faith, a whisk and mascara

Apparently, I'm not too hot at keeping a blog going. I've tried...it's just the last thing on my to-do list and half of that list never gets done anyway. What's been up with me? Life. Busy days and nights. The usual. I have LOVED my Pampered Chef business so far. The shows I've done have been so much fun. I've met all my goals and for the month of September, I was the top consultant in sales in my team. Yay! My family took their annual mountain trip the beginning of October. We went to beautiful Lake James. We stayed in one of the most gorgeous homes I've ever seen. I love the opportunity this trip gives us to grow closer. I have two cousins who live relatively close, but, our busy lives and hectic schedules prevent us from seeing each other as often as I'd like. Jacob is nearly driving and Ben is in middle school. They are both becoming amazing men and I am so thankful to have them in my family. Jacob's sense of humor keeps me guessing. I supp

I think God calls people to do so many different things. When I owned my cosmetic studio, I was blessed by my customers and in turn had the opportunity to share God's peace and comfort with several who came in my doors. I have some of my life's most precious memories because of a makeup store. Who would have thought?! I was able to encourage women, pray with them, listen to them and assure them I cared about them and would continue to pray for them. I didn't pray with or for every single person who came in my door. I didn't welcome customers with scripture. But, I did have a few opportunities to help some pretty broken women. God put them in my store on days I was slow, there were no other customers in the store, and we had all the time in the world to talk. They'd open their hearts and tell me some of their live's most trying moments. I don't claim that I have some magical power to open people's mouths. I just know that God put me there for them that da

Well, I feel like I've abandoned my little blog. Here I am to promise that good things are in the works. As soon as I've place the finishing touches on our partially redone bathroom, I plan to share that project here. I failed to take "before" photos. But our guest bathroom was icky before. Nearly five years in our home and we've just ignored it. When we bought our house, we moved in and quickly realized the previous owners had less than desirable taste in paint colors. EVERY room but one was painted in a high gloss ghastly oil based paint. Ew. We IMMEDIATELY painted our living room and kitchen. (Five years later and I'm ready to re paint those rooms--my ideas are brewing) Slowly but surely we started painting the rest of the house. The hallways were done first. Then we took our guest room from a lavender color (which wasn't too horrible) to a pretty sand color. Our HUGE project was our office. It was previously a nursery for what I'm assuming was a ba

I'm about to share with you the first recipe I ever created on my own. Several years ago I was feeling creative and this dish was the outcome. It's my favorite meal and it is the dish I make for the most special people in my life. It's an amazing date night meal and my hubby vouches for that! The night I made this most recently, I served roasted asparagus as a side. I had one bunch of asparagus, cut the tough ends off. Line a baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Arrange asparagus on the pan in a flat line. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and one minced garlic clove. Bake at 450 for about 20 minutes! Now for the pasta: Here's what you need: 2 garlic cloves, minced One Minced Shallot 1/4 Cup chopped Sundried Tomatoes (Buy sundried tomatoes packed in oil) 2 chicken breasts, cubed, 2-3 teaspoons crushed red pepper flake, small container heavy cream, whole grain linguine, dry white wine, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1

This weekend was so insane for us that I didn't have any free time to share my favorite pasta recipe with you as I'd planned. I will find time to do so this week, promise!! Our dinners this week aren't very exciting. Tonight I've got a get together with some girlfriends so no kitchen time for me. (The hubby is roughing it with a Healthy Choice for dinner...sorry hon!) Tomorrow I'm going to make a recipe that pinterest blessed me with,  Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad . It looks DESLISH and waistline friendly!!                                               *Photo from Nutmeg Notebook* Wednesday I'm trying another pinterest find,  Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf , that I plan to serve with some wholewheat pasta and green beans.                                                       *Photo from What's Cookin, Chicago*   Thursday we're having a lazy but yummy dinner of loaded baked potatoes. A friend of mine,  Megan , is a CrockPot guru and she's tal

I promised to share my favorite Asian recipe with you all. It is so simple and so delicious. I've made it for guests and it always impresses. I got this recipe from my favorite kitchen shopping venue,  The Pampered Chef . I've tweaked it and made it my own over the several times I've made this dish. Here's what you need: 3 Limes (Or lime juice-about 4 Tbls) 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter ( I use reduced fat) 3/4 cup chicken broth (I use fat free) 3 Tbsp  Thai Red Curry Rub 1 Tbsp soy sauce (I use low sodium) 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 medium onion sliced in small strips 1 red bell pepper sliced in strips 2 medium carrots either julienned or chopped fine 6 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro OR 3 Tbsp dried cilantro 2 cups instant rice, cooked (I use brown rice) 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, cubed 1/2 tsp salt 1 Tbsp vegetable oil or coconut oil 1 cup frozen green beans (I use the entire package that is pictured) Green onions and chopped peanuts f

