Homesteader's Heart

Eww, Seriously, So Gross!

2012-02-24T07:27:00.001-05:00

I know we are all trying to lose a few pounds this year and we need all the help we can get. Thanks to an unlikely source, I believe I have found the perfect solution for all of us.

Enjoy!

My Art Journal!

2012-02-22T15:30:00.001-05:00

One thing you may or may not know about me is that I like to draw. I used to draw all the time when I was a teenager but then life got busy and I put it aside, until recently.

Life is still busy but the way I’m doing this, it really doesn’t take a lot of commitment or time to do. That’s why I started it in the first place. I knew I’d be able to actually do it.

I stink at keeping a journal, but yet I want to document a little bit of life around here, so this was the perfect solution.

I bought my art journal at Hobby Lobby. Yes, they actually make a journal specifically for drawing and painting and such. Who knew? I sure didn’t. But now I do and you do to. You’re welcome.

Now I just started this this year so I only have 2 entries so far. I decided to only do one per month as not to overwhelm my brain. Because obviously my brain can get easily overwhelmed.

I chose to use watercolor pencils. Why? Well because I draw better than I paint so I thought I would be able to combine the two.

For January I drew/painted this picture.

Then after you use a wet paint brush on it, it looks something like this.

The story behind this picture is this. We have a maple tree in our backyard and it held onto this one last leaf until the very last day of January. We watched as the wind blew and that leaf held on for dear life. It was such a fun memory for us that I decided that it would be my subject for my art journal. Are you starting to see how this works?

Here is the tree in question.

For February I of course decided to to more of a lovely dovey type of picture.

I first drew it with the pencils.

Then I blended it together.

Then this time I decided to add some stickers and scrapbook hearts.

On the back of each picture I write a little something something to sum up the month and what all went on. It’s so much fun. I hope this inspires you to give it a try. The only limit is your imagination.

HAVE A CREATIVE DAY MY FRIENDS!

The Week of LOVE!

2012-02-20T07:13:00.001-05:00

This past week was a busy week.

These are our best friends and it was that silly fella’s birthday there on the left. We celebrated with them the Saturday before Valentine’s.

It was so much fun. I always look forward to this day because it’s just the 4 of us and we get to just hang out and be silly and have a YUMMY dinner that my BFF makes.

She goes all out with a beautiful table and….

delicious dessert!

Then of course on Valentine’s Day I did a little something for my family!

I love to set a pretty table for them. They deserve to have pretty too.

Everyone made some really cute Valentine’s for each other.

The people of the world, or at least the people on our street were greeted with a little Valentine’s Day love.

Having worked up an appetite, we came in and had a yummy dinner of marinated wild salmon, fresh from our garden brussels sprouts and brown rice.

And for dessert I made a coconut flour cake with a raspberry sauce and the most delicious dark chocolate raspberry truffles.

And then last but not least, my hubby and I celebrated our anniversary on Friday. You’re going to love this. The only picture I took the WHOLE night was of the super delicious dessert I made. LOL! Yes folks, I have my priorities.

I tweaked a recipe and came up with this and it was DELICIOUS!! But now I have to make it again so I can write down the amounts I used. Darn it! It was a Dark Chocolate Mousse. A “healthier” version. Not low fat mind you, just “healthier”.

But yes, this is sadly the only picture I took of the whole night. But I did make us a romantic dinner and then blah blah blah and yada yada yada.

Anyway, that was our week.

I hope you had a fun one as well!

Have a lovely day my friends!

Tell Me Again WHY I Have Throw Pillows?

2012-02-16T07:34:00.001-05:00

In theory, I love throw pillows. You see them in magazines all nicely placed here and there as if they belong there and all is well in the world.

For some reason it just doesn’t work out so well in my world. 98.45% of the time MY throw pillows look like this.

Even I will move them out of the way just to sit down. Which brings me to this question that maybe you can answer.

Throw pillows are good for………

Throwing?

Squishing down into the seat?

Decorating the coffee table?

Using up the fabric and stuffing of the world?

Setting your food on?

