Brooke

My sweet friend is awesome and sent my this subway art.  I love it and when I walk past it I smile.  Thanks Brooke you are the greatest best friend ever!

grape salad

My Aunt Kay brought this to Thanksgiving dinner and it was really good.  My kids loved it.  She omitted the nuts though.  I have had it with nuts and without them,  I prefer it without. 

Creamy Grape Dessert








Warning! This dessert is highly addictive and hard to stop eating! Don't be fooled by the humble ingredients, this is easy to make, very refreshing, and is perfect to bring to a BBQ. Truthfully, the first time I heard of this grape dessert, the ingredients did not appeal to me. But when I tasted it, OMG! This is one of those recipes you'll be making again and again and chances are you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen. Easily doubles for more people.



Creamy Grape Dessert

Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1/8th • Points: 4 ww pts

Calories: 171.2 • Fat: 7.9 g • Protein: 5.3 g • Carb: 33.8 g • Fiber: 1.6 g



1 lb green

breakfast casserole

     I made this for Ryan's work and it got good reviews.  I myself haven't tried it.  It smelled good though

Update





2 cups dry chicken stove top stuffing mix (from the canister)

2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups cubed ham (or use Bob Evans Sausage, cooked, drained well, and crumbled)

6 eggs, beaten

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 teaspoon salt

Change Measurements: US
Metric



Directions:

Prep Time: 20 mins



Total Time: 1 1/4 hr

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2 Lightly grease a 9 x 12 baking dish.

3 Mix all the ingredients together.

4 Pour into prepared baking dish.

5 Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or until set.





Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-breakfast-casserole-38065#ixzz1CIGycV6Z

Reading....

Right now I am reading Hannah's List by Debbie Macomber.  I really like it so far.  Here is how I pick out my books at the library.  I walk in with my boys and go straight to the kid section so they can play and look at books.  After they have had their fun I literally drag them to my section and just pick out the first book I see.  I really like this though because I have yet to find a book I haven't liked. 

My favorite night of the week

You might think that my favorite night in the week would be Friday....NO! It is Tuesday night. I have a guilty pleasure of Teen Mom.  I seriously can NOT wait until it comes on.  I love it so much.  I thought I might not like Teen Mom 2 because I love the first group of girls so much.  I mean I want to take Tyler home to live with me.  BUT I love Teen Mom 2 just as much.  My hubby is the greatest person.  We just "get" each other.  He watches it with me and we have some disagreements on Janelle.  I think Janelle and her mom are both a little crazy but he is team Janelle.  Ugh! 

Just for me

stress and anxiety - How can I let go?




Are you feeling "boxed in" coping with stress and anxiety of daily life? Perhaps your self image is out of control or not based in reality. Maybe it's time you found your own personal way to focus and relax. Read on for suggestions on finding relaxation and focus in your hectic life.



Schedule a Time Out - A few minutes set aside for just you gives you time to step out of the situation long enough to regain perspective. One time out I like is stepping into a warm tub of water, sliding down into the water and letting the soothing comfort of a bubble bath "take me away" from the stressful situation.





Give Yourself an Attitude Check - Take a few minutes to ask yourself, "Am I approaching life with a positive 'I can' attitude or with an attitude of negativism and defeat?" Taking an attitude check is as important to my mind as taking my pulse is to my body.





Search for Hot Buttons - Hot Buttons are places in your life that stir up anxiety and seem to contribute to the stress in your life. Be on the lookout for the things that make you angry or frustrated immediately. These are your Hot Buttons. Once you find them, you can work through them by finding pressure points, the next item in our letting go checklist.





Look for Revelation in Circumstances - Realize that the circumstances of life don't make you who you are; they reveal who you are. Ask yourself the tough question, "What about me is being revealed by my action/reaction to the circumstances in my life?" Be aware that the same destructive stress patterns in one person's life can be motivation to overcome difficult circumstances in the life of another person. Personal attitude could be the difference between a stressful situation and a learning one.





Do a Control Check-Up - Take a look at who or what you trying to gain control over, and then remember this very basic truth: the only person you can have control over is yourself. I often try to gain control over circumstances and suddenly realize that the situation is a more difficult than I am able to handle. These moments become Aha! Moments: the moment you realize God may actually have the circumstances there for a reason. Are you working against God? If so, that will always be really stressful. Relieve anxiety by learning that He allows circumstances in your life for a reason. When you are able to do this, your stress will lessen considerably (Romans 8:28-29).



Have you identified the areas you need to work on? Good! After you know what they are, you can develop ways to overcome them, one by one. This includes identifying productive ways to cope with stress and trying to learn to incorporate them into your behavior. Here is a list of ways to cope with stress and anxiety that I can recommend from personal experience:





Identify Your Unique Coping Mechanisms - Before you cope, you need to find ways that fit your personality and lifestyle. Recognize that some ways of coping -- such as by escaping the situation or running away from your problems -- are destructive in the long run. The only way to effectively coping with stress and anxiety is to face the causes of this stress.





