Amish Friendship Bread

In an age of instant gratification, Amish Friendship Bread and the 10 days it takes to ferment before it can be baked seems like a hard thing to wait for. This is a good lesson in patience, especially if you have little ones who love the bread. (Now if we could only find a way to teach the men a bit of patience, too). 

No, this is not really a 'healthy' recipe, but it is a wonderful bread to share with friends during the holidays. If you are low on will power like me, bake the bread in 3 smaller disposable bread pans and give a loaf and a bag of starter along with the directions to a couple of friends.

I received my very first Amish Friendship Bread starter a couple of months ago from a neighbor. *Somehow* I lost track of the days, afraid that I had ruined it I threw it out. I don't think any of us had ever tasted the bread before, so we didn't really know what we were missing.

Then, a couple of weeks before Christmas, one of Brianna's violin students' Grandma gave her a loaf of the baked bread. OH MY GOODNESS! I believe it is the best dessert bread I have ever tasted. I sliced a couple of pieces for a friend and I to munch on while we crafted downstairs and came back upstairs to find most of the loaf finished (all while Bri was at work), and then the rest got finished during breakfast, so the pour girl never even got a slice.

So, Bri asked the Grandma if she could have the recipe so I could bake her a new loaf and came home with 2 cups of starter and the recipe. I baked the bread along with my Christmas pies, and have the other cup on the counter re-starting.

Just wanted to share the recipe here for all my friends and family.

TO BAKE AMISH FRIENDSHIP BREAD

ingredients:
Bread:                                        topping:
1 cup starter                                  1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs                                           1  tsp cinnamon1 cup oil
½ cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix

Directions:
Stir the bread ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Combine the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon in a separate bowl.

Spray 2 loaf pans with non-stick spray, dust with 1 tablespoon each of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Pour batter evenly into the pans and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture over top.

Bake 1 hour @ 325 degrees. Cool until bread loosens from the pan (10 minutes) serve warm or cold.

Makes 2 loaves, about 10 slices each

TO RESTART THE STARTER:
Leave the 1 cup starter on your counter
On days 1-5, mush the bag.
On day 6, add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk and mush well.
On days 7-9, mush the bag.
On day 10, pour the starter into a NON-metal bowl and add 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 1/2 cup milk. Stir well, place 3 cups of the starter into 1 gallon zip top bags - 1 cup per bag. Give 2 to friends along with these directions and the baking directions, place one on your counter to re-start (or in your freezer for a later date, just allow to come to room temperature and then follow the above directions).
There will be 1 cup remaining in your bowl to bake the bread with. 

If you have run out of friends who are willing to take the starter, put the 3 bags in your freezer. You can bring to room temperature and follow the baking directions without going through the re-starting process - just don't forget to re-start the last bag ;)

TO MAKE STARTER:
If you don't have a starter, follow these directions to create one. There are recipes out there that call for yeast, I have not actually made the starter yet but from what I read this is the recipe to use.

DO NOT REFRIGERATE!
DO NOT USE METAL BOWLS OR SPOONS!

They say to use a container that you can cover loosely, like a glass bowl that you can cover with cheesecloth and secure with rubber bands. Your container should be glass, plastic, or glazed ceramic and have more than a 4 cup capacity. I know that starter gets passed to friends in gallon size zipper top bags, but the air flow is supposed to be better for the fermentation process (I am by no means an expert on this, so if you have a way that has worked for you in the past, by all means, stick with that!) Once you have the starter created, just re-starting  and you shouldn't have to make it again.

Combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup flour, stir well. Add 1 cup milk and combine completely. Cover loosely (with a lid left slightly ajar or secure a paper towel or cheesecloth to the top with rubber bands. Keep at room temperature and stir (with a NON metal spoon) every day for 17 days.

Day 18, do nothing.
Days 19, 20, 21, stir
Day 22 add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk and stir completely
Days 23, 24, 25, 26 stir
Day 27 add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk and stir completely
Separate into 4 starters, give 2 away to friends, use one to restart and the other to bake.

Individual starter (1 cup portions) can be kept in the freezer in gallon zipper top bags until ready to use, then left on the counter until room temperature before starting the 10 day restarting process.

A little note:
Though I'm sure none of you are nearly as forgetful as I am, here is a trick I am trying to keep me from loosing track of the days on the bag of starter I have fermenting on the counter. On the outside of the zip top bag in permanent marker, I wrote 1-10 with the date below each number and circled 6 and 10 to remind me.

