Our Rare Show Of Original Creativity

For some of our neighbor/friend Christmas gifts this year, my husband and I had a moment of creativity and came up with an idea that I've never seen before (but I'm sure we're not the first to think it up).

Last year, my husband won a sweepstakes where he got at least 14 bags of Halls Cough Drops (for tips on doing sweepstakes from Ryan, click here). So since there was no way we needed that many cough drops, we decided to give them away for Christmas. Well, really, my awesome husband says it better than I do (although it didn't QUITE happen this way). Here's his side of the handout we made for our gift:

Isn't my husband so creative? Most people don't know it, but he is pretty talented with rhyming. Although I won't tell you that it took him a half-hour to write this (I never thought he'd get so involved in neighbor gifts!). So then I took 5 minutes and came up with this for the "flipside".

Then we punched a hole in the cough drop bags, tied the handouts to the bags with cute ribbon and wah-la! We were done! No spending hours cooking goodies (although we did do that for a few gifts) and stressing out when they weren't home to receive the goodie plates. It was so NICE!

I'm pretty proud with the way they turned out and we got quite a few laughs when we handed the gift to them. Then they read Ryan's poem and laughed even harder. I told all of them not to expect such creativity out of us next year... because who knows what we'll be doing then!

FHE lesson: Understanding Those Who Are Different

For those of you who are not LDS, in my church we are encouraged to spend one night a week as a family in which we do wholesome activities together and/or learn more about spiritual topics. It's called Family Home Evening, or FHE. To learn more about this, go here. Even if you are not of the same faith, I encourage you to start this with your own family. It is a great way to bond and make memories!

We had a great FHE lesson a few weeks ago. My four-year-old absolutely loved it. My hubby and I had just read an article on ESPN an hour earlier, found here, that was an amazing testimony of being kind and loving to those who are different than us. Then I found this lesson and decided that we should continue the theme with Kaleb since the article had touched us so much.

He loved it and all because of this animal:

He still talks about the lesson and remembers the story perfectly. Goodness, I even remember the Zelmgid from when I was a kid. My mom used it in a lesson as well.

So, if you are interested in finding this lesson about Understanding Those Who Are Different, go to the LiveCraftEat link by clicking here. She also has great information on making your own FHE kit if you are interested!

Enjoy and have fun with your family!

Helping Yourself or Others With Anxiety

And you all thought I had forgotten this blog... I haven't. And the reason for my almost-3-month hiatus is a very personal one that I would like to share with all of you:

In September of 2010, I started to have panic attacks. I had struggled with anxiety a little in high school and had a few panic attacks back then, but this was different. I had panic attacks every morning and they were so bad that I'd throw up and be sick to my stomach for most of the day. I felt like I was losing control of my life. I couldn't even take care of my son because I would get so sick.

The hardest part was that I had no clue why I was having anxiety. I would wake up in the morning and be in the middle of a panic attack. It wasn't something that had a trigger or a reason (that I knew of). I went to the doctor and they put me on some preventive medicine, but told me it would take 4 weeks to start working. So basically I just had to deal with it and just take Xanax every morning (but it would only get rid of the anxiety and not the sickness). I had to change medicines one more time before I found one that worked and put my life back in order.

September through December of 2010 are three months that I never want to live over again. It was really hard to feel so debilitated and scared and sick. It honestly made me so different that when I finally "recovered," multiple people who are close to me said, "It's so good to have you back."

It took months of different drugs, counseling, praying, and health-evaluations to get me back to where I was before. And I thought I had "beat" it. I was on a medicine that worked, I had coping strategies from counseling, and I tried to keep unnecessary stress out of my life. And by April of this year, I felt like I was doing so well that I went off my medicine.

And I was fine. Until August. After one of our trips, my anxiety came back in full force. Again, I was waking up with panic attacks every morning and severe nausea. I immediately went back on my medicine, but it takes (like I said before) at least 4 weeks to start making a difference. So in the meantime, I did the best I could to cope with it. I lost the 15 pounds I had gained over a 6-month period in less than 2 months (the amount of time it took for me to "get better again" this time around). That's how sick my anxiety makes me.

My son and me this August before my anxiety came back.

Me today, 15 lbs. lighter. NOT the way to lose weight, I'm just showing you the difference.

But honestly, this time around it wasn't as bad because I was armed with knowledge about what was chemically and mentally happening.