Change Your Focus - Get your mind off of the stress by changing your perspective on a given situation. Or go somewhere to change your surroundings.





Make your own "God Box" - I have an old mayonnaise jar that I use for my God Box. A God Box is simply an object to remind yourself to give things over to God and not to try to handle them by yourself. You can even write your stressful situation on a slip of paper and put it inside of the box/jar. Sometimes, I need to be reminded that God doesn't need me to do His job. Try to remember not to take responsibility for the things that only He can do. I have to find a proper balance: I do my part and God does His. This takes care of a lot of my self-induced stress and anxiety overload.





Feed Your Soul - Everyone has their very own Soul Food. Some of Soul Foods are music, the beauty of nature, inspiring stories, special relationships, a quiet place in the woods, or warmth from a gently lapping fire in the fireplace. God placed in each of us a desire for a unique something that touches and feeds our soul and draws us closer to Him so that we may regain our balance. You may need to take a vacation or getaway to regroup, dream, and allow God to refill the cup of your soul. If you remember to take a faith step toward God, be still (Psalm 46:10) and let God's presence surround you, you will really begin to relax and focus. My communication to God becomes a plea for His help. I pray "God help me to commit my stress and anxiety to You. Help me to be able to trust You to handle it. And please God, help me to accept Your way in my life."





Seek Comfort from God's Word - Meditating on the Bible brings peace, comfort, and joy as you let God wipe your tears and calm your spirit. Here are some verses I use that especially help me: 2 Corinthians 12:9; Psalm 34:18-19, 62:5-8, 103:2-5; Philippians 4: 12-13; John 16:33.



In His Word, we learn that God may have allowed the stress into our lives to help us come closer to Him (Romans 8:28-29). This fact in itself can be comforting. You must decide whether you are able to be comforted or not. You can choose to let go of the stress and let God handle it, or you can choose to hold on and take the chance of letting the stress build up in you until it is unmanageable. Just knowing that I do have a choice helps me cope and let go of the stress and anxiety in my life.

I am in the need of

                                                          Pedicure
                                                          spray tan
                                                          manicure

What to do today.

                                                                      My list today is to clean the fridge.
                                                                      Put some dinner in the crockpot
                                                                      Clean the bathrooms
                                                                       Go through the boys clothes to see what fits them
                                                                       Okay wish me luck!  I still have a sick boy at home

My weekend

My poor baby boy has the flu.  Also, I have been looking a really good site called the consumer queen.  I am now the new coupon lady.  I saved $17 for using coupons.  It is work but I am up for it.

rest of my house

more of my house

 This is my bedroom.  I got the bedding at Target...thank you Susan.  I used the gift card on our bedding.

The lamp was my grandma's and the little ladies are from junk stores but I love them.  When I say junk stores I am not kidding.  They are from Marys swap meet.  It is just junk there and my husband now won't let me go there by myself.  Not the most high class people there but they are my kind of people!

Money isn't everything

I am pretty sure people who say "money isn't everything" don't wake up at 6 in the morning worrying about it.  Now I know money isn't everything but it is about 90% of everything.  With no money you can't eat or live.  I know that hardly anyone looks at this blog so I feel I can write personally.  I feel I did real good with buying gifts this year for Christmas. I bought about 80% of the gifts early.  BUT I got sick around this time and so did my husband...oh and my youngest boy.  Thankfully and thank you God (I really do mean thank you God) my husband has really good health insurance for us.  Still the bills are killing us.  When I mean I was sick I mean seriously I went to the doctor once a week through the whole month of December.  My boy went two times which my wonderful dad paid for his medicine and his visit.  Don't get me wrong we are not poor people who live in tiny little house. My husband does make good money.  To some people we are rich.  I mean we can live in a nice house but yes we do live paycheck to paycheck.  Right now we are living on a credit card.  Let me first say that it has been 3 years since we used this credit card!  We are still paying off this credit card though and now we are back on it.  It has only been 2 weeks of using it...but let me tell you when you HAVE to use a credit card you find out that you spend a lot of money everyday.  We are really trying to not use it and I really miss having paper towels.  It is the little things that a realize how blessed I am..I mean I seriously miss having paper towels.  Paper towels I will not take you for granted again.  You really do realize how much stuff matters to you.  My mom and I went shopping the other day.  Just spending time with her is fun to me but she bought me some clothes.  It felt so good to get new clothes and I really appreciated it.  I have looked at those new clothes a hundred times...they are just so pretty!  I am over Coach purses mainly because I could buy 7 purses for the price of one Coach.   I am just over name brand stuff all together...although I still dream of North Face jacket.  Why though?  It is not like they are warmer then any other jacket.  It is the name.  Oh well I have learned through this no money thing.  I have learned that I would love to have money coming out of the walls but I don't think I would appreciate the things that I do get as much.  For instance, dishwasher soap...I am now washing my dishes in the sink.  I will be honest it does make my hands soft.  I will not ever take my dishwasher for granted again.  Boy I feel better just typing this.  Now time to cut some coupons out of the Sunday paper. 

my house

I thought I would share some pics of my home.  My favorite thing to do at Christmas time is to look at lights on houses.  BUT more than looking at the lights on the houses...is when they have the shades open and I can see in their house. 