I personally use one of them to put under my knees when I’m working out and have to do push-ups. Yeah, that’s why I made them. OY!

Help a girl out. Tell me why throw pillows exist. Because in my house it isn’t for decoration. *sigh*

HAVE A LOVELY DAY MY FRIENDS!

Weight Loss and Holidays!

2012-02-13T07:50:00.001-05:00

Those two things usually don’t go together do they? If you’ve been on my blog for the last 5 months you know that in late September I removed 98.76% of added sugar from my diet. So far I’ve lost 13lbs. I have 7 more to go.

Let’s face it, most of us know that sugar is the main culprit in our struggle to lose weight. If you didn’t already know the reasons why you should try to eliminate it from your diet, here’s a list I found that is VERY informational. Don’t hate the messenger! LOL!

146 Reasons Why Sugar is Bad for You

Here’s what’s been working for me. Stick with me, It may be long but hopefully it’ll be worth your while to read it.

I workout about 5-6 times a week. I know that sounds insane to some of you but you start to feel so good doing it, you don’t want to skip. Each workout ranges from 25-35 minutes on average. See? Totally doable.

Source: healthyfitfamilies.com via Kim @ Homesteader's Heart on Pinterest

Currently I am doing the 9 week challenge with the Wii Active 2. People, let me tell you something right now. It is the BEST $18.00 ever spent. I haven’t been this toned in YEARS.

The key for me has been to set a certain time each morning and do it. That’s usually around 7:30 am. Then it’s done for the day and I have that boost that keeps me going all day.

I don’t count calories and I don’t measure things. Doing that kind of thing stops me in my tracks. I don’t like hard. I probably don’t need to tell you how to eat healthy. Deep down we all really know what’s good for us and what isn’t. But here’s a couple of healthy snacks I like to chow on when I need a little something between meals.

Almonds

Sliced Veggies and Homemade Hummus

A piece of fruit

I’ve also started implementing a lot more vegetarian meals in place of animal protein and I can feel a difference in doing that as well. But just take one thing at a time. I didn’t do everything at once either.

So what do you do about the holidays, birthdays, anniversary’s etc? It’s hard isn’t it? Everyone else is eating cake and pie and cheesecake and you feel deprived right? Well there are some “healthier” alternatives.

First of all if I “need” to make something I’ve started replacing sugar with Coconut Crystals.

Here’s some great info on the benefits of using this.

Honey is another great alternative.

Here are a couple of yummy looking desserts that I might end up trying for Valentine’s Day.

Coconut Flour Orange Cake

I’m thinking about doing these as cupcakes with pretty cupcake liners.

Source: nourishingdays.com via Kim @ Homesteader's Heart on Pinterest

These next little bites are really good the way they are but for Valentine’s I’m thinking about rolling them in cocoa or coconut and putting them in mini cupcake wrappers.

German Chocolate Fudge Bites

Source: chocolatecoveredkatie.com via Kim @ Homesteader's Heart on Pinterest

There are ways to satisfy that sweet tooth without giving it all that processed sugar.

Let’s break it down here. Basically you need to do 3 things and I guarantee you’ll start seeing results. First, tell people what you’re doing so they know. You need a support group. Sometimes I think it’s harder for other people to accept your changes then it is for you. Second, start working out at least 3-4 x a week for about 30 minutes. And thirdly, cut out sugar. Just starting out with those two simple changes will change your life.

Well I hope you’ve gone away with something you can benefit from. I want you to feel as good as I do right now. It’s been life changing for me. I thank the Lord all the time for the strength to do what I’m doing.

You can do this!

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY MY FRIENDS!

The Garden Transition! Fall/Winter to Spring!

2012-02-09T06:42:00.001-05:00

To say that we have had a mild Winter is an understatement. While it did get quite cold at times it never stuck around for more than a few days at a time and in the month of January our average was probably around 75 degrees. With that said, our garden doesn’t know what to do. “Normally” everything would be done by now but we are still getting tomatoes like there’s no tomorrow and our onions and cabbage, brussel sprouts and green bell peppers continue to press on. So we are leaving them alone for now and my hubby is tilling up the part that has been resting since Summer.