And that is the exact reason I'm sharing this with you. Because I wish that 2 years ago, someone would have educated me like I am attempting to educate you so that I didn't feel like I was going crazy and there was nothing I could do.


Biologically
First of all, I want to explain the biological reason for anxiety. I think most people know about the natural fight or flight response in our bodies. When it is exposed to stress or danger, your body either reacts by fighting or fleeing (in a way). This is directly related to anxiety.

But what most people may not know is that you have a hormone called serotonin in your body that helps regulates your mood. When you confront stress for a long period of time, your body actually starts to produce less serotonin or your brain absorbs too much of it so that the rest of your body is not getting enough. There are two responses in the body to this: depression or anxiety. Usually, it is anxiety because your body goes into fight or flight mode.

That is a very watered-down version of what is happening biologically when you have anxiety or panic attacks. Now usually, our bodies will bounce back. So you may have some anxiety for a little while but then the stress-inducer is over with, and your body starts to produce enough serotonin again.

But for some people, especially those who have genetically inherited a deficiency in the production of serotonin, the anxiety is magnified into an anxiety disorder and it takes medicine to help their body start producing more serotonin or prevent the brain from absorbing it from the rest of your body.

For four generations on one side of my family, we have mental illness related to the deficiency of serotonin. Anxiety and depression has affected at least half of my family members on that side, including at one time or another, all of my siblings and me. My sister and I like to joke that "we're crazy by genetics". 

My siblings and me, November 2011

Stigmas about anxiety and depression in general
Which brings me to my next section: the stigma associated with anxiety and mental illnesses. I can't tell you how many times I have heard, "it's all in your head" or "you're just working yourself up" or "snap out of it". Gratefully, I never heard this from family and friends. They were more than supportive. But I have heard all of these comments in association with depression and anxiety.

This is NOT TRUE. Yes your thoughts can help (I'll get to that in a minute), but you have a hormone deficiency or decreased-production that is out of your control. And that's why you need medicine. When we hear of someone who has diabetes, do we think: "It's all in your head" or "You're just working yourself up"? Of course not. And yet they have a deficiency of insulin. It's about what's going on biologically, not mentally.

So please, if you don't get anything else from this, just remember this: depression and anxiety is a true biological thing. The person is not really crazy and they can't just "get over it." They have to have outside help in the means of medicine and counseling.


Counseling and its benefits
I resisted going to counseling for a long time. The mental image I had in my head was straight from Hollywood (you know the one I'm talking about) and I thought, "There is no horrible secret in my past that makes me have anxiety. I don't need counseling." And if I'm completely honest, I thought, "Only crazy people go to counseling. People will think of me differently if I go to counseling."

But after some encouragement from my sister who reassured me that counseling is nothing like what you see in the movies and that it is so helpful, I decided to brave it. The most important thing to me was that the counselor not try to dig into my childhood and not tell me how I should be feeling. Leading up to that first appointment, I seriously had so much anxiety about going to counseling for anxiety.

It was nothing like I pictured. I had a great counselor who validated how I felt, gave me a new way of thinking about anxiety, and helped me learn coping techniques to get through moments when I do feel anxiety. I can't remember how many times I went to her 2 years ago, but this time around I only needed to go twice in order to feel the reassurance, encouragement, and help that I needed.

Counseling helps. I'm not saying that it might not be awkward at first, because it totally is. And just because you need to go to a counselor doesn't mean that you're broken/crazy or not faithful enough to get over your own problems. They are trained to help you and help is what you need. Anyone who thinks you're weird for going to a counselor is thinking of the movie version and doesn't truly care about you and your health. Bottom line.


Some other things you need to know about anxiety

- It manifests itself in many different ways. When I had panic attacks, I felt like I was having a heart attack with pain in my chest. I would also hyperventilate, shake, and get extremely sick to my stomach. Other symptoms could be dizziness, numbness in hands or feet, sweating, and hot flashes.

- Panic disorder (having panic attacks often) is more common in women than men and usually manifests itself before age 25.

- Anxiety can be caused by a lot of things. If you feel anxiety, try to find the source of the problem and address it (using a counselor if needed), while receiving medical help.