One easy way to make the vegetarians AND the carnivores in your house happy

Or, "A Tale of Two Chilis"

So, my daughter decided to take the healthy road and eat a mainly vegetarian diet. Let me tell you, in our house, that's no easy feat. She started with a fully vegetarian diet over spring break earlier this year (March 2009) and has added some poultry and seafood back in.

When her dad cooks, he doesn't take her into account. She thinks he still believes that she will just give in and eat the steak, and he secretly stands out by the grill plots beef and pork meals just to driver her crazy while he laughs maniacally. 

When I cook, I try to cook poultry or seafood. If I am cooking something that has beef or pork in it, I will do a separate thing that she and I can share. This works very well for me right now, I try not to eat B/P more than once a week for health reasons, and my husband doesn't get mad because it's not a separate meal for just one person. Not sure how I will make that work for me after she leaves for college, but I guess I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

Now, to the point of this post, CHILI! Chili is one of our family favorites, but my husband feels like it HAS to have beef inside and a beer to wash it down. All the talking in the world will never convince him that the beans are enough of a protein source, so I've stopped trying. Now I just make one pot for the omnivores (aka, the boys) and one for the flexetarians* (aka, the girls)

I've finally perfected the dual pot chili and thought I would share my recipe with those of you who have a household like mine, or just have friends with different diets and you want something to serve at your next gathering.

A Tale of Two Chili's

ingredients
1 1/4 cup diced bell pepper**
1 1/4 cup diced onion
1 1/4 cup sliced celery***
5 cloves garlic
cumin, cayenne, chili powder
1 pound ground beef
3-15oz cans chili beans****
3-15oz cans kidney beans
2-15oz cans great northern or other white bean

directions
Drizzle a little olive oil in a large sauce pan, heat, and add the diced vegetables, minced garlic, and a good sprinkle each of chili powder, cayenne, and cumin. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender.

Into a 4-5 qt slow cooker, pour about 2/3 of the cooked veggies, 5 cans beans (2 pinto, 2 kidney, and one white) and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne, and 1 tsp chili powder.

Into a 2-3 qt slow cooker, add the remaining 1/3 veggies and 3 cans beans (1 of each). Stir in 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and 1/2 tsp chili powder. The vegetarian chili is ready to cook, just cover and turn on low for 5-6 hours. 

In the saucepan you used for the veggies, crumble the ground beef and season with 1-2 dashes each of you seasonings and brown. Drain and add to the larger slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Serve with your favorite chili accompaniments and enjoy.

(Oh, BTW, if you don't have any omnivores in your household, just skip the meat part and you have the perfect pot, even for a vegan)

** I like to use the mini bell peppers so I can have a mix of colors
*** I've found it easiest to take the whole heart, rinse, spread it out just a bit to cut out the leaves on the inside, and then slice directly from the heart
**** we like the hot chili beans, but if you prefer your chili a bit milder you can use mild chili beans or plain pinto beans. Use whatever kinds of beans you prefer, you will need a total of 8 cans or about 120 oz

*FLEXETARIAN: you like that word? Yeah, me too. I just recently came across it, but it fits me perfectly, because I do still indulge in beef on occasion (and on even rarer occasion, pork), but now I'm more selective when I do and keep it to once a week, and am working on reducing it more until it's all but gone from my diet.

Here's what wikipedia says:
Flexitarianism is a semi-vegetarian diet focusing on vegetarian food with occasional meat consumption. A self-described flexitarian seeks to decrease meat consumption without eliminating it entirely from his or her diet. There are no guidelines for how much or how little meat one must eat before being classified a flexitarian. Flexitarian is distinguished from polpescetarian, i.e., one who eats only chicken and fish, but does so exclusively

39 pounds

and feeling fabulous ...


I am trying not to buy too many articles of clothing since I'm not planning on being this size for very long. I kept my size 16 jeans from before I had Chris so I'm good on those, but I noticed that a lot of my shirts are just too baggy, making me look bigger than I really am. I think I have a couple of T's that fit properly and a couple of blouses that tie in the back so they look alright. So, I picked up this sweater, a hoody, and a T-shirt at Ross and a cute ruffle front sleeveless blouse and a skirt that will match this sweater perfectly at Target. Oh, and YAY, I won an Aerosmith tank from aeroforceone, can't wait to get that in the mail!!
I have another weigh in next week, I'm hoping to get out of the 200's by then, wish me luck ;)

Birthday pictures, anyone?

