DIY Letter Beaded Bracelets

One of the trends are these adorable gold beaded letter bracelets. I really wanted one with each of the boys name on them. ShopBop has them for $36 and up. Etsy has them too, but they are still pricey. 

I was going to buy the gold beads at Michael's, but if you don't buy the real gold beads the color starts to rub off quickly. I decided to take a different route and make mine with colored beads. I saw the Dollar Tree had some seed beads and letter beads. 

Each package of the seed beads was $1 and the letter beads were $1. I spent $3 on beads total. I also have enough beads to make probably 10 more bracelets. I barely put a dent in the one package of blue beads.  I bought the elastic string on Amazon for $3.  

I decided to make the bracelets while Cashy was napping one day. G had a great time making his own bracelet and playing with the beads. He asked me to get his sensory bin down while I finished. We both sat at the table chatting away with our projects. 

I tied the elastic in a knot and then put clear nail polish over the knot. I tried to pull the bracelet to put it on before I put the clear nail polish and the bracelet exploded all over the dining room. I know there are beads hiding still after G and I both searched the floor on our hands and knees. Take it from me. Seal it with nail polish before you put them on. lol

I spent a total of $6 on supplies. I have plenty of supplies left that I could make numerous other bracelets. 

The boys love these bracelets. They each point to their names and smile. G will tell me each letter from the bracelets. They are so proud that I wear their names on my wrist. 

Air Fryer Eggs!

We eat A LOT of eggs in our home! We go through 4-5 dozen eggs every 2 weeks. I sent eggs to work with Art every day for breakfast. Some times it's just scrambled and some times I do an egg bake. 

One of my friends Caryl posted on IG that she bought these OXO silicone air fryer molds to make over easy eggs. She said she makes an over easy egg in about 10 minutes in her air fryer. WHAT!!!! Well like any good influenced person does I ordered the OXO molds from Amazon for $4. I made some over easy eggs a couple times. Then I decided to try other type of eggs.

I cut up some red onion and jalapenos to add to the bottom of the cups. I whisk 6 eggs and 1/4 cup of salsa in a bowl. I pour the whisked eggs over the onion and jalapenos. I place them in the air fryer at 400 for 10-12 minutes. They easily come right out of the cups without any oil. 

Ready to go into the air fryer

ALL DONE! 

I have been eating the eggs over a slice of turkey and a slice of Daiya cheddar cheese with some Franks Red Hot over the top! This is my favorite breakfast right now! 

Cash has been eating these eggs without jalapenos. He was on an egg strike for awhile. He ate one the other day and was yelling for more. 

The combinations for eggs you can make are endless! Let me know if you try these and what you think! 

Molds found HERE 

10 things to do besides social media!

Social media can just take over your life. It has a way of sucking you in to scrolling and scrolling...wait...there went an hour or more. Instagram stories can be a time suck for me. 

I have actually unfollowed people because some bloggers are always telling us what we need to buy. I would think oh I neeeeeed that shirt or shoes. I felt I HAD to have it. I have a closet full of stuff that and I honestly don't need anything...well I honestly could use a new navy and white striped tee because mine is worn out. lol

Here is my list of things you can do besides spending it on social media.

1. Write in a gratitude journal

I really try to write in a journal each morning. I write down 10 things I am grateful for and 10 things I will make happen. My grateful things can be as simple as no one woke up last night, coffee, our home, snuggling with my boys, tacos. I just write down simple things that I am grateful for in that moment. 

I have a ongoing list of things I write that I will make happen. I try not to put a time limit on these things. As the past year has gone on some of those things have happened and they have been removed from the list. I write down each day I am a good mom. I feel it's important to start off the day thinking I am a good mom. It helps keep my intention good to take time to be a good mom. Work on my keeping my cool when I am frustrated. 

I love looking back over the past year of things I have wrote down. 

2. Read a book or listen to an audio book

I got on a roll after I finished watching all 16 seasons of Grey's Anatomy of listening to audio books. I listened to like 15 books in a few months. Our local library has an app called OverDrive where you can borrow audio books for FREE! A lot of popular books you have to go on a waiting list for, but if you have to wait a few weeks who cares again they are FREE! 

