Chicken Enchilada Soup

It is one of my favorite times of the year! I love fall for all of the fresh fruits and veggies. Harvest is one of my favorites. It allows me to reap the benefits of my hard work in gardening all summer. (Or this year, the lack of hard work). We did get quite a few tomatoes, beans, peaches, peppers, apples and squash from our own garden, so I guess it wasn't that bad, just very over grown with weeds this years.

So with fall comes all of the yummy soups that I love to make. Soup is one of those comfort foods that just warm you at the end of a cold day. Am I right?!

I asked my hubby the other day for some suggestions of what to make for dinner this week. I said I had some green chili endchilada sauce in the fridge that I really needed to use, but I made chicken enchiladas last week and didn't want to make them yet again, since it is one of my go to meals for something quick and easy that we love. He suggested taco soup with the green enchilada sauce. so then my mind starts working.

I searched on Pinterest for a chicken enchilada soup recipe and found a few that looked really yummy, but they were all crockpot recipes that I didn't have time for. But I was able to make this recipe in about a half hour to 45 minutes and it turned out so yummy.

Let me add though, if you like spice in your chicken enchiladas, I would add a teaspoon or so of cumin and chili powder, I just have a son that is allergic to chili powder currently and can't handle the spice, so I left it out this time and it was still very good, just not spicy. So here it is:

Chicken Enchilada Soup

3 cups chicken, cut in chunks
1 TBS oil
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup green chilis or one small can
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
8 cups water with 8 tsp. chicken bouillon or 8 cups chicken stock, reserve 1 cup or more to mix with cornmeal
1 cup green enchilada sauce or 1 small can
1 - 1 1/2 cups cornmeal

Heat oil in large pot. Add chicken, with some salt and pepper and stir fry for a couple minutes. Add salsa and green chilies and cook for a few minutes longer. Add water and chicken boillon or chicken stock, corn, black beans, and enchilada sauce. Bring to a boil and cook until chicken is done, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add cornmeal to 1 cup of water and stir to break up all clumps. Add to soup pot and stir. Cornmeal will gradually thicken the soup some. Let cook until thickened to liking. Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, corn chips, etc. Sour cream gives a little bit of a creamy flavor like chicken enchiladas.

The cornmeal gives a flavor like you have corn tortillas in it. This size recipe serves about 10-12 people. I make big meals for family of 7. My kids even loved this soup, even the picky one that doesn't eat hardly anything I cook. This will definitely go into my regular winter rotation of soups! I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did!

I'm a Triathlete!!

So here it is Wednesday already and I have not yet posted about the triathlon I did on Saturday! So here is the run down:

It was so much fun!! We were there to check in at 7:20 a.m. We started out in the swimming pool at 8. We did shifts in the pool, since there was only 6 lanes that we had to double up on. Since I don't freestyle without swallowing the whole pool, I figured out that a side stoke works really well for me. It still gives me the work out too, especially with my arms. Swimming a side stroke when you are sharing the lanes so closely with many others, doesn't leave you a whole of room to move, so I kicking people, I felt so bad.

After the swimming, we jumped on our bikes, which was my mountain bike, with my hubby's street tires put on for the speed. I thought the bike would go pretty smooth, but little did I know on the other side of the nice cruise down hill was quite the steep incline. I struggled up the hill and many times just wanted to get off and walk, but I pushed through it and was able to stay on my bike, just going a very slow pace.

Then for the final part, running. We ran the same route we biked and about half way up the incline, I did have to walk a little ways, but I made it, and I finished the race. I am very proud of myself and my dear friend!

So I don't know exactly how the scored everything or timed everything, it is quite confusing to me, but I finished the whole race in 87 minutes! Not bad at all for a first timer!! This, we realized later, was not even a half tri. They called it a taste of a tri, which for your first time, I just perfect. I would love to try a full triathlon, just to say I can do it, but that would require me to train a lot more and a lot harder. And definitely to get on a bike more than just at the gym a couple times. But I loved every minute of it and I look forward to another one and to keep training.

Now our next training is for my friend to run the Ogden half marathon in May. I didn't put in for the lottery because I was afraid I would get drawn out, but my friend did and I promised her I would help her train, and I will definitely be there when she runs the whole thing!

Everyone should try something that is out of their comfort zome! I have found that these races are so much fun, and I love being in the pool, even though I don't swim all that well. You always learn things about yourself that you never knew before when you do something that is hard for you to do. Keep training, and loving life!

Clean house!

For once, my house is somewhat clean. My kitchen counter is still covered in canning stuff and some dishes, and seeing as how my expensive vacuum is getting fixed (grr) the floors have not been vacuumed, but at least things have been picked up and the kitchen floor has been mopped! I figured out a great way to get my kids to do their chores. Hopefully each week will be just as good.

So here's what I did:

For a long time now I have had a chore list of the generic chores: kitchen, bathrooms, tv room, front room then we rotate each week so that the kids wouldn't  have the same chore but every four weeks. This just wasn't working out, my kids could care less that their chores needed to be done everyday. So I decided to mix things up and just have then pick chores.

I sat down and wrote out on strips of paper different chores like kitchen floor, kitchen chairs, front room, tv room, upstairs bathroom, downstairs bathroom, closet, walls, Windows etc. I figured this would be easier on them than to try and tackle the whole job at once.

Friday is early out day from school for them, so Friday is perfect, since our Saturdays are pretty busy. They did very well today, I was impressed. I don't know if they liked the idea of having a random chore or not knowing what they would get or just doing something different, but they liked it.

I had them pick one and complete it and then I checked it and then they drew a second one and completed it and then I checked it. I still felt like I was having to show them each little thing that needed to be done, but that's where my explanations came in handy.

I also sat down with a notebook and wrote out each thing that needed to be done with each chore. That way they know and I don't have to tell them all the time. I am very excited about this new method and think it will work good. I also told them if they come tell me they are bored or don't know what to do, then they can pick a chore from the jar. Maybe they can start entertaining themselves more on their own. We will see. ;)

So much for blogging more often. It has seriously been crazy the last couple months. I have been sewing as much as possible and canning up a storm. I honestly don't know how much I have canned (I need to start keeping track better), but I have done grape juice, peaches, pears, salsa, tomatoes, grape jelly, raspberry jelly, apricot jelly, apple sauce, pickles, pickeled beets, and still have apples and tomatoes left to sauce and salsa. My house is a disaster and I have been overly exhausted. But this is all worth every minute in the end.

Among all of the canning and other things I am doing, I have trained for 5ks and a half triathalon that is this Saturday!  I have one of the best people training with me, that is so patient with me when it comes to not wanting to do anything and complaining about how much I hurt. She is so gung-ho about this whole thing tho. She will go some days to the gym or swimming, twice in the same day! She is a great example to me, and one of the most spiritual people I know. We have had many great gospel discussions, but more than anything we have each other to enjoy some adult time with, without kids or worries of having to be at home cooking and cleaning. We still worry about that stuff, but we can get out of normal routine and enjoy just being.

September 13, she and I participated in a 5k run. This was my first ever 5k. We trained pretty hard for this one and had so much fun. It was a prehistoric theme and we ran at night in and out of the dinosaur park here in Ogden. We did most of our training on the track at the high school, which was nice, but once we decided to start running down on the river parkway, we just fell in love with running there and will probably never go back to the track again!

I finished my first race at about 40. Not bad at all for my very first time!! I loved it, it was so much fun. I did have to walk at one point, going around the D loop on the way back. It was pretty steep and my legs just couldn't take it. It was a great run though and that just ballooned into what we are doing now. I never thought I would love running so much!

