The BIG Blog Angels Reveal !!!!!

 

The day is here… its time for me to officially reveal who I was assigned to be a Blog Angel to :)

I have no idea if she figured it out, or even tried too. But I have to say that I’ve enjoyed getting to “know” this amazing woman through her blog! And as an added bonus I found a few new blogs through her that I absolutely love!

Meet Alyx from Every Day is a New Adventure

This girl has a wicked sense of humor! Her posts never fail to make me laugh and I am THRILLED to be a sponsor for July :)

For the Blog Angel’s project I have tried to …

Promote Alyx (& Co.)’s Christmas in July swap.
Tweet some of her funny posts
Comment Lots and Lots.

Alyx! I feel like I’ve gotten to know you a bit through your blog and I am glad that I got matched with you! I’m jealous of your adventures and your witty posts. If we were to meet in real life, I think we’d hit it off famously! And yes, you can take that as an invitation to Texas anytime :)

A GREAT BIG Thanks to Rosie and Katlyn for organizing Blog Angels! I will definitely be signing up again in a few weeks for the next round :)

Weigh In Vol. 9

 

Well I made it to the meeting today! Yay!

I wasn’t entirely sure that I would make it in time to weigh in! The past 18 hours have been a bit emotional and chaotic here. On Wednesday I introduced you to the newest member of our family, Riah. Last night around 9 pm I noticed that she was walking oddly and had a large swelled bump on her left, rear hock (that’s dog speak for knee).

I started to worry.

I texted a friend who has a dog. I called another friend that just graduated from school to be a vet tech. I prayed. I googled. I called my hubby… 3 times. I iced her leg. I prayed some more.

And all through it Riah seemed calm and happy. She continued to play. She was still limping and didn’t put her weight on the leg any more than was absolutely necessary. Around 1 am I called it a night. Tucked her in her crate, said a prayer that she would be better in the morning, and took myself off to bed.

Surprisingly I actually slept. That’s probably due to the fact that I haven’t slept more than 2.5 hours at a time since Wednesday. Aren’t puppies fun? *insert sarcastic grin here*

She was in obvious pain when we got up for the day at 7:30 and I immediately called the vet. Fortunately they were able to see her right away! The vet thinks that she either had a sticker/grass bur work its way into her skin and it go infected or she got bit by a spider! Poor little darling :( They lanced it, flushed it and drained it a bit. It nearly killed me to sit in the waiting room while my puppy whined and cried as the “operated”. AGONY!

They brought her out, tail wagging and she limped over to me for some cuddles :) She’s on antibiotics for the next week and she should be perfectly ok! Thank goodness!

I got her home and tucked in her crate with just enough time to make it to my Weight Watchers weigh in. I had no idea if I was going to be up or down. With the new puppy I hadn’t been paying that much attention to the scale.

I lost 3.8 pounds!!!

Woot Woot!

I got another 5 pound sticker this week and I got over the 10 pound mark! I’m officially down 11.8 pounds! :) Only a couple hundred left to go ;)

This week my goal is to play with the puppy lots, do some puppy training, work out at least 3 times, and continue to limit my night time snacking :)

 

I’ll be back shortly for my Blog Angel Reveal!!

Pin-ed It Made it … Last One for the Summer

Summer time is here! People are on vacation and the weather is HOT!
We’re going to be taking a break from the linky party for July and August and will reevaluate come fall. There hasn’t quite been the growth in the number of links that we were hoping for and it takes quite a bit of time to put the party together each week. So, we’re going to take a little summer break, revamp things and start back up at a later date!

Your hosts are Brandi & Meig from Crafty Girl Squared, Melanna from Rhapsody of Cacophony & Jennifer from Finding My Way in Texas

Top Viewed:

Canned Cinnamon Roll Waffles from Little Sprinkles of Fun!

Brandi & Meig’s Pick:

We love these Chicken Parmesan Sliders from The Grant Life! They look so yummy! Thanks for sharing. :)

 

Melanna’s Pick:

My girls would totally think handmade beads would be a fun project. Thanks Steph for the idea!

