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

Meaty Monday

Hi there!

Mondays are tough and the LAST thing I want to do is cook. The creator of the crock pot is a genius. Having a crock pot is like having a chef. Especially if you remember to use Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners. It truly makes clean up a lot easier.  So, this week, I decided to make a Crock pot Roast using my friend Magan's recipe. You can find the full recipe on her blog @--->  A Touch Of Class. 

I marinated the meat Sunday night and had Dustin turn on the crackpot before he left for work today. We had it on low for about 7 hours. It was so juicy, and tender. Very delish and a must try!

Pick your favorite roast meat. I chose a Boneless Chuck. I also raided the refrigerator and added any available veggies.

Add either a name brand or store brand Onion soup mix on top along with a dash of water.

Enjoy!

Drum Roll Please ...

It's A BOY!! We can't wait to welcome Preston Keith in December.

Dustin and I have been keeping the biggest secret since Wednesday. Today, we FINALLY got to reveal the gender of our baby!  We had some of our family over for a Gender Reveal Party. It was so fun. The house was filled with joy and laughter and many rounds of Dance Central on the Kinect. Here are some pictures from today ...

We also had blue balloons

Made by my old co-woker, Brady

It's blue!

Dustin's mom was very happy

My sister had to work today but she was beyond excited when I told her. In fact, she sent me a text and asked me if I was home because she was on her way bearing gifts! Haha 

Sweet Treat Friday: Cuban Sweet Mama

What a week! I am so extremely glad Friday is here.  If only we had to work Saturday-Sunday and have Monday-Friday off. Now, how awesome would that be? Good thing there's dessert therapy.

Dustin and I are headed to a friend's birthday BBQ tonight and I decided I'd bring some "Cuban" Sweet Mama's along. This recipe is originally called "Pound Cake Squares", but, how boring is that?! My mom and I re-named them to their new name. I actually got the recipe from her and she got the recipe from her friend. It's a HIT everywhere I've taken them. I actually made a batch for my co-workers today and they loved them.

So here is how you make a Cuban Sweet Mama ...

Ingredients :

1- Box Betty Crocker Pound Cake Mix

4- Eggs

1- stick Real Butter (unsalted & softened)

1- 8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)

1- Box Powdered Sugar

Vanilla or Lemon Extract

Mix & spread the following in a greased 9 X 13 pan: {as pictured above}

-Box of Betty Crocker Pound Cake Mix

-2 Eggs

-1 stick real butter (softened)

{The dough will be very stiff}

Next ...

Mix the following together & pour over top of cake: {as shown above}

- 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

-1/2 a box of powdered sugar

-2 Eggs

-Teaspoon of Vanilla or Lemon Extract

Then ...

After pouring mixture, sprinkle with chopped pecans and sprinkle a generous amount of powdered sugar as well. {as shown above}

Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes. It should look gooey in the middle

 {be careful that the edges don't get over cooked}

Finished product

{Sorry this was not posted until Saturday, however, it was a huge success at the BBQ}

God Bless!

17 and counting

Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July! The 3-day weekend was much needed for my husband and I. We spent Sunday and Monday with our good friends and their almost 1-yr-old son. We had such a blast. I'm so thankful this week is a short work week. Just 3 more wake up days until the weekend.

On a different note, I am 17 weeks today! That's just a little over 4 months. I've been feeling very good for the most part. Last week I had a little trouble but everything turned out to be ok. I'm starting to show more and it's so fascinating.  In just a week we will be finding out the gender of the baby. I can't believe that day is almost here!

Most shocking thing today: The verdict of the Casey Anthony Trial. I still can't believe it. As someone mentioned "I think they found the only 12 people that still believe the world is flat!"

God Bless!

Heavenly Angel Food

Dustin and I had dinner with some good friends this past weekend and Kim made a delicious dessert. Not sure what the technical name for it is but, I'll go ahead and call it Heavenly Angel Food. And, since this weekend is July 4th this would be a perfect dessert for your guests or the party you attend!








Ingredients:
Angel Food Cake -- cut into 3 slices
Pudding Mixture -- blend large instant vanilla pudding, 3 cups of milk, Thawed Cool Whip
Fruit -- she used bananas, strawberries, blueberries, crushed pineapple (sometimes she uses blackberries)
Pie Filling -- she used blueberry

**You can get real creative and Patriotic and go Red, White & Blue with the fruit**

Layer:
Cake
1/2 pudding mixture
Fruit
Fruit
Cake
1/2 pudding mixture
Fruit
Cake
Top with pie filling

Chill for 2 hours


Feel free to play around and layer it how you wish. If you make it and change anything please be sure to share! :)

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Our Little Avocado

I'm 4 months along! Wow, I can't believe how fast this is going. I'm SURE once I get real big I won't be singing the same tune but we'll just go with it for now. According to Baby Center our baby will be doubling in weight and will be adding inches in length in the next few weeks. Right now he or she is about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces.

