Snack Time

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Paula

Well, day three as a stay at home mom is coming to an end, so far it has been great!  I’ve been able to spend some much needed time on my menu plan and am starting to get in a good routine. I’m not going to lie, there have been moments (very brief moments) where I have missed my old routines, like 2:00 snack break.

I worked in a room with about 12 or so people, most of them across the room and 3 of them right next to me.  Every day at least one, most days two, people popped popcorn at some point in the day. The smell of popcorn was always lingering in the room. It was quite wonderful but had a tendency to make you want some of your own. For a while I bought popcorn and the 4 of us in the corner would share a bag in the afternoons (usually around 2:00, hence 2:00 snack break). Then I found out that I could make my own for under 20 cents a bag! Needless to say, snack time was forever changed!

Making your own popcorn has a lot of advantages:

1. It Saves Money- Box of National Brand Popcorn is $3.59 for 3 bags = 1.79 per bag, 32 oz bag of kernels is $1.89 and makes 16 FULL bags of popcorn = .11 cents per bag (100 calories bags are only .06 cents per bag!!)

2. It’s healthier- No additives, artificial colors, sugars, preservatives or excess sodium like the boxed kind, just add a little salt and butter to your taste.

3. It’s Convenient- You want a 100 calorie snack one day and popcorn for the whole family the next? No need to buy several boxes, just adjust the amount of kernels in your bag. Have one family member who likes a little salt, one that doesn’t want butter or one who likes cheesy popcorn? No problem- pop your kernels and let everyone fix it the way they want it :)

Homemade Popcorn

You will need:

- Paper Bag
- 1/4 cup popcorn kernels
- salt to taste (optional)
- butter to taste (optional)

Directions:

1.  Measure 1/4 cup popcorn kernels into a paper bag.

2. Fold the top of the bag down and lay it on it’s side in the microwave.

3. Pop until you hear the pops are getting farther apart (around 4-5 minutes for my microwave but this will vary)

4. Remove from the microwave and add butter and salt to taste. Shake bag and Enjoy!

Note- 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels popped equals about 5 cups of popped popcorn and is approximately 268 calories, I would call it a family size bag. To make a 100 calorie single serving bag use 2 tablespoons of kernels.

For my 2:00 snack break friends, now you have no excuse not to carry on the tradition :) Enjoy your healthier, yummier popcorn and think of me, chances are I’ll be incorporating 2:00 snack into my new routine so we can still share our snack break from a distance! Miss you guys!

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    Perfect Gift, Perfect Timing, Perfect God

    Posted on April 23, 2012 by Paula

    On Friday I read a blog over at Proverbs 31 Ministries called A Timely Gift (you should check it out!) The author, Lynn Cowell, was talking about how God gives us just the right gifts at just the right time.  This post could not have come on a better day- Friday God gave me a gift! I have been given the gift of becoming a stay at home Mom!

    From the moment I held my precious baby girl in my arms almost 2 years ago I knew I wanted to be at home with her to raise her up to be the woman God had made her to be. Like Lynn, I tried to get this on my own and fell flat on my face.  When my daughter was 8 months old my husband and I decided I would step down to Part Time. We had prayed about it, but mostly I feel like it was my selfish drive that pushed us to this decision. On February 15, 2010 I went to someone I worked with and told them I would take the Part Time position they had available.   At the time I was still doing a little local traveling on the job. My boss was not in the office, so I left to go to my next location and decided to talk to her first thing the next morning. Several hours later, while traveling home, I got a phone call that changed everything. My husband had lost his job.  Praise God my boss had not been in the office that day! I immediately called and explained it to the person who I had accepted the job with. They were very understanding and to my knowledge never even mentioned it to anyone.

