A Cozy Nest

I love this photo from "The Nester" or better known as "Nesting Place". This is actually a photo FROM HER HOME! It is my desire to have a beautiful and cozy home like this some day. I feel that I am SADLY lacking in decorating skills, as you may know if you've been in my house. We have an eclectic hodgepodge of things going on. I can't for the life of me, figure out what to do with my walls, and my 2 couches and 2 recliners. I love the openness of my living room, when the couches are sitting across from each other, but I'd also love to have a cozy and pretty place to relax with my family and friends. I'm not sure how to go about this, but thanks to Pastor Mark Driscoll, Papa Bear has given me the go ahead to use my Paypal debit card (which holds the money I make from my Etsy shops), and make our house pretty, as we are able.

I am totally open to any suggestions on how to make my home a place that is beautiful, comfortable, welcoming, uncluttered, and relaxing.

By the way, we rent. And our landlord has stipulated that we are to only use Kelly Moore paints on the walls. Hmmmm....what to do, what to do. I really want a blue wall. But will it match with my tan couch and my light moss colored couch, and as well, with my moss green recliner and Papa Bear's somewhat teal/blue/green recliner?

I have NO idea where to even start!

Except maybe with some paint chips...

Have a blessed day in Christ!

Mama Bear

Fiber One Caramel Delight Cereal: A Review

Yesterday, I did the grocery shopping, which is a rarity, because Papa Bear usually does it. (We only have one working vehicle right now, and three kiddos, so it's easier for him to do the shopping after he gets off work.)

Well, as I was ambling up and down the aisles, with no list in hand, but only an idea of the few things that I needed to pick up, I happened upon the cereal aisle. Now, if you know me, you know that I could eat cereal morning, noon, and night. But I don't. Because I want to be a good example to my kids. And because I need to somehow get some vegetables into my diet.

Anyways, I noticed the Fiber One cereals on sale. We have tried, and like the Fiber One bars (my favorite is the Oats and Caramel...see a pattern here?), and we have also tried, and like the Fiber One Toaster Pastries (but we don't buy them, because they are still pretty high in fat and sugar, kinda like Pop-Tarts). So, I thought, hmmmm, wonder how good these cereals are.

Normally, I won't pay more than $2 per box of cereal, but I figured, since we pay more than $2 a box on our beloved Nature's Path Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola, and the matching bran flake cereal (I didn't want to type the whole name out.), we could get away with paying $2.50 a box on the Fiber One cereals. I got three different flavors to try:

Caramel Delight, Honey Clusters, and Raisin Bran Clusters

Of course I just HAD to open the Fiber One Caramel Delight cereal this morning. I munched on a few pieces straight from my cereal bowl, sans milk, and I found that while they are nicely sweetened and caramel tasting on the outside, the inside pretty much tastes like fiber cereal. That's ok though, because when you add bananas and milk, you could almost believe that you're eating a caramel flavored Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

All in all, I really like the Caramel Delight Fiber One cereal, and I would buy again. My biggest complaint is the amount of sugar, but I guess that's what they have to do to get people to eat fiber cereal, right? I mean, that's the only way I'm eating it...if it's a little on the sweet side, and it doesn't get soggy in milk too quickly.

I'll let you know when I try the others.

Have a blessed day in Christ!

Mama Bear

PS...I did not receive any compensation for this review,
and the opinions stated are mine and mine alone.

August and September Birthdays

We had SO much to celebrate during the months of August and September, so I'm putting them all in one blog post.

I celebrated my 40th birthday this year (August 6th),
surrounded by wonderful family and friends.

Me and Papa Bear (aka: Michael, aka: the hubby), who threw me an amazing party.

Me and the other BWOGs (aka: Beautiful Women of God)
LOVE these ladies!!

Celebrated Papa Bear's Aunt Sara's 71st birthday in August.

Celebrated my niece's 3rd birthday in late August.

Celebrated my father in law's 65th birthday, and our Baby Bear's 1st birthday (which happen to be on the exact same day!), in early September.

Here we all are: "C", "S", Papa Bear, "E", and Mama Bear

Celebrated "C's" 17th birthday just this past Sunday.

And today is my dad's 65th birthday!

God has truly blessed us with so many birthdays, so many celebrations of LIFE!

