Genious!

I have this friend who I go to the gym with. She literally is the most ripped woman I have ever seen. She is extremely fit, but she told me she has an addiction to sweets. I just laughed at her because obviously looking at her that is not the case. She insisted and said, "I just learned to make them healthier so I could still eat them." One thing I did say though was obviously she does moderation in all things. Her response, "obviously;) But you will be addicted."

So, I requested said recipes. I haven't tried all of them because literally there is about 30 recipes to go through, but I did try something I HAD to share. She gave me 2 separate recipes and I combined them to create Almond Joys made healthy! Boo ya baby! This addiction has all natural and healthy ingredients! Don't be fooled into thinking you can eat a lot of them, because there is a lot of natural fat in these with the almond butter, walnuts and coconut oil.

Coconut Truffles
2 cups walnuts
1 cup pitted medjool dates
1T raw almond butter
1 t cinnamon
Shredded coconut (garnish)
In food processor, blend walnuts until finely chopped. While processor is running, add dates one at a time until sticky ball forms. Open lid of food processor and add almond butter and cinnamon. Process until mixed. Form into small balls and roll in shredded coconut




Cck's Chocolate Butter
60 g (4T) coconut oil
52 g ( 1/2 cup plus 1 T) cocoa powder
scant 1/4 cup agave or 20 vanilla Stevia drops
46 g (3T) water

Melt coconut oil. Add remaining ingredients and stir until thick. You can use as a chocolate sauce/dip (for bananas or strawberries) or you can spread out in a pan lined with plastic and wrap and freeze until firm to become chocolate bites.


So, I made the coconut truffles and drizzled cck's chocolate butter over it and it was VERY tasty! I am very pleased with this recipe.

Foundation Stucco

 We hired someone to do the stucco and it was worth every penny.  They had to remove this black tar and smooth the cement first.  Next they power washed it.  After that I stopped watching because I had hungry kids. 

  BEFORE

 AFTER

 BEFORE

AFTER

 BEFORE

 AFTER

They did the side of the stairs

Telling Time

My son has been working on telling time. So, I decided to make him a clock to work with. I just revamped an old clock we had in our home that wasn't being used. If you were feeling really crafty, you could make a totally new face for it, but I just wanted easy.

I dismantlement the clock so it was down to the bare bones. I only wanted the face and the hands. I Removed the cover, the battery pack, and the seconds ticker (not sure what it's really called) My face was glued onto this plastic thing which ended up being good because it gives it more durability. I reattached the hands with a brad.

Here is the front of my son's new clock that will teach him how to tell time.

If you are NOT using an old clock, I made this printable. My daughter said she wanted a rainbow. So here you go. Print out on heavy card stock and laminate the face of the clock. For the hands, print on heavy card stock and line with cardboard to make stiff. Drill holes through the cardboard. Using a brad, attach hands to the clock.

You can download your own clock HERE.

Photoshoot

While in Idaho, I took some pictures of my sister's family. Here are some adorable photos. I am still learning to pose people, but I really think I am getting the hang of it.

Location #1

Location #2: (the baby would NOT cooperate.  He refused to have his picture taken).

Fire Pit

We've had alot of people lately ask when we were going to start on our yard.  FYI that is not what you ask someone who is doing all their landscaping themselves in a  new yard.  My husband spends every spare minute working and he has done a ton.  I just laugh because all anyone can see is that we have no grass.  They don't see the 60 trees we've planted, the dirt piles we've moved, dirt that has been smoothed, shed we added, cement, etc.   It doesn't make us mad we think it's funny.  I would almost bet that years ago I asked someone when they were going to start on their yard, not realizing how much work a new yard takes. What goes around comes around.
This past weekend I heard a story about a family that finished their yard, laid sod and before it could root a big rain storm came and washed it all down the hill into the river behind them.  I wanted to cry, and throw up because we know how much work and money that cost.

Here's our fire pit we've added.

 BEFORE

 DURING

 AFTER

This picture looks like we have gravel all around the firepit, but it's crushed travertine and granite.  

To give you an idea of how much time things take notice in the 1st picture the hay field in the back has just been cut.  In the last picture it's green and ready to be cut again.

Hope we can teach our children the value of hard work.

Is that Mine!?!

Is this really my kitchen!?! Say what!?! I think it is!

So, hubby and I have officially made some upgrades to the kitchen. We bought new appliances off of Craigslist. And replaced the counter tops. They look like granite, but they are just laminate.

Before:
This shot was before we moved in. We put the overhead microwave in really quickly so I wanted you to get the REAL before shots.
A gloriously ancient stove and no overhead microwave.
On the right, a porcelain sink with the lip on the counter and I HATE it! Bonus material: a great side shot of my friend:) Also, notice there are no knobs on the drawers. We replaced the handles and added knobs.

Our old refrigerator. Someone was getting ride of it for free and we needed something until we could save up for one. I sold it for $50!

Lovely cream laminate counter tops that get stained extremely easily and drive me crazy and I hate them more then cooked fruit and that's saying something. FYI: I HATE cooked fruit. Apples are the worst. To me fruit should not be excessively soggy. It's a texture thing. If all desserts were pies I would be the skinniest person on earth. HA!













After: We put in new counter tops

an acrylic sink with NO lip.  I am completely happy with how everything turned out! YIPPEE!

Matching appliances all around. Perfect!

Oh Baby

When I was visiting my family last week, I was privileged enough to take photos of my 2 week old niece. She is truly a beautiful baby and I believe these pictures captured that.

Day 1: She was wide awake and completely content.  She was willing to just lay there while I snapped away.

 

Holding mommy's hand

 

Sleeping in daddy's arms

 I loved this container we put her in. It was the perfect photo prop.

 This one was my favorite. She just looks so precious.

This picture I liked how her eyes were closed, but not how she pushed her leg out at the last second.

I liked this picture because she was in a great position, but her eyes were partly opened.

So, I took the eyes from the top photo and put them on the bottom photo and now I have the perfect photo of her:)

Dairy Free Ice Cream

My son has an allergy to dairy. My sister posted THIS about making ice cream in a bag. I remember doing this with her as a kid. Such fun! Well, I wanted to get my kids on the fun so I scourered the web for a dairy free ice cream recipe. There are a lot out there. You can make any of them without an ice cream machine too! Which was also a requirement, but I realized if the recipe is large, cut it down and make in a big Ziploc bag instead. BAM! Dairy free ice cream without an ice cream maker.

I used THIS recipe with these instructions from a comment left by Trinka

"Any container that is freezer safe will do. Simply pour and freeze as usual. Do not mix or you will get ice crystals. I've even made this in a freezer Ziploc type of bag so I could cut the corner and "soft -serve" right into the comes or bowls. To do this, take a 2 gallon zip loc bag and add ice cubes( 2 trays worth) and rock salt. In another 1 gallon bag, pour the blended mix. Zip it shut and place the mix bag into the 2 gallon bag with salt and ice. Zip shut but leave about 1 inch open for air to move freely. Knead and squish bags until you have soft-serve style ice cream ( yes, the kids can do this too!) Unzip ice and salt bag, pull out ice cream bag and dry with a towel. Cut the corner and squeeze into cones or bowls!"

Here are a few pictures I took of my kiddos while in Idaho.

 I just love his missing 2 front teeth. I just needed to document that adorable smile!

 This little princess loves to smile for the camera.

 .....most of the time;)

 "okay, mommy! I will smile like a pink princess." Thanks!

 So, I am bias, but my kiddos are SOOOOOOO cute! I can't get enough of their kisses and hugs. their smiles and giggles brighten my day.