    Instead of becoming the part time worker, full time Mom I had dreamed about I was forced to take on the responsibility of providing the only source of income for our family. I do not feel like this is the role that God meant for women to be in- it was so hard!  I felt the pressure to be the best employee, pressure to be the best mom, pressure to provide, pressure to manage my home and cook for my family. All of that while feeling the financial strain that comes when you are unexpectedly dropped to one income. I was overwhelmed, a little bitter and completely heartbroken.  I didn’t feel at all like a mommy, in fact, I felt like my husband was a better mom than me.  I questioned why God had given me this precious child if I could only see her 1-2 hours a day.  God is faithful and he kept hold of me during this time, he helped me through it, he gave me strength and he made me thankful for the time I did have.  As she grew older, sleep schedules changed and I got more time with her.  I learned to balance work and home and God gave me strength to make it through every day. He gave us awesome friends and family who supported us and uplifted us. After 6 very long months, my husband found a new job, one that he loves and is great at. Looking back, we feel that although this was a very difficult time for our family it was still the best thing that could have happened to us.  My husband was able to take 3 courses and finish out his college degree, we learned as a family to live on much less and our faith grew deeper as we learned to trust God completely.

    Even after all we had been through my husband and I still felt that I should be at home with our daughter. Being the control freak that I am (yes, I’ll admit it, I have issues), I thought about this, over analyzed this and stressed about this A LOT. Several months ago I realized I shouldn’t be stressing about this, I just needed to trust God and submit to His will. I did this knowing that it might not be His will for me to stay at home, submitting to Him might mean that I continued working full time. That was a hard realization to come to, but as much as I wanted to be at home, I wanted to do God’s will more. I stopped praying that God would work it out for me to be home and prayed for God to use me for His glory. I stopped dwelling on being a stay at home Mom, I turned that over completely to my husband.  As spiritual leader of our home, I knew he needed to seek God for the answers and I trusted him to discern God’s will for our family.  After months of prayer, my husband told me that he felt it was God’s will that I be at home as of April 20th, 2012. So, last Friday I worked my last day at my full time job. I can confidently say that this is God’s will for our family and that this is His timing because we gave it all to Him and listened for His guidance this time around.

    Today was my first day at home enjoying my gift from God. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity! I am thankful for a loving husband who follows Christ and friends and family who have prayed with us and offered support and encouragement along the way! I love that we serve a God that will give us the perfect gift in His perfect timing. I love that we serve a perfect God!

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      Yogurt Melts

      Posted on March 28, 2012 by Paula

      I was recently introduced to the world of Pinterest. Actually, I was introduced to it before Thanksgiving. I completed my little application and got my acceptance email in December but I never opened it! I wanted to, trust me I wanted to, but I knew I needed to wait until I had some more time because I would be sucked in. More time is hard to come by but finally, last week, I got started.  It’s awesome!

      For those of you who have never heard of Pinterest, let me try to explain it as best I can.  It’s like a virtual pin board. You set up an account and create boards like recipes, photos ideas, crafts, home decor, garden, and kids activities.  Then you can download a “Pin It” Button to your favorites toolbar.  When you see a recipe, idea, blog post, anything really(with an image) that you like you can “Pin It” to your board.  Then other people can see what inspires you and you can see things what inspires them.   (I’m a Pinterest newbie so I may have missed some things, but you get the picture) If you’d like to see some of the cool ideas I’ve gotten from others check out my Pinterest via the red link in the right margin.

      This recipe is one of the first things I pinned on Pinterest. It looked so easy and sounded like a perfect summer treat! I decided to give it a try and the results are spectacular!

      Yogurt Melts

      Ingredients
      - yogurt

      Directions
      1.  Spoon yogurt into a ziploc bag.  Push the yogurt to the bottom corner and twist the excess bag at the top.
      2.  Cut off a very small corner of the bag.
      3.  Squeeze yogurt into small dots onto a metal baking dish. (I put a silpat down on mine so I could just slide the yogurt melts off when they were ready)
      4.  Place in the freezer at least one hour to harden.
      5.  Store in the freezer (If you can resist eating them all)

      This recipe really is great! One cup of yogurt will make an entire pan full of yogurt melts, we made two different flavors. When you are making these keep in mind the size of your yogurt melt and your child. Since they are little circles they could be dangerous straight out of the freezer if swallowed whole.  My little one is good about chewing and I made a batch of smaller melts just for her.  I also discovered that whatever shape you place the yogurt in will be the shape  and size it freezes in, so I started making some cute little hearts.  Next time I might make some tic tac toes or letters- who says you can’t play with your food :)

