Lots of Girly-ness going on

Thanks to my awesome friend, Holly, and her idea, I have been sewing non-stop since last Wednesday-ish. JoAnn's has become my favorite store and I have used up every coupon that I have possibly been able to find. But the result is 6 more finished rag blankets...5 of which are baby blankets and 1 of which is a little shy of a twin blanket (which has been sold to a cousin in Colorado, if the snow clears so we can drive there).

So here is my posts with all the finished products.

This is the same style and color of blanket as the last post, but it is just larger.

I LOVE doing this and I currently have 3 orders for blankets when I get home after Christmas. Just remember that even though all my current pictures are of girl rag blankets, I can do SO much more :)

Purple and Green "Peace" Blanket

I am totally LOVING these rag blankets. I think, unless I get an order for something different, I am going to be sticking with making these for awhile. They are so fast and so easy...not to mention forgiving if you make a mistake.

My awesome friend, Holly, and I are trying an experiment. She makes and sells girls' hairbows. She wants to try to sell a blanket and some hairbows as a set. So, I have agreed to make several "unique" baby girl blankets for her. I have had a lot of fun so far, and I have only finished one ;-). The following "Peace" blanket is the first of 4 or 5 I am making for her. (Note: The background color is a really pretty dark purple...the picture makes it look blue.)


I totally LOVE the colors and the way it turned out. Click here to see Holly's awesome bows that she makes. She only has a few on her website, but she is totally awesome and creative and can make anytime of hairbow.

The Ariana Triology

Several months ago, I posted a question on Facebook asking my friends for recommendations on good books to read. One of my friends told me that I really needed to read The Ariana Trilogy by Rachel Ann Nunes, an LDS author. I really trust and admire this friend and her judgment, so I began searching for it. I posted it on my wish list on Amazon, but I just couldn't afford to buy it at the time. Two or three weeks ago, I was shopping at my all-time favorite store in Idaho Falls, Book City, which is the used book store. Finally, after months of searching, I found a copy.

At the time that my friend recommended this book to me, my life was pretty good. I had some struggles here and there and definite lack of sleep issues due to having a newborn baby. Anyway, now that I found the book and read the book, I pretty much cried through the entire thing. Yes, I am a sentimental emotional fool. However, that being said, I was totally drawn into the story line and plot with the characters.

The basic overview of the story is as follows. Ariana, the main character lives in Paris. Through her childhood and teenage years, she deals with feelings of being inferior and unloved by her parents. Her twin brother is tragically killed and she rebels into a life of partying...drinking, drugs, etc. She ends up married and expecting a baby. The story goes on...I don't want to give it away. She experiences many many hardships and challenges. She introduced to the missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who teach her of Christ's Atonement and unending love for each of us. She also learns of eternal families. She turns her life around and serves the Lord. Though she faces many trials and struggles through the remainder of the book, she is able to endure them with hope and faith because of her beliefs.

Now, I think everyone that follows this blog knows that I am LDS, so the teachings and messages of the scriptures presented in this novel are my beliefs and I know them. For this reason, I really hesitated with posting a review for this book because I don't in any way want any of my friends to feel like I am pushing my beliefs on them. I love and respect each of you and your own individual beliefs. I just wanted to put that out there. Ok, now that I got the disclaimer out of the way, I will continue.

As I mentioned above, I cried through much of the 600-pages of this book. I have had so many struggles and challenges in my life that, I could just relate to and feel Ariana's pain and sorrows. I completely felt that I could be the main character in this fictional book. Granted, I have never struggled with drug or alcohol abuse or multiple marriages, but so many of Ariana's other struggles parallel my life. Though the book "reopened" some wounds and pains in my life, it truly leaves a strong message of hope, faith, and love. I finished reading feeling uplifted and at peace.

A wonderful read.

My Christmas Angels

This book was a free "purchase" that I read on my Kindle app. I really don't know how long it is (page-wise) in reality, but it truly was a short book. If I didn't take any breaks for RJ and church and stuff, I probably would have had it read in 45 minutes to an hour. That being said, I found this book to be truly inspiring and uplifting.

It is about a single father struggling with unemployment and being evicted from his apartment while trying to provide for his 6-year old little girl. The little girl becomes comatose and hospitalized. The father turns his attention to serving others.

