Projects

This pretty little box was made for someone very special; stained and oiled wood, lots of detail in the embossed design, strung beads around the top edge and dangling down the side, aqua flat back crystals, and just the right touch of flowers!

Pallet wood candle holder with lots of strung beads! This is gorgeous when the candle flickers against the mirror tiles!

This tray was created from an old garage sale frame and a page torn out of a used wallpaper book. Screw on a couple of inexpensive handles and voila! A gorgeous addition to any coffee table!

Love this tray! I painted a frame, cut some wallpaper 

for the backdrop under the glass, strung some beads, glued some lace, and screwed some hardware on the top. The corner brackets are from LittleHardware on ETSY.

This one is a beauty!

Pallet Boards and an old frame - stained with a mixture of vinegar and steel wool to make it looked aged. Big chunky handles make this a durable and masculine looking piece.

This serving tray was made from an old frame and sandpapered around the edges to make it look aged. The design under the glass is from a used wallpaper book, the beads are from a bead show, the leaves were painted a shimmery white, and the handles are from the hardware store. Stunning!

This project was fun and challenging! I found the frame at a co-op in our neighborhood and embellished it with stuff I found around the house; old cabinet door pulls, painted doilies, a disassembled and re-assembled flower, and some sparkly beads for the center of the flowers. And how could I forget to mention wallpaper for the backdrop. I honestly don't don't know how my craft life could exist without wallpaper books! Total cost; $8.00

Another fun, fun project! The thin pieces of wood around the edge were spotted in the dumpster at a home improvement store, and they allowed me to take as many as I wanted! The black tacks were used as an embellishment to keep it masculine looking. The drawer pulls are from Hobby Lobby and I got them on sale. This project cost me 4.00 to make!

This was my very first attempt at making a pallet serving tray. It was a gift for my daughter, and she loves the outdoors, so the wood was a very appropriate choice of material to use. I got the pallets from our local home improvement store. The manager was so nice and allowed me to take a few from the back of the building. This project was so much fun to make and I am very happy with the results. (So is my daughter!)

This particular frame was sized and sanded from scraps of thin wood strips laying around the garage, stained, and then glued together. The embossed design was created quite by accident, as I had set off to trace a wallpaper design onto foil for embossing, and when I was finished, turned the wallpaper over to notice this beautiful design. I then applied rub-ons of colors and embellished the finished piece with flat back crystals.

I really wish this shelf could have photographed this better. I tried, but it just doesn't capture the sparkle that is there. This is foil embossing nailed onto an old shelf from a garage sale, with beads draped under the extended part of the shelf.

Loved doing this one....a piece of pallet board, which I sanded, stained, and oiled, a foil embossed design in the background, and some unique floral arrangements to compliment the flower pattern. And, as you can see, a hook.  

This foil embossed design features some dazzling beads dangling down the side, along with some rub on color over the foil as an accent. Crystals were pressed down in various locations as an embellishment.

This is a lovely serving tray with some vintage wallpaper under the glass and drawer pulls painted and drilled through the sides.

My Harvest is Sensational!

Lemon Balm
Spicy Oregano
Basil
Thyme
Tomatoes

This was the first summer I planted herbs and veggies - some from seeds and some from baby plants. And now that the season has given me many clippings and regrowth, I have to honestly say it's been one of the most delightful things I've done in a long time. I can't believe how much I enjoy going outside to snip my next accompaniment to my salads, veggie combos, and dinners.

Most of the time, I take the fresh leaves right off the stem, chop them, and stir them right in to the dish I am concocting. 

This has brought my taste buds to a whole new level of flavor intoxication. And to think that I once thought Durkee had it all! 

And these cute little ones are as tasty as could be. They get marinated in a simple blend of avocado oil, kosher salt and pepper, and those beautiful herbs up above. I don't need anything else for this to be considered a splendid meal!

A summer delight. So simple, healthy, nutritious, quick, and delicious!

