Decorating Cents

I don't have time to watch alot of TV, but when I do HGTV is one of my favorite channels. I particularly enjoy watching every day folks transform their homes into "livable" comfortable spaces (not swanky designer rooms that can't be lived in). Decorating is something I enjoy, but something I certainly don't consider myself "good" at. I have visions in my mind, but often have difficulty implementing. I'm hoping once I finish with school I can put more emphasis on learning the tricks of the trade. Until then, I will drool in blogland through some of my favorite blogs...

Thrifty Decor Chick -- I admire her ability to use TOOLS and she has really fun & creative projects!

All Things Handcrafted -- My friend, Sally, who has an AMAZING eye for pulling rooms together & repurposing as well as recycling items into treasures! You'll love her posts so far for the week.

Young House Love -- stumbled across by accident, but love their projects and advice! I especially like browing their "mood boards" tab.


So, what are your projects?

Storms in Life

Last night, we had a spring thunderstorm -- lots of rain, thunder, lightning (literally brightened the bedroom with flash) and strong winds. Often storms make us feel very vulnerable. We may have a roof to protect us, but we don't know where the next bolt of lightning make strike or whether the strong winds will circulate into a tornado.

Our individual lives can often seem the same way. Health issues can leave one wondering what's next or how to afford the medical care needed. Unemployment leaves feelings of emptiness and even loneliness - how will I make it financially? Other storms in life may be from broken relationships or unraveling addictions.

Regardless of the storm in our life, God has promised us that He will protect us. Even when you feel like your boat is ready to capsize -- He is with you. During storms in my life, I find music to bring great comfort. A couple of my favorites -- "He is with You" - Mandisa & "Love Has Come" - Mark Schultz

To know the strength of the anchor, you must weather the storm....

Happy Birthday Superson!

Happy Birthday to Superson! We had a fun weekend celebrating with family. On Saturday evening, we went to Funigan's - video games; mini-bowling; rock wall; soft-play area. He had a great time.

Time really does fly! It does not seem like it's been 10 years since we were patiently awaiting his arrival. He was due on March 27th, but didn't want to make his appearance until he was forced. LOL! We arrived at the hospital around 530am on April 4th to be induced. It was a very uneventful labor and delivery (quick too)! They broke my water around 8am and at 2:02pm - we welcomed baby boy to the world!

We are so blessed to have him in our lives. He has taught me so much more about life than I could have ever learned on my own. I pray that God will continue to mold us together as a family and give us the wisdom we need to guide his path for the future. "As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." I LOVE YOU to infinity and beyond!

Weekly Menu

Sorry ya'll -- but it's easier for me to post my menus on the weekend and don't ask me why but it's easier for me to start with the current weekend - so there! :)

• Saturday - Family Celebration for Super-Son's birthday at Funigan's! Cheese pizza and birthday cake


• Sunday - Grilled Burgers and Homemade Baked Fries


• Monday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SUPER-SON! Make Ahead Spaghetti & Meatballs with Italian Bread (5Dinners) Review: I was a little leary of this recipe from the beginning. I'm not sure why - I make lasagna without baking the noodles all the time & we love Italian food! Anyway, I'm disappointed to say this was not a hit. :( I ended up making a pot of noodles and sauce after the "make ahead spaghetti" came out of the oven. I'm not even sure how to describe it - but it was mushy (real techincal term I know!) and the meatballs (I used Armour brand) were terrible. Next time, I would make-ahead my lasagna recipe OR brown italian sausage (or beef) to have ready for spaghetti & sauce on the night you plan to have spaghetti. (It would actually probably take less time to do that vs. waiting for this to bake anyway). You never know how it will taste until you try. 0 out of 5 stars


• Tuesday - Roasted Sausage, Peppers & Onions (5Dinners) -Review - This recipe smelled delicious while it was in the oven - yum! Even superson wanted to know what the good smell was :) It tasted as great as it smelled. If we were not watching what we ate - I would give this recipe 5 out of 5 stars, but since we are I would have to rate it 3 out of 5 stars. It is not WW friendly unless you allow for the points and it's high in sodium. I need to look at alternative options to "lighten" it for next time. I knew it would be high in sodium, but I didn't realize how high in points it would be until I ran it through the WW recipe builder. However, if you are planning ahead - you should be able to accommodate this recipe in to your WW plan for the day (I was).


• Wednesday - Slow-Cooked Asian Beef & Broccoli with Brown Rice (or Chow-Mein Noodles) and Fortune Cookie :) (5Dinners) Review - 4 out of 5 stars for this one! The meat was very tender, but I would say be very careful not to overcook. We had with chow-mein noodles for some crunch. It's a little higher on WW points, but doable if you plan your meals.