      Recipe Source: One Good Thing

       

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        Easter Garden

        Posted on March 27, 2012 by Paula

        But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.  As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed” he said, “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.  See the place where they laid him.” – Mark 16:4-6

        If you follow my blog you may know that I have a daughter that is almost 2 years old. You may not know that I have about 8 other children. Ok, so they are not technically mine, they are the children from my Sunday School class at church, but I love those kids!  I am always looking for ways to teach them about Jesus in songs, crafts, and stories.  When I saw this craft on someone’s facebook page I knew that I had to do this with my kids. Why? because it’s the perfect visual for the upcoming Easter holiday- the tomb is EMPTY! our Savior is RISEN!! Praise the Lord! That get’s me so excited I just want to jump around and tell everybody!! Seriously folks, the only perfect person to ever walk this planet- the Son of God- Jesus- carried our sins and hung on that cross to pay the price for us, rose again and is in heaven waiting on the day when He will come back and take us home if we have accepted Him as our personal savior! Did you get that? Do you understand how incredibly awesome that is? I want my kids to understand that, I want your kids to understand that, I want you to understand that. If you don’t or you have questions about it will you please send me a message so I can pray with you and for you? If you do will you share that incredible news with someone this week? It’s my challenge to you- make an Easter Garden- show it off and use it as a talking point to tell someone about the good news!

        What you’ll Need

        - several small, straight sticks
        - 3 rubber bands
        - 8.5″ – 11″ ceramic base for a pot
        - 2″ – 3″ small ceramic pot
        - Handful of small rocks
        - Potting soil
        - Shade grass seed
        - 1 large rock
        - Spray bottle of water

        Directions

        1.  Break the sticks until you have the right sizes and number of pieces to make 3 crosses.
        2.  Use the rubber bands (or twist it ties, twine, hot glue, etc.) to secure the crosses together
        3.  Spread a thin layer of potting soil on the bottom of the ceramic base
        4.  Place your small pot in the ceramic base on it’s side.  To find the position, locate the center of the base, move it forwards and to the right and place it there, leaving room for your large rock.  I ran out of small ceramic pots so I just used a cheap pot from the dollar store. (The yellow is not exactly the look I was going for but it works)
        5. Cover the pot with potting soil. Be sure and mound it up along the back of the pot so you will have a hill for your crosses. You may want to spritz it with water as you are working to help the soil stay in place.
        6. Stick the 3 crosses on the hill. Press the dirt in around them to help them stay.
        7.  Sprinkle the hill and sides with grass seed. Spritz well with water.
        8. Place the small rocks in front of the tomb to create a path.
        9.  Place the large rock leaning on the tomb to the right to create an open, empty tomb- He is risen!
        10. Mist your garden twice a day and the grass should be grown within 7-10 days.

        Extras- Make a crown of thorns by braiding dandelion stems or pine needles and place it on the center cross. Cut strips of white cloth and place them in the tomb.

        I made this craft Sunday morning with all my kids at church, we made the entire project a learning experience. We went outside and looked at all the things God has made and the kids got to pick up sticks and rocks. Once back inside, I sent my husband back out to get the HUGE bag of potting soil and other supplies needed. Now I wasn’t in the room, but I heard that some of the parents eyes got pretty big when they saw him coming in with a 40lb bag of dirt, lol! (Don’t worry- we stayed clean!) As we were doing the project, the oldest child read to us from the Bible the story of the crucifixion and resurrection.  When we heard about the cross we talked about how small our little twigs were in comparison to the great, big cross Jesus carried.  We showed them the three crosses on the hill and talked about the other two men that were next to Jesus that day. We showed them the path that Mary and Martha walked. We showed them the tomb and the big, heavy rock that blocked the entrance and we rolled that rock to the side and talked about how the tomb was empty! It was awesome! My favorite part: As we were reading about the soldiers mocking Jesus and telling Him to come down I asked the kids why he didn’t come down off that cross.  One of the kids answered “because God told Him that He was supposed to do that for us so that He would take the punishment for our sins on the cross”.  He gets it. (still brings tears to my eyes) So proud of those kids!