 

My dear friend Ashlynn and I after the race.

 

My Famiy.

 

 

My family and especially my husband have been so supportive of me through all of this. Two weeks after this race, we ran again at our Stake 5k. It was fun running just through the neighborhoods where we live. I finished that race in 34:35. Much better than the first one, but I also had some more time to train.

 

Now our new thing is this half tri that we are training for. It is this Saturday at Weber Sate University. It is being hosted and paid for by the North Ogden Council, which takes in 10 Stakes in our area. They are pushing lots of sports in our area in the church, which I think is great. So they are now doing Pickleball, whish is so much fun and a great sport for all ages. It's basically life size table tennis. They are also doing this half tri. We were so excited to try this as a first for both of us. We can take our time and just enjoy the experience. The tri consists of 300 meter swim (6 laps), bike 3 laps around campus (aprox. 5.7 miles), and one lap running (approx. 1.7 miles).

 

I have been in the pool training for a few weeks now and I love swimming. I have a hard time putting my face in the water, but I am good a side stroke. I am almost as fast as Ashlynn who does a freestyle. It is definitely a full body workout! It amazes me every time I go, just how out of breath you get from swimming. I have done the stationery bike at the gym and have done the 6 miles and then went right into running and did 2 miles, but putting all three together back to back will be interesting. I am very excited to say that I have accomplished this though. Can't wait till it's done. I will definitely continue to swim! I love the water and it is a great workout! So until next time...keep on running. 

Ok, I was not intending to let my blog go over the summer, but as it is, it did. We were so busy camping and having fun and just being, so I didn't take the time to blog. So now that school is back in (YAY!) I plan to start doing more blogging. I will start by just giving you one thing that I have done this summer, when I had a little bit extra time. I have become maajorly obsessed with sewing and have SO MUCH fabric that I just want to sew up and sell, so help me out here and help me know what to do.

This is the first project I am doing. It is an artfolio set. It has two pockets on the one side for coloring books or notebooks, etc. On the other side is slots for markers or colored pencils. If I were to sell it, I would include a coloring book and a set of 12 colored pencils. Tell me what you think of this idea. I have so many others, like wallets, skirts, barbie clothes, baby doll quilts, etc, so please help me decide if there is people out there that would even buy handmade items and then how much you might pay for something like this.

Here is the first one, the artfolio. It has batting, so is a little thicker and sturdy than just double fabric.The only thing it is missing is a piece of velcro at the top to keep it closed. Thanks in advance for all your input and help.

*Sorry, my pics are not working currently, but I will update as soon as I can it working. Thanks for your patience.

Spring Break!

I love the little breaks in school! Spring break, fall break, Christmas...It's always fun to do something as a family and have some time off away.  Growing up, we had Spud Harvest (I grew up in spud country Idaho) when all the older kids would go work in the potato fields during the harvest time. We got two whole weeks off, which was nice for us, maybe not so much for our parents who had to put up with us, especially since we didn't work in the spuds.

By high school, it was down to one week instead of two, but still a nice a break. I don't remember doing much traveling or family vacations where I was yonger, we did most of our family trips in the summer.

Now that we have kids, we try to go on vacations as much as possible.  Anytime there is a break, we do something, even if it happens to be projects on the house and taking trip after trip to Lowes to get things that we forgot the first time. Or even the occassional trip to Salt Lake to visit family, or up to Idaho to visit my sister and parents. Our kids love to go visit family, so we try to as often as possible.

We have tried for a couple years to plan a trip to southern Utah to see Arches and Canyonlands and Goblin Valley.  Every other time we tried to plan it, it just ended up being to expensive to stay in hotels and drive for hours to get to where we wanted, or just too much time in the car driving or we just didn't feel good about going (you have to listen to those promptings!).

This year, it just so happened that we felt good about going over spring break and we only had to pay for one hotel night, so much less. We left Thursday night and went into Green River, UT where we stayed overnight and Friday we went to Arches National Park. It is a very amazing place. We have never been before.

The land in Utah is very diverse! One minute you can driving through a big city only to go right into desert land and then immediately into the red rock and back to sage brush and into nice green and trees. It's amazing just how fast it all changes.

We met Mike's brother, who currently lives in Colorado, in Arches and hiked with them to Delicate Arch. First of all, I had never been to Arches so I had no idea what any of the structures are down there or just how big and fun they are. Delicate arch is the one that you see so often on advertising and on the licence plates. It is so much more awesome in real life! We took all of our kids (9 between the two families) and all but 3 of the kids even made the hike all the way up! I am so proud of my kids, they didn't even complain, one even said it was fun and he wanted to do it again. We went at one of the best times. It was around 70* which was perfect for hiking in southern Utah, but we definitely didn't take enough water. We could have used much more!

The hike itself was a pretty steep uphill hike, which didn't fare well for my shins over the next couple of days. I didn't know they could hurt so bad! But we had so much fun being with family and doing something we had never done before. There are so many rock formations in Arches, that we started naming them. It was fun.

This formation is called Balanced Rock, because it looks like it is just balancing there, it is pretty fun, my son thought he could hold it in his hand, since it's so small an all.  :)

This is us in front of the infamous Delicate Arch. It is so much more amazing in real life! Notice all the different land around and the snow capped mountains in the distance...Utah is so beautiful!

And there it is...With my husband, boys, Mike's brother and his kids standing underneath. This was the best hike I have ever been on!

If you decide to go to Arches, which I definitely recommend, be sure to take A LOT of water, you don't want to dehydrate in the desert. Chapstick is a must as well, especially after, our lips were so dry. And LOTS of sunscreen. I put on 30 spf before going on the hike, and still got sunburned. It was still fun though. Cost to get into the park is $10 and that is good for 7 days. So come and go as you would want

We followed our family back to their home in Colorado, about a 2 hour drive, which gave us some time to relax and my kids some time to sleep, and we spent Saturday and Easter Sunday in Colorado with them, which was a lot of fun and more than anything, relaxing! My kids had fun doing an egg hunt at a park and then playing with their cousins that they didn't really know all that well. It was a great time spent with family.

Monday morning we took off and headed back home, but not without stopping at another quick destimation, that was out of our way, but so much fun! Goblin Valley is seriously out in the middle of no where! It is a state park.  It is just a bunch of rock formations that look like tons of goblins spread out in this valley. It is just one huge playground! You can walk down into the valley and run and climb to your hearts content. It is really a fun place for the kids. The day we went, it was cooler than the other days we were gone, it rained on us as we drove home, so there was quite a bit of wind, which made it hard to see much in the blowing sand, and driving through a sand storm is just as bad, or worse, than driving through fog. But it was still a fun adventure. It is a state park and the fee to get in is $7 for the day.

 

 

Here is the fun Goblin Valley! We had tons of fun climbing all over everything. It is very pretty with the dark clouds in the sky. This was one of our favorite spring breaks ever! I hope everyone wants to get out and enjoy the wonderful state of Utah, there is so much beauty all around us!

It is with a sad, but thankful heart, that I inform you, that after a year and a half, I have decided to discontinue my produce co op for good.  It has taken some time and much contemplation to come to this conclusion.  I have loved being able to participate in such a wonderful experience.  I have met some very wonderful people over the year and some have stuck with me from the beginning.

