Time Change???

So I was asked a great question last night by my sister (SCH1."Why do we have time change." It was a great question however she preceded to go into detail about how it all began and I was astonished. I got the educated about facts that I have never considered. So I started doing a little research myself and found some interesting facts that I wanted to let you know. Since I am an optimist and I avoid confrontation at all cost, I will list the facts in a Pros and Cons manner.... Also feel free to share YOUR comments.

A little background about  Daylight saving time (DST; also summer time in British English— is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less. Typically clocks are adjusted forward one hour near the start of spring and are adjusted backward in autumn. Modern DST was first proposed in 1895 by George Vernon Hudson.^[2] Many countries have used it since then.
Although an early goal of DST was to reduce evening usage of incandescent lighting, formerly a primary use of electricity, modern heating and cooling usage patterns differ greatly. (short term it was originally started to reduce the use of electricity)
The Pros
1.) Adding daylight hours benefits retailing,sports and other activities that exploit sunlight after working hours.
2.)A study shows that traffic fatalities are reduced
3.)Farmers will have an extra hour to work

The Cons
1.)Your body has to readjust to the change which in-turn isn't good for your health.
2.)It complicates timekeeping, and can disrupt meetings, travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. 
3.)School children will wait in the dark for their buses
4.)It cost the airlines Billions of dollars to adjust
5.)Research about how DST currently affects energy use is limited or contradictory.

So after all is said DO YOU AGREE WITH THE TIME CHANGE??
It is something worth thinking about since our time may come to vote it YES or NO to  continuing it. Well all of us but Arizona considering the time change wouldn't do much for them since most of their work is done at night due to heat.
Enjoy

Switch it Up..

 Ok so have you ever taken YOUR time out of YOUR day to fix your husband  or child a lunch. I know that's your job as a parent (mother)but Have they ever just started whining "I'm tired of peanut butter jelly "
I was being told that nearly everyday and It was exhausting and kind of hurtful.Especially since they weren't offering any other suggestions. So using my woman power I thought" I need to switch it up in a way that they won't really notice" So the switching began and I haven't had any whining since.So here's a few.
1. Peanut butter comes in creamy and crunchy (use that to your advantage)

;about every few days switch the peanut butter....&
2.Jelly comes in different flavors too. Switch from strawberry to grape and any other flavors you might have.
the children will love it and may even start making a guessing game out of it
3.Buy a mix pack of chips Change the chips everyday
4.Throw in a little treat rather it be a candy bar,cookie,twinkie or any other thing..
5. Fruits always fun and easy too,try different types like apples,bananas,pears ect
Have fun with it , It makes your life easier and your Children will appreciate it.
Enjoy!!

2 POST IN 1 !!!

So this is how I figured the idea to put two post in one.. I always have sooo much to tell you  but sometimes don't write it all because I don't won't to bore you, but as I opened this months issue of Dog Fancy I realized something unique about it. They had made it a  double issue so I got two magazines in 1. At first I wasn't that excited till I started reading both .WOW they had packed so much stuff in that magazine it was an excellent deal. So speaking about dogs first. Here my first post.

Title:What's Wrong With My Dog!!!

So I have a very good dog, That I happened to raise since she was a pup. Needless to say she was also very VERY spoiled. I gave and give that dog whatever I think she's asking for(in doggy language of course)
It all started Bright and Early one morning at 3 a.m when my once no barking wonderful dog was barking and howling so loud it woke me up. At first I Freaked I didn't know what was wrong with her I took her to the vet they found NOTHING. I gave her everything ;The barking just began to get worse and Worse not only that she began having accidents everywhere. OLD AGE??? You may ask NO. Just pure boredom. Just in case you think I 'm exaggerating here's how bad it was,The neighborhood security guard called me up and Told me my dog was barking so loud I needed to come home and that  He had checked the premises and found nothing.. What shall I do.... I tried everything EVERYTHING..When both my Husband and I were at our wits end. He told me to get rid of her (HAHAHA Never) I was going to call the Dog Whisperer. I had an epiphany OK well it wasn't that serious but I had a thought . It wasn't the  dog it was me. I can't believe I'm saying this but I was to blame. She had been so good all these years without having any kind of set schedule that I never thought she needed one. But she did , not because she was bad but because dogs need to have a feeling of usefulness. SO I made a schedule that would work around ANY possible thing in my life that would come up (well almost anything)and I stuck with it. We haven't had a problem since. Not only that but she knows when she's going to eat ,play and sleep and almost does all of it without my keeping her on track.
 SUCCESS!


Title: Pictures by Request...