        Warning: If you do this with your toddler around you might find that all your dirt, seeds, and rocks were dumped out on the patio. You may also find yourself saying : Don’t put the rocks in your bubbles, or NOOO! Don’t put the rocks in your diaper!! … or maybe that’s just my kid :)

        After your grass grows your garden should look like this. (This photo is courtesy of Pinterest, I will update with my own photo once I have some grass :) )

        Idea and photo on the right from: Melissa Holt

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          Cooking for a Crowd – or a Freezer!

          Posted on March 23, 2012 by Paula

           

          This week I began been participating in an Online Bible Study by Karen Ehman, titled “A Life that Says Welcome”.  So far this Bible Study has been great! It really focuses on relieving the stresses and pressures that go along with entertaining and focusing on our call to show hospitality to others.  I have never thought about how different hospitality and entertaining are before.  Oftentimes, when we entertain, the focus is on ourselves.  Hospitality is putting the focus on your guests and pouring the love of Jesus on them! 

          Have you ever been to someone’s house that looks like it is straight off the pages of Southern Living magazine? Have you left feeling inadequate, feeling the need to go buy nicer things, learn to make fancier food, or hire an interior decorator or professional cleaner?  That’s entertaining, and the result is often one of two things: we either go through all the steps to try and keep up with them or we decide we can’t keep up with them and we distance ourselves from them.

          Now, imagine going over to someone’s house and leaving feeling like you’ve had the love of Jesus poured on you.  The house is tidy, but not sparkling. The food is great, but achievable, and the hostess made you feel right at home. The kind of right at home that makes you feel like you can kick your shoes off and curl up on the couch with their blanket or go through every kitchen cabinet until you find a glass.  That is biblical hospitality. The result of this is almost always the desire to reciprocate the kindness to your hostess and the boldness to open your home and heart up to others to show them the same hospitality and love you received.

          One of the most intimidating parts of inviting others into your home can be preparing a meal that feeds a crowd and that everyone will enjoy. To overcome this, Karen has asked us in this week’s Swap and Share to share our best company recipe.  I think a good company recipe is one that’s easy to prepare, inexpensive, and good for all ages. Grilled chicken is all of those! You can have it straight off the grill or use it in fajitas, chicken alfredo, or on top of a salad.

          Now up until this point, I have to admit I have been practicing hospitality on the road (but after this study, that’s going to change!).  My husband and I have prepared this on lots of occasions for families with new babies, deaths, illness or injuries.  We’ve even taken it to church luncheons. Everyone always loves it and it feeds a lot of people!  It’s also something we use on a regular basis to stock up our freezer for quick, easy meals.  

          Crowd Pleasing Grilled Chicken

          Ingredients

          4 ½ pounds of chicken breasts (Approximately 3-5 chicken breasts depending on size)
          1 cup of Italian Dressing
          1 Tablespoon of Sweet Basil

          Directions

          1.  Cut chicken breasts into strips. We usually get 4 strips per chicken breast. If the breasts are smaller you might get 3 or if they are larger you might get 5.  We buy are chicken in the large bulk pack at a warehouse store and they are pretty big!
          2.  Place chicken strips into a Ziploc bag (or covered bowl) and add ingredients.
          3.  Close the bag, try to get any excess air out if using the bags.  Let the chicken marinate at least 30 minutes. The longer you marinate the more flavor the chicken will have.  If we have time we usually marinate overnight. 
          4.  Grill chicken until cooked thoroughly.

          The pack of chicken we get at our local warehouse store is 6-7 LARGE chicken breasts, so we usually do 1 ½ times this recipe. Today we had an extra, smaller pack of chicken so we did double the recipe. It made a lot of chicken! We figure if we’re going to turn on the grill we might as well fill it up!  If you have a lot of chicken and don’t want to cook it all at once you can also follow steps 1-3 and place your bag of marinated chicken in the freezer.  Just move the bag to the refrigerator a day or two before you’re ready to cook so it can thaw.  As it thaws it will soak up all that delicious marinade!