3. Go on a walk 

I have started walking again. When I worked in San Francisco I walked almost every single day on my lunch break. I would walk to AT&T Park and back to the office. It was close to a 2 mile round trip walk. I looked forward to that walk every day. I even went when it was raining. 

I like to listen to an audio book or a podcast while I walk. I always find if I am enjoying to what I am listening to it helps the walk go by so much faster. Walking is so much easier on my body than doing cardio. My fatigue gets much worse when I do a very strenuous exercise. 

4. Do a brain dump!

Have you ever tried doing a brain dump in a journal or notebook? When Covid first started I was so anxious. My brain was going 100 MPH. One day I just started writing in a notebook everything that was on my mind. Getting it put on paper helped me relax and be able to sort out my thoughts. It's a great way to make lists of things you want to do, goals, get things off your chest. 

5. Do Yoga or stretching

Chris Freytag has some 10 minute yoga and stretching exercises on her website www.gethealthyutv.com that are FREE! I love Chris! I just find her to be a very motivation trainer. I also like that she does the workouts with you. It drives me up the wall when trainers are always working on showing you how to do moves and don't do the workout. How about you show us how to do the workouts by DOING THEM!!!! 

Yoga or stretching will not only help your body, but it will help your brain too! If you want to try some of the 10 minute workouts you can find them HERE. 

6. Go play with your kids or dog 

My kids absolutely LOVE it when I play with them. If I take 10 minutes to wrestle with them they are ecstatic. I spent some time with Cash wrestling around and he was giggling the whole time. He likes to punch people in the face while you wrestle. This was a good time to teach him to punch me in the arm not my face. lol

G loves to play games. Taking the time to play a game with him completely changes his mood. My boys are the ones who will remember when I have taken time to play with them not the influencers on social media posting crap. Those people won't care that I watched their stories 5 years from now, but my boys will sure remember! 

7. Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee

Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee! Even if your kids are running around, your at work, or whatever is going on take a few minutes to just enjoy the moment with a cup of tea. I have been enjoying a cup of tea at night after the boys are in bed. I will sit in bed drinking the tea and relax. 

8. Go declutter that cabinet or drawer

Take the 15-20 minutes to go organize that cabinet or drawer that has been driving you crazy! Organizing a space will help you feel so much better each time you see it!

9. Plan our your outfits for the next week

Wear stuff you that has been hanging in your closet unworn for ages. If you put the item on and don't like it then add it to your donate pile. This is a great way to wear stuff you forgot about, get rid of stuff because you don't like the fit of it and shop your own closet! 

Do you really need that new shirt you found at Target? What accessories could you add to the outfit to make it pop?

10. Put on a charcoal mask and listen to some of your favorite music

Does music ever take you back to a place when you use to listen to that song? The other day a song came on the radio and I remembered instantly where I was driving and how I was feeling when I heard it for the first time. 

I have been listening to the old The Chick's music. Man that first Chick's cd brings back so many memories. I loved it and I still do. I have so many great memories listening to their music. I went to their concert so many times with friends too. 

What are some things you enjoy doing to avoid getting sucked into social media?

Twix Bars - Dairy, gluten and refined sugar FREE!

A new follow for me on Instagram is Stacy_simmons made these gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar twix bars. I had to try them! They looked really good. One thing about being home so much is I have been baking more. Baking is not my thing. I would rather cook a full meal over baking. Maybe I will become a baker now. lol

The boys love to bake with me. It's usually easier to let them bake then to have them help cook a meal. As soon as I pull the mixer out Cash comes running and pushing a chair over to the counter. 

Cookie Bottom:

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1/3 cup coconut oil

3 tablespoons honey warmed

Put in a small pan lined with parchment paper. You will need to pack this down tightly onto the parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. 

Completely cook before you add the next layer.

When I pulled it out of the oven I was afraid I forgot an egg or something because it seemed crumbly. Once it cooled it wasn't crumbly at all. 