- If you have anxiety, medicine and counseling are not the only things you can do. The following things help increase your serotonin:
- SLEEP (at least 8 hours a night) Sometimes anxiety causes a lack of sleep which makes your body produce even less serotonin, putting you in a vicious cycle. Talk to your doctor about a possible sleep aid if you think you need it. Once you start getting a good nights sleep, it will help your recovery and you can go off the sleep aid once your body is back up to par.
- Take Magnesium/Calcium, B-complex supplements and omega 3 fatty acids
- Exercise 30-60 minutes, four to six times a week
- Eat small meals more often to keep blood sugar up
- Sunlight (30 mins to 2.5 hours a day)
- Physical touch (hugs, massages, etc.)
- Baths, showers, swimming
- Rocking motion stimulates serotonin production (that's why you tend to rock to give/receive comfort)
- Laughter
- Crying
- Creative activities (now you know why I've been a crafting freak... haha)

- It's important to be on medicine that increases serotonin production until your serotonin levels even out. That might take awhile (depends on the person), but there's nothing wrong with that. AND you don't necessarily have to be on medicine forever. We did find out the reason that I had anxiety, and why it came back. Once that stress is gone from my life, I will eventually be able to work myself off the medicine again. But don't go cold-turkey, you need to wean yourself off the medicine so your body doesn't go in fight or flight again.

My son and me in December 2010. Him and my hubby were such a support.

- It's important to have people you can rely on. Don't suppress your feelings, let them out. Educate your loved ones on all of this. Help them understand what you're going through and tell them exactly what you need from them and how they can help. Even if it's just them telling you, "You're not crazy" or "Everything will be okay."

- If you are religious like me, I also encourage you to pray often for strength. Jesus Christ is literally the ONLY person in the world who knows EXACTLY what you are going through because He has felt it. When He atoned for the sins of the world, He felt every joy and every pain and sorrow as well. Therefore, He knows how to give you comfort. I can testify that I have grown much closer to my Savior through this trial and I know that He will never leave me comfortless. He won't necessarily take the trial away, but He will give us the strength to endure.

_____________________

I hope that all of this helps you understand anxiety better so that you can be supportive if anyone you know goes through this. It's more prevalent in our society than you think. And there are solutions. It should not rule your life or the life of someone you know.

I know that someday I'll look back at this period of my life and it will be a distant memory. Thank you to all of you who were so supportive and who will continue to be. Without you, I couldn't have made it through.

How-to: Canning Green Beans

Right now is canning season for me. Unfortunately it comes at the hottest time of the year and I don't have AC. It can be a little miserable, but I consider it worth the sweat.

I learned how to can from my in-laws. Ironically, my mom does can as well, but I guess in my teens I never had the patience to learn. The most important thing to know in canning is that you have to follow the instructions to the letter. If you don't, the best that can happen is your stuff doesn't seal right, the worst that can happen is you get very very sick eating what you canned.

Now that I've totally freaked you out about canning, I'm here to tell you that I've canned for 6 years now and I've never gotten sick. Or any of my family. If I can do it, you can do it.

So, without further ado, here's a look at canning green beans.

First of all, you'll need a pressure canner (the big pot to the right that has a pressure gauge lid, it's pictured below in its entirety if you have no clue what I'm talking about), a big stock pot, a little pot for lids, jars, lids, a funnel, a ladle, salt, and of course green beans.

Fill your stock pot full of water and turn it on high so it will be boiling by the time you need it. Also fill the pressure canner with water until it's a couple inches deep. I add a little vinegar to the water as well because we have hard water. This prevents my jars from being covered in a white film that you can get from canning with hard water. Turn this burner on high as well.

Now onto the beans. Start out by snapping both ends of your green beans. You'll also need to snap them into about 2-in pieces so they fit better in the jars and so you can eat them easily of course. Then wash your green beans well. I wash them at least twice. These lovely green beans came straight from our garden.

After they are washed, fill your jars with the beans. Make sure you shake the jars while you're filling them so you can get as many green beans in there as possible. When they cook they shrink a little and you don't want your canned jars to be half-water.

Fill the jars to the bottom ring with the green beans. Then add 1 tsp. salt per jar (if you're using quart jars. If they are pint jars you'll need 1/2 tsp salt per jar). Now would be a good time to fill your little pot halfway with water and put your jar lids in it. Turn it on medium heat to get your lids hot and ready.

Using a funnel, fill your jars with boiling water, leaving at least 1/2 inch of space between the top of the water and the very top of the jar.

