Pancakes... morning comfort food.

Do you miss pancakes because you are living #glutenfree...? these pancakes are healthy, delicious and #glutenfree!! They whip up in just minutes... top with syrup, fruit or yogurt... they are also high protien so you aren't hungry an hour later...

GLUTEN FREE PANCAKES
1 Cup old fashioned rolled oats (gluten free)
1 Cup cottage cheese
3 Eggs or 6 egg whites
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tsp. cinnamon
1 Tsp. vanilla

Place all ingredients in blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Cook on griddle preheated to 300* .  Make sure bubbles are forming, popping and staying open... before you turn them.

These are the best pancakes and I would eat them if I wasn't gluten intolerant :)

Lessons from Enos

Enos was the son of Jacob and the grandson of Lehi
From reading the Book of Enos in the Book of Mormon I have learned lessons on prayer, repentance, revelations, blessing of the atonement and sharing my blessing with others!

Enos 1:4 My soul hungered...
When we are hungry for food we feel empty, weak, pain, anxious, a craving, unsatisfied and/or starving! When our soul hungers we are spiritually empty, our testimony may be week, we may have a desire to be filled spiritually.

How do we fill that hunger? Many many times when I am frustrated, feeling discouraged I like to listen to the Mormon Channel. It has never failed to have a message just for me and my situation. There are others whose stories have humbled me, encouraged me, inspired me and have been an answer to a prayer!

From reading how the word of Enos' father had sunk deep into his heart and how Enos had gotten on his knees, prayed and let Heavenly Father know of his desires; asked for the remission of his sins; for eternal life and how had joy of the saints.  It wasn't easy what Enos did. He had to wrestle before God, mentally and spiritually. He had to have a willingness to repent and make changes in his life and he had to exercise faith in Christ.

Enos' prayer made me think about what do I desire? Do I let the words of the prophets sink into my heart? What could make my prayers be better? How can I increase my faith in Christ? Are my prayers sincere?

This week in my prayer journal I going to record the results I have in praying by the example of Enos! 

Putting it all together...

For my "putting it all together" project this week for school I made a little slide show based on a talk by Pres. David Bednar. His talk touched my heart and I really enjoyed it!!

Afflictions are they a good thing?

 One would think that using the word affliction and good in the same sentence would be an oxymoron. Is it? I am interesting in hearing your opinion.

Many prophets in the scriptures where highly favored in the eyes of God yet they still faced many afflictions. They were also tested with afflictions. Nephi, Job, Abinadi to name a few. Trials are a part of life and with trails comes afflictions. Our faith in Jesus Christ provides us the power and the strength to endure our afflictions.

If we have a good attitude we will see our afflictions as an opportunity for growth, to exercise our faith and to endure it well. Afflictions humble us and reminds us of the Lord's blessings.

"thine adversity and thine affliction shall be but a small moment;

     and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt the on high." D and C121:7-8

 BUT, if we have a bad attitude our affliction is just an affliction to bring us down and  give power to Satan to discourage us and loose faith.

The choice is yours!!

..the giving game (ad some fun into your relationship)

 ... It's so easy to get into the "what's in it for me mode" these days. We hear it all around us. Sometimes we have to do something for someone else "just because" to break us out of the selfish mode...

The giving game is just a little thing I came up with for Steve and I to play... We all know about the 5 Languages of Love (gifts, affirmations, service, physical touch and time) and how important it is to feel loved in your language. What I have learned being married to my best friend is that ALL 5 languages are important to show to have a GREAT marriage. Neither Steve and I are the GREATEST gift givers... YET we both love to get little gifts that show the other has listened and payed attention to the things we like.
So here is how the game works...

1. Find a small box (this one was purchased for $1 and measures 5.5 x 4.5 x 2.5)
2. Take turns finding a little something under $5 to put in the box.
3. No time limits, but a month turn around time sounds good to me.

...Steve used this little box for my Valentine's Gift and that is what sparked the idea. I was so tickled to get this little inexpensive toy... how fun would it be to find something for Steve and give the box back...and voila! The Givine Game was born!!

Cream of Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Fall has come to NE Nebraska, my tomatoes plants are finally slowing down. This afternoon I went out to the garden and picked 6-8 small to large tomatoes...and a handful of my beautiful basil.  I pealed and chopped the tomatoes and diced the basil to  make this amazing soup!!

Cream of tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

32 oz. fresh tomatoes peeled and diced (Or 2 pints canned tomatoes)

1 cup finely diced celery

1 cup finely diced carrots1 cup finely diced onions

1 tbs diced garlic1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano

1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil

4 cups chicken broth

½ bay leaf½ cup flour

1 cup Parmesan cheese

½ cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

2 cups skim milk

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

1. Heat oil in 4 quart soup pot. Add celery, onions and carrots. Saute 5 minutes. Add basil, oregano, bay leaf, tomatoes, and chicken broth. Bring it to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender (15 minutes).