I will miss having all the produce in my fridge at all times, as well as some things that I wouldn't normally buy just because.  I won't miss trying to find people all the time to fill spots, or having to cover the cost of extra baskets because someone just decided at the last minute that they were done with co op.  I feel like I now have my days back, even though it was just one day a week, it took a couple days to plan and order and then sort and wait all day for everyone to come pick up, since everyone has different schedules.

I did learn quite a bit about produce.  How to store produce to last for a couple weeks, what produce costs, which is more than most people realize!  I even learned a little about finances and how to work with less money to save produce spoilage and help people live on a lesser amount of money.  I loved every minute of it and maybe one day in the future, I will start up again, but for now, I feel that this is the best option for my family at this point.  My grocery budget will go up a little, or I will just have to revamp what I buy in order to accomodate for the extra cost of produce, since I will no longer get free produce.

If you want to start your own co op where you live, it is really quite easy.  It does take some time and thought, but anyone can do it.  Here is a previous post about my co op if you are interested in learning more.

Food for Thought

It has been a while since I last wrote anything. I guess I have just been busy and have not had anything inspiring to write about lately.

I have been busy with young women camp things, getting people to help with certification and cutting out messenger bags to make for young women camp. I have been very busy!

Today though, I have some food for thought.  In my religion we belive in an after life and that we will be able to see our loved ones again after we pass through this life.  Losing loved ones in this life is very hard and we miss them dearly, but I think having this knowledge helps us through the hard times.  I have recently heard of many people passing on lately, friends and loved ones of people I know.  Some have this same knowledge that I do, others have lost that knowledge.

Last year we had a couple really tough months.  We lost our dear bishop who we were fairly close to.  He was a wonderful man, and I worked closely with his dear wife in the young womens for a couple years and love her dearly.  We had the opportunity to visit him just a couple days before his passing.  We could tell he was in pain, suffering from cancer.  But through it all, he never gave up.  He was always positive and still cared so much for his ward.

My dear grandmother passed just a few after our bishop did.  She was such an inspiration to everyone around her and especially to her family.  She loved hugging everyone and cared so much for all of our children and loved when we would come to visit.  She had such a strong testimony of the gospel and especially our Savior.  I do miss her dearly, but I know that I will be able to see again, as well as my grandfather who has also passed on.  This is a wonderful knowledge that we have been given through the scriptures and through prophets.

So my food for thought today is this:  There are many people throughout the world who may or may not be church going, religious people, that belive that there is a heaven and a hell.  Most believe that if we are good we go to heaven, if we aren't, we go to hell.  This is true is someways.  I believe a little differently than this, but if pepole belive there is heaven and hell, then why would there be an end to life?  Yes our spirits leave this earth and our bodies behind, but don't they have to go somewhere? I'm pretty sure we don't just vanish and cease to exist.

I read an obituary the other day that said "he has returned to heaven" yet from things I've heard, this family doesn't believe they will see this person again, that this was the end.  How, if he has gone to heaven, can this be the end?  Heaven is a place, where I would think our spirits would dwell, so we still live on, right?  Maybe some people think that once our body has died, we just vanish.  This is a hard and sad thing for me to think that people just vanish, when we have so much more potential than that.  We have all been promised that we can live on and also become kings and queens, gods and goddesses.  Who would not want to try to attain to that?

I thought of this the other day.  I tried to imagine what it would be like to become a goddess, to reign over a world of my own and watch my many children live and fail and strive to do good and love others and have heartache.  I decided, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that.  What a responsibility!  I was overwhelmed at that thought!  I have always wanted to be great and achieve wonderful, fulfilling things that would inspire and uplift others, but being a God/Goddess, goes far beyond that!

I am so thankful for the knowledge that I have that we WILL live again after this life!  I WILL be able to see my grandparents again and all those in my ancestory who have gone before me.  I will be able to meet all those people who have inspired me in this life that I won't get a chance to meet here.  I WILL also be able to kneel at the feet of my Savior and to personally give him my thanks for suffering for my sins in this life so I can strive to be more like him and live with him again.  I know this to be true and hope you do too.  If not, I encourage to seek out the Lord and find out for yourself if these things are true!  Thanks for reading and allowing me to give my opinion.  May the Lord watch over you and yours each day, is my prayer!

Book review

To start off today, I made the best looking bread today! I had a sister from my ward come a couple weeks ago and we figured out that with my Kitchen Aid mixer, I can only a half batch of bread and that was why I had such a problem with the bread I tried to make. So today I finally got back in there and decided I needed to make some bread, since I was out of bread anyway. So I just took it slow, watched it come together and then put it in my pans to rice and bake. Took me about an hour and half start to finish and now I have two big, beautiful loaves of bread! I must say, I am proud of myself! I finally accomplished something I have been trying to and have succeeded.

I must share with you a book I read this weekend. I don't usually read books all that quick, since I usually only take about an hour or less at night sitting in bed to read. This book was different. I literally could not put it down! I had such a feeling of love and peace reading this book and have come to realize many things reading this. The book is called "The memory catcher: When angels speak, who will listen?" She reminds us that we are in fact children of a loving heavenly father who loves and knows each of us and that we each have a purpose on this earth.

The picture on the cover of the book would have made me pick it up and possibly buy it, had I found it in a store, but as it was, we were given this book. Mike's father read it and I'm not sure how he came across it, but it talks about Mike's gradparents. It is a true story of Sarah Hinze, the author. She grew up in Tennessee, where her mother was guided to go to a laundromat to do her laundry after the washing machine mysteriously stopped working. It was at this laundromat that she met Mike's grandparents, who were serving an LDS mission, and was inpressed to speak with them and invite them back to her home where they met her daughter Sarah who was considering moving out to Utah to attend college.

After some events, she decided to come out to Utah and asked to stay with the Bunnells. They let her come stay and eventually enrolled at Utah State University where she met her husband and then describes many events through her life that have brought her to where she is now. She is an amazing person, who I haven't personally met, but in reading her story, I have been able to recall many events in life similar to hers that I haven't thought about in years. She has inspired me to begin writing down my own experiences.

I have, probably since junior high school, wanted so much to write stories, but have never been able to really put things together in a way that I liked, or to even come up with an idea to write about has been hard. In the last few years I have really felt a push to start writing, but there again, haven't known what to write about. I am not a very knowledgeable person. I don't have any schooling past high school, except the cosmetology school that I went to for one year, but I do have experiences and ideas that I could share. I feel like I have so much to offer people, especially youth, it's just a matter of  doing it.

Last weekend when we were in Idaho visiting my parents, my mom found a little flash drive that is a panda bear. Knowing my love for pandas, she bought it for me. Obviously I loved it, but wasn't sure when I would ever use it. The other day while reading and thinking about my push to write, the thought came to me, I can use my flash drive to store my manuscripts on, I was so excited. As much as I would love to have my own lap top to take with me anywhere and just sit and write, the money is just not there right now. So I will start with what I have and use my cute little panda flash drive to store all my thoughts and feelings.

To purchase this book of Sarah Hinze and learn more about her and her life's work, you can go to sarahhinze.com, which is currently not working for me for some reason, or I would add a link, or you can go to any Deseret Book and purchase it there. She truely is amazing and such an inspiration to others. I hope you enjoy her writings and I will keep you informed of my own writings as well.

Happy Monday to you all, I hope your week is wonderful!

Whole grains!

My sister in law gave me a website for a gal that has a chia seed pudding recipe. It looks really good, and seems pretty easy, I think I will try it just as soon as I get my chia seeds. I am very excited! (See previous post.) Here is where you can find that recipe.

