Goodbye and GOOD Riddance to June 2011!

Have you ever had one of those months that you can't wait to see end?

For me, it's this month - June 2011 (well for another hour or so!).

It's been a month full of medical challenges. I don't normally like to wallow in the mire, but I need a moment to vent, even if it is here on my blog.

• I got to start (and end!!) the month with two rather evasive and somewhat painful procedures. Yay.
• I got to have a double root canal. Double Yay!
• Today, I "got" to have 5 dysplastic moles removed, and four lentigines frozen off.

There were also regular other challenges that added extra irritation blah to the month.

• I got a painful sunburn all over my lower back (I'm blaming it on a new swimsuit, and my not thinking about applying sunscreen there.) Boo!
• Shea and Debbie moved back home to California. Boo!

Fortunately, there was quite a bit of greatness in the month to bring me both mental and physical relief!

• My parents, and sister (with her 4 children) came to visit for a few days. We had a blast visiting Going Bonkers in Lewisville, Lego Land in Grapevine, and the Fort Worth Children's Museum (obviously in Fort Worth). Yay!
• We celebrated Steve's 3rd father's day with his favorite foods and the opportunity to get whatever he wanted as a gift. YAY! (for him!!)
• I had the pleasure of spending a long weekend with 55 wonderful women at the amazing "Art of Spring" put on by Debbie and Shea of A Gilded Life. Our weekend included going to Canton (on a luxury tour bus at that), taking a wonderful day-long bird making class by Lesa Daily (which she is known for), and a second day-long class with Shea and Debbie making a multi-strand watch (or bracelet - it was up to the creator!) We were spoiled with the culinary skill and prowress of Sarah Keenan and her fun assistant Jenny Brogdon. I love these weekends so much, and am sad to say (that in case you haven't heard) this was the last one to be held in the gorgeous church Shea and Debbie used to live in. So sad! 
• I've been decluttering our home with a mad and furious pace. It wasn't that we had a LOT of anything, but I had enough little things here and there that just needed to go. I am hoping to be "done" with saving things for a 'just in case' time, or keeping things around because they're fun or cool - even if I won't use them. 
• As part of my decluttering efforts, my studio is actually almost 100% tidy and 80% organized! Hooray! I'll be blogging about that soon over on my organizing blog (which is in a very sad need of updating!). Yay!
• My garden is flourishing, and we've been able to enjoy it's small bounty. I'm eager for the day when we can harvest a full grown tomato (rather than a small cherry one) or a full grown zucchini (remind me of that when/if I whine that we have too much of it!). Yay!

Looking back at what's happened this month, there have definitely been more positives than negatives. It's interesting sometimes how the negatives can overshadow the positive.

Off to a positive, and happy July!!

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Right Now I'm....

Photo by Jennifer Wolsey Photography

Melissa Bolton (of Designher Brands and Adored Before fame) posted something to her blog today that caused me to pause and think.

How many of my Facebook "friends" do I really know? I mean... know.

I have several categories of "friends", one of which includes "unknown" because let's face it... sometimes we have no clue who it is that is sending us a friend request. I accept all requests because I don't know if it's for work, or if its for play.

I am pleased to report that for the most part, I know many of my friends and I "know of" many of the others.

That being said, I'd LOVE to know more about all of them!

Melissa posted several prompts, answered them and then asked that some of us do the same. She said something that has really, really stuck in my mind.

"...I have always maintained that every single person has something of worth to share with the world..."

I love that! There is something of worth that every single person on this planet has to share with the world.

Here are my responses to Melissa's prompts. I'd love it if you would copy and paste the same prompts to your blog and share yourself with us too.

Really, I would love it!

Right now, I’m:

Wearing ~ yoga pants and a "freebie" UNT huge t-shirt.

Drinking ~ Sugar Free Rockstar. (I forgot to put Diet Coke in the fridge and it was there!)

Listening To ~ Fred, upstairs in his room, yelling and trying to convince me he doesn't need a nap.

Wondering ~ what today's results will be. (I'm having another procedure done later this afternoon. To say I'm both incredibly nervous and calm at the same time is an oxymoron, but it is what it is.)

Thinking ~ how blessed I am to be so loved and with friends who both get and support me.

Feeling ~ a bit nervous, but calm that all will work out according to His will.

Wishing ~ my art room/studio was better organized so that I could pop up there and create in the small snippets of free time I have. I'm also wishing I wasn't such a "collector" and could really get into and love a simpler way of living. (I'm getting there!!)

Hoping ~ I get the laundry folded and actually put away.

Planning on ~ taking Fred to the park, despite the Texas heat. 

Aggravated by ~ people who refuse to see the positive in life or who constantly complain (even about the things they offer to do).

Most passionate about ~ cooking, sharing with others, and loving my family.

