Be prepared to cry and get really upset at the human race.

I had to watch my best friend in high school go through this. She came to school with welts on her back from a rubber hose, with bruises all over (legs, arms, etc), and with goose eggs on her head. Yes the police were told. Yes child services was involved. Did it do any good? No. They came in and interviewed the parents. The parents told the CS workers that my friend was on drugs. My friend took a drug test. Negative for drugs. They still believed the family and after one day of instigating this case were gone. Yes my friend continued to live in this situation. It makes me sick to see this. It breaks my heart to see this. It bothers me to no end that someone can take their child, their FLESH and BLOOD and do this to them. The only just desserts there will be is in the after life, because they will have to answer for what they have done.

I can't say anymore right know my blood is boiling.

Camille

For just one week...

I found this idea on If You Give a Mom a Moment blog, she takes one thing she wants to work on and does it of one week. Like last week she made it a point to take her kids out of the house at least one day a week. Or the week before that where she read her scriptures everyday. I think this is such a great idea! It's like my friend Dianne did, she decided that for a month she was going to cut out sugar in her diet! How hard would that be?? She even looked up the "other" names for sugar and found out that there's a ton of sugar EVERYWHERE! Like in your BBQ sauce and your spices. Anyway I so looked up to her for doing that! So I've decided that I'm going to choose one thing to do each week.

So for this week everyday I'm going to feed my husband dinner.

Yes I stink at that. We both work full time and it doesn't help that our schedules are so different. I work 30 mins away from home from 8 to 5 and he works 10 mins away from 10 to 7. So by the time he gets home I'm ready for bed and he wants to stay up until 12 or 1 because he can sleep in in the morning, which I can't do... But I'm going to do it! I will have a meal prepared for him every night this week! I'm excited!

I'm also trying to fix this problem by doing freezer meals! Adri (the girl I carpool with) and I can't wait to start! We're hoping this weekend if not next weekend.

What are you going to work on this week? Will you join me?

The Craig's List Queen!

So lately my mom has been calling me the Craig's list queen. I've been finding the coolest stuff on Craig's list and I thought I'd share a few of them with you.


Here's a HORRIBLE picture of my new favorite skirt!!!! Sorry it is such a bad picture, but it's such a cute skirt! I love it! I'll have to take a picture of it while I'm wearing it. I bought this skirt with the next item. They were both just $10!! I was so excited!

Here's my cute new jacket! I love it! Both the jacket and the skirt are the same brand, Tulle. I can't wait for Fall so I can wear it! :) Maybe it'll get cold enough at night and I can wear it sooner!

Here's my FAVORITE find so far!!!

MY BENCH! I wanted a sitting area on my *small* porch and I've been looking EVERYWHERE, but never found anything I liked. And there it was.... on Craig's list! It was 45 minutes away so I had to find sometime to get down there and get it. I MADE time for this bench! I was so excited! And it fit perfectly!

I love Craig's list and I can't wait to find my next treasure on it!

Happy Homemaker Monday!

Check out Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for more Happy Homemakers!

The weather in my neck of the woods:
It's nice and cool right now, but it's suppose to get up to the high 80s low 90s this week.


One of my simple pleasures:
Jumping on the tramp with the nieces and nephews! That's how we spent yesterday!


On my bedside table:
Church manual and my jewelry


On my TV:
The Bachelorette Finale's on tonight!!! But I'll be watching it first thing tomorrow, so don't tell me what happens!


On the menu for tonight:
Crap, I forgot about dinner.... I think we'll have BBQ because Luke has a softball game tonight


On my To Do List:
Go Visiting Teaching
Find some wedding presents.... It's getting closer to the wedding month!
Put together some recipes for our freezer meal group


New Recipe I tried last week:
I don't even remember if I cooked last week... Hummm....


In the craft basket:
Mil's quilt, half of a boarder, the quilting and binding left


Looking forward to:
Driving to Washington on the 13th for my friends wedding! And of course visiting family up there!


Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
I just have to go with one of my own this week! Hope it makes you smile a little! Check out my last minute bridal shower idea here! It turned out to be such a hit at the party!!

Favorite photo from last week:
Here's the Ferris wheel from Lagoon that we rode on this weekend. I discovered that I really don't like riding them. I DON'T like them at all. :) But it turned out pretty in the picture!


Lesson learned the past few days:
If you go into a situation with a good attitude you will more then likely come out of it with a good attitude!


On my Prayer List:
My sister in law Haylee, after having a sick baby all week she caught the flu! Poor girl!
My family of course!

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
"A gentle hand may lead even an elephant by a hair" -- Iranian Proverb

Baseball Bra

See these happy couples? Well, one of them is getting married in August!!! (PS. It's the front couple! We're the second couple) Brenda and Riley are seriously my favorite couple to hang out with! Luke and Riley coached baseball together last summer and we had quite a few adventures!