I am finally responding to the many request I was getting about a post titled (CHOP CHOP!) In case your wondering about the post It was about finding other uses for items in your closet that you are about to toss in the trash.. Simply Chopping, folding sewing or crocheting things that you haven't wore in a while due to "wearing distress." So here are a few things I've pulled out of my closet and gave a makeover to....

    

ENJOY YOUR DAY OF REST!!!

A NEW RECIPE FOR PANCAKE SATURDAYS

Every Saturday morning I make my family pancakes. That's just how much we LOVE pancakes! Well, since I make them every Saturday, I'm always trying to find a way to shake things up a bit because who wants to same old pancakes every Saturday morning? This morning I made pancakes using Rye flour instead of whole wheat and almond milk instead of buttermilk. I always add cinnamon and nutmeg. Those pancakes were DELICIOUS!!!!! My sister, Simple Christian Homemaker II, has a yummy sounding oreo pancake recipe that she'll just have to share soon. I just wanted to share how I shook things up a bit this morning and still ended up with yummy and healthy pancakes.

Bible Study

What do you guys do in your special time with the Lord? For me, there's a time of prayer and then I get into His Word. Sometimes I'll just read straight from my bible and other times I like to get into a bible devotion-type book. Right now I'm going through a book by Kay Arthur, 'Lord, I Need Grace To Make It Today'. It is a wonderful devotion and great addition to reading God's Word. I just love Kay Arthur and how she gets you to dig into the Scriptures. I'm learning so much about God's grace.

CAUTION Sisters at work

well heres what happened So everybody saw our grand opening of our blog!! It was great so many new things we even got awarded for the creativity of our blog.(Thanks to Nannie @ Simplehomemaking.blogspot.com)Anyways I don't want to get off track but as we were looking at our beautiful blog We realized (well Simple Christian Homemaker 1)realized the Gap. Yes there was a huge HUGE gap in the middle of our blog where a gap doesn't belong. SCH1 was compulsive on trying to get things on track . She did everything to try to fix that gap and I noticed the gap but it didnt bother me too badly.SCH1 on the other hand (has a little OCD) went off moving things,organizing things deleting things.Did you here the last part Deleting Things (an under statement) She deleted the whole blog. Than heartbroken SCH1 called me to tell me the news.So when I went on the blog I noticed the emptiness and thought about it as being normal.(considering what happened)So I continued to Post. As sweet as SCH1 is she let this carry on for a couple of days,then she couldn't take it anymore. SCH1 called me up on a mission and simply asked me DOES THAT GAP NOT GET ON YOUR NERVE?!? So I investigated to my surprise the GAP that I thought was gone from the deletion of (everything but the post and some pics) was BIGGER! SCH1 had put alot of the things on our blog But the darn GAP was bigger. So needless to say I SCH2 am a little  compulsive now on fixing this blog. Not overly OCD (yay right) But We will not stop until we fix this. We are sisters at work and will work to figure this out. By the way if you haven't noticed the gap take time to scroll allllllllllllllllllllll the way to the bottom where you will see all the wonderful blogs that we follow .
Enjoy

KIDS DEVOTIONS

It's almost Easter YAY!!!! I do my kids up a homemade Easter basket every year. Not only is it cheaper, but they're WAAAAAY cooler than the store bought ones. Well, I found some really AWESOME kids devotion books that are just for boys for the boys' Easter baskets. They're available here on Amazon. They're available in many different age groups.

Excited about....... LIST ?

When I was smaller my sister and I talked about everything, So it wasn't a surprise when I wanted to live with her. I remember the first day I was with her she came back from getting groceries and asked me ,"Are you ready." So In my head I was thinking ,Ready for what? But because I am an optimist without hesitation I simply said,"Yes! Before I knew it she begin to read me her ENTIRE grocery list AND prices. It was agonizing (to say the least) But I loved her so much I didn't say anything to her about it,(well not until about the 5th time she did it)

Yea that 5th time got me ;when she got up to read that list I couldn't help myself I started moaning almost whining anything I had to do to get out of her reading that Gosh Darn List,but to no avail she started reading. The whole time I lived her with her she read me every grocery receipt she brought. I started calling it collateral for her letting my live at her house. Well I moved out and Remembering like it was yesterday ,I went shopping for my first grocery list and to how do you say.... GET BACK I called her.(Oh yea you bet I did) I read that whole list IN ITS ENTIRETY. To my surprise she was more excited then I was. She started giving me recipes and ideas for every meal you can think of. I'm almost ashamed to admit it but I started loving it. Every time I got anything I called and anytime she got anything I was the first to say read me the list Read Me The List (I just can't believe I'm saying that) Well lets move on.. SO now everyday my Sister or I go grocery shopping, we read each other our receipts, and give each other ideas as well as where we can get the lowest prices. It's great I would suggest everyone get a grocery buddy,And just call them up and give each other ideas.. Have fun (even if you have to force it on someone at first . I can say It's Worth it.

