I have many readers ask me how to enter my giveaways. The rafflecopter form/widget is super easy to use! It is the same for all my giveaways 
Please take a moment to watch this 45 second video on how to enter and I look forward to having YOU as a winner on my blog!
I have recently been finding myself wanting to try more healthful options in food. I have to admit, though, I am often put-off by most things in the healthy catagory because I admit to being somewhat intimidated and not sure how to use them. I was given the opportunity to try Hemp Hearts by Manitoba Harvest.
What are Hemp Hearts? They are raw shelled hemp seeds and they are so versatile! You can use them in smoothies, on cereal and baked goods and as a salad topper. They have a wonderful nutty taste and a texture somewhat like sesame seeds.
I used them in place of granola on top of yogurt and fruit, in a parfait. They added such a great texture and flavor!
Hemp Hearts really are great straight out of the bag, though.
Hemp has some wonderful nutrition, only 3 g Carbs per serving and no cholesterol. It has calcium, Vitamin B6, Iron and magnesium.
Manitoba Harvest uses earth friendly practices in production such as using 100% wind power! Hemp Hearts are Vegan as well.
Who knew that hemp seeds would be so tasty?
Today’s Guest post comes from Sensibly Sara! Her blog has wonderful giveaways, reviews, recipes, organization tips and much more!
Baked Oatmeal:
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
2-1/2 cups oats (quick or old fashioned), uncooked*
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In medium bowl combine milk, eggs, oil and vanilla; mix well. Set aside.
In 8×8 square casserole pan, combine oats, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon. Add to liquid ingredients in bowl; blend well. Let stand about 15 minutes.
Bake, uncovered, 35 to 45 minutes or until center is almost dry and firm to the touch. Cool slightly before serving.
**I got this recipe from a friend, but I am a rule-breaker and use heavy whipping cream in place of milk. You can make it either way.
Full Disclosure from Sara: I was not compensated for this post. I am sharing one of our favorite breakfast recipes (I did NOT create it, I merely altered it) because I thought you’d like it!
Today’s Guest poster is from Zombie Mommy Saves. She has a wonderful blog to check out with money saving tips and awesome giveaways/reviews! Go to Zombie Mommy Saves to check her out!
Money Saving Tips for Families
1) Time is money unless you stay at home full time, then perhaps some deals are worth your time. If you can spend an hour cutting coupons and you save $10, then $10 an hour is worth your time (you get the gist, don’t go crazy on me now). However if you are a working mom, spending time with your family is more valuable so getting some help with a cleaning service (hire a friend and spread the love) or letting some deals slide is okay too.
2) Stockpiling is saving money. If you see a great deal on something you regularly buy and you see it for 50% off, then it is worth going ahead and buying several months worth, if you have the storage capacity. I bought 13 cans of Parmesan on sale this year, that is a savings of $13. Those little efforts add up. Of course I wish I bought more now, those cans only lasted a couple a months. I never saw a sale like that again. If I would of had a bigger stockpile fund I shoulda bought 50.
3) Keeping track of your savings is quite an encouragement to keep the savings ball rolling. Rollin, rolling, keep that ball a rolling. (whiphere, Rawhide). Plus when you do it this way you have braggin rights down the olde saloon/playground.
4) Put money aside every month for your stockpile. If you save $5 a month within a couple of months you will have $20 bucks. And then when you see 13 cans of Parmesan marked down you can go for it without having heart palpitations that you’re living on the edge of your monthly budget.
5) Try the envelope system. Split your monthly grocery budget into 4 or 5 weekly envelopes. I know its so Dave Ramsey, but come on, Dave Ramsey is a smart guy.
Money Saving Tips for Families is not something you just jump into like a bowl of hot chili. You must take baby steps, one pinkie toe at a time until it becomes part of who you are. A saver.
Repeat to yourself “I am a Saver”.
If you liked these Money Saving Tips for Families, Subscribe to her blog’s posts! Come on now, keep that money where it belongs, in yo pocket!
Today I have another guest post from my bloggy friend at Momma Does It All. She offers some great perspective on being green and what it has to do with being a Christian. Enjoy!
Admittedly, I have been late to the party as far as green living is concerned. I drive an SUV. I don’t recycle much. I buy bottled water. My groceries are packed in plastic bags and I throw a fair number of them away. I don’t pay much attention to the amount of waste created by me or my family. For some reason, the whole green living thing hit me the wrong way and I’ve just not embraced it. That started to change for me a few Sundays ago.