(Brenda I know you didn't like this picture but the other one was WAY blurry. Sorry!)

Riley LOVES baseball as much as Luke does. This picture was taken July 4th at the Chuckar's baseball game we went to right before the fireworks. I love hanging out with these two! I can't wait for them to get married so we can have married buddies!

Anyway, Monday night I came home to find an invite to Brenda's bridal shower. No big deal, I normally go buy some fabric and *whip* out an apron that reflects the couples interests... Then I saw the date it was for Tuesday night!!!!! I didn't have much time to think of a present (Much less sew one...) so around 11:00 pm Luke and I found ourselves in Walmart trying to find the *perfect* gift.

After like an hour (No joke, it seemed like an hour, Luke HATES wondering around stores.) of wondering around Walmart I jokingly said, "What if I just bought a white bra and made it look like baseballs?" Luke was on the ground laughing. He loved the idea! haha And so our plan was set.

Here's how to make a Baseball Bra:

1. Buy the right size bra, the smaller the better (then it looks like real baseballs).
2. Make sure you have a red sharpie or another permanent or fabric maker
3. Use a cup to make the curves of the stitches (Luke held the cup; haha both cups technically, while I traced the shape)
4. Draw the stitches on the bra (PLEASE make sure you draw the stitches correctly; Luke will shoot me if you don't. He will notice, trust me.) One side of the stitches goes up and the other side goes down.
5. Stand back and admire!
   

So what do you think??? Doesn't look like baseballs????

I'll have to admit if you don't look to close it looks like I bought it that way!! Everybody kept asking where I bought it! haha


Here's the gift basket before the final stages. I forgot to take a picture of the final gift, sorry! I made a baseball watching basket, Trust me I know how much she's going to be watching baseball now that she's married to a baseball boy.

The card read:
Brenda:
Since you guys said you had everything for your home. I thought I'd help you out with
Baseball season.
Sunscreen: So you don't burn like I did last year (This is a BIG running joke with Riley's brother)
Lotion: So you can soothe Riley's sore muscle
Candy: A little treat for during the game
Everything else: A little treat for AFTER the game.

So in the basket I had sunscreen, lotion, candy (which included bubble gum, a must for us Mormons), the Baseball bra, panties, red and white socks and eye black. Luke said the eye black was a MUST.

The gift was a hit! I had everyone at the party laughing and saying how perfect it was for Riley! Like I said before they kept asking where I bought it!

So if you are ever looking for that perfect baseball bridal gift, come back and visit me!

Happy Homemaker Monday! Vol 2

The weather in my neck of the woods:
It's hot and I love it! I just wish I was outside!


One of my simple pleasures:
Going for a motorcycle ride with my husband.


On my bedside table:
My jewelry like normal... :) and my cell phone


On my TV:
Mental
Bachelorette (It's almost done!)


On the menu for tonight:
Ball park Cheeseburgers (We're going to the Chuckars baseball game!)


On my To Do List:
Finish the laundry
Update personal blog
Finish MIL's Quilt (I know I know, I'll finish it this week I promise!)


New Recipe I tried last week:
I tried a new lasagna recipe.... It's ok but I didn't LOVE it.


In the craft basket:
MIL's quilt


Looking forward to:
Next weekend's trip to Lagoon!


Homemaking Tip for this week:
Just do it.


Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
I read how to bottle butter on The Singer Sentinel today; what a great idea! I really want to try it!

Favorite photo from last week:

Lesson learned the past few days:
Family is everything!

On my Prayer List:
My family
Luke's family

Salad tips

Haylee, one of my best friends, taught me this great trick for getting a chicken salad cheaper then normal:

First you order some chicken nuggets

Then you order your plain salad (you know without chicken):

Then once you get your meal you tear up the chicken and add to your salad!

This *should* only cost you about $2.00 (not including tax) whereas a chicken salad is around $5.00. What a great trick! It tastes great!

Another great tip that I've learned from some friends was if you put the dressing in the container then you close the lid and shake it up then the all lettuce is covered in dressing pretty evenly!

I love salads they tastes so good and they are good for you! Have fun and enjoy!

Fourth of July Feast!

For the Fourth of July Luke and I were trying to keep it simple! So we decided to BBQ with our friends before heading to the baseball game. Here's our menu:

Watermelon- lemonade (see below for recipe)
Ranch style steak kabobs (see below for recipe)
Luke's favorite potato salad (see below for recipe) (I need to come up with a better name...)
Snicker salad (Riley and Brenda brought this I'll have to share the recipe when I get it.)

Watermelon- Lemonade
4 cups seedless watermelon chunks (I just guessed)
1 1/2 cups lemonade (I just guessed)
Some sugar (I added it to taste)

Mix in a blender.

