Morning glory muffins

These are pretty tasty but I will add more honey or a little stevia next time for a little more sweetness.

2 1/2 cups almond flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups grated carrots

1 large apple, peeled, cored and grated

1 cup shredded coconut

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a standard sized muffin pan (12 cups).

Combine almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add carrot, apple, coconut and combine well. 

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, honey, oil and vanilla extract together.

Pour this mixture over your dry ingredients and mix well. This batter will be very thick. 

Spoon into muffin pan and place on middle or upper rack in oven for 40-50 minutes for large muffins, 20-30 minutes for smaller muffins.

When a toothpick inserted in the top of a muffin comes out clean, they are done.

Cool muffins in pan 8-10 minutes and then remove to a rack to finish cooling. 

This recipe is Courtesy of Paleo Comfort Foods
By Julie & Charles Mayfield

Coconut Flour tortillas

These are a little tedious and time consuming so I advise to make them in batches a day or two ahead of time.

1/4 cup coconut flour
 8 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water
~ coconut flour


Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl, making sure no lumps remain. If you want thinner tortillas, add 1-2 teaspoons more water.

Preheat a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place about 1 teaspoon coconut oil in the pan. Swirl around to coat.

Pour about 3 tablespoons of the batter into the pan, tipping the pan from side to side while you pour in the batter (to get a very thin tortilla). Do not attempt to flip the tortilla until you are sure the first side is golden brown. Otherwise, the tortilla will rip.

Once nice and golden brown, flip over and brown on opposite side. Remove to plate, and repeat process (adding in some coconut oil, the batter etc.). You should get about 8-10 medium sized tortillas ( if you make them thick, you will get less).

This recipe is courtesy of Paleo Comfort Foods 
By Julie & Charles Mayfield

Vegetable Beef Soup

1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 zucchini sliced
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup onion chopped
2 cups water
1 1/4 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained
2 tsp salt
5 cups tomato juice
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 14.5 can fire roasted tomatoes, do not drain
1 sprig fresh Rosemary (optional)

Combine vegetables and water in microwave-safe container, cover and microwave on High 8-20 minutes.
Do not drain. Place vegetables in slow cooker.
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours or until vegetables are tender.

Positive Thinking

How to Overcome Negative Thinking and Live with Hope

by Joyce Meyer

Do you have hope for your future? Or do you generally expect negative or disappointing things to happen?

I was taught to be negative when I was growing up. I lived in an abusive atmosphere with negative people, alcoholism, fear, ranting and raving… As a result, I developed an attitude that it was better to expect nothing good than to expect it and be disappointed when it didn’t happen.

I often wondered, What’s going to go wrong next?

It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized I was living with evil forebodings, which created a vague feeling around me all the time that something bad was going to happen.

Then one day, God spoke to my heart about this. He showed me that I was dreading that something bad was going to happen, but He wanted me to expect good things to happen. Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP) tells us that God’s thoughts and plans for us are “for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.”

God wanted me to say, “Something good is going to happen!”

The truth is, God doesn’t work in us through negative attitudes full of self-pity, laziness, passivity or an “everybody owes me” perspective. God works through faith! But before we can have faith, we have to have hope.

I Became a Prisoner of Hope!

Hope is favorable and confident expectation; it’s an expectant attitude that something good is going to happen and things will work out, no matter what situation we’re facing.

Zechariah 9:12 (AMP) says, “Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], you prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore double your former prosperity to you.”

I like the phrase “prisoners of hope.” Think about it… If you’re a prisoner, you have no choice about it – you can’t be negative. And when times are tough or you’re dealing with disappointment, hope will cause you to rise up in faith and say, “God, I praise You and I believe You’re working on this situation and working in me. My faith, trust and hope are in You!”

Hope is determined and doesn’t give up. God wants us to be locked up in hope, trusting that He can change what needs to be changed, that we can do what He wants us to do, and that all things are possible with God. If we will be steadfast in our hope, we can’t lose – we have to be winners in life.

When God called me to ministry, it didn’t happen overnight. There were many years of preparation and building up what is now a worldwide ministry. During those years, I wanted to quit many times. But my testimony is, I’m still here! And if you won’t give up, you’ll have victory too.