A few Sundays ago, I was sitting in our church listening to our pastor’s sermon ready and waiting for the wisdom she would share that week. Her sermons in April focused on the earth and God’s creation. Early in the month she had talked about the beauty of God’s creation and encouraged us all to pause during the week to admire the beauty that we find all around us. It was a great sermon and she even asked us all to email her pictures of the beauty we saw during the week. Those pictures were run in a slide show before, during and after the service the following week and there were some amazing photos shared. The sermons both weeks were great and I enjoyed them, but it was the next sermon that got my attention. It was her sermons the following two weeks that truly got my attention. It created that little bit of discomfort in myself that makes me think about my own thoughts and actions.
If you refer to Genesis 1:1-26, you will note that Man was created last. We were created after the vegetation, the rivers and the animals. In Genesis 1:29-30, God gives these instructions to Man
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground - everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
As a person who is new to the Bible, I have spent more time in the New Testament than in the Old Testament. The verses above showed me that God had a purpose in mind for all that he created. God gave us the Earth to provide for us and for all that he created. In Genesis 2:15, it’s presented a slightly different way:
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
As a Christian, I often focus on living my life in such a way as to be closer to God. I attend church services every Sunday, go to Bible Study and I am active in our church. Our family tithes and we try to live our lives in line with God’s teachings. Well, I thought we did until I heard our pastor’s sermons in April. After that, I began to question my attitude about green living. Here I am, trying to be a good Christian and all the while, I am paying very little attention to the planet that God created for us. I’ve taken it for granted and honestly, forgotten that it is God’s creation for us. Now that I have been reminded, I have to change my thoughts and my actions. By not recycling where I can, not paying attention to the waste our family creates and not looking for ways to live a more green lifestyle, I am not respecting the beautiful gift that God gave to us. Who knew that being green was being Christian?
Cyndy is an East Coaster turned Texan who lives outside of Dallas with her family. You can find her at Mama Does It All where she blogs about her faith, living frugally, her faith, and whatever other random thoughts hit her radar.
Feel free to also follow her on Facebook and twitter. I am sure she would love it!
I wanted to share with you this wonderful recipe from my bloggy friend at Life with Captain Fussy Buckets. It is for a crock post recipe and I know everyone could always use more of those for those busy nights!
Crock Pot Creamy Italian Chicken recipe
Picture via Flickr by Jan Tik
I am what some people refer to as a ‘worry wart’. I deal with a lot of anxiety and stress. Its terrible to get in a cycle of worrying. For me, at least, the worry just builds upon itself until I have myself in a tizzy.
The ‘what ifs’ just wear me out.
I have a hard time remembering to turn to God in my times of worry and stress even though he tells not only to, but delights in my trust when I tell him.
In Philippians 4:6; we are commanded, “Do not be anxious [do not worry] about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Its amazing to realize that God not only wants us to lean on him in times of distress, but he does so because he genuinely loves us and cares! The God of the universe cares about my little worries!
Its important to remember that there is not worry that is too small or big for him! In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we are instructed to Pray without ceasing. God wants to hear our thoughts, feelings, worries and anxieties. He wants us to trust him. He wants us to continue to ask him for our desires and needs.
Jesus even tells us that we are not to worry. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
I need to now work on trusting God with my whole heart. Its a sad realization when I figure out that if I am afraid to give God my worries, I have not given him my whole heart. It is a lifelong process, I think.
In love,
Chrissie
I am going to tackle a subject today that is a tough one. It is also maybe not characteristic of my blog’s niche, but I also feel it is an important one. I am going to be talking about sexual assault.
First, let me say that I am a survivor of sexual assault. (I say survivor because that is what I am. I am NOT a victim). The subject has been under the microscope lately in my home-town of Missoula, Montana and I am pretty saddened by a particular blog post that was made on Jezebel.com
In the article, the “reporter” came to Missoula and talked to several residents, mostly college students. What was said is no less that vile in my opinion. There was a lot of misconceptions about why sexual assault occurs and TONS of victim-blaming. I could not believe what I read. I could not believe with all the education on sexual assault, people still felt this way.
I do have to say though, Missoulians are a great bunch in a lot of ways. Aaron Traylor, a local popular Dj on a local radio station posted a report on the article and posted a picture of himself with a sign that said he is against what the article on Jezebel said. In turn, I posted a similar picture and it started a ball of positivity rolling that said Missoulians would not stand to be labeled “the Rape Capitol of America” as we were dubbed in the Jezebel article and we would stand tall and supportive of those who had experienced assault.