Enjoy

This, that, and the other

Hello everyone!!! I hope you all had a fun Saint Patricks Day. I was one smart mommy, I got up early and found all my kids green to wear, so they wouldn't get pinched:-) I too, wore my green. I wore a green shirt, that didn't look too greatr on me just to save myself from the many pinches I could have received:-) My son, Beau, asked me what Saint Patricks Day was all about, and other than not getting pinched, I wasn't quite sure, so here's what he found:


 Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig) is a yearly holiday celebrated on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick (circa AD 387–461), the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland. It began as a purely Catholic holiday and became an official feast day in the early 1600s. However, it has gradually become more of a secular celebration of Ireland's culture.

It is a public holiday on the island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Montserrat, among others.

Also, hubby and I went on a date to Applebee's Sunday night. It was so much fun to get out by ourselves. By-the-way, I told you all that most things we do revolve around food. Anyhoo, we had the the spinach and artichoke dip to start and it was SOOOO GOOOOD!!!! See the capitals, that's just how good it was. Well, I went online in search of the recipe so that I can make it for my whole family Saturday night. I'll give you guys the recipe in a sec. So, then I was a good girl and ordered my entree off of the 550 calories or less menu. I had this wonderful dish with wholw wheat penne pasta, shrimp, diced veggies, and a chili sauce. Healthy eating never tasted so good. Here's the recipe fpr the spinach dip:

.Things You'll Need:


•1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained, and roughly chopped

•1 (10 oz) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed

•10 ounces prepared Alfredo sauce

•1 cup shredded parmesan-Romano cheese blend

•1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

•4 ounces (1/2 pkg) cream cheese, softened

•1 teaspoon minced garlic

Step 1 First you need to drain 1 (14oz) can of artichoke hearts. Then chop them up into smaller chunks. Keep them chunky though!

Step 2 Next you chop up your thawed 10 oz) box frozen chopped spinach.

Step 3 Then you open your jar of 10 ounces prepared Alfredo sauce.

Step 4 Measure out 1 cup shredded parmesan-Romano cheese blend.

Step 5 Then soften 4 ounces (1/2 pkg) cream cheese.

Step 6 Now you shred 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Step 7 Finally you mince 1 teaspoon fresh garlic.

Step 8 Combine all ingredients except 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese in a bowl. Mix them until well blended.

Step 9 Put your mixture in an oven safe bowl or crock.

Step 10 Sprinkle with remaining mozarella cheese and place in oven at 350 degrees for about 15- 20 minutes or untin chese is all melted.

Step 11 Remove from oven and serve hot or warm with tortilla chips or pumpernickle bread. Sit back and enjoy your masterpiece!


And lastly, here's a Nutrisystem update: The food has been great, my body is starting to get use to not eating at night out of boredom and I can't believe I can be filled off of real portion size. My weight is still the same as last week. What can I say, 4 pounds is a lo to lose in the first week. Surely that yummy spinach dip couldn't have had anything to do with my weight staying the same:-) Hey, I have weekends off and it was a date:-)

Well that's that. I'll talk to ya'll soon!

.

BROKE BEAN STEW

Broke Bean Stew




You don't have to spend big bucks for something warm and tasty



Season 4's Nicole Michalik contributed this recipe to our new book, The Biggest Loser 6 Weeks to a Healthier You. Beans are a great, inexpensive source of protein and fiber.



1 Tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow or white onion, chopped

1 Tbsp chopped garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

1 can (28 oz) diced fire-roasted tomatoes

3 cans (15.5 oz each) chickpeas (or kidney beans, black beans, white beans) rinsed and drained (or 4 1/2 cups cooked beans)

4 cups fat-free low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

¼ cup chopped cilantro

3 cups fresh baby spinach leaves, chopped kale or Swiss chard



Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in 4-quart saucepan. Add onion and sauté about 5 minutes, until softened but not browned. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Do not brown garlic.



Add spices and tomatoes and simmer about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups (2 cans) of beans and 2 ½ cups of broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.



Place remaining beans and broth in bowl of food processor or in blender. Add cilantro and puree until smooth. Add mixture to stew. Add spinach and heat just until wilted. Stir well and serve hot.