This is what the scene looks like right now. The garden extends all the way to that little shed in the back.

Up until now we’ve (meaning exclusively my hubby) been tilling and planting without much preparation to the soil. But hubby’s getting VERY serious about it now. He recently had two dump truck loads of “special” dirt delivered and he and the boys are slowly getting it spread throughout the garden.

Boys and dirt make for a good time!

He is ready to get planting. These are just a few of the seed packets that he’s ordered.

He tries to get organic, Non GMO, heirloom seeds. Plus he saves some seeds from previous crops as well.

Here’s some of our tomato bounty. This is about the 2nd round of mator’s and he just brought in two bag fulls yesterday. I’m making and freezing sauce out of them because frankly I don’t even like tomatoes in their “raw” form. It’s a texture thing, but sauce I use all the the time.

Well that’s the update from the Homestead Garden. I’ll keep you posted on any new developments!

Have a GREAT day my friends!

Help!

2012-02-07T07:08:00.001-05:00

Do you really want to know what goes on here at the homestead? Do you? Do you? I’m warning you, sometimes it ain’t pretty.

First let me start off by saying, I love music. I’m one of those walking radio stations and you know how radio stations will wear a song out. That’s me, right now. For 3 days straight I’ve been singing this song, A LOT!

You HAVE to listen to it to see what I’m talking about. It’s addicting. It’s catchy. It’s completely senseless, which makes for a great song to get stuck in your head for days on end.

The wildfire is spreading and I can’t stop it. My kids are singing it and now even my husband is singing it (which is funny in it’s own right). It gives no warning, it just starts and stops at any given moment.

I need intervention people!

This post is brought to you by a homesteader who needs to spend more time out in the garden.

Speaking of garden, I’ll have a garden update very soon.

HAVE A LOVELY DAY MY FRIENDS!

More than just a Cupcake Holder!

2012-02-06T07:40:00.001-05:00

I don’t look at things the same way any more. I realize that spray paint can change the world one project at a time but in this case no spray paint was needed believe it or not. No, this time it was all about not using something for it’s original purpose.

See this is a cupcake holder (from Hobby Lobby). It’s used to hold, well, cupcakes.

But you can probably tell by the picture above that those are not cupcakes sitting around it waiting to be frosted and displayed. No, those are small canning jars and cute replacement lids and my sewing machine in the background ruining the picture….(mental note: take the time to stage pictures better.)

This is what I saw when I looked at the cute cupcake holder.

I saw seriously cute storage for all my loose craft things. I have assorted buttons, sequins, pom-poms etc. in the cute little jelly jars.

AND the best part is if you “need” a cupcake holder you just take the jars off and use it for its intended purpose. Two for one baby!

Tell me, do you use an item for something other than it’s intended use? Throw those ideas out there.

HAVE A CRAFTY KIND OF DAY MY FRIENDS!

From Drabby Dull to Shabby Chic!

2012-02-03T06:15:00.001-05:00

Yes, I’ve been a very busy beaver lately but this latest project came out so cute, I had to share.

As a lot of you know, I’m slooooowly redoing both my dining room and our living room. I’m going for more of a cottagey, shabby chic kind of feel. Little by little and piece by piece the rooms are coming together.

This latest project was an easy fix. It’s something I did in a day but it made a world of difference.

I’ve had this lamp for a few years now and it’s never really bothered me until now. It just doesn’t go with my vision and so it had to change. I’m trying really hard to use what I already have to save money so fixes like this are awesome when they actually come out like you envisioned.

Here is the lamp in question, before.

And after.

Do you like it?

All I did was cut some fabric into two inch wide strips, make ruffles, and hot glue it to the lampshade, then I spray painted the base and distressed it a little. So easy, yet such a dramatic change.

Have a FANTABULOUS day my friends!

I’m linking up with:

Because Sometimes I’ve Just Got to Mess With Your Mind!

2012-02-02T07:13:00.001-05:00

Source: Uploaded by user via Kim @ Homesteader's Heart on Pinterest

Let me know if you found it and how long it took.