Thank you, God, for all that you have given to us, but most especially for your Son, who took our sin upon Himself, so that we might have ETERNAL LIFE.

Mama Bear

Tea for Two and Two for Tea...

I recently went to my very first tea party! It was a bridal shower for the daughter (princess) of one of my good friends, and I was there to photograph the event. It was such a wonderful experience, and I'm thinking that I would love to start a tradition of taking our Baby Girl to tea, once she's old enough.

This made me start looking for teas on Etsy.com, and I found MANY that I would LOVE to try, including the ones shown below:

Caramel Creme Brulee from Ms. De's Tea 'n' Treasures (dancingbears2)

Spiced Caramel Apple from Tea For All Reasons

Granny's Pecan Pie Rooibos Tea from Ann Margaret's Tea Shop

Bourbon Street Vanilla Rooibos Tea from North Country Teas


I think I just might go and buy some tea! I'll let you know what I think, after I try it. If you buy some, I'd love to hear what you think too!

Have a blessed day in Christ!

Angie

Birthday Girl Cake Bites

A wonderful friend showed me how to make these cake bites, inspired by Bakerella's cake pops, for Baby Girl's 1st Birthday party. I used lemon cake (made with lemon juice, in place of the water in the recipe), and lemon frosting for some, and strawberry cake and buttercream frosting for the others. Everyone LOVED them!

Mama Bear

Winning "Fried" Chicken Recipe

Last week, I tried a new recipe, found in the Biggest Loser Cookbook. It got TWO THUMBS UP from Papa Bear, me, and our teenage son! Please keep in mind that this recipe is only for two servings. I tripled it, so that we would have enough to eat, and still have leftovers. I took pictures while making it, so here you go:

3 Tbsp. fat-free plain yogurt
4 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano leaves (I used dried...didn't have fresh)
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (I might or might not have used a little more!)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of ground black pepper
4 Tbsp. Ian's Whole Wheat Panko Breadcrumbs or finely crushed Wasa Light Rye Crispbread (I used dried whole wheat roll bread crumbs...because that's what I had on hand.)
2 small (1/4 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of visible fat
Mustard or low-fat, low-sodium marinara sauce, to taste (optional)

*****
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly mist a small nonstick baking sheet with olive oil spray.


2. In a medium, shallow bowl, combine the yogurt, basil, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir to mix well.


3. Place 2 tablespoons of the bread crumbs in another medium shallow bowl. Set next to the yogurt mixture. Dip 1 chicken breast into the yogurt mixture to coat.


(By the way, make sure that you pat your chicken breasts dry, in between paper towels. This will help assure that your yogurt coating will stick to the meat.)


Transfer to the crumbs to coat evenly.

Place on the prepared baking sheet. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons crumbs to the bowl. Repeat the process with the second chicken breast. Place on the baking sheet, not touching the other piece.


4. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip the chicken and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Serve immediately with mustard or marinara sauce on the side, if desired.

(Sorry about this photo. No matter how many times I tried to put it in, it still TURNED on me!)

(We used the marinara sauce with a bit of cheese melted on top, and it was delicious! We also had steamed green beans with marinara sauce, and my Tomato Rice Pilaf--for which I have previously shared the recipe.)

Let me know if you make this, and what you think!

Mama Bear

Our Dessert of Choice

Papa Bear and I have joined Weight Watchers. There! I said it! Yep, we're trying to get a lot healthier and lose weight too! Papa Bear craves fruits, which is good. I crave sweets, which is not so good. No, I don't crave sweet fruits...I crave SUGAR!!! But, we have found a great way to get around the sugar, and enjoy dessert for VERY few Weight Watchers points! One of my favorite desserts now, is Sugar Free Fudgsicles from Popsicle. I crave chocolate, so this is a GREAT choice for dessert! (I don't totally ban chocolate, but now I am learning to count the points, and watch my portion sizes.) A Sugar Free Fudgsicle only has 40 calories and less than 1 gram of fat! You can have two of these frozen delights for only 1 WW point, so I definitely choose to indulge in the yummy creaminess that Fudgsicles offer.

We also like the Tropical Sugar Free Popsicles, regular Sugar Free Popsicles, and Sugar Free Creamsicles (which can be found in the Healthy Pack).

Try one! Then, let me know what you think!

Mama Bear