Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Happy LEAP YEAR!

Happy beautiful LEAP day.
I thought I would share a few pretty images that have inspired me this week…. with you to send your deco desires whirling.
I want one of these soon. I have the vintage fan. I have a spool. Hmmmmm.
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We might need two in fact. One for me. One for Jax. Isn’t it a DOLL?
Image via skcnis

And since I told you about my pink typewriter…I’ll need a pink camera too!
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Pink makes me think of Spring for some reason. And I don’t know about you, but I’m SUPER happy it’s time for warmer days!
Spring colors….like those found in vintage sheets.
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What’s on my mind in addition to Spring….everything chickens. I’m so excited about our new babies.
If I could have any backyard chicken coop in the world…I’d say it would have to be this one.
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For the love of gravy and all things Southern. I love this coop. Mark my word, we will have a chandelier too ( I have a mini one just waiting for the perfect home…and a I plan on making a cute sign that says….CLUCKINGHAM PALACE!
Oh it’s going to be such cute FUN!
Guess I need to add a Pinterest Board now…Chicken Love.

P.S. Tomorrow I have a BIG REVIEW...and it has an even BIGGER giveaway. Like a $100 Wal-mart giftcard!!!!!! Whoooooop whooooooop!! Tell your Mamma, your Granny, your Aunt Fay and Uncle Bob...and EVERYONE else you can think of!

XoXo
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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The newest additions to our family

So like I need anything else on my to-do list right? Well wrong….sorta!

Meet the latest additions to our family….

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Jax named the black duck “Tuck” and the yellow duck “Ming-Ming.” You know…off of The Wonder Pets. Too cute right?

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We have 10 baby chicks. No names yet. LOL.

My main purpose for getting them was to use them in my Easter sessions.

But…they will now be apart of our family.

Jax is so excited, and I am too. I love them! We always had chickens and other animals growing up. I’m so excited for Jax to have the same experiences.

I might have lost my mind…but what fun.

Easie Peasie now has new residents….so say hello to BLOG WORLD new duckies and chickies!!!

 

XoXo

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Saturday, February 25, 2012

It’s Saturday and I’m pinning and I should be CLEANING!

Happy weekend friends!

It’s Saturday and it’s gorgeous outside.

I need to be cleaning.

I need to do the huge list of homework that is DUE right now.

I need to edit pictures.

I need to get ready for my photo session this afternoon.

And what am I doing?

PINNING!

I haven’t pinned in ages. I try to take a break from Pinterest sometimes to rely on my own creative ideas for projects rather than try to do what everyone else is doing. Breaking free from the crowd is a good thing sometimes.

I do think that Pinterest is a GEM for workout motivation though.

In between finding workout inspirations I’ve seen some pretty RAD stuff.

Like this chandelier…yes I’ll take three please!

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Found HERE

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I’ve always wanted a pink typewriter!!! Ahhh…someday I hope! I think I could write the most fabulous things with a pink typewriter. LOL. =)

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Found HERE

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These flowers make my heart happy and remind me that Spring is right around the corner. I’m so excited. I’m ready to get my hands in the dirt and plant a few!

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Found HERE

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Oh Chevron you’ve had me at hello. And I just love these chevron towels. Just gorg.

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Found HERE

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AAAAMEN! This makes me laugh, and is SO TRUE! It’s a great workout reminder….NO EXCUSES!

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Found HERE

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Embracing this as I’ve started training for my 25K run. Embracing this in every area of my life.♥

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Found HERE

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Realizing how true this is…more and more each day. This pertains not only to exercise and health, but in everything of life. Small little changes add up to BIG changes in the future. I’ve spent the last 2 years doing teeny, little daily changes. I’m the girl who was so lost and hurt in my divorce I could barely leave my house much less look up and smile. I own my own company now and I’m in grad school…and I’m training for a  half-marathon now. Little changes…add up to BIG changes.

Pinned ImageFound HERE

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Don’t these quotes make you want to get off your keester and get something accomplished! I love them!

Have an AWESOME weekend! Do a few little things to show yourself some LOVE this weekend!

XoXo

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Thursday, February 23, 2012

Smoothie Recipe Ideas

As promised here is my smoothie recipe ideas! And really it’s more what I use as basic ingredients for our smoothies, not with specific measurements. I vary our smoothie ingredients daily just to mix it up.

First of all frozen fruit is AH-mazing. It’s a frugal way to keep fruit options available for your family. My favorite frozen fruit for smoothies is a mix I find at Wal-Mart. So far, I have yet to find the quality of fruit in a mix like this one and I’ve looked at all my local super markets.