Now take a knife and run it down periodically around the jar's insides. This helps get any air bubbles out so the greens beans fit in the jar better. After you do that, make sure you wipe the lip of your jar with a paper towel to get off any water or salt you may have gotten on it (if you don't, there's a possibility your jars won't seal).

Now grab one of your hot lids (I love my little canning magnet!), put it on and then tighten your ring on. Interesting enough, it's better if you don't tighten it the tightest it can go. My husband helped me once by doing the tightening part and half of those jars didn't seal. We figured out it's because he tightened them so tight that there wasn't room for the lid to pop. So from now on, weak sauce here is the one who tightens the rings. :)

Put your jars in the pressure canner and put on the lid, making sure to twist it so it's completely closed and tight. By the way, my canner is big enough that if I'm canning pints, I can stack them on top of each other and fit 20 pints. If I'm doing quarts, only 7 fits like in the picture above. So just so you know, if your canner is big enough, it's okay to stack them on top of each other.

The weight

Now you wait and watch carefully. The thing circled above is the steam valve. Note that there is no weight on it yet. Once steam has been coming out of this valve steadily for a few minutes, put the weight on. Then the pressure inside the canner will start to rise.

Now this is important: The pressure you process your jars by depends on your altitude. The chart above shows you what pressure to keep it at for your altitude and for how long (depends on the size of jar). For my altitude, we process everything at 13 lbs of pressure.

**It's good to get your canner pressure gauge checked every few years at least. Gauges can become slightly off over time. I've had mine for 4 years now and it's about 1/2 lb off now. Not too big of a deal, I just process my stuff 1/2-1 lb. higher than 13 lbs.

Almost there

 Once your gauge is up to pressure for your altitude (this will take 5-10 minutes to achieve), turn the heat down until it remains steady at that pressure and start your timer for 20 or 25 minutes (depending on whether you're using pints or quarts). YOU MUST WATCH YOUR GAUGE THE ENTIRE TIME YOU ARE PROCESSING. If you don't, your pressure could rise to a dangerous level and your canner could explode. With that said, if it gets 1 or even 2 lbs over what you're supposed to process it at, it's okay. It's better to go 1 lb over than 1 lb under (because your jars may not seal if you go under). But that doesn't mean you can just walk away. It can change pressure quickly if you're not watching and monitoring the heat.

When your timer goes off after 20-25 minutes, pick the canner off the burner and move to a cold burner. DO NOT OPEN THE LID OR TAKE OFF THE WEIGHT. Let your canner sit until all the way down from pressure (gauge is at 0) AND the pressure pop up falls down.

The pressure pop up... I'm sure there's a technical word for it, but that's what I call it. :)

 Then open your lid away from you (so the steam and water doesn't burn you) and pull out your jars with your canning gripper (again, I don't know the technical word for it). Put your jars on a towel to cool so your counter won't be ruined and let them sit for at least 12 hours (if you move them within this time, they could not seal). Within an hour of taking them out of the canner, you should hear them pop which means they sealed! If after 5 hours they still haven't sealed, put them in your fridge and eat them within a week. If you do it right, you shouldn't have very many or any at all that don't seal.

And you're done! It's hard work, but believe me, there's nothing more rewarding than seeing those finished jars. You feel like the domestic superwoman. :) Even if you're a sweaty mess afterwards like me...

FHE Lesson: How The Birds Got Their Colors

For those of you who are not LDS, in my church we are encouraged to spend one night a week as a family in which we do wholesome activities together and/or learn more about spiritual topics. To learn more about this, go here. Even if you are not of the same faith, I encourage you to start this with your own family. It is a great way to bond and make memories!

Here's another of my favorite FHE lessons growing up. It's a story to teach about patience, something I'm still in desperate need of learning. :) My son loves this story and I'm sure your kids will too. Just print it out and cut out the birds!

Guest Post: Write Up My Alley

I enjoy all kinds of design. I love a well-done web page, a tastefully-decorated room, or an amazing book cover. I also love words. I love to read, I love to write, and I love to edit (I know, I'm totally weird that way). 

To give a little background on myself, I graduated with a Bachelors in Spanish Education, but my minor was in Journalism Education. I took a few design-related classes in order to fill my requirements and I worked for the university's newspaper to help make it through school. These two things got me in the world of design and it wasn't until after I graduated that I realized I should have gone for a Bachelors in Graphic Design. I would love to learn how to design on the computer more at least.

