Yummy, Simple Salad

My boss is one of the healthiest people I know. She is always munching on yummy snacks. This salad recipe is hers. She is so sweet and always brings enough to share with us.

Here are the simple ingredients:

1 Cucumber
1 Tomato -- I used a Roma tomato
Olives of your choice: Black, or any of the fancy olives your local grocery store sells (I had green olives in the fridge so that's what I used)
Mozzarella cheese (cut in chunks)
Pepper
Olive Oil
Olive juices
Croutons

-Simply cut veggies into cubes and put in a container
-Add Olives
-Pour a little bit of olive oil and some pepper
-Put lid on plastic container and shake
-Serve and add croutons to avoid them getting soggy

Voila! Enjoy!

Authentic Friendships

I am a HUGE fan of Rick Warren. And, when I say a fan of him I mean I am a fan of how he allows the Lord to work through him and reach people all around the world. That's what it's truly about. I receive Rick's daily devotionals and today's really spoke to me. It was so transparent and real. It's something we can all work on, including myself. I'm definitely preaching to the choir when I say that.  Why do we find it so difficult to be transparent with others? Is it because we're worried what they'll think of us? The things they'll say about us? Pridefulness?

I pray today's devotional speaks to you in a great way as it did for me.

Authentic Friendships by Rick Warren

But if we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other. Then the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:7-8 NCV) In Christian fellowship people should experience authenticity. Authentic fellowship is not superficial, surface-level chit-chat. It’s genuine, heart-to-heart, sometimes gut-level, sharing. It happens when people get honest about who they are and what is happening in their lives. They share their hurts, reveal their feelings, confess their failures, disclose their doubts, admit their fears, acknowledge their weaknesses, and ask for help and prayer. Authenticity is the exact opposite of what you find in many churches. Instead of an atmosphere of honesty and humility, there is pretending, role-playing, politicking and superficial politeness, but shallow conversation. People wear masks, keep their guards up, and act as if everything is rosy in their lives. These attitudes are the death of real friendship. It’s only as we become open about our lives that we experience authentic fellowship. The Bible says, “If we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other.… If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves” (1 John 1:7–8, NCV). The world thinks intimacy occurs in the dark, but God says it happens in the light. We tend to use darkness to hide our hurts, faults, fears, failures and flaws. But in the light, we bring them all out into the open and admit who we really are. Of course, being authentic requires both courage and humility. It means facing our fear of exposure, rejection and being hurt again. Why would anyone take such a risk? Because it’s the only way to grow spiritually and be emotionally healthy. The Bible says, “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed” ( James 5:16a, Msg).

Time flies!

Oh my word! It's been almost a whole month since I've signed on to my blog. I'm so sorry! It's crazy how hectic things can get and how the weeks just fly by.

Where to begin ...

I'm already 27 weeks (6 months)! Feeling good, I've only gained 8 lbs so far this whole pregnancy. My next appointment is this Thursday so we'll see how much more I've gained. Now that I'm on a low-fat diet, due to some gallbladder issues, I'm hoping not to gain too too much.

Dustin and I have been busy working on Preston's room. He painted a beautiful mural on the wall that I'll have to post pictures of. He painted a nightstand/dresser  that was his when he was younger as well as painting animals on a set of the dresser knobs for the dresser we bought at Target. We are still trying to figure out what to do about knobs for the nightstand/dresser he painted. Knobs are crazy expensive! And, the well priced ones we've found we haven't liked. We like all the $20 (a knob) ones!

Baby Showers
It's Baby Shower time! My first shower is in just a few weeks, I'm very excited about it! Next month we're having two more which I'm equally excited for. One of the showers will be a CoEd Couples shower. We've been to a few and we've loved it! It's a great way for the hubby to be involved but not feel awkward.

What are your favorite Baby Shower activities? Foods? Please do tell!

Blessings to you!

Monday, Monday!

"Clean the slate God,so I can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins & thinking I can take over your work" Ps19:13 (Rick Warren)

Happy Monday! It sure was a happy Monday. You know why? Because I started my day off with the verse listed above. It's all about your attitude. It truly is. I plan to start every day with this verse. =]

Weekend Re-cap ...

This past Saturday Dustin and I took a 9 hour birthing class. Yep, you read right ... 9 whole hours. He was really dreading it. To our surprise, it was an awesome class! The instructor was H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S! She reminded me of Carol Burnett. It was awesome. We both learned so much and even learned how to swaddle a baby {I'm really excited about doing that to Preston, they look so cute}. 