Still learning about whole grains! We all know that at least half of the grains we consume should be whole grains, but how do you go about doing that? It is actually quite simple! More so than we think! I did a little research through a couple websites and found some good suggestions.

From the May Clinic:

Whole grains are:
* Naturally low in fat.
* Linked to lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and other health problems.

How to enjoy more whole grains in your diet:
* Eat breakfasts that include whole-grain cereals, such as bran flakes, shredded wheat or oatmeal.
* Substitute whole wheat toast or whole grain bagels for plain bagels. Substitute low-fat bran muffins for pasteries.
* Make sandwiches using whole grain breads or rolls. Swap out white flour tortillas with whole wheat versions.
* Replace white rice with kasha, brown rice, wild rice or bulgur (and I would add quinoa and cous cous to this one).
* Feature wild rice or barley in soups, stews, casseroles and salads.
* Add whole grains, such as cooked brown rice or whole grain bread crumbs, to ground meat or poultry for extra body.
* Use rolled oats or crushed bran cereal in recipes instead of dry bread crumbs.

From www.choosemyplate.gov:

* Make whole grain pilaf using a mixture of barley, wild rice, brown rice, broth and spices. Optional: stir in toasted nuts or chopped dried fruit.

* Choose foods that name one of the following whole grain ingredients first on the label's ingredient list:
brown rice
buckwheat
bulgur
millet
oatmeal
quinoa
rolled oats
whole grain barley
whole grain corn
whole grain sorghum
whole grain triticale
whole oats
whole wheat
wild rice

I am still researching, but if you thought there was no way you could switch to whole grains, I just showed you how. Now this doesn't mean you have to go completely to ALL whole grains. Some people do choose that, but sometimes our stomachs can't handle a complete change, or maybe our pocket book can't handle the change. Some of these whole grains do cost more than your white rice or white flour. This is one thing I do not understand. If something is good for us, don't you think it should cost less? I think the FDA has their priorities in the wrong place.

My family has come to love brown rice, I have bought "100% whole wheat bread" for many years (I've heard white bread is like eating sugar), my kids ask for cous cous, which I don't buy all that often, but we do love it, and now I will be trying quinoa, which I have heard is very good for you.

Anyway, I am continuing to research and learn more, there is SOO much out there! I will continue to bring you updates and suggestions. I love food, I love cooking, and want my health! Along with good health comes increased energy and a clear mind. Which is one thing I really need. The thought came to me recently, "How can we receive the inspiration from our Heavenly Father when our bodies and minds are not clear?" We can't. Eating healthy and keeping our bodies healthy will help with this.

I hope you all enjoy my little updates and insights into whole grains and will continue to follow me as I continue to learn more. I love learning and love life and I hope you do too. Have a great day!

Chia Seed

I have done fairly well the last couple of days trying to learn about whole grains. I have learned, I need to eat more! Whole grains are good for you and they fill you up, without making you fat. One of my favorite people who have helped me learn more about health is Zonya. I don't know her last name, but she has had a cooking show on PBS. She also has a website (www.zonya.com) where she has lots of healthy recipes and also exercise tips. Another person is the Food Nanny, who aslo has a cooking show on PBS where she teaches families how to eat together healthily and also how to love being together as a family. You can google either of these ladies or catch their programs on PBS (we don't have cable, but we do get local channels, so we watch a lot of PBS, but it's better than Nickelodean or any of those other kids stations.)

Yesterday, someone on Facebook posted something about Chia Seeds. I had never heard of these before, oh wait...ch-ch-ch-chia, yeah those fun little chia pets that grow grass. I'm not sure if they are the same thing, I'm sure they are, but people have come to find that Chia seeds are VERY good for you!! They help with weight loss, and add so much to your diet. From the post this is what I learned about chia seeds:

"Chia got its name from the Mayan word for "strength". The ancient Aztec warriors used Chia seeds during long journeys, because of their ability to increase stamina and energy over long periods of time. Also known as the "Indian running food", chia seeds are perfect for runners and people who do aerobic exercise.

Chia contains 3 times more calcium than skim milk.

They have a unique combination of soluble and insoluble fiber combined to slow down your body's conversion of starches into sugars and keep you fuller longer.

Chia seeds have more Omega-3 fatty acids than salmon! It has one of the most concentrated sources of Omega-3 in any food.

With nearly nearly 11 grams of fiber per ounce, chia delivers 42% of your recommended daily value of fiber in a single serving.

They absorb 12 times their weight; when inside your body, the seeds help you stay hydrated longer, and retain elecrolytes.

The fiber in chia helps slow digestion and makes you feel fuller longer, making then an ideal food for weight loss.

Chia seeds take on the taste of whatever you add them to. Make chia seed pudding, add them to smoothies, dressings, dips, sauces and more."

On the picture it had the website www.live-live.com, which is a great source if you are trying a whole foods diet. They have lots of information and videos on cooking.

I was thinking you would just add them straight to something, but the more I have looked, the more people say to make a gel with them. When you add them to water, they make a gel, which is what makes you feel fuller longer. I have also heard that they help to clean out your digestive system. I googled recipes with chia seeds and came across this website: www.mychiaseeds.com/articles/TOP10chiabenefits.html, I watched a short video clip about how to make the gel and the gal there also said she uses this when she has an upset stomach and that it helps her daughter so much who is lactose intolerant. So many uses from such a small seed!

I have a friend who said she went to Winco the other day and bought some in the bulk section. I went last night and they had nothing left. Guess everyone is finding out about them. I got online to Amazon though and found some there for a little less than Wincos price per pound plus free shipping, so I did that instead. I will also have a big stock for quite a while. I'm hoping this can help me with my weight loss!

Speaking of weight loss...I have a cousin who has done the "3-day diet" and she and her husband both lost a lot of weight on it. I have a friend who has done it a few times to and they all liked it. I decided to try it to see if I could jump start something in me. I made it through the first day just fine and was feeling pretty good, but maybe getting to bed a little late that night caused something in me, but day 2 was awful! Day 2 you eat a little less than day one, so I couldn't just spread it out like I did with the first day. By 2 o'clock on the second day, I was starving, so I had a protein bar. By 5 o'clock I had some major stomach cramps that went up into my chest, it was awful! But after dinner I felt much better! I don't know if my blood sugar was just low or if it just wasn't enough food at lunch, but I don't know if I could do that again. I have decided that I will just stick to eating healthy, adding more whole grains, and trying to just eat less in general and listen to my body. If you are interested in learning more about the 3-day diet, you can go here: http://blessedmommy.hubpages.com/hub/Lose-Up-To-10-Pounds-In-3-Days-On-The-3-Day-Diet

Have a wonderful day! All things are possible through God, keep living!

Staff of life: grains!

To begin, I must confess, my goal is really not coming along like I would like it to. I am just extremely lazy some days and just don't want to do anything.

We decided to take a trip to Idaho this weekend to visit my parents and my sister. It was a much needed break away from everything where we could just visit and veg and just relax! It was so wonderful! We went up on Saturday afternoon and Mike and I were able to go to a stake dance with my parents and then out for some frozen yogurt. It was a fun double date. For all those teens out there that just cringe at the thought of having a double date with your parents, things change after you move out and get married, we had lots of fun with my parents.

My mom taught me some things about whole grains. This is my new focus for my goal right now: to learn all I can about whole grains and how to incorporate them into my everyday living. My mom had a very old copy of a booklet called "Cookies for Dinner" by Faye Reeves and Anne Cerny. They have updated over the years and my sister in law found that they were selling an updated copy, so she got one for my mom. It is a really neat little booklet. To get a copy you can email Faye at FayeReeves@juno.com or you can call them: Faye Reeves 801-576-9788, Anne Cerny 801-318-1145. Anne also runs an oline store where you can buy organic whole grains, agave, molasses, honey and legumes and beans. The website for that is grainmix.com.