Middle Caramel Layer:

1/2 cup almond butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

sprinkle salt

Stir in a sauce pan over low heat until it all liquefies. Let it cool before you add it to the cookie layer. Spread it evenly over the cookie layer and put it in the freezer for 2-3 hours. 

Chocolate Layer:

I used 1/2 cup of Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips

1 tablespoon melted coconut oil

Melt in a sauce pan over low heat. After the chocolate has melted pour over the top of the cookie and caramel layer. Sprinkle the top with kosher salt. 

I put these back in the freezer for about 10 minutes before I cut them into squares. After I cut them into squares I put them into a zip lock bag and keep them in the freezer. If you take them out for a couple minutes you are able to eat them. These bars melt quickly, so you don't want to leave them out. 

My final verdict is they don't really taste like a twix, but they are sure yummy! Let me know if you make these and what you think!! 

Boys 4th of July Outfits

My boys love to match clothing. I realize my time is short to do this because it won't be long where they will be against it! They love to wear matching pajamas even. Cash insisted on getting his army pjs the other night because G had his on. 

Usually if I see things I like for them in both their sizes I grab them. G is about to outgrow the toddler sizing. We are actually pushing it with 5T clothing. When I saw these polka dot shorts at Target I thought they would be adorable for the 4th of July. Thankfully they had them in both sizes, so I grabbed them. 

Cash has some 4th of July shirts and an outfit that G wore, but let's have them match! I also like to have them match when we go places. It is less taxi on my brain to think what is G wearing and what is C wearing? So I put them in the same colors, so I just need to look for 2 boys wearing blue or red. 

G wasn't a fan of fireworks until he turned about 4. He liked to watch them, but he didn't want to touch them. I started buying glow sticks for him to have something to hold while I did sparklers. I LOVE sparklers! 

I found these adorable glow sticks in the bulleyes section at Target. I also found the sunglasses there. The boys love to wear sunglasses....although G can't wear them anymore since he wears regular glasses. Ooopps! If he decides he wants to wear them he can take his glasses off for a little bit to wear them.

Outfit Details:

Shirts: Carters
Shorts: Target 
Sunglasses & glow sticks: Target Bulleye Section

Gut Health and why it's so important!

I learned about gut health around 4 years ago. My natural doctor and Dr. Wahl's talk about a leaky gut and gut health a lot. I was rather confused what in the world a leaky gut was until it was explained to me. What is a leaky gut? Leaky gut, also known as increased intestinal permeability, is a digestive condition in which bacteria and toxins are able to "leak" through the intestinal wall. The sad thing is mainstream medical doctors do not recognize leaky gut as a real condition. 

Symptoms of a leaky gut are:

• chronic diarrhea, constipation or bloating
• nutritional deficiencies
• fatigue
• headaches
• confusion
• difficulty concentrating
• skin problems, such as acne, rashes, or eczema
• joint pain
• widespread inflammation

I wrote a blog post on sugar HERE a couple weeks ago. Sugar is one way to cause a leaky gut and destroy good gut health. Avoid eating refined sugars, processed foods, refined oils and minimize your alcohol intake to help your gut health. 

Breakfast I try to have a smoothie with spinach, berries, coconut or almond milk, collagen peptides and chia seeds. We do eat a lot of eggs. I will either fry an egg in coconut oil until they are crispy which is my favorite way to eat them or I like to scramble them with some onions, jalapenos, and spinach. My boys love to eat scrambled eggs with salt. They need salt on their eggs or they won't eat them. I use pink Himalayan salt. 

Lunch I make a large salad. I use all different kinds of lettuce - romaine, arugula, spring mix. Whatever type of lettuce I feel like that week. I try to mix it up, so I don't get sick of the same thing. Then I add in the toppings - shredded carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, grilled chicken, sauerkraut, some nuts if I have them, and Whole 30 ranch. I think it was the Doctors on tv who were talking about how a really good salad has to be mixed really well. It's so true! Once you get everything into your salad it needs to be mixed well! It just makes the salad that much better! 