 

Jennifer’s Pick:

These sandwiches look divine! Might actually be something my hubby would eat! Thanks so much to Eating in Neverland for sharing!

 

Please Remember to...Follow ALL 3 hosts.
Post our fabulous button on your blog so others can join the fun. (its on my sidebar)
Visit a couple of the other links and spread some love. We all love comments :)
For all projects linked to the “Pin-ed it, Made it” category, please ensure you link ONLY projects you were Pinspired to create and that the original post that inspired your project is properly sourced. We want to play nice :)
For the “Everything Else” category, please do not post giveaways, items you’re selling or other link parties.

Pin-ed it, Made it:


Everything Else:

So Excited!

 

Tonight is the Night!

I’m having my first ever Facebook sale and I hope you’ll pop over and check it out! Everything from Coffee Cozies to Owl Taggies to Casserole Carriers! The savings are Huge!

Pictures start going up at 7pm Central time. The first person(s) to comment with their paypal address get the item!

The savings will be BIG!!  20 to 50% off!

Head over the the Facebook Page and make sure you “like” me so you’ll be able to score some sweet deals!

Meet the Newest Member of Our Family

 

Brace yourselves for the cuteness!

This is Riah (like “Mariah”, but with out the “Ma”) She’s 9 weeks old and a purebred german shepherd. I’ve wanted a german shepherd for as long as I can remember! I’m so excited that this little darling has joined our family!

We’re been busy playing, napping, house training and learning new things. She is adjusting extremely well, is surprisingly calm (with the exception of night time) and incredibly smart! Last night was a little rough… ok it was really rough! I think I got a grand total of 3 hours of sleep. There was a lot of yipping, whining,, moaning, etc., etc., etc. It’s a good thing I didn’t have anything planned today.

I have a feeling coffee is going to be my best friend for the next couple days. At least she's’ pretty darn cute!

Excuse me while I smack myself in the head…

 

I find that I am all too fond of complaining about my house. Its all wood paneling, its stuck in a time warp, the carpets are icky… blah blah blah. Whine whine whine.

I know that you’re finding this hard to believe, but its true! I’m a whiner!

And as hard as this is to admit I’ve let my bad attitude effect my stewardship.

I’ve had some legitimate reasons to slack off, there have been some health issues and some family emergencies arise… but I did more than just slack off. I ignored the chaos that was becoming out home.

Last night as I was emptying the vacuum for the 3rd time… it hit me! How can I ask or expect God to bless me with more? A nicer home? the funds to do the renovations we dream of?

Ahhhh… yeah…. I can’t!

So I am making the choice to change! I’ve got my lists in place, my house back in order and my priorities back in line. It might be a little hit and miss some days, but I am done making excuses! And you know what? Hubby is happier, I’m happier and I don’t have to stress about getting things done all at once. Its clean and now all I have to do is keep it that way!

GO Me!

I’m back!

 

Kinda?

Yes! I think so… not that I’ve actually been gone, more like “mentally unavailable'”.

Saturday what the Craftin’ Round Up at River Ranch in Fort Worth. And, well, it was a total bust :(

There were next to no people! 

I had 7 sales in 6 hours and only made $60! 5 of those sales were to other vendors!

It cost $75 for the booth, $25 for gas, $10 for food and 12 hours of both my Mother-in-law and I’s time.

Tables and chairs were not provided, so I had to spend an additional $70 on folding tables.

Like I said… BUST!

On the flip side… I met some fabulous people! I found some awesome new products and I got a killer deal on some stamps!

I also got to meet *in real life* 2 of “my” Texas Blogger girls :)

I also was able to arrange a review and giveaway for my favorite find at the show! So excited about that :) And you will be too!

And because I can’t keep all of the awesome things that I made, I’ll be have a Ready to Ship Facebook sale on thursday night! Shipping will be included in all the prices (to the US & Canada). And there will be big savings! For example…

 

Mug Rugs – $9.00 (reg. $12.00+ Shipping)
Coffee Cozies – $6.00 (reg. $8.00+ Shipping)
Lacealicious Clutch - $18.00 (reg. $22.00+ Shipping)

There are limited quantities available so make sure you’re on Facebook at 7 pm! Yep… I’m excited about this :)

So I guess, if I want to be optimistic, the day wasn’t a total bust. It was just frustrating at times, and down right awesome at others!

