I'm Back!!!!! 6/16/11

For the past week I have had No T.V., No Phone and are you ready for this No...I.N.T.E.R.N.E.T!!!! It has been a nightmare! I just don't know how we have all survived without it!

Do you remember the times when the Library was all we had to get the information we wanted? Now we just Google it!
I use to be a Travel Agent, do those even exist anymore? Now we have Travelocity and Cheap Tickets.com!
How about taking the time to write a letter to a loved one, now we just text them and if they are lucky maybe they will get an e-mail from us!
I love reading and picking up a good book is always in order, but wait...there is Kindle :0)


With all this said, I love all that we have available to us and all the advances in technology, but when is all said and done...we always go back to what is tried and true. It won't let us down and it doesn't need fixing!

One great thing about this technology? Being able to share my life with all of you :0)

Recipe Wednesdays Trudy Soup 6/15/11

I know it's late Wednesday, but it's still Wednesday in California and it counts! hahaha :) I have had one of those bad days where everything hurts and my skin burns as though I've been out in the sun all day. The problem is I haven't been out in the sun, I'm just having one of those Fibromyalgia days :0)

When I went to visit my friend Trudy that lives in Wichita, KS three years ago for Christmas she served us one of the best soups my family has had! It is so simple to make and it is wonderful anytime of the year...at least that's what my family says :0) I think they say this just so I won't complain making it in the heat of the California Summer!

The Original name of this soup is Chicken Noodle & Wild Rice, but my family dearly calls it "The Trudy Soup!"

The Trudy Soup

10 Cups of Water

1/2 Cup of chopped Onion

1 (12 oz) pk Reames Home Style Frozen Egg Noodles

1 (6.2 oz) box of 5 Minute long Grain & Wild Rice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

1/4 teaspoon of poultry seasoning

2 cups of half and half at Room temperature!

1 1/2 pounds of boneless/skinless chicken (will make about 3 -4 cups of cooked chicken)

Green Beans (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

In a large Pot pour the water and add the chicken to cook. Once the chicken is cooked you can take it out of the pot and cut into small pieces. I have this real neat tool from Pampered Chef "the Salad Choppers" they are for cutting lettuce, onions, fruit, chicken, etc. I don't have to take out the chicken from the pot, I chop it directly inside the pot with the chicken broth. 

Once you have chopped your chicken, Add the chopped onions, the package of Reames Home Style Frozen Egg Noodles, the box of long grain wild rice with the seasoning mix. Add the salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Stir often until rice and noodles are tender. Approx. 22-25 minuntes.  

this is how your chicken should look like

You will find in the Freezer sectiction

Once all the ingredients are done, add more salt and poultry seasoning to TASTE! Now you will add the Room temperature Half and Half little by little. It is very important to do this slowly! If done all at once the half and half starts to coagulate and that's not what we want. 

This is the end result of the Trudy soup! I steam the Green beans and serve it with the Green beans on the bottom of the soup. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think :)

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Crazy about Pinterest! 6/14/11

Two weeks ago I was reading a blog and that is where I first heard about Pinterest. This is the most amazing discovery for those of us that like to organize and share with everyone what we find on the web.
What is Pinterest? It is a Virtual Pinboard.  This is what Pinterest has to say: People are using pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favarite recipes.
Enough of me telling you about this great place, let me show you some of the goodies I have found!

Heart of Wisdom blog is the creator 

http://heartofwisdom.com/scrapbook/5-steps-to-turn-a-lapbook-into-a-scrap-lapbook

U Create is the creator

http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2010/08/create-with-me-table-runner-gallery.html

Omnomicon is the creator

http://omnomicon.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-make-rainbow-cake.html

Let me know if you would like to join! It takes a while to get an invitation unless someone invites you. You can leave me a message with your e-mail or send me a private e-mail. I will make sure you get the invitation to join. Once you are in, don't forget to follow me :)