I started added sauerkraut or kimchi to my salads in the past year. Fermented foods are really great for gut health. Please read the ingredients on the fermented foods you are eating. Make sure there aren't colors, sugars etc added to it. If you are eating fermented foods with additives it pretty much defeats the whole purpose of adding them to your diet. 

A typical lunch for me. 

By having a smoothie and eating a large salad for lunch this pretty much will get 6-9 cups of veggies into my diet for the day. At dinner I might have some paleo tortillas for tacos, baked potato, paleo chicken pot pie or some other type of paleo starch to my dinner. 

Bone broth, sauerkraut, kombucha, are my go to items for helping my gut health besides eating a paleo diet and lots of veggies! I can't say enough of how great bone broth is for you! Not just for your gut health, but also your joints. Getting the collagen for your joints is so important! If you struggle with an autoimmune disease or inflammation add some bone broth into your diet. If you are buying bone broth please pay attention to the ingredients. 

Chris Freytag one of my favorite trainers always says fruit will not make you fat. This is such a good reminder for me. There are times when I want something sweet. Grabbing watermelon, berries, a banana with almond butter is so much better for you than grabbing a Reese's peanut butter cup. Here is what is in a Reese's peanut butter cup - milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, nonfat milk, milk fat, lactose, soy lecithin, pgpr, emulsifier), peanuts, sugar, dextrose, salt, tbhq (preservative), citric acid (to maintain freshness). 

When you are grabbing a banana with simple almond butter you are eating 2 natural items. You are not worrying about dextrose, citric acid and who knows what else being added to it. I feel fruit has been given a bad rap over the years. It has too much sugar, too many carbs, it's not good to eat it all the time - all lies! It's a natural thing that your body can easily process! If you have a leaky gut you may need to consider limiting the amount of fruit you eat until you get your gut health in a good place. 

Have you ever heard of gut health or a leaky gut? What are things you do to keep a healthy gut?

Toy Ice Cube Fun!

We have been having a lot of fun outside! My boys don't like to stay outside for long unless there is water involved. We have a water table, but G is at the age it isn't very fun anymore. Cash just loves to dump water all over himself, stand in buckets of water and haul water around the yard. 

 I went on a hunt in the play room the other day to find little toys to put in an ice cube tray to freeze. When I brought them outside the boys were so excited. First G wanted to know where I found all these toys. They had a great time melting the ice off the toys and then playing with the toys. It doesn't take long to melt the ice in 95-100 degree temps! Gotta love Texas heat! 

When I ask Cash to smile, this is the look he gives me now. 

Bedtime Routine for multiple kids sharing a room!

It has been important to me to get my boys on a bedtime routine that works for us while sharing a bedroom. They currently have the largest room in the house. It's a HUGE room! We would have used it as a master bedroom, but the closet was small and no master bathroom. By them sharing a bedroom this frees up a room to use as a playroom. I was determined I needed a playroom in our new house because I didn't like all the toys in the living room. 

I wrote a post here about hiring a sleep coach. One of the best things I did! This helped get us on a good bedtime routine. When I was first working with Cash to go to sleep we had a quick routine. I would hold him for a minute, lay him in his bed and leave the room. After 6 weeks of him putting himself to sleep I decided it was time for both boys to go to sleep at the same time.

This is the bedtime routine that works for us. 

6:30-6:45 pm Bath time and pajamas

6:45-7:30 pm Snack time, vitamins and a show

7:30-8:00 pm We read a story, I rock Cash for a few minutes, G lays in his bed, then I rock                          G for a few minutes after Cash is laying in his bed. G recently told me he likes                        it when I rock him too. Hey I am going to do this for as long as possible. 

8:00-8:15 pm I sit in G's bed while they fall asleep. Sometimes this only takes 5 min and                              others 15 min. I enjoy this time sitting in there with them!