You’re Welcome!

And Yet Another Hutch, Before and After!

2012-02-01T06:43:00.001-05:00

Who doesn’t like a good before and after project? I know I do!

Some of you might have already seen it on my Homesteader’s FB page but this is for all of you who don’t do FB.

Most of you already know that I have a hutch fetish and most of them quickly got a fresh new look with a fresh coat of paint soon after we purchased them off Craigslist. But this last one stayed the same for a few years because it actually went with my “theme” in my other home. BUT since we moved and I’m going in a different direction “theme” wise, it had to be painted. AND because my husband is the best of the best, AND because I don’t have a lot of time on my hands, (not that he does either) he did all the work himself. Oh who am I kidding? I wanted him to do it. I told him so, I didn’t want to do it. I wanted it to look nice and for some reason I can’t do nice, I drip and streak and it ends up looking shabby even when I don’t want it to. So there you have it, the truth! Phew, I feel better getting that off my chest.

So without further ado, the hutch.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Doesn’t it just scream bright and happy now? I just love looking at it.

Thank you my Honey Bunches for doing this for me.

Do you have any paint projects going?

Have a LOVELY day my friends!

I’m linking up with:

Let My Daughter Help You Get Ready for V-Day!

2012-01-30T06:40:00.001-05:00

One thing we are trying to teach our children is that you don’t have to work for another man. We are all about entrepreneurship and we are so proud of my daughter for taking that advice and running with it.

I mentioned a few months ago about my daughter’s new Etsy shop but since then she’s added so many new things, I thought I’d help her out and show you some of the cute things she has ready for Valentine’s Day.

Let me tell you that this first item is one of her best sellers. Her crocheted slippers are so cute and people are loving them. She makes them according to your size and everything.

(Click on any picture to visit the item in her store.)

How cute would you look in these?

And how cute would your baby look in these? Here’s a little secret! If you’d rather them match your slippers, she’ll custom make them like the ones above, just ask her.

Well that takes care of your feet but what about your favorite coffee shop cup? How cute would you be whipping out this baby to use as your coffee cozy?

Now I know you want to look DAZZLING when you go out this V-Day so how about some super cute accessories?

This is really just the tip of the iceberg here. Go see for yourself. She has so many more items for sale. Her aqua slippers and baby Ugg boots are just adorable.

But before you go take this coupon code that she has made exclusively for my readers. Simply put in HEART20 at checkout and you’ll receive 20% off your first order. Cool huh?

Have a LOVELY day my friends.

A Giggle For Your Day!

2012-01-28T07:14:00.001-05:00

The Dreaded Senior Moment!

Several days ago as I left a meeting at our church, I desperately gave myself a personal TSA pat down. I was looking for my keys. They were not in my pockets. A quick search in the meeting room revealed nothing.
Suddenly I realized, I must have left them in the pick-up. Frantically, I headed for the parking lot. My wife, Mable, has scolded me many times for leaving the keys in the ignition. My theory is the ignition is the best place not to lose them. Her theory is that the car will be stolen. As I burst through the doors of the church, I came to a terrifying conclusion. Her theory was right. The parking lot was empty.
I immediately called the police. I gave them my location, confessed that I had left my keys in the pick-up, and that it had been stolen. Then I made the most difficult call of all, “Honey,” I stammered. I always call her “Honey” in times like these. “I left my keys in the pick-up, and it has been stolen.”
There was a period of silence. I thought the call had been dropped, but then I heard Mable’s voice. “J.B.” she barked, “I dropped you off!” Now it was my time to be silent. Embarrassed, I said, “Well, come and get me.” Mable retorted, “I will, as soon as I convince this policeman I have not stolen your pick-up!”

Have a fabulous day my friends!

Because some of you might not know me well enough!

2012-01-27T07:52:00.001-05:00

I was over at my dear friend Lisa’s blog and decided that this would be fun to do. I haven’t done anything like this in a LONG time and I’ve gained a few more friends and thought you’d LOVE to know more about me. You do right? Of course you do. So here you go.

