T.V. Dinner Tuesday

Well I am sorry to say that I don’t have any T.V. Dinners to report this week. Saundra’s show last week was about making a Thanksgiving Feast. Not only was her show only about one days meal, which wouldn’t have lasted me a week, but I was also lucky enough to not have to cook the Thanksgiving meal this year. So instead I just made some boring recipes in my stash, which I didn’t take pictures of. What I did want to share with you though is the website to another blog that I am co-hosting at. My sister and I are sharing a blog about Baking. She is a much better baker than I since she was able to work at the BYU Bakery during college but I do love to experiment and more importantly I wanted to create something fun with my sister. Stop on over and see what we are creating!


http://smelltheflours.blogspot.com/

Make It Monday

To Do Lists. If you are like me you always have something to do especially when it comes to crafts. Often I remember several things at once that need to get done and trying to shove them in the back of my brain doesn’t seem to work. I used to take a big ugly a poster board and tape it to my wall and add and amass my lists until it was full. Recently I made 2 new To Do lists to go inside of my cute new craft room (which I will reveal very soon). I took some old used frames and painted them white. Then I used some cute craft paper as a background. With a dry erase marker my lists can come and go as I please.

Fix it Friday

And then there was painting. The only thing we were allowed to do. Though everyone else took their sweet time we had to prime and paint both bathrooms in one day. This being our first painting venture we knew very little and had many frustrations. After watching many home improvement shows the one thing we thought we knew was that you were supposed to tape out everything you didn’t want to get painted including the white ceiling. Well it turns out that even though it is called painters tape it will still pull the paint off the wall you just thought you completed. Now we know better… NO more painters tape what so ever; now we use an edger. We did the rooms two toned - pralines and cream and a blue slate. After the bathrooms were done we came back and touched up quite a bit but we were glad that the color meant we were getting close to the end.

Thought Full Thursday

Recently I have been thinking a lot about the two scriptures where it talks about Kicking Against The Pricks.


Acts 9:4-5


4 And he afell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, bSaul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?


5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am aJesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to bkick against the pricks.

Doctrine And Covenants 121:37-38


37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to acover our bsins, or to gratify our cpride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or ddominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens ewithdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.


38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to akick against the pricks, to bpersecute the saints, and to cfight against God.

“What does it mean to “kick against the pricks”? (Acts 9:5.) (A prick was a sharp spear people used on animals to make them move. Often the animals would kick back when pricked, which made the spear hurt them even more. Jesus Christ was telling Saul that his actions were harming himself more than anyone else. When we fight against what is right, we hurt ourselves the most.)” -Lesson 42: The Conversion of Saul,” Primary 7: New Testament, 147

This is how I have been feeling recently. I take the lazy way out. I am too tired to read my scriptures at night so I don’t but I lay there and worry about my spirituality. I forgo my prayers in the morning and wonder about the blessings I am missing. I complain about my calling and try to avoid responsibility. It seems that I take more effort to be lazy than to actually do what is right. I feel that I am not necessarily trying to do bad but am fighting God when I try to rationalize being lazy. Why do I insist on kicking against the pricks when I could just surrender and allow Christ and the gospel to envelop my life and change my lifestyle?

Weigh in Wednesday

Well I am happy to report that I weighed in at 186 this week. The only disappointing thing is that I think my scale is broken. If I step on it different ways it can give me 3 different weights. We got this scale for our wedding about 5 years ago and when you hear it crack when Jeremy steps on it  J  you know it might not last long. Hopefully my weights are valid considering I have been using the same scale for the whole time. I guess it just makes a good item for the Christmas list.

T.V. Dinner Tuesday

Well this week’s Sandra’s Money Saving Meals was interesting. She had us cooking healthily, and some dishes and flavors I would have never attempted if it weren’t for the show and some that I will never attempt again. We just don’t eat like that.

The title was Supper Savings and it aired November 8th

http://www.foodnetwork.com/sandras-money-saving-meals/supper-savings/index.html

We made:

Chicken Souvlaki with Grilled Pita

 The Pita was made from Pizza dough

Turkey Sausage with Apple Sauerkraut

The red cabbage apple sauerkraut was disgusting.

Needless to say we didn’t make a round 2 recipe from this.

Round 2 Recipe - Greek Flat Bread

The Greek flat bread was very similar to the pita dish but the added feta cheese made it even more yummy.

Make It Monday

 Recently I was called to be an advisor in our Young Women’s group in our ward. I look around and all the other leaders are hip and cute and wear designer clothes. For some reason I don’t really “get” fashion; I can recognize what is cute but can’t pull it together. I wanted to have something new to wear to church that might make me look “with it” but it needed to accommodate my needs as an active mother. I wanted a dress but couldn’t find anything the right length so I decided to sew something myself. I couldn’t find a dress pattern I loved so I settled for a skirt pattern with POCKETS!!! Sew-cute ;) Anyway, the skirt as designed would only hit my knees so I lengthened it and added 9 inches so it would hit me mid-calf. I found some cute material at my local quilting shop and had at it. The pattern was relatively simple but I have been sewing for over 15 years. It took me about a day with all my other motherly obligations and I was happy with how it turned out. I have included some pictures, sorry my body doesn’t do it justice, it is much cuter in person.  

Make It Monday

Here is another card I did recently. So simple yet works for every occasion. Enjoy!

Fix it Friday

I was the one that created the floor plan for the bathrooms. Originally I had a walk in closet planned for the space but as the contractors started talking about how much space the walls would take my walk in closet got smaller and smaller until I decided to eliminate it all together and at that point I scraped that plan and created a new one. The new guest bath would be in the old laundry room down the hall and not in view of the front door. The new master bath would take up the space of the old master bath and the old guest bath. It would afford us a grand 6 foot double vanity and a spacious walk in shower with room to spare. So once the demolition was done up went the walls.