Anyways, that was a partial side-note to segway into my guest post today. When I worked for the university's newspaper I met Lindsay and we have kept in touch through blogs since school. She recently posted a few blogging tips and since I am shocked at how many people don't know how to use good design/format for their personal blogs, I asked her permission to share it. So without further ado, here are some tips on fonts and blogging from my good friend Lindsay!

I don't consider myself an expert on blogging. If I were, I'd be one of those women who has thousands of followers and doesn't have a day job. But after four years of blogging and reading more blogs than I'd care to admit (let's just say that it takes me about an hour to get through all of the blogs I read every day), I feel like I can share the following tips with you if you're looking for ways to make your blog more readable and user-friendly. Take them with a grain of salt. Your blog should be personal and unique, like you are. These are just a few things I've found helpful.

Fonts need to be legible and can make or break your blog. This sounds like a no-brainer, but honestly, blogs that use a script font or cutesy scrapbooky font for their main body text are an instant turn-off for me. I love fun fonts just as much as the next girl, but if people can't read what you have to say, they're not going to keep reading your blog. Without getting too much into design principles, I will just recommend that you follow these guidelines with fonts:

1. Choose a sans serif font for your blog's body text. A little graphic design tutorial here: A serif is a stroke that extends from a letter. For example, Times New Roman is a serif font because the letters all have little platforms underneath them or above them. Arial is a sans serif font, as are Century Gothic (one of my personal favorites) and Helvetica. Why should you do this? Sans serif fonts are easier to read -- and if you plan on using a fun font as an accent, you need to have the contrast between the two for a pleasing design.

2. Use a maximum of three fonts on your blog. This sounds limiting, but honestly, it's not. You can take one font (Century Gothic, for example) and bold it, italicize it, enlarge it or shrink it and make it look different. When you have more than three fonts on your blog, it looks cluttered and distracts from the most important thing -- what you're writing. Also, only one of your fonts should be artsy. The trick is to use the bold font as an accent, not as the main font, so that it stands out.

3. Don't get too crazy with the colors. Pay attention to how the color of your text looks against your blog background. If you have a dark background, you need to have light text and vice versa. Neon-colored text is always hard to read, and white can look neon on a really bright blog background. When in doubt, stick with black and a lighter colored background. It's usually easier to read.

4. Strive for a happy medium in font size. Text that's too tiny is impossible to read, and paragraphs written in size 20 font are just obnoxious. The end.

5. Never use Comic Sans MS. This is just my rule. I absolutely detest that font -- and several others. But that is the main one. It just looks tacky and brings people back to 1994 in a bad way.

Break your text into bite-size paragraphs. When you're writing for the web, it's so important to keep your text in small chunks so that it's easy to read. A high school friend of mine (and aspiring writer) once wanted me to read his blog and give me his opinion on it, and I confess, I was only able to read one post of his. He didn't break his text into paragraphs at all, so it was impossible to keep your place. It felt like I was reading a stream of consciousness -- in the worst possible way. When in doubt, keep your paragraphs to no more than five sentences.

Always open links in a new tab. I cannot tell you how annoying it is when bloggers post a link but don't set it to open in a new tab or window. When you don't, it hurts you because a) it sends people away from your blog and makes it frustrating to try to navigate your way back and b) it doesn't allow people to finish reading your post.

Provide visual interest with pictures. This post is a bad example, since it doesn't have a picture, but your blog is always more appealing with at least one photo in it. Unless, of course, it's a crappy photo.

Just my two cents about blogging! What are your blog pet peeves?

I Know That There Are Amazing Teens Out There

Teenagers have always had a bad rep, but it seems that today's teens especially are known for being lazy, disrespectful, self-absorbed, etc. As a mom, this can be really discouraging. Especially as you see how world teenagers are nowadays. It makes me think, "How in the world can I raise a good, righteous kid in a time like this?"

The following video gives me hope. This young man, Spencer, is amazing. I've seen this video countless times and I still cry through it. It's just so powerful to see how Christlike he is. I hope that when my son grows up, he can be as dedicated, spiritual, humble, and loving.

My Squash Recipe

What is it about zucchini and yellow squash that makes it either produce like CRAZY or not really grow at all? Some years we have so much and other years we're lucky if we get three.