The ABC’s about ME!

Age: – Old enough to have fun and young enough to remember!

Bed size: King! See Height!

Chore you dislike: I don’t really enjoy vacuuming.

Dogs: None at this time.

Essential start to your day: Coffee, Bible, Working Out. Makes for a good day!

Favorite color: Red

Gold or silver: Gold!

Height: 5 foot 12 inches

Instruments you play(ed): Piano, very poorly. I want to take lessons again.

Job title: Wonder Woman (Because I’m constantly wondering how I get anything done!)

Kids: 3 BEAUTIFUL children.

Live: The Sunshine State: Florida!

Mom’s name: I like to call her Momther!

Nicknames: When I was a teenager I was called, Amazon Woman, Too Tall, Stretch, Berlygirl. My hubby calls me Babe.

Overnight hospital stays: I’m thankful to say that I’ve only had to stay in the hospital when I gave birth.

Pet Peeves: Rude people, impatient drivers, talking during a movie, people not being on time and many more I’m sure.

Quote from a movie: “In my world everyone is a pony, and they all eat rainbows, and poop butterflies.” Name that movie!

Righty or Lefty: Righty

Siblings: 2 older brothers and an older sister

Time you wake up: I usually wake up around 5:45 am.

Underwear: Essential part of my wardrobe.

Vegetables you don’t like: Eggplant. YUCK!

What makes you run late: I don’t generally run late. I’m pretty good at timing things. Check my peeves.LOL!

X-Rays you’ve had: None, thank the Lord.

Yummy food you make: If you asked my family, they would probably say that my homemade pizza is their favorite dish I make.

Zoo animal favorite: Giraffe

If you decide to do this let me know so I can come check it out!

HAVE A LOVELY DAY MY FRIENDS!

I’m Sorry My Daughter!

2012-01-25T07:01:00.001-05:00

Since I really had nothing to write about I decided to go back and look at some old pictures files. By old I mean a few months ago. Half the time I take pictures for something to blog about then completely forget about them. It happens more often than I want to admit. So basically if a picture is in a folder, it’s fair game.

My daughter has the same camera we do so when she takes pictures, they get dumped into the same folders as ours. This could be dangerous……for her. As I was virtually thumbing through the photos I stumbled across one that just cracked me up.

First let me say that my daughter is an EXCELLENT photographer (and I love her very very much). But she does have a weak spot. I loved the idea of this photo but there is a slight problem…….

Do you see it? It’s like an I Spy of sorts.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not very hip these days and in order to give her the benefit of the doubt I looked up the word “craty”. It doesn’t exist.

The End!

Mantel Makeover!

2012-01-23T15:33:00.001-05:00

Warning the word “mantel” is used without abandonment in this post. If you are allergic to the word mantel please be advised to stay away. You’ve been warned.

When I started writing this post I was on the phone with my BFF and as I was writing the post title I asked her how to spell mantel. I spelled it mantel, she spelled it mantle. So she looked it up in the dictionary and you can in fact spell it either way. Who knew? Just thought I share that little tid bit of information.

I haven’t been crazy about what I had on our mantel since we moved here a year ago. I’d never had a mantel to play with so I really didn’t know what I wanted it to look like. Back up to a few days ago I remembered that I still had some old windows from my grandparents home in Maine that I hadn’t used for anything yet and this stemmed the mantel makeover.

This is what I was working with. An old window and a bare mantel.

So I (mostly my hubby) took this old window, sanded it down a little, cleaned it off, wiped the glass and then put a clear coat on it to seal it.

It is now the main focus of the mantel.

Since Spring will be here before we know it (it’s 80 here today, don’t be jealous) I thought I’d try some Spring decor’ on it. I love the fact that I’ll be able to change up the wreath in the middle of the window depending on the seasons or holiday. For this picture I chose just a plain grapevine wreath with a vintage hankie tied around it.

I placed some previously spray painted vases on there with some fake flowers and Voila’, my Spring mantel.

But that decor’ was so two days ago and since Valentine’s is just around the corner I had to change it up already.