The boys each sleeps about 11 hours a night. Cash then naps for 2-3 hours each afternoon. This schedule works great for us. Both boys put themselves to sleep quietly. Cash doesn't even cry at this point. After I rock him, I lay him in his bed with his blanket and pillow. Once in awhile he was jabber, but for the most part he lays and is asleep within a couple minutes. I have sat with G as he goes to sleep since he started climbing out of his crib at 19 months old. I've thought maybe I should stop, but you know what he will be 10 before I know it and won't want me sitting with him. I am just going to soak up this time and enjoy it. 

Kids thrive on routines! This routine has helped us set the expectation for our kids and makes night time much smoother. What is your bedtime routine?

Dining Room

I have slowly been working on one room at time in our home. The living room is pretty much done. I need a new rug for the living room. I will look for one during sales this year to complete that room. 

The dining room has taken the longest to get to this point.  When we left California we got rid of our dining room table. My cousin so graciously said he would build us a table. I sent him the legs that I wanted and a picture from Pinterest. He made the table exactly like the picture I sent! The table turned out AMAZING! I love it! 

We picked up the table in February. I had plans to buy chairs, but Covid happened. Overstock was having a sale over Memorial Day on chairs I have been watching. I finally pulled the trigger on them. It took about 2.5 weeks to get them. 

The entire room looks so much better!!! I absolutely love these chairs. I am so happy with the look and quality of the chairs! 

Table: custom made by cousin

Chairs: Overstock

Clock: TJ Maxx

Gather lazy susan: Nutcracker Market 

Cash sit at the right end of the table, so I keep that chair to the side under the light switches. There is plenty of room to keep the chair there until he is done with his high chair. We eat breakfast and lunch by the island in the kitchen. We just move the high chair to the table for dinner and put it back by the kitchen for the rest of the meals. Cash can move it himself and puts it in his spot for dinner. All I have to say is time to eat, off he runs to get the high chair and he stands there yelling for us to put him in. That boy doesn't mess around when it's time for a meal. 

Refined sugars and your body!

When I started my weight loss journey almost 10 years ago sugar was one thing that really was eye opening. When I was doing the HCG diet I really had to pay attention to ingredients in things. Then when I started eating paleo again back to the sugar watching. 

Have you ever looked at the grams of sugar in that Starbucks drink? What about in the ketchup, crackers, lunch meat, or the processed foods you are eating? Start looking at ingredients on the things you are eating and see how many of them have sugar added to them. 

Here is a list of refined sugar. 

• white flour.
• evaporated cane juice.
• instant starches.
• corn syrup.
• high fructose corn syrup.
• brown sugar (made by adding molasses back into refined white sugar)
• fructose.
• processed artificial sweeteners

Here is what the Cancer Center had to stay in 2016:

"The body breaks down refined sugar rapidly, causing insulin and blood sugar levels to skyrocket. Because refined sugar is digested quickly, you don't feel full after you're done eating, no matter how many calories you consumed. The fiber in fruit slows down metabolism, as fruit in the gut expands to make you feel full".

Refined sugars may increase your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. They're also linked to a higher likelihood of depression, dementia, liver disease, and certain types of cancer.

In the brain, excess sugar impairs both our cognitive skills and our self-control. For many people, having a little sugar stimulates a craving for more. Sugar has drug-like effects in the reward center of the brain. Scientists have proposed that sweet foods—along with salty and fatty foods—can produce addiction-like effects in the human brain, driving the loss of self-control, overeating, and subsequent weight gain.

The NIH did a study in mice modeling autoimmune issues gave them sugary water and saw the diseases worsen by activating inflammatory immune cells. The findings suggest that a low-sugar diet may help prevent or treat autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis.

Sugar stimulates the production of free fatty acids in the liver. When the body digests these free fatty acids, the resulting compounds can trigger inflammatory processes. Different kinds of sugar may contribute more or less to inflammation.

If you have any type of autoimmune diseases sugar is not your friend whatsoever! I can really tell a difference when I eliminate sugar from my diet. My inflammation really seems to decrease and my I don't crave sugar either. When I am eating sugar on a daily basis my craving for sugar is insane! I also feel my entire body become inflamed in a short amount of time. 