Yep that's it. You can add mint (like the leaves) but I couldn't find any. You can strain the drink to get the rind out, but I liked it with the rind. It added something to the drink. We really like this drink! The lemonade adds a zane to the watermelon! It's nice! While I had it in the blender I added some ice at the end so the ice was crunched perfectly.


I found this recipe on this blog If you want the original recipe please check out her blog (she got it from the Kraft website. I'm going to just post "our" recipe here. (Please remember that my family didn't really ever eat meat and Luke's family had meat EVERY night. I'm learning... slowly how to cook meat so Luke did most of this recipe, I just found it and told him I wanted it.)

Ranch style steak kabobs

Some red potatoes (I'm sure any potatoes would work)
Some (kind of) meat (I'm told it was steak. See I told you, I even made him go buy it so I didn't
mess it up!)
An onion
Some ranch

The night before you make these you can marinate the meat in your choice of juice (Is that what it's called?). If not just cut up the meat the next day (I just had a thought... maybe everybody marinates the meat the night before. I'm going to have to check this out.) Cut up the potatoes and boil them for like 5 min (You want to start the cooking process but you want them to stay on the kabob while on the grill). Cut the onion in fourths then break each layer off of the onion (Yes Ogres are like onions they have layers) Then alternate meat, potatoes, onions until all the kabobs you want are full. Brush ranch on to the potatoes and onions, I asked Luke to do all of it but he said since we marinated the meat it wouldn't taste as good. Grill until meat is cooked to your liking. You can continue to brush with ranch while grilling, I think the flavor sets in better.

Everybody gave it a big thumbs up! I do believe we'll do it again!

My friend Adri told me about this recipe during one of our daily drives (we car pool an hour a day together). I was sooo excited to try it! I'm surprized I hadn't posted the recipe yet! My in laws ask for it all the time, Luke asks for it all the time, it's a keeper! In fact Luke won't let me add anything to it! I would like to try celery or red onions, but I think he'd chop off my hand if I tried! He wouldn't of course! This salad is good either hot or cold, I can't decide which way I like better. I like I said before I really need to come up with a better name.

Luke's favorite potato salad

Dry ranch mix
Red potatoes
Mayo
Sour Cream
Bacon
Some of the bacon grease

Cook the bacon to your liking, but the crispier the better! While your bacon is cooking you can boil your potatoes, to speed up the process I cut them in half if not thirds. While your bacon and potatoes are cooking mix together the dry ranch mix, mayo and sour cream in a bowl large enough to hold all of the salad. I'm sorry I can't tell you the measurements. I like find a recipe that sounds good then put my own flare on it (If you couldn't tell from the two above recipes). I add the mayo and sour cream to taste, but I think it's about a cup and a half of each. You can change the ratio if you don't like one of those ingredients. I'm not sure what will finish first for you, the bacon or the potatoes, but I like to add the bacon as it comes out of the pan. Just crumble it up and add it to the ranch mix. Save some of the bacon grease! Once the potatoes are soft enough that when you stick a fork in them they fall apart you can drain the water. Cut up the potatoes and add to the ranch mix. I usually burn my fingers cutting up the potatoes, so please be careful. Add about a tablespoon of the bacon grease. Stir all the ingredents together. Either enjoy now or place in fridge until you serve it.

I've already told you that this is Luke's favorite potato salad, so of course it's a keeper! If you add anything to this recipe and it works out please let me know! I'd love to hear about it!

Sorry there aren't any pictures, I'll try to do better next time and take some! Hope you enjoy these recipes!

Happy Homemaker Monday! Vol 1

I'm going to start doing "Happy Homemaker Monday" with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. I've always enjoyed reading her blog! I wouldn't mind being a mom just like her some day (of course like my mom too.)!!!!!!!!!

Even though I'm not a all day homemaker I do have a home and I can't wait until I can be in it all the time! So here goes!

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Beautiful blue skies and even better big white fluffy clouds! It's suppose to get up to 81 today! Woo Hoo! Good thing I grabbed a fan for the office today!


One of my simple pleasures:
Curling up with a nice thick book!


On my bedside table:
Book of Mormon and my DS. (I'm waiting for the 4th book in the Work and the Glory series to come! I bought it on half.com and it hasn't arrived yet.)


On my TV:
We don't have TV, but I'm watching the prison break series on line. I like the first season the best so far! Oh and we're heading to my Mother in Law's house tonight so **HOPEFULLY** we get to watch the Bachelorette! I hope She sees through Wes!! I really don't like him! I wish Michael had stayed... not sure about Ed being back... we'll have to see.


On the menu for tonight:
My sister in law is bringing dinner over to my in laws so I'm not sure.


On my To Do List:
Exercise (run at least 4 miles...), finish the binding on Mil's quilt, find out what's taking my book so long to get here, and maybe plan a Lia Sophia open house...