A New Taste of Hummus

I think I just created a new blend that is totally out of this world! It happened by sheer coincidence, as all my favorite combinations seem to. I had a few food items left to eat before I went out shopping again, and at first glance, did not think they would make for a nice attractive lunch if I assembled them all on a plate.

But then I did what I always do......put them all in the food processor!

Because I have been preparing my foods this way for so long now, I can almost predict how utterly yummy they will be. If I select only the foods that I like, then it's a logical guarantee that I will still like them after they are mixed. Make sense?

So here's what I made just a few minutes ago.....

Ingredients
1 can garbanzo beans, boiled for 5 minutes and the skins removed 
1 small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained
about a quarter cup sunflower seeds, roasted and unsalted
avocado oil
whole wheat/flax seed bread from Whole Foods, 
            warmed in the microwave so it's nice and soft

Place the first 4 ingredients in the food processor and blend till it becomes so
smooth and creamy looking. Then.....spread it on the warm bread!

Go hide so no one will see you and ask for a taste. With this treat, you're allowed to be selfish and unwilling to share.

Just in case you are curious about other crazy concoctions that are edible and insanely delicious, here's another treat for your palate; it's called a Garlic Grille.

Ingredients
avocado oil infused with garlic
whole wheat & flax seed bread from Whole Foods
basil pesto - fresh basil leaves from Whole Foods
                   fresh garlic
                   fresh cilantro
                   avocado oil infused with garlic
                   squeeze of fresh lemon juice
sun dried tomatoes - preserved with only salt and nothing else
water
cheddar cheese

1. place tomatoes and water in food processor till it becomes the consistency of
tomato paste and scoop into a small dish for spreading on sandwich
2. place all ingredients for pesto in food processor and pulse till coarse,
and scoop this also into a small dish for spreading on sandwich
3. prepare a grilled cheese the way you've been doing it for years, but instead of
using butter or margarine, evenly drizzle the oil on the grilling side of the bread

This, I want to warn you, is addictive! But enjoy pigging out, because believe me,
you will! For additional pleasure.....dip in marinara sauce. I'm talking about the kind
of marinara sauce that is purely home made, you know, cut up tomatoes that slow simmer.
No chemicals or additives.
Purely natural eating to delight our purely natural bodies!

Cholesterol Countdown!

greasy chicken

For three weeks now, I have been enjoying the benefits of an extremely modified diet. I did some serious rearranging of food choices, and feel proud to announce that I feel better already. Since I am really a pig at heart, this diet still allows me to scarf down abundant quantities, but only from the list that ensures healthier results! And the best part is....I have not had a single craving for the garbage I used to eat (chips, cookies, donuts, fries etc.)

greasy fries

greasy donut

I'm still angry at the fact that so much of what is at the store taste so yummy and satisfying is always so bad for us. It's just not fair. Comfort food was named just that for a very good reason. 

Thankfully, and I repeat thankfully, my taste buds are having just as much fun with some enticing alternatives to these damaging foods, and honestly, I am thoroughly disgusted at the thought of allowing so much junk to rule the inside of my body. It's been this way my entire life. I'm sure I have been on more diets than anyone else, and yet my body insists on going back to its original default time and time again. What triggered a more urgent and dramatic approach this time though, was when my sisters began to suspect that the high cholesterol levels in our family are a hereditary thing. Sure enough, mine got checked and is high too. 

Since leaving the clinic that day, I have been faithfully adhering to two rules; no animal fat and no refined sugars. It might sound like, wow, that's eliminating a lot of food! And guess what? It is! With a little planning and prioritizing, I am now consuming, in large quantity sometimes, some of the most nutritional food on the planet.

I have a list of the top foods that contain statins, the component in medications used to lower cholesterol levels. And here they are;

sugar cane

beans

almonds

oatmeal

apple cider vinegar

flaxseeds

garlic

fatty fish - salmon (or tilopia)

apples

avocado oil

lentils

soy proteins

These foods, as you may have noticed, are all plant based foods, and insanely delicious when prepared in combinations with other vegetables. For more easy referencing on this topic, google;

"Foods that contain natural statins" 

"Lower cholesterol naturally"

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to notice how much good food is available; the best supply coming from Whole Foods, when your budget can afford it. I get fresh basil, cilantro, artichokes, and unsalted roasted almonds there. 