It blows my mind how people do not pay attention to the amount of sugar they are putting in their bodies every single day. I keep seeing all these people making coffees on social media adding tablespoons upon tablespoons of sugar to their coffee. People do you know what this is doing to your body? You are poisoning your body on a daily basis adding all that sugar. 

If I am going to use sugar or give my kids sugar I like to use maple syrup or honey. They are a natural sugar that your body can process. I would like to challenge you to pay attention to the amount of refined sugars you are consuming on a daily basis. Try cutting them out and see how you feel. Also think about what your kids are eating and how much refined sugars they are eating. Mamas we need to consider what our kids tiny bodies are consuming and setting them up for a healthy adults. Our world is consumed with autoimmune diseases, cancers, heart disease, high cholesterol and so much more. Refined sugars are related to so many of these diseases!

I really feel I need to share more about living healthy, multiple sclerosis and easy ways to help people live a healthier lifestyle. I feel this is part of my calling as a person and mother. I can only control what my children eat, but I can help other mothers make better choices for their kids if they want the help. 

I broke down and hired a sleep coach!

I broke down and hired a sleep coach!  My boys as babies were never good sleepers. Cash was the worst! G got to the point he would wake up 1 time a night, take a bottle and go back to sleep. Cash has required to eat around the clock every 2-3 hours since he was born. 

When Cash was 18 months old I stopped breast feeding. He would still wake up 1-2 times a night and wanted a bottle. Then he went through a HORRIBLE period where he wouldn't go back to sleep until we rocked him back to sleep. We spent about 3 weeks dealing with this. We tried laying with him, he wouldn't sleep in our bed, so he would just play. We broke every "rule" out there just trying to get this kid to sleep. I tried to let him cry it out and he would scream for 2-3 hours. He wouldn't let up. It was a freaking nightmare! 

I asked some friends for their advice. One of them suggested hiring a sleep coach Sleep Happy Consulting. I had thought about it, but seriously what could this person do that I couldn't? I just didn't think they really could help me. I was desperate though, so I started looking for one. I checked out Sleep Happy and one other company. Sleep Happy offered a FREE 15 minute consultation. I checked her calendar to see what appointments she had available and thankfully she had one for that day during nap time. I signed up! 

I also started following Sleep Happy on Instagram just to see what this chick was all about. I read some of her posts, watched her stories and tried to get whatever tips I could get. I was hoping I could get all the tips for free without paying for a consultant. lol I'm just keeping it real folks! I am frugal and I try to save a buck anywhere I can! 

My 15 minute call with Jessica was great! I hired her on the spot. She sent me a questionnaire and we scheduled a time in the next couple days to do our 1 hour call.  Sleep Happy offers packages from $135 for a one hour call all the way up to $1650 in home coaching. I decided to go with the one hour call to start and add on if I needed further help. During our one hour call I took over 4 pages of notes!

Jessica gave us a schedule, jobs for the boys at night, signs to hang in their room with their jobs, and gave me confidence to make this all work. I was nervous! I figured the first few nights would be rough, but so had the past 18 months. lol 

The first night I sat both boys down, told them their jobs and then told Cash he would have to start going to sleep on his own in his own bed. Mommy and Daddy would NOT be coming into his room until morning. I told him he was safe, it was important everyone got sleep to grow, be healthy and to be happy. He kept shaking his head no when I said he had to stay in his bed. lol 

The first night was rough, the next night was better and after that he cried himself to sleep and stayed asleep. For me by spending the money on getting some help made me stick to the schedule and stay strong. It has totally changed our lives! I wish I had hired her back when he was 6 months old and we had moved. I can't change the past, but I can sure recommend Sleep Happy for all my friends with babies!!! 


Sleep Happy Consulting

Package 

Gluten & Dairy Free One Pot Hamburger Helper

As a busy mom aren't we always looking for easy meals we can make for dinner?  I decided to remake The Defined Dish one pot hamburger helper for my family. I feed Cash dairy and gluten free foods. I also try to limit gluten for G. When I saw this recipe I thought it looked and sounded so yummy! This would be a great meal for a busy night too. 

