Happy New Year 2012

Hi Everyone! Happy New Year to each and everyone of you!
It has been a bit since our last blog update! Things got CRAZY! Our youngest daughter Taylor who is 16 was injured at school and ended up having to have leg surgery! UGH! It all happened so fast! Her recovery is finally getting to a point to where she is walking ok and getting around pretty dang good!
We were also getting the house and everything else ready for the Holidays! We had family come in from Arizona and Vegas! Houseful! It was AWESOME!
So here is where I apologize for the lack of postings! I am sure you all understand that as the old saying goes "when it rains it pours" well lemme tell ya...it was raining BUCKETS! LOL
So for the New Year we are gearing up to bring you more Posts and Videos on topics other than just DIY projects! I am truly interested to hear WHAT YOU would all like to see. Coupons? Saving Money? Shopping? Craft Ideas?? I am always up for a new craft idea!!! We are also going to do a cleaning section on the blog! How to keep your home Organized...Clean and Mom HAPPY! Because if Mom ain't Happy...AINT NO ONE HAPPY!
I think this will be an amazing year for all of us! I would also like to include a type of Bible Study section this year too! I don't like to "shove" Religion down anyones throat...we are a Christian family....we are NOT perfect and shoot...don't even pretend to be! But would love to share some of my favorite People that have encouraged me and helped me along my path along with some book that I absolutely LOVE! That is...when I get time to read! lol  It is my hopes that these resources may help you find some peace and happiness...just as our family has!
  Well...again...HAPPY 2012!!! Let's get ready to start this year off with a BANG!!!

My Road To Weight Loss....LOADED OATMEAL...it's whats for breakfast!!!

  

   I decided to start sharing a few things that have helped me with my weight loss!!! So far I've dropped 50 lbs and am still working on it! I've had a number of people ask me "What are you doing to lose weight?" so I thought I would start sharing what I've been doing with all of you with blog posts!  Just remember...slow and steady wins the race!!! One tip that I will tell you and will probably repeat in additional posts is the one that I MAJORLY messed up on!!! If you are working out...you HAVE to EAT those calories burned!!!! I made a HUGE mistake and thought since I had 1200 calories a day that when I got to my 1200 I was done! NO!!!! I actually GAINED 8 lbs in one week when I began working out at the gym and taking Zumba classes. My body thought I was starving myself and began holding on to calories. I FREAKED OUT! I couldn't figure out WHY if I was working out that I was actually GAINING! I know it sounds weird but trust me! I GOOGLED and researched this I have talked to the trainers at the gym...they have all told me this AND IT WORKS.... If you burn...say 400 calories at the gym...YOU NEED TO ADD THAT IN to your daily caloric intake and EAT another 400 calories!!!  Example...if you are also on 1200 calories a day...and you go to the gym and you hit the treadmill...LUCKILY...most treadmills at the gyms can tell you or give you an estimated amount of calories burned...for example sake...I am going to say you burned 325 calories. Now...you need to ADD those calories in and your 1200 caloric intake has just turned into 1525 for TODAY!!! So eat wisely! And remember to stay hydrated!

     Here is a really yummy and great way to begin your day! I have been making this for years for the girls and I and it's always been a HUGE favorite! Now...those of you that already KNOW me personally...know I am not that great in the kitchen.  Ok...that's a HUGE understatement...I am HORRIBLE in the kitchen. So WHY am I telling you this???  Well I am telling you this because it just shows that if I can make this...so can you!!! It's that easy! Takes about 5-7 minutes. Now in this recipe I am using Quaker Old Fashioned Oats. I also LOVE Irish Steel Cut Oats. If you haven't tried those, you can find them in the cereal isle or I purchase mine at Trader Joes. I actually purchase most of all of the ingredients there! I think some people tend to shy away from stores like Trader Joes or Whole Foods because they are worried or concerned that the prices may be higher than a typical grocery store! Well that isn't the case!!! And I will tell you that if you HAVEN'T tried organic or even locally grown foods you are in for a huge HUGE treat! The taste and the quality is so much better than grocery store items! It's also been my experience that the prices are a lot of times CHEAPER on items like Nuts, Raisins and Especially Grains!!! Ok...so anyway...Ready??? Oh...I am NOT a "measuring type" of gal when cooking...HOWEVER...when I made this for breakfast this morning...I did my best to come up with measurements. I am a "hand full" of this and "a bunch of" that kind of cook! I know...crazy...but that's just what works for me. So of course...use these ingredients to your taste if you find my measurements to be not to your liking! The point is to get the protein, grains and fiber in your body!!!
     All right...let's get started...
Ingredients:
3/4 C Old Fashioned Oats
1 1/2 C Water
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 Tbs Brown Sugar
2 tsp Butter
1/4 C Walnuts
1/4 C Almonds
1/4 C Raisins
Pinch Salt
(1-2 servings...but you WON'T wanna share)
     Start your water to boil with the pinch of salt in it. Follow the cooking directions for the oatmeal on the package! Quick Oats are not that great! They are processed more so the Old Fashioned are way better for you from a dietary standpoint...and they taste better too!
     While that's going set your oven to 300 and mix the Walnuts and Almonds together and kinda chop em up a little bit and then put them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Kinda shake them out to a single layer and pop them in the oven. We are just gonna kinda toast them a bit!  Keep an eye on them and I check them twice and stir them around a bit while doing everything else...just remember to keep them in a single layer so they all get nice and toasted!
     In a bowl...typically the bowl I am going to eat my oatmeal out of...I put in the raisins, the Cinnamon, Brown Sugar and then I toss that around a bit to get the Cinnamon coated on the raisins. REMEMBER...CINNAMON is an AWESOME thing to add to your diet!!! It helps maintain your insulin levels throughout the day! Now just throw the butter in the bowl too! Don't use margarine! Use butter! Your body actually NEEDS some fat to get you through the day and KEEP you healthy! SO we are getting that and protein from the butter and the nuts! Yummy way to do it too!

