"Spring" Garden Sign

I consider myself a bit of a crafter, and I am always making silly things to hang around the house. Last year I made a "Happy Harvest" sign for my front porch that Craig loved, so I decided to make a Spring sign for this lovely season =] Below is the tutorial.






Happy Spring!
Let's get started, shall we?!




First, I found a small piece of wood. Craig has a ton of scraps laying around so I just help myself to them =]

I sanded the edges and rounded the corners with a piece of sandpaper because I am a splinter-magnet. Then I chose my bottom color (which will be the color of the letters) and just put one coat on the wood. For this color I chose "appletini" by Behr.

Next, I layed down some vinyl letters to spell out my word. I put them in a stair-step type pattern (which isn't shown in this picture, because I changed it right after!) but you can do it however you want it! I just get my letters at the dollar store, but you can order all sorts off different fonts and what not online, just do a quick Google search!

Then I painted over the vinyl letters with my top coat. I chose "Lavender Romance" by Behr (their samples are only about $4 at any of your local hardware stores!)

 

After that, I outlined the letters with a Tiffany Blue from my crafters paintset I got last year.

Now you can paint your little designs, flowers, vines, whatever on your sign while the outline dries!

When you are done, peel off your vinyl letters!

Now Mod Podge the crapola out of that bad boy so you can display it outside!

Finished product. I still have to go outside and find a stake to nail to it so I can stick it in my wine barrel I use as a planter. You could also use a staple gun and put some wire on the back to hang it outside your door or anywhere else on your house. Super easy! Go have fun =]

7 Days of Pinterest Dinners

Okay, so I have been doing the meal planning thing for about a year now. It's just easier to know exactly what you're going to make and that you have everything you need to make it. Sometimes, however, you will find a recipe that looks AWESOME! Only to find out that it tastes like crap =[

So, I took to Pinterest. Where everybody shares everything with everyone. I clicked on the "Food and Drink" category and the angels descended from heaven with a choir singing hymns of recipe utopia. There were soooo many delicious recipes with pictures I was instantly pinning everything. So I made up a list of seven things that their respective pinners had said "best ever!" "never making a different recipe again!" "Oh my gosh it was soooo delicious!"

So here is my list of seven Pinterest recipes and my reviews =]


MONDAY:

Honey-Glazed Salmon with Brown Butter Lime Sauce

This recipe was linked to Cooking Classy (Click for the recipe).

This salmon was the most AMAZING fish I have ever had. It reminded me of a honey-baked ham at Christmastime and it was perfectly crunchy on the outside, and moist on the inside. Craig loved this recipe, and I even got Jacob to try it....Jacob, who wont eat any meat other than chicken nuggets. All in all it was VERY easy to make, not time consuming at all, little to no mess, and a crowd pleaser =] I will recommend this recipe to everyone, andddd I got my salmon fillets on sale at Wally World for like 4 bucks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TUESDAY

 

Crock Pot Ribs

 

 

Okay, this recipe was the best ribs I have ever had. I didn't buy enough to satisy all of our hunger though, as all of us wanted seconds and thirds! I highly, highly recommend trying this out...so here is the recipe, it is located at garnishwithlemon.com....just click on the link and it will take you directly to it!

 

 

 

Wednesday

 

Smothered chicken with creamed spinach sauce and mushrooms.

 

What can I say other than "Yum YUM OH MY GOSH YUM!!!" ??

Craig said "I would pay a lot of money to eat this at a nice resturaunt!" It was seriously so perfectly delicious I was eating it super slow just to savor the moment that I had cooked such a fabulous meal! The spinach sauce suprisingly doesn't take very long to make at ALL and it was so moist and lovely =] Here is the recipe, <<----click here and it will take you right to Cooking Recipe Central!

 

Thursday

 

Oven Baked Fajitas

 

So this was supposed to be oven-baked fajita night, but my other (goofier) half decided to use the dinner ingredients to whip him up a first class lunch! I get out of the shower and he asks me if I want a "burrito thingy"...........

"What did you make the 'burrito thingy' out of?"

"Oh just all the crap I found in the fridge and stuff"

*FACEPALM*

 

Long story short, we didn't get to try the fajitas "oven baked" style, but we did get to eat them for lunch AND dinner....

oh and Craig felt really bad, poor guy!

 

 

 

Friday

 

Oven-Baked Tacos

 

Oven-baked tacos ended up being a taco salad tonight! The idea is great, and although the lady who created this recipe says hers didn't fall apart, almost all the comments say their's did, lol. I even let the meat cook all the way down the way she suggested. While putting the shells in the baking dish and filling them with meat, it was a little like playing Jenga....one fell over and the entire stack went ha. They were delicious!! Don't get me wrong.....but next time I am just doing regular tacos ;)

 

Here is the Recipe!! 