So starting with this new focus, I want to learn about all the different kinds of whole grains and how to use them. I was a t Sam's club with my parents yesterday and came across quinoa. This is a very good whole grain that is just booming right now. At Sam's, its was just over $4 for 2 lbs, which I think is pretty good, since it was organic too. I need to go price match at Winco. I know most smaller grains, like quinoa and cous cous, can be used in place of rice. My kids love cous cous and ask for it often. It is very easy to cook! It is very plain tasting, so I usually add some olive oil and sauteed mushrooms and green onions to it so it has some flavor. Or cooking it with some chicken stock or chicken bouillion will help that to. We eat this on the side with fish.

My family is used to eating whole grains. We eat very little white rice, but lots of brown rice, whole wheat bread and sometimes tortillas. I just want to learn more about how to use all the different grains together to the maximum benefits. I can't wait to get my booklet of "Cookie for Dinner" so I have some recipes and things to help me with that too. They also tell you how to make baby cereal out of fresh whole grains, so you save money and can feed them better than the store bought stuff.

I personally want to start making my own...everything! Noodles, bread, tortillas, you name it, I want to try to make it! I still have SOOO much to learn, I am not even making a dent in what I need to learn, but I am on a mission. I also so much to buy, which is extremely overwhelming, since I don't have a huge budget and most things that I need cost a good chunk of money, so I will try to start small and get some here and there and see if I can keep going. If anyone has any suggestions of what to do to help me, I am open to any suggestions. I want the best for my family, within my budget. I can't switch to organic produce, that is just not in my budget, plus I have heard from many different sources, that it isn't proven that organic is soo much better. But I just make sure and wash it all really good. I have also had some organic produce before and it really wasn't that great, it actually tasted like dirt, and even washed it really good, so I stick with what I can afford.

Tomorrow I will share with you some of the things I plan to study today about whole grains. I can't wait to get started!

"Things come to you as you need them, in YOUR time, not in anyone else's. All things come from God who is the creator of all and knows us all so much more than we even know ourselves. He knows what we need and when we need it. Put your faith and trust in Him and all things will be for your good!"

So I finally made a couple of beautiful loaves of whole wheat bread, with a lot of help from a dear sister in my ward who is a pro at bread making. I don't know what it is, I can make quick breads really easy and muffins and cookies and any other type of treats and especially meals, I can make no problem, I just seem to have an issue with bread. But this sister came over with her own fresh ground wheat and we figured out that we needed to start with less. So we did a half recipe, which made 2 big loaves and it turned out just beautiful! It even tastes wonderful!

So I learned yesterday how to make bread in my Kitchenaid mixer, so I plan to continue to make more! No more bread with high fructose corn syrup, and for so much less than store bought bread!

I also learned, that I DO need new wheat! I am almost to the bottom of one bucket that I have been working on for a while, so decided to check out one of the other 8 buckets in the basement and when I opened it, it was full of little worms and yucky stuck. It made me so sad to think I have been relying on all this wheat that is just full of yucky stuff. It was really weird though. So I will look through the other buckets and see if I have the same problem there and then we might be taking buckets of wheat to my mom and dad to feed to the chickens.

On a much better note, I found a Valentine's recipe in the "Relish" section of the weekly paper that I wanted to try. I love this section of the paper. It comes sometime during the week and has some very yummy recipes! This particular one that I made is Marbeled red velvet Cheesecake brownies. Oh my heavens, they are to die for! They were pretty easy to make. The only thing I was thrilled about was the tablespoon of red food coloring that goes into it, but that's how you make red velvet cake. I used all my red food coloring to get that much.

The recipe for these can found here. Wouldn't it just be so great to have a recipe recognized by a magazine or even an insert in the paper? That would be so heaven for me! I have actually considered publishing a cookbook. I have so many original recipes and so many more that I can come up with! Anyone know how to get that going? I need to type them all up and at least put them in a binder so they are out of my head and on paper where I can share them with others. Oh to be the next Racheal Ray! I love to watch her cook, she inspires me. But I don't think I could do a cooking show. There is still so much I don't know and need to learn about cooking. But to have a dream is a great thing!

Happy day to you all! Happy cooking!

Creamy Chicken/turkey wild rice soup

What a weekend! Mike took our oldest son and went ice fishing with his brother, so I stayed home with sick kids that were running a fever, and coughing. So since I was home and needed some bread, I decided to try my hand again at making bread, which turned out to be the most awful bread I have ever made! I try to make healthy things for my family and a lot of times I don't succeed, which gets so frustrating! I did, however, make some tomato basil bread that is so very yummy and turned out fabulous, so I feel I did ok.

I decided to make soup dinner, since I love soup when it's cold out. This is paired with my tomato basil bread, it was so very yummy. Here is what I did to make creamy turkey and wild rice soup, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Creamy chicken/turkey and wild rice soup

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup, or more, flour
4 cups chicken stock (4 cups water, 5 tsp. chicken bouillion)
4 cups milk
1 pkg. Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice with seasonings microwave pouch
2 cups cooked, dicked chicken or turkey

In large pot melt butter on medium high heat. Add flour and whisk to blend. Cook flour and butter a little. Gradually add chicken stock. Whisk and stir until thickens. Gradually add milk and continue to stir until thickens to desired thickness (may need to add some extra flour mixed with water to help to thicken more). While this is thickening, chop and cook chicken on chop precooked chicken or turkey and set aside. Heat the rice pouch according to directions to heat through. When soup is thickened to desired thickness, add rice and chicken/turkey and heat through for a few minutes. Serve warm with bread or crackers.

I received a pot of soup similar to this from a dear friend, which was very good, which I think was cream of chicken soup with wild rice added. It was very yummy, but I thought maybe I could come up with my own rendition, which I did.

This recipe is just a basic recipe. You can also add any thing else to it that you like, celery, carrots, potatoes, whatever you fancy. For this particular meal, I had some left over smoked turkey from Thanksgiving in my freezer that I pulled out and chopped up, so very flavorful turkey I think this soup particularly good. I also don't buy chicken stock from the store, I make it when I can, but that isn't very often, so I just use water and then Knorr chicken bouillion, which I think has the best spices and seasonings in it. It is my favorite. So other than the chicken bouillion, there is not any added salt in this recipe either, and it didn't need it! It was so yummy just the way it was. Definitely one of the best soups I have ever made! Hope you enjoy it too! Happy cooking!

Goal update time!!

As you probably know by now, I love to cook and bake almost anything! The one thing I don't really like to bake is bread. It takes so much time to grind the wheat, because we like wheat, mix it all together, knead, let rise, and bake. Boy I sound like the little red hen, with no one to help me, but everyone willing to eat it. Haha! Anyway, I don't make bread all that often because it rarely turns out the way I would like it to. My husband even bought the big commercial grade 1 pound pans so I could make big loaves and do this every week so I am not buying bread with all sorts of yuck in them. I hate to say it, but I have only used those pans a couple of times. So I decided this week I wanted to make bread since I used the last of the store bought bread in my freezer and I am out of money until next week for groceries. So being the good little homemaker I am, I decided to make a couple loaves of bread for the week.

