First I measured my vanilla yogurt into my mini muffin pan.
*I would suggest using an ice try if you can- I didn’t have one so I used this. The only problem is- when you try to get them out it bends your pan. 

Next I put my yogurt pan into the fridge for about 2 hoursI decided to buy most of my fruit frozen because it’s not in season right now, so this was cheaper! I one banana per bag & 1/2 cup of fruit. I made some raspberry and some mixed berries! I also added a 1/2 c of oats to each bag as well! To assemble each bag I used 4 yogurt cubes, 1 banana,  1/2c of frozen berries, 1/2c oats! Then popped them in the freezer! 

In the mornings, I put my ice in the blender as well as the 4 cubes. (Just dump the bag in the blender  but you’re going to want the ice and the yogurt cubes to be at the bottom so they get crushed quickly), I then add 1 c Coconut Water and mix away! They are so yummy!

Enjoy!

Now on to the winner:

#4 – Sarah P
Beautiful idea for a giveaway! I’ve been following a number of couples in my own church community who are going through the process to adopt God’s precious children and I can’t tell you how much the hearts of these couples convict me. I love the Burden’s post “Guarding My Heart” for a couple of reasons. 1) It shows how much they are leaning on God and looking to Christ – the ultimate hope!! 2) This is such a beautiful explanation of that Proverb. So many of us first encountered it in reference to dating and while that’s certainly relevant when we grow in Christ those few simple words become so deep. 3) I am convicted of how much such tiny insignificant things stress me out (“What if I don’t do well on this job project?”, etc.). Our God is the Most High God! He will leave no one as orphans. He is big enough to be Father to us all and His will is perfect and will be done.

I will be praying for the Burdens as they walk this journey. And, thank you for “introducing” them to me

Sarah please let me know what initials you’d like on your necklace! or you can go to Jill’s Etsy shop and pick one you’d like.

xo-
Vanessa

You need:
Nail polish remover
Scissors
Tea bag
base coat
Nail file/buffer

First thing you need to do is remove your nail polish and make sure your nails are dry!! No oils, lotion, etc. Yes I use paper towels because cotton balls are gross! Get your tea bag and cut the corner piece- emptying out all the tea! Then open the tea bag so you have one “big” piece like shown in the bottom left. You need to measure the width of your nail and cut yourself a piece from the tea bag that covers the width of your nail and the length of your crack. (not your behind- your finger nail crack) Some people like to cover their entire nail but I tend to just cover the part that is needed. For me- it is faster! I like things to be done quickly! Once your piece is measured and cut, take your base coat and apply it on the “broken” nail. Place your tea bag piece on your wet nail and smooth down the edges. Cut off any excess paper and apply another layer of your base coat on top! I repeat these steps twice and put two pieces of paper on my nail to ensure that it is secured. You are then ready to file your nail to get rid of the rough edges from the paper. Do this softly because you don’t want to file off the tea bag itself!
You will also smooth out with the file and buffer the top of you nail to make it feel smooth! and ta-da! You can now paint your nails as normal! Your nail will grow and the crack will be gone and you won’t have to be sad about cutting this part off of your nail.

So before you go and cut off your broken nail- try to fix it first!!!!!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a free necklace!! All the proceeds go towards our friend’s adoption!

While this necklace may seem it only helps John & Jill with their adoption costs, it has also blessed me. When I wear this necklace, I am reminded to be grateful, reminded of hope, and reminded about helping others! I promise you- you will love yours as much as I love mine!

Here is what Jill wrote on her etsy shop!

This hand stamped necklace is made of stainless steel and comes with an 18 inch ball chain. Perfect gift for a mom or wife! Choose your baby or husband’s initial. Initial charm is 1/2″ circle. Choose from a blue/silver pearlescent bead or pink/peach pearlescent bead (see second photo for pink/peach bead color only). Can add multiple initial charms; they will stack when wearing so only top initial will be immediately visible. Please include order of charms from top (visible) to bottom.

*Every piece is hand stamped and may appear slightly different than photo. Each one is unique and beautiful!*

Profits go toward our adoption costs! Thank you for supporting our adoption! Follow our journey at addingaburden.blogspot.com

Who: Anyone can enter
What: One lucky person will win this necklace above with the initials of your loved ones. (as many charms as you wish- just remember they stack on top of each other)
When: Winner will be announced on Friday, February 17th
How: This one is a bit different than just leaving a comment. I know some of you will choose not to comment because it requires an extra step- but I pray that you find the extra 10 minutes to do the following:

1. Head over to www.addingaburden.blogspot.com
2. Come back here and leave me a comment with something about them/blog/story, etc that touched you.