          We saved money by buying in bulk (less than $2.00 a meal!) and time by pre-cooking the chicken for our meals. A full grill leads to a full freezer! 

          -Two bags of cubed chicken (2 cups each) for pastas or stir-fry’s
          -Two bags of sliced chicken for fajitas, salads, and wraps
          -Two bags of chicken strips (portioned out for our family of 3)
          -Container of sliced chicken set aside for fajitas tomorrow night
          -Dinner for 3 very hungry people this evening
          -9 cubes of diced chicken- perfect portions for quesadillas or to throw in a quick packed lunch for our toddler

          Now when we feel led to an impromptu showing of hospitality for dinner we are ready! To find more favorite company recipes, visit Karen’s Swap and Share Friday post.

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            Breakfast and Brownies

            Posted on March 21, 2012 by Paula

            Yep, you read it right- Breakfast and Brownies! No I haven’t lost it, I’m talking about my waffle iron- it’s good for breakfast and brownies! I’m going to focus on the breakfast for a moment here (we’ll get to the brownies in a second, I promise!)

            Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day, but as a busy Mom who works full time I find it is sometimes the meal I have the least amount of time for. It’s very tempting to break out the box of frozen convenience foods or swing through the drive through on the way in. Neither of which are a horrible idea as long as they don’t become an everyday thing, but it’s like the Bernstein Bears book I read as a child – Good, Better, Best.  A healthy, homemade option is best for our bodies and our wallets! These waffles are a great solution! They are easy to make and can be made ahead and frozen.

            Whole Wheat Waffles (makes 10 waffles)

             Ingredients

            1 ½ Cups Whole Wheat Flour
            2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
            ½  Teaspoon Salt
            1 Cup Milk
            ½  Cup Plain Greek Yogurt
            1 Large Egg
            1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
            2 Tablespoons Honey (I have also used agave nectar)
            1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

             Directions

            1. Preheat waffle iron.
            2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
            3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining wet ingredients.
            4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly, whisking as you go until combined.
            5. Scoop batter into a greased waffle iron and cook about 3-4 minutes or according to your waffle iron’s directions. I used 2-3 scoops with my handy dandy scoop, you want to use approximately ½ cup.
            Freezing them is easy-  just allow them to cool, place in a Ziploc bag, label and freeze. When you’re ready to eat them all you have to do is pull them out and place them in a toaster oven until heated through. You can also pop them in the oven at 300 degrees and heat them approximately 10 minutes or until heated through. I have even thrown them in the microwave, they don’t get crispy that way but they are still good and perfect for my toddler!

             Now to the Brownies!! Since we had healthy, homemade waffles for breakfast we can enjoy a little treat for dessert, right? When my sister told me you could make brownies in a waffle iron in under 5 minutes I couldn’t believe it! Why had no one told me this before? My favorite part of brownies is the crispy edges, with a waffle iron that’s practically the whole brownie! (If the edge brownies aren’t your favorite, don’t worry- my husband says these are very good, even for a center-brownie lover)

            Waffle Brownies (makes 10-12 brownies)

            Ingredients

            Your favorite brownie mix and the ingredients to prepare

            Directions

            1. Preheat waffle iron.
            2. Mix together your favorite brownie mix
            3. Scoop batter into a greased waffle iron and cook about 3-4 minutes or according to your waffle iron’s directions. Again, I used 2-3 scoops, approximately ½ cup.

            Waffle brownies freeze just as good as waffles, maybe even better because you don’t have to heat them up! You can eat them straight out of the freezer. This is especially handy if you get “confused” and grab one for breakfast- quick take a bite before your husband can grab them from you,  then you have to eat it (not that this has happened to me before, lol)! You can also pack them in a lunch and they will be thawed by the time you are ready to enjoy them. To freeze just allow them to cool, place in a Ziploc bag, label and put in the freezer.

             Whole Wheat Waffle Recipe Source: Weelicious

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              Online Bible Study Intro – A Life That Says Welcome

              Posted on March 19, 2012 by Paula

              Last week I received an email from Proverbs 31 Ministries with a list of Online Bible Studies being offered in the month of March. This came at the perfect timing since the Ladies Bible Study I was doing at church ended the week before. The great thing about online Bible Studies is you can still have the accountability and growth you gain from a regular Bible study, but you also have the added bonus of flexibility. No need to find a sitter or re-arrange your weekly schedule. You can read the book curled up on your couch, outside enjoying the weather or while on your lunch break.