New Recipe I tried last week:
I was thinking nothing but I did try on Saturday Ranch style steak kabobs and watermelon-lemonade. (I'll post the recipe after this.)

In the craft basket:
Mil's quilt and Luke's jersey quilt


Looking forward to:
Trip to Las Vegas in Sept!!!!!!


Homemaking Tip for this week:
You can increase the hours in a day if you get up a few minutes early!


Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
My cousin Jade's post for the fourth. Her brother did a tour in Iraq. It was hard on EVERYBODY! But we are very glad he's back! She posted some pictures of him coming home, my favorite is his daughter giving him their first hug in over a year! It's too sweet, she such a daddy's girl!


Favorite photo from last week:

My rose! I'm just so dang proud of it!!!!!!

Lesson learned the past few days:
You are the limit to the blessing you can receive!!!!!


On my Prayer List:
My Husband
My family
My mother in law as she goes through some health issues (Please let her continue to be positive!)
My father in law as he takes care of my mother in law.


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
D&C 82:10 (I couldn't get this scripture out of my mind yesterday, everything reminded me of it!)
I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.

Yesterday's projects and happenings

Thought I'd give you a sneak peak of what I did yesterday after work... It was pretty eventful!

**I worked on the quilt I want to give to my mother in law. Here's my work station: my dinning room table.

Here's the first block completed!
**While stopped at a stop light yesterday heading home this mother duck and her chicks crossed the road! It reminded me of my sister Kailey, one time heading to a doctor's appointment they had to stop in the middle of the road because some ducks and chicks were crossing the road and some guy had decided to "help" them by walking along behind them waving his hands. Every time we pass that spot she says, "Remember the duckies??" Sorry they aren't in the road in this picture I couldn't get my phone out fast enough but they were CUTE!

**Luke bought me a rose plant at the beginning of spring. I've done some what of a good job keeping it alive... last week I noticed it had a bud on it!!!! I was so excited! So here are the pictures of it's growth!




I took this one yesterday! It's so big and pretty!
I had a lot of fun with my phone settings!

I'm so excited with the 4th of July being TOMORROW!!! All we have planned so far is having a BBQ with some friends then hitting up a baseball game at around 5 then watching the fireworks after that. It should be a good time! I just don't want last year story to happen again. I'll have to tell you about it later. :) It's a Fire Cracker story!

Have a great and safe 4th of July! God Bless America!!!!!!!!

Great news

So Monday at work my outlook informed me that I had a new message. All I needed to read in the little pop up window was, "This message is to inform you that Ibex Incorporated has been awarded...." and I knew that prayers had just been answered!!!!!!!!!

A few months ago the trucking company that I work for had to lay off about 11 guys. It was HEART BREAKING! We are a close knit family here! Right away we all started looking for other opportunities for our trucks. We contacted multiple road construction companies in multiple states, we contacted metal refinery companies, we contacted other oil field companies, we contacted EVERYONE we could think of.... with no luck. The owner then remembered that a few years ago we had hauled water for the forest service for one of the fires. He asked us to look into it. And so we did.

About a week later after a whirl wind of events Kirk, our safety and right hand guy, and I were sitting in a Forest Service building for a meeting about how to apply for the contract we wanted. Holy cow what a meeting! Not only was I one of the three girls in the room (other then the forest service ladies) but we were by far the youngest in the bunch... by like 20 years (Kirk is pretty close to 30). The guy on the front row kept repeating himself, "Well, last year when we went to California...." (We're in Idaho). He seriously said it at least once every ten minutes! Anyway, that meeting started at 7 and we sat there until 11, by that time Kirk and I decided to sneak out.... We had the information we needed.... Who knows how long we would have had to listen to "Well, last year when we went to California..." We had a lot of work to do! Lots of acronyms to learn like HUB Zone, SBA, FED BIZ OPPS, IBM, IRS, CCR, CPS, USDA, I-BPA, DUNS, DBE, CAGE, VIPR, TIN, TPIN, SIC, MPIN, etc. I was so lost.

Of course Kirk left, to go where I can't remember. So of course I "got to" (had to) figure it out myself. It was a fun filled week trying to figure out what forms we needed to fill out, what numbers I had to get, where to get the forms and numbers, and of course where to turn them in. This, of course, all fell on a payroll week! Oh the joys! After about a million calls, web searches and headaches I finally had it all completed.... Then I found out they changed the dead line! I had another week that I could have finished it!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well, it was done I was done.

Now the fun part... the waiting game! It wasn't that bad, I had other work to distract me (In fact I "might" have forgotten about it... shhh).