I looked through my recipes to try to find one that was easy. I ground lots of wheat for flour, and got my recipe ready. I have one that I got from a relief society activity years ago that was easy, with no kneading and it didn't have to rise long. So I made it up, but read the recipe wrong and let it rise in the bowl, then put it in the pans. Baked for 30 minutes, it came out so heavy and hard! So I decided to try again and read the recipe right this time and put it in the pans first, then let it rise, but even doing it that way, it was still heavy like a brick. The only thing I can figure is that it is my wheat, or using straight red wheat instead of white wheat is what makes the difference, I don't know. So I learned to make sure you read the recipe right, otherwise your bread turns out awful, but sometimes, even when you do read the recipe right, it doesn't always turn out.

This is when I get really frustrated and have a hard time making bread. My husband makes awesome bread, he does french bread and bagettes that are so good. I did come across a bread recipe that I made that turned out very good! I just happened to catch on one of tv channels here when I was trying to find something for the kids to watch. I made it and it turned out good, and was so very yummy! It is tomato basil bread, it is a yeast bread, but not a traditional double rise thing and it can be made in 1 hour, unlike other yeast breads.The recipe for this can be found here. I'm sure you can make other types of breads with this recipe to. Enjoy this, it is very good with spaghetti or a casserole.

Yesterday I set a goal to learn something new every day. I didn't realize just how difficult this might be. There is 24 hours in a day, where I am awake about 16 hours of that, you'd think that would plenty of time to learn something new, right? Well, time just gets away from me most days and before I know it, it's time to go to bed and I haven't accomplished anything I was planning on. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

Well, I did sort of learn something yesterday...In starting to get our taxes ready to be done, I have been adding up medical bills, gathering all the documents from mortgage and property taxes and then adding up all my business expenses and earnings, it's a huge job. So I learned, numbers are not my strong suit! I've always known this, but I do pretty well with all the day to day things that involve numbers and even having to figure discounts on products and things, I've done ok, but when I sit down to add up the final figures, I just get nervous and then hope that it all goes well at tax time and that we don't end up owing the government more taxes. So this is something I need to constantly work on, number figures and being able to add and subtract each thing that I need to to get the right answer. After seeing some of the homework my kids bring home, I might want to consider taking a basic math class sometime, just so I can help them when they have questions. It's just all crazy.

Now that you have an update on what I am learning, here is a yummy recipe that I make quite often. I think I found it on the ALL recipes app, but I have tweaked it quite a bit for my needs and tastes, so now I consider it my own. These are very yummy muffins that I double or quadruple to put in the freezer for my husband to take to work or my kids to eat in the morning. We just pop them in the microwave for 30 secs or less and they taste like they just came out of the oven. So here you are:

Banana chocolate chip muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1/4 applesauce
1/2 plain yogurt (or sour cream)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

In large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, whisk together. In another bowl, combine egg, oil, applesauce, yogurt, vanilla and mashed bananas. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Put in greased muffin cups and bake at 350* 12-18 minutes.

Baking time may vary. My regular size muffins cook in 12-15 minutes, but I think my oven cooks a little hotter. Also, I started using whole wheat flour to help make things more healthy and this four will fill you up more than white flour will, but to use all whole wheat, I think, would be really heavy. I have also made these with walnuts instead of chocolate chips. These muffins are pretty moist! the combination of a little oil, a little applesauce and some yogurt just makes these so yummy as well. I hope you like them as much as my family does! Happy Baking!!

Tuna and Toast

Ok, so I know I have complained a lot in the past about my weight and not being the "right" size or not fitting into clothes. Well, I am really working hard to change my thinking from so negative to more positive. I have been working
on positive thinking and being accepting of myself in the moment.

No I am not the most positive thinker, especially when I put on a pair of pants and realize just how big my thighs are, when I can't really keep them up. But I just think, I need to work on tonig muscles and maybe even get rid of these jeans and find a pair of pants that are more straight leg than boot cut that hugs my thighs more. I have this little muffin top too. Yeah, I don't like to exercise, so it seems to hang over my pants a little. Although I did notice yesterday that my muffin top is starting to go away. I have been doing pilates about 4 times a week for the last two weeks and I am starting to notice it is toning my muscles and getting rid of the bulge. I even put on a pair of pants I got for Christmas that was a little snug at Christmas that didn't fit after I washed them, and they actually fit! I got them on and got them buttoned up, which I couldn't do a month ago. So as you can see, I have been very pleased with myslef and what little I have been doing.

Anyway, now that you know about my weight journey this year so far, I want to share with you what we had for dinner last night. It's probably not the best meal, or best for you, but it one from my childhood that I loved. It is tuna and toast. It is very easy with not many ingredients and it's just yummy, as long as you like tuna. So here you go:

Tuna and toast

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups milk
3 cans tuna
marjoram
thyme
oregano
as many slices of toast as desired

Melt butter in skillet. Add flour and whisk. Let cook a little to thicken some. Gradually add milk stirring as you go. Continue to stir over med/high heat until thickened to your desired thickness Add drained tuna and spices and let heat through a few minutes. Serve over toast.

Now this is a big recipe that I use for my family of 7, you can always cut it in half if you need to. Also, when cooking I use powdered milk. I try to always have some milk made up in my fridge and that's what I use. Sometimes it doesn't thicken quite as well as regular milk in white sauces, so last night I opted to use just 3 cups of milk instead of 4 and it thickened great, I probably could have used a little more milk, but it still worked out fine. For my spices, I just shake them on until I think it looks good. It probably ended up being 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp of each, but use whichever ones you want and however much you want. Sometimes I will also add peas right in the sauce, but last night we had them on the side.

This is something that I make when I can't think of anything else to make, since I always have tuna on hand and it is so easy to make. We love it, and with the spices it just adds more flavor and help to mask the tuna flavor, not that I don't love tuna! Happy cooking!

*Have a recipe for me to try or to revamp for you? Comment below, I love trying new things and making things so much better and more healthy! I will share with you my more healthy version of banana chocolate chip muffins soon, so look forward to that!

My new goal!

So I have wanted to for a while now, but just haven't started, so I will start this week...I want to learn something new every day! It doesn't matter what it is, I just want to grow in knowledge and understanding! Wether it is a new understanding on a scripture, a new recipe, a new tid bit of information, a new crochet stitch or new pattern, whatever it is, I want to learn it!

So to start off today, I want to share what I have learned so far this week:

Monday Feb. 4: I learned some new ways to use Thieves essential oil and now I using it in more ways than I thought I could.

Tuesday Feb. 5: I learned that the milk I bought (Hy-Top brand from Winco) does not contain rBST hormone, yay!

So what should I learn today? I have a new pattern for crcheted snowflakes, maybe I will learn how to do those today, or maybe I will research more about oils and start a list of the new ones that I want to order. Who knows, it could be anything! So I will share with you tomorrow what I learn today.

Set a goal for yourself and see how far you can go with it.

Watch your words!

I think it is hard for me to post everyday because I always think, what do I have to write about today that will benefit others? Then my inner voice says, nothing, today was just like yesterday. This is what I decided to post about today.

We always tend to be our own worst critic, which is probably the worst kind! We are always much harder on ourselves than we need to be. Are you like this? I know I am, and I am working so hard to look past my own flaws and find my inner beauty. We all have it, inner beauty I mean! Others tend to see it, but it's hard to find in ourselves.

I look at our youth in the world and see how hard they have it. I thought I had it hard, but I know things are much worse for them. I am reminded of how my preteen years and teen were. They were tough! I thought I did a pretty good job of hiding my feelings and masking how I really felt inside, but I found out recently that I didn't do such a great job. I saw a post recently from a band instructor that I was close to. She posted about words being the cause of a recent suicide of a very young adult that she new through school. I hope she doesn't mind me posting me this, it really opened my eyes.