              I signed up for my first online Bible Study the week after I had my daughter. I knew that with a new little baby at home it would be very easy to get caught up in enjoying her and taking on all of the new Mom things and I might not get enough QT time in with God. I am so glad I did, God used that study along with my new little bundle of joy to take me to a whole new level of love for Him!

              For my second online Bible Study I have decided to participate in “A Life that says Welcome” by Karen Ehman. It looks great! Here’s some of the things that this Bible Study will be covering:

              - Recognizing the difference between “entertaining” and biblical hospitality.
              - Identifying the reasons we come up with for not opening our home and applying simple solutions to help us overcome them
              - Get some weekly, quick-cleaning strategies, including a system for de-cluttering your house and easy, decorate-on-a-shoestring tips
              - Learn some cooking-for-a-crowd recipes, make-ahead meals and kid-friendly favorites to serve to guests
              - Learn to live a life of welcome wherever your daily life takes you
              - There will also be 20 Guests joining Karen in this study and some great daily prizes. All of the guests that will be featured are mentioned in the video below.

              It officially starts today but it’s not too late to join if you would like to – there was a higher demand for the book than expected so Karen is starting off with some stuff you can participate in without having your book in front of you.. The Bible study is free, the only cost would be to pick up a copy of Karen’s book. If you don’t want to purchase the book check your local library. I received my copy there, so there was no cost for me to participate.  A small study guide and application section is included at the end of each chapter in the book and the other study will be done through Karen’s blog. You can purchase the book online, in stores, or as an e-book. 

              Every Friday for the next 3 weeks I will be put up a post in response to Karen’s weekly question as well as a link to her blog so you can see other’s answers. This week’s Swap and Share topic is : What is your best company recipe? Check back Friday to see all the great recipes!

               For more information visit Karens Blog – Live your priorities, Love your life

               This video features all of the Bible Studies guests! 

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                Bubbles!

                Posted on March 17, 2012 by Paula

                It was a gorgeous day outside today here in the Carolinas.  With temperatures in the 80′s (in March- crazy!!) it was a great day to play in the back yard.  My daughter is now 21 months old and loves to swing, slide, ride her car, chase the dog and play with bubbles.  We played with bubbles for almost an hour this afternoon. She chased them, she popped them, she tried to eat them, she just loves them! Who wouldn’t love bubbles? Little floating prisms that pick up the light and carry rainbows through the air- they’re like little floating balls of happiness.

                My husband stood in the middle of the yard with the gallon size bubbles and the big, mac daddy bubble wand and began to blow bubbles. LOTS of bubbles, big bubbles, small bubbles, bubbles inside of bubbles- they were everywhere! My daughter would fix her eyes on one that came close and chase it until she caught it. At one point she had followed this little, tiny bubble all the way across the yard. It was about the size of a dime and so small in comparison to all the huge bubbles still being blown.  My husband called to her to come back, come get these big bubbles, and still she chased this little tiny bubble.

                We do that, as humans, God has these great big bubbles of happiness for us. Things greater than we could desire, things that he desires for us and he’s just cranking them out for us but we are chasing the small tiny bubble that caught our eye. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon talks about chasing bubbles. He had chased bubbles for years. He had big houses, vineyards, gardens, parks, gold, silver, servants, and singers. He says he was far greater than any man in Jerusalem(Ch 2, v9), he denied himself nothing his eyes desired(Ch 2, V10).   Yet, verse 11 says “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind”.

                Solomon did what I saw my daughter do today.  He chased every small bubble that caught his eye and found himself chasing the wind.  We’re all guilty of it. Something catches our eye and it seems great, we just know if we could catch it we could be happy, so we chase it.  While we are off chasing our tiny desires God is calling to us “Come over here, look at all these great things I have for you over here!”. As we continue to chase our small desires we get farther and farther from all the good things God desires for us.