I think that in this economy, it is a story that we either all can relate to or one that we know people in similar situations. I know that when struggles are present in my life, serving others brings happiness, peace, and hope that nothing else will.

This was a great little read and perfect for the Spirit of Christmas.

Chicken Curry

Another Crockpot recipe. It has been awhile, I know. I just have been unmotivated to post recipes lately and I have been unmotivated to cook much. I have been using the "tried and proven" recipes instead of new ones. This past Sunday, I finally decided to try a new crockpot recipe. The added bonus was that it was a curry recipe. My husband LOVES curry but I have never had it too much, so I am always a little nervous to try cooking with it since he has had really REALLY good curry in his past. FINALLY, I got brave and tried it out. Even I admit, it was pretty yummy.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts (I used 2)
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
2/3 Cup orange juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 tsp curry powder
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp cold water
rice

Optional Toppings:
sliced green onion
shredded coconut
peanuts
raisins

1) Spray or line slow cooker. Place chicken into slow cooker. Top with onions and sweet potatoes.
2) Combine OJ, garlic, bouillon, salt, pepper, and curry powder. Pour over chicken and vegetables. (After pouring it in, I realized I needed a little more liquid, so I added a little water, too.)
3) Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours. (Either remove chicken or shred it. I tried to remove it before thickening my sauce and the chicken just fell apart. Therefore, I just left in the sauce and shredded it, and then proceeded with step 4)
4) Turn slow cooker to high. Dissolve corn starch in water. Stir into the slow cooker. Cover and cook an additional 15-20 minutes.
5) While sauce finishes, cook rice.
6) Serve chicken and sauce over rice. Top with the desired listed toppings or any other of choice.

Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Pasta

We are huge fans of pasta and casseroles at our house. They may not be the healthiest food option, but they are cheap, fast, easy, and make more than one meal. In addition to these advantages, my 3 year old LOVES pasta and casserole, so making them ensures that he eats.

This one is a fast and simple dish. According to the cookbook that I took it out of, it serves 6 to 8. I doubled the sauce and pasta part of the recipe and filled a 9x13 casserole dish, so I am not sure what the book constitutes a serving. Just an FYI.

This casserole is a variation of homemade Hamburger Helper, so even if it is unhealthy, I know that it has a TON less salt then the store bought kind and probably a lot more flavor. This is just my rant. I have actually never bought or used a Hamburger Helper, so I don't really know if it is healthy at all or not. I will just be quiet and post the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground hamburger, or turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
8 oz dried bow tie pasta (or your favorite of choice)
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1-8 oz can tomato sauce
1 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 Cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup chopped tomato (optional)
pickles (optional)

1) Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and Rinse.
2) While the pasta cooks, brown the meat and onion in a skillet. When done, drain any excess fat. Add the cheese soup, tomato sauce, and mustard to the beef. Mix over heat until the mixture is creamy.
3) Mix together the sauce and the drained pasta and pour into a 2 quart casserole dish.
4) Bake, covered, at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove and top with shredded cheese. Bake an additional 3-5 minutes until cheese melts.
5) Serve, topped with tomato and pickles if desired.

Yum!

Gingerbread Softies

If you like gingerbread or ginger snaps or anything ginger, this cookies are fabulous! If you do not like ginger, then I guarantee that you won't like this cookie.

I stole this recipe from a friend's post on facebook. The outside of the cookie is firm and the inside is so soft and full of flavor. So, another huge plus...SOFT. I really do not like hard cookies.

Here is what you need.
-2 Cups Sugar, plus more for dipping
-1 1/2 Cups Shortening
-2 Eggs
-1/2 Cup Molasses
-4 Cups Flour
-4 tsp Baking Soda
-2 tsp cinnamon
-2 tsp ginger
-1/2 tsp ground cloves
-1/2 tsp salt

1) Cream together sugar and shortening. Add eggs and beat until the mixture is thick. Add molasses and stir until well combined.
2) Sift together (I just dumped them into my mixer) the dry ingredients and them to the creamed molasses mixture. Mix until well blended.
3) Shape into 1'' balls and roll around in some sugar. Place on a greased cookie sheet.
4) Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes. Remove them before they start to brown. (I baked mine for only the 7 minutes and they are the perfect softness, in my opinion.)

Enjoy!