This year, we've already harvested a lot and it's still coming! We've given some away and I've made everything from plain boiled squash to zucchini bread. But I was getting sick of both and decided to fry up some squash with some of our favorite seasonings. And it was a hit!

So naturally I'm sharing it with you all. And even though the picture on the right doesn't look very appetizing (if only I had an amazing camera), believe me, it was good. Also, I used too much butter when I made it, but the recipe below is right.

I hope you enjoy it too!

Tips on Thrift Buying

Summer is the time for thrift buying. Not only are there yard sales every Saturday, but the season comes right after Spring Cleaning which inevitably means an influx of things in Deseret Industries or Goodwill. Yes, some people still do spring cleaning. :)

If you're a skeptic thrift-buyer or too lazy to thrift-buy, I'm here to reassure you that it is TOTALLY worth it. With a lot of looking and some creativity, you can find some really great stuff for A LOT less than you would pay in stores. It's kind of like being on a treasure hunt, except not every man's trash is another man's treasure. Whoever made that saying up has a whole garage full of unused junk.

So whether you fit the hesitant thrift shopper or not, here are some tips on how to be smart in thrift buying:

Frame: $1 at DI, Scrap fabric and ribbon: free

1) Create a list and stick to it. This is hands down where people usually get in trouble when they thrift shop. If you don't know what you really want or need, you end up buying a lot of stuff that you never use that just sits in your basement/closet. That would be a waste of money which is the opposite of the idea of thrift buying! So, figure out what you need/want and write it down, complete with dimensions if it's furniture or wall hangings and sizes if it's clothing. Believe me, just having a list will help you save money.

2) Ignore #1 if you find something absolutely amazing BUT you have to have a place in mind for it. Lists are great, but you can't pass up something that you fall in love with or is an AMAZING deal. That's the golden moments of thrift buying. It makes all the sorting-through-junk worthwhile! HOWEVER, before you buy it make sure you have a place in mind for it or check with yourself that you're really going to use it. No matter how much you love it, it's still a waste of money if it ends up in YOUR next yard sale.

$8 suit for my son in a couple years, found at a yard sale

3) Research. I'm not saying that you necessarily sit down at the computer and google search before you go shopping. I'm talking about two kinds of research: The research you do when you pay attention to how much things that are important to you cost and the research you do when you are surfing Pinterest seeing what other people do with items they find at thrift stores/yard sales. (So I guess that means the next time your hubby asks what you're doing on Pinterest AGAIN you can say "researching")  

These two kinds of research will help you know if the price you're paying is really a good deal and will give you ideas of what you can do with things that are beat up or are generally used for a different purpose. It is simply amazing the creativity that you'll find out there using "junk." And how EASY it is!

4) Haggle if it's too much or you're buying a lot (obviously you can only do this at yard sales, not DI). If you've done your research, you should know if they've marked something too high. Or maybe you just really don't want to pay that much for it. So haggle. See if they're willing to go lower, the worst they can do is say no. (I'm a complete hypocrite in saying this because I have a REALLY hard time haggling, but my sister-in-law is great at it and I've seen it work for her A LOT.) People usually just want to sell as much as they can. HOWEVER, don't insult their intelligence by offering them WAY LESS. It's just plain rude and might tick them off so they don't sell it to you for any price.

Also, if you're buying a lot of things at a particular yard sale, offer them a flat amount for everything. Usually people will cut you a deal that way because they're so glad you're buying so much! But again, make sure it's a reasonable amount.

Almost a complete set of Levels 1-4 Alfred's Basic Piano Library for 25 CENTS each at a yard sale. AMAZING since they're normally $6 each! Yeah I didn't haggle on that one!

5) Map out your yard sales before you go. I learned this from another yard-sale goer in my neighborhood. Nowadays with our technology, a lot of people post their yard sales on craigslist beforehand. It's a good idea to get on and see where they are and what they're selling. Sometimes you can tell that it's just not going to be a good one and it's not worth your time. But mostly, this is a good idea so you're not driving back and forth across town all day. Map out your route to save you some time!

6) Remember that a little TLC can go a long way. Like I said above, if you've looked on Pinterest, you know it's amazing how you can transform something with a little elbow grease and paint/fabric/etc. If you don't believe me, look at some of my own thrift store before and after pictures:

Before: $5 find at DI

After. Simple fabric recover with plastic protection against the outdoors.

Before: $10 find at DI (can you tell I love Deseret Industries?)