                The ground in front of my husband was covered with bubbles. He had blown so many they were just landing in the grass waiting on my daughter to come and get them. If she would have just stayed close to him,  she could have caught lots of bubbles.  She could have caught one of those great big bubbles and bubble clusters, making that tiny bubble she was chasing look so small and meaningless.  When she finally realized this and came running back to her Daddy she was so excited she just started running around him squealing with her arms lifted up in the air. She was basking in the bubbles!

                Don’t chase the wind or the tiny bubbles, stay close to God and catch all the good stuff that He desires for your life- you won’t be disappointed! You may just be so excited you’ll just want to run around him, arms lifted in praise and bask in His greatness!

                 

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                  Homemade Lip Balm

                  Posted on March 16, 2012 by Paula

                  I have found that when you tell someone you’ve made something rather than bought it you can expect one of two reactions. The first (and my favorite!!) “That’s Awesome! How did you do it?” The second and most common reaction is a look of bewilderment that is sometimes accompanied by a “why?” I have determined there is no middle ground.  People either think I’m a fruit loop or they think it’s cool.  It cracks me up really, convenience stores and supermarkets have not always been on every corner and carried such a large variety of stuff to choose from.  Our grandparents and great grandparents had to make things themselves but in today’s world people sometimes think you’re a wackadoo for choosing to make things rather than buying them.   Don’t get me wrong, the convenience and ease of being able to run in somewhere and grab what I need is great, but honestly the pride that comes with making your own, knowing what’s in it, and saving money is so much better.

                  Take this lip balm for example. I am sure I will get the strange looks for this one. I mean, chapstick is on every corner and it’s under the $5 range which means most people won’t think twice about tossing it in their shopping cart. Why would you possibly want to make it yourself?

                  1. It’s Easy. I only used 3 ingredients and it took less than 10 minutes to make from start to finish (More if you’re trying to get the perfect picture as you go :) )

                  2. It’s good  stuff.  There are no chemicals, artificial ingredients or things that I can’t even pronounce, just 3 all natural ingredients – Vitamin E, Coconut Oil, and Beeswax.  Vitamin E  is vital in protecting skin cells from ultra violet light, pollution, and other elements that can damage your skin. It’s good for the prevention and treatment of sunburns, it protects against the aging of skin and prevention of cancer. Coconut Oil includes antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Beeswax is very moisturizing and is another major protector against UV rays. It also has antibacterial agents which help with excessively dry and cracked lips.

                  3.It’s Inexpensive. A little bit of ingredients makes a lot of lip balm.  I got great deals online for my coconut oil and Vitamin E. The beeswax I got at my local farmers market from a bee farm about 15 miles away. Here’s the price breakdown – Coconut Oil 6.75 for 30 ounces, only used .5 ounce= .23¢, Vitamin E $5.97 for 2 ounces, only used 5 drops = .05¢, Beeswax $1.50 for 1 ounce, used 1/3 of bar= .50¢. Total cost to make was just .83¢!! The best part was it made 5 containers!! That’s just .16¢ per tube/tin.

                  16¢ for All Natural, Organic Beeswax Lip Balm! Compare that to $3 per tube/tin for a similar, popular brand name. Yeah, I’ll take the crazy looks.  Try making some of your own, if the crazy looks get to be too much, just don’t tell them, they’ll never know the difference :)

                  Homemade Lip Balm

                  Ingredients
                  1 tablespoon coconut oil
                  2 tablespoons grated beeswax
                  5 drops of Vitamin E

                  Directions
                  1.  Put 2 inches of water in a small pot and place on the stove on medium heat.
                  2.  Place coconut oil and beeswax in a glass, heat safe container (small jar, measuring cup)
                  3.  When water begins to come to a boil, sit the glass container in the pot. Stir occasionally until ingredients are melted.
                  4.  Add Vitamin E and stir the ingredients.
                  5.  Remove from the heat and pour into your containers.

                  The lip balm will become solid pretty quickly so you will want to have your containers ready before starting.  I used old containers that I had, I just washed them out. I had 3 tins and 2 tubes.  You could reuse tins from makeup, mints, etc or purchase new ones online or in a beauty or craft store.