Wanting ~ to be the best person I can be.I am enough, right now - today. I don't need to compare myself to others and measure myself to them. It is okay to not be like others, and to enjoy myself as I am.

Dreaming Of ~ a relaxing family vacation.

Wishing I was ~ free of debt, guilt and these last few pounds.*

Wanting to be ~ more organized* and better at self control.

Needing ~ just a bit more time in each day (or better time management skills-ha)*.

Trying to ~ figure out ways to both be a great mother to my gorgeous son and still feel like I'm maintaining my own identity.

Wanting to try ~ more home improvement projects, and expanding the garden.

Most thankful for ~ My family. I am incredibly blessed with not one, or two families but three. (My family, my husbands family, and my birth/biological family)

Giving up on ~ worrying what everyone else thinks. My husband often reminds me that the only opinions and things that matter are within our family and the walls of our home. The world, our "friends" and others opinions really do not matter.

Interestingly, many of Melissa's responses to her prompts were very same answers I would have also given. Most of them I went ahead and changed. However, the ones marked with an asterisk are her initial answers that I completely agree with and feel the same about.

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What's Cookin' - June 26th Edition

I'm changing things up.

Shocking right?

I mean, when have I ever been one to keep things going the way that I originally plan to?

(Ask my mom... she'll agree. Consistancy and I are not friends.)

Anyway, I'm going back to calling my menu plan posts "What's Cookin'"

I just like it better that way.
Also, instead of assigning meals to days, I'm going to just make a list of meals. (There's less pressure for me to make sure I make it on the day I designate. I'm all about less pressure!!)

With all that being said, here's what I'm planning to serve this week. (My goal is to plan our menu around what we get in our weekly produce basket I order from Bountiful Baskets and from the food stockpiled in the pantry and freezer. I supplement the produce we need from a local farmers market and the rest from local grocery stores.)

 Dinners:

• Pan Seared Tilapia,  Grilled Cabbage and Roasted Corn.
• Grilled Tandoori Chicken Skewers with Yogurt Sauce and Jasmine Rice
• Chicken Lime Tacos, Mexican Rice, Black Beans & Mango Salsa
• Tex Mex Stuffed Poblano Peppers  and  Mexican Gray Squash
• Layered Caribbean Chicken Salad
• Beef Lettuce Wraps & Veggie Spring Rolls (both totally from the freezer section of a local grocery store... the lettuce is fresh though!)

Lunches:

• Quesadilla's (Veggie, Chicken, or Black Bean)
• Cabbage and Egg Noodles
• PB&J
• Green Salad with Tomatillo Ranch Salad Dressing and Grilled Chicken

Breakfasts:

• Mango, Orange, Plum and/or Peach Smoothies
• Yogurt with Tropical Granola
• Fruit Loops (Keepin' it real around here folks!)

Snacks:

• Plums, Apples, Peaches, Carrot Sticks, or any other fruit not needed for a recipe
• Celery with Peanut Butter

Desserts: 

• Spring Lime Tea Cookies (they'll be frozen for later enjoyment) 
• Apple Strudel (I have a LOT of apples that I need to use up!

Preserving/Dehydrating: Celery, green onions, apples, and a few peaches (I'm really making a conscious effort to not have anything go to waste. That being said, there are times where we've just not made it through everything we've received in our Bountiful Baskets Food co-op basket. So, if I've had it in the fridge for 2 weeks, off to my preserving plan it goes! :)  )

That's all I've got... what'cha think about that??

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The Delights of Allergies...

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
If you've ever lived in, visted, or known anyone who lives in North Texas, you have heard about the delights of allergies.
Except, that they aren't delightful.
At all.
I'm not kidding. I hate allergies.
But, yet I live in North Texas where when the wind blows everything from just about everywhere in our great nation blows into town and promptly parks itself in my sinuses.
I've taken many different medications over the years to try and thwart the effects of these delights. Some of them prescription strength and some over the counter.  (Speaking of which... are you as amazed as I am at the cost of prescription medications? SHOCKING! But, when I stop to think about the time, money, brilliance, and science that has gone into creating these little amazing pills, I realize that really, it's not SO bad.. It sucks for my wallet, but I'd rather be with the invention than without!!)
Zyrtec, Allegra, Claritin, and all of the "D" versions too.
In recent years, I've been lucky enough to have a family member work for Walgreens. That means, I get to enjoy the hookup of discounts. (Which, in reality, are nice but not necessary. I find that Walgreens has great prices on their medications!)
And, on the rare occasion, a drug delivery. (Does that make her my dealer?)
Anyway, last spring, I was desperate for sinus relief and I didn't have the energy to haul myself and Little Man to the store to hook myself up.
And so my dealer arrived with 24 hour relief WAL-ITIN D.
At first, I was leery to take a generic brand medication. I thought it wasn't the same as the name brand, and that perhaps somewhere the same ingredients (or ingredients that do the same thing) wouldn't be comparable.
But, I was desperate for relief, and grateful that I didn't have to jet to the store. (Really, the store should have been grateful too, because I was not looking pretty).
So, I took it, and long story short... I love it.
So much so that every 15 days I'm there buying another box (thank you meth heads for making sure that yet another over-the-counter medication has to be monitored).
A few things I learned about store brand, generic version medications...

