Today, the best part of my afternoon was gazing at clouds with my son. We used our imaginations and created animals and objects from clouds. I remember doing this as a kid, and loved that I shared this with him. The best things are the simplest ones. What simple things do you love doing?
Need something lighter to mix up all the red sauce pasta you may be eating? This recipe is easy, quick and packed with flavor!
Start boiling your water for pasta. We use Borilla protein pasta, it’s yummy and good for you. While your water is working up to a boil, chop and add ingredients to frying pan.
Ingredients for frying pan: Heat on medium – low
That’s it. Add some parm cheese on top if desired and there you have it…yummy, delicious, and full of flavor!
About 8 years ago, I had my first experience with cluster headaches. It was Saturday, and my cousin and I were enjoying an afternoon out having drinks and appetizers. It was a delightful way to spend a lazy Saturday. (This was before I had kids.) Everything was going great until I started to get a sharp pain above my eye and below in my sinuses. It intensified quickly and I ended our afternoon abruptly, retreating to my car and raced home. By the time I parked in front of our duplex, I was in excrutiating pain.
After several attacks and trips to the ER, I was diagnosed with cluster headaches. Cluster headaches are one of the most painful headaches and occur in clusters. Meaning, once you start a cluster cycle, you can have multiple episodes that can last from weeks to months. They usually happen in the middle of the night and you wake up because of the pain.
The symptoms are: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cluster-headache/symptoms-causes/syc-20352080
I can speak from personal experience. The pain tarts above my eye and near my sinuses by my nose. If I take my imitrex nasal spray 20mg within a minute of the onset of symptoms, I can decrease the severity and length of the pain. If I don’t get my medicine in my system in time, my attack can last for hours. I can only describe the pain as feeling like someone shot a gun through my eye. Luckily, mine have been ocurring for 1 week every two years. That’s not bad. But I never know when it can strike. There aren’t an triggers so I always carry my medicine.
Any sharp pain should never be taken casually. See your doctor to make sure you know the cause. I had tests and scans done to make sure there wasn’t something serious causing my pain. It’s your body, keep it healthy with regular doctor visits. Some things are preventable, others are not. But knowledge is always a great tool to have and carry with you. I wish you a healthy weekend!
Happy Friday! Today I want to share with you The Extraordinary Gardener. It is a gentle, sweet book both written and uniquely illustrated by Sam Boughton. This story is about a boy named Joe, who lives in a world of gray. Joe loves to go into his imaginary world filled with vivid color, plants and unique animals. Joe gets an idea and decides to plant a seed, water and care for it. One day, it blooms and changes the world he lives in. My kids and I really enjoyed this story. I hope you give it a chance and it finds it’s way into your home. I’m sure you’ll like it! Enjoy!
I’m not sure about you, but I’m always on the lookout for hands on toys that requires kids to use their imagination. I know I remember loving certain toys and games from my childhood, and most of them didn’t involve a screen. (Well, with the exception of using the running pad at my friends house that hooked up to a video game!).
The following is a list that still thrills kids and you won’t believe how simple they are:
Anyone have any toys their kids love?
Do you like it hot? Well, this ladies and gentlemen, is my spiciest chili yet! And…..wait for it…..it’s vegetarian! Ok, don’t sign off yet, my chili is made with morning star chorizo crumbles….if you prefer, all you have to do is substitute it for real chorizo….it will be just as amazing! Easy fix, everyone wins.
Here’s the recipe: (I actually measured everything….usually I’m more of a shake and tweak as I go kinda gal.)
To speed up the process I combine the following in a frying pan and heat together on the stove top til the kidney beans are soft. The Morning Star chorizo crumbles only needs about 8 minutes to be thoroughly cooked. (If subbing regular chorizo, your cook time will vary, and you may want to use a separate pan)
In a large pot, heat 2.5 cups of water, and about 1.5 tbsp tomato paste (I used what I had, Italian style with basil and oregeno). Continue to heat on medium low. Add ingredients from frying pan and cook together covered on low for ten minutes. (If the heat is on high, you’ll lose your water and have to add more.) Add cheese and favorite toppings.
That’s it! Congrats on making one spicy chili! I hope you enjoy! If you try it, let me know how it worked for you! If you have a substitution, let me know what it is! Enjoy.
My husband and I recently went to a wedding and had a wonderful time! It was on a farm, in a barn, and was just kind of magical really. We got to see friends, family and witness the beautiful beginning of a new Mr. and Mrs. I look at my Mr. and am just amazed at how we’ve grown, both individually and together as a couple over the almost nine years of our marriage. Whew!
So here are a few things that I’ve learned:
1. I’m not always right! Oomphf, that one hurts to admit! (Maybe don’t tell my husband I said this one!) I don’t like to be wrong, and when I am, it’s really hard to admit it. I don’t always do it willingly either. But after some thinking, I can, eventually, apologize and see things in a different light.
2. That you need to laugh. Life can throw you some curves, and not always provide you with a warning sign before hand. We’ve found that laughing at how difficult, or completely absurd a situation is can actually make it better. Laugh and lessen the stress.
3. That you need a good dance partner, both literally and figuratively. Well, I LOVE to dance….at weddings, in my kitchen, my car, down the aisles of Target….you get the idea. Luckily for me, my husband is a great dancer and will entertain my need to be on the floor at weddings. More importantly though, is the need for your partner to dance through this life with you; to be with you when it’s easy and fun, to create memories, to celebrate accomplishments, to support one another through disappointments, and most importantly, have the love and understanding when times are difficult.
Those are just a few thoughts I had after the wedding weekend. I hope this finds you all well, and that you have a great start to your week.
What a great evening with family and friends! My youngest cousin got married Saturday night on a farm, and let me just say, it was stunning! To the backdrop of rolling green hills, the bride and groom said their vows to a tearing crowd. Who doesn’t love a love story!? The reception followed in a barn with twinkling lights, GORGEOUS flowers and greens everywhere and drinks served in mason jars. If you needed a break from the band, you could step outside to a fire surrounded by seats of bailed hay. It was, the most original and beautiful wedding I’ve ever attended. Congrats Ricky & Ally!
Good morning and welcome to the weekend! Today I wanted to share with you my favorite pancake recipe. My kids LOVE pancakes, and these you can make and keep in the fridge for a few days, if there are actually leftovers to keep that is.
It’s pretty simple: Combine and whisk dry ingredients.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and add: 1 egg, 1 1/4 cup warm milk and 2 tbsp melted butter. And voila! Just heat in pan til the bubble stat, flip and enjoy with your favorite syrup!
Happy Friday everyone! I have SUCH a special treat to share with you today! I am so excited! My Shape Is Sam by Amanda Jackson is a truly wonderful book. Sam is a square who lives in a place where each shape has a job. He’s a sturdy stacker, but longs to roll like the circles. One day he rolls and continues to roll til his edges smooth out. (There is so much detail that went into this book, even the corners of the pages are rounded!) He loves it, but the other shapes aren’t sure what to think. He follows his heart and when asked what his shape is, he says my “Shape is Sam”. It’s a book about being different and wanting to follow your heart and true self. With wonderful illustrations by Lydia Nichols, this book teaches kids about shapes and shows them that being different is okay. What a great lesson that can be applied to many different aspects of life! I finished reading this to my kids and they immediately asked for me to read it again. It’s new to the shelves so please check it out! Happy reading everyone!
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