{eye candy}

How playful & cute is this?

I love this little wall!

You could easily incorporate this look in a playroom

or gameroom for a touch of whimsy!

Letters can be purchased fairly inexpensively at

many locations...

 {think Michael's, JoAnn's, Wal-Mart, Target,

flea markets, antique shops, etc}

and you can always repaint them with craft

paint to mix up the color scheme!

♥INSPIRE♥

Tuesday TRUEism

I find so much comfort in God's promises.

He always keep his word.

To ALL my MAMMACITAS rollin' in a Swagger Wagon

To all my GiRLieS who drive minivans,

hopefully when we ROLL by each other

y'all won't be

TOO COOL TO WAVE BACK

TO ME...

in your swagger wagons!

{go down to my music section on the right side and

press the pause button,

before clicking play, you don't want to miss the action! }

Toyota Sienna - Swagger Wagon - Watch more Funny Videos

Fun Fridays...my favorite things

Alternative English Muffins

from the Western Bagel Co.

Does a cowboy riding into town on a BAGEL seem a little odd?

Not if you’re the Western Bagel Company.

The story of Western Bagel is a trailblazing tale.

David Ustin was working in a Bronx, New York bakery while attending school to become a rabbi. During his shift one day, he overheard a union representative say there were no good bagels out west. Soon after, David packed up and hit the road with a pioneer spirit and profits in mind.
When he arrived in California circa 1946, David keenly observed the cow pokes on the West Coast had different tastes than the Eastern customers he had come to know. He went on to develop a bagel that was softer and chewier which helped Western Bagel become

“The Bagel That Won The West.”

In 2002, amidst growing health concerns of consumers and if I'm guessing right… the rise of low-carb diets, Western Bagel created a reduced carbohydrate bagel.

Thus, the "ALTERNATIVE BAGEL" was born.

From the beginning, Alternative Bagels were offered in only two varieties, Country White and Roasted Onion. The bagel’s popularity spread like wildfire and now the company offers additional flavors including Sweet Wheat, Very Blueberry and Cinnamon Spice.

While I like bagels,

I LOVE, LOVE,

L.O.V.E

their English muffins!

I'm a thin and crispy pizza girl so it's really only fitting

that I prefer thin and crispy in the mornings as well.

And I'm just sayin' Western Bagel makes the meanest English muffin on the block. They have 2 varieties of English muffins; plain or wheat.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE these English muffins.

Not only do they taste yummy, they are only 100 calories! And their bagels are only 110 calories compared to the average bagel which packs a whopping 300+ calories. They have no trans fat or cholesterol and are a good source of calcium. Alternative English Muffins have 5 grams of precious fiber and will only cost you 1 POINT if you do Weight Watchers for a full English muffin or bagel.

I enjoy snacking on them in many ways. One favorite recipe is to toast & sparingly spread any flavor with Weight Watchers cream cheese over the top. We also love to spread peanut butter on the top for a protein packed breakfast to go. If you try the bagels, I like to toast a Roasted Onion Alternative Bagel, add some fat-free Dijonnaise and top with a few slices of turkey for a birdy bagelwich!

You can purchase these in refrigerated section of your grocery

{a.k.a. Wal-Mart in my neck of the woods}

next to the 101 varieties of cream cheese spreads.

They must kept cold to ensure freshness so keep'em frosty girls!

They are healthy, delicious, and a quick fix making them easily

one of my favorite things.

ENJOY

{when life gives you lemons....}

As most of you know,

we were involved in a car accident last month.

The responsible party's closest insurance adjustor

was about a 40 mile drive away!

We made the drive down several weeks ago and the kids were

Mr & Mrs Manners Plus

the whole way down and were very well behaved at the State Farm Office while the adjustor wrote up our estimate and everything.

Afterward we were hungry and decided to stop by a newly opened,

to pick up one of these

and 2 of these

There was a park near by so instead of eating inside, we had

an impromptu picnic.

It was a BrIgHt afternoon, SuNNy & cOOl...

my favorite kind of day!

Cade, Gracie and I all had such a pleasant afternoon.

So if life gives you lemons, squeeze the fire out of them

and

make yourself a

lemon drop martini

{kelton...all smiles}

My nephew Kelton is 2 months old already!!!

Amanda shot some video of him playing

on his playmat the other day!

So adorable

I'm smitten :)

Tuesday TRUEism

{soccer celebration at mazzios}

another soccer season

comes to a close...

♥ we love you coach amy ♥
:: soccer pride ::

okay, kids...

look EVERYWHERE but the camera!

NICE ;)

{i am loved}

On Mother's Day,

Cade came to me saying he wanted to make me a special treat.

I love this kid, he knows the way to my heart

What did you have in mind, I quizzed him.

Well, he said, I think you would really like

some M&M Brownies for Mothers Day.

Oh, you think that would be Mommy's favorite?

Yep.

So what did we do?

Jumped in the car, drove to Wal-Mart, whizzed through picking up our supplies, and got busy baking.

The M&M brownies turned out
DELICOSO

{said in my best DORA voice}

but it was what we made WITH the brownies that really shined.

Thanks to a gift subscription from my Mom and Dad, I am a proud recipient of

Cook's Country Magazine.