2. While soup simmers, prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat, add flour and cook, stirring constantly,
5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add back into soup pot.

3. Simmer, stirring constantly, until soup begins to thicken. Add Parmesan cheese and whisk to blend. Stir in warmed skim milk, salt and pepper. Simmer over low heat 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If you want to make this recipe just throw the soup ingredients into the crock-pot and cook for 4 hours on low. Make your roux and continue as the recipe. 
(adapted from a recipe I found at Keep It Beautiful)

...attitudes

...we are all born with an attitude.. it's either a positive attitude or a negative attitude.. I am sure there are a few that are right down the middle and can sway either way quite easily!! I can say that I was born with a positive attitude... I have the ability to find the good in EVERY situation. It's how I deal with life... something goes wrong there HAS to be a lesson in there somewhere and I will toss and turn the events around in my mind and verbally until the answer pops out.
...I also like to believe that everything happens for a purpose and that everything will work out in the end. Just ask Christy, whenever she calls and is stressed out about something that is going on in her life... I always and I mean always tell her don't worry it will all work out in the end... and I must confess when it does I also call her and ask her... and what did I tell you!! :)

...so when I saw this quote on Facebook I INSTANTLY thought of her... so this inspirational picture and quote is for my daughter Christy!

Ornament challenge

The editor of the newspaper decided to volunteer the paper staff to decorate one of the rooms at the local Burt museum. So the editor got together with the sales manager and they came up with a theme.... NEWSPAPER!!! Now we know why they are not in the creative dept!! I took the challenge on head first!! I refuse to make ugly newspaper ornaments... I made cute ones..
These were harder to make than they look. Challenge one the Cricut kept tearing the newspaper. Fix... Scan in and print out the newspaper on thicker paper :)....that was the hard part the rest was a piece of cake!!

Raspberry Jalapeno Jelly

2 green peppers, diced 
10 jalapenos, diced
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups frozen raspberries 
7 cups sugar
 6 oz. liquid pectin envelope

1.Combine peppers, raspberries, sugar and vinegar in pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer for 10 minutes. 
2. Add pectin bring to hard boil, boil for 1 more minute.
3. Remove from heat and sit for 10 minutes.
4. Strain jelly thru metal strainer or cheese cloth to remove the raspberry seeds and pepper flesh. (optional)
5. Ladle into the 8 oz canning jars (sterilized) and process in boiling water bath for 10 minute.
  

Aloha Summer

Is available for purchase at My Memories

I will soon have my digi artwork up at mymemories.com!! YAY!! It's been a long road back to creativity but I am here and that is all that matters!!

31 days to a better photo...Day 2

Today I actually FOUND and opened the manual that came with my camera... I think I can count the number of times I have used this thing...
But today I...
...learned how to change my shutter speed.
read about what all the little icon ACTUALLY mean... not what I just think they ...mean... but I was right!!!
...learned which wheel controls the shutter speed and which wheel control aperture... Thre are actually 2 wheels...who woulda thunk!!
...I learned how to change the white balance on my camera... duh!
...and I also learned how to change the ISO...why I would want to at this point not a clue... it will be fun to see after 30 days how much of this stuff will make sense to me!!

and that completes day 2...

31 days to a better photo... Day 1

31 days to a better photo.... translation... 31 days to go from auto to manual shooting!!
YAY ME!! I found this blog on Pinterest... and I decided what the heck I might as well go for it!! What do I have to lose...? Day one is just making the commitment to DO IT!! I have been asked again to be second camera at a wedding... Maybe I will be able to use some of my new skills then... see you on Day 2

Changes begin from within oneself....

I started working full-time at a local newspaper/printing company 3 weeks ago. I have to admit I am very use to being the happy cheery person that most people warm up to quickly. That is how it was the first week or so at work... then I began to feel uncomfortable. I was feeling judged harshly for my typos... Most of my family knows I am the typo queen. But at this paper it's not just my regular typos that were under the microscope... it was the paper's own typing standards. For example in an auction the first letter of every item is capitalized but NOT the descriptive words... the first letter of all the farm machinery... but NOT the words that describe it's features. Which sound very easy until you get Farmers who type back asswards, and there are 20 million different types of farm equipment.. and I was raised in SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA... and I could give a rats ass about what is the name and what is a description... of a flipping stupid tractor... Did you know there are farm machines that are have or are disks and others that use discs... do you know the difference... well I sure don't... Well the proof readers are making my life hell and making me feel like crap... I am doubting my abilities to design my own name... Oh and this one proof reader takes JOY in taking ALL my work to my supervisor so SHE can tell me what a dunce I am... Yesterday was horrible... I wanted to just melt into my chair... BUT I have a secret weapon... when I am feeling down and pretty worthless... I pull out my trusty iPhone and ear buds... and I listen to a conference talk... and EVERY TIME by the end of the talk I am feeling much better about life and myself... I have 2 wonderful co-workers who I can vent to and they always make me feel better... They see what is going on too... so I am not being paranoid... The hardest part for me is that I have a real hard time with someone NOT liking me. So tonight I shall pray for my enemy at work... and NO I won't pray something bad will happen... I will pray that she her heart will soften towards me... and she will be more patient with me... and I will pray that I will have the discernment to know one tractor from another... ugh... but I think for that I will be praying for a miracle... if things don't get better I plan to have a fast over the whole issue... because I also am not use to hating my job... even when it's not the most pleasant place to be I usually can find something I enjoy about it... So we shall see...
But in the mean time... I saw this adorable picture of my great-nephew, Dean and I could not help but scrapbook it... I have been working on making elaborate clusters... with junk all over them...but this picture called for simplicity... so after dragging and deleting about a million items... I finally caught on... and kept is very simple... enjoy!!