Human nature is impatient, selfish and wants things quickly. Why is it that although it takes us years to get into our messes, we expect God to get us out of them in a few days?

In John 16:33, Jesus tells us that we are going to have tribulation, trials, distress and frustration in this world, but in spite of that, we can be of good cheer and take heart. Why? Because He has overcome the world. And when we live in Him, we become overcomers too!

That’s why Jesus died for us. He came to save us from sin and death and to give us abundant life –now. And I’m determined to have everything Jesus died to give me.

Make a decision to have everything Jesus died to give you. You have to do it on purpose. Be determined to do what God wants you to do and refuse to live with negative expectations. Ask God to help you live in hope and declare by faith, “Something good is going to happen to me!”

Healthier Cleaner Taco Dip

This is perfect for holiday parties that are coming up. You don't have to feel guilty about eating this one! It's quite tasty with a skinny margarita.

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup small curd low-fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup finely shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 packet taco seasoning - low sodium if you can find it

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate for an hour and serve with whole grain tortilla chips or veggies. Enjoy!

Tara Leigh Jackson Photography

Just wanted to share my cousin Tara's amazing work! Check out her links below and if you live in GA or the surrounding area and need a great photographer give her a shout!

http://tljphotography.blogspot.com/


http://tljphotography.zenfolio.com/

Clean Chicken Salad

1 rotisserie chicken - diced
1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp Greek yogurt
1 palmful cashews - chopped
1 rib celery - diced
1/4 onion - diced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar


Mix all ingredients in a large bowl to combine. Serve with crackers, toast points or bread.

Don't forget about them....

Because humans weren't the only ones devastated by Sandy. Please keep the pets in your minds, hearts and prayers also.

http://www.petfinder.com/blog/2012/10/31/help-shelters-and-rescues-recover-from-hurricane-sandy/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=social+media

Relief donation for the Feeney Family

If you can donate any amount to help them start piecing their lives back together it would be great. No amount is too small. Thank you!

http://feeneyfamilyrelieffund.blogspot.com/2012/10/these-pictures-were-taken-this-morning.html?spref=fb

Semi-Sweet & Semi-Clean Brownies

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 packet Stevia powder
1 1/4 cup cocoa powder
4 large eggs
1 cup un-sweetened applesauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup brown sugar
powder sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 and grease 8x8 glass pan with non-stick spray. Whisk pastry flour, salt and cocoa powder together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk  together eggs, vanilla, brown sugar, Stevia and applesauce until smooth and creamy. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk to blend just until mixed thoroughly .  Do not over mix. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake at 300 for approximately 45 minutes. Please make sure to check brownies after 35 minutes with a toothpick for different over temp variations and climate conditions. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Invert onto a cutting board and allow to cool completely. Once cooled, dust with powder sugar and decorate or you could top with a clean frosting of your choice. Slice using a serrated bread knife and transfer to a serving platter or tray. Enjoy!

Start the week off right...

Live a Consecrated Life by Joyce Meyer - posted October 29, 2012

Unto You, O Lord, do I bring my life. —Psalm 25:1

I love to lift up my hands in the morning and pray the prayer of consecration found in today’s scripture. When we pray a prayer of consecration, we are saying to the Lord: “Here I am, God. I give myself to You. Not just my money, but myself. Not just one hour on Sunday morning, but myself. Not just a portion of my day, but myself. Unto You, O Lord, do I bring my entire life. I lay it on Your altar. Do what You want to do with me. Touch people through me today. Go places through my feet today. Make a difference in my world through me today. Here’s everything about me; here are all the resources You have loaned me.” That is what we mean when we say, “Unto You, O Lord, do I bring my life.” Complete, voluntary surrender to the Lord—that’s what consecration means.

When we consecrate something, we set it apart for God’s use. Therefore, when we consecrate our lives, we turn our backs on our fleshly desires, worldly values, carnal thinking, undisciplined living, and everything else that does not agree with God’s Word. Consecration may not be easy, but it is easier than sin and disobedience. It is worth the discipline.

When we consecrate ourselves to the Lord, we give Him everything we are, but we should also know that we give Him everything we are not.

God knows everything about you and loves you unconditionally, so hold nothing back from Him. Let go of everything as an offering to your Lord, and you will be amazed at how free you will feel.

