For this installment of my tip of the week I want to share my favorite face and body scrub. It's so simple, so cheap (whoo hoo!) and is gentle enough to work on your face as well as your legs and elbows.
I make this in a small lock-n-container and keep it right in the shower.
The basic recipe goes as follows: Add enough lemon juice to table sugar to make a thick paste. Then add a little bit of olive oil. Stir together. That's it. The sugar exfoliates. The lemon cleanses. The oil moisturizes.
You can make variations of this depending on what you have on hand. I will sometimes add a little bit of honey in addition to oil. It's good for your skin, too. You can also add kosher salt to the sugar mix. If you were really feeling froggy you could add a few drops of your favorite essential oil - but watch out around your eyes.
Happy scrubbing!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Momma's cleanin' house!
Isaac has been a little under the weather this week. His bed is also between 2 windows on the opposite side of the room from the heat vent. So, I figure I'll just wheel in there and move his bed to the other side of the room - away from the cold windows and closer to the heater. Right?
Well, that sounds good. But... Do you have one of those rooms in which the very sight of it immediately raises your frustration level and your blood pressure? That would be Isaac's room for me. It's not that he doesn't clean it. He does. It has more to do with the fact that he is a pack-rat and keeps everything. That is compiled by the fact that he doesn't have adequate storage in there yet. It's still a new (to us) house and Daddy hasn't had the time to make all of the built ins we have planned for his kickin', awesome (some day) room.
So, Momma's cleaning house! I decided it was high time to go in there and tackle it myself. I told Isaac that I was cleaning his room and everything I felt like getting rid of was going in the trash. He was amazingly cool with that. He had actually thrown away 4 trash bags full of garbage a few days ago. Yes, you read that right. 4 bags of trash. I added 2 more to that pile today. Are we the only pathetic household that deals with this on a semi-routine basis?
After all was said and done - the room is emptied of useless waste, shelves are reorganized, furniture is rearranged and much more conducive to winter sleeping arrangements, and I have a sense of calm when I enter the kiddie zone. An added bonus is that Isaac LOVES it. Go figure!
Now, if it would only stay that way.
Well, that sounds good. But... Do you have one of those rooms in which the very sight of it immediately raises your frustration level and your blood pressure? That would be Isaac's room for me. It's not that he doesn't clean it. He does. It has more to do with the fact that he is a pack-rat and keeps everything. That is compiled by the fact that he doesn't have adequate storage in there yet. It's still a new (to us) house and Daddy hasn't had the time to make all of the built ins we have planned for his kickin', awesome (some day) room.
So, Momma's cleaning house! I decided it was high time to go in there and tackle it myself. I told Isaac that I was cleaning his room and everything I felt like getting rid of was going in the trash. He was amazingly cool with that. He had actually thrown away 4 trash bags full of garbage a few days ago. Yes, you read that right. 4 bags of trash. I added 2 more to that pile today. Are we the only pathetic household that deals with this on a semi-routine basis?
After all was said and done - the room is emptied of useless waste, shelves are reorganized, furniture is rearranged and much more conducive to winter sleeping arrangements, and I have a sense of calm when I enter the kiddie zone. An added bonus is that Isaac LOVES it. Go figure!
Now, if it would only stay that way.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
My Husband Rocks - Furniture!
I found out about this "My Husband Rocks" deal over at Journey to a Gracious Woman and just had to get in on it. My hubby always Rocks, but sometimes he just flat blows me away. Monday night on his way home from work he called to tell me he was bringing me a present. YAY! I LOVE PRESENTS! He shows up with a solid cherry wood bedroom set! The bed has both a head board and foot board. Plus there is a chest of drawers and a dresser with the big mirror that goes on top. Let me just say it one more time. My husband rocks!
Dog Breath - The Horrible Trouble With Hally Tosis
Jessie at Overflow of a Forgiven Soul had given a great review about the Captain Underpants books not long ago. You should check it out . Well, we're always up for a good laugh around our house so we went off to the library in search of Captain Underpants. Unfortunately, that was a bust. But we did strike gold in the form of another book. "Dog Breath - The Horrible Trouble With Hally Tosis" is a comic genius written by Dav Pilkey. Not only is the book written extremely well, but the illustrations added to the "bring the house down" laughter. Dav also happens to be the author of the Captain Underpants books. After listening to my eight year old squealing out loud with shrieks of uncontrollable laughter, I can't wait to find more books by this witty author.
Delightful Cookbook
Yesterday I mentioned a great recipe out of one of my favorite cookbooks. Today I want to give a little shout out about the book itself, Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook. This cookbook is one of the better ones I have bought. It is packed with recipes that we would actually eat (pretty novel, eh?). I haven't met a cookbook that has tons of recipes that I use regularly, but this one has quite a few.
Let me share some of our favorites. The Dijon-Herb Marinade makes chicken breasts so tender , juicy and full of flavor that I feel it personally rivals Carrabba's. The Rosemary Chicken with Wild Rice, Monterey Jack Turkey Burgers (yummy), Maryland Crab cakes and of course the soup I mentioned yesterday are just a sampling. What I love is that these are easy and relatively quick to prepare recipes with ingredients that you probably already have or can easily get your hands on. And who doesn't love that? Even if you don't do Weight Watchers (I don't), it's just plain, good, food that is good for you and your family.
I haven't tried many of the recipes, yet, but am looking foreward to experimenting with many more. I definitely recommend adding this cookbook to your culinary library (sounds fancy, don't it?) or at least checking it out from your local library. Happy (and healthy) cooking!