The Best Blogs I've read this Week...6/11/11

Today I am starting with a blog that is very informative yet very personal. When I first heard the words Fibromyalgia I took it like another wrong diagnosis. I was not going to start researching what this was, until it was confirmed that this was in fact what I had! On March 3rd. 2010 I was sick with a cold and had just finished eating. I remember standing in front of the refrigerator door and feeling as though I would pass out. I sat down at the dinning room table and started to feel like my sugar was dropping fast! I told my 16yr. old how I was feeling and she tried to get me something to drink as this was happening my body started to shake un-controlably and I passed out. My daughter tells me that I continued to shake and scream as I was unconscious. I was taken to the hospital and all the normal test done and was sent home with no answers. After this episode I was not the same. I couldn't put words together to form my thoughts. I started to stutter, and my hands and legs would shake and at times I could barely walk because of my body aches. I went from doctor to doctor and no one had answers for me. I went to a Natural doctor that told me that my Adrenal glands were not working correctly just by looking at me and not doing any test! I believed him and started to take supplements that made me feel better for a while but that were killing us financially! When I tried talking to the doctor about it, he answered by saying, he was the only one that had been able to diagnose me with my problem and if I needed to sell my car to be able to buy the supplements he was giving me then I should do it! He had ordered this saliva test to confirm this "Adrenal gland" problem I had and he never gave me the results. When I called his office to ask for the results, I was told I had to pay for a phone consultation. I never went back... My health problems continued and I got worse. The symptoms changed and I started to have these "episodes" where I would have so much pain that my muscles would tense up so much and then all of a sudden just give out and start shaking out of control! At first the doctor's thought I was having a seizure. After doing all the test they ruled it out. I had so many other symptoms that I was left either to think I was a crazy woman in need of a Psychiatrist or to stay as I was, not knowing what I had.

As all this was happening I had mentioned to my Neurologist that I couldn't handle the body aches I was having and she referred me to a  rheumatologist. He heard my symptoms and assumed I had epilepsy, but that I also had Fibromyalgia.  He told me there was not test to diagnose it and it was going to be a process of elimination. We went through all of the test one by one and it was confirmed. As Fibromyalgia was being confirmed Epilepsy was being ruled out! Over a year of being house bound, in pain, cables connected to my head and other parts of my body, over 25 pills a day for something I didn't have,  I had the answer...I had fibromyalgia. 

The Chronicles of Fibromyalgia, chronicles the daily struggles we have. The ups and downs that people don't understand and how we feel about it. If you know anyone with Fibromyalgia, this is a very helpful blog. It doesn't have all the answers, but it does give you a glimpse to our daily lives. "The Drugs are Making Me Fat" is just one of the many things we struggle with.

If you have been reading my blog you know I love organization and lists and all that comes along those lines. Well, have I got a treat for you!!!!! I have found an awesome blog! This lady has blessed my life this week. Her name is Hallee and she loves what she does and has it all laid out for us. We all have our way of doing things and I am one of those that likes to try new ways to motivate myself and my family. Hallee has motivated me and I love reading her blog!  When you visit her blog you will find, recipes, charts, prayer request, their diet, etc.

Hallee the Homemaker will teach you how to cook "Food fast without Fast food".  

Summer is here and Yard Sales are everywhere, but do you know how to plan for a Yard Sale?  

Organize Your Stuff Now, will take your hand and step by step will tell you what you should do if you plan to have a successful Yard Sale with their Yard Sale 101!

I love it when I go to a special ladies party and they set up their table all pretty, I feel special, don't you? I always leave feeling like I want to do the same, but knowing I probably can't because it is probably too expensive!

The Thrifty Groove is just the blog for me and you! They have started a Thrifty Tablescape Party and it makes it possible for me and anyone else to set up a table at a very affordable way!

Since I've been home so much (because of my Fibromyalgia)  I have started to work on my back yard. My husband has always said, that if there was a way for me to kill plastic plants...I would do it! It's true. I do have to admit that I have found an interest in plants lately and I have found a blog that is helping me :)

Tootsie Time is the name and this Flower Tower is a great starter for me. I will let you know if I kill it or keep it!