Sunday we bought Preston's crib and a dresser. For the price we would have paid for just the crib at Pottery Barn Kids we were able to buy an additional piece! We are all about good deals and we love to see money go a LOONGG way! Pictures to come! Next, we went to Lowe's and picked out paint swatches for his room. We plan to leave the majority of the room color as is and add an accent wall. We are both getting so excited about all the upcoming baby projects! I'm really enjoying seeing my hubby "nesting". He is going to be such a wonderful dad. I can't wait. 

Hope you lovely readers had a wonderful weekend too! 

Week re-cap and Foodie Friday Link up!

TGIF has a whole new meaning to me now that I work an 8-5 job. Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful for my job but I am even MORE thankful for my weekends with my husband. It's such a nice mental break from the hustle and bustle of work life.

So here's a re-cap ... I'm 21 weeks pregnant this week (about to be 22 this weekend), Preston is moving around like crazy in my belly. It's such a cool feeling. It'll actually startle me at times. I'm noticing that he's pretty active in the evening when I lay down in bed.

I have several family & friends that are organizing baby showers. My first one is late next month, I can't hardly wait.

We are going to order Preston's crib this weekend from Pottery Barn Kids, Catalina Fixed Gate 3-In-1 Crib (Thankful for my mom's gift to Preston)

We just LOVE this beautiful antique white look.

My mother-in-law makes this delicious salsa that I must share with you guys. It's so easy to make. Best of all you can top it on your chicken or even Tilapia! 

Corn & Black Bean Salsa 

2--15 oz cans black beans

1--17 oz can white corn

1/4 cup cilantro --chopped or snipped 

1--medium red onion --chopped

3--medium tomatoes --chopped

4 Tbs -- lime juice

1-2 Tbs -- Red Wine Vinegar

2 Tbs -- Olive Oil

1 Tsp -- salt & pepper

Rinse & drain black beans and corn, combine all ingredients and chill. Serve with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Foodie Friday: The "Best" Pumpkin Bread

I know, I know ... it's Saturday not Friday. It's been a rough week and I pretty much just wanted to veggg out. I will be better this upcoming week.

I've joined my friend Magan, author of A Touch of Class,  for her first link-up party! I can't wait to learn more recipes.

It's only July and I was craving pumpkin bread like CRAZY the past couple of weeks. My mother-in-law makes the most delicious pumpkin bread during the holidays and looked through my recipe box and decided to make it. It's so simple ...

Ingredients:
1 can of pumpkin
4 eggs
3c. sugar
1c oil (canola ... however, all I had was vegetable and it worked out just fine)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2/3 c. water
3 1/3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda

 Combine all ingredients ... there's no specific order. However, from watching the Food Network channel I've learned you should slowly add the flour and sugar as you put together the mixture.  Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.  Enjoy!

I realized I deleted the picture I had taken off my phone so I had to go capture it off of Facebook.

Tip: Dustin and I realized adding Rainbow Chip icing onto the slice we at was delicious. It's the same icing used on confetti cake. Don't forget a tall glass of milk. 

Enjoy!

5 months?!

I'm amazed as to how fast time is FLYING by! I can't believe I'll be 5 months tomorrow ... already! This past Saturday Dustin and I started our registry and we had the best time. I absolutely love strolling down each aisle at Babies R Us. They pretty much have anything and everything you could possibly think of. We were so happy to have Dustin's sister and our niece come with us as well. They were both very helpful. Two hours and 10 pages later we decided to call it quits and go grab some lunch. Besides, I think Dustin had had enough at that point. So, needless to say when I asked if he wanted to go to Pottery Barn Kids next he gave me a look at said, "Oh noooo, one baby store in one day is enough for me" haha! 

I want to thank all my friends and family members that gave me their "must have" suggestions. It was very helpful to us. I love that I actually know what products are when I stroll in there. When I would go in there to shop for friends I was overwhelmed.

Here are some of my favorite products we scanned ...

Bumbo Baby Sitter - Lime Green 

Carter's Giraffe Print Diaper Bag

Combi Adventure Walker

And, our very favorite ... the Jeep Liberty Limited All Terrain 3-Wheel Stroller

I stopped by Babies R Us and scanned a few more items this afternoon. I can't help it. And, I noticed that some folks have already bought some products off our registry!!! Hope everyone had a great weekend and a great Monday.

God Bless! xoxo