Oh Lord, forget me not!

Oh Lord, FORGET ME NOT!!... I am blessed ALWAYS have the RS General Meeting fall on my birthday weekend... This year I didn't watch it when it was broadcast..., but better late than NEVER!! So, forget NEW YEARS resolutions... I decided I am going to make BIRTHDAY resolutions... not to be skinnier...or more organize.. but to just be the best Meg I can be... to follow the Gospel... and to work on doing the things that are going to make me happy from the inside out... This inspiration came from a talk from the RS General Woman Meeting... and could be for any woman any where in the world... not matter what religion she is... what culture she is from... it is written to and for woman who want to BE HAPPIER!! here is the LINK to the talk... if anyone is interested in reading it or hearing it...

I am very INTERESTED if you listened to the talk... if it INSPIRED you... and if it did.. HOW SO???!!

Missed

My  M..Me...Meg Page WON the challenge at My Memories... I won $10 worth of digi scrapbooking art!! Woot!! This weeks challenge was Remembrance... so I spent some of my earning on a kit called Morning Hush and I created a page remembering my Mom.... The word remembrance instantly brought to my mind Mom and how she is missed. To keep the pain at a distance I didn't want to write a bunch of flowery words so missed is all I let myself think of....

Oh and BTW the  My Memories Software is just amazing...If you are wanting to create digi scrapbook pages or even create one of those neat bound books... then this is the software to invest in... it's only $40 or you can win it free over at Craftberry Tree... :) One of these days when I feel I have enough excitement over there I will have my give-away!!

I had a job interview at Oriental Trading Company last week... and this week I received my rejection letter. I am not sad or disappointing at all... I know exactly why I didn't get the job... I have a brain and I disagreed with an answer to a computer assessment test. They had 2 right answers and I picked the wrong one and I let them know it wasn't fair. Ok I know you are wondering what the question was. How do you highlight text in document. A. click and drag your mouse across the word. <---- that is the answer they wanted you to answer. I answered C. Double/ or triple click on a word in the sentence. Steve said they didn't hire me because I have a brain and I am not a robot. I am waiting for the call for the 3rd interview for Accu-Quilt. I received a call last Friday letting me know they are very interested in me...but they had concerns with my relationship with Provo Craft. Since I have not submitted any new art to them in years.. I told them... What relationship? and I had just signed up with My Memories to handle my artwork... so I have no idea what the hold up is now... But in the mean time I have an interview at the Plain Dealer a newspaper out of Takama, NE... just a hop..skip and jump down a 2 lane hwy!! Ehhh I am not too excited about it... but it is designing...

Me Challenge...

I know 2 blog posts in one day... I needed to create a ME page for My Memories... I like it!!

Colorado Vacation. page 1

I have 12 days to get my vacation album done!! I will be using the MY Memories software!! learning curve is rather small... so far I like it A LOT!! :)

EXCITING NEWS...

I have found a new home for my digital designs!! I am still in the baby stages of getting them designed and uploaded to the new site... MYMEMORIES Digital Scrapbooking is where I will be!! Keep posted to my Craftberry Tree Blog because I will be hosting a giveaway to some of the My Memories software!!

My Memories Suite is rated #1 by amazon and TopTen Reviews for digital scrapbooking software and a $40 value.

Abby Turned Three (3)... Can you believe it??

Her party theme was Pink Flamingo... or as Abby says it... "Pink Amingo".... too cute... Here is her birthday celebration
invite... getting ready for the party was a little stressful... Tory and Abby came home from a 10 day vacation in Southern California... and tired. I was in the middle of my move to Nebraska and trying to get the group home closed...but we got it all done and it was a great party!!


Tory sent me shopping the week before, while I was up in Omaha... and I picked up some metal pink flamingos and some glass jars for the candy bar. I got that done... I got the idea to take a huge ugly black picture frame and spray paint it BRITE pink... and use it as a prop for party pictures... It turned out really cute!!