But then came that FANTASTIC email I"m sure you can gues what ended that sentance but let me tell ya what it said, "This message is to inform you that Ibex Incorporated has been awarded a contract for Forest Service Solicatation ###########." All I could do after reading that was smile and SCREAM "YES" (By the way I'm not a screamer. If you make me jump, that's all you get is a jump not a scream... people hate it)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So Monday was awesome! I walked around all day with a big smile on my face! It was GREAT! All my hard work FINALLY paid off! (I do feel bad for all the other companies that tried to get the contract.) I'm sorry I haven't posted all week. I've been trying to get everything ready for the fire season, which we think will be big for two reasons: #1 we were told Colorado had a beetle problem so their trees are dying and #2 It's been raining here like made the last month and now it's supose to get REALLY hot, that's going to dry everything out!

So when you see this:

We'll be there with these guys:

I'm just so thankful that now we have the opportunity to help some families get back to work. Trust me those 11 families have been in ALL our prayers this whole time! Monday was really one of the best days I've had. Now we just need some fires (I won't pray for that... that would be sad if I did!!!)

Diaper cakes!

One thing I'm ALWAYS getting invited to is baby showers (could it be I live in South Eastern Idaho??). I'm not complaining I think they are a lot of fun! I babysit kids all the time so even though I don't have kids of my own (yet) I still can feel like I have something to add for the new mom. I don't even mind the games at the parties, some of them are a lot of fun! I'll have to post some game ideas later.

The one thing I HATE about baby showers is shopping for a gift! I swear there's always one or two people that end up buying the same gift! Plus I can never decide what to get them! Everything is sooo cute (I'm a girl I know you feel the same way!)!!! And it seems like you never see the kid in that cute outfit you bought for them, who knows if they even get to wear it!

Well, one day I found some pictures of a diaper cake and the wheels started turning! It was such a great idea! It's simple, not that expensive and it's something I KNOW the mom is going to use! I've made quite a few diaper cakes over the years and they are always a hit at the shower. There has never been two diaper cakes at the parties either! I think it's because they are so expensive if you buy one from someone else instead of making one. Trust me they are so easy! I just can't seem to remember to take pictures of each step but I'm going to walk you through it today. If you have any questions please let me know and I can explain it differently or I'll just make one and post some pictures.

How to make a diaper cake

Ingredients:
One package of diapers you can use more but I find that one seems to be just enough. It's
about 48 diapers. Any size will do but I try to stay close to size one or two.
Rubber bands regular sized
Big round plate or cardboard to place the cake on
Stick or dowel
Ribbon choose ribbon that is kind of thicker, like 1/2 inch or more. Choose any color or pattern
you'd like
Straight pins this is a maybe if you want you can use them to secure the ribbon.
Some extras you don't have to get these but it's kind of fun!:
Onesies (you know the undershirts for babies), binkies or pacifiers (what ever you call it,
Find out if the mom wants to use it. I have found that there are a few people who will not use
it.) Rattles, Blankets, stuff animals, teething rings, bottles, bibs, whatever floats
your boat.

Directions:

1. Roll all of the diapers. Start at the open end of the diaper and roll towards the bottom or folded end. Rap the rolled diaper with a rubber band. Make sure the rubber band is in the middle of the diaper roll. Repeat until all the diapers are rolled up.
2. Creating the foundation of the cake. Place the plate or cardboard in front of you. I bought plastic cake plate from the dollar store; it's one of my favorite bases. If you are using cardboard you can cut it into a circle later when you know how big your cake is going to be.
   
3. First tier of the cake. This part will be easy if you have those large hands that you can palm a basket ball with, but I don't have those hands so it's harder for me. Place four diapers together in the center of your cake. They should be standing up and down (tall). Hold with one hand and start adding more diapers to the circle. Once you get to the point that you can't hold anymore with your hands stretch a rubber band over the group of diapers. Now add more diapers by pulling the rubber band out a little and fitting the diaper in the circle. Try to keep the general shape of a circle. Once you think you have a good sized first tier then you can go on the the next tier. You can always add or take away diapers later on.
   
4. Second tier of the cake. Same as the first, just not as big. I like my second tier to be about one end of the diaper roll smaller then the first diaper tier (Hope you guys get that...). Once the second tier is about the right size you can move on to tier three.
5. Third tier of the cake. Same as the first, just not as big. I normally stop here but you can keep adding tiers.
   
6. Shaping the cake. Now you may have some extra diapers or not enough diapers, you'll just have to move them around and fit them into the different tiers until your cake looks right. Now place the tiers on top of each other in the correct order and place it on the plate. If you are using cardboard this is where you can cut the cardboard into a circle.
   
7. Frosting the cake. Even if you got the cute colored rubber bands, it still looks funny so let's cover it up. Circle reach tier with the ribbon to measure them cut at the right length. You can either secure the ribbon by tying a bow or by using straight pins. The ribbon should cover the rubber bands. Sometimes you need to move the rubber bands around to make this happen.
   
8. Decorating the cake. If you bought some of the extra stuff this is where you decorate the cake with it! The onesies you can take a diaper or two out and replace them with the onesies (just fold them to be the same size of a diaper then roll it up). You can use extra ribbon to tie the extra stuff to the cake.

