I'm down and suffering from depression/anxiety I try to "keep the faith" and it does give me hope. It doesn't magically make everything all better but it keeps me going. I know that I just need to make it through one day at a time and have hope for a better tomorrow. Slowly...Slowly over time the good days last longer then the sad ones. The quote from the talk that I put on the pic above "I could have a little faith. Put on a bright dress, slip on my dancing shoes and skip down the path of life singing as I went" Sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally I put on a bright dress or sing to my favorite songs and it can make a sad day a little brighter for me, even for just a little while.

"No matter what happened in the past, my story could have a happy ending"
I have learned that the atonement can heal our sorrows. Actually I am continuing to learn this concept. It's a matter of giving letting go of past hurts and sorrows and Allowing ourselves to be healed. For me this is easier said then done. But as I have been trying to apply this in my life I am lightened by the heavy load that hurt and sorrow bring. Not to say I have mastered this in any way but I keep trying. I keep having Faith and Hope. I hope to someday have the happy countenance of Aunt Rose described in story.

Revelation21:4
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

One last quote from the beginning of the talk: "I invite you to listen with the spirit. That the Holy Ghost will help you to find the message for You in the parable"

God Bless!

Spinach & Mushroom Smother Chicken

2015-09-24T18:26:00.001-07:00

I had my heart set on making the Spinach & Mushroom Smother Chicken recipe that I found on Pinterest. When I brought up the recipe I realized I didn't have some of the ingredients. Unfortunately this happens fairly regularly so I just "wing it" with what I have.
So listed below is my version of Spinach & Mushroom Smothered Chicken. Hope you like it!

Ingredients

1 large bag of spinach leaves
1 1/4 C Heavy Cream
1/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Sm/Med Onion - Diced
2 T Butter
Salt and pepper to taste
8 ounce package of mushrooms, sliced or 2 cans sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 boneless chicken breasts or whole baked chicken – Diced into small pieces
1 – 1 ½ Cups mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375

In a large skillet melt butter – add onion, garlic and mushrooms and sauté

Add spinach leaves to the onion mix and allow spinach to cook down

Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream and Parmesan cheese.

Place cooked/diced chicken in baking dish and pour spinach mixture over the top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes uncovered until bubbling slightly

Top with mozzarella cheese and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and then broil for 3-4 minutes until cheese begins to brown.

Borax Free Laundry Soap

2015-09-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

After trying out several different laundry soap recipes I think I have finally found one that works for me. I have a front load HE washer and this recipe leaves the clothes clean and beautiful. Note: I do still pretreat the heavily soiled clothes. For fabric softener I use about a 1/4 cup of vinegar with each load.

Recipe:

1 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Oxi-Clean
1/2 Cup Coarse Sea Salt
1/4 C Citric Acid
.5-.7 oz Soap Nuts

Mixing Instructions:

Measure and grind the Soap Nuts in the blender
*I use my Blendtec and it grinds them up really well.
*I read that you can also blend the Washing Soda and Nuts together.

Measure and add remaining ingredients together and stir.
I usually throw in a silica gel packet into the jar to keep the laundry soap from clumping.

1 Tablespoon for HE washers - for heavily soiled loads I may add a little extra

That's it!! Enjoy...

Spinach Pear Salad

2015-08-30T16:02:00.002-07:00

Had lunch with some friends this past week. Delicious meal. They served this delicious Spinach Pear Salad. The salad was good but the dressing took it over the top. I love poppy seed dressing but with the pear juice added it was amazing. Just got the recipe and thought I would share...Enjoy! I know I will.

Bentonite Clay Toothpaste

2015-08-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

I noticed one day that my teeth had begun to get brittle. My tooth literally just broke one day. So I started looking up ways to strengthen my teeth. I came across a few recipes combined added my own special touch and this is what I got. I've been using this toothpaste for about 10 weeks. Some recipes claimed whiter teeth. Mine are possibly a little whiter (maybe more wishful thinking than reality) but my teeth feel clean, my breath seems fresh so I'm going with it! I haven't been to the dentist yet for a check up and cleaning. I'm going to wait until I've been using my toothpaste for about 6 months and then see how it goes.