She posted:

"Many times I felt I was going to be where the Reese family was today. Grateful and blessed I have not. No parent should ever have to bury their child. Take the time to listen to those you love. We will never understand the pain an individual is in to cause them to commit suicide. Teen years are hard for some unbearable. If I could get a message to all young people, it would be ...... Guard your w...ords... They hurt more than a knife. In 5 years it won't matter to you who you've hurt, but the ones you do, might not be here in 5 years. Reach out to the one who sits alone at lunch or walks alone in the hall. The people your trying to impress won't remember you after high school, but the one you go out of your comfort zone and popular zone to say hello to, or befriend, just might remember you forever. Which means the most?
" When you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me....."
There is a much higher power I want to be proud of me and accept me, than the "player" with the fancy car."
 

This woman is seriously amazing to me! I commented on this post:

"Thanks! I am a victim of words. I didn't show it much in high school, I can hide/mask my emotions well, but I even now have issues. I don't take compliments well, and I feel like I have to almost be perfect in everything. I am trying hard to overcome the self conscience feelings still. I always wanted to be a motivational speaker to be able to try to get youth to understand, but there again, I am terrified by what people will think of me or what I have to say. I want so much to take voice lessons and to sing for others, but one day in 7th grade when I tried and forgot all the words and ever since have been terrified to sing for people, especially solo. Kids, especially teens just don't realize or even care who they hurt. And unfortunately some people don't handle it as well as others. I'm sorry for this loss, my heart goes out to the family and friends that it has affected."

 

So now her comment to me is what really hit me. I started crying because I thought I did well at hiding things, aparantly not! She said:

"You did not mask as well as you thought you did. I knew you were hurting but you had a fight in you alot do not have too. You have so much to offer Amanda.... Beauty inside and out. Never to late to fight the battle. Bullies or words don't win unless you allow them to. Go for it..... Do something you fear.,,, for you and your beautiful babies. Teach them that the battle is always winnable.... You are a wonderful young lady....mom,.... Daughter... Don't ever let the battle that others started continue to be fought within yourself. They may have started the fight but my dear you finish it.... Love you."

 

Ok, so I still cry when I read that. She hit this whole thing right on the head! I know I am a wonderful person, I know I have so many great talents, I know I have so much to offer others, so why is it that I have such a hard time accepting that on a daily basis? I have a wonderful husband who, everyday, tells me how great I look, that my cooking is fantastic, that I do so much and keep right on going, why do I not see it?

 

I am still healing, that's why!

 

When I was 10 years old, in 5th grade, I had one friend! You might laugh and say there is no way. I look at my 10 year old son and he has lots of friends, and way too many girl friends! :) But really, I only had one friend! It wasn't because I didn't try, or because I was mean, it was because of the way I looked. How sad is that! But that is the reality! Imagine with me, since I don't have a picture to post, a 10 year old girl with long, white stringy hair, big poofy bands, clothes that weren't really in style, freckles, and these buck teeth that were huge! This was the cause of my teasing and laughter by others. Day after day I was called "doofus". My teacher at the time didn't even stop it. He just ignored it or over looked it. I would go home every day and just cry. I would tip toe around school hoping that no one would notice me so I didn't have to hear another mean name. It was horrible.

 

During this year, I under went some major dental surgery. I had to have 6 teeth removed, some baby and some permanant, to make room in my mouth for all these teeth. After that, I had headgear that I wore every night to help move my teeth. I definitely didn't want anyone to know about that.

 

Summer time was always nice because I got a break from school and the people there, but I still had church that I had to go each Sunday. I hated church, which is not the opinion you should have when you have an active family. I would go to church and go to primary and sit as far away from the other kids as I could. Some of the kids at church were some of the ones that teased me each at school, so I wanted to keep my distance.

 

By 6th grade, I was in braces, this tooth problem was getting resolved. I thought maybe the names couldn't stick anymore and they had nothing to tease me about. This school year, we were in a middle school of sorts and had many people from all over the town that I didn't know, which was to my advantage. I was able to make some new friends that year, but because of the very low self esteem that I had, I fell in with friends that made me think swearing and lying and cheating and fighting were ok. I was in trouble a few times that year. But I wasn't being teased as much anymore and I could steer clear of those that teased me the year before.

 

At one time when I was about 13, I was in a very rough spot with my self image, and thought at that time that I would be married at 18 and a smoker. I'm so glad my goals changed after that time, I would have hated that life. I think my turning point was LDS seminary! I learned so much and gained such a testimony there, that church became easier and I started knowing that the goals I had at 13 were not what I wanted out of life. I knew there was more for me than that.

 

Over the next years through high school, I involved myself in band and marching band and made many more friends there that were accepting of me. I was very good at playing the clarinet. Not so much at memorizing my marching music, but I could sit down and sight read a piece very well, it's a talent I have that I do with the piano now. I dated a lot and jumped between boyfriends quite often, trying to find that right connection that I craved. Usually this is the time when teens start experimenting with drugs and sex and different things like that. I had a strength in me and a goal during that time, that I did not want to do anything of that sort. I knew people that were getting into that and could have myself if I had wanted to. It was just not something for me.

 

I tried to convince myself that I was better than I felt inside, but then something would happen to shoot me back down. I stuggled with true happiness. I remember one day in high school, my best friend came in and told me she wanted to be depressed all day. I said ok and we went on our day. We had almost every class together, because we were best friends and did everything together. I always tried to be happy, especially around my friends, so they didn't know I had bad feelings inside. By the end of that day, my friend came up to me and said she hated me and that she couldn't be depressed because I was always so happy and laughing. That made me feel good.

 

So to sum up an extremely long story, I have always struggled with feeling a part of the crowd and wanting to fit in. I still like I need to wear the right thing and look just right in order for me to be accepted by the other women around me. I know this is the wrong type of thinking, but it is that self conscience thing in me that keeps me on guard about my feelings at all times. That's why I haven't done a lot of the things I want to. I don't want to start something and become embarrassed when I fail, or do the wrong thing. What a way to live, right?

 

I am trying everyday, and some days are better than others. Some days I feel beautiful even though my hair isn't done and I don't have make up on. Some  days I accomplish so much and have such a feeling of self worth and know I can do anything. Some days my kids accomplish something and I cry because I am so proud of their accomplishment, which makes me feel like a wonderful mom. Some days, some one I don't even know that well, will say that I was brought to them and how glad they are for that, and that I am answer to prayers.

 

I do truely love my life, my family, the dear friends that have been brought to me throughout my life, and especially now, and I love my Savior! He has always been there for me. He has been the one to keep me going when I have thought life would be better if I weren't around. Thank you for reading my story. I hope you will take it to heart, whether you are 10 or 40 and remember that words, whether we think are meant to hurt or not, may be a snapping point for someone and to speak with love and kindness and help to lift and love others. My hope is that this may touch some young person struggling and looking for answers.

 

You are welcome to comment with any questions or thoughts. May the Lord inspire and be with you!

Super Bowl Partay!!

So how was everyone's super bowl? Ours was great, even though we don't care to watch the game. We don't follow football at all, never have. But it does give us an excuse to have a party with snacky foods. So here is what we had for our "super bowl" party: homemade chicken wings (nuggets), lil smokies, chili queso and salsa dip with tortilla chips, oranges wheels, carrots and celery.