Something extra you can do is buy the big cellophane gift bags from the dollar store they are just the right size. I would first put in the plate, then the first tier then the second then the third. It helps to have some one there to help you. Then gather the top of the bag and tie with a ribbon.

Here's a picture of the last one I did.



This cake was for a little boy that is suppose to come into the world this Saturday! Good luck to her! I did use cardboard with this one. I like adding a little animal on the top of the cake. This rubber ducky was only a dollar from Wal-mart!

I love making these then seeing the look on the mom-to-be's face! It's fun to be able to personalize the cakes too, they can be for a little girl (pink or purple of course) or for a boy (blue or green) or if you don't know the sex of the baby it can work too (yellow or white)! If the parents are in to sports you can do a sport's theme cake. You can match the cake to the nursery too! The possibilities are endless!

Have fun making this gift for your next baby shower!!!

MS, aka Multiple Sclerosis

We just found out that my mother in law has MS or Multiple Sclerosis. I really don't know much about MS and what I can tell not very many people know about it either. So of course I went to the trusty rusty internet. I thought I'd post a few facts about MS I learned yesterday.

I think I'll just do some bullet points so it's a quick read but you can still learn something.

• It's a chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS).
• MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease. Which means your body's immune system attacks your CNS.

(You can click on the picture to enlarge)

• The places where your CNS is damaged is called legions.
  
• The symptoms of MS aren't the same for everyone.
• Some of the symptoms of MS are: fatigue, memory, thinking, mood, depression, muscle spasms and stiffness, and speech difficulties
  
• An estimated 2,500,000 people in the world have MS, it is more common in countries further away from the equator. (So they believe that Vitamin D might have something to do with it.)
• Three women have MS for every two men
• There is no cure for MS but there are now drugs which can modify its course for some people and many symptoms can be successfully treated or managed (my Mother in law is looking at taking Rebif.)
  
• MS is not directly inherited, but genetics play an important role in who gets the disease. While the risk of developing MS in the general population is 1/750, the risk rises to 1/40 in anyone who has a close relative (parent, sibling, child) with the disease. Even though identical twins share the same genetic makeup, the risk for an identical twin is only 1/4—which means that some factor(s) other than genetics are involved
• Multiple Sclerosis actually means "many scars."

I looked at these websites for this information:
UK MS society (I know this is the UK site but it was a fun little website with lots of info.)
National MS society (This site was the first I found and I sent a lot of time here.)

While I was researching this information I found some blogs that are written by people with MS I think I'll start a blog roll with them. Let's show them some support and visit them every once and awhile.

http://myjourneywithms-kimberly.blogspot.com/
http://my-ms-and-me.blogspot.com/
http://mymsjournal.blogspot.com/
http://navigatingthejourneyofms.blogspot.com/
http://livingdaytodaywithmultiplesclerosis.blogspot.com/

I hope you have learned something about MS that you may not have known before. I know I have and I'll continue to learn about it.

Food storage!!!

Just being married over a year ago I'm just barely getting into food storage. Yes I buy extras of everything we eat so I think we're sitting ok.... We do need more tho. I am always looking for more ideas on food storage and today I ran across a great thing: a giveaway!!!!!!!!! Check out Shelf Reliance's blog by clicking here. Every other Friday they are going to have a give away! How cool is that??? This weeks give away is the Harvest 72″!! This thing is pretty cool! You'll have to go check it out!

You can get 5 entries in the drawing by doing different things... This is the final one for me!

Apron

I've been making these aprons for almost a year now. It started off as a Christmas gift for all my husband's siblings and now I think it's a great bridal shower gift! They are really easy to personalize. On one of my in-law's aprons I had pink camo on one side and regular green camo on the other, they love being outside and hunting so it totally fit their personalities!

I did this apron for a friend of mine who was just married this weekend. The apron matches their wedding colors since those are her favorite colors.




I used the zig zag stitching around the edges.



Here's the pocket, I think it looks pretty cool to switch the fabric up on the pocket.


I couldn't make it to her bridal shower because of work so we added it to our wedding gift. It was set of silverware that we own and Kelsey fell in love with it! Luckily they are still selling it at Target!


This is how I fold the aprons I think it looks pretty cool!


I think they are really fun to make! I'd post the pattern but I bought it and I believe it's copy righted. I think aprons are a really great gift idea. For Christmas I put together a basket with the apron and some dry mixes in jars, I also added some cooking utensils. It was a fun gift!

I promise

I'm sorry that I started this blog and kind of dropped it.... I promise I think of it all the time! haha I am working on TWO new projects (craft-wise) that I'll post soon! One is a gift for a friend that is getting married this weekend and I don't want to give away the surprize too early! The other is Luke's quilt. He asked me to make him a quilt using his old jerseys!! I'm pretty excited because there are only four colors!! haha He didn't jump teams too much did he...