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It’s almost $8.00 for a big bag that lasts about a week for us. And that’s making a batch of smoothies at least once a day. The fruit is wonderful and delish.

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Big, meaty pieces of each kind of fruit.

I just guesstimate when I pour it in our blender. I use this fruit mix as the base for all of our smoothies. I vary all the other ingredients, but this stays the same.

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Sometimes I add frozen blueberries. Another great value in comparison to buying them fresh.

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I also throw in bananas almost every time. Did you know you can freeze bananas? I didn’t, but I do now. If my bananas start to age before we can use them (which now days isn’t very common since we are eating so much fruit) you can peel them, put them in a freezer bag and freeze them. I have a stockpile of frozen bananas. Very frugal and efficient way to make sure you don’t waste food.

For protein in our smoothies I stay away from whey protein powders. They just taste and smell gross to me. At one time I had a little herd of about 10 doggie (pronounced – doh-ggie) calves which meant they were orphaned. And I made A LOT of bottles for those little babies. Whey protein powder smells JUST LIKE calf milk replacement powder to me…and I cannot smell it or drink it. LOL! I do use it in homemade protein bars though and will share that recipe soon!

I use Greek yogurt or almond milk for added protein in our smoothies.

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I just add a few dollops and they are good to go.

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If I use almond milk, I just add a splash or two. It’s all up to you!

You can add spinach too. A lot of people don’t like the brown color that it creates when you blend the smoothies. We don’t really care, it tastes fantastic. And I love that we are getting so many extra nutrients by adding it.

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I throw a few handfuls in.

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Now that you have all of your solid ingredients, it’s time to add a few liquids. I use juices that are 100% juice such as apple or the BIGTEX juice combos.

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I splash about one cup of juice in and add as much water as necessary to create the blend of liquid and solids needed for the perfect smoothie texture.  You could omit the juice and just add water for less calories if desired. I like the flavor POP it adds. If I need more liquid, I just keep adding water until it’s smooth.

For my smoothies I add in one teaspoon of this vitamin C powder. After my ‘bout with the flu, I’m not taking any more chances of being that sick again. I don’t add it to Jaxon’s because he’s too little and I don’t feel comfortable giving him high amounts of supplements like that. Just my personal choice.

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His favorite part is BLENDING. If he sees me get the blender out…he knows it’s SMOOTHIE TIME!
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Here’s what one looks like with the added blueberries and spinach:

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That is what Jax is drinking too!

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And here is one without the berries or spinach….

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Pretty!!

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Our favorite time to make and eat smoothies is in the evening after dinner when we are relaxing and/or watching TV. It’s like a dessert. A rich, delicious dessert---made of wholesome ingredients. I never crave sweets because I have my smoothies.

You can make them for breakfast, lunch, dinner…snacks. Whenever makes your heart happy!

What about you? How do you make your smoothies?

XoXo

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

My new love = clean eating

Hello there! Lately my posting has been just a smidgen random and irregular. I apologize for that! It’s been busy with a capital B!

I do want to share something that is changing my life in amazing ways. After reading all my favorite blogs, there’s one thing that can be said about ALL of us. We all want cute homes, pretty food, in-shape-hot-mamma bodies, pretty faces, hair and clothes…and most of all happy kiddos. And some of us run businesses and go to grad school in between.

A lot of the time I over-look posting about all of these things because they feel so simple or plain. Truth is, I look to see how other women are being successful in those areas, so why not share what helps me too right?

Here’s my first share….Clean Eating is changing my health, my body and my life.
I read (3 times back-to-back) Tosca Reno’s “The Eat Clean Diet Recharged” which you can find HERE.
I’m officially obsessed with eating clean. I started eating clean in January and when I went to Alpine for classes I didn’t….I ate pure junk the whole time. I came home miserable and then had the flu.
For once in my life, I could truly feel what it is like to not eat right and what it does to your body. I would not eat a hamburger and fries right now if you paid me. That’s how great I feel. And the best part….
It’s uber healthy and I can manage it on a single-Mom budget.

What makes me even MORE HAPPY is this…
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Because that smoothie is made out of this….
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And Jax LOVES them!

Does your 3 year old eat raw spinach? Probably not---mine thinks it’s grass! Ha ha ha! But he will eat a smoothie! He loves our smoothies and has his own little smoothie cup.

Tomorrow I will share a few smoothie recipe ideas that I use and that we love. And I’m going to start sharing some Clean Eating snacks and meals that I’ve discovered or created too.
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One more thing that Clean Eating has done…because I feel so good…I feel like I can run a marathon…even if my body can’t right now. So guess what?