Check out this adorable birthday kit from Snowflake Beach Designs, "Another Year Older"

and the layouts I made with the kit

All images are clickable, click the kit to pop over to goDigitalScrapbooking.com and pick it up. While you are there, grab the rest of the 'Build Your Own' Designer Collab Kit. Clicking the layouts will take you to them in my gallery at GDS, stop by and tell me what you think.

How to fix a picky husband (Or, how to stop a sabatour in his tracks)

This question was posed on a forum that I visit, I thought I would share my answer here just in case it might be helpful to someone else ...

My husband is a picky eater and my meals reflect it. I rarely buy much for fruits and veggies because the only veggie he will eat is broccoli and he's not big on fruit either. It's just the two of us and I always feel like produce will go bad. Plus, when I make supper, I try to cater to his likes (pizza, mac and cheese, stuff like that) and I don't have the will power, funds, or energy to make something healthy for myself. Any suggestions on how to deal with this?

My hubby is picky as well, and now his health is showing it. He has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and his borderline diabetes is no longer borderline.

Here are a couple of tips that I've been using to help us both out that may help you and your hubby.

1) Always make a salad, that way if the dinner isn't as healthy as I would like I can eat a small portion of it and fill up on the salad.

2) though produce going bad is never an issue in my house, frozen is definitely a better choice than none.
Also, when you shop for fresh produce just get one or two apples instead of a whole bag.
A small prepared salad mix instead of the head of lettuce.
A small bag of baby carrots makes munching on them easier than having to peal and cut a regular carrot up first.
Many fruits and veggies can be frozen if you notice that they are beginning to go past their prime. While most need to be blanched first, there are two in particular that require little to no prep in order to freeze.
Bananas can be peeled and cut into marshmallow sized pieces and freeze on a cookie sheet until frozen when you can bag them up. These are great to blend into a smoothie, or pulse in a food processor for several minutes and they turn into a yummy soft serve 'faux ice cream'.
Grapes I just remove from the stem and place in cheap plastic cups in 1-cup portions. These make a perfectly scrumptious snack when you want something sweet and cold - or drop them in your water to keep it cold. which brings me to point #

3) Make sure you are drinking water instead of high calorie sodas and fruit juices - switching will make a HUGE difference. Add sliced fruit (while lemons are the first thing you might think of, you can also add orange or lime wedges, sliced apples or peaches, fresh or frozen berries, etc) or add a single serve packet of crystal light a glass of water.

4) Don't try to force huge changes on your husband or he will rebel, become angry, or try to sabotage your efforts.

5) Try little changes that he probably won't notice.
For instance, try using part lower fat cheese in that mac 'n cheese, or use less cheese, or use lower fat milk, use a whole grain paste (some don't taste that great, try barillo plus, it's whole grain with added fiber and protein and tastes just like regular).
Try making your own pizza using the whole grain, thin crust, prepared crusts. Add less cheese and go lighter on the toppings (opt for canadian bacon instead of pepperoni or fried bacon; opt for leaner ground beef or ground turkey; use more veggies, etc)

6) Start switching out processed grains for more complex carbs, like switching to brown rice, whole grain bread, or that barillo plus pasta I mentioned.

7) Also, try looking up the main dishes he likes and find recipes that are healthier. Then, add some side dishes that are healthier - maybe he will eat them or maybe he wont, but either way you will have something that's healthier to fill up on and won't be eating as much of the 'not as good for you' dish.

And guess what, I've noticed that some changes I've been making for me are starting to rub off on him - he's started adding crystal light to water instead of grabbing a can of soda and I see him adding salad to his dinner plate more and more often. Also, he hasn't said a thing about the zesty italian salad dressing he likes, it's gone from regular to lite and now has officially been at fat free for several months.

HTH

Aerosmith

Aerosmith has cancelled the remainder of their summer tour so that Steven Tyler can fully and properly recouperate from the injuries that he sustained during the August 5, 2009 concert at Sturgis.

Now for the straight scoop. Joe Perry was on a Detroit radio station on August 11 and said that Steve had two breaks in his shoulder blade and stitches stiches to his head, but nothing internal.