For now here is the recipe:

1/3 Cup Bentonite Clay
1/4 Cup Boiling Water
1 T Coconut Oil
1/4 t Real Salt
Trace Mineral Drops - 15 drops
On Guard Essential Oil - 1 drop
Clove Essential Oil - 3 drops
Peppermint Essential Oil - 15 drops

Directions:
Boil water. Add all the ingredients except the Bentonite Clay and stir.
Add the Bentonite Clay and mix with hand mixer until combined.
It should be the consistency of clay. Store in covered glass jar.

I bought the Bentonite Clay at my local health food store. They sell 2oz containers which is about 1/3 of a cup. I also got the Trace Mineral Drops from the health food store. And I use Doterra Essential Oils.

Thanksgiving 2014

2014-11-07T05:54:00.001-08:00

In honor of Thanksgiving and the whole idea of being grateful for everything in my life I have been blessed with I have created some Facebook Banners. Feel free to use and share!

I took this picture from my front yard. It had been a cloudy day and then in the afternoon, just as the sun was getting ready to set, the clouds parted and let the sun shine! Some of the trees looked like the leaves were glowing. It was beautiful.

Blueberry Cobbler

2013-05-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

We have been having fun making desserts at my house in the past few weeks. My daughter Amber made PW Apple Dumplings. They are always amazingly yummy! Then my Mother in law, Martha and I wanted to try something similar with blueberries. Martha found a couple recipes on line that were close but not quite right so we combined them and it turned out delicious.

Blueberry Cobbler

Blueberry Mixture:

1 cup Sugar

½ Cup Cornstarch

4 cups Blueberries – Frozen

½ cup Mountain Dew

Thaw blueberries in the microwave until warm and juicy. Add sugar, cornstarch and Mountain Dew.

Stir to combine and place into 9X13 baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Topping:

2 cans crescent rolls

1 cup butter - melted

1 cup sugar

½ cup Mountain Dew

Place crescent rolls over blueberry mixture side by side. Simply push and scrunch them together to fit, don’t overlap. Mix butter and sugar together and pour over the crescent dough then pour Mountain Dew over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes.

Enjoy life today

2012-07-21T10:39:00.001-07:00

While surfing Pinterest today I came across this quote:

It reminded me of a book that I think I need to get off the bookshelf and reread. It's called The Precious Present by Spencer Johnson. It's an amazing book that uses a story to remind me that today is precious and to live today for today. Not to get caught in the trap that "When _____ is better/different then I'll be happy". **Feel free to fill in the blank as you see fit**

I can be happy, fulfilled and joyous today. Look for the little things in life and celebrate them!

I've tried a few things over the years to remember some of the great blessing in my life so I thought I would share them with you.

1. The ABC's. This one is pretty east and straight forward .
A - Amber (my daughter)
B- Beautiful flowers in my yard
...you get the idea list one positive for each letter of the alphabet

2. Gratitude Journal: This one is just thinking of 3-5 things that you are grateful for each day. There is a talk from General Conference a few years ago by Henry B Eyring. He said one night he was inspired to start writing down blessing in his life. Not just for himself but for his children and family to read about later. Before he would write he would ask himself the question “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As he continued to do this he said "I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done."

I have totally found this to be the case in my life. My sister-in-law Phyllis once told me to have a positive outlook on life and to see the good. She challenged me to say "People do nice things for me and I let them" each day and see what happened. It was amazing!! If some let me in traffic on the way to work I would think wow! people really do, do nice things for me. If someone held the door or elevator for me...same thing. Just putting that thought into my head helped me to look for the good that is around me.

Life Changing!

3. Count Your Many Blessings. This book by Elaine Cannon challenges the reader to write down 100 blessings in your life. The first 25-30 are easy. The last 25 are a little bit of a challenge and if you have to really dig. Which is good. I always feel very blessed by the time I finish.

UEA Weekend - 2011

2011-10-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

We went 4-wheeling on Saturday to 5 Mile Pass.
It's out in the desert so the best time to go is in the fall.
I was amazed at the colors.

So then I started playing with photoshop and changing the pics. Here is one... or should I say 7

This is how the photo started straight out of the camera.

And this is me just playing around with the different actions.

I love this one, it's so cool!

So tell me...which one is your favorite?

March 1st!

2011-03-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

March has started out beautiful. In my mind March means spring.

So the doggies and I went for a walk to enjoy the beautiful morning.

As you can see there is still a bit of snow left from the storms of last week.