After: Simple repaint and knob replacement

Before, bought at DI for $2

After. It's now in my son's room full of pictures.

Before: $80 find at a thrift store where my parents' live

After: I wish I could take credit for this one but it's all my sister. She's amazing at refinishing furniture.

Just a quick word on the dresser above: I spent $130 TOTAL on it. For a large, beautiful piece of furniture like the one above, that is an AMAZING price. And no one would know it was a thrift store find unless I told them (which I usually do because I'm still so pumped on how little it cost!).

So, armed with my tips on thrift buying, get yourself out there and find some great deals! Don't get discouraged if you don't find something the first couple of times. You have to be patient and go a lot, but if you do, you will find some great stuff!

Low Calorie Dinners and Desserts That Don't Require Weird Ingredients

First of all, I don't think I'm fat. Not by any means. However, in the last year I've gained 10 pounds which is just enough to make me too big for my favorite shorts and to loathe the way my shirts emphasize my new little paunch.

So, I downloaded an app on my phone called My Fitness Pal that counts calories for me and subtracts my exercise from those calories. It's so easy! I put in my goal which was to lose 1/2 pound a week and it gives me how many calories I can eat a day: 1650. Then I just input what I eat for each meal and what I did for exercise (and for how long) and it adds and subtracts all the calories for me. It has been a huge eye-opener for me just to see how many calories certain things are.

For instance, yogurt can have a LOT of calories depending on the kind you buy. Veggies and fruits? Some of them don't even have enough calories per serving to even add to my calorie counter. Seasonings don't count as calories either. But meat is high in calories. And I'm sure these are all things that everyone already knew and I just figured out. :)

So when I originally found that in order to lose 1/2 pound a week I had to eat only 1650 (more if I exercise!), I thought "I can do that." Then I started adding some of my favorite meals and snacks and found that it was harder than I thought.

Therefore, I'm sharing with you some of the low-calorie dinners and desserts that I've found. Besides the Lime Chicken Salad, under each recipe I'll put how many calories a serving is but since I'm just taking the total calories of the meal and dividing it, I don't know exactly the measurement of each serving. But if you're making the whole recipe and dividing it up, you'll know how many calories the serving is. I hope that makes sense.


Black Bean Soup from Our Best Bites
You can find the recipe for this yummy soup here.

If you divide the soup into 5 servings, it makes each serving about 223 calories. Pair this soup with 10 Mission yellow corn tortilla chips and you have a meal for only 323 calories!



Explosion on Your Tastebuds Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tian
You can find the recipe for the chicken here.
       **Note a difference: Instead of using 1.5 lbs of chicken thighs, I made it with 1 lb. of chicken
           breasts and my calorie count reflects this change.

You can find the recipe for the Summer Vegetable Tian here.

If you divide the Chicken recipe into 4 servings and the Vegetable Tian into 5 servings, a serving of each gives you a meal of 380 calories! And they're both real yummy!


Lime Chicken Salad (1 serving recipe)  approx. 400 calories
6 leaves of romaine lettuce, cut up
1/4 cup black beans
1/3 of a medium avocado, cut into cubes or slices

1/4 cup corn
1/8 cup green onions
1/8 cup cilantro
1/2 cup chicken breast, cooked and shredded or diced,
Assorted seasonings

2 Tbsp. Italian dressing

Season the cooked chicken breast with whatever seasonings you want. I put a little lime juice and garlic powder on it. Then create a salad with the remaining ingredients, pouring the Italian dressing over the top.


Healthy Energy Bites
You can find this recipe here.

I actually only use 1/4 cup honey in this recipe because I think 1/3 cup makes them too sweet for me. But if you use the original recipe and make 20 equal balls with it, it makes each ball only 145 calories!




Banana Icecream
This recipe only calls for bananas, peanut butter, and cocoa powder! You can find it here.

If you divide this recipe into 4 servings, it makes each serving only 165 calories!





I hope this helps if you are looking for low-calorie meals/desserts. I know that there are even less-calorie meals and desserts out there, but I really can't afford all the weird ingredients that those recipes require. A good rule of thumb is to eat more fruits and veggies and less meat, carbs, and sugary stuff. Not only are they more healthy for you but they're less calories too!