I hope you enjoyed my finds and let me know if you have anything you want to show off!

Till next time!

The Best Blogs I've read this Week...6/10/11

I Can't wait to share with you the Best Blogs I've found this week! One is full of Thrifty finds, another full of plant ideas, in another I found how to  organize just about anything, there's this other one that has inspired me to be a better wife, mother, woman, etc. and the last one is very close to my heart because of an issue I am dealing with right now!


I can't wait to share with you which blogs and posts I just loved this week! See you tomorrow :)

A Story to tell from...The Bathing Suit 6/9/11

A received an e-mail this morning from a dear lady. She had received it from a friend and I am guessing her friend had received from another friend and so on...

When I read it I, thought I had written it myself! I knew I had to share it with all of you so, Here it is:)

The Bathing Suit (by a middle-age woman unknown)  When I was a child in the 1950s, the bathing suit for the mature figure was-boned, trussed and reinforced, not so much sewn as engineered.  They were built to hold back and uplift, and they did a good job.  Today's stretch fabrics are designed for the prepubescent girl with a figure carved from a potato chip.  The mature woman has a choice, she can either go up front to the maternity department and try on a floral suit with a skirt, coming away looking like a hippopotamus that escaped from Disney's Fantasia, or she can wander around every run-of-the-mill department store trying to make a sensible choice from what amounts to a designer range of fluorescent rubber bands.  What choice did I have? I wandered around, made my sensible choice and entered the chamber of horrors known as the fitting room. The first thing I noticed was the extraordinary tensile strength of the stretch material.  The Lycra used in bathing costumes was developed, I believe, by NASA to launch small rockets from a slingshot, which gives the added bonus that if you manage to actually lever yourself into one, you would be protected from shark attacks.  Any shark taking a swipe at your passing midriff would immediately suffer whiplash. I fought my way into the bathing suit, but as I twanged the shoulder strap in place I gasped in horror, my boobs had disappeared!  Eventually, I found one boob cowering under my left armpit. It took a while to find the other. At last I located it flattened beside my seventh rib. The problem is that modern bathing suits have no bra cups. The mature woman is meant to wear her boobs spread across her chest like a speed bump.  I realigned my speed bump and lurched toward the mirror to take a full view assessment. The bathing suit fitted all right, but unfortunately it only fitted those bits of me willing to stay inside it. The rest of me oozed out rebelliously from top, bottom and sides. I looked like a lump of Playdoh wearing undersized cling wrap.  As I tried to work out where all those extra bits had come from, the prepubescent sales girl popped her head through the curtain, "Oh, there you are," she said, admiring the bathing suit.  I replied that I wasn't so sure and asked what else she had to show me. I tried on a cream crinkled one that made me look like a lump of masking tape, and a floral two-piece that gave the appearance of an oversized napkin in a serving ring. I struggled into a pair of leopard-skin bathers with ragged frills and came out looking like Tarzan's Jane,pregnant with triplets and having a rough day.  I tried on a black number with a midriff and looked like a jellyfish in mourning.  I tried on a bright pink pair with such a high cut leg I thought I would have to wax my eyebrows to wear them.  Finally, I found a suit that fitted, it was a two-piece affair with a shorts-style bottom and a loose blouse-type top. It was cheap, comfortable, and bulge-friendly, so I bought it.  My ridiculous search had a successful outcome, I figured. When I got it home, I found a label that read, "Material might become transparent in water."  So, if you happen to be on the beach or near any other body of water this year and I'm there too, I'll be the one in cut-off jeans and a T-shirt!  I Can't wait to read your comments on this one! I haven't been able to stop laughing!

Homemade Diaper/Face/Bug/Bathroom & Window WIPES!!!6/7/11

How many of us pay the high price of easy clean up and hate every penny of it! I know I do, so when my friend Kathy told me she had some recipes to share with me I jumped on the wagon! I am one of those that tells my husband, "If it's going to make my clean-up easier, I'll pay the price for it!" Well I will but, if I can make them and save money even better!