Servings: 10 (1 cup each)

Per Serving: 160 cal, 8 g pro, 26 g carb, 7 g fiber, 3 g fat, 0 g sat fat, 0 mg chol, 330 mg sodium

LET'S SPEND SOME TIME

We all know that relationships take a lot of work. When we think of building up relationships, we usually automatically think of our spouse or significant other. We also need to build up and nurture friendships. Friendships are very important to me and to keep good, close friends I know that I've got to spend the time with them. It's easy for me to get caught up in housework, kids, hubby, etc... but I know that if I still want friends that I'll need to make time for them too. So, I'm determined to try and spend more time with my friends. It's easy to get together with my friends whom have kids because that's an automatic playdate but for my other friends I'm gonna have to put forth more effort. Maybe we could get together and do a bible study or just sit and talk over tea. Whatever it is, I'm gonna spend some time because having girlfriends to talk to and lean on are important. 

Nutrisysten and Blog Look Update

Well, lets start with the Nutrisystem... I've been on it for a week now and have lost four pounds. I love how the food tastes, I get enough to eat, and I never feel deprived. I'm so glad that I'm doing it. I've made some major changes in how I eat. The portion control thing of course, but also I haven't been eating after dinner. I also consume a lot more water and eat more frequently.

Now onto the blog changes.... I have NO IDEA what in the world is going on with my blog. There's all these HUGE spaces on my side bar all of a sudden. I think my blog may have come alive and taken over itself. Please bare with me, I'm trying to fix the technical issues. Just a warning: I AM NOT A TECHNICAL GAL:-)

Just a little update...

EAT Your BREAKFAST!

Remember your mother used to tell you THAT all the time. I heard it nearly everyday growing up and have passed it to my family. Every morning I'm telling my husband or children.Eat something before you go. Not realizing that I totally failed to do that myself.I was just in the habit of saying it NOT doing it. So something needed to change ..I knew they said eating helped you focus and gave you the energy you need but is that really ALL because, I was waking up NOT eating anything and I was still full of energy and focused(well as focused as I had to be considering I was just staying at home ..LOL)So I did some research and don't laugh if you already knew this because I didn't.But during the day you eat to maintain a metabolism which in turn gives you a healthy energy level (I knew that part) But what I didn't know IS while you sleep your metabolism stops. Did You hear me it STOPS!!! also it will not start back until you EAT. Therefore you can go with out food if you don't want your metabolism to start back . Other than that EAT YOUR BREAKFAST.If your like me and have a hard time eating in the morning just try a couple boiled eggs(since eggs are soo great for you) or a piece of fruit.
Enjoy

Blog Giveaway over at Organized Homemaking For Christ

Deniece , over at Organized Homemaking for Christ, is doing a fun blog giveaway. Be sure to check it out. Also, stay and browse around her blog. She is a super sweet lady who loves the Lord, and does her best to live for Him. She's got lots of homemaking info. on there. Have fun!

Tests, Tests, and MORE Tests!!!!!

This week is a little busier than usual. I'm administering the California Achievement Test to Beau jr. I have to send the test scores in to the local school district. It's an easy test to administer, I think I just have test anxiety. I don't know why. I'm not the one taking the test and Beau jr. has NO anxiety at all. Well good for him! I mean rather he tests well or not, it will be all on me. Did I teach him enough? Should we had spent more time on certain subjects or topics? On and on... I know that I can only do what I can do and the rest is in the Lord's hands. This is EXACTLY how I felt when I'd have to take a test in school. Thankfully, it will be over with after this week and I can go on with life. But until then lets hope I don't crack under the pressure:-)

WOWZA!

Just running around this morning trying to get everything done. If your anything like me than you love to get out the house whenever possible. So this morning I set my schedule for the day oh yeah it was a great schedule. My schedule was all tight together with no room for napping lol. Then I received a call from my mother in law asking if I would like to go walking, so off I went. Not realizing that she could and WOULD walk 3miles that's what we did. Also silly me I threw on my leg weights before I left because for sure I thought I couldn't possibly get a workout with MY MOTHER IN LAW(boy was I wrong,she wore me out)After I arrived back home I forgot that today was the day to give puppy a bath so out I went. WASH WASH WASH I scrubbed that dog. WHEW and WOWZA I was tired and almost started hyperventilating then I realized as much as I like to get out I need to take time for my self. I gave myself 30 min of nothing time just laying, me time. Moral of the story is no matter how busy you are TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF (so you don't end up an overwhelmed wowza mess!

Enjoy

Fraud Everywhere!!