• 
  Most contain the same active ingredients as other national brands.
• 
  Have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
• 
  Visit http://www.walgreens.com/walgr… to learn more about Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products.

Something else I recently learned about Walgreens specifically is that  a purchase of any of their Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products supports bringing preventive wellness services to local communities through the Walgreens Way to Well Fund™.  The Walgreens Way to Well Fund™ will provide free preventive health tests as well as other health and wellness services and education to local communities. Some of those services will include preventive health tests through the National Urban League Health & Wellness Tour and vouchers redeemable in select stores.
Anyway...
Long story short, living in North Texas has it's benefits (flip flops on Christmas day, fresh salsa anytime, and Sonic to name a short few), but it also has it's drawbacks.
Allergies.
But, thanks to amazing drugs, like Wal-itin D, I can survive without being congested, itchy, and without scratching my eyes out.
P.S. Several bloggers are doing giveaways on their blog. If you're inclined, check it out!

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Snot... No! Really! Snot!

I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour conducted by Clever Girls Collective on behalf of Children's Claritin®. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program.

What is it with kids and snot?

I'm talking boogers, not attitude.

It's GORGEOUS outside (that was this morning!!).  No really!

There was a slight breeze which is made the morning heat bearable (dare I say.... enjoyable?)

And yet... there my beautiful, gorgeous, little hunk of a man is.

With boogers dripping down his face. Talk about gorgeous.

GROSS!

I quickly realized that I'd forgotten to give him his morning allergy medication.

Yep, he takes it every morning. (right along with his chewable dinosaur vitamins. He growls for them too!)

One more YAY! for living in North Texas. 

Allergies are such fun. Aren't they?!.

Fortunately, Claritin for kids makes it work. No really, Little Man even notices it.

I'll ask him if he needs help with his nose, and he'll respond with .... "Yes Mommy. No Care-tin. Take Care-tin now peas."

He takes his dosage, and about 30 minutes later we're good to go.

Claritin shared this great guide for Mom's who are dealing with kids and allergies.

Here's to hoping you don't need (or have) to deal with snot!!

Clear to Enjoy Spring: The Allergy Guide for Moms and Kids

View more presentations from Children's Claritin

For more tips on relieving allergies, visit www.Facebook.com/Claritin. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

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What's Cookin'

Here I am, on SUNDAY, finishing up our menu plan for the coming week.  Color me proud of myself.

For reals.

Lately, my family has been ordering a produce basket from Bountiful Baskets and it has been amazing.

I've been telling EVERYONE who'll listen about them, and everyone around me is so tired of listening (or they're thanking me and ordering baskets for their family).

No kickbacks or discounts for me... they're a co-op, not a business.

And I love that about them.

Anywho, my goal is to plan our menu around what we recieve in our basket.

So far, so good!

Here's what we got in our basket on Saturday:

:

Not my image! Click on it to go to it's source (But we did receive the same produce in our basket!)

Not my image! It's from the blog "4PeastsSake" Click on it to go to it's source (But we did receive the same produce in our basket!)

We had spinach, romaine lettuce, bananas, pears, peaches, apples, watermelon, cantaloupe, sweet peppers, artichokes, yellow peppers, onions, and tomatoes.

All for $15!

I'm also a huge fan of their add-ons. This week, we also added the sourdough bread (5 loaves for $10), tropical granola, 24lbs of apricots ($20), and two super delicious cakes.

In the past we've purchased their honey wheat bread and the 9-grain wheat bread. Both were 5 loaves for $10. We freeze 4 of the loaves and just pull them out when we need them. It is the best bread (aside from homemade) we've ever had and you can't beat the price. It's not a smushy bread and it's not hard. It is firm and tender... and is brilliant toasted!

I digress... back to our menu plan for the week...

Here's what I'm planning to make:

• Monday: Stuffed artichokes and green salad with sweet peppers, feta cheese, tomatoes and pears.
• Tuesday: Grilled pork chops with apricot chutney served with brown rice
• Wednesday: Leftovers
• Thursday: Potato, onion & yellow pepper frittata with piave cheese
• Friday: Chicken & shrimp jambalaya
• Saturday: Leftovers
• Sunday: Spaghetti Casserole
• Dessert: Apricot Ice Cream
• Snack Options: Watermelon, cantelope, and mango apricot salsa with baked tortilla crisps (baked in our oven)
• Lunch Options: Yogurt, Apples & Cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, homemade tomato soup (with evaporated milk instead of the cream)
• Breakfast Optionss: Eggs, yogurt, granola, toast

Here's to a great week, that's hopefully full of delicious healthy food!

