The Joys in Life

So I saw this really neat idea on Pinterest a while ago...write something down everyday that you want to remember.  So I am not the best at writing things down, so I used the memo app on my phone to write them all down...

 

 

This helps me see the good in each day and helps me smile when I look back.  It also helps when I am going crazy and want to pull my hair out...=D I hope you try this out.  Have a great night!

 

Mel

Chicken and Black Bean Soup

 

 

 

I was messing around one day and decided to try and make another chicken slow cooker meal.  It is real easy to make and my favorite part: you can put in FROZEN CHICKEN!  I always always forget to thaw out my chicken...=P

 

 

 

So here is the ingredients:

 

Frozen Chicken, 4 pieces

1 can of black beans, rinsed

Chicken Broth (I know the picture has stock, but I already threw the box away)

1 can cream of chicken soup

 

 

Seasonings (I really like celery with chicken, so my main was celery salt)

 

Garlic Salt, Onion Salt, Celery Salt, Chili Powder, Basil, Hawaiian Salt, and Black Pepper

*Can you tell I love salt?*

 

 

1-Mix the entire box of broth and can of soup and make sure all the soup is blended well.  Mix in the drained beans, frozen chicken, and seasonings.

 

 

 

2-Cover and put it on high for 4-6 hours.

 

 

 

3-Shred the chicken and mix it back in with the soup.

*I'm a little OCD, so what I do is take out each piece of chicken and shred it on a plate, then mix it back in with the soup*

 

 

 

4-Serve and enjoy!

 

How we like it is over rice.  I'm sure it would also taste good over mashed potatoes, but I am from Hawaii, so I prefer rice over a lot of stuff.  =D

 

 

I really hope you enjoy!  It is really good and high in protein!

Promises I intend to keep

So, it's that time of year again....

 

 

to make promises we don't intend to keep. 

 

Now, lets be honest, there are many a resolutions that have come and gone and have never been accomplished.

 

 

Well, as the year was coming to an end, I sat and thought for a while about something I could actually do and put a cool spin on it.

 

Well...(pause for effect)...here is my

 

2013 NEW YEARS RESOLUTION!

 

Now, don't get all excited.  It's probably not that impressive to you, but I intend to keep my promise!

 

 

1-Be more patient-with my family and the public

2-Be more orginized on a whole

3-Be more friendly to those around me

4-Show Christ's love to those in need

5-Be a better Godly example for my girls

6-Loose 10-15 pounds...=D

7-Eat healthier on a whole

8-Lead a woman's Bible Study in church

9-Start an etsy store

10-Go on a date with my husband every month

11-Spend more time with my girlyques

12-Save money for our future(or a nice vacation)

13-Knock something off my bucket list

 

 

Well, there you have it folks.  With at least thirteen things, I'm bound to get some of them...=D 

 

I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful year!

Yummy Chicken-etti!

Last week was David's birthday and for his gift I made him his favorite:

 Chicken-etti.

  He is not one to try new things, and at first he was hesitant, but once he had a bite, he was addicted.  Not to boast or anything, but it is one of my more requested dishes...so I figured I'd share it with y'all!

Ingredients:

-Precooked, pre cut chicken

*I am very lazy and have three kids...this is very convenient for the extra buck*

-1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed

-1 green bell pepper

-chicken broth

-1 can of Rotel

-1 can of Cream of Chicken

-Noodles,cooked (duh!)

-seasonings

This is pretty easy...

1-Preheat oven to 350* and spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.

2-Stick the cream of chicken, rotel, and cubed Velveeta in a microwavable bowl and melt together.  The Velveeta melts faster cubed, but you don't have to...



3- Chop up your Bell Pepper into tiny, ity-bity pieces...I just like chopping things...=D

4- Mix your noodles, your chopped chicken(I cut them into smaller pieces...just me), and your broth together in a mixing bowl.  The broth is just to keep the noodles from sticking together while you mix and to keep them moist while you bake.

5- Add your seasoning to the cheese mix.  I like...wait, I love basil, so I added that, some Hawaiian sea salt, onion and garlic powder, and some pepper.  Stir that really good and slowly add it to the noodle mix.

6- Continue to combine the two mixes until all the noodles are covered.  Then pour it all into the casserole dish and cook for 30 minutes.  When done, let it cool and enjoy!