My kitchen

the living room.  I will show more of the house tomorrow....I KNOW YOU JUST CAN'T WAIT!

Cucumber Sandwiches

I am not sure if I posted this recipe yet or not.  My blog is not professional and I really don't have a clue what I am doing on here.

This recipe is from my mom's friend Toni.  Ever since she got this recipe it has been our go to recipe.  People love these little cute sandwiches.  They are so easy!  When I make these little things for a party or some function someone always asks for the recipe.

1 can of Pillsbury French Bread 
1 8oz package of cream cheese softened
1 packet of italian dressing
cucumber
dill weed

Bake your bread as directions say.  When it cools cut it into slices.  Mix cream cheese with the italian dressing packet.  Spread the cream cheese onto the bread.  Cut cucumbers into thin slices and put on top of bread.  Sprinkle dill weed on top and you are all set. 

A well dressed house

This is what I am trying to get my living room to look like.  I love it!  The hubby and I have already painted most of the living room the same color.  Now I need to purchase some pretty mirrors. 

This picture if from the blog a well dressed home blog. 

mini meatball sandwiches

I tried another wonderful recipe from Pioneer Woman.  This time everyone ate it.  I recommend this recipe.
This picture is from Pioneer Woman herself

■1 pound Ground Chuck Or Ground Beef

■½ cups Panko Or Other Bread Crumbs

■1 clove Garlic, Minced

■½ teaspoons Salt

■Freshly Ground Black Pepper

■½ cups Milk

■2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

■½ whole Medium Onion, Diced

■1 jar (large) Marinara Sauce

■12 whole Dinner Rolls (or Slider Rolls)

■4 slices Provolone Cheese, Cut Into Four Wedges Each

Preparation Instructions

Mix meat with bread crumbs, garlic, salt, pepper, and milk. Knead together with hands. Roll into heaping tablespoon-sized rolls.



Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for one minute. Add meatballs between the onions and brown for one minute. (You might have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your skillet.)



Pour in jar of marinara; shake pan gently to mix. Put on lid and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.



When ready to serve, cut each dinner roll in half. Place a wedge of Provolone on the top and bottom of each roll. Spoon a meatball with the sauce onto the bottom bun; top with the top bun.



Serve immediately!

Mexican Flatbread pizza.

If you don't ever look at the Pioneer Woman blog then you are missing out.  I made her Mexican Flatbread Pizza and it was so easy.  My picky kids didn't like it but they don't like anything that is not spaghetti.  I urge you to try it though.  I loved it. 

Ingredients


■1 can Large Biscuits (non Flaky) (8 Biscuits Per Can)

■1 whole Can (14.5 Ounce) Refried Beans

■3 Tablespoons Salsa Or Picante Sauce

■1-½ cup Grated Cheddar Cheese

■Pico De Gallo

■2 cups Browned Hamburger Meat, Seasoned

■Shredded Iceberg Lettuce

■3 Tablespoons Salsa

■5 Tablespoons Sour Cream

■Cilantro For Garnish

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Flour work surface and roll out each biscuit until very flat. Brush very lightly with olive oil. Bake for 8 minutes, or until starting to turn golden. Remove from oven and set aside.



Mix refried beans with salsa. Heat on stovetop.



Heat up leftover ground beef.



To assemble, spread refried beans over each flatbread. Top with plenty of beef. Sprinkle shredded cheddar over the top. Return to oven for three minutes, or until melted and bubbly. Top with plenty of pico de gallo and lettuce.



Mix together salsa and sour cream. Drizzle over the top of each pizza. Garnish with cilantro. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

almost normal?

I think I might be back to my normal self soon.  Slowly I am getting better everyday.  It has been a very slow process.  I am happy to say that I am not taking any anxiety pills right now and haven't for almost 5 days.  That is a real improvement for me.  I am so thankful my hubs hasn't gone crazy on me....he actually has been very supportive.  Soooo... I need something to do.  Perhaps something to make my house look a little better.  Does anyone have suggestions on what to do for a project?   I still have zero desire to move but if I had a project going I might get off the couch.  I am having one of those days were I feel my clothes are not stylish and my house is not pretty.