Love God Today: If you are ready to consecrate yourself to God, lift your hands to Him and simply say, “Lord, I give you my life…everything I am and everything I am not!”

---

From the book Love Out Loud by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2011 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

Frugal Autumn Potpourri

2-3 apple cores
peeling of 1 orange
a palm full of whole cloves
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
water
old pot or skillet

Fill an old pot with water and place on stove top. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer! Easy. Enjoy. :)

Lite & Lean Jambalaya

13 oz Turkey or Chicken Kielbasa
1 small can tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne or to taste
1 tsp onion powder or 1 tbsp onion flakes
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 bay leaf
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 beef bouillon cube
1 cup of instant brown rice
1 1/4 cup of low sodium chicken broth or beef broth

Bring chicken broth, salt, pepper, herbs, garlic & bouillon cube to a boil. Add in rice and and lower heat immediately to a low simmer. After simmering for a 3-5 minutes add tomato sauce and sliced kielbasa. Simmer another 20 minutes to bring flavors together. Keep an eye out to make sure your liquid doesn't run dry. If your rice absorbs all the liquid to quickly just add a little more. I like to serve mine with a dollop of light sour cream, slices of fresh onion or chopped green onion and whole grain tortilla chips.

Warm and comforting. Quick and easy! Enjoy!

Frugal Fall Decor Ideas

Looking for a few quick fall decor ideas. Try adding a chenille throw as a tablecloth and adding popcorn to a vase with a pillar candle. Quick, simple and frugal.

You could also use a plaid blanket as tablecloth in pretty fall colors and leaves gathered up from your yard in a vase with a candle. These are things that most of us have in home already. Don't have a fireplace, can't afford a gas one or you don't won't the mess of a wood burning one, then pick up one of these DVD's and pop it in enjoy. No chopping wood or cleaning up ash or soot.

Easy Freezing Tomatoes

Every year my sweet father-in-law plants a large garden and brings us fresh veggies. This year he had quite a bit of tomatoes and brought us two five gallon buckets full. I was a little overwhelmed with so many since I'm the only one that eats them. My husband will only eat them in salsa or cooked into a sauce. Well, there is only so much salsa and marinara sauce you can make or eat at one time. I had to figure out a way to save these fabulous tomatoes for later use. I took some to my neighbor and she told me to freeze them and here's how. It's really simple and took less than 30-40 minutes tops. First wash all dirt off of tomatoes and set aside.

Then bring a large stock pot of water to boil. After water starts to boil using a spider or a large slotted spoon, drop 3-4 tomatoes into boiling eater.

This is called blanching. You'll know when they're ready to remove from pot when the skin starts to split. Promptly remove with the spider or slotted spoon. I just placed mine on an old kitchen towel to cool. In the meantime I added my next batch of tomatoes to the boiling pot. At this point you'll want to open a gallon size freezer bag and I used my cutting board and a couple of paper towels to start out with but quickly swapped over to another bowl to place the skins on.

After the tomatoes have cooled to where you can safely handle them, just peel the skin off and lay the tomatoes on the cutting board to cool further. You may have to use a pairing knife to pierce the skin on some to get the peeling started. Be careful because they are still very hot at this point.

You can probably remove the other batch from the pot at this time and place them on the towel to cool. While those are cooling, place your peeled tomatoes into a gallon size freezer bag, wiping any excess liquid or juice off and removing as much air as possible from the bag and seal shut and place in freezer. There you are. You have a bag of whole fresh peeled tomatoes ready for your next soup, stew, chili or pasta sauce. Enjoy!

Encouragement in Difficult Times

Exit Strategies: God’s Plan for Escaping Daily Frustrations by Joyce Meyer We don’t have to be miserable, frustrated and unhappy in difficult places. If you and I have been in the world very long, we’ve learned there are very few days that go exactly the way we’d like them to go. There always seem to be different things happening that can affect our plans. Until we learn that our joy can’t be based on our circumstances, we’re going to have nothing but what I call a “yo-yo” experience, which is up and down, up and down, up and down. We have to find a way to stay happy, even when our circumstances don’t suit us or we don’t get a breakthrough as quickly as we’d like—or when people around us aren’t what we’d like them to be or they’re frustrating us or there’s disappointment.