And now...I am off to the kitchen to prepare my dinner to take to work, which will be caramelized onions and sweet potatoes. I literally can't wait to eat!

A Cleaning Miracle!

With my daughter's wedding coming up, and out of town guests visiting in our home, we embarked on a cleaning binge unlike anything this house has ever experienced. In a very short amount of time, I feel I became such an expert on some new found cleaning remedies!

I discovered two of the most simple, non chemical, effective, proven, and easy cleaning ingredients, which by the way have been around forever; vinegar and Dawn dish detergent! In all my years of cleaning, I never got the results that I get now! "Please explain this new phenomenon to us" you might be thinking. "Please tell us all how we too can have homes become as clean as yours!" Well, just to set the record straight here, our home is very worn and shows its age. It does not look like a showcase of newness by any means! But just recently I became empowered with a new hope that the old could become new(er) looking with just a couple sprays from a bottle!

My very dear friends at work had to tolerate many evenings of my rambling on and on with my infomercials about this cleaner. They nodded out of sheer courtesy, but I think deep down they really questioned the validity of my findings! Let me take you down this path of possibility!

It all started on Pinterest, when I saw a post of a cleaning solution of just heated white vinegar and blue Dawn dish detergent. I dared myself to try it, and within a couple days bought these simple supplies at the $ store. I didn't realize Dawn had every color of the rainbow to choose from, but the post said blue, so I didn't dare buy any other color!

The directions for mixing them and using them are so simple. Heat white vinegar and pour it into a spray bottle. Pour an equal amount of Dawn into the bottle and shake well. You are now fully equipped to attack your home! Spray the mixture onto a surface and let it sit for about 5 minutes, then just wipe off or scrub off. This is a surface cleaner for ceramic, tile, wood, metal, vinyl, tub and shower soap build up, baseboards, glass oven doors, refrigerators, and any other surface that has accumulated years of guk. I used it on the most stubborn stains I could find, the main one being the floor of the shower stall. Bleach, Pine Sol, Mr. Clean, and every other chemical from Marc's and Walmart did NOT remove the build up. But guess what did? My blue ammunition! I was so happy to have that darkness gone!

Once I experienced the thrill of its effectiveness, I carried that darn bottle around for days on end, spraying everything in sight! I did the cupboards, the baseboards, window sills, the entire bathroom, doors, door frames, and whatever else I could find that looked like it was in need of one of my sprays! Buildup was disappearing right before my very eyes! (Do I sound like an infomercial yet?) I had convinced myself that some of my household buildups were just here to stay. But as of today, I am proud to announce that this vinegar mixture has given my home a face lift, a makeover of sorts, and allowed me to see the clean instead of just imagining it.

Here is the other exhilarating discovery that came into our home. A steamer! It requires using distilled water, and, when heated to 220 degrees, can clean any surface in your home. I have steamed my carpets, the steps, the rugs, the bedding, the cushions, pillows, and anything else that looks deserving of some good old fashioned heat! Last night I came home rather late from work, and because I couldn't unwind right away, I thought, "Gee, what can I clean?" So I closed the door and turned on my steamer! But let me tell you how good it feels knowing that I now have dominion over those little pesky dust mites and other unwelcome critters that sneak into our homes when we're not looking!

So ladies, there is a lifesaver that guarantees cleanliness. It's just a spray away. It's cheap, easy, and brings quick results.

And  220 degrees of some H2o will purify any hiding place of allergens, viruses, mildew and mold.

Happy cleaning and spread the word!

"Story Story Story Story Story"

"Story Story Story Story Story"

This cute little phrase came bursting into my memory recently ....not quite sure what triggered the thought. But I have vivid pictures in my mind of my children making serious attempts at reading well before their vocabulary could make its way out of their mouths. That's how it is with kids. I was never surprised to see them "reading" to their invisible friends and stuffed animals, especially with the book upside-down, imitating the routine and delight they received from our daily reading.