This is what it looks like right now.

What do you think? Cute? Scary? Too much? Not enough. Talk to me.

I’m still critiquing it, so it may change a little but for now I think it screams Valentine’s Day. Not to mention it makes me smile.

Have a lovely day my friends!

Blogging Encouragement!

2012-01-19T06:35:00.001-05:00

My dearest friend Lisa over at Stop and Smell the Chocolates has put a lot of time and effort into this series.

She broke it down into bite size pieces for you and you can check it out by clicking on the button above.

We all go through slumps in our blogging so if you are in need of some blogging encouragement, I’d check it out.

There isn’t a whole lot I can add to what she’s already said but here are a few things that I think are important to remember.

1. Don’t compare your blog to another. It’s unhealthy. We are all different and will write different, have different tastes, have different talents etc. You can’t compare apples to oranges. I’ve got news for you. Not everyone is going to like you and that’s okay. Be comfortable in your own skin.

2. Enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy it it will reflect in your writing and people won’t want to read it therefore leading you to discouragement. Blogging isn’t for everyone.

3. Give in order to receive. We all love comments. We are naturally interactive and love hearing feedback. But remember, people are reading even if they don’t comment. I’ve had people out of the blue tell me what a blessing my blog is to them and I’ve never heard from them again, but that one comment meant the world to me. So make sure that you take a little time to leave comments around the blogosphere and be an encouragement to someone because you know how good it feels yourself.

4. The Niche’. I’ve yet to find mine. Yes, after 5 years of blogging I’m still nicheless. I’m a wearer of many hats and you never really know what you’re going to get on my blog and that’s okay. It reflects me and after all, you’re here because of me right? *wink*

Well that’s all I’m going to say on the subject. If you have time and really need some in depth encouragement make sure you check out Lisa’s series and if you yourself have an encouraging post, she is having a link up today. Come join in. The more encouragement the better!

HAVE A LOVELY DAY MY FRIENDS!

I Use My Kids as a Cover Up!

2012-01-17T06:36:00.001-05:00

One of these days I may become an adult that enjoys sitting and watching the news, reading the newspaper, keeping up with current events. But not today and probably not tomorrow.

When the showers are done and it’s time to settle down for the night I don’t turn on the news or (insert popular night time drama here) no, we watch shows like this.

This show cracks me up. Some how it feeds on my “keen” sense of humor and I find myself laughing at every episode (and secretly wanting a pet platypus).

With our newly acquired Netflix for the Wifi we’ve managed to watch almost all 78 episodes in about 2 months. Yeeup!

Then there’s this one.

This show feeds on the fact that deep down I may have wanted to be a scientist or maybe just a genius. But I usually end up feeling like Carl, the chubby fella on the right with glasses who doesn’t know what’s going on half the time but as long as he’s got food he’s up for anything.

I’m not sure how I’m going to explain this kind of behavior when the kids are grown and gone but for now, my kids are my cover up. Shhhh!

This post brought to you by parents who just want to be a Toys R’ Us kid.

Have a FUNTASTIC day my friends!

The Ugly Cake!

2012-01-12T07:09:00.001-05:00

The other day was my super duper hubbalicious’s birthday!

I had posted on my FB page that I was going to reuse some candles. Candles that don’t even match.

These candles.

(My hubby said I had the numbers messed up! In your dreams baby!)

Most of the people who commented about my candle “frugalness” were on my side. I only had one opposition that said I really should have gotten him matching candles. My hubby didn’t seem to mind. In fact they were the perfect candles for the perfect cake.

And by perfect, I mean perfectly ugly. It was probably THE ugliest cake I have ever made in my life. It was a GF Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese frosting. (Which has nothing to do with its ugliness, I just thought you’d like to know.)

Don’t be jealous!

Watch as the 4 sinks slowly into the frosting.

Hurry honey blow out the candles before the 4 completely disappears!! Blow, blow now!

The Happy Birthday song seemed to take forever as I watched the 4 slowly start to lean to one side.