     When the Oatmeal is getting to the point of JUSTTT about being done...I take the nuts from the oven and add those and the bowl with the raisins and cinnamon to the pot of oatmeal. Stir it all in and then serve with whichever milk you prefer!

You can thank me later! Isn't this THE BEST??? This is a GREAT way to start your day....it's healthy and nutritious has fiber, protein, dairy and fats! This will carry you through a major hard hitting workout too! I LOVE eating this before Zumba! I have noticed that if I don't eat a fairly sizeable breakfast like this AND TRY to go workout...I BOMB! I can't get through the workout without feeling sluggish and just BLAH! This...works wonders!!!

I hope you understand my recipe!! If that's what ya wanna call it! HAHA...but you will begin to see...I am not that great in the kitchen...but I always keep on trying!!!!

I hope you enjoy this...have a great workout! And a great day!!!

    

    

Hanging Groups of Framed Pictures

Hi All...
     We had a request from a fan on Facebook that asked "How to hang a grouping of frames...level" So Steve got busy on how to show you all. We are still decorating our new home and didn't want to hammer nails into this particular wall yet just because we aren't sure what we are doing with it...just yet! So I handed Steve a stack of Scrapbooking paper to show you all how to measure and use a level to create your own grouping of photos in your own home...EASILY!!! He's so good!

    PLEASE KEEP THOSE REQUESTS COMING!!! Don't forget...we LOVE a challenge!!!!
Until next time!!!
Christine

DIY Couponing...Let's call it Couponing 101 The Basics!