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Maintaining Creative Friendships...

Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Over the years, I've been able to attend several really incredible art events. At these events, I've learned skills and techniques that I didn't know beforehand and I've also met some of my most favorite people ever. On a few really, REALLY, lucky occasions I've been able to maintain these relationships and branch them into friendships.

Real friendships.

I love that, and I really believe that email helps build those friendships. None of the friendships I've developed are with people who live close to me. The closest one lives at least 40 miles away.

That's a lotta miles, friend!

Fortunately, the big huge world of the 'ole www (that's World Wide Web), provides a way for us to maintain a relationship and communication with each other.

It's called email.

You know what that is, right? :)

(Though, I will be the first to admit, I still tend to be horrible at always responding to emails. Even if they are from some of my most favorite people EVER.)

This past weekend, I participated in and attended The Art of Spring, which was the very last event the wonderful women of A Gilded Life will be hostessing in their Church.

Yes, I said Church.

Doesn't everyone host events in churches? Or better yet, live in them?

Well THEY do! (DID rather....)

I had the absolute BEST time. I was able to hang out with my 'peeps', see some of my absolute most favorite people EVER, and get to know a whole slew of new people too!

People who GET me.

I mean, REALLY get me. (They don't get all huffy when they see that I consider myself a Gilded Girl. 'Cause they KNOW what it means... and I'm not just being a snob!)

(Photo from Jackie Peter's Blog)

They get the need to create. They get the urge to gather (and hoard) vintage art, baubles, and ephemera.  They totally understand why I have separate tools for fine jewelry making rather than using the very same tools to solder or to repair furniture.

I know you know what I mean.

I've got a really great post mostly written with some of the awesomeness that we enjoyed that weekend (I've actually scheduled writing it into my busy calendar!!!), so hold on to your britches... It's a comin'!!

The point I want to get to is this...

Even though I don't live very close to any of these friends, we are able to maintain connections with each other via email.

We email about our lives, about jalepeno's that co-workers left on our desks (Yes, Charlotte... you ARE a hot mamma!), about ridiculous things people say or do, about what we're wearing (and what we should NOT be wearing), about art projects, art inspirations, and even better.... SALES!!

We email about hardships, joyous occasions, challenges, and successes. We talk about the work we're submitting for publication (and getting honest feedback on it), about the opportunities to have our businesses grow, about the thrills of seeing our work in print (and available at a local bookstore for everyone to see), and about the challenges of not getting our work selected.

Many times we email about the things we don't want to have completely public (otherwise we'd be reading about it on each others blogs or on that amazing place called Facebook), and that we want to discuss amongst those we hold close to our heart.

Email is a wonderful thing.

Truely it is.

(Now, if only I could find a way (or even a better system) to read my email AND reply to it on my smart phone. I'm telling you ... though technology is phenomenal, it's also a curse!!)

P.S. For the record... I've used Yahoo! email for over 20 years.
P.P.S. Now I feel old.

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What's Cookin'

I have got to get back on target with blogging!

'Cause at the moment... saying I sucketh isn't even the tip of the iceberg!

I'm going to do this.

Really I am!

I have several half written blog posts about my new garden (already eating parts of it!!), our playroom decor/redesign, recipe makeovers (into healthier choices), my soldered house class in Oklahoma, my canning adventures, the most recent A Gilded Life event, and several different crafting projects!

In any respect, here's my menu plan for what's left of this week:

• Tuesday: Veggie laden pasta salad with grilled chicken and garlic bread
• Wednesday: Grilled mozzarella cheese, tomato, arugula, and pesto sandwiches on ciabatta buns (and leftover pasta salad) - MY FAVORITE!
• Thursday: Meatloaf (freezer) & mashed potatoes with oven roasted cauliflower
• Friday: Grilled fish and veggies with brown rice
• Saturday: Oven fried chicken and roasted new potatoes
• Sunday: Peanut butter pesto & chicken pizza (It's a Steve creation... sounds gross but is SO good!)
• Dessert: Upside Down Pineapple cake
• New Recipe: Pineapple Pretzel Salad (sounds interesting...)
• Breakfast Choices: Plain Greek yogurt (seasoned with agave and a bit of mexican vanilla), homemade granola, toast, eggs, fruit, or starve. 
• Lunch Choices: Tacos, quesadillas, taquitos (clearly I enjoy Mexican food, and it is EASY), pb&j, ramen (which I love with broccoli), or a hotdog (for the boy).

 That's all I got folks! What'cha think about that?

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