Right when we think we are the teacher in our children's lives, they will grow and develop in such a way that takes us off guard and cause us to be the ones who are actually learning something! They mimic, copy, duplicate and imitate most of what they see! Children are very sharp observers and pick up behavior traits fast. They have a way of forcing us to sharpen our parenting skills, because it is us who determines how to prioritize what will impact them the most in the small window of opportunity we have. So parents be aware!

You are being watched closely whether you realize it or not! Your children will get attracted to what they see you doing. They will associate desirable and acceptable behavior based on what they see in their close family environment. Plain and simple....children do what they see their parents do. Parents play the major role in forming the child's mentality. YIKES! That's a pretty scary state of accountability! That explains why, when I became a mom, I never followed in my parents footsteps. I don't recall anything from childhood that stood out as an admirable quality worthy for me to duplicate.

Over the years, I have listened to mothers talk about the encounters and challenges they face with their children. I admire every attempt a parent will make to instill the proper value system a child will need to depend on for the REST OF THEIR LIVES.

But what I do NOT have a tolerance for is the kind of abrasive and negligent behavior a parent will display toward their vulnerable child. I have heard a mother, who genuinely feels her reasons for loving her children are better than anyone else's, repeatedly berate and humiliate them in public. She feels certain that no one will ever understand her deep love for her children, and then calls them m-f-ers with such a hateful tone of voice, it would cause anyone to flee! This same parent actually told me she warned her two children that if they didn't shut up and behave she was going to stab them. How is this even possible out of the mouth of a mother who proclaims to love her children? The issue really resides within the unresolved conflict of the mother, and her inability to live out her commitment because it gets in the way of another personal agenda.


The morals children learn at home become more effective and deep rooted than the ones their school teachers or social science books will teach them. I totally get it when limited circumstances rightfully prevent a parent from instilling a healthy value system within their child. Sometimes life just isn't fair and we get caught in the cross-fire of someone else's bad decisions. It's in those moments of reality when we need to depend on the immeasurable grace of God to sustain our situation when all odds are against us. Testimonies will reveal this truth. Ask the kid who grew up where adversity worked in his favor. Ask the ones who know the meaning of second chances. Ask the ones who took charge of their lives and made fresh decisions. Ask the ones who learned something from someone's else's mistake.

Accountability can be a scary thing, especially as a new parent. We get one chance to help form their character, and then the window of time is gone. It can also be our greatest strength, when we adhere to a moral and value system that our children will latch onto and copy cat.



The following links better explain what happens during child development that limits our time to shape the foundations of a lifetime. Story, story, story, story, story won't be the only thing they'll want to imitate. They hear your words, they feel your approval or lack of approval of them, they monitor your actions, they absorb your habits, they listen to your interactions with others, they notice if you practice what you preach, they can size up the moment and challenge the truth of how we present ourselves. They are very smart!




How a Child's Brain Works - Retention Capacity
http://web-us.com/brain/learningtousethebrain.html
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v419/n6910/abs/419896a.html
http://kidsparenting.net/pregnancy/infant-and-child-brain-growth-and-development.html

So as we are mindful of the current atrocities taking place in our youth culture, and our life story is being watched carefully by those around us, keep vigilant over our own personal actions, attitudes and behaviors. It's a great time to take the opportunity to evaluate and judge ourselves.....to take some personal inventory on what resides on the inside. Everyone appreciates a fresh start, and today is certainly one of them!
And may you fully grasp and understand the importance of your influence on your loved ones!

"For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, 

and He examines all his paths."
Proverbs 5:21

Food Facts

I think it's become quite obvious (glaringly noticeable!) that I enjoy communicating information and details about food! I absolutely love discovering new blends of ingredients, straight from Mother Nature, that are full of satisfying flavors and healthy benefits to our bodies. Many will quickly agree it's challenging to wake up everyday and have an abundance of nutritional entrees ready to consume. Our lives are busy, and preparing the best food takes time, money, and some serious motivation! So, eating healthy to some is a treat instead of the norm.