But it all ended well. The candles still blew out like new ones, my hubby still turned a year older regardless of the ugly cake and my family had a full, happy belly when the night was over.

Life is good!

Have you ever had a cake fail before? In terms of either looks OR taste OR both! Do tell.

Hiding Shelving Ugliness!

2012-01-10T06:48:00.001-05:00

Let me back story real quick. Seriously, real quick.

Once upon a time we moved into a home that had a dishwasher, it broke, we didn’t replace it, hubby put in shelves instead, I’m happy about it because now I have more storage.

The End!

The shelves have been built for a couple of months now and for those two months I was looking at this. Nice huh?

But since my motto for this year is “Git er’ done!”, I figured it was time to do what I’ve been talking about doing since the shelves were put in. So I raided my fabric supply and made this.

I took a lot of corners but in the end I think it came out cute.

I’m in instant results kind of girl, so projects need to be quick. And although this one probably won’t ever get into Better Homes & Garden magazine, it’s working for me.

HAVE A CRAFTY FUN KIND OF DAY!

P,S, I’m giving away a Gooseberry Patch book if you’re interested.

Gooseberry Patch “Fresh from the Farmstand” Giveaway! (WINNER ANNOUNCED)

2012-01-08T07:05:00.002-05:00

The winner of the Gooseberry Patch book is Tammy who said her favorite breakfast was a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on toast w/mayonnaise. Yummy!!

Congratulations Tammy! I'll be emailing you soon!

Once again I have been blessed to review another yet to be released Gooseberry Patch book.

“Fresh from the FARMSTAND”

This cookbook is probably one of my favorites so far. Why? Because it’s chock full of recipes that involve using all sorts of veggies. Yay! Unfortunately with it being Winter a lot of the produce in the recipes are out of season but I have TONS of recipes marked to try.

Wait, that doesn’t mean I didn’t find a couple of recipes to try now. I picked a couple of breakfast recipes, because it’s my favorite meal of the day. I’ll show it to you in a second.

But first let me rave about the wonderful recipes in this book. If you ever wondered how you were going to use all that garden produce well then you’ll want to have this book handy.

Just look at the contents:

Freshly Gathered Breakfasts

Market-Basket Soups & Breads

Garden-Fresh Sides & Salads

Farmstand Feasts

Summer’s Best Appetizers

Berry Best Desserts

This is just in time for all those resolutions about eating more veggies this year!

Here’s the recipe I’m going to share with you today over at my cooking blog.

Savory Egg Bake!

Doesn’t is just look yummy?

Now that I got your stomach growling and your mouth watering, I bet you’d like to know how to win this fantabulous book.

Please read carefully so you enter properly. I’m not making it hard.

Entry Rules:
1. Tell me what your favorite breakfast food is.
Extra Entries:
2. “Like” Gooseberry Patch on FB.
3. Blog, tweet or share on FB about this giveaway.
PLEASE leave a separate comment for each entry.
Technical Stuff: Gooseberry Patch provided me with 2 copies of the book. One to review and keep and one to bless one of you with. All opinions are my own.
This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada only.
It ends Jan. 15, 2012 @ 12:00 pm EST.

HAVE A FANTABULOUS DAY!

Better Late Than Never! The Family Picture!

2012-01-06T08:10:00.001-05:00

The regulars here know that every year my family and I take our annual family photo. Usually we take it before Christmas so I can send it out with the Christmas cards. Well not only did the pictures not happen, neither did the Christmas cards. *sigh* But alas, the other day we found ourselves all cleaned up at the same time and decided that it was the perfect opportunity to take our pictures. In reality I think I just told everyone to go put on a clean shirt and meet me by the fireplace. It’s all kind of fuzzy right now.

Everything always starts out fine and dandy. There are always some faux paus, (like not moving the couch out of the way) but nothing major.

Little man had a moment here!

Me and my beloved! Ignore the fact that I have no shoes on and 2 week old nail polish.

My beautiful children.

Or should I say crazy children? I don’t know where they get this stuff.

My hubby thought it would be “neat” if we all wore our hats. You know, to look a little more countrified. Aren’t we somethin’?