In two weeks we have an appointment to find out the gender of the baby. We are so very excited to find out.

Our guess is that it's a boy! We have a 50/50 chance of being right. :)

Sweet Treat Friday

If you've never had Nutella before please run to your nearest grocery store and buy some, immediately. I'm dead serious. You'll thank me. My father-in-law introduced me to it and my life has never been the same. If you aren't familiar with Nutella let me give you the low down. It's a chocolatey-hazelnut spread, It's heaven in your mouth. Spread it on your toast, line it in the inside of your ice cream cone, or just get a spoon and just DIG IN! 

I tried a new recipe tonight, Nutella Filled Croissants. Oh my goodness, it was to die for. It only requires two ingredients:

1. Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

2. Nutella

3. Pre-heat oven to 350 

4. After adding Nutella and rolling up dough cook for about 10 min or until golden brown

Dab some Nutella on the rolled out dough

Finished product! 

Enjoy!!

God Bless!

A Total Body Experience

"Pregnancy is a great time to learn the life lesson of surrender. This body is not for your personal enjoyment at the moment. It is a cozy home in which a child is growing, and you can choose to fight it or to relax and enjoy the ride. That is why I tell you the straight information and then sit back and laugh with you about it, because your sense of humor may be the only thing to get you through these trying times." (The Girlfriends Guide To Pregnancy, Vicki Iovine)

This book has been an absolute life savor! I knew that whenever I would become pregnant my belly was going to grow, that's a given. However, I didn't take into account all the other bodily changes that go along with pregnancy. The author really does a good job of filling you in. It's as if you and your girlfriend are having a heart to heart. I've literally "LOL'ed" in every chapter. She's so funny. And, like she says ... your sense of humor may be the only thing to get you through this time. I'm at that stage where I don't look really pregnant ... I'm in this in between stage and I just want to tell everyone that looks at me "I'm pregnant, honest!"

FOOD/CRAVINGS
I've really been craving a lot of nectarines, grapes, milk, (I woke up in the middle of the night really craving a muffin from Mimi's Cafe) ... lately I've really been on a salsa & queso kick. I'm being very careful as to what I consume. A lot of people tell me to eat whatever I want but guess who's going to have to work super hard to get rid of that extra chocolate cake weight? That's right, ME! So, I proceed with caution :)

It's 9:44p.m. and my hubby just brought me some salsa, queso and chips from one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. Yes! He's awesome!

Until next time ...

God Bless!

Oh, BABY!

Praise the Lord I have had a great start to my pregnancy. I struggled with morning sickness {which doesn't just occur in the morning, btw} but when I say I struggled I mean ... nausea ... big time.  I've been very fortunate to JUST have that. Somedays I truly forget I'm even pregnant because I feel so great {Lord, please allow this streak to continue, I'm truly not bragging} There is a co-worker of mine {whose due date is just 4 days after mine} that was sick as a dog when she first found out. I was starting to think maybe something was wrong since I wasn't sick. But, I'm perfectly fine. Everyone's body just handles it differently. Again, thank you Lord Jesus. I'm now in my 2nd trimester and can't believe how fast time has flown. My pants are fitting a little too snug around my hips, and, let's just say other things are increasing as well. I've had to go shopping! I've come to find out that the Maternity shopping isn't all that fun. Stores hardly have anything to choose from! I told Dustin we should come up with a Maternity Line. However, I've had great luck with online shopping. Something I'm not really used to doing. But, it's so much more convenient and that's a plus! Since these bodily changes are not permanent, I don't want to spend a LOAD of $$$$. Luckily, Old Navy Online has GREAT deals!

{Maternity Cow-Neck Striped Tee $16.94}

{Maternity Full-Panel Jeans $34.94} 

{Maternity Full-Panel Denim Capris $29.50}

God Bless!

It's Good To Be Back!

Welcome! Thank you for visiting my blog! I'm so excited to share my daily/weekly experiences with you all. With that being said, please bare with me as my page is in the construction stage.  I'm currently working on a face lift for it. But, I'm excited to be back and I'm so excited that my good friend, Magan, encouraged me to start blogging again.  And, I'm especially excited that YOU will be stopping by to read about me and my little growing family's journey!

God Bless you!