First let me give you some basic tips that I am using at this moment around my home. My Lilly is sick (that's my 16 yr. old) and the only way I can keep my family and myself from not catching the bug that has her down real good (as I tell her) is by using this homemade solution:

You can re-use an old spray bottle that you have washed and cleaned
2 TBS of bleach
1 Quart of cool water
Cleaning rag
Mix well and pour into bottle. The diluted bleach loses strength within a day, so make it fresh when you need it.

Now I am ready with my rag and solution on hand to wipe all of my door knobs, toilet seats, spray utensils (if they are not going into the dishwasher, which they should) remote controls, game controls, etc. Anything she may possibly come in contact with will be wiped with this solution.
Yes we may still get sick, but this works almost every time with us. I have Fybromyalgia and I can't get sick, it's just not a good thing for me! We all try as much as we can to keep bugs away from me, this has worked, try it!

Before I give you the recipes I must give you the 411 of Clean vs Disinfected. Many times we walk into a home and everything looks nice and "clean". To clean means to remove dirt from the surface and floors such as crumbs and food etc. But do we ever stop to think "I wonder if this house is "disinfected?" NO! Of course we don't (at least I don't!) Disinfected means to remove microorganisms (germs) in other words, viruses and bacteria to a safe level. It also means to sanitize to help prevent disease transmission. If a home is not properly sanitized and cleaned it may be the reason why some of our kids end up sick after we visit with some friends that have the perfect "clean" house.
Don't you find yourself saying, "I just don't know how Tommy got sick? The only place we went this weekend was with the Johnson's. They have such a clean home! Yes, I know little Mikey was sick last week, but he was over his cold. Mary said it was perfectly safe to come over their home."

According to the Federal Center for Disease Control, viruses and bacteria can last as long as 7 days. It's important to clean and disinfect  A WEEK AFTER onset even if symptoms are lessen.

Did you know that a sanitizer must be capable of killing 99.999% of a specific bacterial test population and to do so within 30 seconds?!

Let's look at the best ways to disinfect your home:

1. BLEACH this is the most effective and cheapest way to sanitize your home. My friend Trudy from Kansas has 7 kiddos and the only way she knows how to prevent from all of them getting sick at once is cleaning her home and toys with a spray bottle with water and bleach.
2. LYSOL laboratory tests have shown that  many lysol products, when used according to label instructions are effective against similar strains of Influenza virus H1N1. 

Now to the recipes you've been waiting for!

DIAPER WIPES
2 TBS Baby OIL
2 TBS Baby Bath
2 1/4 Cups Hot Water (Use Filtered or Distilled Water)

FACE/HAND WIPES
2 TBS Baby Bath
2 Cups Hot Water

BUG WIPES
1 Cup Avon Skin-So-Soft
1 Cup Hot Water

BATHROOM WIPES/CLEANING WIPES
1 Cup Pine Cleaner(I will use LYSOL)
1 Cup Hot Water


WINDOW CLEANER
1 1/2 Cups Glass Cleaner
1/2 Cup Water

INSTRUCTIONS:
Cut a roll of Bounty paper towels or the Costco brand in half. Gently remove the cardboard tube from the middle and place 1/2 of the roll end up in a container with a lid. Heat the water, then add the appropriate ingredients and mix well. Slowly pour the liquid over the paper towels in the container. Let sit overnight and then they are ready to use. You will pull out the first wipe from the center of the tube and tear off at the perforation. I like the Costco brand because they have the select a size and I get more for my bucks! I will also be using an old Lysol wipes container I saved and put the paper towels in there.

TIPS:
Use Bounty paper towels if possible. Look for when they go on sale and stock up. They are much stronger and you can "trust" them to hold up on those messy diapers. :) I've been told that the Costco brand is just as good :) You decide!


Use a sharp knife or electric knife to cut the paper towels, whichever is easier. It tends to be a little tricky cutting them in half. Use a straight edge knife! You don't want a serrated knife and rip up the edges more than they will be already. While you are cutting, cut quite a few rolls so you have several on hand when you need to make more wipes they are ready to go!