My step-sister and I are training to run a marathon next January. Yep! It’s BIGTIME exciting!!!
We are going to run in the Big Bend 50 Ultra Marathon in Big Bend Park.
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image via: www.bigbend50.com

There’s a 10K, 25K and 50K. Oh my goodness!
We are starting our training focused on the 25K right now. Pretty exciting!!
So in addition to our clean eating, I’ll be sharing our training ideas and what we are learning. Because we were athletes in our younger days, but we are no where near marathon runners yet. It’s going to be a BIG journey. But I’m super excited!

If you already know lot’s of great tips for beginners we are open to all help! =)

Hope you are having a BLESSED!
XoXo
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Sunday, February 19, 2012

Sunday Inspiration…

I  hope this post finds you having a wonderful and blessed weekend. I’m getting ready for a super exciting senior photo session this evening and can’t wait to show you the results. Three words – STATE GOLF CHAMP! And she’s gorgeous to boot. It’s going to be so FUN!

I also finished my girly backdrop set for my upcoming Easter sessions. Folks…I lost every bit of fingerprints with this project from all the intensive hot gluing. LOL! I so love how it all turned out and cannot wait to use it!

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And to add an even FUNNIER note. I went to Home Depot alone…to get my backdrop supplies. Let’s just say I have no problem HUMILIATING myself….all BY MYSELF! I wrestled an 8ft piece of wood paneling in the parking lot. And the panel WON! Ha ha ha ha! Thank goodness for angels who come along to help us in our moments of need. A very kind man came over and helped me wrangle the beast into my Yukon…not once…but twice. Because oh yes friends…the first time we got it in the car…I left my keys in the back of the cargo area of my Yukon. TAKE TWO---we take the panel out…and TRY AGAIN! He was so kind-hearted! Note to self: NO MORE trips to HOME DEPOT without asking for HELP! =)

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I also wanted to share a little Sunday Inspiration with you as well. I don’t know if you listen to K-LOVE radio but I do and I adore it. I did the 30 Days Challenge in January and only listened to Christian music. Wow. What a wonderful difference it makes when you are driving to be surrounded with God's love. I’m hooked and have only been listening to Christian music now. My latest download this week was Dara Maclean’s album “You’ve Got My Attention.”

image via: www.daramaclean.com

I loooooooooooooooooooove it!

I listen to it in the car and on the treadmill during my Mamma workout time. I’ve also been listening to only Christian music when I workout…and it’s like my meditation, spiritual and prayer time…and workout…all mixed in one! 

My favorite song right now is ….. SUITCASES

You can download the album or your favorite songs by going to iTunes HERE!

Have a BLESSED Sunday!

XoXo

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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Howdy! How are you doing?
We are doing awesome! Flu-free and awesome! Being sick is such a downer isnt’ it? Uugh! I’ve felt like there’s been a YUCKY dark cloud of sickness over my house lately, and I banished it this week! Ha ha ha ha! Fingers-crossed anyways.
We have been up to a lot…and a lot of nothing new. Ha ha. Is that possible? School is in full force. Hello graduate school homework. Even at it’s worst, I still love it with every geeky bone in my body. I love academia. I just cannot help it. What I do not love….is reading Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. Bleck!! Gothic novels are not my cup of tea!
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We went to the farm this week for some fresh air! Oh how we love to go see Granny and Grandpa!
Jaxon is like  wild animal set free when we go to the farm. His new thing is riding his four-wheeler all over the pasture.
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He begs me everyday to go to Granny’s house. I now know why. ((The BIG hole is the now dried-up pond. I spent MANY hours as a kiddo fishing there.  ))
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Jaxon and Shorty are BIG EXPLORERS together. They crack me up.
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Jaxon drives down the dog trails…as his roads. His granny showed him that. Pretty sweet!
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Being at the farm is a great way to spend the afternoon.
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Just ask Jax!
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This silly dog --- after Jax slid down---he DID TOO! I missed the shot though! Gosh dawg!!!
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It’s pretty evident he never sits still right?
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Being outside….is EVERYTHING for Jaxon. And I so love that! My brother and I loved playing outside too! It’s MAGICAL!
We also had to say hi to the horsies.
Granny bought Jax a rubber bucket-thingy so he can feed the horses all he wants…without lot’s of possible BIG teeth biting those little fingies.
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I got a few horsie kisses. Because they are magical too!
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And I had to take a few pictures of them. I love horse pictures. I want to decorate an entire wall with them!!
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They make my HEART so HAPPY!
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I also saw this laying on the ground….LOVE IT!
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Have a BLESSED day!
XoXo
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