In this month's edition there is a recipe for what they call

Magic Vanilla Ice Cream.

This recipe does not require an ice cream machine and I've been itching to try it since I received this month's copy!

We gathered up our ingredients:

and set to work.

You'll need:

1/2 C. Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 ounce white chocolate chips -OR-

1 ounce of a white chocolate bar, chopped fine

1 T. Vanilla Extract

1/4 C. Sour Cream

1 & 1/4 C. Cold Heavy Cream

Start out by placing your metal bowl and metal beater in the freezer. Allow them to get nice and frosty before you begin.

This helps your cream "whip" faster.

BASE:

To make the base, microwave your sweetened condensed milk and white chocolate in a large microwave safe bowl until chocolate melts, stirring halfway, about 30 seconds. Allow it to cool. Stir in vanilla, salt and sour cream.

WHIP CREAM:

Next, take your frosty bowl and beater out of the freezer, attach it to your mixer and on medium-high speed, whip heavy cream to soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Whisk one-third of whipped cream into white chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into white chocolate mixture until incorporated.

FREEZE:

Place in airtight FREEZER SAFE container and freeze at least 6 hours before eating. You can store it for up to 2 weeks.

But trust me, it won't last that long once you taste the silky, creamy texture!

Heaven on a spoon, I tell you...HEAVEN :)

Notes:

- Choose your white chocolate wisely.

The magazine warns that not all white chocolate bars are created equal.

They recommend using a premium brand chocolate like Guittard or Ghirardelli. Since we could not find these brands in the white chocolate variety, we used a Lindt White Chocolate bar that I chopped finely before microwaving.

It worked out fabulously!

- If you plan on storing your ice cream for more than a few days, place plastic wrap directly on it's surface before you freeze it.

Variations:

I made 2 batches, one vanilla and one coffee mocha.

For the mocha variation, you need to follow the recipe as directed, and then I just:

- dissolved 1 {heaping} teaspoon instant coffee into 1 T. boiling water

- poured this into the microwaved sweetened condensed milk mixture.

- Stirred well

- Then I took a bottle of Hershey's syrup and made a few rounds in the whipped cream. Okay, well maybe a couple more than a FEW rounds, but who's counting...

- Incorporate the 2 mixtures as the original recipe suggests and then freeze.

All I will say is...

that the coffee mocha variation is my favorite,

and sinfully delicious.

My thighs quiver every time

I open up the freezer.

OH.MY.STARS

Why do I torture myself?

Oh right, it's Mother's Day and all calories consumed are

automatically cancelled out!!!

Thank goodness for

Mother's Day,

my sweet cooking assistants,

and tread mills.

{my compass}

Mom,

I have so many things to be thankful for this mother's day,

but the most important one is you.

I thank God each and every day for my blessings

and one of the most important blessings is you, Mom!

You have been a rock, a guide, a compass throughout the years...

always there, always praying, always listening, always encouraging, always loving, always lighting up the path that leads to Christ.

Thank you for each and every act of love you have lived out on my behalf.

Especially for the hours and hours of prayers you have lifted up over the years...

I have felt each and every one.

By your example, you lead me to my greatest possession,

Jesus Christ.

I have seen you serve on countless occasions by cooking food, sending a hand written card, visiting the sick, making phone calls, driving women to doctor appointments, forgiving, and by being inclusive instead of exclusive!

Thank you for being a shining example of what a servant should be.

The hands and feet of Christ.

I pray that I may develop the same priceless qualities that you possess.

That's the one thing about a compass,

no matter what the weather

it always points in the same direction.

My cup runneth over

♥

Becky

“Her children rise up and bless her;

Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,

But a woman who fears the

LORD,

she shall be praised.”
Proverbs 31: 28-30

Tuesday TRUEism

"Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

"Honest Abe"

President Abraham Lincoln

{my FIRST customer}

Step right up...

I've been thinking about cutting Cade's hair myself

for awhile now.

Just haven't mustered up the confidence to

ACTUALLY BELIEVE

I could pull it off.

His hair grows SOOOOOO FAST, I'm talking like he could seriously get a hair cut every 2 weeks. Now in truth we get it cut about once every 6 weeks and it costs about 15 bucks with tip!

This kid can put away some milk and you can tell by watching his hair and nails.

They both grow like weeds :)

So I told myself to buck up and live a little...

I borrowed a WAHL clipper set from friends

{who also cut their boys hair},

made sure he was fed and happy,

and watched a YOU TUBE video tutorial

{yes I really did}

then I was ready to roll...

Plus it helps when your kid is saying,

"Go ahead Mom, I know you can do it"

I set up shop on the back patio in a lawn chair with a towel drape and he went

from shabby

to shapely!

Check out a back view!

And yes, that is a lolly pop in his hand...

he gets one at the "official" barbershop

so I figured I could spring for pops

since I was saving myself 30 bucks a month.

Gotta keep up with my competition!

Truth be told I really enjoyed it and Cade did super!

I saved money, had some one-on-one conversation time

with my oldest, and did something I was proud of!

I can't ask anymore of myself.

Always room for improvement, but

I think it turned out pretty good for a

first time Mom cut, what do you think?