To make Baby wipes tranportable, use one of the travel containers you get with the store-bought wipes. Tear one wipe at a time, fold in in 4ths and put it in the container (as many as will fit into the container) to be put in the diaper bag. Sometimes the wipes can be extra moist, causing some liquid to leak from the container. Put the wipes in a ziplock bag first.
Note: On the Baby wipes, I would use the Select a Size fold and put on a Ziplock bag. Much easier than what is telling us here. :)


These hints come from Sheri Graham at Graham Family Ministries given to me by my friend Kathy Fanning.


Now a household Tip from my friend Paula Smith:
Household Tip: Did you know if you have a Vinyl Shower liner, you can throw it in the washing machine with a few towels and it will come out brand new? So when you start to see build up of soap scum and mildew just throw it in your washing machine with a few towels and you have a new liner! It's nice not having to keep replacing them :)


Do you have any household Tips you want to share with us? Please feel free to do so in our Comments area...We all learn from each other :)


Here are some photos for ideas of containers for your homemade recipes...enjoy!

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Put Off Procrastination and Stop saying "I'll do it tomorrow..."6/6/11

In early 1991 in San Francisco, the National Procrastination Club was scheduled to meet, but the meeting was canceled because they weren't able to plan it! Hahahaha! When I read this I couldn't stop laughing. Does it sound familiar? It does to me, like 14 years back to be exact. I was known to procrastinate on everything and anything! When we first started to home school our kids, my husband was not sure if he wanted to trust our kids education to me because of this same reason...and I don't blame him! Looking back, home schooling really put me on the journey to become a more organized person ( I really had no choice) and I couldn't procrastinate anymore (my kids education depended on it!).

Reading this you may ask yourself... How do I know if I have a Procrastination a problem? This is kind of hard because we measure performance by what we do not by what we don't do. Procrastination has become a problem when we neglect  or delay doing things that are important to us. When we start to put things off, that should be an indicator or red light of a procrastination problem. Let's get into the needy greety of things ok?

• Do you Continuously feel Frustrated under stress? Saying things like "I will get to it tomorrow" or "I will finish it tomorrow" "stop bothering me, can't you see I have to finish this!"etc.

• Do you get bored easily? Yeah, I said bored. This is because you are not using your time constructively!

• Are you tired all the time? You are always on the run working on all the last minute things you left for the last minute! No wonder you're so tired at the end of the day!

Now Let's Get into Action
Being a recovering Procrastinator, I know one thing. That is that we have a difficult time getting in motion, but once we get into motion there's no stopping us! I am going to give you some ideas on how to stay in motion.

• First, stop denying you are a procrastinator (I'm still working on this one with my beloved :0)
• If you know you have a big project coming up, break it down into small tasks. Don't ignore it thinking it will go away! It will still be there the night before the deadline and the stress and pressure of it will be BIGGER!
• When you know you have several unpleasant tasks coming up Eat the Frog first! Do you know what I mean by that? What I mean is, go for the most unpleasant task FIRST! When we do this, the ones that follow won't be as bad because we took care of the worst one first. I always ask myself, "Christina, did you eat your Frog today?" Hahaha! Crazy, I know, but it works!

• Now, think of something you've been wanting to do, but have been putting off. List all the advantages of doing this. Second, list all of the disadvantages of not doing it. Looking at this list you will realize what you have been missing out on because of your procrastination. Do you want to continue missing out on something awesome in your life? Go do it!! Go!

Proverbs 31:15 tells us, we are to be up before dawn to prepare breakfast for our household, and plan our days work for our servants girls. This means we are to be women of ACTION! When we don't use our days productively it is a wasted day, it is gone! Let not procrastination continue to rob us of the precious day God has given us.

Are you a recovering Procrastinator? What can you share with us That can help us? Do tell...