The one problem I've been running into is the price of fabric! Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about and $8.00 a yard is a good price.... Where do you go for fabric? What's a good price to you for fabric?

Spaghetti Squash

I have never liked the idea of squash but for some reason when I saw this post on 11th Heaven I HAD to try it! It's a post on Spaghetti Squash which I haven't heard about before. I found some in Winco and bought it right a way! Here's something really cool about Spaghetti Squash:

A dieter's dream, a four-ounce serving of spaghetti squash has only 37 calories. Fabulousfoods.com

The big question that everybody keeps asking is to cut or not to cut before cooking? You can do it either way. Here are the pros and cons of each and how to cook it.

Cutting Up Spaghetti Squash
Advantages to cutting the spaghetti squash up before cooking: It cooks faster.
Disadvantages: Like any winter squash, hacking it up takes muscle and a sharp knife or cleaver. It's also a bit more work to scrape out the seeds and pulp when they are raw.
Cooking:

1. Just get in there and cut it in half (lengthwise) or quarters. You don't want to cut it up too small unless you want short strands.
2. Scrape out the seeds and pulp as you would with any squash or pumpkin.
3. Rub the inside of the Squash with oil. Also sprinkle with some pepper and salt.
4. Bake: rind side up, about 30 to 40 minutes at 375 F. Microwave: rind side up, 6 to 8 minutes (let stand for a few minutes afterwards). Boil: 20 minutes or so.
5. Separate strands by running a fork through in the "from stem to stern" direction.

Cooking Spaghetti Squash Whole
Advantages to cooking the squash whole: It's easier.
Disadvantages: It takes longer to cook, and you need to watch out for burns when removing the pulp and seeds.
Cooking:

1. Pierce the squash several times with a sharp knife. (Do this especially if you're microwaving it, or you may end up with a "Squash Explosion.")
2. Bake: about an hour in the oven at 375 F. Microwave: 10 to 12 minutes, then let stand for 5 minutes or so afterwards to finish steaming. Boil: for half an hour or so. Slow Cooker/Crock Pot: Put it in with a cup of water and let it go on low all day (8 to 10 hours).
3. When done, cut open "at the equator", remove seeds and pulp (You can use tongs and an oven mitt -- it is HOT)
4. Separate strands with a fork.

Another cool tip: Any squash seeds can be roasted just like pumpkin seeds! They are low-carb, nutritious, and delicious: How To Roast Pumpkin or Squash Seeds I love roasted pumpkin seeds!

Here's the squash I used to make spaghetti! I was amazed at how the squash's insides turned into strings like spaghetti! It was really easy to make. One half of the squash filled one of my bowls. Luke had a bowl and so did I.


We put spaghetti sauce and cheese on the squash.


I have to admit this was not one of my favorite receipts. Luke did not like it either, he ate it all but you could tell by his face he wasn't impressed. It was pretty cool that this squash looked like spaghetti but it didn't taste that great. I think it was too crunchy and I don't like squash.

Good luck if you're trying this receipt. I'm sure someone will like it!

Crock pot Shepherd's Pie

Crock pot Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:
3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
2 cloves of garlic
2 cup frozen veggies
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup water 2 cups shredded cheese

Directions:
Brown Meat & onion on stove, drain fat. Toss meat with the spices and garlic.

Spray the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray. Put the meat in the crock pot and stir in the veggies and a cup of water. Add two cups of cheese on top. Press the mashed potatoes down on top of the cheese and meat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for about 3 hours, then remove the lid and cook on high for 30 minutes to release condensation and allow the potatoes to brown a bit on top.

I've made this once because I had some left over potatoes. It was pretty good but I think I just had some broccoli and it really needed to be mixed veggies.

The Best Jam On Earth!!!!!!!

Raspberry Jam

Ingredients:
3 cups Mashed Raspberries
5 1/4 cup Sugar

(Mix this together then set aside)

3/4 cup water
Package of Pectin
Boil 1 minute stir into Raspberry mix.

Pour into jars. You can freeze this jam also.

I love this jam! It's ruined me, I can't eat store bought jam! Yuck! My mom makes this jam EVERY fall after the "harvest" of the raspberries!

Ham and Cheese Chicken Rolls

Ham and Cheese Chicken Rolls

(This is pretty much like Chicken Cordon Bleu)



Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 thin slices of Swiss cheese

2 thin slices of porsciutto or ham

1 teaspoon paprika

6 T bread crumbs

2 T grated parmesan cheese

1/4 t garlic salt

1/2 t dried oregano

1/2 t dried basil

3 T melted butter



Directions:

Pound each chicken breast to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut cheese and prosciutto slices into halves. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Layer cheese and prosciutto on chicken; roll to enclose filling and secure with toothpicks or kitchen twine. Mix paprika, bread crumbs, parmesan, garlic salt, oregano and basil in a shallow dish. Dip chicken rolls in butter, roll in crumb mixture to coat. Place rolls seam sides down in a baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and golden brown.

