Focus On The Positive...

I'm kind of in a funk today. Nothing really "major"...just little things that have built up and gotten to me. Getting ready to head out for a walk/run which usually does a nice job of clearing my head. The good thing about having a blog is that you tend to focus on the positive. So here are some Mother's Day gifts that I received this weekend. Very positive in deed! Maybe this day will turn around after all!
This flower is called a Fushia. I've never seen one before.




Made by my sweet daughter :)




My son was very excited about this plant because he said that now we don't have to buy strawberries at the store anymore! When I got this on Sunday the berry was white. As you can see it's turning red. Hope it ripens and that we get to try it before an animal or bug gets it!

Try to have a good day today...I'll be doing the same!

I've got summer on the brain

Will I regret saying that 2 weeks (or less) into summer when the kids are driving me crazy? Well, ready or not it's coming....they're coming...in less than a month! Here are some peeks of summer in my shop!

Great Way To Start The Day...

I am a little obsessed with making this smoothie these days. It's refreshing and high in protein! The high protein comes from the Greek yogurt. Sometimes I switch it up and use strawberry Greek yogurt and fresh strawberries instead of a banana. This recipe is for 2 servings so I half it when necessary.


Banana Breakfast Smoothie (from Cooking Light Magazine)

1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup crushed ice (I sometimes bump this up to a cup if I want my smoothie a little icier...don't go crazy though b/c your smoothie will get watered down. I speak from experience on that one)
1 tbsp. honey
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 frozen sliced ripe banana ( I have actually never used frozen b/c I am usually making this on the fly...but I plan too!)
1 cup plain 2 % Greek yogurt

Combine first 5 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Add yogurt; process until just blended.

Yield: 2 cups. Serving size 1 cup. Cal. 212 Fat 3.6 g protein 14.2 g carb 34.2g chol. 9mg sodium 75 mg. calc. 200mg
Enjoy!

This is my month people!!

Today is my 16th wedding anniversary, Sunday is Mother's Day and my birthday is next week! Here's hoping my husband doesn't try to combine all the gifts into one. Lol....I kid, I kid! :) In all seriousness, all these things correspond with some of the greatest blessings in my life. Here are some old school pics as proof:
My husband ( this is us on our honeymoon....BABIES I tell you!!)

my children (YES, those animals are real....just proves how much I love my kids b/c I REALLY, really HATE snakes!!!)

Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend! The grandparents are watching the kids tomorrow AND tomorrow night so we get an overnight date!! Woo hoo!

Why Hello There!

April ended up being a very busy month around here so my poor blog was neglected. Hopefully it will get a little more attention in May. Here are a few snapshots to re-cap April!

We hit the beach a few times

Decorated eggs...have to sneak this stuff in while I still can :)

celebrated my daughter's 12th birthday! (these are favors from her party)
We visited a chocolate factory (for Riley's Birthday)! That's a Twinkie getting ready to enter the "Enrober" :)
watched a lot of soccer (both husband and son play)! Go Deuce and Fiasco United!!
My daughter took a surf lesson at Ron Jon with her Girl Scout troop. It was an absolute blast to watch. I want to take one this summer too! It's never to late to become what you might have been, right?? :)

So all of the above, plus daily monotonous stuff and then add in my Etsy shop and it made for a hectic April!

How was your April? Are you ready for summer? I am...and I'm not. I was anxious for some beach days...but then this oil spill happened! It makes me sick thinking about it and it's effects on our environment!

Anyhoo, I hope you are doing well and I hope to check in more this month! Bye for now! :)

Dear Couscous,

I just wanted to let you know how much I am loving you right now. In addition to being super tasty, you have been a break from the norm for my family...and my son will eat you! That is huge because he doesn't like pasta, rice or mac & cheese (crazy, I know!)

You have many sides, lovely Couscous. This is one of our favorites (found at my local grocery store, Publix). It is made in several flavors and all that we've tried have been delicious!
Here is what it looks like cooked and ready to be devoured! I'm obviously not a food photographer. ;)
We haven't tried the variation below...but I am really looking forward to it. I've had this size Couscous at restaurants and it's sooo good! After some searching I found this at Fresh Market. I'll report back and let you know how it is. :)
If you haven't had Couscous before...consider trying it. The closest thing I can compare it too is rice but the texture is much different.

Have a great evening!!

There is still time...

at least that's my hope. Time to relish sweet childhood moments that seem to be slipping away too fast. My daughter is turning 12 next week and has been showing all the signs of passing over into the tween phase....then she does this
making mud pies in the backyard with her brother. Yes, that's our backyard. We've been needing to replace our sod so we let the kids (mostly Coop) dig in the dirt...and it turned into "The Hole". Gasp, I know...kids outside in the dirt!! Unfortunately they don't have much time left with it b/c we are going to be re-sodding very soon. And look what they made...
This is Riley's...it's Mrs. Mud Lady!
This is Coop's...it's Mud Turtle!
That's all for today. As the commercial for Rice Krispies says, "Childhood is calling". ;)