• Thursday - Chicken Salad Pitas (5Dinners)


• Friday - Leftovers or Homemade Pizza :)

I'm assembling our "5 dinners" this afternoon, so I'll try to post a pic later!

What's the buzz about Shaklee?

I'd been reading in blogland for several months about this company called Shaklee. The feedback was overwhelmingly in favor of their cleaning products. According to most accounts, if you were not using Shaklee - then you were not getting your house clean. Now, let me tell ya - I love a clean house, but we have trouble keeping it that way. I mean c'mon peeps - we live here on a daily basis! :) Anyway, last month I decided to give their mini-household cleaning kit a try -- I figure worse case scenario - I don't like it and I'll send it back for a refund. Let me tell ya -- I'm likin' it! My favorite product so far is Scour Off.

It smells like yummy goodness - CHERRIES! You wanna hear something better than that -- I applied it with my bare hands - no gloves - no worrying about a product eating the skin off your hands! Anyway, I tried it on one of the "thingies" -- (becuase I don't know the proper word) on my stove Friday night. Now, I'm embarrassed to even show y'all this pictures - but my blog is all about keepin' it real. This is the before picture, "in-process" picture, and after picture...

I realize it is not sparkling clean, but I do believe it looks a lot better than before. I hear Shaklee is waiving their membership fee this month. If you are reluctant like I was this is a great time to order. Once you are a member, you are a member for life. I need to take advantage of this special myself (remember, I wasn't sure this stuff would work - so I paid at the non-member price). Cruise on over to a Bowl Full of Lemons for more information on the special.

Happy Cleaning Y'all!

I'm such a LOSER!

Do the scales make you feel that way? I hope not. I started Weight Watchers (again) in October of last year. The good news I was not at my heaviest weight, but I had some pounds to lose. The weight loss has been slow & steady with random weeks of "maintains". Two weeks ago, I had a big gain 1.2 lbs. I realize that is not an Earth shattering amount, but it got my attention. I had been playing on a slippery slope... eyeballing the plan, but not really working the plan for 3 or 4 weeks. After that weigh-in, I had a talk with myself and reminded myself of all the reasons I started this journey in the first place! With super-husband's health issues over the past 3 years, the reality of how short & fragile life can be has been etched into my mind. I want to live a healthy life for ME! Let's face it folks -- we only have one life to live, so we might as well make the most of it! Why do I love Weight Watchers? Well, I'm glad you asked....

• It's a sensible approach. It's learning to control your portions and your triggers. It teaches you to take advantage of whole grains, fruits & vegetables, and healthy oils.


• Accountability. I have tried the online only version of WW, but I need the meetings. Our WW leader, Mary, keeps it real and I LOVE that! Everyone in that WW room knows how you feel and has been where you are -- there's power in numbers!


• Community. There is a ton of information on the WW website -- recipes; exercise ideas; and a variety of helpful hints. If you have a question about WW, the answer is probably there!

ALL of that to say, I'm proud to be a LOSER this week! 3.6 lbs to be exact! Today the scales were the encouragement & motivation I needed to keep truckin'!

Was it worth it? Meal plan... 5 dinners...1 hour

We have completed a week of 5 Dinners in One Hour, so I thought I'd give you my two cents!

1. First of all, Michelle offers you a free week trial of recipes. Quite frankly, this is the only reason I tried it. You really have nothing to lose to request the free trial and see if the recipes interest you. Just visit the page and on the right-hand side you'll see a place to request a free trial. Really, it's that easy!


2. Secondly, a couple of our local grocery stores offer online shopping. You place the order online and pick-up. In general, we save more money this way because we stick to our grocery list. Tonight, when I placed my order I entered only the 5 dinner one hour items first -- $48.86 (before tax). This included some of the pantry items listed that I didn't not have & did not account for any coupons I may have had toward some of the items. I don't know about you, but our family of 3 could not eat out for dinner 5 nights for $50.00.


3. Easy-peasy! I made all of the dinners & cleaned up the dishes in LESS than an hour last Sunday afternoon. Every night this week, dinner was on the table in less than an hour after getting home. There was no stress and fuss about meal time because it was DONE!


4. We have stretched the meals to include leftovers for lunch and I think we will have 2 more dinner meals this weekend from the meals this week. You can't beat that!

As a busy wife, mom, student and oh a full-time job too - I am loving the meal plan! Remember, you can modify the recipes to your families taste or reduce the amount (I did on a couple b/c we are family of 3) OR you can freeze for a later date! So run over to her blog and sign up for the free trial - you'll be glad you did!

PS - I reviewed the recipes we tried this week here.