Just a quick post to share my menu plans for this week. I will be blogging this week as promised with a recipe for my Thai Chicken Stir Fry that I made last week...I just have to find the time! First, here is what I made for a quick dinner last night: Grilled Chicken Tacos Marinate your chicken for at least 30 min in: 3 Tbls Soy Sauce 2 Tbls honey 1 Tbls Vegetable oil Juice of 1 lime 1 garlic clove, minced 1 Tbls  Pampered Chef Mole Rub Grill chicken (or saute in a skillet or grill pan) until cooked through and no longer pink. Let your chicken rest for about ten minutes and then chop in to cubes. For Tacos: Whole wheat taco sized tortillas (I used  Mission Artisan Style  tortillas) Bibb Lettuce or shredded cabbage Diced avacado Diced red onion Reduced fat or fat free sour cream Extra Mole rub to top Just assemble them as you like! I served these with Tostido "hint of lime" chips and some queso dip. Yum!! Now for this week: Tonight I'll be eatin

Each year we celebrate dads. We all have our own stories of what makes our dad's the "best dad on the planet". I'm blessed that God created my dad just for me and my brother. My dad was God's perfect design for the man He intended to raise us here on earth to live in His word and do His works. I am thankful every day of my life that my dad is exactly who he is. I'm sure that all of our dads have qualities that may annoy us. (Mine jokes incessantly with anyone and everyone he meets whether the unsuspecting victim understands his humor or not...mom is always super proud..hehe) But, I wouldn't trade my joke cracking daddy for anyone on earth. My dad is my hero, my supporter and my friend. I'm so proud of his time he spent defending our country as a crew chief in the United States Air Force during Vietnam. I'm so proud of the years and years he spent working in corporate America earning a living for our family. I'm proud of the leadership he provid

One of my biggest thrills in life is planning out my menu for the week. What I'm going to feed to my husband. How I'm going to "wow" him in the kitchen. When we first got married, we each got the constant "Hey! How's married life treating you?" questions. His answer made me so happy. "She feeds me really well!" Music to my ears. I LOVE cooking for him, my family, his family, whoever really. I love to hear "Oh wow, you made this?!" It makes my day. Usually the term 'labor of love' refers to something someone does because they love the person they are doing it for but don't necessarily love the task. In this case, I love the people and the task. Cooking is calming for me, gratifying and therapeutic. I'll admit, there are times I've tried recipes that ended up...well...not as appealing as I'd hoped. Those times are more stressful than they are calming. But, more times than not, it's a very peaceful time for

Today was a special day. The apple of my eye, my heart and soul, the boy who changed my life, my sweet nephew Caleb graduated from Kindergarten today. I really thought I'd be a total baby and start a sob fest in the middle of his cute little school. Thankfully, I remained composed the entire time. I thought I'd take a minute to tell the world about this special boy. Caleb Andrew was born on Christmas Eve in 2005. When my brother and sister-in-law told me I was going to be an Aunt, I didn't think I would ever be that happy again. I cried big ugly tears. But, I was wrong. The intense joy, pride and awe I felt when I first saw his face made time stand still. Everyone tells me when I have my own children, my love for them will be even more intense. I can't imagine. I would do absolutely anything for this boy. I want him to never be in pain, never know what loss feels like, never be excluded or feel insecure. Of course, all of these things come with life. I can'

So, in my past life, I was a full time makeup artist, esthetician and business owner. Yes. All three rolled in to one. I owned a cosmetics studio and spa from age 22-26. Before that, I worked in a cosmetic studio and went to school to get my esthetics license. It's all a far cry from what I do for a living now but it's still a big part of my life. I still give the occasional facial and I stay in the loop by doing makeup for weddings and proms here and there. My studio was a Merle Norman Cosmetics studio and I still use their products pretty much exclusively for myself and anyone I provide service to. I firmly stand behind their products. I have never had problems with my skin and I attribute that to years of faithfulness to MN. Anyway, that brings me to my topic for today. I recently had a friend who asked on Facebook what people's favorite brand of drugstore makeup was. She's trying to save some money and go that route. I heard this ALL THE TIME when I had my studio

Yes, I've been a little on the sparse side as far as posting goes. We'll chalk that up to installing new computers and accounting software at work. Busy week! I really want to share a recipe but I'm not sure which to use! This week, I tried my hand at Chinese food. I found a recipe for really yummy fried rice on one of my favorite blogs.  FAVE BLOG She also gave a link to baked sweet and sour chicken. All sounds pretty easy right? Especially for a seasoned pro like myself. All in all, it was easy. Just time consuming. I like cooking over baking because I can throw things together quickly. I know what flavors work and what methods to use to get amazing results in an acceptable amount of time. This recipe will probably go smoother the next time I make it, but, I will do prep work ahead of time to help myself out. (i.e. cube chicken the night before, possibly pre-make sauce, etc.) Anyway, I am aware that you're able to follow a link and read recipes for yourself so

Me? Blogging? Again?! After a few fruitless attempts, I've been lured back in to the realm of sharing my life on a little spot of the net a hand full of people may or may not ever see. Why try again? Well, I'd hate to let my best friend down. We are going to "hold each other accountable" for our blogs. We each read several blogs and writhe in envy of these organized domestic divas. Well, it's probably not that bad. We just wanted to join the fun. In the past, I've started a blog with the BEST of intentions. Hm. Then a week later I have no recollection of ever starting one. Maybe this time will be different. Actually, I know it will be. Megan won't let me forget about it. She's promised to annoy me to death if I don't post at least once a week.  So, the big question is, why should you read my blog? Of the millions out there to enjoy, why mine? I can't promise mine is better than any other blog, but I can promise you that anything I post will