                  You can also add some honey or essential oils to this recipe to make it different flavors.

                  A special Thank You to my wonderful Mom for allowing me to come over and make this with her! Even though we were both exhausted I had a fun night!

                  Recipe Adapted from: Glamology

                   

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                    No Bake Energy Bites

                    Posted on March 14, 2012 by Paula

                    First, I want to apologize. I’m sorry I haven’t been keeping the posts updated lately! When I started this blog it was my plan to write new posts at least 4 days a week. It was not my plan to get sick and feel completly drained of all energy, I should have been better prepared, and for that I am sorry! I am finally feeling better now, Praise the Lord, and starting to get my energy level back up. Speaking of energy-  wouldn’t it be great to have a quick, easy, recipe that you could prepare to give you an extra boost without taking any extra energy to make? Ooh, and what if it could be healthy for you but taste kind of like those delicious no bake chocolate cookies that are so bad for you?  While we’re making a wish list, let’s make it so versatile you can easily switch out the ingredients and get a whole new flavor combination. Oh wait, this is no wish list, this is an actual recipe- No Bake Energy Bites! YES!!

                    I first had these delicious little treats this weekend. My oldest niece came over for some girl time, we made these and chicken tenders using my homemade chicken nuggets recipe. It was a lot of fun just getting to hang out in the kitchen together, talk, and watch a movie. It’s something I hope we take time to do more often. I am so blessed to have a niece who is so close to me in age and is such a great friend, I don’t get to tell her enough but I thank God for the blessing she is in my life. Years ago, when I was going through a tough time she prayed for me. I had turned away from God, angry at the circumstances in my life and was selfishly taking my hurt out on the ones that loved me. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I even knew, a friend and her former youth leader told me that as I was going through this tough time in my life my niece would come in every week and ask for them to pray for me. Those prayers and the prayers of others saved my life.  I saw my circumstances for what they were and saw myself for what I was, a sinner.  I repented, turned my life around and gave it all to God.  In a time where I should have been someone for her to look up to, she became someone I look up to.  She is an awesome person and the fact that she shared this recipe with me, well that just makes her even more awesome!

                    No Bake Energy Bites

                    1 cup dry oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
                    1 cup toasted coconut flakes
                    1/2 cup chocolate chips
                    1/2 cup peanut butter
                    1/2 cup ground flaxseed
                    1/3 cup honey
                    1 tsp. vanilla

                    1. Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl.
                    2. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
                    3. Use your hands to roll the mixture into balls once chilled. Balls can be whatever size you prefer. Mine were about 1″ and the recipe made about 25-30 balls.

                    These can be stored in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

                    I also made 2 other flavor combinations- Apple Cinnamon and Cranberry White Chocolate.  Both were delicious! I asked my husband which was his favorite and he very quickly replied: “For breakfast Apple Cinamon, For dessert the chocolate ones, for all day snacking the Cranberry White Chocolate.” He’s got it all figured out, lol!

                    Apple Cinnamon- Use 1 cup of chopped dried apples in place of coconut, use  ½ cup chopped walnuts in place of chocolate chips, add ½ teaspoon cinnamon or Cinnamon Spice blend

                    Cranberry White Chocolate- Use  ½ cup white chocolate chips in place of regular chocolate chips, use 1 cup cranberries in place of toasted coconut

                    This recipe is a great base to get creative with, you can substitute just about all of these ingredients to create limitless possibilities. Here are some other substitution ideas:
                    Peanut Butter- any nut butter (almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc)
                    Flax Seed- Wheat Germ
                    Honey- Possibly Agave, however, I recommend sticking with honey because it’s thick and really helps hold it together
                    Chocolate chips- Other chips- White chocolate, dark chocolate, butterscotch, etc.
                    Coconut- chopped almonds, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
                    You could also use chopped dried fruits and berries (apricots, dates, raisins, cranberries, cherries, etc) Just make sure you keep the wet/dry ratio the same. If they seem to dry, add more honey or peanut butter and if they seem to wet add more oats or other dry ingredient.

                    Recipe Source:  Gimme Some Oven

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