Straight from Steves lips,

He says that after a thunderstorm delay, the band was playing one of their best shows ever, when fuses started blowing and they had a complete audio system failure. But Tyler didn't want to stop playing. "I wanted to go out to the crowd to continue the show... so, the Train Kept A- Rollin' and I ran out on the cat walk and grabbed my mic to finish the song. I was doing the Tyler shuffle and then I zigged when I should have zagged... AND I slipped, and as I live on the edge...I fell off the edge!"

He says of his injuries, "I landed upside down, and after twenty stitches on the back of my head, and a broken left shoulder, I just want to say that I'm plain grateful that I didn't break my neck! In truth, after thousands of live shows, falling off the edge four times ain't too bad."

I'm continueing to send prayers and thoughts Steve's way. I feel for those that have tickets to concerts that are being cancelled, and feel very grateful that I finally got to see them in concert after all these years of wishing.

Here's a little layout from the concert using "Rockstar Wedding" by Silly Bean Scraps, clicking the photo will take you to this layout in my goDigitalScrapbooking.com gallery.

~ Thanks to aeroforceone.com for posting a video of the radio interview, Steve's lighthearted account of the incident (exerpt from which is in bold and italics above), and the photos & playlist from the concert which were used for the layout

Oh my ....

Sending well wishes to Steven ...

I'll have a 64 calorie Mojito, please

OK, so here's one to hold you over. More recipes to come.

A summertime favorite, the Mojito is a fabulous drink to enjoy with friends on a warm summer evening. The best thing is that even without the one substitution that I make here, it is still a light drink (though, don't assume that a restaurant will make it the 'correct' way, as they often have their own special recipes that may boost the calories way up on this one)

Mojito

1/2 small lime, cut into 4 wedges
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves (less or more to taste)
2 packets of Truvia
1 ounce rum
6 ounces club soda

In a collins or other tall glass, drop 3 of the lime wedges, most of the mint and both packets of sweetener. Using the handle of a wooden spoon (or a muddler if you have one), muddle* the ingredients. Fill your glass with ice, add the rum and the club soda, give it a good stir. Garnish with the last wedge of lime, a mint leaf, and a straw.

*muddle means to mash the mint, lime and sugar together until the solids have released their juice/essence, so the lime has released it's juice and the mint oils are also releasing.

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 64.2
Total Fat: 0.0 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 37.6 mg
Total Carbs: 6.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.0 g
Protein: 0.0 g

Guess what, even if you made this with real sugar instead of Truvia, you would only be adding about 30 calories for two teaspoons of sugar.

~OR~ Go even lighter, eliminate the rum and add an extra ounce of club soda. You now have a refreshing 0 calorie drink that is appropriate for the whole family.

64 Calorie Adult drink ...

I will admit, I think the commercials for that 64 calorie beer are kind of cute. I like the latest where one man orders a 64 calorie MGD and his buddy orders 64 calories of regular beer. The second guy gets his in a pared down beer glass that leaves the perfect resting spot for dude #1 to rest his bottle when his phone rings.

First off, a little disclaimer, I am definately not endorsing drinking and especially not while you are trying to loose weight. However, it is nice to have an option when you are out with the girls/guys. I also beleive that weight loss should not occur through a DIET, but through lifestyle changes that you can stick with after you have achieved your goal. Depriving yourself will only make you feel angry that you are on a diet and eventually you will cheat, probably doing much more damage than the original little treat you avoided in the first place. OK, done with the fine print, here are some tips. I will post some recipes later.


* Substitutions:
Many drink recipes can be lightened up with some easy swaps ...
sugar ......................... Truvia
symple syrup ........... water sweatened with any artificial sweetener
sweet and sour ........ Crystal Light lemonade
cranberry juice ....... Ocean Spray diet cranberry juice
orange juice ............. Crystal Light Sunrise classic orange
grapefruit juice ....... Crystal Light Sunrise ruby red grapefruit

* Additional notes...
~ Choose 'tall' drinks, anything in a taller glass that is one ounce of liquor (80 proof) and the rest filler (provided the filler is easily exchangable for one of my tricks,) will only be approximately 64 calories.
~ This is not applicable for drinks that have cordials (liqueur - any of the sweetened alcohols that are added to some drinks such as triple sec, baileys, creme-de-anything, kahlua, midori, pucker, schnapps, etc.)
~ if you have a favorite recipe that you want to lighten up, feel free to leave a comment and I will see what I can do.