     Welcome to Couponing!!! I am going to be doing a series of blog posts on this topic to help those who are NEW to couponing and even those that are already couponing! They say if ya don't learn something new everyday then your not living...so it's my goal to try to help us ALL learn something NEW each day! I know for a fact that doing this series on Coupining will also help ME personally gain some crucial and helpful knowledge. So perhaps this is a selfish posting series??? I don't know! I DO KNOW...that I am HOOKED on couponing!!! I love FREEBIES...and Great Deals too! SO in this blogging series on Couponing I will also be sharing some of those things with you too! After all...if it helps us all save some money....it HAS to be a great thing..right? I thought so! OK...so let's get to the basics! PLEASE KNOW...this is NOT EXTREME COUPONING like you see on TV....what I TRY to do is EFFECTIVE Couponing! What works for MY family! What you see on TV takes DAYS to plan and a lot of people to set up and prepare...although the show can be fun to watch...I personally will never use 66 bottles of mustard!!! I also do NOT condone or promote falsifying coupons! You can do this in an honest way and still save TONS OF MONEY!!!
     I've had a few of my girlfriends ask me "How do I even get started?" So I thought we could start with that!
     Gather Coupons! Great place to begin is with your Sunday Paper! I follow a few great pages on Facebook that post AHEAD of time and let everyone know which coupons are coming out...are they Red Plum...Smart Source etc. So I personally gauge HOW MANY papers I will be getting that Sunday from that info I get from them!  Sometimes its 2 and sometimes it's been 5 Sunday Newspapers!! It all depends on what I think our family will be needing and USING! Now, I gather coupons not just for our family in this house...which is My husband Steve our youngest daughter Taylor and myself...but I also try to get coupons for Our oldest daughter Kaylen and her family...her Hubby and 3 daughters....then I try to get a few for our middle daughter Rebecca and her Boyfriend. So as you can see...I make a huge attempt to collect for all of us!
   Another GREAT way to gather coupons is online! There are a LOT of Free sites like Shopathome.com,  Coupons.com and MORE! All ya have to do to find THESE is google "Coupons"!! THAT EASY! You can typically print up to 2 times of each coupon. The next place I grab coupons from is Target.com and the COOL thing about printing out Target coupons is that you can STACK them with Manufacturers coupons. A Manufacturers Coupon is one that you typically get in the coupons in the Sunday Paper. Say you have 1.00 coupon for Fructis Shampoo and Target has 1.00 coupon for the same item! You just saved 2.00 on that item!!! You can also do this with CVS and Walgreens and other places like this. You can ALSO find sites that you can purchase coupons, you can purchase particular coupons that you are in need of or purchase entire inserts.
     So now you have all these coupons....HOW are you going to organize them??? Well there are a few different methods and you could try a few of them to find which works best for you. I personally use the Binder Method! There is the coupon organizer that could fit into your purse. It is an accordion style organizer and if you don't use a LOT of coupons this might be the method for you. Some like to just keep the coupon inserts whole and file them away by the date until they need particular coupons from them. I have tried a few other options and again...I love the Binder Method. I have a double ring binder that zips up. I have it filled with baseball card holders...you know the ones that have 9 pockets on them?? Ya...those! I have dividers for Categories that fit the needs of our family. The coupons that I have separated into category are on the left hand ring of the binder. On the right hand side of the binder I have it organized with tabs to Stores. CVS...Target....Walgreens etc. If you want to try the binder method.....I have an awesome source for you to help get a binder system going a bit quicker.... Loaded Couponbook.com They can help get you off to a GREAT start with your binder, they provide inserts with their kits which is part of their Instant System to help aid in getting a jump start with couponing. They are on FB AND they have a website!!! Amazing people to work with and fast shipping too!
     When I get my coupons I separate them into stacks first from the inserts. I take the inserts apart and put all the same coupons together in each pile. This makes cutting the coupons SO MUCH EASIER! When I started...I was going through one insert at a time and then having to go back and find the other 2 or 3 coupons that were the same and then file them in my binder! UGH!! Such a HUGE waste of TIME! So take them apart and cut them all at once! Trust me!
  I also follow a LOT of great pages on FB for Coupons, Deals and FREEBIES!!! YES you read that right...FREEBIES!!! I have a drawer and a cupboard here at the house FILLED with them. The girls know to always go there first for deodorant...toothpaste and even laundry soap!!! We have even gotten FULL cans of powder formula...THE BIG ONES!!! FREE!
  Here are some of the GREAT Pages THAT I personally follow on FB for these great deals and helpers! If you have trouble finding them...PLEASE let me know and I will help you find them!
Blessings N Couponing
NiftyThrifty Savings
Coupons
Coupon Divas
The Krazy Coupon Lady
Centsible Girll  (yes 2 l's girll)
Coupon Sammi
Xanders CouponMommy
Coupon Gmama
Rockin Coupons
Freebies GreatDeals
Coupons SaveMoney
This is just a SHORT LIST!  Use your Facebook to it's maximum potential!!! Just type in COUPONS or FREEBIES in the search bar and you can find TONS of great resources on there!
     You can also write to companies for Coupons! I am going to work on a list that I have going of Companies that I just wrote a simple email to...told them what I thought of their product and they sent me coupons in the mail! It was AMAZING! Some of them were HIGH DOLLAR COUPONS!!! Like 2.00 off Tide!!! So I will work on the list and fine tune it and use that in another coupon post for you all!
     I think this is a great start! I would LOVE to hear if you personally organize YOUR coupons in another way that works best for you! Perhaps you have another source for coupons?? Let us know and we will share it with others for you too!
     I hope this helps you get started on your couponing! You can save SOOO much money with coupons! Oh and PLEASE DON'T TOSS your expired coupons! The expired coupons can be used by our military families for 6 months after the expiration date! On my next post I will do my best to have some addresses as to where you can send them to!
Until next time...Happy Couponing!!!!

DIY Decorating Paper Mache Letters

Hi Everyone!!!
This was one of my all time FAVORITE projects!!! I think I have found a NEW Hobby!!!! This was so easy and fun to do! Didn't take much time at all! I thought it would be much easier if I posted the Video for you to watch! If you have any questions or comments PLEASE feel free to let us know!
I hope you enjoy the video and HAVE FUN making some of these yourself! I would love to see what you create with this technique!!!

"Random Mommy-ism" Boogie Man and Other Things That Go Bump in the NIGHT!!