And usually right about now things start to go downhill and we end up with pictures like this.

I think this is my personal favorite!

Please send a self addressed envelope if you’d like an autographed picture. LOL!

Welcome to my world!

More my speed!

2012-01-04T12:21:00.001-05:00

I’ve enjoyed looking at everyone’s book lists for this year. It’s very inspiring. I think I even made my own list last year and may have actually crossed off a whole book.

Reading just doesn’t happen to much right now. If I read in the middle of the day (like there’s time), I get tired. When I go to bed, I read, but I’m already tired and end up falling asleep after about 2 pages. (I’m getting old!)

So I devised a list that is probably a little more my speed right now. Feel free to be inspired and copy it for yourself!

My Doable Reading List for 2012

The Sunday Comics

A blog post of everyone who comments on THIS post.

Bible

The instruction manual to my new toy. (More on that later!)

Country Living Magazine

Ingredient lists

Recipes

Maybe one or two of the 100’s of e-books that I have downloaded.

So there you have it. I’m all about keep it real this year.

HAVE A FABULOUS DAY MY FRIENDS!

New Year, New Motto!

2012-01-03T07:01:00.001-05:00

All over the web you see people making goals and lists of resolutions and such. People are also coming up with words to focus on for the year. Well not to be out done I thought I’d come up with my own motto for this year. It didn’t take me long to think of it either.

So without further ado this years motto is…(drum roll please)…….

“Git er’ done!”

Most of you know that I am probably the world’s worse procrastinator. If I can do it later I usually will. But on the flip side, when I do commit to doing something, nothing short of a good cup of coffee will keep me from accomplishing it.

Yesterday was one of those days. I set my mind to declutter and organize my craft room/office and it got done. And MAN it felt good. Things that have been sitting in the corner gathering dust are GONE baby! For a whole year I just put it off, saving it for another day. Ugh! But I’m seriously going to try to do better this year. It’s the year of Gettin’ er done! I think I’ll make a plaque. Yes, yes I will!

So what about you? Do you have a word, phrase or motto you’re focusing on this year? Do tell!

HAVE A FABULOUS DAY MY FRIENDS!

Goals- Fitness- Who’s with me?

2012-01-02T05:57:00.001-05:00

Over the next few posts I’m going to be sharing some of my goals for the year with you. I hope to inspire you to make some for yourself. I’ll also try to offer some solutions to help with these goals. You might be able to benefit from it, so stay tuned.

This first particular goal is something that I’m carrying over from last year. At the end of September of last year I got really serious about my health. I almost completely eliminated sugar from my diet and have already lost 10lbs. I upped my exercise and am feeling pretty good. I haven’t reached my target weight/pant size yet so I’m pressing on and thought maybe you’d like to join me.

First you have to own a Wii, because this goal of mine involves a program that you “play”on the Wii. So if you don’t have a Wii console you are excused from the rest of this post. If you have a Wii and are even slightly interested please read on.

Ever since I quit the gym I started using the Wii Active Series as my source of exercise.

I started out with this one. Which I love!

But for Christmas I got this one.

The first one is based around a tropical location and the second one is based in a dessert oasis. What I love about them both is that the workout is never the same. It’s different each day so I don’t get bored. LOVE THAT! They are both really good but you’re going to need the Active 2 if you want to participate in what I have in mind.

The Active 2 comes with a thumb drive that reads information off the computer through Wifi. I am able to start a private fitness group where we can track each others progress and keep each other encouraged. Every time you do a workout it charts your calorie burn, your heart rate etc. It even comes with a heart rate monitor. I’m really enjoying it. Check it out for yourself before you decide anything.

I’ll work out the technical details later but first I wanted to see if anyone is even interested in joining me. If you already have a Wii the price of the Active 2 is not much. It’s under $20.00.

So I’m throwing this out there. Who wants to join me?

If you want in, then use this week to purchase the Active 2 and we can get going first thing next week. I can then give you our Team Name and password for you to join.

HAVE A SUPER FANTASTIC DAY MY FRIENDS!