The view of the surrounding mountains was spectacular!

How blessed I feel for all the beauty of this world

Home Sweet Home

Transparencies

2011-02-04T13:15:00.000-08:00

I have some transparencies that I thought I would try out.
They look so cute at the store but when I get home I have no idea what to do with them.
So I Googled it and found only 1 page example.

Here is the blank transparency as it came from the store.

I used white felt to make the clouds

and stitched around it with these cute fiber threads from Close to my Heart

And here is the finished product!

Arizona Sun

2011-02-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

Last week I visited my Dad and Mona (Step-mom) in Yuma Arizona.
It was sunny and warm with a slight breeze. Highs in the upper 70's.
Perfect Bliss...

It's our 2nd Annual January trip. Works out perfectly for us. The weather is cold and dreary in Utah and beautiful and warm in Arizona.

My parents aren't in the best health so we mainly stay at home and play games, sing songs and watch movies.

Watch out! They may look sweet and innocent but they are really card sharks. I'm not sure if we ever won a game. We learned a new game called 5 Crowns. It's pretty fun.

Interesting Note: My Dad used to play with a band when I was little with hula girls and everything.

We learned a new song called SeVali Vali

Kevin plays the guitar and is teaching Heather the Ukulele. They played this song pretty darn good.

My Dad's birthday is next week so we celebrated a little early. He got some new shoes and Amber made him a quilt. This is her first ever quilt and it's super cute!

I love this one fabric she used. It has cute birds and trees. Too bad it's not scrapbook paper!

Just laying by the pool and enjoying the sun.

We heard some interesting stories about growing up in Samoa and that these are made out of coconut husks.

We had some fun/silly times at the good ol' Golden Corral. And you thought phones were only for talking!!

Bye Dad and Mona...Love ya!!
See ya next year!

Leftovers

2011-01-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

I had some leftover paper from my last project.

I had a couple of unmade, half-started projects so...

I finished them!

Happy Saturday...see ya next time!

Officially Entered to Win!

2011-01-20T16:04:00.000-08:00

I officially entered my first Scrapbooking contest.

I was up until 12:30 last night trying to finish it and then this morning came down and changed it up a little.

Here it is all official looking

This is what it started with...a few Basic Grey items

I loved this paper because it's doubled sided. More bang for my buck!

I love the Ribbon Doilies. There is adhesive on the back so they are easy to place.

And so delicate and pretty

This is actually a button I got from my daughter Amber. Super cute and perfect for this vintage page.

I liked this flourish but it was kind of plain. I have this cool Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels. You just spray it on and it antiques and adds a little glitter to your embellishments.

I used it on some of the flowers also...

So here comes the hard part. I added the flag/banner thing at the top but do i put the flowers on the top right???

Or the bottom left???

Or this huge butterfly???

I had decided that the butterfly would be the big winner but by morning I changed my mind.
The butterfly was too big and it took away from the photo so I just kept is simple.

What do you think?

Christmas Cards

2011-01-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

Most years I like to scrapbook a page to store the Christmas Cards that we've received this year in. Maybe kinda weird but I like to look back sometimes and see the cards and letters from our friends and family.

So here is the finished product for 2010.
I also made a page to match with our Christmas Card.

The ingredients are to follow...

First was the paper selection. Our family photo was taken in October before the snow. So it was more of a fall picture. Lots of rich orange and browns.

Our family photo was taken by a young up and coming photographer that lives in our neighborhood. Kaitlyn is a senior in high school and extremely talented. She has quite the eye for photography.

My inspiration/idea page.

For Christmas Santa brought me a Cricut Expression. I found this cool program called Sure Cuts A Lot. It takes clipart and lets you cut it out with your Cricut machine.

The "E" didn't turn out quite right so I had to punch out the middle.

Now for the ribbon...plain brown or...

or maybe with a little gold...

or maybe bring in some black

This is why it takes so long to make a page. Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Even the puppy dogs are getting tired out.

And here is the final result.

And here are some previous years.

I've lost my mind!

2011-01-13T21:20:00.000-08:00

Well I thought that starting a blog would be pretty easy. Turns out not so much.

I've crashed my computer twice because I have so many windows open on Firefox plus PSE and a couple jump drives looking for the perfect picture and well you get the picture.

But I've learned some new things.