This is one of Cashy's favorite meals. He will gobble this up! I love that I only have to get one pot dirty for a filling meal. It also makes enough that we have plenty of leftovers for 2-3 lunches. Art or the kids will eat it the next day. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 onion, chopped finely
1 pound ground beef or turkey - I use whatever I have on hand
1 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon tomato paste 
1-2 cups of spinach
1/2 cup of shredded carrots
1 package of gluten free pasta (usually around 8 oz)
2 cups bone broth 
2 cups of coconut milk
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

Instructions:

- heat your pot over medium heat

- melt the coconut oil

- saute your chopped onions and minced garlic cloves for 20-30 seconds

- brown your ground meat with the onion and garlic

- once the meat is almost all browned, add in the salt, paprika, nutritional yeast, spinach and tomato paste. Stir to combine in your meat.

- add the bone broth and milk to your browned meat. Bring the liquid to a boil. 

- add in your pasta and cook for the time amount on the package. It's usually around 8 minutes for 8 oz package. 

Serve and Enjoy!

I like adding spinach and shredded carrots to get some veggies in the meal. If I don't have spinach or carrots to add I will serve a side salad on the side or some cut up raw veggies. 

My tip to adding Liver to your Diet!

I started adding organ meat to our diet about 4 years ago. Growing up my mom use to make liver and onions. I loved it as a kid with some ketchup.

Liver is high in vitamin A, folic acid, iron and zinc. Liver is one of the most nutrient dense organ meat with a powerful source of vitamin A. Vitamin A is extremely beneficial for reducing diseases that cause inflammation like multiple sclerosis, arthritis and Alzheimer's along with great benefits for eye health. I am always looking for ways to reduce inflammation, since I struggle with it so bad from my multiple sclerosis. 

I have fried it with bacon grease and onions, but I struggle with the texture of it. I got an idea one day to buy some liver from a local organic natural market Victoria's Natural Market in Tomball, TX. I love going to Victoria's to get my chicken bones to make bone broth, liver, local honey and various other organic local items. 

I bought some liver and took it home to grind it up. I decided to add it to meatballs the first time. No one even knew it was in there and you couldn't taste it at all! I took the remaining ground up liver and put it in little baggies to freeze. When I make anything with ground meat I will add beef or chicken liver to it. I have found beef liver really gives ground turkey a lot of flavor! 

Ground up liver in my freezer

My family has no clue they are eating liver, but they are getting all the amazing benefits from the liver! I most likely wouldn't sit down to eat a plate of fried liver these days, so I can't expect my kids to eat it. I normally do not hide foods to get my family to eat them. I serve them the item and they decide if they want to eat it or not. To me adding the liver to ground meat is like adding in some extra vitamins. We all need to take vitamins, so let's add a little to what we are going to be eating.
Do you like liver? Have you ever ground it up to eat it? 

What do you do when a product breaks or stops working?

What do you do when a product breaks or stops working?

My friend Jen was telling me one day how she contacts companies anytime a product stops working, breaks or might need to be fixed. She does this even on older items over a year old. A lot of times they will send a replacement for free, charge for shipping or have a small fee to replace the item. 

I found this so fascinating and mind boggling as to why I hadn't thought to do it in the past lol I am the queen of bargains as Siri calls me. Usually when things break I just toss them and I am done with it. Some times if the product was great, I had it a long time I will replace it with a new one or I move on to a completely different brand if it was terrible.

I decided I was going to start trying this. Good thing she told me this within 2-3 months of our conversation I had some stuff break. 

I bought the Shark Robot Vacuum during the black Friday sales in 2018. This thing gets it's use around our house. I have it going at least once a day. It has helped tremendously keep the dog hair under control and all the crumbs from 2 kids picked up. If you have kids or an animal a robot vacuum is a MUST! 

My robot vacuum stopped working in October. I called up Shark, talked with technical support and we tried a bunch of things. The tech said something was wrong with the electronic part of the vacuum. They would send me an entire new one if I covered shipping. I said sure depending how much you charge for shipping....get this....they charged $25 to send me an entire new vacuum. The old one I just had to toss in the trash. I was completely shocked. I had the new one within 10 days! 