 Looking from the master bedroom into the what was laundry room on the right -now the guest bath. The master bath on the left which was the master bath and guest bath.

 Framing for the walk in double shower.

 Outside hallway where the old guest bath door way was walled up. Now I have a cute nook to decorate.

 Guest Bath.

 Master Bath where the vanity will be.

 Drywall for the walkin double shower and for the linen closet.

 Here are our double shower heads.

Mud and Tape

Thought Full Thursday

November 1^st the day after Halloween and the toy commercials were on and the Christmas supplies were in the stores and I even flipped on QVC and they were doing a Holiday Gift Countdown. Normally I would be gripping and groaning about how early it was and that we haven’t even gotten to Thanksgiving yet but not this year…I’ve got the Christmas Bug; I can’t wait for it to be here. It seems this mood only comes every few years and when I don’t have it I am always asking myself, even up to the day, why am I not in the mood for Christmas? For some unidentifiable reason I have the spirit this year and it is intoxicating. I have already started my handmade Christmas cards, I watch QVC almost every day, I have all my gifts planned out and I am ogling festive decorations for my home.  I can’t seem to get enough of it so if you have any holiday recipes, decoration ideas, or crafts send them my way.

Weigh in Wednesday

Well I didn’t make it to 189 this week… I flew right by it. Yep that is right I got to 188. YAY! What was I so worried about? I am just dreading the day I have to report that I gained. Yikes!

T.V. Dinner Tuesday

Well this week we have Comfort Food from Sandra’s Money Saving Meals which aired November 1st

http://www.foodnetwork.com/sandras-money-saving-meals/comfort-food/index.html
I wasn’t great at taking pictures this week but we started out with the:

Chicken Fried Steak

         Which was really yummy the only problem was that by definition it is smothered in gravy and Jeremy doesn’t like gravy so it wasn’t a hit.

Next we had:

Macaroni and Cheese

          The Mac and Cheese recipe was good but as I find with most baked macaroni and cheese it was pretty dry.

Both of the round two recipes were kind of small so I had them together:

Spicy Fried Macaroni and Cheese Bites

          Fried Mac and Cheese bites were good but I couldn’t get over the thought of how bad for me they would be.

Cheddar Biscuits and Gravy

         Biscuits and gravy, ironically Jeremy said the gravy tasted even better the second time.

Make It Monday

Cards are my thing! I started out with traditional scrapbooking but it was always too long and involved. I needed something creative but quick so now I make cards. They are great because even if you have a lame gift the card makes up for it because it is so personal and unique. My lifesaver has been my QuicKutz Silhouette Machine.


Many of you may be familiar with the Circuit Die Cut Machine. It is similar but instead of having to pay for all of those pricy cartridges the Silhouette hooks up to your computer and will cut anything on your computer including any font you can download. Here is one of my recent creations.

Fix it Friday

First off I want to show you what I have to deal with everyday in my house. It almost makes it not worth living here.

Now to the bathroom remodel.

So the day we bought the house the demolition crew was in and emptied the area of 2 bathrooms and a laundry room to create what would be 2 new reconfigured bathrooms. The demolition went so quickly so we thought that the project might go quickly as well, boy were we wrong.

Thought Full Thursday

When I was a young girl in young womens I had a leader who gave me a binder and challenged me to begin a journal. Beginning that day I wrote in that binder every single day even if it was just to say “Today was totally boring.” Soon that binder was full and I began another and then another. For at least 6 years solid I wrote in my journal every day. When I began college I tried to continue with that tradition but with my busy schedule I often fell behind. Finally when I got married and began a family my journal writing had become nonexistent. With my search to find greater spirituality I have began writing again. It is amazing to me what a release it is. Unidentified emotions get bottled up inside and pressure builds and somehow just writing it all down seems to clear my mind and heart even if the problem isn’t resolved. I don’t know if I would say that writing brings you closer to God but clearing your soul from all that stress certainly allows the spirit to enter in and hopefully that will bring me closer to HIM.

Weigh in Wednesday

Well I made it through Halloween even with the candy and the 6 pans of cinnamon rolls I made, and happily I can report that I am down to 190lbs. Yay! Hopefully I can make it to at least 189lbs for next week, I always find that getting to next group of 10-or going from 0to9 is always a hurtle for me. Keep your fingers crossed.

T.V. Dinner Tuesday

This last week I wasn’t able to make all 4 recipes from Sandra’s Money Saving Meals Episode:
Grilling On A Stick           which aired October 18th


http://www.foodnetwork.com/sandras-money-saving-meals/grilling-on-a-stick/index.html


We were just too busy and had dinner plans other places but I was able to make


Sausage and Pepper Skewers with Grilled Polenta

Round 2 Recipe - Sausage and Pepper Baked Ziti

(Sorry I Forgot To Take Pictures While Preparing)

The Sausage and Pepper Skewers with Grilled Polenta meal was easy to make the only problem was that I couldn’t find Polenta at the grocery store. I don’t even know what it is but the T.V. show made it look like cornbread so I didn’t make the Polenta. I saved 2 skewers for the round two recipe which was amazing! I chopped up the sausage and vegetables from the skewers and put it in some crushed tomatoes and poured it over the already cooked pasta and baked it for 30 minutes. Jeremy just couldn’t stop raving. He said that it was restaurant quality. Then I had to break it to him that if I keep following the show we would never have this recipe again. He was heart broken.