Pam
Monday, January 5, 2009
Slow-Cook Tuscan Sausage-and-Bean Soup
Well, it's time once again for the recipe of the week. I want to share another one of my family's favorite soup recipes since that is what we seem to eat a lot of this time of year. This one comes from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook (which is a fabulous cookbook, by the way) and rivals any soup I've ever eaten in a restaurant where flavor is concerned. It's also made in a crock pot, which is always a bonus in my book.
Slow-Cook Tuscan Sausage -and-Bean Soup
12 oz. turkey kielbasa (or smoked sausage), cut into 1/4" thick rounds.
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 medium bunch kale, chopped (about 4 cups)
3 cups fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
1 (15.5 oz.) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15.5 oz.) can great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz.) can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dry red wine or water
1 tsp. dried basil
In a slow cooker, place the kielbasa, garlic, onion, carrot, celery, kale, broth, kidney beans, great Northern beans, tomatoes, wine, and basil. Stir to combine. cover and cook on low until the vegetables are tender, 8-10 hours. *Note: To make the chopping go much quicker, I throw the garlic, onion, and carrots in the food processor with the Italian tomatoes to break up the chunks. Also, if you don't have 8-10 hours for this to cook, assemble it at lunchtime and cook it on high instead of low.
This is delicious with a big salad and crusty French bread. I live in a small town and the fresh French bread can be hard to find. Pillsbury makes it in a tube that is found with the biscuits. It is delicious and no one is ever the wiser.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Slow-Cook Tuscan Sausage -and-Bean Soup
12 oz. turkey kielbasa (or smoked sausage), cut into 1/4" thick rounds.
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 medium bunch kale, chopped (about 4 cups)
3 cups fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
1 (15.5 oz.) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15.5 oz.) can great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz.) can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dry red wine or water
1 tsp. dried basil
In a slow cooker, place the kielbasa, garlic, onion, carrot, celery, kale, broth, kidney beans, great Northern beans, tomatoes, wine, and basil. Stir to combine. cover and cook on low until the vegetables are tender, 8-10 hours. *Note: To make the chopping go much quicker, I throw the garlic, onion, and carrots in the food processor with the Italian tomatoes to break up the chunks. Also, if you don't have 8-10 hours for this to cook, assemble it at lunchtime and cook it on high instead of low.
This is delicious with a big salad and crusty French bread. I live in a small town and the fresh French bread can be hard to find. Pillsbury makes it in a tube that is found with the biscuits. It is delicious and no one is ever the wiser.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Hope for the Future
It seems that the older I get the quicker each year goes by. I hear this is pretty common. So, as we've entered another year on the calendar, I've been thinking about it's significance some. Every New Year's Eve is quite a big deal. Technically, it's really no different than any other day. One Winter's day flows into the next. But psychologically there is something very different about it. At the stroke of midnight we don't just change days. We enter a new year, sometimes a new decade, and for the fortunate few of us in history that get to experience it, a new century or millennium as we did in 2000.
As I've been pondering what the big deal is I've realized that starting a new year symbolizes a fresh start. No matter what happened in the previous year - how many diets we stopped and started, how many resolutions we broke, how many times we blew it and fell down - the slate is wiped clean. We get a fresh start when the calendar changes over. We are optimistic at the prospects of what the new year holds. We are filled with hope for the future. That's a beautiful thing.
The more I've thought about this though, I realized something. As a Christian, every day is like New Year's. My heart is flooded with scriptures that confirm this.
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22-23".
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! - 2 Corinthians 5:17".
" 'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.' I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. - 2 Corinthians 6:2".
"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. - Isaiah 43:25".
"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
- Psalm 103:11-12".
How exciting is that? I don't have to wait for New Year's Day to start fresh and new. I can live every day that way. What happened yesterday is history. Heck, what happened 5 minutes ago is history. No wonder God told us to always be rejoicing. That's something to really get excited about.
So, as I enter 2009 I resolve to make no resolutions. LOL! Really, the only thing that I am going to focus on this year (day by day by day) is spending time with my Father and letting Him fill me with His love and hope that every day is going to be the best day of my life. And no matter how many times I fall, I know that He's there to keep helping me back up. All I really need to do is stay on the wheel and all these resolutions that I have failed so miserably at in the past will automatically begin to fade away as I am changed into His image. I think I can handle that!
As I've been pondering what the big deal is I've realized that starting a new year symbolizes a fresh start. No matter what happened in the previous year - how many diets we stopped and started, how many resolutions we broke, how many times we blew it and fell down - the slate is wiped clean. We get a fresh start when the calendar changes over. We are optimistic at the prospects of what the new year holds. We are filled with hope for the future. That's a beautiful thing.
The more I've thought about this though, I realized something. As a Christian, every day is like New Year's. My heart is flooded with scriptures that confirm this.
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22-23".
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! - 2 Corinthians 5:17".
" 'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.' I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. - 2 Corinthians 6:2".
"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. - Isaiah 43:25".
"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
- Psalm 103:11-12".
How exciting is that? I don't have to wait for New Year's Day to start fresh and new. I can live every day that way. What happened yesterday is history. Heck, what happened 5 minutes ago is history. No wonder God told us to always be rejoicing. That's something to really get excited about.
So, as I enter 2009 I resolve to make no resolutions. LOL! Really, the only thing that I am going to focus on this year (day by day by day) is spending time with my Father and letting Him fill me with His love and hope that every day is going to be the best day of my life. And no matter how many times I fall, I know that He's there to keep helping me back up. All I really need to do is stay on the wheel and all these resolutions that I have failed so miserably at in the past will automatically begin to fade away as I am changed into His image. I think I can handle that!
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