Really easy meal to make. Most of the work I did Saturday night, so I just had to heat things and throw them together. Then chopping the veggies and oranges don't take long at all. Most everything was just out of a can, other than fruits and veggies. The queso dip was just half a block of velveeta cheese, a can of chili beans, and some salsa, heat in microwave, serve with chips. Lil smokies were open package, put in bowl, add BBQ sauce, heat. The chicken nuggets took a little more time, but were so worth it! Here is what I did for them:

Chicken nuggets

7-8 chicken breasts; cut into large chunks
4 cups buttermilk or evaporated milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper sauce, optional

Mix in a bowl and add chicken to marinade overnight.
(to cut chicken, I cleaned each breast, then cut into thirds long ways, then in half the other way. Made large chunks. I didn't have time to marinade my chicken overnight, so I just put it in the milk and let sit while I mixed up the breading. I also didn't have buttermilk, not something I keep on hand or think about until I need it, and I am stingy about using my evaporated milk, so I just did regular milk and added Tru Lemon, since I don't have lemon juice either. It worked out just fine. Work with what you have. And for the pepper sauce, I added some Asian red pepper paste.)

Breading:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 TBS paprika

Put in a ziploc bag and shake to mix. Then add chicken pieces, half at a time, and shake to coat. Place on baking sheet lined with foil and lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until done.

Before baking, I did spray each chicken piece on the top with cooking spray, so that it would bake a little better and crisp up more. You can also fry these in an inch of oil at 350 degrees turning once, until golden. We like them that way too, but I hate to stink up my house with oil.

For the chicken wings, I left the chicken nuggets cool on the pan, then put them in a container over night in the fridge, so when you put your sauces on, they are cold and easier to work with. Then when I was ready, I split them in half, puting into two different, large bowls. I did a buffalo sauce in one bowl and a BBQ sauce in the other. Stir well to coat. Pur on a greased baking sheet and heat at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until they are heated through.

My hubby suggested even using ground chicken and making little nuggets then doing the same breading and stuff, that way they might be a little softer and easier to eat, or maybe cooking a little less would help to. For being the first time I have ever done anyting like this, it turned out great, we will definitely be making these again for our next party! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Sorry I didn't have pics, I couldn't find my camera when I wanted to take a pic.

Essential Oils

My last post was about how much I love essential oils. This is post is about which ones I use and how I use them.

There are so many people out there that know so much more than me about essential oils, so I don't claim to even know a fraction, but I am slowly learning and am taking it all in strides. I have a few that I use for specific reasons, some just because I like them.

First of all, I have a whole regimen of how I apply them and when. In the morning I apply golden rod and Lemongrass to my abdomen. Goldenrod is good for circulation, cardiac function and libido (woot woot). Lemongrass is good for digestion. As I have said before, I have some digestive issues, that I am coming to find out are beef related, or I think. I have been treated for food allergies, but there must be something more in it that I haven't been treated for.

In the mid morning I mix up a supplement drink full of nutrients that help with cardiac support and gives me some energy. With that, I mix the Slique Essence oil which has a blend of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, spearmint and ocotea with stevia extract. This one has a citrisy/mint flavor. With that I will also mix some extra grapefruit, tangerine or lemon. Slique Essence is the one that helps with hunger and snacking, helps you feel full. We also love to put a drop of lemon, lime or grapefruit right in water, it gives it just a hint of flavor and makes it easier for us to drink more water.

Sometimes during the day I will put a drop of Ocotea on my collar bone. This is one that is in the Slique Essence that helps you to fell full. If I can smell it, it helps remind me to not munch all day as well as help me feel like I'm not hungry.

If I get a headache throughout the day, which with 5 kids and up to 7 others that I watch throughout the week, headaches are a common occurance, I will put a drop on my temples and rub. It helps to relax me and within minutes my headache has subsided.

At night before bed, I put peppermint, Thieves, Roman chamomile, and Weightless (which is not a Young Living oil it is Butterfly). Mike and I have found reflexology of the foot charts and have tried to use these when we apply certain ones. Peppermint I use to help with digestion and put that on the foot where those organs would be located. Thieves is a blend of clove, cinnamon bark, rosemary, lemon and eucalyptus and is to help with immunity support. Roman chamomile is great to help relax and Weightless I use to help with metabolism. After using these for a couple weeks, I missed a night because I was too tired and just didn't want to. I have found the nights that I miss, are the nights that I don't sleep as well, so I know they help my body relax.

Two summers ago I started getting a pain in the bottom of my foot, right in the arch and through the heel. I went to a pediatrist and she told me I have plantar fascitis (SP). She said the only thing to do was to take 800mg of Ibuprofen twice a day for the pain and to have some shoe intserts made that fit to my feet as well as wear a foot brace at night, since the morning is the worst time for pain. So she fitted me for those and sent me on my way with my perscription and foot brace. For a year after that, I wore this huge foot brace to bed at night and took Ibuprofen and was told I could never wear flip flops again. If you know me, you know I hate shoes, especially in the summer! I love flip flops!

A year later Mike went to a health fair at his work and met a chiropractor that was getting his practice going. We started seeing him and I told him about my foot issue. He got me a pair of flip flops that have arch support in them so I could still wear flip flops in the summer. When things like this weren't working well for me, he started doing cold laser treatments on my feet and then stripping my arches with cream that had some essential oils in it. It started to relieve the pain and through the winter I wear shoes with support, so I was feeling good.

During this time, my sister in law was getting into essential oils and suggested I put some wintergreen on my feet, that helped as well. Now, over a year later, I still get a little pain, but I am wearing my flip flops again and if I feel pain coming on, or mornings make my feet hurt, I just rub in some wintergreen and it feels so much better! Wintergreen is a good on deep aches and pains and joint pain.

These are not all I have or use, just a small portion. Most things I only use when I need them, for instance, I use a blend called Dragon Time which blends clary sage, lavender, yarrow, fennel, marjoram and jasmine. I used this during "that time of the month" to hellp relive cramps and help with emotions, which worked great! Orange I use in my laundry to help it clean and smell good. Frankincense I use on my face when I have a breakout, or it is great to help reduce bruising (I bruise very easily so this is great for those times), also helps with stress.

Essential oils are great for kids to. I diffuse Thieves throughout my house to help kill the bacteria and germs to keep us all stay healthy. Purification, which is a blend of lemongrass, rosemary, malaleuca, myrtle, and citronella I diffuse to clean the air and help it smell clean. I have also put this in shoes to help get rid of the stinky smell. Since I have kids with ADHD, Ylang Ylang and Bergomot are our friends for helping with the mood swings (sounds like I have a house full of girls, but these are boys!).  Pan away, which is a blend of wintergreen, clove, helichrysum and pepperming, is a good one for helping with pains. I rub this on my daughter when she starts to get those growing pains in her legs. And peace and calming is a mix of tangerine, ylang ylang, blue tansy, orange and patchouli, is just that, helps to calm and relax the mind.

I love using essential oils and they helped me with my help so much, but I would caution you: If you are allergic to plants and trees, be very careful which ones you use. I am allergic to trees and can not use some of the tree based ones, as I found out when my throat started itching. Get treated for those that you are allergic to, this will help your body accept them more willingly and they will help you more in the long run. Listen to your body as to which ones to use, you will know what you need. Good luck on your journey to better health!

*The blends listed above are all products of Young Living Essential Oils, with the exception of the one sited. All essential oil companies have their own line of oil blends. Young Living is one of many companies out there. Find the one that best suits you.