The bigger picture of what I really want to share is not about healthy food, but how the food industry is changing so rapidly, forcing Americans to consume junk under the legal disguise of nutritional value. THAT, is what is so very disturbing. I am partly angry that the FDA can actually get away with lying to the public, but more outraged that production companies are sneaking in chemicals and other additives and fillers into our  foods to keep the prices down, yet still continue to call their supply "food", when in reality it is not food at all! How can McDonalds burgers be real food when they can sell for 17 cents????? And how can certain food labels display an entire list of chemicals and sell it at the grocery store and call it food?

This list should appall you out and cause you to re-think your dietary intake.

Additives used in the foods we eat;

Aspartame - an artificial sweetener

-used in diet products, 200 x sweeter than sugar

-linked to brain tumors and memory loss

-composed of aspartic acid 40%, phenylaline 50% (high levels of phenylaline are stored in the brain of people who consume aspartame) and methanol 10%
-if methanol chemical reaches 30 degrees or higher it will form formaldehyde. Troops in Operation Desert Storm reported symptoms of this poisoning because of all the over heated diet sodas they drank. Aviation pilots are warned to avoid consumption because of resulting seizure like symptoms and blurred vision.

Olestra - a fat substitute used in potato chips and other dried potato "foods"

-tracing stomach aches, cramping, bloating, and other disorders are usually too hard to figure out, but this one is the culprit for some serious multiple gastrointestinal symptoms

Saccharin - an extremely harmful carcinogenic additive used in Sweet & Low

-World Health Organization, the US FDA, and Canadian governments removed a requirement to provide warning labels on foods that contain saccharin. 

Colorants - carcinogens to enhance the color in foods

-Citrus Red 2 - used on Florida oranges

-Red dye #3 - found in marishino cherries

-FD&C Blue #1 - cancer causing agent/chemical

-FD&C Green #3 - cancer causing agent/chemical

-Tartra - a coal tar derivative found in yellow, blue and green candy

-BHA - a carcinogenic preservative in boxed foods

Sodium Nitrate - a carcinogen  added to meats to give them their red color

-they mix with the acids in your stomach nitrosamines; cancer causing cells

-ALWAYS BUY NITRATE-FREE MEATS!

-bacon and hot dogs would be gray without this additive

Chloropropanols - a carcinogenic family of drugs found in Asian foods


Benzene - a carcinogen found in soft drinks

Diacetyl - a carcinogenic chemical that imparts the buttery flavor in microwave popcorn

Potassium Bromate - a carcinogen found in flour to make bread rise better

Bisphenol A - a carcinogen used to package foods. Walmart in Canada has discontinued sales of soothers, baby bottles, sippy cups, food and water containers containing this chemical. How do you know if your container is made from bisphenol A? Look on the bottom for the recycling label. If it has a 7 or a 3, it contains bisphenol A

.

MSG - a food additive and flavor enhancer found in Chinese foods  

-hides behind the name "natural flavors"

-it triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates, causing swelling that leads to migraines and a host of other health risks

High Fructose Corn Syrup - a highly refined clear liquid derived from corn starch

-found mostly in soft drinks and bottled juices

-it goes straight to the liver and then destroys the liver's ability to metabolize it properly

Prepared barbecue sauces, mustard and ketchup all contain high fructose corn syrup....in fact... it is listed first on the label which indicates it's the predominant ingredient!

Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg! Bottom line.....Food isn't food anymore!

It is no wonder the medical industry cannot keep up with sick people these days. It was never God's intention for His creation to thrive on these harmful and dangerous chemicals that are so destructive, yet consumers are downing these foods without ever knowing what they are actually eating. 

Reading labels should help, but we would need an interpreter with us to decipher all the chemical compounds listed! Common sense works best here. Fresh is best!