I Know That We Can Make a Difference

In my life and the life of others, I have seen how service can change lives. I know that there are many opportunities to do good in this world. When we serve with the pure love of Christ, we can create miracles in the lives of others. I can say that I know this because there have been times in my life where my burdens have been lifted because of the goodness of others.

This video shows this so well. I know that we all can find ways to serve and help lift those around us as these people did for this one family.

The Yummiest Apricot Jam!!! (Recipes Included)

I love apricot jam, but not really any apricot jam. Besides the fact that it's really hard to find JUST apricot jam at the store (usually it's Apricot-Pineapple or something), the jam there can really never compare to my grandma's recipe. So this week I happened to be at my parents' house right as they had apricots on their tree so I got to can some apricot jam! And I'm sharing the process and recipe so that you too can discover how yummy and more-healthy this jam is than the store-bought stuff.

And if you've never made your own jam before, don't be scared. It's easy!


What You'll Need:
8 cups mashed/pureed fruit
4 cups sugar
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup Ultra Gel (more on this below)
A blender
6 pint-sized jars & lids for them OR freezer containers
A waterbath canner (if you're canning the jam)


A Word on Ultra Gel
Ultra Gel is made by a company in Boise, Idaho and used as a starch thickener that you don't have to cook. The reason that my family loves it is because you don't have to use NEAR as much sugar with it as you would with other thickeners like Sure Jell. If you look at the recipe, you use half as much sugar as fruit. In the Sure Jell recipe you use TWICE as much SUGAR as fruit. So really with those homemade jams, you're eating mostly sugar!

If you're in the Boise area, they sell Ultra Gel at some of the local stores. If you're not in the area, you can buy it online for a little more. I wouldn't actually buy it from the company that produces it (Carnet Foods) because their shipping is outrageous! I found it cheaper from a company in Utah that uses it in their jams and sells it as well (so maybe they produce it too?).

If you want to just try it out, you can buy the 16 oz. bag here. That 16 oz. bag should last you for at least 6 batches of my grandma's recipe. Shipping is about $6 though, so if you try it and want to buy more, I would do this option because it's cheaper overall. I'm lucky because my parents live in the Boise area so I bought it locally and didn't have to worry about all this shipping stuff. :)

The Process
Just in case you were wondering, I didn't use that entire box of apricots. But I just had to show that picture because my parents worked hard to save their apricots from the squirrels. They trapped 23 squirrels this year in their live trap and released them miles away. TWENTY-THREE! Oh, and one stupid cat. :)

Anyways, so start out by washing those apricots. I love this sight:

Then cut them open, take out the pit and put them in the blender. Add a little bit of water (enough so that the apricots will blend) and then blend the apricots by pressing the pulse button on and off. If they're not blending, grab a knife and push the apricots down more.

 After blending them, it should look like this:

Do this until you have 8 cups of blended fruit in a bowl. Then mix in the sugar and lemon juice. After that is mixed in well, add the Ultra Gel and mix. You'll need to grab a whisk and whisk it because the Ultra Gel tends to clump. In the end, no matter how much whisking you do you'll have some itty bitty clumps, but that's okay. When you process it, it melts anyways. After it's mixed, let the jam sit 10 minutes.

 Now at this point, you can spoon that jam into freezer containers and pop in the freezer OR you can can the jam. I like to can it because then I can store it for years. Just a good rule of thumb: use freezer jam within 1 year of making and use homemade canned jam within 5 years.

So if you're going the canning route: Spoon the jam into jars, filling it to the bottom ring. Wipe the lip of the jar with a wet paper towel or rag to make sure it's clean.

At this point you should have your lids ready by warming them in water in a pan. The lids need to be hot so they will seal better. Once they are hot, put them on the jars, securing it with the jar ring.

You should have your water almost-boiling in the water bath canner (shown below in case you don't know what that is) at this point. You'll want to fill it 3/4 way full because you need a few inches of water covering the jars once you put them in. Put the jars in and the lid back on. Once the water is boiling, process the jam for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, pull them out and let them sit (without moving them) for at least 12 hours. By then, if they haven't sealed (which you check by pushing down on the lids. If they pop, they're not sealed), then put it straight in your fridge to use or you can even put them in your freezer and treat it like freezer jam.

And you're done! Don't they look beautiful? Below are some printable recipes for the jam and also a yummy Apricot chicken recipe I make with this jam. It's worth the work to make this jam because the chicken is not nearly as good with store-bought jam! Enjoy!