     Time for another of my "Mommy-isms". I was reminded about this the other day when our girls were reminiscing about the things I used to do when they were little. The little tricks...that at the time made me their HERO but now they realize were just that...little tricks!
     All of us along with our children...and for some of us...even our Grandchildren now have at some point or another been fearful or afraid of something or another, especially at night! Mostly it's at the young tender age of between 2-8 yrs old...some even beyond that age...but we have all felt it at one point or another. It typically begins with our little ones doing there best to convince us that there is a "Boogie man" or "Monster" in their closet or under their beds. We relentlessly make every attempt to convince them that there is nothing there! Well when our youngest...Taylor who is now 15, was little....she had a HORRIBLE fear of Elephants!!! ELEPHANTS of all things!!! She was so little she called them "FEE FEETS" Ya I know...Fee Feets! But that was her word for them! I had tried EVERYTHING...taken her to the library and showed her pictures....showed her them on TV...it just made her fear STRONGER! IT was the oddest thing I tell ya!
     Living here in the Reno-Sparks Lake Tahoe area we have a LOT of casinos...so we even took her to a local Hotel Casino that at the time had Elephants for a huge show. During the day they would take the Elephants outside and give them their baths...have play time etc. They would also make it so that the public could SEE and even interact a bit with them! The older kids thought it was awesome...but ohhhh boy! One day we were driving by on the freeway...and they were outside in their play area...the Elephants not my kids...haha...so I beelined it OFF the freeway and I thought...MAYBE this will do the trick! So we all get out of the car and I have Tay in my arms and we start walking up to where the Elephants are playing in the water inside this huge gated area. I am walking slowly...and stopping here and there...talking to her about the Elephants. I feel her grip getting tighter around my neck...I keep talking really calmly to her...telling her how cute they are...and OHHH look they are taking a bath Tay...just like you do....you know...the silly things we say to our children. So just when I think...THIS MIGHT BE WORKING...she tightens her grip even more and makes every attempt to climb to the top of my head and SHE PEES ALL OVER ME! So this...we will call a FAILED attempt!
     So we get home...and now that I have traumatized my child...I begin thinking she will never sleep in her own bed...EVER!!!! She is forever going to be convinced that there is a FEE FEET under her bed! So it hits me...I have a light bulb moment like NEVER before....this is SURE TO WORK......
     My next move is to the kitchen....I grab the spray bottle that I use for spritzing the plants and ok...ya I admit...the kids! I then go and find one of the kids books that has an Elephant in it...and I make a copy of it on the copier. I taped it on...and I found a red sharpie and drew that big ANTI circle on it with the line through it!!! She couldn't read so what did it matter??? It was the principal!! HAHA!
     I go and find Taylor and I show her WHAT MOMMY HAS FOUND!!!! FEE FEET GO AWAY SPRAY!!! I give her the bottle of what she then called FEE FEET SPRAY and of course its just filled with water...and I take her to her room...and we SPRAY EVERYWHERE....she says FEE FEET GO AWAY....we sprayed under her bed...in her closet...she went nuts. And I let her! She giggled...she laughed...and she sprayed away!!!! We did it that night before bed too!!! JUST in case we missed one! Ya know what??? IT WORKED!!! We had to keep the spray in her room...on her little dresser...but ya know what??? EVERY TIME she even thought of an Elephant...or Fee Feet...she would get her trusty spray bottle and spray away! For me it was a giggle...but for her...it was comfort in a spray bottle! Her very own Anti Elephant Spray!
     I have shared this with friends who had children and Boogie Man issues...and this works great! I know it sounds so silly!!!  But IT JUST DOES! It gives them a little bit of control in their fears....and us...a peaceful nights sleep! So next time your little one has a Monster in their closet...grab your spray bottle and draw a funny monster on it...let them go crazy! And then...you...go get some rest!
Let me know how this works for you! I'd love to hear your feedback. OR things you have done to help your little ones through their fears!

DIY Haircut...Little Girls Long BOB

We did our Granddaughter Jazzy's haircut today and posted hers on YouTube as well and thought it would make another great tutorial! She has a LOT of that fine baby soft curly hair on the underneath layer of her hair and it was becoming a huge pain whenever we tried to pull it up or do anything with her hair! It was time to give her a cute litte...or I mean BIG girl haircut that she could brush out and begin to learn how to do her hair a little bit on her own from time to time. So we gave her a long bob haircut with a bit of framing around her cute little face to show off her dimples...well that and to blend in what someone else had done to her with a pair of scissors and NO knowledge of haircutting!!!
So grab your scissors...YOUR SCISSORS FOR HAIR...not your sewing scissors or your pinking shears! HA! And take a peak at our latest video...Starring Jasmine!!!