I have found it takes more the 25 minutes but i'm a freak when it comes to cooking meat! It can't be raw! I really like this recipe it's really not too hard to make Luke usually pounds the chicken for me the night before I make it. And he usually makes the bread crumb mix too. We kind of make that up as we go too...

Ham & Cheese Brunch Squares

Ham & Cheese Brunch Squares

Ingredients:
2 cups (8 oz) grated Colby & Monterrey Jack cheese blend,
1 pkg (22.5 oz) frozen toaster hash brown patties, thawed (10 patties)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
12 eggs
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
8 oz thickly sliced deli ham
4-5 green onions with tops, divided (about 1 cup sliced)
3 plum tomatoes
Additional coarsely ground black pepper (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly brush Large Bar Pan with vegetable oil. Crumble hash browns over bar pan; press gently into an even layer. Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over hash browns. Bake 13-15 minutes or until crust starts to brown and cheese is melted.

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk cream cheese until smooth using a whisk. Gradually add eggs and black pepper; whisk until smooth. On a cutting board, coarsely chop ham. Slice green onions, reserving 1/4 cup of the tops for garnish. Place ham and remaining green onions into (8-in.) a sauté pan; cook and stir over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until hot. Stir ham mixture into egg mixture.

3. Remove bar pan from oven. Pour egg mixture over crust. Return bar pan to oven; bake 6-8 minutes or until center is set. Meanwhile, slice tomatoes in half lengthwise; scrape out seeds and dice. Remove bar pan from oven; top with remaining cheese, tomatoes and reserved green onions. Sprinkle with additional black pepper, if desired. Cut into squares and serve.

This is a Pampered Chef recipe that Diane Nichols showed me. It's really yummy and I love using my Large Stone Pan! Anyway, I've done this recipe without cream cheese, I didn't notice a difference. I also cut the egg count down to 10. For my family I did one half with ham and a half without it was really yummy! Mom thinks it tastes like funeral potatoes with ham!

Peach Crisp

Peach Crisp

4 - 5 cups of fresh or canned peaches
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 -3 Tblsps. sugar

3 Tblsps. Flour

1 cup flour

1 cup oats

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup cold butter (I have only added a half cup of butter and it tastes just fine!)

Instructions:
Slice peaches into a 9x13 pan. In a small bowl mix 3 Tblsps. flour, 2-3 Tblsps. sugar, 1/2 tsp.cinnamon. Pour this into the pan of peaches and mix.

Next, in a large bowl mix the 1 cup of flour, oats and brown sugar.

Then, slice cold butter into bowl and cut in with a fork. Trying not to get the butter too warm as that will make more of a dough. We want it to crumble.

Spread over the peaches.

Place in oven uncovered for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Or until golden brown.

Cool for 30 minutes. If you can... sometimes it disappears before 30 minutes.

Luke and Sharol LOVE this recipe! It's really yummy! Don't use margarine, it tastes funny. I've doubled the peaches (not the crumble) and that tastes really good. Luke made it with pears a few weeks ago... it was ok but not as good as the peaches! I'm going to tons of peaches this fall and can them! Anyone up for an evening or two of canning?? I'll post a picture the next time I make it.

All about Camille!

I am 23 years old right now. I was married to my knight, Luke, Dec of 2007. I'm so in love with him! I love to read and could spend hours in my own little world reading a book! Luke loves baseball! He loves playing baseball, talking about baseball, watching baseball and of course coaching baseball. In the four apartments we have had since getting married at least one part of the house has been decorated in his baseball stuff. The first one was the bathroom (It looked pretty cool!), the second was our hall "of fame", the third was our bedroom (we weren't there long tho.) and the fourth and final is the spare room and another bathroom.

I love to sew but just start to get into it. The first quilt I sewed was my wedding quilt, it got me hooked. I've always wanted to sew my own clothes but when ever I go to my grandma's for help she ends up taking it over. :-) I'm going to make a dress tho. I sewed 4 aprons this last Christmas for Luke's family.

I've really enjoyed cooking new recipes. It's fun to find some thing that looks good and find out that it is really good! Whenever Luke and I invite some one over I end up cooking a new recipe that I haven't tried before! It's a rush trying to make sure it turns out well! So far I'm 4 for 4!! Woo hoo!

I need to confess a few things, I have road rage and I get very upset at sporting events. I'm sure you will here plenty of it. I know I make a fool of myself but seriously stupid people make me so mad!

Well please enjoy reading this blog! Hopefully you can gain new things from my blog! Drop me a line and tell me hi!

Thanks!