I bought the Revlon 1875W Smooth Brilliance AC Motor Hair Dryer during the Amazon Prime Days in July 2019. I needed a new hair dryer. I had the same one for 10ish years. I barely ever used a hair dryer before moving to Texas. See my hair post HERE for more info on that. Well I bought the hair dryer in July, but didn't pull it out of the box until around October. I used it two times. The second time I used it there were sparks, burnt smell and it stopped working. GOOOOOOOD LORD!!!!

I contacted Amazon, but they said since it was over 90 days I had to contact Revlon. I was expecting to fight with them. I called up Revlon, told them what happened and they send me out a brand new one at no cost. 

I have been using the hair dryer since I received my replacement every 7-10 days. I haven't had any issues with it. I honestly think that was a fluke with that one dryer. This one is amazing and I would happily buy it again. 

I will be contacting companies in the future any time products stop working before I replace them. Have you ever contacted companies to replace something that stopped working? I am curious if others have done this and what your experience has been! 

Daily Essentials at the Dollar Tree

Do you shop at the Dollar Tree?  I go about once every other month to stock up on our daily essential things we need around the house. I realized about 15 years ago that the Dollar Tree carries a lot of stuff that is used on a daily basis at a much cheaper price. 

I buy all the ziplock type baggies at the Dollar Tree. There have been times I have purchased them at Target or Costco. When I compare the prices it is so much cheaper to just go to the Dollar Tree. I normally buy the off brands of baggies, but they were out this last time. Pandemic hoarders shelves must be overflowing lol

On my trip to the Dollar Tree here are some of the items I get:

1. Snack baggies - 1
2. Sandwich baggies - 3
3. Quart baggies - 1 
4. Gallon baggies - 3
5. Rubber gloves - 2
6. Sponges - 3 
7. Flossers - 2 
8. Napkins - 3
9. Paper towels - 2
10. Parchment paper - 2 

I usually have to go to the Dollar Tree because we need more baggies. We haven't been going through as many now that G isn't in school. For the most part I try not to send a lot of baggies in lunches. It is usually cheaper to buy things in bulk and put them in a baggy. I also freeze a lot of food, so I use baggies to freeze stuff. 

The only time we use paper towels is when the cleaning lady comes, so 2 rolls last us 2 months or more. We use cloth towels instead of paper towels. I have probably 20 towels that last me a week. We use them to dry our hands, clean up messes and wipe up any water. I didn't grow up with paper towels, so it feels wasteful to me to use paper towels. 

I wash dishes in rubber gloves otherwise my hands get so dry. I like the pink ones! One pair will last me awhile! I just like to have a second pair in case I get a hole in them. I don't always buy these. If I have a second pair under the sink I don't buy anymore. 

I use sponges to wash dishes, clean the stove, and wipe off counters. I know some people hate sponges. I like them. You might like paper towels and I don't. So let's just agree to disagree on the sponge situation ok. lol

I keep flossers all over the place. I got into the habit of flossing my teeth and now I need to do it a few times a day. I keep them in my car, purse, kitchen drawer and bathroom. I don't want to be running all over the place to take care of my teeth lol
The dentist told me on my last visit they haven't seen teeth this clean. I said well it's because of the preschool pick up line! They were puzzled. I said I floss my teeth every day while I am picking up G from school. 

I also like to buy all our party supplies - plates, napkins, utensils, decorations, gift bags, cards. These things are just as good as buying them from Target, but the price is so much less. There are times I will order specific themed decor for the boys birthdays from Amazon, but for regular colored decor I buy it from the Dollar Tree. 

I try to stock up, so I only go every 2-3 months. It saves me time and money. I tell the kids they can pick out 1 item while we are there. They can pick ANYTHING in the store they want. This of course makes G VERY happy! lol One day Cash was insistent on 2 balls...not 1 he picked 2 favorite balls. At first I was like no, you need to pick just one. Then I thought come on Becky it's $1 LOL

Check out your local Dollar Tree the next time you are near one for your daily essentials!