Stay Strong and Carry On!

So thee other day on Facebook, I saw this image posted there: 

and I got to thinking, 'hey, I do that'. I know there have been days when I'm totally down on myself after blog/pinterest surfing. Some days I'm lucky enough to snap out of it and go 'hey that lady sends her kids to school all day so that she can do those fancy craft projects or make sure her house is sparkling or hey maybe she cleaned it and took a picture before it got dirty again. I have to make an effort to not let people's pretty internet life, make me feel any less about my life.

So in an effort to remind people that blog life may look pretty, but that real life is always messy. 

Here is a general overview of my messy life.

*I was born to alcoholic/smoker parents; have managed 

not to become a smoker or drinker myself!

*Some creepy son of a babysitter, showed me his wee - knee when  

I was four while we played with a boat in the Jacuzzi. 

*In kindergarten, the junior high kids who rode the same bus as me, 

would steal my hair clips, 

tear up my homework, spit in my hair and who knows what else.

*I was picked on throughout elementary school, 

possibly bullied but I'm not sure if its the same as today's bullying. 

*When I was 11 my mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. 

I spent a lot of time caring for my home, mom, family.

*Became a hard-@$$ in junior high since I'd had enough of being picked on.

* High school was alright except my mom died about 

two and a half months before I graduated.

*No one explained grief, my dad was of the belief that 

counseling was for the weak. I never went.

*Spent the next two years away at college, 

failing classes every spring, holding grief inside.

*Since I turned 18 I've moved: 10 times. Stressful!

*And according to the Holmes and Rahe stress scale 

I've experienced 19 major stressful life events. 

And when you consider some of them happened 

more than once, were talking nearly one a year.

*All that stress has caused me a liver that's on the fritz 

and adrenal fatigue, go figure right!

Anyway, the point is that even with all that has gone on in my life, I've continued on. Many people would turn to substances, 

or take their life in their own hands. 

You have to stay strong and carry on!

Idaho Potato Chip Cookies {Recipe}

Since we are getting ready to move to Idaho, I thought this would be a good time to post this recipe. I'm also  making it as we speak because it is a good get rid of leftovers recipe. And when your moving long distance you don't want to move food... you want to use it up.

{Ingredients}
* 2 sticks butter    (1 cup)
* 1 cup sugar and 1 cup brown sugar (or 2 cups sugar and 1 T molasses)
* 2 eggs
* 1 tsp almond           extract              (or vanilla)
* 2 cups flour       (I used 1 of white whole wheat and 1 of red whole wheat)
* 1/2 t salt
* 1 t baking soda
* 2 cups potato chips, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly crush potato chips until you reach 2 cups. Cream together: butter and sugars. Add eggs 1 at a time beat well, add extract. Add flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. Add potato chips, mix until incorporated. Drop cookies on cookie sheet 2" apart for 9-11 mins.

How To Make Homemade Honey Wheat Bread {Recipe}

This recipe comes from combining a few of my favorite recipes.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup honey
2 T coconut oil/olive oil/butter (do not use margarine, or canola oil)
1 t vinegar
1/4 cup flax meal
3 T wheat bran
3 cups whole white wheat flour
2 1/4 t active dry yeast

In a small saucepan over low heat, warm milk, honey, oil and vinegar to about 115 degrees. Add to the pan for the bread machine. Then add flour, flax meal, and wheat bran. Make a hole for yeast. Add in the yeast. Put the pan in the machine if its not there already and select the dough cycle. Grease the loaf pan. When the dough cycle is done, remove dough from machine and form into a loaf shape (you may need to flour or oil your hands to keep the bread from sticking), place in the loaf pan. Cover with a damp towel and let rise. If its too cool for the bread to rise heat your oven to 200 degrees, turn it off and place the bread inside until its risen. Then remove bread from oven and preheat to 350 degrees. When oven is hot, place bread inside and bake for 25-30 minutes. Bread is done when its golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

Some extra tips:

• Let your ingredients come to room temperature before beginning.
• The temperature of the liquid allows you time to measure and add your dry ingredients without it getting too cold. You don't need to rush, if you do it will likely be too hot and kill the yeast. Work at your usual pace. 
• Don't scoop or pack the floor, spoon it in.
• Cool slightly, then remove from pan to cool the rest of the way, then place in a bag to keep it from drying out. 
• Canola oil will cause it to get moldy faster.

A Poem

courtesy: drsuessart.com

Since reading Dr. Suess all of the time,

all of my thoughts are beginning to rhyme.

That cute little cat,

in his cute little hat, 

is driving me CRAZY,

what do you know about that?

All this hop, pop, top,

someone, oh someone, please make it stop!