God is never going to put us into a situation or permit us to be in one, without giving us the ability to be in it with joy. I believe God makes His grace available to us each and every day. If God asks us to stay in a situation, then He is going to give us a special grace, for a special season, to experience His peace and joy despite the circumstances. It’s the kind of grace that causes other people to look at us and think, I’m just amazed you are able to do this and still have so much joy and peace. This is how it should be instead of us telling them that we just don’t think we can make it. Strategy #1: Let Your Attitude Speak As Christians, I believe the attitude we live with and the level of joy, peace and stability seen in our life is what will speak to the people around us much more than if we try to preach to them. It’s about how we live our life in front of them, especially when things are not going perfectly for us all the time. For people in places right now who are saying, “I’m staying in the situation because I believe it’s what God wants me to do, but I’m so miserable, frustrated and unhappy,” there’s good news. The good news is that God has provided a way for us to deal with frustration— His grace. I know many times we hear that grace is God’s riches at Christ’s expense, and that’s a good definition. But to be honest, it’s just a little bit too spiritual for me. I need something that’s going to put it into a practical format for me. I like to define grace as “God’s power to help us do whatever it is we need to do.” Strategy #2: Receive Power through God’s Grace Grace is power. It’s power, power, power! It’s God’s power we receive by the grace of God through faith. Everything comes to us through faith, which God also gives us. Romans 12:3 says, …God has allotted to each a measure of faith (NASB). We need to ask ourselves, “What am I doing with my faith?” Are we putting our faith in ourselves? Are we trying to fix things ourselves by trying to change ourselves or our family? Or trying to get our boss’s attention so we can make more money and get a promotion? If so, that’s not grace. It’s our own works. But when we release our faith and trust God to do what we can’t do, we’re putting our faith in Him. Then the grace—which is God’s power—comes through the channel of faith and enables us to do what will just amaze us and other people. Here’s my longer definition of grace: It’s God’s power coming to us freely—meaning it doesn’t cost us anything other than just putting our faith in God, enabling us to do with ease what we could never do on our own with any amount of struggle and effort. Strategy #3: Rely on God I believe every time we feel frustration, it means we’ve really stopped relying on God, leaning on Him and receiving His grace and are trying to make something happen our own way. Understanding this really helped me to see that I spent a lot of time being frustrated. To help myself, I had some signs made to put up around my house that said things like, “Works of the flesh equal frustration.” Every time I became frustrated, the signs helped me remember I had tried to become Holy Spirit Junior. When I try to work things out on my own, in essence I’m saying, “Okay, God, I appreciate Your being around, but watch me do this.” Most of us have a problem with an independent spirit. We have difficulty depending on God for everything. Grace is not only the power for salvation; it’s the victory we need every single day of our life. In Galatians 2, the Bible says that if we receive salvation by grace, we shouldn’t think we’re going to reach perfection by depending on our flesh. It’s like thinking that God saves us and helps us when we’re at the end of ourselves and ready to give up, then just kind of throws us the ball and says, “Okay, now you go make the touchdown.” Strategy #4: Keep Walking The same way we receive Christ is the same way we are supposed to live each day of our life—in total, complete dependence on Him. Grace is like light. But what we tend to do a lot of the time is fight with darkness, when all we need to do is just run to the light. What’s the purpose of gathering in the dark, banging into each other, struggling with the darkness and trying to punch it out, when all we have to do is turn on a switch? The minute the light comes on, it swallows up the darkness. Too often we struggle with ourselves and our weaknesses, trying to change, spending time being mad about things in our life. But what we really need to do is just get more light into the situation. Galatians 5:16 urges us to walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit…then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh…. Notice how it doesn’t say “conquer the flesh so you can walk in the Spirit.” What we need to do is walk in the Spirit. When we concentrate on walking in the Spirit, we won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh because we will be focused on God, His goodness, our relationship with Him, and His love for us. Other things will just dissipate because of the power of God in our life. Grace is power—plain and simple. It’s the power of God available to us in whatever amount we need.