What is so terrible about ‘victim blaming’ is it makes the victim feel further isolated and keeps the assaults further un-reported. Why would a woman (or man for that matter?) want to be put in the spotlight after a sexual assault and further looked down upon when they need to be supported?
As a society, we need to be more sensitive and educated on how this happens. We need to open our hearts and minds. I don’t see any reason not to.
Some common misconceptions and thoughts about sexual assault that really make me angry:
*”If the victim wasn’t dressed that way and didn’t ‘tease’ a man, she wouldn’t get raped or assaulted.
WRONG. There are plenty of cases where old ladies wearing completely covered clothing get assaulted. A rapist will rape/assault based on POWER and CONTROL. It is NOT about sex.
*”She’s a sl** anyways. she probably just regrets sleeping with him and so she made up this story now”
WRONG. I can tell you from my personal promiscuous past that while I regretted sleeping with some men I did when I was intoxicated, it was not assault. Assault FEELS way different than a poor choice. It is so much more than that!
WHEN will society get past these opinions?
Are there ways to prevent sexual assault in some cases? Sure there are and many are common sense:
Don’t get overly intoxicated and stay with friends (even IF you don’t you don’t deserve or ask to get assaulted!)
Party with people you know well and who will protect you (again, even if you don’t, you do not deserve or ask to get assaulted!)
Bottom line: NO ONE deserves to get assaulted!
What people need to realize is it does no one any good to blame a victim. Imagine how you would feel if you had a crime committed against you and you were too ashamed to tell anyone because you felt others would judge you! What a lonely place to be.
I can’t imagine “making up” an assault either. With the attitude many hold with victim blaming, why in the world would someone want that kind of attention enough to make up a story?
I can tell you that sexual assault can and does often devastate a life. In my case, it took years of healing and in many ways, I am still in the process.
Please think before you speak when it comes to this. Your words can be extremely damaging to the very people who need you.
In love,
Chrissie
I get asked all the time how to do my eyebrows.
Truth be told, I don’t really have eyebrows. (lol) I just fill in what I have with an eyebrow liner and powder.
To start, you will need tweezers, powder in your brow color and an eye liner or brow pencil in same color,and a clean face.
Here is me pre-eyebrows. You can see why I do my eyebrows
It should be noted as well that I wear glasses, so I do my brows a bit bolder and thicker because of this. You can adjust your look to what fits your face.
Take the liner and line your eyebrows lightly to what you want the shape to be.
Don’t worry about hairs that are stray at this point. We will get to them later.
Now, take your brow powder and start to fill in with an angled brow brush. I happened to have lost mine, so I am stuck using a lip brush for now. A brow brush really does work more effectively, though.
When you are done filling in, it should look similar to this:
Now you can tackle those strays. Just pluck whatever doesn’t fit into your ideal brow shape. Don’t over pluck. You don’t want to take them all off! When you are done, take a brow comb and comb them neatly into place
To finish off, I put eyeliner and eye shadow on.
Here is me with my finished look without glasses and with:
Hope you found my tutorial helpful I was always afraid to play around with my eyebrows, then just went ahead and did it one day and I think it does so much for my face now!
I was getting tired of eating the same old thing around here so I decided to play around in the kitchen. I came up with this recipe the other night and wanted to share it with my readers.
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
You will need:
* 1 box of non-long type pasta such as farfalle
* 1 container of Philadelphia Cream cheese’s “Cooking Cream” I used Italian herbs and cheese flavor
* 1 1/4 cups shredded swiss cheese
* 1 ham steak, around 1 lb in size, cooked and cubed
* 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
* Panko or bread crumbs
How to:
1. Start the water to boil for the noodles, combine the ham and chicken together in a bowl. set aside.
2. When noodles are cooked al dente (al dente means “to the tooth”. It is a french term that means the pasta is almost fully cooked) and drained, add the meat.
3. Add the cooking cream and a splash of milk to the pasta/meat. Combine gently as to not break up the pasta.
4. In a baking dish, (I used a glass cake pan), spray the inside with non-stick spray. Add the mixture.
5. Top with a layer of panko/breadcrumbs and cheese.
6. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 15 minuets or until cheese is melted on top and the mixture is sizzling. When cheese is melted, turn on broil and let it get brown and crispy. Watch it closely so it doesn’t burn!
SERVE and enjoy!
You might also think about adding a veggie. I think asparagus might go lovely next time with this!