We’ll call it a learning experience.

No Weigh In today...

No weigh in today.

Not sure if I am happy or sad about that. Pretty sure I lost at least a pound.

But on the bright side I'm finally doing the craft show that I've been stressing about for the past 3 weeks :) I am hoping to see some familiar faces, so if you're in the DFW area I hope you'll head over to the stockyards and pop by. I'm just across the street at River Ranch. :)

Pin-ed it, Made it #23

Welcome back to another addition of Pin-ed it, Made it!

Your hosts are Brandi & Meig from Crafty Girl Squared, Melanna from Rhapsody of Cacophony & Jennifer from Finding My Way in Texas

Top Viewed:

We ALL love these faux-TOMS by Kelley from The Grant Life!


Melanna’s Pick:

A mason jar soap dispenser has been on my list forever too! Thanks Sam (From The Junk House) for showing us yours.

Meig & Brandi’s Pick:

YUM! Mojitos are one of our favorites. Thanks to The Grant Life for sharing this great drink recipe!

Jennifer’s Pick:

Love the Father's day hand-stamped washer key-chain from Julie at Crafty Imaginings. I've had a stamp set hanging around the house somewhere... time to get it out and make something clever too!

Please Remember to...Follow ALL 3 hosts.
Post our fabulous button on your blog so others can join the fun. (its on my sidebar)
Visit a couple of the other links and spread some love. We all love comments :)
For all projects linked to the “Pin-ed it, Made it” category, please ensure you link ONLY projects you were Pinspired to create and that the original post that inspired your project is properly sourced. We want to play nice :)
For the “Everything Else” category, please do not post giveaways, items you’re selling or other link parties.

Pin-ed it, Made it:
 
Everything Else:

Things I’ve been loving lately!

 

I’ve probably mentioned her, oh say, a million times, but I love my girl Jac from babEblessings! She’s my very own blogland hero ;) Cause I am completely inept when it comes to technical things. She’s on summer vacation until mid July, but we’ve had some time to chat and she is letting me share a sneak peek of something new and exciting that she’s been working on :)

She’s got a print shop that she is working hard on filling! But its not just any old print shop (no offense if you have a print shop). I’m not allowed to share too many details yet, but I can say that she’s got some awesome things coming soon and there might just be a great big’ole giveaway involved :)

 

Look what Bree from The Thing About Joy made! super cute :) I’m feeling some inspiration coming on!

 

One of my favorite sewing blogger in the entire blog world,Maureen of Maureen Cracknell Handmade, created these GORGEOUS pillows! I am obsessed with these birds. LOVE!!

I’m pretty much obsessed with this DIY crate coffee table! I found it on pinterest and I’m falling in love with the blog behind it! DIY Vintage Chic has some FABULOUS ideas!

OK. Time for me to get back to work! I’ve got a HUGE craft show tomorrow and there are still a million things that need doing :)

Happy Thursday!

Diet Friendly Fried Green Tomatoes

 

For those of you who’ve been following me for a bit, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been working on losing a few pounds. I joined weight watchers 8 weeks ago. Last week I picked up a couple WW cook books and did some meal planning.

One of the recipes I knew I HAD to try was the one for Fried Green Tomatoes. My hubby has asked for them a couple times, but I had no idea what or how… since I’ve never had them before.

Totally a fan now that I’ve tried them! And they’re super easy!

Here’s what you need:

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. dried Thyme
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch cayenne
3 large green tomatoes cut into 1/2 inch slices (I only had 2, so I saved the rest of the mix for next time)

Mix together dry ingredients and transfer to a sheet of wax paper. Coat the tomatoes slices, one at a time in the cornmeal mixture, pressing so that it adheres.

Spray large, heavy skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes, in batches, and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Spray the pan between batches.

Per serving: (3 tomato slices) 150 Cal,. 3g total fat, 2g Sat Fat, 0g Trans Fat, 9mg Chol, 318 mg Sod., 24g Carb, 6g sugar, 2g fib, 7g prot,

And they are ONLY 4 Weight Watchers Points!