Disclaimer: John & Jill did not ask me to write this post promoting their blog/fundraiser. It was put on my heart that I wanted to do a giveaway each month for 2012 and I couldn’t shake wanting to giveaway this necklace. When I was planning my giveaways, I kept coming back to this idea and I knew I had to share! I encourage you to please donate or even purchase a necklace of your own from her etsy shop!

*P.S. on the right hand side of their blog they have a donation button. Every dollar helps! If it put on your heart to help- it’s super easy!

xo!

Here I am day 10!

Jeans + boots you cannot see but they are my wide leg jeans and my short boots!

I’m so happy and ready for a relaxing weekend! There may be some of you out there who are like me and have a hard time relaxing. Not physically but mentally. My brain goes 100 miles per hour and I can’t stop thinking of what needs to be done, or next week, month, year, etc. This was getting to the point of me losing sleep, or waking up at 5am and unable to go back to sleep and then I would be tired and cranky and who likes that combo?

I started doing a brain dump for as long as I can remember and I do this in a variety of different ways.
A brain dump equals = dumping information out of your brain onto paper so that you can relax your mind but still have the ideas that were flowing through your brain somewhere you won’t forget.

I brain dump in the evenings for the next day usually after dinner. This allows me to get what I’m thinking out of brain and allow me to enjoy the rest of my evening. At times, my list will change throughout the evening or when I wake up the next day but this helps me not feel overtaken by my To Dos.

Here’s how I do it: 

• Keep a small notepad with you at all times so you can write whatever you want in there at any moment   in time. I keep it in my purse. I know some bring their notepads to bed so they can write it down there. I don’t because I forget to put it back in my purse, therefore at night when I have something I need to remember, I put it in my phone to beep in the am and I add it to my list then.
• Write down everything you need to “dump” from your brain that day. (I have a running to do list that I add to)
• Then I put about 3-4 tasks for each day that I want to complete. If I put my whole list on there, I would have a panic attack. Plus it’s not realistic that you could complete them all well and it would only leave you more frustrated.
• Repeat steps and keep moving forward

Recap:

• Brain dumps help you get things off your mind so you can relax.
• Keep a notepad with you at all times or use your phone’s notepad feature.
• Keep a running list of ALL the things you need/want to do.
• Take a 3-4  items from this list and add them to specific days depending on your schedule.

Hope you can enjoy a relaxing weekend, because you organized your to do list!

What do you do to relax and not feel overwhelmed by your to do list? 

See how I organize my monthly projects and see my january shoe closet mini haul.

1. Breakouts: Why is this necessary? It just so happens that the week I’m seeing people or have plans, I get a pimple. (which is such a gross word, so it zit) I am lucky that my skin is normally pretty healthy but I do get a little crazy obsessive about rubbing anti-pimple cream on my blemish in hopes that the more I put on, the quicker it will diminish and when I say quick, I mean like 20 seconds later. hasn’t happened so far.

2. Working Out: I actually love the way I feel after a workout, but getting myself to workout is the real challenge. I worked out in high school regulary but now i prefer to read, watch tv, blog, hang out with the hubs, etc. This is one item that I’m hoping to carry over to my good list in 2012. Briana is going to have to push me along! LOL Her workout wednesdays post at least make me feel guilty on wednesdays to do a workout!

3. Living far away from family: Though we love Charlotte, we will never be okay with living so far away from our family. Would we ever move home you ask? It’s a possibility that we talk about, but it wouldn’t be in our immediate future. There are pros and cons to each and we would have to seriously figure those out before any decisions would be made. If we won the lotto- our problem would be solved we would live in both states and be very happy!

4. Bills: Checking the mail as a kid was so much fun. The envelope or package you received meant it was a goodie. Now I am excited when we don’t have any mail besides my birch box or an online order because envelopes are statements reminding you of your monthly bills that need to be paid. Once again, if we won the lotto, this would be solved! Good thing we are lucky to both have jobs, our bills paid, and are fine we are thankful for that since we know many struggle to have what we take for granted!

5. Blowdrying my hair: This takes forever and I’m not patient. That is why I LOVE second day hair. Still looks good and didn’t take as long to do!

What are some items/things that would make it on your bad list?