Microwave scalloped potatoes

Microwave scalloped potatoes

1 1/2 pounds Idaho russet potatoes, sliced
Salt & Pepper to taste
6 Tbsps Butter
1 Cup Colby Jack Cheese, shredded
1 Cup Chicken Broth

Arrange 1/2 of the potatoes in an 8x8 inch glass dish, overlapping potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and dot with 3 Tbsps butter, sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheese. Arrange rest of potatoes, season, and dot with rest of butter, reserve other 1/2 of cheese. Pour broth over top and microwave for 10 to 12 minutes or until done. Sprinkle with rest of cheese and broil for 2 to 3 minutes on high broil or until golden brown.

They turned out so yummy, there wasn't any leftovers :)

Don't forget about my Scrapbook Software giveaway! Read my post above for all the details.

Diet|Exercise|The Strength in YOU|

I have been doing a lot of soul searching lately, and I've gotten a lot stronger because of it. Issues that I have with people I live around are pretty much gone, and life is good. Once it was brought to my attention that I was trying to solve an unsolvable problem, my brain finally said "o.k. I'm cool with that." I put it to myself this way... "Your going crazy trying to analyze these peoples actions and the way they treat you, it's not rational, it's unsolvable, your acting like Sheldon if He was faced with an unsolvable science or math equation, so stop it!"

I have been seeing an awesome counselor. She is the one that helped me to figure this one out, she said since we have the same type of brain, it was easy. When you have a more psychological, compassionate brain you tend to analyze people and situations, and can drive yourself crazy if you can't "Solve the equation." She also made me realize that the people involved in this are stuck in the 6th grade gossipy girls scenario, which also helped me, and makes me laugh now when I see them acting like gossipy 6th grade girls in there little group on the playground. People can tell you to take your power back until they are blue in the face, they can tell you what they think you should do over and over, but it's up to YOU. YOU need to come to a conclusion, YOU need to take your time in taking your power back, YOU need to realize that even thou they may be making you feel it's all your fault, it has nothing to do with YOU and everything to do with THEM, and YOU have no control over that. YOU need to care and be there for YOU!

One thing that has also really helped me is exercise! I was always very athletic, and it's a bummer but I got sick and couldn't do what I use to. Threats of thyroid cancer and now living with auto immune diseases made it hard, if not impossible, to get any type of exercise. I kept the faith, found an awesome doctor, and FORCED myself to get moving. I started out slow, doing Tony Horton's first workout, Power 90, with my most incredible and supportive hubby and a lot encouragement from our awesome 16 year old son. We then went on to Chalean Extreme by Chalene Johnson, the most wonderful woman I have ever met, that has helped me to realize my potential. She also taught me to get my TURBO ON, and punch and kick out my issues with Turbo Fire. And now a year later we are on to the hardest workout I have ever done in my life, Insanity. I can't even explain how powerful I feel just getting through a workout. It has helped me to feel stronger, not just physically, but mentally as well. I am 10 pounds away from my high school weight, and I have a more healthy looking body than I had in high school. But the body changing isn't the huge part for me, it's my mental changes I've went through. Feeling stronger makes you feel like you can achieve and live all of your dreams, it makes you set higher goals and achieve them, and the biggest one for me.... NO MORE DEPRESSION! And let me tell you, I have spent hundreds of days waking up feeling worthless, hopeless, and feeling that my family would be better off without me. I also felt like the people living around me, shooting daggers at me, would love to see me dead,  I even had images of hanging myself from the front porch so they could see and be pleased that I was finally dead, so why not just give them what they want, then all the hatred, anger and resentment would all be over with and I could live in peace eternally. Well, I didn't take the easy way out, came close a few times, but didn't. I did spend lots of days over the last 3 years waking up crying, laying on the couch crying all day, and then going to bed at night crying. I'm surprised that I have any water left in my body! But I got off the couch and forced myself to do something about all this.

When it's come to diet there are several things you can do. Besides eating healthy and drinking shakeology every day (it's been better than any anti depressant I could take!), I also am following the 6 week weight loss program that I found on Heal your life. Please go there to read about what Christiane Northrup has taught me, and here is a taste of the 6 week program she talks about...

Week One: Love yourself exactly where you are.
Week Two: Imagine living your dreams.
Week Three: Make a “Desire and Pleasure” list.
Week Four: Undershoot on exercise. (for people just starting to get off the couch!)
Week Five: Eat like a pampered queen.
Week Six: Do some mirror work.



It's just incredible what you can learn from all of this, and the weight you can loose with just changing your mindset! If you are interested in any of the programs I mentioned or shakeology, please follow the links and click on them in this article. Beachbody has truly changed my life, along with a lot of soul searching, books by Louise Hay, and other books on emotions and self esteem. If you are looking for a good counselor in your area please go to www.psychologytoday.com and search, it's the best investment you can make for yourself!

The Nutshell Principles

The Nutshell Principles

So what are the principles that changed my life, repeatedly?

If you read the brief stories above, you already know:

1. Start very small.
2. Do only one change at a time.
3. Be present and enjoy the activity (don’t focus on results).
4. Be grateful for every step you take.

In programming, this is called an algorithm. It’s a series of steps that you can apply to make any change, no matter what your situation.

It works. This is the Zen Habits method, the Change Your Life App, in four lines. I hope it helps.

Quick Pic Stitch Mother's Day Postcards

 Mothers Day Pic Stitch Postcards

For the last few weeks I've been trying to figure out a super special Mom's day card for my Mom & MIL this year. The other day, as I was playing with my pic stitch and photos on my iphone I had a light bulb moment, A special picture postcard!

So here in a nutshell is how I did it.
I chose the different photos that I have on my phone, and used the pic stitch app. I then saved the picture to my photo album and put it on my computer to print out.

From there I chose all the different things I would need to make up my super awesome postcards.
You can use lots of different things to embellish, I used buttons and flowers since it's mothers day.

I backed the photos and then went super simple with the flowers and buttons. The project took literally 20 minutes with the printing of the photos. And I had a blast making them out in the sunshine.

And here are the finished products! I wrote on the backs of each with a special message to both Mom's

Happy Mothers Day everyone! Make sure to do something special for you, as well as your Mom's!

Springtime Crocheted Flowers

I just love how my flowers turned out for my seasonal tree. I found the pattern in the book Cute & Easy Crochet. They took no time and all to make, in fact I want to make some more so my tree is totally full of pretty flowers.

I used a frog tree cotton for these fun flowers, that really makes them pop and are very soft too.

I picked the perfect day to make them, actually the whole week was rainy and yucky.
You can find this project on my Ravelry page