Stay tuned, I will be posting some recipes soon ...

BONUS: Can't wait for my first recipe, here's one that you can order at any restarunt or bar without feeling guilty. Order a Rum and DIET Coke or a Vodka and Club Soda (tonic would add an extra 10 calories if you prefer that) with a twist. Either one will only cost you the 64 calories in an ounce of rum or vodka.

Serenity

Have you seen HollyAnn's fabulous new kit, Serenity? It is filled with soft colors and beautiful elements.

And don't forget to pick up the add on and alpha to go with it - or get the bundle and save 30%

Here are a few things I have made with this beautiful kit

And a custom background for Twitter ...

All images are clickable

Frozen Strawberry Mockaritas

OK, so I don't usually do this the "mock" way, but now that I'm working on a healthier lifestyle I can really do without the additional calories in the tequila and triple sec, not to mention the adverse effects that alcohol can have on your body - so even if you prefer the real thing, give these a try.

This recipe calls for Truvia - this is the only artificial sweetener that I know of that comes in granular form.
Your ice should be cracked or crushed before blending.

If fresh strawberries are out of season, use frozen. You can also try other fresh or frozen fruit. If you don't have fresh limes, you can use the bottled stuff.


Frozen Strawberry Mockaritas

Ingredients
- 1/4 lime, cut into 2 wedges
- 2 packets of Truvia
- 8 large fresh strawberries, with hull removed
- 1 cup cracked ice
- 1/2 cup Crystal Light lemonade, prepared

Directions
Pour out one of the packets of Truvia onto a saucer.
Take one of the lemon wedges and slide it around the rim of your glass, carefully dip the wet rim into the Truvia on the saucer to coat the rim with the sweetener.
Place the strawberries in a blender, sprinkle with the rest of the Truvia from the saucer plus the second packet. Squeeze the two lime wedges on top, add the ice and lemonade.
Blend on high until the ice and strawberries are all completely blended.
Pour into your prepared glass, garnish with an additional strawberry or lime wedge.Number of

This makes one serving with only 53 calories!

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 52.8
Total Fat: 0.6 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 2.4 mg
Total Carbs: 12.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.8 g
Protein: 1.1 g

3 Easy steps to customizing your blog

1) - Open the header of your choice in your digital editing software and add your title.
- Add your photo or logo if applicable.
- save your header and background to an image share site that will give you a direct image link, such as photobucket (any site that you can upload and share your images through that will give you a link that looks something like http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m241/yourbucket/image.jpg)

2) HEADER:
- sign in to your blog
{from the dashboard} click 'layout' under the title of the blog you want to add your new blog wear to
{from the blog} click 'customize' in the upper right hand corner click 'page elements'
- click 'edit' On the long rectangle at the top of the layout that has your title in it
- paste the direct link you acquired from your photo sharing site into the 'From the web' slot (you will see your new header apear)
- click 'Instead of title and description'
- click save

3) BACKGROUND:
- click 'pick new template' choose 'minima', which is the first choice in the top left
- click 'Edit HTML' and scroll down until you find the following set of html code:
(they are located in the upper section of the codes, just scroll slowly and you will find them)
body {
background: #ffffff;
margin: 0;

After finding them, change them into these codes:
body {
background:#fff url("direct URL of the image");
background-position: center;
background-attachment: fixed;
background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 0;
(“direct URL of the image”) is what you created earlier when you uploaded your image - the http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m241/yourbucket/image.jpg the link DOES need to be in parentheses and quotation marks as above

Resistance Band GIVEAWAY + Top 3 Leg Strengthening excercises

I just stumbled upon a new giveaway and thought I would share ...

Enter at the parents.com website

Do you have a resistance band? If not, make sure you enter this one, it's as easy as sending an email and they are giving away 100 of them.

I love my band, use it every other day for strength training. The giveaway page talks about using it for your arms, which I occasionally do - but more often I use it for low mount leg exercises.

Try tying one end to something low (I slip the handle onto the bottom of my {heavy} coffee table leg) and the other onto one leg - I go through a series of 3 exercises, 2 sets of 15 reps per leg.

(The following exercises are courtesy of sparkpeople.com)

For video of how to do each exercise, just click the name and it will take you to the SparkPeople demonstration for that one.

1) Low Mount Hip Flexor with Band
Stand with the mount behind you, band attached to right leg, weight on the left leg, knee slightly bent. Place hands on hips or on a chair back or wall for balance if necessary. Flex right foot.