 

 

 

 

 Saturday

 

Creamy Chicken and Tomato Soup

 

This was pretty good, but I think if I ever make it again I will change a couple of things.

For one, it calls for coconut milk. I didn't really care for it that much but Craig did.....I think next time I will just use sweetened condensed milk. The next thing is her recipe says one jar of your favorite tomato sauce, so I bought tomato sauce. After reading the comments under her recipe it was unanymous that she probably ment marinara sauce, like the kind you use for spaghetti. Her picture looks more "tomato-ey" than mine did, so I am assuming that it ment marinara. Overall it was a very good soup! I pre-cooked my chicken breasts because I'm weird about meat lol. Anyway, try it!

 

You can find the recipe HERE!

 

 

 

 

Sunday

 

Asparagus and Chicken Noodle Casserole

 

This was a VERY good casserole! I always find myself buying those boxed "Homestyle Bakes" because it's convenient when you are jammed for time, this was like a Homestyle Bake, but like a million trillion times better!! Watch his video that instructs you on the recipe, and you will feel like a chef ;)

 

Recipe is right Hurr!!

 

 

 



 

 

 

So that concludes my seven days of Pinterest challenge! It was really really fun, I suggest you try it....you can never learn too much about cooking, and it's always nice to step outside the boring day to day dinner box.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sock Monkey Tutorial!

Summer Camping Trip With Sock

My dad got my three year old Jaxxon a sock monkey for Christmas when he was a baby. We all thought it was a hilarious gift, but oddly enough that was the only thing he wanted to play with. To this day he still drags it around everywhere with him, and if we forget it at home he throws a royal fit. His name is "Sock" (go figure), and he even has a theme song "I am a sock monkey, I am a sock monkey, I like to swing all day, and eat off all the plates!" At least that's what I translated from three year old gibberish. Jaxxon hates it when we throw Sock in the washer, but he often needs it. Last year he got a tear on his eye and Jaxxon told us it was because Sock was swinging in the trees and eating banana pies.

                                                            Hunting Trip With Sock Monkey

Sock is such a big part of Jaxxon's life, and I wanted to buy Riley a monkey too since my parents bought one for my 6 year old Jacob last year. I had a hard time finding any cute girly monkeys, but then I found this tutorial! It is soo cute, and looks super easy. I'm no whiz with the sewing machine, I consider myself a novice at best, but I am going to give this a shot. Let me know if you try it and how it works out for you! You can find the tutorial at Craft Passion HERE. Happy Sewing!

Living With Hypoglycemia, Signs You May Have It!

               

Okay everyone! I wanted to bring some awareness to something that I live with everyday, and that is called : HYPOGLYCEMIA! Yikes, sounds scary doesn't it? Truth is, it can be very scary if not managed properly.

I first found out I had hypoglycemia when I was 5 months pregnant with my son Jacob. We were at the senior prom with a bunch of friends and I started feeling really sick, and my chest got very tight like my ribs wouldn't expand for my lungs to breathe.  I turned to my date and told him I needed to use the restroom and could he please take me. All I remember was my vision going completely black, and then waking up then the paramedics were putting an oxygen mask on me. I found out later that my blood sugar was dangerously low and I was diagnosed with borderline severe hypoglycemia. I remember that about 7 months prior I was at the bank with my friends and we went outside after I withdrew some money from my account, I went to get into the car and suddenly everything went black. Thankfully I had my friends there for me when I woke up, although I was very scared and cried a LOT! Thankfully, I haven't had any fainting episodes, although I have gotten pretty close more than a couple times.

So what is Hypoglycemia? From the Mayo Clinic:

"Hypoglycemia is a condition characterized by an abnormally low level of blood sugar (glucose), your body's main energy source.
Hypoglycemia is commonly associated with the treatment of diabetes. However, a variety of conditions, many of them rare, can cause low blood sugar in people without diabetes. Like fever, hypoglycemia isn't a disease itself — it's an indicator of a health problem. "

Treatment of Hypoglycemia:

"Immediate treatment of hypoglycemia involves quick steps to get your blood sugar level back into a normal range — about 70 to 100 milligrams per deciliter or mg/dL (3.9 to 5.6 millimoles per liter or mmol/L) — either with high-sugar foods or medications. Long-term treatment requires identifying and treating the underlying cause of hypoglycemia"

For me, I use glucose tablets that can be bought at your local pharmacy for about a dollar if you want a small tube, and it goes up from there. When I start feeling my blood sugar getting low, I take one and within a couple minutes are start to feel okay again. So what are the symptoms?