Crockpot Frugal Chicken

Even though I don't have to leave my house everyday to go to my job, doesn't mean that I don't still have time restraints or that I want to spend all my spare time in the kitchen.When time allows, I adore cooking with Ella Fitzgerald crooning to me and a glass of wine in hand while I'm chopping or sauteing something for dinner. Unfortunately, some days I need to rely on my handy kitchen friend, the crock-pot. I use mine weekly these days simply because I don't have to babysit it and for summer cooking it doesn't heat up my house. I have three in various sizes depending on what I need to cook that day. Last week I decided to see if I could stretch an already tight grocery budget even more. I bought a whole chicken for less than $5 at Aldi instead of a bag of boneless, skinless chicken breast, which usually turns out to be just chicken breast pieces for around $6. The results were amazing! I got four meals for two adults and around 1 1/2 quarts of homemade chicken stock for soup which will net more meals, all from one chicken. I wouldn't have gotten that from the bag of chicken breast. The meat is juicy and moist. This is all you need: 1. whole chicken. 2. one lemon. 3. 1/2 stick un-salted butter. 4.salt. 5. Ground black pepper. 6. Chicken grill seasoning. 7. one onion, peeled and quartered. 8. two ribs of celery, halved. 9. one cup water.

I always rinse my chicken under running cold water on the outside and inside the cavity. Then I take my fingers and I go under the skin careful not to tear it, to create little pockets between the skin and meat. In those pockets I take the 1/2 stick of un-salted butter that I cut into pieces and I put the pieces of butter under the skin in those pockets. Next, I rub salt, pepper and grill seasoning all over the bird and also inside the cavity. Last I cut the lemon in half and stuff it in the cavity.I put the bird in the crock-pot and then I place the onion quarters and celery pieces around the bird and pour in the cup of water.

Put the lid on the crock-pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours depending on your crock-pot. I always check mine after 6 hours. The best way to remove the bird once it's done is to put a set of closed tongs inside the cavity and lift it out onto a carving board. Allow the chicken broth and the crock-pot to cool and then strain your broth into a bowl with a tight fitting lid. Place in fridge overnight. the next day skim off the fat from the top of the broth and use or freeze for later use.

There ya have it. This saves me time and money and I hope you find it useful.You can eat the meat carved and served with side dishes or you can shred it and use it for chicken salad, soups, chicken and dumplings, or tacos. Just however you chose to use it. Happy cooking!

The smell of a home

One of my favorite things about gardening is that I can go outside and cut fresh herbs and bring them in and make a fabulous smelling homemade potpourri on the stove top. Here is one that I use for summer. I hope you like it too. :)

I used one leftover used lemon from making salad dressing earlier, a handful of fresh lavender, two capfuls of vanilla extract and about three sprigs of fresh rosemary. Just fill a small pot or skillet full of water and add your herbs,lemon and vanilla and simmer on stove. Simple and frugal and the house smells divine! Enjoy!

Non-Beef Burger Battle with Bobby Deen, Tyler Florence, and Rachel Ray

Love Changes Everything

Love Changes Everything by Joyce Meyer Are you willing and ready to become a student of the love walk? If so, you need to know that it requires education and commitment. We must have our minds renewed to what love really is. Love is tangible; it is not just a spiritual thing that cannot be seen or touched. It is evident to everyone who comes in contact with it. Love is a decision we make―a decision to treat people the way Jesus would treat them. When we make a true commitment to walk in love, it usually causes a huge shift in our lifestyle. Many of our ways―our thoughts, conversation, habits―have to change. For instance, we may be accustomed to spending all of our extra money on ourselves only to discover that walking in love requires that we spend it on others. Love Wants to Pay the Price A love walk does not come easily or without personal sacrifice. Each time we choose to love someone, it will cost us something―time, money or effort. That’s why we are told to count the cost before we make the commitment. First Corinthians 14:1 says, Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire [this] love [make it your aim, your great quest]…. “ We need to go after love with all our might and act as if we cannot live without it! ” The word pursue means “to follow in an effort to capture or overtake.” The word seek means “to try to find or discover; search for.” In other words, we need to go after love with all our might and act as if we cannot live without it! How to Nurture the Desire to Love There are different degrees of desire. We want many things in life, but there are only a few things we want so much that we are willing to sacrifice to have them. If you and I want to learn about love, we will have to study it. We will have to read books about it, listen to teachings on it, and familiarize ourselves with everything Jesus and the apostles said about it. Look for love in action. Try to find someone who operates in love and study that individual. Watch how he or she handles people and difficult or tense situations. Observe how they give. Examine the fruit of their life. I encourage you to view love as your first priority in life. Study it, seek it, pursue and acquire it, because God’s Word boldly tells us that we’re nothing without it. This article is taken from Joyce's book, Reduce Me to Love.