EXHALE: Lift right knee up to at least hip level, keeping knee bent at 90 degrees.

INHALE: Slowly lower to starting position to complete one rep. Finish 12-15 reps

Muscles Worked: Hips, Upper Thigh, Glute

2) Low Mount Abduction with Band
Continuing on the right leg, turn with your left side toward the mount. Shift weight into left foot keeping knee soft and right foot flexed. Allow the resistance to pull your right leg across the center line of your body to start.

EXHALE: Extend your right leg straight out to the right side, leading with your outer thigh towards the ceiling, keeping foot flexed.

INHALE: Slowly lower with control to starting position to complete one rep. Finish 12-15 reps.

Muscles Worked: Outer thigh, Hips, Glutes

3) Low Mount Adduction with Band
Turn around so that your right side is toward the mount. Shift weight into left foot keeping knee soft and left foot flexed. Allow the resistance to pull your right leg out to the left side of your body to start.

EXHALE: Keeping foot flexed, leading with your inner thigh, sweep your right leg across your body towards the left as far as you can. Hold for 1-3 counts.

INHALE: Slowly return to starting position to complete one rep. Finish 12-15 reps.

Muscles Worked: Inner thigh, Quads

Switch the band to your left leg and complete 12-15 reps of each exercise. Complete a second set on each leg.

Modifications:
If any of these is too easy step farther away from the mount; do not let leg rest on ground in between reps; do not hold onto a wall, etc. for balance.

(For added difficulty on the Hip Flexor, you can swing arms forward and back as if running to challenge your balance.)

If any of these are too hard you can move closer to the mount for less tension; rest your foot on the floor between reps; hold on to something (chair back, table, wall) for balance.

Remember: Keep abs tight and upper body stationary. Avoid leaning back or to the sides during the movement. Raise/lower with control-- don't let the band's resistance snap your leg back down to the starting position.

BALANCE TIP!: For help with balance when completing any of these exercises, try holding on to your ears -I know, it sound weird, but I promise, it works!

If you love these exercises and want to see more, click the link below ...


So, leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite exercise is - could be cardio or strength training, with or without a band, yours just may be featured in an upcoming post ;)

Have you failed lately?

Watch this inspirational video and find out what I mean ...

Ramblings of a sidetracked internet browser

OK, so that's nothing new, but I came across a site for this fabulous group called "Improv Everywhere", they make me smile .....

Ramblings of a sad friend

It has taken me a few days to write this, maybe a few days for the idea to even sink it. My friend, Helen Ehrenhofer, has decided to put her digital scrapbooking design business on hold for a while. I won't get into the reasons here, but you can read them on the goDigitalScrapbooking.com forum.

There is a bright side, everything in her store is on sale through the end of June, 57% off. Click here to shop in Helen's Store.

Please help to brighten her day just a bit and pick up a kit or two while they are still available.

Ramblings of a scrapbooker

Like the new look? I created it with Tuscan Days by Helen Ehrenhofer, you can purchase it at goDigitalScrapbooking.com - just click on the Helen blinkie in my sidebar.

Here are a couple of layouts I made using the same kit ....
You can view it bigger and tell me what you think about it by visiting my layout gallery ...

http://www.godigitalscrapbooking.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=57908&ppuser=1160
http://www.godigitalscrapbooking.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=57893&ppuser=1160

Ramblings of a wife to a father

If you have a father or an office guy in your life, you're going to want to enter this one! Check it out at

Life Starring Ellie and Eve



Plus, you can get additional entries at



3 Garnets and 2 Sapphires

Mom Start

and Blessing Abound

Take a moment to enter, you may just win something ;)

Ramblings of a slacker

So, ya, I've been slacking - no posts in almost a year, anyone want to slap my wrist?

A little catch up - the kids are out of school for the year and officially passed on to the next grade -
Christopher is a second grader
Kaleb is a Sophmore and
Brianna is a Senior

Looks like I need to scout out a new place to take pictures for the kids, we've been to all the great spots we take family and senior portraits for our clients. I try to do a new place every year, and these will be Bri's senior portriats so a little extra special.

I've become a member of Helen Ehrenhofer's creative team, which means I get to create layouts and stuff with her newest kits before they even hit the store (gotta love it!!)

I made a fan blinkie for Helen, you can snag it here, and while your at it, click on it and visit her store