 

Yup! I’m a fan ;)

Guest Post! Emily from Insanity Rules

I recently met Emily through the Texas Bloggers Facebook group I started. She’s a total sweetheart and when I asked if anyone was interested in guest posting for me this week she was the first one to volunteer! AND she had this post to me practically the next day! I knew there was a reason I liked her so much! Maybe her “on-the-ball-ness” will rub off on me :)
Take it away Emily!

Morning y'all! I'm Emily from Insanity Rules w/3 little boys. I'm so excited to be posting here at Finding My Way In Texas. I feel truly blessed to have met Jennifer because she has led me to meet so many other blogging woman who live here in the huge state of Texas. Jennifer and I have a few things in common. We both ended up in Texas because we married Texans and we both get lost driving around the cities we currently live in. Although I have to say after living here for 7 something years I'm getting better as long as I don't drive in Dallas! Hate trying to find my way around there. My father always did say I was directionally challenged. :) So what do I blog about or do well here ya go...

Here on Insanity Rules we do Crazy for sure!

After all I'm the mom of three little boys and most of lifes funnies happen because of them. That's my little man and his excited face. Trust me when I say there is no shortage of dancing around, light saber fights, talking loudly, and laughter at this house. Some days I'm really grateful that my two oldest go to school so there is a little piece and quite before the raucous starts. It is summer now though and it's one big Insane party all the time around here.

I definitely do crafts and I love to change up my decor. I'm currently working on our front entry hallway.

 This is a name frame and I totally love to make these and you can actually find a tutorial on making your own here on my blog. 


Blogging for me has become a great way to meet people, share my love of jewelry, reading, scrap booking, crafting, and just my day to day crazy life. I would love for you to come by and check out the blog. Thanks Jennifer for letting me stop by. Enjoy the Insanity that is life ladies.

The Things I Miss the Most

 

So I just realized that I’ve been in Texas 11 months and 3 days! How nutty is that? It seems like only last week that I left one of my good friends at the airport and jumped on a plane to start a new life. 11 crazy months later life is good… but there are definitely some things that I really miss from home!

Other than people of course!

In no particular order…

TIM HORTONS!!!!! Oh how I miss those uber yummy ice capps! And French vanilla cappuccinos that aren’t really even cappuccinos at all! Oh and they have the best Boston crème donuts. Can’t find a good one here to save my life.

Mr. Big Bars! I’m sure that they have them somewhere in the good’ole U.S. of A., but not anywhere that I’ve been! I don’t eat chocolate bars often, especially now that I am in the middle of “Operation: Lose that Fat Ass”, but every now and then I crave the sweet, crunchy, vanilla wafer, chocolate covered awesomeness that is a Mr. Big bar. Oh great… I just induced an uber craving :s

Greek Food! In particular the Jimmy the Greek restaurant in the mall I worked at for 3 years. That place ended up being lunch 3 or 4 days a week. Now I am not saying that there is no Greek food in Texas, I’m just saying that A.) I’d probably have to drive to the metroplex, and B.) nobody wants to drive to the metroplex!

The World Famous ELMIRA MAPLE SYRUP FESTIVAL! I lived 20 minutes away from Elmira pretty much my whole life and the local Mennonites really truly do make the best maple syrup ever! So Yummy! Not to mention the atmosphere of the festival! I’ve made plenty maple syrup centered memories over the years with friends and family :)

Believe it or not, I miss the snow! Not that there is snow up there now, but this past winter, and my first Texas winter, was so surreal for me! It felt more like fall most of the time than actual winter!

 

When the time comes that I get to travel back to Ontario for a visit, you can bet that I’ll be hitting up Tim Hortons and Jimmy the Greek, and if I time it right I might even be able to go the the syrup festival. But mostly I’ll want to hang out with friends and family. They are what I miss most of all!

And if any of my readers are from Canada and feel like sending me some goodies, I won’t say no *Wink Wink* LOL,  Just email me for my address… Who doesn’t love care packages from home?