Monday Quote

Update on Frugal Anniversary

I can't tell you how wonderful our first anniversary was. I think one the best parts about it was that we didn't spend a ton of money but, we had such a fabulous time together celebrating. We made some amendments to our schedule but, that is the great thing about doing a frugal celebration, you can change and plan as the mood strikes! We started out by having coffee for me and Pepsi for him and eating a piece of our wedding cake top.

My mama, bless her soul saved it for us after our wedding last year and "preserved" it in plastic wrap, aluminum foil and duct tape. Did I mention we're from MS? It took us quite a while to get in it but, I have to hand it to ya mama, that cake was just as moist and sweet as it was on our wedding day! Thanks mama! You helped make our first anniversary very special! I love you!

Then we decided to have some real breakfast and I made gluten free pancakes and turkey bacon on my cast iron griddle.

Now, ladies if you don't own a cast iron griddle or skillet, you don't know what you're missing. They cook up the most scrumptious tasting meals.

The key to using cast iron is to go low and slow and make sure its well greased. I greased mine with coconut oil that I just brushed on.

Anyhoo, the pancakes and turkey bacon were delicious and hit the spot. It was so nice to sit around in our jammies eating yummy warm pancakes and just relaxing with each other. Our idea of room service! He he.

The next thing on our agenda was to go to Dayton and hit the thrift stores. We love thrifting! After we worked up an appetite shopping we headed over to one of our favorite haunts, The Oakwood Club, to grab some HUGE steak burgers, a sidecar for me, and chocolate mousse for dessert. After that we went for a walk around the town square and then headed back home. It was a fun day and again, frugal. To help save money we opted to eat lunch instead of dinner and saved a ton of money but we still got the ambiance and atmosphere we love so well. Saturday, we had massages and a romantic steak dinner by candle light at home. Dinner was out of this world good and only cost us around $25 for two filet mignons (buy them at Sam's Club, you can get four for around $25 and they're great cuts of meat), baked potatoes, rosemary foccia bread and wine and ice cream for dessert! We didn't go hiking in Hocking Hills because we were sore from a hard workout the day before but, we'll get there soon. Folks, the whole point of this long arse blog, is that you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to have a nice romantic anniversary or any other occasion. Just use your imagination and have fun together!

Skinnygirl Cocktails Guide: Home Spa Treatment

Humble hump Day

EVEN IF YOU DO NOT HAVE PERFECT BODY - YOU CAN HAVE A PERFECT SOUL. This dog was born on Christmas Eve in the year 2002. He was born with 2 legs

- He of course could not walk when he was born. Even his mother did not want him. His first owner also did not think that he could survive and he was thinking of 'putting him to sleep'. But then, his present owner, Jude Stringfellow, met him and wanted to take care of him. She became determined to teach and train this little dog to walk by himself. She named him 'Faith'.

In the beginning, she put Faith on a surfboard to let him feel the movement. Later she used peanut butter on a spoon as a lure and reward for him for standing up and jumping around. Even the other dog at home encouraged him to walk. Amazingly, only after 6 months, like a miracle, Faith learned to balance on his hind legs and to jump to move forward. After further training in the snow, he could now walk like a human being.

Faith loves to walk around now. No matter where he goes, he attracts people to him. He is fast becoming famous on the international scene and has appeared on various newspapers and TV shows. There is now a book entitled 'With a Little Faith' being published about him. He was even considered to appear in one of Harry Potter movies. His present owner Jude Stringfellew has given up her teaching post and plans to take him around the world to preach that even without a perfect body, one can have a perfect soul'.

In life there are always undesirable things, so in order to feel better you just need to look at life from another direction. I hope this message will bring fresh new ways of thinking to everyone and that everyone will appreciate and be thankful for each beautiful day. Faith is the continual demonstration of the strength and wonder of life. A small request: All you are asked to do is keep this story circulating.