I do not mean to sound pessimistic but I have encountered an old but new to me event. So first I will tell you I am not the kinda of person a scam artist would want to scam. I'm very secretive about my personal information and I definitely never answer any emails from people or places I don't know,( I will admit it.I delete ANY and everything.) Well while online today I decided that I wanted to handle any and all business matters, I 'm not an online-work type of girl.So first things first: check my email right... well while checking my email I received some information from my bank (I know I hear everywhere about banking scams)but while in my rush to scurry through my online-work documents,I opened the email from my "bank". I scim through the info only to find out that someone had entered invalid passwords on my account and the bank was scheduled to suspend my account today if I didn't verify.So I click the link to verify my account and nothing happened.I clicked again and again finally in the most frustrated state I could possibly be in at that time, I called the bank. Long story somewhat cut short I realized that NO my account wasn't going to be suspended the bank never even sent me out an EMAIL. I was being scammed for my personal information so that someone could hack into my account!!! Thank GOD the link didn't work because as ashamed as I am to admit I would've been scammed today if it would've worked. SO please if you get any emails especially from your financial institutions requesting ANY info just call the bank ASAP.Most banks have a fraud email where if you do receive a scam email you can forward it and they can trace it..But after looking back at the email I noticed a couple points that would've gave the scammer away if I wasn't rushing. Here they are...
1.)the FROM sender name was My Bank BUT the email didn't say My Bank.
2.)They did not put my name anywhere in the email
3.)The date at which my acct. was to be suspended was in red (they typically have other colors or fonts because they send out sooo many emails that they can't possibly change all of them so its on an auto responder)
4.)No bank will ask for personal info (They already have it!)
Please be safe I hope these tips help...

The Nutrisystem is in!!!

My Nutrisystem arrived yesterday , so today will be my first day trying it. It's A LOT of food. Lots of different choices. I am so excited! I can't wait to tell you guys my opinion on the taste and how I feel after eating it. I'm a planner, so naturally I already have started a menu. To make it easier on myself, I'm gonna cook my family the same foods I'm eating. They'll get lots of yummy food as will I. Just mine will be in smaller portions,  and I'm sure I'll have to season it up. I'm a cook you know. You didn't expect me to eat it plain did ya? Well, on my sidebar I'll keep a daily list of what I'm eating. SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!

Natural Beauty

So Here's what happened ... I was sitting on my couch (which is completely opposite of what I should've been doing)But as I ran through everything that needed to be done that day while still in front of the t.v of course,I got exhausted!! Yep I was tired just thinking about it. This was supposed to be a day of complete relaxation when all of a sudden list and list of things started to appear. I needed some R&R...
So I decided to give myself a facial. As I gathered things that are natural and also out of the ordinary my day started coming together YESSSS I could relax. I had got some great tips from my friends over at WhatNotToWear (Thanks Stacey and Clinton)
So here's how it worked..
I turned on some relaxing music got a hot rinsed rag and washed my entire face.
Than I took my facial cleanser in the palm of my hand and mixed it with sugar until it was a scrub and GIRLLLL (and guys) I scrub the heck out of my face.Not to mention it didn't taste half bad when it accidentally got in my mouth. I also took a warm cup of water and mixed salt into it and dipped the rag and wiped it all over my face after the scrub. Salt and sugar are 2 natural exfolients I moisturized my face and felt so relaxed afterwards. The sugar scrub by far was the best part of my facial so I had to let you know. Just rinse,sugar, salt and moisturize. When I woke up this morning my face just looked brighter and I was ready to start the Day.
***So go ahead and beautify yourself***

Verses of encouragement

These verses were very encouraging to me and I thought I'd share:

2 Chronicles 20:12 "O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."

2 Chronicles 20:17 " You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord."

Psalm 103:12 " As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us."

A former member of "Coffee Anonymous"

For years I've started my day with a pot of coffee, and it didn't stop there, I would also have coffee throughout the day. I think I was a coffee addict. I say "was" because I  was reading online a few places and saw that coffee makes your body hold onto it's fat. Well... I definately DO NOT want my body holding onto any extra fat. I mean I have enough in reserve to last me the rest of my days already:-) I think I enjoy the caffeine the most. It helps me wake up and keep some energy all through the day. Also, I'm sure you coffee drinkers know that as soon as you get a coffee jolt, you get a coffee low. I'm ready to put down that coffee cup! I have a wonderful replacement. It's more healthy and doesn't give you all the highs and lows like coffee...YERBA MATE! You heard me, it's tea. Yerba Mate contains more antioxidants then green tea and has a strong taste sort of like coffee. I've been putting it in my coffee maker and it works for me! So if you, like me want to put down that coffee or if you're not ready for all that but would like to try something new, go ahead give Yerba Mate tea a try. You won't be disappointed!