A great healthy alternative is using wheat noodles instead of regular noodles.  It tastes the same. 

I got the idea from Anna Duggar when I was watching "19 Kids and Counting".   Anna used just tomatoes, which is a non-spice alternative. 

Hope you all enjoy this great, tummy-filling dish!

Handprint flowers

Since it was so popular when I first made them, I figured I'd make a blog about them.

I made another set for my grandmother and I took pictures this time!

Supplies:

-Paint

I got the girl's favorite color to make their flower, then I got green for the grass and stem.

-Canvas

I got a pack of three at Ross for 5 bucks, Walmart is $5 for one.

-Paint brushes

-water

1-I cleaned the girl's hand with baby wipes and painted their hand.

2-Firmly press their hand to the canvas.  You have to get it right the first time or you will get extra "petals".

I didn't press very hard, so I had to press it again and got that extra petal.  It's okay, though.  I rolled with it!

3-Add the stem and grass.

*optional* I personalized each of them with their "bug".  You can add whatever you like to it to make it yours.

And there you have it people! 

I got the idea from pinterest so I will say I am not the awesomest person, but there is my version.  Have a great night!



Pretty little vases

So our church has been going through a lot of changes these last

few months.  Here is a little list:

-name change:

From Heritage Baptist Church to City on a Hill

-I was assigned as event coordinator

-there was a dress code change

-we are changing services

-we are starting a benevolent fund to help those out in our church and

surrounding neighborhood

I was trying to think of a cool way to collect this benevolent fund when I thought of the credit union I work at.  Lots of people bring in their spare change and get bills for it.Some people get hundreds of dollars!  I was like...hmmmm.....how can we do that with our church....what about a small competition between the older and younger people....whoever collects the most change wins and gets served at our Thanksgiving Potluck by the losing team....now I need a cool thing to collect it....

I spent about a week thinking about what I could collect it in and Joshua suggested a vase.  I was like, Ok.  How can we make it look cool?  Then I saw a twine wrapped cup on Pintereset and was inspired!

It was really easy!  The longest thing was cutting out the petals for the flowers...

Here's whatcha need:

 Twine

Hot Glue gun

Hot Glue sticks ( I used quite a bit so make sure you got a lot)

A vase

I was really meticulous and put quite a bit of glue...like three times a row...but that's just me.  I've read where people just put one dot of glue once a round...whatever floats your boat...

So, first things first.  Put some glue as close to the bottom of the vase as you want and secure the twine.

I put glue all around the bottom of the vase so it won't fall off.

Start winding the twine up the vase, securing it with the glue as you go.  Again, I put a lot of glue on, but put on as much as you like.

I only went half way, but just do it as much as you'd like.  Just cut and secure with glue when you want.

Now, I added flowers for accent, but forgot to take pictures of it.

I found a tutorial for the flowers here.  I love her blog and her etsy store!  Check her out while you're looking at her tutorial.

All I have to do now is add tags with the team names (Team Methuselah and Team Josiah) and then bring it to church to start the competition.

To get updates on our church and all the changes, follow us on Facebook!

Latest Project: Eating Out Bag

So...we eat out alot.  And I mean A LOT!  With me being so busy and it

being so hot, we just go out to eat...

Anyway, the girls get a little bored with the cheap crayons and ridiculus papers.  I raked through pinterest and I found a couple of ideas.  I don't remember who made them all, so if you see your work, let me know so I can give you props...

First thing first, get a bag...duh!

The first thing I added to it is color paper with crayons in a travel soap container.

I only added a few crayons because it is less for them to drop on the oh-so-dirty floor.

Labeled them, so there is no question whose is whose...

Then I put a rubber band around them so dual purpose:

1) to keep the box shut and the contents in

2) to put the girl's hair up if it isn't already

then put aside.

The last thing I worked on was little "puppets".

First, I took toothpicks then I cut one end off...then I figured out it was easier to just bend off the end...

Then I covered the sharp end with a sticker on one side and a piece of paper on the other.  I then trimmed the paper, as you can see.



Then I put them into little containers and "labeled" them.

Thanks Jessica Mets of MetsyMade for the little box =D



Then I stuck it all in a bag...I also put some books and magnet activity thingys in case they get bored of all that stuff too...

I have yet to try it out...we shall see if it works soon enough!  If you try it out, let me know how it works!

Follow me on pinterest here.