Southern Giggle for the Day

Sexy Bikini Threesome Workout

Our Family Rules

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice, restful weekend. As you know, it was our anniversary weekend and we had such a wonderful time together. I'll post more about that later. I saw this scripture and thought that it would be a great thing to pass along on a Monday morning to remind us all how to behave... even though it's Monday. If you find yourself harried today or just in a funk, say this over and over to yourself (preferably out loud) until you feel things start to shift in you. God has great things in store for me today or God is going to bless me today. This should be your mantra for funky or poopy feeling days. God loves you and He wants you to be happy and to walk in love. All you have to do is ask Him and He will give. That's what He tells us. "Ask and you shall receive". Give it a try... what do you to lose? Chin up, smile and shake off that funk! Have a great day! :)

Crock Pot Beef Carnitas Tacos

Ingredients: 2 lbs flank steak 1 yellow onion, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped for spice rub— 2 tsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper for serving— corn tortillas avocado slices cilantro your favorite salsa limes Directions: Mix together all spices in a small bowl. Rub the spices all over your flank steak—be generous here! Then, place your steak at the bottom of your crock pot. Cover the steak with the chopped onions, bell peppers and jalapeno pepper. Turn heat on LOW and cook for 8 hours. After 8 hours, remove meat from crock pot and shred with a fork. It should be incredibly easy to shred. You can either stick the shredded meat back in the pot for another hour or serve as is. To serve, heat your corn tortillas in a skillet on the stove. Spoon some carnitas on a tortilla then top with salsa, avocado, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Enjoy with a margarita for best result. Time: active time–10 min total time—8 hours

Stretch-and-Breathe Yoga Routine

Stretch-and-Breathe Yoga Routine

Natural Remedy Reference Guide

This is pretty useful...

Adult Grilled Cheese Sammies

For dinner tonight we decided to take it easy and start celebrating our first anniversary early with these grilled cheese sammies and wine for me. I like these little bottles because I don't drink that often during the week. One bottle is one glass (for me anyway he he). I used smoked ham, gruyere cheese and gluten free bread.

Just add as much ham to your bread as you like. I used 2 1/2 pieces. I sliced four pieces of cheese and added it to the other side of the bread.

Then I melted about two tablespoons of salt free butter in a large skillet and toasted up one side and then flipped (and burned my thumb pretty good) and toasted the other side.

Of course, the child in me likes my grilled cheese sliced on the diagonal and with a side of dill pickle slices.

Weddings & Anniversaries

Monday will a year that I married my best friend in the whole world. We've both been married before and we didn't won't to spend a fortune or have a huge blowout for a wedding. We're both very low-key and simple people. I started looking around for frugal venues and found Weddings R Us. It was fabulous! We got exactly what we wanted (pictures,dress and bouquet included) for under $500! The setting was gorgeous. I really wanted an outside wedding but most places believe their spot of grass is worth way more than it actually is. I couldn't have been happier with the ceremony. Weddings R Us has different packages to choose from. We could have spent more but we didn't need to. If you're ever in Columbus and get the urge to get married or renew your vows give them a call or visit their site,www.weddingsrus.net/index.html So, to celebrate our 1st anniversary we decided to celebrate it over three days doing things we really enjoy instead of spending money on just one big event. We are going on a day trip to Dayton to shop and eat lunch at one of our favorite places, The Oakwood Club. They have superb food and an old vintage style atmosphere to the place. It's the only place that has ever served my favorite classic cocktail,a Sidecar, correctly. If you live in or around Columbus I highly recommend this place. Just be prepared for a long wait on weekend nights. http://www.theoakwoodclub.com/

Then the next day we're getting massages and probably having a candlelit dinner at home. Our last day will be going back to the place where we got engaged, Hocking Hills, for a picnic, hiking and Frisbee. Just remember that you don't have to spend a ton of money to have fun. Just being with that special someone and laughing and sharing your love should be your focus no matter what you're doing.

Serenity Prayer

God's Promise #157

We Are Young Workout

Oxygen Women's Fitness | Training | Oxygen Beach Body Circuit

Oxygen Women's Fitness | Training | Oxygen Beach Body Circuit

Happy World Cat Day