The Best Blogs I've read this Week 6/4/11

Since I started my blog I started to follow others blogs and reading what they post. I love what they write and they inspire me! I check up on different blogs all week long and I find some awesome ones that deserve some extra attention and recognition if I do say so myself! So I started thinking why don't I start sharing with my readers these great blogs? I'm new at this so I don't know exactly how to start the so called "link up party" but I can do something similar. This will eventually become a Blog Hop Link Up Party, but for now I will be visiting blogs and choosing what I think are the best blogs and post for the week. With all this said, today I start a new Weekend series titled: The Best Blogs I've Read this week. 

If you think you have a post worth reading click the Follow Me button and the give me the title of your post and I will read! If I like it, I will feature it the following week. 

What do you think?

Here is what I think is the Best for this week:

A great way to Windproof  Your Quilt for your Picnic

Many ideas and tips on how to use Lavender

I know you will love this Recipe! Beer Can Chicken
You can't have Chicken without Dessert! Strawberry Glaze Pie

Start sending me your ideas...

School is out! Summer is Here...What to do???!!!! 6/2/11

I know I've already heard my daughter ask, "Mom, what are we going to do for our Summer break?" If you are like me, you are planning and counting. Yes, I said counting...the money you don't want to spend on all the activities! I do want to make sure we take full advantage of our California sun as I keep my daughter and my son occupied as we are all having fun!  
I went searching and I found some great things we can all do without spending too much. I hope it helps you and your family!

• Visit a friend that has a pool! Pack your lunch and visit with your friend as the kids have a blast swimming and jumping. No money spent :)

• Go to the Beach! Pack your lunch, beach chairs, sun block, etc. Call a couple of their friends to come along and Whala! You have an outing that they will love every time! I always treat the kids at the end of the day to their favorite snack at the beach. They really look forward to this and they take their time choosing. It doesn't cost much to do this. $

• Head to the Movies for FREE! During the Summer in an effort to bring the families in, many movie theater chains offer Free movies for kids. Check out these theaters and see if there is one in your area. WARNING: Don't buy their snacks!!! This is where they get you!!

Regal Cinemas

• Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program: This program is for elementary aged children. You can pick up a Reading Log at your local Barnes and Noble. Once your child has read enough books to fill out the log, turn in the sheet and your child can pick out a free book!

• Library Summer Reading Program: This is a great way to keep the kids reading during the Summer and a great way to earn prizes! Check with your local Library and see what they have to offer

• Visit a Museum for FREE: I know it doesn't sound like something your kids might want to do, but on those real hot summer days it beats staying in doors doing nothing! Call your local museum, they offer FREE days all the time. You'll be surprised how much you and the kids will enjoy this one!

I'm sure you can think of many more ideas, these are just some to get you started.

Happy Summer!

My Son's Graduation & 19th. Birthday on May 27th. 2011 6/1/11

I'm back! I know I have taken a long break and as you can see I have given my blog a new look! I hope you all like it, I know I do! After my son's graduation and before I have not been feeling well and my right arm has been in a lot of pain preventing me from typing. Tonight I decided to go ahead and type. This pain is not going away so I might as well type away! Hahaha :) Today I'm just sharing our family and friends photos from the graduation. It was such a blessed night. Our family and special friends made our night a very memorable one.  

 Here Andy is having our Traditional breakfast in bed. My daughter made it for him this year since I was not doing well(see the special "Celebrate" plate, she remembered everything! Since we were celebrating both his 19th. birthday and Graduation on the same day, we decided to give him a very nice gift...iPad 2! 

 Here Andy is with his best friend Mark before the graduation

 from left to right...Emily Tucker, my daughter Lilly, Andy and Karli Yokum all his "sisters" as he calls them.

 Me with my son

 My husband with Andy

The most amazing group of young men and young ladies you could meet!

from left to right: Elyse DeFoe, Malena Frymire, Taylor Norris and Andy Herrera

The Class of 2011

I would like to thank Mrs. Carolyn DeFoe and her family for organizing and putting the whole graduation together. She is a wonderful woman and I can't thank her enough! She has been my prayer warrior and loving friend. Thank you to everyone that helped set up and tear down. Your servants heart blessed us all.

The Herrera Family