Confusion, abnormal behavior or both, such as the inability to complete routine tasks

Visual disturbances, such as double vision and blurred vision

Seizures, though uncommon

Loss of consciousness, though uncommon

Hypoglycemia may also cause these other signs and symptoms:

• Heart palpitations
• Shakiness
• Anxiety
• Sweating
• Hunger
• Tingling sensation around the mouth

I think this picture is a really good reference for Hypoglycemic symptoms to use!

When to see a doctor Seek a doctor's help immediately if:

• You have what appears to be symptoms of hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia, if confirmed, can be an indication of any number of illnesses, all of which can be serious.
• You have diabetes and early signs of hypoglycemia don't improve with eating or taking glucose tablets.
• Seek emergency help if someone you know who has diabetes or a history of recurring hypoglycemia loses consciousness

A simple blood test can tell if you are in fact Hypoglycemic. It's kind of crappy to have to worry about it throughout the day, especially if you are at the park with your kids and you feel a sudden onset. That alone can rock you with anxiety and suddenly you're like "Come on kids! Mommy needs a milkshake!!"

I think it's important to bring awareness to certain illnesses and diseases as some can go undiagnosed for quite some time like mine did. Thoughts? Anyone with Hypoglycemia wish to share their story, or tips on how to keep it under control?

Increase Your Spending Power At The Grocery Store!!

I think a really important part of having a family is making sure you stay within budget. It can be hard to go grocery shopping, especially with the outrageous prices these days. I have devised a plan to help manage grocery expenses, although I'm not claiming it to save you thousands of dollars it sure does help! I never really got into the whole coupon craze thing, mostly because I just don't have time to sit down and calculate everything and I don't want to anger the people behind me in the checkout line! I found an amazing website with free printable work sheets that I use to figure out what meals we're making, what ingredients we need, and how much it will cost (approximately).

In fact, this is just one miniscule thing I use from this amazing blog Organized Home!! Cynthia Ewer, the creator of this website has so many incredible ways to stay organized and keep your head above water. You can find the free printables for her Household Notebook , which I STRONGLY suggest constructing -HERE !! (Did I mention it's FREE?!)


First I plan out a menu for dinner for the entire week:

Then I write every ingredient onto my "Pantry Inventory " sheet. I go through my pantry and everything that is red is something that I need to buy in order to have all my ingredients for the weeks dinner menu.

Last I write everything marked red onto my "Price Book" sheet. I go online to the weekly ads for the grocery store I shop at and look up to see if anything is on sale that is on my price sheet. I write down the price of each item onto my sheet so that I know how much my shopping trip is going to cost me. This keeps me from buying an item that might cost more than the sale item. For example Miracle Whip might cost $4.00, but the Safeway brand only costs $2.49. Instead of wasting time looking for the cheapest one, I already know and it saves me that extra couple minutes comparing (which can be priceless when you are toting around a baby and a toddler!)

You can see that I estimated my shopping trip to only cost me around $50 for a weeks worth of meals because I didn't buy things that I already have. It's important to take inventory of your food supply so that you don't find yourself guessing while your at the store which ultimately ends up costing you an unneccessary expense!


Overall it only takes me about an hour to decide what dinners we will be having that week, and categorizing everything to maximize my spending power! This might not work for everyone, but it works for me. As far as other meals go, I purchase store brand cereal, fruit, and bagels for breakfast, and bread with lunch meats and different cheeses for lunch. I try to stay away from lunchables and ramen noodles because processed foods are so bad for you! Give this a shot and see if it works...I think it saves a lot of time, money, and hassle at the store!

About Me!

                                                               About Me

I am a 24 year old stay at home mom (SAHM) with three kiddos: Jacob 6, Jaxxon 3, and Riley 9 Months. I am currently a Criminal Justice major at Colorado State University where I am earning my Bachelors in Criminal Justice with minors in Political Science and Chicano Studies. My other-half is a police officer and much of my life revolves around his schedule, together we make it work through selflessness and love!  I am creating this blog in hopes that I can contribute a small bit to other SAHM's who sometimes feel overwhelmed or sometimes a little crazy by offering my advice, crafts, activities, recipes, you name it! I have no experience doing this sort of thing and I often never follow rules....I'm the queen of improvisation! If I can make an impact on one person's life than I have fulfilled my life goal. This is just me- Proud American, Police Wife,  and all  I know is  what I know! Thank you for visiting!

-Sel